Name (aka Handle):
Ninwing/ninwing (I generally see not having the first letter in caps as a way of reducing my ego)
How old are you?:
14
Which characters do you play in SSF2? Why do you play these characters? (Note: do not list characters that are not currently in the game):
Marth: Marth's main draw to me as a character is his sword based attacks and the advantages of his disjointed sword attacks.His gameplay can switch paces between being methodical and calculating to a complete flood of offensive assaults. He has lots of potential which I hope to use properly as I grow as a person and a player with knowledge of this game.
Captain Falcon: He contrasts Marth's more defensive gameplay with a flashyness and pure raw power and combo potential. He covers some match ups I feel uncomfortable about playing while using Marth. He also serves as my secondary due to fitting an alternative playstyle I have.
How much experience do you have with official Smash titles? (SSB64, Melee, Brawl. Include in this answer which characters you play/played.): I have currently played all official Smash titles but I am most experienced with Super Smash Bros. Wii U. I have played the two above mention characters as well as Mario, Lucario, Ryu, Fox, Jigglypuff and Falco over the course of the entire franchise. Melee clocks in at my second most played with my main and secondary being the same as my SSF2 ones. I have little experience with the 1st and 3rd entries in the franchise due to never having played vs someone in either unlike the former two. I consider my self a novice in Melee and an intermediate in Sm4sh.
Have you ever attended any Smash tournaments? If so, give some details about the tournament (number of participants, which games, etc). How well did you place? I have never attended a proper Smash tournament excluding those hosted for SSF2. My highest placing would be 28th at Eirin which is fairly disappointing on my behalf.
When did you start playing SSF2?
I began playing SSF2 in 2009 with my introduction to the competitive community being around 2012.
What is your favorite stage in SSF2? Explain.
My favorite stage in SSF2 is 3DS. This is because it offers a FD-esque stage without having a lot of the performance issues and lets me optimize my gimps to the best of my abilities.
Who, in your opinion, should be placed first on the SSF2 tier list? Under competitive settings why would this character perform on a higher level than all others? I consider Meta Knight as the main contender for first on the tier list. This is due to the options and coverage he has which carries over a bit from Brawl. He goes fairly uncontested with his amazing recovery and combo potential as well as his ability to gimp and kill fairly well. He is one of the least explored characters which places his potential fairly high due to the difficulty curve required to use him efficiently. He also seems to go fairly uncontested in terms of match ups with most of them being positive or equal.

Who, in your opinion, should be placed last on the SSF2 tier list? Under competitive settings why would this character perform on a lower level than all others? Sora is my pick for last place due to his overall lackluster moveset when compared to the "jank" of even other low tiers. He simply lacks the proper options to combat the gimping potential of other characters while also lacking the ability to kill confirm as often as other characters.

If you could make only one change to SSF2 as it currently is, what would it be and why?
My change to SSF2 would be the way lobbies and multiplayer work. I would prefer to have a proper hub for each lobby which allows chat and spectating for better coverage of tournaments which might be impossible in the games current state.
What is your view on items in competitive play?
I believe items reduce the focus of skill in competitive play and rather changes the game into a competition of who can get this item to end the game as fast as possible. This is due to their randomness and over centralization of using them in gameplay once the meta for each item being used has been developed.
Do you have or can you download Skype? You don't need a mic or webcam.
I am able to download Skype.
Why do you want to join the Smash Flash Back Room? What will you contribute? Why are you an exceptional applicant? Be as detailed as possible. I want to join the Back Room in order to truly see the potential of the meta game in SSF2 and it's advancement over time while contributing as much as I know albeit not having anywhere near the same knowledge of veterans of this game. I want to contribute to the development of proper character utilization in the meta without a character being over centralized on one play style. I do not believe that I am an exceptional applicant but rather a willing one with the passion to see the future of this game's meta grow, evolve and flourish where as to sustain the competitive aspect of this Smash title(albeit an unofficial one)


Additional information (Include in this section anything relevant to your application. This could include links to videos of yourself playing.)I lack any real additional information regarding my application.

Use the following stagelist for the questions that reference it.

Neutral:
Battlefield
Final Destination/Nintendo 3DS
Smashville
Pokemon Stadium 3
Yoshi's Story

Counterpick:
Dreamland
Tower of Salvation
Castle Siege
Dracula's Castle
Sky Sanctuary Zone
Mirror Chamber


1. You're playing Marth in tournament and come up against a solo main MK player. How might stage selection go in the first match, assuming you get first strike and there's a 1-2-1 striking system? Briefly rationalize your decisions and the decisions of your imagined opponent.

2. Assuming you lose the first match, what counterpick stages do you want? Assuming the MK player bans the 2 best stages for you, what stage would you end up counterpicking to? Assume that you do not switch characters and your opponent doesn't either.

3. Analyze the Marth-MK matchup in detail, covering all relevant aspects (neutral game, punishes, edgeguards, recovery). Conclude your analysis with a matchup ratio, like 60-40 for Marth has slight advantage or 20-80 for crushing advantage for MK.

4. Suppose you're in the BR and I make a post saying that Mirror Chamber should not be legal in competitive play because the central platform just above the main stage overly centralizes play and it favors characters with good horizontal kill moves and stage control too much. Would you agree or disagree? Why?

1. I would strike Battlefield first as platforms can make MK have a lot more movement despite giving me an advantage with platform tippered f-smashes. My assumption would be that the MK would ban Smashville and PS3 as they tend to give as they would both help my recovery and neutral due to the space and the way the sides are designed. I would then end up banning FD as the platforms for YS would give me a major advantage in terms of comboing with the sides have a nice shape to them for recovery and the ever so illusive cloud.
2. I would initial want Smashville or TOS as they have out of the way platforms which can be used for comboing or edgeguarding when necessary but don't allow MK to to constantly avoid or combo me via them. If I wasn't able to pick them, the safest bet would be to go for Battlefield which I avoided game 1. The F-smashes onto the platforms could give me hope for killing MK faster than normal but would also allow me to better chain utilts and fairs into killing moves or offstage.
3. Marth would take neutral due to his disjointed sword's range and the general speed of his attacks despite not being as fast as MK. MK would have an easy time punishing any attempts to kill him due to his speed as well as that of his moves, while Marth would have a harder time punishing for the opposite reasons but it would still be a possibility depending on the individual move. MK would have a really easy time destroying Marth's attempts at recovering due to his multi jumps and above average speedy aerials. MK can go deep with his edgeguard into the dropzone then edgehog vs Marth making his vertical and horizontal recoveries more dangerous. Marth is able to to keep MK from the edge with a few aerials, his F-smash and D tilt stealing his jumps then finally edgehog to guarantee his death. If a Marth is confident and skilled enough, he can spike a MK as an edgeguard without having to worry about missing. I would place the matchup at 40-60 with MK edging Marth out in his recovery, edgeguard and punishing forcing Marth to play more defensive than usual.
4. I would have to disagree with the ban for Mirror Chamber. MK and the other floaties have more than enough jumps to take characters off the top and with MK being the strongest, it would over centralize the game too much. However the lag and the opportunity for a ban or strike on it, the ban would be unnecessary unless the lag would be reduced from it.
I initially didn't want to apply but with the end of the year and beta fast approaching this is my last shot for 9b. And even if I am more than likely to be rejected, I can still learn from my mistakes and apply at a later date as of Beta's release date. I wish anyone who does see this a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (assuming you celebrate Christmas.)

1) In the Marth vs Fox matchup, what would Marth's optimal pick for starter and counterpick stages be, and why?

2) Detail three changes that you would make to Sora that you feel would improve his viability to around the same level as the A tier characters on the official tier list. ( , , , , , )? These can be general changes to the character and you do not need to go into extreme detail using in-game data.