Sheik (SSB4)

Sheik in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	The Legend of Zelda
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Light Arrow
Tier	S (4)

“	Sheik Appears on the Scene!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Sheik (シーク, Sheik) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Her return to the series was announced during a Super Smash Bros. Direct on April 8th, 2014. Jun Mizusawa reprises her role as Sheik's voice actor, albeit via recycled voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Sheik is currently ranked 4th out of 58 on the tier list, placing her at the bottom of the S tier. This is a vast improvement over her mid-tier placement in Brawl, where she was ranked 25th out of 38. While not as overwhelmingly dominant as Meta Knight in Brawl, the sheer effectiveness of Sheik's moveset saw her almost universally perceived as the best character in the early metagame of SSB4. Sheik's extremely fast frame data grants her an excellent neutral game and a potent combo game, which are supplemented by Needle Storm and her improved grab game, respectively. Her KO potential has also improved: up aerial now consists of multiple hits and concludes with a very strong hit, while her new down special move, Bouncing Fish, deals respectable damage and has high knockback scaling. Lastly, the combination of Sheik's much faster air speed, Bouncing Fish's horizontal travel distance, and the removal of edge-hogging noticeably improves her recovery.

Although she has outstanding strengths, Sheik nevertheless has noticeable weaknesses. Her overall low damage output offsets the very high knockback scaling of her smash attacks and up aerial, which results in her KO potential being unimpressive at best. When coupled with her lack of set-ups at high percentages, Sheik is forced to rely on hard reads to properly score a KO. While rage alleviates her KO potential, it also offsets her combo game. By extension, Sheik cannot utilize rage more often than not, owing to her above average height and very light weight collectively rendering her endurance as unimpressive. Lastly, nerfs from game updates have further hindered her by decreasing her already light weight, worsening her forward aerial and grab game's combo potentials, and weakening up aerial and Bouncing Fish's KO potentials.

While Sheik's flaws have resulted in her losing her status as the highest ranked character in SSB4, she is still widely considered to be a very viable character in competitive play. This was especially evident with ZeRo achieving a 56-tournament winning streak while utilizing her.

Attributes

Sheik is a character that, as a ninja of sorts, fits the "hit-and-run" character archetype. One of Sheik's greatest strengths is her overall mobility, being among the best in the game both grounded and aerial, boasting the fifth fastest walking speed, eighth fastest dashing speed, above average traction, high air speed and air acceleration and the ninth fastest falling speed. She also has high gravity, which makes her mobility better, but leaves her more vulnerable to vertical knockback. However, she is the eleventh lightest character, which combined with her gravity and above average height, also makes her among the frailest characters in the game. Her crouch is also very low, making her difficult to hit when doing so. Sheik can also wall cling and crawl.

Aside from her excellent mobility, another of Sheik's greatest strengths is her nearly-unrivaled frame data. Her moves have generally negligible amounts of startup and ending lag, making her extremely difficult to punish properly, and this is supplemented by the good range of her moveset. She also has an excellent projectile in Needle Storm, with the needles being fast, long-ranged (covers about half of Final Destination), possessing transcendent priority, and causing hitstun. Coupled with her range, her needles give her a strong camping ability. Overall, her mobility, projectile game, range and frame data all combined form her greatest strength: her outstanding neutral game. She can play both defensively, by pressuring and zoning from afar without much trouble, or aggressively, with her fast attack speed giving her an unpredictable approach. Sheik can poke and pressure her opponents with her aerials and tilts, all of which are safe options. If they choose to drop shield, they are wide open to these attacks. At the same time, holding shield presents her with an opportunity to grab and use her throw setups.

Sheik's excellent frame data, combined with the low power of many of her moves, gives her among the best combo abilities in the game. Her throws can easily lead into other attacks, with her forward and down throws being particularly effective at starting combos, as they can set up long chains of forward aerials, with her up aerial and Bouncing Fish being useful combo finishers. Her combos are not limited to her air game; all of her tilts can start and extend combos since they send opponents into the air, and can confirm into aerials; her forward tilt particularly, can chain into itself at lower percentages, and has reliable follow-ups all the way into KO percents as well. Down tilt, while not chaining into itself as effectively, has even lower power, giving her access to KO confirms as well. She also boasts an effective jab cancel that leads into her tilts. With proper spacing and timing, she can even perform pseudo-chain grabs.

All aspects of Sheik's moveset are solid overall. A sole few number of her aerial moves possess great versatility; forward aerial in particular, has little startup, decent ending lag, auto-cancels in a short hop fast fall, and has slightly disjointed range, making it an all-purpose move: it can be used to approach, pressure, combo and set up edge-guards. Neutral aerial is her fastest one, allowing her to break out of combos and finish or extend hers, notably into Bouncing Fish. Up aerial is her strongest one of her aerial moveset, and also sends opponents into a great angle for juggling, both of which give it good utility at both KOing and finishing combos. Her back aerial is her second strongest one, though due to its low damage output, it is overall best suited for edge-guarding and ending a combo. It also has the longest range of Sheik's aerials, and when fast-falled and sweetspotted (at the foot), it is even safer on shield than her forward aerial.

Outside of her Needle Storm, Sheik's special moveset also possesses good utility: her up special, Vanish, grants her invincibility and invisibility, making it hard for the opponent to predict where she will appear. It also has a hitbox on disappearance that is decently strong, and another one and a windbox when she reappears, making it nigh-impossible to punish. Meanwhile, her down special Bouncing Fish, is famous for being her primary KO move, being similar to Flip Jump on some regards: it deals good damage with high knockback scaling, has KO confirms on it from her neutral aerial (both clean and late), forward aerial and aerial Needle Storm, and is safe on shield if it hits. Both Vanish and Bouncing Fish also conform Sheik's last strength in her recovery, as they make it versatile and extendable, both of them and can be used in tandem with each other, and they are difficult and risky to intercept, as they both deal high knockback enough to interrupt an edge-guard. Combined with her wall jump, this makes Sheik hard to edge-guard or gimp, without disabling her midair jump, and enables her to reverse edge-guard effectively.

However, despite having immense strengths in several ways, Sheik still has notable flaws. The most notable of them is her frailty: despite her recovery being amazing, in a similar vein to Fox, her on-stage endurance is fairly weak, succumbing to strong enough blows, whereas her above average height, high falling speed and gravity make her easy to combo. This is further compounded by her poor damage output overall: despite her strong damage racking ability, she requires very long strings of attacks to deal the same amount of damage that super-heavyweight characters such as Bowser and Donkey Kong can inflict in noticeably fewer hits. While the low damage and power on her moves grant her an awesome combo game, Sheik also struggles to secure her opponent's stock. She has a few moves with high knockback, but she has difficulty landing them; her up smash has a powerful sweetspot on her arms as she rises them, but it is hard to land outside of a read or confirm, and is hampered by its much weaker sourspot as she lowers her arms. Her forward smash and her down smash are among the weakest smash attacks of their kind, and they have punishable ending lag as well. In the air, she is limited to using her up aerial or Bouncing Fish to KO, and even then they must be relatively close to the blast lines for maximum effectiveness, since her other aerial attacks do not KO until 200% or more, and are otherwise only useful for edge-guarding and gimping characters with particularly weak or linear recoveries. Furthermore, her overall below average grab game has no throws that can KO reliably, and her aforementioned forward and down throws have too much knockback for truly reliable KO set-ups. With all of this working against her, it is not uncommon for her opponents to survive in excess of 150%. Lastly, the introduction to rage hinders Sheik: without rage, she often has trouble KOing, though as her rage increases, her combo game is slowly hindered, which when combined with her poor damage output, it can make bringing an opponent to KO percents difficult. Besides, this also brings opponents to a high level enough of rage to KO Sheik herself with a strong enough move.

Other weaknesses include a few moves that have very low utility, despite Sheik's moveset versatility. These include her down aerial, which is the slowest of her aerial moveset, has the highest landing lag and is a stall-then-fall, which give it the lowest utility of Sheik's aerial moveset despite it meteor smashing an opponent. Her smash attacks are difficult to land overall and outside of up smash, have little KO power. Lastly, Burst Grenade has a slow explosion, renders Sheik helpless if performed while airborne, and has only situational usage on edge-guarding predictable recoveries (such as Little Mac) and extending the damage of a hard punish.

Sheik benefits a good amount from her custom moves. Penetrating Needles only shoots three needles instead of six and has less range, but it deals extra shield damage, granting her a new pressuring option. Gravity Grenade loses the suction effect, but the grenade can be thrown much farther and pulls enemies towards Sheik, allowing multiple follow-up opportunities. Pisces, while having a much more shallow flip, removing her forward throw combo, gains more horizontal distance, is faster, has little lag if the follow-up attack is not executed, and is significantly stronger, being able to KO 59% earlier than the default Bouncing Fish. Her other custom moves, like Paralyzing Needle and Abyss, are slightly riskier, yet more rewarding than Needle Storm and Vanish.

All in all, Sheik's strengths outweigh her weaknesses, to the point that she has some of the highest tournament representation of any character in SSB4. By extension, her playerbase includes the likes of Mr. R, VoiD, and Vinnie, who are considered to be among the best players in the world. However, Sheik's nerfs from 1.1.5 have slightly affected her standings and representation compared to other characters.

Changes from Brawl

Sheik has been buffed significantly from Brawl, which has allowed her to become a dominant character in competitive play like she was in Melee. The partial reversion of some attacks and the outright updating of others have restored many of her options that she lost in Brawl, while changes to gameplay mechanics also greatly benefit her restored strengths. For example, Sheik's grab game has regained much of its utility because of synchronization between such changes: her grabs and back throw have less ending lag, which grants the latter combo potential, whereas forward and down throws greatly benefit from both their altered angles and the changes to hitstun canceling.

Sheik's special moveset has also largely improved: Needle Storm has increased knockback and travels faster; Vanish's reappearance is safer thanks to it receiving a hitbox alongside its windbox; and her new special moves, Burst Grenade and Bouncing Fish, provide greater utility than Chain and Transform respectively. Sheik also benefits greatly from the reintroduction of pivoting, which improves her grounded mobility, allows her to extend combos with her tilt attacks, and improves Needle Storm's mindgame potential. Although Sheik's KO potential is not as potent as it was in Melee, it has nevertheless improved, thanks to the increased knockback scaling on her smash attacks and up aerial, as well as the additions of Bouncing Fish and the rage mechanic.

In addition to her moveset, Sheik herself has also improved, as her walking, dashing, and air speeds are much faster. Her faster air speed is especially useful in two ways: it now enables her aerial combo game to flow much more fluidly, which is especially evident with her forward aerial's altered angle, and it significantly improves her recovery alongside Bouncing Fish's horizontal travel distance, and the removal of edge-hogging.

However, Sheik also received a few nerfs, some of which are due to gameplay changes. The removal of DACUS significantly weakens her up smash's versatility. Although Sheik's forward tilt is still a very useful combo starter, its combo potential was nevertheless worsened by the changes to locks. On top of this, her already below average damage output has lowered even further, which forces players to rely on combos to rack up damage before attempting to score a KO. Despite rage alleviating Sheik's KO potential, it also offsets her combo game at medium to high percentages, and her unimpressive endurance means that she cannot utilize it as consistently or effectively as other characters. Lastly, game updates have nerfed Sheik in certain ways, with update 1.1.5 most notably removing many of her 50/50 KO mix-ups.

Despite these noticeable flaws, Sheik's buffs significantly outweigh her nerfs, to the point that she was regarded by many as the best character in the game prior to update 1.1.5.

Aesthetics

• Sheik's design is now combination of her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and her concept artwork for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Her lean musculature and slightly larger eyes are from Ocarina of Time, whereas her attire is from Twilight Princess. The aesthetic used in SSB4 has also resulted in Sheik's color scheme being significantly more vibrant, and her hair being of a significantly higher visual quality than in Brawl.
• Sheik is slightly more expressive. She now glares during some attacks, and appears alarmed while teetering.
• Sheik has a new idle animation and two new idle poses. However, she will revert to her idle poses from Brawl while holding a small item.
• Sheik has a new victory pose. She now performs her forward tilt and then immediately performs her down smash. It replaces her contemplative victory pose.
• Due to the removal of Chain, side taunt's visual effects have changed. Sheik now brandishes the tripwire she uses for her new side special, Burst Grenade.

Attributes

• Sheik walks faster (1.3 → 1.4).
• Sheik dashes faster (1.92 → 2.016).
• Sheik's air speed is faster (0.846 → 1.1).
• Sheik falls faster (1.58 → 1.75). This improves her vertical endurance, but makes her more susceptible to combos.
• Sheik's gravity is higher (0.1409 → 0.15). This slightly improves her aerial mobility, but slightly hinders her horizontal endurance.
• Sheik is lighter (85 → 81). This worsens her endurance, while the changes to hitstun canceling, her faster falling speed and increased gravity result on her being more susceptible to combos despite being a lightweight character, resulting in her endurance becoming worse overall.
• Item throw is weaker (0.896 → 0.866).
• Sheik is no longer connected to Zelda via Transform or character selection screen input. As a result, she can no longer access Zelda's significantly better KO potential and longer vertical recovery to alleviate her own.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack's second hit has decreased start-up lag (frame 3 → 2). Neutral infinite also has a finisher, a palm thrust.
• The weakening of SDI makes neutral infinite significantly more difficult to escape from.
• All tilt attacks deal less damage (5% → 4% (forward), 6% (hit 1)/7% (hit 2) → 5%/6% (up), 8% → 5% (down)).
• Forward tilt has increased knockback scaling (100 → 158/165), improving its combo potential.
• Forward tilt has increased ending lag (frame 22 → 25).
• Forward tilt and up tilt's first hit's durations increased (frames 5-6 (both) → 5-8).
• The changes to locks remove forward tilt's ability to lock opponents until 50%.
• Up tilt's second hit and down tilt's durations are shorter (frames 19-14 → 19-23 (up), frames 5-8 → 5-6 (down)).
• Dash attack deals less damage (7% (clean)/5% (late) → 6.5%/4.5%).
• Clean dash attack has altered knockback (50 (base)/100 (scaling) → 70/90).
• Forward and up smash attacks deal less damage (14% → 13% (forward), 17%/12% → 15%/11% (up)).
• Forward smash's second hit has increased knockback (50 (base)/100 (scaling) → 60/109).
• Forward smash now consists of one hit instead of two when using a battering item.
• Forward smash now uses a stab effect, instead of a normal effect.
• Sweetspotted up smash has increased knockback scaling (82 → 86).
• The removal of DACUS significantly hinders up smash's approach potential.
• Due to consisting of two hits instead of three, down smash deals less damage (13% (hit 1)/10% (hits 2-3) → 3% (hit 1)/6% (hit 3)) and has increased start-up lag (frame 4 → 11).
• Down smash's second hit has increased knockback scaling (155 → 165).
• Down smash has increased ending lag (frame 49 → 55), decreased range, and no longer grants intangibility on Sheik's legs. Altogether, these changes significantly hinder its safety.

Aerial attacks

• Clean sweetspotted and clean sourspotted neutral aerial deal less damage (13% (clean sweetspot)/10% (clean sourspot) → 8%/7%), although their knockback was compensated. Neutral aerial also auto-cancels later (frame 25> → 31>).
• Due to consisting of a sweetspot and a sourspot instead of a consistent hitbox, forward aerial no longer deals consistent damage (9% → 5% (arm)/4.3% (body)). Additionally, its sourspot takes priority over its sweetspot. Lastly, it has decreased range.
• Due to its angle being altered (30° → 50°), forward aerial is no longer a semi-spike. This grants it combo potential at low to high percentages, but slightly hinders its edge-guarding potential.
• Forward aerial now has a slash effect, instead of a normal effect.
• Forward aerial's angle animation has slightly changed. Sheik now lunges farther inward.
• Back aerial deals less damage (12% (clean sweetspot)/11% (clean sourspot)/6% (late) → 8%/7%/5%), although its knockback was compensated. Additionally, it has increased landing lag (10 frames → 12). Lastly, late back aerial has a shorter duration (frames 7-17 → 7-14).
• Due to consisting of loop hitboxes instead of a clean hitbox and a late hitbox, up aerial now uses the auto-link angle instead of having sex kick properties (11% (clean)/6% (late) → 1% (hits 1-3)/4% (hit 4)). This improves its KO and juggling potential.
• Up aerial has increased ending lag (frame 40 → 44). It also auto-cancels later (frame 30> → frame 47>) and can no longer auto-cancel with a short hop.
• Up aerial now has slash and stab effects, instead of a normal effect.
• Clean down aerial deals 2% less damage (10% → 8%), although its knockback scaling was compensated (80 → 90). Down aerial also has increased landing lag (26 frames → 30).
• Down aerial received a landing hitbox that deals 2%. Due to its angle being altered (70° → 280°), clean down aerial is now a meteor smash.
• Due to Sheik's faster falling speed, down aerial descends significantly faster. This improves its combo breaking ability, but significantly hinders its safety while off-stage.
• Down aerial now has a stab effect, instead of a normal effect.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing and dash grabs have decreased ending lag (frame 30 → 28 (standing), frame 40 → 35 (dash)).
• Dash and pivot grabs have increased start-up lag (frame 7 → 8 (dash), frame 8 → 9 (pivot)).
• Pummel deals 0.1% more damage (3% → 3.1%).
• Forward throw has increased knockback scaling (65 → 79), hindering its combo potential at high percentages.
• Forward throw is faster and its angle has been altered (57° → 72°). This improves its combo potential on heavyweights and fast-fallers, but slightly hinders its combo potential on lightweights.
• Back throw has decreased ending lag, improving its set-up potential.
• Down throw has increased knockback scaling (75 → 90), removing its 50/50 KO mix-ups.
• Down throw's angle has been altered (83° → 77°).
• The changes to hitstun canceling significantly improve forward and down throw's combo potential at low to medium percentages.

Special moves

• Fully charged Needle Storm deals less damage (18% (near)/12% (far) → 11%/7%). It also has increased ending lag and decreased range, hindering its zoning potential.
• Needle Storm has increased knockback and travels significantly faster. The reintroduction of pivoting also improves its mindgame potential.
• Sheik has a new side special, Burst Grenade. Sheik throws a grenade attached to a tripwire that can be detonated at will. Unlike Chain, it functions similarly to an item-based projectile, as its grenade will become a non-explosive item if Sheik is grabbed or attacked before she can detonate it.
• Compared to Chain, Burst Grenade deals more damage and has significantly more knockback, making it capable of KOing. Like Chain, it can block incoming projectiles, although only its grenade can do so. Unlike Chain, it has damaging windboxes that pull opponents and does not have a set range, making it significantly better at edge-guarding.
• Unlike Chain, Burst Grenade cannot be freely maneuvered, making it worse at zoning. It also cannot be used as a tether recovery and renders Sheik helpless in the air, making it unusable for recovery.
• Burst Grenade is reflectable and its explosion is absorbable.
• Vanish's disappearing hitbox deals 3% less damage (15% → 12%), hindering its KO potential. Its explosion is also absorbable.
• Vanish's reappearing windbox has received a hitbox that deals 5%, improving its safety.
• Sheik has a new down special, Bouncing Fish. It is a 360° Tengkong Pantui Cepu, a kick used in Nanquan. Unlike Transform, it deals damage, has high knockback scaling, and propels Sheik forward, making it capable of KOing and granting recovery.
• Light Arrow deals less damage (3% (hit 1)/45% (first opponent)/25% (third opponent) → 1%/44%/24%) and has decreased knockback, slightly hindering its KO potential.

Update history

Much like Diddy Kong, Sheik has been heavily nerfed over time in game updates. Update 1.0.4 considerably weakened her up aerial and Bouncing Fish, her most reliable KOing options, and weakened her neutral game by decreasing forward aerial's damage output and increasing Needle Storm's ending lag. Update 1.0.6 noticeably decreased down tilt and back aerial's damage outputs, which almost removed the latter's KO potential as a result. Update 1.1.0 further decreased forward aerial's damage output, as well as switching the priority of its hitboxes. Update 1.1.1 made Penetrating Needles less threatening to shields. Update 1.1.4 made Vanish KO 2% later and reduced the size of its explosion's hitbox.

The most detrimental update, however, was 1.1.5: as of said update, Sheik is much more susceptible to early KOs as she is four units lighter, the range reduction of Needle Storm made her neutral game weaker, and her pivotal forward and down throws have increased knockback scaling and angle alterations which reduces their combo potential, and removes any semi-guaranteed KO set-ups without making them strong enough to KO at realistic percentages. The only buff she received was a knockback increase to her down smash, which continues to be one of her least-used attacks regardless of the buff. Overall, Sheik is noticeably worse compared to how she was at the release of SSB4, with professionals such as ZeRo no longer considering her the best character in the game and having dropped her as a result. Despite these nerfs, Sheik has nevertheless managed to retain her status as a top-tier character throughout SSB4's lifespan.

1.0.4

• Forward aerial deals less damage (6.8% (sweetspot)/6% (sourspot) → 5.5%/4.8%), hindering its KO potential, as well as its combo potential at lower percents.
  • However, this also improves its combo potential at higher percents.
• Up aerial's loop hits hits now function properly, making it hit one less time, dealing less total damage as a result (8% → 7%).
• Up aerial's final hit has less knockback scaling (155 → 138), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Needle Storm has more ending lag on the ground (FAF 41 → 47), hindering its safety and combo potential.
• Bouncing Fish deals less knockback (30 (base)/100 (scaling) → 26/90), hindering its KO potential.
• Bouncing Fish can no longer be edge-canceled.

1.0.6

• Down tilt deals 2.5% less damage: 7.5% → 5%.
• Clean sweetspotted and clean sourspotted back aerial deal less damage: 11% (clean sweetspot)/10% (clean sourspot) → 8%/7%, significantly hindering their KO and edge-guarding potentials.

1.1.0

• Forward aerial deals less damage: 5.5% (sweetspot)/4.8% (sourspot) → 5%/4.3%, although its sweetspot's knockback was compensated: 125 → 132.
• Forward aerial's sourspot now takes priority over its sweetspot.

1.1.1

• Penetrating Needles deal less shield damage: 9 → 6.

1.1.4

• Weight slightly decreased: 85 → 84.
• Vanish's disappearance hitbox knockback scaling (104 → 102) and size are slightly decreased (14 → 13).

1.1.5

• Sheik is lighter (84 → 81).
• Sheik's max walk speed with heavy items is slower (0.896 → 0.866).
• Forward throw launches opponent's at a slightly higher angle (70° → 72°).
• Forward throw has more knockback scaling (65 → 79), hindering its combo potential at higher percents.
• Down throw has more knockback scaling (75 → 90) and launches opponents at a slighly lower angle (80° → 77°). This considerably hinders its combo potential at higher percents, notably heavily restricting her 50-50 KO set ups after a down throw.
• The sweetspot of forward aerial was brought closer to Sheik, reducing its range (z-offset: 3.5 → 2.5).
• Needle Storm's needles have a shorter duration (12 frames → 10), reducing their range by one sixth.
• The third hit of down smash has more knockback scaling (155 → 165), improving its KO potential.

Moveset

• Sheik can crawl, wall cling, and wall jump.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	An inward knifehand strike, followed by an outward knifehand strike, followed by a barrage of knifehand strikes, followed by a palm thrust. Both of its hits hit on frame 2 and can be jab canceled reliably, even at high percentages. As a result, it is a very useful as a set-up for combos into itself or her tilt attacks, and even into KOs with her smash attacks. Although its infinite's finisher has extremely high knockback scaling to offset its very low damage output, it is still punishable because of its high ending lag.
			3%
			0.8% (near loop), 0.6% (far loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt			4%	A roundhouse kick. It hits on frame 5 and has extremely low base knockback, yet extremely high knockback scaling. When coupled with its hitboxes' favorable launching angles, it can easily combo into itself from 0% to very low percentages, into Bouncing Fish at low percentages, into neutral and forward aerials at low to medium percentages, and into up aerial at low to higher percentages.
Up tilt			5% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	A stretch kick transitioned into an axe kick. Its first hit has low weight-based knockback, which enables it to be reliably combo into its second hit. Conversely, its second hit has very high knockback scaling, which enables it to continue combos.
Down tilt			5%	A legsweep. Its very low base knockback, average knockback scaling, and differing launching angles grant it decent combo potential. The hitboxes on Sheik's leg launch opponents at 70°, which enable it to combo into her neutral or forward aerials. In comparison, the hitbox on her heel launches opponents at 90°, which enables it to combo into up aerial.
Dash attack			6.5% (clean), 4.5% (late)	Lunges to perform two outward fanning knifehand strikes. It hits on frame 5, which ties it with Sonic's dash attack as the fourth fastest in the game. It also has high knockback scaling, which makes it decent for spacing. However, its 32 frames of ending lag make it punishable.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2)	A roundhouse kick followed by a spinning side kick. Each hit moves her forward, while its first hit's low weight-based knockback enables it to combo reliably into the second hit. Although its second hit has an average damage output, its high knockback scaling nevertheless enables it to KO middleweights at 132% while near the edge. It also has the lowest amount of ending lag out of Sheik's smash attacks. However, its first hit only lasts for 1 frame, and both of its hits have minimal shieldstun.
Up smash			15% (sweetspot), 11% (sourspot)	Raises her arms overhead and then quickly swings them downward to perform outward fanning knifehand strikes. Its sweetspot located is on her fingertips when her hands are overhead and launches opponents at 93°, whereas its sourspot is located around her torso during the downswing and launches opponents at 50°. Its sweetspot is both powerful and safe: its respectable damage output enables it to KO middleweights at 113%, and it grants intangibility to her head and arms on frames 8-15. Although its sourspot has very high knockback scaling, its lower damage output results in it KOing middleweights at 152% while near the edge. It is also very punishable, owing to its 37 frames of ending lag and its sourspot's minimal shieldstun.
Down smash			3% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	A modified butterfly kick performed from the windmill, a breakdancing move. It hits twice, with its second hit's extremely high knockback scaling enabling it to KOing middleweights at 138% while near the edge. However, it is Sheik's least damaging smash attack, and is very punishable because of its 35 frames of ending lag, rather short range, and minimal shieldstun.
Neutral aerial			8% (clean sweetspot), 7% (clean sourspot), 5% (late sweetspot), 4% (late sourspot)	A flying kick. Due to it hitting on frame 3, it is Sheik's fastest aerial. It is also a sex kick, which makes it good for breaking combos or functioning as an out of shield option. Its clean sweetspot is useful edge-guarding, but can also combo into Bouncing Fish at medium percentages. Conversely, its late sweetspot and sourspot are capable of covering Sheik's landing, catching opponents off-guard, and applying pressure against an opponents edge recovery.
Forward aerial			5% (sweetspot), 4.3% (sourspot)	A lunging, downward knifehand strike. Its sweetspot is located on her arm, whereas its sourspot is located on her body. Arguably Sheik's most versatile move: it comes out on frame 5 and has low base knockback, very high knockback scaling, minimal ending and landing lag, decent range, and a very generous auto-cancel window. These traits collectively make it useful for approaching when SHFF'd and for edge-guarding, safe on shield when spaced well, and excellent for combos. Combos include into itself, grabs, tilt attacks, neutral aerial, a reverse aerial rushed back aerial, and Bouncing Fish.
Back aerial			8% (clean sweetspot), 7% (clean sourspot), 5% (late)	A high-angle back kick. Due to it hitting on frame 4, it is tied with up aerial as Sheik's second fastest aerial. As a result, it is a decent edge-guarding option and can be used from a reverse aerial rush. It also has very high knockback scaling and large hitboxes, but has minimal KO potential because of its meager damage output offsetting its very high knockback scaling.
Up aerial			1% (hits 1-3), 4% (hit 4)	A diagonal, corkscrew flying kick. Due to it hitting on frame 4, it is tied with back aerial as Sheik's second fastest aerial. Its first three hits have the auto-link angle against aerial opponents, which allows all of its hits to connect easily. Conversely, its last hit has extremely high knockback scaling, which allows it to KO middleweights at 135% while near the upper blast line and makes it one of Sheik's most viable KOing options.
Down aerial			8% (descent), 2% (landing)	A diagonal flying kick. It is a stall-then-fall, and its clean hitbox is a meteor smash during its beginning. Due to it hitting on frame 15, having 52 frames of ending lag upon landing on-stage, and having 30 frames of landing lag, it is Sheik's most punishable move. Its status as a stall-then-fall also makes it extremely unsafe to use off-stage.
Grab			—	Reaches out. Sheik's overall grab range is fairly short.
Pummel			3.1%	An elbow smash. Moderately slow, but tied with Palutena's pummel as the sixth most damaging in the game.
Forward throw			5% (hit 1), 2% (throw)	The tie shan kao, a technique used in Bajiquan. Its base knockback and knockback scaling are both average, and it launches opponents at 72°. These traits enable it to combo into neutral, forward, and up aerials and Bouncing Fish from 0% to medium percentages, and even into a jump-canceled up smash on heavyweights and fast-fallers at low percentages. Although it can combo into Bouncing Fish at high percentages, which has respectable KO potential while near the edge, this combo is dependent on DI and only effective without rage and is dependent on DI.
Back throw			5% (hit 1), 2% (throw)	Throws opponent behind herself and performs a mid-level side kick. It can potentially combo into neutral, forward, and back aerials from 0% to low percentages. It can also combo into Bouncing Fish at medium to high percentages, which has respectable KO potential while near the edge. However, this combo is risky, as it is heavily dependent on DI.
Up throw			3% (hit 1), 2% (throw)	A handstand kick. Due to its high ending lag, it has no guaranteed follow-ups until high percentages, with only Vanish being a potential KO combo. When coupled with it being Sheik's least damaging throw, it is her overall least useful throw.
Down throw			3% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	A collar drag takedown followed by a somersault axe kick. It has average base knockback, high knockback scaling, and launches the opponent at 77°. These traits enable it to combo into neutral, forward, reverse aerial rushed back, and up aerials from 0% to medium percentages. It can also combo into Vanish at high percentages, which has respectable KO potential while near the upper blast line. However, this combo is risky, as it is heavily dependent on DI. Despite having the highest knockback scaling out of her throws, it lacks KO potential because of its throw hitbox's very low damage output.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Kneels and performs a palm thrust in front of herself, and then behind herself.
Floor attack (back)			7%	A kip-up transitioned into a double-footed scorpion kick.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Squats on one leg and performs a spinning roundhouse kick.
Edge attack			7%	Performs a corkscrew dropkick while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Needle Storm	1.9% (near), 1.2% (far)	Accumulates up to six needles that can be thrown immediately or stored for later use. When used in the air, Sheik throws the needles downward at approximately 45°. One of Sheik's best options for camping/zoning, as it can nullify approaches and has transcendent priority.
	Custom 1	Penetrating Needles	2.2% (near), 1.6% (far)	The needles deal more damage and shield damage, the latter of which is thanks to their electric effect. They also pierce multiple opponents. However, is has less range, and Sheik can accumulate a maximum of only three needles.
	Custom 2	Paralyzing Needle	1%	Stuns an opponent, similarly to Disable. Like Disable, the stun's duration is longer the more damaged the opponent is. However, it has significant ending lag, less range, and Sheik can accumulate only one needle.
Side special	Default	Burst Grenade	1% (grenade), 1% (pull), 12% (explosion)	Throws a grenade attached to a tripwire. On detonation, it creates a small area that pulls opponents towards it, then explodes. The detonation can be delayed a second by holding the special attack button. The grenade can be thrown a farther when used in the air or when thrown over an edge, which makes it very useful for edge-guarding. Despite this, its explosion is still strong enough to KO middleweights at 147% while near the edge. If Sheik is attacked before the grenade explodes, the grenade will be detached from the tripwire and become a non-explosive item that anyone can use. However, Sheik will be rendered helpless if it is used in the air and uninterrupted, similarly to Din's Fire.
	Custom 1	Gravity Grenade	3.58%	Upon detonation, the grenade does not pull enemies into it and the explosion has a smaller radius, but the explosion launches opponents towards Sheik, allowing for multiple follow-up options like gimps or up smash.
	Custom 2	Skimming Grenade	2% (hits 1-3), 4.6% (explosion)	The grenade bounces on the ground with a time delay before exploding. Despite what the in-game description states, however, it deals the same damage regardless of how long it takes to explode.
Up special	Default	Vanish	12% (disappearance), 5% (reappearance's hitbox), — (reappearance's windbox)	After a short delay, Sheik destroys a Deku Nut in order to disappear via a small explosion, before reappearing nearby in a controlled direction. Its disappearing hitbox's respectable damage output and very high knockback scaling enable it to KO at 126% while near the upper blast line. It also grants a small vertical boost when used in the air. Conversely, its reappearance hitbox deals much less damage, but also has a windbox that can push away opponents who are very close to wherever Sheik reappears. It grants intangibility on frames 19-53. Reappearing near a edge renders her helpless, though self-destructing with the move is difficult to do because it allows Sheik to grabbing the edge the moment she enters helplessness. Due to a glitch, holding the control stick/circle pad in a chosen direction and then using Vanish right after enduring knockback also gives her a boost in the chosen direction.
	Custom 1	Gale	—	Disappears and reappears faster, covers more distance, and grants more momentum. However, it does not deal damage, and its increased momentum means that reappearing near a edge puts her helpless and cannot recover like Vanish.
	Custom 2	Abyss	5% (disappearance), 4% (travel)	The disappearing hitbox is a meteor smash throughout its duration. However, it covers less distance, her travel path is visible, and its disappearance does not grant a short vertical boost when used in the air.
Down special	Default	Bouncing Fish	12%	A 360° Tengkong Pantui Cepu, a kick used in Nanquan. If her feet connect with an opponent, she will backflip a small distance and land on her feet. She can kick up to three times if the preceding kick connect. Upon missing, she lands on her back and stands up. It can also be executed earlier by pressing the special button again, and covers more distance if the control stick/circle pad is held in whatever direction Sheik is facing. Its long horizontal travel distance, respectable damage output, and high knockback scaling make it one of Sheik's most viable KOing options. It KOs middleweights at 155% while near the edge, and grants intangibility on frames 3-4. Due to its earliest input hitting on frame 17, however, it is punishable if it misses.
	Custom 1	Jellyfish	8% (grounded opponents), 10.5% (aerial opponents)	The flip is more vertical, traveling a shorter horizontal distance. Grounded opponents are launched diagonally upwards with set knockback in order to ensure that the opponent can be hit the second time, said kick being significantly more powerful on aerial opponents. She can kick up to two times if the preceding kick connects.
	Custom 2	Pisces	15.5%	The flip is faster and more shallow, which requires pressing the attack button in order to kick if the attack is used while standing on the ground. If the kick hits, she will flip a short distance forward and will launch opponents backward while dealing more knockback, which enables it to KO at 106%. It cannot be used more than once before landing on the ground. If it hits, she can control her movement. It has little to no lag if the button is not pressed.
Final Smash		Light Arrow	1% (hit 1), 44% (first opponent), 33% (second opponent), 24% (third opponent)	Wields Zelda's Bow and fires a Light Arrow forward. It can strike multiple opponents, but its damage output decreases for each successive target. Unlike Zelda's Light Arrow, it deals slightly more damage and is a semi-spike, yet has less knockback. Like Zelda's, it is one of the strongest Final Smashes in the game, as it is capable KOing middleweights at 58% while near the edge.

On-screen appearance

• Appears from a Deku Nut's explosion while briefly emanating blue wisps.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Performs the pike, a breakdancing move.
• Side taunt: Brandishes the tripwire she uses for Burst Grenade.
• Down taunt: A modified version of the age uke, a blocking technique in Japanese martial arts.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Rears back her left hand up to her face, then quickly swings it outward.
• Performs a modified passé.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Sheik!	Shei-k!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

An orchestral remix of Get Triforce Fanfare, the theme that plays when Link obtains a Triforce Piece in The Legend of Zelda and has since become the main theme of The Legend of Zelda series.

• Throws two needles, similarly to Needle Storm, and then stands up while rearing back her right hand up to her face.
• Uses her forward tilt and then immediately uses her down smash.
• Performs the fumikomi, a stomp-style kick in karate, followed by a mid-level side kick, and then exhales loudly before performing the tate shuto uke, a blocking technique in Shotokan.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Sheik	2211	2111	1211	2311	1311
	1213	3213	2212	2312	2231

Notable players

Active

•  ANTi - A master of diversity. Has a very strong Sheik secondary.
•  Cacogen - Best Sheik in Washington, 3rd at 2GGT: Fatality Saga, 17th at GENESIS 3.
•  Eim - 1st at Tohoku University Smash 4 Festival.
•  False - A dual Marth and Sheik main. 13th at EVO 2015, 7th at CEO 2016.
•  K9sbruce - One of the best Sheiks in SoCal, also began dualmaining Diddy Kong in Q4 2016 along with Sheik. With Sheik, 5th at Sandstorm, 25th at Apex 2015, 9th at Final Battle, 33rd at EVO 2015.
•  Kameme - Dual mains Sheik with Mega Man, most notably beating MkLeo with Sheik.
•  Karna - Best Sheik in DFW, ranked 1st on the DFW Smash 4 Power Rankings. 7th at Low Tier City 3, 5th at Aftershock 2016.
•  Mr. R - The undisputed best player in Europe and one of the two best Sheik mains in the world. 5th at CEO 2016, 3rd at Super Smash Con 2016, 1st at Syndicate 2016, 4th at The Big House 6, 1st at Eclipse 2.
•  Nietono - Highest ranked Sheik on the JAPAN Power Rankings. Ranked 36th worldwide and 17th in Japan.
•  Nyanko - 4th at Umebura 15, 9th at Umebura 23.
•  Puppeh - A prodigy who is currently ranked 5th in the MD/VA Smash 4 Power Rankings. 9th at Glitch, 4th at Paradigm Shift, 7th at Glitch 2.
•  Saiki - Arizona Sheik main. 17th at 2GGT: FOW Saga, 5th at LVL UP EXPO 2016, 2nd at Rewired 2016.
•  Strike - Top Canadian Sheik, ranked 1st in Manitoba.
•  Trevonte - One of the best players in NorCal. 4th at Clutch City Clash.
•  Vinnie - The best Sheik in Tristate. Is also the second person to have taken a set off of ZeRo. 5th at MomoCon 2016, 9th at EVO 2016, 1st at Revelation 2016.
•  VoiD - One of the two best players in SoCal and one of the two best active Sheik mains. 4th at EVO 2016, 4th at Super Smash Con 2016, 5th at The Big House 6.
•  Yoh - Top Canadian Sheik, ranked 3rd in Ontario behind Blacktwins and Mistake. Plays both Sheik and Diddy Kong. 5th at Canada Cup 2016 and 17th at GOML 2016.

Inactive

•  Edge - Now primarily a Diddy Kong main, but was one of the best Japanese Sheiks. With Sheik, 3rd at Sumabato 8, 13th at Sumabato 13.
•  RAIN - Used to main Sheik before dropping her for Cloud. With Sheik, 1st at Umebura 14, Umebura 15, and Umebura 16, 9th at EVO 2015, 25th at GENESIS 3, 17th at SHIG Tournament.
•  ZeRo - Widely considered to be the best Sheik player in the world before mostly dropping her, only still using her in specific matchups (ex. Luigi), and was ranked on several Power Rankings, including 1st on the Panda Global SSB4 Rankings. Held a 56-tournament win streak with Sheik as one of his mains.

Tier placement and history

Sheik has always been perceived as a top-tier character since the game's release, which was eventually reflected in her ranking at the very top of the first official 4BR tier list, with the previous nerfs to Rosalina & Luma and Diddy Kong paving the way for Sheik to be considered the near-indisputable best character in the game, in a similar manner to Meta Knight in Brawl and Fox in Melee. Players noticed her fantastic frame data, the ability to control the neutral game by spacing effectively with her forward aerial and camp with Needle Storm, extensive combo game that allowed her to rack up damage quickly and efficiently, dominant offstage game, and reliable KO set-ups off of low-committal grab set-ups. This led most players to believe she lacked losing match-ups and had only a handful that were arguably even. As expected, Sheik's position was cemented by a stellar playerbase that included highly talented players such as ZeRo, Mr. R, VoiD, K9sbruce and RAIN, among others, all of whom achieved great results with the character on a consistent basis.

However, Sheik's overwhelming dominance took a blow with patches 1.1.4 and 1.1.5, which removed her most reliable KO set-ups, worsened her survivability, and weakened her camping ability. As a result, her most notable player, ZeRo, eventually dropped her, and others such as VoiD and K9sbruce have been using secondaries more often. Despite her heavy nerfs, Sheik's neutral, combo, and offstage games are still among the best, allowing her to continue to gain strong results and remain a top-tier character, with her placing 3rd and 4th on the second and third version of the tier list respectively, remaining on the S tier.

Trophies

Sheik

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Sheik claimed to be a surviving Sheikah. However, this was just a cunning disguise for Princess Zelda so that she could escape Ganondorf. In Smash Bros., she's the complete opposite of Zelda, striking with fast attacks that can keep an opponent off balance.

Sheik is introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the "survivor of the Sheikah", although it turns out to be Zelda, who took on the disguise to hide from Ganondorf. Sheik's ninja-like speed is a real contrast with Zelda's, and it allows for sneaky, fast-paced attacks that overwhelm opponents before they can even react.

: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (11/1998)

: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (06/2011)

Sheik (Alt.)

Sheik's Burst Grenade side special throws a small grenade that draws in nearby fighters before exploding. Once the button has been released, it'll hop or explode after a time. The down special Bouncing Fish is an attack where Sheik strikes with both heels, falling similarly to the way a fish might flop around.

Sheik's Burst Grenade side special throws a small grenade that draws in nearby fighters, then explodes. Hold the button longer to thrown it further. The down special Bouncing Fish is a fish-like flop forwards that has Sheik attack with both heels on the way down. If the move connects, Sheik will bounce back up into the air.

: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (11/1998)

: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (06/2011)

Light Arrow (Sheik)

Sheik's Final Smash uses a gigantic bow to fire a Light Arrow across the screen. If multiple foes are in its path, it will strike them all, ignoring shields like they're not even there. Sheik's Light Arrow is more damaging than Zelda's and it launches its victims at a lower angle.

Sheik's Final Smash uses a gigantic bow to fire a Light Arrow across the screen. If multiple foes are in its path, it will strike them all, even penetrating straight through their shields. Sheik's Light Arrow is more powerful than Zelda's and it launches its targets at a more shallow angle.

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  Classic (3DS)

• SheikAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Light Arrow

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Melee: Sheik is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Melee.
• Aura Mastery: As Lucario,the player must defeat an invisible Sheik and an invisible Wii Fit Trainer.
• Identity Crisis: Sheik must defeat Samus. After defeating her, the player must then defeat Zero Suit Samus. If Sheik gets knocked out, then Zelda will appear.

Co-op Events

• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Sheik's splash art.

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  Sheik's amiibo.

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  Sidestepping.

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  Jumping.

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  Using her back aerial alongside Samus's downward angled forward smash.

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  Using Burst Grenade, her new side special.

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  Using her neutral aerial on Luigi and alongside Link's neutral aerial.

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  A close-up of Sheik's face.

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  Alongside a fairy.

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  A pose.

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  Back-to-back with Zelda in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Preparing to use her up smash.

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  Charging Needle Storm midair.

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  Using her down smash on Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

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  Using her up taunt alongside Wii Fit Trainer and Greninja.

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  Using her neutral aerial against Little Mac's Straight Lunge.

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  Charging Needle Storm.

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  Using Bouncing Fish, her new down special, on Mario.

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  Using her down taunt after using Burst Grenade on Luigi.

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  Back-to-back with Zelda in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Using her forward aerial on Samus.

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  Using Bouncing Fish on Mega Man alongside Wii Fit Trainer's back aerial.

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  Using her edge attack on Marth.

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  Jumping.

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  Jumping alongside Greninja.

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  Jumping alongside Little Mac's Jolt Haymaker.

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  Using her down aerial against Toon Link's forward aerial.

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  Using her down taunt.

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  Using her neutral attack against Little Mac's neutral attack.

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  Tripping on a Banana Peel.

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  Sidestepping alongside Toon Link.

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  Dashing alongside Little Mac while Marth looks on.

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  Preparing to use Vanish.

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  Using her side taunt.

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  Alongside Olimar.

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  Preparing to use Burst Grenade while Toon Link holds a Bomb.

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  Using her up taunt alongside the male and female Wii Fit Trainers.

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  Alongside Olimar as he uses Winged Pikmin.

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  In the air.

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  Sheik in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Alongside Yoshi.

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  Alongside Charizard.

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  Using her forward tilt on Lucario.

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  Using her neutral attack on Little Mac.

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  Charging Needle Storm.

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  Using her neutral aerial.

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  Jumping while Mario and Luigi use their Fireballs.

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  Alongside Yoshi.

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  Using Burst Grenade.

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  Jumping.

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  Above the shark in the Tortimer Island stage.

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  Alongside Zelda.

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  Charging Needle Storm alongside Mario, Samus, and Donkey Kong.

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  In the air.

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  Jumping above Olimar.

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  Using her neutral aerial.

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  Alongside Pikachu while it uses its down taunt.

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  Alongside Toon Link.

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  Using her down tilt alongside Charizard and Pikachu.

Trivia

• Sheik is the first and currently only character to have her weight changed twice via updates.