Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
Ice Climbers become threatening when both characters reach close range together, where grab, Blizzard, Side B, and duo hitboxes can snowball into huge damage or a stock. Once separated, though, their range, damage, and recovery drop sharply. Cloud is built to force that separation. The sword’s reach and mobility let him break their formation, and the frame table shows clear punishes on Jab 1, Jab 2, forward tilt, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, every smash attack, down air, neutral B, side B, and down B with Up B (7f) or OOS Nair (8f). Nair, fair, and bair are the spots where immediate shield punishment is thin, so Cloud should cover the landing and regroup path instead of trying to solve every aerial from shield. The win condition is to keep angles where both Popo and Nana can be clipped by nair, bair, f-tilt, and Blade Beam, then turn any split into a sustained denial of Nana’s regroup rather than rushing only for the main climber. Once Limit is online, the ledge becomes much deadlier and Cloud can convert the split into an early stock. For kills, ledgetraps with bair, up smash, Up B, and Limit specials are far more stable than deep edgeguards. Offstage greed is dangerous here because Cloud can still lose his own stock quickly if he gives up stage and has to interact with Belay or Side B recovery routes.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Cloud OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 4 | -20(-15) |
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| Jab 2 | 4 | -21(-12) |
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| Forward Tilt | 9 | -14(-10) |
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| Up Tilt | 8/11/14/17/20/23/27 | -16(-7) |
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| Down Tilt | 8 | -16(-10) |
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| Dash Attack | 9 | -24(-18) |
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| Forward Smash | 11 | -27(-22) |
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| Up Smash | 12 | -29(-24) |
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| Down Smash | 9/16 | -22/-17 |
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| Neutral Air | 6 | -4(+2) |
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| Forward Air | 19 | -5(+3) |
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| Back Air | 8 | -3(+0) |
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| Up Air | 7 | -10(-3) |
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| Down Air | 12 | -16(-12) |
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| Neutral B | 18/19 | -29(-24) |
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| Side B (1) | 10/14/18/23/28/34/40/51 | -21 |
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| Side B (2) | 10/13/15/18/21/24/28/32/37/42/49 | -24 |
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| Up B | 13 | — | ||
| Down B | 16/21/26/31/36/41/46/51/56 | -22(-15) |
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| Grab | 8 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 10 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 10 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Keep spacing where nair, bair, f-tilt, and Blade Beam can hit both climbers together so Ice Climbers never get a clean synchronized entry.
- After blocking Jab 1, Jab 2, forward tilt, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, any smash attack, down air, neutral B, side B, or down B, default to Up B (7f) and extend to OOS Nair (8f), Grab (10f), OOS Uair (11f), or Up Smash (12f) when spacing allows.
- Do not force in-place punishes on nair, fair, or bair; cover the landing spot and Nana’s regroup route with bair, uair, or forward movement and win on the next touch.
- After a split, prioritize denying Nana’s return and keeping the ledgetrap going. Only cash out immediately with bair, up smash, or Limit kill options when the opening is clearly there.
Actions to Avoid
- Sitting in shield directly in front of the synced duo and taking the full grab, Blizzard, and Side B mix together.
- Swinging with impossible punishes right after blocking nair, fair, or bair and letting Ice Climbers drift out, regroup, and restart the close-range pressure.
- Tunneling only on Popo after a split while Nana walks back in for free and restores the duo’s damage and trap potential.
- Chasing too deep offstage and putting Cloud’s own recovery at risk against Belay or Side B returns.