Back Slash: Difference between revisions

Shulk performs a small leap, announces "BACK SLASH!", and does a wide downwards slash attack with the Monado. The amount of [[knockback]] and damage inflicted varies depending on the direction the opponent is facing; a successful attack on an opponent's back will deal bonus damage and put them into a different knockback animation, facing away from Shulk, the same animation triggered by bouncing off a wall after suffering knockback. Back Slash's damage ranges from 9-10% with negligible knockback from the front and 16% with considerable knockback from the back. A successful back-hitting Back Slash becomes one of Shulk's most damaging attacks in Buster mode, dealing 22% with massive shield damage, and also one of Shulk's reliable KO moves with the Smash art, KOing in the early 90%s. Aesthetically, a front-hitting Back Slash makes a typical slashing sound, while a back-hitting one makes a deeper, stronger slash sound, the same sound used when {{SSB4|Ike}}'s Ragnell attacks connect.

The small jump that Shulk performs when using the move can jump over many projectiles, and the slash can catch opponents off guard with its wide range, giving it some use as a surprise approach option. However, Shulk cannot cancel out of the move when he has initiated it: as a result, careless use of it can result in opponents punishing the attack's lag, and it can also result in a [[self-destruct]] if used too close to a ledge. In addition, despite the small lateral movement Shulk gets from initiating the move in the air, utilizing it as [[recovery]] is risky as the move does not [[edge sweet spot|sweetspot]] ledges.