Smash Ultimate pro defends controversial stage being tournament legal

Top Smash Bros Ultimate competitor Eric ‘ESAM’ Lew has made a case regarding the legality of the controversial stage Lylat in tournaments. 

Lylat’s controversy stems from the fact that it’s slanted, meaning that certain attacks and movements may need to be slightly recalculated to connect in some areas.

The Star Fox-themed stage consists of a flag middle portion and three platforms, though the middle platform is not higher than the others such as with Battlefield. The left and right sides of the stage are slanted.

In 2017, the recommended ruleset for Smash Bros on Wii U listed Lylat as a banned stage, though was later unbanned after a community poll.

“People hate slants,” the pro started off by saying in his newest video. “I feel like a slight difference in the way that the game is played, which isn’t really that influential except in a couple matchups, it’s not going to be the end of the world. Having slants isn’t really bad at all.”

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The Pikachu main then went on to explain how Lylat added some variety to Smash and its stages. 

“It allows some characters to have more interesting edge play, it allows some characters to play more safely around the ledge,” he continued. “And it can change the way edge trapping works if it’s a character who throws a projectile on the ledge such as Banjo or Inkling with both of their down Bs.”

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For Esam, Lylat serves as a counter pick to characters who have strong ledge trapping because ledge trapping on slants is worse. 

“Another thing I see a lot of people talk about it is that it messes with recoveries and to be honest, that’s not really true. I’ve seen very few instances of say Peach up B not grabbing the ledge or Ike not grabbing the ledge,” he added. “The slant on the bottom has so much leeway.”

The Glitch 7 champion further explained that slants are more in-depth than they are given credit for and Smash is a platform fighter. 

“It’s not like we’re just playing on FD (Final Destination),” Esam said, further expressing how if players could just play on stagnant stages such as Battlefield and Smashville. “Having slight differences and variations in what stages are like is good for the game. It’s healthy for the game.” 

When it comes to variety there’s no doubt that Lylat delivers, but as for whether or not it’s actually good for the game comes down to a personal preference. At least in tournaments where it’s legal, players can choose to ban it if they so wish.