Sakura Strategy and Match-up Thread (2.0)

[kikoo]

…and i still have no idea how to safejump EX SBK, but if you block it, just sweep her. doing c.mk xx shou too early will make chun air reset and your shou hits nothing

fuckin’ chun.

nj. hk ? hit her with the tip of your shoes. works 100%. dont abuse it tho, delayed ex sbk makes it trade, or she can even hit you clean with some luck

[hehwat]

this matchup is indeed very hard, but you do have some tools. when you’re against any of the footsie characters in this game (vega, rose, chun, fei to an extent) you really need to understand your opponent’s options. when you’re both at neutral space, chun’s go-to poke is s.mp, which she can use to lead into any number of things and provides really strong pressure. fortunately, this is a normal that sakura has an answer for. your c.mk will stuff it, but not on reaction (it’s too quick, at least I can’t do it on reaction lol), so you need to be confident and make the read. catching her pokes with c.mk xx shou is gonna be a ground game staple for you because it scores a knockdown, or gives you the option to fadc when you seriously need more damage right this very moment. if you can make her think twice about leaning on s.mp all day long, the match will open up a bit, because you can jump over and punish her sweep (use j.hk for the gigantic downward hitbox), or open her up to focus attacks as she moves to using beefier but more punishable moves like s.fp.

budget your meter very very carefully - this is a matchup where sakura will need to stage a big fuckin’ comeback off one mistake, so make sure that in critical situations you have 3 bars. off hit-confirms do some strong loops that end in shou rather than ex tatsu. a lot of chun’s close-up pressure game revolves around frame traps that have very bad whiff recovery, so ex dp if your friend. chun also has a series of difficult links so make her pay for missing 'em. a good chun will respect your damage and play very carefully, so you have to as well.

…and i still have no idea how to safejump EX SBK, but if you block it, just sweep her. doing c.mk xx shou too early will make chun air reset and your shou hits nothing

beyond that, here’s some basics because idkwtf your skill level/familiarity with chun is like

• block hazanshu. it’s slow! do not let her tick hazanshu and get away with it. if it’s cl.rh xx lk hazanshu, block it. if it’s far s.mp xx hk hazanshu, c.fp her in the snapper.
• don’t throw fireballs from under 3/4 screen. your recovery is balls terrible for level 1 fireballs and she will totally punish you. sakura’s fireballs especially are really easy to react to.
• pick U1. if you don’t know the timing, go fuckin’ learn it. every time i see a sakura with U2 in a matchup where she needs damage above all else, i shed a tear. the difference is enormous.
• if you do pick U1, try to use focus xx backdash to fill up your ultra meter. it does significantly more damage when the meter is all the way full, so when it is, use a nice succinct combo so it scales down as little as possible. you oughtta be getting 550+ damage on a full U1 combo, before low-life scaling (that is, characters taking less damage the lower life they have, this is independent of combo scaling and seems like lots of people don’t know this O_O).
• don’t fuckin’ hit buttons when chun is up in your grill doin’ stuff. be patient, find a safe way out, and get back to that range on your own terms. unless that button is ex dp fadc, and you have made a well-educated read. this includes OS throw tech!!

fuckin’ chun.

medium dp hold up jhk should safe jump it hopefully. This matchup requires safe jump cuz getting hit by a ex sbk pisses me off and i dont like resorting to empty jumps. Also yea cmk dp fadc shp tatsu chp tatsu slk dp is so critical for me in to get damage, ive been practicing that link to the point of 70% success. You are so right with the fireballs, i would throw them from a mile away and chun would hazanshu my ass. Also close up chuns a pain too cuz hazanshu pressure and it hits my cr tech a lot, doesnt help that they are mashing ex legs too. I can kill a meter chun way easier. is there away arounf hazanshu pressure im fine with blocking but it gets annoying.

Also fuqn online adons a pain in the ass. constant jag kicks

[FakeSteve]

the only time hazanshu will combo is off a counterhit cl.rh, otherwise you can jab her out of it (its hard), or s.fp/c.fp her out of it (its easy). if she’s not ticking it off a normal, like she’s just doing it to close distance, c.mp probably the safest move to beat it with

i think there are some normals that, on ch, you don’t have 4 frames to start c.fp before the hazanshu. i got nothin’ for numbers though. if you blocked the normal she cancelled, you can s.fp/c.fp her np every time. its also a good spot for that ONE SHOT AT GLORY ex dp

Spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb3RNP6paSE

[hehwat]

is it fast enough to do it on reaction up close. I hope they change recover on fierce dp to lil later in 2012 so u can safe jump 4 frame dp off it.

[FakeSteve]

yeah it’s fast enough. hazanshu has balls terrible recovery, it just does a whole whack of blockstun so it’s relatively safe. ex dp crushes it, she cannot block.

[hehwat]

The matchups not bad bad its just annoying to play ESPECIALLY online. probably 6-4 at worse or 5-5 if u are perfect and have your shit together with 1 frame combos and safe jumps.

[Immaculate]

Is it a good idea to jump attack on gief after a hard knockdown? I did this online it worked out great but it might’ve just been pure luck. I looked at the gief forums and they say his wake up options are not that great but I’m not sure if she can safe jump gief if he wakes up with PPP lariat

[hehwat]

Is it a good idea to jump attack on gief after a hard knockdown? I did this online it worked out great but it might’ve just been pure luck. I looked at the gief forums and they say his wake up options are not that great but I’m not sure if she can safe jump gief if he wakes up with PPP lariat

wouldnt do it unless u seriously need damage cuz spd and lariat beat both safe jumps and ambiguous ones

[Fergus2k8]

It’s generally a rule of thumb to never jump on Gief at any stage. Just keep zoning him out.

I hear about a very early nj.hk will beat Lariet but I think Gief can just delay it to beat it.

[eightbO]

vs. gief condition with jump back HK on his wakeup then you can start some pressure if you feel the risk is necessary. even gief will be afraid to eat a decent sakura combo. just dont be stupid about it

[donnie]

Anyone have any matchup info for Oni?

[Deebs]

Don’t ever get hit by cross up slashes? I swear whenever I lose to oni it’s because of that shit.

[Callisto]

Trying to get myself to use U1 more where applicable since U2 damage is just too ass to deal with sometimes…does anyone have sort of a list of what characters are better to use U1 for, ones that mostly stayed grounded in footsies? I do rely on U2 pretty heavily as a reaction AA but I know that some characters just don’t involve that much jumping.

[Skatan_Milla]

Here’s my list, U2 - everyone

[hehwat]

Trying to get myself to use U1 more where applicable since U2 damage is just too ass to deal with sometimes…does anyone have sort of a list of what characters are better to use U1 for, ones that mostly stayed grounded in footsies? I do rely on U2 pretty heavily as a reaction AA but I know that some characters just don’t involve that much jumping.

just look at who uryo uses u2 for.

[Fergus2k8]

I agree with Skatan, U2 for everyone. It’s just a better ultra

[chaoslimits]

Here’s my list, U2 - everyone

I agree with Skatan, U2 for everyone. It’s just a better ultra

I Agree. Sakura does enough damage. Covering more options is more important.

[eightbO]

i’m disliking the whole u2 bandwagon thing but i guess it’s a comfort thing.

if you’re in a nervous environment or w/e or are unsure just use U2 and learn the setups in the corner with it.

but i think u1 is definitely viable (and rewarding) in matchups like rog, cody, fei etc. whereas u2 you could potentially use in any matchup.
your preference won’t really make a major difference in the overall match but i feel like it could suit peoples style of play and they don’t realise it because they pick u2 all day.

[Skatan_Milla]

It’s not a comfort thing, u2 puts people guaranteed into the corner, that’s enough to win the round.

[hehwat]

i’m disliking the whole u2 bandwagon thing but i guess it’s a comfort thing.

if you’re in a nervous environment or w/e or are unsure just use U2 and learn the setups in the corner with it.

but i think u1 is definitely viable (and rewarding) in matchups like rog, cody, fei etc. whereas u2 you could potentially use in any matchup.
your preference won’t really make a major difference in the overall match but i feel like it could suit peoples style of play and they don’t realise it because they pick u2 all day.

its preference i will still choose u1 a lot of the times