Brawler Arsenal

Grounded Attacks

Neutral Attack

Neutral Attacks

Corrin subtly transforms his left arm into its Dragon Fang spike form and swiftly thrusts it forward, followed by a small upward sword slash, then completes the sequence in one of two ways: with a rapid-fire dragon-bite attack that sends enemies flying directly away from him or with a heavy, horizontal, midlevel sword slash that pops foes into the air.

Corrin’s neutral attack is a conventional one. It’s quick enough to use as an out-of-shield option to punish your opponent’s shielded aggression and boasts enough reach to use as a pre-emptive check on incoming dashes.

The rapid-fire dragon-bite follow-up can potentially deal more damage than the sword-attack follow-up, but it also gives the enemy an opportunity to shuffle out of its finishing strike.

For the most part, neutral attack should be reserved as a quick close-range deterrent, and should be rarely used as part of your spacing and offensive sequences.

Dash Attack

While dashing, Corrin dives into the enemy with a horizontal sword-drill attack, striking multiple times before launching the foe diagonally upward. Like most dash attacks, it can be heavily punished if you miss with it, but has its uses for chasing down retreating enemies. Its hit effect pops the enemy up and away with low knock-up power, but it’s difficult to follow up with an attack for a combo.

Defensive Attacks

Tilts

Side Tilt

Corrin delivers a conventional downward slash in front of him that sends foes spinning into the air. Corrin’s side tilt is decent for knocking out and finishing foes at high percentages, but it can be moderately risky to throw out without proper spacing.

Connecting with side tilt at low percentage usually doesn’t amount to much, as foes are free to act relatively early. At around 30%, it begins to launch them into a tumbling state, allowing for potential juggle-combo follow-ups.

Up Tilt

With her sword raised above her, Corrin performs a pirouette, clearing out the air directly around her head and knocking up enemies struck by her blade. Up tilt can start combos from around 15%. From a grounded hit, you can combo into another up tilt, then follow up with juggle and mix-up opportunities in most situations. At higher percentages (around 70%), you can combo into up air attack from a grounded up air hit.

Down Tilt

Corrin crouches down and performs a low-altitude slicing attack. On hit, it pops up foes directly into the air, providing a combo opportunity. Down tilt starts combos in most grounded scenarios. From around 15%, down tilt can combo into up tilt. At higher percentages, you can start following up with up air attack and up smash instead, as the enemy is launched higher into the air.

Down tilt is an excellent spacing poke. It starts up quickly and isn’t easy to punish, even on whiff. Astute opponents can potentially punish it after it’s shielded, so it’s recommended that you aren’t too predictable with it. If you can condition your opponent into expecting your down tilt pokes, you can mix up your offense with dash-in grabs and short hop forward air attack instead.

Smashes

Side Smash

Corrin sends out a long-range Dragon Fang spike, piercing foes directly in front of him and blasting them far away. The angle of attack on side smash can be angled upward for a slight anti-air effect, or downward, in order to hit crouching and ledge-hanging foes.

Corrin’s side smash has a unique effect while charging. During charge, he extends a vertically angled hitbox that hits rapidly and for as long as the charge is being held. Against most fighters, this charging hitbox doesn’t combo until around 15% damage. Enemies can shuffle out of this attack relatively easily.

Up Smash

Corrin leans down with her arms transformed and launches two Dragon Fang spikes directly above her, impaling enemies struck by its points and spiking them into the air.

This attack has a small horizontal hitbox covering Corrin’s front and back that can hit nearby crouching foes. The overall active window of this attack is short, so you have to be accurate in its timing.

Down Smash

Corrin simultaneously thrusts the point of his sword in front of him and his right dragon-formed leg behind him, for a double-sided clear-out attack.

You can use this attack to punish rolls that end up past you, or to potentially hit enemies who are jumping behind you. Its ending lag can be problematic, so it’s slightly risky to throw out as a poke without first setting up an optimal situation for it.

Grabs

Grabs

Corrin’s grab is slightly below average in speed; not as slow as heavyweights, but not quick either. The range is also limited.

Corrin’s grab and throw game isn’t particularly her strong suit, considering it generally doesn’t lead into guaranteed damage and her grab animation speed is mediocre. Her up throw leads into the most potential damage, but usually it’s only potential damage and not guaranteed. Down throw launches enemies up into the air as well, but like up throw, Corrin’s throw animation persists for a lengthy amount of time, making it difficult to follow up with combo attacks.

Aerial Attacks

Aerials

Neutral Air Attack

While airborne, Corrin executes a two-pronged spinning attack. With his sword in his left hand and his dragon-transformed arm, he covers an incredibly large arc while swinging both weapons through the air. Thanks to its astounding and effective area coverage, neutral air attack is an all-around strong attack that can be used in many situations. As a descending attack, it provides enough pop-up against low-percentage enemies to allow you to combo with neutral attack or up tilt.

Its amazing double-sided hit effect has its cost, as its landing lag is considerably longer than the landing lag of his forward air attack. For the most part, forward air is preferable as an air-to-ground attack, although neutral air attack can be used against airborne enemies and at a much more forgiving angle and timing.

Forward Air Attack

Corrin delivers a midair slash in front of her. The arc begins near her head and ends at her feet, covering a sizable area before her. Forward air attack is a potential combo initiator at low percentages (starting at 0%). After a deep forward air attack, you can follow up with your neutral attack auto-combo since it pops up enemies low enough and long enough for you to link the two attacks. Alternatively, you can follow up low-altitude forward air with an insta-Dragon Lunge spike attack. At higher percentages, instead of following up with a jab, you can go for up air attack and forward air, adjusting your hops and attacks according to enemy percentage level.

You can mount strong and effective offensive sequences with well-timed, low-altitude (or “deep”) hopping forward air attacks, followed by either a grab, down tilt, or another short hop forward air. Mix up your offense and keep your forward air attacks spaced and timed so that you minimize your vulnerable landing lag window.

Back Air Attack

Corrin extends a pair of massive, weaponized dragon wings behind him that knock foes away, while at the same time boosting Corrin in the opposite direction.

While back air is one of Corrin’s slowest-starting air attacks, it gives him a boost in aerial mobility, useful for recovery purposes. It’s also an effective edge-guarding tool, thanks to its large hitbox and evasive property.

Up Air Attack

Corrin leaps into the air and delivers a wide-arc upward swipe with her sword, launching her victims above her. Corrin’s up air isn’t very effective as an air-to-ground attack, although it works when timed and angled correctly (especially with the ending rear arc). You can jump over a foe and go for an up air, hitting your opponent with the sword’s backswing. From here, you can follow up with a dash attack (or side smash) combo.

Corrin’s up air attack has an excellent extended hitbox, making it your primary air-to-air anti-air combo-juggling attack.

Down Air Attack

Corrin’s legs transform into a single giant Dragon Fang before he plummets in a high-velocity descent, potentially meteor smashing foes hit by it. Upon landing, it causes a minor impact that knocks away nearby foes.

This dive kick (or “stall-then-fall”) attack is a high-risk maneuver in many cases, particularly if you’re predictable with it. It should be mainly used as a deliberate finishing attack against recovering foes. Against enemies recovering at the bottom of the screen beneath a ledge, it can be used as a “sacrificial KO” attack, dragging your victim down along with you as you both plummet off the stage’s boundaries.

Special Moves

Special Moves

Neutral Special: Dragon Fang Shot

Corrin charges up a projectile with her dragon arm. Upon release of the projectile, she follows it up with a close-range bite with her arm. Charging Dragon Fang Shot increases its range and damage. Charging up the dragon-bite follow-up increases its damage and horizontal hitbox.

Dragon Fang is a unique special move; it’s essentially two special moves in one and can be executed in a variety of ways. You can opt to charge the projectile to max before charging up a separate dragon-bite attack, or you can instantly release an uncharged projectile and begin charging a separate dragon-bite attack. At any point during the initial projectile charge, release Special and immediately begin holding it again to initiate dragon-bite charge.

This is one of the more important special-reversible attacks, particularly because it can alter your trajectory midair. For example, back hop neutral special into special-reverse allows you to retreat, and then immediately turn around and begin charging your Dragon Fang Shot. Seemingly minor techniques like this can play a large role in optimizing your Corrin play.

Dragon Fang Shot is excellent for threatening ledge-hanging opponents, thanks to its two-part sequence that allows you to throw out a projectile while following up with a bite attack that nails ledge rolls and jumps. It’s incredibly difficult for the enemy to deal with this tactic, although if they time it right, they can avoid your shot and bite to punish you with a ledge-jump attack (although you can counter this counter by charging up your bite further before releasing it).

If you can connect with a midrange charged Dragon Fang Shot against a grounded foe, you can combo into dash-in neutral air attack or back air attack if you’re fast enough. Although this scenario is unlikely to happen often.

Side Special: Dragon Lunge

Corrin leaps forward and extends a Dragon Fang angled toward the ground (down-forward). If the Dragon Fang connects with ground or a wall, Corrin transitions into a stance from which he can execute one of four follow-ups: a rear flying kick, a forward flying kick, release (drop down), or a vertical jump.

You can hit with an instant Dragon Lunge immediately canceled into the Dragon Fang follow-up extremely fast, about like a quick side tilt, quite fast for its range and functionality. Input side special and immediately hit Attack (this can be done either by using two separate fingers or by sliding your thumb across the two buttons, depending on your button layout).

You can use this insta-Dragon Lunge technique in creative and effective ways. You can use it to punish ground and ledge rolls, as well as simply attack and cancel out of with rear flying kick.

Air Dragon Lunge can also be used in a variety of situations. It’s an angled and ranged aerial attack at a down-forward angle you can use to pester ledge-recovering enemies, meeting them in the air and forcing them to deal with your fang. You can also use it to punish specific ledge-hanging recoveries by spiking into the ledge the enemy is hanging from with your Dragon Fang and then going for a specific follow-up according to how the enemy recovers, although this takes practice and experience to time correctly for each possible option. For instance, if you spike onto the ledge while your opponent ledge-hangs and then rolls back onto the platform, you can go for a chasing forward flying kick to punish their roll. At around 15%, connecting with a ground hit insta-Dragon Lunge followed by forward flying kick is a combo on most fighters.

Up Special: Dragon Ascent

Corrin flies into the air with impenetrable resolve, launching nearby foes and drilling them with multiple aerial attacks.

You can alter trajectory slightly with the control stick. For instance, you can hold the control stick forward upon liftoff to increase your forward momentum a bit. Alternatively, if you hold the control stick in the opposite direction, you gain additional altitude on Dragon Ascent.

Down Special: Counter Surge

Corrin transitions into a dragon form countering stance. During its brief intangible window, if Corrin absorbs an incoming attack, she retaliates by completing her dragon transformation, smashing into the ground with a massive area-of-effect splash attack that devastates nearby foes.

While most parry-type attacks are severely risky, Counter Surge has potential use in free-for-all brawls against multiple opponents due to its ability to counter attacks from both sides. With practice, you can also use Corrin’s Counter Surge as an edge-guarding tool if you can make a hard read on your opponent’s recovery attack.

Final Smash: Torrential Roar

Corrin sends two columns of light, one on each side. If the columns hit an enemy, Corrin transforms into a dragon and unleashes a maelstrom that launches anyone caught in the attack. This move is especially effective at hitting enemies overhead.