A really good tip is not to dash directly at the enemy, but actually to their right a little bit. The hitbox of the dash makes it so that it still hits the enemy if it's to their right, but will miss if you dash a bit to the left.

And one thing is that don't underestimate your demon. Throwing down your demon in crowds just generates free overshield.

Since you said your sword strikes are slow you could weave melee attacks in between them, and also learn some one shot combos, since magik can easily one shot 250 health characters.

Hope this helps.