While Abel seems like a grappler at first glance, his strengths lie in his ability to use frame traps against opponents once they are afraid of his Tornado Throw. As a result, your first priority with Abel is to get in close and stay there. Thanks to Marseilles Roll, it’s not too difficult to do-- Marseilles roll only has 4 frames of vulnerability at the end of the maneuver, making it difficult to punish.
Since throws in this game are much slower than in Street Fighter IV, it is also more difficult to stop during its invulnerability period! If your opponent expects a Marseilles Roll, use that chance to walk toward them. It will be very difficult for your opponent to stop both approaches simultaneously, so force your way into Forward Kick range.
Once you are close, attack your opponent with c.LP and c.LK, s.LK and Forward Kick. If you push yourself out of range for your crouching attacks, make your opponent block Forward Kick then cancel into a dash and maintain proximity. When your opponent has blocked a c. LP, then you can put your opponent into an extremely effective mix-up-- another LP, TT, and s.HP! Time your c.LP with just enough gaps for your opponent to jump.
They’ll typically be most afraid of Abel’s TT, so your stagger LP can hit them during their pre-jump frames and allow you to convert into a combo with CoD or ex shoulder tackle! S.HP works similarly IF your opponent is impatient and trying to jump or mash button, time S.HP to counter and cancel into CoD for a quick 230+ damage! Abel’s close S.HK turns into a mid-attack, giving you an additional way to open up a blocking opponent that’s less risky than a missed TT. If your opponent is content to simply block, grab them with TT.
If you hit with a TT, Roll up to your grounded opponent with LK MR or dash and cross up with j.MK. The cross-up option can lead to huge damage. However, if your opponent forward rolls on the ground, they’ll easily escape your pressure. Lk. MR leaves you directly next to your opponent, and giving you the chance to choose the best option based on whether they forward rolled or got up in place. This leaves you in perfect range to TT your opponent again. To punish your opponent for trying to jump away from another TT, attack with Forward Kick cancelled into dash or c.LP to prevent them from jumping.
It can be difficult to anti-air with Abel because his anti-airs depend on his opponent’s angle of attack. Against Characters approaching from a narrow angle in front of Abel, hit them out of the air with c.MK. Against characters jumping in deep, you don’t have many options other than to grab them with FS or to block. The normal version of FS can safely anti-air many jump attacks, but the move has to be performed early because it’s slow and only grabs jumps wen their high. EX FS is invincible to aerial attacks, so feel free to use meter if you want a more consistent AA.
If you simply want to avoid confrontation altogether, escape your opponents’ jump attacks by rolling away with MR. Abel’s most effective anti-air is breathless, which can absorb any jumping attack and grab an opponent on landing. But it’s expensive and requires a charge, so you might not have it available in many situations. If you have the meter to spend and are holding a charge, however, punish your opponent for big damage by using breathless to take their breath away!
Without meter, Abel doesn’t have a reversal attack against ground attacks, making ground defense difficult. Against pressure, you should look for a chance to simply back away from your opponent or use MR against a particularly slow attack. LP TT can occasionally work defensively if your opponent whiffs a move intended for you to block, although you shouldn’t rely on this risky tactic. With meter, Abel has several reversal attacks that can be used for different situations-- EX TT, EX CoD, EX MR, and Breathless. Ex TT will stop any ground attacks, but Abel is left defenseless for nearly a second if your opponent avoids it or if your or if you misjudge its range. EX CoD can absorb any attacks thrown at Abel and occasionally grab characters jumping to avoid TT. However, it is unsafe if your opponent simply blocks.
EX MR ignores whatever your opponent is doing and allows Abel to roll to safety. But if your opponent sees that coming, they can simply throw your, and you’ll be stuck in an unadvised situation once again. Breathless can grab blocking opponents and absorb attacks, but from close range your opponent can easily avoid it by jumping over you, making it an expensive risk. When Abel is on defense, it’s best to simply be patient, read your opponent, and use the right reversal at the right time.