Shulk has been often regarded as a high-tier or top-tier character since the launch of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His changes from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS make his shortcomings less noticeable in his current iteration.
The Monado
Shulk’s main gimmick is his neutral special, Monado Arts. He is allowed to change the properties of his attacks to suit the situation of the match.
He has five Monado Arts: Jump, Speed, Shield, Buster and Smash. Each have their own strengths which should be also be considered with their weaknesses.
Jump gives Shulk more jump height but lowers his damage defense, Speed gives him more ground speed but lowers his jump height and slightly lowers his knockback. Shield raises both his knockback defense and damage defense but slightly lowers his damage output and knockback output and lowers his jump height and ground speed. Buster raises his damage output but lowers his knockback and both of his defenses. Lastly, Smash raises his knockback but lowers his damage output and knockback defense.
Generally, Speed and Jump are interchangeably used for neutral, applying pressure, camping and extending certain combos. Buster is good for fully capitalizing on an opponent’s mistakes for the increased damage output. Shield art is used for defense, and Smash is used for early kills on opponents.
Shulk is able Monado Arts while in hitstun. He can notoriously use his shield art to get out of combos that would otherwise be true.
Unlike his last iteration in smash, Shulk can use his Monado Wheel, a variation of his neutral special. Monado Wheel doesn’t force him to cycle through a set order of Monado Arts to choose from, which allows him to more reliably change between arts. It activates when the b button is held rather than pressed.
Shulk’s Monado Arts are also stronger in spite of them not being active as long as they were in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.
Weaknesses
Shulk’s main weakness is his frame data on his attacks. His moves either have a high startup, high landing lag, or both to compensate for his range. Shulk can use these in neutral in certain situations to space out the opponent.
His aerial attacks have higher startup frames but lower landing lag than his grounded attacks. According to ultimateframedata.com, Shulk’s neutral aerial has a startup of 13 frames but is negative two or negative three on shield (depending on the hitbox) and covers his whole body. His forward aerial has a startup of 14 frames and is negative six or negative seven on shield. His back aerial, despite the 19 frames of startup, is negative six or negative seven on shield.
Shulk’s grounded tilts are the opposite from his aerials, sporting less startup frames but more landing lag. His up tilt has 11 startup frames but is -18/-19 on shield, down tilt has 10 startup frames but is -12/-13 on shield, forward tilt has 12 startup frames but is -19/-20 on shield and dash attack has 12 startup frames but is -16/-18 on shield.
Playerbase
Shulk’s national representation is mainly from two players: Seisuke “Kome” Komeda and Nicko “Nicko” Bonilla. His representation isn’t as large as other high and top tier characters such as Palutena, Joker, and Wario. This is why it is difficult to place him in one tier, with some players ranking him higher than others.
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