Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournaments across the country are making good ol’ Minecraft Steve illegal after a potentially revolutionary new technique is discovered.

Last week, clips of a new move by Steve started sweeping through the Smash community. Labeled “Phantom MLG”, the technique allows Steve’s players to escape being stunned in numerous moves. This means that Steve can evade multi-hit combos and counter opposing characters while they are still recovering from the move they just fired. In fighting game parlance, this effectively gives Steve armor. You can see a proper breakdown of the move in the video below.

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Naturally, this is not a technique that many players want to compete against, and following PMLG’s discovery, much of the Smash community called for Steve to be banned from tournaments. These bans started happening pretty quickly, and now Steve is banned, or at least restricted, in many states in the US scene. Now that Smash legend Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma has announced Steve’s ban from Coinbox, the tournament series he runs, it seems likely that many more will follow.

While the banhammer is falling hard and fast, there is still debate over whether PMLG is actually useful. Although it looks flashy in the clips, it’s hard to pull off. You need to setup the move, prepare to get hit by an opponent’s attack, and execute your PMLG at the perfect time. This only works when Steve also does low damage. Steve main (opens in a new tab) argue (opens in a new window) that the technique is useful, but not really innovative.

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However, the court of public opinion has apparently already made up its mind, and it doesn’t bode well for Steve. Smash Ultimate hasn’t received an update since December 2021, so a patch is unlikely to end PMLG. What this means for Steve’s future in competitive Smash remains to be seen.

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