User blog comment:Lord Loss/Discussion of the Week: Switch Axes/@comment-1436460-20120908065629

Favorite SA? In terms of looks, I like Vermiligua's style, the Ranguro one. In terms of usefulness though, I have to go with Cleaving Thunder. It gets the job done perfectly for tons of monsters.

And aside from being confirmed for MH4, I think they do merit a return. Their design is incredibly unique and fun to use. I don't see why they would ditch them now.

For me, Sword Mode all the way. Phial burst is way too fun, and so is hacking and slashing away. Though, Axe Mode upswing is a godsend for tail cutting.

I've found that SA works wonders on stuff like Narga and Gold/Silver Rath, but the latter is probably biased because I just grinded them hella for a ruby. On the other hand, getting out of the way of Agnaktor's back-up slither with a SA really sucks to do. Definitely used to GLing him lol.

As for cutting tails, SA is good but honestly it depends on personal preference/expertise. For me though, probably SA.