Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has almost 20 swordsmen in its cast, which is around a staggering 20% of the entire cast of characters. With so many to choose from, there's often confusion and speculation over which ones are worth sinking your precious time into.
They may seem as if they all blend together at first (especially the eight Fire Emblem characters), but they each have their own unique attributes that set them apart from the rest, for better or worse. Which swordfighters in Smash Ultimate are proven to take home tournament wins and steal precious GSP?
Updated May 6, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is one of the best entries in the series, one that has gone on to become one of the most popular games on the Nintendo Switch. Featuring the biggest cast of any Smash game, players love the idea of selecting a character from their favorite franchise and going to town on their enemies with a slew of amazing special attacks. That being said, some people believe that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has too many swordfighters, which is a mixed bag for many. For those who do love swordplay in Smash there are now even more options, so we've updated the list accordingly.
18 Byleth
Byleth is the main character from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The main series has seen a ton of representation in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which has led to a fair bit of controversy within the fanbase.
Regardless, there's no denying that Byleth is a pretty fun swordfighter to control in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He might not be the most mind-blowing fighter around, but players who know how to use this character can win their fair share of fights with ease.
17 Meta Knight
Meta Knight is a pretty popular character from the Kirby universe, who fulfills the trait of being a noble villain. For the most part, this character always fights Kirby with respect, making the boss fights with him an absolute blast.
This character is a ton of fun to control in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as well. He's a great swordfighter who won't rest until his enemies are down for the count once and for all.
16 Pit
Pit is the main character from Kid Icarus, who puts his sword to good use in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It's great that he's getting some representation in a video game, given that the Kid Icarus series has remained dormant for way too long.
For the most part, Pit has seen a major upgrade from his previous appearances in the Smash games. However, he's not as strong as some people would want, and is generally ignored in major tournaments in favor of better characters.
15 Dark Pit
Palette swap characters are common in Smash Bros. Some people see it as a lazy way to increase the character roster, but there's no denying that these swaps actually make sense within the context of their parent franchises too.
This logic applies to Dark Pit, who is similar to Pit in everything but appearance. Players who like controlling Pit but are bored of his usual look should check out his Dark counterpart instead, for a fresh change of pace.
14 Sephiroth
Despite the intimidating presence of this Final Fantasy 7 antagonist, Sephiroth is something of a mixed bag as a swordfighter. He's certainly considered a good pick by Ultimate pundits, thanks to his swiftness and insane range with his long sword. His Final Smash, Supernova, is a pretty impactful move and a fun spectacle to watch.
Still, his special attacks leave a bit to be desired, and he can be on the frail side when struck. Overall, though, evasive players can get quite a lot of value from this DLC fighter.
13 Robin
Similar to Sephiroth, this swordfighter can overwhelm an opponent with his knack for getting potshots in at a fairly safe distance. While he's on the slower side when it comes to walking and dashing, he's got a nice array of ranged abilities and has above-average traits as a whole.
Between his various spells, his potent sword, and his self-healing - Robin can be a great fighter for those who know how to exploit and ration his unique abilities.
12 Corrin
This Fire Emblem swordfighter has an impressive array of attacks and abilities - even if they aren't necessarily the most powerful.
Corrin's plethora of moves and strength while airborne makes them a great option for those who fancy performing flashy combos. This fighter also has the unique ability to damage opponents while charging with their Smash Attack - and hitting them from great range too. There's a bit of a learning curve, but Corrin has quite a high ceiling for those accustomed to their distinct mechanics.
11 Hero
Looking at Hero now, compared to when he was first released, there’s a drastic difference in attitudes and opinions towards the character. Instead of the RNG-heavy, completely broken sword character that everyone was expecting, Hero turned out to be respectfully in the middle of the other swordsmen in the game, with only the occasional ridiculous antics.
Without good RNG to back him up, his attacks are fairly slow, even if they do hit pretty hard. We haven’t seen many results from Hero outside of Salem, and it seems like the character might never live up to the fear he evoked into players at his release.
10 Marth
Marth has the potential to end entire stocks in the blink of an eye, but the cost of doing so is often unreliable and difficult. Compared to every other title Marth has appeared in, Ultimate is arguably his weakest showing because of the reduced tipper size and setups, which are his main source of KOs.
There’s a reason Marth is usually placed quite far from Lucina on tier lists, even though they share the same moveset and frame data. When played by the hands of legends like MKLeo, Marth decimates opponents with intricately placed attacks to keep opponents at bay, but he will otherwise struggle to take stocks and becomes the equivalent of a wet pool noodle.
9 Cloud
Cloud has had a bit of a rough start in Ultimate, but his various tweaks and buffs have returned him to being a formidable sword fighter. His huge hitboxes and quick ground speed allow him to control the playing field fairly well, and he's not short on kill options.
Getting under opponents and juggling them to infinity is one of his strongest assets, and he'll quickly rack up tons of damage from a couple of neutral interactions. Even with the recent buff to his recovery, it's still laughable against a lot of the cast as he'll hopelessly plummet to his doom with a well-placed hit.
8 Ike
Though this swordfighter can be quite a beast, his long charges and rather sluggish nature keeps him from being truly top-tier. He's also lost a bit of stock since the early phases of Ultimate.
Still, he has been slightly tweaked to be a tad more agile compared to his appearances in past Smash Bros. entries. And of course, he still thrives while airborne.
Players that take the time to charge and time their hits - like a fully-charged Eruption - will be able to inflict loads of damage on their targets.
7 Toon Link
Smash Ultimate has done a fantastic job of giving each Link enough tools to be relatively equal to each other in terms of viability, but Toon Link, unfortunately, falls just a little short of them. He strikes a good balance between Link and Young Link but lacks a lot of stand-out moves that the other two have.
Being more balanced, however, isn't necessarily all bad, as he does well in most situations. He has some fantastic setups with his projectiles, a respectable combo game that got even better with recent buffs, and he doesn't struggle to get KOs as Young Link does with from time to time.
6 Young Link
What puts Young Link slightly above his cartoon counterpart? Well, speed has always been an important asset for any good Smash character, and that just so happens to be Young Link's specialty. Aside from his blinding movement speed and minimal landing lag, his attacks are also extremely quick.
His neutral-special is likely one of the best projectiles in the game, as it comes out way too quickly and acts as a combo tool and kill confirm. His boomerang and bombs may not be as stellar as the other two heroes, but they certainly get the job done. His biggest flaw is the difficulty to take stocks, but he certainly has the tools to make it happen.
5 Link
The Hero of the Wild's tier placement and reception has gladly surprised many Smash fans, as Link is often banished to lower viability than most characters. His reworking for Ultimate has bid him extremely well with improvements to his speed, overall gameplan, and combos and kills.
Link is way faster in this Smash game, and it allows him to actually get reliable grab combos and get around the stage in a safe manner. His bombs are also extremely useful for a multitude of different reasons, including setups from the entire stage, recovering from the edge of the blast zone, and some killer combos that'll make you question your skill level.
4 Chrom
Chrom finally got his chance another day, and he made sure not to let it go to waste. As an Echo Fighter, he's actually quite unique when compared to Roy, having an original up-special and a sword similar to Lucina's. Chrom is an absolute monster on the ground, with one of the fastest run speeds in the game and some extremely quick moves.
As much as Chrom flourishes in the air, he does struggle quite a bit in the air. His super high aerial drift allows him to pull off some devastating combos and travel pretty far without using his recovery, but when he's forced to up-b it can spell certain death if interrupted in any fashion.
3 Lucina
Lucina just about has it all. Range? Check. Kill power? Check. Good recovery and edge guarding? Check. Lucina doesn't really struggle in any particular area, making her one of the easiest top tiers to pick up. With fantastic agility and a great moveset, Lucina easily thrives as one of the best secondaries in the entire game.
Her biggest flaw, however, is actually her main gameplan. With such a balanced character comes to a pretty linear flowchart of options, and good players will be able to read her thoughts and act accordingly. She can also struggle a little in neutral due to her not having many good rising aerials, but she still stands as an overall fantastic character, albeit a bit boring.
2 Roy
When breaking down Roy's kit, it's pretty clear that there is a top-tier character within it. Roy is fast, like, really fast. Along with this speed comes very quick attacks, and you bet they KO extremely early. Unlike Chrom, Roy has sour-spots and sweet-spots on the Binding Blade, but it can actually be a blessing in disguise.
Sour-spots allow him to have a more diverse combo game to set up into his killer sweet-spots that take stocks like no tomorrow. His forward-smash and side-special both have the ability to kill before 60%, which is just as crazy as it sounds. He still struggles a bit off the stage like Chrom does, but not nearly as much.
1 Shulk
Shulk is REALLY feeling it in Ultimate, and his transition from Smash 4 is nothing but drastic. From a low-tier to a solid top-tier, Shulk can be absolutely terrifying in the right hands. The ability to change your stats at will is already reason enough, boosting certain attributes whenever he needs them.
The addition of instant Monado Arts allows for some extremely technical stuff, and it really pays off when you're able to KO opponents at 60% with a TILT. Shield art allows Shulk to invalidate a ton of moves with invincibility on top of buffing his defenses way up, making him both hard to KO and easy to get KO'd by. Players like Kome have shown the true potential of this character, and he'll likely keep rising even higher.