If we were given one word to describe this FP, it would be unfortunate. Alongside Bayonetta and R.O.B., Sheik is a contender for “worst-in-game” for many reasons. This is a shame because she was considered mid-tier in Super Smash Bros. 4’s amiibo metagame. Simply put, if you’re looking to train a Sheik amiibo, it’s going to be tough. She’s going to lose a lot of games. In some of them, she’ll be KO’d early due to her low weight. In others, she’ll take too long to KO an opponent due to her concerning lack of kill power. Sheik’s a frustrating one, but we’re going to do our best! If you’d like to learn more about her metagame representation, you can find out more on her corresponding wiki page. Otherwise, let’s jump right into today’s training!

Special thanks to MiDe for contributing Sheik’s training information!

Spirits

Spirits are difficult to work with sometimes. Fortunately, they don’t have to be! Just in case you haven’t already seen it, we have a full Spirits guide that explains everything you need to know about them. It includes information on the best Spirits to use, how to equip an FP, and more! Be sure to read the guide first if you haven’t done so yet. Here are a bunch of bonus setups you can use on Sheik, then:

• Banned bonuses: Armor Knight is Sheik’s best friend, as it grants her an additional 1.15x attack power and 1.8x defense. That’s huge, as she’s quite lacking in both kill power and durability. Pair Armor Knight with Move Speed ↑ and you’ve got the best possible setup! Trade-Off Ability ↑ works too, but do note that its 30% damage penalty can be slightly problematic for Sheik given her lightweight status.
• Tournament-legal bonuses: Of course, most of our online tournaments ban Armor Knight. Here are some other options: Physical Attack ↑ (applied either once or twice), Air Defense ↑, and Shield Damage ↑. Not many choices here, sadly, but you’ve got to work with what you can get, right? You could also try Trade-Off Ability ↑, but if you do, you’ll need to invest a bit more heavily into Sheik’s defense stat.
• Raid Boss bonuses: A Raid Boss Sheik can employ a variety of potential setups; one interesting build is Instadrop alongside Landing Lag ↓, and this will grant her incredible vertical movement speed. You could also replace Instadrop with Physical Attack ↑ and Move Speed ↑ if you like.

You can either keep Sheik’s stats balanced (2100 / 2100) or lean more towards attack (2500 / 1700) to improve her kill power. A defensive build (1500 / 2700) works if you’re using Trade-Off Ability ↑, but strength is perhaps more important in this case. Make sure your FP’s Spirit-type is Neutral before you begin training it.

Competitive Training

As usual, you’ll need to mirror match your Sheik amiibo in order to train it properly! Play on Ω-form stages and use a timed ruleset for the best results. Refer to the list of moves below, and use them during these matches! You can stop playing once your FP is around Level 35. Then you can switch its learning off, level it up against CPUs, and then switch its learning back on at Level 50 for some brush-up matches. During training, make sure you walk instead of run. Only jump when recovering — or, more rarely, when you’re about to use an aerial move. You’re free to go off-stage, but we’ll talk more about that in just a moment. Here’s what an optimal Sheik looks like:

• Forward smash is Sheik’s most important neutral tool. It’s pretty much impossible for her to accidentally KO an opponent, so it’s crucial to use her smash attacks whenever possible. Forward smash is an excellent choice, and its multi-hitting properties make it a solid finisher. Up smash should be used to catch landings, and while down smash is mostly outclassed by forward smash, it can still see some use every so often to prevent the latter from becoming stale.
• Dash attack is too good to pass up. When using this move, burst into a dash, quickly use a dash attack, and then go right back to walking. It’s best used to catch landings and rolls.
• Down tilt has a hard-coded follow-up into up smash at later levels, and the move should be used often when your FP is at low percentages. Forward tilt strings into itself and can be used at close range while grounded — make sure forward smash takes priority in that instance, though.
• Back air is Sheik’s best edgeguarding move (and one of the better off-stage aerials overall). Drop off the ledge and attack your FP with as many back airs as possible! This can gimp opponents with poor recoveries, which goes a long way in helping Sheik find her way through tough tournament brackets. You can use a bit of neutral air off-stage too, plus it can help secure a safe landing while on-stage.

You might have noticed a lack of special moves in Sheik’s optimal-attack list. Unfortunately, none of them are particularly helpful in the context of competitive amiibo training, so you should try your best to avoid using (or getting hit by) them. The only time you should use a special move is when you use Vanish to recover back. Don’t use any down airs either — that meteor smash is fun, but far too risky!

Raid Boss Training

If you read the last section, you might be disappointed. A competitive-trained Sheik amiibo doesn’t really act like Sheik, if that makes sense — instead, it focuses on smash attacks. Luckily, an optimal Raid Boss Sheik amiibo acts a bit more like Sheik, as it uses lots of aerials and tilt attacks! Whereas competitive training has you walk instead of run, Raid Boss training encourages you to dash and jump as often as you’d like! Keep taunting to a minimum, and avoid charging smash attacks or playing as fighters that aren’t Sheik. Here are all the attacks you should use against your FP:

• Forward tilt is one of Sheik’s best grounded moves, as it can combo into itself or a forward air. Down tilt has a few hard-coded follow-ups that the AI can use at later levels, including into a tipped up smash. At lower percentages, you can combo down tilt into a few forward airs! Neutral attack’s rapid hit should see some use every so often as well.
• Forward smash is your go-to finisher, as Sheik’s AI cannot be taught to use kill confirms. Down smash can be used to KO as well, and it’s most effective when used at the ledge.
• Neutral air can be used to land, while forward air can chain into itself to rack up a bit of damage. Off-stage play is risky when training a Raid Boss, but back air can be used sometimes after dropping from the ledge. Up air can juggle and activate hard-coded dragdown combos at later levels.

Optimal Raid Boss Sheik FPs shouldn’t use special moves either. There are perfectly valid reasons for this! The AI often fully charges Needle Storm, but then forgets to actually use the attack. This means it spends time charging – and potentially leaving itself vulnerable – and then doesn’t use the attack it just charged. Regarding Burst Grenade, Vanish, and Bouncing Fish, the AI is often inaccurate with landing them, which can leave it wide open to incoming danger. It’s best to just avoid Sheik’s special moves altogether. Not to worry, though — a Sheik Raid Boss will turn out just fine if you stick to the moves listed above!

Wrap-Up

Thanks so much for reading! Sheik’s another one of those “no special moves” characters, but you’re welcome to experiment with them if you want (but we can’t guarantee the FP will turn out well if you do)! Sheik is certainly tough to train, so if you have any questions or need help, feel free to join our Discord community! We’ll do our best to further guide you through training. When your FP is all leveled up and ready for a tournament, you can use our helpful guide to learn how to enter one. We also appreciate donations very much, as they help keep the site running! We’ve also got a Patreon page if that would be more convenient for you. Until next time — happy training!

If you would like to read more amiibo training guides, please follow this link.

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