Riot, Meta forward B can cut through certain projectiles. You'll have to experiment to find out which though, I'm not certain of the whole list.
Theres actually a lot of differences between Ness and Lucas. Ness has a superior air game to Lucas while Lucas has the superior ground game. Lucas' tilts all outrange Ness'. Ness' D-air is arguably one of the easiest spikes in the game to land, while his U-air, and B-air kill well. At higher percentages Ness' N-air is also deadly, while his F-air is good for damage. Lucas may have 2 spikes, but they're not the east to land. His B-air spike has a very small window to spike (though it hits hard as hell) and his D-air spike is easily DIed out of (and is weak enough to survive anyway). N-air combos well but doesn't have much range. F-air can kill but not until higher percentages as does U-air.
Lucas and Ness on the ground have some very fast tilts, but Lucas has the more viable ones due to range. As for smashes, Ness' bat may have the potential to be more powerful then Lucas' but it requires a sweet spot for its best damage. It also happens to be slower. Lucas' is faster and has no sweet spot. Down and Up smash on Ness are useful if you know how to use them. The Yoyo can be used as a pseudo shield to stop ground based approaches and if I remember correctly even block some low flying projectiles. Lucas has one of the most powerful Up Smashes in the game, though it is easily punished if whiffed. His Down Smash is good as well due to how long it stays out since it will hit through any spot dodges. Despite its looks, it also has a small ranged hit box behind Lucas AND hits below platforms if used on one. Works out well as well when trying to prevent the ledge from being grabbed.
Special wise, not too many differences. PK Flash if landed hurts like hell, but its easy to dodge. PK Freeze may freeze your opponent but by the time you get to them they've probably already broken out. PK Thunder from Ness is his Achilles Heel, as if he has to use it to recover he is easily gimped by someone jumping out and taking the hit from it before he can hit himself with it. Damage wise, his PKT2 hits for more launch then Lucas' but Lucas' can do some obscene damage due to its plethora of hits. Lucas' PKT2 is almost double the range of Ness'. PK Fire from Ness can be used for combos (notably, PK Fire > D-throw > F-air), where as Lucas' its basically just a standard projectile.
Grabs... Lucas' grabs can't kill til over 100% unless right next to an edge. Ness' grabs can kill below 100%... Lucas has a harder time grabbing even with the snake due to him easily being punished for a miss.
As for whos better... in a fight between the 2, Lucas should never lose because he has an infinite on Ness that Ness can't perform back on Lucas... Poor Ness..
Edit: Wee wrong words some places.
My Creations in Modnation Racers! Check zhem!
http://community.modnation.com/en-us/players/IvoYaridovich/creations
