Muddy Mole (Mole Mania) Discussion

Character Mechanics
Muddy's unique character mechanic is displayed in his specials. Alone, he's a fairly mediocre character. But what really makes him shine is how he can interact with his specials after using them.

Moveset
Normals:
A lot of claw slashes, some kicks. He's pretty stubby, so don't expect a whole lot of range coming from him.

Standard Special: Iron Ball - Muddy pulls out a giant iron ball out of thin air. This Iron Ball is roughly Muddy's size, if not a bit bigger. The iron ball itself acts as a physical shield. Opponents can attack it all they want, but it will not break. If attacked, the ball move a very tiny distance. Moves like Sheik, Falco, Corrin, Kirby, etc.'s Jab Combo make it move very slowly if it's being hit constantly, but not fast enough for it do damage. The only characters that could really get it moving fast enough to do lots of damage would be the stronger fighters (Bowser, Donkey Kong, Ganondorf, Dedede, etc.). If someone does hit it hard enough and it hits Muddy, he'll take damage as well. However, Muddy can also attack the Iron Ball to cause it to move. It works very well with his Forward Smash (which is him fiercely kicking forward).
Muddy can also grab the ball with the Grab button / Shield+Attack button combination. This allows Muddy to push and pull the ball around. To let go of the Iron Ball, simply press the A button.
Standard Special (In Air): Iron Ball Drop - Muddy summons a ball out of nowhere again, but it instantly drops down onto the ground. Similar to Villager's Bowling Ball move, but is usable once it lands.
Standard Special (Near Iron Ball): Iron Ball Throw - Once close to a ball, if the neutral special button is pressed Muddy will grab onto the Iron Ball powerfully.
Now you can do several things:
• Toss it forward for some decent damage at an average range (I'd say a bit more than a battlefield platform).
• Toss it backward for the same amount of damage with a little less range (about a battlefield platform).
• Toss it upward to deal a whole lot of damage, but it doesn't really go that far.
But, if you wait for Muddy to firmly plant his feet and toughen up his stance, you can buff the three moves and double the range of movement!
Standard Special (Iron Ball on Stage): Whoops! - If Muddy presses the Neutral Special button away from the Iron Ball he attempts to grab the ball out of thin air but falls over, as the expected weight he was going to carry did not appear.

Iron Ball Statistics:
The Iron Ball is vital to Muddy's stage control game. Moving it around is important to deal real damage to opponents. This is the move that will probably kill opponents the majority of the time. It's power and knockback is based on how the sender can get it moving. The way that is determined is mostly through knockback with damage being a smaller factor.
Other Muddy Moles are able to grab Iron Balls not summoned by them, like how multiple Warios can use one Bike.


Side Special (Pressed): Dig In! - Muddy jumps into the ground in front of him and pops out about the length of a crate / iron ball forward while attacking with his claws (somewhat like how glide attacks worked in Brawl, because he's gliding underground get it??). This can be useful to jumping to the other side of your protective ball if you know a strong attack is heading your way. It can be used like a roll too, but it goes through the Iron Ball, which would normally act like a wall.
Side Special (Held) - After Muddy dives into the ground, he will move forward underground at rather fast rate (roughly his run speed, if not a tad bit faster). He will not be able to turn around in this state, unlike when he utilizes his down special Burrow. When the button is released he will fling out and attack, just like when the button is pressed.
If Muddy burrows off of the stage he will automatically be put into his attacking position, but he can cancel out of it easily with his jump or Up Special. Muddy could easily self destruct himself if he isn't careful when using this move, but it also acts as one heck of an edge guard.
Side Special (Air; Pressed) - In the air, Muddy sort of just leaps forward if pressed. He'll still try to hit you, but just pressing the button gives you some pretty pitiful range. You barely go a battlefield platform.
Side Special (Air; Held) - In the air, Muddy will dive a bit forward and start flailing his arms and legs around as if he's actually digging underground. While humorous, it doesn't really help Muddy aside from making him a falling hitbox. Maybe it could be used to get opponents off of you if you're recovering high?[/collapse]


Up Special: Mole Drill - Muddy drills through the air, the duration of this move is fairly small as is the distance it goes. You can choose Muddy's direction midmove. So it is somewhat like Lucario's Extremespeed. Unlike Lucario's Extremespeed, if Muddy comes into contact with any portion of the stage he drills into it and digs his way back to the top of stage's main platform. You can manually decide where he'll pop up by moving the control stick, but your position is shown by dirt coming off of the stage's main platform when you attempt to return.


Down Special: Burrow -  Muddy burrows himself underground to the point where you can only see his head poking out. While he moves at in this state he is completely underground, but you can sort of guess his positioning by the ground moving on the stage. He moves slightly above his walking speed underground, as he only has roughly 4 to 5 seconds to go where he wants before he returns above ground. Release the button early for him to pop out earlier. While in the ground Muddy is essentially invulnerable to almost every attack, albeit ones that deliberately hit the ground (Dedede's Forward Smash, Bowser's Down Special, Ganondorf's Up Tilt) if hit by one of these, he is shot up into the air.
If Muddy goes near a ledge while being underground, he could fall off the stage if he isn't too careful.
If used on a platform with no real ground for Muddy to hide in, he'll go straight through it. Spiking anybody who touches him during this move. This goes for platforms like the ones on Battlefield and main platforms for the traveling stages that you can jump through (Delfino / Skyloft / Port Town / etc.)
Down Special (Air): Burrow Drill - Muddy drills again, but downward at a fairly fast rate. If opponents are caught in this move they'll be dragged downward with Muddy. If the button is pressed, Muddy will land on the ground with his dragged opponent launched away by a finishing claw swipe. But if held, Muddy will burrow straight into the ground, his dragged opponent forced onto the ground. A great move for retreating away from enemies.

Final Smash: Mole Mania - Muddy whistles out as if he's calling for something or someone, when suddenly the ground shakes!
All of Muddy's children and his wife pop out onto the stage! The Children are scampering around, causing anybody on the ground to be trapped by pitfalls while Muddy and his wife after the scamps to collect them before they get themselves hurt. The two cause tons of knockback and damage if they come in contact with any opponents, anybody trying to save their children from danger would stop at nothing after all. Once the 7 children are gathered the two meet up: the Children go into a hole, Muddy and his wife share a kiss, and she jumps into the hole as well. This ends the Final Smash.