Back in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, almost every heavyweight fighter translated into a powerful Figure Player. For the most part, the same is true in this game — so it makes sense, then, that Wario’s position is rather favorable on our official amiibo tier list. He’s quick, has a decent recovery, and is – of course – very strong. If you’d like to learn more about Wario’s metagame history, feel free to read his corresponding wiki page. Otherwise, let’s jump right into today’s training!
Spirits
There are two types of amiibo trainers: Spirits trainers and vanilla trainers. A good chunk of online tournaments doesn’t allow Spirits, which means your FP won’t be able to bring any stats or bonus effects to the matches it plays. That being said, there are Spirits tours out there, so the choice is yours! You can learn more about how Spirits work via our in-depth Spirits guide.
- Banned bonuses: Wario’s most viable bonus setup is Armor Knight plus either Move Speed ↑ or Trade-Off Ability ↑. Move Speed ↑ grants a flat speed buff, while Trade-Off Ability ↑ provides a speed buff and more — unfortunately, it also causes its user to start each stock with 30% damage. If you’d like to take the risk, you can choose the latter — otherwise, stick with the former.
- Tournament-legal bonuses: If you’re entering a tournament that follows the Exion ban list, the absolute best setup you can use is Physical Attack ↑, Fist Attack ↑, and Air Defense ↑. This build drastically increases the strength of Wario’s punching moves while reducing the damage he takes in the air. If you’re looking for something more unique, you could try out Critical-Health Stats ↑ or Trade-Off Ability ↑ (on its own, without Armor Knight).
- Raid Boss bonuses: The optimal Spirits loadout for a Raid Boss Wario is almost exactly the same as the tournament-legal one listed above — simply swap out Fist Attack ↑ for another Physical Attack ↑. Between Wario’s increased power and increased weight (thanks to Air Defense ↑), human opponents will have trouble finishing him off!
To be honest, any stat spread is probably fine on Wario as long as it doesn’t lean too hard into defense. If you’d like some specific recommendations, try out a balanced build (2100 / 2100) or a more offensive one (2500 / 1700). Regardless of the build you choose, make sure your FP’s Spirit type is Neutral before you start training it. If its Spirit type isn’t Neutral, feed your FP a bunch of Neutral-type Primary Spirits to change it back.
Competitive Training
As per usual, we’ve prepared a brief bullet-point list of each and every move a tournament-ready Wario amiibo should have in its arsenal. If you’ve trained several Figure Players before, feel free to read the list and skip the explanations. Otherwise, we’ll have very detailed write-ups of each move and its role in Wario’s kit below. Let’s break it down!
- Forward tilt, up tilt, and down tilt at close range
- Infrequent dash attacks from a distance
- Heavy emphasis on up air juggling
- A little bit of up smash to catch landings
- Back air or down air to secure a safe landing
- Off-stage play optional. Edgeguard with forward air and down air or wait at the ledge and use forward tilt and up tilt instead
If you’re new to amiibo training, welcome! Here’s a quick reminder of some basic training concepts: never run, stay on the ground unless you’re juggling, keep taunting to a minimum, and let your FP hit you with the moves listed above. Follow those rules and you’ll be off to a great start! When you’re ready to start training, scan in your Wario amiibo and choose to play as Wario yourself. Timed matches (of 3 minutes each or so) are generally best for early training, but if you find yourself messing up you can switch to 2- or 3-stock matches to make them shorter.
At close range, there are three moves Wario wants to rely on: forward tilt, up tilt, and down tilt. It’s best to use forward tilt roughly 70% of the time, and then split the remaining 30% between up tilt and down tilt. Forward tilt is a strong hand slap with a disjointed hitbox, making it a great option for close combat. Up tilt is best used when you’re directly next to your FP, as it combos into itself and can set up a powerful up air juggling chain — more on that in a moment. As for down tilt, this move actually activates hard-coded combos that you’ll see your Wario amiibo all on its own at later levels.
From a distance, dash attack is pretty decent! The move is most powerful when it connects right at the start, so keep that in mind! Circling back to up air, this is one of Wario’s best attacks. If your FP is in the air, you should ruthlessly juggle it with repeated up air attacks until it manages to land back on-stage or is KO’d. It’s got excellent power, range, and speed — and these all add up to one of the stronger aerials in the amiibo training metagame. When you’re above your FP, you can smack it with a quick back air or down air just before you land. That said, you’ll want to heavily prioritize up air as your primary aerial attack.
With Wario, edgeguarding is optional. He can work either with or without, so the choice is yours — with edgeguarding, there’s potential to score early KOs, but there’s also the chance that Wario himself is edgeguarded. If you do decide to edgeguard off-stage, do so using forward air and down air. Try to avoid hitting your FP with Wario Bike or Corkscrew as you’re recovering back to the stage; this may teach it to use these moves while it’s above the stage, which we don’t want. If you’d rather not edgeguard, simply stand at the ledge and intercept your FP’s get-up attack with a forward or up tilt.
You don’t have to worry about using Wario Waft, either. By the time your FP reaches Level 50, it’ll automatically know when and where to use it. If you’re looking for more recommendations, you could use forward smash out of shield once or twice during your whole training session, but that’s completely optional. Forward smash is very easily blocked by defensive opponents, and there are a lot of those in tournament matches.
If any of the explanations here confused you, feel free to check out our general training guide for further reading. It’s designed for newcomers, and it might help you make more sense of this guide. Alternatively, you can just join our Discord server for specialized help instead! Special thanks to fammydamammy for contributing Wario’s training information.
Raid Boss Training
Compared to competitive training, Raid Boss training is much more loose and free. You’re welcome to run, jump, and taunt as you like! Though maybe you should still go light on that last bit. There’s no “correct” way to train a Raid Boss — after all, if everyone trained their Raid Bosses the same, their opponents would know exactly what to expect! That said, we do have a list of recommendations for Wario below, so feel free to read up and experiment a little yourself:
- Down tilt combos into itself, an aerial move, or a dash attack. Use it often at close range and mix in some forward tilt and jab combos while you’re at it.
- Grab and throw your FP frequently. At low percentages, go for an up throw and then use a bunch of consecutive up air attacks. At high percentages, switch to back throw to secure the KO!
- Back air and neutral air are best used as landing options and general damage-rackers. If you’re willing to take the risk, go for forward air and down air to edgeguard your FP off-stage.
- Up tilt combos into itself and sets up for up air juggles! You can lump it in with the aforementioned down tilt, forward tilt, and jab. It’s also great at catching landings!
- Add a sprinkle of dash attack and forward smash. They’re both rather strong and can help Wario score KOs while grounded. Up smash is okay every so often, but it’s got a lot of ending lag. Down smash is not okay, so steer clear.
Whatever you do, don’t use Wario Bike! As soon as the AI gets a taste of its motorcycle, it becomes addicted. Wario is highly vulnerable while riding his bike — he can’t even shield or dodge. He can taunt, though, so make of that what you will. We mentioned this in the last section, but we’ll include it again here: you don’t have to use Wario Waft because the AI teaches itself by the time it reaches Level 50. That said, its usage of the move is not particularly impressive.
Wrap-Up
Thanks so much for reading! Wario, despite his popularity as a character, still doesn’t have a ton of representation in amiibo tournaments. We hope this guide helps you change that! If you have any lingering questions, you’re welcome to direct them over to our Discord server — we’re happy to help! If you’d like more information on how to get involved in tours, check out our handy startup guide. Until next time — happy training!
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