Counter (match-up)

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For the move used by Marth, Roy (SSBM), and Ike (SSBB), see Counter

In relative terms, a counter is a character that can be used with reasonable success and/or ease against another character.

A counter or hard counter is a character that holds a strong advantage against another. It is always used in relative terms - in Melee, for instance, Peach is often said to be a hard counter to Ice Climbers; Peach counters the Ice Climbers. Another example in Brawl is that Ice Climbers is a hard counter to Ganondorf. A hard counter usually has some element, such as an infinite or "zero-death" (from zero damage to death) chain grab, an especially high imbalance in attack priority, or inability for the countered character to approach effectively, that makes the match extremely difficult for the countered character.

A soft counter indicates a match-up that favors one character noticeably, but only slightly. It also sometimes indicates an even match-up between two characters far away from each other on the tier list - in Melee, for instance, Donkey Kong can be said to counter or soft counter Fox in Melee, though the match-up is generally considered about even. In Brawl, Meta Knight is said to be a soft counter to Snake, but the match is generally accepted as even. A soft counter tends to fare better, usually through an advantage that can't be capitalized on as easily.

Players often switch to a counter when counterpicking.

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