Editor’s note: this is a user-contributed guide. Special thanks to Isla for writing this up! If you’d like to join her Spirit-focused amiibo server for more information on how they work, please follow this link.

Hi, my name is Isla! I’ve been in the amiibo scene for over a year now, and have spent a large part of my time here messing around with the Ice Climbers amiibo. I made my first well-known appearance in the Raid Boss Open (RBO) tournament where I got top 32 with my Ice Climbers FP SoftSquish. At the time of writing, both my standard and “corruption” Ice Climbers have 24.39 and 23.89 ratings on Spirit Amiibots, respectively.

A corruption amiibo is one whose primary strategy revolves around the use of a move that messes with the opponent’s AI. The Ice Climbers are one of the few FPs that do this sort of naturally, since the opponent reads the Ice Climbers as two entities (Popo and Nana). Sometimes other FPs will even freeze for a few seconds, as they don’t know which climber to attack! With that said, though, the Ice Climbers have one move in particular that exploits amiibo AI better than most others: Ice Shot.

When an FP sees a hitbox from Ice Shot moving toward them from afar, they’ll most likely jump to avoid being hurt. So if the Ice Climbers are trained to use Ice Shot from a distance, the opponent can only approach from the air — which leaves them prone to being smacked with an up smash or forward smash, which then knocks them away and repeats the process over again.

Spirits

If you’re a new amiibo trainer, feel free to take a look at our in-depth Spirits guide before carrying on. When you’re done, make sure to come back here for information on what setups work well with the Ice Climbers specifically!

• Banned bonuses: Unlike most fighters, the Ice Climbers don’t get much help from banned bonuses. If you must go with a banned Spirit, I’d recommend Great Autoheal or Autoheal and either a Weapon Attack ↑ or Trade-Off Defense ↑ Support skill. Corruption is all about staying away from your opponent for as long as possible, so Ice Climbers can get some use out of Autoheal.
• Tournament-legal bonuses: The Ice Climbers have a wide array of Spirits they can use, but be careful — not every Spirit effect applies to the secondary climber (mainly the ones that give items). For that reason, Spirits like Giant, Made of Metal, and even Move Speed ↑ don’t come highly recommended. As for the Spirits you do want to use, Weapon Attack ↑, Air Attack ↑, Air Defense ↑, Floaty Jumps, Trade-Off Defense ↑, Mouthful of Curry, and Mouthful of Curry ↑↑ are all fantastic options.

Even though Nana doesn’t receive the effects of Mouthful of Curry, the Support skill can give each battle an explosive start. Both Ice Climbers do get the buffs from your FP’s stat loadout, which in turn boosts their combined damage output to one of the highest in the game. When paired with Mouthful of Curry, the added damage from the fire will put the opponent at kill percent very quickly. In some cases, this can make matches three stocks versus two!

Training

In terms of movement, a corruption Ice Climbers FP should employ much more walking than running. This helps ensure that they use Ice Shot far away from their foe. Before we talk about moves to use, let’s give a bit of detail to the moves you’ll always want to avoid:

• Squall Hammer: This is a move that the Ice Climbers can’t really use properly. When they use it, they have a tendency to spam it and don’t always aim in the direction of an opponent. If you do wish to use this move, don’t mash B — the Ice Climbers will sometimes float right off the ledge.
• Down air: This move is very weak and can make the Ice Climbers vulnerable when used close to the ground. Do keep in mind that if you use this move too much, the Ice Climbers will do nothing else but jump up and then use down air.

Now it’s time to talk about some commonly-used moves! For more information on Spirited amiibo training, feel free to join the S.A.M. Discord server, which is an official Exion affiliate! Here’s the move list, then:

• Ice Shot: As stated before, this move will make opposing FPs jump over it. Make sure to only use Ice Shot from far away so that the Ice Climbers don’t learn to use it at point-blank range! This move is also extremely easy to parry, which can give you a good opportunity to get some shield practice in. Ice Shot is also useful at the ledge!
• Forward smash: One of the Ice Climbers’ best kill moves (if not the best) and helps rack up a ton of damage. This move can also two-frame when used at the ledge.
• Up smash: Extremely powerful and helps get the opponent in the air and in a favorable position.
• Forward tilt: A quick move that throws the opponent away to be berated by more Ice Shot.
• Up aerial: Although you’re not going to want your Ice Climbers in the air that much, up air is a fantastic move that deals a lot of damage and can kill. It can also be used out of a dash attack.
• Dash attack: Again, although your Ice Climbers should mainly be walking, dash attack is such a good move that it’s worth having in moderation. Ice Climbers can use up air as a follow-up from dash attack, and with Spirits, this can even become a kill confirm!
• Up tilt: Just like the rest of the Ice Climbers’ tilts, up tilt is quick, and it can also follow up with an up air!

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