Special Attacks in Claymore

Claymore use a relatively small number of named attacks compared to fighters in other shonen manga, and those who possess a unique technique tend to be more powerful than other Claymores. Attacks are developed by training and/or release of Yoki.

Offensive Techniques

Blade of Evil

• Users: Uranus, Roxanne
• First Seen: Scene 117

A fighting style that utilizes every part of the claymore, including the hilt and cross-guard, in attacking the opponent. This technique was looked down upon by other Claymores, seeing it as a crude and desperate fighting style. Roxanne, however, was smitten with the technique (at least initially) and copied it.

Double Sword Style

• Users: Undine, Deneve,
• First Seen: Scene 53, Anime Scene 19

As the name implies, it simply is a fighting style that utilizes two swords. This style was used by Undine, whose friend was killed protecting her. Undine, blaming her own weakness, took up her friend's sword and continuously released her Yoki to gain huge muscles even outside of combat so as to get the Organization's approval in carrying two swords. Deneve realized that Undine's muscles were a façade and unnecessary for any skillful Claymore who can control Yoki.

After Undine's death in the Northern Campaign, Deneve adopts the style, taking up Undine's sword in her memory and leaving Undine's friend's sword to mark Undine's grave.

Drill Sword

• Users: Jean, Helen,Teresa
• First Seen: Scene 47, Anime Scene 17

Jean's trademark technique which involves winding up her arm for a total of 21 rotations. As she attacks, her arm unwinds, spinning the blade in her hand. Galatea described the Drill Sword as the attack with the most striking power and velocity among all techniques in the present generation Claymores. The attack was strong enough to pierce Dauf's armor.

In Pieta, Jean showed a variant of the technique, in which the blade is allowed to spin like a propeller. This was done by orienting the blade perpendicular to the long axis of the arm.

After the Northern Campaign, Helen began to use the Drill Sword. The natural flexibility of Helen's arms allowed her to use the technique with much less preparation time as compared to Jean.

Dust Eater

• User: Cassandra,Teresa
• First Seen: Scene 117

Dust Eater is a strange-looking technique that requires anchoring both feet to the ground and then moving the user's head like a pendulum. Using centrifugal force, the body is swung very close to the ground and the user attacks from this unusual angle, immobilizing the foe by hacking of all limbs.

Elegance

• User: Hysteria
• First Seen: Scene 116

The Elegance used by Hysteria is considered to be the most beautiful technique of all warriors. According to Miria, this ability is similar to her Phantom Mirage. It requires the a brief burst of Yoki, passing narrowly by an opponents body and getting behind their backs. Hysteria uses this technique offensively and the proximity of the after-image produced is such that it appears as if Hysteria had slipped through her opponent's body.

Quicksword

• User: Irene, Clare,Teresa
• First Seen: Scene 18, Anime Scene 13

One of the most powerful techniques in the Claymore universe, the Quicksword is a barrage of strikes too fast to follow, which can take down the most skilled of opponents, and at the same time it provides a nearly impenetrable defense.  While it failed to penetrate Dauf's armor and Teresa managed to block Irene's Quicksword easily, Ophelia, Rigardo and two other Pieta Awakened Beings have all fallen because of this technique. It has even proven itself as powerful enough to deal a large amount of damage to Cassandra , an Abyssal One.

Irene teaches the quicksword to Clare, explaining that Clare must force all of her yoki into her sword arm, while at the same time not letting it awaken. Naturally, the Quicksword needs great strength and a calm mind, as Irene possesses.Clare, however, is a very emotional person on the inside, which keeps her from maintaining the quicksword for extended periods of time, and also keeping her from reaching Irene's level of quicksword. 

To speed up Clare's proficiency with Quicksword, Irene severs her own arm and orders Clare to reattatch it to her own body in place of the arm lost in the battle with Ophelia. After this, the Quicksword becomes Clare's strongest attack, as she learns to turn the wild, random slashes into tightly controlled strikes.

Rippling Sword

• User: Ophelia, Teresa
• First Seen: Scene 35, Anime Scene 13

Ophelia claimed to have developed this technique just to acquire a nickname, expressing jealousy for those who have them. She adds, however that the nickname hasn't become well known as "most of the people who've seen it are dead."

Ophelia uses the flexible quality of her body to vibrate and undulate her sword, making it resemble a rippling snake. This illusion makes her blows almost impossible to anticipate or block, though Irene was shown to be able to easily deflect them with the Quicksword.

Sensory Control

• User: Raftela
• First Seen: Scene 107

While focusing her yoki throughout her body, Raftela can blur an opponent's vision and "dive into the confused minds of her opponents, and then amplify and send the opponent into a state of insanity, at the deep thoughts sleeping inside her opponent's heart."

Shadow Hunter

• User: Nina
• First Seen: Scene 65

The technique entails Nina's blade following a specific Yoki, slashing continuously until the Yoki is extinguished. The blade's movement can be surmised to be quite fast, as it managed to wound Cassandra, a former No. 1 who can be presumed to possess good agility, albeit it has been stated that her skills match only those of an average No. 5 when not using a specific technique.

The technique leaves the user open for attacks, however, and requires Nina to have ample backup to protect her while the technique is active.

Strong Sword

• User: Rachel
• First Seen: Scene 69

The technique itself has no name. It was Riful who gave the technique a name during her fight with Audrey and Rachel.

The attack involves the user digging her sword into the ground, building up potential energy, and then releasing the strike. The end result is a slash with much greater power and speed than normally possible. Rachel used this attack to cut through Riful's tough body. For added versatility, she can use Audrey's sword to brace against. Riful criticizes this technique as being too obvious and having too long a set-up period.

Windcutter

• Users: Flora, Clare,Teresa
• First Seen: Scene 51, Anime Scene 18

A light-speed attack created by "Windcutter Flora" in which the user draws her sword, slashes and resheaths her sword in an instant. While slower than the Quicksword, it is more accurate and fundamentally requires no Yoki to perform, allowing the user to perform continuously without tiring.

After the Northern Campaign, Clare adopts the technique.

Defensive Techniques

Acute Yoki Sensing

• Users: Teresa, Clare
• First Seen: Scene 28, Anime Scene 7

Involves sensing the flow, size and movement of Yoki within a Yoma or Claymore, thus giving the user the ability to predict attacks and defend accordingly.

First seen used by Teresa, and later adopted by Clare, who practiced the move at length in order to battle Awakened Beings, and eventually, Priscilla.

Yoki Manipulation

• User: Galatea, Clare, Cynthia, Yuma, Renée (Presumed), Jean
• First Seen: Scene 3, Anime Scene 1

At the beginning of the series, when Clare rescued Raki from a yoma, she took a hit through the abdomen. After removing the Yoma's severed arm, Clare used Yoki to close the wound.

Claymores can also detect, control and align their Yoki with their targets, making possible altering trajectories of attacks (Galatea), assisting healing and regeneration of others (Cynthia, Yuma), and prevent or reverse a Claymore's Awakening (Galatea, Clare, Jean).

Techniques Classified as Both Offensive and Defensive

Gentle Sword

• User: Audrey
• First Seen: Scene 69

The technique itself has no name. It was Riful who gave the technique a name during her fight with Audrey and Rachel.

The technique allows the user to deflect and redirect attacks to any direction she chooses. The technique can be used purely as a pure defensive measure, as well as in an offensive manner. It can also be used as a brace for Rachel's "Strong Sword."

Phantom Mirage

• User: Miria,Teresa
• First Seen: Scene 28, Anime Scene 10

Miria's signature move involves the release of an exceptionally brief and intense burst of Yoki, letting her move so fast that afterimages remain in her adversary's vision; thus, the origin of her nickname.

The Phantom Mirage is limited to 20-30 uses in a fight, due to intense strain on mind and body. After the Northern Campaign, Miria displays a new version which does not rely on Yoki release, trading speed for a slight increase in controlled movements and, above all else, near-limitless use. In her battle with Hysteria, Miria demonstrates a new variant involving momentary awakening in order to gain even more tremendous speed, but at high strain and risk.

Soul Link

• Users: Luciela and Rafaela (failed attempt), Alicia and Beth, unnamed twin trainees and Miata , Galatea and Clarice
• First Seen: Scene 62

Two Claymores align their Yoki so that one can "entrust her soul" to the other, allowing her to fight as an Awakened Being without losing her humanity. She can revert to being human after the battle when the "soul" is released back into her body.

The original experiment failed with Luciela, when her younger sister, Rafaela, accidentally broke their link. The fully awakened Luciela, then, became an Abyssal One.

The second experiment used identical twins, Alicia and Beth, raised by the Organization from infancy. Galatea thought this was a repeat of the first, and used the phrase "Soul Link," but Rubel revealed that the twins have lost almost all individuality, with almost no sense of self or intellect. They were essentially one merged soul—a two-body Claymore in effect. Here, the link is not as easily broken, unless one the twins is incapacitated or dies.

Winged Technique

• User: Anastasia
• First Seen: Scene 111

This unnamed technique was created by "Winged Anastasia" and requires her to surround the area with strands of her hair like clotheslines. Although they cannot restrict opponents' movements, the strands are strong enough to support a single person's weight, allowing Anastasia to stand on or leap from them and manuever through the air as if she was capable of flight. It is noted by her, though, that if her hair is cut or if the workings of the technique are successfully deduced by the opponent, it will be rendered entirely useless.