Explain pls. Why is his ftilt "mediocre at best?"
Also, he has cross Slash 1. Some people describe it as his dtilt in that it is a forward poke, but I don't think it serves that purpose well enough.
Hitting on frame 9, with a FAF of 36, with meh range for a sword... It just doesn't dominate the area in front of him, like other top tiers (Think Diddy D-tilt absurdity). It is a fine poke for when you *need* to poke the area in front of you with a sword... but you better not hit a shield. 10 damage is pretty strong, and it can kill, but if you hit a shield... Only 7 frames of shield stun with more than 20 to punish you, they are gonna get their BnB more than likely.
Again, it serves its purpose, and Cloud of all people don't deserve what I'd describe as a good poke (m2/diddy/Marth d-tilts, Bowser ftilt) since his aerials work decently in this regard.
Basically, it has all it needs except safety, which is good design. It keeps Cloud somewhat honest, because he can't aerial your shield and then start poking away at it safely before you, framewise, have any say in the matter. It is pretty good when it hits, and it fills a gap in his gameplay, but with its recovery, it doesn't fill
too many gaps..
Just trying to explain, I don't think it is a flaw or bad game design, quite the opposite in fact. Cloud is a pretty honest character; when one has that much mobility there should be a trade off.
Ryu hits you with his commital and telegraphed jump-in? He gets to true blockstring your shield and he holds all the cards. This is the kind of thing i'm comparing it too, although Ryu is obviously the most extreme in that regard.
EDIT: Imagine if Cloud had greninja level jabs, to mix up on your shield with as soon as he lands his obscenely safe aerials? It wouldn't be fair. There are a lot of ways they kept his ground game good but not absurd, and none of his ground options are stupid safe because that would complete him too much. His jab pushing him forward is good in many situations, and not so good in others. Balance!