You forget that most of Laura’s buttons actually make her move forward (which is a problem in some MUs like Gief). The longest of Mika’s pokes needs to be charged, which is why Mika is usually played as a counter-hit monster. Only her roll might be better than Laura’s buttons at mid range because it’s actually safe if you don’t do it too close - but you can say the same for Laura’s dashes.
The command dash is useful also to make her move backwards, not just forward, can be cancelled in multiple fashions and gains insane range on VT. Laura also has the Bolt Charge with an EX version that makes her cross more than half screen pretty fast. Even if walkspeed and dashes are better on Mika she definitely can get into the enemy much quicker than the blonde wrestler.
Only characters I struggle to play against is a Ryu with a good Fireball game, a Chun with great ground game, A mobile Nash, another Laura because I know what she is capable of and a solid Alex. All other characters is either a tie or I completely own.
I would like to chime in on this.
I am mostly a Mika and Chun main but i have played Laura on the side for quite a bit.
I honestly think the main reason Mika is doing better is because of her having a good medium confirm button. Mika being able to do st.MP > Passion press or even st.HP is huge and is very confirmable. I think Laura having a non counter hit st.MP into cr.MP link would make her that much better than her current state.
Mika feels like a regular character from the original 16 where Laura feels extremely over designed like the DLC characters where everything has a " but " in it.
I find Laura to have a stronger neutral game in general over Mika. Going up against characters like Nash with Laura is easier than Mika because at least you can trade fireballs and take your time while Nash can very easily force Mika into action. I like Laura’ st.LK a lot because it catches a lot of lows and buffered into st.LP is good.
Mika is just more reliable i will say over Laura and not being as meter reliant is also helpful.
I would just really wish for Laura to have a medium - medium link and a bit of a buff to her command throw range. Ex Command throw would need to be much faster or give it a hit of armor because it isn’t as useful as Mika’s EX rainbow Typhoon or Alex’s EX powerbomb. I only find it useful at some meaty setups but they should make it more useful overall.
Guys, it works: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ctx8evtW8AQMXek.jpg:large
Just hold all three punches, Up and Light Kick on the VS screen. Works with all swimsuit costumes and the CPT outfits and can be done between rounds, too.
Edit: it even has some effects on the metagame, I just beat a 59 Gief with it.
Mind games even before the match starts.
Alright fap on!
…
I mean “game” on!!
The secret code also made me realize why they put that awkward blue jersey as her tenth colour: the swimsuit underneath it has two different colours and looks really nice.
Doesn’t look like she’s getting a Halloween costume though but maybe that’s a good thing seeing the others…
One thing I don’t understand, why do all other grapplers have all sorts of tick throws and Laura only has st. LK and cr. LK with the second one being -2 on block? I mean the first one is a powerful 50/50 but it wouldn’t be bad if I could grab or command grab out of a jab without walking forward like other characters can.
Anyone see that the amount of Uriens has completely dropped off? I mean dang it hasent been that long.
Yeah, it’s Ken and Nash all over again.
I got a question.
I still have problems knowing on which side I will be when I reset them after EX Thunder Clap. I noticed that when I use st.mk I will always cross under but with st.hp it depends on the timing I guess?
You have to practice and memorize which ones do what. Some act differently in and out of VTrigger.
St.mk+VSfwd always lands on the other side, in the corner you stay on the same side. However in the corner if you use st.mk->VSbwd->VSfwd, you land on the opposite side of them.
St.hp+VSfwd lands you on the same side whether in VTrigger or not.
Cr.hp+VSfwd lands you on the same side.
Youve just got to keep practicing. All in all if you do find that you lose yourself and forget, after you use your normal move and dash, you can use st.lk to give you a chance to see where you are. Its +3 on block, so you can continue your pressure and follow up with either st.mp->cr.hp or use Sunset Wheel.
st. HP sometimes makes you cross-up if you’re close to the opponent. As zektback suggested, doing a st. LK on landing is a safe option and puts them immediately into a 50/50. Also it’s +4 on hit, meaning that you can link into st./cr. MP on CH if they press a button on landing.
I noticed that st.hp can cross under as well if you hold v-skill dash a little bit longer. If I only tap it, I stay on same side.
I tried the st.lk a bit in practice mode and also in casual matches. It’s a bit easier to see now and it’s also pretty nice for mixups. I just did it vs a Rashid player, two times I did st.lk once but the third time I was going for st.lk, st.lk into light elbow into command grab. I should implement it into my game more.
But I still need to practice it more to get a better feeling for it.
That’s not always true though. Maybe it’s also character specific
Is it bad that I’m learning Laura in anticipation of her getting buffs in “season 2”? haha.
I’m picking her up to better deal with “stupid character” matchups like Mika and Balrog. Otherwise I’ll stick with Vega.
I play both so I don’t think it’s a bad choice 
I must say that despite of her flaws it’s one of the most interesting character designs I’ve ever seen in fighting games. I don’t think I will ever drop her, only if Rose is in S2 I might sub her to deal with Chun, Ryu and Gief.
Nah, I’m doing the same with Juri at the moment. With Laura there’s still the problem of having a mixup-heavy character with lackluster neutral so no matter what buffs they give her, they’re probably only going to buff her strengths. With Juri I have a ‘complete’ character as an alternative who might suck right now but could be deadly with the right adjustments.
I got a noob question here. Whenever i do c.mp xx ex.thunderclap xx hp.bolt in the corner i have no problem, but when i do it midscreen the hp.bolt whiffs. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, can anybody offer advice on what to do?
In the corner , yes it works. However, you can only hit hp bolt miscreen from ex clap while in VTrigger.