There are three Links in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate — Link, Young Link, and Toon Link, and today we’re covering the coolest of the three. Compared to his two counterparts, Toon Link is sort of middle-of-the-road in that he is neither considered particularly strong nor particularly weak. If you’d like to learn more about the Hero of Winds and his rich metagame history, feel free to read his corresponding wiki page for additional information. Otherwise, let’s jump right into today’s training!
Spirits
Let’s start with some Spirit recommendations! If you’d like to have your FP participate in Spirits tournaments (or if you just want to raise a powerful Raid Boss), then we’ve got a bunch of setups here that work well with Toon Link. If you want to learn more about how Spirits work in this game, be sure to read our full Spirits guide — or just bookmark it for later!
- Banned bonuses: From an objective point of view, Toon Link’s strongest bonus setup is Armor Knight plus Move Speed ↑. With this build, he’ll enjoy a 1.15x attack boost and a 1.8x defense boost. And then Move Speed ↑ adds a speed boost in addition! Do note that most tournaments keep Armor Knight banned due to its incredible power (and over-centralization).
- Tournament-legal bonuses: Toon Link’s best legal bonus effects include Weapon Attack ↑, Weapon Attack ↑ (yes, two of them), Air Defense ↑, Critical-Health Stats ↑, and Shield Durability ↑. You could also try Mouthful of Curry or Critical Healing & Metal if you want!
- Raid Boss bonuses: For the most part, the bonuses listed above work great on a Raid Boss too! You can also add Move Speed ↑ to the mix in case you want some additional speed. Otherwise, stat-boosting Spirits work just fine.
Regarding stat distributions, you can either keep your Toon Link’s spread balanced (2100 / 2100) or invest in additional attack points (2500 / 1700). Anything’s fine! Make sure the FP’s Spirit type is Neutral — that way, it won’t lose Spirit-type matchups when it fights other Figure Players later on down the line.
Competitive Training
We’ve got a brief bullet-point list of each and every one of Toon Link’s viable moves below! If you’re a seasoned amiibo trainer, you’re welcome to memorize the list and dip. Otherwise, we’ll include detailed explanations of each move and its role in Toon Link’s kit. Let’s break it down!
- Forward smash and grab at close range
- Up smash, up air, and up tilt to juggle opponents
- Boomerang from a distance
- Small amount of jab, down smash, and Spin Attack while grounded
- Forward air off-stage
If you’re new to amiibo training, welcome! Here’s a quick run-down of some basic training concepts: don’t run, stay on the ground unless you’re juggling, and let your FP hit you with the moves listed above every once in a while. Most importantly however: never use amiibo Journeys! When you’re ready to start training, scan in your Toon Link amiibo and choose to play as Toon Link yourself. You could play as Link or Young Link if you like, but you should choose Toon Link for the best possible result.
On the ground, forward smash is Toon Link’s bread and butter. It’s got great kill power and decent speed, and thus should be used often! Grabs work great, too. At low percentages, you can use an up throw to combo into an up air or two. At mid-to-high percentages, a down throw can combo into a back air chain. When your FP has taken lots of damage, you can simply use a back throw to finish it off.
As your FP levels up, it’ll eventually jump every so often. When that happens, use a mix of up smash, up air, and up tilt to intercept its landing. These are listed in descending order of priority, which means up smash is your highest priority and up tilt is your lowest (it’s still good enough to see use, though). Boomerang is the only projectile Toon Link’s AI can properly utilize; it kind of flubs its arrows and bombs. When you’re far away from your FP, toss out a boomerang every so often to rack on damage. Don’t use too many boomerangs, however — we do want the FP to focus on close-ranged combat.
A little bit of jab, down smash, and Spin Attack rounds out our Toon Link’s grounded kit. To be clear, this means you should only use Spin Attack while grounded — out of shield works too! You’ll still want to heavily prioritize forward smash over any of these moves; its power, range, and speed is much more desirable. Finally, we’ve got forward air — Toon Link’s best and only edgeguarding move. This move hits, and it hits hard. When your FP is knocked off-stage, chase it down and smack it with a forward air. Try not to hit it with Spin Attack on your way back to the stage — if you do, the FP may randomly use the attack in midair and leave itself vulnerable.
Toon Link is a finicky fellow, and several of his moves cause more trouble than they’re worth. To make your training as smooth as possible, we recommend avoiding down tilt, dash attack, grab aerial, down air, Hero’s Bow, and Bomb. The AI often charges its Hero’s Bow directly next to an opponent, which gives them a great chance to close in and strike. If any of the explanations listed here confused you, check out our general training guide for more info! It’s designed for beginners and will certainly help you out.
Raid Boss Training
Unlike competitive training, there’s really no “right” way to raise a Raid Boss amiibo. You’re free to run and jump about however you like! Additionally, you’re welcome to experiment a bit and try out other moves not listed here — that being said, there are a few attacks you’ll want to avoid at all costs, and those are listed below as well. Let’s break down our Raid Boss Toon Link recommendations!
- Forward tilt, jab, and down tilt are Toon Link’s main damage-rackers at close range. A little bit of forward smash here and there helps him secure KOs at high percentages, too.
- Up tilt links into itself a few times, and then into either an up smash or a string of up air attacks. You can also use up smash out of shield every once in a while!
- As mentioned in the previous section, Boomerangs are the only projectile Toon Link’s AI manages to use properly. When you’re a fair distance away from your FP, use a Boomerang or two to close the gap.
- Edgeguarding human opponents is always a risk, but forward air is incredibly strong when used off-stage. Neutral air strikes on both sides, but is best used above the stage as a landing option — not off-stage.
- For his grab, Toon Link fires off a Hookshot. It’s got decent range, but it’s also rather slow. When your FP is at high percentages, grab it and earn a quick KO with a back throw. Don’t grab too often, though, as the Hookshot does leave Toon Link vulnerable if it misses.
When training Toon Link, you’ll want to avoid using his other special moves and especially his grab aerial (also known as his tether recovery). He’s got a tendency to spam his grab aerial if left unchecked, and this never works out well because it deals minuscule damage and the AI rarely combos off it. As stated earlier, you’re welcome to experiment with more of Toon Link’s moves however you see fit — feel free to use our recommendations as a base!
Wrap-Up
It’s very difficult (if not flat-out impossible) for Toon Link and Young Link to hold a candle to Link, who has cemented himself as one of the most popular and successful tournament contenders in the world of competitive amiibo training. They can at least try to hold a candle to him, though, so we hope this guide helps get you on the right track! If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to our community on Discord. If you’re looking to get involved in tournaments, learn how via this link. Until next time — happy training!
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