Zelda and her
Phantom Slash
So we know that this move replaced the (now non-existent) transformation move. It can be used to attack characters and defend yourself. It requires you to charge the move if you want to make it go further. Let's talk about defense first.
Defensive use
So it is shown it can be used to stop projectiles. It probably won't be destroyed by projectiles with no hitstun (i.e. Fox's blaster), though it would be silly if it can be destroyed by something like Mario's fireball. I'm guessing there could be some sort of damage threshold before it is destroyed when using it defensively (Samus' Charge Shot is pretty powerful).
I doubt it is going to be useful to use it defensively outside of long-range moves.
Now to its offensive uses.
Offensive use
There seems to be two ways the phantom itself attacks and it seems to depend on how long you charge it. The first few GIFs/WebMs are for the short/no charge.
The 1st and 3rd GIF are slowed down (1/2 speed) to show the phantom coming out clearly and the 2nd GIF is just a normal version of the 1st GIF to see the attack in normal speed.
The phantom seems to go about the same distance in both clips, though it is hard to tell.
The phantom does a quick slash that seems to be different depending on the direction its facing. You can see the 1st of the two clips slashing from the top-left to the bottom-right and the 2nd slashing from the bottom-left to the top-right. It doesn't seem like it will be powerful.
Now its charged variant.
This one attacks much differently. It is a two-hit move. It comes out with the sword pointing at the direction it is facing ready to stab the opponent. If the attack reaches opponent, it stabs the opponent and then swings its sword upwards for the second hit and sends the opponent flying. Seems to have some good knockback, though it isn't shown how much damage Fox is at. The attack would be easy to react to if used in a long distance.
Though the next two clips show it being reflected it closely lol.
So yea, it can be reflected. They also show Zelda being knocked back a good distance.
Something to note about Villager is that he slides backwards when using Pocket on the phantom. We haven't seen it happen with any other move that he used Pocket on.
A few things we don't know:
- Can it be sent off stage?
- Can you charge the move in the air?
- If you can charge it in the air, can it be launched from the air?
We'll find out if someone tries all of that out in the demo lol.
It seems to be an interesting move.
