How to beat Elena

[KitL19]

Ok so hopefully my goal with this is for people will fill this thread with ways to beat Elena (obviously) which will hopefully make Elena players think instead of spamming Mallet Smash.

So let’s begin.

LP/MP/HP Mallet Smash: Fast moves that hit pretty high ( eg.Sakura’s cr.hp 4f, cl.St.Hk 6f, st. lp 3f), Neutral Jump. STOP SPAMMING THIS o.o
EX Mallet Smash: Fast moves (eg.Sakura’s cr.hp 4f, st. lp 3f) Use this more often it has less weaknesses.
cr.mpx2: Launcher, diagonal jump forward after first cr.mp is blocked. - mix up with st.lk as it’s a true blockstring
Spin scythe: Launcher, EX Reversals, backdash after first hit is blocked. - don’t use this unless you’re doing some stylish combos.
scratch wheel/lynx tail: Use where it seems most appropriate. Very hard to punish when used properly.
HK lynx tail: EX DP, Launcher.- Still a good move if used at max range.

I’ll add more later.

[the7k]

Oh, this is beyond easy.

Crouch. Always. It’s impossible for her to do any damage at all if her opponent is crouching without blowing meter.

[KitL19]

Oh, this is beyond easy.

Crouch. Always. It’s impossible for her to do any damage at all if her opponent is crouching without blowing meter.

Eh not really her f+mp is comboable with a CADC charge. 3 frame link easy. But still not bad advice in general I guess.

[the7k]

Oh, this is beyond easy.

Crouch. Always. It’s impossible for her to do any damage at all if her opponent is crouching without blowing meter.

Eh not really her f+mp is comboable with a CADC charge. 3 frame link easy. But still not bad advice in general I guess.

You have to be within grab range to link the f+MP, and the f+MP has about 150 frames of startup. Anything can beat it on reaction. Same goes for all of her overhead options that can start combos without meter - they are just way, way, way too slow to be viable in real play.

[Links]

Oh, this is beyond easy.

Crouch. Always. It’s impossible for her to do any damage at all if her opponent is crouching without blowing meter.

Eh not really her f+mp is comboable with a CADC charge. 3 frame link easy. But still not bad advice in general I guess.

You have to be within grab range to link the f+MP, and the f+MP has about 150 frames of startup. Anything can beat it on reaction. Same goes for all of her overhead options that can start combos without meter - they are just way, way, way too slow to be viable in real play.

You can perform this link at St. LK’s max range, per my testing. That’s pretty decent. Also, HP Mallet is pretty fast compared to LP and MP, and it’s +5 on block, so I’d say it’s usable.

[the7k]

Oh, this is beyond easy.

Crouch. Always. It’s impossible for her to do any damage at all if her opponent is crouching without blowing meter.

Eh not really her f+mp is comboable with a CADC charge. 3 frame link easy. But still not bad advice in general I guess.

You have to be within grab range to link the f+MP, and the f+MP has about 150 frames of startup. Anything can beat it on reaction. Same goes for all of her overhead options that can start combos without meter - they are just way, way, way too slow to be viable in real play.

You can perform this link at St. LK’s max range, per my testing. That’s pretty decent. Also, HP Mallet is pretty fast compared to LP and MP, and it’s +5 on block, so I’d say it’s usable.

Right, but you can’t combo off of it. It’s just 100 damage. I mean, I use HP Mallet a lot, but that’s because I kinda have to if people know this weakness. You can even beat HP Mallet (at least with Kazuya and Nina, haven’t tested others) on reaction with a raw launcher, which of course already beats all of her low attacks… which pretty much means that raw launcher will beat anything Elena has.

So, in short, if you want to beat Elena, just wait for her to do anything, and raw launcher, while crouching.

[Links]

Right, but you can’t combo off of it. It’s just 100 damage. I mean, I use HP Mallet a lot, but that’s because I kinda have to if people know this weakness. You can even beat HP Mallet (at least with Kazuya and Nina, haven’t tested others) on reaction with a raw launcher, which of course already beats all of her low attacks… which pretty much means that raw launcher will beat anything Elena has.

So, in short, if you want to beat Elena, just wait for her to do anything, and raw launcher, while crouching.

I guess that’s still good advice. Elena loves cr. MP, cr. LK, and Lynx Tail. However, St. LK is still scary if you’re relying on raw launcher. If she does HK Lynx Tail (look for this after St. LK), you can launch between the hits. I recently played a set with somebody and he used Launcher a lot, but I started blocking that ish after a couple of times.

Does HP Mallet still get beaten by Launcher in 2013? The patch notes say it’s now a standing attack, so if it is canceled into from, say Cr. MP, it should counter-hit the Launcher.

[SUPBABY]

My opponents get scared to hit buttons after getting CH’d by HK for the 50th time, so I just walk forward and throw.

[melflomil]

Crouch rhino horn. Block low when she is in your face. (all versions of mallet mash will wiff crouchers…it Crosses over arrrg) block high when at cr.mp range. Never attack after a block mallet mash… You are asking for trouble. Same goes for light versiob of mallet mash. Dont jump In at her becauce her lp and MP stuff air attack unless the opponent has kings jumping hp. (You can stuff that too but you have to do it early) her dp doesnt trade in the air raw launch alot xD

[SamuelVimes]

So I am wondering, even though Elena has certainly improved as a character from 2013, is the easiness of stopping her offense still a problem that will keep her out of comp. Play vs. Smart opponents? I suppose one just needs to bait the launchers, use ex mallet more, and win the footsies. She’ll have a partner anyway that can chase down and open people up at the end where the kind of crouch turtling I imagine will happen the most.