Air Slash
| Air Slash | |
|---|---|
 The upward slash of Air Slash in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. | |
| User | Shulk |
| Universe | Xenoblade |
Air Slash (エアスラッシュ, Air Slash) is Shulk's up special move in Super Smash Bros. 4.
Overview
Shulk announces "Air Slash!" and propels himself into the air with a quick vertical slash in a spiraling motion. By pressing the special attack button at the end of the move, he can follow up with a second slash (an outward right-handed clearing slash) like in Xenoblade Chronicles, which knocks opponents away and gives Shulk a small additional amount of vertical height. It works in a similar vein to Marth and Lucina's Dolphin Slash, except with the ability to hit twice and being slower, possessing a wider range along with variable damage and KO potential depending on Shulk's currently active Monado Art. It can also be reversed for a Reverse Air Slash, though the move does not have any noticeable difference. The attack does 11-12% damage with mediocre knockback without any arts, while doing 16% in Buster and having good KO potential in Smash mode.
As a recovery, Air Slash has the same perks and flaws as Dolphin Slash, giving good vertical height in exchange for negligible horizontal distance. As an added bonus, being in the Jump Art increases the total vertical height of the move, allowing Shulk to recover from almost anywhere offstage so long as he still has his second jump. Performing the second slash gives Shulk slightly more vertical distance, aiding his recovery if he performs the entire move instead of just the first slash.
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the known variations:
- Advancing Air Slash: The first slash launches enemies diagonally, with the second slash moving Shulk forward. This improves the move's horizontal distance but slightly hampers its total vertical distance.
- Mighty Air Slash: The Monado's beam during the attack is shortened to the length of the Monado itself, decreasing the attack's range, but it deals more damage to compensate. Recovery is unaffected.
Origin
Air Slash is one of Shulk's physical arts in Xenoblade Chronicles, learned at level 14, where Shulk briefly jumps into the air and unleashes a sword strike. It inflicts the Break status on the enemy, leaving them open to be Toppled by another party member, and also inflicts Slow if the attack hits the enemy's side (as opposed to the front or back). The pink color of the Monado's beam is a reference to the pink color which identifies Break arts in the menus. The second slash does not appear in the original move, and was added as exclusively for the Super Smash Bros. series.
