Want to take to the skies? Smash Ultimate has a huge cast, and no shortage of characters who thrive in the air.  If you are looking for a character with strong aerial attacks and mobility options, here are the top ten characters who dominate the air both above the stage and off the ledge.
 

#1: Pikachu

Pikachu has basically everything a Smash character needs to dominate the air.  He possesses great mobility, high-speed multi-hit aerials that allow him to rack up combo damage and kill.  He also has the ability to close out early stocks with edgeguarding and down-B.

• Pikachu’s aerial mobility, as well as low landing lag, allow him to constantly stick out his long-lasting aerial moves like forward air and back air.  Inevitably, he will catch his opponent.
• He is difficult to challenge in the air.  Even if you possess greater range than him, he’ll still probably beat you out due to his sheer speed.
• Not only can he easily take characters out off-stage, but his down-B is a potentially fatal move during aerial sequences that will catch opponents far above him and send them hurtling to deaths at double digit percentages.

#2: Mythra

Mythra is a very aggressive, high-velocity character who simply cannot be beaten in the air for speed.  Her moves come out very quickly and lead just as swiftly into high combo damage.  She can safely swing at an opponent with many of her aerials and, if she connects, take them for a ride.

• Mythra possesses a host of fast neutral tools such as forward air, back air, up air, and neutral air, all of which can quickly clip a character and start her juggle game.
• She has low endlag. When she hits the ground in the midst of an aerial attack, she can easily get back in the air and keep the juggle going.
• She has very few issues killing with moves like back air, which is a great plus for a character with such speed and damage.

#3: Joker

Joker’s mobility is one of his greatest assets.  It not only allows him to burst into offensive options, but also play evasively and counterattack.  Not only are his aerial attacks strong, but his neutral B and side B are great aerial tools to pester the opponent at midrange and keep them from going in recklessly on Joker.

• His forward air is a strong aerial with great knockback.  It can also be comboed into if the second hit is cancelled by Joker hitting the ground, allowing him to follow-up with a potentially stock-ending combo.
• His back air is incredibly quick and can kill unexpectedly, making it a powerful burst option that the opponent needs to respect.
• He has a great aerial combo game that can also lead to kills, particularly with a drag-down up-air into a smash attack.

#4: Fox

Fox’s fast-falling makes his already speedy aerials almost impossible to react to, and they pack a mean punch.  The knockback on Fox’s back air is so strong that it will end stocks at high double digit percentages.  Aerial battles against Fox are dangerous -- if you don’t win, you will likely end up getting punted into the blast zone.

• Fast-falling means that Fox drops more quickly than other characters, which can make him a bit harder to control, but also means that he can line up and snipe foes with his aerials more quickly than floatier characters.
• Short-hop neutral air is a strong, aggressive move that comes out too quickly to react to and can be followed-up even on shield, making it threatening at all stages of the game.
• Back-air is safe on shield if properly spaced, kills early, and is very fast.  It’s one of Fox’s best tools on offense and is especially scary for opponents trying to land on the stage, or on a platform above Fox.

#5: Wario

Wario’s horizontal air mobility allows him to chase down characters from across the stage and approach from varied angles, making him difficult to defend against.  He can stay in the air for a long time, battering at opponents with his surprisingly punchy aerials.  When his Wario Waft is active, it becomes an ace in the hole that can steal games from almost anywhere.

• Wario can stay in the air for a long time with his jumps and his side-B, and yet he is surprisingly heavy and hard-hitting.
• His aerial moves last deceptively long and can hit hard, particularly his back and down air.
• Due to his aerial mobility, Wario can dip in and out of range in the air.  This makes him difficult to pin down, and also allows him to bait out an opponent’s attacks before closing in with a counterattack.

#6: Peach

Peach’s depth and potential as an aerial-based fighter stem from her float ability, activated by holding down the jump button.  It allows her to control a high amount of space, particularly on offense, simply by being able to hover in place and weave back and forth with her aerial moves.  Mastery of floating will take time and practice, but will reward a good Peach player with incomparable aerial dominance.

• The float ability can be activated at any height, and is particularly useful close to the ground, letting her get aggressive with strong aerials like forward and neutral air without putting herself in danger in the way that some of her laggier ground normals would.
• Floating is also a great edgeguarding asset, allowing Peach to stay offstage for a long time as she creates a wall of attacks, preventing the opponent from recovering.
• In general, while Peach’s aerial moves are not necessarily the fastest of the cast, her air mobility with float as well as the disembodied properties on moves like forward and up air allow her to bait and punish enemies.

#7: Lucina

Lucina can bat at opponents from an advantageous range simply due to her sword.  She possesses strong combo and juggling abilities, allowing her to easily rack up damage, and her aerials are great spacing tools that allow her to keep the opponent slightly at bay, score a stray hit, then rush in to follow up.  The key to being a good Lucina player is maintaining that slight space where you can hit them, but they can’t hit you.

• When spaced properly, Lucina’s neutral air and forward air are strong attacks that are difficult to punish on shield.
• Both her forward and back air are fast, possess good knockback power, and can easily kill offstage.
• Due to her slight floatiness, Lucina can attack with rising aerials and descend with another safely spaced attack, creating a wall of offense.

#8: Palutena

Palutena may be somewhat mediocre on the ground, but she has some great air moves, between an all-around damage and combo move in neutral air, a swift knockback move in forward air, a disembodied juggling move in up air, a scary kill move in back air, and a meteor smash in down air.  She is a well-rounded character with an emphasis on challenging enemies in the air and juggling them to kill percentages.

• Palutena’s neutral air is one of her best moves in general due to its versatility -- its long animation can be used as a rising aerial move, to catch opponents as they descend, and to juggle opponents.
• Her back air is a scary kill move that also shields her from oncoming attacks, making it a great burst option to snipe foes in the air.
• Her floatiness, and generously disjointed aerial moves like neutral, forward, and up air, all allow her to juggle enemies with ease.

#9: Mario

Mario may not be a strictly “aerial” character given his well-rounded parameters, but he excels in the air due to his combo and juggle potential.  His neutral air, back air, and up air are fairly low lag moves that string into each other with relative ease.  Even if the opponent attempts to change the way they drift as they return to the stage, a keen-eyed Mario can counter them in the sky with a different option.  Take your opponent into the sky and finish them off with a well-timed up-B or forward air.

• Up air is a great tool to continually take opponents skyward, setting them up for an up-B that can kill off the top of the stage at high percentages.
• Mario can poke at your opponent’s shield with rising neutral airs, or neutral airs that hit on the back of the shield.  Once the opponent is conditioned to block, you can grab them, down throw them, and begin your air game.
• Mario’s forward air is a deadly meteor attack and a great follow-up to attacks like back air, which have good knockback and can set up an opponent off-stage for the kill.

#10: Zero Suit Samus

Zero Suit Samus is one of the slipperiest characters in the game, due in part to her down-B, which can essentially act as a third jump as well as a stock-ending meteor smash.  She’s a great juggler and even if she can’t kill quite as easily off the top of the stage as she could in the prior Smash game, her sequence of several up-airs into up-B is still a sequence to be feared.  Her ability to dance all over her opponent in the air and juggle them into the blast zone is still a core part of her gameplay.

• After pressing Down-B, you can hold the control stick inward to shorten the move’s horizontal length, or outward to widen its horizontal length.  This is great to broaden ZSS’s mobility options, and also to set up a meteor smash.
• Neutral air is a great all-around spacing tool that can be used against grounded and aerial opponents alike, while back air has good knockback and can be used as a combo ender.
• Keep ZSS’s special tether grab in your back pocket.  Like with Samus, ZSS can shoot a special grab beam in the air that can be used to poke at your opponent safely.

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