Strikeborn Guts Guide: Kit, Variants, Combos & Awakening
Learn how to play Black Swordsman (Guts) in Strikeborn: base moves and creator-reported damage, directional and air variants, dagger setups, practical combo routes, Berserker awakening, and what the September 2026 patch changed.
Black Swordsman is Strikeborn's Guts character: a slow, long-reaching heavy brawler who wins by controlling space rather than rushing. His 2026 kit has four base moves, directional and air variants, a throwable dagger, an arm cannon, and a full Berserker awakening. Start with the grounded route — three M1s into downslam, walk forward, connect, then the backward variant of move 4, backdash, and side dash back in — and build variants and awakening routes from there. Numbers below are creator-reported and should be rechecked after updates.
M1 string basics and defense traits
Guts' basic string is a four-hit family with the uppercut on hit three and the down slam on hit four — the opposite of games where hit four is the launcher. Creator-reported values: M1s deal 20.5 total damage (4.5 for the first three hits, 7 for the last), they are very slow, and the last hit guard breaks. Unlike Yuji, Guts' up tilt does not hold the target airborne — they start falling the second you stop M1ing — and everything except the up tilt can black flash.
Hyper armor does not make you invincible: front dashes, down slams, and other moves can still hit Guts through it.
Base move list (slots 1–4)
All numbers below are creator-reported from gameplay footage, not official patch data.
| Slot | Move | Creator-reported detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ground Splitter | 24.5 damage, unblockable, hits ground, one air variant. Also described as a triple slash with AoE and super armor; the air variant deals 22 damage, is also unblockable, hits ground, and requires a minimum height. |
| 2 | Ironclad Thrust | 22 damage, unblockable, can black flash for 47.5; does not hit ground. Hold-jump variant deals 13.5 (cannot black flash), launches the victim up for extension (side dash x3 or forward dash), and is true ragdoll until they land. |
| 3 | Repeater | Six bolts, 16.5 damage; only the last bolt can black flash (20.6). Blockable and hits ground; perfect blocking a bolt reflects it toward the blocker's cursor. A full-bolt hit rolls the target. |
| 4 | Prosthetic Arm Cannon | 25 damage point-blank (62.5 on black flash), unblockable, hits ground; the combo ender. Point-blank use deals more damage without the forward dash. |
Directional and air variants
- Repeater side-dash variant: 6 damage (15 on black flash), blockable, hits ground, much shorter cooldown. Hitting a ragdolled ground target rolls them away; an airborne ragdolled target is rolled toward you for an easy combo extend.
- Repeater hold-S variant: a bomb dealing 18 damage if it sits near someone, 35 if hit by a move or M1. Anyone can hit the bomb, down slams detonate it instantly, and it is unblockable and hits ground.
- Arm cannon hold-S variant: 10 damage — steps back, then launches you and the enemy forward and up. Backdashing after it can start an air combo (reported as the only way Guts starts one).
- Arm cannon jump (hold space) variant: 10 damage — a mobility move launching you high and far forward while ragdolling the enemy below.
- Ground Splitter air variant: requires minimum height (usable off air launch) — a big unblockable slam.
- Slot 4 counter behavior: one showcase treated slot 4 as a counter if it hit an incoming attack, and a regular swing if it did not.
Dagger tool and explosive setups
The 2026 update added a throwable dagger with aim assistance. It creates explosive setups, has side-dash variants, a held variant that changes timing, and can extend combos after a ragdoll. The risk is self-damage: the explosive dagger can hurt Guts himself, so place the trap with space between yourself and it, or trigger it after dashing away. Defense note: the dagger, repeater, and arm cannon can all be blocked or parried — check whether the opponent is blocking before committing to a follow-up.
Combo routes
Easy creator-demonstrated route:
- Land 3 basic attacks into downslam.
- Walk forward and connect the next hit.
- Use the backward variant of move 4.
- Backdash while keeping the target in the hit.
- Side dash back into the target and restart basic attacks.
Shorthand to start with: M1 x3 > downslam > walk forward + next hit > [back] move 4 > reset.
Community notation: M1 x3 three lights, 1–4 skill slots, j. aerial version, b. back/hold-S variant, dj dash, wj wall jump, > then. In Guts footage the fourth M1 does not launch — translate TSB-style comments ("M1 4 times then 1") with that in mind.
Air combo basics (post-September 2026): land the uppercut (third M1 hit), follow immediately with jump or dash (timing is more forgiving than before), use one aerial skill you have tested, and exit safely via wall jump or landing if the opponent remains airborne. Community-noted tech: look-down kick after three M1s, and the backdash-into-air-slot-4 route.
Awakening (Berserker) kit
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Activation | The transformation deals damage on activation (block flash reported at 62.5): grab someone, do a few slashes, then a spinning slash and ground slam. The exact current activation method is only shown in update footage — recheck after patches. |
| Carnage Grip (slot 1) | 40 damage, 85.5 on a block flash; blockable, not hitting ground. A rush that grabs, slams the target several times, then blows them up with the arm cannon. Not guaranteed — use after conditioning the opponent. |
| Abyssal Rend (slot 2) | 21 damage, unblockable, hits ground; a flurry of slashes. Its exact properties and current availability are not verified. |
| Devastation (update addition) | A wide cleave combo move; you must hit the uppercut part for it to continue, it is aimable in the air, and it combos from move 2 into move 3. |
| M1s and movement | Awakened M1s are much faster with multidirectional behavior, the front dash is very fast, and cooldowns on the two moves are short enough to use five or six times each per awakening. |
Update changes affecting Guts
- First update: M1s made faster; Ironclad Thrust space-hold variant made available with more consistent knockback; Prosthetic Arm Cannon back variant adjusted with new knockback; Repeater base variant now ragdolls on final hit; cooldowns adjusted across the kit; new awakening move (Devastation) and a new Ironclad Thrust backdash variant added.
- September 2026 patch: air combo route made more consistent; the super downslam front-dash extender was removed (pre-September clips relying on it no longer work); opponents can now evade out of Guts' air combo, so a confirmed hit no longer guarantees a full route. Combat-wide, air launch into forward dash no longer extends combos, and perfect block/dodge were nerfed.
Gameplan and common mistakes
- Control spacing first: use the sword's visible reach to learn a stable grounded confirm before testing variants; side dash into M1s is easier than front-dashing to start combos.
- Guts performs better in open stone courtyards where his range wins; he is slower than Yuji in tight ruins, and a down slam on a cliff lip is a stock.
- The 2026 kit lets you create openings instead of waiting: use the dagger or bomb to force reactions, extend with the side-dash dagger after ragdoll, and convert with arm cannon at the matching range.
- Do not awaken from neutral and hope for the best — activate when you have a route into Carnage Grip.
- Common mistakes: chasing pre-September routes, expecting guaranteed full air routes, careless dagger placement (self-damage), assuming tools are unblockable, awakening without a plan, and skipping directional-variant practice.
Unverified trigger: front-dash uppercut variant
An earlier explanation said Guts' front-dash uppercut variant activates by holding backward during the front dash, but a September 6, 2026 creator correction retracted that; the replacement description only begins to suggest a run-dash condition and does not give a complete reproducible input. The separately recorded backward move-four route still works as shown, but treat the front-dash uppercut trigger as unverified until a complete current-build demonstration shows the movement state, direction held, dash type, attack timing, success cue, a failed comparison, and the build date.