How to Beat Mewtwo

---

Mewtwo is the hot bandwagon character of the moment, and a lot of players are picking him up. Most players aren't aware of Mewtwo's options and the options they have against him, so I'm writing this as a guide to help players adapt to the matchup.

So why would I, a Mewtwo main since day 1, help other players to beat my character?

Basically, I don't like bandwagon players, and I like them less when they think they can use my character. I also think Mewtwo, while much better than he was at release, is still being overrated because of players' unfamiliarity with the way he plays.

I'm going to go first through general gameplan through different stages of the game, then look at specific moves and your options against them.

1: Stages
2: Neutral
3: Advantage
4: Disadvantage
5: Offstage
6: Confusion
7: Disable
8: Down Tilt
9: Up Smash
10: Neutral Air
11: Back Air
12: Up Throw
13: Counterpicks

1: Stages

Mewtwo's preferred stage is usually Battlefield. He covers the platforms well, lives longer, and can protect himself against some aerial approaches by sitting under the platforms. Watch out for Confusion on this stage; since it's a command grab, it can hit players shielding on the platforms. Also, certain characters get dumped on the side platforms when they get Confused under them, setting up for an easy Up Smash. Lots of players take Mewtwo here because they're scared of Up Throw--think twice about it.

Mewtwo also likes Dream Land. The ceiling is not as high as Battlefield, so it doesn't interfere with Up Throw and Up Smash kill percents, and he can still live longer off the sides. The platforms are higher, which causes people to fall out of Up Smash if Mewtwo uses it under them. Because of that, his platform coverage is not as threatening here, but it is still very good. Be ready to get counterpicked here.

Mewtwo usually likes Town & City. The ceiling is low, and the stage is wide and gives him space to keep distance. Mewtwo kills earlier here, but he also dies earlier, so whether to pick this stage will depend on whether your character can kill more reliably. I'd recommend it for characters like Robin and Donkey Kong.

On Smashville, watch out for Confusion while on the platform, and watch out especially for Forward Air, which kills early here and can net super-early kills by chaining them offstage, a la Sheik. Otherwise, this is a good choice against Mewtwo. The stage is small and if you kill off the side, he'll die very early.

Final Destination is ideal to pick against Mewtwo if you are mobile enough to catch his landing and avoid Shadow Ball. If you are a heavy, he might pick it against you.

Lylat Cruise used to be Mewtwo's worst stage, since the stage tilting both eats Shadow Balls and can hinder his autocancels on his aerials. Now that he has less landing lag, the latter isn't much of a problem for him. He likes the platforms and can Up Smash through them, so avoid staying on them. A solid pick against Shadow Ball-heavy Mewtwos.

Mewtwo's worst stage is Duck Hunt. The ducks eat Shadow Balls, the walls hinder his edgeguarding by allowing characters to tech and wall jump or cling, the tree is difficult for him to reach, and the flattening of the Z-Axis makes his hurtbox larger. If he doesn't ban it, pick it.

2: Neutral

At the start of the game, most Mewtwos like to charge Shadow Ball. In doing so, they are sacrificing stage control. Get up to them and try to keep them from crossing you up. As long as you can do so, their options will be restricted.

Mewtwo wants to stay grounded and stop approaches with Down Tilt and Shadow Ball. This is his Plan A. Safe SH approaches will force him off this plan. If you have a disjointed Forward Air or Back Air and a low short hop, it will be very difficult for Mewtwo to deal with.

Mewtwo does not like being crossed up. Forward Roll is effective. Against crossup his best option is Neutral Air, which can easily be beaten out by any hitbox or rolled away from.

Mewtwo's out-of-shield options are poor. His shield grab range is terrible. He has access to Up Smash and Neutral Air, but both are beaten by half-decent spacing. Don't be scared to pressure Mewtwo's shield.

Mewtwo's best anti-air is short hop Forward Air. It has poor range vertically, so there's a very specific area in which it's dangerous. For most characters, it's the peak of the short hop. It's punishable, so bait it out.

Mewtwo's SHAD (short hop air dodge) is very good. He can do all his aerials except Down Air out of it. A lot of people mistake Teleport and SHAD for some reason. SHAD has a smaller animation. Keep an eye on the spark that appears and you'll know where he's going. A long-lasting hitbox will beat it out.

If Mewtwo fires a Shadow Ball at you from a distance, DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT reflect it.

At high percents, be wary of dash grab and dash Up Smash. A good grounded poke beats both. If you see Down Smash, remember that it's got very good endlag and might not be punishable.

3: Advantage

If Mewtwo chases you in the air with an aerial, challenging it with your own aerial can work well. Hitboxes beat Neutral Air, and Back Air's disjoint is small.

Nothing is true out of Down Throw and Confusion. Jump out of them. Yoshi can jump out of Forward Throw as well.

Mewtwo is mobile horizontally, but vertically he can't chase very well. If you're high in the air, you're probably safe.

Watch out for Up Smash and Shadow Ball on landing, particularly if you've used your double jump.

4: Disadvantage

Mewtwo's main tool to land is his mobility. If you can catch him, you can keep him in the air for a long time.

Because of Mewtwo's big hurtbox, average fall speed (he's not floaty) and lack of fast options in the air, he is very easy to combo at low percents.

Mewtwo will Confusion to change direction in midair and might Teleport to the ground. In both cases, don't get juked into overcommitting and you can punish easily.

Mewtwo has no good way to cover his landing. Neutral Air loses to hitboxes, Forward Air is linear and easy to position around, and Down Air and Shadow Ball are slow.

Mewtwo's double jump is awkward for jumping out of strings because it starts slow and sends him very high. He might not be able to jump out of certain things.

The ledge is a terrible place for Mewtwo to be. His ledge options are strangely laggy and easier to punish than most characters. His ledge roll in particular is atrocious.

Remember that kill percent for Mewtwo is going to be a lot earlier than with most characters. Depending on how you plan to kill him, start thinking about it as early as 60 or 70%.

5: Offstage

Mewtwo's edgeguarding is very good. Be aware that he can go as deep as he needs to.

Horizontally, Mewtwo is likely to edgeguard with Forward or Back Air. Vertically he'll mostly use Neutral Air but also can spike with Down Air. If you can survive Neutral Air gimps, recovering low is the safest.

Mewtwo's recovery is difficult to challenge. If you try, remember that his recovery is better horizontally than vertically. Footstools can be very effective if you get him as he jumps. Don't commit too hard; Mewtwo's double jump and third jump (Confusion) gives him a lot of time to counter-edgeguard.

For most characters, the best option will be to wait at the ledge and take advantage of Mewtwo's awful ledge game. When you're standing by the ledge, watch out for Back Air and Confusion; both have deceptive reach below the ledge.

6: Confusion

First of all, Confusion is Side B. It's the thing where Mewtwo moves his hand and a big round wave appears in front of him. A lot of people confuse it with Disable, his Down B. Ir's not.

Confusion is an important tool to watch out for in certain matchups because it's a reflector that can serve other purposes and can be used in neutral. This means that, unlike Fox for example, Mewtwo doesn't necessarily need a read to make using projectiles dangerous. If you're Olimar, you hate this move.

Confusion is -5 on hit. That means that it can't combo into anything, and in certain situations you can actually frame trap Mewtwo for using it. If you're just above the ground, for example, a fast ranged Forward Air like Diddy Kong's will force Mewtwo to airdodge into the ground.

Normally, though, the safest option is to just jump away.

7: Disable

Disable is very dangerous and will kill you as early as 60%. It also has long range (a bit longer than the animation). The catch is that it will whiff if you're turned around and is not threatening if you're in the air. It's also slowish (F16) and very punishable on shield.

Also, it's a projectile. So if you happen to teflect it, it will stun Mewtwo instead.

8: Down Tilt

Down Tilt is Mewtwo's best move and the pillar of his neutral. It's frame 6, and safe on shield if spaced. It loses to crossup Forward Roll, short hop, and shield if you get close. Only the tip is disjointed, so standing outside the range and poking the tail is an option once you know the range well.

9: Up Smash

Up Smash is F9 and kills very early. Watch out for sliding dash Up Smash. If it misses or you shield it, punish hard.

You can airdodge through Up Smash, just try not to land right next to Mewtwo.

Up Smash is slightly disjointed, but you can beat it out pretty easily from above. Yoshi's Down Air does it.

You can fall out of Up Smash sometimes, but SDI doesn't do very much. It's more situation dependent.

10: Neutral Air

Neutral Air is safe if it crosses up your shield. It combos into a lot of stuff and there isn't too much you can do about it. It doesn't hurt to try SDI though.

Neutral Air is a very complicated move that causes knockback based on a variety of factors, including the way you and Mewtwo are facing and your momentum. Ideally, Mewtwo positions himself so that you land right in front of him, facing him. This can lead to Down Tilt, Up Tilt, Grab, or the now-famous Footstool-Disable. The latter is very hard, particularly on short characters, and the average Mewtwo won't be able to do it with any consistency or probably at all.

Full hop Neutral Air leads into Forward Air, Back Air, or Confusion at low percents and is a common follow-up off Down Tilt.

Remember that Nair is easily challenged with just about any hitbox, and rolling can avoid it with just enough time to punish.

11: Back Air

Back Air is commonly used to pressure platforms and chase in the air. It looks a lot better than it is. The bottom half of the hitbox is missing, so short hop Back Air will whiff on most characters.

Like all of Mewtwo's tail attacks, Back Air is only disjointed at the tip. Even at long range, it can be beaten out by Yoshi's Down Air. (I hate Yoshi's Down Air).

What it does have is a large hitbox above Mewtwo. It actually reaches higher than Up Air. Mewtwo can hit the top platform in Battlefield off a short hop with this, as well as hit through the ledge. (This is especially hilarious on Lylat)

Bair is also kind of slow, at F13.

12: Up Throw

Mewtwo's Up Throw is the standard choice for closing out stocks. I've noticed a lot of people (especially commentators) overestimate the kill power of this move. With no rage, good DI, and a standard ceiling, Mario dies at 135%. Add 5% for Battlefield, subtract 8% for Town & City. Rage will lower the kill percent by up to about 25%.

Something else to note is that Mewtwo's pummel is weird and seems to accelerate breaking out faster than it should. I've had people break out immediately after 2 pummels at 120%. So don't forget to mash.

13: Counterpicks

Mewtwo's worst matchup is Donkey Kong. In addition to killing Mewtwo as early as 45% with Ding Dong, he also outranges Mewtwo on the ground and in the air, and his frame data is not appreciably worse than Mewtwo's.

I would also recommend Yoshi, Bowser, Greninja, Kirby, and Mario.

I hope this was useful, and I wish everyone the best of luck in bodying all the Newtwos.

--RayNoire

Reply · Report Post