Probably beating a dead horse with this question, but here goes. Thinking of picking up Phoenix, but don’t want to be restricted to just throwing her on anchor for Dark Phoenix, then go to town, feels like a waste of a character to me.
Anyway to work Phoenix into a team besides as anchor, which would be better, point or 2nd? From what i’ve read on one of the older threads, seems like the mindset is:
Throw a lot of fireballs
Teleports as a means of punishing whiffs
Phoenix Rage in case they get to close since it has a lot of invincibility frames
Phoenix Overdrive to plow through most projectiles, don’t get too predictable
Lay out TK traps
Problem I seem to be having is what assists I should choose, should I still focus on assists that help Phoenix or should I just use 2 characters that work well together as mentioned in a similar thread. A lot of players here would probably say just go and throw Phoenix on anchor, but that gets boring after a while and it doesn’t seem like Phoenix is being used to her full potential if all she’s good for is Dark Phoenix.
Find a character that you feel comfortable with and find what works with Phoenix. It also depends on your Phoenix play, as well as will the other two still work well if she is KO’d. If you haven’t already, watch vids from both Serris and Phillpro1 and look at the teams for synergy.
I’d agree what w/ DeadPhoenix has said. Find characters first that you like and are comfortable with and see if they work together well w/ phoenix whether you prefer to play her 2nd, point, or anchor. Me personally (biased) I prefer having her on point because having her 2nd gives the other character to 1hit kill or xfactor your first character or just down exchange your first character on hit and kill that character fast and then deal w/ phoenix w/o being able to call assists. I use Zero, Ammy, Phoenix and me personally I feel Ammy + Phoenix is a super solid team. Ammy’s lockdown assist provides for some good left/right and up/down mixups when they are pinned down. Also with ammy if you normal jump then air dash up forward and activate flight you can call ammy assist while flying around and right before you teleport for a crossup which also makes your teleport safe. This can also be worked with other assists if you experiment. Also Phoenix + Ammy THC synergy is in my opinion (biased as well) better than most others if you have the meter to spend to chip out or if you have dark phoenix + ammy w/ meter stocked. But yeah that’s just my opinion.
Sorry for the long post lol. But yeah try and see what you like and mess around w/ different assists and team order and see what fits your playstyle the best.
The team i’m thinking of trying is Chun-Li (y), Phoenix (a), and Vergil (y). What Chun needs is mostly a projectile or a way to cover the ground level, so might have Phoenix use TK shot assist, and Vergil with Rapid Slash as a GTFO, push back for breathing room, and a combo extender in the corner. Phoenix could use TK shot assist as covering fire for Chun when she needs to get in. DHC wise, Phoenix Rage can DHC into Dimension Slash or Spiral Swords, and if I need to heal Phoenix, I can DHC into healing field.
Chun doesn’t need too much meter to do a lot of damage, Phoenix and Vergil are both really deadly when they have the meter to use. This team won’t win any tournaments, but since I play this game casually, isn’t too much of a problem, just making teams is fun by itself.
I’ve experimented with incorporating Chun-Li on a Phoenix team for her meter building capabilities, and I can honestly say that it’s not worth doing unless you’re good with Chun-Li as a solo character. And I don’t mean easy combos like:
You need to be able to combo out of an anti-air, combo out of throws, short-hop air dash constantly, and abuse instant overhead normals to stay in your opponent’s face. She’s a very technical character and is just as much of a boon to a Phoenix team as she is a liability. Phoenix’s assists are already fragile enough as-is. Relying on them as a way to open your opponent up is most definitely going to get her killed. Dante and Zero are much better suited to this role because they have more options than Chun-Li and still have good meter building combos.
I don’t think Vergil is the kind of character that belongs on a Phoenix team either. He’s good on point, but he needs to consume meter to keep his momentum going. His assists aren’t anything great. You could stick him in the anchor slot, but then what’s the point of using Phoenix?
If you’re looking for a good battery, X-23 works very well with Phoenix. Her combos are fast, light on execution, and build respectable meter. Using TK Overdrive M in tandem with her Ankle Slice assist sets you up for an unblockable anywhere on the screen if your opponent doesn’t use an advancing guard.
Nova is an excellent choice for a high-damage character. Nova’s simple bread and butter combos yield 680,000+ damage off of one meter. He has good DHC synergy with Phoenix, too. Phoenix Rage can link into Super Nova, and all three of Nova’s hyper combos can link into Phoenix Rage. His Centurion Rush assist is also incredible for Phoenix’s corner pressure game. TK Overdrive M covered by Centurion Rush will lock your opponent down, and probably open them up if they aren’t careful enough.
That being said, I definitely wouldn’t run Phoenix on point until you’ve spent some time with her in the lab. Her offense isn’t about damage, it’s about building as much meter as possible. I suggest checking the combo thread for bread and butters that maximize her meter gain.
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