Clairen Axmos Drop Up Special

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For a deep dive into Fastfall Storage and Axmos Drops, visit my in-depth guide. Here is the basic explanation of how to Axmos Drop with Clairen’s Up Special:

1. Perform a platform drop
2. Airdodge and waveland back onto the platform ASAP to “store” your platdrop timer value
3. Hit your opponent with Up Special
4. Hold down immediately - this is not a timed input, simply hold down - your attack should automatically fastfall when the stored platdrop timer ends

Clairen’s Axmos Drop prevents her Up Special from rising when performed from a platform. In fact, while using the standard version of this technique it is not possible to begin the second part of Up Special at all, with Clairen landing immediately after the third hit ends. It is possible to gain access to the full attack still by first running off the platform to become airborne before beginning the attack, with this allowing you to Axmos Drop whilst still altering your momentum through delaying the second slash input.

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Axmos Drop changes the way you can use Clairen’s Up Special on platforms, making the attack a far more aggressive tool. This is not dissimilar to using the attack as a poke tool on certain stages where it is possible to travel seamlessly from ground to platform. One clear distinction with the Axmos Drop variation from this is that it allows Clairen to begin a combo against opponents beside her as well as against those directly beneath her however. Due to the size of the first hitbox it is possible to hit a number of characters while they are standing under Clairen, with this working on all characters from standard platform height with the exception of Sylvanos, Maypul, Ori and Orcane. Against all other characters, the spacing required for this is slightly more than a full character length away from Clairen.

This large threat zone makes it possible to drag these characters upwards to the platform from some distance away before you attempt your combo extension. The spacing of this also makes it a relatively safe distance against a handful of recoveries too, leading to this being an unpredictable edgeguarding option that’s been adopted by a few notable players.

It’s worth noting that the combo possibilities that exist are only practical due to the low pratfall landing lag on the first part of Up Special, which allows you to act only 11 frames after landing. By being actionable so soon after dragging her opponent upwards, Clairen is provided with multiple follow-up opportunities on poor DI. The most popular of these is a Tipper Up Strong, with the relatively high hitstun of the attack allowing this to connect as characters fall back towards Clairen.

Later experimentation saw the Axmos Drop being used to drag opponents up from below Clairen into her other Strong attacks as well, however this use of Up Special keeps your opponent close enough that there are other combo possibilities to consider outside of this. If you are aiming for a flashy way to close a stock however, the tweets linked throughout this guide may serve as a quick reference of how members of the community have used the technique over time.

It’s clear that this is the Axmos Drop that the community has embraced the most since it was discovered. That being said, there are still weaknesses to the technique. Due to the very nature of this attack being multi-hit, the Up Special could be considered relatively easy to react to, with it allowing an opportunity for the opponent to correct their DI. This is not even taking into account the regular process of storing your fast-fall telegraphing your option to your opponent. For these reasons this technique cannot be relied on to close stocks with absolute certainty, and even with its popularity amongst dedicated Clairen players it is still regarded as a niche option even years after its discovery.