57 Shulk

First appearance :
Xenoblade Chronicles (2010 - Wii)

Shulk is a swordman who differs a lot from the other characters with the same design because his capacity to change his statistics with the Monado Arts gives him a lot of depth in his gameplay. This allows him to vary his gameplan and so to give the character a great adaptability, which places him logically high in most of the tier lists.

Characteristics

 

Strengths

  • Hard to approach to in neutral
  • Big adaptability
  • Edgeguard and ledgetrap
 

Weaknesses

  • The startup of his moves
  • Struggles when too close
  • Bad aerial acceleration

Matchups

Favourable

  • icône de villageois
  • icône de marie
Aerials destroyed
  • icône de ganondorf
  • icône de dr-mario
  • icône de felinferno
No mobility
  • icône de cloud
Exploitable recovery

Unfavourable

  • icône de pikachu
  • icône de palutena
Too hard to push back
  • icône de rob
Projectiles and more
  • icône de snake
Nemesis  

Stages

Favourable

  • Needs big stages to space his moves

Unfavourable

  • To avoid against quick opponents
  • Strange bounces in Lylat
 

Skills

Pro Tips

Features

coup spécial de Shulk coup spécial de Shulk

Shulk is a character who has his own enhancement system. Effectively, his Neutral B allows him to chose between 5 Arts, 5 options to improve some of his characteristics. He can strengthen his speed, his jump height, his protection, his attacks' strength or his launch power. Every Art also has their constraints, but also their own use’s durations and their own charging time. Playing Shulk will require you to master how to change between the different Arts and to know when to use each boost at the right time in order to only benefit from powerups.

Best moves

  • NEUTRAL B

    This command allows you to choose between different powerups for Shulk that will boost his speed, his resistance, his jump height, his ejection power or the damages he deals. It's Shulk's main tool that should be master to exploit the character's potential.

  • FORWARD AIR

    It's Shulk's main edgeguard and neutral tool because the attack owns a big range and few ending lag which makes it safe to use. The move also allows you to start combos at low percents and to cover aerial approaches.

  • NEUTRAL AIR

    Another essential tool of Shulk's arsenal, the Neutral Air has a huge range and few landing lag. The attack hits on both sides and is very useful when landing to start every combos possible.

  • UP B

    This attack is an excellent out of shield option because even if this attack is a bit slow, this is compensate by a very good range and a good kill power potential. It is also a good option in edgeguard and an interesting option to recover.

  • DASH ATTACK

    It's one of Shulk's best grounded option. The Dash Attack is pretty safe if it's well spaced thanks to its excellent range that also allows Shulk to cover aerial dodges if you predict where your opponent is about to land. It also is a good tech chase option when it is combined with the Speed Art.

    • Contextual Options

    Quick Moves

    Safe on Shield

    OOS Options

    Jab

    Down B

    Down Tilt, Up B

    Neutral Air

    Up Air

    Forward Air, Back Air

    Up B

    Neutral Air, Jab

    Down Air, Up Air, Forward Air

     

    Before leaving

    Last tips

    I'm really feeling it !

    Even if Shulk is a complex character to master, don't focus on the technical aspect of the character or on the advanced techniques. These techniques are interessant and give a real depth to the character, but these are not essential to play the character, far from it ! First of all, Shulk is a character that relies on basics, which requires you to concentrate on your spacing, your advantage and your disadvandage.

    Stay on Bionis

    You have to be careful not to jump that much because even if Shulk has excellent aerials, he is also very sensitive to some attacks because of the time it takes to attack. So learn how to play on the ground but also how to vary your distance of approach by jumping from different spots. This will allow you to surprise your opponent and to advoid that he catches you too easily.

    This is the Monado's Power !

    Even if an Art gives you a significant advantage, you don't have to activate one all the time but you should rather wait for the good situation and the good time. Shulk without boost remains a good character, don't forget that every Art used has a pretty long cooldown. You could lack of the right Monado, when the moment would come, sacrificing an occasion to take a stock or not to lose yours. Besides, every Art corresponds to a very precise situation, so avoid to activate some of them when it's not the right situation.

    In a nutshell

    Shulk is a swordman who is really different from the others. Effectively, the Monado Arts give to the character a big complexity while granting him a big richness and allowing some creativity. Training with Shulk is far from being boring because you will always have the pleasure to work on new techniques and optimisations. The Arts also add a strategical dimension to the character because they allow you to create different strategies depending on your opponent. A complex character who is interesting enough to be used without mastering all the existing techniques.

    Going furhter

    For more informations and to progress faster

    Thanking ...

    Leykoo / Ontos / Scarhi / Sirknight