- Artryuu - She is Power Ranked #2 in Ottawa, places top 8 in Ottawa monthlies.
- SilentDoom - Placed Top 12 at BEAST 5, consistently in top 32 at UK monthlies.
- Jerm - HM on Ontario Power Rankings. Placed 4th at Well Player. Famous Youtube and Twitch channels based on spreading Shulk information.
Disadvantages
All three of our experts mentioned one thing: his frame data. "The immense start-up on his moveset means that he often can't play as reactively as he would like." SilentDoom said. "Meanwhile it's incredibly easy to play reactive vs him and he consequently relies on reads and attempting to cover multiple options at once." Artryuu agreed and added "Shulk is prone to be shield grabbed if not spacing well and one mistake can cost a big punish."
This can cause issues with his general gameplay as SilentDoom explained. "Coupled with his lack of a projectile, this leads to him losing close and long range exchanges vs pretty much the entire cast, forcing him to play a tight mid-range game that he simply can't always force his opponents to play. His size, weight, fall speed, lack of a fast aerial and his lack of a decent out of shield option barring Air Slash also mean he's incredibly susceptible to being pressured and comboed."
"His recovery can also be easily manipulated and punished and he has trouble landing in certain matchups." Jerm told us. "He also has an incredibly high learning curve, essentially being five characters in one which makes him a difficult character to pick up and do well with."
Advantages
The three also had resounding agreement that his biggest strengths came from his range and the Monado Arts. "With some of the largest disjoints in the game, Shulk can effectively wall out his opponents with proper spacing." Jerm said and SilentDoom commented, " His Nair, Fair and Bair in particular are fantastic moves for controlling mid range and can do a great job covering multiple of your opponent's offensive options."
SilentDoom also had a lot to say on the Monado Arts themselves. "Meanwhile the Monado Arts allow him access to essentially 5 different gameplay dynamics at once that your opponent has to be weary of and adapt to on the fly, as well as granting him a plethora of useful advanced tech options such as MALLC (Monado Art Landing Lag Cancel), MADC (Monado Art Dash Cancel) and a plethora of nifty b-reverse options." Despite their strengths Artryuu did point out that "Unfortunately he only has 5 arts and they have a cool down so you can't forever MALLC." She still had praise for their strengths also saying "He can get early kills with his arts and at the same time be the hardest character to kill with shield art on."
SilentDoom also mentioned the potency of Shulk's unique counter. "His Vision counter also works as a very potent wildcard off of a good read due to its absurd damage and knockback and its unblockable property."
Relevant Matchups
Playing Shulk so long may have given these players Vision of their own as they just kept agreeing as we went to discuss relevant matchups saying that Sheik, Diddy Kong, Mario, and Fox were among his worst "due to them being able to completely overwhelm him with vastly superior frame data." as SilentDoom put it. Jerm also commented "These characters can be extremely painful to deal with and each of them requires a great deal of knowledge in the MU to avoid getting comboed while also being able to retaliate. Shulk must also abuse the rage mechanic to really get an edge on these characters."
Luigi was also mentioned by all of the players as a matchups Shulk had the advantage in. Artryuu mentioned Olimar and Donkey Kong as Jerm mentioned Yoshi. The reason? He can outspace them all. "Yoshi gets outranged by Shulk, and the very aggressive ones are easy to vision." Jerm told us and as Artryuu artfully put it "Shulk can space this characters for days."
Is Shulk Viable?
This was one area where all of the experts finally did not agree. "I personally don't believe Shulk is viable at a national level." SilentDoom told us. "While the Shulk mains have been working incredibly hard to find new tech and apply it in creative ways, the fundamental core of the character is awful and as a result he loses to a lot of simple basic fundamental things. I'd personally rank him within the bottom 10, though I'll admit that's likely a lower position than most of my fellow Shulk mains would place him."
He was very correct at the optimism of his fellow Shulk experts. "Shulk can indeed be viable at national level, not everyone knows hot to play Shulk on a top level which you can use to your advantage." Artryuu said. "Darkwolf, Tremendo, Jerm and I have gotten notable results of tourneys. He is still with his flaws, but still viable."
Jerm commented on Shulks still untapped potential. "Unlike some characters with lacking frame data, Shulk has the range to make up for it. He can also utilize art cancels to effectively apply safe pressure. A fully optimized Shulk is indeed a force to be reckoned with."
Advice For Shulk Mains?
"My advice to anyone interested in Shulk is to dedicate full on Shulk only." Artryuu said. "He is just not a character you can simply pick up. You have to be aware of his frame data and flaws. I have only been using Shulk , I currently have no secondary. The developers put so much character in him, he is amazing, so I dedicate all friendlies and tournies with him. I am staying loyal to the character."
SilentDoom had his own words to say. "In terms of advice, I recommend first of all getting accustomed to Shulk's hitboxes and spacing. People's first recommendations are often to understand the Monado Arts but by this point I'd like to think they're fairly self explanatory. Instead focus on the timings of your fast fall short hop Bairs and the spacing of your Nairs, Fairs and DTilts. Once you get a good feel for Shulk's neutral in general expand upon how you creatively employ his options. I personally love perfect pivot UTilt as an anti-air for instance. Shulk is a very dynamic character that can really reflect the player. No two Shulks really play identically, which is part of why he's so interesting"
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A special thank you to Artryuu, SilentDoom, and Jerm for giving their expertise for this article. Agree or disagree with these Shulk experts? Have a suggestion for the next character we should cover? Sound off in the comments below and stay tuned to Smashboards for future expert analysis on characters from all Smash titles
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