Shulk Amiibo

Shulk's Smash amiibo is the figure of Smash's most-MMO-RPG-coded fighter. Shulk is the protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles (2010 Wii / 2020 Switch remaster); his Smash 4 inclusion (2014) was the franchise's first commitment to making a Xenoblade character available in Smash, which preceded Xenoblade's Western mainstream-recognition by several years. (The Xenoblade franchise was a Japan-favored property until Shulk's Smash inclusion drove enough Western interest to support multiple Xenoblade sequels in the West.

The figure keeps the bridge-Xenoblade-protagonist in plastic.) His character beat in Smash is that he's the franchise's most-buff-tier-tactical fighter: Monado Arts down-special opens a five-state stance-switching menu (Speed / Buster / Smash / Shield / Jump), each granting Shulk different stat-buffs that change his combat archetype mid-match.

What he does in Smash Ultimate is train as a Shulk FP with the Monado Arts state-switching mechanic, plus Air Slash recovery, Back Slash side-special, Vision counter. The Shulk FP is the franchise's most-stance-switching-tactical AI fighter because the Monado Arts mechanic adds a meta-game layer most Smash fighters don't have. Compat is 5 games.

He pairs with the broader Smash Ultimate roster, particularly the JRPG-protagonist cluster (Shulk, Joker, Hero).