Definitive Swordfighter Guide Transcript

NEUTRAL SPECIALS

1. Gale Strike (Tornado, Nado): A projectile that sends opponents straight up.
PROS:
+High hitstun and slow knockback make for a potent combo starter, and set knockback means it combos at any percent against most characters.
+The tornado falls slowly while airborne, letting you use it in tricky ways and hit people hanging at the ledge.
+Stalls the user in midair.
+Covers a wide distance, useful for catching landings.
+Pierces through multiple opponents.
CONS:
-Significant lag on both startup and ending.
-Deals very little shield damage.
-The projectile itself moves slowly, making it reactable even at short range.
Final verdict:
VIABLE (9/10)
This move raises Mii Swordfighter’s zoning game to new heights, allowing for early kills off a single projectile.

2. Shuriken of Light (SoL): A small projectile that gains speed and power as it travels.
PROS:
+Long range.
+Relatively quick and lagless.
+Can combo into things like Power Thrust.
+Preserves aerial momentum, making it a viable approach option when combined with a short hop or a reversal.
CONS:
-Extremely weak at close range.
-Still not very strong even at max range.
-Does very little shield damage.
-Very small.
Final verdict:
VIABLE (7/10)
SoL is less common than Gale Strike since it doesn’t offer the same kind of kill power, but it’s still a solid spacing tool.

3. Blurring Blade (BB): A chargeable flurry of strikes.
PROS:
+Strong, especially at full charge.
+Stays out for a long time.
+Can be released in the opposite direction without warning, making it a volatile landing and ledge option.
+Deals significant shield damage (but not enough to break).
+Deals significant shield damage (but usually not enough to break).
+Occasionally pokes shield.
+The Swordfighter steps forward for the final hit, giving it deceptive range.
CONS:
-Laggy and unsafe on shield.
-Tends to drop the opponent after hitting them once or twice.
-Doesn’t hit below the ledge, even though it looks like it should.
-Still relatively short range, especially compared to the other two neutral specials.
FINAL VERDICT:
UNVIABLE (5/10)
The move itself is mediocre, but compared to the other two neutral specials, it’s just not worth using competitively.

SIDE SPECIALS

1. Airborne Assault: A brief charge, and then a flying rush that bounces off opponents.
PROS:
+Excellent recovery tool.
+Strong, with kill potential.
+Only causes freefall if it misses and the user takes no action afterward.
+Stops automatically at any ledge, including the edges of platforms.
+Travels quickly, making it hard to punish and good for catching out defensive options.
+Bounces backward on shield, especially useful on stages with platforms.
+Holding down at the ledge delays your ledge option and can prevent ledgetrapping.
+Wavebouncing the move changes the bounce-off angle.
CONS:
-Reactable, with significant startup and ending lag. The shield bounce will not protect you from a punish.
-Wonky hitbox issues can cause the move to miss occasionally.
-A very rare issue with buffering moves can cause the move to put the user in freefall.
FINAL VERDICT:
DEBATED (5-7/10)
This is a decent move in itself, but it’s an uncommon choice for competitive players because it competes for a slot with the objectively better Chakram.

2. Gale Stab: A chargeable lunge forward, similar to Ike’s Quick Draw.
PROS:
+Decent damage and knockback, capable of killing early at full charge.
+Can be held at full charge, like Ike’s equivalent.
+Travels a long distance quickly, useful for recovery and movement.
+Allows for mixups on stages with platforms.
+The uncharged version comes out quickly.
CONS:
-Unsafe on shield.
-Unlike Ike’s equivalent, the user goes into freefall even after a successful hit.
-Slows down at the end of the move.
-If the move collides with anything, it loses the ability to grab the ledge.
FINAL VERDICT:
DEBATED (4-7/10)
This move is more polarized than Airborne Assault, with higher highs and lower lows, but the fact of the matter is that neither of these moves have fully developed metagames, because they’re both totally outshined by…

3. Chakram: A projectile with a double functionality.
Inputting the move like a smash attack (pressing the joystick and the button simultaneously) throws the chakram at full speed, a single-hit projectile that covers a long distance quickly. This variation is known as “Smash Chakram” or “Fast Chakram”. Inputting the move like a tilt attack (pressing the button after the joystick) throws the chakram slowly, hitting multiple times and keeping your opponent locked in place. This variation is known as “Tilt Chakram” or ”Slow Chakram”.
+Can be angled within a wide range.
+Maintains the user’s momentum, allowing for tricky movement.
+The fast version is a powerful zoning tool:
	+Travels quickly;
	+Covers a long range;
	+And knocks opponents away, stuffing out approaches and keeping them from reaching the ledge.
+The slow version is equally useful, for different reasons:
	+Stays out for a long time, controlling space, especially around ledge;
	+A single hit can seriously throw opponents off their rhythm and even create reverse edgeguards;
	+And multiple hits can keep your opponent locked in place, leaving them open to a follow-up.
CONS:
-Noticeably laggy.
-Deals almost no shield damage.
-Low knockback growth, severely limiting its utility as a kill move onstage.
-Only one chakram can be out at a time. This includes non-active chakrams that have bounced off a shield.
FINAL VERDICT:
VIABLE (10/10)
Either one of these projectiles taken in isolation would be a potent tool in its own right, but the fact that they’re combined into one move makes it the clear best choice for a competitive moveset.

UP SPECIALS

1. Stone Scabbard: A recovery move that travels mostly vertically.
PROS:
+Excellent vertical recovery.
+Frame 13 out-of-shield option with decent reach.
+Invulnerable at the start of the move (frames 5-12).
+The falling portion is highly disjointed and makes for a viable landing mixup.
+High base knockback on the final hit.
+Spicy suicide kills (although the user dies first).
+Grabs the ledge from behind, useful for spicy suicide kills.
CONS:
-The rising hit only combos into the falling hit if the move is performed without much horizontal drift, and sometimes not even then. This interferes with suicide kills, among other things.
-Highly punishable and unsafe on shield.
-Lackluster horizontal recovery.
-Completely lacks a hitbox on the second half of the rising portion.
FINAL VERDICT:
VIABLE (7/10)
Stone Scabbard makes up for its relative lack of offensive utility with an impressive vertical recovery. It synergizes well with Mii Swordfighter’s other horizontal recovery options.

2. Skyward Slash Dash (SSD): A flurry of slashes that can be aimed in any direction.
PROS:
+Offers a versatile recovery range.
+Giant hitboxes protect you as you recover.
+Deals ~25% if the whole move connects.
+Covers a wide range and stays out for a long time, making it a useful mixup at ledge.
+Even after the attack is over, the user retains some of the momentum from the move.
+Can be aimed diagonally into the stage and will still travel a good distance.
CONS:
-The leftover momentum keeps you locked in one direction; missing the ledge could easily mean death.
-Add that to significant startup and ending lag, and your opponent can land a hard punish if they see this move coming.
-Not enough knockback to kill from onstage at reasonable percents.
FINAL VERDICT:
VIABLE (8/10)
SSD offers the most versatile recovery and the best damage output in terms of raw percent, but it fails to cover Swordfighter’s biggest weaknesses: kill power and out-of-shield options.

3. Hero Spin (HS): A spin attack, similar to Link’s up B.
PROS:
+When grounded:
	+Kill potential.
	+Frame 8 out-of-shield option with great range.
	=Can be charged for more power, although you could also just use fsmash.
+When aerial:
	+High knockback lets it kill surprisingly early.
	+Still frame 8, making it relatively easy to combo into.
	+These two factors combine to make an obscenely powerful combo finisher that can take stocks as low as 70% off a single projectile.
CONS:
-Completely unsafe on shield.
-Noticeably weak recovery.
-Very little horizontal drift.
-The aerial version can sometimes be SDI’d.
FINAL VERDICT:
VIABLE (7/10)
This move balances out Mii Swordfighter’s lack of kill moves and out-of-shield options. It sacrifices recovery power to accomplish this, but many players find it a worthy trade-off.

DOWN SPECIALS

1. Blade Counter: A counterattack that sends the opponent upward.
PROS:
+Decently strong, with a 1.5x damage multiplier.
+The vertical knockback angle makes it feasible to kill from anywhere on the stage, or even take stocks early near the blast zone.
CONS:
-The vertical knockback angle also prevents the move from being used as an edgeguarding tool or killing off the side.
-This counter uniquely puts opponents in their grab release animation once they trigger the counter. Ordinarily this wouldn’t make a difference, but it could conceivably make the counterattack miss when it should connect.
-Short activation window compared to other counters.
-The aerial version can be difficult to kill with, as opponents can significantly increase their own survivability just by holding down.
FINAL VERDICT:
…TECHNICALLY VIABLE (6/10)
It’s not bad, but it’s not really that good either.
To be perfectly honest, there’s just not a lot to say about this move. The only really noteworthy thing is the upward launch angle.
It’s technically viable, but why would you use it?

2. Reversal Slash: An attack that reflects projectiles and spins opponents around, similar to Mario’s Cape.
PROS:
+The reflector comes out slightly faster and stays out longer than Mario’s equivalent.
+Pops the user up slightly when used in midair.
+One use of the move can reflect multiple projectiles.
+The least laggy of Mii Swordie’s down specials.
+Unusually high reflect-damage multiplier at 180%.
CONS:
-The reversing hit comes out slightly later than Mario’s equivalent, and later than it looks like it should, which can throw off your muscle memory.
-Does no knockback, no hitstun, and negligible damage.
FINAL VERDICT:
VIABLE (9/10)
The reflector-reverser combo is a useful tool, especially for a semi-zoner like the Swordfighter, and the small aerial boost allows for much-needed recovery mixups. If you aren’t sure which move to go for, the general utility of this move makes it a solid pick in almost any situation.

3. Power Thrust (PT): A lunging thrust that travels straight forward when used on the ground, and diagonally down when used in the air.
PROS:
+Solid damage and knockback, killing around 110% at the ledge.
+Stronger at the tip of the move.
+Comes out relatively quickly on frame 14.
+Good for covering careless landing and getup options.
+A niche landing option and recovery mixup.
+Launches at a low angle, setting up for edgeguards at high percents.
+Synergizes with Shuriken of Light to form a strong combo.
CON (there’s just one, but it’s significant):
-Very punishable and unsafe on shield, both on the ground and in the air.
FINAL VERDICT:
VIABLE (8/10)
This move is suited to a more aggressive playstyle, trading out a defensive option for an additional burst option. It’s not as popular as Reversal Slash, but it still offers plenty of depth, especially when combined with Shuriken of Light.