Hey hot stuff! Name’s Poison, and you and me are gonna have a real good talk, lip to lip. You see, most of these SFxT players are viewing me as little more than a piece of ass, and they’ve got their hands too far down their pants to take the time to see what kind of character I really am and what I do best. So here I am to set the record straight.
Now before we go any further, there is something I want to get off my buxom chest. I’ve seen a lot of speculation and rumors about me on the Internet and I want to come clean: I am not a zoning character. Sure I have a fireball and long pokes, but if you play me as a pure zoner I am going to get boned. No, in reality I am a more aggressive, rushdown character who can fall back on zoning to excel in certain matches.
My favorite distance from an opponent is about mid-screen: it is here where my charms are their greatest. I have my unique projectile, I can outpoke many a man with my whip, and c.HP. and s.MP serve as terrific AAs. These luscious legs of mine are not just for show either, especially at this range as my c.MK is one of the game’s best and my sweep is CADCable, into a fireball special no less. Depending on the situation, I can either backdash and begin to zone, or more commonly get up close and personal. All Love me Tenders are safe on block, all but LK linkable with c.lk on hit, and take me close enough to the opponent to kiss! LMT is a great tool in general for me; think of them like you do Ryu’s Joudans and you will be fine.
My pressure is greatest once I have their backs to the wall. My Aeolus Edge and whip combine to give me the greatest fireball trap in the game! Simply alternate between fst.MP and HP AE to keep them in place, and when they get antsy you can EXLMT for an overhead, sweep CADC, or CADC throw, I have a max damage throw for a reason, you know! Once I get them in a horizontal position things can get even more fun, since I can use HP AE for a meaty or CADC backdash it for a throw if they think rolling will get them out of the corner.
All men are the same; they want to know all the issues a girl has up front so they know they aren’t getting any little surprises down the line. My solo damage is one of if not the lowest in the entire game, and my health is among the lowest as wel. My overhead is also one of the worst in the game (though if meaty it can be as safe as -0 on hit, it can never combo, and is as much as -12 on block). Lastly, one cannot possess the ability to zone, pressure, and control the neutral zone well, so while I am indeed a very versatile character, there is nothing that really stands out from the rest of the cast besides my fireball traps.
How do I help my partner? Well besides being eye candy and an excellent valet, it should be obvious that I make an excellent Point character to tag them in with my long, safe pokes. I build meter incredibly fast, and outside of the rare EX LMT or EX Rekka for groundbounce, I barely need any of it myself. As for what I am looking for? Well, I love a man with a huge damage potential, as it makes up for my lack of one. They need not concern themselves with positioning, since I can either foes fullscreen with Kissed by a Goddess or LMT follow-up for a hard knockdown, both can be tagged to benefit them or can be done off their launcher to benefit me. It does not hurt for them to be capable of Wall Carry, so that I can either implement my corner game or have more screen to walk back in. Really, any big, strong character who has problems getting in and needs meter to be potent will have a wonderful time joining me for a little fun.
Well I hope the time we spent together cleared up a few misconceptions about me and alluded you to the stronger aspects of my playstyle. While my greatest strengths lie in , I can also zone many characters if you are careful enough. In order to play me optimally you’ll have to know exactly when to rush people down and when to play lame, sometimes switching on the fly. All in all I would not consider myself one of the strongest on the roster, after all I am a lover, not a fighter, but the way people pigeonhole me as a deficient character in a style that is not my own is just criminal. Use me right baby, and I’ll make you purr.
Special thanks goes to Ryan Hunter and TheRook for their Poison research and play, and all the rest on her SRK forum.
Other character overviews: Bob, Nina, Paul. I do requests. Next: King, Balrog, Hwaorang.