When we look to improve our main in Melee, it is crucial to know which matchups favour our own character and how to deal with those that are disadvantageous to us. As we go further down the tier list, our matchup knowledge starts to flake away; lack of this knowledge is a common problem for competitors. Sometimes, it comes down to the non-top tier characters not having as much research or information about them online. We favour the more popular matchups and fail to get into the intricacies of the less viable characters.

Although Samus is not low tier, she's not one of the more frequent characters to run into in bracket; only two of the top 100 main her and it's rare to see her being played in pools. Whether you're playing as Samus or against her, there's little information put into her development which makes it tricky for players and opponents to understand her.

We got Hugo "HugS" Gonzalez to talk to us so that aspiring Samus players could look to conquer their pools matches while educating the non-Samus mains on the punch this character packs!

Playing Samus seems to be a lot of work, though her tools are tricky to deal with sometimes, her matchups seem very rarely in her favour. Which character is Samus’s worst matchup and what saving graces does she have?

HugS: I'd say that Jigglypuff is Samus's worst matchup. The main reason for this is that Samus is lacking any reliable kill setups, and most KO options are extremely risky. All smash attacks can be rested out of shield, and any failed grab attempts can also lead to a rest from Puff. The best option Samus has is to charge a shot and utilize it to limit options and hopefully connect for a KO.

How do you fight in that matchup? How do you adjust your playstyle to survive against Jigglypuff?

HugS: I aim for trading situations in the neutral because Jigglypuff typically loses trade wars since she gets KO'd at a much lower percent than other characters. Once I get to a percentage where I can launch Jigglypuff far away, I use these openings to charge my shot. With a charge shot handy, I am a much bigger threat to KOing Jigglypuff, and I can control some of her aerial mobility with the charge shot threat.

Which other characters does Samus struggle with? How do you deal with them?

HugS: Another matchup that Samus struggles in is the Falcon matchup. Characters typically have difficulty comboing Samus, but Falcon is the exception, and many easy setups can lead to early KOs. In this sense, Falcon negates two of Samus's greatest strengths, the ability to avoid combos, and the ability to live long. The best way that I've found to play against Falcon as Samus is to play a very low commitment style. It'll involve a lot of movement, smart defensive shield play, and either counter hits or guaranteed setup moves on reaction. You simply can't gamble on any laggy, committal moves without being certain that they will land.

To overcome Samus’s bad matchups, what do you utilise to the fullest? What are her pros as a character?

HugS: A general pro of the character that may help even in losing matchups is the fact that Samus can survive to high percentage, and with proper DI, can avoid many combos.

With all the negatives out of our way, let's look at her advantages! What is Samus’ best matchup and what allows Samus to do so well against that particular character?

HugS: Of the matchups that are relevant in the current meta, Samus does not dominate any. However, she can be strong in several if played correctly. One important matchup she can win is the Marth matchup. While Marth typically wins the neutral, Samus can survive to extremely high percentages, and effectively has more chances to win exchanges that can lead to ending a Marth stock. A simple way I look at the matchup is that I seemingly have 6 stocks vs a Marth's 4.

What are good techniques and tips to keep in mind when fighting Marth?

HugS: Some keys to the matchup include good timings to crouch cancel Marth's attempts to open you up in the neutral, and staying grounded, rarely getting caught in the air to avoid Marth's big damage combos and juggling. It's important to note Marth's patterns to catch him shielding, avoiding dash dance baits, and keeping him honest by calling out his double jumps with your own aerials.

To address aspiring Samus players, what kind of things would you tell them to learn aside from ‘just practice’? Specifically, what would you tell them to learn first that would aid them in their harder matchups?

HugS: The more important things to learn when dealing with hard matchups would be to learn proper DI to mitigate the damage received and positioning yourself in ways that give you an advantage with your moveset rather than relying on your moveset to create opportunities. Also lastly, it's most important to understand the full extent of your moveset and how your tools work in specific situations.

What kind of approach do you have to learning matchups you don’t know? How do you try to overcome them?

HugS: For me, the best way to learn matchups I don't know is to watch other Samuses like Duck, Plup, and a few others to learn from their approaches. I then add the ideas they're coming up with into my own gameplan to see how I would best utilize it.

Most characters find the more common matchups to be their favourite as they have more practice against them such as Fox and Falco, even though they are considered two of the strongest characters in the game. Does this ring true for Samus also or is the uphill battle still a little too strong against the common high tiers? How does Samus do against the spacies?

HugS: Samus actually does well versus spacies, which is a big reason why she's remained relevant for so long no matter how the meta advances. It's a big advantage to be so familiar with and have a character that's competitive in the most relevant matchups in the game.

What kind of tools does Samus have against projectile heavy characters? Samus can be very projectile heavy herself but does it depend on the kind of projectile? Does she deal better with some and not others? Are they all hard/easy to deal with?

HugS: Samus does fine versus projectiles because, even though her missiles are typically slower than other projectiles, they are powerful, and the mere act of throwing one out forces the opponent to shift gears and react. This concept of interfering, rather than outright beating projectiles, is a theme that's relevant in all matchups where projectiles are a factor. Once she interrupts, she can take the opportunity to move in close and start playing her grounded tilt game.

Despite the mountain that Samus has to climb to beat her bad matchups, she still has a great array of tools that has helped Samus mains such as HugS, Duck and formerly Plup to succeed to where they are today. Stay strong Samus mains, and good luck in your brackets!

Follow Hugs on Twitter and Twitch to keep up with his competitive career and daily updates!