Thought I’d do a Ryougen writeup, since Rouge’s Othello was so good and informative. 
Let’s get something out the way- he’s completely different now. Ryougen is going to be really disappointing to anyone that just played him because he was easy/top tier before. He’s still good, but how good is going to be impossible to say because his gameplan- and core tools- are almost completely different now. If pushback/keepout end up being viable in the Monster:AC metagame, Ryougen stands a real good chance of succeeding, because he trades that for combo potential. Right now in this build of the game Ryougen’s best bnbs are around 3.5k range in Monster/Advanced mode with one shift. This, and everything else, could potentially be different in the final version.
Main Strings
5AA2B5C236A- Versatile, 5A is just as good as before, 236A deals tiny bit of chip, and pushes out very far. Replace 236A with D for shift. Leaves enemy standing and is one of the very few A-specials not really cancelable into anything. 1.7k. From neutral, it stops just before giving the enemy PB chance.
5AAAAA- Everyone has these mash A strings and most of them are pretty bad. Ryougen’s is surprisingly not. It’s a frame trap! No chip, less pushout, but that’s good since a buffered 5A after this string beats everything except invincibility (ie backdash, shift). Also, 5AAA third hit whiff, even though visually similar to a 5AAB whiff, recovers MUCH faster, making it a reasonably viable tactic to whiff into 5AA/throw mixup. This also builds a lot less PB then the above string, but it has a lot less damage potential overall due to the way it damage scales. 1.6k on it’s on. Replace last A with shift in combos.
2B5C- 2A is NOT a low, so you’ll be using 2BC as your zoneing low. Good good range on this, average priority.
some other normals/specials-
5C- long range staff swipe, near impossible to beat in footsies, good pushout, safe. Just don’t whiff it.
2C- Shoulder tackle. Faster startup then 5C, less range, knocks down, high priority. Not a bad anti-air with right positioning.
j.A- Just as annoying as it was before. You can kind of create a funny wall with neutral j.a, double jump at apex, j.a j.c. Godly air-to-air.
j.b- Your jump in combo starter. Dosen’t crossup, pretty average except for the fact Ryougen has big legs.
j.C- Flipping kick. HUGE high priority hitbox in front of him. Knocks down. Keep in mind it’s a little better air to air then it is air-to-ground. (it’s best air-to-ground at a much further range out, since the hitbox is in front of him and HIS vulnerable box is behind that.) IT IS possible to combo off this in the corner. Slow, unfourtantly.
66B- Fast uppercut. I use it for anti-air. Easy to hit confirm into 5C.
66C- Same overhead he had before. Cancelable into specials/supers/shifts.
662C- The old sweep. Still has good range.
Throws- Forward throw does 1000 damage unscaled, AND can be shifted into combo. It’s awesome, use it forever. Probably one of his best new things. Back throw literately does nothing except give the enemy PB, use it never.
236A- The old ground pound is different- it now shoots out three columns of lightning. Great zoneing tool.
236B- Slow single column of lightning. It frame traps but has no range and if it whiffs, you’re dead. I can’t find a use for it, maybe it’ll be better in next version.
DP+A- same as before. range is all vertical on it. I guess it’s a viable anti-air, but I perfer 66B.
DP+B- slow, higher hitting version of DP+A. Sucks, don’t use it.
236+A- Long range multi-hitting strike. Used in shift combos. You can cancel it at any point to QCB+B which is nice. Just don’t do the whole thing on block, it fills the PB meter mad fast.
236+B- The old run grab. Still semi-useful, although it only mixes up with a normal dash now. Since there’s no more dash canceling from normals, that effects the surprise factor of this.
So basically, you still have amazing normals, your damage potential is now mediocre but you have a new, unique zoning game.
