Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVnKRj1j7QI

Reference match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHSeiiPDkUg

Notes by bbeanLI

Assume all quotes are from Fiction unless stated otherwise.

Fullhop is hard for Sheik to deal with. -Her only responses are sh upair and fh aerial -Fox is able to play around platforms, safely land, or land on her with drill

"You don't want to directly scrap with Sheik up close, you want to think of it like a driveby." -"You do get to scrap with sheik but no more than once in a row. Once you do your little one scrap on Sheik you dip." -"Let's say you try something and you miss her and she wavedashes back and you dash away and shoot a few lasers. You won that interaction because you got 7% off lasers and she got nothing" -This is not a matchup where fox can play scrambles well -Sheik has very poor appraoch options -Hang out at a range where she has to dashattack / boostgrab -When going in for an attack you don't want to stay too long -You're in her ftilt/uptilt/grab range

With all this in mind Fox decides when to interact with sheik (at least on platform stages) -When you decide to play the interaction you go in for a split second -If it doesn't work you move back to the range where Sheik has to approach

"The automatic way to beat bad Sheiks is to just run away forever." -The bad Sheik will give chase -When they dash in you drill them -When they dash attack you fullhop drill them

"Then there's the Sheiks who won't fall for that. Their goal is to get close to Fox, making him respect her options." -Options meaning ftilt/uptilt/grab -Sheik also doesn't have to worry about her approach at this range -Sheik is trying to play just outside Fox's sh drill range -"This is her really nice spot because all you can really do to her there is instant nair and if she crouches then she's got you." -If in this range Fox's options are... -Get out ASAP -Fullhop is strong -Play an effective "Anti-Sheik" mixup -Grounded mixups: Running shine / jc grab / dd upsmash -Fullhop mixups: Any aerial except for nair -Shorthop mixups: Drill / nair -Should almost always be nair because sheik slips out of sh drill easily -She has a tough time dealing with clown nairs (especially crossups)

"This is an extremely simple matchup from the Fox side. This might be his simplest matchup. You have to look at it as such. Think of it as a very flowcharty very repetitive matchup. There are certain things that you can do over and over that will always work and there are certain things you don't want to do much."

Never drill onto a platform ever.

Do a closer fullhop forward right outside of her ftilt range -Fox can choose which side he lands on with drift -To beat this Sheik has to guess which side you're going to land on and account for it -The distance for this is the same as the crossup nair

Play around Fiction's "Rule of Threes" -Every dash adds a number -Example being dashback dash in nair is 2 (dashback is 1 + dash in is 1) -Playing around odd numbers (especially three) is strong against Sheik -This is because Sheik requires specific responses for each thing -"Anything you do off the three is super powerful" -Don’t try to react, just do.

Simple breakdown of the matchup would be... -When far away you're lasering or holding space -Sheik will then close space and end up in "the zone" -When in that zone you apply the "Rule of Threes" and hit her

At 0-20% under side plat you can upthrow upair tech in place and react to tech rolls all at once -at around 30% you can just follow with upair and ignore plats

When edgeguarding from ledge drop down shine bair

Grab is better off waveshine than upsmash -Leads to upair strings -Upsmash is easier though

Fox doesn't gimp sheik too often -Most kills are from one grab combo into an edgeguard after