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Guides
Meta Knight Guide
Meta Knight is a wonderfully speedy character who saw a lot of great competitive play in the earlier phase of the competition. As with other short and small characters, his hitbox worked well against opponents who lacked the tools to engage him. At the same time, mobility is one of the core ideas behind the character, and his long reach, on account of his sword, provides him great opportunities for small, but consistent damage and combo potential.
Although Meta Knight might have fallen out of favor from the top end of competitive play, he is still a valuable asset for any player who can master his mobility ,recovery, and combos.
How to Unlock Meta Knight
As with any other SSBU base character, you can unlock Meta Knight three ways. Either by playing Versus matches, of which he will be the 38th one to be unlocked. By releasing him in The Mysterious Dimension in the single-player camping of the game, the World of Light. Or finally, by playing Classic mode with Link, he will be the 4th unlock.
Key Strengths & Weaknesses
Meta Knight exists as a combination of two already strong elements. Speed and range. Meta Knight's mobility is among the best in the game. He has multiple jumps alongside his already lighting fast dashing, walking, and falling speeds. His sword extends the range of his attacks quite a bit when you account for the fact his hurtbox is among the smaller ones in the cast. Meta Knight's core principle is that of using his overwhelming mobility and speed to rack up damage early, combo opponents, out of the stage and then use his great edge guarding and air fight ability to secure KOs.
Of course, there are drawbacks to it. Chief among them is his range past melee, which leads to him being out-zoned in many circumstances. The second glaring issue with his kit comes from his combo reliance. If you don't learn the basic combos and then adapt them to the percentages your opponents are at when you start them, then you will inevitably drop combos that would have given you a stock lead but now burn a hole in your own stock.
Meta Knight's fall from the top/mid-region of tiering mainly stems from players improving in more generalized areas of gameplay, the ones Meta Knight is often best suited to exploit. In prolonged fights, Meta Knight's value quickly dropped off because of his lack of strong KO moves and middling damage overall.
Meta Knight Moves
| Input | Short Description | Damage | Knockback |
| Neutral Jab | The only looping neutral in the game, it deals minimal damage but its last hit causes Meta Knight to backflip | Low | Low |
| Forward Tilt | A left-right-up slash sequence, pressing it once will only cause the first attack to happen | Low | Low |
| Up Tilt | Although it provides fairly good damage and anti-air capabilities, its one of Meta Knight's least combo-ing attacks. | Low | Low |
| Down Tilt | One of Meta Knight's best combo starters, especially at low percentages | Low | Low |
| Dash Attack | Decent damage and speed, can be used as a combo starter | Low | Low |
| Forward Smash | A slow and highly telegraph attack, but it is also one of the hardest hitting ones for the character | Medium | Medium |
| Up Smash | Three quick upward slashes | Medium | Low |
| Down Smash | A sweeping attack front and back. Works well as a roll punisher | Medium | Low |
| Neutral Air | Among the strongest neutral airs in the game thanks to being safe on shield, great off stage, and capable of KOing earlier than most | Medium | Medium |
| Forward Air | The slashes that do not autocancel on short hops | Low | Low |
| Back Air | Similar to its forward air attack | Low | Low |
| Up Air | The cornerstone of Meta Knight's rising combos, a clean-up arching sword slash | Low | Low |
| Down Air | Similar to its Up Air but directed downwards, it also comes out very quickly. | Low | Low |
| Grab | Short-range grab | - | - |
| Pummel | Fas jabs | Low | - |
| Forward Throw | Often used as a way to force edge guarding situations | Low | Low |
| Back Throw | Like his forward throw but provides a little bit more knockback | Low | Low |
| Up Throw | Can be used as a high percentage KO option | Medium | Low |
| Down Throw | At lower percentages, it can function as a combo starter | Low | Medium |
| Neutral Special | Meta Knight creates a tornado around himself, mashing will result in extended duration and some vertical momentum | Medium | Low |
| Side Special | Useful as a horizontal recovery it can be aimed up and down | Medium | Low |
| Up Special | An iconic move of his with great KO potential but easily punishable. | Medium | Medium |
| Down Special | Meta Knight uses his cape to teleport to a given direction, upon reappearing he will slash attack | High | Medium |
Best Meta Knight Moves
Trample - Down Throw
Between 0% to 5% it can be used to combo into Meta Knight's neutral special Mach Tornado, as well as many aerials moves. As such it is a good way to start combos early in stocks. Unfortunately, its knockback growth makes it harder to pull off later in a fight.
Mach Tornado - Neutral special
Meta Knight's spinning attack is a great way to add pressure in edge guarding situations, as its hitbox is fairly large. If it's a clean hit it will deal 12% damage while a late hit will only do 8%. The main issue to keep in mind is that it will leave Meta Knight helpless for its duration, meaning he can't perform any other actions for a time except grab the ledge.
Shuttle Loop - Up special
Its damage, range, and speed combine to make a great KO move for Meta Knight, often times you should be using it as a way to end combos for a bit more damage, but only when you feel confident you can connect the two hits, otherwise the move is easily punishable. It is useful as an out-of-shield option as well.
Meta Knight Core Combos
- Down Air, Neutral Air, Dash Attack, Up Air
- Down Throw, Forward Air, Dash Attack, Up Air 2x, Neutral Air
- Neutral Air, Forward Tilt
- Up Tilt 2x
- Down Throw, Forward Air, Dash attack, Up Air 4x, Neutral Special
Playing Against Meta Knight
Meta Knight's key weakness is his endurance in a prolonged fight. Once he is heavily damaged and vulnerable to quick KOs from his opponent, his value as a combo-reliant fighter greatly diminishes. Characters who can stay in the fight and have access to KO options at higher percentages will be able to overpower him. Cloud and joker fit those parameters. On the other hand, characters with great keep-away tools and zoning will also put a stop or at least compromise his speed. Pikachu, Ness, and Palutena can fill those roles.