Post headbutt you’re +3 on hit, meaning you can safely whip out a LP/EX Chop and snag a button/catch a late jump out/keep them where they are. Even if they instantly jump forward after the hit you recover fast enough to still block. And if they do jump you can make a hard read and get him w/ lk/ex knee, or maybe a down back angled cr.hp into knees. Of course, they can just stay still but the idea is to keep them where you want them. In the corner you can even do a double headbutt or EX stomp, usually after a good knee.
Spent my lunch break seeing how difficult s.HP into Head Crush is. Got it after a couple tried. I’m sure if I spend more time in training mode i can get it down pretty consistantly.
after 2 cr.LKs on hit or on block, Alex is far enough that st.HP still hits. Too close and he just jumps over the opponent. Recording options for in this game are so robust I have trouble creating certain scenarios. If I had more time I wanted to see if st.HP is a decent counter hit after cr.LKx2 from that distance. If its as safe of counter hit set up as I hope it is, it will be great on top of being able to throw in Head Crush.
Why do grapplers get shafted in reversals? His reversal is active on 3rd frame, loses to meaty’s and grabs, and is super punishable on block and requires meter.
While shotos and necalli get a free get off me. meter users like karin, rashid, chun get free escapes as well…why can his knee be a shoryuken… Ill take a bad read/crush counter any day if it makes people stop to bait it once and awhile.
It comes with the territory of being able to turn a match from a loss to a stunned opponent in 1 touch.
If you give someone like Alex a true reversal, you can’t pressure/jump at him and when he’s up in your face you have to worry about blocking (CMD Grab), jumping (Meaty), pressing a button (Invul move) or throwing (being “Shimmied”).
I’m pretty sure it’s the same for all of the command grab characters. I know it is the same for Laura, pretty sure for Mika and Gief as well.
Granted, they don’t need to charge, but I would argue that having a charge reversal makes no difference but that might be just since I’m used to it with the characters I tend to play.
I’m having a heck of a time using ex stomp properly, I always seem to miss with it. You really have to get used to the degree of control you have on it. I’m not gonna lie, I miss the tracking from 3S
Also, when I jump in I find myself using j.MP very frequently, this move has some deceptive range i think, and I’ve often traded or beat attempted anti-air normals.
And one strat I’ve been trying to test is if i have V-Trigger already activated, generally people will be a little hesitant to approach, giving a bit of breathing room to get V-Skill going. Then I try to land cr.MP into Sledgehammer, since it combos on hard hit. It’s been a bit tough to get going because I’ve gotta work on my footsies, but to me at least, it seems like the most reliable way to land Sledgehammer from midrange considering cr.MP is Alex’s best poke.
Yeah, I think V-Reversal is slept on for grapplers. For Zangief and Alex at least, it puts you in a pretty advantageous position after using it. For example, after V-Reversal, Gief immediately puts people in a 50/50, where I don’t think non-grappler characters get that kind of advantage. Not only does the V-Reversal stop pressure, but at the same time, you can start pressure of your own. Same for Alex, if I remember right, you’re plus enough to dash and stick out a meaty MP or something, correct me if I’m wrong.
Actually if you dash in MP/Powerbomb instantly you whiff and eat a fat punish.
I now spend all of my V-Gauge on V-Reversal unless I happen to have to full bars, then I’ll happily use it as a hit confirm, but I don’t ever count on getting V-Trigger any more.
Although activating V-Trigger in neutral can terrify anyone attempting to play lame. Walk forward, parry fireball getting some V-Gauge back, keep walking… On the odd occasion that I’ve got V-Trigger on I’m reminded of Solomon Grundy from Injustice.
after v reversal I dash and st.hp to catch backdash, against people like gief and other 4framers it’s a good way to keep them pressure into either midscreen/corner because of the st.hp x hp chop frametrap
You guys comfortable putting out some matchup numbers yet? I’m not ready to call Alex in a real tier yet (def not high tier lol), but I have a rough estimate so far.
Ryu 4.5 - 5.5. Your midrange game is superior, unfortunately flash chop is slow so I wouldn’t depend on it to move yourself in. He hits like a truck and can just stock meter up until he gets a super. Your anti fireball options prevents him from fully zoning you out, but honestly he doesn’t really need to. Use EX Knee to deal with j.lk, otherwise st.lp stops most things. As long as you can hitconfirm into EX Chop off of his dash in throws he’s gonna have a hard time opening you up, but frankly he can play as lame as he likes.
Ken 4-6 or worse. No 3f normals is nice, but his midrange hitconfirm game is flat-out superior to yours, and this guy murders your cr.mp at max range if he’s trying to bait you after a blockstring. When he gets in he has a shit-ton to watch out for, and if you don’t know how to defend yourself it’s done. You’re gonna be using v reversal a lot.
Chun/Cammy 4.5-6.5 Trying to be positive here, but the entire matchup is shit in both.
Both have gimmicky ways in that Alex does have answers too, but their midrange is superior, and when inside you it usually does not end well for you. You’re gonna be using v reversal a lot.
Vega 4.5-5.5. It’s really not that bad…at first. You’ll both trade hits, and in this time your mission in life to land a KD and never let him back up, because when he gets a full meter/v meter he turns into a monster god that end you on a whim. If you can’t get anything meaningful into a KD or suck at meatying it’s already GG, he’ll poke you to death and can moonwalk away. You can actually stock up for Trigger if you know what you’re doing, hopefully before he can get a full meter bar.
That’s how I see it atm, of course it could all change and I suck ass, but the only one I’m confident will end up being a bad matchup for sure are both cammy/chun.
I think the best thing to head crush after is s.mp, just cause you can shimmy or frame trap, or command grab after it, so it’s just part of a robust set of things you can threaten. I feel like stand fierce is not as great just because the other person is in a mentality to react or push at you after stand fierce since you’re negative, so they’re already in the mindset to be ready for your option.
Also I think that there are more situations where you’ll force someone to block a s.mp so it’ll just be more accessible? I don’t know about you guys but I don’t think s.hp is the strongest normal in neutral.
In the short few games I played against 801 Strider he used j.mp literally almost exclusively. He even did work with just neutral jump medium punch to avoid some stuff. Seems like a really strong button.
Has anyone found any “Exploits” vs the AI? I want the survival colours but I got blown up with Nash and Ryu. They both kept saying “No” to any and all Headbutt shenanigans I tried and I got zoned hardcore.
