Corrin (SSBU): Difference between revisions

'''Corrin''' ({{ja|カムイ|Kamui}}, ''Kamui'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' that was officially confirmed on June 12th, 2018. As in ''Smash 4'', both male and female versions of the character are playable. Corrin is classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #62]].

Corrin is ranked 27th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him in the A- tier. This is a slight drop from his 13th out of 54 placement in ''SSB4''. Corrin's main strength is his range, courtesy of the disjointed hitboxes of the Yato Blade, which pairs well with his high damage output and good frame data for a swordsman. This gifts him with an amazing neutral and advantage state, and an extremely reliable combo game thanks to his aerials having consistent combos at most percent ranges. Corrin also possesses strong neutral game options as he has multiple attacks that can force a reaction from opponents, with held forward smash whittling down shields and can cause a [[shield stab]] or [[shield break]] if not reacted properly to, while [[Dragon Fang Shot]] has two separate chargeable portions which can punish careless shielding up close. [[Dragon Lunge]] serves as the centerpiece of Corrin's gameplan: it consists of an initial pin and followup attack that can be cancelled into an attack or various movement options, further enhancing Corrin's mixup options. It additionally serves as a recovery extender if it pins onto a wall, and is a potent [[edgeguarding]] tool thanks to its range and low diagonal hitbox, allowing it to easily [[2 frame punish]] recovering opponents with low risk to Corrin. Finally, Corrin's recovery is dependable as [[Dragon Ascent]] provides flexible distance onstage and excellent protection thanks to its [[intangibility]] and large hitboxes, while he can further aid his recovery by using back air. Overall, Corrin's toolset give him amazing frame trapping, combo, and juggling potential, as well as a formidable advantage state especially while edgeguarding, with his punish game being freeflow and generally safe.  

However, Corrin has notable weaknesses, most of which revolve around his poor mobility and disadvantage state. In spite of his excellent combo potential, Corrin's poor ground speed and lack of effective defensive options causes him to struggle to win neutral, as he is forced to be aggressive in approaching or catching up to faster characters and zoners. In the event he does lose neutral, his disadvantage state is poor due to his mediocre [[out of shield]] game and moves that aren't fast enough to help him escape from difficult situations, such as juggles, edgeguards, and ledgetraps. His combos and juggles are nevertheless susceptible to DI and easy to dodge thanks to his slow mobility, giving him unusual difficulty in combo game execution than other swordfighters. Corrin's strongest advantage tools, such as his special attacks and forward smash, are afflicted by poor frame data and therefore easy to punish, with forward smash in particular being able to be escaped with [[SDI]]. His strongest KO tools additionally require precision due to their small sweetspots, and his grab game is only serviceable, with most of them only used for positional advantage and only one of them being a very late KO throw (up throw). Finally, Corrin is susceptible to gimps and edgeguards: while Dragon Ascent is fast and has a wide hitbox, it is Corrin's only recovery option out of back aerial or situational wall pins with Dragon Lunge, making his recovery linear.

Overall, Corrin is a unique swordfighter that excels in a formidable combo game that is reliable across the cast, great edgeguarding and spacing tools, along with many ways to keep his opponent guessing once he is in advantage. However, his lack of defensive options and slow mobility hold his strengths back and means he has to carefully win neutral to avoid his lacking disadvantage state. Opinions on Corrin have been very volatile: he saw the worst representation in the 2019-2020 metagame (with his 2020 representation being tied with {{SSBU|Mii Brawler}} for the lowest) and low opinions due to players perceiving his nerfs as too harsh, especially in the new game engine. However, significant buffs from game updates and the changes to the metagame made his representation greatly improve, especially following the online metagame thanks to the meta becoming punish-heavy and neutral-focused, which favors Corrin's gameplan. As a result, he has seen strong major and supermajor results from players such as {{Sm|Neo|p=Japan}} and {{Sm|SHADIC}}, and is considered one of ''Ultimate'''s "late-meta" picks.

Corrin is a middleweight swordfighter (same as {{SSBU|Mario}} and {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}}), having an above-average height, above-average walking speed, below-average running speed, a below-average initial dash, high traction (having the 10th highest traction), below-average air speed and acceleration (among the bottom 15 in this particular area), and an average falling speed along with a slightly above average gravity. All of these attributes collectively make his mobility fall more along the side of below-average. However, Corrin also possesses the fastest dash to shield speed in the game (at 8 frames, tying with Sheik), which significantly aids in his ability to approach and dealing with projectiles.

Being a swordfighter, Corrin has the innate benefit of having the vast majority of his moves be disjoints, giving him a respectable neutral game with his spacing capabilities as well as his fast frame data, as all of his standard moves except for six (those being dash attack, back air, down air, and all of his smash attacks) come out at frame 9 or faster.

Corrin's grounded moveset has good utility; the rapid jab can act as a good damage-racking option while the gentleman jab has its use as a later kill option, killing middleweights at at around 150% at the edge of [[Final Destination]], and forward tilt is a useful spacing tool and kill option that kills middleweights at around 130% on Final Destination. In addition, up tilt and down tilt both serve as combo starters, with down tilt being able to lead into up tilt at mid percents and both tilts being able to combo into aerials such as neutral, forward, and up aerial. Dash attack, while only having slight combo potential and no kill potential, has some notable use for catching landings due to its decent amount of active frames. His smash attacks also have good utility; up smash, while having a weaker grounded hitbox, possesses a strong sweet-spot on the tip that makes it a kill option against opponents in the air, as an uncharged sweet-spot hit can kill as early as 90% against middleweights, and down smash, while being the least useful for killing, at least covers Corrin on both sides. However, his strongest smash attack by far is forward smash; not only can it be angled, but it also boasts incredible range and can kill middleweights as early as 80% near the edges of Final Destination if the tip of the move connects, making it a deadly spacing tool that rewards precision. After the 8.0.0 update, the tipper hitbox is generally safe on shield, making it a decently safe kill option if used well. In addition, the move also has a close hitbox when the move is being charged, which can have its applications in shield pressure and can score some surprise kills. Finally, his grab game, while being among the least useful aspects of his moveset, still has a degree of utility, as up throw can kill middleweights at 160% and above, earlier with rage. His other throws are surprisingly useful in giving him positional advantage.

Corrin's air game is also very potent, further supplementing his combo game and advantage state while also sporting other forms of utility; a falling neutral aerial can combo into itself, forward aerial, up aerial, and up tilt at the low and mid percents, with forward aerial boasting similar combo potential. Additionally, its fast start up and good coverage make it a useful out of shield option as well as a potential combo breaker. Up aerial is Corrin's ideal juggling tool that can kill middleweights very early (below 80%) near the top blast zone while also comboing into moves such as back aerial when fast falled and reversed at mid percents. Back aerial is Corrin's strongest aerial, having strong range and kill power, being able to kill middleweights at as early as 80% from the edge of Final Destination, while also having applications as a slight horizontal recovery tool due to the forward push that happens upon using the move. Finally, down air is a stall and fall move that can rack up damage and serve as a landing option, and it can also steal stocks off-stage.

Corrin's special moves are quite unique and have mixed utility; [[Dragon Fang Shot]] is a chargeable projectile that inflicts stun and possesses a bite follow up attack that serves as situational kill option, and can have its applications as a surprise move to [[B-reverse]] with. [[Dragon Lunge]] is a skewer attack that can pin opponents in place and be followed up with either a jump or a vaulting kick, with the latter being able to kill middleweights at 105% near the edge of FD; the move also has some edgeguarding utility since the skewer can also be pinned on walls. [[Dragon Ascent]] is his primary recovery tool that has decent distance, a hitbox, and intangibility on frames 7-17. Finally, [[Counter Surge]] is a counter move that has decent vertical kill power. All of these strengths establish Corrin as a character who excels at range and spacing in the neutral with his attacks while also boasting a solid advantage state with his damage racking and juggling abilities thanks to fast and ranged tilts and aerials. In addition, his special moves also give him some other unique forms of utility in the form of projectiles and ranged kill options.

However, Corrin also has notable weaknesses, one of which is his below average speed. Corrin slightly struggles to keep up with fast opponents and utilize his large disjoints due to low air acceleration and airspeed. Another one of Corrin's most notable flaws is his below average disadvantage. Due to Corrin's slow airspeed and acceleration, he doesn't have many options for mixing up his momentum in the air with the exception of B-reversing. His disadvantage is made more problematic due to the fact that while neutral aerial can sometimes be a decent combo breaker, his only other landing options (down aerial and Counter Surge) are committal and laggy, and can result in getting deeper in disadvantage if these options are used too hastily. His slow air mobility not only hinders his disadvantage but also his recovery, as while Dragon Ascent has decent distance, its usefulness can be greatly hindered if Corrin is launched too far offstage without a jump, though at least that issue can somewhat be circumvented with the horizontal push of back aerial. However, even with this other slight recovery option, as well as the fact that his up special has a hitbox and some intangibility, it doesn't change the fact that Corrin's recovery is fairly linear, making him susceptible to losing stocks at earlier percents with well-placed edge guards against some characters.

Another issue with Corrin is his below-average grab game, as the up throw is the only throw with some utility for being a late kill throw. Meanwhile, forward throw and back throw are purely positional throws, which have their uses but do not lead to guaranteed combos, and down throw is solely a high damage option, with none of these other throws having any degree of combo potential or reasonable kill power.

Overall, Corrin is a character who can stand his ground up close and rack up damage efficiently with his spacing tools and his combo and advantage potential, but Corrin's below average speed holds him back from becoming a top tier threat. Corrin's tall frame and moderate gravity make him susceptible to aerial combos and juggling, similar to other fighters from ''Fire Emblem'', although his down aerial can prevent some juggles. Although his flaws are somewhat polarizing due to his slightly exploitable recovery and poor disadvantage, players feel that those flaws can be made up for with his stable combo game and kill confirms as well as his greater raw kill power and range.

Corrin was previously considered to be a high tier character in ''SSB4'' (13th out of 54 characters) thanks to a combination of excellent range and passable speed to go with good frame data, a surprisingly effective combo game, great approach option in his [[Dragon Lunge]], and repspectable KO power. Most likely owing to the stigma left by DLC characters in the previous game, Corrin was drastically nerfed during the initial release of ''Ultimate''; however, game updates would provide many noteworthy buffs to help compensate and make up for his lost options. Regardless, Corrin is still considered to be slightly nerfed overall.

Corrin's nerfs have primarily addressed the most oppressive aspects of his kit, with his special moveset suffering the largest recipients. [[Dragon Lunge]], previously his most versatile move, has become riskier to execute as its kicking part now covers less distance and suffers much more ending lag, and its ability to cross up opponents is also worsened with the game's changes to [[jostling]]. [[Dragon Fang Shot]] has increased lag and [[paralysis|paralyzes]] opponents for less time if not fully charged or at low percentage, both changes of which make the projectile follow up into the bite less consistently and remove its previous KO confirm from forward aerial at mid-percentages (though the move itself still follows up naturally at high percentages). [[Counter Surge]], previously one of the most infamous counterattacks in the game, has lost its strong late hit, deals substantially less knockback, and has much more ending lag upon a successful counterattack. Among other nerfs, his [[forward smash]] has a much shorter active duration, [[down smash]]'s back hit is weaker, and [[Dragon Ascent]] now halts at the end of the move, slightly reducing Corrin's horizontal recovery distance. His grabs have slightly less range, rendering them harder to use to pressure opponents, and causing Corrin to rely on spacing much more, while his forward and back throws' lower knockback makes them less effective in battles against multiple characters.

However, Corrin has also received some useful buffs. A number of Corrin's moves have seen increases in damage, making it easier for him to rack up damage if he keeps the advantage. Many of Corrin's moves are also more adept for KOing; [[forward smash|forward]] and [[up smash]]es, [[back aerial|back]] and [[up aerial]]s [[Dragon Ascent]], and [[Dragon Fang Shot]]'s fully charged shot and bite all now deal more knockback, with the latter even compensating somewhat for the move's lowered paralysis time and making it a deadlier hard punish, while [[forward tilt]] sends at a much more desirable angle for KOing (in exchange for its former ability to situationally juggle vertically) while seeing no changes to knockback unlike other tilts of its kind. Despite its nerfs, Dragon Lunge has also seen some notorious improvements; it can now be canceled manually by tapping down and jumping has significantly less endlag, making it much safer when not used to attack and improving its mix-up potential. Other buffs include forward smash now reaching its maximum distance immediately and being both safer on shield and stronger when tippered, [[down smash]] having less ending lag, Dragon Fang Shot traveling a longer distance, and Dragon Ascent traveling more distance and its intangibility period being more lenient, making it slightly harder to intercept.

The universal changes to the engine are overall mixed for Corrin. On one hand, the universal nerfs to grabs' frame data leave Corrin more open to punishment, and combined with his grabs and throws changes, further weakens his grab game. The increased mobility, faster [[jumpsquat]]s, the ability to [[dash-canceling|run cancel into any grounded move]], the increased [[shieldstun]], and the reduced [[landing lag]], all improve Corrin's [[approach]] and combo game, the former somewhat compensating for Dragon Lunge's increased risk, though this also allows opponents to overcome Corrin's defenses with less issue, making his mediocre close-quarters game and vulnerability to combos more exploitable. On the other hand, the changes to the paralysis effect allow Dragon Fang Shot to stun opponents longer at high percents, as well as deal knockback to already paralyzed opponents (rather than only damaging them). The ability for [[smash attacks]] to be held for longer also noticeably benefits forward smash, allowing the looping charge hits to last longer and further build damage or lead into [[shield break]]s.

In bulk, the changes to the game physics make it easier for Corrin to approach without the need of his special moves, and he now possesses a less lopsided moveset and a more conventional KOing prowess, helping compensate for the loss of his mid-percentage KO confirms. However, his nerfed grabs and special moves make it less feasible to approach with them and cause Corrin to rely on his standard moveset to fill in the gaps left by these detriments, and the same changes to the engine make it easier to surmount his defense and exploit his disadvantage, forcing him to rely more on his aerials. Aside from his struggle at close range and poor grab game, Corrin also retains his weaknesses from ''SSB4'' (many of which are typical of ''Fire Emblem'' characters in general), such as his lance moves' reliance on spacing, mediocre recovery, and being vulnerable to combos. Because of his nerfs, Corrin was initially considered a significantly less viable character than in ''SSB4'', although subsequent updates have mitigated the nerfs' impacts and allowed him to fare substantially better than he did during initial release, keeping up with the rest of the cast even with the introductions of various powerful DLC characters. All in all, Corrin fares moderately worse than in ''SSB4'', but remains a fairly effective character in ''Ultimate''.

As a result of the many significant buffs he received, Corrin's tournament representation and results have significantly improved since the early metagame, to the point where he is now considered to be a high-tier character.

*{{Sm|MkLeo|Mexico}} - Began using Corrin in his roster in early 2022 and was the best Corrin player in the world at the time, predominantly using the character in top 8 of {{Trn|Delfino Maza RETA 2022}}, becoming the first time Corrin saw significant usage to win a major. He has also used Corrin to win crucial sets in order to win {{Trn|e-Caribana}}. He dropped Corrin following {{Trn|Double Down 2022}}, although he has occasionally pulled out the character to cover his other mains' bad matchups, such as defeating {{Sm|Sonix}} at {{Trn|Wavedash 2023}}.

*{{Sm|Neo|Japan|p=Japan}} - Although he began seriously competing in late-2022, he quickly established himself as one of the best Corrin players in the world, most notably placing 5th at the supermajor {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2023}} defeating {{Sm|Tweek}}, the highest placement for a Corrin player relative to number of participants.

*{{Sm|SHADIC|USA}} - One of the first Corrin players who began placing well consistently at majors and is considered the best Corrin player of all-time. He is the only solo-Corrin player to win a major, doing so at both {{Trn|Cirque Du CFL 3}} and {{Trn|The Luminosity Invitational}}, and has also won other notable events, most notably {{Trn|Santa Paws}}.

Corrin was initially seen as a mid-tier character from the beginning of the metagame. While his nerfs were perceived as noticeable, players believed he could still have potential akin to ''Smash 4'' with moves such as back aerial and Dragon Lunge still being strong enough to mitigate their nerfs. However, it soon became apparent that their changes were insufficient to adhere to ''Ultimate''{{'}}s faster engine. Many top professionals considered Corrin a low-tier character, and all of Corrin's notable players from ''Smash 4'' dropped him. Despite occasional success from players such as {{Sm|Ke-ya}}, who has placed decently in Japan, and {{Sm|Cosmos}}, who notably reverse 3-0'd Dabuz at {{Trn|Glitch 8 - Missingno}}, Corrin's representation was near nonexistent during the early metagame, with him ranking last in representation at the end of 2019,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AJs-mj5TTdkmkl7nhj4twJymVPTLTUdT0MBToL1cxDs/edit#gid=342014565|title=OrionRank 2019 character data}}</ref> and again in 2020, where an analysis of 251 [[Power ranking]]s across 5 continents in 2020 showing Corrin having the lowest representation in the roster (0.1%), along with the {{SSBU|Mii Brawler}}.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGaYyzztjBc&t=872s&ab_channel=turndownforULT</ref>

However, Corrin's reception would begin to turn around with the release of patch 8.0.0, where his KO power and Dragon Lunge were improved. Although the patch took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Corrin began seeing improving results from Cosmos, who mained Corrin throughout most of the online metagame. Following the return of offline competitive play, Corrin saw further success from old players such as {{Sm|Ly}} and {{Sm|SHADIC}} and gained new players such as {{Sm|MkLeo}}, who co-mained Corrin in the first half of 2022, and {{Sm|Neo|p=Japan}}, who established himself as one of the best Corrin players in the world by early-2023 despite having started seriously competing months prior. This led to a renaissance period for Corrin, who swiftly saw more and more representation as time went on, a far cry from Corrin's near-nonexistent playerbase from the early game and one of the most significant turnarounds of any character's overall representation across any ''Smash'' game. These marked changes caused the community to reassess the character to a mid-tier, with some going as far as to say Corrin could be ranked as a high-tier. This is reflected in Corrin's initial tier list placement, where he was ranked 42nd out of 82 as an upper-mid tier character. Even with that placement, some argued that Corrin should be ranked higher, especially following an explosion of Corrin results in mid-2023 thanks to Neo, Ly, and SHADIC; this was later the case in the second tier list done by the community, with him rising up to 27th out of 82.