I open this thread in hopes that Kage players chime in to share their knowledge.
He seems like a complicated character with delayables, stances, etc. He also seems to have a thing for jumping around and confusing the opponent in all kinds of ways.
Haha thank god (or shuntsurigi) I was beginning to think this would never happen! Been learning Kage for a week or so out of VF2 loyalty, I think he epitomises the VF way of winning lots of mini battles, without many easy high damage combos. Work for that damage! Thinking of my top ten moves… will post when I’ve made my mind up.
After Evo i will probably be switching to this character so I will contribute more to this thread, but i will be watching till then 
I’m still learning but the little that I do know has allowed me to win a few matches, so I’ve decided to share this information. The more experienced Kage players can correct me if need be. This is based on my own personal observations:
Top 10 moves (IMO)
P,K - NC (Natural combo). Great punisher (P executes in 11 frames). Leaves Kage at +5 on hit. Can transition to Shippujin stance (P+K+G after K).
f+P - 14 frame mid. Keeps crouchers humble. Can transition to Jumonji stance (hold P), or Shippujin (P+K+G).
D,df+P - great move from crouch position, especially when used from a crouch dash. Launches on CH. Safe on block.
d+P+K/d+P+K,K - 16 frame mid. The first hit is safe on block and has great range. Can transition to Shippujin (P+K+G after d+P+K). NCC (Natural combo on counterhit). The full string is typically used as a combo ender, as it is very unsafe on block.
d+K+G - 16 frame mid. Half-circular. Safe on block (-8). Great whiff punisher.
b+P/b+P,K - 13 frame half-circular high attack. +3 on hit, +1 on block. Can transition to Jumonji stance (hold P) or Shippujin (P+K+G after P). b+P,K is a great punisher, but if the kick is blocked, Kage is at -13, so use this wisely.
df+P,P - Launcher. First hit crushes high attacks and hits mid. Both hits are half-circular. Safe if blocked, but the second hit can be crouched.
b+P+K,P - High, low string that is surprisingly difficult to react to. NC. Leaves Kage at +4 if the first hit connects, +1 if the second connects. Both attacks are half-circular.
db+P+K - 15 frame high attack that leaves Kage at +12 on hit. Safe on block.
b+K+G:P+G - awesome move for dealing with turtlers.
Stance overview:
Kage has 2 stances. One is for defense (Jumonji), the other for offense (Shippujin). I’ve decided to focus on these specifically as stance knowledge is essential if one is to play Kage well.
Jumonji stance
I won’t be covering all of his transitions or moves (that’s what training mode is for, after all); just the ones I believe are relevant and important.
I tend to transition into his Jumonji stance from b+P. This is one of the best transitions into Juumonji (despite being a high attack) because Kage is +3 on hit and +1 on block. It’s also important to note that this is a half-circular attack, so wise stepping is required to avoid it. f+P is also useful, but usually only in situations where you expect opponents to retaliate with a standing P after f+P connects or is blocked.
Once in Jumonji stance, Kage has the following options:
P,K - a high, mid punch-kick combination that will interrupt any high move slower than 12 frames. NC. This string is important as it is key to initiating Kage’s pressure game (which I will elaborate on in the Shippujin section).
P+K - characters with 11 frame jabs can interrupt Kage’s P,K string from Jumonji, which is what this is for. Parries high attacks (punches, kicks, even elbows) and even some mid attacks (seems to lose to mid kicks, but he has an answer for that as well) resulting in a crumple stun if successful. Also immune to throws.
P+K+G - so P+K loses to mid kicks. That’s where this comes in. Kage’s kick reversal. Reverses both high and mid kicks and knee attacks (provided the opponent is not performing an aerial knee attack).
K+G - mid-hitting kick that beats lows, resulting in a crumple stun if successful. Immune to throws as well.
d+K - a sweep that beats highs. Full-circular attack.
neutral stance - counters high punches and leaves Kage at +17.
Weaknesses:
P,K - linear. Loses to d+P
P+K - linear. Loses to d+P
P+K+G - horribly punishable if mistimed or used incorrectly
K+G - linear. Loses to standing P and f+P
d+K - very punishable on block. Loses to mids and d+P
neutral stance - loses to everything that isn’t a high punch lol
Shippujin stance
As with Jumonji, there are several methods of entering this stance, but I’ll just touch on a few. The best transition is from regular P,K which leaves Kage at +5 on hit. The second best transition is the one from Jumonji, as P,K from Jumonji leaves Kage at +3 on hit. The way in which Kage transitions to Shippujin can actually cause attacks from a neutral position to whiff if the opponent isn’t prepared for it. While on the subject of whiffs, d+P+K into Shippujin also deserves a mention. If spaced correctly, one can create whiff opportunities after transitioning (d+P+K~Shippujin~b,b covers a lot of ground in a short space of time. Try it out and you’ll see what I mean).
Options out of this stance:
P,P/P,P,P - Great string that can be used to condition opponents to block high. The first 2 hits are NC. The 2nd and 3rd punches are NCC. The entire string is delayable, so you can use it to mess with it the opponent’s head. The first hit is high and the rest are mids. If the last hit connects, the opponent is left side-turned.
P,K - high, low string. This is why you want to condition with the above string. The kick is a half-circular. Great for mixing up once you have opponents conditioned.
df+P - 17 frame mid launcher. Safe on block. Great for punishing whiffs.
f+P - 19 frame half-circular mid that covers ALOT of ground and causes a crumple stun on hit. Great move for punishing whiffs.
K - 20 frame mid that causes a stagger state on hit.
P+K - slow-ass high hitting attack. Not all that great, but leaves Kage at +15 on block.
d+K,K - double low sweep attack. NC. Beats highs. Leaves Kage back-turned if just the first kick is performed.
K+G, K - full circular high, mid string. NC. Pretty stylish lol K+G leaves Kage back-turned, so opponents who expect the second hit can be mixed up. If done from range, it can be very difficult to interrupt Kage’s followups. The entire string can be delayed, but is unsafe on block (-13).
Weaknesses:
P,P,P - linear
P,K - horribly punishable if blocked
df+P - linear
f+P - interruptable.
K - linear
P+K - can be crouched on reaction. Sloooooooow…
d+K, K - horribly punishable if blocked
K+G,K - can be interrupted during startup. Second hit is -13 on block as mentioned above.
Combos:
I’ve linked to the Kage combo threads on VirtuaFighter.com below:
Combo thread:
http://virtuafighter.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/325508/Kage Combos#Post325508
‘Ten foot toss’ combo thread:
http://virtuafighter.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/328312/Top 10 Moves for Kage?#Post328312
I hope this information helps new Kage players
Kage’s the shit. He’s the only character I play in this series. I feel like he is pretty low tier in this game as he can’t do high damage without the wall, but he makes up for it by having a ton of tricky moves and frame traps and stuff.
He’s supposed to be down there in the tier list but everytime I find a Kage player they turn out to be really good:
S: Akira, Jacky, Taka, Lion
A: Goh, Vanessa, Brad, Jean
B: Shun, Wolf
C: Lau, Aoi, Pai, Kage, Sarah, Blaze
D: Eileen, Lei-Fei, Jeffry
Found some new combos incorporating the fP from shippujin.
You can go, (shippujin stance, on counter hit) fP -> 2p -> ffP+k -> bfK+G KK or bf P+K P
You can also start it off with his neutral stance bf K on counter hit, or fK on counter hit from Jumonji stance.