Alex Beginners Primer

Classic Fighting Games Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
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Written for my good friend Herb, I hope this is a good read for anyone new to Alex. Presenting ParryAll’s Alex starter/basics writeup.

There is a lot of in depth information already available in the forum, this is for people picking up Alex for the first time. I hope it is useful and informative. I’m only going to cover the basics. For more advanced, we have over 10 years of information in this forum! Good news though, is Alex is very beginner friendly. Learn at your own pace, and don’t feel overwhelmed by the information available!

Alex General Bio:

Alex is a versatile mid tier character in 3rd Strike. He is a good rushdown character, has a strong footsie game, and some decent defensive options. Alex is easy to pick up and play. Highly recommended starter character for 3rd Strike noobies. Most of Alex’ combos and setups are very easy to pull off So, without further a-do (uhh, I guess that’s how you say it?), let’s begin.

**Alex Special Moves: **

Flash Chop: QCF+P. Alex does a big Rick Flair chop and yells WOOOOOO. Good range, but slow startup and recovery on the heavier versions. LP version combos, MP and HP do not. MP and HP put opponent in a LONG hitstun, allowing you to follow up with Powerbomb, Sleeperhold, SuperArt I, or a neutral MP or MK into several combos (touched on later). LP version safe on block.

Powerbomb: HCB+P. Alex gives a big daddy cool Diesel-esque powerbomb, and then Michael Jackson says “you can’t escape”. This move is very useful in mixups, particularly the LP version. Test out the range for yourself in training mode, LP version has very deceptive range. Very useful in mixups. I will talk setups for it later. HP and MP versions have less range, but more damage.

DDT: HCB+K. Raven and Jake the Snake taught Alex this move. At first this move may seem wonky to you, but it has it’s purposes. It works like a throw, in that it cannot be parried. However it does not work on crouching opponents. Not a bad tool for mixup. MK is the only version of the move I use, and I use it in a very simple setup, or as a mixup. HK version has very long range, but is slow, still might be useful. Setups for this move will be touched on later.

Elbow Smash: charge B, F+K: The EX version of this move is very useful due to it’s very fast startup. It’s almost completely safe on block, just be careful against Ken because he can punish with SAIII on block. The regular version of this move is super cancelable. EX version is also great in footsies. Basically, if they press a button, they eat it.

Stomp: charge D, U+K. MK version crosses up. EX version has a homing property. This move is an overhead, so it’s useful for mixups. Use it sparingly as a wakeup move, and mixup between MK and LK versions to keep an opponent from parrying it.

Knee Lift: EX version is good for combos, and the regular version is great as an anti air. Do not use the EX version as an anti air by itself, because it can be parried, while the non-EX version cannot. Strange, I know, but that’s how it works. Keep in mind this move is kinda wonky, sort of a crappier version of Hugo’s BackBreaker, but still it has it’s uses.

Alex Pokes:

Alex has a lot of good pokes. I’ll talk about my favorite pokes and their usefulness and detail combo potential. Let’s begin.

Standing neutral MP is a versatile poke. It’s fast and can be used to build meter from afar. Good up close. When you are out of range for close medium kick (more on that later), throw out MP and cancel into EX Flash Chop for good damage, or LP Flash Chop if you don’t have meter. Standing neutral MP is also an excellent anti air. On jumping opponents, combo into EX Knee Lift for solid damage. A non EX Knee Lift will not combo.

F+MP is another good tool. Use it at mid/closemid range. Useful in the corner if you anticipate the opponent will try to jump out.

Close MK is used for Alex’s bread and butter combos, which I will touch on later.

Far MK is an excellent midrange poke, it’s fast as hell, sick range, and stuffs many a shotos crouching MKs.

F+HP is a situational move. It can actually be used as a poke, but only versus tall characters like Q and Hugo. Also useful in some combos. Does mad stun. Use it if you have an opponent cornered and read a jump from midrange. Up close, you’ll want to do F+MP, as the HP version will leave you open on block.

B+HP has two properties. If hit on a forward facing opponent, Alex does a headbutt that does crazy stun. This move cannot be parried, but it will miss crouching opponents. Still, it’s great to use against parry-happy opponents. When the opponent is facing backwards (such as after a landed Flash Chop), Alex performs the million dollar dream hold that does less damage and stun. It looks cool though.

C.HP is a decent anti air, since it hits twice, but again this is sort of situational. Best used sparingly, but in certain situations when only the second hit lands, you can combo into regular Knee Lift for good damage.

Jumping Down+P: Never, ever use this terrible fucking move. Ok I think there’s one combo it’s good for, that is it. Just, don’t do it. Terrible recovery and easy as shit to parry.

Jumpin regular HP is your go to jump in move. Starts big combos. Landing it causes great hitstun, so you can actually hit it high in the air, land and immediately go into SAII for good damage. In 3s, moves with this type of property are very useful, because delaying or hitting HP early can thwart parry attempts.

Jumping HK: Good range, a good air-to-air.

Jumping MK: also good range, excellent as a “get the fuck away from me” kind of move, when you are jumping away from the opponent.

LP and LK can be used to setup powerbomb. LK can be comboed into SAII, as can LP. Crouching LK is better, because it can’t be parried high like crouching LP.

Standing HP is a powerful overhead move that does excellent stun. Very useful in mixups, and as a close to close-midrange poke. More on this later.

Crouching HK: Crazy range, bad startup and recover though. Best used at max range. Not a terrible mid-range option, but be warned: Chun Li can stuff this move with c.MK very, very easily at that range.

Crouching MK: useful when you wanna go low but are too close for c.HK.

Crouching MP: Excellent range, a great footsie (handsie?) tool. This is your “offensive” poke, whereas far standing MK is your “defensive” poke. What do I mean by this? Uhhh… Idk, it’ll make sense when you start playing. I need some coffee.

Target Combo: crouching LK into crouching MK. Most players don’t expect Alex to go low on mixups, so it has it’s purposes. Would be nice if you could cancel Alex crouching MK into SOMETHING, anything, but you can’t, because Capcom hates you.

Bread and Butter Combos:

Jumping HP, standing MK, EX Flashchop. Use LP Flashchop if no meter. Oh, I almost forgot, this isn’t SF4, burn that fucking meter if you got it. Especially with Alex, never be afraid to use meter, ever. Anyways, great combo that knocks down. Also if you really wanna be fancy and are metered, combo the first hit of the EX flashchop into SAII.

MP, EX Knee Raise: excellent as an anti air.

MP, EX Flash Chop: use this at close-midrange. Stuffs alot of moves up close, and is great for pressure even if blocked.

Normal Elbow Smash, SAII. I guess it’s useful. I’m tired.

Hit Confirm:

Standing Close MK into SAII. Very, very easy hit confirm. Do QCF+K to land the knee, then another QCF+P for SAII. Mixup a dash-throw with a dash-hit confirm super.

Kara Thow: Forward+P. Nice range. Alex has a fast dash, do dashing in and throwing is always good with him. His kara isn’t 100% needed imo, because Alex has an untechable command grab that has about the same range anyway. Still, like any kara throw it has it’s uses.

Mixups and Setups:

Alex has a lot of very simple, yet effective mixups. Standing Close MK can be cancelled into MK DDT. This move has great utility, if the opponent blocks the MK the DDT will hit, if the opponent parrys the MK it will hit. Misses, however, on crouch-teching opponents. Good news for Alex players, though, is that your opponent seldomly crouch-blocks (more on this at the end).

LP Powerbomb. Do a crouching LK, hit or blocked, then do the LP powerbomb. Jump-in HP (blocked), standing LP (blocked), LP Powerbomb. Let opponent wakeup “clean”, standing at maximum range and do LP powerbomb. The move has -very- deceptive range. Dashup HP powerbomb isn’t bad either.

Target combo, or midrange c.HK are good to get the opponent used to blocking low. Once they are conditioned to blocking low, you can start mixing in Standing HP. Still, try to use S.HP at maximum range, it is much more useful this way.

Beginner Strategy/Character notes:

Alex is suprisingly fast. His dash is excellent. Alex is great close up, close-midrange, midrange, and far-midrange. Remember the pokes we talked about in these circumstances, and use them to out footsie your opponent and control space. When you get in, its time to use Alex strong BnB jumpin combo, s.mp into ex flashchop, and keep the opponent guessing with good mixups we talked about. When you have the opponent cornered is your opportunity to land a stun. Use Alex’s ground to air moves we talked about to keep them put. When the opponent has you pressured/cornered, or is doing alot of pressure, EX Shoulder and EX Stomp are your friends.

Best/Worst Matchups:

Alex is favored versus Hugo, Sean, and Q.

Alex matches up very well against Dudley and Urien.

Alex matches up well to Necro, Remy, Ibuki, Twelve, Ryu, Oro, Yang, Akuma, Elena

Alex does OK against Ken, Makoto, and Yun

Alex will fucking die against Chun Li

Final Thoughts:

Well, there you have it for now. Keep in mind this is a beginners guide. This is your starting point. The strategy I gave you is very basic but it’s a great starting point. As always, learn, experiment, and develop your own style of play. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as they say. Thanks for reading.

3SOE:XBL:ParryAll.

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This tutorial is about 15% of Alex. I didn’t touch on any of the higher level mindgames, pressure, charge partitioning, or mixup potential of Alex. He is fucking SCARY in the right hands. Case in point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0EEMy-5fkw

I just posted this video to show what a complete Alex looks like. The intermidiate and advanced stuff is already here in the Alex forum. Good luck :slight_smile:

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Good guide, thinking of picking up Alex alongside Ryu when OE drops

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Alex is my secondary so I’ll see you online if I get the XBL version. Probably just be on PSN for a while but good to see ya still reppin dat grabbing man.

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Whoa, DevilJin! You still repping Ibuki?

Yaaaa It kinda sucks that the community will be split between XBL and PSN this time around.

DevilJin I’d go as far as sending you a free 360 just to play you and other MD cats lol. Live +Chat pad + 400msp = 43$ on Amazon right now.

You should consider switching as fighters have less lag on 360, and a better community.

We need to get a thread going so I know who’s going to be on 360 and who’s going to be on PSN. Maybe I’ll have to consider a switch lol.

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Are you high bro? His Kara-throw shouldn’t be relied upon? Lol @ these scrubs man.

His Kara-Throw is ***almost ***as good as Chun and Q’s and makes him scary if he gets in your face. Plus he has a fast dash on top of that. Put all that together…

Lesee:

Flashchop: Good pressure move. Nice writeup. EX Flash Chop is damn good. Feel free to use EX more liberally. Good pressure tool, and do you think they’re going to hit a button? Just throw out EX Flash Chop. Throw that shit out there. Really fucks up Urien’s game.

Powerbomb: No reason whatsoever to use MP/HP version ***unless ***they’re fully stunned and they have a fraction of health left and you follow it up after a MP/HP Flash Chop. The Powerbomb can also be kara’d but it’s a bitch, and I think he has better and more reliable options. Oh yeah, and it has enough startup that he can be thrown out, so learning spacing is absolutely essential.

DDT: Just don’t use it. It has almost no use and if you fuck up you’re guaranteed to eat a full combo. Only works against scrubs who don’t know what the fuck they’re doing. It may work in these two situations: You do an air-to-air attack and you do the DDT as they land (risky as hell but awesome) or if you empty jump and you land just outside their throw range and do a DDT. The DDT is a Hail-Mary move.

Elbow Smash: Decent writeup.

Stomp: Believe it or not it does have a purpose. It’s a move you don’t want to just ***throw ***out there, but it will beat throw setups and catch them off guard if you’re infused with Yomi Magic. The Stomp is a good troll move (I should know) against scrubs. Knock them down, hold down, do stMK or crLK or whatever, hold down then up quickly for a Stomp crossup. Do that until they learn how to block.

EX Air Knee Smash: Don’t use regular Knee Smash, just don’t, it’s garbage. The only times I’ve ever gotten regular Air Knee Smash to work is if I’m fighting a bad Akuma player and they jump at the start of the round, and 50% of them do that, I don’t know why… EX Air Knee Smash is pretty decent. It will beat a lot of air moves that you wouldn’t think it would. Like it’ll beat ALL air tatsu’s even EX, it will beat the Twink’s Dive Kicks, and it will beat all of Hugo’s air normals. Can be comboed in the air after stMP like was mentioned. Can also be done on wakeup, it’s a decent wakeup move too. If they crouch it’ll whiff, but it has it’s purpose.

Another AA option against Parry-Whores: If they empty jump and want to parry, do stMP, then MP Flash Chop. Can mindfuck 'em.

**Power Bomb Shenanigans: **Alex can tick into LP Powerbomb off of stLP, crLK (a meatie to be used on wakeup), crMK (another meatie to be used on wakeup), UOH, jLP (if you space it right, they can’t throw you when you land), jHP, and tMP though it’s not as good as others. You can also use those normals to tick into Kara-throw. Now you’re starting to see how good Power Bomb and Kara-throw can be used to mindfuck? You can also whiff jumping normals, especially jMK and jMP to Power Bomb/Kara-Throw them.

Good Jump ins: jHK/HP, stMK/MP, into Flash Chops.
jHP, stLP, Power Bomb/Kara Throw
jMK,crLK (do it fast so it combos), EX Flash or Kara-Throw, doesn’t combo but can mindfuck.
jLP (again, spaced so they can’t throw you when landing), stMK, Flash Chops. Again, doesn’t combo but can mindfuck, experiment with his jump ins.

**Combo into SA2: **Any jumping normal.
stMK. Do qcf+stMK and as it hits another QCF+LP.
crLK. Do QCF, down, crLK, as it hits another QCF+LP.
LPx3. Not very useful if ever.
stLK. Same as doing comboing into stMK only it’s tighter.
Flash Chop or Shoulder.

The Wakeup Game: The most important part of using Alex is knocking them down and controlling the fight. This is how you win with him. You’re going to see that come up a lot. Once you knock them down and you’re in position (I.E. you’re not walking in as they quick roll to try to get in range) you’re best options are: Stay just out of their throw range and LP Powerbomb/Kara-Throw, tick into Powerbomb/Kara-throw, stMK into Flash Chops, stHP, UOH, etc. crLK, crMK, stMK, and stHP are meaties that beat a majority of wakeup attacks excluding select EX moves.

Genki-Special: After knocking them down do MP/MK just before they get up, make them think that you mistimed your attack and either block and punish if they do something, or go right into LP Powerbomb or whatever you want.

**The Gameplan with Alex: **I keep thinking of more things to add, but what should be a priority for you when using Alex is comboing into EX, and using his mixup game once you knock them down. This is easier than it seems and requires a lot of reading into what the other guy is going to do. I don’t try to combo into his super very often; the only times anyone uses SA2 is on wakeup if the other guy is dumb and throws out a meatie when they have SA2 ready, or if it’s absolutely going to kill them or troll them, or after a parry. Otherwise you should put an emphasis on his two good EX moves. This is very important because one good jump in with Alex and using a bit of meter will do 35% damage against Ryu.

On to post 2.

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Looks like you covered Pokes, I’ll add these few things then matchup shit:

Alex’s super awesome hidden power: Super Jump Cancelling MP Flash Chop. Can be done off of Jump in and on wakeup. What is it used for? People who are going to throw. Why is it useful? Say you’re trying to get in, they’re going to parry anything you do on jump in, if you empty jump they’re going to throw and you don’t have enough space for Powerbomb. Here’s how you do it: Jump in, just as you land you want to hit down, downfoward. The timing has to be just so, but a good way to practice is against Ryu. You want to hit down, downfoward *just *as you fall below Ryu’s headline, right around there. After hitting down, downfoward, you hit upfoward and MP.

If you did it correctly Ryu’s grab should go right through you and your MP Flash chop should land. Now bask in the glory.I feel this is more reliable then charge partition a stomp as you jump (not consistent enough, even more risky, and they could recover to parry/block) or doing EX Air Knee Smash or Super as you land. Again, this should only be used if you think they’re going to throw when you land.

***MP/HP Flash Chop followups: ***The Flash Chop is a great pressure tool. Feel free to mix it up after doing a crLK,crMK or jump in HP/HK, stMK, MP/HP Flash. But here are the best things you can do if MP/HP Flash lands. *Note that you should really only use MP flash as HP has too much recovery and startup but can sometimes be used depending on the situation.

Best followups: bHP. Fast, can reach almost half a screen away. Downside is that they can mash out and you won’t get the full 9 hits. If they mash out you’ll probably get around 6-7 hits. Unless you’re someone like Cruise and you use Turbo then you can only get 4 hits on them… Only use bHP if you’re not close enough to Powerbomb them or you don’t have EX. Now assuming you have EX the best thing to hit them with when close enough is: stMK, EX Flash. This does about 35% against Ryu. Plus it looks badass. Assuming you’re not close enough to land the stMK but have EX, use EX Elbow Smash. Takes a little practice to get and even then it’s easy to fuck up, but it’s the best to do. Why is that? Well you could do EX Flash chop and it does the same amount of damage as EX Elbow but it doesn’t give you the positional advantage. If you do EX Flash Chop and they quick roll, not much you can do other than walk in. If you dash in and they start doing shit they can hit you because the quick roll is that fast. But if you do EX Elbow, it gives you plenty of time to dash in and get on top of them again, plus it pushes them even further towards the corner. Perfect for Alex’s brand of prison rape.

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Shoutouts to number one pimp dady mac soul brotha Renic:



Matchups in general:

**Urien: **Renic hit the nail on the head. EX Flash is good against him, after knocking him down stay out of his throw range and either block and punish or Powerbomb/Kara-throw his ass. One thing with Urien that I find very weird is that whenever I have him in the corner, they always find a way of getting out. If I jump in that’s when they do a random Shoulder and I whiff and suddenly I’m in the corner, or they do a random headbutt that I couldn’t parry in time. Same if I dash in, that’s when they would do a HK Knee Drop… Why the fuck they would do that, I have no clue. My best advice is if you have them in the corner is just to walk in, use you pokes and EX Flash, etc. The one thing you absolutely don’t want to do is get knocked down in that corner because it can be a huge pain in the ass to get out. *Update: Alex’s bHP goes through Aegis, SA1 has total Aegis invincibility, but at the cost of EX, depends how you want to play Alex against Urien. Also be weary of Urien’s juggle against you where he can do LP headbutt, crLP, for a juggle.

Ibuki: She can be annoying. If she does that slide, just kara-throw her, Powerbomb, etc. Ibuki is a little like Alex in that if she gets a good jump in and uses EX she can do a shit load of damage and stun. Her tHK is a good pressure tool, safe on block, but she can be hit out of it with LP and I believe tMP and tHP if you’re early enough. Her wakeup game isn’t very good. I don’t think her EX Wakeup beats stHP.*Update: I *think *EX Air Knee Smash beats Ibuki’s SA1. I remember one time where an Ibuki knocked me down and tried to chip me out, I did EX Air Knee Smash on wakeup as she did SA1 and it went right through it and nailed her. Also; Ibuki has ambiguous safety after SA1. If she mashes out the full Super she’s mostly safe, if she ends it early she’s not so safe. You have to use your instinct if you want to pursue her after she does SA1.

Necro: Most Necro’s like to play keepaway against you, or they like doing drill kicks and parry if you try to hit them, or they do LP, crLK, command grab, whatever. His jump in game is pretty bad, he can only link SA3 off of jHK, so be wary of that. Basically just keep the pressure, learn to parry his Drill Kicks and red parry his punches if you can. One thing: Alex’s bHP will beat his Electricity move, and it will also beat SA1 if you do it early. Necro can’t effectively punish your bHP if he blocks it if you’re at the right range, he **can **punish with SA3 though.

Twelve: tHP and tMP are your friends if he’s in the air. If you knock him down mix it up as usual, be wary that he will probably throw on wakeup or jump out.

Remy: Walk in on him. Try not to jump too often. If he’s dumb enough to throw Lov’s while you have meter EX Stomp his ass. He has low stamina so you just need to get in there twice, don’t get greedy once you have him in the corner, it’s always that time you think they’re not going to do Flash Kick that they do it. A lot of them like using crLK/crLP into Lov pressure and try to make you guess. Flash Chop is semi-effective but I would save meter and make him afraid of throwing out Lov’s.

Hugo: There’s two kinds of Hugo’s; aggressive ones and Killerscout one’s that play him like Chun. Hugo is like a big, slow, and dumb version of Chun Li with Downs Syndrome. He’s got good pokes with good priority that will beat a lot of your moves. If he’s being aggressive, watch out with trying to jump out, that’s when they like to do a Clap. Alex’s jHK will beat his Air throw, and jHP will beat it if you jump right next to him if you do it early enough. You have to learn his footsies game, chip him down, EX Air Knee Smash is a good AA if he’s jumping and pressing buttons. crHP will trade with his body splash and does more damage to you BUT it gets him off of you. Use your speed to your advantage. *Update: Use discretion when tick-Power Bombing Hugo, a lot of them see that coming and do 360.

Q: Just pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. Q’s LOVE to do their kara-throw, so keep 'em guessing, jump, etc. If they’re starting to press buttons, let them fuck up and punish or get back in there. Never let a taunt go unpunished. A lot of them like to do jHK/HP and command grab. Don’t let 'em.

Oro: Chip him out, wear him down. He has amazing defense but partly what makes Oro so effective is that he frustrates you to the point where you make a mistake. EX Flash and LP/MP Flash Chop is good against his stHK, use EX Stomp if he’s doing projectiles with discretion. Oro’s HP Projectile will hit you out of EX Stomp. When I knock him down I just start to throw the fucker. The absolute worst thing he can do is EX up Punch. Big whoop. I’d rather get hit by that then have him guess parry and hit me with MP and set me up for a Chicken Wing into unblockable SA2 or an SA3 for massive damage.

Makoto: bHP is good if you think they’re going to dash in. Her air game is really good, parry that shit or use tHP. Her dash is fast as shit too. They like to tick into their command grab a lot, especially after knocking you down. I say either use EX Air Knee Smash (beats her stMP) or better yet parry that shit. They’re very predictable with that. If you knock her down 9 times out of 10 they jump out, I don’t know why they love doing that but they do. Sweep or, stHP, tHP, etc. Now, if she has meter for SA2 and you knock her down, best idea is to jump, at least she can’t command grab you. Just like Urien, it’s very easy for her to get out when I have her in the corner. Just like Urien, just walk in, poke, Etc.

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Who’s left?

Dudley: When played correctly he can be a very scary mofo. I personally think Dudley has the best mixup in the entire game, especially because he can do Overhead HK into SA3. If he has SA3 loaded, don’t try to jump in, even if you parry let’s say his stHK, he can duck and roll and still hit you with SA3. Ya’ gotta’ play footsies with him, his pokes are better than yours but his wakeup game is considerably worse than the shoto’s. Be careful what you throw out against him. Just like the shoto’s below, play patient, get a good knockdown and rape him. Bonus: bHP beats SA3 on wakeup, and Short Swing Blow if timed right. Might want to experiment with DDT in this situation. Also; Dudley’s love using Duck and Roll and/or bait parries a lot so they can throw you or combo into super/EX Machine Gun Blow, I would suggest using bHP or Kara-throw in that situation.

Elena: She’s got good air priority, so I wouldn’t suggest jumping up after her. Elena’s played a little like Chun, big emphasis on poking and Kara-throw. Her wakeup game is awful. Her SRK is the 2nd worst in the game (the worst belonging to Sean) not much in the way of specific Elena advice to be given.

Shoto faggot master list:

**In general: **A lot of them like doing crMK, and if you press a button that’s when they parry or they do something else. Parry the crMK or block and walk in. Don’t fall for the parry bait. They can link almost anything into dHP aka the Mexican Uppercut. They might throw that out as parry bait or make you think they’re not going to press a button after that, but they usually do. All shoto sweeps are punishable with EX Shoulder. Most of the sweeps by the main cast are punishable with that, except for Chun and Yun. Regular Hadouken and Akuma/Ryu’s SA1 are highly punishable with EX Shoulder if it’s done close, if they do it at about midscreen range they’re safe.

One other thing; when Shoto’s knock you down that’s when they start getting really aggressive and get in the zone. They like to tick throw, jump in, etc. You just have to know the player in order to get them off of you.

Alex’s stMK is a great poke and beats crMK. stLk is also a good poke, but an easy parry of course.

The key to beating the Shoto’s is to be patient, poke, get a good knock down and control the fight.

Ryu: All about Spacing, they like to use EX Hadouken albeit randomly. You know how you like to use EX Flash when you think they’re going to hit a button? Same thing here. Play the footsie game, try to make a read and jump in HK or Super Jump Cancel MP Flash. You have to be a little patient, then when you knock him down, rape 'em. Ryu’s SRK’s suck and he has to EX SRK in order to get you off of him.

Denjin Ryu: Depending on Range bHP will actually beat his Denjin, Stomp can sometimes work in this situation too. In general just knock him down, apply the pressure, if he wastes meter on EX SRK and EX Hadouken or whatever, try to take advantage of that.

Ken: The Blonde bimbo. They sometimes like doing tMK and bait you to do something. He has the best SRK in the game, and don’t get greedy when knocking him down. Use limited Sweeps, MP/HP Flash (EX Is good though) and Shoulder (including EX) when he has meter as they’re all punishable with his SA3. Once he knocks you down he’s going to try and jump and do his crossup or try to fake you out and just throw or do something else. Best to parry, stMP into EX Air Knee Smash, etc. If you really think he’s going to crossup or do something, just block, worst thing he can do is throw while you’re blocking. It’s a tough fight requiring patience.

Akuma: Takes 2 and half combos to kill him. Same applies to you if he gets a good dive kick in. Learn to parry his MK/HK tatsu, and his Dive. If you can’t parry his Dive kick or you think he’ll do something else jump up and LP/HP/HK should beat whatever. They sometimes like to Teleport on wakeup, so you might want to leave a little space after knocking them down. Not mid screen distance, but just enough so you can kara-throw, EX Flash, whatever and if they do Teleport EX Stomp, EX Shoulder, dash in kara-throw.

Sean: LOL. He can be hit out of anything but his Tatsu. He’s a joke.

Twinks In General: EX Air Knee Smash beats their Dive Kicks. tMP will either beat the Dive or trade with it. Best thing to do when you see them jump and dive is to jump up after them with HP. tMP is a good poke against them. Beats a lot of their moves. The Twinks love to jump on wakeup so a good pressure tool would be crLK into crMK, Sweep, or better yet crLK into tMP. The tMP will keep them grounded, you really want to stop their jumping. In general the Twinks have really good pokes that beat yours, sometimes it’s best just to walk in, parry/block, punish, etc.

EX Flash is not recommended unless you can combo into it. Because of the weird hitbox of the Twinks even if EX Flash hits, it will hit only once and not knock them down.

One other thing: When the Twinks crouch they have a much smaller hitbox. The only jumping normals that will hit them when they’re crouching are: jLK, jLP, and jHP. jHP is recommended.

Yang: They love to spam those Rekka’s and they have good priority too. For whatever reason whenever I do Shoulder or EX Shoulder and they block they immediately do Rekka. Like 9 out of 10 Yang players are going to do that. They love to delay the last hit of their rekka, either parry or block and punish with Throw. A lot of them like to play runaway, especially if I jump in. Like I jump in, they do crMk, almost every time they do that. Watch your jumps, if you jump in with something hold downback to block that shit. His wakeup game sucks and can only do SA2 on wakeup. One thing; Yang’s clap has 10 frames recovery unlike Yun’s which has 3 frames. Punish that shit.

Yun: This is the best time to learn how to parry. Pretty much all of his pokes are safe on block. tMP as mentioned is a good poke against him. Jumping is a good offensive/defensive tool against him as some of your air normals will beat his, you can parry, make him come to you, etc. It’s a tough fight. On wakeup they’re either going to jump, LP/LK into jump punch, or EX Up Kicks. See Renic’s Alex vs Yun notes.

10

Chun-Fucking-Li

Adding some discretion; either I’ve played the worst fucking Chun players known to man or when everyone is saying she’s broken they’re referring to a gdlk play like MOV or Nuki. I don’t think this is his worst matchup. **Shock! Horror! **The reason I say that is that Chun has a bad wakeup game. I would say you have a tougher time against a good Ken then against a good Chun. Here are my reasons:

Chun’s pokes: Most of her pokes cannot be linked into SA2. She can only link off of MP (who uses that?), bHP into Kikoken, crMK, and if she really wants to crLP. But I’ve never seen a Chun even in tournaments link SA2 off of crLP. Just because you can do something doesn’t make it awesome. Alex can link SA2 off of LPx3, how often does an Alex player do this? Almost never.

Chun’s wakeup: Her wakeup game is average at best. Can she do EX Spinning Bird Kick or Lightening legs into SA2? No. Can the shoto’s do wakeup SRK or EX SRK into Super? Fuck yeah! So if I’m on the bitch and she hits me with either attack it’s (one) not going to do a massive amount of damage to me, equivalent to a little more than a throw (two) she burns meter, if she doesn’t have two full super stocks they may have just shot themselves in the foot for later (three) EX Lighting Legs doesn’t have the range of EX Spinning Bird, and most importantly EX Spinning Bird does not have total invicibility and can be interrupted and can be punished on block. Worst thing that happens when her wakeup attack hits you is that it resets the situation and you have to chase her down again. *Update: If the Chun can consistently do EX Lightening Legs on wakeup this can be a good thing and bad thing. Good in that they’re wasting meter, and you have them scared and they’re doing shit. Bad because it’s difficult to punish even if you parry it. But if you absolutely know they’re going to do EX Lightening Legs your bHP (if done early enough) will beat it.

**How to kill a tier-whore: **Just like the shoto’s or Yun, walk in, block, try to poke her. If you’re good at parrying this nullifies her tHP spam. Take advantage if she doesn’t have an SA2 loaded. If she doesn’t have SA2 ready, the only thing she can do is Poke and kara-throw you. Flash Chop EX/LP/MP is also good and beats her bHP if spacing is right. Best pokes to use against her are: stMK, Sweep, sometimes stHP, stLK, and crMP. Never, never use tHP. tmp is decent but loses to her best pokes so I wouldn’t recommend it. When Chun is crouching her hitbox becomes smaller like the Twinks and the only jump ins that will hit her are: jLP, jLK, and jHP. *Update: Chun probably has the best Air-to-Air game in 3S. All of her air attacks have tons of priority, so not recommended to jump up after her unless you’re a parry-god. If she’s jumping in on you (which is rare) either dash under her, parry, etc. A lot of Chun’s like to do neutral jump HK (which they can link into bHP and then SA2) if you’re close and they think you’re going to throw them, just parry, AA her, etc. Don’t freak out if she’s jumping, she may have just lost the fight. ***Minor Update: **Just like with other characters, you want to try to make a read and get a good jump in on her. This is not a problem exclusive to Alex, Dudley has this problem too and Chun can stuff almost anything Dudley can do on the ground.

Secret Alex tactic that only works against Chun-Fucking-Li: Remember Alex’s air dive? Pretty worthless move, a hail-mary kind of move, only really useful if you’re infused with Yomi magic and you absolutely know they’re going to jump and they won’t see it coming? However, the Dive is actually effective against Chun-Fucking-Li. Don’t believe me? Go into training mode, load up MAME, and try it. You jump, she does bHP, Dive will beat it. Dive will also beat stHK, tHP, and her Sweep (timing is a little iffy). Now, I’m not suggesting you just jump and dive all day. But it’s a pain in the ass to parry her bHP, and this can be a great tool against that. Furthermore; if you hit her with Dive this pushes her away and she can’t follow through with anything. If you hit her with Dive as she does stHK this launchers her, and if you have her in the corner you could follow it up.

**Countering EX Spinning Bird Kick on wakeup: **A couple of things beat it. If you time it right MP Flash Chop will beat it clean. Isn’t that cool? You can also beat it with stLK (not so useful but it’s something) and if you have the spacing down you can do jHP. UOH also beats it if timed right.

So that’s it. It’s a tough as balls fight. But use her bad wakeup game to your advantage. Alex is all about his mixup after knocking them down. This is not an impossible fight. Nominate me for article fuckers.

Hulk Hogan is modeled after Alex: http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/283/775/hulk-hogan-ripping-shirt_display_image.jpg?1278265153

11

I would not consider Alex a beginner’s character, not…at…all. Quite the opposite infact. Alex is not the fighter to pick up if you are new to the game or you are sure to get wrecked. He is one of the more difficult mains in the sense that you have to have a good knowledge of 3S fundamentals, mindgames, and he’s the type of character you have to understand inside and out, or you leave yourself open to big damage from mistakes. He also does not have that many beneficial matchups, a good Urien or Oro can be a nightmare. I would consider Ken or Chun a decent beginner character.

Also, great thread, especially Alexisdabomb’s contributions.

12

Ty bro! In the words of Nicolas Cage in Deadfall: Hi-Fucking-Ya!

13

He’s a beginner character in that he has simple combos that do big damage and works best with rushdown. Hugo is also considered a beginner character for similar reasons: good pokes and big damage potential in little time with little effort. A newbie Chun is going to get stomped just as hard if he doesn’t know how to use her. As your competition starts getting better though, that’s when you’re going to feel the tradeoff.

Just because a character is low in the tierlist doesn’t mean they have to be overly complex to use.

14

I’ll remember this the next time I fight a good Gouki lol.

15

Can you say Ken? There’s a character that can do anything, good pokes that can be cancelled into super, great zoning tools, possibly the best wakeup game, EX tatsu can escape the corner, etcetera. It’s bizarre for me to see someone suggest that Alex is easy but completely omits Ken… But I guess that’s due to the usual Asian snobbery you guys have.

16

Alex is definitely on the easier side mechanics wise. He has very simple and damaging combos, good stamina, good stun, a good dash, jump and walk speed. He’s very easy to understand.

That doesn’t mean he’s easy to use well. Definitely Ken is also easy to understand and has predictable and easy to understand movement/moves.

What Aku said applies to beginners playing against beginners.

17

Perfect thread, been fixated on picking up Alex ever since 3SO was announced.

Huge props to ParryAll and Alexisdabomb for the information… Hopefully I can put it to good use.

18

Good posts. A few questions though:

>How useful is hk stomp? Frame data says it’s -3 on block just like the lk and mk versions and with only 1 more frame of start-up, yet I don’t see it mentioned
>I’ve played a couple of good Alex’s online that all do the same meterless dizzy combo: HK Flash into what I think is a powerbomb (but it goes backwards). Is this a link? And are they using HK powerbomb (and is this even really the best meterless punish combo)?
>Can anything combo off a successful EX shoulder rush besides SA2?

19

AWESOME posts ParryAll & **Alexisdabomb :tup:
I gave up on SF after SFA2, so glad I get a 2nd chance @ this game, Alex looks like alot of fun to use with a BIG moveset.
This guide/thread is gonna be hella useful for me!! Cheers!
**

20

stomp is something you should understand but generally avoid and pretty much remove entirely from your playbook. you’ll come back to it once you have a handle on everything else but to begin with it is simply a crutch for fighting noobs. i get hit by it online and sometimes offline but generally its parry bait into big punish. his stomp setups rely on having varying distances so the opponent is confused. roundhouse obviously jumps the furthest. regardless: remove it from your brain, do not use it, you will become a better player acting as if it doesnt exist. later on when you understand everything else you will see how it can sometimes be a decent choice.

  1. powerbomb isn’t a kick special its a punch special.
  2. fierce flash into fierce powebomb is a link, it is the best meterless punish.
  3. depends on how many hits of ex elbow slash hit.