Punch Upon a Time Merlin Moveset and Strategy

Merlin is a projectile-trap fighter in Punch Upon a Time who controls space using her crystal orb, Artemis falcon summons, and long-range spell beams. You pick her to pressure opponents offstage, lock down platforms, and convert ranged stuns into heavy knockouts.

As developer Supersaurus highlights on the official Steam store page:

Assemble a squad of the biggest fairy tale names to punch, dunk, fly, score, and sumo your way to victory as the LAST TEAM STANDING. — the official Steam store page

On the roster of characters, Merlin stands out as a medium-sized zoner standing atop a floating crystal sphere. Her design emphasizes disjointed attacks, remote detonators, and guided edgeguarding rather than close-up brawling.

How Does Merlin Control Space in Punch Upon a Time?

Disjointed range is the foundation of Merlin's neutral game against close-range opponents. Her primary attacks strike using spell projections, wizard hat swings, and her rolling crystal ball, preventing direct trade damage against physical attackers.

Spaced normals allow Merlin to wall out enemies while testing reaction times in training mode or live matches. Her grounded toolkit creates vertical launch angles that lead into sustained aerial strings:

• Down Tilt summons an upward lightning strike that works as her primary grounded combo starter. Because the bolt is disjointed, opponents cannot easily contest the hitbox from above.
• Forward Tilt rolls the crystal ball forward to knock enemies into the air. Striking with the initial purple flash represents the sweet spot, dealing greater launch force than late hits.
• Up Tilt performs an upward leap that hits directly overhead to anti-air incoming aerial approaches.
• Neutral Jab delivers quick disjointed pokes. When opponents fail to directionally influence away, grounded hits confirm directly into a follow-up Down Tilt.

Which Moves Define Merlin's Core Arsenal?

Aerial attacks give Merlin flexible tools for platform harassment, offstage spikes, and retreating defense. She possesses multiple sweet-spot mechanics across her aerials, creating different knockback angles depending on spacing:

• Neutral Air spins the crystal ball in place, hitting on both sides with minimal landing lag to maintain platform pressure.
• Forward Air strikes outward with the crystal sphere. The sour hitbox near her body pops targets straight up for combo follow-ups, while the outer sphere delivers horizontal launch.
• Back Air manifests magic hands that sweep backward. The sour spot launches horizontally, while the sweet spot directly beneath her creates a spike that sends opponents straight down.
• Down Air shoots a magical projectile beam directly below her. Clean hits register as an aerial spike, giving her safe downward edgeguards from full-hop height.
• Up Air swings her wizard hat upward to juggle targets above platforms.

Her heavy smash attacks punish staggered targets. Forward Smash launches the crystal ball forward along the ground as a projectile. Down Smash slams the ball downward to clear nearby threats. Up Smash creates an expansive magic blast above Merlin that reaches through elevated platforms to catch landing frames and air dodges.

How Do Merlin's Crystal Special Interactions Work?

Divination Trap is the central special ability that powers Merlin's ranged setups. Summons through Down Special place a glowing crystal that hovers stationary in the air. Activating Down Special a second time triggers an explosion that stuns anyone inside the radius. Foes knocked into the crystal also receive stun, granting guaranteed follow-up smash attacks.

The floating crystal functions as an amplifier across Merlin's entire special ability kit:

• Forward Special summons the falcon familiar Artemis. Holding the special button lets you steer the bird across the stage before releasing it into a fast dash. If Artemis touches the crystal, the bird carries the trap across the screen toward recovering opponents.
• Up Special causes Merlin to leap upward while firing the crystal ball downward. Colliding with the placed trap explodes the zone and drives the descending sphere further down with added stun.
• Forward Smash fired directly through the placed crystal travels further across the stage at greater velocity, creating a full-screen projectile snipe.
• Fate Sealer unleashes a straight beam laser for Merlin's Ultimate. Firing this beam through the crystal splits the single beam into a three-way spread that blankets offstage recovery areas.

According to the official Beta Weekend 3 patch notes announcement, Supersaurus increased Artemis launch speed, lowered Forward Heavy knockback angles, and tuned Down Throw and Up Throw to connect into aerial follow-ups more reliably.

Which Merlin Setup Fits Each Match Scenario?

Matchup planning determines whether Merlin positions her crystal as an offstage obstacle, a platform barrier, or an offensive projectile cannon. Evaluating her setup choices helps maintain tempo during competitive rounds:

How Does Merlin Function in Team Play?

Team synergy is an operational priority when playing Merlin in multi-squad modes like squad saga. Her capacity to restrict space allows teammates to funnel enemies into predetermined blast zones and trap triggers.

In objective rounds, Merlin provides long-distance cover while allies collect targets or push payloads. In standard combat, her stun setups allow teammates carrying heavy items to land uncontested hits. While she lacks the raw physical weight of heavy brawlers, her zoning and projectile splits make her dangerous in both squad skirmishes and isolated 1v1 encounters.