[SMASH] Yoshi Guide

Hey, I'm Simon. Username: SPITE.

I've been maining Yoshi for a few weeks and here are some things that I've discovered about his moves that might help you guys if you want to get better with him. *Note: I made parenthetical citations for info I took from videos (links below)*

JAB
A very fast and safe move. It can start combos and even be a combo on its own. It's also a safe landing option because of how fast it comes out. Here are some examples. As a combo starter, the second hit can combo into dash attack, or even an up smash depending on if your opponent can react in time. I don't think either is a true combo, but the window for escape is pretty small. It can be a true combo on its own by jab canceling the first jab by crouching and jabbing once again immediately after (My Smash Corner). It can be inescapable for a time if you get the timing correct, but I have unfortunately never been able to do so. As a landing option, it's good to use when you use an aerial close to the ground. Jab comes out faster than any option you have after landing and can prevent the opponent from punishing your landing lag.

TILTS
Forward: It might just be because I play with a 3ds, but I find that I often accidentally do this when I try to dash attack. It has a relatively short range and a noticeable ending lag. It knocks your opponent up, which is strange, but I guess it can combo into some aerials. There are, however, better options if you're aiming for aerial combos. It's not bad, but I don't use it besides on accident.
Up: Up tilt is a great combo starter. It combos into u air, then to u air once again, and then into egg throw if you can get the trajectory right. Again, I haven't been able to get it right so far. It's only been a few weeks. It's vertical range is also longer than it seems. As the opponent gets closer to the ground, you can use this to catch them before they land if they're directly above you, and then follow up with the uair combos.
Down: It's very similar to Mewtwo's down tilt, but it launches opponents side ways. If you use this at the edge of the stage, you can quickly run off the ledge and fair to spike them, but this is another combo that's hard to land. I've only seen it done in one video (Beefy Smash Doods). Its launch trajectory makes it hard to tech, but it often launches the opponent too far to punish. At lower percents, you may be able to catch them before they land with a dash attack, or down b.

SMASHES
Forward: It comes out quickly and it's very powerful. It can be good to use out of shield because of how fast it comes out. Its drawbacks would probably be a lower hitbox and a noticeable ending lag. You can also miss the hit if the opponent is too close to you. A very viable kill move, but can be hard to hit and can be punished.
Up: It has a very good range and it also has good knockback. It's not as powerful as forward smash, but its range makes up for it. A common way to land this is to catch a landing with dash to up smash. It comes out quickly, so this wouldn't be hard to do. Tip: Up smash can take care of an entire platform on battlefield. If your opponent doesn't tech a landing onto the platform, just place your self underneath the middle of the platform and charge the smash. If you get the timing right, you'll hit them no matter what get-up option they choose (My Smash Corner)
Down: Also powerful. It hits one side at a time, so it can help with opponents who always roll behind you. I *believe* it hits from front to back. May also be able to hit someone trying to grab the ledge.

AERIALS
Forward: It spikes directly in front of you at Yoshi's nose. If you land the spike onstage, you can follow up with a u air, often taking the stock at high percents. You can also do down tilt at the edge to F-air (Beefy Smash Doods). When you use this close to the ground, the lag isn't significant, but you can use jab as soon as you land to prevent being punished.
Back: A strong move that can also be used to follow up an onstage spike, but it's harder to land. If you fastfall, you can spike them to the ground and follow up with almost anything.
Up: Useful for combos. This would be your main move for aerial combos. Not much else, really.
Down: It's great for shield pressure, but it doesn't break shields. If your opponent shields it entirely, you can get punished because it has so much landing lag compared to your other aerials. It can spike, but for some reason, it's only worked onstage when I'm close to landing. I tried using this to gimp, but it always ended up knocking the opponent up.

SPECIALS
Neutral: similar to grab, but it encases the opponent in an egg that they must wobble to get out of. Hit the egg with anything you want, or wait to punish them as they escape. Of course, the latter is more difficult because you must predict when to use the move and you don't know which way they will move. Also, the opponent can attack as soon as they leave the egg. It's a risk that I don't often take because I'm clumsy.
Side: egg roll. Don't use this in the air because the hitbox doesn't come out until you land. You can use this to put some distance between you and the opponent, or for some damage, but it's easy to punish if you don't land it.
Up: An egg throw. It doesn't recover much, but it's still very helpful. You can use this as an approach option or simply try and add some extra damage. The distance depends how long you hold your special button and the trajectory depends on where your analog stick moves.
Down: A less powerful version of Bowser's down smash. It can break shields, but not in one hit. Put some pressure on the opponent's shield first with down air before trying to use this to break shields. Otherwise, it's a good kill option and can be used during combos (again, in the video below).

Well, that's most, if not all of the things I've discovered about Yoshi. I didn't really want to address grabs because it's basically throw to aerial (down/up throw to u air. forward and back to ground moves/corresponding aerial). I originally wanted this to be a basic guide, but I discovered that I went into extreme detail as I went on. Yoshi is a very powerful and interesting character with a lot of combos. He's extremely fun to play and his strange movement patterns can be very confusing for the opponent. Get used to his movement and you'll literally be flying across the stage. Have fun smashing!

~SPITE

Beefy Smash Doods Combo video
My Smash Corner Tips and Tricks