Overview
In a nutshell
They currently rank 7th on the official tier list (the highest among veterans as a starter), primarily due to their extensive and intricate grab game that can completely shut down opponents once it begins. Professional Ice Climbers players are known to chain grab opponents from 0% to a KO inescapably. The partner mechanism of the character also allows opponents to have to rethink their approach, as one target can easily break combos and chain grabs. The duo also have two decent projectiles, and they are armed with a relatively powerful meteor smash. However, if the partner is KO'd, the leader cannot use special moves correctly and is somewhat helpless during recovery; a lone Ice Climber also has drastically lowered KO potential, especially due to its inability to perform a meteor smash, and is considerably more open to chain grabs and combos. The Ice Climbers, however, overall have relatively good matchups, including multiple favourable matchups against higher tiered characters, most notably Falco.