Control |
Attack |
Info
|
Wii U GamePad / Pro Controller |
Wii Remote + Nunchuk |
Wii Remote (sideways)
|
Wii Classic Controller |
GameCube Controller |
Nintendo 3DS
|
|
|
|
Monado Arts
|
Activates one of Shulk's five Monado Arts to change his properties in various ways. Each Art will enhance one stat and reduce another. Tap the button repeatedly to cycle between the Arts. The symbol that appears behind Shulk and the color of his aura indicate which Art is selected. While an Art is active, press the button again three times to cancel the Art, and keep pressing the button further to select a new Art. Each Art also has a cooldown time before you can use it again. Get into the habit of cycling between Arts while moving around, so that you aren't an easy target while choosing an Art. Using the right Arts for the current situation is the key to playing Shulk effectively.
- 翔 Jump: Green aura. Increases Shulk's jump height and the vertical distance of Air Slash, but also increases damage taken while reducing his weight. The obvious use of this Art is for recovering, letting Shulk move further with his jumps and Air Slash. You can also use it during a neutral scenario, using Shulk's ranged aerials and improved aerial mobility to space more effectively and land combos. Finally, Jump lets you be more daring when edgeguarding, as you are more likely to return to the ledge after the deed is done.
- 疾 Speed: Blue aura. Increases Shulk's movement speed significantly, but decreases damage dealt and jump height. Even though this Art reduces Shulk's damage output, it is still a good offensive Art as it helps Shulk land hits and combos more often. The increased speed lets you chase down foes and pressure them with attacks, or to punish enemies when they expose the slightest opening. You'd want to cancel this Art is you get knocked off stage, as the reduced jump could impact Shulk's survivability offstage.
- 盾 Shield: Yellow aura. Increases Shulk's weight and shield vitality while decreasing damage taken, but reduces damage dealt and weakens general mobility. As its name implies, this Art is primarily defensive, used to extend Shulk's life a bit longer. Your reduced mobility and power forces you to play more conservatively, and you definitely do not want to get knocked offstage with your worsened jump. Interestingly, Shield does not have a major effect on the knockback of your moves, so you can go for a desperate KO before you get KO'd yourself, especially if you're powered-up by the Rage effect due to your high percent.
- 斬 Buster: Purple aura. Increases Shulk's damage dealt significantly, but increases damage and knockback taken as well while reducing the knockback of Shulk's own attacks. The Buster Art is a potent double-edge sword, in that you can gain the upper hand or even out a disadvantage, but will take a lot of damage if you're too careless with it. It is still vital to maintain your distance and exploit the Monado's range. The reduced knockback is both a benefit and a drawback. While it lets you combo more effectively, it is actually harder to chain moves on fast fallers and heavyweights early on because your knockback is just too low.
- 撃 Smash: Red aura. Increases the knockback of Shulk's attacks, but reduces Shulk's weight and damage output. This Art has an opposite effect to the Buster Art, and is more useful for landing early KOs than for racking up damage. However, like the Buster Art, you are more easily KO'd yourself, so it pays not to be too aggressive. You can usually attempt KOs with the Smash Art at relatively early percentages, such as around 70%-90%. You may also use it to edgeguard, and Forward Air becomes a really dangerous attack offstage with Smash active.
|
|
|
|
Decisive Monado Arts
|
Shulk's Monado Arts last longer and has a slightly stronger effect, but he cannot change the active Art until it expires. The selected Monado Art also takes slightly longer to activate to reduce the likelihood of a mistaken button press locking you to an undesirable Art. There is certainly merit in specializing, as you can focus more on using your current strengths rather than constantly adapting to the situation. Arts for general combat such as Jump, Speed or Buster are better as you will benefit from their effects a majority of the time, while working around their drawbacks.
|
Hyper Monado Arts
|
All of Shulk's Monado Arts increase his stats more, but their drawbacks are also greater as well. For instance, his Speed art makes him faster than both Sonic and Lightweight Palutena, but severely weakens his attacks. Additionally, Hyper Monado Arts also expire more quickly. This variant is very high-risk, high-reward. With the Jump Art, Shulk can quickly reach just about anywhere on the stage. With the Speed Art, he is very slippery and very hard to defend against. With the Smash Art, even the most innocuous attacks turn into KO moves, and normal KO moves are frighteningly powerful. The lower duration gives you a smaller window to make use of the buffs, so you must learn to fully exploit each Art while it is active. As the recharge time for each Art doesn't change much, remember that you will be fighting without an Art more often.
|
( or )+
|
( or )+
|
( or )+
|
Back Slash
|
Shulk jumps forward and slashes. This attack greatly increases in damage and knockback if it hits from behind. Shulk will not stop until he hits the ground, so using it off the ledge will result in a self-destruct. After initiating the attack, quickly input the opposite direction on the control stick to have Shulk Back Slash in that direction. This feature can be used to catch enemies off-guard. Shulk's Back Slash is somewhat slow, so it's hard to fit in in one's playstyle. It isn't necessary to go for the back attack, as the move itself does enough knockback to keep you safe. Generally, the move is more effective the more opponents there are, since you can have other players draw attention away from you, letting you land more critical hits with Back Slash.
|
( or )+
|
( or )+
|
( or )+
|
Back Slash Leap
|
Shulk jumps up high and slashes downward. This variant has reduced horizontal distance in exchange for more height. This move has a very awkward arc that doesn't make it very good at landing its sweetspot, but it is minutely faster, so it might catch foes by surprise. You will have a slightly easier time hitting from behind after using a weak launcher move, but keep in mind that this mechanic is still rather gimmicky, so rely on it sparingly.
|
Back Slash Charge
|
Shulk jumps lower to the ground and slashes a bit further. Shulk gains super armor while moving forward, but the attack is weaker when hitting at the front. The super armor is the main draw of this move, letting Shulk counter projectile camping by charging straight through them. You are moderately vulnerable if you hit your foe from the front, but you can still close the distance against someone playing overly defensive. This variant is also the best for recovery, with increased horizontal distance and being hard to interrupt due to its super armor. Missing the ledge will still result in a self-destruct, so use it with care.
|
+
|
+
|
+
|
Air Slash
|
Shulk jumps into the air and does a rising slash, which he can follow up with another slash that barely gains any height. This doubles as Shulk's recovery move, functioning similarly to Marth's Dolphin Slash. However, this move has virtually no horizontal movement and can often miss the ledge grab, leaving Shulk with a somewhat limited recovery. You can also use it as a direct attack, usually to follow up after a Strong Up Attack chain. The move can potentially KO if you do it high up enough, but it is an impractical attack since you are put into a helpless state after using it.
|
+
|
+
|
+
|
Advancing Air Slash
|
Shulk does a rising slash, follow by a slash that moves him diagonally downward. This variant's knockback trajectory is a bit more horizontal. It also lets Shulk move forward a bit while using the second strike, although he will also lose height as well. This move is more horizontally-oriented. The movement of the second strike can help or harm Shulk depending on his position relative to the ledge. It does make it safer to use it as a direct attack on stages with platforms, as the second hit will help you move closer to a platform, minimizing your time spent helpless.
|
Mighty Air Slash
|
Shulk does a higher rising slash that can be followed up with a second strike, each with more power. However, the reach of the Monado's blade is reduced. While it is a power-based variant, this move is instead mainly used due to its increased vertical recovery. Of course, you can still use it as a direct attack, and it is certainly a KO move, but it's a bit harder to strong both hits together. The reduced range also leaves Shulk a bit more vulnerable to edgeguarders, as you need to be closer to the edge in order to ward off aggressors.
|
+
|
+
|
+
|
Vision
|
This is a counter special. Activate this right before an enemy attack hits and Shulk will dodge the attack, then retaliate with a slash. If you're on the ground, holding in the direction of the countered attack at the moment the counter lands will let Shulk counter with a faster and more powerful attack. The duration of Vision is initially a bit higher than the average counter, but its active duration decreases the more you use it, so utilize this sparingly. As far as counter specials go, Vision is above average due to its good duration and power. As with any counter, you do not want to spam it or use it too predictably, as opponents can easily work around it with grabs or just good timing. Note that
|
+
|
+
|
+
|
Dash Vision
|
Shulk rushes forward whenever he foresees and counters an attack, letting him cover more distance but do less damage and knockback. This variant of Vision is more for utility than power. It is better against projectile campers as it lets Shulk close the distance after countering a projectile. However, note that countering a projectile does not slow down the user of the projectile, and they might be able to shield or evade your counterattack. Additionally, Dash Vision can be used to help you recover horizontally if you manage to counter an edgeguard attack near the ledge.
|
Power Vision
|
Shulk counters with greatly increased power, dealing heavy knockback with each successful hit. However, the counter duration diminishes more severely when used repeatedly. This is basically a stronger Vision with stricter timing, so it is practically a straight upgrade if you've mastered the default Vision. The increased duration decay from repeated use will punish any player that tries to spam it or use it incorrectly, so stay away form this move if you're a novice. If you are experienced enough to land Visions consistently, the strength of Power Vision is incredible, and you can nab KOs extrmely early by countering the right attacks, even without the Smash Art on.
|