@Merkyl
Looking back, a lot of the things I said in this argument were too pretentious to be taken seriously. I was simply trying to get someone to look at the actual data and debate it. You’re right about my quote. It comes off totally elitist. I was not trying to put down other players or insist that I knew more. I was only trying to state that my point of view was unorthodox but still objective on the subject, due to the fact that I had explored an “outside the box” approach to Jill. I truly do believe that Jill is misunderstood, and many of the things I have found about her in my studies point to a whole other side to her game. I am not saying I am better than anyone, but rather “hey, look what I found”.
What I found was that despite Zero being an easier character to use, with a much stronger design, Jill still possesses tools to counteract the majority of Zeros proven tactics. To me, Jill fighting Zero forces the Zero player to disregard a lot of his general tactics, and drastically reduces his options in a wide variety of scenarios. A weaker character overall can still have the matchup against a stronger one. This is true in every fighting game, and is why counter picks happen. I got too heated because I felt that nobody was considering this very important point. The argument was a fail.
Anyways, in response to your point that my argument is flawed because I am not taking assists and team composition into effect: you are quite correct. However, taking assists into account is a very tricky proposition.
First off, assists are used in 50% of the match or less (imo 25%). I mean, sure, matches can wind up being assist dominated, but overall, the game still relies more on matchups and what character X an do against character Y regarding <insert situation>. Secondly, having to consider assists also requires me to consider when an assist is called. Delayed assists have their own sets of responses. Third, to argue that Zero can have an assist, you also have to ask which assist does Jill have in this situation. All of these characteristics make the discussion just too broad to focus on the mechanics which are being discussed.
I also feel that dealing with assist based tactics is more about the players general defensive capabilities moreso than a matchup. This is not always the case, of course, but many of these types of situations have universal responses.
Consider a previously brought up example. Zero hits with block string, and uses command dash H to zip up and over Jills head. My contention is that Jill is relatively safe in this situation, as she is the one equipped with an invinicble punish that is much faster than anything Zero can do. If Zero does not drop in, he can only run away and buster again, to which Jill is fast enough to run. The situation, on its own, already throws a myriad of extra variables into the equation.
If you pretend that Zero has Jam Session, you also have to consider when it is called, as Zero can call this assist before and after command H, or after his air buster cancel/air stuff options. Add Advancing Guard to this, and the question becomes absurdly obtuse and loses a lot of the focus that is required.
In general, good blocking would work to deal with almost all the various things Zero can do, here. But if Zero does not keep Jill completely locked into blockstun, a variety of those situations also allow Jill the time to FC somersault whatever Zero’s next move is. If Zero keeps in blockstun and comes right back down, the universal response of just proper blocking while anticipating the obligatory Hi/Low drop is fully viable. If Zero does not keep Jill in blockstun before he drops in, she gets to Somersault, and if he calls the assist late, she has time to somersault FC, catching the assist cold and still giving her time to Somersault Zeros drop in.
This all without considering Zero baits or headgames. It is also without considering that Jill might have an assist too. For instance, if she has Jam Session Zero loses that entire tree of mixups, for the most part.
In conclusion, I cannot say that I disagree with your point. Taking team dynamic into account is incredibly important in this game. I wish that I had the time and the skill to break down the two billion variations of this situation in order to truly be able to argue what you say.
However, I still maintain that the general result of that situation is in Jills favor. She is fast enough to stay right beneath Zero while he is in the air, watiing with somersault until he is forced to come down. If he keeps her in blockstun, she need only react to a pretty standard Hi/Low mixup. Assists can change the dynamic of the situation, but many of those resulting outcomes still only leave Zero with the options of running away, hi/low mixup, or eat a Somersault. Zero has to come down. Its safer to come down early,but that is about it.
