Brawl Stars: A Competitive Guide to Every Brawler in Solo Showdown

Starting Brawler: Shelly (9/10)

Edited 21/5/2023 because she got buffed

User-friendly: 10/10
Damage: 9/10
Survivability: 8/10
Solo Showdown: 9/10 excellent pick

Best build:
gadget: clay pigeons
Much better option. Clay pigeons can be deadly with high damage, high projectile speed, and nearly impossible to dodge while slowed (shell shock). Fast forward is decent, but it is just outclassed by the other clearly superior option.

Star power: Band-aid /Shell Shock
Both are pretty good. Band-Aid is much better for passive play and survivability and mostly for beginners. Shell Shock is better for offensive plays to stack easy damage alongside clay pigeons. Depends on how skilled you are.

In general, Shelly is a pretty user friendly brawler. Very simple mechanics along with high damage to counter tanks (especially with the super, which can be deadly). You need to know when to use the super though, as you're only a threat with it. Losing it could result in an early death, which is devastating in high trophy plays. However, when playing Shelly you're seen as a large threat to tank players such as El Primo and Buster, do naturally they will attempt to get rid of you as quick as possible. Be careful when teaming with them and charge super early.

+movement speed makes it super easy to get close to people and melt them with super.

How to team:
Team with the tanks and team with Shelly. As long as you're sitting on the super, they won't dare to attack a Shelly.
Best time to backstab is early game. Clay pigeons + super damage will kill most brawlers quickly, and there is not much danger of dying since most people are getting powerups. Super can also be used to surprise other people if they are letting Shelly charge super off them. Super can be cycled pretty quickly as long as you get value out of it.

Don't team with Primo unless you don't have many options. Primo counters Shelly with super.

Push her on tank-infested maps (closed maps), like Skull Creek, Feast or Famine and Rockwall Brawl.

Skull Creek/Rockwall brawl:
There are a lot of tanks on this map and the powerups are pretty spaced out, meaning it's easy for you to get one or two. You are advised to always have an escape route while going for powerups since you don't have a 'save me' button like Janet. Study the map before pushing so you know where powerups spawn.

Feast or Famine:
Don't enter without a super. Shelly is pretty popular here so if you run into another one in the grass, don't freak out. The one who presses the super the quickest will win the interaction. Don't make a move until there is only 1 other brawler in the grass, since a player on low health will attract other players.

Cavern Churn:
Similar to Feast or Famine, grass is dangerous. The powerups are also spaced out so you usually will be able to get 1 or 2 upon entering mid (unless you die to other brawlers). There are also powerups in the corners of the map that sometimes are forgotten, so that's also an opportunity to become a dominating brawler without having to risk entering mid. A lot of other dangerous brawlers with stun and sight abilities are also played here, so I would suggest reading on the sections about Bo, Grom, Buzz, and sometimes Bull as well.

It's fine if you push her on regular maps also, cuz she's really good rn.

Avoid:
Long-range brawlers (like Janet, Max and Gale). They can outrange and subsequently out-damage you. You should also be aware of any brawlers with knockback or stun. If several primos jump on you and you can't use your super, your probably going to die.

How to counter:
For tanks, just stay away from the Shelly. Don't try to fight the Shelly for powerups. Unless you are 100% confident of winning and you have an escape route, don't attack the Shelly. Try to guess how close the Shelly is to super if you are in a conflict with a Shelly.
For ranged brawlers, make use of your range. Don't get in the range of her super. Clay pigeons is a liability in that case, so try to be careful.

Metas
I'm currently witnessing a Shelly meta in the aforementioned maps. It's not completely dominated by Shelly but Shelly pick rate has massively increased, with around 4-6 shellys per match. You can farm super off each other.

Remember to keep distance however, because one super and you're dead before you even get to react.
Endgame gameplay is similar to the usual, but more high-risk because there will be super spam. Keep distance and, like Eve gameplay, try to get the others to focus on the bigger threat. Best option is someone diagonal from you as they're more likely to lash out at people near them.