Rugal Strategies and Matchups

Classic Fighting Games Capcom VS SNK 2
1

Since most strategies and tricks are matchup-dependent, it makes sense to group the two together. Discuss anything useful in actual matches here, from specific tactics, to character-dependent move counters, to overall gameplans. The more specific you get, the better. It would be greatly appreciated if you took the time to test out everything you plan on saying in training mode to make sure that it works and to provide some numbers for stuff like damage and dizzy amount.

Other than that, try not to piss anyone off or start any flame wars.

2

Rugal vs Blanka

Rugal in C groove vs Blanka in any groove with meter. You either gotta land random crossup or roll into combo… or you just die. I am pretty sure blanka ducks his cr FP, and Rugal longer range pokes are too unsafe to use since Blanka’s jump is fast and Blanka has good whiff punishers at the ranges to make these moves miss. Rugal’s cr MP is pretty good in this matchup for avoiding crossups and st MP usually antiairs blanka unless he does early jump in attacks, in which case, cr MP does the trick. Jumping straight up and down just outside slide range is key, because you can use j straight up and down RH to keep space and mix it up with just empty jumps up and down. If Blanka gets too ansy and tries to slide you as you come down, a late Air Dark Smach will score you a knockdown. Then you get the ambiguous roll crossup or j MK crossup, which ever works for you. Outside of those things, basically, Rugal vs Blanka is a crappy matchup… and you have to be a little bit random to win this matchup since Blanka is gonna rape you in any case. At least randomness may give you a shot at a couple cr LKs.

3

Rugal vs Vega (claw)

Rugal vs. Vega is one tough match-up IMO and IME. Using Rugals st MP as anti-air won’t quite work against Vega since he’s one speedy mexican (errr… Spanish!) I tried to use the crouching version but I guess it’s all about timing. One golden rule of Rugal against Vega; never throw Reppuken just to start things up. Vega will just jump in in a blink of an eye then smacks Rugal with a kick then a fierce poke at landing. Air dark smash is not a good option too against an aggressive Vega since AIR is Vega’s territory, I remembered if im not mistaken, my Rugal got grabbed in mid air while in a dark smash position. Also, watch out for Vega’s random sweeps, coz its pretty fast and pretty safe for him if done in mid-range. Kaizer wave would be better to throw since it is bigger, and sometime fools Vega. But still, Vega can jump onto it so try Kaizer waving at a distance. Rugal’s size also is one weakness against Vega, so a crouching Rugal most of the time can extend his life though. I don’t have much idea about how Rugal can fight against Vega in a strategy; I only beat Vega using Rugal in a more turtle version. And I just punish some of Vegas mistakes with pokes and st RH. Guys if you have better Rugal tactics against Vega, pls post it here. Coz I NEVER want my Rugal to turtle against Vega no more! ={

4

rugal vs blanka: if the blanka is very good, you lose

rugal vs vega: anticipate jumps with st hk, and s mp does work at some angles, for the ones where it doesn’t, cr mp will most likely trade, and it’s not exactly the best trade ever, so, just block, against vega, you just gotta rush down and keep him grounded, cuz the air is vega territory anyways, never do the dive punch, ever (except in level 2 cancel)

rugal vs hibiki: ? …help? c rugal feels pretty helpless against her

5

Dash or run back and forth so they can’t line up their superior and safe pokes on u. Then when you dash back you can throw occasional repukens, or if you dash or run forward you can get them to block stuff like low rh or maybe even land, or you can roll their reactive poke attempts…and then you’re in control hopefully after that.

6

I love Rugal’s corner game. I try my hardest to keep my opponent in the corner to pressure them. What do you guys think about RC God press as an anti air? If they are jumping from a small distance toward you trying to get a deep jump in probably how do u guys think an RC God press will do, or to punish low jumpers. But if they are jumping straight up and trying to land on you(claw vega) with RH I think that RC DP Kick move will suffice.

Btw a use C-Rolento/Kyo, Rugal, Sagat-2

Thoughts?

peace

Sav

7

I can’t RC godpress that well, but I’m thinking it’s not that great as anti air, since godpress hits REALLY low (try using his level 3 to anti air and you’ll see what I mean), so you gotta time it so it hits when they’ve almost landed, the window for it is really small, the timing is weird, and I’m not sure if the grab is air-blockable

and I’m sorry, but genocide cutter sucks no matter what you do to it =/

you can use the hk one to anti air crossups sometimes, but it’s not reliable, and RCing cross up dp motion is hard, impractical, and generally not useful =/ especially for something with such sucky damage and hitbox

if you can RC godpress well, use it in between poke strings or something

8

sooo what are all these crazy corner mixups i keep hearing about, and how do i do them w/o meter?

9

I have a problem fighting K/C-sagat, and how about anti airing vega if you’re playing on K groove?

10

I started playing again. I use K-groove now. Anyway I’m gonna share some corner stuff I like to do. Honestly, my corner game still kinda sucks because I hardly ever get more than 1 throw at a time. But I’ll share. Please share your stuff and insights as well.

So they’re in the corner. What do you do? Jab repu. After this, you have many options:

cr lk
reflector
cl st. mk
whiff jab!

I’ll examine cr lk. The first thing I like to do (though I should probably save it for the end) is cr lk, whiff jab, throw. You can probably do it once a match. It’s also good if they block a mid screen crossup.

Anyway now they’re scared of the throw. If you have a level 3, you can try delayed short short short. Sometimes I even do cr lk, stand up for .1 sec, sweep, hp repu for guard bar.

Another thing I like to do after all this, is jab repu, cr lk xx jab repu. If done at the right moments, the whole thing gets blocked and your corner pressure resets, even though this is the most unsafe shit ever!

Or you can cr lk, then back dash, forward dash or run up and then react. Some chars will think repu after you backdash, so be ready with AA. Sometimes you might just wanna repu anyway. Or if they turtle or react slow, you can stop your run and wait for the rc ball. ha.

I’ll talk more later.

11

holy crap, the rugal board isn’t completely dead

@winrawr: sagat’s j hk can be antiaired with c hp, ground game rugal is pretty even vs sagat, rugal c hp stuffs basically everything except st hp (and stuff that comes out faster, obviously, ie st lk), st hk stops st lk abuse once it’s at about the one hit range, rugal st lk/mk stuffs sagat’s lows, st hp is always a good poke (not sure about how it fairs against sagat st hp), c hk is also abusable, especially when they’re doing st hps

sagats who know what they’re doing also tend to like to try to keep you grounded with high tiger shots, c hp their hand for free from 2/3 the stage away

@galzpanic: …c lk whiff st lp is basic day 1 shit…and that’s not what I’d really call a strong corner game…

rugal’s best corner wakeup game is meaty rc reflector, meaty st mk, ken style delayed c lk stuff, or if they’re on low guard meter, go for the 12k combo (lp repuken some distance away, sj hk, st hk [if they’re not gc’ed by now, cancel into reflector?/repuken, reflector might not reach, in either case, do another close st hk right after, if gc -> godpress, if not, hp repuken, and if they’re STILL not gc’ed…you gotta learn how to read the fuggin guard bar] -> godpress -> level 2 -> dive punch -> level 1

if your corner wakeup game fails, I’d just do a poke string and end it with c hp or st hk (so they don’t jump out), then just use the basic advantage of controlling their space to get a few pokes in or something

rugal backdash isn’t that fast, and repuken isn’t exactly safe, they’d only make you lose your corner wakeup advantage and make you get supered right back

it’s pretty basic, but going with your mixups, you should first do c lk whiff st lp throw, next time they get up, c lk whiff st lp c lk lk -> super

12

ha of course low short whiff jab throw is day one. That’s why I said do it once a match. But you know it too; since Rugal’s offense is a bit flawed, the trick is allowing opps to think they have outs. That’s why I’m using K-groove now; JD can cover more stuff.

13

should probably look into P for rugal, his dash > his run, storable level 3 with rugal is broken, parry -> c mk -> godpress is huge damage for a parry, even his 1500 sweep is big damage

his offense isn’t flawed anymore when he has a level 3 and turns any lk into 8k+ damage =P

14

hey guys. i just picked up K rugal and i am amazed at how much crazy damage he does at Ratio 2! but whenever i get my rage meter filled, my opponents just run and jump away. is there any reccomendations on how to get the super in?

15

I don’t know so much about Rugal, but with Sagat, I practice supering the opponent on reaction whenever they jump away from me.

Does Rugal’s Level 3 punch super have enough priority to grab Vega out of jump back HP or Bison out of jump back HK?

Practice doing the “cross-up” punch super on reaction against a blocked Psycho Crusher also in case you’re fighting against RC Bison trying to turtle out your rage.

I don’t know what Rugal can do against Mai or Rolento running away from you though.

16

argh, stupid school comp just deleted an uber post I just made

…and why did rugal suddenly get rising popularity just months after I stopped playing

well, this can only get worse if my knowledge goes to waste =P

I used to use K rugal r2, I stopped cuz of the same problem, but here’s some ways to maximize your chances of hitting the raged super (which is never guaranteed with any character anyways)

anyways, to sum up my big post, don’t ever anti air with punch super, crap priority, slow, and hits very low to the ground

outside of obvious GC setups, use st hk to keep opponent grounded (and preferably cornered), then either hit some random c lks ™ and super on reaction (should get close enough to hit at least 2), set up a low jump hk into his KICK super (unless you did it deep, but usually you want early), or just harass them with your 2600 punch throw or 2000 c hks (his supers only [pffft, only] 8500, someone correct me on numbers, I don’t have the game at home and I’m at school right now anyways)

if you knock them down, you have better options, whiff/tick -> throw, ken c lks, whiff lows -> low jump hk, close st mk -> c mp/lk/st lk -> super, close st mk -> reflector -> kick super juggle, DO NOT meaty reflector them, I say this because it leads to no guaranteed supers (unless they’re stupid enough to get hit by a non rc reflector, or you’re on speed and can react to a single random poke hitting and canceling into super on reaction)

those are if you get them unagressive, if you’ve failed to do that, look to hit a whiff with st mk -> super on reaction, remember, st mk low crushes

specific matchups…

sagat, you’re not gonna c lk this guy, and st mk won’t reach his whiffs, you’re best off with low jump hk setup, and even that is dangerous, jd’ed c hp is free st lk -> super though, I’d just play this matchup normally to abuse your rage damage bonus and not look to super too avidly

blanka, st mk low crushes, low jump hk owns non lightning happy blanka, shouldn’t have too much trouble getting close enough for random c lks ™, DO NOT reversal super to punish blocked ball, wait a few frames, otherwise he’ll be too high up and super will whiff

chun, after spinning bird kick cheese, if they have any idea what they’re doing, they’ll wait cuz you’re raged, perfect time to tick c lk -> other stuff, also, her j lk stuffs everything you have, but you can take the hit early by pressing st mp/st hk, abuse her trip guard loss and c mk super her on landing

bison, low jump hk owns him, also not very hard to get in with random c lks ™, if he teleports, run after him and st mk super the sucker, you have an eternity to super him if he’s stupid enough to psycho crusher

vega, horrendous matchup, your only hope is JD or psychic super, but you can try to keep him grounded with kaiser waves I guess, not that it’d help you very much, cuz he’s still an inpenetrable fortress of stabby and slashy action (for R anyways)

cammy, I can’t even think of a worse matchup, st hk owns rugal so free it isn’t even funny (anymore), I’d take my chances with random c lks ™ and psychic supers, maybe some projectiles to ease the st hk rapage

rolento, just running st mp the sucker, he’ll stop jumping, trust me, you’re smacking him with a 1600 st mp (more on CH), repeatedly, also works for bison btw, and maki to I assume

mai, because of her fast jump, early st hk or running c mp/c hp is probably better to antiair, stick with sweeps, random c lk ™, and low jump hks

lemme know if you help on any other matchups, I need stuff to do in between my classes 2 days every week =P (ie tuesdays and thursdays)

17

wow. that helps a lot. the toughest matchups i have are against Cammy, Sagat, and Blanka.

as far as sagat is concerned, i cant get in. jumping is silly. and he just low jump kicks the hell out of me. i need to get close but im having trouble tricking him into doing that.

with cammy, i can JD most of her pokes, but Rugals trip range is so small. if i JD her s.hk, what are some options i have?

besides sagat, blanka gives me the most trouble. the blanka i play against a lot loves to RC electricity, cuz thats like one of two of the only RC’s he can do. and when he jumps in on me, he out pokes the hell out of me. his pokes are so quick.

lets see…also against ryu, can my s.mp beat out at short jumped hp? i get nailed with that into the shin shoryuken every time.

finally…one more question, what are some of Rugal’s best options as far as waking up goes?

thanks a bunch. im having fun playin him cuz the people i play with arent used to playing against him. but still. no dice against those three top tier characters

18

IMO, any character with ground fireballs stands a fairly good chance pressuring Cammy into the corner. There Rugal can stomp her cute butt and give her a curbie.

19

@rock

rugal c mp = magic anti air for all low jumps, possibly excepting a sagat far lj hk, use c hp for all far sagat j hks of any kind

you don’t have to get in against sagat, since sagat is a big guy and is reliant on standing pokes, you can just outpoke him, st hk his st lk, c hk his st hp, c mp/hp his c hp (you have to press it at about the same time he presses it), st lk/mk his lows

watch out for his counter pokes, cuz his st hp > your c hp, c hp > most of your pokes, etc

if he does high tiger shots, c hp his hand from 2/3 the screen away free (think I said this already…)

his st mk should be the most troublesome one to deal with, but it’s fairly harmless, and you can cr mp the tip of his foot if I remember right, if not try st lp

if you’re unsure of what poke to use, st hp is a relatively safe bet, just remember your far st hp is shitty damage, so don’t start trading hps

after you JD a poke, you don’t have anything guaranteed to hit, so I’d take this frame and distance advantage to run in and start doing your close up game (the only game rugal can keep up vs cammy with), and watch those close st hps, I recommend always starting with a c lk, whatever you’re gonna try to do (throw, gc, low jump, random lks ™), remember, eventually they’ll catch on and try to cannon spike after, so bait that and JD it, I think she’s safe from rugal on a blocked dp (so very bs =( ), outside of reversal super that is

blanka is one of rugal’s bad matchups, unfortunately, and if they’re rcing lightning you don’t have a strong answer besides lp repuken and throws, watch out for balls that go over your repu, but think of it this way, if all he does is random spam rc elec he’s not hurting you, so if you don’t lose the lead you should be perfectly fine and just let him spam all he wants, just be on the lookout for when he starts attacking, remember, every blocked ball is free reversal walk/run forward (like 2-5 pixels) c hp for you, but like most people, rugal can not attack a rc spam blanka safely

his pokes are easy to deal with, most of them don’t link and his c lks are very hard to link, just reversal genocide cutter right in between those things, st hk is the best anti air vs blanka (st mp will get stuffed by early blanka j hk, I should know, I abuse every other person who’s tried to use rugal around here =P)

rugal only has very strong wakeup options in the corner, which are:
meaty st mk linked into stuff
meaty st mk -> reflector
rc reflector
lp repu from far away -> basic empty jump mixups
meaty/whiff st lk fake (it looks exactly like st mk, except much less frames, good for setting up his uber damage throw)

non corner, same thing except replace lp repu fake with crossup/empty cross up, they won’t work as well, but they work well enough

don’t forget basic generic wakeup mixups

and rugal c mp should cleanly stuff a low jump ryu hp every single time, rugal has a hard time with lots of characters, but ryu isn’t one of them

@hel
his repu has horrendous startup frames, if I was a cammy vs a rugal, I’d run up and st hk even if it means I’d eat the repu, rc’ed it’s decent against cammy, but even so, rugal’s pokes are simply too helpless to cammy’s

I’d much rather keep a cammy in middle where I can cross her up anyways, cornered cammy has way too many ways to defend herself that all work way too well on rugal

but yeah, if you push her far back enough, then repukens are a good zone tact for rugal, the problem is, you don’t have anything to push her far back enough to safely throw repukens out, unless you manage to get a psychic dp in or something

20

thanks man. im gonna give this stuff a shot. it all sounds very useful. youve helped a lot.