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Shulk Moveset Analysis/Speculation/Discussion (Phase 1/PLEASE READ OP)

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Some random stuff I've noticed while training as crazy with Shulk for a day now:

- Nair is pretty insane, literally no landing lag and it's the only Shulk aerial that has little to no lag. It still covers a lot of space and is quick so useful for both approaching / covering.
So f-air has landing lag then huh? Well, that's a bit of a shame
- With vanille / buster / smash Shulk you can also standard jump fair and then use nair to cancel landing lag to move again.
Oh, well... That makes things fine for f-air. Make it safe by using n-air after. Got it.
- For speed Shulk you can quickly do two jumps in quick succesion and fair at the same time to just barely cancel landing lag with nair. This is so tight so you don't even see the start of the nair animation so it just looks like fair has no lag lol.
Holy ****
- Defense Shulk has great pivots. Pivot grab gives extended range while Shulk barely moves to the side, and f-tilt is good as well.
- Smash Shulk's f-tilt is a great KO move as early as 120% depending on char. Otherwise overall d-tilt is the superior spacing option with greater reach (but it can't hit opponents right in front of Shulk).
I knew his tilts needed more love. Lol
- Ok, some stuff Jump Shulk can do that others can't:
* Full jump uair - nair landing lag cancel.
* Full jump fair into bair (or nair to mix it up).
* Being able to jump like 3/4 the length of Final Destination with a single jump, using two jumps guarantee you can make it from the ledge of one side of the stage to the other - in like 3 seconds.
* The ability to edgeguard to even the very bottom of the right / left blastzone and still be able to recover to the ledge, and also cover most of the upper blast zone.
* Dunno what else to write than the jumps are faaaast, you can get into the face of not all too close enemies in an instant.
So using jump instead of speed against defensive characters is good? Or using speed can work also? So far from what I've seen, I think both arts work but it depends really. I think those characters who can control the ground well will need to be dealt with using jump while those who are just campers in the similar fashion to someone like Brawl Falco needs to be dealt with using speed
- Back Slash is better than I expected, it's quick and it can punish enemies using a move that is hard to attack against but has some form of lag. It's also a great mix-up if you don't spam it since it's fast.
I was thinking about that when I saw gradual growth of usage of the attack. It seems very useful for that purpose. It sucks though that its maximum potential has to be tapped by hitting the rear of the opponent
- I still suck at Vision as some of you who have seen my custom moves vid probably can understand, it's getting better though. I need to try and use it more to react rather than predict.

Ok, that's all for now. :)
Replies are in yellow

So far, I feel like only buster needs further investigation. Making true combos with buster might be important as of now. The knockback debuff is beginning to look more like a double edged sword
 
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Chauzu

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As I wrote in another thread the lack of damage output from Speed Shulk is kinda depressing, but still, you do become at least as fast as Sonic. When using this I try and hit and run - like running,back rolling, repeat until opening and do a throw and try to combo and then retreat again.

And I agree that the potential of Burster will be amazing to follow, I'm sure Shulk will be unique by being the character that has real combo's at the highest %'s.
 

Chauzu

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I dunno if you know this already, but one of the tips in the demo says that Monado Jump also increases Air Speed. :4shulk:
Yeah, that's what I've been trying to say! But didn't have a good word for it. :)

Air Speed describes it great, you leap forward in Melee style, as if you cary your momentum.
 

Masonomace

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Some random stuff I've noticed while training as crazy with Shulk for a day now:

- Nair is pretty insane, literally no landing lag and it's the only Shulk aerial that has little to no lag. It still covers a lot of space and is quick so useful for both approaching / covering.
Radical, I feel N-air is his only keepsake aerial. Thank decency :4shulk: has one aerial that somewhat auto-cancels upon landing.
- With vanille / buster / smash Shulk you can also standard jump fair and then use nair to cancel landing lag to move again.
Would standard jump happen to be ShortHop, or FullHop? I wanna lean toward you meaning FullHop + Fair + NairLanding. Also, I'd like you to test something regarding Smash's jumps versus regular Vanilla's jumps, basically start at one side of FD & attempt to recover to the other side of the stage with the two jumps + Air Slash. Why I ask is because apparently Smash decreases weight, & weight being a general element on its own, it could affect Shulk's horizontal or vertical mobility.
- For speed Shulk you can quickly do two jumps in quick succesion and fair at the same time to just barely cancel landing lag with nair. This is so tight so you don't even see the start of the nair animation so it just looks like fair has no lag lol.
Nice, that may be due to Speed apparently decreasing Jump Height, so that entire input you explained I can see working, this is very similar to Ike's case back in Brawl, it reminds me of that.
- Defense Shulk has great pivots. Pivot grab gives extended range while Shulk barely moves to the side, and f-tilt is good as well.
Nice! Glad Shield has that kind of advantage along with F-tilt. By the sound of it, Shield seems like the best grounded Art, if not tied with Speed, along with the other good things about Shield. I have a favor to ask of testing something new involving Speed, but can you check :4shulk:'s performance pivot grabbing while running? I'm curious if the insane movement speed & the pivot grab follow up together like if :4shulk: has a lot of slide distance while grabbing.
- Smash Shulk's f-tilt is a great KO move as early as 120% depending on char. Otherwise overall d-tilt is the superior spacing option with greater reach (but it can't hit opponents right in front of Shulk).
Impressive, this is implying F-tilt's sword hit or the beam hitting? And whaaaaaat?! D-tilt can't hit point-blank opponents that close? That's some festery.:laugh:
- Ok, some stuff Jump Shulk can do that others can't:
* Full jump uair - nair landing lag cancel.
:shades:
* Full jump fair into bair (or nair to mix it up).
:shades:
* Being able to jump like 3/4 the length of Final Destination with a single jump, using two jumps guarantee you can make it from the ledge of one side of the stage to the other - in like 3 seconds.
:shades:
* The ability to edgeguard to even the very bottom of the right / left blastzone and still be able to recover to the ledge, and also cover most of the upper blast zone.
:shades::shades:
* Dunno what else to write than the jumps are faaaast, you can get into the face of not all too close enemies in an instant.
Radical, I'm glad Jump's horizontal mobility is that good knowing about it by watching how Shulk travels through the air, but I'm kind of afraid to approach heavy hitters with Jump since apparently Jump not only decreases launch resistance, but also decreases weight making us a Very Light character. I have a request of testing something, but what does a Short Hop Dair look like with the Jump Art? Does it hit with both sword & beam??:awesome::awesome: Details details:awesome::awesome:
- Back Slash is better than I expected, it's quick and it can punish enemies using a move that is hard to attack against but has some form of lag. It's also a great mix-up if you don't spam it since it's fast.
:shades: Back Slash can also be a vital tool in 2v2 Doubles. Easy easy easy setup if your partner grabs an opponent & you roll to get behind activating either Buster for the huge % damage, or Smash for the ridiculous KO power.
- I still suck at Vision as some of you who have seen my custom moves vid probably can understand, it's getting better though. I need to try and use it more to react rather than predict.
For any advice I can give, I would just watch for the heavy hits like strong smashes, strong special moves, & strong tilts. If that heavy hitting move has any delay on its start-up imagine punishing with Vision. If you're airborne countering a move from the ground let it rip & reward yourself with that free punish. If you're grounded & you're countering a move from the air or on the ground, forward the input after countering, in the same direction the attack is coming from. And yeah I'd react with it, not predict. Because you can't predict the future, only blast it away.:4shulk:

Ok, that's all for now. :)
My replies are in your quoted post. Thanks for Posting:shades::shades:
Replies are in yellow

So far, I feel like only buster needs further investigation. Making true combos with buster might be important as of now. The knockback debuff is beginning to look more like a double edged sword
Buster has more cons than pros.:c It's not surprising if Buster seems like a double-edged sword, but to be fair, all the Arts have more setbacks than advantages. Shield apparently has the most advantages being 2, but it has the most setbacks being 3. Buster unfortunately kills its own potential to combo due to Launch Power decreasing, because knock-back is lessened, hit-stun is essentially smaller as well. Dealt hit-stun is like a function of knock-back, so basically Buster reduces hit-stun preventing the Art to efficiently combo. Buster suddenly feels not-so-worth-it.:ohwell:

Buster mode needs all that frame data to calculate which moves can string into other moves. Other than that, I'm very interested in Jump.
I dunno if you know this already, but one of the tips in the demo says that Monado Jump also increases Air Speed. :4shulk:
I say horizontal mobility, but they're the same thing. Air Speed is fitting, yet in every Monado Arts table given to us, they never say specifically "Increased Air Speed" or "Increased Aerial Mobility".:ohwell:

Also, this link is very helpful. It kind of showed me extra hints & tips about his Arts I wasn't aware of, like the decreased Weight from Jump.
EDITED:
http://www.ssbwiki.com/Monado_Arts
 
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My replies are in your quoted post. Thanks for Posting:shades::shades:

Buster has more cons than pros.:c It's not surprising if Buster seems like a double-edged sword, but to be fair, all the Arts have more setbacks than advantages. Shield apparently has the most advantages being 2, but it has the most setbacks being 3. Buster unfortunately kills its own potential to combo due to Launch Power decreasing, because knock-back is lessened, hit-stun is essentially smaller as well. Dealt hit-stun is like a function of knock-back, so basically Buster reduces hit-stun preventing the Art to efficiently combo. Buster suddenly feels not-so-worth-it.:ohwell:

Buster mode needs all that frame data to calculate which moves can string into other moves. Other than that, I'm very interested in Jump.
To be honest, some players make buster look like it has more pros and to be even more honest, I still think the damage perk really balances buster's cons. Although there aren't any known combos as of the moment, we know that Shulk is capable of dealing a lot of damage with buster and I've seen players who've used it and had no trouble racking damage with it. They don't seem to pull off combos with it. They just land hits and 2-hit strings. I think it's all about learning how to not be reckless. If you know how to not take a lot of damage and if you can space correctly, buster will really be good

BUT, if you don't feel like busting, I think you should start the match with speed or jump instead. Hear me out here for a second

With speed or jump, you got more mobility options (or shield against heavy hitters). You can deal damage with jump (or speed but damage is debuffed) until you reach 50%. This also helps you not get damaged that much.

Once you reach 50%, you should switch to buster then try to rack up until 90-100% damage. I know it's tempting to bet on using Smash at 70%+ range but better to be safe because Smash reduces both defense and weight. You'll risk possibly getting into an iffy situation like getting knocked off stage which is WAY MORE LIKELY with smash activated.

Once you feel like you've racked up enough damage, I suppose you go activate smash and go in for the kill

Oh and fun factor, if you're feeling it, you can ignore what I said about not going on Smash at 70%+ range and try vision counter killing
 

Masonomace

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To be honest, some players make buster look like it has more pros and to be even more honest, I still think the damage perk really balances buster's cons. Although there aren't any known combos as of the moment, we know that Shulk is capable of dealing a lot of damage with buster and I've seen players who've used it and had no trouble racking damage with it. They don't seem to pull off combos with it. They just land hits and 2-hit strings. I think it's all about learning how to not be reckless. If you know how to not take a lot of damage and if you can space correctly, buster will really be good

BUT, if you don't feel like busting, I think you should start the match with speed or jump instead. Hear me out here for a second

With speed or jump, you got more mobility options (or shield against heavy hitters). You can deal damage with jump (or speed but damage is debuffed) until you reach 50%. This also helps you not get damaged that much.

Once you reach 50%, you should switch to buster then try to rack up until 90-100% damage. I know it's tempting to bet on using Smash at 70%+ range but better to be safe because Smash reduces both defense and weight. You'll risk possibly getting into an iffy situation like getting knocked off stage which is WAY MORE LIKELY with smash activated.

Once you feel like you've racked up enough damage, I suppose you go activate smash and go in for the kill

Oh and fun factor, if you're feeling it, you can ignore what I said about not going on Smash at 70%+ range and try vision counter killing
Your honesty is heard, & felt.:4shulk: Them making it look like it has more pros is deceiving you, don't believe it.:troll: But enough adulting, the damage perk does make up for the 2 setbacks built-in to Buster. I'm content if Buster has no combos early game, because frankly the reduced launch power setback essentially reduces hit-stun, so there won't be true combos until maybe after 20%-ish. Even then that's almost achievable from just grabbing > pummel x1 > B-throw, which we've said already is huuuuuuuge.

No sweat though, I plain on having Shulk as my secondary possibly if not my primary, I'm getting more & more interested in how Shulk works as each day goes by. I can cope with Buster, but alright I'm reading hearing.
*Done reading*
Jump & Buster share the same setback being Decreased Defense aka less launch resistance, so I'd probably prefer Jump in that regard, but I'm fine with starting with Vanilla, Jump, Speed, or Buster, depending on the MatchUp & if I'm daring.
Perma-Vanilla = Trolling: Every single character in SSB4 & 5.
Jump if I'm versing these kind of characters: :4bowserjr::4darkpit::4diddy::4drmario::4duckhunt::4falco::4fox::4greninja::4jigglypuff::4littlemac::4link::4megaman::4miigun::4ness::4peach::4pikachu::4pit::4rob::4robinm::rosalina::4samus::4sheik::4sonic::4tlink::4villager::4wiifit::4zss:

Speed if I'm versing these kind of characters: :4bowser::4falcon::4charizard::4dedede::4dk::4ganondorf::4gaw::4kirby::4myfriends::4lucario::4lucina::4luigi::4mario::4marth::4metaknight::4miibrawl::4miisword::4ness::4palutena::4pacman::4pikachu::4rob::4robinm::rosalina::4samus::4sheik::4sonic::4tlink::4villager::4wario::4yoshi::4zelda::4zss:

Buster no questions asked (yes, they're sorted by Weight class, Heaviest to Lightest): :4bowser::4dk::4dedede::4charizard::4ganondorf::4samus::4bowserjr::4wario::4myfriends::4rob::4yoshi::4link::4falcon::4shulk::4megaman::4zss::4metaknight::4fox::4pikachu::4olimar::rosalina::4kirby::4gaw: & :4jigglypuff:.
Though I do have a decent general idea of how I'm going to go about timing & placement of Monado Arts. I still appreciate any advice you reply with berserk<3
 

Gunla

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I feel like that the common thing to do is to (with the new KB scaling mechanics) is that one should use Buster at higher %s to compensate for the KB reduction (which gets some compensation from the scaling/"rage" mechanic".

I find Buster to be the best mode, not only because of the giant damage boost but the overall fact that you can go from Buster to Smash and it works out (unless you're using Decisive Monado Arts).
 
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Masonomace

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I feel like that the common thing to do is to (with the new KB scaling mechanics) is that one should use Buster at higher %s to compensate for the KB reduction (which gets some compensation from the scaling/"rage" mechanic".

I find Buster to be the best mode, not only because of the giant damage boost but the overall fact that you can go from Buster to Smash and it works out (unless you're using Decisive Monado Arts).
I dig that. Though what given range of % do you mean by "higher" ? I feel if you're talking about a % number over 100, then I think you're insayian.:smirk: The convenience of switching from Buster to Smash by only pressing B twice, is quite nifty & quick, so that could lead to a surprise KO move.
 
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Your honesty is heard, & felt.:4shulk: Them making it look like it has more pros is deceiving you, don't believe it.:troll: But enough adulting, the damage perk does make up for the 2 setbacks built-in to Buster. I'm content if Buster has no combos early game, because frankly the reduced launch power setback essentially reduces hit-stun, so there won't be true combos until maybe after 20%-ish. Even then that's almost achievable from just grabbing > pummel x1 > B-throw, which we've said already is huuuuuuuge.

No sweat though, I plain on having Shulk as my secondary possibly if not my primary, I'm getting more & more interested in how Shulk works as each day goes by. I can cope with Buster, but alright I'm reading hearing.
*Done reading*
Jump & Buster share the same setback being Decreased Defense aka less launch resistance, so I'd probably prefer Jump in that regard, but I'm fine with starting with Vanilla, Jump, Speed, or Buster, depending on the MatchUp & if I'm daring.
Perma-Vanilla = Trolling: Every single character in SSB4 & 5.
Jump if I'm versing these kind of characters: :4bowserjr::4darkpit::4diddy::4drmario::4duckhunt::4falco::4fox::4greninja::4jigglypuff::4littlemac::4link::4megaman::4miigun::4ness::4peach::4pikachu::4pit::4rob::4robinm::rosalina::4samus::4sheik::4sonic::4tlink::4villager::4wiifit::4zss:

Speed if I'm versing these kind of characters: :4bowser::4falcon::4charizard::4dedede::4dk::4ganondorf::4gaw::4kirby::4myfriends::4lucario::4lucina::4luigi::4mario::4marth::4metaknight::4miibrawl::4miisword::4ness::4palutena::4pacman::4pikachu::4rob::4robinm::rosalina::4samus::4sheik::4sonic::4tlink::4villager::4wario::4yoshi::4zelda::4zss:

Buster no questions asked (yes, they're sorted by Weight class, Heaviest to Lightest): :4bowser::4dk::4dedede::4charizard::4ganondorf::4samus::4bowserjr::4wario::4myfriends::4rob::4yoshi::4link::4falcon::4shulk::4megaman::4zss::4metaknight::4fox::4pikachu::4olimar::rosalina::4kirby::4gaw: & :4jigglypuff:.
Though I do have a decent general idea of how I'm going to go about timing & placement of Monado Arts. I still appreciate any advice you reply with berserk<3
In the end, I still think buster is crucial for Shulk and using it carefully by spacing carefully will be the way to go. Even if it has more cons than pros

Oh and this is what I think about what art to mainly start with and go to:

Jump/Speed
:4bowserjr::4diddy::4falco::4fox::4olimar::4robinf::4miigun::4sonic::4tlink::4palutena::4zss::4link::4megaman::4rob::4greninja::4falcon::4miisword::4miibrawl::4pacman::rosalina::4mario::4pikachu::4duckhunt::4drmario:
Shield/Speed
:4bowser::4dk::4dedede::4ganondorf::4myfriends::4charizard:
Buster
:4wiifit::4zelda::4metaknight::4jigglypuff::4kirby::4shulk::4yoshi::4wario2::4darkpit::4pit::4peach::4luigi::4marth::4lucina::4greninja::4ness::4villager::4gaw::4samus::4sheik:
Buster
/Jump
:4littlemac:


I hope no one's under the notion that those characters that can be used with buster are crap. No they aren't. The characters that can be used with the buster art at the start of a match either....

1) Are not known for their mobility BOTH on ground and air
2) Are not big targeted heavy hitters
3) Are not campers or zoners

Edit: After thinking about it, maybe Ganondorf, Ike and Charizard should be in the shield/speed group

Edit2: Big edit on the list

Basically with the characters who you shouldn't start out with buster art, start using buster after you racked up enough damage.
 
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Chauzu

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Would standard jump happen to be ShortHop, or FullHop? I wanna lean toward you meaning FullHop + Fair + NairLanding.
Full hop, correct. The timing isn't hard in Vanilla, Buster or Smash.

Also, I'd like you to test something regarding Smash's jumps versus regular Vanilla's jumps, basically start at one side of FD & attempt to recover to the other side of the stage with the two jumps + Air Slash. Why I ask is because apparently Smash decreases weight, & weight being a general element on its own, it could affect Shulk's horizontal or vertical mobility.
I tried for a few minutes and couldn't find any noticeable difference, all these three forms feel the same tbh.

I have a favor to ask of testing something new involving Speed, but can you check :4shulk:'s performance pivot grabbing while running? I'm curious if the insane movement speed & the pivot grab follow up together like if :4shulk: has a lot of slide distance while grabbing.
Interesting, I hadn't thought about that! And it's kinda insane haha. If you pivot grab an opponent on the middle of Final Destination Shulk glides with him like 1/4-1/5 of the length of the level.

This actually has a lot of potential. The natural throw to do after this when close to the edge is a backthrow and this has good knockback as early as 80% and then it's easy to switch to Jump and you can be a bit aggressive edgeguarding.

Impressive, this is implying F-tilt's sword hit or the beam hitting?
Uhm, I haven't payed that close attention. But f-tilt is defo a kill move pretty early with Smash activated.

I have a request of testing something, but what does a Short Hop Dair look like with the Jump Art? Does it hit with both sword & beam??:awesome::awesome: Details details:awesome::awesome:
It only hits once, with the sword I think? Does 9%.

For any advice I can give, I would just watch for the heavy hits like strong smashes, strong special moves, & strong tilts. If that heavy hitting move has any delay on its start-up imagine punishing with Vision. If you're airborne countering a move from the ground let it rip & reward yourself with that free punish. If you're grounded & you're countering a move from the air or on the ground, forward the input after countering, in the same direction the attack is coming from. And yeah I'd react with it, not predict. Because you can't predict the future, only blast it away.:4shulk:
So there are different versions of Vision? I haven't really thought about this, need to do my homework.
 
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So there are different versions of Vision? I haven't really thought about this, need to do my homework.
One of them is when you don't input anything at all when you trigger the counter. It just shows Shulk slashing. It has great range but it's slow which makes it easier to whiff

The other version needs to be done by moving the circle pad forward after triggering the counter. I think the range is shorter but it's more "straight". It deals more damage which basically means slightly more knockback. It's also much quicker than the basic one
 

Chauzu

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Also I'm not sure if this is common knowledge but Shulk's f-smash and u-smash works like Zelda's in that it's not guaranteed that both parts of the smash hits the opponent (which is very annoying). Not been keeping up with the discussion so might be old news. :)
 
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Also I'm not sure if this is common knowledge but Shulk's f-smash and u-smash works like Zelda's in that it's not guaranteed that both parts of the smash hits the opponent (which is very annoying). Not been keeping up with the discussion so might be old news. :)
Er... Well, we kinda realized that. It's very prone to happening with buster activated at low percentages if I recall correctly

Although I haven't seen anyone gotten punished horribly for it.... Scratch that. Never mind. I don't think it happens (Look at the post below this one) that often

Edit:

I noticed Shulk's blade can eat through projectiles or those types of projectiles that are throwable like bananas, gyro tops, etc. Can it eat through all levels of ROB's lasers?
 
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MASTERLINKX

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Also I'm not sure if this is common knowledge but Shulk's f-smash and u-smash works like Zelda's in that it's not guaranteed that both parts of the smash hits the opponent (which is very annoying). Not been keeping up with the discussion so might be old news. :)
I find that tilting Fsmash upwards really decreases the chances of the blade missing.
It also launches people a tiny bit more upwards than the normal and down angle, which can potentially kill someone a little bit earlier.
 

Masonomace

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In the end, I still think buster is crucial for Shulk and using it carefully by spacing carefully will be the way to go. Even if it has more cons than pros

Oh and this is what I think about what art to mainly start with and go to:

Jump/Speed
:4bowserjr::4diddy::4falco::4fox::4olimar::4robinf::4miigun::4sonic::4tlink::4palutena::4zss::4link::4megaman::4rob::4greninja::4falcon::4miisword::4miibrawl::4pacman::rosalina::4mario::4pikachu::4duckhunt::4drmario:
Shield/Speed
:4bowser::4dk::4dedede::4ganondorf::4myfriends::4charizard:
Buster
:4wiifit::4zelda::4metaknight::4jigglypuff::4kirby::4shulk::4yoshi::4wario2::4darkpit::4pit::4peach::4luigi::4marth::4lucina::4greninja::4ness::4villager::4gaw::4samus::4sheik:
Buster
/Jump
:4littlemac:


I hope no one's under the notion that those characters that can be used with buster are crap. No they aren't. The characters that can be used with the buster art at the start of a match either....

1) Are not known for their mobility BOTH on ground and air
2) Are not big targeted heavy hitters
3) Are not campers or zoners

Edit: After thinking about it, maybe Ganondorf, Ike and Charizard should be in the shield/speed group

Edit2: Big edit on the list

Basically with the characters who you shouldn't start out with buster art, start using buster after you racked up enough damage.
I dig it. I would like to critique your list of go-to Art vs. character. When I just now briefly looked at my list, I admit that it wasn't thought through. So I may give a more planned strategic reasoning behind why I'd choose any said Art versus said character(s). I'll choose only one Art for giving an example.
:4bowser:= Shield
A lot of improvements were provided to Bowser's move-kit involving stronger damage, stronger knock-back, & faster game-play overall. Shield reduces all the damage Bowser puts out, I won't discuss about every buff Bowser received though, too many buffs.:urg:
:4falcon: = Buster
With Falcon's buffs to his Special moves, the changes done to his D-tilt & U-tilt, & a huge disjoint added to his FSmash, Shield will help against CF. Falcon is practically a rush-down bruiser that received more KO power, so he'll stay close while he can, though if a spaced Shulk shuts him down, changing to a different Art is suggested.
:4charizard: = Shield
Charizard got a few revamps noting his DownB now being Rock Smash, & his replaced SideB with Flare Blitz, which is single-handedly the main reason you wanna stick with Shield stance. Flare Blitz is hard countered by Shield alone, making Charizard mix up his game against Shield Shulk. Mostly Charizard is heavy, hits hard, & now has a reliable horizontal recovery move that can be used recklessly against us.
:4dedede: = Shield
Dedede got heavier, more KO power, & stronger damage % on some of his new aesthetic changes, like all the other Heavies got.:urg: Gordo Throw is asking you to VIsion counter it, unknown of what result will come out of that.
:4diddy: = Speed
Generally Jump is an alternative, however with the steady all-around buff Diddy received to all of his aerials becoming faster & stronger, & the nerf to bananas, Diddy's ground game was more nerfed, trading off with improved air-game. It also doesn't help that some of his moves get extended range on them, such as his F-tilt.
:4dk: = Shield
Like all the Heavy-weights, DK gained more strength in some of his aerials, but mostly his moves come out faster than before, including his general game-speed. Giant Punch wound up 9x KO's fairly early, & since the move comes out faster, this move alone plus DK himself is a threat.
:4drmario: = Buster
The only projectile the doc has is MegaVitamins, & as long as you avoid getting hit by them, you're basically good to go. Dr. Tornado is back & helps the doc recover slightly, including general buffing to several moves by either getting stronger, or more KO power added. Dr. Tornado is a ground option I see docs using, so just Vision Counter this along with any Pills he throws your way while aggressively approaching behind that pill, & you're good.
:4falco: = Jump
Falco got several changes to some of his aerials that connect better with slightly less landing lag, so his air-game for that matter seems a bit improved, though his D-air's start-up is a lot slower, but more powerful, including his USmash becoming stronger. Falco's Phantasm doesn't leave him helplesss, plus Fire BIrd gets more distance. Use Jump to edge-guard Falco shutting down his buffed recovery & ruining his options. His Lasers landed will lag, & cannot shoot as frequently, cutting his aerial coverage with lasers in half, making Jump an ideal Art to use against him.
:4fox: = Jump
Same scenario for Falco mostly. His lasers used upon landing have lag, his phantasm doesn't leavel him helpless, Fire Fox's distance is even greater practically to Melee status. Only a few buffs to his KO power & strength I've noticed. Falco = rinse & repeat.
:4ganondorf: = Shield
Another Heavy-weight scenario in Sm4sh. Heavier, stronger, & faster.:urg: A lot of things about Ganon got buffed, but some note-worthy setbacks are present. One notable change is being able to tech off of Flame Choke's slam, teching or tech rolling helps mitigate the chases, but now it becomes a tech chase moment where you can't be too rash & predictable.
:4gaw: = Buster
G&W did get some changes here & there, slightly buffing his ground game & his air-game, but to boot, nothing too spectacular of a gain or loss. Some nerfs were made to his N-air & D-air. U-air got some of a buff, but avoiding damage & dealing it out is recommended. Esepcially since G&W is a very light character. Buster works well against Light-weight cahracters, so let it rip.
:4myfriends: = Shield
Things seem unchanged for Ike from a quick briefing, but his QuickDraw not putting Ike in a helpless state, & bodes well for Ike to not be gimped by physical contact halting it previously in Brawl. Yet it's undeniable Ike has KO power, strong attacks, being heavier. Resembling of classic heavy-weight quota.
:4jigglypuff: = Buster
Apparently being called the Queen of Air, yet when she touches the ground, she isn't there for long. A couple of her throws got stronger, few moves got sped up, & her signature B-air got increased KO power, not to mention her Rest can be combo'd more easily while having the ability to stop her Rollout in mid-charge. Overall I feel the few times she makes any move on the ground, it's Dash Attack, Jab, roll to U-tilt, or Rollout, which can be VIsion countered with the forward input to quickly dash through her resulting in a stronger counterattack with more knock-back. Take to the air & overpower the Queen of atmosphere.
:4kirby: = Buster
Inhale, Hammer Flip, Final Cutter, & Stone can all be Vision countered. Yes inhale can too, the wind-box that sucks you in can be countered. Hammer Flip is an easy wait-and-watch move that you just wait for the first active frames of the move proceeding to its hit-box, that's when a forward input Vision wrecks Kirby's world. Final Cutter as a projectile can easily be shielded or Vision countered if you're relatively near Kirby that your regular dash & slash counterattack would reach. Kirby overall moves faster on the ground like others do, & he got buffs to his Uthrow & other moves such as dash attack & USmash, but nerfed on the ground as far as his attacks involving his feet go. On top of his leg attacks shortened & grab range decreased, Kirby's a light-weight character, making Buster more worthwhile against him.
:4link: = Speed
Link overall got a large amount of buffs, mainly his clawshot, Master Sword's reach being longer, & his Specials beefed up in some way. His UpB Spin Attack apparently was restored to Melee status.:urg: Bow charges quicker doing less damage, Gale Boomerang overall got better, & his bombs doing more damage, yet with added gravity to them, their thrown trajectory shortens weakening the approaches. It's been a while since I've had to respect Link's play-style, but with Speed I can disregard a lot of things, despite being against a character who can zone while walling off with aerials & projectiles making it hard for Shulk.
:4lucario: = Jump
Lucario's ability to camp with Aura Sphere, plus Lucario's ground game feeling improved in Sm4sh, with tilts relatively the same besides Utilt getting KO power & being a lot faster, includes his AB%. One thing to not do against Lucario is use Buster Art unless you know what you're doing, & the Lucario doesn't. The main reasons why Jump is preferred vs Lucario is the Aura augmented to his ExtrememSpeed recovery, reaching very long distances being impossible to reach without using Jump's air speed & jump height to edge-guard & proceed chasing Lucario down while he recovers. Other minor reasons is Lucario being mid-heavy-weight, & his nerfed air-game unable to challenge you too much.
:4luigi: = Speed
Luigi still has strong air-game that can combo like a beast if you let him. Getting tweaks to several of his moves with a few buffs note-worthy, overall appearing the same. Doing less damage on moves like his D-air & his Fire Jump Punch UpB, his KO power feels weaker, but again still combo's like nobody's business, with good air-game & decent ground game. Shooting petty fireballs & Luigi Cyclone are the main specials he'll use for any ground game to approach with, so shield all that or vision counter the fireballs as he approaches towards you behind his fire. Same can be done for a aggressive Cyclone coming your way. Green Missile is esepcially counterable. Outplay Weegee with speed getting grabs off his landing aerails such as N-air, & you're good to go.
:4mario: = Jump / Buster
He still combo's with Dthrow into Utilts, into USmash or Uairs, landing with Nair. Fireballs are still annoying, Cape & FLUDD gimp extremely hard without Mario trying too hard to rack up %. It's your pick between Jump or Buster, I'd prefer Jump to prevent the gimps by Cape & FLUDD's water push-back, that's what the amazing air speed from Jump is for. Never underestimate FLUDD & if you see it coming your way off-stage, always Vision counter it since you can counter push-back properties. Doing either Counter result will be fine AFAIK. Space some, shield fireballs, & avoid being gimped at all costs. Jump will serve you well.
:4marth: = Buster
Since Marth's range is shortened, several of his attacks do less damage than they did in Brawl, & all of his throws have high knock-back at an early %, his own throws prevent himself to follow up with anything. Shulk's given range plus extra % damage output bodes well for both swordsman as Marth's counter is much stronger this game, yet the same can be said for Shulk's Vision counter when Marth goes for Shield Breakers to fish for a popping shield, mixed with large knock-back. It comes down to who outspaces who.
:4metaknight: = Buster
Being a borderline mid-light character to me, MK gets some reasonable nerfs that are accompanied by several buffs to note, including his larger character size with more reach on his sword attacks possibly. All of MK's specials have been buffed in terms of strength & damage. MK's FSmash & USmash improved becoming stronger, while his Bthrow is stronger that deals more % as well. Though Shuttle Loop doesn't have much KO potential, it is compensated with better damage. Still an aerial fighter, it's best to go with Buster on this one to deal tons of % damage to his light-weight & bigger size.
:4ness: = Jump
Ness' F-air nerf makes it underused now that it won't be his go-to aerial unless he wants to be close approaching with it. PK Fire being used at further distances doesn't bode well, while PK Thunder's shocktrail hit-box enlarged that also travels faster too. Shulk has no projectiles Ness can absorb with PSI Magnet unless the beam portion of the Monado counts as a Energy-based attack, which would suck very much for us. Ness got more buffs for his ground-game, but not too much buffs for his air-game, making him well-balanced on the ground & in the air. Jump's air speed easily closes the distance & doesn't give Ness any room to setup PK Fire or PK Thunder shenanigans. PK Flash apparently travels slightly faster, but that's nothing a Vision counter can't handle. Be aggressive towards Ness in the air & always edge-guard with Jump rendering Ness' recovery useless.
:4olimar: = Speed
Speed is the go-to Art here for the sole reason to stick beside Olimar most of the time & not letting him get space. When he throws pikmin, they reach farther distances & do more damage(?) but can only has 3 pikmin out at a time, being a major tweak to his metagame. His new UpB called Winged Pikmin, recovers based off the current amount of Pikmin held, so if you have none, you soar higher, while if you have 3 depending on the pikmin's weight values, would weight down the Winged Pikmin making it less effective. Speed keeps the pressure on him, & if Olimar can't keep a fair distance from you, he can't zone you.
:4peach:= Buster. Peach's buffs puts her in a good spot. Her turnips got nerfed:awesome:, her Parasol & Peach Bomber both got bufffed compensated wonderfully now that Peach Bomber can hit Shields, but does less % damage. Parasol can stage-spike characters who are ledge-hanging, not to mention Parasol gets a KO potential buff. All of her tilts became weaker, now lacking KO power too, however they all traded off power & % with combo ability, making Peach's tilts combotilts with her better D-throw grab setups. Her air speed & running speed increased, though her F-air being the slowest aerial, is also her most powerful aerial. Buster with Vision counters for her Turnips if she tries approaching with them, along with Peach Bomber being easily countered. Peach isn't exactly a light-weight anymore, since she's considered middle-weight, but stick with Buster & keep your distance from her, she can combo like no other off her tilts & grabs. Several moves of hers got practically restored to Melee status, & that's never good for Shulk.:urg:
:4pikachu:= Buster
I feel this MU will be decently in Shulk's favor, all that's really needed to be done is Vision countering ThunderJolts coming your way if Pikachu happens to be approaching with them, hitting him in the face for it. Vision proc'd for Thunder & Skull Bash prevents Pikachu from pressuring your shield. Avoid getting grabbed early as Uthrow to a couple of U-tilts to U-airs to a finishing N-air, the lower knock-back of the U-tilts & U-airs increases the string potential due to their lower knockback scaling. Pikachu has some nice buffed aerials like F-air being more powerful, so watch out.
:4pit:&:4darkpit:= Buster
They play the same, but Dark Pit is stronger & doesn't scale as well with knock-back. Both have identical specials & for the most part, & almost the same move-set. Dark Pit has a few game-play differences, but they're practically the same MU. Their new UpperArmDash have super frames somewhere in their dash, so be wary when shield+grabbing or punishing with Vision Counter against it grounded or airborne. Make sure to avoid unnecessary pew pew arrows, & keep racking it up.
:4rob:= Shield
ROB this time around got so buffed, his heavy-weight set & larger hurtbox gives his moves additional range, which in turn is a setback in favor for us, hitting him just got easier. All of his smash attacks got buffed for the better, Arm Rotor got a finisher that deals strong knock-back, & an improved yet nerfed Laser, including a mixed buffed nerfed Gyro. The Laser's full charge is a huge meaty Laser attack making you shield it, while the Gyro is quicker to charge, but less base % damage. Especially when Glide Tossing was removed from Sm4sh, ROB is hurt without it. Shield the lasers, the gyro, be wary of his Arm Rotor, & especially of his Smash attacks, most of all his USmash. U-air is multi-hit but now with a finisher at the end reliably KO'ing. Get in, & stay in mid-range with caution.
:4samus:= Speed / Buster
I can't stress enough how much I admire Samus & Link improving this much in Sm4sh!:love: Samus is a lot better & there's plenty of reasons. One her Z-air not only is a two-hit grab aerial, but has reduced landing lag & recovers quite well for a tether. Her CHarge Shot "drastically improved", & her missiles don't take long to reach max speed, with the drawback that firing missiles near the ground have landing lag, while her bombs don't stall her falling speed as much. As if that wasn't bad enough, her Smashes all practically improved with either more knockback, or more % damage, & her already good D-tilt now has even more KO power. Honestly, you either shield the projectiles, destroy them with tilts or aerials due to projectiles being generally weaker, or if you're close enough, Vision countering wisely can land a solid punish. Did I mention she's Heavy weight now?
:4sheik:= Buster
Sheik gets two new moves replacing her Chain & transform, now with Burst Grenade, & Bouncing Fish. Her needle storm no longer causes landing lag, her FSmash improves, & all of her aerials seem to of gotten a buff of whatever kind, be it more knock-back and / or more % damage. Avoid needle chips with shielding then rolling, or jumping. Sheik's may use Burst Grenade to wall you off, which in this case it's about near her area, so position yourself to be close to the blast radius in order to time your perfect Vision counter RIGHT when you notice being pulled in by the vortex effect. When you see yourself moving, instantly Vision counter to proc the pull-back property, & not the detonation itself. Bouncing Fish can be used as a mix-up option when Sheik's ledge-jump on the stage, so either roll away, shield it & wait for her to land, or use an anti-air U-tilt to stop her approach.
:4sonic:= Jump & Speed. You'll need these two Arts to keep up with Sanic. Speed only helps you match Sonic's movement speed, as you two zip across the stage mind-gaming each other. Dash pivoted F-tilts or pivot grabs are for throwing out attacks to space up some sort of wall. When your Speed expires, switch to Jump to combat Sonic with superior air speed versus his movement speed. This match may take a while but be patient. You'll feel it soon enough. Sonic's that get you off-stage while you're in Speed mode is risky due to Speed hindering your jump height, in which case Jump activated mid-way to recover more safely is suggested. Right as you get Sonic off-stage with Jump on, edge-guard him aggressively.
:4tlink:= Speed
Toon Link's buffed Z-air clearly makes his zoning & walling with chain a threat. To add onto that, his arrows take less time charging & travel further distances, along with his boomerang also traveling further as well. Bombs serve an extra purpose being another projectile to watch out for, but don't mind them too much when you can just shield, or VIsion when your nearby TL for a linear-dash punish. Really it's about getting close & staying close preventing TL from outspacing you, even though he'll attempt to space SH Z-airs keeping you out. Dash in & powershield grab if needed, & if that doesn't do it, then be ready to SH N-air all his projectiles & approach him carefully. Last thing to note is his D-air no longer bounces off us, he plummets straight down regardless.
:4wario:= Buster
Wario being a heavy-weight & some different changes made to some of his moves, Wario still remains dangerous. With sped up tilts, less endling lag on DSmash, & replacing his old USmash with a similar one like the one Mario, Luigi, & Dr. Mario all have. FSmash has more range than before, though the main setback for Wario is unable to break his Bike into tire pieces. Automatically nerfing his item-play, even then, Wario still has his merits. His aerial mobility + your lack of knockback during Buster mode, may or may not mix well. Just be wary of his stronger ground-game, & be aware of his wacky movement. N-airs will keep him out, & if he charges with Bike we Vision counter, simple as that.
:4yoshi:= Speed
Yoshi's most notable buff may be his Tail-based attacks reach increased due to it growing larger. Bair Uair & all of his tilts become more reliable thanks to that. Being a heavy character, Yoshi using his Super Armor frames in his DJ can make Yoshi into a revenge-dealing-fighting-dragonosaur. Jab1 can be canceled & lead into USmash if desired, & B-air has a finisher tail attack that can KO while edge-guarding. D-air used on grounded opponents horizontally launches them away when the ending finisher of Flutter kick hits, making the move safe to use landing. Jumping OOS returns to Yoshi at last. When fighting Yoshi, do not use Buster mode early game until you racked up enough % to deal fairly decent knockback preventing Yoshi from using DJ revenge Nair. Yoshi can super armor through a lot of moves besides Heavy hitting Smash attacks or tilts, so be aware.
:4zelda:= Buster
Her new DownB Phantom Slash is an easy Vision counter, proc'ing to do a linear-dash slash attack punishing Zelda for it. Her Dins Fire is also something to shield & move forward, be careful of it. Her F-tilt & D-tilt got buffed, D-tilt having less ending lag while reaching out farther distance. N-air & D-air also got buffed, D-air's horizontal range increased having additional % damage for sweet-spotting. Her USmash getting buffed & her Nayru's Love sped up basically means her ground-game is fairly good, so challenge it with Buster mode & blast her away due to her being a light-weight despite being border line middle-weight.
:4zss:= Buster
ZSS being a Light-weight, Buster's setback of knockback bodes well to adjust for this MU. Except now she wears Jet boots, which apparently buff all of her kicking attacks.:love::urg::love: Her whip reaches a bit longer this time, gaining a new Z-air, kind of like Link or Samus' Z-air, not good for us.:urg: Her UpB Boost Kick does good % damage & has good KO potential as a combo finisher, meanwhile her FSmash deals more %, & is stronger. Lastly, her Paralyzer & Plasma Whip all zone out Shulk preventing any approaches, along with Flip Jump now able to bury opponents. Running Shield canceling Paralyzer shots to prevent unneeded % damage & paralyzation, while also avoiding DSmash too. Play smart, don't be hasty, & land Vision counters to punish ZSS paralyze shooting or Plasma Whipping.
Although I haven't seen anyone gotten punished horribly for it.... Scratch that. Never mind. I don't think it happens (Look at the post below this one) that often

Edit:

I noticed Shulk's blade can eat through projectiles or those types of projectiles that are throwable like bananas, gyro tops, etc. Can it eat through all levels of ROB's lasers?
I've watched a Shulk not aim his FSmash's direction & the first initial hit of FSmash pushed only a bit forward & bounced off the beam portion bringing them back to Shulk barely unharmed. It can happen.

As for Shulk's blade beating projectiles, yeah this time around projectiles got nerfed pretty bad, camping & long-range fighting seems nerfed overall. And as for the question raised if ROB's FC Laser can be outprioritized by Shulk's blade? Fat chance, that move seems so big I'd be surprised what nullifies it. But then again. . . FCAS (Full Charged Aura Sphere) clashes with other projectiles sooo. Yeah. . . :urg:
Full hop, correct. The timing isn't hard in Vanilla, Buster or Smash.
Mmm I see, eggcelent work.:4yoshi:
I tried for a few minutes and couldn't find any noticeable difference, all these three forms feel the same tbh.
Understandable, thanks for testing~
Interesting, I hadn't thought about that! And it's kinda insane haha. If you pivot grab an opponent on the middle of Final Destination Shulk glides with him like 1/4-1/5 of the length of the level.

This actually has a lot of potential. The natural throw to do after this when close to the edge is a backthrow and this has good knockback as early as 80% and then it's easy to switch to Jump and you can be a bit aggressive edgeguarding.
Hyesz!:4falcon: Now I'm feeling it!:4shulk: Man that feels good to know that can happen. Pivot grabs sliding along the way save extra distance positioning for a better stage control throw, using either F-throw or B-throw to throw them off-stage, preferably it be B-throw for that % damage.
Uhm, I haven't payed that close attention. But f-tilt is defo a kill move pretty early with Smash activated.
Right on, good to know F-tilt is legit with Smash on. Seems like F-tilt is his strongest launching tilt too. Win-win.:shades:
It only hits once, with the sword I think? Does 9%.
Bummer & thank you.:shades: New request test:
Vanilla FullHop D-air. Does both hits connect when you Hop over the character? And preferably for a secondary favor, have Rosalina as one test subject for the FH+Dair, & Mario too.
So there are different versions of Vision? I haven't really thought about this, need to do my homework.
Indeed, there's one variation of just doing a regular Vision counter, & you freeze frame time while lunging forward to slash.
The second variation is while you're countering a move in front of you, inputting forward towards that direction proc's Shulk to do a linear dash, dealing more base % damage & more knock-back. Combine this all with Smash stance & the forward Vision dash counter, & you can probably KO with around 75% at least for middle weights, 60% for light weights, & perhaps 90% on heavies.
Everything's in the quote.
 
Last edited:

meleebrawler

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I wouldn't plan my Monado Art usage TOO much. These boosts last only 11 seconds and you
can't use the same art again for about 5 seconds. Plus, sometimes normal Shulk is the way to go.

I can definitely of cases where NOT to use certain arts, like using Shield against projectile characters
would make it easier for them to play keepaway.

Now, my thoughts on the Buster art... keep in mind it only increases the damage Shulk takes, not the knockback.
Using it can give possibly the best priority in the game, and there's nothing better for bashing bosses ;)
 
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:4bowser:= Shield. A lot of improvements were provided to Bowser's move-kit involving stronger damage, stronger knock-back, & faster game-play overall. Shield reduces all the damage Bowser puts out, I won't discuss about every buff Bowser received though, too many buffs.:urg:
This one's pretty obvious. Shield's the best way to go
:4falcon: = Shield. With Falcon's buffs to his Special moves, the changes done to his D-tilt & U-tilt, & a huge disjoint added to his FSmash, Shield will help against CF. Falcon is practically a rush-down character that received more KO power, so he'll stay close while he can, though if a spaced Shulk shuts him down, changing to a different Art is suggested.
Slow art against a fast character? I'm not too sure if that's a good idea. As long as you know how to play safe and catch up using speed, you should be using monado speed against Falcon

:4charizard: = Shield. Charizard got a few revamps noting his DownB now being Rock Smash, & his replaced SideB with Flare Blitz, which is single-handedly the main reason you wanna stick with Shield stance. Flare Blitz is hard countered by Shield alone, making Charizard mix up his game against Shield :4shulk:. Mostly Charizard is heavy, hits hard, & now has a reliable horizontal recovery move that can be used recklessly against us.
I agree with this one
:4dedede: = Shield. Dedede got heavier, more KO power, & stronger damage % on some of his new aesthetic changes, like all the other Heavies got.:urg: Gordo Throw is asking you to VIsion counter it, unknown of what result will come out of that.
Fun fact, if Dedede uses a smash attack, that's a free kill with vision counter.... With vanilla :troll:
:4diddy: = Speed. Generally Jump is an alternative, however with the steady all-around buff Diddy received to all of his aerials becoming faster & stronger, & the nerf to bananas, Diddy's ground game was more nerfed, trading off with improved air-game. It also doesn't help that some of his moves get extended range on them, such as his F-tilt.
Oh god. I'm gonna hate this match up for sure. About jump, I actually think it's fine to use it ONLY if you feel like you can space your aerials right and if you can surprise with vision (stronger variation).
:4dk: = Shield. No questions asked. Like all the Heavy-weights, DK gained more strength in some of his aerials, but mostly his moves come out faster than before, including his general game-speed. Giant Punch wound up 9x KO's fairly early, & since the move comes out faster, it along with DK entirely, is a threat with plenty of KO potential.
Agreed
:4drmario: = Buster. The only projectile the doc has is MegaVitamins, & as long as you avoid getting hit by them, you're basically good to go. Dr. Tornado is back & helps the doc recover slightly, including general buffing to several moves by either getting stronger, or more KO power added. Dr. Tornado is a ground option I see docs using, so just Vision Counter this along with any Pills he throws your way while aggressively approaching behind that pill, & you're good.
I don't know. I wasn't sure about this one since I wasn't all too sure if Dr. Mario got any mobility buffs or projectile buffs. Seems like buster could be the initial art instead
:4falco: = Jump. Falco got several changes to some of his aerials that connect better with slightly less landing lag, so his air-game for that matter seems a bit improved, though his D-air's start-up is a lot slower, but more powerful, including his USmash becoming stronger. Falco's Phantasm doesn't leave him helplesss, & plus Fire BIrd getting more distance, using Jump to edge-guard Falco is more key now that his Lasers landed will lag, & cannot shoot as frequently, cutting his ground game.
Agreed
:4fox: = Jump. Same scenario for Falco mostly. His lasers used upon landing have lag, his phantasm doesn't leavel him helpless, Fire Fox's distance is even greater practically to Melee status. Only a few buffs to his KO power & strength I've noticed.
Agreed
:4ganondorf: = Shield. Another Heavy-weight scenario in Sm4sh. Heavier, stronger, & faster.:urg: A lot of things about Ganon got buffed, but some note-worthy setbacks are present. One notable change is being able to tech off of Flame Choke's slam, teching or tech rolling helps mitigate the chases, but now it becomes a tech chase moment where you can't be too rash & predictable.
Using shield can reduce the damage dealt from flame choke so hell yeah
:4gaw: = Buster. G&W did get some changes here & there, slightly buffing his ground game & his air-game, but to boot, nothing too spectacular of a gain or loss. Some nerfs were made to his N-air & D-air. U-air got some of a buff, but avoiding damage & dealing it out is recommended. Esepcially since G&W is a very light character.
Yep
:4myfriends: = Shield. Things seem unchanged for Ike from a quick briefing, but his QuickDraw not putting Ike in a helpless state, & bodes well for Ike to not be gimped by physical contact halting it previously in Brawl. Yet it's undeniable Ike has KO power, strong attacks, being heavier. Resembling of classic heavy-weight quota.
Yep
:4jigglypuff: = Jump. Apparently being called the Queen of Air, yet when she touches the ground, she isn't there for long. A couple of her throws got stronger, few moves got sped up, & her signature B-air got increased KO power, not to mention her Rest can be combo'd more easily while having the ability to stop her Rollout in mid-charge. Overall I feel the few times she makes any move on the ground, it's Dash Attack, Jab, roll to U-tilt, or Rollout, which can be VIsion countered with the forward input to quickly dash through her resulting in a stronger counterattack with more knock-back. Take to the air & overpower the Queen of atmosphere.
Not exactly sure about that... Attempting to beat Jigglypuff in the air? You're risking yourself taking damage by her. Jigglypuff has a lot of options in the air from what I remember and trying to contest against her in her comfort zone is a risky idea. Buster sounds like a better idea. Just stay grounded or risk getting b-air'd
:4kirby: = Buster. Inhale, Hammer Flip, Final Cutter, & Stone can all be Vision countered. Yes inhale can too, the wind-box that sucks you in can be countered. Hammer Flip is an easy wait-and-watch move that you just wait for the first active frames of the move proceeding to its hit-box, that's when a forward input Vision wrecks Kirby's world. Final Cutter as a projectile can easily be shielded or Vision countered if you're relatively near Kirby that your regular dash & slash counterattack would reach. Kirby overall moves faster on the ground like others do, & he got buffs to his Uthrow & other moves such as dash attack & USmash, but nerfed on the ground as far as his attacks involving his feet go. On top of his leg attacks shortened & grab range decreased, Kirby's a light-weight character, making Buster more worthwhile against him.
Agreed
:4link: = Shield. Oddly, Shield for me would be the go-to Art here, since Link is already known to be a character with a plethora of projectiles & clawshot that got significantly buffed, Link overall got a large amount of buffs. Mainly his clawshot, Master Sword's reach being longer, & his Specials beefed up in some way, mostly his UpB Spin Attack has been apparently restored to Melee status. . .not good.:urg: Bow charges quicker doing less damage, Gale Boomerang overall got better, & his bombs doing more damage yet with added gravity to them, making their thrown trajectory shorter weakening approaches with them. Sm4sh is one of those Smash titles where you have to respect Link this time around, & personally I feel Speed would be helpful, but against a character who can zone while walling off with aerials & projectiles, it's hard for Shulk to approach as it is.
Yeah um.... His projectiles were nerfed but he can still camp. Speed is still Shulk's best bet here
:4lucario: = Jump. Lucario's camp ability with Aura Sphere is to be reckoned with, & his buffs make up for any setbacks he received. Speed would be the 2nd best Art to go-to, however Lucario has decent moves that fit for being Walls of Pain, rendering shenanigans on the ground impractical. Lucario's ground game felt improved in Sm4sh, with tilts relatively the same besides Utilt getting KO power & being a lot faster, including his AuraBoost% being about the same, except not scaling by losing the lead with stocks. One thing to not do is use Buster Art versus Lucario unless you know the MU quite well & are confident in Smashing Lucario away. But the main reasons why Jump is preferred for Lucario, is due to the Aura buff to his ExtrememSpeed he gets when recovering, reaching huuuuuuge distances practically impossible to reach without using Jump stance's air speed & jump height to chase & edge-guard Lucario while he recovers. The other minor reasons is Lucario's still mid-way weight that's borderline mid-heavy due to the blast zones enlarged, & his nerfed air-game unable to challenge you too much.
I don't really know much about Lucario... I'll take your word about this guy since you main him. Lol
The rest, I got too lazy @_@

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Masonomace

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I wouldn't plan my Monado Art usage TOO much. These boosts last only 11 seconds and you
can't use the same art again for about 5 seconds. Plus, sometimes normal Shulk is the way to go.

I can definitely of cases where NOT to use certain arts, like using Shield against projectile characters
would make it easier for them to play keepaway.

Now, my thoughts on the Buster art... keep in mind it only increases the damage Shulk takes, not the knockback.
Using it can give possibly the best priority in the game, and there's nothing better for bashing bosses ;)
I believe the duration of a Monado Art is 16 - 17 seconds. Or are we talking about Shulk's custom special Extreme Monado Arts??
Default Shulk ain't bad though, he's Default Shulk, I went over this once with someone, but I made a reference with Shulk being vanilla Ice cream in a bowl. The Arts are the the deli you go to to sprinkle, pour, drizzle, or glaze your ice cream iwth the syrup, chocolate bananas, nuts, rainbow sparkles, etc. etc.
For when Arts should not be used, I'd say not to use Buster against Lucario or Very-Heavy-Fighters, at all. Shield should not be used against speed demons. Jump is not suggested to be used when you're versing very good aerial fighters. Speed is actually a decent Art to use in most situations, imo. And Smash shouldn't be used in the beginning of a match unless you pull of some Cheezy **** involving a Forward input Vision Counter against a Ganon Punch. So yeah.
The rest, I got too lazy @_@

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Yeah. . . . You might wanna re-see that post again. Did some editing to a lot of things, because I wasn't done & my PC always finds ways to make my browser unresponsive making me re-type A LOT.:ohwell:
 
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MASTERLINKX

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I always use Buster right when the match starts to try and rack up to 45-70% on my first use, and then smack them about 3-4 more times, and activate Smash when they reach 100-120% depending on the character to go for the kill.

I rarely use speed unless I'm having difficulties trying to get around a spammy character.
I use Shield when I'm at 120%'ish depending on the situation. Despite slowing you down, people really love to run in on you anyway from what I've experienced. A good roll or spotdodge can really do wonders when the opponent comes in on you.
Shield is really bad against projectile spammers of course.
I do gamble with Buster a lot at high percentages, even using it a lot more over Shield. You just gotta play really carefully and read your opponent really well. One strong hit can be the end of you for sure at certain %'s
I don't gamble with this much if my opponent happens to have strong moves with good reach, Like Dedede's hammer, or Donkey Kong's arm reach.

I'd say Jump is my least used Art, I rarely even have to use it to recover.
If anything, I use it to stall the match until my Buster/Smash Art refreshes.

Using a Ftilt with the Smash Art is really good near the ledge when your opponent is a bit over 100%.
It's really quick and will send them flying into their death. I try to keep my ftilt as fresh as I can when the time comes for the KO, and punish when the opponent leaves themselves open.
 
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I do gamble with Buster a lot at high percentages, even using it a lot more over Shield. You just gotta play really carefully and read your opponent really well. One strong hit can be the end of you for sure at certain %'s
Someone's feeling it :troll:

Thanks for sharing though
 
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Masonomace

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I always use Buster right when the match starts to try and rack up to 45-70% on my first use, and then smack them about 3-4 more times, and activate Smash when they reach 100-120% depending on the character to go for the kill.

I rarely use speed unless I'm having difficulties trying to get around a spammy character.
I use Shield when I'm at 120%'ish depending on the situation. Despite slowing you down, people really love to run in on you anyway from what I've experienced. A good roll or spotdodge can really do wonders when the opponent comes in on you.
Shield is really bad against projectile spammers of course.
I do gamble with Buster a lot at high percentages, even using it a lot more over Shield. You just gotta play really carefully and read your opponent really well. One strong hit can be the end of you for sure at certain %'s

I'd say Jump is my least used Art, I rarely even have to use it to recover.
If anything, I use it to stall the match until my Buster/Smash Art refreshes.

Using a Ftilt with the Smash Art is really good near the ledge when your opponent is a bit over 100%.
It's really quick and will send them flying into their death. I try to keep my ftilt as fresh as I can when the time comes for the KO, and punish when the opponent leaves themselves open.
Interesting, do you proceed to proc Buster no matter the character you're facing? I bet they're kneeling it.:4shulk:

What KO options do you go for in Smash mode?

I say it's cool to gamble with Buster, given you're the one in the lead taking that chance to dish out extra % before losing your 1 stock lead. But if you're going by risk-reward, wouldn't you prefer to use Smash over Buster in that regard, seeing that a single move ending Shulk's stock I figure it might as well be Smash. Yet with a percent in the 100's, Buster or Smash would benefit from the RageBoost% that's gathered up doing extra knockback.

And finally, do you commit with the blade portion in the F-tilt, or the beam portion in the F-tilt for your fresh KO in Smash Art?
 
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