Grab aerial
Agrab aerial (空中ワイヤー,Midair wire; also known as agrab air orzair) is atechnique introduced inSuper Smash Bros. Melee that allows a character to use their extendedgrab implement as anaerial attack ortether recovery (wall grapple inMelee). Grab aerials are performed in the same way as grabs, either by simply pressing the grab button while in the air, or by holding ashield button and then pressing anattack button.
Grab aerials quickly extend forward and strike opponents with weak damage and knockback (except Lucas's inBrawl, which doesn't hit opponents). They tend to have more range than other aerials, which makes them useful for spacing (especially out of ashort hop) and surprising opponents with their high speed, and are sometimes effective for starting combos. Despite their name and input, grab aerials cannot grab opponents, though attempting one while holding anitem will drop the item instead. All grab aerials except Luigi's can be also be used as atether recovery orwall grapple, though they causehelplessness inMelee if they fail to attach to a wall.
Grab aerials are considerably more useful inBrawl and onward than inMelee due to their lack of ending lag, the absence ofL-canceling and the existence (only inBrawl) of thelanding lag glitch which affects other attacks. Prior toUltimate, characters with it can cancel anair dodge with a grab aerial, which inBrawl andSSB4, allows one to use a grab aerial or tether recovery without dropping a held item. Starting inBrawl, grab aerials do not cause a character to go into ahelpless state, allowing for repeated usage more easily, as well as being able to safely use the move off of the stage foredge guarding.
InBrawl, if a character uses their grab aerial right before getting KO'd off the upper blast line, the KO blast will be seen with the usual colourful explosion seen on otherblast lines, but it will be facing upwards off the screen, and appear small and incomplete.
InSmash 4, all grab aerials have 8 frames of landing lag. If they are used by pressing a shield and attack button at the same time, however, they will instead have the landing lag of an air dodge (which lasts 21 frames); as such, using grab aerials to cancel air dodges is riskier when close to the ground.
List of grab aerials[edit]
Grab aerials are one of the few attacks in theSmash series that are not universal. The characters that possess a grab aerial also possess atether grab.
| Character | Attack | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Link |  Hookshot  Clawshot | InMelee, it has high lag and low damage, but inBrawl andSmash 4 it can be used to start combos and the final hit has much moreknockback. InBrawl and early versions of the 3DS version ofSmash 4, it can combo into aDACUS at medium percentages. Link no longer has a grab aerial inUltimate, but both of his doppelgängers still do (see below). |
| Lucas | Rope Snake | It deals no damage inBrawl, but can be used to move Lucas a bit faster in the air. InUltimate, it is involved in a specialdouble jump cancel tech specific to Lucas. |
| Luigi |  Poltergust G-00 | It can damage opponents like all other grab aerials, but it is the only one that cannot tether to ledges. Unlike other grab aerials, Luigi's grab aerial acts like a projectile, as the plunger doesn't retract back into the Poltergust and instead stays out and slowly falls down, with its hitbox still active. Notably, the projectile will still be launched if Luigi lands before firing it in the air. |
| Samus Dark Samus | Grapple Beam | Considered to be Samus's best spacing move inBrawl. InMelee'sNTSC versions, it can be canceled by droppingBombs. It acts as a strong combo tool inUltimate thanks to leading into dash attack consistently. |
| Toon Link | Hookshot | Short range compared to Link and Samus's grab aerials, although due to Toon Link's short height, it is easier to hit grounded opponents with. Very useful for setting up anup smash and other options. |
| Young Link | Hookshot | Interestingly, his Hookshot inMelee shares the same model as Link's (just like hisgrab), making it look rather large when used by him. InUltimate, it combos into options such asdash attack. |
| Zero Suit Samus | Plasma Whip | As a grapple, it behaves almost identically to herPlasma Whip. Can be used for edgeguarding opponents. Does not exist inBrawl. |
Gallery[edit]
Samus using her grab aerial offensively inBrawl.
Young Link's grab aerial inUltimate.
Toon Link's grab aerial inUltimate.
Dark Samus's grab aerial inUltimate.
