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by fammydamammy, Guest Contributor
I’m fammydamammy, also known as “Fammy” and I am known for many amiibo, one of which being Ganondorf. My Ganondorf has a total of four vanilla amiibo tournament wins, one of which being a tournament hosted by Amiibo Doctor which can be seen here.
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AI Issues
Overall, Ganondorf has a fairly solid AI apart from one issue, Up Tilt usage. If you use Up Tilt at all during training Ganondorf will take note of that and will not stop using Up Tilt, which may be strong but leaves him painfully vulnerable during the startup. However, one thing to note is that Ganondorf is hard-coded to use Up Tilt at ledge even his Up Tilt values are at zero, so I wouldn’t worry if your Ganondorf uses it at ledge with its learning off.
Overall Playstyle
Ganondorf is another amiibo that should primarily stay grounded and utilize walking for the AI to react quicker. On the ground, Ganondorf should focus on mainly Side Special and Down Special. Ganondorf has great Smash Attacks but Forward Smash and Up Smash are pretty slow, so they shouldn’t be your main focus, just use them in moderation.
How to Train the Ganondorf amiibo
When training, I strongly recommend mirror matching your amiibo, meaning Ganondorf vs Ganondorf the entire training session. Once you see your amiibo use the moves you want to use, turn the learn button off so that it will level up without changing the base amiibo data. Do note that the amiibo get a better AI as they level up and will not play poorly because you turned off learning at an early level.
If you intend to train your amiibo with spirits, it’s best to add spirits before any training happens because of how adding spirits will shuffle an amiibo’s move values, that being said, an even 2100/2100 is the most viable option for pretty much all amiibo. For support spirits, Super Armor, Slow Super Armor, Great Autoheal, Autoheal, and Armor Knight are the best spirits in the game but are banned from the current spirit amiibo tournament ruleset. Legal support spirit effects to consider for Ganondorf include Physical Attack ↑, Trade-Off Ability, Floaty Jumps, and Foot Attack ↑.
Side Special, or “Flame Choke” is going to be Ganondorf’s main option in amiibo. Flame Choke is a moving command grab, just like Incineroar’s Alolan Whip, which is what makes Incineroar the best amiibo in the game since amiibo have trouble with moving hitboxes and command grabs. Flame Choke isn’t as good as Alolan Whip since it can’t kill on its own, but Ganondorf’s AI knows he can follow it up with either Forward Tilt, Down Tilt, Down Special, and Down Smash, which do kill at the right percents. Make sure to teach Ganondorf to Flame Choke very often, as well as its follow-ups.
Down Special, the “Wizard’s Foot” is Ganondorf’s version of Falcon Kick, which is the Captain Falcon amiibo’s main tool in amiibo due to it being a strong moving hitbox amiibo have trouble reacting to. Ganondorf doesn’t rely on it as heavily as Falcon, but he should still use it often alongside Flame Choke. However, I don’t recommend using it in the air to land due to its landing lag.
Forward Tilt comes out pretty quickly for a Ganondorf move, launching at a rough angle for some amiibo to recover from while dealing good damage. Use this move when the opponent is right up close to Ganondorf, or as a follow-up from Side Special.
Dash Attack is another pretty fast grounded move in Ganondorf’s kit, with the AI being able to use Dash Attack to lead into aerials at low-mid percents and kill at higher percents, so use it every so often. During training, try to follow up Dash Attack with Up Air. This is also the only instance where you should use Up Air while training.
Forward Smash is super strong but also pretty slow and laggy, so I wouldn’t recommend spamming it like Side Special and Down Special. I’ve found that using it about two or three times during each ten stock match makes Ganondorf use it just enough, though this number may fluctuate depending on the ruleset for the matches you use during training, but just try to use it sparingly.
Up Smash isn’t as strong as Forward Smash, but it is great for catching landings due to the arc Ganondorf’s Up Smash forms. Only use Up Smash while the opponent is airborne.
Back Air and Down Air should only be used during training if you’re launched into the air to try and make a safe landing. Though I wouldn’t go too heavy on them as the amiibo can get jumpy if used too often.
Why It Works
In competitive smash Ganondorf has been consistently low tier due to his slow speed and poor frame data. However, in competitive amiibo Ganondorf is considered a high tier or even top tier threat due to having high weight and very strong attacks, which are traits that are heavily favored in competitive amiibo, making the king of evil a force to be reckoned with.
That about wraps up my Ganondorf amiibo guide, thanks for reading and good luck training!
-fammydamammy
Amiibo Doctor 