Chrom was probably the least controversial Fire Emblem newcomer we’ve had in a long time! He’s Roy’s Echo Fighter, which might lead you to believe that the two fighters are similar. And they are! But despite that, Chrom performs noticeably better in tournaments, and it’s all thanks to his more consistent hits (Roy has a reverse tipper sweetspot, whereas Chrom has none at all). If you’d like to learn more about Chrom’s admittedly-short metagame history, feel free to read his corresponding wiki page. Otherwise, let’s jump right into today’s training!
Spirits
If you’re going to equip your Chrom FP with a Spirit team, you should figure all of that out before you start your training routine! Keep in mind that Spirits, when inherited, will shift and scramble an FP’s existing training data. It’s been years since the initial release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and we still don’t know why the developers decided to do this. At any rate, here are all of Chrom’s best builds:
- Banned bonuses: Chrom is neither particularly light nor particularly heavy, so the “big five” Spirit effects – Super Armor, Slow Super Armor, Armor Knight, Autoheal, and Great Autoheal – work well on him. Of these, Armor Knight is strongest, and it can be paired with Trade-Off Ability ↑ to great effect. Give it a try!
- Tournament-legal bonuses: If the tournament you’re trying to enter keeps Armor Knight banned, there are a decent amount of other options you could look into for Chrom. These include Weapon Attack ↑ (applied either once or twice), Floaty Jumps, Move Speed ↑, Trade-Off Ability ↑, and Air Defense ↑. Feel free to take your pick of three!
- Raid Boss bonuses: Each of the Support Skills listed above applies to a Raid Boss Chrom, too. If none of those suit your fancy, you can use a setup including Weapon Attack ↑, Move Speed ↑, and Landing Lag ↓.
As usual, stats aren’t too important so long as your FP has them at all. We recommend a balanced build (2100 / 2100), though you could invest in more attack power if you like (2400 / 1800). If you’re new to amiibo training and all this Spirits lingo is confusing you, read our full Spirits guide and then come back to this guide to continue your training. You’ll understand everything much easier afterward!
Competitive Training
Compared to other fighters, Chrom’s optimal training is rather easy. You’ll want to stay on-stage at all times, perfect shield as many of your FP’s attacks as you can, and walk as often as you can. Nice and easy, for the most part, but if you’re used to playing the game against human players then it might take you a while to adjust to competitive amiibo training. Which is okay — take all the time you need, and when you’re ready, level up your FP using the moves listed below:
- The majority of the time, you’re going to want to simply attack your FP with forward smash. It doesn’t have any sweetspots or sourspots, so as long as the move connects it’s going to deal consistent damage and knockback. Forward smash should be used to rack on damage and KO!
- Then you’ll want to toss in a small amount of forward tilt, down smash, and down tilt. The latter is especially effective when used when standing at the ledge, so try poking your FP with it when it’s trying to recover back! Just be careful not to get hit by its up special.
- When your FP is above you, you can attack with a mixture of up tilt and up smash. You could also use forward air or back air to secure a safe landing, but it’s best to avoid jumping on purpose.
At later levels, you might notice your Chrom FP walk up to the ledge and charge up Flare Blade. This is hard-coded, so don’t worry! In other words, it’s not your fault if you notice your FP doing this. On the subject of Flare Blade, you should avoid using or getting hit by it along with the rest of Chrom’s special moves. For more information on amiibo training, please refer to our general guide!
Raid Boss Training
Chrom’s a pretty decent Raid Boss. At the time of writing, his physical figurine is still rather common, so he’s both easy to purchase and easy to train! You’ll still want to avoid going off-stage to edgeguard, as Chrom’s recovery is extremely exploitable — especially by the human players he’s going to be fighting. Here’s a complete list of all the moves you should be teaching your FP as it levels up. Make sure to play mirror matches!
- You’ve got a good amount of neutral tools available. These include neutral attack, grab, down tilt, forward tilt, and short-hopped forward airs, neutral airs, and back airs. That’s a lot of options! When using grabs, try using an up throw to force your FP into the air.
- Then, when your FP is airborne, strike with up air or up tilt. Or, ideally — both! Forward air, back air, neutral air, and up air are all excellent moves, but down air is generally the one you’re going to want to avoid.
- Forward smash is okay sometimes, especially at high percentages. Up smash and down smash usually don’t work very well, so only include a little bit of each move.
Compared to Roy, a Raid Boss Chrom boasts a more consistent damage output. In turn, though, he’s easier to edgeguard. If you’re reading this guide to decide whether to purchase Roy or Chrom, keep that in mind! Would you rather deal more damage on average, or have a better recovery? If your answer is the former, go with Chrom!
Wrap-Up
Thanks so much for reading, as always! You’re probably starting to figure out that optimally-trained FPs are rather lame… and that’s absolutely correct. But it’s what wins tournaments, and for many trainers that’s all that matters! Fortunately, you could also opt to train your Chrom amiibo as a Raid Boss; it will perform poorly against other FPs but can create some fun situations when used against human players! Be sure to check out our Discord server, our Patreon, and our donation box while you’re here. Until next time — happy training!
If you would like to read more amiibo training guides, please follow this link.
