Ok guys here’s that post.
Honestly, Sagat’s up close game gets me in trouble sometimes. Someone will be crouching blocking right in front of me and I KNOW I should just throw them back out or push them back out so I can start zoning them with shots, but Sagat has SO many good options up close that I just say “fuck it!” and I play footsies instead.
Let’s go over those options.
Crouching jab - Comes out in 3 frames. Has more range then his crouching short. Since it’s fast it’s useful during footsies to stuff other normals. Leaves you at 0 frames of advantage so it’s safe on block and good for block strings as well.
Crouching short - Comes out on frame 5, and leaves Sagat at plus 3 on block. That’s just…too good. This means that when Sagat recovers from the cr.short his opponent will still be in block stun for 3 frames. Using frame advantage intelligently is key for maintaining a strong offense. This normal has decent range as well and is another main component of Sagat’s block string. Also if you go for the option select tech throw, this will come out if you don’t tech, which is good for Sagat.
Crouching strong - Comes out in 5 frames and has good range and priority. This actually leaves you at +1 on block so it’s worth using. Slightly less frame advantage then the cr. short, but with more range, damage and block pushback. This move is good in block strings and linking after a cr. short.
Crouching fierce - I swear this thing is straight outta CvS2. Comes out on frame 8 which is decent for a heavy normal. But the thing that makes this thing nuts, is the massive priority and the huge range. This thing has more range then almost every other normal in Sagat’s arsenal save for a couple. The range is comparable to a shoto’s cr. forward. When it’s spaced out it pretty much eats any other normal for breakfast. Only very fast high priority jabs will beat it usually and even then they still might get stuffed if they mistimed it.
Standing short - Stupid range, cancellable into specials, and comes out on frame 6. For a light normal it’s on the slower side but it’s utility offsets that minor weakness. It leaves you at -1, but it’s perfectly safe on block especially when fully spaced and you cancel into a Tiger Shot. This is great in block strings and for pushing your opponent out when they are too close for comfort and you want to get back to zoning.
Overhead - The range on this thing is quite deceptive and extends beyond Sagat’s elbow. It’s slow coming out in 20 frames, but Sagat’s focus attack comes out in 21 frames and that sees use so why not this? Safe on block and has good pushback when it hits or if its blocked which is good for setting up your zoning.
Focus attack - This is Sagat’s longest ranged normal. I will repeat that. This move has more range then Sagat’s s.short. It’s also one of the faster Focus attacks. This thing is amazing if only due to the range. Throw it out and then when it’s blocked you cancel into a dash and go for a grab. This works most of the time until people get wise to it. Then you can dash in and do shenanigans like a tiger uppercut or dash in and block to bait and punish an uppercut or even dash into another focus attack. You can throw this out during poke wars and fish for a counter hit and if you get it dash into uppercut to FADC to F+HK to ultra.
Standing jab - Sagat has a pretty good standing jab. Leaves him at +3 when it hits from far away and at +4 when up close. Unfortunately Sagat is very tall and many characters can duck the jab when he is up close although some can’t like Boxer for example. From far away his elbow angles downward so it can still hit crouching opponents which is pretty cool. I need to mess with these moves more, but they may have potential.
As far as block strings go you have a few to choose from:
c.lk 3 times
c.lp 3 times
s.lk into low tiger shot
c.lk, c.lk, c.lp into low tiger shot
c.lk, c.mp into low tiger shot
Try not to get TOO fancy since links have strict timing and if you leave a hole open in your timing you risk eating a reversal.
The beauty of block strings is that once you condition an opponent to a block string when they get in, that’s what they will expect and that’s when the mix-ups begin. Remember this, The smarter your opponent is, the easier it is to fuck with their heads. Abusing frame advantage is a big part of this as well.
Let’s say your opponent is up close so you throw out 2 c. shorts and they get blocked. That’s fine because you are at +3. Now you have some serious options. You could cancel into a tiger shot to push them out. You can walk forward slightly to bait a reversal and then punish. You could throw out an overhead, which works well alot of the time since NO ONE expects it. You can dash in and grab. You could throw out a s.lk and cancel into a Tiger Knee to keep the pressure on. You could throw out a focus attack and you have ALOT of options from there too.
If you went the Tiger Knee route, the guessing game starts all over again and you do have slight frame advantage if it’s blocked on the way down I believe. If you don’t then I’m pretty sure you are at least neutral with your opponent. Using the Tiger Knee keeps the close range game going pretty much.
DO YOU SEE WHY IT’S SO TOUGH TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE UP CLOSE?!!?!!?!?
This dude has TOO many options, and they are ALL good.
Sagat is the fucking emperor. Bow down to him.
If you want to play it safe up close I would usually stick with block strings most of the time, with the occasional focus attack into grab, and pokes cancelled into tiger knees and then maybe a grab or block string from there. But you have alot of tools at your disposal so be sure to experiment.
Also a quick word on Tiger shots. Low shots are better for chip damage pressure and combos, but they come out on frame 12 and have 44 frames of recovery time. High shots come out on frame 11 and have 39 frames of recovery time. That’s 5 frames faster in terms of recovery. High shots also travel faster If I’m not mistaken. Definitely try to work high shots into your game a little bit more if you haven’t already. At the very least, they are rape in fireball wars.
hope this helped.