Brawler Arsenal

Grounded Attacks

Neutral Attacks

Neutral Attacks

Yoshi performs a two-hit kick combo, starting with a quick front kick and followed by an inward spin kick that knocks foes away.

Dash Attack

Yoshi transfers all of his running momentum into a flying kick attack. It persists for a brief period and launches foes at an up-forward angle. Yoshi’s dash attack deals more damage if it hits early on as Yoshi extends his kick. If you hit with the tail end of the attack, it deals less damage but you’re actionable soon after, so you can potentially dash in for a hopping neutral air follow-up combo.

Defensive Attacks

Tilts

Side Tilt

Yoshi swings his tail in front of him in an upward scooping motion, knocking up enemies into the air. It can be angled upward or downward. Against most fighters at around 30%, you can follow up side tilt with a forward-hopping neutral air attack.

Yoshi’s side tilt launches foes straight up into the air (instead of away, like most side tilts). If you hit with it at point-blank range, you can combo into up tilt. At max distance (where it’s safest), you can follow up with a mix-up attempt by threatening with either another side tilt, an up tilt, or a grab/Egg Lay as the opponent lands.

Up Tilt

Yoshi raises his tail into the air and swings it behind him, launching up enemies directly above. You can usually follow with another up tilt at low percentages. At very low damage (0%), you can hit three up tilts before finishing the sequence with a jump up air, dishing out over 30% damage.

Up tilt is an incredibly effective ground-based anti-air attack. It covers a wide arc and has low lag, allowing you to combo with it at most damage percentages. The rear hitbox is at the tail end of the attack.

Down Tilt

From his low crawling posture, Yoshi sweeps the opponent off their feet with a swift tail strike. This low-profiling attack is a solid aggression-deterring tool against short hops and dash-in attempts. It’s safe when shielded, leaving you and the opponent neutral, able to attack or shield at the same time. In other words, you can only be punished by shield grabs (if you’re within grab range) and perfect shields.

You don’t get much of a follow-up on hit at low percentages, but at higher damage, down tilt causes a techable knockdown. At very high percentages, it causes a spinning untechable knockdown.

Smashes

Side Smash

Yoshi Rams His Head Forward With Extreme Force, Launching Foes Far Away. Yoshi Can Angle His Head To Ram Upward And Low To The Ground. His Head Is Intangible, So It Beats Out Most Attacks Challenging It. The Down-Angled Variant Of Side Smash Slinks Him Low To The Ground, Allowing Him To Avoid Mid And High Attacks While Extending A Pronounced Hitbox Of His Own.

Up Smash

Yoshi performs a somersault flash kick. He kicks out in front of him and over his head, arcing behind him. Foes hit by it are sent sky-high. Up smash covers Yoshi’s entire frontal area and a bit of his rear (near his head). It’s easily punishable due to its high end lag, but it’s a powerful KO attack against aggressive foes at high-damage percentages, especially if you’re near the upper blast zone.

Down Smash

Yoshi delivers two heavy sweep attacks with his tail: one in front, then one to his rear. Down smash is a situational attack, best used in free-for-all and team battles to clear out surrounding enemies. In one-on-one battles, it leaves you way too vulnerable when shielded. Its horizontal reach leaves a lot to be desired as well.

Grabs

Grabs

Yoshi grabs enemies with his tongue. It’s a slow to start, ranged-type grab extending just past his max side tilt range. If his tongue grabs an enemy, Yoshi swallows them (where they’re in a clinched grapple state).

Yoshi’s front and back throws are unremarkable, used for throwing foes offstage and into blast zones. Your opponent can usually act before you can follow-up with a guaranteed hit.

Yoshi’s up throw flings the enemy directly above him, but usually doesn’t provide enough hitstun to follow up with a guaranteed attack. His down throw can be linked into short-hopping up air. Against foes around 30%, you can down throw into up air into double jump up air.

Use down throw to deal the most damage while putting your opponent into a disadvantaged juggle state, and use front and back throws to throw them over ledges or into blast zones.

Aerial Attacks

Aerials

Neutral Air Attack

While airborne, Yoshi extends a lightning-fast straight kick. It doesn’t inflict much knockback, but its active window persists for a long period of time. Neutral air attack is an incredibly versatile attack, and one of Yoshi’s staple moves. It’s quick to start, has low landing lag, and its persistent effect allows you to use it to descend on foes offensively.

Neutral air attack into fast fall makes for a good “walling” technique, so you can hop in place and extend your kick attack, then fall quickly to deter advancing foes. It’s susceptible to dash-in shield grabs, but that’s only if your opponent is sharp enough to perform the sequence on reaction.

At very low damage (0%) against a grounded enemy, you can link neutral air into a neutral attack combo. At low percentages (roughly 30%), neutral air knocks back into a short stagger, so you can link side tilt or down tilt.

Forward Air Attack

Yoshi flings his head forward with a mighty headbutt while he’s soaring through the air. It deals high damage, but has a surprisingly low amount of kick, only causing a slight knockback effect against healthy foes. Forward air attack is slow to start and has considerable landing lag, but low air lag. While you can start combos from fast-falling forward air, you can be easily punished by shield grabs.

Forward air attack can also be used as an edge-guarding attack for spiking enemies offstage (although you need to hit it with precise accuracy). Hitting with the tip of Yoshi’s head at the tail end of the attack can meteor smash.

Back Air Attack

In midair, Yoshi whips his tail rapidly behind him for a three-hit combo. The first two hits can drag foes around in the air, while the last hit launches the enemy up and away. Back air attack is relatively safe when shielded, especially as a deep jump-in attack off of short hop and fast-falling jump. It’s usually only punishable by shield grabs. You can use jump into fast fall, then descending back air to wall out enemies.

Against enemies at low-damage percentages (around 30%), you can hit with a grounded short hop back air attack, then dash in for a guaranteed up tilt, followed by a jump up air attack. This deals around 35% damage.

Back air attack isn’t as strong an edge-guarding attack as forward air due to its high air lag. If you jump off a ledge and miss the enemy, you have to wait a while before you’re actionable.

Up Air Attack

While airborne, Yoshi whips his tail straight up into the air, popping up enemies above him. Up air attack starts up quickly and has a low amount of end lag, making it remarkable for juggle-traps, extending air combos, and prodding at enemies standing on platforms.

It also has a generously wide hitbox that hits most grounded fighters. You don’t even need to hit with Yoshi’s tail—as long as Yoshi’s body is touching the enemy fighter, up air attack hits, allowing you to set up knock-up combos off of short hops and fast-falling jumps. It naturally combos into up tilt and up air attack, depending on your trajectory. You can make it slightly safer by crossing over the enemy with a short hop and hitting them before you land.

Down Air Attack

Yoshi flails his legs beneath him, essentially running in midair while striking foes with a 13-hit combo. Down air attack has a high amount of landing lag, but dishes out a ton of damage if all Yoshi’s kicks connect. Although it’s easily punishable on shield or whiff, it ranks as one the most damaging aerial attack in the game. If you can force an enemy on a platform above you to shield an entire jumping down air, it inflicts around 70% shield damage!

Down air attack deals more damage in the center of the attack (that is, directly beneath Yoshi).

Special Moves

Specials

Neutral Special: Egg Lay

Yoshi flings his tongue out in front of him and swallows a nearby enemy, then poops them out encased in an eggshell. The more damaged the enemy, the longer they’re stuck in the egg. The opponent can break out of the egg earlier by shaking the control stick back and forth.

Egg Lay’s range is comparable to Yoshi’s normal grab, with its start speed slightly slower. Egged foes are left vulnerable to Yoshi’s attacks, so you can follow up with almost anything, such as a side smash attack. Egged foes pop out of the egg briefly intangible and able to attack you, so watch for retaliation.

Egg Lay usage is straightforward: use it against super-defensive opponents who tend to throw up their shields whenever you’re within range.

Side Special: Egg Roll

Yoshi does his best Sonic impression and encases himself into an egg, then tumbles across the stage, plowing through foes and knocking them airborne. Like Sonic’s Spin Dash, he can turn around midroll to attack enemies multiple times. Yoshi can jump once during Egg Roll.

You can use Egg Roll to pass through enemies in order to escape. If you’re cornered near a ledge, for example, you can roll through your aggressor, then pop out of the egg (by hitting Special again) once you’re far enough.

If Egg Roll is performed while airborne, it doesn’t begin dealing damage until Yoshi rolls along the ground.

Up Special: Egg Throw

Yoshi pulls out an egg and lobs it like a basketball. You can throw it at various angles with input from the control stick before Yoshi releases the egg. You can throw the egg straight up into the air by inputting the direction Yoshi’s facing away from just before throwing. Use this to fake out your opponents, and if they dash in to attack you, you can potentially hit them with the falling egg as it drops at your position.

While Yoshi doesn’t have a conventional up special recovery move, you can use Egg Throw while airborne to flutter upward a bit, keeping you in the air longer to give you that extra boost to make it over ledges and platforms.

Down Special: Yoshi Bomb

Yoshi pounces high into the sky, then performs a dive-bomb attack straight into the ground, dealing heavy damage and launching foes up and away. If performed while in the air, Yoshi immediately dive-bombs. If you use this while offstage, you get knocked out since there’s no turning back (even if you hit an enemy along the way!).

Grounded Yoshi Bomb extends a small hitbox in front of Yoshi at the beginning of the attack. Foes hit by it are launched a fixed distance, setting up for Yoshi’s dive-bomb to combo.

You can fall through platforms by holding the down direction on the control stick during Yoshi’s dive-bomb.

Final Smash: Stampede

Yoshi knocks down opponents with a tackle. Then Yoshis of various colors appear and send the opponent flying! The first tackle can affect up to three opponents, but be sure not to KO yourself if you miss everyone.