A Beginner's Guide to Beating Cloud
CTQ - May 8, 2017Cloud. Some call him the easiest to play character in the game, some say he’s overrated, some say he should be nerfed. Whatever you think, you’ll certainly run across Clouds in your time as a player.
Cloud has overwhelming strengths: his combos, juggling ability, and Limit. However, he has one definite weakness, and you already know what it is. His recovery is not only short, it is very punishable. This is the first and most important thing about beating Cloud: punish his recovery. Learn what your character’s best option for edgeguarding is, and use it. His recovery is so poor vertically that he cannot airdodge below the ledge at any time, unless he has a jump. Use this to your advantage by guaranteeing a drag on him if you have such a move, such as Fox’s fair or Meta Knight’s bair. If you can’t edgeguard or drag, there is one more potential option that you can use. If Cloud up-b’s high enough, he will uncontrollably fly up past the ledge. If you see this, you can grab him out of the air and air release him without him gaining his jump back. Shield the up-b, and then as he’s falling, time a grab. This can kill at fairly low percents. This will for the most part only work against low-level Clouds who struggle to grab ledge. If you have a slow grab or percentage isn’t very high, you can punish this with some quick aerial or tilt.
That about covers what you can do on the attack, but what about defense? With Cloud’s up-air juggles, he can rack up damage quickly. The main thing to avoid the combos is to shield often. Cloud doesn’t have great shield pressure options or grab-started combos, so shielding can stop those strong combos from starting. Once he has you above him, however, you are in a difficult spot. The main thing to do is DI away from him and look for a spot to airdodge an up air him. If you can get below him, a fastfall can end the juggle, or at worst force him to end the juggle with a nair. Don't spam airdodge, however, because it can be read if you are going for it too much. It's all a big mixup to get out of juggles.
As for Limit, projectiles are your best options. If your character has projectiles of any kind, throw them at Cloud as he’s charging Limit. Cloud can only do two things out of charge: shield and roll. However, with shielding, he can grab, jump-cancel up smash, or jump-cancel up-b. None of these options can counter projectiles, so in order to stop the projectile attack, he will have to stop charging. If you play a character with no projectiles, you will have to come in with a quick move. Almost every time you throw out an attack on a charging Cloud, he will shield or roll. You can then follow up with a grab, and that can lead to an edgeguard.
Now, let’s say he’s fully charged Limit. What are your options here? Well, there are two different ways to approach this. One, you can go in on the attack and force him to use it for recovery. Two, you can play defensive and wait for him to waste it. There are pros and cons to both sides. If you are at kill percent, you should probably play it safe. LCS can kill at around 70% and above (obviously, varying on weight and proximity to the blastline). If you are willing to potentially take over 20% off of one punish, either because you are at low percents or because you need to go on the attack for whatever reason, go in and see if you can push him offstage. This basically comes down to you, and what playstyle you hold. Think about it yourself, and make a decision based on that.
Thanks for reading. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
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