How to ACTUALLY Learn Matchups

[@xjgal7702]

This comes out on my birthday, I accept your thoughtful gift Papa Lotion

[@ColorWheelHero]

One of my favorite things about learning MUs is when you learn something that effects your gameplan against MULTIPLE MUs. For example, I main Ganon. Projectile MUs aren't easy, so a couple years back, I was tryna find out how to. I was playing against a Brawler friend of mine, and he'd Shotput my recovery EVERY time. So, I attempted to hit it back. And that's when I personally found out Ganon does a pretty good job clanking most projectiles. I then found out afterwards that I can easily clank Min Min's ARMs, which immediately took a weight off from that MU. Sorry for the lengthy comment lol. Fantastic video!

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

this is not a lengthy comment lol. fantastic comment

[@ColorWheelHero]

@@undeniablySomeGuy appreciate it!

[@hoyeahdude1]

superb observation brother, i learned something 💯

[@TimG57867]

7:30 Also you are *SPITTIN* . It's actually crazy how often ya see questions that could easily have been answered if people bothered to just do a quick peak of existing resources or discussion lol.

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

I haven't played smash in like a year, but this makes me want to pick up the game again...

[@NonJohns]

fr I feel the same way

[@junidip]

same.

[@TimG57867]

6:50 Man this one gets me hard. As frequent contributor to MU knowledge discussion in Kirby Discord it honestly blows my mind how often I see people ask "How do I beat X?" I often give a long response but less because I actually deem it to be the appropriate thing to do each time but more because since they're already asking a vague quesiton, I might as well go all out and take the opportunity to challenge my own knowledge of a matchup and make something worth referencing later. But as you say, it's shocking how often this gets asked as it reflects the lack of effort people made to try and research the MU themselves. At least enough that they can ask for a precise thing to address what's screwing them over. "How do I beat X" is really not a good question cause rarely does someone actually need to know every single thing about a matchup. It's often just 1 or 2 things eluding someone but since they didn't bother to figure out they actually need to learn you often have to just throw darts at the wall until something starts to click.

[@madpoops]

Amazing video! I play friendlies a LOT, and people always ask me simple questions that are matchup related. It's really hard to answer questions that have little context, and they just ask: "what do I do in this matchup?" or "what do you think about this matchup?", especially since some of these people's mu knowledge can sum up to just the number that some youtuber put on a matchup chart. I definitely share similar values as you about mu charts and it was really neat to hear you explain it so clearly. Your analysis on friendlies for improving matchups was also very helpful and well explained! This also really inspired me to maybe start documenting things, I may give notion a try!

[@C-Vite]

You know YT be giving out good recommendations when you see a 1 year comeback

[@Error_Detected404]

I play at my school's esports team tomorrow, hopefully this helps update: been playing a while as of writing this, managed to do really well in crew battles. I'm gonna use this to try and learn the Luigi MU, hoping things go great

[@oneshott.v.gaming2081]

Yo, same! But I play next week, lol.

[@m0tivational848]

Good luck!

[@oneshott.v.gaming2081]

@m0tivational848 same too you man!

[@fupalover]

What happened?

[@Error_Detected404]

@@fupalover turns out it was just informational and so I didn't get to play, but that just gives me more time to work on matchups I know I'll suck in

[@darking9978]

Yoooo my school esports season start tmr! I can't wait to destroy everyone with greninja. Thank you Apolotion!

[@IzWarped]

Perfect timing on this, just made an app for taking notes on Matchups

[@Eggroll3s]

Excellent video. Definitely sharing this with the people in the FGC because a LOT of them don't know how to deal with matchups. My favorite part was when you showed off your custom graphics and word docs for MUs with your character. 100% gonna do that more

[@Syrup-n3t]

The goat is back, I rember watching this channel when I was in a dark time so to see you back makes me happy

[@AkrozeSmash]

Dude this is legitimately one of the most helpful videos I’ve ever seen, and now I feel a bit shown up 😅 I’m subbing

[@LewisGeter]

Banger video. I've literally been applying all of these tips before this video even came out. Can't recommend it enough.

[@grimsmith7565]

Very well put together video the way you explained everything is exactly what i was telling myself while i was thuggin out some matchups with marth you've earned my sub i really wish i could leave my country more often to play versus different players and learn matchups and expand my knowledge on a whole but such is life

[@antonincochon7134]

I'm actually so hyped this comes out ! You're my GOAT ✨ Apply Lotion ✨ your work is unvaluably helpful ! Love from France ❤️

[@Agent_A_SSB]

Excellent video my guy, love how you breakdown the various avenues of success to succeed in matchups.

[@richardszoghy1907]

19:59 HOLY SHIT THAT'S SO GOOD I LOVE THAT

[@trianglburger19]

Now to find someone to talk about all of the dedede matchups

[@mokatta17]

It’s about TIME, welcome back Mr meta❤🔥

[@cocoapuff5853]

As of right now 21:00 the only problem of mine is labbing and theory crafting. You provided a lot of key details on how you should think about a problem and how to solve it by using someones else's data so far providing that you can go find resources in character discords, using vod review from smashtube to find specfic interactions or interactions in general that help the character out. Also you provided two good ways to organize data one for general mu notes and the other is for vod review notes(though i may disagree with the layout as showing the sequence is a bit more choatic and feel that it doesnt entirely explain why it is good) the only problem for labbing is that you do provide examples but how did u find these ideas in the first place not everyone has the thought process of oh let me fair and that brings out buffer side step so i can use my body movement to narely miss an attack. Like that entire thing does not seem possible or like the flow chart of going from one idea to the next is a bit obscurred. but i know there is something because you obviously have data to back it up. Like the nair situation? where did u get ideas for knowing that let me undershoot nair here to get gnw to drop shield so u can jab to punish, or nair lingering hitbox to safetly drift past him, after 1 move x you can use y to shield poke him after. For me where did u get these ideas? how did u find the solution there should be a process as most things can be labeled as such and thinking outside the box [even though this pisses me off for the amount i get asked this] is not an acceptable answer. Also this all sound like unique options as well, not to mention unique sequences [ i just started learning about sequences] ig this also feeds into the other my friend told me is to talk to as many people as possible. the last thing is how do you know what ur character has compared to other characters? i dont think my character has the ability to move left or right, my character can not really use glidestep, again i think this may be due to a lack of thought process or flow. I also want to state that i am a character that is supposed to camp but i want to play aggressively basically some of the video game the impression that i could if i think about my moves play aggressive. After the idea you will need to encorporate it in order to learn it as well. so now my question is resources - vod review - search for the answer to ur problem, or find a common solution-- lab that solution/theroy craft (using whatever answers your head comes up with[ ig how do u know if its optimal too at that point and which answers provides better consistency like how do we know if we are doing it the right way?) or put it into friendlies - finally friendlies - finally muscle memory Also the other problem is the amount of time it needs, vod review, note taking, going into excel making that notes. it does make sense it will accelerate the learning but if you do that it seems like such a big pill to swallow to learn a mu especially for a lot of players out there who are at mid level. Ig this may also be the part where u can say this separates the mid level players to the top level players. Finshed the video, and i agree with all of it. i just want to encorporate the friendlies part a bit better as well as finding those solutions Still love that u showed the mu other stuff

[@Cannelle-bo3nx]

I think one could summarize this video as " most Smash players take pro / top players' opinions too seriously, don't know how to / want to study frame data, matchups, etc. and like to find excuses when they lose ". They'd probably ask " why studying when playing a fun game ? " Well, to improve => to lose less / to stop losing to x and y character => to win more (and maybe flex while doing so) => to have more fun, perhaps ? Not gonna lie though, I do believe in / consider matchup charts to a certain extent. Yes, let's say Incineroar players can improve against Sonic players (and even beat the ones they're better than), but I'd never believe Incineroar beats Sonic for obvious reasons (again, I could believe in Skyjay beating KEN or Wrath though, knowing Skyjay once went to game 5 against Sonix. Basically, player vs player is not the same thing as character vs character). Lastly, I agree about the mental fortitude you have to possess / to get to improve at this game. Look at SHADIC, imagine if he took to heart all the folks who told him Corrin is a low / middle tier character ? He would have never pushed her as far as he did. Personally, I'm a Lucina main and I believe she can take on the whole roster without the help of secondaries / pockets, but even if I tried to be a pro / top player, it wouldn't be easy to have the patience to fight through all the combos, projectiles, super armor, etc. other characters have in comparison to her in tournaments. What could I do to turn games around when cheesing characters off-stage would not be doable, break shields with her frame 19 neutral B ? No, I'd probably have to outplay my opponents and all the BS their character have in their toolkit, bait and punish Kazuya's Phantom - ahem, Rage Drive, try to land against Mythra (I like to fight her and Pyra though), getting off the ledge against Samus, Steve (yes, just Steve lol), etc. through fundamentals alone, Mr. E comebacks style. It would be hard to not get annoyed / tilted.

[@justacupomacaroni6387]

I’ve never seen your channel before, but am loving it! Excellent stuff. Subbed.

[@HaleToTheWhale]

@@justacupomacaroni6387 don’t expect anything here soon, my boi apo hadn’t posted for a year before this. Still love apo tho!

[@Amalga]

Let's goooo I wrote the Pac-Man FAQ featured in this like 5 years ago, happy to see someone reference it!

[@dagoodboy6424]

Yay now i can beat anybody w my solo charizard secondary.

[@richardszoghy1907]

Wait, I could use the same counterplay against Sonic with Joker nair HMMMMMM I haven't made it through yet, but great video do far! I think a beginner/intermediate player would get REALLY intimidated by your way of doing matchups with the VODs in an excel sheet and notion and whatever, and you probably discouraged a couple people from learning matchups, but you said "it's my way, figure out your own" so I don't even know what you could have done different ahaha I love your Tweets btw, I am hitting sub for sure!

[@HaleToTheWhale]

He's Back, dude helped me get so much better at greninja! Also , don't think we don't remember about our promised part 6 of the greninja guide!!

[@Bayx92]

Dude, just, thank you for all the resources. Thank you.

[@dawsonemmett2837]

After 20 years I finally graduated first grade. Let's gooooo!!!!!

[@arnavbhargava1348]

LETS GO A POLITICIAN FINALLY POSTED AGAIN

[@rocklob069]

Just found this channel. Absolute gold.

[@AaronEel]

This is a such a banger. Incredible work

[@Engie-T]

This is an amazing video, and was well worth the wait. I do have one question, it’s not quite related to the video, but I figure you are the best person to ask. As a Greninja main, I am looking to pick up a secondary character, and am stick in a seemingly endless back and forth between Fox and Terry. I have figured out a way to make each of them play with wiff-punishing play style, very reminiscent of my greninja. I get similar results with them both, Though there way behind my Greninja. Do you think I should pick one and if so, which which one, or do you think I should simply stick with Greninja?

[@exots3296]

11:42 idk if it will help but i generally add the word "esport" to my research like "fox vs diddy kong ssbu esport" and i generally get rid of most of the unrelated stuff

[@giovannigalindo1548]

This helps so much, thank you!

[@SethRietdijk]

can we have access to your version of the notion charectar match up compendium?

[@apolotion]

As with all my uploads, please check the description for additional resources! See "Summer of Matchups" for access to the Apol-Notion pages.

[@SethRietdijk]

@@apolotion ah, that's where they were. i thought it would be a copy of your notion organizer, so it would include your. i misunderstood, my apologies

[@Kirboisverycool]

Yoooooo the goat is back

[@type_full1481]

One of the best greninja resources

[@Pokeninja7]

Gren is top tier but nobody is ready to talk about it.

[@avi3278]

bro you actually so funny, u got a new sub

[@deantyoowon6439]

Also F for Darkangel's winners Finals

[@cesarahurtado8036]

APOLOTION IS BACK BABYYYY

[@MonoFlax]

Shinobi showcase on tarik? 👀👀

[@majinblussb]

BRUUUH! I never got to meet you at the local! I’ll meet you next time I go trust 👍🏽

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

Apolotion the type of mf to enjoy spreadsheeting their games more than playing them

[@ZackMcHack112]

WELCOME BACK

[@Chan_EditzYT]

2:15 is that TCNick3 😂

[@Tony_Mellas]

This is such an amazing video

[@LeviAuren]

“No Johns”, learn matchups

[@venousbog]

my goat is back

[@guillo8189]

The GOAT is back

[@Countdownsmiles]

This is such a weak area for me. It's so easy to just get caught up in doing what i want to do, the analytical part of my brain shuts off completely. But i did have some minor breakthroughs in other games. Like someone was complaining about E Honda in sf6, and even though i don't play that game i was able to help theory craft solutions to headbutt and butt slam with that player. Or when kof xv came out i was just trying to figure out how to get in on Ash Crimson, i have always struggled with this archtype, and remembering mid-match that Kyo's rekka 1 can destroy projectiles while moving forward was so huge, i went from dreading the matchup to looking forward to it. Learning matchups can be a pain but it's also kinda fucking awesome

[@marceymarceyy]

Stoked!!

[@someaccount5200]

I guess this applies to everything FGs in general then?

[@coldramen9580]

My glorious goat Is back🙏🙏

[@notsatui]

thanks for your video!!!!!

[@panzerldr5724]

Do uh... Do you have a link to that Hydro Pump THING on the Lylat slant??? What IS that?????

[@apolotion]

kzbin.infoma4fVxxSyc8?feature=share

[@panzerldr5724]

@@apolotion excellent, thank you sir.

[@ewansmit6271]

this vid is amazing

[@Leunr]

HES BACK

[@Its_SaberHG]

I don't play smash at all, but this video is gonna be helpful for Guilty Gear which I do play

[@notsatui]

hey, would you also be able to link a preset to your vod spreadsheet? it would be appreciated :]

[@kabey8]

This is gold

[@Cheesesteakfreak]

I've learned marth's MUs. I learned he loses most MUs.

[@Zanio_XL]

3:50 did you actually do this

[@Chan_EditzYT]

I doubt it, it would be funny if he did tho 😂

[@ethn-hrpr]

Whole lotta yappin this vid. Also, I can’t figure out the Steve matchup who got tips?

[@deantyoowon6439]

Sure I would love to learn matchups and you made really great points in your video but... Greninja doesn' t work versus Bayo... ):

[@freezieymechanic6569]

If you don't mind answering I was hoping how you asked about multiple thing about your character from others on social media? from like twitter or something.

[@comic-csg7414]

I’m a 2-2er who plays Cloud and I’ve been playing this game competitively since release. And let me just say that I totally related to the “guy who tells everyone in the venue about his losses because he feels it’s out of his control” because that’s literally me. It’s been a mentality I’ve been trying to conquer for years now and I still can’t shake it. Does anyone have any recommendations?

[@DoubleCFiend]

Reflect on why you compete/recognize the cognotive dissonance in your mentality. If every loss is out of your control, why do you keep playing?

[@DonXL110]

Amazing

[@SolrMK]

Good movie

[@AdumAdum]

That's cool but how do I beat Villager?

[@GenophefeElisabeth]

Ayoo chief, Russian learner here, Imma need the link to your bosses KZbin channel 😂

[@rocklob069]

Хорошее видио. Спасибо вам.

[@victzegopterix2]

First vid of the channel I see. Having a Greninja in the thumbnail is not ideal I must say. I though this was a competitive Pokémon vid, not a Smash one.

[@MafooDZubu]

Why your Twitter nickname is "Vendedor de pão de queijo"? Are you from Brazil?

[@nathanpuno2569]

I’m not writing a collegiate thesis just to ask a question about smash bros

[@mrhalfsaid1389]

People are just gonna learn anti top 3 😂

[@samrtperson]

no way this guy started speaking russian and chinese

[@Bwicklel7826]

bro just memorise them it's not hard

[@mbarek3184]

Faaaaar away

[@dank_tomatoes1165]

That north Korea line sent me. Bro was so flabbergasted😭