- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
Breaking down aspects of Shulk with direct in-game applications; starting with an overview of the Arts and their interactions with certain moves and further into their application in the different phases of battle. This includes things such as edge-guarding, some applications in neutral, and kill setups. This guide will most likely be updated/ followed up on depending on your responses. I've used gifs of my own gameplay as examples, mostly because I've gotten direct permission to use these youtube clips (courtesy of Smash United), but also so that it's clear that I have an idea of what I'm talking about(;
INTRODUCTION
This is not a tutorial for anyone playing Shulk for the first time, rather this concept guide is meant to inform current mains of options they may not be aware of, and spread ideas that would help to progress the character’s meta-game. Instead of explaining individual moves/arts in detail, their applications will be discussed in reference to different situations. While this guide will be as specific as possible, I don’t mean to suggest that there is one optimal way to play Shulk, as that would not do justice to the versatility of the character. Honestly, this guide is more of a way for me to think through and conceptualize the many aspect of my character, but if it can help out a few of the aspiring, then so be it.
JUMP ART
Personally, I prefer the air; definitely my favorite art offensively. The improved mobility makes for a drastically buffed neutral. Aerials become somewhat safer in that they’re easier to cross up due to aerial momentum and the fact that they retain shield pressure from base (no art) Shulk. Another thing to consider is the “implied shield pressure” Shulk gains – Jump Art’s impressive fall speed can put players in shield in respect for the threat of stray aerials, while the immense range of bair and nair can occasionally stuff attempted rolls/jumps that seek to relieve the pressure. This is one of many reasons why tomahawks (empty jumps> into grabs) should be a big part of a Shulk main’s game as a reliable mix-up against those that decide to hold shield. If you’re into timing people out it would be a good idea to use this art often; it’s also a good way to stall for shield art if you’re in a last-hit situation by camping platforms and going under the stage. Jump also opens up a number of combos and a world of edge-guarding options that will be discussed later.
SPEED ART
Another staple of Shulk’s neutral and a very common game opening art. Of the mobile arts (jump/speed), this is definitely the more aggressive. Lowering your damage means lowering shield pressure, making your punishable aerials…more punishable. In exchange, your mid-percent combos are improved and the buffed movement makes your pivot grab AMAZINGLY better (and it looks so sexy). This being said, your game in Speed art is a lot less about spacing in more about closing the gap between you and your opponent – eventually putting them in a position where you can take full advantage of your unrivaled range and spacing capabilities (i.e forcing them off stage or in the air). Allow me to elaborate: having intense speed benefits you by extending combos/strings and ultimately moving the opponent with you (often off stage). But when combined with Shulk’s poor start-up frames, spacing becomes extremely impractical (one because you’ll be moving even after your aerial hitboxes end, and two because slow moves mean you’ll often be close to the opponent’s immediate range before your hitbox is out). With speed art your only goal should be to get in or to dance safely around your opponent to find a way in (like any other fast character –
, , ). Personally, I feel that Speed shouldn’t be used for long, because once you’ve forced the position you want, you should maximize your advantage position; lower damage output is not optimal for this, and having virtually 0 shield damage means you’ll often be baited into either getting shield-grabbed or whiffing your own grab attempt if you try to continue pressuring. Applying continuous pressure outside of the neutral is typically where Buster Art is preferred.
*Speed Art’s properties in the air are invaluable but so often unappreciated; When getting juggled, the improved aerial drift allows you to slip out of situations much like or .
SHIELD ART
Probably the most straight-forward in purpose, Shield primarily aids Shulk’s survivability, but has a number of properties that prove useful in a variety of situations. Starting with the reduced knock back, you’ll be surviving smash attacks at hilarious percents, but this is not only good for doing chip damage when you have a stock lead. Living deep into the hundreds means that you’ll often find yourself at max rage, boosting your kill power that practically renders the Shield art’s transitive knock back reduction (actually from reduced damage output) irrelevant. Keep in mind that anything outside of grabs/multi hit moves that can actually kill shield art mid stage is an opportunity for a devastating vision. This can kill at rage-quit percents (like 30%), especially with Forwarded Vision. Another benefit of Shield Art is the properties concerning your opponent’s combos. The reduced knock back allows Shulk to fall out of an array of strings at practically any percent range. Avoid using this at low/ mid percent against characters that are strong jugglers or tend to combo you upward (, etc.) because Shield Art’s slow air movement amplifies Shulk’s landing issues. In other cases, you can DI down on most characters’ up tilt chains and shield to get out. If you’re looking for a safe landing option after being knocked up, momentum reverse B-reverse Shield art activation is typically a good idea; and you can help cover your fall with Bair as well. In this art your shield becomes both larger and stronger, so that you’ll rarely get shield poked and can even man through moves designed to break shields (e.g. bowser bomb, Marth’s shield breaker). With the combination of the threat of vision and amazing shield strength, coupled with terrible mobility encourages your opponent to look for grabs. This, being a big weakness of Shield Art, can be somewhat circumvented by the use of larger or faster hitboxes (like up tilt/nair). Even so, Shield Art is not perfect and is not the end all of survivability. Feel free to use Jump or Speed to stall for time or to use this art solely for its ability to slow down the game’s pace.
BUSTER ART
First off and most blatant aspect is the increase in damage. This applies to both your opponent and to a lesser extent, you (40:13 % increase). This is one of many reasons that Shulk is one of the best characters when it comes to holding leads and also making comebacks. In a stock advantage situation, your opponent will not only have to maneuver through your large hitboxes, but in buster, every trade/mistake they make comes with harsh punishment; as in 10 to 20 percent for catching one of your aerials. Because of the large increase in damage, shield pressure becomes an impressive threat. A variety of otherwise risky moves become safe on shield and the shield push effect makes this art a great spacing tool. Moves most reliable for spacing and shield break shenanigans include Bair, Dair, BackSlash, Fsmash, Dsmash, and all tilts.
Dair
Most notably effective (and widely underused) is Shulk’s Dair. Applied properly, the move can discourage grounded approaches as a whole, allow me to elaborate: short-hop Dair has a surprising horizontal range on both hits, which can stuff most (not all) dash grabs and even some dash attacks. But what you’ll most likely to deal with are opponents approaching in shield. Not only is the Dair a gi-hugic shield break threat, but when performed properly pushes your opponent back in shield a surprisingly distance (isn’t actually safe but a solid mix-up). To do this correctly, the first hit of Dair should hit from basically directly above the target. As the second hit comes out, you fast fall; but DO NOT attempt to follow the shield push of the first hit: if the first hit connects, the horizontal range of the second should catch their shield as well, and chasing the push on shield will only get you punished. The reason I make a big deal about Dair as opposed to just mentioning the more common options that would otherwise overshadow it, is the raw, vicious, damage of this move. It does as much as 27% [26.6] un-staled (yes, this is even more than uncharged buster Fsmash), has less cooldown than Fsmash on landing, and has only jump squat frames separating the two in start-up. No, I’m not saying this is undiscovered or superior to Fsmash, but in all reality it’s a decent alternative in every aspect but range. Though, seeing how safe it is on grounded opponents and the massive punishment it can deal speaks well to its potential.
* BackSlash works beautifully on platforms, as well as Up Tilt. (It actually only required Fair OR UpTilt>BackSlash - the UpTilt was perfect shielded)
Bair
Already being a great spacing tool, Buster Art makes this move game changing in any matchup. A specific, but nifty, trick interacts when certain characters have weakened shields. Bair can actually poke at items they’re holding (really just matters with Link, Tink, and Peach bomb pulls). If this does occur and the bomb explodes, it deals extra shield damage and potentially breaks their shield early. For a number of other, chargeable projectiles (Samus’ charge shot, Mewtwo’s Shadow Ball), the higher damage allows you to challenge and effectively beat out the attacks. These projectiles have a percent threshold that determines what’s required to beat it at different levels of charge, and in Buster Bair is really consistent at surpassing it (even as it approaches full charge). I’d also like to note that facing Bair (the hitbox that’s close/on Shulk) is pretty great in buster (think of it as a Yoshi/Cloud Fair); it’s more of a mix-up that covers roll and can be safe on shield, and should be noted.
Fsmash/Ftilt/Dtilt
These 3 basically serve the same purpose, Fsmash with the most range/damage and endlag, Ftilt being the safer, smaller version of Fsmash, and Dtilt having more range and speed at the cost of damage. Their purpose doesn’t change much in Buster: Dtilt/Utilt still being amazing spacing tools, but Fsmash becomes a reliable shield breaker if charged and pushes opponents far enough to be relatively safe on shield.
Dsmash
Another move I feel is a bit under-valued. As for its use in Buster: this move is amazing at breaking shields, though I find it somewhat more consistent when hitting your opponent with the two backwards hits, as they tend not to push your opponent too far away like hit 1 does. One place to use this is actually at the ledge if you’re confident your opponent will either pick roll or normal get up – this catches a roll after normal get up if they react fast enough, otherwise they’ll be stuck in shield for it to potentially get broken/poked. Keep in mind this is unsafe if they either get pushed too far by the first hit or if they simply choose a different get up option. In general this move is simply amazing at catching landings – it beats the common situation of floaty characters maneuvering around where you expect them to land and has a surprising vertical hitbox to help. Of course, the move leaves you vulnerable to attack from above while active, and has a debilitating cooldown afterwards, but if you catch an opponent making an evasive landing, this move (along with Fsmash) is a reliable way to punish. A more important use I see overlooked is its viability in tech chase situations. Knocking an opponent close enough to the edge or on a platform (whether they tech or not) actually guarantees you a hit with Dsmash regardless of which way they choose to roll due to its massive hitbox. [Random side note: properly spaced Up-tilt can cover all tech roll options when properly spaced under a Battlefield platform] This only requires the Shulk player to position outside of the getup attack range (this option is only available to them if they miss the tech) and charge, and for the opponent to land on a platform or near the edge of the stage.
SMASH ART
Most of what concerns individual moves with Smash Art belongs in either Edge-guarding or Kill Options, so this will pertain mostly to stat changes. An early stock Smash Art can get you out of low percent combos, but I don’t recommend it because you won’t get much out of lower damage output and the fact that higher knock-back prevents you from making combos. Naturally, this works well when your opponent is at the opposite end of the spectrum – at high percent on an older stock. Basically every move in Shulk’s arsenal becomes a kill move while doing next to 0 shield damage, so make sure to feel comfortable with grabs and reserve your more powerful kill options for punishing their offensive/defensive response.
What a lot of players seem unaware of is that Smash Art is designed for when you have an advantage (i.e. when your opponent is at ledge), even if you are at high percentage Smash Art is in your favor because YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMMIT. In a situation where your opponent is at disadvantage (attempting to land/recovering to stage) you can simply react to their option and/or throw safe attacks (which will all have kill potential). If the situation returns to neutral you can simply switch out immediately.
Smash Art also has interesting properties against Rosa-Luma: nearly every hit from Shulk puts Luma into the helpless tumble state, effectively OHKO-ing when near the edge. From personal experience this can be an amazingly useful tool to remove the extra target (just remember you can switch out afterwards into an art better suited to chase/pressure Rosa once the pest is exterminated). Another attribute players should be aware of is the how Smash Art interacts with counters. While the knockback is increased, the enormous reduction in % damage actually makes the threat of counters… less threatening; this applies especially to Bayonetta’s counter since the duration is greatly diminished- keep in mind you’re able to rotate Arts (you’ll probably want Shield Art) at normal speed while Witch Time is active on you.
EDGE-GUARDING
This is most effective in either Jump (to go deep) or Smash (to kill efficiently) Art. That being said, be aware that buffer cancelling on a move that knocks your opponent off-stage can save valuable time if you find yourself in an Art less suited for this, not to suggest you can’t edge-guard in any other art.
High Recoveries:
Mew2king makes a great explanation of how to cover high recoveries in the context of Cloud, but it does apply generally to every character with the only major difference being for certain gap closing/stalling moves such as Shiek’s bouncing fish or Diddy’s monkey flip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22WnDCRluCg&list=PLRD2wxMZtl6G343ms8uCwXtLm2dDsjiYR
In essence, the goal is to position yourself in front of the opponent, directly outside of their immediate range, but close enough for you to threaten them with an attack that they can’t wait to react to. This creates an option select that’s in your favor; your opponent (depending on the character) typically has 3 options: air dodge (which you can react to and punish), attack (which should miss and be punished if you’re positioned correctly and don’t choose to attack preemptively), and do nothing (which is beaten by attacking without waiting for them to choose either of the previous options). Remember that this doesn’t account for the jump option, which only resets the situation assuming they are hit far enough off stage (and thus still have a long fall time remaining) and is automatically eliminated if they were knocked both far and at a low enough angle (requiring many characters to jump immediately if they intend to recover at high/mid-height at all; Low Recoveries). Shulk has a luxury in setting up this option select: Shulk is at a safe distance from nearly every character’s aerials while still being in range to hit with his Fair/Bair, meaning you never have to sacrifice your double jump to punish any of their options. Thusly, Shulk can potentially kill opponents that are close to the blast zone simply by repeatedly Fairing near max range – forcing them to air dodge until they’re too low to recover from the distance they’re out. Of course, this only happens if you scare the opponent into air dodging away from you when you approach, otherwise they can usually spam air dodge while drifting to stage. One supposed “issue” with Shulk’s offstage pressure is that all of his aerials, in exception to Air Slash, (which is viable for edge-guarding, but only if you’re close to the stage – farther if you’re in JumpArt/SpeedArt) border on being react-able:
Human reaction time~ 13 frames
AirSlash-> 10 frames
Nair-> 13 frames
Fair/Dair -> 14 frames
Bair-> 18 frames
Please realize that this really only brings Bair into question, as the frames of human input and system reception are also variables in reaction. There’s a good Beefy Smash Doods video concerning this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nT2VOLwrqk
Low Recoveries:
Simply hang on to the ledge and reverse Air Slash to cover lower recoveries. This applies to nearly every character’s recovery, but characters EXTREMELY vulnerable include, but not limited to (). This can often be done on reaction, even for slightly above- ledge mix ups like vertically-aimed Falcon Dive. It’s actually so effective that if you manage to catch a vulnerable opponent without a jump even at (20%-) you can simply repeat the process over and over until the Air Slash kills them; of course, this requires good timing and an occasional read from the Shulk player, but Air Slash simply covers so much horizontal and vertical space simultaneously that there’s a large margin for error. Turn-around fair is also good for stage spikes because it covers so much vertical range quickly, you can use Monado Art Activation to turnaround mid-jump by holding the direction you want to face before it activates.
At the Ledge:
Shulk EXCELS at ledge trapping, but awareness and utilization of numerous options makes it all the more intimidating.
First of all is Up-Smash, which should be used slightly away from the edge, so that I can potentially catch roll (on reaction), normal get up (extremely consistent; can be done off of reaction, still reliable read), jump (read, often can be air-dodged), and will trade with get up attack (read).
Up tilt is very safe and kills in smash art around 100% w/o rage. Catches jump (read), normal get up (possible on reaction, safe as read), on rare occasions roll, and leaves time to react to roll if it misses.
Nair and Fair also work, simply because your range makes them safe. Full hop double Fair catches literally everything (depends on timing) including staying on ledge, and is fairly consistent: my personal go-to for trapping opponents at ledge. Run off back air potentially covers everything, including hanging to ledge after invincibility ends. A random fact, Fsmash and Hit 3 of Dsmash actually hit below ledge, with Dsmash possibly stage spiking your opponent on the bottom of the stage (extremely stylish, but equally inconsistent).
Ledge Trumping: NEEDS to be mixed in. Ledge trump to reverse Air Slash kills early and is fairly consistent. It’s a decent option to threaten ledge trump by jumping to ledge, and you can mix in Back slash to cover the oh-so-common reaction to ledge trump threats of roll-on. If reverse Air Slash isn’t working out you can simply catch the opponent’s regrab or landing with Dsmash (if it’s not obvious yet, I love this move).
Air Slash is a really interesting option, it potentially covers everything, but the timing for normal getup and Jump getup can be strict, and missing this attack leaves you EXTREMELY open for punishment. It also catches people hanging past invulnerability at ledge, which is nice since it’s un-reactable, more so than Dtilt or Fsmash.
KILL OPTIONS
These are not all of your options, nor are they necessarily the best, but they’re all available, viable, and the ones I’ve chosen I feel every Shulk main should be aware of.
Smash Art
Dash Attack- PLEASE start using this move- it’s fast, covers space and kills SUPRISINGLY well. Random fact is that at a certain spacing Dash Attack can actually be safer on shield (solid push back even outside of buster). Up Tilt- safe, quick, can catch ledge get ups. Kills ~110 consistently – use it to catch people who fish for quick Bair kills
Bair – Facing Bair is my personal philosophy, especially here. You can actually make this safe if spaced well on Shield
Ftilt – think of it as any other Art’s Fsmash except faster
AirSlash – using this move OutOfShield is an amazing option- when faced with Smash Art your opponent’s best options are to either stay evasive and predominantly in shield – which can be punished by Shulk’s kill throws- or to become aggressive in order to take advantage of Shulk’s increased received knockback – which creates the opportunity use Air Slash out of shield to punish things that may otherwise be unpunishable due to Air Slash’s impressive reach, both horizontally and vertically.
Jump Art
Jump Art has the craziest confirms and I feel it’s by the far the Art with the most room for further optimization.
“The Purge”: This video covers basically everything about it, and I couldn’t explain it better myself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqYkLTx-eRU). Something to keep in mind is that Fair can also catch everything but airdodge in the 50/50 including characters that the Purge doesn’t properly work on. If they don’t DI outward on the first Fair another one is guaranteed and typically kills.
* Bowser is typically immune to purge, but UpThrow>Fair is a feasible substitute
Nair> Fair> Fair (>Fair/Air Slash): can be difficult to pull off but can be a true combo if you line up hitboxes properly and will kill quite early. Be aware of when the combo isn’t true, so you can punish an airdodge or jump accordingly. This also works well in Speed Art.
Utilt>Uair? : I believe this 50/50 can be DI’d out of but is easy to catch opponents off-guard with this. I actually prefer to punish air-dodge with Air slash (the Aarrow, if you will), as it can actually kill of the top surprisingly early with rage. Perfect pivot Utilt is one option to set this up: catches opponent’s attempts to space you out with aerials but is both difficult and requires a big read. Up tilt can actually be used to punish air dodging, though some clean spacing is required. Nair> Utilt and Late RaR Nair>Utilt can also combo into this quite nicely
MONADO ARTS LANDING LAG CANCEL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs0pg7nS5OQ
As far as all of the different techniques available with Monado Art Activation, there are too many for me to cover here, and would be better explained by resources within the Shulk Discord or [metagame thread]. But I will discuss MALLC specifically due to the impact it has on the character’s general gameplay.
While I personally believe a lot of Art Technique uses are over exaggerated in terms of their viable application, MALLC’s ability to buff Shulk’s neutral game is often over looked and the technique is undervalued if viewed only for its very situational uses such as in combos.
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If you’ve seen 9B’s Shulk set vs Earth (you should https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebpNgfi5d4U) you probably noticed the extensive use of MALLC. For those who need more of an explanation for this decision: In combination with Bair’s incredible range and solid damage, the reduction of landing lag and a potential 14 total frames of intangibility afterwards, 9B essentially was giving himself the best Back Air in the game at the cost of an Art and the time used to set it up. This is why he first chose Smash Art and then Shield Art- both of which he’d have no use for at the beginning of the match. While losing only these for a brief 11 seconds, he buffed his neutral immensely and took advantage of other Arts freely once he found himself in an advantage state. If you’ve ever been in the lab just to practice MALLC timings it is also likely that you’ve taken note of the fact that the time required to rotate to each art, setup jumps and repeat for all 5 arts will pretty much put the first art you chose off of cooldown, give or take a second or two.
The wonders of MALLC extend far beyond individual moves. Art activation can also cancel Air Dodges, when coupled with i-frames Shulk literally has an air-dodge without landing lag and an extended period of intangibility. Again, these properties extend into approach options; proper use of the technique opens opportunities like an intangible tomahawk, or making “unsafe” aerials into baits. An example:
Shulk intentionally misplaces a Fair on an opponent’s shield while properly timing a MALLC. The opponent recognizes that Shulk is in position to get shield-grabbed and attempts to punish accordingly, but the i-frames on Art Activation causes the grab to whiff and gives Shulk the opportunity to punish instead.
*MALLC Bair Baits grab whiff
*MALLC AirDodge can be used defensively to avoid frame traps/land safely
(the counter MALLC was imperfect, but the idea remains the same =)
While I and most of the other Shulks I’ve seen tend to just grab the opponent, Kurage, a solid Japanese Shulk player, also punishes with things like F-tilt and F-smash. Keep in mind these punishes are not only difficult to time, but only possible depending on the opponent’s choice to punish Shulk, and the frame data on said option. Opponents will often choose to jab instead of grab, especially if they play a character like or ; the i-frames should protect you from jab 1, after which you can shield/power shield the following jabs and punish afterwards.
MALLC and other Art Activation techniques effectively make moves and options like air dodging safer/better, enables more combos and gives Shulk movement options unique to himself, essentially turning his sub-par neutral into something threatening. I’m sure as the meta-game continues to develop for him we’ll be seeing more creativity and implementation of these techniques integrated into Shulk’s gameplay.
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DOWN THROW
Your best kill throw, can potentially kill off of the top as well as the side boundaries. In Buster Art at mid/low percents this either sets up for Ftilt/Fsmash or Dtilt on floaties or those who DI upwards, and will keep the opponent so close to the ground that they'll essentially be forced to shield and you can safely continue pressure:
Fair> Fair/Nair> Regrab if they jump
Pivot grab/tilt/smash if they roll in
If they stay in shield or roll away you get free stage control while you're in the best Art for pressuring/ spacing, congrats
Nothing else specific to mention
UP THROW
Outside of Monado Purge this can actually be used as a pseudo frame trap. Uthrow> Utilt doesn’t combo but can occasionally catch jumps. Opponents may tend to air dodge the Utilt and gives Shulk a re-grab at certain percents. If they begin to float out of grab range or simply jump you can typically punish their landing with dash attack/ Back Slash/Fsmash. Keep in mind that the percent range in which this is even remotely useful varies largely with character and your active art; I’d avoid using this at lower/mid percent against characters with extremely quick aerials that can just challenge you without fear of the Utilt coming out (, , etc.)
FORWARD THROW
This is essentially Dthrow at a lower angle and with less knock back, but actually has some interesting uses. At low percent, this sets up for tech chase situations and actually makes interesting setups near ledge (opponent offstage just slightly below ledge – easy Dair on jump read or Bair stage spike). More importantly, when in Smash Art, the lower angle creates situations where the opponent is both low and far enough offstage (often requiring jump to be used early) to make their recovery options extremely predictable and/or limited. Dthrow, on the other hand, leaves the opponent high enough to recover at practically any vertical height they desire without needing to exhaust jump (of course, this is whenever it fails to kill – the differences between the two throws is a large part of why a Shulk main should be aware of when the throw can KO) so that Fthrow can at least be used as a means of avoiding a stale Dthrow and dealing more damage in the process. While the difference is negligible against a number of really good recoveries, Fthrow essentially sets up easier kills against characters likewhere neither throw would kill directly.
BACK THROW
Just another kill throw in Smash Art. Sets up tech chase at low percent in speed art. Can setup for Back Slash especially well in Buster Art, often at percent ranges where Back Slash will kill if you buffer cancel out of Buster during the throw.
QUICK GUIDE
Forwarded Vision: A faster version of Shulk’s counter with considerably more knockback (in the opposite direction). Performed by pointing the control stick in the direction the opponent’s attack comes from. This version of vision can only be done on the ground.
MADCancelling: (Monado Art Dash Cancelling) a Monado Art Activation technique done right as the art activates while dashing. This allows you to perform ANY action out of dash as if you were standing – changing direction, tilts, smashes, etc.
rBr: (momentum reversing B-reverse) a Monado Art Activation technique done by clicking a new direction right as the art activates mid-air. Really good mix up and creates a window for a safe back air.
INTRODUCTION
This is not a tutorial for anyone playing Shulk for the first time, rather this concept guide is meant to inform current mains of options they may not be aware of, and spread ideas that would help to progress the character’s meta-game. Instead of explaining individual moves/arts in detail, their applications will be discussed in reference to different situations. While this guide will be as specific as possible, I don’t mean to suggest that there is one optimal way to play Shulk, as that would not do justice to the versatility of the character. Honestly, this guide is more of a way for me to think through and conceptualize the many aspect of my character, but if it can help out a few of the aspiring, then so be it.
JUMP ART
Personally, I prefer the air; definitely my favorite art offensively. The improved mobility makes for a drastically buffed neutral. Aerials become somewhat safer in that they’re easier to cross up due to aerial momentum and the fact that they retain shield pressure from base (no art) Shulk. Another thing to consider is the “implied shield pressure” Shulk gains – Jump Art’s impressive fall speed can put players in shield in respect for the threat of stray aerials, while the immense range of bair and nair can occasionally stuff attempted rolls/jumps that seek to relieve the pressure. This is one of many reasons why tomahawks (empty jumps> into grabs) should be a big part of a Shulk main’s game as a reliable mix-up against those that decide to hold shield. If you’re into timing people out it would be a good idea to use this art often; it’s also a good way to stall for shield art if you’re in a last-hit situation by camping platforms and going under the stage. Jump also opens up a number of combos and a world of edge-guarding options that will be discussed later.
SPEED ART
Another staple of Shulk’s neutral and a very common game opening art. Of the mobile arts (jump/speed), this is definitely the more aggressive. Lowering your damage means lowering shield pressure, making your punishable aerials…more punishable. In exchange, your mid-percent combos are improved and the buffed movement makes your pivot grab AMAZINGLY better (and it looks so sexy). This being said, your game in Speed art is a lot less about spacing in more about closing the gap between you and your opponent – eventually putting them in a position where you can take full advantage of your unrivaled range and spacing capabilities (i.e forcing them off stage or in the air). Allow me to elaborate: having intense speed benefits you by extending combos/strings and ultimately moving the opponent with you (often off stage). But when combined with Shulk’s poor start-up frames, spacing becomes extremely impractical (one because you’ll be moving even after your aerial hitboxes end, and two because slow moves mean you’ll often be close to the opponent’s immediate range before your hitbox is out). With speed art your only goal should be to get in or to dance safely around your opponent to find a way in (like any other fast character –
, , ). Personally, I feel that Speed shouldn’t be used for long, because once you’ve forced the position you want, you should maximize your advantage position; lower damage output is not optimal for this, and having virtually 0 shield damage means you’ll often be baited into either getting shield-grabbed or whiffing your own grab attempt if you try to continue pressuring. Applying continuous pressure outside of the neutral is typically where Buster Art is preferred.*Speed Art’s properties in the air are invaluable but so often unappreciated; When getting juggled, the improved aerial drift allows you to slip out of situations much like
or . SHIELD ART
Probably the most straight-forward in purpose, Shield primarily aids Shulk’s survivability, but has a number of properties that prove useful in a variety of situations. Starting with the reduced knock back, you’ll be surviving smash attacks at hilarious percents, but this is not only good for doing chip damage when you have a stock lead. Living deep into the hundreds means that you’ll often find yourself at max rage, boosting your kill power that practically renders the Shield art’s transitive knock back reduction (actually from reduced damage output) irrelevant. Keep in mind that anything outside of grabs/multi hit moves that can actually kill shield art mid stage is an opportunity for a devastating vision. This can kill at rage-quit percents (like 30%), especially with Forwarded Vision. Another benefit of Shield Art is the properties concerning your opponent’s combos. The reduced knock back allows Shulk to fall out of an array of strings at practically any percent range. Avoid using this at low/ mid percent against characters that are strong jugglers or tend to combo you upward (
, etc.) because Shield Art’s slow air movement amplifies Shulk’s landing issues. In other cases, you can DI down on most characters’ up tilt chains and shield to get out. If you’re looking for a safe landing option after being knocked up, momentum reverse B-reverse Shield art activation is typically a good idea; and you can help cover your fall with Bair as well. In this art your shield becomes both larger and stronger, so that you’ll rarely get shield poked and can even man through moves designed to break shields (e.g. bowser bomb, Marth’s shield breaker). With the combination of the threat of vision and amazing shield strength, coupled with terrible mobility encourages your opponent to look for grabs. This, being a big weakness of Shield Art, can be somewhat circumvented by the use of larger or faster hitboxes (like up tilt/nair). Even so, Shield Art is not perfect and is not the end all of survivability. Feel free to use Jump or Speed to stall for time or to use this art solely for its ability to slow down the game’s pace. BUSTER ART
First off and most blatant aspect is the increase in damage. This applies to both your opponent and to a lesser extent, you (40:13 % increase). This is one of many reasons that Shulk is one of the best characters when it comes to holding leads and also making comebacks. In a stock advantage situation, your opponent will not only have to maneuver through your large hitboxes, but in buster, every trade/mistake they make comes with harsh punishment; as in 10 to 20 percent for catching one of your aerials. Because of the large increase in damage, shield pressure becomes an impressive threat. A variety of otherwise risky moves become safe on shield and the shield push effect makes this art a great spacing tool. Moves most reliable for spacing and shield break shenanigans include Bair, Dair, BackSlash, Fsmash, Dsmash, and all tilts.
Dair
Most notably effective (and widely underused) is Shulk’s Dair. Applied properly, the move can discourage grounded approaches as a whole, allow me to elaborate: short-hop Dair has a surprising horizontal range on both hits, which can stuff most (not all) dash grabs and even some dash attacks. But what you’ll most likely to deal with are opponents approaching in shield. Not only is the Dair a gi-hugic shield break threat, but when performed properly pushes your opponent back in shield a surprisingly distance (isn’t actually safe but a solid mix-up). To do this correctly, the first hit of Dair should hit from basically directly above the target. As the second hit comes out, you fast fall; but DO NOT attempt to follow the shield push of the first hit: if the first hit connects, the horizontal range of the second should catch their shield as well, and chasing the push on shield will only get you punished. The reason I make a big deal about Dair as opposed to just mentioning the more common options that would otherwise overshadow it, is the raw, vicious, damage of this move. It does as much as 27% [26.6] un-staled (yes, this is even more than uncharged buster Fsmash), has less cooldown than Fsmash on landing, and has only jump squat frames separating the two in start-up. No, I’m not saying this is undiscovered or superior to Fsmash, but in all reality it’s a decent alternative in every aspect but range. Though, seeing how safe it is on grounded opponents and the massive punishment it can deal speaks well to its potential.
Bair
Already being a great spacing tool, Buster Art makes this move game changing in any matchup. A specific, but nifty, trick interacts when certain characters have weakened shields. Bair can actually poke at items they’re holding (really just matters with Link, Tink, and Peach bomb pulls). If this does occur and the bomb explodes, it deals extra shield damage and potentially breaks their shield early. For a number of other, chargeable projectiles (Samus’ charge shot, Mewtwo’s Shadow Ball), the higher damage allows you to challenge and effectively beat out the attacks. These projectiles have a percent threshold that determines what’s required to beat it at different levels of charge, and in Buster Bair is really consistent at surpassing it (even as it approaches full charge). I’d also like to note that facing Bair (the hitbox that’s close/on Shulk) is pretty great in buster (think of it as a Yoshi/Cloud Fair); it’s more of a mix-up that covers roll and can be safe on shield, and should be noted.
Fsmash/Ftilt/Dtilt
These 3 basically serve the same purpose, Fsmash with the most range/damage and endlag, Ftilt being the safer, smaller version of Fsmash, and Dtilt having more range and speed at the cost of damage. Their purpose doesn’t change much in Buster: Dtilt/Utilt still being amazing spacing tools, but Fsmash becomes a reliable shield breaker if charged and pushes opponents far enough to be relatively safe on shield.
Dsmash
Another move I feel is a bit under-valued. As for its use in Buster: this move is amazing at breaking shields, though I find it somewhat more consistent when hitting your opponent with the two backwards hits, as they tend not to push your opponent too far away like hit 1 does. One place to use this is actually at the ledge if you’re confident your opponent will either pick roll or normal get up – this catches a roll after normal get up if they react fast enough, otherwise they’ll be stuck in shield for it to potentially get broken/poked. Keep in mind this is unsafe if they either get pushed too far by the first hit or if they simply choose a different get up option. In general this move is simply amazing at catching landings – it beats the common situation of floaty characters maneuvering around where you expect them to land and has a surprising vertical hitbox to help. Of course, the move leaves you vulnerable to attack from above while active, and has a debilitating cooldown afterwards, but if you catch an opponent making an evasive landing, this move (along with Fsmash) is a reliable way to punish. A more important use I see overlooked is its viability in tech chase situations. Knocking an opponent close enough to the edge or on a platform (whether they tech or not) actually guarantees you a hit with Dsmash regardless of which way they choose to roll due to its massive hitbox. [Random side note: properly spaced Up-tilt can cover all tech roll options when properly spaced under a Battlefield platform] This only requires the Shulk player to position outside of the getup attack range (this option is only available to them if they miss the tech) and charge, and for the opponent to land on a platform or near the edge of the stage.
SMASH ART
Most of what concerns individual moves with Smash Art belongs in either Edge-guarding or Kill Options, so this will pertain mostly to stat changes. An early stock Smash Art can get you out of low percent combos, but I don’t recommend it because you won’t get much out of lower damage output and the fact that higher knock-back prevents you from making combos. Naturally, this works well when your opponent is at the opposite end of the spectrum – at high percent on an older stock. Basically every move in Shulk’s arsenal becomes a kill move while doing next to 0 shield damage, so make sure to feel comfortable with grabs and reserve your more powerful kill options for punishing their offensive/defensive response.
What a lot of players seem unaware of is that Smash Art is designed for when you have an advantage (i.e. when your opponent is at ledge), even if you are at high percentage Smash Art is in your favor because YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMMIT. In a situation where your opponent is at disadvantage (attempting to land/recovering to stage) you can simply react to their option and/or throw safe attacks (which will all have kill potential). If the situation returns to neutral you can simply switch out immediately.
Smash Art also has interesting properties against Rosa-Luma: nearly every hit from Shulk puts Luma into the helpless tumble state, effectively OHKO-ing when near the edge. From personal experience this can be an amazingly useful tool to remove the extra target (just remember you can switch out afterwards into an art better suited to chase/pressure Rosa once the pest is exterminated). Another attribute players should be aware of is the how Smash Art interacts with counters. While the knockback is increased, the enormous reduction in % damage actually makes the threat of counters… less threatening; this applies especially to Bayonetta’s counter since the duration is greatly diminished- keep in mind you’re able to rotate Arts (you’ll probably want Shield Art) at normal speed while Witch Time is active on you.
EDGE-GUARDING
This is most effective in either Jump (to go deep) or Smash (to kill efficiently) Art. That being said, be aware that buffer cancelling on a move that knocks your opponent off-stage can save valuable time if you find yourself in an Art less suited for this, not to suggest you can’t edge-guard in any other art.
High Recoveries:
Mew2king makes a great explanation of how to cover high recoveries in the context of Cloud, but it does apply generally to every character with the only major difference being for certain gap closing/stalling moves such as Shiek’s bouncing fish or Diddy’s monkey flip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22WnDCRluCg&list=PLRD2wxMZtl6G343ms8uCwXtLm2dDsjiYR
In essence, the goal is to position yourself in front of the opponent, directly outside of their immediate range, but close enough for you to threaten them with an attack that they can’t wait to react to. This creates an option select that’s in your favor; your opponent (depending on the character) typically has 3 options: air dodge (which you can react to and punish), attack (which should miss and be punished if you’re positioned correctly and don’t choose to attack preemptively), and do nothing (which is beaten by attacking without waiting for them to choose either of the previous options). Remember that this doesn’t account for the jump option, which only resets the situation assuming they are hit far enough off stage (and thus still have a long fall time remaining) and is automatically eliminated if they were knocked both far and at a low enough angle (requiring many characters to jump immediately if they intend to recover at high/mid-height at all; Low Recoveries). Shulk has a luxury in setting up this option select: Shulk is at a safe distance from nearly every character’s aerials while still being in range to hit with his Fair/Bair, meaning you never have to sacrifice your double jump to punish any of their options. Thusly, Shulk can potentially kill opponents that are close to the blast zone simply by repeatedly Fairing near max range – forcing them to air dodge until they’re too low to recover from the distance they’re out. Of course, this only happens if you scare the opponent into air dodging away from you when you approach, otherwise they can usually spam air dodge while drifting to stage. One supposed “issue” with Shulk’s offstage pressure is that all of his aerials, in exception to Air Slash, (which is viable for edge-guarding, but only if you’re close to the stage – farther if you’re in JumpArt/SpeedArt) border on being react-able:
Human reaction time~ 13 frames
AirSlash-> 10 frames
Nair-> 13 frames
Fair/Dair -> 14 frames
Bair-> 18 frames
Please realize that this really only brings Bair into question, as the frames of human input and system reception are also variables in reaction. There’s a good Beefy Smash Doods video concerning this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nT2VOLwrqk
Low Recoveries:
Simply hang on to the ledge and reverse Air Slash to cover lower recoveries. This applies to nearly every character’s recovery, but characters EXTREMELY vulnerable include, but not limited to (
). This can often be done on reaction, even for slightly above- ledge mix ups like vertically-aimed Falcon Dive. It’s actually so effective that if you manage to catch a vulnerable opponent without a jump even at (20%-) you can simply repeat the process over and over until the Air Slash kills them; of course, this requires good timing and an occasional read from the Shulk player, but Air Slash simply covers so much horizontal and vertical space simultaneously that there’s a large margin for error. Turn-around fair is also good for stage spikes because it covers so much vertical range quickly, you can use Monado Art Activation to turnaround mid-jump by holding the direction you want to face before it activates.At the Ledge:
Shulk EXCELS at ledge trapping, but awareness and utilization of numerous options makes it all the more intimidating.
First of all is Up-Smash, which should be used slightly away from the edge, so that I can potentially catch roll (on reaction), normal get up (extremely consistent; can be done off of reaction, still reliable read), jump (read, often can be air-dodged), and will trade with get up attack (read).
Up tilt is very safe and kills in smash art around 100% w/o rage. Catches jump (read), normal get up (possible on reaction, safe as read), on rare occasions roll, and leaves time to react to roll if it misses.
Nair and Fair also work, simply because your range makes them safe. Full hop double Fair catches literally everything (depends on timing) including staying on ledge, and is fairly consistent: my personal go-to for trapping opponents at ledge. Run off back air potentially covers everything, including hanging to ledge after invincibility ends. A random fact, Fsmash and Hit 3 of Dsmash actually hit below ledge, with Dsmash possibly stage spiking your opponent on the bottom of the stage (extremely stylish, but equally inconsistent).
Ledge Trumping: NEEDS to be mixed in. Ledge trump to reverse Air Slash kills early and is fairly consistent. It’s a decent option to threaten ledge trump by jumping to ledge, and you can mix in Back slash to cover the oh-so-common reaction to ledge trump threats of roll-on. If reverse Air Slash isn’t working out you can simply catch the opponent’s regrab or landing with Dsmash (if it’s not obvious yet, I love this move).
Air Slash is a really interesting option, it potentially covers everything, but the timing for normal getup and Jump getup can be strict, and missing this attack leaves you EXTREMELY open for punishment. It also catches people hanging past invulnerability at ledge, which is nice since it’s un-reactable, more so than Dtilt or Fsmash.
KILL OPTIONS
These are not all of your options, nor are they necessarily the best, but they’re all available, viable, and the ones I’ve chosen I feel every Shulk main should be aware of.
Smash Art
Dash Attack- PLEASE start using this move- it’s fast, covers space and kills SUPRISINGLY well. Random fact is that at a certain spacing Dash Attack can actually be safer on shield (solid push back even outside of buster). Up Tilt- safe, quick, can catch ledge get ups. Kills ~110 consistently – use it to catch people who fish for quick Bair kills
Bair – Facing Bair is my personal philosophy, especially here. You can actually make this safe if spaced well on Shield
Ftilt – think of it as any other Art’s Fsmash except faster
AirSlash – using this move OutOfShield is an amazing option- when faced with Smash Art your opponent’s best options are to either stay evasive and predominantly in shield – which can be punished by Shulk’s kill throws- or to become aggressive in order to take advantage of Shulk’s increased received knockback – which creates the opportunity use Air Slash out of shield to punish things that may otherwise be unpunishable due to Air Slash’s impressive reach, both horizontally and vertically.
Jump Art
Jump Art has the craziest confirms and I feel it’s by the far the Art with the most room for further optimization.
“The Purge”: This video covers basically everything about it, and I couldn’t explain it better myself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqYkLTx-eRU). Something to keep in mind is that Fair can also catch everything but airdodge in the 50/50 including characters that the Purge doesn’t properly work on. If they don’t DI outward on the first Fair another one is guaranteed and typically kills.
Nair> Fair> Fair (>Fair/Air Slash): can be difficult to pull off but can be a true combo if you line up hitboxes properly and will kill quite early. Be aware of when the combo isn’t true, so you can punish an airdodge or jump accordingly. This also works well in Speed Art.
Utilt>Uair? : I believe this 50/50 can be DI’d out of but is easy to catch opponents off-guard with this. I actually prefer to punish air-dodge with Air slash (the Aarrow, if you will), as it can actually kill of the top surprisingly early with rage. Perfect pivot Utilt is one option to set this up: catches opponent’s attempts to space you out with aerials but is both difficult and requires a big read. Up tilt can actually be used to punish air dodging, though some clean spacing is required. Nair> Utilt and Late RaR Nair>Utilt can also combo into this quite nicely
MONADO ARTS LANDING LAG CANCEL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs0pg7nS5OQ
As far as all of the different techniques available with Monado Art Activation, there are too many for me to cover here, and would be better explained by resources within the Shulk Discord or [metagame thread]. But I will discuss MALLC specifically due to the impact it has on the character’s general gameplay.
While I personally believe a lot of Art Technique uses are over exaggerated in terms of their viable application, MALLC’s ability to buff Shulk’s neutral game is often over looked and the technique is undervalued if viewed only for its very situational uses such as in combos.
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If you’ve seen 9B’s Shulk set vs Earth (you should https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebpNgfi5d4U) you probably noticed the extensive use of MALLC. For those who need more of an explanation for this decision: In combination with Bair’s incredible range and solid damage, the reduction of landing lag and a potential 14 total frames of intangibility afterwards, 9B essentially was giving himself the best Back Air in the game at the cost of an Art and the time used to set it up. This is why he first chose Smash Art and then Shield Art- both of which he’d have no use for at the beginning of the match. While losing only these for a brief 11 seconds, he buffed his neutral immensely and took advantage of other Arts freely once he found himself in an advantage state. If you’ve ever been in the lab just to practice MALLC timings it is also likely that you’ve taken note of the fact that the time required to rotate to each art, setup jumps and repeat for all 5 arts will pretty much put the first art you chose off of cooldown, give or take a second or two.
The wonders of MALLC extend far beyond individual moves. Art activation can also cancel Air Dodges, when coupled with i-frames Shulk literally has an air-dodge without landing lag and an extended period of intangibility. Again, these properties extend into approach options; proper use of the technique opens opportunities like an intangible tomahawk, or making “unsafe” aerials into baits. An example:
Shulk intentionally misplaces a Fair on an opponent’s shield while properly timing a MALLC. The opponent recognizes that Shulk is in position to get shield-grabbed and attempts to punish accordingly, but the i-frames on Art Activation causes the grab to whiff and gives Shulk the opportunity to punish instead.
While I and most of the other Shulks I’ve seen tend to just grab the opponent, Kurage, a solid Japanese Shulk player, also punishes with things like F-tilt and F-smash. Keep in mind these punishes are not only difficult to time, but only possible depending on the opponent’s choice to punish Shulk, and the frame data on said option. Opponents will often choose to jab instead of grab, especially if they play a character like
or ; the i-frames should protect you from jab 1, after which you can shield/power shield the following jabs and punish afterwards.MALLC and other Art Activation techniques effectively make moves and options like air dodging safer/better, enables more combos and gives Shulk movement options unique to himself, essentially turning his sub-par neutral into something threatening. I’m sure as the meta-game continues to develop for him we’ll be seeing more creativity and implementation of these techniques integrated into Shulk’s gameplay.
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DOWN THROW
Your best kill throw, can potentially kill off of the top as well as the side boundaries. In Buster Art at mid/low percents this either sets up for Ftilt/Fsmash or Dtilt on floaties or those who DI upwards, and will keep the opponent so close to the ground that they'll essentially be forced to shield and you can safely continue pressure:
Fair> Fair/Nair> Regrab if they jump
Pivot grab/tilt/smash if they roll in
If they stay in shield or roll away you get free stage control while you're in the best Art for pressuring/ spacing, congrats
Nothing else specific to mention
UP THROW
Outside of Monado Purge this can actually be used as a pseudo frame trap. Uthrow> Utilt doesn’t combo but can occasionally catch jumps. Opponents may tend to air dodge the Utilt and gives Shulk a re-grab at certain percents. If they begin to float out of grab range or simply jump you can typically punish their landing with dash attack/ Back Slash/Fsmash. Keep in mind that the percent range in which this is even remotely useful varies largely with character and your active art; I’d avoid using this at lower/mid percent against characters with extremely quick aerials that can just challenge you without fear of the Utilt coming out (
, , etc.)FORWARD THROW
This is essentially Dthrow at a lower angle and with less knock back, but actually has some interesting uses. At low percent, this sets up for tech chase situations and actually makes interesting setups near ledge (opponent offstage just slightly below ledge – easy Dair on jump read or Bair stage spike). More importantly, when in Smash Art, the lower angle creates situations where the opponent is both low and far enough offstage (often requiring jump to be used early) to make their recovery options extremely predictable and/or limited. Dthrow, on the other hand, leaves the opponent high enough to recover at practically any vertical height they desire without needing to exhaust jump (of course, this is whenever it fails to kill – the differences between the two throws is a large part of why a Shulk main should be aware of when the throw can KO) so that Fthrow can at least be used as a means of avoiding a stale Dthrow and dealing more damage in the process. While the difference is negligible against a number of really good recoveries, Fthrow essentially sets up easier kills against characters like
where neither throw would kill directly.BACK THROW
Just another kill throw in Smash Art. Sets up tech chase at low percent in speed art. Can setup for Back Slash especially well in Buster Art, often at percent ranges where Back Slash will kill if you buffer cancel out of Buster during the throw.
QUICK GUIDE
Forwarded Vision: A faster version of Shulk’s counter with considerably more knockback (in the opposite direction). Performed by pointing the control stick in the direction the opponent’s attack comes from. This version of vision can only be done on the ground.
MADCancelling: (Monado Art Dash Cancelling) a Monado Art Activation technique done right as the art activates while dashing. This allows you to perform ANY action out of dash as if you were standing – changing direction, tilts, smashes, etc.
rBr: (momentum reversing B-reverse) a Monado Art Activation technique done by clicking a new direction right as the art activates mid-air. Really good mix up and creates a window for a safe back air.
