Death's Scythe

You can KO highly damaged opponents with a well-placed smash attack from this scythe. A black aura will surround your opponent right before you attack, signaling an instant KO!!

Death's Scythe (, Death God's Sickle) is an item that appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. It was revealed in the August 8 Nintendo Direct.

Origin
Death's Scythe is, as the name implies, the weapon that accompanies Death in the Castlevania series. It is said to reap souls from those it slashes, and can sometimes even be used by the playable characters; it is usually considered one of the most powerful weapons of the series.

In real life and other forms of media (including books, cartoons, and other video games), the personification of (or, as it is more commonly known, the Grim Reaper) is usually depicted with a scythe as its primary weapon and tool in order to gather souls from those who have passed on. This originated as a form of symbolism, as the same way farmers used scythes to reap their crops, Death used the scythe to reap the souls of the dead.

Operation
Death's Scythe is a battering item which the user swings in an arc ahead of them. If the opponent's damage is high enough, it will instantly KO them. While the swing is readied, opponents with sufficient damage will be surrounded by a darkness effect. If the opponent's damage is not high enough, and they are hit with any part of the scythe, the blade of the scythe will have a red effect. Hitting a heavily damaged opponent with the tip of Death's Scythe during a smash or tilt attack will instantly KO them. Characters KO'd in this manner do not take knockback, and instead simply vanish in a colorful explosion.

The minimum damage required for the Death's Scythe to instantly KO is 70% for a fully charged smash attack, 80% for an uncharged smash attack, and 120% for a tilt attack. Other attacks with the scythe (e.g. jab, dash attack) will never instantly KO the opponent.

Spirits
Equipping the Antasma, Mimikyu, Nash, or Hector (Castlevania) support spirits will give the player a Death's Scythe at a start of their stock.

Trivia

 * The inclusion of this item marks the second occurrence of a signature item of a particular character appearing as an ordinary item in the Super Smash Bros. series, the first being the Lip's Stick. Unlike the Lip's Stick, other characters besides Death have used Death's Scythe in Castlevania.
 * Death debuted in the same game as his weapon in the Smash series as a background character with Death's Scythe in Dracula's Castle. Lip, however, debuted in Ultimate as a spirit, which was three subsequent installments after her weapon debuted. While a Sticker named "Flower Fairy Lip" appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the character on the Sticker is actually Furil from Nintendo Puzzle Collection, a similar-looking but distinct character.
 * Death’s Scythe is the first third-party item that is not character-generated in their moveset (examples include Snake's Hand Grenade, Mega Man's Metal Blade, and Pac-Man's Bonus Fruit) to come from a series represented with a playable character.
 * If the Death's Scythe KOs a buried character, the "Special Zoom" effect will occur twice.
 * If charges a smash attack with the Death's Scythe, a different sound effect plays instead of his usual one. This also happens when charging a Killing Edge.
 * Oddly, no sound effect plays if charges a smash attack with the Death's Scythe.
 * Additionally, they do not vibrate in place when charging it. This also happens to the partner Ice Climber, and Zero Suit Samus when charging a smash attack with the Star Rod.

External Link

 * Article on the Castlevania Wiki.