Figured I’d post this, to give an idea how the team concept changes strategy.
Note: matchups trump this general guide. If the matchup says play aggressive, play aggressive.
Round 1: Generally play it normal, but don’t try to burn too much meter. It’s worth burning meter to win a round though. Meter can be recovered, a dead character can do no more damage. If ahead on life and time is running low, trying to finish the other guy off gives little advantage- you won’t gain much life doing so, and you risk losing a lot. Make the other guy come to you, especially if you can turtle on the other guy.
Middle Rounds if you won the last round: If you’re equal on life, see round 1.
If you start behind in life, your first goal is to take 20% off the other guy, to get an advantage for the next round. (They recover life on each round- starts at around 20%, decreases as the round goes on). Even if you’re generally a turtle, in these situations, playing a bit more aggressive/risky can suit your strategy, if appropiate. Once you get that 20%, any attrition in your favor is less life for the next round for the other guy. Breaking stock early in the round in 98UM for the extra damage isn’t a bad idea if you’re going to start out aggressive, and have 2-3 stocks from the previous round.
Middle Rounds if you lost the last round: If they have a bit of life, be careful, as you don’t want to get hit by anyrhing big that could cost you life in the next round. If you take a bit of block damage, it’s not a big deal. Your goal if losing overall, is to try to make it to round 5 even, at least in life.
Last character: never die with meter on your last character. blow stock if you have to in order to gain damage at a minimum, or use it on CD counters/AB rolls.
The problem with this is that oftentimes you’ll get called boring, or you’ll make the game look boring, but if you’re playing to win, using the clock and system to your advantage is a must, and people tend to overlook this when switching to KOF.