Warlock Punch

Warlock Punch (, Demon-Man Fist) is Ganondorf's neutral special move. In every game since its introduction in Super Smash Bros. Melee, it has consistently been one of the most powerful attacks of any character that is not a Final Smash.

Overview
Ganondorf slowly clenches his fist, moves it backwards and then releases a heavy forwards punch with a darkness effect. It is extremely similar to Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch, with the main difference being that Warlock Punch is slower and stronger. The move comes out extremely slowly, taking over a second to come out but it has immense power, dealing at least 30% and being capable of KOing opponents in the low double digits or even in the single digits depending on the character/stage position.

From Super Smash Bros. Brawl onward, Ganondorf can turn around during the startup of the punch to perform a Reverse Warlock Punch. A reversed Warlock Punch is even slower however, it does deal more damage and knockback to make up for it. Additionally, unlike Falcon Punch in Brawl, Smash 4, and Ultimate, it does even higher damage and knockback if done in the air, and both the reverse and air bonuses can actually stack.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee


In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Warlock Punch comes out on frame 70, its hitboxes last for 3 frames and it takes 119 frames to complete. This naturally makes it an incredibly difficult move to land as its extremely slow speed makes it incredibly easy to avoid and heavily punish, as well as making it very limited as a punishment option on its own due to its poor speed. The move cannot really be used as a guaranteed followup either due to its extremely poor speed. Additionally, it also has a small hitbox size, so it is overall harder to land than its visuals may often suggest.

Warlock Punch's damage depends on how close the opponent is to Ganondorf. If the opponent is far away, it will deal 30% while if they are closer to Ganondorf, it will deal 32%. If the opponent is extremely close to Ganondorf, it will deal 34%. The weaker hitboxes do have higher priority however, with the 34% being incredibly difficult to land, even if the opponent is right in front of Ganondorf. The grounded version of the move KOes at anywhere from around 45% to 30% in the middle of, depending on which hitbox lands (and if Mario does not DI). The aerial version is slightly stronger, KOing around 5% earlier. This naturally makes it an incredibly powerful KO move although the move is held back by its extreme startup, which make it near impossible to land in most scenarios.

Overall, Warlock Punch is an extreme risk, extreme reward move which is incredibly situational at best. The move is simply far too slow to justify using in almost all scenarios. Even in scenarios it can be used, up tilt may be the preferred option as it is usually stronger and it can hit below Ganondorf more reliably (although Warlock Punch is faster and can be used in the air). It is not only Ganondorf's worst move but it is even considered to be one of the worst moves in the game due to its extremely slow speed.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl


In addition to dealing consistent damage and doing much more damage while airborne, starting from Brawl, a player can pull off a 180° punch by turning in the opposite direction during the beginning of the charging period. This is known as a Reverse Warlock Punch. This version of Warlock Punch deals roughly 3% more damage than a normal punch with more knockback. This move can be done on the ground and in midair, but on the downside, it is 0.167 seconds longer, or 10 frames slower, than a normal Warlock Punch. This reversed move is good for mindgames (as with Falcon's) and does serve as a way to turn a match around, but is still very laggy.

Warlock Punch usually guarantees a KO at around 20-29% damage upon connecting and a reverse aerial Warlock Punch being able to KO at 5% from the middle of, the second lowest of any special move without special criteria (such as Oil Panic), behind 's stage 8 Eruption which KOs at 2%. 's Warlock Punch after copying Ganondorf is slightly weaker, with reverse aerial KOing Mario at 7%.

In Super Smash Bros. 4


In Super Smash Bros. 4, the regular grounded version of Warlock Punch has been reduced in power, now dealing 30% damage with much lower knockback scaling. However, all other versions of the move have drastically increased power with slightly increased damage; grounded reversed Warlock Punch deals 37%, regular aerial Warlock Punch deals 38%, and aerial reversed Warlock Punch deals 40%. These three versions of Warlock Punch KO below 25% in the middle of  even with DI and without rage; lighter characters are guaranteed to get KO'd near the ledge if they do not DI at all, regardless of rage. With the increase in damage for the other versions of Warlock Punch, as well as the decreased shield health in Smash 4, they can easily shatter any shield that is not at full size.

Both grounded versions also have super armor during most of their startup, from frame 11-66 for the regular version. 1.1.3 added super armor to the reversed version, with it being active from frame 21-67 for the reversed version.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate


In Super Smash Bros Ultimate, all hitboxes had their durations increased by 2 frames, and the super armor lasts much longer, being active from 11-67 for normal and 21-75 for the reverse. Landing the move also triggers the Special Zoom effect. The hitboxes have been made smaller, however, making the move a bit more difficult to connect.

Stages
Warlock Punch has four stages of power depending on what type of punch is performed. Smash 4 KO percents assume no DI on Mario and in the middle of Final Destination.

Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:


 * 1) Warlock Punch: Default.
 * 2) Warlock Blade: (, Demon-Man Sword) Ganondorf draws the Sword of the Six Sages and plunges it forward in a stabbing motion via a reverse grip, with the sword's tip being a sweet spot, adding significantly more horizontal range at the cost of some power, and less vertical reach. Regular grounded Warlock Blade deals 22% at its tip, and 18% across the rest of the blade, while its grounded reversed version adds an extra 2% damage (24% for the tip, and 20% for the rest of the blade). The regular aerial version's hitboxes deal the same damage as those of a grounded reversed Warlock Blade, while a reversed aerial Warlock Blade deals 26% at the tip, and 22% at the rest of the blade.  Warlock Blade has faster start-up than Warlock Punch, but less armor frames as a result; the regular grounded version's armor is active from frames 8-52. It also has transcendent priority and high shield damage, with the tip capable of instantly shattering a full shield. 1.1.3 introduced armor for the reverse version, active frames 11-54.
 * 3) Warlock Thrust: (, Demon Swift Fist) Ganondorf punches significantly faster than Warlock Punch/Blade causing a large explosion past his fist, giving it slightly more horizontal range and vertical range, transcendent priority on the explosion, and less ending lag (though is still notably large due to its faster start-up). However, it comes with a great loss in damage and knockback. The regular version's sweetspot, which only covers Ganondorf's fist, deals 16%, and the much larger sourspot covering Ganondorf's arm and the move's explosion deals 9%, while a reversed Warlock Thrust adds 3% to both hitboxes (19% for the sweetspot, and 12% for the sourspot). The sweetspot of a regular Warlock Thrust does not KO until 300%, does not deal extra damage or knockback in the air, and has no super armor. Overall, Warlock Thrust is arguably one of the worst moves in Smash 4; it offers no real advantage over Warlock Punch/Blade, and is made completely redundant by most of Ganondorf's basic attacks, which can KO much earlier and are faster still, such as a sourspotted jab, which is his weakest non-special move.

Origin
The move is original to , as Ganondorf never used a move resembling the Warlock Punch in any game. However, the yell he does while performing the move in Super Smash Bros. Melee is the same sound (albeit higher pitched) when he uses the "waves of darkness" on Link in .

The customizable move for Warlock Punch, Warlock Blade, involves Ganondorf wielding the, which he used extensively during the final battle in . The sword was used by the in an attempt to execute Ganondorf for his crimes, but the  kept Ganondorf alive and he proceeded to kill the Sage of Water, keeping the sword throughout the events of the game.

Trivia

 * In Brawl, if a player performs a Reverse Warlock Punch on, and Pit pulls out his Mirror Shield at just the right moment, Ganondorf will be sent flying across the stage a long way, longer than the distance of most stages. This also works on any other characters that can use a reverse.
 * Even though this attack has very high startup lag, it is not the slowest attack in Ganondorf's arsenal. Ganondorf's up tilt has an even slower start-up, with the exception of the version in Ultimate.
 * If the victim's damage is higher than around 100%, a reverse Warlock Punch will have higher knockback than a Home-Run Bat, which makes this move very useful in Home-Run Contest.
 * The names for all three variations of Warlock Punch are pronounced the same way in Japanese (Majinken).
 * 's uncrouching attack in Super Smash Bros Ultimate also shares the same pronunciation while, in this case it is written as (, Demon God Fist). This was commented on by Sakurai during Kazuya's presentation.
 * Warlock Blade was the first instance of Ganondorf using his sword in the Smash Bros. series and was the only instance before Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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