Rashid Match-Ups Thread

I’m not really understanding what you’re saying about the Necalli vs Rashid matchup King. Necalli is one of the better rush down characters in the game and I think Rashid really struggles in that space. You say in a previous post that Rashid beats him at every range but I would argue that isn’t true. Necalli charge goes right through Rashid’s whirlwinds without issue at long range, so your options are pretty unsafe there. Up close Necalli’s frame traps and damage just outmatch Rashids. He can pull off similar pressure but ultimately when Rashid does hit Necalli, he doesn’t do anywhere near as much damage so fighting in this space carries much more risk for the Rashid player. Not to mention Necalli can put a stop to your pressure with a meterless DP at any time, a luxury you don’t have yourself.

The only space in which Rashid really wins out is in mid-close footsie range. cr. hp is an amazing poking tool and conveys less risk than many others as it causes cross ups to whiff, that allows you to place more pressure on the ground than you would otherwise be able to, without having to worry about the risk of Necalli jumping in and destroying you for pressing a button. Fishing for CC with St.HP is also good, as is being aggressive with CR.MK xx Mixer. St.MP is okay but I think you get a lot more out of cr.MK with similar functionality (range, frame advantage etc). Obviously anti-airing him is essential and whoever said it’s good to get familiar with all of your AA options was right, though it’s sometimes hard to react to Necalli’s divekick. Sometimes jump back cr.lk seems like a better option to get out of that situation than risking the AA, because if that whiffs and they cross up you’re suddenly in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Still, I struggle with the matchup because once Necalli gets in it’s very tricky for Rashid to do anything under the pressure. If you end up playing passively for even a moment you can find yourself stuck in a command grab and the Necalli player can use this to carry you over to stun if they recently opened you up. Again, Rashid doesn’t doesn’t have a similar momentum shifting tool, Necalli is much more of a thread up close than Rashid. Despite that, if you can keep Necalli out you can get some pretty clean rounds.

A friend of mine that I play locally with is a Necalli with 8-10,000 LP on the board, he’s decent enough to practice the matchup against and for the most part he gives me a hard time. Recently I’ve been having much more success when playing defensively, punishing his mistakes, pushing him to the corner and trying to hold him there with the tools described above. It still doesn’t feel as though the matchup is in any way in Rashid’s favour, and I’m inclined to say it’s 6:4 for Necalli, but I managed to frustrate him on quite a few occasions as I completely locked him into the corner for some pretty clean wins. Necalli’s weakness is his normals and absence of a decent footsie game, so if you play that against him then you’ve got a good chance.

That’s just my take. I appreciate the insight you’ve provided us on that matchup and others. It’s always good to have more opinions.

I appreciate your input ChronoJoe. I’ve been real back and forth with this matchup. First i thought it was 6-4 Rashid. Then i thought it was 5.5-4.5 Rashid, then 6-4 Necalli, then 8-2 Rashid, and now I’m back to 6-4 Rashid. This is simply how I approach the matchup in regards to how I play, not an end all be all for Rashid vs. Necalli.

Rule #1 in the matchup: No seismos! Don’t let that man seismo. V trigger Necalli can fight Rashid way better than non v trigger Necalli. Thing is that its gonna happen regardless if he seismos or not, but at least if he gets vtrigger by getting his ass beat, well he got like 30-40% health left. One crush counter combo or 2 solid combos can end the match at this point. Rashid has so many normals and special moves that can combat seismos. L mixer of course, eagle spike, st. Roundhouse, cr. Fierce, shit, jump lol. You can avoid seismos with back dash and if you are limber enough, you can like run at him in anticipation of a midscreen or far seismo and get a full ground combo. Necalli players are looking to seismo. Once you neutralize that option for them, they have to start thinking about approaching and/or playing the midranged game.

Rule #2: Don’t let Necalli get you into the corner. Cause you’re right, its not fun to be in the corner against Necalli with Rashid. The best thing about Rashid tho is that his v-reversal is EXCELLENT against Necalli’s moveset. Anytime Necalli stomps and you need some breathing room or if Necalli does anything bigger than a st. Jab, v-reversal. Get outta there! Let Necalli chase you and then blow him up.

Rule #3: Grab. Force Necalli to make a bad defensive move by mixing up your frame traps and your grabs. You want him to DP.

Rule #4 (probably the least important but again more to think about): mix up your combos. Putting Necalli in different situations tests your opponents knowledge. Something like knocking down with L mixer the first 2 combos, then keeping them standing for a throw reset, is good enough to make Necalli wanna do something dumb afterwards the next time, like trying to tech a grab or jabbing or DPing. Depending on how you wanna play this matchup, end your combos accordingly. If you wanna keep him at a distance, end with eagle spike. You want him closer, end with L mixer. Personally, i only wanna end with mixer in the corner and a few situations in the beginning of the match. Every other time, i end with spike for the distance.

Rule #5: anti air with H mixer. Please please pretty please. Its so good especially against Necalli. You can meaty off it or throw a meaty fireball and be lame. Deals with all of Necalli’s air options.

Rule #6: Don’t over extend yourself in the corner. When you feel like you need to chill and let him kill himself, you’re probably right. In scramble situations, get the fuck away. Though Rashid is good at scrambles, Necalli does it better cause of that meterless DP and his damage.

Rule #7 and final rule: Don’t jump at him. No need to approach him by jumping. You can simply approach him by doing L Mixer, running at him, etc. Necalli honestly has to jump at Rashid more than Rashid has to jump at him.

I got some Necalli vids on my ps4 and on twitch that i wanna show because trust me you’re not the only one that thinks Necalli beats Rashid. I was a 13k Ultra Platinum Rashid until i picked up Ryu again and went down all the way to 9k till i worked back up to 11k. The best Necalli player in my scene (Michigan) is like an ultra gold online, but he does extremely well at our locals and even did great at a Midwest regional (i think got 4th or 3rd?). I’ve also played Squall and Yipes in the matchup and it didn’t seem to bad although they have a winning record against me.

Pretty much, i feel like a patient Rashid who uses cr. Fierce annoyingly, has good footsies and not scared to run up and grab give Necalli tons of trouble.

Month 1 Season 2 Matchups:

Vs. Akuma: 5-5
Vs. Alex: 5.5-4.5
Vs. Balrog: 4-6
Vs. Birdie: 6-4
Vs. Cammy: 4-6
Vs. Chun Li: 4.5-5.5 (closer to 4-6)
Vs. Dhalsim: 5.5-4.5 not 100% sure
Vs. F.A.N.G: 6-4
Vs. Guile: 4-6
Vs. Ibuki: 4.5-5.5
Vs. Juri: 5-5
Vs. Karin: 4-6
Vs. Ken: 6-4
Vs. Laura: 4.5-5.5
Vs. M. Bison: 5-5
Vs. Nash: 6-4 but feels like 9-1 (best matchup)
Vs. Necalli: 6-4
Vs. R. Mika: 5-5
Vs. Ryu: 6-4
Vs. Urien: 4-6
Vs. Vega: 6-4
Vs. Zangief: 5-5 (but it feels like Gief edges Rashid)

Rashid’s buffs doesn’t affect the matchup chart that much. Other characters getting buffed and nerfed affected it.

If i can place Rashid on a list, he would probably be 8th, but not because he’s godlike, but because his good matchups (except Bison) got better for him.

Against experienced Laura players, dont use VT within ex elbow range(so about 3-4 character spaces away)
Laura’s can ex elbow once they see the VT flash and it’ll hit you before you can even let the VT out
It’s a hard counter to his VT
Of course not many Laura players know this, but now that she’s popular people will learn the matchups

My S2 MU Chart:

Vs. Akuma: 6-4 or 5.5-4.5 (Besides VT stuff, he’s not much of a threat)
Vs. Alex: 5-5 or 5.5-4.5 (Not sure really. Alex’s Cr.mp nerf helped Rashid out)
Vs. Balrog: 5-5
Vs. Birdie: 6-4
Vs. Cammy: 4-6 or 4.5-5.5 (annoying, but winnable)
Vs. Chun Li: 4-6 or 4.5-5.5 (It feels a little better than S1. But not sure entirely)
Vs. Dhalsim: 7-3 (I think Rashid still owns Sim badly)
Vs. F.A.N.G: 6-4 or 5.5-4.5 (not really sure. I don’t see much of him anymore)
Vs. Guile: 5-5 (Pretty comfortable dealing with him)
Vs. Ibuki: 5-5 (feels like a mirror match. a lot of pressure/mix-ups are not real.)
Vs. Juri: 5-5 or 5.5-4.5 (Not sure. She doesn’t seem to handle rush down to good)
Vs. Karin: 4-6 (Still annoying, but winnable)
Vs. Ken: 5-5
Vs. Laura: 5-5 (recognizing when to interrupt her pressure and guessing the C.grab is important)
Vs. M. Bison: 5-5
Vs. Nash: 6-4 (easier now)
Vs. Necalli: 5-5
Vs. R. Mika: 5-5
Vs. Ryu: 6-4 (easier now)
Vs. Urien: 5-5 (Pretty comfortable dealing with him)
Vs. Vega: 6-4 or 5.5-4.5
Vs. Zangief: 4.5-5.5 (a little hard to tell against a good Gief)

I think he’s high tier in S2 (7th or 8th, within the top 10). Very solid and hope he isn’t changed for the worst come March.

Why do you think Balrog and Guile are even SleepyFox? Alongside Urien, I think these are his hardest matchups.

Sorry for this long ass post but I think it could lead to a good discussion.

Ok so…besides my own experience, I’ll also watch how the Rashid trinity (John, gachikun, and Moke) handle these MUs before coming to a conclusion. For the most part, I think Rog, Urien, and Guile are straightforward matches

Guile: I just find it to be pretty straightforward. Be very patient and look for openings. sometimes I’m able to get him near the corner due to walk/block, j.fwd cancel lk.ES over booms or bait flashkicks. Boom shield is annoying but you can time a good V-skill nail assault or just block it. Guile up-close isn’t as scary as Balrog…just need to watch for throws or upside kick. And I’m always mindful of knee bazooka (turn is over if blocked), sobat kick, back knuckle, and of course ex.boom.

Once Rashid is able to start pressuring him I think it can be troublesome since he has a really good shimmy/tick throws game, and stand mixer combos. I try not to be predictable with ex.wws on pressure since he can ex.FK. When I watch one of the best JPN Guile duke it out with Moke and gachikun, both did very well beating Estua. The only slight difficulty was getting in, but 70% of they were able to get in Guile’s personal space base of good reads, habits or patterns in his zone, and playing patiently. I think each had a first to five and both Rashid players took the set.

Balrog: Did you know that Rog players find Rashid to be a bad MU lol? Anyway, He is scary up-close and will make you guess on knockdown and especially in the corner. But Rashid can also do the same (arguably better) to him, right? Cr.HP is still effective in this fight to stop dash up attempts…just can’t be predictable or spam it so much since a smart Rog will space himself out of the range and punish it. Normal Straight punches are minus on block…so the next button attempt is getting stuff if he doesn’t decide to walk back. If Rog is predictable…sweep or st.hk for CC. Not the best tactic since you have to anticipate it…but that’s just the nature of this game so…

The only tough part about the MU imo is Rog’s V-skill which is pretty good against lk.wws zoning and will give him a combo and his X-factor aka V-trigger. I usually prefer to save V-meter for V-R to escape the pressure, and try my best to get Rog to spend his V-meter early instead of sitting on it. For now I feel the MU is even. Granted I feel Edma’s Balrog was the only good one I faced and lose, I still didn’t feel the MU was really bad for Rashid. Most so I just didn’t adapt fast enough in the set. Maybe you can provide more insight. I don’t think Japan have good Rog players so I didn’t see the Rashid trinity fight him much.

Urien: Hands down the most active and entertaining MU, not sure why you see him as a pain. I handle him the same as the others…play patient and pressure him once I find a good opening. He really can’t zone with fb…Rashid can avoid it or punish him. Rashid can stuff random headbutts with cr.hp, st.mk, lk.wws (up-close I think he does it to avoid lows or get to throw range (Old 3S tactic). Rashid can anti-air or avoid knee dives. Shoulder charge can be spaced to be made safe but usually his turn is over.

Sure, he does have long great pokes but we’re not dealing with Chun here. He hits hard and V-T is the only part of the MU I feel is problematic, but I think getting Urien to spend his V-meter (like Balrog) will decrease the problem a little. Oh, EX. shoulder charge can be thrown…of course if timid well and think he will do it. Or after blocking it…Rashid can stuff his next button (usually fwd.mp) and get a CH due to the start-up if you want to challenge him.

Anyone have tips for the MU against Ibuki? Really struggling against her.

My goal is usually to keep on her…this will force the ibuki to use V-R more which will delay the V-T bombs, and I would keep an eye on her kuni count…when I see it get low (3 out 6 maybe) then I become a little more aggressive. I think Ibuki is very dependent on her resources to get anything going…so get her to spend meter as much as possible to get Rashid off of her.

A few tips that help me:

You can interrupt her close-up and behind dash special move with 3f St.lk. Surprisingly Cr.hp is useful as well if you have feeling the Ibuki will try to go behind you but it can be stuff due to the long start up.

I think the blockstrings to look out for are St.lp and St.mp (notice many will try to dash behind or use overhead) and St.mk x2 for frame traps and will lead to her St.mk/Cr.hk target combo that will send you into the air. And Cr.mp/St,.hk which could lead to CC if you are pressing buttons.

If you are hit with the target combo and Ibuki dashes forward while the air reset occurs…just block normally I believe she doesn’t cross you up. Also, if you happen to block the target combo correctly, Ibuki will whiff the St.hk and should give you the opening to punish her hard.

Her V-skill attack is tricky to punish but you can whiff punish it. It just depends if the ibuki will charge it or not and you’ll need to hit the lab to know the distance.

Ex.Kuni is very annoying…feels like it is plus 1000 on block, but I would V-R if you’re blocking it. Don’t really have solid answer against. Tried to recognize when ibuki will do it via blockstrings or air kuni and do your best to avoid being in that position.

Also, Ibuki players will use wake-up target combo to get Rashid off, hit the lab to recognize the back and normal recovery times and meaty her with st.mp. Cr.hp is also quite handy.

That’s all I can think of for now.

Sorry for the SUPER late reply Memory Card but I been very busy with work and I totally forgot I was even typing this up. So here we go.

I feel like Guile is not only the best character in the game but he fights Rashid probably better than any character in this game. Idk who does better between Guile or Cammy against Rashid.

  1. Guile fireballs are much harder to deal with than shotos or anybody. Rolling under booms can either get you punished or get you punished. Your reaction to a sonic boom has to be so fast that its almost like a read. You can’t really ex divekick either. Best you can do is walk and block and jump. His v-skill is even more frustrating if you don’t know how to deal with it. I treat it like a regular fireball when i see the start up and roll into nail assault. Either you’ll hit him before it comes out, or it’ll trade in your favor. But the v-skill into sonic boom is a menace period.

All in all, Guile shuts down options to get thru fireballs, allowing Guile to just do what he does best.

  1. Guile’s normals can contests Rashid’s normals. Proper usage of back fierce (duff), low forward, forward fierce (backhand) and his fireballs makes it frustrating for Rashid to fight Guile on the ground. Of course proper whiff punishing with cr. Fierce, st. Fierce, cr. Forward, Rashid’s own fireballs and L mixer can alleviate the ground game, but Guile has answers for all that as well, plus a better fireball. Guile doesn’t shut him down but he fights Rashid on the ground super well, enough to where Guile can afford to stay close as long as he isn’t cornered.

  2. Rashid shines when fighting a cornered Guile. Most people panic in the corner and like to jump in fear of getting grab looped. So laying down consistent pressure is what Rashid wants to do. Problem, the way all Rashid’s wanna start their pressure (fierce xxx EX WWS), Guile has answers for. I am 100% sure Guile can ex flash kick like you said, but I also think Guile might be able to M flash kick as well (don’t quote me, I need to lab it myself). But EX WWS pressure is a no no against Guile with a bar. Best way to apply pressure is the old fashioned boring way. Mixing up stagger steps, frame traps and grabbing.

  3. And you wanna know the worst part? If I hit you and get you to the corner, like Rashid should do in this matchup, I’m not doing enough damage ANYWAY. It allows for Guile players to make mistakes like walk their selves to the corner and have a chance to fight another day. Guile changes tides very well despite being a zoner.

Basically Guile can do the exact same thing and Rashid has to change up his offense is my reasoning.

I seen Daigo play Moke and Gachikun and he cleaned them up pretty free. I think it was 5-2 against Gachikun and 5-1 against Moke. I gotta watch the sets again. I saw it like a month ago.

Nothing is unwinnable for Rashid because he is extremely explosive, but Guile does SO good containing Rashid.


Now that I’ve been sitting on my thoughts, the Rashid v. Balrog matchup isn’t as bad as I thought, but I think the only Balrog’s struggling are the one’s that don’t know the matchup. Balrog can’t get knocked down, but Rashid can’t challenge Rog’s ground normals, nor get an optimal punish from L rush punch max distance, so Rog can take risks doing rush punch and not care.

Balrog can v-skill thru Fireball strings. I wanna say he can do it between cr. HP xxx EX WWS, but its been a minute since I played the matchup tbh.

A 3f short helps him stay on a level playing field, along with st. RH to keep Rashid blocking and make him wanna do something stupid.

Balrog’s v reversal is powerful and covers a few angles that a lot of v reversals don’t be doing against Rashid’s v-reversal baits, which makes spending the v bar not a bad idea for Rog.

Rashid has options against his v trigger bullshit, which is the scariest thing about Balrog ATM besides st. RH which is why its not as bad as I thought. Meanwhile Balrog has to pretty much hold Rashid’s v trigger if he don’t wanna spend v meter.

Rog’s ability to contest his buttons, plethora of punishes on Rashid and lack of necessity to commit to anything, Rashid IMO has trouble with Rog… until Rog gets knocked down.


Now I think Rashid goes even or beats Urien. I started understanding the matchup more and started having alot more success against Urien despite not seeing Rashid players win against Urien. Its probably 5.5-4.5 Rashid.

Yea…the Guile match-up is a bit tough. I been dealing with Guile players that seemly understand the MU and play 5x more patient than myself. Although I’m comfortable with the MU, you are so correct about dealing with booms and sometimes I don’t even bother to roll. If I do then I may not follow-up with Nail Assault…it’s a pretty big risk. It definitely feels like Rashid will need to make a good read in order to punish. And yea, Daigo did much better than the other top JPN Guile…Moke and Gachikun are my favorites and both were beat hard.

Also, good points on the Rog match-ups. I also feel his ground game is a little more solid than Rashid. I don’t have a solid punish for L straight punch besides preemptively sweeping him for CC or neutral jump/attack. Same goes for TAP…I learned Rashid can use Cr.hp right before Rog connects the punch. However, you sort of have to get a read in order to punish it this way. That’s tough when you’re also looking out for other things. But overall I can deal with him.

Yup, the more I fight Urien, the more I feel the MU is even or slightly in our favor.