Rose U2 Offensive Set-ups: Mix-up and Gimmicks

As I was sitting here reading through some of the threads, i noticed an increasing amount of comments regarding the ass-ness if you will of Rose’s U2 in SSF4 AE. A lot of the comments essentially say outside of combos, U2 has nowhere to stand now(in AE). And I am at a dilemma, a crossroad. I really don’t want to write these setups out since the more people know the less effective it becomes because in all seriousness its a pretty stupid gimmick. Here goes…

(First off these setups weren’t discovered by me. IN NO WAY DO I CLAIM TO TAKE FULL CREDIT FOR THIS. I merely expanded on/explained them. Iirc, someone in the forum already posted them but for some reason it didn’t catch on.)

These gimmicks all revolve around two setups(there are more but I don’t recall them all. These are the two I found most effective.)

  1. Backthrow
    ---------A. Backthrow
    ---------B. Activate Ultra 2
    ---------C. Slide
    NOTE: This setup if PRETTY character specific due to the hitboxes on wakeup and specials that will disrupt or neutralize these setups. Timing is also pretty strict. Late a couple of frames and the DP will win.
    ---------D. Mixup game
    ------------------i. lp ST
    ---------------------------a. Doesnt cross up. Most reversals will beat it.
    ------------------ii. MP ST
    ---------------------------a. The safe/best choice. If done correctly, will beat out reversal dps and EX.
    ---------------------------b. **Crosses up but doesn’t land on the opposite side. **
    ---------------------------c. **If done correctly, you can delay and cause it to not cross up but still beating out dps/reversals. **
    ------------------iii. hp ST
    ---------------------------a. Crosses up and lands on opposite side.
    ---------------------------b. If done totally correct, both orbs will hit AND you can combo afterwards. If not, 1st orb will hit and they will recover to block the 2nd. Should catch backdashes.
    ------------------iv. Throw
    ---------------------------a. Throw. The timing is really really REALLY strict and weird and won’t seem like it will throw but it will. Best part? If done correctly, both orbs will still be there.
    ------------------v. Walk back and BLOCK.
    ---------------------------a. Ultras? no prob, wait for the orbs to hit and ST. They’re not in the air? Mp~~Spiral.
    ---------------------------b. If they don’t press a button you shouldn’t either. Just keep inching back and forth and bait them into pressing something. If your timing is good, you can probably throw them b4 either of the orbs hit.

Short Version: Backthrow–>U2—>Slide---->MP ST---->Combo
Safe, crosses up, lands on same side. Strict timing on ultra activation. You have to do it IMMEDIATELY after the throw. Like no joke.

  1. Sweep
    ---------A. Sweep
    ---------B. Forward Dash
    ---------C. Ultra 2
    ---------D. Mixup game
    ------------------i. The mixup game here is similar to the backthrow setups though there are some property differences i still haven’t worked out yet due to the forward throw putting you closer and making the crossup properties of hp ST more consistent.
    ------------------ii. Being this close however, the mp ST probably won’t beat the DP any more. ORDER MATTERS. This is distance, timing, order, and move specific.

There are a lot of things to keep in mind when using these setups. THE ORDER MATTERS. You can probably change the steps in the middle however that will yield different results. IT IS CHARACTER SPECIFIC. Obviously certain reversals will beat certain mixup decisions which is why it is up to YOU to figure out which one to use(DP>THROW). Some reversals escape the setup clean(blanka, and Honda come to mind atm) or leave them safe?(Balrog’s Headbutt does in Super but probably won’t in AE). In MOST situations(3 frame DP is the essentially the biggest reason this setup will fail) it beats reversals clean AND crosses up. DISTANCE MATTERS. Throwing into and out of the corners affects distance and of course timing and results. Might work, might not.

Final thoughts: This setup won’t deal major dmg. It true worth has yet to be seen. It hasn’t been used in major tournaments yet(to my knowledge). Its effectiveness is pretty shaky if you don’t know what your doing. Some of you here might think this whole post moot and that these setups will never be used at the top level. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I however have used ALL these setups and they are EXTREMELY effective if not essential imo as a rose player. I mean come on. How hard is it to get a backthrow/sweep in a match once you have ultra? If you are a solid rose that’s losing by just a bit, i truly believe these setups will push you over the top.

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Matches:

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I tried things to look alike (activate U2 on wakeup, then do s ST), but found myself getting thrown (lol) many times when I landed a ST with orbs that crossed up. It’s hard to get it right.
I would expect the opponent to ba afraid of those orbs, but that just throw me out of reaction. Especially when one orb has hit on the way up.

But I’m all for these gimmicks. Did you read about the setups into FA level 2/3? These I sometimes use. Major comeback potential, although it’s usually the opponent being dumb enough not to hit you back.

in the corner the focus setup works pretty nice, but it’s not something you can use everytime…i think it could work once per opponent (like acku did on me today lol)

If you guys get the chance seriously go in training mode and test this out against the cast. I tested it again and realized how strict the timing on the U2 after the back-throw was and accidentally found out you can adjust the timing to make it cross up or not cross up yet STILL BEAT REVERSALS even some ultras. I went through a row and a half and only had trouble against gen’s light dp(the kick thing) and makoto’s ex dash dp(but who seriously does that on wakeup?). That mean it beats RYU, KEN, IBUKI, DUDLEY, SETH, AKUMA, MAKOTO*, DAN, SAKURA, JURI, SIM, ABEL, VIPER, SAGAT, GUILE, FEI LONG and maybe a couple more inbetween that i havent tested.

EDIT: Assuming they don’t hold forward lol. But even if they do, they will still lose if you misstime or delay it just a bit. OR throw.

The setup was done using backthrow -->U2–>slide–>MP soul throw. i have a question for the reversals that knock them out the air however, i didnt try it but could you soul throw them afterwards?

Balrog:
Headbutt- All versions whiff
EX upper- armor breaks and the setup wins
TAP: ?? didn’t try it

Bison:
EX PC: whiffs in the reverse direction
EX scissors: whiffs
EX stomp: knocks them out the air (soul throw afterwards? idk)
EX devils reverse: knocks them out the air
Teleport forwards: actually teleports them backwards because of cross up making the setup win
Teleport backwards: teleports them away safely

Cammy:
EX Spiral arrow: whiffs
spiral arrow: setup successful
Cannon spike: knocks them out the air
EX cannon spike: knocks them out the air

Rufus:
EX messiah: whiffs
Snake strike: LP and MP versions trade, HP knocks them out the air
EX snake strike: setup fails
U2 big bang typhoon: setup fails but knocks you down :slight_smile:

I would like really REALLY love to get input from top rose players here just to see their reaction and hopefully get rose in the scene as a solid character. And if we ever see a rose player clutching out a tournament win with this and it gets on the stream, that would make my day (e.g. LOUFFY SABIN DOOO ITTTTTT).