First,
@Mogilicudi, mad props on those games the other night. I was running Spike and my cousin just got the game and is looking for a main. Regardless, I couldn't do anything against your Fat Princess or your Kratos. I need to spend some more time online with the real competition. My wife and friends are getting tired of me beating on them anyway lol. Any hope you could help me train?
2nd: Spike has great AP gain, but he suffers in a lot of areas, and furthermore, a lot of people don't know how to use him so they mash clubs. His true skills lie in the us of his clubs, teleports, Electric Ball, Bananarang (which has fantastic range, especially if you throw it to whiff on purpose, then run in the opposite direction and let it catch people chasing you, or even whiff it and let someone start a combo on you to be interrupted by the return flight to start a combo; meta), and I would say Apes, but for me, they're unreliable (that charge time).
However, like everyone else says, he suffers from poor supers. His Level 1 is best used catching people off guard, but has a surprisingly good range. I'm not talking about hitting in front, but hitting people above him, especially people sitting on a platform above him. There aren't too many platforms in the game that it won't reach and kill someone and it even hits at a somewhat diagonal angle. That whole swing arc is a danger zone for unawares. Otherwise, you have to be patient and smart when using it (my flaw since I get impatient or irritated as the match boils down and make many mistakes).
His level 2 is best at catching someone using a super, catching people off guard, or catching someone falling to the ground after a low air dodge or recovery. The hitbox for it isn't as vertical as a lot of people think and it can be both dodge rolled, or double jumped easily, even if you aren't expecting it. Essentially, it's either point blank, or be patient.
His level 3 is useless, but sometimes it's the only way to get kills and even then, depending on who he's facing, he won't get to it since he is kinda slow and needs to use to stun club stab, glide, and teleports to move around quickly.
In my opinion, maining him since Day 1, he excels in 1v1. No lie. You have to play him in as much the same way as you would play any other strategy heavy character, like Sweet Tooth. Anticipate your opponent's moves and patterns, and plan a course that'll make them think you're doing something else to catch them off guard and get in a couple kills. He's really good at avoiding a lot of level 3's. Particularly Nariko's, Evil Cole's, and other ones that leave him in control (with the the exception of Sly), but he's also high risk, mid-reward so you can't afford any mistakes or it'll set you back.
Otherwise though, in FFA against skilled opponents, and even in 2v2 with either a lacking partner, skilled opponents, or both, he struggles some, but he's a greay character if you learn to play him and you have the patience to watch, plan, and wait.
Just my two cents. Haven't signed in for a while, but I'm always watching.
--- The Colossal King
--- The Gravity Queen
Fear4TheHero47 wrote:
He's really good at avoiding a lot of level 3's. Particularly Nariko's, Evil Cole's, and other ones that leave him in control (with the the exception of Sly), but he's also high risk, mid-reward so you can't afford any mistakes or it'll set you back.
Actually I know some tricks with Spike to evade Sly's lvl3.
But I'm afraid the Sly Users will read this, and I don't want to give it away. 
If you want I can PM it to you later.
I'm also maining Spike since day1, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw this topic! XD
I can win most matches with him on a good day, but it requires HARD WORK every match! If I slack off just a little bit it's the end of it.
The fastest I get to his Level 3 is about 1 Minute and 20 Seconds into the match, and it's quite impossible to get it a second time after this, because about then the stage hazzards will kick in and make getting AP more challenging, and the other players will likely hold a slight grudge against you and be more careful to not let you get it again.
So every match I have to decide my strategy until shortly before reaching my lvl2. Should I save up to my lvl3? Or should I start throwing out lvl1s to get more possible kills. His lvl2 is usually my desperation move, because it is just so easy for the enemies to hop over it.
So yeah, I have to say no to that nerf.
