Sword Fighter

= "Turntable swordabout!" -Swordfighter =

Overview
Swordfighter is the second class to be added to SARB. While his rival Brawler has longer lasting combos, Swordfighter boasts incredible neutral with multiple versatile tools, as well as being one of two characters with super-armor granting moves.

Appearance
The Swordfighter is a light-brown skinned person, wearing a blue shirt and gray pants, with metal pauldrons on both of their shoulders. They also have messy, spiky, blue hair. They use a double-edged sword with a dark gray hilt, shown by their attacks.

Light Attacks
Neutral (Moving and Standing)

Sword Slash:

Swordfighter swings his sword from the right side. Deals 2.8%.

Swordfighter swings his sword from the left side. Deals 2.8%.

Swordfighter makes a stabbing motion with his sword. Deals 5.5%.

Quick and good range. Very good M1 combo.

Neutral (Crouching): Shield Poke

The Swordfighter crouches and sends his sword forward, dealing 7.2%. It has very low, if no knockback, and therefore makes it very good for extending combos.

Aerial Neutral: Back Slash

Swordfighter slashes his sword above their head. Deals 5%.

Not the best neutral aerial in the game, as it has a very tricky hitbox to land in neutral. However, it's a decent combo ender and has good launch power.

Aerial Forward: Sword Spin

Swordfighter performs a mid-air spin attack. Deals 5.5%.

Very powerful neutral tool. It has slightly longer startup than other f-airs, but has a lot more use as the first hit can be cancelled into other attacks, allowing for more combo routes. Hitting a shield can also cancel the attack, allowing for even more shield pressure!

Dashing: Backhand Slash

A rather slow to come out dashing attack compared to most. Deals 4.6%. It has a small amount of knockback that prevents it from starting combos.

Heavy Attacks
Standing: Dancing Blade

Swordfighter dashes forward and performs a three-hit combo attack that uses the Partial Guard mechanic, spinning and slashing its enemies into a final powerful jab with afterburn. First two hits deal 6.4%, with the last hit dealing 17.5%. There's a 6% after-burn. Because of it's Super Armor, you can take 15% before flinching again.

Seemingly tricky move to use, but once you know how and when to use it, Dancing Blade can be an extremely powerful tool. It gives super armor, letting you tank through attacks and endlag punishes. It's a multi-hit, so it racks up damage and has a final thrust that launches enemies, making it a great combo ender.

Forward: Shield Breaker (CHARGEABLE)

Swordfighter charges its sword and performs a powerful jab towards the opponent, sending them flying. Non-charged deals 17.9%, while fully-charged deals 37.7%.

Very powerful combo ender and neutral tool. Not only does it cut shields like butter, it's extremely quick and has a massive vertical hitbox compared to it's animation, making it excellent for edge-guarding. Dashing Shield Breaker is a decent way to launch your opponent if you're impatient.

Crouching: Spin Slash

Swordfighter rapidly spins around hitting the enemy twice. First hit does 3.7%, second hit does 5%.

Mainly used for combo filler.

Recovery: Dolphin Slash

Swordfighter launches himself while twirling like a ballerina, launching anyone near him away. Deals 9%.

Dolphin Slash goes very high and makes recovering near the ledge a bit safer. However, this move has a poor hitbox and isn't very good for edgeguarding unless you have some serious experience with it.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths


 * Jack of All Trades: All-rounder archetype lets Swordfighter adapt to other classes' playstyles with ease.
 * Great Neutral: Multiple long reaching and quick attacks. JC 1 is a great pressure tool.
 * Combo Potential: Hard hitting specials can get your opponent to high percentages very quickly, especially when used in combos. Combos usually deal 60% or more when done optimally, and his JC resets make combos last forever.
 * Edge Defender: Very good at edgeguarding and gimps with his plentiful aerial tools and specials.
 * Vortex: Ending a combo, landing a hit, or generally anything that puts Swordfighter at an advantage allows him to push for an advantage again. His low endlag on most of his move allows him to keep the opponent guessing and force them to make decisions that give up their advantage in neutral.
 * Punishes: Swordfighter's good hitboxes, high damage combos, vortex, and general applicability makes him a punish monster. Any mistake can spell doom for the opponent.

Weaknesses


 * Master of None: Generally outclassed by specialists.
 * Low Damage Output: Compared to other classes, unpotimal combos leave Swordfighter at a huge disadvantage due to how little damage he does without his extended combos. While he definitely isn't the hardest in terms of execution, he absolutely needs combos to be effective.
 * Weaker in FFA: Because Swordfighter's combos last forever, he is much more susceptible to vulturing compared to other characters. He may have good hitboxes, but he is easily interrupted while comboing, especially from the side or back. Athena in particular can easily interrupt him.

Skins



 * Hero-King Swordfighter
 * Flaming Swordfighter
 * Grayscale Swordfighter (Possibly requires 500 kills, or through the owner giving it to you.)

Trivia

 * The Hero-King and Flaming Swordfighter are direct references to Marth and Roy from the Fire Emblem series.
 * The Charging Pierce is a possible reference to Marth's Shield Breaker from the Super Smash Bros. series, although it does not instantly break shields in this game.
 * The KO voice for Swordfighter is a higher-pitched and slightly faster version of Snake's death cry from Metal Gear Solid.