***Edelgard von Hresvelg, The Flame Emperor***
**Overview**
Edelgard would be a heavy fighter alongside the likes of Browser and Ganondord, slow but incredibly powerful and resilient, a first for the FE cast in Smash. Although unlike other heavies, she's quite short and small, being slightly shorter than Marth and Lucina.
In battle, she wields the Relic Axe, Aymr, designed especifically for her usage, despite its unusual design, it remains quite deadly. In addition to this, she possesses the power of two Crests, the Minor Crest of Seiros and the Crest of Flames.
Her idle stance is based off her 3H stance as an infantry unit, holding Aymr in her right hand behind her and with her left hand extended forward.
Her default appearance is based off her academy phase design, with her war phase design composing half of her alternate costumes.
**Normals**
*Jab*: Stepping forward, Edelgard swings Aymr diagonally downwards with one hand and then diagonally upwards
*Side Tilt*: From below her left arm, Edelgard swings Aymr horizontally.
*Up Tilt*: Edelgard swings Aymr above her while spinning it once(Based off her standard attack animation as an Armor Lord/Emperor).
*Down Tilt*: While crouching, Edelgard stomps the ground with the tip of Aymr's handle. This move can spike opponents.
*Dash Attack*: With both hands, Edelgard spins and strikes Aymr in front of her(Based off the Combat Art animation for armored units from 3H).
**Aerials**
*Neutral Air*: Edelgard spins horizontally while striking with Aymr, hitting in front of her twice and behind her once.
*Forward Air*: With both hands, Edelgard strikes Aymr diagonally down in front of her(Based off her final attack in the ending cutscene for Crimson Flower).
*Back Air*: Edelgard winds up and then strikes behind her at full force as she turns around. A slow move but incredibly powerful.
*Up Air*: Edelgard spins Aymr above her in a multi-hit move based off Hector's infamous "axecopter".
*Down Air*: Holding Aymr above her, Edelgard slams it down as she falls to the ground. The initial hitbox can spike and a second hitbox appears if she hits the ground, smashing it and covering both her sides(Based off her dodge crit animation as an Armor Lord/Emperor).
**Smash Attacks**
*Forward Smash*: Edelgard smashes Aymr in front of her with both hands. It has a slow startup but will descend quickly once she starts the swing, with its strongest hit being at the very end when it smashes the ground(Based off the Combat Art animation for infantry units in 3H).
If Vow of Flame is active, Edelgard will spin afterwards as she holds Aymr with only one hand and then strike a second time(Based off the Flickering Flower animation for the Emperor class).
*Up Smash*: Edelgard thrusts Aymr upwards and afterwards, the Crest of Seiros manifests, launching opponents away(Based off the Bolt Axe animation for Armor Lord/Emperor from 3H).
If Vow of Flame is active, the Crest of Flames will manifest first, trapping opponents in a multi-hit move before the Crest of Seiros appears and launches them away.
*Down Smash*: Edelgard slams Aymr's handle on the ground in front of her, after a split second a pillar of flames appear in front of her.
If Vow of Flame is active, a second pillar will appear behind her and both will be slightly bigger than normal.
**Grabs and Throws**
*Grab*: Edelgard grabs the opponent with her left hand. While grabbing, she sticks Aymr down on the ground and takes out her dagger.
*Pummel*: Edelgard stabs the opponent with her dagger.
*Forward Throw*: Edelgard stabs the opponent and then kicks them away.
*Back Throw*: Edelgard pushes the opponent behind her and then stabs their back.
*Down Throw*: Edelgard knocks the opponent on the ground and then stabs them while on top of them.
*Up Throw*: Edelgard strikes the opponent with two upwards slashes, with the second launching them away.
**Specials**
**Neutral Special - Lightning Axe**: Aymr is covered in lightning as Edelgard holds it above her and soon afterwards, swings it down as a bolt of lightning strikes down in front of her. The bolt of lightning resembles the one produced by magic weapons in 3H and is about three times Edekgard's size. This move can be held down and the longer it is charged, the further away the bolt of lightning will be from Edelgard, indicated by a flashing blue light on the ground.
If Vow of Flame is active, the bolt of lightning will light up the area it lands in flames for a few seconds, damaging anyone who steps on it.
**Side Special - Flickering Flower**: Edelgard slings Aymr open, quickly spins in place, strikes in front of her and then closes Aymr(Slightly based off her standard crit animation as an Armor Lord/Emperor). This move acts as a command grab and if it connects, Edelgard will swing the opponent as they're trapped in Aymr above her before slamming them on the ground and launching them upwards. While slow, it deals significant damage and reaches quite far in front of Edelgard. If used in the air, Edelgard will fall downwards with the opponent and slam them on the ground or suicide with them if they reach the lower blastzone, much like Ganondorf's Flame Choke.
If Vow of Flame is active, this move will then greatly reduce the opponent's movement speed for a few seconds.
**Up Special - Raging Storm**: Starting from below, Edelgard strikes Aymr upwards as she rises in the air, at the apex of the move, she strikes horizontally twice in front of her before slamming Aymr down, spiking opponents. All of those hits autocombo into one another, making it a powerful move but it isn't the best for recovering, especially as it leaves Edelgard wide open if it misses.
If Vow of Flame is active, connecting the move will prevent Edelgard from going into freefall, allowing her to act again afterwards and even use Raging Storm again.
**Down Special - Vow of Flame**: Edelgard extends her left hand forward, revealing the Crest of Flames and then closes her palm as she "grabs" it, making her body be covered by a fiery aura. By revealing her true strength, Edelgard's moves will gain a fire effect and recover a bit of HP when hitting, and her specials and Smash Attacks will have modified properties for the remainder of that stock. The drawbacks to this are that Edelgard becomes more vulnerable in this state, increasing the damage she takes, and if her damage % is increased by 50% or more(meaning she can heal herself to avoid this), the effect will dissipate. Additionally, Edelgard can choose to disable this move herself by using it again which will not only bring her back to normal status, but will also reduce the damage she takes up until she receives a certain amount. This move can only be used once per stock, meaning that if Edelgard loses it, she won't be able to use it again.
***Final Smash - Raging Flames***
*"I'll strike you down!"*
The Gambit Boost portraits of Edelgard and Byleth will flash on the screen as Edelgard summons Byleth a certain distance from her with both then dashing towards each other while they strike any opponents in their path. If they hit any opponents, a cutscene will play out where Edelgard deploys an exosive cart with Byleth at her side and as she slams Aymr's handle on the ground, the cart explodes in a fiery explosion, then returning to the stage where they are launched away. Afterwards, the place where the explosion happened will be lit up with flames for a while, damaging enemies who step on it. Both Byleths can appear and which one shows up is decided at random much like Joker's different All-Out Attacks.
, yet Sak pulled it off with aplomb using DQ's rich swag.
