Here’s generally how I play against Claw. Special Thanks to NKI’s brief wiki entry, which helped me get started.
**1. Round beginning
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a. I always hold down-back. This gets me ready for anything:
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I can be ready to do upkicks if he jumps in
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I can be ready to block or throw a fireball
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I’m already ready to do a C.Mk.
b. There’s three different ways I kick off the round:
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C.Mk. This is the most common round-starter for me, and it’ll guarantee that you don’t get slide kicked at the beginning of the round. It also leaves you ample time to react if Claw kicks off the round with a wall drive or a jump-in. The only thing to worry about is that Vega’s faster normals - particularly C.Mp - will beat it clean. There is a range where both attacks will miss, but from the round start position, Vega will win this exchange.
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Block. This is for Claw players who always start with a C.Mp. I don’t start this way enough, but it’s definitely the safest. I just like stopping the slide kick, because if he gets in close, he can do his ground lockdown bullshit, and that’s a real pain in the ass to deal with. You’re also good and ready for anything, even if he doesn’t C.Mp.
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Hp Kikoken. This will trade with anything he does on the ground, but it might not necessarily be worth it. I don’t try this very often.
2. Gameplan
a. When I don’t have the advantage, I play an aggressive turtling game. Get right outside of the range of his C.Mp, and start whiffing some C.Mks. From here, you have some nice options:
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For starters, C.Mk will beat his slide clean.
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You’re ready to Upkick him if he jumps, and this is a perfect spot for you to hit him (it’s very hard to upkick him if his jumps are too far on the outside).
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You can go right into Lightning Legs if he keeps throwing normals and shit out - Lightning Legs will beat his ground attacks like 99% of the time.
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You can throw a Hp Kikoken. This is mostly for pushing him back. But also, if you have your down-back charge and Vega goes for a wall dive, a fireball is a great way to punish him for a wall-dive fakeout or a punch wall dive.
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If Claw decides to go for a wall dive, you’re ready to anti-air him with anything you could want (more on that later)
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If Claw is getting catatonic, you can just walk up and throw him after sticking out a few C.Mks as feelers. Or, you can take a step forward and go for the cross-up. I can’t stress enough that these aren’t solid, so don’t do them unless you’re almost positive that they’ll work. You wanna wait to go on the offensive until you knock him down.
b. If I get a knockdown, I assess the situation. If I’m close enough to go for a cross-up, I just do it. I personally do J.Mk / C.Mk as a hit-confirm. If that connects, I try to combo in the C.Hp for the dizzy. Otherwise, you can throw out a second C.Mk XX Kikoken, do a late C.Hk (leaving them time to try something and have it stuffed by the C.Hk), walk up and throw, or even just Lightning Legs to reset the situation.
If I’m not close enough to cross up, I just throw a meaty Lk Kikoken and set up the aggro turtle game again.
3. If/Then
a. If Vega spams ground normals, then
- Lightning Legs.
b. If Vega Jumps in, then
- Lk Upkicks.
c. If Vega does a wall dive, then
- Neutral J.Hp, J.Mk, or Neutral J.Hk. Neutral J.Hp is the safest of the three options, but has the shortest distance. Neutral J.Hk has the longest range, but is the least safe. J.Mk is a happy medium between the two. I generally just do Neutral J.Hp, because it’s the least likely to trade (and the trade is always in Vega’s favor in this case).
d. If you anticipate a wall dive fake out or punch wall dive, then
- Kikoken. If he doesn’t speed into it or land on it, he’ll be force to deal with it when he lands.
e. If Vega knocks you down and doesn’t go for the meaty wall dive, then
- Block, or do reversal upkicks if he gets right in your face.
f. If Vega knocks you down and goes for the meaty wall dive, then
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Block. At worst, you guess wrong, take a little damage, and it’s over.
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Reversal Upkicks. Ideally an excellent option, but it’s really hard to land.
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Reversal SBK. This one will save you from getting hit by the wall dive. You might get pegged on your way down, but there’s no way you’ll get knocked down by the wall dive; a much nicer outcome.
At this phase, I should explain that Vega can do a uh…I dunno, let’s call it a ‘late meaty wall dive’. This is where he does the wall dive after a knock down with such timing that he’s not right on top of you as you’re getting up, but rather, he’s just coming down from the peak of his dive as you get up. This is dangerous, because he still controls that space around you and gets the guessing game, but he can also do the wall dive throw when he does it like this. In this case, all of the above options are viable, but also incorporate:
- anti-air with Close S.Mp or Close S.Mk. Your best bet is to AA him from the ground, and these are the best moves for the job.
And that’s it. Basically:
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Get right in his face and turtle in such a way that forces him to do something - your goal is to press him as far back to the corner as possible until you knock him down!
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If you score a knockdown, go for tons of cross up bullshit, or use a kikoken to push him farther back to the corner. Neither being cornered nor being crossed up is favorable for Vega.
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If Vega gets the advantage, just be calm. The only thing you want to do is make sure you don’t get repeatedly knocked down, which is thankfully a little easier in STHD.
<3
Otherwise, I can elaborate further if you like.