Simon Matchup (Lucina)

Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)

Lucina vs Simon can look oppressive at first because of Cross, Axe, Holy Water, and the huge visual range on the whip, but the matchup is much better once you play for walk speed, shield discipline, and direct punishes. Simon controls long lanes well, yet his close-range buttons are slow, narrow, and often very unsafe when they actually touch shield. That matters here because Lucina has the movement to take space without overcommitting and a 5-frame Up B that cleanly checks forward tilt, aerial whip pressure, Neutral B, and many of the slower grounded swings once you are close enough. Instead of trying to jump over every projectile at once, it is more stable to walk, shield, and angle around the shot pattern until you reach the range where one blocked whip or one missed tilt gives you the turn.

Once Lucina gets inside, the matchup shifts hard toward her ability to stay on top of Simon. Safe Nair and Fair keep him from swinging freely, and his slower panic options make shield pressure, late aerials, grab, and juggle resets much more reliable than they are against faster sword characters. After sending him offstage, you usually do not need a reckless deep chase; Simon’s horizontal recovery is weak enough that ledge trapping covers the reward more safely. Hold center, watch for jump, neutral getup, roll, and wire recovery height, and keep forcing him to recover through the same narrow lanes. The win condition is not to beat every projectile interaction perfectly. It is to survive the approach without giving away big anti-air hits, then cash out every close-range opening before Simon can rebuild long range.

Full Move Frame Quick Reference

Win Condition Checklist

• Use walk and shield first so Cross, Axe, and Holy Water do not force desperate jump-ins
• Check every blocked forward tilt, aerial whip, and Neutral B for immediate Up B punishment
• When you block up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, down air, or Side B, convert into real damage or ledge carry
• After getting in, keep pressure with Nair, Fair, grab, and juggle coverage instead of resetting to midrange
• Prefer stable ledge traps over deep offstage commitments and force Simon through narrow recovery paths

Actions to Avoid

• Trying to leap over the entire projectile pattern at once and drifting into anti-air whip coverage
• Letting blocked forward tilt or aerial whip pressure go unpunished and giving Simon full space again
• Backing off too far after winning close range and voluntarily returning to his tipper whip zone
• Overcommitting offstage when ledge trapping already covers Simon’s weak horizontal recovery
• Panicking around Holy Water placements and stacking a jump or spot dodge into the next projectile