D-style

:This article is about the Super Smash Bros. Melee strategy. For "Dagger Style", see the article on GunZ: The Duel.

D-Style is a strategy in Super Smash Bros. Melee that uses or down-B move (Counter) as an offensive attack. It may also refer to when counter is overly-used, apparently for no reason. Normally, Counter is used for defensive purposes, but in some situations, D-style can be used to attack. D-style was developed in New Jersey and is named for it's creator Dennis Comella. Many players consider D-style to be a newbie tactic, however, it has been known to be very effective against players with superior technical skills.

The Counter move allows the player to parry almost any attack, thus striking the foe without taking damage oneself. An attack must be used on the player using counter for counter to have any effect. This often renders the D-styler "untouchable." However, certain moves cannot be countered or D-styled, such as Kirby's neutral-B, Captain Falcon's up-B, and most notably, grabs. There are also some moves that can be countered, but will sometimes hit a second time before the move is completed. These moves include Pikachu's and Pichu's down-B thunder, Mewtwo's Shadow Ball, Ice Climbers' neutral-B, and Ness' PK Fire.

D-style works best on unsuspecting players who are not familiar with D-style. Experienced players can often predict when a D-styler will use counter, and will be able to attack after the counter has lost it's effect.

D-style Usage
One common use of D-style is running up to a stationary player, who is decidedly likely to attack, and use a short-hop counter. The short-hop is necessary because the dash animation needs to be cancelled before the counter can be used. If successful, the attacker will be attacked with the counter, allowing the D-styler to follow up with another move or moves, especially effective with a character with as much range and power as Marth.

Another use is to idly wait in one area of the stage and wait for the foe to approach and attack. They can attack from any direction--above, below, front, or back--and the counter will amost always hit. A third useful technique is to use counter after you have been sent flying above the top of the stage and begin to fall. Most experienced players will attempt to juggle or attack you, especially characters like Fox, Sheik, and Captain Falcon. D-style can also be used on a player charging a move, when the move is more predictable, such as a forward-smash, another Marth's Shield Breaker, Pichu's Skull Bash, Jigglypuff's Rollout, or Samus's charge beam.

Often it is advantageous to use D-style as a recovery technique, since many experienced players will attempt to edge guard. If the edge guard is countered, the player now has a clean edge to recover onto. Countering also comes in handy as an edge guarding technique itself. If the opponent's recovery move deals damage (e.g. DK, Link, Marth, Mario), it can be edge guarded.

Advantages and Disadvantages
One advantage of D-style is that it will annoy and fluster most opponents. Using Marth's counter will rarely cause a KO, but Roy's counter is considerably more powerful, depending on the move attacked with. Roy's counter does 1.5 times the damage of the attacker's move, so when hit with a powerful move, especially when the opponent is at high damage, the D-styler will KO the attacker. However, Roy's counter has more lag time if it fails. Both Marth's and Roy's counters cause a strange trajectory when the opponent is hit. They will usually fly forward and up, but hit an invisible ceiling and deflect downward, sometimes off the stage. This is most noticeable when the opponent is at a higher damage.

The main disadvantage of D-style is that if it fails, the D-styler is left vulnerable for another attack with a short period of lag afterwards. Experienced players will be able to predict when a player will counter, wait for the move to be executed, and attack after the player has become vulnerable again. Also, an experienced player will often grab the player using counter, since no parry is possible on a grab.

Other uses
One interesting use of counter is that it will deflect certain attacks that are projectiles, like Samus's Charge Shot, Samus's missiles, and Fox/Falco's lasers. Under certain situations when playing with three or more players, the new trajectory of the deflected object will hit another unexpecting player above and behind the player using counter. This could be developed into a team stragegy.

Counter can also be used as an alternative to shielding projectiles, but will usually fail after several repetitions due to its predictability.

Many players neglect the existence of Counter all together, but when used properly, it can be an effective strategy. Princess Peach also has a counter (neutral-B), but this strategy has not yet been fully explored.

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