Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
Link vs Fox is decided by whether Link can avoid taking Fox’s Blaster, Neutral Air, Dash Attack, and Up Tilt pressure head-on, absorb the first burst with grounded defense, and then turn the next touch into sword, bomb, and ledge pressure.
Fox’s run speed and scramble pace punish Link’s slower projectile setup very hard, so showing Arrow, Boomerang, and Bomb in place too often lets Reflector and burst movement force a close-range fight on Fox’s terms.
Fox is still light and short-ranged, and the table shows that Jab 2, Rapid Jab Finisher, Up Tilt, Dash Attack, all smash attacks, Forward Air, Down Air, Neutral B, Side B, Up B, and Down B are all punishable by Link’s Up B (7f) or OOS Bair (9f), so blocked heavy contact can swing momentum back immediately.
The win condition is to let grounded shield coverage blunt Blaster, use single Arrow and Boomerang timings to make Fox jump first, place Bomb on the landing or ledge route, and finish the straight Side B and Up B recovery lines with Fair, Bair, or ledge Up B.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Link OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 2 | -12 |
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| Jab 2 | 2 | -16 |
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| Rapid Jab | 5/7/9/… | — | ||
| Rapid Jab Finisher | 3 | -32 |
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| Forward Tilt | 6 | -10/-10 |
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| Up Tilt | 3 | -17/-16 |
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| Down Tilt | 7 | -12/-13 |
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| Dash Attack | 4 | -16 |
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| Forward Smash | 13 | -22 |
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| Up Smash | 8 | -36 |
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| Down Smash | 6 | -36 |
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| Neutral Air | 4 | -3/-4 |
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| Forward Air | 7/11/16/21/26 | -14 |
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| Back Air | 9 | -4 |
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| Up Air | 9/12 | -10/-9 |
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| Down Air | 5/8/11/14/17/20/23 | -14 |
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| Neutral B | 11/13/20, 9/11/18 | -18/-19/-19 |
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| Side B | 25/25 | -18/-28 |
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| Up B | 20/22/24/26/28/30/32/43/47 | -34 |
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| Down B | 3 | -30 |
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| Grab | 6 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 10 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 11 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Let grounded shield coverage soak Blaster while mixing Arrow and Boomerang heights and timing, so Fox has to guess with Reflector instead of freely dashing through predictable projectile rhythm.
- After blocking Jab 2, Rapid Jab Finisher, Up Tilt, Dash Attack, any smash attack, Forward Air, Down Air, Neutral B, Side B, Up B, or Down B, take the punish with Up B (7f) or OOS Bair (9f) and cut Fox’s speed turn off immediately.
- After blocking Neutral Air or Back Air, do not force an unreachable Up B. Cover the landing drift and horizontal escape with Up Tilt, Up Smash, or Bomb and take the second touch instead.
- Do not hoard Bomb in hand for too long; place it on the landing path or ledge so Fox’s ground dash and Side B route stay narrow.
- At the ledge, value stage control over deep chases and convert Fox’s light weight with offstage Bair, Fair, and ledge punishes once Side B or Up B becomes fixed.
Actions to Avoid
- Repeating Arrow, Boomerang, and Bomb from the same spot and tempo until Reflector and dash burst cover both answers at once.
- Swinging Up B or Grab every time Neutral Air or Back Air touches shield and getting whiff punished by landing drift into another fast entry.
- Jumping high over Blaster over and over and feeding Fox’s vertical routes into Up Tilt, Up Air, and Up Smash.
- Chasing too deep offstage, stretching the Side B and Up B guessing game, and exposing Link’s own weak recovery after finally forcing Fox out.