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Wolf

Jab1 (-14), Jab2 (-17) & Jab3 (-25):
NAir (Frame 7)

FTilt (-19):
Grab (Frame 16)

UTilt (-18):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

DTilt (-16):
GSA (Frame 9)
Grab (Frame 16)

Dash Attack (-16):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
(This move can cross up)

FSmash (-10):
GSA (Frame 9)
(This move has a lot of pushback)

USmash (-29 Initial Hit, -19 Last Hit):
GSA (Frame 9)
Grab (Frame 16)

DSmash (-18/-12):
Grab (Frame 16)
(DSmash2 is safe when spaced)

NAir (-4):
Unpunishable
(Safe on shield)

FAir (-6):
Unpunishable
(Safe on shield)

BAir (-10):
NAir (Frame 7)
(Drift can make this move safer)

UAir (-5):
Unpunishable
(Safe on shield)

DAir (-14):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

Blaster (-24):
Unpunishable
(Projectile usage)

Wolf Flash (--):
--

Fire Wolf (-24):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)
Grab (Frame 16)
Dash Attack (Frame 19)

Reflector (-19):
GSA (Frame 9)
USmash (Frame 10)

• Neutral Moves: Blaster, Aerials, Tilts, Shine, Jab, Dash Attack, Grab.

• Kill Moves: BAir, UAir, BThrow, Smash Attacks, Dash Attack, FTilt, UTilt.

• Kill Confirms: FAir > DAir/BAir, NAir/FAir > Wolf Flash.

• Blaster allows Wolf to control the pace of neutral and answer camping from afar. It is transcendent, meaning it will go through projectiles (although Bomb absorbs it). Shorthop goes over it.

• Wolf can use Blaster to learn about the opponent’s comfort or panic defensive options around the it. This information can be used to find openings in close quarters combat, or can be bait and punished.

• Fire Arrow can be used to trade damage with Blaster and gain information about the opponent’s hitstun/landing habits, but is not sufficient in the long-term due to the higher damage.

• Because of this, Wolf’s Blaster nullifies long-term gameplans at long-range. Fighting Wolf is moreso about the midrange and footsies game most of the time.

• Wolf’s Reflector isn’t a core part of his gameplan, since he doesn’t get much reward from reflecting projectiles most of the time. If anything, if a projectile gets reflected, it’s a sign that the current projectile usage is a bit predictable.

• Wolf’s speed, combined with Blaster, gives him tools for almost all situations, allowing him to create a gameplan that best addresses the opponent’s habits and gameplan.

• Wolf’s Grab game is a major part of his gameplan. He can use it to tech chase (FThrow), combo (DThrow/UThrow) and kill (BThrow). Wolf can threaten Grabs well because of his landing aerials (-4 NAir, -6 FAir).

• Fighting Wolf usually takes place at footsies and midrange. Young Link’s normals can outspace or out-frame data Wolf’s moves, and Wolf’s out of shield game can’t punish Young Link directly most of the time, although Wolf’s airspeed makes jumps out of shield strong for him.

• Young Link’s BAir, NAir, and FAir are his best tools to scrap with Wolf in the air, and Jab/Dash Attack/DTilt can be used to catch Wolf’s movement on the ground.

• Projectiles are not necessarily a go-to vs Wolf, and are more so a response to initial gameplans in neutral.

• Boomerang is mostly used for catching Wolf’s jump-ins while closing the distance. Keep in mind that Wolf’s attributes allow him to punish Boomerang consistently at mid-range.

• Fire Arrow can be used to catch Wolf’s landings from afar and his initial dashes in.

• BAir is Wolf’s hard callout tool. Although it’s not safe on Young Link’s shield, it has extreme kill power. Wolf can use landing BAir from a fullhop or shorthop to hard punish projectile usage at midrange.

• Wolf’s shorthop rising BAir autocancels.

• Young Link wants to engage in close quarters combat, but he’ll mostly have to play neutral at midrange. You can intercept his landing aerials with your own NAir, beaten by Wolf’s early aerial.

• You can deal with his landing aerials in a few ways, usually outspacing and punishing his landing with options like pivot Grab and jump back Boomerang. Parries can also lead to out of shield punishes if they get predictable with their aerial timing, but he has mix-ups like tomahawk Grab and fast close quarters combat hitboxes.

Boxing
(How do I escape this situation?):

• Wolf’s DThrow (and FThrow at later percents) set up for tech chases. DI up/up and away when possible to avoid these tech chases.

• At low %s, DI down on DThrow to tech sooner.

• Be careful with committing to projectiles in the corner. Wolf can punish startup/endlag of projectiles in the corner (or can use BAir to catch fullhops).

• Wolf will look to exploit habits and comfort options when he has stage control (information gained potentially through blaster). One of these common habits Wolf will exploit is shielding. Wolf can punish repeated shielding with Grabs.

• Wolf’s FTilt can be angled and has a noticeable amount of range, backed by killpower. Wolf can use it to catch dashbacks, whiff punish, etc. If blocked with shield, use Grab out of shield to punish.

• Take the space that Wolf gives you in corner pressure. Wolf wants to incite panic/fear to force out vulnerable options. Use fast moves to catch his approaches, or use empty movement to get around Wolf.

Landing

(How do they cover it? What are my best options?):

• Wolf can trap landings with FTilt, Grab, and Dash Attack.

• Wolf can use BAir to catch landings horizontally. He can use it to punish projectile usage preemptively.

• Wolf’s UAir is his main juggling tool. It’s fast, and although it doesn’t have a lot of range, it beats out Young Link’s DAir. Wolf can position it quickly with his speed.

• Try to react to his jumps, predict UAirs and neutral airdodge; the move has a fair amount of endlag, so you shouldn’t get frame trapped (Wolf can still empty hop to bait the airdodge).

Platform Pressure

(What tools do they have? How can we escape this pressure?):

• Wolf can hit platforms with his shorthop aerials, most notably his rising short hop BAir, which kills and autocancels.

• Wolf’s UAir can be platform dropped or used from below to pressure and poke shields. Wolf can also poke from below the platform with UTilt and USmash.

• Additionally, Wolf can land on the platform and pressure with landing Aerials or Grab.

• Wolf can chase down Young Link moving off of the platforms with his speed. It’s often better to reposition without using moves, so that Wolf can’t catch the endlag of moves.

• He can also use NAir the same way we do to chase around platforms and cover multiple (tech) options.

• UTilt and USmash both hit platforms without being at risk of being punished directly, though you’ll get a window to escape the platform.

Offstage

(How Do I Escape This Position And What Do I Look Out For?):

• Be wary of Wolf’s Blaster when sent offstage, as it can eat double jumps.

• Wolf’s FTilt at ledge can catch ASA if misspaced slightly too high above the ledge.

• Wolf will mainly edgeguard with NAir, using his airspeed to position the NAir. Wolf can also use NAir to intercept tether recoveries.

• Wolf can cover the area below the ledge with DAir to beat out low recoveries.

• A common edgeguarding setup from Wolf is to fullhop Blaster to encourage low recoveries, and then punish with double jump NAir offstage. Mix up double jump timings, or go over the initial Blaster to avoid the setup.

• Conserve double jump when offstage and mix up aerial drift.

Ledge:

• Wolf’s ledge trapping is a combination of moves with good coverage and low risk high reward reads. By staying mostly stationary, Wolf can threaten both BAir and FTilt, as well as Grab on neutral getup.

• Wolf can hit ledge with DSmash, DTilt, FTilt, and Dash Attack.

• Wolf’s USmash at ledge covers getup, jump, and ledge roll.

• Wolf’s NAir at ledge covers getup and jump; you can double jump UAir to beat it.

• He can SH BAir autocancel with high reward and low lag; you don’t get a window to get off of the ledge if he whiffs it, you have to keep thinking about the next option he’ll cover.

Juggling/Boxing:

• Wolf’s fast airspeed allows for quick cross ups. Be strict with corner pressure spacing, preventing Wolf from crossing up.

• Wolf can burst out of the corner with Dash Attack or Grab.

• Positional pressure is Young Link’s best tool against Wolf in corner pressure. Although projectiles are strong for controlling airspace and approaches from Wolf, he can bypass them quickly.

• Wolf is both a fast faller and fast in the air. This means Wolf takes less time to land, while being able to mix up his landing position in more ways. Additionally, this strengthens the mix-up of fast fall or no fast fall, because Wolf can land quickly with fast fall, or drift away from the opponent with no fast fall.

• Wolf lacks an aerial that can cover below himself, meaning UAir can be used to juggle him.

• However, often times Young Link will be too far away to use landing UAir in time, especially if Wolf fast falls. If this is the case, opt to trap Wolf’s landing with a grounded normal (Jab, DTilt, UTilt, Dash Attack), Fire Arrow, or Grab.

• The reverse hit of UTilt can be used to catch Wolf’s jump ins.

• When Wolf is landing from above with an aerial—and if there’s enough time to react—flicker shield to parry a lingering NAir for a hard punish.

• Wolf can alter his landing momentum with B-Reverse Blaster, and can use Reflector to turnaround midair.

Offstage:

• Be wary of Wolf Flash when edgeguarding. If Wolf connects with Wolf Flash, Young Link will be spiked, and Wolf will make it back to the ledge. However, NAir can usually beat out Wolf Flash. Be ready to tech if Wolf Flash doesn’t spike, and instead stage spikes.

• Identify where Wolf can’t recover with Fire Wolf. This means that either Wolf Flash is imminent, or Wolf will go lower for Fire Wolf, which can be covered in time with NAir or FAir.

• When Wolf is forced to Fire Wolf directly up, and Young Link is at ledge, use double jump DAir to beat it.

• Fire Wolf can hit opponents standing at the ledge.

• When ledgetrapping Wolf, do not let Wolf cross up.

• Use stage control to ledgetrap Wolf, as standing at ledge can allow Wolf to cross up Young Link.

• Use dash ins to the ledge to bait immediate options off of the ledge.

Ledge Info:

XLR8’s Spreadsheet Young Link Ledge Info:

DTilt: Yes (Specific)

DSmash: Yes

FTilt: Yes

Most Reliable Move: FTilt

Animation Info: N/A

Note: Hard, FTilt most forgiving.

• FD DTilt ASA %s: 108, 98

• FD FThrow Ledge %s: 178, 149

• FD Milkshake %s: 100-132, 90-117

• Wolf Kill Throws: BThrow, 130-180 depending on stage position and rage.

• Young Link can shorthop over Wolf’s Blaster.

*Note: Wolf doesn’t necessarily have a bad stage. Most stage picks are indifferent in the MU, and thus are comfort picks.

• Battlefield:
  Terrible. Platforms give Wolf combo extensions, strong pressure, and forces Young Link to ledge more often. Wolf can shark Young Link on triplats well with UAir and BAir. Rule of thumb is to avoid triplats against Wolf.

• Final Destination:
  Indifferent. Without platforms, Wolf can’t shark them from below, meaning his advantage is more based around trapping landings. Flat stages offer less counterplay to projectiles, making Wolf’s approaches slightly more linear vs Young Link.

• Smashville:
  Terrible. The small stage width and center platform give little breathing room against Wolf, which can exaggerate Young Link’s disadvantage state in the MU.

• Town & City:
  Indifferent. Large stage layout isn’t a significant advantage here. Both characters gain from the small side blast zones. The platform layout is not so problematic.

• Lylat Cruise:
  Indifferent. Slants can extend the working distance of Fire Arrows, and prevents Wolf from using Blaster on the ground in the corner. This benefits neutral, but the stage layout can make disadvantage worse for Young Link.

• Pokémon Stadium 2:
  Indifferent. Likely the most even stage pick in the MU. This stage offers good stage width for interacting with Wolf and getting off of platforms.

• Kalos Pokémon League:
  Indifferent. Comfortable for Young Link, but Wolf arguably benefits from wall jumping more than Young Link. The flat stage seems solid in this MU. The platforms are useful for getting off of the ledge, as well.

• Yoshi’s Story:
  Terrible. Same reasons as BF.

• Young Link vs Wolf Matches VOD Playlist: YL vs Wolf Matches

• (Wolfcord Resources): Wolf DA vs Ledge Hang

• (Wolfcord Resources) Wolf Tech Chase Options Spreadsheet: Wolf Tech Chase