SSBM/Ice Climbers/Introduction

Introduction

They rank 8th on the tier list (in the B tier), highly accredited to the usage of Wobbling and Desynching and the fact that the fighter is literally "two-in-one", which helps the climbers rack up damage, combo, and KO opponents; this gives the Ice Climbers one of the best grab games in Melee. Additionally, good players can quickly rack up damage with the two, and they have good approach options on the ground, due to disjointed hitboxes and two decent projectiles. The two also have a very long and floaty wavedash, aiding their approach tremendously. The Ice Climbers, however, have a poor air game, and their floatiness causes them to be vulnerable to juggling and combos.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Devastating Grab Game - While both Nana and Popo are still alive, the Ice Climbers are capable of dealing devastating amounts of damage through their hand-offs, which if performed correctly can potentially lead to very early kills Strong Burst Movement - The Ice Climbers' superb wavedash allows for them to slide across the stage very quickly, and can help them secure punishes from very large distances, alongside allowing them to escape dangerous situations when in need A Supporting Character - Nana, aside from being necessary for recovery, chaingrabs, and giving decent damage, helps in other ways. She can make attacks on her own, which mostly matters when you're getting grabbed. This makes Ice Climbers entirely immune to chaingrabs until Nana dies. Big Hammers - Despite their small size, Ice Climbers have surprisingly large disjointed hitboxes on many attacks. Well-spaced moves are therefore very likely to beat out opponents' attacks.

Reliance On Secondary Climber - Once separated from the primary climber, the secondary climber is entirely controlled by an AI that tends to be stupid and often predictable. If the secondary climber is killed early, the character is significantly weakened with many of their strengths and techniques no longer being usable until the next stock. Poor Diagonal Hitboxes - Ice Climber's moves that have diagonal hitboxes are generally rather poor. They often have bad range, bad active frames, bad startup, or a mix of these. This causes them to generally struggle to challenge many character's approach games directly as well as approach characters on platforms. Bad Air Mobility - With both poor aerial drift and fall speed, Ice Climbers can become easy prey once launched, and can struggle to attack foes on high platforms.