Lucina Guide: Matchup Chart and Combos | How to Beat Lucina

This is a guide to using Lucina in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Lucina's bread and butter combos, how to unlock, frame data, alt costumes and skins, as well as Lucina's matchups, counters, and tier list placement can all be found here.

Lucina Tier and Overview

Stats and General Info

Lucina
Game Series	Fire Emblem
Smash Bros. Debut	Super Smash Bros. for WiiU/3DS
Fighter Number	21E
Unlock Order	23
Number of Jumps	2
Weight	90 Units (61/87)
Dash Speed	1.964 (23/87)
Air Speed	1.071 (41/87)
Fast Fall Speed	2.528 (45/87)
Special Attributes	None

Tier List Placement

Tier

An all-arounder with excellet reach and frame data

Thanks to the long reach provided by her sword, Lucina can safely damage her oppenents and pressure by spacing out her aerials (Nair, Fair, and Dair), as well as tilt attacks. With relatively quick and powerful attacks like FSmash and Bair, she doesn't have too hard of a time with taking enemy stocks either.

Unlike Marth, who gains increased damage when hitting opponents with the tipper of his sword, Lucina's sword will damage opponents the same, regardless of where her sword hits, allowing her to be more consistent, and generally a better character than her counterpart.

See Our Tier List Here!

Lucina's Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths	・Each one of her attacks is useful in some capacity ・Several attacks for taking stocks (FSmash, Side B, and Bair) ・Excellent recovery (Up B) ・Very good at edgeguarding (Fair, Bair, Counter) ・Quick mobility ・Very good range and great neutral
Weaknesses	・Floaty with poor air mobility, and struggles to land ・Spacing can be difficult against certain characters

Lucina Matchup Chart

Matchup Chart

-2
-1
0
+1
+2

Notes About Matchup Chart

1. -2 = Disadvantage. -1 = Slight Disadvantage or Even. 0 = Even. +1 = Slight Advantage or Even. +2 = Advantage.
2. The matchup chart was based around both the opinions of professional players of each character, as well as our own experience through playing Lucina.
3. Characters within each tier are unordered
4. Pokemon Trainer's individual Pokemon (Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard) as well as Echo fighters with no significant difference than their regular counterpart are not shown.
5. For other characters who are not shown here, we are still investigating the matchup.

Good Matchups For Lucina

With a wonderful matchup spread, Lucina enjoys more good matchups than most characters. Her edgeguarding prowess makes it very easy for her to KO opponents with poor recoveries offstage, and her sword gives her a disjoint so she can space her attacks and beat out opponents with inferior range. Characters like Ness, Wario, or Jigglypuff who have short range on most attacks will have a hard time getting past her blade.

Lucina Counters

While Lucina's sword has excellent range, it doesn't mean that she cannot be outranged herself. Since her main strength is being able to space her disjointed sword, characters who have even larger hitboxes may give her a hard time. Her frame data is excellent, but fast characters like Pikachu, Greninja, or Sheik can go toe to toe with her in neutral, as their frame data allows them to punish even Lucina's attacks when whiffed.

How to Beat Lucina

Keep her in disadvantage

Lucina has rather poor air mobility, and the only attack she can use to cover herself when coming down is her down air, so it's not too difficult to juggle her. Lucina players will want to avoid a risk, so they tend to choose fast falling + an air dodge, or escaping toward the ledge, so watch how they attempt to get out of disadvantage and follow up there.

Play defensively

Attack safely out of her reach

With her extremely fast up special and long ranged nair attacks, Lucina has great out of shield options. However, since Lucina doesn't have any projectiles or reflector, it's possible to pressure her from outside of her spacing to force her to do something, and then read her movements. However, since Lucina is quick and has excellent range, you'll need to be wary of your own spacing when using projectiles.

Avoid making a bad landing

Land with a neutral air dodge

With her long reach and large hitboxes, Lucina is great at snuffing out opponents who attempt to throw out an attack as they attempt to land.

For the most part, you should only focus on resetting neutral as you attempt to land against Lucina, so an air dodge is typically the way to go. However, a directional air dodge results in significant landing lag, so aim for a fast fall combined with a neutral air dodge.

Head for the ledge

Usually an air dodge is the best way to try and land against a Lucina, but if you repeatedly use the same landing, your opponent will likely pick up on it. A good mixup is to instead head for the ledge and try to reset neutral from there. Air dodge out of the way of any attacks and safely move to the ledge.

Lucina Combos

Ground Combos
Grab → Down Throw → Jump →Back Air
Up Tilt → Up Tilt → Up Air
Aerial Combos
Jump → Forward Air → Side Special (Down)
Jump → Up Air →Jump → Up Air
Jump → Neutral Air → Forward Smash

Lucina Ground Combos

Lucina Aerial Combos

Lucina Frame Data and Moveset

Best Out of Shield Options

Move	Frames
Up B	5 Frames
Neutral Air	9 Frames
Forward Air	9 Frames
Shield Grab	10 Frames

At only 5 frames of startup, Lucina's Up B is an amazing out of shield option, allowing her to punish a wide variety of attacks that hit her shield. Beware that whiffing it will leave Lucina helpless, making it easy for an opponent to punish, so be careful not to be too trigger happy with it, and use it when you are sure the move that hit her shield was unsafe. Other than Up B, both nair and fair can be used oos too, as well as shield grab, though at 10 frames, it is not the quickest punish.

Jab (Light Attack)

	Damage (%)	Startup Frames
Jab 1 (A)	3.99	5
Jab 2	5.7	4

Jab

Lucina's jab is pretty quick, with just 5 frames of startup, making it pretty good to use right after landing. If you land it, it will also allow you to regain some distance away from your opponent.

Dash Attack / Tilt Attacks

	Damage (%)	Startup Frames
Dash Attack (Dash ＋ A)	13.11	13
Forward Tilt (← or → + A)	13.2	8
Up Tilt (↑ + A)	9.12	6
Up Tilt (Weak Hit)	9.69	9
Down Tilt (↓ + A)	10.2	7

Dash Attack

Lucina's dash attack has good reach and damage, but it is one of her slowest attacks, and has a ton of endlag. It is essentially outclassed in every way by using a sliding forward tilt, so you should rarely use DA, if at all.

Forward Tilt

This move also has excellent reach and damage. It is an excellent tool for spacing out opponents, and if you can pull off a sliding tilt, it essentially replaces her dash attack.

Up Tilt

A very quick move with good range. This attack covers the space above Lucina, all the way to her back, making it useful against opponents who are jumping, landing, or even rolling.

Down Tilt

This move has excellent range, and thanks to its extremely low end lag, it is safe on shield and a great poking tool. However, the move only has a horizontal hitbox, so it is difficult to use against opponents who are jumping.

Smash Attacks

	Damage (%)	Startup Frames
Forward Smash (Smash ← or → + A）	18	10
Up Smash (Bottom) (Smash ↑ + A)	3.6	13
Up Smash (Blade)	17.1	13
Down Smash (Hit 1) (Smash ↓ + A)	11.4	6
Down Smash (Hit 2)	16.8	21

Forward Smash

This move is great for launching opponents toward the blast zone. It is a pretty quick move, so it can be used on its own, but it is also possible to combine with a dtilt, nair, or dair for a kill confirm.

Up Smash

This smash attack also has a great launch distance. The strong hitbox only hits opponents directly above Lucina, but there is another hitbox that will hit grounded opponents next to Lucina, making it a good out of shield option as well.

Down Smash

Lucina's down smash has very little startup, making it her quickest smash attack. It doesn't launch opponents as far as her other smash attacks do, but it hits in front of and behind Lucina, making it good for covering opponents trying to land an attack on either side. It can also be used to hit opponents hanging on the ledge after their invulnerability has run up.

Aerials

	Damage (%)	Startup Frames
Neutral Ai Hit 1 (A + no direction while airborne)	5.13	6
Neutral Air Hit 2	10.26	15
Forward Air (Hold ← or → in the direction you are facing + A while airborne)	12.6	6
Back Air (← or → Opposite of the direction you are facing + A while airborne)	14.25	7
Up Air (↑ + A While Airborne)	13.68	5
Down Air (↓ + A While Airborne)	14.82	9
Down Air (Meteor)	17.1	11

Neutral Air

This move has very quick startup, making it a good OoS option. It also has excellent range, so it is very good for spacing out opponents. If the first hit is combined with a fast fall, it can be used as a combo starter as well, leading into fmash at higher percents, which is a kill confirm.

Forward Air

Lke Nair, forward air also has great range and quick startup. It's mostly used as a poking tool, as it is very safe on shield, but it is also excellent for edge guarding.

Back Air

Another fast move with a large hitbox, bair is also excellent for closing out stocks. Like fair, it can be used for edge guarding, but you should not that Lucina's body will face the complete opposite direciton after using it, so be careful of a misinput when recovering back to the stage (you'll need to use a turnaroun special in order to snap to the ledge).

Up Air

This move has great range, with the hitbox covering the entire area above Lucina, so it is great for juggling opponents or snuffing out an attempt to use an aerial. If used right when landing, it can be followed up with another aerial attack.

Down Air

Lucina's dair has a meteor hitbox, allowing her to spike opponents. This hitbox is only the one directly beneath the attack, but if you can land it, it will allow you to take many stocks quickly against characters with poor recoveries.

Specials

	Damage (%)	Startup Frames
Neutral Special (Uncharged) (B)	10.2	19
Neutral Special (Fully Charged)	27.6	79
Side Special(First Attack) (← or → + B)	3.42	9
Side Special (2, Up)	3.42	4
Side Special (2, Forward)	3.42	5
Side Special (3, Up)	3.99	5
Side Special (3, Forward)	3.99	4
Side Special (3, Down)	3.99	5
Side Special (4, Up)	6.84	6
Side Special (4, Forward)	5.7	7
Side Special (4, Down/Hit 1-4)	2.4	7/10/13/16
Side Special (4, Down/Hit 5)	5.13	19
Up Special (↑ + B)	13.2	5
Up Special (Weak 1)	8.4/8.4/7.2/13.2/13.2	6
Up Special (Weak 2)	8.4/8.4/7.2	7
Down Special (Attack) (↓ + B)	-	4

Neutral Special (Shieldbreaker)

Lucina's Neutral Special allows her to charge up her sword and stab in front of her. The longer it is held and charged for, the more damage and knockback it has. It can also do a ton of shield damage, and if fully charge, will break shields. Even if uncharged, it is very effective on shields, so it is a good attack to use on opponents who are very defensive.

Another special property of this attack lies in the fact that striking an opponent's head directly will cause her to do 1.15x damage. The attack can also be angled up or down, so aim for the head when possible.

When used in the air, it gives Lucina a boost forward in the direction it was used, which is amplified when charged. This means that it can be used as a recovery option after being launched offstage by an opponent. If you are below the stage, it may be harder to use it for recovery, since you may fall below the blast line, but if launched high, use it to move closer to the stage.

Side Special (Dancing Blade)

Lucina's side special can be extended by inputing B multiple times, for a total of 4 attacks. The attacks will change when holding up or down during the input of the 2nd attack onward. Holding up launches opponents upward, no input launches them forward, while holding down allows her to deal more damage.

Using the side special in the air will also allow Lucina to cease moving momentarily, allowing you to mixup your recovery.

Up Input
	Launches opponents upward, allowing for a followup attack
Forward (No Input)
	Better at launching than up or down inputs
Down Input
	Deals more damage than up or forward input

Up Special (Dolphin Slash)

With its extremely fast startup, this is one of the best out of shield options in the entire game. The invulnerability lasts longer when used in the air, as opposed to on the ground. This invulnerability can be used to break out of an opponent's combo, attack a move whiffed on shield, as well as recover, making it quite versatile. It can even take stocks when used out of shield on an opponent at higher percents, so make sure you are comfortable with using up B out of shield.

Down Special (Counter)

Lucina's down special is a typical counter. The strength of the attack depends on how strong the opponent's attack was, and it works even on attacks that hit Lucina from behind. It is mostly used when reading an opponent's attack, but it can also be used to edgeguard characters who have a hitbox and no invulnerability on their recovery.

Grabs and Throws

	Damage (%)	Startup Frames
Pummel	1.56	1
Grab (Normal)	-	6
Dash Grab	-	9
Pivot Grab	-	10
Forward Throw (← or → While Grabbing)	4.8	15
Back Throw (← or → While Grabbing)	4.8	16
Up Throw (↑ While Grabbing)	6.0	13
Down Throw (↓ While Grabbing)	4.8	16

Forward Throw

Lucina's forward throw has decent launch distance, and can be used to set up an edgeguard, but it doesn't combo or confirm into anything.

Back Throw

Has more knockback than her forward throw. Like forward throw, it doesn't have any confirms, but it can be used to gain stage control or set up an edgeguard.

Up Throw

Lucina's up throw sends opponents very high upward, and can even KO at high percentages (around 200%). It is primarily used to put opponents into disadvantage so you can juggle them with up airs.

Down Throw

Sends the opponent up and behind Lucina. This can set up for a combo into back air at lower percentages.

Final Smash

Attack	How to Use	Effect
Critical Hit	Press B after obtaining the Smash Ball	Charges forward quickly and delivers a powerful blow against the opponent. The move deals extreme knockback to the opponent in front of Lucina, usually resulting in a KO. Beware that it may result in an SD if you are not careful recovering offstage after using it.

Lucina Balance Changes

Changes from Ver 3.1.0

	Change
Side Smash Attack	Shortened the launch distance.
Forward Air Attack	Shortened the launch distance.

Changes from Ver 3.0

	Change
Dash Grab	Increased grab range.

Changes from Smash 4

	Change
Jab (A)	Shortened the end lag on Jab 1 and 2. Less lag = Buff
Neutral Special (B)	The blade's tip can now be moved up or down. Buff
Side Special (← or → + B)	Decreased the end lag between hits 1 through 4. Easier to combo = Buff

How to Unlock Lucina

Unlocking Via Smash Mode
23rd Fighter Unlocked After unlocking Shulk, let 10 minutes pass OR play another battle in smash after soft-resetting OR return to the menu from World of Light
Unlocking via Classic Mode
Clear Classing Mode 5 times using Yoshi.
Unlocking via World of Light
Dark Realm South Area

There are three ways to unlock Lucina. Completing any of these, then defeating Lucina when they appear in the “a New Challenger Appears” screen will allow you to use her afterward.

How to Unlock Characters Fast

Lucina Alt Costumes and Skins

Lucina Reveal Trailer

Smash Ultimate Character Guides

List of Fighters
Tier List	Unlocking Fighters

Character Stat Lists

Character Stats
Weights of All Characters	Run Speeds of All Characters
Air Speeds of All Characters	Fast Fall Speeds of All Characters