I know this thread is super old but I love Shovel Knight and I also love coming up with Yomi character designs so uh here’s a random mock up I made.
Also don’t get too caught up in specific speeds or damages; I’m pretty bad at imagining what appropriate speeds and damages any given move should have. Just take them as general indications of like “This move is supposed to be sorta fast” or “This move does more damage than that move”, etc.
Shovel Knight, Stalwart Warrior
| Hit Points: |
85 |
| Max Combo: |
●●●● |
| Normal attack speed: |
x.6 (x = card rank) |
| Normal throw speed: |
x.6 ●● |
| Normal throw damage: |
6 |
| Attacks: |
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, J, Q, K, Ace* |
| Throws: |
7, 8*, 9, Ten, J |
| Blocks: |
2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 |
| Dodges: |
5, 6, Q* |
Deck Composition in List Form
2: A/B
3: A/B
4: A/B
5: A/D
6: A/D
7: T/B
8: T/B*
9: T/B
Ten: T/B
J: A/T
Q: A/D*
K: A/A
Ace: A*/A
Special and Super Moves
Special Moves
-
J (+J): Flame Wand
Attack, 2.4 speed, 6+7(2) damage, 1 CP, Linker
-
J: Fishing Rod
Throw, 9.0 speed, 8 damage, 1 CP, Ender, 
-
Q: Phase Locket
Dodge
-
Q: War Horn
Attack, 8.0 speed, 15(3) damage, Can’t Combo,
-
K (+4 any): Dust Knuckles
Attack, 3.0 speed, 4+4(2) damage, 2 CP, Linker
-
K (+J/Q/K): Propeller Dagger
Attack, 2.2 Speed, 5+5(2) damage, 1 CP, Starter
Super Moves
-
A (+A +A +A): Shovel Drop
Attack, 1.8 Speed, 5+5(3) damage, 3 CP, Ender
-
AAAA: Charged Slash
Attack, 0.8 Speed, 40 damage, Can’t Combo
Innate
Digging Deeper [Edited to try and remove ambiguity]
Every time you play a card to pump an attack, immediately draw a card from your deck. If possible, you may immediately use cards drawn this way in your combo.
Abilities
-
8* (Hearts and Diamonds) — Troupple Chalice: Ichor of Renewal
[Draw Phase]
Discard this card to retrieve any face card from your discard.
-
8* (Clubs and Spades) — Troupple Chalice: Ichor of Boldness
[Draw Phase]
Discard this card. This turn, your combat-revealed attacks always out-speed other attacks, and your throws always out-speed other throws.
-
Q* — Just a Phase
[During Combat]
You may play Phase Locket while knocked down. If you successfully dodge while knocked down, you draw a card and stand up, and combat ends immediately. (You cannot follow up).
-
A* — Dynamo Charge
[During Combat]
If Shovel Drop hits, and you pump it at least once, you may attach any card from your hand to your character card. (Maximum of 1 attached card at a time.) While it is attached, you can play Charge Slash for only 2 aces (instead of 4). Discard the attached card when you play Charge Slash or when you get hit.
Ramblings about the Design
Shovel Knight’s iconic move is the Shovel Drop, so obviously we want a way to represent that in Yomi, and we want it to be generally a pretty strong part of SK’s Plan A strategy. “Pumping” kind of feels the same way that bouncing on an enemy feels, so we make Shovel Drop a pumpable attack and stick it on the Ace so it’s easy to use over and over, just like Shovel Knight would.
Now, a character who pumps a lot will be card hungry, and since we want SK to Shovel Drop a lot, we want to make it a more appealing choice. So, Digging Deeper makes pumping Shovel Drop a better idea, and it also incorporates the idea of, you know, digging. Which is on theme. Great!
Now, if we want him using Shovel Drop relatively often, it can’t be too good, damage-wise, but I also wanted him to have a high-damage dealing attack. So, the other side of the ace is the Charge Slash, SK’s high-powered attack from the game. But, is there a way to make this more interesting than just “Here’s a super”?
Dynamo Mail, in the original game, is the closest thing to a “combo” SK has: Bounce twice on an enemy, and you can do your next charge slash immediately. So, “bouncing twice” on an enemy in Yomi (hitting with Shovel Drop and pumping at least once) allows SK to play Charged Slash with only 2 aces instead of 4. This makes a serviceable super (0.8 speed for 40 damage is great, but it’s also by far the weakest 4 ace super) into a real threat (2 aces for 40 damage??? What is this madness!). I imagine a standard SK strategy would be to hit confirm Shovel Drop, pump it once, then immediately power up for two aces to threaten Charge Slash the very next turn.
Next, how do we represent relics? It’s tempting to choose a couple and make them abilities, but part of the fun of playing SK, in my opinion, is having such a wide variety of tools and attacks at your disposal at all times. Plus, the relics are sort of like SK’s “special moves” in the base game. So here, I made every side of his face cards a different option, theming each one vaguely on a relic from the game.
What about abilities? In the original game, SK has up to two chalices that can each hold one of three different Ichors, which give him different effects in levels. I thought this was a good opportunity to do something unique among the Yomi cast: give him an ability whose effect is different depending on which particular card he has. So, his 8* ability is different between the red suits and the black suits, to represent the idea that SK has two different chalices with two different Ichors in them.
Lastly, I wanted SK to be on the slower side. He’s a solid, stocky knight, he wouldn’t normally be zooming around. But he’s also not exactly un-agile. So he has some fast-ish moves, but no traditional DP for quickly getting out of trouble. Sort of like Vendetta. But this makes him really vulnerable to knock down (hello, Zane and Persephone!). So how do we give him a panic button that fits his theme? Just a Phase, the ability on his Q dodge, Phase Locket. This gives him a tasty mix up on KD with just his Q: Will he play the dodge (low risk, low reward), or will he play War Horn to try and catch the cheeky throw intended to toss Phase Locket?
Anyways, this is a pretty rough draft, and this design is probably underpowered in some MUs and busted in others. 
(I think this version of SK most likely dumps all over Quince.) But I think the core concepts here (Pumping to represent Shovel Drop, chaining Shovel Drop into Charged Slash, giving SK a breadth of tools to represent his relics) could make for a pretty faithful and fun version of Shovel Knight in Yomi.
(I think this version of SK most likely dumps all over Quince.) But I think the core concepts here (Pumping to represent Shovel Drop, chaining Shovel Drop into Charged Slash, giving SK a breadth of tools to represent his relics) could make for a pretty faithful and fun version of Shovel Knight in Yomi.