Let it be known (if it isn't commonly known already) that, for whatever strange reason, I love Bomberman. There is something about how he pilots that is so satisfying and versatile in a variety of MUs and situations. As such, I would like to offer as comprehensive as possible a guide on the big-headed demolitionist as possible for those struggling to make gains with him.

I will structure as follows:

1.) Kit Overview
a. Normals
b. Grabs
c. Specials/recovery
d. Stats

2.) General Strategy
a. Bombs: A How To
b. Bomb Kick
c. Survivng
d. Dealing with Pressure

3.) Specific MUs

4.) Pros/Cons summarized

5.) Advanced Technique/Misc.

Please note that 1.) & 2.) will be the most extensive, and Advanced Tech is included last because it is not a terribly long list currently, but it's worth noting as its own section for reference/expansion.

1.) Kit Overview

Bomberman as a whole has a solid combo game that can kill early and build damage quickly. Precision, control, and stage awareness are critical to maximizing his available output.

a.) Normals
I will examine each move individually, offering a more cohesive picture in strategy.

Jab: A straightforward jab as any other. His jab finisher boasts surprising knockback, which is useful for dealing with pressure or pushing opponents quickly into bomb traps.

Forward Tilt: Forward tilt has moderate range and speed with a nearly horizontal trajectory. While occasionally useful, Down Tilt has virtually the same coverage with added bonus of leading into combos.

Down Tilt: Down tilt and Up tilt are Bomberman's bread-and-butter on the ground. While Up tilt has strong combo potential and anti-air properties, Down tilt gives Bomberman some finer movement options, a lower profile, and stronger reach as an option for tech reads and ledge get-ups.

Up Tilt: Up tilt is a bit strange, and in a good way. The hitbox is partly within Bomberman's body, so it can pop opponents that you wouldn't expect it to hit. As a result of a rather tall hitbox range, it can combo into itself 2-3 times at early %'s depending on the character.

Forward Smash: This is his most seldom-used move. It's actually not useless (I originally thought so). At 60+%, a small bomb at ledge can actually pop your opponent true-combo into this (particularly fast-fallers) which can lead to a kill at 90% or less depending on the stage. Otherwise, it's a very risky move with short range, so be sparing only for hard reads.

Up Smash: Up smash boasts modest kill power, able to kill lighter characters at 110%+, but I prefer it for its deceitful coverage against airborne opponents. The weak hit can lead to follow-up and combo opportunities and is an ideal choice in a situation where Up tilt won't lead to guarantees. Beware the longer startup, but it's initial hit can pop up opponents. This is great for getting solid damage off an early down-throw or up-throw, guaranteed.

Down Smash: Bomberman's best and most useful smash attack. The coverage is, again, deceptive, but it's sweet-spot power is insane. At ledge, this can score kills as early as 70%. And Bomberman has great tools to push people to ledge, using bombs to crowd space, Fthrow, Fair, Bair to get opponents offstage. This is supremely rewarding for making good reads. Unfortunately, it is challenging to combo into it, lest you land a jab reset or land it off an early down throw (which doesn't take advantage of its purpose to kill early). Be sparing with this, because it is punishable with rather high startup. One big drawback is the hitbox doesn't fully cover Bomberman, so you may find opponents "inside" you and not take a hit.

Dash Attack: Bomberman's dash attack covers a big distance, but it's short active frames, long startup, long ending frames, and lack of follow-ups makes it a wasted move. Down tilt is by far superior, to the point that it might as well be his dash attack. Unless you're finishing a combo and can guarantee the hit, don't use this. Please.

Nair: Neutral air is fast and combos at virtually all percents, depending on opponent weight. It is a good go-to for keeping opponents juggled while having low end lag, making it a safe choice. On the downside, it is short-lived with small coverage, making it a poor choice for challenging aerial approaches. I prefer it at low percents where grabs/aerial combos are guaranteed. The weak hit can lead to combos even at high percents.

Fair: Fair is as central to Bomberman's strategy as Up tilt. It can kill early when fresh, deals solid damage, is quick, has high priority, is easy to land, and can combo at low percents. There are very few downsides to this move aside from wanting to use it so much. The one thing to watch for is using it on shields, because you will get punished.

Uair: Uair is right behind Fair in terms of being a key aerial move. At low percents, it juggles 2-3 times reliably. And, short-hop fast-falling Uair is a viable way to start an easy juggle on opponents that aren't expecting it, especially since it comes out VERY early and fast. This move can abuse combo weights and those who struggle to land safely. The power is lower relative to a fresh Fair, but it is less subject to DI to land a kill, killing at 100+%. I prefer this move for short-hop fast-fall cross-ups on shielded opponents. It is difficult to punish.

Bair: Comparing Bair to Fair, it is lacking in kill power, but it makes up for it in semi-spike trajectory and slightly higher speed and reach. Bair is your primary spacing tool when fading from pressure. It often puts your opponent on the ground, opening up tech chase options/jab reset off bombs. As an edge guard tool, it's trajectory can be gimping against fast fallers.

Dair: This is a controversial move; it either sucks or shines. Make no doubt, this move comes out FAST and can be difficult to see happening. It can jab reset on the first hit, the 2nd hit reliably pops into Uair, Fair, Bair depending on DI/%, and it's a good cross-up to apply shield pressure safely. BUT, it is a tiny hit box, and that second hit can be tough to connect. In addition, it is not a good move to challenge someone while landing, contributing to Bomberman's meh disadvantaged state. It has utility, but it's a sparing tool to use. One good use is the first hit confirms into grab, so practice the timing and you will find new ways to pressure shield and guarantee good grabs.




b.) Grabs

Bomberman's grab itself is relatively quick with a range that is a little on the short side. Due to its quickness and his initial dash speed, it's still a great tool that leads to many reliable follow-ups.

Back Throw: Back throw has lost effectiveness in Beta; DI'ing up and in cripples its effectiveness in killing, and the angle/knockback is too much for any good follow ups. Where it DOES have use, is in throwing opponents at bombs or after training your opponent to DI poorly. The former is more reliable, but the latter is not rewarding enough to really pursue in a match.

Forward Throw: Forward throw boasts surprising power, able to take stocks at around 120% at ledge. At low percents, it can put the opponent on the ground, creating a jab reset/bomb setup situation. This should be a sparing throw for when your opponent expects Down/Up throw or is near ledge.

Down Throw: Down throw and Up throw are a bit similar. The difference is Down throw has lower knock-back growth but has a slightly horizontal trajectory which proper DI can turn into an escape from guaranteed follow-ups. This is especially prevalent at mid percents. Down throw is great early on, especially on fast-fallers (even till mid percents, unlike Up throw). If your opponent is DI'ing Up throw a particular direction, use Down throw to mix up the DI, creating opportunities.

If this is DI's in, Uair/Fair/Nair/bomb-throw up are your choices. If this isn't DI'd or is DI'd away/down, Up-smash is guaranteed as are your typical aerials + up-tilt. I'm exploring bomb-throw to extend grab chains on fast-fallers.

Up Throw: The heart and soul of Bomberman's grab game. It reliably connects to most aerials till higher percents. Against fast-fallers you can chain grab through early percents, ending with Down smash, Up smash, Up tilt, bomb throw, aerials, etc. It's a great combo starter early on, but it's knockback growth hurts its usefulness later when you're basically trying to bait jumps to land an Up-B KO off the top.




c.) Specials/recovery

I will talk about bombs last as they are the most extensive.

Rocket Jump/Boost/Whatever: Bomberman's Up-B is really good... and really bad. I'll first discuss it in recovery. Vertically, it grants huge height, even with the late startup. The hitboxes on it have high priority and completely cover Bomberman's body, making it a safe way to get back to ledge, assuming you're near it. What it's not so good at is horizontal movement. He has a Zero Suit Samus problem, that Up-B has virtually no use horizontally, but unlike ZSS, he doesn't have any tools besides innate aerial mobility to cover that distance. As such, spending your jump then getting knocked off ledge usually closes the stock on you. Thus, it's imperative to DI as high and in as possible when at later percents. Early on, survival DI will just get you knocked into combos, so opt for low and out so you can just recover below edge and opt for a ledge get-up.

Offensively, it is surprisingly useful. The initial blast has a great horizontal trajectory with solid power, making it a great mixup next to Down smash. Also, it's huge height gain is apparent when grounded, taking airborne opponents by surprise and possibly killing them off the top. In battlefield, it is possible to Up throw --> Up air --> Up air --> Up-B to close the stock. Against fast-fallers, it doesn't connect as reliably compared to floaties, so be sparing in those MUs. Against floaties, especially those who struggle to land, this can give them huge problems off vertical combos. Also note the peak reliably connects but the upward travel doesn't.

Bomb Kick: This move has 100% more utility due to bombs having a hitbox. Also, the move connects more reliably with a bigger hitbox of its own that pops opponents up for Fairs across a wide percent range. Bomb kick is quick, safe, and slows/halts aerial momentum vertically and horizontally, which is useful for stalling. It's not recommended to use it while recovering horizontally as the halt in horizontal momentum is far worse than any vertical gains you may make. The move has solid use on the ground in place of Forward tilt.

Detonate: I'm just going to relegate this to bombs/strategy discussion. You blow things up.... cool. Note that all bombs explode, allowing you to compound their effects to close a stock or just deal a ton of damage. Because this is REALLY quick, feel free to detonate bombs as often as is possible to hit the opponent (will discuss more on this later). It is a reasonable choice when attempting to recover to push the opponent away from the ledge (if a bomb is available). Note that you cannot detonate while in special fall or injured.

Bomb Throw: The central aspect of Bomberman's kit. In v0.9b, he typically relied on getting out bombs when opponent pressure has been removed (i.e. just died or recovering). Then, you relied on huge blast radii to close stocks for free or cover options. This led to campy gameplay that struggled under pressure and in small stages. Those days are gone. One, because the blast radius is (rightfully) reduced. And two, because bombs have a hit box ANYTIME THEY ARE IN MOTION, NOT JUST THE INITIAL THROW. You can basically imagine throwing rocks which land for you to later kick around at people. This hit lasts long enough to guarantee grabs, tilts, aerials to land (not long enough for Dsmash/Usmash). And, the knockback is low enough that the hit will ALWAYS jab reset. Meaning, you can answer a failed tech off Back air with a bomb throw --> grab off the reset. Bombs also hit confirm into themselves, meaning you can toss a bomb, hit, detonate as true combo with any bomb.*

*Be advised, small bombs will always jab reset and combo into themselves easily. Medium bombs have higher knockback and P-bombs even more, so while they can still reset and confirm into themselves, the timing is a little stricter since your opponent will actually get hit out of range. This is only of particular concern for P-bombs, so be decisive when the hit lands.

This will be the crux of discussion in strategy.




d.) Stats

Bomberman has high ground speed, aerial speed, and aerial control. His short hop is relatively low to the ground, making short-hop aerials aggressive and quick. In addition, he has a rather heavy weight, giving him survivability that you wouldn't expect for a character his size.

On the downside, Bomberman can be combo'd rather easily, and he is a bit of a fast-faller, which can lead to gimps.




2.) General Strategy
So we see that Bomberman has some great tools for combos, neutral, shield pressure, stage control, and closing stocks. But how does that all fit together? And how do we overcome his weight and relatively poor horizontal recovery? That's where we're headed next!


a.) Bombs: A How To

Before we can have a thorough discussion of Bomberman's strategy, we have to talk about bombs. Their uses, when to use them, how to use them, and some tips and tricks.

Bomb throw has always been a versatile move, but it was lacking in a way to threaten approaches/break pressure without losing the bomb itself in the process. With the addition of hitboxes on moving bombs, this has changed. I would like to examine bombs in 3 ways: throw tactics, bomb placement, bomb use by size.

Before I begin, please note that you should typically be short/full hopping while throwing bombs; that way you can utilize your great aerial control and throw further/get more use out of dropping bombs.



Throw Tactics: Something that is very important for effective Bomberman play is intelligent bomb throwing/placement. Due to the hitbox on bombs, this is of elevated importance.

Typically, in neutral, you will want to focus on 2 things. 1.) Stuffing neutral approaches. 2.) Setting bombs in strategic locations for combos and stage control.

The first point is simple; if your opponent is mid-range or rushing, focus primarily on throwing bombs forward to block approaches into your space. These will typically be small bombs as spending any more time than needed to get bombs out risks giving the neutral away. If you find yourself under pressure, throwing bombs straight up or dropping them can turn a lost neutral into a reset or turn into your favor. Think of Isaac's Down tilt; he can take a hit, but the opponent ends up trading in the process and you can reset, except you can hold your opponent in place, detonate, and follow-up depending on the circumstance.

The second point is a difficult one, but bomb kick helps us adjust as needed. Regarding actually throwing your bombs, it is important to master getting your bombs where you want them while being as far away as possible, so as not to waste time running around dropping bombs. If you are edge guarding, by all means just sit there pulling a P-bomb and toss it straight up. But otherwise, try and keep your opponent at a distance and give them no chance to sully your gameplan because you are wasting time walking around. Most platform maps like Battlefield, Castle Siege, Dreamland, you can throw like normal to land bombs on platforms. Also note that dropping a bomb on a platform and kicking it is a very easy way to get bombs underneath opposing platforms, if close enough. Explore to find what maps are your preference and most comfortable to set bombs optimally.

This second point leads very naturally into our next discussion of bombs: placement.




Bomb Placement: Typically, you will want at least 1 medium/P-bomb at ledge, and 1 on any low-hanging/central platforms. Most BBM's I've seen (even in v0.9b) mistakenly hoard bombes to 1 side, creating a "fort" of bombs. This is a mistake, because if your opponent pulls you to the other side, you have 0 stage presence and will have to give up one of those bombs to gain that presence. Thus, where your ledge guarder is, your platform guarder is not. Lastly, you will want a bomb in the center of the base stage platform to balance your stage control across the entirety of the relevant stage.

Now note that this is the "ideal". For stages that don't conform to this layout (FD, Castle Siege, Smashville come to mind), adapt as needed. So for FD, you can afford double stage presence or double edge guarders. Or you may simply focus on barraging with small bombs with zero commitment to placement, instead focusing on confirming into combos and keeping neutral close and uncomfortable. For Smashville, you may put 2 bombs on the platform so as to cover the possibility of it being at either ledge to close stocks/cover recoveries high. For Castle Siege, you may do no ledge guarders since you can instead guard the 2 platforms, closing vertical space on your opponent.

Whatever you do, ensure that medium/P-bombs are spaced from one another. You spent all this time getting them out, why would you botch the stage control you've afforded yourself? Bomb kick can rectify this, but it's not time well-spent. I'd rather space them, then bomb kick into a double-bomb stock-closer. That way, the central goal of stage control can be achieved but the option of wombo-combo is there when we need it.

One final note on placement: don't try and force bombo combos or adhere strictly to a setup. This is a gameplan guideline for neutral. When you are aggressing, edge guarding, recovering, landing, etc, your priority shifts from stage control to reading techs/closing stocks (for advantage state) and preventing edge guards/juggles (for disadvantage state). Bombs facilitate both of these, but only if you drop your commitments to bombs you already have out that aren't helping at all.

The key is to always be throwing bombs when possible, ensuring that they either help close stocks, establish stage presence/control, or help you recover and reset.



Bomb Use by Size: I would like to take a closer look at how we can use each specific bomb type.


Small Bombs: Think of these bombs as an extended jab. The knockback is low, but you can land grabs/combos off them, and they jab reset. They confirm reliably off the bomb hit itself, and they can be surprisingly powerful at punishing failed techs due to being able to jab reset. These are low commitment bombs that should be tossed around like candy. Unfortunately, due to their size, bomb kick shenanigans can be hard to land, so focus on just throwing these.


Medium Bombs: These set up kill confirms off Fair reliably. Their markedly larger size lets them hit a little harder, giving us more time to follow-up and giving us more coverage to land the hit. These come out fairly quickly, after about 1 second of holding (note, if you throw the bomb JUST BEFORE it visually gets bigger, it will still come out as a medium sized bomb; this is important for optimizing our speed). When space allows, ALWAYS opt for pulling these out. They have great coverage, lead into our kill-confirms, and are REALLY potent to kick around.


P-Bombs: Bomberman is most know for his P-bombs; whether for better or for worse, they are a central staple of his ability to close stocks. For some, it feels like a free stock and can be infuriating. For others, it appears completely predictable, ineffective, and nonthreatening. P-bombs, used correctly, or viciously effective. BUT restraint is necessary. Consider a brief cost-benefit analysis: P-bombs take approximately 2 seconds to get out, and you are defenseless during this time, but in exchange, you get an indefinite stock-closer on the stage that can be kicked to confirm into itself or edgeguard with. Thus, I have the following guidelines for P-bombs:

NEVER pull a P-bomb in neutral or disadvantage state. You WILL get punished and it WON'T be worth it.

ALWAYS pull a P-bomb when the opponent has died, is offstage, or is high above you from knockback. These are free opportunities to get a central tool on the field that can give you a big advantage in closing the current stock or starting the new one off with a big damage boost.

Do not try to force a P-bomb play; if you need to detonate another bomb for a good reason, do so! And it can be very plain that you want to put someone into a P-bomb, so try to play like it's not even there... your opponent may begin to do the same and fall into it or not DI properly off a solid Bair on the other side of the stage.

That last point exemplifies the importance of cost vs. benefit and risk vs. reward. If you put great risk to yourself pulling a P-bomb, you will really want to get value out of it. This may lead you to being telegraphed (and punished) or refrain from detonating smaller bombs that could lead into a Fair kill because you're too focused on a gimmick. NEVER let a gimmick get in the way of sensible decision making. Bomberman can style on people, but that doesn't mean it should be the goal when P-bomb hits the board.

Now that we've covered bombs rather extensively, let's discuss some adjustments to our stage control through bomb kick (and some tricks).




b.) Bomb Kick

Before I examine bomb kick as it relates to the bombs themselves, I want to take a moment to mention the move on its own. In the air, it has a larger hitbox than in v0.9b, being viable as a combat move. It tends to hit opponents anywhere from straight up to a 45 degree angle. This sets really well for Bomberman's Fair game; while I don't encourage its liberal use, do consider it an added tool for spacing and initiating combos at all percent ranges.

Now, for the good stuff!


On the ground: Bomb kick on the ground is pretty simple. It's relatively quick, hits bombs a little further than your Down tilt travels, and those bombs have a hit box while in motion. I typically do not recommend grounded kicks, save 2 scenarios. The reason being that it's just not enough distance compared to an aerial kick, and it's very easy to just short hop over. However, it has its place when there is an opportunity to kick a bomb into a grounded opponent for a jab reset confirming into detonate, and for getting medium and P-bombs to the ledge since you have time and it's easier to control than aerial bomb kick. Other than that, you really don't need to kick bombs this way often.


In the air: Bomb kick in the air is devious. No matter where a bomb is, it will send it on an arc trajectory that travels about the distance of dash attack (pretty substantial). Not only that, but bombs travel rather quickly, moving faster horizontally than your bomb throw. Aerial bomb kick is sort of the hidden surprise in Bomberman's arsenal. Fast-falling bomb kick can really catch an opponent in neutral or create opportunities otherwise not possible in the advantage state. Note that with the larger hit box, it's easier to kick bombs this way, but it's also easier to kick them backwards, so be sure to practice this and get a feel for how the move operates.

So we see 2 distinct manners of using bomb kick, but a critical question is when do we bomb kick and when do we let our current configuration just chill? There are 3 primary answers, 2 of which are pretending there are no platforms.

1.) In an edgeguard situation. This is pretty apparent. If a bomb is available (P-bomb in particular), give it a good boot instead of having to throw one. The trajectory from aerial bomb kick can really screw up horizontal recoveries. And it's faster than waiting for a bomb to get big.

2.) To invade neutral/be aggressive/tech chase. This is less apparent, but the concept is clear. When you have bombs out, it can often be a better idea to kick a bomb than throw a new one. The distance is better and it's far less punishable. So in instances where you are playing a neutral that is low to the ground, you have platforms covered, or your opponent is on the ground/teching, it can be a really great idea to be aggressive by intruding bombs into their space before they can regain composure. This requires a lot of experience and intuition to do right; or rather, your opponent will let you know when you're doing this too much because they won't fall for it and try approaching higher to punish.

3.) With platforms, it is often a good idea to kick a bomb off a platform. This is particularly useful on a stage like Castle Siege where the platforms are low to the ground and cover a lot of the stage; this maneuvering can make the stage feel very uncomfortable and favorably place your bomb in the middle of the stage. Smashville is another good opportunity for this as the moving platform offers flexibility in strategy.

Whenever you choose to use bomb kick, do your best to not kick a bomb onto another bomb unless you are pressuring shield/attempting a bombo combo. You're wasting valuable stage control which you will then have to spend time separating from one another.

On that note, if you do find yourself with bombs too close (hey, I may have this grand strategy in my head, but I still make poor placement choices,) then you can actually position an aerial bomb kick such that the 2 bombs go opposite directions. This is a sneaky tactic that can turn into an offensive opportunity if done correctly. You can also just keep them together and double the shield pressure against your opponent. It's up to you and what the MU/stage/situation call for.

One final note about bomb kick: when bombs collide with a solid wall (even a corner), they will bounce (hardly) and then fall straight down. I need to further test this, but this can also work on nonsolid platforms. As such, you can kick bombs at these objects to plop the bomb straight down and extend how long the hit box is out. Marginally useful, but useful nonetheless. This has particular use in covering vertical recoveries, but it's usually a better idea to short-hop bomb drop/bomb toss-up to achieve the same end result.




c.) Surviving

Now that we've looked at the overall cohesion of Bomberman's gameplan, how do we adapt when things don't go right? As I've mentioned earlier, sometimes the solution is dropping/tossing up small bombs to break pressure and create space/time for yourself.

Our opponent knows our biggest weakness lies in horizontal recovery. As such, it is a much better option to risk another juggle than it is to DI towards the blast zone to bank on recovery. Typically, DI'ing up and in is the best solution, particularly at later percents. At early percents, up and away/down and away can be better choices as you're not worried about not recovering but getting out of combos.

When recovering, save double jump until absolutely necessary. We can recover low, but we cannot recover far out.

When recovering high, you can afford to throw 1-2 small bombs to help clear the landing. Remember to fade BEHIND them so they can actually protect and wall out your opponent.




d.) Dealing with Pressure

I know I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I wanted to put this all in one place, especially since it seems to be a common "problem" people have with Bomberman.

Surprisingly, Bomberman isn't terribly concerned with pressure, if you know how to deal with it. Frankly, his high ground speed lets him literally run away from most of his problems. BUT, if you find yourself caught in shield in a cross-up, here are some good OoS options you can use:

Grab. I mean, it sounds elementary, but Bomberman's grab game is a good reason for people to think twice being unsafe on him or pressuring shield.

Fade-away Nair. Nair doesn't have the best coverage, but it has great speed and hits slightly below Bomberman, making it a great tool against an opponent that just landed a short hop approach.

Fade-away Bair. While a bit slower than Nair, it has stronger reach to punish cross-ups and can put the opponent off-stage.

Down tilt: Remember that this covers some distance, so opponents may feel safe on shield with a long disjoint, but Down tilt can still cover their landing.

Up tilt: Particularly useful for vertical approaches and the opponent lands just behind you or on top of you. It covers your whole body and leads to great follow-ups.

Fade-away bomb throw up: This is more for cross-ups that leave the opponent with some distance on you. You can dash away, short-hop bomb-pull and throw it behind you to try and stuff further aggression and buy some time to throw more bombs or even think for a bit.

Double-jump bomb drop: This is useful for opponents that prefer to initiate vertical combos or have a strong Up-air. After being pressured in shield, you can do this to bait out Up-tilt or jump Up-air which will be followed by getting hit with the bomb to potentially swing the momentum or reset.

In all of these options, it's best to gauge how your opponent has been approaching you and how he/she responds to your bombs. If you can bait them with bomb throws and score hits, then do so. If not, focus on your fast normals and try and fade away to buy some time and get bombs out. And always remember you have great speed and aerial mobility!




3.) Specific MUs

I'd like to discuss some specific good and bad match-ups for Bomberman here.


The Good


Bowser
This is one of our best MUs. Bowser is really easy to hit, is subject to combos, is easy to hold back in neutral, and is easy to edgeguard. Basically, focus on getting medium bombs out often, getting Bowser to 60% range asap. After this, start pushing him offstage with Fair/Forward throw and building P-bombs to blast him during recovery. Until he's in kill range, this will usually pop him up for another Fair, rinse repeat. Only aggress once a bomb hits, because we are outranged in normals. He will whack you, grab you, and take you 0-60% himself while juggling you. Thankfully, we are faster than Bowser and have plenty of tools to keep him at bay.



Isaac
This will draw flack, guaranteed, but it's a positive MU for Bomberman nonetheless. Isaac is a terrific zoner, trading well and punishing poor approaches and spacing. Bomberman plays off this rather well, especially since Isaac is a bit heavy and on the slow side with high-commitment approaches. Our superior aerial control/speed can make it tough for Gaia, side-B, and other key moves to threaten our approaches/landings. And bombs make it very challenging for Isaac to use side-B safely without either or trade or outright falling into a combo. And his ability to edge-guard us outside of side-B is limited vertically, helping us mitigate one of our biggest weaknesses. The challenge here is down-throw to up-air combos, but good DI helps us here. Isaac must play patiently, exerting mental fortitude above all else, because, let's be real, Bomberman is annoying to play against when played well.



Pit
Again, may draw flack. The success that Bomberman has here lies in 2 points. 1.) We have better aerial speed than Pit, giving us more range/burst in neutral to evade him or be aggressive. This can make it quite tough for Pit to get in safely and string together combos. 2.) Pit's tools for dealing with bombs seem great, but are awful in practice. I say this particularly for side-B. It can knock bombs away, which is nice. Except you can react-detonate to punish it ON-HIT, and you can hide behind bombs and guarantee grabs. It's a giant liability for Pit that players mistakenly do a lot, thinking it's effective. Down-B is a nonissue here, and arrows aren't a challenge for our air speed. Not to mention Bomberman decimates anyone who has a primarily linear recovery with no hitbox because bombs.



Captain Falcon
Both characters have brutal combo games against one another and can edgeguard each other fairly easily. But Falcon's lack of good tools to deal with bombs and a reliance on short-hop/grounded approaches makes for an uphill battle on his part.



The Bad


Ichigo
Probably our worst MU. Personally, I feel Ichigo needs down-tilt toned back as it's stupid-safe and brain-dead to use and get combos out of. That aside, this is an awful MU. Ichigo has speed, strong combos, disjoints, and strong edgeguards that either keep us offstage or outright kill/gimp us. This is a HARD match to win, and things can go very wrong very fast. Good DI, mixing up recovery and ledge options, and continuously populating the stage with small bombs is the only way to win the match. Let bombs be your neutral to create openeings, then abuse Ichigo's fast-fall status and equally linear/punishable recovery. Flat/open stages are awful for this MU as Ichigo can approach rather freely with little that we can do, and bombs are easier to deal with/get around.



Marth
Ichigo but a less offensive ground game. But compared to Ichigo, Marth has a more punishing aerial game that builds damage quickly. Again, let bombs be your neutral and stuff his short-hop approaches, forcing him to go high where his options are less potent. Be patient as your terrific speed can punish hard-read F-smashes and create opportunities.



Zelda
This is a bad MU solely because of Up-B completely gimping Bomberman. Otherwise, it's 50-50 with Zelda having a tough time getting in if we camp bombs and Bomberman having a tough time getting out of Zelda's strong combo/DI punish game. On-stage, do your best to put bombs in places that can punish Up-B's, opening up grabs and early down-smash kills. Offstage, be patient and recover as low as possible.



Sheik
Fast, strong combo game, hard to punish, hard to edgeguard, hard to recover against, has a really strong projectile to interrupt us. Thankfully, Sheik cannot edgeguard low terribly well, we can survive to high percents against her, and she is reliant on close-range combat which we have good tools to space and maneuver within. Let bombs do the talking, leaning on your throws and keeping Sheik airborne.



The Neutral


Fox
I actually find this MU to be not that bad. Bomberman can match Fox in speed, maneuverability, damage, etc. Both characters have strong combo games and early finishers off guaranteed setups. But Fox is not a strong vertical edgeguarder, and he can struggle to recover against Bomberman. As such, both players are lenient on smart neutral-game play and DI decisions, putting the outcome primarily into player decisions rather than character innate ability. The biggest challenge here is not being overly liberal with bombs because reflector can mitigate them.



Falco
This is more 45:55 in Falco's favor, mainly because Dair is such a strong tool. But Bomberman edgeguards and combos Falco really well, with bombs being even more effective here than against Fox as Falco is a bit slower on the ground with a weaker short-hop game. Lasers can mitigate a challenging neutral for Falco, but ultimately our high mobility can make Falco's approaches committing and unsafe.


Note that this is not exhaustive by any means (see below reserved post for complete MU list) but it highlights important MUs for popular/higher tiered characters.



Pros/Cons Summarized
A convenient overview of what Bomberman is all about.


Pros
High ground mobility
High aerial mobility
Fast with good frame data
Strong combo game
Flexible playstyle
Early kills
Strong edgeguards
Strong neutral game
Rewards good reads
Great juggles
Good OoS options
Great grab game


Cons
Difficulty dealing with disjoints
Poor horizontal recovery
Linear vertical recovery
Fast-faller
Combo-weight
Can struggle to land safely
Can struggle to kill in certain MUs
Limited coverage on his aerials
Lack of prolonged hitboxes/disjoints
Bomb throw can be relatively slow in certain situations



5.) Advanced Techniques/Misc

Coming Soon!

Reserved for MU spreads

-2:

-1:

0:

+1:

+2:

TBD:

Notable Explanations

Coming Soon

Changelog

8/29/17: Initial release

8/31/17: MU spreads v.1

This is really good. I'm gonna have to have a play around with this. The section on gameplan will help me when I come around to analyzing Bomberman more extensively

Good man...
You make me jealous!

Why thank you!

"Precision, control, and stage awareness are critical to maximizing his available output." Maybe this is why I don't play B-man much... I have control to some extent.....

I still argue for Pit because I doubt his bombs are transcendent, but we'll see what happens, we'll see

Especially when basically every disjoint-based character is really good in the meta... except BDee but his disjoints barely cover distance anyway so ehhhh...

I'd also argue for Falco's since his reflector and projectile is arguably better than Pit's and dude has better aerials and air mobility in general

Other than that, not bad of a guide for those attempting to pick up Bomberguy
Like, I swear, I've seen so many people forget about his actual existence! I mean, Smash4 has more characters and more players but anyone decent knows about which characters are in... albeit some in a negative way (Sonic being annoying, Bayonetta being OP, Cloud's Limit, and the 3 clones)

Anyway, back on topic

I still think BBM needs some buffs but he's not bottom 10, just needs some more representation

There are 3 big issues Pit has in the MU: his recovery, his side-B, and his abundance of multi-hit moves. The first is simple: a linear recovery with no hitbox is a huge liability against BBM with what he can do using bombs at the ledge. Not to mention his D-smash. The second is because, while side-B hits bombs, it's not hitting BBM and can be punished with detonate; it makes the move a liability when bombs are on the board. The 3rd is a bit odd; what I mean by it is that in order for Pit to deal meaningful damage and knockback, his aerials and some ground moves need to last till the final hit. Any interruption from bombs ruins these moves and saves BBM immensely. Tossing bombs straight up and dropping them from full-hops is an easy and legitimate way to invalidate a lot of Pit's moves since, even if you get punished, the bomb will come back around before you're done getting hit and save your butt. If it weren't for arrows, dash attack, and his grab game, this would be a +2 for BBM.

I agree with you on Falco, which is why he's neutral/45:55 his favor instead of +1/+2 for BBM. This MU is pretty volatile based on stage choice, but it's evident that stages like Battlefield/Dreamland are the go-to options for BBM because platform combos work in his favor and increased vertical space can mitigate lasers. BBM can take Falco 0-60 off 1 grab, finishing with D-smash to get him offstage and easily gimped. The key for both is momentum and being able to get good reads to start grabs.

I mean, people in both the BBM and Pit Discords agree that BBM/Pit is at least 45/55 in Pit's favor

Also, Side be is not the main problem, it's arrows

You can't charge bombs if you get flinched by arrows and in the case of getting a P Bomb, it can still get cancelled by simply using a single arrow while moving, so Bomb Kicking P Bombs can be cancelled easily

Even then, pit can shoot one arrow faster than bbm can throw a bomb

Also, mind you, Pit still has his multijumps to recover mid or high easily while BBM can only really recover high or low

I will add that this MU changes quite a bit based on stage pick. It's all on how that changes the dynamics of bombs, arrows, and Pit's/BBM's ability to utilize given platforms. So, for example, Pit has a great time on Battlefield because Uair/Nair are monsters on that stage. But BBM has a good time on Smashville because the moving platform keeps bombs in Pit's face and really hinders his aerial approaches, keeping him to a lackluster ground game.

We may just have to agree to disagree on this one.

Ehh, it doesn't really matter right now

Who knows if bbm gets buffed/nerfed in 1.0.3, so half of what I'm saying is probably stupid by the time it arrives