With the final addition of Sora, Nintendo's massive fighting game experience,Super Smash Bros. Ultimateis complete. But, while SmashUltimateis finished receiving updates, the game's lifespan is far from over. Now thatUltimate'sroster is full and the game appears to be in its definitive state, players are making comparisons between their mains and the final list of its 86 characters. Among them, there are 21 sword fighters, a class of fighters who use swords as their primary means of attack.
There have been complaints about the prevalence of sword fighters in SmashUltimate.Most criticisms are regardingthe similarities between Echo Fighters like Marth and Lucina and Roy and Chrom. However, series director Masahiro Sakuraihas managed to distinguish each sword fighter from their counterparts through their unique styles of play.
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However, each sword fighter has unique strengths and weaknesses that make some better than others. Within this category of fighters, there are several sword wielders so dominant that they definitively shift the metagame of SmashUltimate.Here are the best sword fighters in Smash Bros. Ultimate, ranked by how powerful they are.
#10 - Byleth Is A Powerful Smash Bros. Sword Fighter
Despite fans' initial disappointment overByleth's inclusion in SmashUltimate, Fire Emblem: Three Houses' representativeturned out to be quite a unique addition to the roster. Byleth threatens opponents by using their range to control characters' movements and the space around them to force early KOs. Byleth's sword canextend to reach opponents across the stage or high above them in the air, catching unsuspecting foes off guard, and Byleth's grounded attacks are so powerful that they can reliably break shields.
Byleth also has incredibly strong edge guarding, with their aerials' far reach and high knockback. They are last on this list because of their particularly slow movement and attack speed for a swordfighter in Smash Ultimate, having to manage multiple armaments and focusing on tactical strategy rather than the basics. Byleth's victories are hard-fought wars of attrition, but mastery of the character can be rewarding.
#9 - Kingdom Hearts' Sora Is A Welcome Addition To Smash Bros.
Kingdom Hearts'Sora is the final DLC fighter, and for many his addition was the perfect end toUltimate'sambitious crossovers. Wielding his signature Keyblade, Sora can chain together attacks from just about anywhere, just like inKingdom Hearts. Between his combo game and his magic neutral-special, Sora can tack on percent very quickly and steal early stocks with his quick and potent smash attacks. His slow fall speed and far-reaching side special denote Sora as one of the safest characters off the stage.
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Sora is best in the air, where he utilizes his floaty properties to prolong his air time and harass enemies with a barrage of aerial attacks, as well as securing offstage KOs. Because of how high he jumps and his mobile specials, he can even chase enemies into the top of the blast zone. His primary faults in Smash Bros. Ultimate are his lack of range and his slow aerial mobility, which give him depth but ultimately clash with his status as a sword fighter, a class that thrives when safely poking enemies from outside their reach and navigating the stage quickly.
#8 - Chrom Is Smash Bros. Ultimate Is A Good Swordfighter
Fire Emblem Awakening'sChrom joinsUltimate'slineupas Roy's Echo Fighter (a character that shares most of the same moves as another fighter). Chrom embodies a great balance of strength and speed. He can weave in and out of his opponents' range very fluidly and has great combo starters in his neutral and forward aerials. The Sealed Falchion sword he wields has no active sweet spot (point of contact that does the most knockback) or sour spot (point that does less knockback), unlike Roy and Marth, which gives him more adaptability to position himself as he pleases.
His talent lies in outboxing opponents by throwing out a flurry of attacks with high priority and horizontal KO potential, such as his side-special. This makes him especially dangerous by the ledge. However, his key difference from Roy is ironically his weakest feature - his up-special is his only recovery tool, and it relies on verticality alone, making it predictable. This, coupled with his fast fall speed, makes him highly exploitable offstage.
#7 - Young Link Is The Best Zelda Swordfighter In Smash
Many might be surprised to seeOcarina of Time'sYoung Link, wielding the small Kokiri Sword, above adult Link with his legendary Master Sword. While this wouldn't fly in series canon,Smash Bros.'Young Link is largely superior to Link due to his small stature, his speed, and his KO confirms, and this continues through his reappearance in Ultimate. Young Link is one of the stronger zoners inUltimate (characters that rely on using projectiles from across the stage rather than forcing engagements), but his swordplay also allows him to scrap at close range and land crucial KO moves when necessary.
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Young Link's quick projectiles still benefit a defensive playstyle best. When used efficiently, his boomerang, bombs, and arrows can consistently rack up damage without ever having to fully engage opponents, taking advantage of their mounting frustration as they struggle to land a blow. His aerials have higher knockback, like down aerial and up aerial, and his up-special can then combo off of stray projectile hits to secure KOs, though the process of lining up these moves can be difficult.
#6 - Cloud From FF7 Is A Great Sword Fighter In Smash Ultimate
The protagonist ofFinal Fantasy 7returns toSmash Bros.muchweaker than he was inSmash4, having received various nerfs after his status as a top tier, yet Cloud remains a fierce contender inUltimate. The core elements that made him such an intimidating fighter largely remain. Cloud's signature Buster Swordfeatures smash attacks with very high KO power, his aerials have decent range, and, most importantly, his Limit specials are still monstrously powerful.
Though his Limit is now under a time limit of up to 15 seconds in SmashUltimate, if Cloud is able to land his enhanced specials during its timeframe, he can end opponents' stocks very early. His Limit charge serves numerous purposes. It can be used to acquire Cloud's early KO moves,it can be charged while offstage to access his uninterruptable Climhazzard, guaranteeing his recovery, and it can be used as a means to force enemies to approach him on his own terms since players will want to stop him from gaining its benefits.
#5 - Sephiroth Is An Even Better FF7 Sword Fighter In SSBU
Final Fantasy 7'siconic villain, Sephiroth, is nearly as menacing a presence inUltimate. With his colossal sword, Masamune, Sephiroth has the longest consistent range of any sword fighter. Rather than focusing on combos, Sephiroth outranges nearly all of his foes, dealing heavy blows from afar. He is adept at keeping opponents pinned to the ledge after recovering, dominating the length of the stage.
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Sephiroth's movement speed is already moderately high for someone with his range, but when he attains his wing, he becomes even faster and stronger, as well as gaining a third jump. The fact that this feature triggers faster the further Sephiroth is behind in the match gives him remarkable comeback potential. Couple all of this with his formidable projectile, Shadow Flare, which is activated quickly and can become a ticking time bomb when stacked, and Smash Bros.fanshave another final boss to worry about.
#4 - Lucina Is A Great Smash Sword Figher From Fire Emblem
AnotherFire Emblem AwakeningEcho Fighter representative, Lucina is a very standard sword fighter, lacking in frills and gimmicks but abundant in finesse. Lucina possesses the same exact move set as her canonical ancestor, Marth, but the differences in their sword properties alone completely changes their rankings.Since her sword, the Parallel Falchion, like Chrom's, doesn't possess a sweet spot, she is more versatile than Marth.
Lucina is able to fight at medium or maximum range, and she retains the combo strings and fluidity that made Marth so successful in his heyday. Lucina is simple to use and seamlessly blends swordplay with juggle combos, keeping her opponents above her in disadvantage, landing blow after blow. She has one of the strongest neutral games in SmashUltimate, being able to win most of her interactions at center stage, leading into follow-up combos or edge guards.
#3 - Xenoblade's Shulk Is An Excellent Sword Fighter In SSBU
Shulk, from Nintendo's headline JRPGXenoblade Chronicles, is a truly unique sword fighter. He combines the raw power and reach available to sword wielders with the special power of his Monado sword to create something completely unusual inSmash Bros. Shulk can buff different attributes of his at will, giving himself more knockback, more damage, higher jumps, more speed, or defense.
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Most notably, Shulk's Speed Art turns him into the second fastest character in the game next to Sonic, and his Shield Art makes him incredibly difficult to kill. Each of these benefits does come with a drawback, but given that the player is in control of which buff Shulk has equipped, an adept one can plan for which they need from moment to moment. Even without his Monado Arts, Shulk can be a difficult opponent in Smash Bros. Ultimate due to the length of his sword and his recovery, but with careful use of them he can become nearly unstoppable.
#2 - Roy Is The Best Fire Emblem Sword User In Smash Ultimate
In SmashUltimate, Fire Emblem'sfiery prince,Roy, finally gets his time in the sun. OnSuper Smash Bros.Melee's roster, he was essentially Marth without the benefits of his range, his speed, or his tipper potential due to Roy's sweet spotbeingdesigned at the hilt of his sword, and his sour spot being placed at the tip of his sword. This meant players would have to forfeit Roy's range in an effort to capitalize on only the closest-quarters hits for maximum knockback.
In SSBU, this sour spot still exists on Roy's Binding Blade, but its impact has been largely toned down, and the area of the sweet spot has been expanded. Now Roy barely has to worry about which range he's attacking from, earning him much-needed flexibility throughout the battle. Roy essentially becomes a better Lucina, possessing most of her strengths along with his higher horizontal knockback potential and a new jab that combos into aerials at high percent.
#1 - Pyra/Mythra Are The Best Smash Ultimate Sword Fighters
Pyra/Mythra,Ultimate'srepresentatives fromXenoblade Chronicles 2, make use of SuperSmash Bros.'rarely-seen transformation mechanic. Fittingly, the best sword fighter in Super Smash Bros.Ultimateis composed of two characters who are canonically connected to the Aegis swords they wield. Pyra and Mythra are a destructive duo when synchronized, capable of outclassing every other sword fighter in the game.
Mythra is both lightning-fast and combo-heavy.She doesn't have the highest range, but she has more than enough to make a difference. She is capable of juggling foes across the stage, particularly on platforms with up aerials, and after racking up enough damage, she can swap to Pyra for the KO. Pyra is a powerhouse of a sword fighter, several tiers heavier than Mythra, with smash attacks and specials all centered around high knockback and damage output. Her grounded up-special KOs at extremely early percent, and she even has a projectile in her arsenal, which is largely unpunishable if the opponent is force to shield it, deals high damage, and can KO at high percent. This makes them the best sword fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
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