Warlock Punch

Ganondorf's updated Warlock Punch from SSBB

The Warlock Punch is Ganondorf's Neutral B special move. Ganondorf cocks back, charging a punch, for approximately 72 frames while a purple aura surrounds his fist. He then suddenly throws a devastating backfist punch.

This move is very powerful as a single move causes 30%-34% damage and has very high knockback. It is an attack that can kill at mid-low damage, and can even KO light characters with 0% damage. Except on utterly defenseless or paralyzed opponents, this attack is very hard to use in combat because it is slow and predictable. A good strategy for this in Team Battle is as soon as an opponents is grabbed by an ally, initiate a Punch, and before it hits, have your ally throw the opponent into range (either Down or Side throws) to stun them and prevent them from escaping. In addition, with precise timing, this move can be used to strike recovering opponents. Warlock Punch is capable of hitting through Meta Knight's Mach Tornado

In the air, Warlock Punch does about 37%-40%, with higher knockback. This is extremely hard to pull off however without SDing.

This move is essentially a clone move of Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch, nicknamed as "Ganon Punch", but it's slower, deals more damage, and has higher knockback.

Reverse Warlock Punch

There is a new ability for the Warlock Punch introduced in Brawl. A player can pull off a 180 punch by turning during the charging period. This deals roughly 3% more damage than a normal punch. This move can be done on the ground and in mid-air, but on the downside, it is about 0.5 seconds longer then a normal Warlock Punch.

Doing a Reverse Warlock Punch will deal an even better Warlock Punch if the enemy is inside you. Don't trust this technique for fighting in a Brawl except when breaking a shield, but this is, at best, a useful tactic in the Home-Run Contest to gain a better score.

Also, the animation for the punch has been changed. Instead of pulling his arm back like a slower Falcon Punch, Ganondorf waves his arms, pulls back both arms while gathering energy, and punches backhanded with his left hand instead of right. This also inflicts a lot of damage to opponents, forcing them off the stage, but usually all opponents can withstand the Warlock Punch if the damage percentage is zero.

Warlock Punch usually guarantees a kill at around 20-29% damage, the lowest of any special move without special criteria like Oil Panic and Judgment.

Origin

Ganondorf never uses the Warlock Punch as it is in any Zelda game, but similar attacks, fitting in with Ganondorf's motifs as the Warlock Punch does, have been used in several games. In Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf uses dark magic and a similar shout as in Melee to block Navi from approaching him in order to disable Link's ability to Z-Target. Additionally, in Wind Waker, he fights using his fists during certain cutscenes, showing massive physical strength and prowess in hand-to-hand combat. He knocks Zelda out during the final battle with a backhand slap, akin to the Brawl version of the attack. However, none of these are actually the Warlock Punch, despite their similarities, and the move is, overall, non-canonical.

Gallery

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  Warlock Punch in Melee

Trivia

• If a player performs a Reverse Warlock Punch on Pit, and Pit pulls out his Mirror Shield at just the right moment, Ganondorf will be sent flying across the stage a long way, longer than many stages, but not all of them, so he won't necessarily die.
• Even though this attack has an obscene charge time, it isn't the slowest attack in Ganondorf's arsenal. His upwards tilt, Volcano Kick, has a charge time of 81 frames.
• If the victim's damage is higher than around 200%, a Reverse Warlock Punch will have higher knockback than a Home-run bat, which makes this move very useful in the Home-Run Contest.

Template:Ganondorf Special Moves