I believe staff slam is one frame startup, but a few frames travelling to the top of the screen… her anti-air would also be really fast. If you can find that video of Justin K, he whiffs a c.hp under cable, who DHCs into HSF… and Sonson starts the staff slam super, point blank. No startup that I can see.
It’s really, really easy to catch assist and main in her anti-air, and then do the staff slam… problem is, when the second part of the super (descending staff) hits, one of the characters tends to fall out. This super is also fun for punishing a whiffed AHVB (either you’re too close, or she’s above them) or an HSF you’ve popped out of. It’s also fast enough that you can catch anyone who takes one of your assists into the air… Not a lot of opportunities, but there are some.
You can cancel any time, I think. If you cancel after the first hit of the descending staff, it will remain and hold them there, if you want to delay. Anything could start up off of the time you can delay, if you want to… from Milles Fantomes to King Kobun. Or, if you want to have almost no delay, cancel the last hit.
As for Sonson having an infinite… if she does (and I wouldn’t be shocked), I don’t know it, but probably should learn it. She does have some situations where she can meter dependent her POW super, or her Slam, though that’s harder. Either is probably better in a DHC string than an infinite, tho… damage reduction and all.
Venom, I don’t really know… he’s one of the very few characters that I’ve never really seen played. Others are Roll, Amingo, and several other low tiers. Charlie and WM I haven’t seen much of, though I’ve seen good Guiles and Iron Men. There was a site a while back with all the infinites and their timing, but I don’t have the URL for it.
I’ll have to test the zero startup bit… I know that you could guard cancel -> DHC it in the middle of the HSF… But as for catching a random unblock, I’m not certain. It could definitely catch someone entering fly, though.
— FOBio
Sonson’s j.fp works well as a jump-in… All three hits will connect, and she lands right after the third. She can do any combo in the world she wants… most of the time, I go straight into the anti-air, Slam… but you might do an assist -> combo, or hit with the c.hp, monkeys, POW or Slam. But as far as an air combo ender goes, it’s fairly average, and probably no better than the hk.
Because Sonson is small and it has a huge hitbox, most angles of attack pass through the staff, which has fairly good reach and priority. It’s not the best thing ever, but if you don’t make it painfully obvious, it’s useful. Its biggest advantage is that if you time it right, it forces them to stand until the moment you land, when you can do a low… or a grab, if you’ve got the timing. I don’t think her grabs are really that impressive, game wise… but they disrupt the opponent’s patterns, and either get you distance (kick), or keep them very close (punch). And I’d love to see the look on someone’s face if you managed to jump in with this, floor crawl under their feet, and either grab or combo them.
-Side note-
Floor crawl is really her least useful move, IMO, but probably has some potential as far as playing mind games goes… I honestly haven’t tried it enough to know. If you’re wondering what it is, it’s hcf + k. Never a move to throw out randomly, but might be useful as a lead in to grabs.
Anyhow, hope this is helpful…
Tron Jon.
Other than that, the damage bites. I still think she might have an infinite somewhere, but I will have to check.