Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
This matchup gets harder for Mii Gunner whenever Lucina is allowed to play clean sword spacing on her own terms. Lucina can keep pushing with fair, nair, uair, and down tilt while chaining that pressure into landing traps and ledge situations, so pure retreat quickly turns into getting cornered. The upside is that Lucina has no projectile game and her horizontal recovery is not limitless, so midrange control can make her approach patterns much more predictable.
Mii Gunner should first lock the path with charge shots, missiles, and setplay tools, then place fair, up smash, and uair where Lucina wants to jump. As the table shows, jab 1, jab 2, forward tilt, up tilt, dash attack, every smash attack, neutral B, and side B are all clearly punishable by Up B (6f) plus options like grab, OOS nair, and up smash. Down tilt, fair, and down air are spots where only Up B reliably reaches, so clean close-range defense depends on recognizing those exact shields checks quickly.
The win condition is not just resetting space after stopping Lucina once, but pushing the advantage all the way to ledge and layering projectiles plus fair onto jump and roll escapes. Lucina can still fight hard near the edge, but without a projectile she has more readable routes once she loses stage, and Mii Gunner’s traps and vertical hitboxes start to matter more. Because Up B gives a fast shield punish, the stable plan is not to reject every close-range interaction, but to stop the specific ones you can stop and then reclaim initiative.
This falls apart when Gunner only runs away and shoots or keeps swinging after Lucina’s safer aerials. That lets Lucina’s walking pressure and landing trap flow keep going. Gunner has to fix Lucina’s approach angle before getting pinned at ledge, while also respecting Shield Breaker so defense does not become too shield-heavy.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Mii Gunner OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 5 | -16 |
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| Jab 2 | 4 | -19 |
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| Forward Tilt | 8 | -15 |
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| Up Tilt | 6 | -19 |
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| Down Tilt | 7 | -8 |
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| Dash Attack | 13 | -21 |
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| Forward Smash | 10 | -31 |
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| Up Smash | 13 | -41/-35 |
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| Down Smash | 6/21 | -42/-24 |
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| Neutral Air | 6/15 | -4/-3 |
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| Forward Air | 6 | -6 |
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| Back Air | 7 | -5 |
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| Up Air | 5 | -3 |
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| Down Air | 9/11 | -9/-9 |
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| Neutral B | 19—79 | -23 to Shieldbreak |
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| Side B | 9 | -26/-16 |
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| Up B | 5 | — | ||
| Down B | 6 (Start of Counter) | — | ||
| Grab | 6 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 9 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 10 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Use charge shots, missiles, and setplay tools to pin Lucina’s dash and jump angles, then cover the landing with fair, up smash, and uair.
- Punish jab 1, jab 2, forward tilt, up tilt, dash attack, every smash attack, neutral B, and side B on shield with Up B (6f), grab, OOS nair, or up smash.
- Treat down tilt, fair, and down air as moments where Up B is the reliable punish and choose it immediately when the spacing is right.
- After stopping Lucina once, keep the advantage moving toward ledge and layer projectiles plus fair over jump and roll escapes.
- Mix dash back, jump, and shield so Shield Breaker and grab do not get the same defensive answer every time.
Actions to Avoid
- Do not retreat and shoot all the way into the corner and hand Lucina the exact ledge pressure she wants.
- Do not swing after every fair, bair, uair, or nair on shield and give Lucina easy whiff punishes.
- Do not use a fixed projectile rhythm that lets Lucina pre-jump or dash through the same lane every time.
- Do not lean so hard on shield at midrange that Shield Breaker and grab become a simple two-way guess.