Edgeguarding

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Edgeguarding (also called edge-guarding) is the act of attempting to stop the opponent from successfully recovering. The opposite of edge-guarding is guard breaking.

Different edgeguards and their guard breaks

• Interruption guard: These guards involve the edgeguarder jumping slightly or completely off the stage to attack a recovering opponent. This puts the opponent in a very tricky situation, forcing them to mix up their recovery options to guard break it. However, in cases where a character's recovery is linear, predictable, and unsafe, such as Ness, they usually cannot deal with this type of pressure, making it extremely efficient against these types of characters.
  • Spike guard: This guard is used by characters with a strong meteor smash, usually an aerial one (thus making it a sub-type of the interruption guard). The guarder attempts to hit with a meteor smash to KO opponents. It is a very successful type of guard as the guarded must air dodge, or he or she will be KO'ed.
• Projectile guard: These guards involve using a projectile to push an opponent offstage. This type of guard is easily broken by recovering low, but can be lethal against a character who has a below-average vertical recovery, such as Ichigo. For these characters, air dodging at the right time is vital, or they will get KO'd.
• Reflect guard: This guard is used by characters who have a special move that can change the direction of a projectile/character. When someone tries to recover, this is used to change the opponent's direction away from the stage, forcing them to fall to their death. The best example of this guard is Mario and his Cape.

Edgehogging

Another way players can edgeguard their opponents is to prevent their opponents from grabbing the edge by "hogging" the edge themselves. This is usually done after the player who is trying to recover has performed his/her recovery move and is attempting to grab the ledge. The guarded is generally in serious trouble. The only possible guard break is to either land onstage or attack the edgehogger after the invincibility frames have ceased.

Fence/Wall of pain

This is a guard in which the edgeguarder repeatedly attacks the guarded with a repeated amount of forward or back aerial attacks to knock him or her towards the blast line for a KO. It is best performed with Jigglypuff, since her aerials do not give enemies the time to react out of them, but a "Fence of Pain" can be performed by Kirby, Tails, and Meta Knight. Kirby's Fence of Pain can be done with his back aerial, Tails's can be done with his forward aerial, and Meta Knight's can be done with his neutral aerial.

Gallery

Tails doing a spike guard on Peach.

Samus projectile guarding Fox.

Pikachu edgehogging Link.

Kirby doing a "Fence of pain" on Captain Falcon.

Sonic edgeguarding Mario with Homing Attack.