What is the ideal Swordfighter moveset?

[Player51]

I need to find out a moveset that is quick, but powerful. What do you recommend?

 

[SmashBroPlusB]

To be honest, Swordfighter is probably the most versatile in all of his moveslots. Your preferred special moves will probably boil down to your personal playstyle.

Gale Strike is a reliable and somewhat potent projectile, though it has a bit of start-up lag before you throw it. Also, it has a windbox at the very end of the move, pushing away players it can't reach once it starts to fade out. Shuriken of Light comes out faster and fires faster, and it has the added bonus of dealing more damage the farther it travels. However, the projectile only has weak hitstun, making it only reliable for racking up damage (similar to Blaster on the space animals). I've heard you can gimp players trying to recover, but I haven't found it so useful in that regard. Blurring Blade is the most powerful of the three moves, though it has the drawback of leaving you committed to the move once you choose to execute it. It also has the obvious drawback of not being a projectile like the other two Neutral-Bs.

The Side-B moves are arguably even more versatile than the selections for Neutral-B. Slash Launcher is a simple forward dash that can be charged, and also moves forward when used in the air. Like the name implies, the attack launches foes upward if they're hit by the move. The user also plows straight through anything they run into, and can even dash through shields. I've heard it compared to Ike's Quick Draw (also a Side-B) though the "penetrating foes" property makes it unique in its own right.

Airborne Assault is ABSURDLY powerful, though it leaves the Swordfighter EXTREMELY committed to their move, and it also throws the user in Helpless state after the move concludes (on either a miss or a hit). If you barrel off the side of a stage, you can kiss your stock goodbye. Also, the Swordfighter bounces forward a bit even after hitting an enemy, which might cause them to careen off the stage if they smack someone sitting near a stage cliff (though you might be able to grab the ledge if you hold back on the Circle Pad).

Chakram is probably my favorite projectile on the Swordfighter, and for good reason. Using the move throws a circular blade a short distance in front of the user, after which it will stall in the air for about one second (unless it gets caught in stage terrain). Tilting the Circle Pad and pressing B throws a slow-moving disc that can hit multiple times, while using Chakram like a smash attack throws the disc faster and farther out, for a slightly stronger single-hit strike. Unlike Mega Man's Metal Blade, a Chakram stuck in the ground (or walls) can't be picked up by other fighters, but it also can't be picked up by the Swordfighter who threw it. Though it looks the same visually, Chakram's double duty is great for spacing opponents or keeping up the pressure, especially since you can tilt either input (slow tilt or quick smash) by holding up or down on the Circle Pad after inputting the move.

Your choices for Up-B are Stone Scabbard, Hero's Spin, or Skyward Slash Dash. Honestly, I find good utility in all three moves. Skyward Slash Dash can be aimed in any direction (even downwards!!) but has a slight start-up delay and the shortest vertical reach of all three recoveries. It also hits multiple times, with a slightly stronger "pop" at the end of the move. Stone Scabbard is the tallest recovery and also comes out the fastest of the three moves, though it has the obvious drawback of being a "suicide recovery". Contrary to popular belief, the move is not a clone of Aether or Final Cutter, as the Swordfighter attacks directly above or below their position instead of swinging in front of them like Kirby or Ike. The move actually functions closer to the Super Dedede Jump due to its hitboxes... though even that comparison isn't really fair, because Stone Scabbard can't be cancelled early, nor does it move as far horizontally. Hero's Spin is the sort of "in-between" choice, having a fair bit of height and distance. It also has two methods of attack, multi-hitting in the air but performing a single strong hit on the ground. It can also be charged on the ground, so it's basically a reskin of Link or Toon Link's Spin Attack.

Down-B is really the only simple choice. You can choose from Blade Counter (a counter similar to those of the Fire Emblem reps), Reversal Slash (which is almost identical to Mario's Cape), and Power Thrust (a sword variant of the legendary Falcon Kick). Personally, I always select the Down-B last, and use it to fill in the rest of the moveset. Is your Swordfighter one who loves to get in people's faces with Airborne Assault and Blurring Blade? Blade Counter's your best bet. Did you pick up Shuriken or Chakram, and prefer to mix up foes with a blend of melee strikes and projectiles? Give Reversal Slash a try. Do you like sitting on people but hate Stone Scabbard? Pick up Power Thrust.

Of note, Power Thrust is also a great choice if you pick the Chakram as your Side-B, since it's the one choice of the three that doesn't move your Swordfighter sideways (and Power Thrust attacks to the side while the user is grounded). Personally, I always run it alongside Chakram just so my Swordfighters have some method of gap-closer; otherwise, I find it to be superfluous compared to the other two Down-Bs.

tl;dr: Gale Strike, Slash Launcher, Stone Scabbard or Skyward Slash, and Blade Counter is the easiest to use moveset in Swordfighter's arsenal; however, nearly any combination of moves is effective, and boils down to your personal playstyle and preference.

 

[shogungari]

I want to mention that Blade Counter seems to have far more knockback than other counter moves. It seems like I can deal more damage and take more stocks from a single counter than I could with any other character. Half my victories come from countering a smash at the right moment and sending them flying after dealing 30% damage from that one hit.

 

[Eji1700]

I think he's flexible, but it's a little more limited than it appears-

B- The only issue is that blade furry may be able to be controlled out of, and then punished, on hit. Not sure if this is character or % specific, but if it's not, then it's totally useless.

Side B- I have a hard time seeing any real use for slash launcher, as much as i love it. It's waaaay too slow and extremely risky on shield or whiff giving them a free punish, and not nearly fast enough to justify. If you want horizontal recovery, go for quick draw, otherwise chakram seems the best by far.

Up B- The aether one seems awful, and i think at high %'s it can whiff on hit.

Down B- While i think any of these work, counter is likely the weakest. The falcon kick gives approach options while rainbow blade handles projectile battles and gives you a great gimp option. The counter has trouble getting much value compared to this, and after testing it I haven't found anything noteworthy. It's the standard 1.5x counter.

 

[popsofctown]

I want to mention that Blade Counter seems to have far more knockback than other counter moves. It seems like I can deal more damage and take more stocks from a single counter than I could with any other character. Half my victories come from countering a smash at the right moment and sending them flying after dealing 30% damage from that one hit.

Fascinating. Maybe the cryptic, strange tip is mistranslated: "Mii swordman's blade counter awaits an attack and counters it blah blah. It does slightly more damage than a standard attack". Maybe it's supposed to be "slightly more damage than a normal counter".

 

[shogungari]

Fascinating. Maybe the cryptic, strange tip is mistranslated: "Mii swordman's blade counter awaits an attack and counters it blah blah. It does slightly more damage than a standard attack". Maybe it's supposed to be "slightly more damage than a normal counter".

I can't tell if that's sarcastic or not, but I'm pretty sure it does way more damage than the attack you would've been hit with. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to deal 70% damage with a single hit from a fully charged smash a Mii Brawler decked out in pure damage equips throws my way. Incidentally, it also apparently has enough power behind it to KO someone at 70% damage. Then again, I thought that was the case with all counters (save for Peach's)- a powerful attack that punishes your opponent for trying to hit you, but with a long animation that keeps you from using it again immediately after and making punishing you really easy to do.

 

[popsofctown]

I wasn't being sarcastic. I find it fascinating that mii counter hits harder than Marth's counter. It means powerful specials were part of the intended design for the miis.

 

[RWB]

I really like Gale Strike in the the Swordfighter vs Zero Suit Samus matchup.

Gale Strike cancels out her stun gun projectiles and keeps going.

 

[Hong]

I use Gale Strike as well. Also like it against opponents on the ledge to limit their options.

 

[JamietheAuraUser]

Gale Strike is pretty great, that's true.

Slash Launcher is kind of underpowered for how long it takes. Full-charge with a mid-size Mii, it deals only 11% damage and still doesn't have anything resembling kill power. Its charge would be more reasonable if it only took as long to charge as a Burning Dropkick (which incidentally is more powerful, faster to move and to come out, doesn't put you in helpless, goes farther when charged, has KO power, and when fully charged is safe on shield unless perfect-shielded).

Airborne Assault is frickin' nasty except that it goes farther the more it's charged and ends in helpless whether it hits or not. And if you're playing a small-size Mii, it's easy to slide off the edge of the stage and into helpless fall even if you land onstage. Hits really, really hard though.

Chakram is probably the easiest to use though. And the ability to stall the Chakram is pretty fun as well, especially if the opponent expects the long-distance version and does a forward roll right into the stalling version.

I think Skyward Slash Dash might have Super Armour during part of the grounded startup. It has that yellow flashing effect that many super-armoured moves in Smash 4 do, and the yellow flashing effect is present only on ground startup and not on aerial startup.

 

[shogungari]

Slash Launcher feels more like an approaching and recovery move than a finisher. I prefer it over assault because when I was using Assault half my deaths were suicides. A dash move that doesn't launch me off the stage but can also let me cover serious horizontal distance is okay in my book.

 

[Unkown Hero]

Slash Launcher feels more like an approaching and recovery move than a finisher. I prefer it over assault because when I was using Assault half my deaths were suicides. A dash move that doesn't launch me off the stage but can also let me cover serious horizontal distance is okay in my book.

100% agree. People think that just because it has the word Launcher that it would be a, well, launching move, when in fact it's more of a recovery, closing in, chaser or combo move (serious, at low %, I think you could to side B - Up tilt-Up tilt-(Upsmash?)- Up air.

 

[LunarWingCloud]

I prefer Gale Strike for neutral since it gives you a projectile and it's a nice spacing move.

For down-B I prefer the Counter because I love Counter in general on anyone who has it.

Side-B I prefer Launcher, provides good horizontal coverage and I tend to not do so well using Assault.

Up B I use Skyward Slash Dash because I can control the direction and I dislike the second half of Scabbard being mandatory in moving you downward, and that other one I don't care for either.

 

[DigitalAtom6]

The moveset I always run with is Gale strike, Chakram, Skyward Slash Dash and counter.
Reason for this is that alternating between the chakram and gale strike allows for good spacing and to keep opponents at a distance, which is very useful against close combat characters such as Captain Falcon and Little Mac.

When they get barraged by projectiles, they'll try to approach by jumping over them. When that happens, forward air, counter their attack or do whatever you want to start a combo, which I mostly end with up b as a kill move wilst having them in the air or off stage trying to recover.

That particular up b is important, because being able to choose the direction of the attack is, in my opinion, vital. It also messes up people air dodging expecting a up air, but the startup lag causes it to come later and hit them. So that longer startup lag can actually be used to an advantage.

 

[Antonykun]

To really understand what are the most ideal moves for the Swordfighter, we must take into consideration what kind of character he is. As far as I understand the Swordfighter is ideally a max size max weight meaning that he's slow but has a heck of a long reach. This means Swordfighter is a very slow zoning/footsies type of character. Therefore his moves must compliment this play style.

Gale Strike right off the bat is the most ideal under most scenarios as it can destroy projectiles while also being a projectile itself,allowing for Swordfighter to win projectile wars with most characters. It also makes for an interesting anti edge guard tech, as the little float can fake out certain characters.
Shuriken of Light is really fast, covers a lot of distance, and can potentially do a lot of damage, If your opponent is not projectile heavy like Ganon/Falcon or is Villager and can pocket your Gale Strike then this is the most ideal.
Feel free to ignore Blurring Blade, as unlike Marth's Shield Breaker you cannotuse it for recovery and there is little utility of a move that is essentially charging a forward smash.

Airborne Assault is strong but slow and Swordfighter is already strong but slow so it is not ideal. It can be used as an alternate recovery.
Slash Launcher is Ike's Close Combat Ike's Close Combat is really freaking good and allows for footsies. Also in the air you can change your direction allowing for fake outs.
Chakram is my favorite of the side-bs because of its range and maneuverability. It plus Gale Strike equal a very solid keep away game. It lacks synergy with Shuriken of Light IMO as they are both fast projectiles.

All of Swordfighters up B are bad for recovery so just pick the one with the utility you like.

Down-B is where things get "interesting"
Blade Counter is a counter better against rushdown than the the others.
Reversal slash is the cape and gives the Swordfighter the niche of being the only big slow guy with a reflector.
Power Thrust is the Falcon Kick and not the Wizards foot allowing the Swordfighter to close gaps on certain scenarios.

TLDR Gale Strike or Shuriken of Light, Slash Launcher or Chakram, Any up B, and Any down B

 

[RWB]

I'm not so sure on Tallest/Fattest. Shortest/Fattest has enormous range as well, on top of better jumps, being harder to hit, better dash and general speed. I think an argument can be made for it being better.

The only thing I'm certain of is that Sword Miis should never be thin.

 

[DigitalAtom6]

I'm not so sure on Tallest/Fattest. Shortest/Fattest has enormous range as well, on top of better jumps, being harder to hit, better dash and general speed. I think an argument can be made for it being better.

The only thing I'm certain of is that Sword Miis should never be thin.

I have been doing some research on different kinds of Mii's and came to some discoveries: the thin Mii's have the shortest range and the short Mii's have faster walking and running speed. It's not a great difference, but definitely notable. This means that the best kind of Mii is indeed shortest/fattest. The jump range is still the same, but you could argue that the short Mii's jump traverses more distance, because his head comes just as high as that of a tall Mii.
Your UAirs don't go higher, though.

 

[Antonykun]

I have been doing some research on different kinds of Mii's and came to some discoveries: the thin Mii's have the shortest range and the short Mii's have faster walking and running speed. It's not a great difference, but definitely notable. This means that the best kind of Mii is indeed shortest/fattest. The jump range is still the same, but you could argue that the short Mii's jump traverses more distance, because his head comes just as high as that of a tall Mii.
Your UAirs don't go higher, though.

Yeah i need to delete some posts o.o

 

[XanderCatGoat]

I personally like Blurring Blade, Slash Launcher, Hero's Spin, and Blade Counter. This is the only character I can easily beat a level 8 CPU with.

 

[DarkJedi]

I prefer Blurring Blade for air stall and damage. Chakram is the best projectile because it has a fast option with lower damage but it also has a slower multi-hit option for trapping an opponent and f-smashing them. I prefer the Reversal slash for facing projectile special opponents and blocking recoveries. Finally the best Up Special is Skyward Slash Dash because it goes farther horizontally than all other up-specials.

 

[Sword of gales]

I'd recommend gale strike, chakram, either skyward slash dash or hero's spin, & power thrust. Gale strike is a great spacing tool with good range & sends the opponent up, which is a dangerous place for them to be with swordfighter's brutal airials. Chakram is an incredible zoner, combo tool, & is even capable of a semi-infinite. As for up-b, skyward slash dash if you want more recovery distance, & hero's spin if you want more kill power. And finally, power thrust can close the gap between you and your opponent very quickly, is a kill move, & can be used to mix up your recovery in some situations

 

[Sword of gales]

Oh, & here's a few things to note: I believe blurring blade (otherwise known as blade flurry) is especially bad in the swordfighter vs bowser matchup. That's because tough guy probably affects blurring blade's multihits (but I'm not 100% sure), which could mean a HARD punish. Slash launcher can be cancelled upon landing like Ike's quick draw, but the timing seems more strict. & blade counter, while incredibly strong, is still probably weaker than shulk's & roy's