Share some Combo system details and sabrewulf’s matchups
Formatting might be all jacked up cause there are pictures and stuff in the guide, but here goes…
SABREWULF
STRATEGY
Sabrewulf’s Dash
When in sweep range or closer, Sabrewulf’s forward dash allows him to pass right through the opponent, crossing him or her up. This allows Sabrewulf to force his opponents to guess just which direction he will attack from when he is in close. If your opponent tries to attack at the wrong time as you are forward dashing, his or her attack will not auto face as you pass through your opponent, giving you a combo opportunity as your opponent’s attack misses.
Manual Chain Openers
Light Punch Chains
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Medium Punch Chains
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Sabrewulf has several normal attack Punch chains that are Manual Openers. He cannot Auto-Double after these Manual Opener attack chains hit, however; instead, Sabrewulf must follow up with Ragged Edge, Shadow Ragged Edge, Hamstring, Jumping Slash, or Shadow Jumping Slash to be able to go into an Auto-Double/Manual cancel.
Using Normals
Sabrewulf’s crouching Light Kick leaves him at +4 advantage on block, making any follow up completely interruptible unless the opponent Shadow Counters, back dashes, or has an attack with strike invulnerability on startup. Crouching Light/standing Light and crouching Medium/standing Medium are the best normals for poking for an Opener and for punishing unsafe attacks. Your crouching Heavy Punch is one of the best sweeps in the game; however, it’s unsafe up close, so make sure you take advantage of the long range of the attack, as it cannot be punished near its maximum range. When crouching Heavy Punch hits, it grants you a hard knockdown, allowing you to go into a Run mix-up or dash through the opponent for a crossup.
Using Overpower
This attack is one of Sabrewulf’s best moves and his best pressure tool after knocking his opponent down. It has great range with no charge, and with any sort of charge the attack’s range greatly increases. Level 1 charge starts at +2 advantage on block and hit, and the advantage is increased with each level until you reach level 5, where the attack becomes unblockable. After blocking this attack, normal attacks/attack chains cannot be interrupted unless the opponent Shadow Counters, back dashes, or uses an attack with strike invulnerability on startup. If the opponent back dashes, you can bait it, then hit your opponent in his or her recovery frames with a level 2/level 3 charge or dash in and punish. If the opponent respects your options and remains blocking, you can use a strike/throw mix-up, go into a Run 50/50, dash past the opponent for a crossup, charge Overpower to a level 2 or higher for added advantage, or attempt to charge the attack to a level 5 unblockable.
Level 1 Charge: Light and Medium normal attacks/attack chains cannot be interrupted unless the opponent back dashes or uses an attack with strike invulnerability on startup. If the opponent back dashes, you can bait it, then hit your opponent in his or her recovery frames with a level 2 charge or dash in and punish. If the opponent respects your options and remains blocking: you can use a strike/throw mix-up, charge Overpower to a level 2 or 3 for added advantage, or attempt to charge the attack to a level 7 unblockable.
Level 2 Charge: Your advantage increases to +4, where all of your normal attacks are now uninterruptable. On hit, your advantage also increases to +4, granting a guaranteed crouching or standing Light Punch attack chain as a Manual Opener.
Level 3 and 4 Charge: Your advantage increases to +5/+6, where all of your normal attacks are again uninterruptable. On hit, your advantage also increases to +5/+6, granting a guaranteed crouching or standing Light/Medium Punch attack chain as a Manual Opener.
Level 5 Charge: The attack is now unblockable. One of the best setups is to fake a level 5 charge, and then release the attack early when you believe the opponent will attempt to knock you out of the charge.
OVERPOWER EXAMPLE #1:
Description:
In this video the opponent blocks Overpower and tries to respond. No matter what attack they use, your Light Punch will beat them out unless they use an attack with strike invulnerability.
OVERPOWER EXAMPLE #2:
Description:
In this video the opponent tries to back dash out of your follow up, however, instead of following with an attack you decide to use your dash to cause a cross up situation. By back dashing, your opponent actaully made the situation worse because they cannot recover in time from their back dash to block your attacks. Even if they stood there and blocked, they still would have to react to the cross up, so this situation turned into a win/win scenario.
OVERPOWER EXAMPLE #3:
Description:
This video demonstrates that you can slighty charge Overpower and catch the opponent back dashing as they recover. In a situation where you believe they will block or back dash, slightly charging Overpower will cover both options. The back dash gets punished, and if they remain blocking you are left at advantage.
OVERPOWER EXAMPLE #4:
Description:
In this video the opponent decided to remain blocking afer blocking the first Overpower. You follow up by slightly charging another Overpower which leaves you at even bigger advantage, allowing you to follow up with another Overpower. After blocking the thrid Overpower, your opponent decides to attempt to respond, causing them to be hit by your Light Punch attack.
OVERPOWER EXAMPLE #5:
Description:
In this video you again follow up a blocked Overpower by charging the attack. Your opponent has decided that you are either going to charge it for a longer period to gain the maximum frame advantage, or charge the attack to its unblockable state. The opponent decides to attempt to interrupt the charge, resulting in them being hit when you release it early.
OVERPOWER EXAMPLE #6:
Description:
This video shows the final progression in the mind game. Your opponent has tried to poke out of the trap, back dash, react to you charging the attack, etc… Finally they decide that they are just going to block no matter what. This time you charge the attack to the full unblockable state. Your opponent believes that you will again release it early when they attempt to counter attack, so they remain blocking and get hit by the unblockable.
Rabid Doubles
Inside of combos, Sabrewulf has a special feature known as Rabid Doubles. Sabrewulf can continue doing the exact same Auto Double over and over, with each round getting faster and faster. This means he can go away from the standard combo flow chart, where most other characters must follow up an Auto Double with a Linker in order to continue the combo. For example, after a successful Opener, you can rapidly tap Heavy Punch and loop this Auto Double over and over until you decide to end the combo or the KV Meter maxes out. Once you use an Auto Double, you must use that same Auto Double to go into your Rabid Double. For example, if you use a Heavy Punch Auto Double, you must continue using Heavy Punch to go into Rabid Doubles and then continue to use Heavy Punch to continue the Rabid Doubles.
Using Run
Sabrewulf has a command Run in which he gets down on all fours and runs toward his opponent. From Run, you have three attack options: you can cancel out of Run at any point with Light Punch/Light Kick for Hamstring (low option), Medium Punch/Medium Kick for Jumping Slash (overhead option), or Heavy Punch/Heavy Kick for Running Uppercut (launcher option).
• It is possible to instant Run cancel into any Run attack, allowing you to go directly into the attack without the opponent seeing you go into Run. You can cancel into Run from any normal attack and attempt a 50/50 with Hamstring or Jumping Slash. One of the best ways to use Sabrewulf’s Run mix-ups is as a reset by stopping a combo at a point where you are at advantage, and then going into a Run mix-up. This gives you the ability to start a new combo and cash in the potential damage from both the current and previous combo. You can also use your Ragged Edge Ender near a corner to cause a wall splat, and use the advantage from the wall splat to go into a Run 50/50. Another good way to set up a 50/50 from Run is to cancel into it from any normal attack.
• Your attacks from Run such as Hamstring and Jumping Slash can be used as more than just 50/50 mix-up, they can also be used as a way to avoid other attacks. It is possible for Sabrewulf to slide under or jump over projectile attacks such as Jago’s Endokuken, as well as slide under or jump over certain strikes.
Using Ragged Edge
Ragged Edge is the primary Special Move used for an Opener and is your best attack for building Shadow Meter when blocked. Heavy Ragged Edge is combo punished by several characters. At -3, Medium Ragged Edge leaves Sabrewulf at enough disadvantage for only a few characters to punish with their fastest attacks, but safe against most of the cast. Light Ragged Edge has very fast recovery, giving you the most options for a post-Ragged Edge guessing game after the attack is blocked. Ragged Edge is also your best tool for building Shadow Meter. When your opponent has at least one bar of Shadow Meter, however, he or she can see the first attack of Ragged Edge and Shadow Counter the second attack. If you feel your opponent will attempt to use a Shadow Counter, you can Instinct cancel out of Ragged Edge, which will cause your opponent’s Shadow Counter to whiff, opening him or her up for a combo punish.
Anti-Air
Sabrewulf has four anti-air options: he can use Eclipse, Shadow Eclipse, crouching Heavy Kick, or jumping Heavy Punch for an air-to-air option. Crouching Heavy Kick is your most reliable and easiest anti-air option because it’s a single command, making it easier to execute over Eclipse, which requires a d,u command. Also, unlike Shadow Eclipse, crouching Heavy Kick does not require any Shadow Meter. Overall, your crouching Heavy Kick is one of the absolute best anti-air options in the game.
Using Shadow Attacks
• Shadow Ragged Edge is mainly used as a Linker to carry the opponent toward the corner or used in an attempt to get a lockout.
• Shadow Jumping Slash is most useful as a naked combo Opener to go through projectiles or as a slightly more damaging Linker than Shadow Ragged Edge.
• Shadow Eclipse is most useful as an Ender to inflict a good amount of damage quickly in short combos. Also, Shadow Eclipse is invulnerable on its startup frames. This gives you an added option out of pressure and frame traps beyond only choosing to block, back dash, or Shadow Counter.
Using Instinct
Sabrewulf’s Instinct grants him a damage boost on all his attacks. This gives him higher-damaging combos and allows him to inflict more chip damage as well. The best way to use this is to Instinct cancel out of combos, then continue the combo, maximizing on the damage boost. This is especially useful after getting a lockout or Counter Breaker because you can immediately Instinct cancel for the damage boost, then go into Heavy Rabid Doubles during the lockout period.
Did you type all this out or get it online? As id like to see other characters. Mainly thunder.