The following is an archived post from the Amiibo Dojo. It has been uploaded to the Exion Vault for referential purposes and retains its original publication date; some of the post’s links may not function currently or exist at all.

Ironically, you can’t just train your amiibo yourself and expect it to win. No, in addition to that, your amiibo needs match experience against a variety of different opponents. In this article, I am going to help you “raise your amiibo’s EXP” by telling you what fighters you need to prepare for, and how to do so.

Ideally, your amiibo will fight every character in Super Smash Bros. in the game at some point. Though, I understand that a lot of you don’t have that kind of time. If you’re going to be entering a tournament with your amiibo, there are a few characters that your amiibo needs experience against to succeed. Let’s get started.

#1: Little Mac

As by far the best amiibo in the game, it’s absolutely essential that you get some practice in against this guy. A well-trained Little Mac doesn’t just consistently win – he consistently decimates them due to, in a way, breaking their AI. As you may know, Mac’s smash attacks are the best in the amiibo metagame – not only are they extremely strong, but they can shatter a full shield in a single hit. This creates a problem for your amiibo. If it blocks one of Little Mac’s attacks, its shield will break, and that’ll lead to a KO. But if your amiibo does not block one of Little Mac’s attacks, it’ll get hit, and that will also lead to a KO. Mac has a Counter as well, which makes him a serious threat to any character.

So, how do you beat Little Mac? It’s tough, but there are surefire ways that can help give your amiibo an extra edge against him. Here are some tips I’ve gathered from my experience against Little Mac:

• Teach your amiibo to dodge. That way, your amiibo will be able to avoid shield breaks and will have a moment to retaliate with an attack of its own.
• Give your amiibo defensive bonuses. This may seem obvious, but defensive bonuses will allow your amiibo to take more hits. Two bonuses in particular will help a lot – Easy perfect shield and Health-restoring shield. With EPS, your amiibo will be able to more easily block attacks in a pinch, and with Health-restoring shield, your amiibo will restore health just by blocking. Yes, this means whenever your amiibo’s shield is broken, it recovers HP.
• If your amiibo has a projectile, teach it to use it. The best way to contend against Little Mac is to keep him away at all costs. Firing a projectile is a good way to do this – it keeps him away and deals damage as well.

#2: Bowser

Though not as destructive as Little Mac, Bowser is still a true force to be reckoned with. His attacks are extremely powerful, and with the aid of attack points and Critical-hit capability, can KO amiibo as early as 60% near the edge. He also has a killer command grab, Flying Slam, that deals a lot of damage, and is inescapable. Against Bowser, your amiibo needs to bring its A game. One mistake and it’s all over.

How can you defeat Bowser? Bowser is a very resilient character. He can just shrug off weak attacks, and he can take many strong blows before being KO’d. Aggressive play is not the way to go against him; as he’ll simply be able to perfect shield and respond with a smash attack or side special. Here are a couple of tips I’ve put together.

• Your amiibo needs to be really good at dodging. Dodging is arguably more important against Bowser than Little Mac due to his side special, Flying Slam, which takes less than 13% of a second to activate. Basically, your amiibo needs to be able to spot dodge at the drop of a hat. You can teach your amiibo to do this with the timer method.
• Again, defense points and bonuses will help. Easy perfect shield and Improved dodge ability come to mind as helpful bonuses against Bowser. Investing in your amiibo’s defense points will also help it to stomach strong hits from the koopa king.
• Projectiles are, once again, a useful tool against Bowser. Most projectiles, if powerful enough, will keep him at bay while dealing damage. If the projectile is weak, though, Bowser will be  able to walk right through it without flinching, so watch out.

#3: Ness

I know from experience that Ness is a true force to be reckoned with. Super NES, my Ness amiibo, even won a tournament! He has a lot of tools that allow him to handily destroy most opponents. PK Fire, his side special, can be spammed, which racks up insane damage. He’s also got a nuclear back throw that KOs foes very early. There’s also the fact that he fires himself with PK Thunder every once in a while, and, if this hits, is essentially a one-hit KO move due to its incredible raw power.

How do you beat Ness? It’s easier to prepare for him than Bowser and Little Mac. Here are some tips for fighting this kid:

• Shielding against Ness’ attacks is safe. His moves lack the shield-breaking prowess of Bowser and Little Mac, so perfect shields are effective against him. If you can teach your amiibo to block with good timing, you’ll have a good chance of beating Ness.
• Prepare your amiibo extensively against PK Thunder. The reason this move works so well for Ness is because his opponents are rarely ever ready for it. They detect that he shoots a projectile, but don’t understand that hitting himself with the ball of electricity means he turns into an electrified missile of death. If you play as Ness against your amiibo, and fire yourself with PK Thunder, you’ll be taking the first step to getting your amiibo to dodge this powerful attack.
• Against Ness, be careful with projectiles. He can absorb energy-based projectiles with PSI Magnet, and has the ability to reflect all other projectiles with his forward smash.
• Give your amiibo the Improved escapability bonus. This bonus is a huge pain for me, as it allows your amiibo to escape from grabs significantly faster. This means that your amiibo will be able to escape before Ness can use his incredibly strong back throw.

#4: Shulk

While not as influential on the metagame as Ness, Bowser, and Little Mac, Shulk is still someone to prepare for. His Monado Arts allow him to change his stats at will – he can increase his attack, knockback, speed, defense, and jump power, respectively. His range is also extremely good, with many of his attacks reaching multiple character lengths away. Oh, and he has the best Counter in the game, which is boosted further by the Power Vision custom move.

How can you beat Shulk? Well, the best way to beat the monado boy is simply practicing against him. There’s not much strategy to beating Shulk, to be honest; your amiibo just needs to be prepared for what’s coming.

• Make sure your amiibo fights Shulk. Like I literally just said, have your amiibo fight Shulk, and it’ll learn to avoid his long-ranged attacks, and be careful with using moves of its own so that it doesn’t activate his counter.
• Once again, defense points are important. Shulk can become very powerful with the help of his Monado Arts, so of course defense points are good for your amiibo to be able to take more hits.

#5: Rosalina & Luma

The mere presence of Luma is enough to confuse some characters. Amiibo don’t understand that Rosalina can attack in two places at once.

Beating Rosalina: Similarly to Shulk, the best way to prepare against this character is simply to have your amiibo fight her. There aren’t any specific bonuses that will give it the extra edge over Rosalina, so match experience is the best way to go.

• Have your amiibo fight Rosalina. Again, I literally just said this, but if your amiibo gets some good matches in against Rosalina, it’ll start to learn how to handle Luma.

#6: Lucario

This Pokémon is very powerful due to his Aura mechanic. The more damage Lucario takes, the more powerful his attacks become. He’s also got Aura Sphere, a powerful projectile that can easily take out opponents, and also a Counter that can give him an advantage in battle if used at the right time.

How do you beat Lucario? Moreso than ever, defense points are very important.Even if your amiibo hasn’t taken much damage, one hit from a wounded Lucario could be deadly. Your amiibo will also need to be careful with its attacks so that Lucario doesn’t strike with his counter.

• Defense. Defense. Defense. Invest some points and bonus slots into your amiibo’s defense, and you’ll be able to stomach those powerful shots.
• Your amiibo will need to learn to be careful with attacks. Your amiibo cannot just randomly throw out smashes in hopes of getting a stray hit. It needs to take on a cool, calculated playstyle to be able to succeed. This isn’t really something that needs to be taught; with enough experience against Lucario, your amiibo should learn this itself.

#7: Marth

The Hero-King himself barely makes the cut on this list. He’s got tippers, which can net him early KOs, as well as a powerful Counter that can one-shot some characters. Marth’s side special, Dancing Blade, is also a great tool that can rack up damage fast.

So, how do you defeat Marth? There’s a few things you can do. First, you absolutely need your amiibo to have experience against him so it becomes aware of the tippers. But there are a few other not-so-obvious tips (get it?) that I’ve prepared for you.

• Teach your amiibo to either stay right next to Marth, or very far away. As long as your amiibo isn’t within tipper range, you’re all good. You can teach your amiibo to either stand right next to Marth, or stay far away.
• As always, projectiles are good. On the subject of staying far away, projectiles are a good way to avoid damage.

And there you have it. Seven characters your amiibo should prepare for, and how to deal with them! Again, you would ideally have the amiibo practice against every character, but if there are any characters to prepare against, it’s these ones.

And hey, if you liked this guide, check out the Amiibo Dojo forums. You’ll get a lot of perks by signing up (for FREE) – exclusive training methods, early access to my guides, the ability to choose what comes next, and much more! Oh, and you should also check out the Amiibo Dojo Twitter account. I post to-the-minute updates and rants, so if you’re interested, why not follow it?

Have any questions, comments, or concerns? You can use the question section on the aforementioned forum, and you don’t need to sign up to post there. If message boards don’t quite float your boat, you can also fill out this contact form or email me directly at amiibocloud@gmail.com!

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