Project V/Scrooge McDuck



Scrooge McDuck (DuckTales) "Nobody, but nobody double-crosses Scrooge McDuck! Not even a superpower! We'll settle this man to man!"

Scrooge McDuck is one of the fifteen selectable fighters in Project V, representing the DuckTales franchise. He had been selected to be one of the "oddball fighters" and for the interest of Project V's director, Athena Hawkins. In combat, Scrooge attacks with his cane and can open up treasure chests from nowhere, which he can use to his advantage in several ways, giving him the options to camp out opponents or toss heavy projectiles in their direction. His Gem Strike move gives him another powerful projectile; he can go between a variety of different gemstones and treasures and toss them at foes, much like Pac-Man's "Bonus Fruit" in Super Smash Bros.  His role in the competitive scene is unknown, largely due to being a currently unpopular pick (ironically).

Prior to the official release of Project V, Scrooge McDuck was predicted to be 13th on the tier list, just a spot above last place. This is due to his underwhelming presence in the metagame and the lack of representation in the community. He is known for his laggy, short-range smash attacks and his very poor recovery as well, which hinder his ability to fight properly on the battlefield. This is all coupled with his very high learning curve, which makes him a generally ignored character on the roster. However, Scrooge does have respectable power in his moves and can fare well against opponents that have little knowledge of their matchup against him, and his recovery is multi-directional and has several uses which can take stocks early.

Attributes
Scrooge is a light-weight character with rather average attack power and above average mobility, making it somewhat easy for him to survive on the battlefield. With his small hurtbox, he can nimbly avoid attacks and counter them with his own fast aerial moves. Scrooge has good walking speed, great running speed, high falling speed, decent air speed, and okay jumps. Scrooge primarily uses his cane and his jewels for attacking, with his projectiles being present in his neutral special and his fast aerials. Typically Scrooge's moves are free from high end-lag, allowing him to make moves quickly even after he makes a blunder. Scrooge can perform combos with his alright grab game, although his throws are rather abysmal and don't have much use. His cane has multiple uses too, which is convenient because of his rather easy-to-read moveset.

Scrooge is definitely not free from his flaws, however. His most apparent is his short-range smash attacks, which are difficult to land and are rather poorly rewarding moves. His cane, while having decent power in general, doesn't reach out far and isn't effective for poking his opponents. He is also hindered by poor approach options, and as mentioned before, his really high learning curve. His Cane Bounce move has a lot of uses, but it is bad for recovery and is easily punished. These flaws are large enough to stop Scrooge from escalating from his bottom tier status and leave him to be an unpopular choice in the competitive metagame. However, these opinions may change with time when the game becomes officially released.

Moveset
Scrooge has an unorthodox moveset, having short range yet powerful moves and a number of projectiles with varying uses. Due to his high learning curve and rather situation use, players have to find moments for Scrooge to strike, meaning that he should be playing a defensive game rather than a full-out offensive one. Camping using his jewels is the smartest way to play him, alongside grabbing his foes with his cane to launch them in different directions. Despite his rather short range of weapons for battle, he is still rather predictable, so players should try to play mind games with their opponents whenever possible.
 * Neutral Special: Gem Strike.  Scrooge will quickly rummage through his bag for jewels, with the size of the jewel increasing with time.  The player will be still while doing this move, although they can roll around to avoid attacks.  The player can then toss their jewel to the opponent.  The bigger the jewel, the more power, yet the less range.  If the attack is charged, the resulting gem will bounce along the ground and have high launching power.
 * Forward Special: Mighty Swing.  Scrooge swings forward his cane, repelling projectiles or opponents in general.  This move has a bit of end lag, but it's not too bad.  It halts all movement when used, making it a good way to avoid being launched too far away.  Despite knocking foes away, the swing itself has poor knockback on foes and doesn't kill at realistic percentages.  Shall this attack be charged, its knockback is much more massive and becomes a much more reliable KO option.
 * Recovery Special: Cane Bounce.  Scrooge will launch himself into the air using his cane, or if he is in the air already, bounce himself just a little further.  After the initial rise, he will come down with great speed.  This can bury grounded opponents or gimp (possibly meteor smash) those in the air.  If he bounces on his opponent, he can reuse his jumps.  If the attack is charged up, he will go a higher distance and always meteor smash foes in the air.  His descent is also slowed.
 * Crouch Special: Treasure Trigger.  A thin outline of a treasure will show in front of Scrooge and can be controlled with the right thumbstick. When the player releases the green button, the chest will appear.  This can server as a blockade or an extra platform for Scrooge to use.  It can also be opened with attacks, so it is possible for it to be destroyed.  If the attack is charged, a treasure chest will instead drop onto the nearest foe for high knockback.

In competitive play
Due to time constraints, this is incomplete.