Brawler Arsenal

Grounded Attacks

Neutral Attack

Neutral Attacks

Greninja performs a swift one-two palm-attack combo, followed by either a multi-strike looping water attack or a double-palmed water burst. Neutral attack is your main counterattack option right after blocking. It starts up quickly, and the rapid-fire follow-up finisher is a combo, netting you at least 10% damage.

On a hit-confirm, you generally want to finish with the rapid water-attack finisher. In the neutral game, for spacing purposes and consistency, the normal double-palmed splash attack is better.

Jabs and down tilts are your main defensive options. Since Greninja’s jabs are so fast, don’t be afraid to stick them out against approaching foes to stop them in their tracks, punishing them with a knockback.

Dash Attack

While dashing, Greninja utilizes its incredible forward movement with a sliding kick attack that launches enemies up into the air and away at a slight angle. On hit (against most fighters and at almost any damage percentage), you can follow up with a dashing short hop into up air attack to score a combo. Up air usually knocks them high enough for you to go for additional juggle pressure, either with more up air attacks or simply by waiting on the stage and baiting out an air dodge.

Defensive Attacks

Tilts

Side Tilt

Greninja performs a spinning heel kick to the enemy’s midsection, blasting them away. This attack can be angled by tilting the control stick up or down during execution. The up-angled version is particularly effective for combos off hits that pop the enemy up into the air (such as neutral air attack).

Side tilt is a strong horizontal attack with a slight range advantage to down tilt. However, it can leave you vulnerable to aerial attacks. It’s punishable on shield, but at max range you’re a bit safer, although not that safe. However, its start-up is relatively fast compared to most ranged side tilts of its class.

Up Tilt

Greninja crouches low to the ground and lashes its tongue above, launching licked foes into the sky. This is your ground-to-air anti-air attack and one of your grounded combo-starters. Its rear hitbox starts extremely early, but there’s a bit of travel time as Greninja’s tongue arcs upward. While the total duration of the attack is a bit lengthy compared to Greninja’s neutral attack, its low-profile stance means you’re less likely to be hit with descending aerial attacks, and more likely to successfully anti-air the opponent. You can combo up tilt into buffered hop up air, putting you in an advantage state as your opponent tries to descend to the ground.

Up tilt is relatively unsafe on shield.

Down Tilt

Greninja leans down and swiftly swipes at its opponent’s feet, popping them up in front. This low attack is your best ground-based poke. It boasts excellent speed, faster than some fighters’ neutral attacks. On hit, it pops up enemies into a potential juggle state (although it may be difficult to combo off of it).

If you can condition your opponents into a defensive grounded posture, you can harass them with down tilts and Water Shurikens, along with the occasional side tilt to pressure their shields. It’s safe when shielded and so fast that you can poke with it, and then poke with it again to punish aggressive retaliations.

Smashes

Side Smash

Greninja delivers a heavy far-reaching front swing with one of its water kunai, sending foes flying away. This smash attack features respectable speed and range for how much damage it deals, making it an excellent whiff punisher. However, you need to be deliberate with its use—throwing it out haphazardly can get you in trouble, as it leaves you vulnerable from a grounded state.

Up Smash

Greninja thrusts its dual-wielded kunai above itself, proceeding into a double-sided slash and striking enemies around it. Up smash is a strong finisher, especially if you can land the initial vertical thrust that naturally chains into the rest of the strike. The outer slashes of this attack are much easier to connect with when used as an anti-air, as they cover a lot of area.

Down Smash

Slashing its sides with a kunai in each hand, Greninja clears out nearby enemies behind and in front. Down smash hits on both sides sending away fighters at a shallow, horizontal angle. You can use this to punish mistimed air dodges or as a call-out attack against ledge rolls going past you.

Like most smash attacks, don’t get caught missing this, or else you’ll sacrifice your advantage.

Grabs

Grabs

Greninja clasps its foe with webbed hands, trapping them in a whirlpool. Greninja’s grab is very slow, worse than the speed of many heavyweight grabs. However, it has incredible reach, slightly farther than its neutral attack.

Its grab attack is a water squeeze, dealing minor damage. For its up variant, Greninja tosses its victim into the sky. Greninja’s forward throw is a heavy palm thrust that flings the enemy away, and its back throw is a rear spinning toss. Off of down throw, Greninja slams its victim into the ground with a fierce chop, bouncing them up into the air.

At low percentages, up throw can be naturally followed by up smash for a potential combo if the opponent fails to air-dodge. This can be used as a mix-up, baiting out their predictable aerial options and, instead of going for your up smash, waiting or going for an up tilt punish.

Down throw is useful at mid percentages, as it launches the opponent up enough for you to follow up. Down throw at low percentages can put you at a disadvantage, as there’s hardly any hitstun, with the enemy free to act early.

Since Greninja is such an incredibly quick fighter on the ground, grabbing is one of your best tools. While you aren’t rewarded with extraordinary damage off your grabs, you potentially have more chances at them because of your speed and extraordinary grab range.

Aerial Attacks

Aerials

Neutral Air Attack

Greninja uses its ninjutsu to expel a gushing water attack all around. While you emit a hitbox all around you, neutral air attack can be cumbersome to use because of its high amount of lag and start-up. This attack is best used from short hops and in combination with intelligent fast-falling. It can be difficult to use effectively since its active window is quite short.

Forward Air Attack

With a reverse grip on one of its water kunai, Greninja performs a midair slash in front of it that launches foes. Forward air attack is similar to forward smash. It’s a good KO tool with considerable range, although its start-up and active window are lacking compared to other fighters. It requires accurate timing, spacing, and technique to use optimally.

Back Air Attack

Greninja turns around and sends out three lightning-fast back kicks. Back air attack is an incredibly fast-starting aerial attack, effective for edge-guarding situations and in combos with great KO potential. Although it requires accurate timing to pull off (as well as having the enemy at least at medium-damage percentage), the first hit of back air against grounded enemies causes a pop-up effect from which you can combo into up air, finishing with up air.

Up Air Attack

Greninja flips upside down in the air and becomes a living corkscrew, delivering a multi-hit kick attack and ensnaring foes briefly before launching them skyward.

This is your primary air-to-air anti-air and juggle-combo tool. Its multi-hit property allows you to use it to drag low-altitude foes to the ground for unique combos and setups. For instance, if you can catch an enemy at a relatively low altitude with a fast-falling up air, you can force a tech get-up situation, allowing you to punish the opponent for missing their tech with an off-the-ground hit. Or, if you read their tech get-up, you can punish them during the tail end of the tech when they’re vulnerable.

Down Air Attack

Down air attack is a “stall-then-fall” attack. After a brief pause while airborne, Greninja transitions into an aerodynamic ninja stance and quickly descends, damaging and bouncing off the first foe it lands on. Otherwise, regardless of altitude, Greninja continues descending until landing on a platform. On a direct hit, it meteor smashes, kicking its victim to their doom if they’re over a ledge. However, this attack is risky since it has a high amount of landing lag.

Special Moves

Special Moves

Neutral Special: Water Shuriken

Greninja cups its webbed palms together and conjures a Water Shuriken before releasing it straight ahead. Water Shuriken is an incredibly potent projectile. Charging increases its power, and at max charge it passes through foes, potentially hitting multiple enemies.

It has a fast travel speed, which can be a positive and a negative attribute. It’s difficult to react to, but unfortunately, you can’t use it as a persistent on-screen threat that covers your offense.

The first Water Shuriken thrown while airborne has a slight vertical boost effect, providing extra utility for recovery purposes.

Side Special: Shadow Sneak

Greninja disappears behind a mini tornado and reappears behind a cloud to deliver a rising kick attack. If Greninja reappears behind an enemy, it delivers a rear thrusting kick instead.

With sharp reactions or accurate predictions, you can use Shadow Sneak as a strong finisher attack, essentially to warp through your opponent’s strikes and kick them offstage.

Shadow Sneak doubles as a recovery tool since it doesn’t force you into a helpless free-fall state. For instance, you can Shadow Sneak while airborne, and after your follow-up kick attack, you can double-jump (if you haven’t already), or Hydro Pump. This makes Greninja exceptionally difficult to combo and edge-guard.

Up Special: Hydro Pump

Greninja propels itself with a powerful jet stream emanating from its hands. This recovery special has two notable properties: it can be aimed in any direction after its initial execution, and in a gravity-defying fashion, it can be abruptly redirected around its halfway point.

During flight, Greninja cannot pass through enemies and instead pushes them around. With practice, you can use this effect in your edge-guarding arsenal to interfere with the opponent’s air mobility, potentially scoring a KO.

Down Special: Substitute

Greninja transitions into a parry stance. Upon absorbing an attack, it disappears into the shadows, quickly reappearing with a flying kick attack directed toward the enemy.

Once you absorb an enemy attack, you can direct Greninja’s flying kick in various ways by using the control stick. Angle the attack of your flying kick into the air by using up-left, up, and up-right. Appear a few meters in front and perform a rear flying kick by holding back. Holding forward (or no input), you simply reappear and perform a forward flying kick. Holding down-left, you reappear from above and to the right with a flying kick directed down-left. Holding down-right, you reappear from above and to the left with a flying kick directed down-right.

Final Smash: Secret Ninja Attack

In Greninja’s Final Smash, it uses Mat Block to flip opponents into the air. It then slices them repeatedly before smacking them back down to the ground. The initial Mat Block doesn’t have much range, so make use of Greninja’s speed to get in close to opponents.