Counter Surge
- This article is about the move for Corrin. For other uses, seeCounter (disambiguation). For the general class of moves, seeCounterattack.
| Counter Surge | |
|---|---|
 Counter Surge inUltimate. | |
| User | Corrin |
| Universe | Fire Emblem |
| Article on Fire Emblem Wiki | Counter |
Counter Surge (反竜穿,Counter-Dragon Fang/Drill) isCorrin'sdown special move. It is essentially Corrin's version ofCounter, albeit with a different animation and knockback trajectory.
Overview[edit]
Similarly tocounterattack special moves, Corrin will briefly pose, and if an attack hits him during this time, he will evade the attack and strike back with surges of water in front of and behind him, reflecting back 1.2x thedamage on both sides (with a minimum of 10% damage dealt to each opponent struck). Corrin utilizes his Dragon Fang for this attack, morphing into his dragon form to stomp the ground with both front feet as they retaliate (akin to his down throw). The move deals more knockback when the counterattack hits as early as possible, making its hitbox akin to asex kick.
Unlike other counterattacks, Counter Surge bears several unique distinctions: it launches opponents on a vertical trajectory, defends Corrin equally from front and back rather than only in the direction he is facing, and Corrin outright evades the attack rather than absorbing it, meaning that nearby opponents can be hit by the dodged attacks while incoming projectiles will not dissipate.
Upon Corrin's debut and prior to the1.1.5 patch, the move's damage multiplier was originally 1.3x. By virtue of its nearly purely vertical knockback, this made it easily the strongest non-custom counter in the game in terms of KO power (surpassing evenShulk'sVision andRoy'sCounter), being capable ofOHKOing after countering a hitbox dealing at least 33% damage, a lower requirement than any other counter move (apart from thecustom special movePower Vision, which can OHKO with a hitbox dealing only 30% damage). In the 1.1.5 update, the damage multiplier was reduced to 1.2x and the counter window of the move was reduced, making it less powerful and more in line with the other aforementioned counters.
Instructional quote[edit]
 Move List |  | Awaits an attack and punishes it by turning into a dragon, launching enemies with jets of water. |
Customization[edit]
Special Move customization was added inSuper Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Counter Surge |
|---|
 |
| "If attacked while in this stance, Corrin turns into a dragon and launches enemies with jets of water." |
- Counter Surge: Default.
Like the other DLC characters, Corrin has no custom move variations.
Origin[edit]
At the time that Corrin was introduced toSmash Bros., Counter Surge was not directly based on any one facet of theFire Emblem games or Corrin's abilities, but rather inspired by several of them:
- Like the basicCounter move possessed by otherFire Emblem fighters, it draws inspiration from the basic act of counter-attacking inFire Emblem gameplay: when a unit attacks another unit, the targeted unit will perform a counter-attack to strike back at their attacker if they currently have an equipped weapon with a compatiblerange.
- In addition, someFire Emblem games have a Counter skill that reflects half or all damage (depending on the game, with varying rates of occurrence). Corrin in particular can learn the skill itself in their home game by reclassing into theOni Chieftain class tree, and their use of their dragon form is reminiscent of the attack pattern while equipped with a dragonstone.
- The pose Corrin strikes when activating this move is derived fromFates, specifically from the pose that Corrin strikes when performing a critical hit. There are some differences: instead of gripping their sword with both hands, inSmash Bros. Corrin keeps the following hand (the right hand) gripping their sword while holding up their left, along with being partially transformed into their dragon form.
- The use of water blasts as the means of counter-attacking is derived from the lore surrounding Corrin and their families inFates.
In 2020, Counter Surge was introduced into theFire Emblem series proper inFire Emblem Heroes, in which it is a special skill that is exclusive to the "Child of Dusk" Legendary Hero version of female Corrin. When the skill is charged, it reduces the damage that Corrin will take from the next incoming attack from an enemy by 30%, then powers up the next attack that Corrin will make (often a counter-attack to that attack) by 30%. The attack gain is, ironically, the same amount prior to the pre-nerfSmash 4 iteration of the move. However, the English translation of the game rechristened the skill "Negating Fang".
Gallery[edit]
Corrin using Counter Surge in Smash 4
In his counter pose alongsideMarth andIke inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
About to transform inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Counter Surge as shown by the Move List inUltimate.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese | 反竜穿 |
 English | Counter Surge |
 French | Contre du dragon |
 German | Wasserkonter |
 Spanish | Contrataque dragón |
 Italian | Contrattacco del drago |
 Chinese (Simplified) | 反龙穿 |
 Chinese (Traditional) | 反龍穿 |
 Korean | 반룡천 |
 Dutch | Drakencounter |
 Russian | Импульсный контрудар |
Trivia[edit]
- This is the only counterattack used by aFire Emblem character that:
- Does not involve the direct usage of the wielded weapon.
- Has a different name than the otherFire Emblem characters who share such an attack (especially its Japanese version).
- Is written in kanji in the Japanese version instead of katakana.
- Hits on both sides simultaneously.
- Counter Surge is the slowest out of allFire Emblem characters' counters in terms of the time it takes for the actual hitbox to appear, since it slows down time somewhat as a result while doing so.
- This is also the only special move with the "Dragon Fang" term in its name (in the Japanese version only) that does not make use of Corrin's limbs by themselves, as it uses Corrin’s full dragon form instead.
- If theShadowAssist Trophy freezes Corrin while performing Counter Surge, the counter hitbox will remain active and trigger if hit. The frozen Corrin will not attack until being unfrozen, but will remainintangible in the mean time.
