Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
This matchup gets worse for Ike whenever he tries to bulldoze straight through charge shot and missile lines just to force contact. Ike still wins hard once he gets real sword touches, but his pursuit and recovery are both linear enough that Samus can punish impatience with projectile walls, Up B reversals, and long landing traps if he keeps entering on her terms.
Ike does better by treating the projectiles as positioning tools rather than something he must erase immediately, then using nair, bair, down tilt, and pullback timing to claim the space Samus wants to move or land into. Samus’s Up B is so fast that lazy point-blank pressure loses value quickly, so the stronger pattern is to hit from sword range, make shield happen, and then punish the movement after the block rather than the shield itself.
The frame table shows Jab 1-2, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, Down Tilt, Dash Attack, every smash attack, Fair, Uair, Neutral B, and Side B (1)(2) are all punishable mainly through Grab (10f) or OOS Bair (10f). By contrast, Nair, Bair, Dair, Zair, and Up B are not stable immediate shield-punish spots, so Ike should not treat every blocked move as the end of the interaction.
The win condition is built more from landing traps and ledge pressure than from center-stage hero swings. Samus is extremely good at exposing linear recovery, so Ike gets more repeatable success by keeping ledge control with bair, uair, and up smash instead of overchasing offstage and letting his own return path become the weakness.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Ike OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 3 | -10 |
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| Jab 2 | 6 | -15 |
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| Forward Tilt | 8 | -17/-16/-15 |
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| Up Tilt | 15 | -12 |
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| Down Tilt | 6 | -26 |
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| Dash Attack | 8 | -23 |
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| Forward Smash | 10 | -29/-28 |
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| Up Smash | 11/15/19/23/27 | -24 |
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| Down Smash | 9/17 | -27/-18 |
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| Neutral Air | 8/14 | -5/-5/-6 |
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| Forward Air | 6/12/18/24/30 | -12/-12/-11 |
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| Back Air | 9 | -9/-9/-10 |
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| Up Air | 5… | -16/-16/-15 |
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| Down Air | 17 | -8/-7 |
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| Z Air | 8/16 | -4/-3 |
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| Neutral B | 3(+13) | -17 to +4 |
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| Side B (1) | 18 | -26 |
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| Side B (2) | 21 | -24 |
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| Up B (1) | 4… | — | ||
| Up B (2) | 5… | — | ||
| Down B | 33 | — | ||
| Grab | 15 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 17 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 18 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Do not chase blindly through projectiles. Hold the midrange with nair, bair, down tilt, and pullback movement so Samus has to move or land into the sword first.
- After blocking Jab 1-2, Forward Tilt, Up Tilt, Down Tilt, Dash Attack, any smash attack, Fair, Uair, Neutral B, or Side B (1)(2), take the listed punish with Grab (10f) or OOS Bair (10f).
- After blocking Nair, Bair, Dair, Zair, or Up B, do not force the immediate punish. Cover the pullback and reset instead with bair, down tilt, or renewed entry timing.
- Do not pressure point-blank carelessly into Samus’s Up B. Make shield happen from sword range and punish the movement after the block instead.
- Build kills through landing traps and ledge pressure, using bair, uair, and up smash to narrow jump and getup routes while keeping your own recovery path protected.
Actions to Avoid
- Running straight through charge shot and missile space and giving Samus the exact defensive range she wants.
- Trying to shield punish every blocked Nair, Bair, Dair, Zair, and Up B immediately and getting reset into another projectile layer or pullback.
- Forcing sloppy point-blank aerial pressure that only hands Samus a fast Up B reversal.
- Overchasing offstage and turning Ike’s own linear recovery into the real liability in a position that should have stayed favorable.