Fighter Concept: Sigurd

[Perkilator]

With the rumors of an FE4 remake floating about, I figured now was as good a time as ever to try my hand at a Sigurd moveset. The moveset is condensed to a single spoiler tag due to its unorthodox nature.

Spoiler

Intro: Sigurd enters on horseback via a Warp circle.

Notable Palette Swaps

1. Default
2. Enemy units (red)
3. Ally units (green)
4. Neutral units (yellow)
5. Seliph (blue)
6. Deirdre (lavender)
7. Arvis (red/black)
8. Brigid (orange)

Fighter Ability: Horseback Combat
Sigurd can switch between fighting on-foot and fighting on horseback on the fly. However, when he’s fighting on horseback, he has a much more limited moveset.

On-foot
Stance/Idle 1: Marth’s idle animation.
Idle 2: Sigurd holds his hand to his chest, closes his eyes, and silently takes a breath.
Idle 3: Sigurd brushes his hair out of his face.

Walk: Marth’s walk animation.
Dash: Marth’s dash animation.
Damage: Marth’s damage animation.
Jump: Marth’s jump animation.
Crouch: Marth’s crouch animation.

Normal Attacks
Jab: Combination Slash; Sigurd slashes Tyrfing twice in front of himself (5% each hit, small knockback)
Forward+A: Hard Edge; a fast upward swipe while leaning forward (9%, small knockback)
Up+A: Sigurd swings Tyrfing in a large arc above his head (8%, small knockback)
Down+A: Low Thrust; a quick crouching sword poke (8%, small knockback)
Dash Attack: Raid Chop; A quick, running, upward-sweeping diagonal slash (11%, OK knockback)
Edge Attack: Sigurd backflips onto the stage and slashes (9%, small knockback)
Get-Up Attack: Sigurd stabs behind him then slashes in front of himself before getting up (7%, small knockback)

Aerial Attacks
Air+A: Double Slash; two horizontal slashes around Sigurd via an inward slash (6%, small knockback) followed into a full 360° outward spin (6%, small knockback)
Air Forward+A: Flag Cut; a descending crescent slash with great coverage (10%, OK knockback)
Air Back + A: About Face; an upward crescent slash in an inward swipe (11%, OK knockback)
Air Up+A: Luna Slash; an overhead crescent slash with good coverage (11%, OK knockback)
Air Down+A: Halfmoon; a downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage (14% with a meteor effect, OK knockback)

Smash Attacks
Forward+A: Sigurd thrusts his lance forward (18%, medium knockback)
Up+A: A quick, upward thrust with the lance (17%, medium knockback)
Down+A: Sigurd kneels and thrusts his lance forward (5%), then performs a reverse gripped thrust behind himself (15%, medium knockback)

Grab Game
Grab: Sigurd grabs the opponent with one hand.
Pummel: A knee strike (1%)
Forwards+Throw: An elbow strike with Sigurd’s sword arm (4%, small knockback)
Back+Throw: Sigurd tosses the opponent over his leg (4%, small knockback)
Up+Throw: A powerful, one-armed upward throw (5%, small knockback)
Down+Throw: Sigurd throws the opponent to the ground with one arm, bouncing them upwards (4%, small knockback)

Special Moves
B : Headlong Rush; Sigurd assumes a readying stance and charges Tyrfing before performing a powerful thrust that moves him forward (20%, medium knockback)
B + ← → : Momentum; Sigurd performs a leaping slash (5%). If it connects, he then follows up with three rapid slashes (4% each hit) and then a final, stronger slash (7%, OK knockback).
B + ↑ : Holy Tide; Sigurd jumps forward into the air and performs a frontflip before slashing straight down (14% with a meteor effect, OK knockback). Pressing B again has Sigurd instead perform an uppercut slash that hits multiple times (16%, OK knockback). Based on Seliph’s critical hit animation from FE4.
B + ↓ : Mount; Sigurd summons his horse via Warp.

Taunts
Up: “This, too, is fate!”
Side: “Let us end it.”
Down: “Raise your sword!”

Horseback
Stance/Idle 1: Sigurd stands tall on horseback.
Idle 2: Sigurd strokes the back of his horse’s neck.

Walk: Sigurd’s horse walks forward.
Dash: Sigurd’s horse gallops.
Damage: Sigurd’s horse recoils with him.
Jump: Sigurd’s horse jumps into the air. It jumps further and higher after a dash.

Normal Attacks
Jab / Forward+A: Sigurd thrusts forward with his lance (9%, small knockback)
Back+A: Sigurd swings Tyrfing behind himself in a downward arc (8%, small knockback)
Up+A: Sigurd twirls his lance above his head (13%, OK knockback)
Dash Attack: Sigurd comes to a halt on his horse before (3%) delivering an upward arcing slash with Tyrfing (9%)

Aerial Attacks
Air+A: a downward, wide crescent slash with large coverage (14% with a meteor effect, OK knockback)
Air Up+A: Sigurd twirls his lance above his head (13%, OK knockback)

Smash Attacks
Forward+A: A descending crescent slash with great coverage (10%, OK knockback)
Up+A: An upward crescent slash in an inward swipe (11%, OK knockback)
Down+A: Sigurd thrusts his lance diagonally downward in front of himself (17%, medium knockback), then performs a thrust behind himself (17%, medium knockback)

Special Moves
B : Javelin Toss; Sigurd tosses a lance forward (11%, OK knockback). The angle can be slightly altered with the control stick.
B + ← → : Headlong Rush; Sigurd assumes a readying stance and twirls his lance before performing a powerful thrust while his horse quickly gallops forward (20%, medium knockback)
B + ↑ : Momentum; Sigurd jumps off of his horse and rises into the air without going into freefall. His horse immediately disappears if it falls offscreen.
B + ↓ : Dismount; Sigurd dismounts his horse and sends it back to where it came from via Warp.

Sigurd can also be knocked off of the horse if he sustains a powerful enough attack, and the horse itself will disappear if it sustains enough damage. In addition, while on horseback, Sigurd cannot crouch, grab and throw, use items, grab ledges, or use his double jump, down tilt, edge attack, get-up attack, or most of his aerials. Also, Sigurd’s single taunt while on horseback has him point Tyrfing at the screen and proclaim “One strike will decide it all!”

Final Smash: Override; Sigurd points Tyrfing forward, which summons a bolt of lightning that hits multiple opponents (10%). If it connects, Sigurd gets onto his horse and pierces forward with his lance (45%, devastating knockback). This can be used regardless of whether Sigurd is on-foot or on horseback.

Winposes
1: “You honor me more than I deserve.” Sigurd strikes a pose loosely mimicking his artwork from FE4 (the art you see above).
2: “My country and its people need me!” Sigurd rides in on his horse in a pose similar to FE4’s box art.
3: “I must keep moving forward!” Sigurd points Tyrfing to the left of the camera.

Applause: Sigurd claps for the winner.
Icon: Falchion
Boxing Ring Title: Holy Knight of Holy Blood
Star K.O.: “Deirdreee…!”
Victory Music: The prologue theme from FE4. This is then followed by the level-up theme, similar to Cloud.
Kirby Hat: Sigurd’s hair

TL;DR My interpretation of Sigurd is a Marth semi-clone with a unique horse riding mechanic.

 

[Jotari]

I feel like his dismounted moveset wouldn't be that fun to play given it's basically just Marth's (except the lance for Smash attacks, I like that, Chrom and Lucina should take note). So if I were to play it I'd be there for the horse. Issue is that the horse, if it's the sole thing I'd be intending to play as like the Sheik of the Zelda Sheik pair, is fairly limited as a character with fewer attacks and not being able to double jump grab ledges etc. I think for something like this either his dismounted moveset would have to be a lot more distinct from Marth's and have a niche of its own, preferably one that works in tandem with the horse moves, or, the horse would have to be just plain better as a moveset and be limited by some sort of guage or meter.

[Jotari]

Alright. Here's more Sigurd fighter concept as a pure horse character. He's very esoteric in how he functions compared to most Smash characters. He's on his horse. All the time. He gets knocked down, the horse gets knocked down. There is no dismount, there is no Abandon Ship, there's no jumping off Yoshi, Sigurd and the horse are one. This means he's a very large character and a very easy target. It also means he has a number of distinct idiosyncrasies.

*No middair jump. This is going to be the strangest and hardest to adapt to aspect of Sigurd. He simply has no midaiar jump at all. This sounds fatal to a character, but he has a number of tricks up his sleeve that gets around it.

*Huge initial jump. Horses are able to jump very high so Sigurd's inital jump is like Yoshi's midair jump, though only in jump size, Sigurd has significantly less mid air control over it. Once you choose a direction for his jump that's where he's going, making it a bit like Super Dedede jump. He also has invincibility frames at the start of the jump and deals light damage during the jump. So, yeah, his regular jump is basically an attack that is akin to an up special.

*Immune to grabs. Enemies straight up can't grab Sigurd, because he's on a horse and it'd be silly to grab a whole horse and jab at it. If an enemy tries to grab Sigurd, both will be break away as if two characters grabbed each other. Sigurd himself also lacks grabs and throws entirely, meaning he has a lot of trouble against characters who can shield. He can still be grabbed by characters with a grab on their special move like Ridley or Ganondorf, since it'd be a bit too powerful to wall out those attacks and it's usually larger characters with Special Move Grabs that would look okay interacting with him. Some of them would have unique alternate animations to compensate for Sigurd's unique situation.

*No ledge cling animation. Sigurd cannot cling onto the ledge, because he has a whole freaking horse and it would be ridiculous. Instead, if Sigurd comes in contact with a ledge, his horse will automatically do a ledge attack where it scrambles back up onto the stage. This ledge attack is quite strong and grants generous invincibility frames, but given it's automatic and Sigurd has no work arounds if trying to get near a ledge, it's also very predictable for enemies to exploit.

*Turning animation. Sigurd needs a few frames to turn around and direct his horse to go in a different direction. This is a net weakness for him that is designed to curb his immense speed and power. It means when you make a decision with Sigurd, you really have to commit to it. He can still roll left and right (though it's less a role and more like the horse hops back or forward) to gain distance without turning, but if you want to make him face another direction, you need to accept a few frames of vulnerability.

*Running animation deals damage. See horse.

Now onto his attacks.

Normal Attacks

Spoiler

Sigurd uses a lance for all his attacks outside his final smash. There are two reasons for this. 1. Fire Emblem and Smash's bias in favour of sword users leading to a reverse bias against them. 2. While cavalry swords to exist, a lance just works better for reach, and Sigurd is already going to be pushing it in how natural his animations look in a Smash context.

*Jab: Sigurd thrusts forward with his lance from a stationary position. Can be used multiple times in succession.

*Forward Tilt: Sigurd slashes left and right (relative to him, so only forward in Smash terms) like Oscar briefly does in the rescue Lucia cutscene of Radiant Dawn. This forward tilt is special as it does not actually interrupt Sigurd's regular walking speed. And while it does have cooldown lag in which Sigurd can't attack, Sigurd can still move and turn around (and possibly jump, not sure). In other words, Sigurd can attack while walking.

*Up Tilt: Sigurd slashes his lance in a wide overhead arc, protecting him from foes attacking from above

*Down Tilt: Sigurd slashes horizontally with his lance. Sigurd's horse has a very small crouching animation, leading to this attack being more like a traditional side tilt.

*Dash: Sigurd ushers his horse on, increasing its running speed and dealing damage. Has similar properties to his forward tilt in that it does not interrupt his running speed. If the stage is long enough, you could even do it multiple times in succession, though like his forward tilt the cooldown lag for the attack is still there, Sigurd can just continue to move during it.

*Side Smash: Sigurd throws his lance like a javelin, it can be directed up and down to alter its distance. Has more power directly after Sigurd throws it.

*Up Smash: Sigurd stabs directly upwards with his lance for a powerful, but quite precise strike.

*Down Smash: Sigurd's horse rears up and stomps on the opponent. Unlike most down smashes, it only hits in front of him.

Special Attacks

Spoiler

Neutral Special: Luna

Sigurd's way of dealing with shielding enemies. It's a bit cheating using Luna, since it exists in his game and he doesn't have access to it, but Luna has come to be associate with cavalry classes in some Fire Emblem games and Sigurd's role here is to also represent Fire Emblem's Paladins. In manifests here not as an attack, but as an aura surrounding Sigurd that allows him to deal significantly increased shield damage to punish enemies who overshield against him. The effect lasts for twenty seconds and has a ten second cool down between uses.

Side Special: Override

Sigurd is surrounded in energy and rushes forward like his animation in Engage. In practice this works very like Fox and Falco's side special. It is vital for him getting back on the stage due to his lack of a middair jump. The range of the attack alters based on whether or not it hits something. If used without making contact with anything, it travels as far as Fox Illusion, however, if it hits something, be it an enemy, a stage element or even a shield, it will travel twice as far, and the second object or character it hits will receive more damage than the first (this also increases the more things he hits).

Up Special: Return Ring

Sigurd's ace in the hole for recovering without a middair jump. Use the special once and Sigurd will raise his free hand causing a flag to magically appear where he is standing. Use the special a second time and Sigurd will warp from wherever he is directly to that spot. This means Sigurd has, effectively, an infinite recovery. No matter how far off the stage he is, even without a middair jump, he can return to safety if you've set it up in advance. However, much like a lot of Sigurd's attacks, it's something you need to commit to and for the opponent it can be very predictable. During battle this kind of means Sigurd has a home "castle" in which he needs to defend making it reflect Genealogy's gameplay in a nice way.

Down Special: Crusader's Ward

Sigurd's way of dealing with projectiles. Most characters with a projectile defense reflect or absorb them in some way, Sigurd outright negates them. When this attack is used, Sigurd strikes a pose and gets a holy aura. For a brief window of time projectiles simply disappear without hurting him. The effect lasts for about twenty seconds with a cool down in which it can't be used for about ten seconds. So he's not immune to projectiles entirely and you can still snipe him with them, but if he's vigilant he will reapply his barrier regularly. However, it can't be used at the same time as Luna. Using one cancels out the other. The cooldown is also still in effect, so if you use Crusader's Ward, immediately then use Luna, you still won't be able to use Crusader's Ward for another ten seconds.

Final Smash: Tyrfing Miracle

Sigurd slashes in front of him. He and his enemies are brought to a field in Jugdral where Sigurd quickly embraces his dying father who gifts him Tyrfing. Sigurd then raises the holy sword and swipes at his foes in a large, dramatic swipe, dealing decent damage. However, this Final Smash has a unique second aspect to it. Not only does it deal high damage, but, if successfully used, it will give Sigurd the Miracle Status on his portrait. This status lasts for about thirty seconds. If Sigurd happens to be KO'd in this period, he will not lose a stock (or if it's in Smash fest, he will not lose a point and the enemy will not gain a point), he will then re-spawn with 999% damage already accumulated, meaning he can be killed again rather quickly. But saving him from death, even briefly can be a big decider of a match.

 

Another thing I considered for him is the Life Ring, since that's what he passes down to Seliph in their unique event, so it has direct importance to Genealogy and being able to recover HP in some fashion would help him protect against his weakness, but it feels like the four specials he has and the niches they bring him (dealing with shields, horizontal recovery, infinite recovery and protection from projectiles) were more necessary. So consider Life Ring potential for an alternate custom special, as that's something I wish dearly to become a thing again.

 

So, all in all, Sigurd is a character of huge extremes. He has extreme power and extreme speed (horses run fast after all), but needs to commit to things and his lack of middair jump means he's stuck to ground combat (I didn't even go over his middair attacks, and maybe he doesn't have any, though I like the idea of him chasing an enemy off the stage and using Return Ring to get to safety after securing a KO, so he'd have middair attacks of some from, I just don't have any specific ideas as to what). He's a bit like Little Mac, craving out the same niche of a grounded rush down character, only with a lot more oddity to him. I think among high level play he'd be considered pretty low tier for his predictability, but for the average player he'd be a huge noob killer and a blast to play as.

Edited March 1 by Jotari

[Lord_Brand]

I like the idea of mounted/unmounted as "transformations". Tweaks I would suggest:

- The horse runs faster and hits harder, but is also heavier, takes longer to turn around, and can't double jump.

- Sigurd can be knocked off the horse by attacks, which will cause the horse to bolt.

- If the horse takes too much damage or falls off screen, you'll have to wait for a bit before you can re-summon it.