Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
This matchup falls apart for Roy if he throws out fair or dash attack carelessly into Sheik’s low profile, fast burst range, and needle-based resets, because Sheik can turn that into long juggle strings and edgeguard sequences that punish Roy’s weak recovery immediately.
However, Sheik’s raw damage and kill power stay low unless she keeps advantage for a long time, so Roy does not need to force a punish on every safe aerial. If he only takes the real shield punishes on jab 1, rapid jab finisher, forward tilt, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, smash attacks, up air, down air, neutral B, Up B, and down B, the damage trade becomes much more favorable for him.
Roy should use walk shield and dash-back to absorb needles and grounded bursts, then once he gets the hilt hit with jab, nair, or up tilt, keep the pressure going through juggling and ledge traps instead of letting Sheik reset space.
For kills, stable onstage finishes with back air at the ledge, anti-air up tilt or up smash, and Up B out of shield are more reliable than deep offstage chases where Sheik can reverse the edgeguard.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Roy OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 2 | -12 |
|
|
| Jab 2 | 3 | -11 |
|
|
| Rapid Jab | 5/4/9… | — | ||
| Rapid Jab Finisher | 5 | -27 |
| |
| Forward Tilt | 5 | -15 |
| |
| Up Tilt | 5/16 | -11 |
|
|
| Down Tilt | 5 | -16 |
|
|
| Dash Attack | 5 | -19 |
| |
| Forward Smash | 12/20 | -18 |
|
|
| Up Smash | 11/14 | -30 |
| |
| Down Smash | 8/15 | -28 |
| |
| Neutral Air | 3 | -3/-3 |
| |
| Forward Air | 5 | -2/-2 |
| |
| Back Air | 4 | -4/-4 |
| |
| Up Air | 4… | -11/-10 |
|
|
| Down Air | 15 | -18 |
|
|
| Neutral B | 4/7/10/13/16 (+7) | -18 |
|
|
| Side B | 13/67/70/73/76/79/82/88 | +28 |
| |
| Up B | 36/55 | -33 |
| |
| Down B | 18/26 | -39 |
| |
| Grab | 6 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 9 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 11 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Do not jump straight in with fair or dash attack after seeing needles. Use walk shield and dash-back first to make Sheik commit forward.
- After blocking jab 1, rapid jab finisher, forward tilt, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, smash attacks, up air, down air, neutral B, Up B, or down B, punish with OOS Uair (8f), OOS Nair (9f), Up B (9f), or Grab (10f).
- Once you get in, keep chasing landings with jab, nair, up tilt, and up air so Sheik does not get time to recharge needles or disengage to the side.
- At kill percent, prefer ledge back air, anti-landing up tilt or up smash, and Up B out of shield over deep edgeguards.
Actions to Avoid
- Swinging or grabbing immediately after every blocked neutral air, forward air, or back air and giving Sheik free whiff punishes off her landing drift.
- Throwing out tipper-spaced fair or dash attack into crouch or retreat, then losing the exchange because the hilt never reached.
- Overchasing juggles high above you and letting up air, Bouncing Fish, or back air flip the position so that you become the one trapped at the ledge.
- Fishing for early kills too far offstage and getting your own short recovery intercepted by needles or Bouncing Fish.