Since the forum software upgrade left me unable to update the previous Matchup Thread and Arcade Edition has come out on consoles, I thought it was a good time to create a new thread. This time around I’ll spread the info across many posts.
I’ve been going through the cast and figuring out the best reaction and ‘on block’ punish for every character’s Ultra 1,2 and Super so I’ll be adding that information in as I gather it. If any of you know of better/easier punishes than those that I listed, feel free to chime in. Please note that the ‘On Reaction’ punishes assume that you’re not in hitstun/blockstun - some Super combos that are commonly cancelled into (Balrog, Rose, etc) can’t be punished if they are cancelled into as opposed to just thrown out.
Again, thanks to everyone that contributed and continues to contribute!
ABEL
Abel
[details=Spoiler]Abel
LK Tatsu>Sweep - NO
Fs. HK hits twice on on low block
Guaranteed Demons
Blocked Wheel Kick - Super
Blocked Super/Ultra 1 - Super/Ultra
Blocked Change of Direction (first hit only) - Super/Ultra (Ultra only if second hit comes out)
Ultra 2 (reaction)
Effective Options Selects
Demon Flip palm o/s sweep on wakeup
Demon Flip palm o/s throw on wakeup (if Abel is blocking on wakeup)
Demon flip palm o/s U1 on wakeup
Demon flip palm o/s HK Tatsu on wakeup (do tatsu input backwards to catch Mersailles Roll)
Offense Tips
Abel’s roll is a throw or Demon opportunity
Standing HK is an effective pressure tool
Abel has no good reversals so vortex him hard
EX Hadouken is a good way to get a knockdown (combo/cr. MP frame trap ender)
Defense Tips
Almost always avoid both ground and air fireballs (except combo enders/option select cr. MK-Hado) when he has either Ultra - both can easily punish fireballs
Be careful using teleports to escape pressure when he has either Ultra
Neutral jump or backdash out of block strings (both Akuma’s or Abel’s) if he’s using Tornado Throw often - punish whiffed throw
Do not backdash on wakeup (Akuma’s or Abel’s) if he has either Ultra
Punishing Ultra/Super
Ultra 1 - On Reaction - Neutral jump & Raging Demon or BnB. On Block - Raging Demon or Walk forward slightly - BnB (U1 does insignificant chip damage)
Ultra 2 - On Reaction - HK Tatsu (if Abel charges the move, HK Tatsu will whiff and cross over - do a Raging Demon or EX Demon Flip kick - BnB if this happens. Demon Flip must be done after Abel releases the move). Neutral jump or Backwards jump to Demon or BnB also works.
Super - On Reaction - Shoryuken (LP is most reliable since it always knocks foe into air) or Raging Demon*. On Block* - Raging Demon or BnB
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ADON
Adon
[details=Spoiler]Adon
LK Tatsu>Sweep - YES
Fs. HK hits twice on low block
Guaranteed Demons
Blocked/Whiffed Ultra 2
Jaguar Tooth (Reaction)
Effective Option Selects
Offense Tips
Effective Wakeup Options:
[LIST]
[]After forward throw - whiff st. HK or LK Tatsu, then do immediate HK Demon Flip Dive Kick. This should make all of his DPs whiff
[]After forward throw, double dash - crossup Tatsu is effective - all of his DPs whiff
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U2 can be useful in this match - if you block a cr. MP, do a teleport and if Adon does a Jaguar Tooth, cancel into U2
When Adon dive kicks, hit fs.HP or jump toward/back and HK on land
Jaguar Tooth can be Demon’d on reaction
Defense Tips
Get to know Adon’s st. HK range - it can be focused near the end of its range
Avoid fireballs (especially Shaku) when Adon has Ultra 1 - it can punish a fireball from nearly fullscreen
Avoid high air fireballs - Adon can dash under them and punish
Try to avoid getting chipped by Adon’s Super - it does up to 126 chip damage
Adon can make an AA DP whiff by suddenly doing an air Jaguar Kick - watch out for this.
Punishing Ultra/Super
Ultra 1 – *On Reaction – *EX Shoryuken or cr. MK Kara Demon. *On Block – *Raging Demon or BnB
Ultra 2 – *On Reaction – *EX Shoryuken or Jump Back HK. *On Block – *Raging Demon or BnB (Adon tends to cross over on block, so you may have to reverse direction of inputs)
Super – On Reaction – KKK Teleport – Raging Demon or EX Demon Flip Kick. On Block – Raging Demon or cr. Mk xx LK Tatsu-Sweep/DP (The kick version of the Super causes Adon to cross over if Akuma is not in the corner. The punch version must be blocked for 5 regular hits followed by 4 rapid-fire hits.)
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AKUMA
Akuma
[details=Spoiler]Akuma
LK Tatsu>Sweep - YES
Fs. HK hits twice on low block
Guaranteed Demons
Blocked Shoryuken
Ducked LK Tatsu (Kara Demon)
Blocked Demon Flip Sweep
Blocked LK or MK Tatsu
Blocked HK Tatsu (Super only)
Dash Under Air Fireball
Effective Option Selects
DF Palm o/s HK Demon Flip on wakeup (should punish teleport - do dive kick late)
DF Palm o/s U1 on wakeup (only if opposing Akuma does not have U2 stocked)
Jump-in attack o/s HK.Tatsu (Beats Teleport and Back Dash (Partially); Loses to U2)
Jump-in attack o/s Demon Flip (Beats Teleport, Loses to nothing consistently)
Jump-in attack o/s Ultra 1 (Beats Teleport, Back Dash, Loses to U2)
Jump-in attack o/s Teleport > U2 (Beats Teleport, Loses to nothing consistently.)
Chain OS s.LK+s.HK during block strings/close pressure (Beats backdash for full combo,
Loses to almost nothing
Offense Tips
If opponent does close air fireball, EX DP through it
Defense Tips
Work hard to not get cornered - teleports can be punished with Demon
Avoid using Demon Flip Sweep
Do not get predictable in fireball wars, especially if opponent has meter for EX Demon Flip
If teleporting is important, select U2 so your teleports can’t be punished with Demon
Punishing Ultra/Super
Ultra 1 – *On Reaction – *Neutral jump or Back jump (depending on distance) & Raging Demon or BnB (Akuma will cross under at close distance, so you may have reverse direction of inputs)
Ultra 2 – *On Reaction – *EX Shoryuken (do input right before enemy Akuma yells ‘HYAAAH!’)
*On Block/Whiff – *Raging Demon or BnB (blockstun lasts a while, don’t do input too quickly)
Super – *On Reaction – *Jump back & Raging Demon or BnB (will not work at point blank range)
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BALROG (BOXER)
Balrog (Boxer)
[details=Spoiler]Balrog (Boxer)
LK Tatsu>Sweep - YES
Fs. HK hits twice on low block
Guaranteed Demons
Blocked Dash Straight: Super, must hit deep
Blocked Dash Low Straight: Super, must hit deep
Blocked Dash Overhead: Super
Blocked Dash Upper: Super/Ultra
Blocked Dash Low Smash: Super/Ultra
Blocked TAP: Super, must hit deep
Blocked Headbutt: Super/Ultra
Blocked Super/Ultra I: Super/Ultra
Effective Option Selects
Flip palm o/s late sweep on Wakeup (Beats anything except block - will lose to headbutt if sweep is not delayed)
Flip palm o/s U2 on Wakeup (Beats anything except block)
Cr. MK o/s DP for Dash Punches (incl. EX)
Cr. MK o/s LK Tatsu for Dash Punches (incl. EX)
Jump-in attack o/s U2 (Beats Backdash, Headbutt (all strengths), Turn punch, Practically everything, Loses to nothing*. Notes:* Screwing up the timing on your palm will cause the ultra to come out)
Chain OS s.LK+s.HK during block strings/pressure (Beats backdash for full combo, Loses to almost nothing)
SPACING
Akuma is most effect either at full screen or up close. At full screen, try to bait his dash punches with air/ground fireballs, fireball feints, whiffed normals, demon flip palm whiffs and empty jumps. Take advantage of Akuma’s walk speed and constantly walk in and out of poke range to bait more mistakes (for misjudging your spacing). At close range pressure with safe block strings and tick throws; he can’t do much to you if he has no meter. For block strings, cr. MK xx Hadoken should also be avoided because it’s not a true block string and Balrog can do Headbutt – U1. If Balrog is mashing jabs, just throw him.
Stay out of midrange because that’s where all his options lie. His pokes reach the best at this range and all dash punches are safe. Balrog gets a lot of damage out of baiting and punishing throw attempts, Shoryukens and teleports so careful, patient footsies are a necessity.
FOOTSIES/ZONING/PRESSURE
If Balrog has charge you CANNOT play footsies with him - he can just dash punch for free and push you into the corner. His regular dash punches can be punished on reaction with a well-timed focus attack, and all dash punches can be punished on reaction with a well-timed 2/3 hit Shoryuken or cr. MK xx Tatsu. With the exception of the overhead smash, up-close dash punches can be punished with reversal HK Tatsu. The best punish for a blocked overhead is st. LP xx Tatsu or st. LP – Sweep. EX dash punches can also be grabbed on reaction, which puts Balrog into Akuma’s vortex.
If Balrog blocks your sweep, they will often do a dash punch. A good counter to this is to do cr.MK xx LK Tatsu right after the sweep recovers. Cr.MK causes headbutt to whiff, which makes it a good attack to use following a blocked/FADC’d DP, blocked s.HK, blocked focus or following a cr. LP (frame trap)
If Balrog has meter, be careful doing frame traps because he can EX dash punch or EX headbutt to counter.
Telegraphed TAPs can be punished on reaction with fs.HP or in some cases, st. HK (into full combo). Once U1 is stocked, buffer 2 jabs into every sweep so that if Rog tries to TAP (or EX dash) through it you can punish with Raging Demon. At close range, st. HK will also hit Balrog out of TAP.
ULTRA CHOICE
Both Ultras are viable in this matchup.
U1 can punish every EX dash punch (cr. MK xx U1) and can also make ground fireballs safe against TAP or EX dash punch (buffer the jabs into the Hadoken input, finish if you see one of those special moves).
U2 is also excellent in this matchup. Option selecting U2 off of a wakeup flip palm beats all of Balrog’s options, forcing him to block. Having U2 also enables Akuma to teleport for free. Also, crossup Tatsu-U2 works on Balrog.
ON WAKEUP
Balrog has a hard time dealing with Akuma’s wakeup pressure. Safe option selects and block strings are effective. Do not get predictable with DF throws since it can be punished with headbutt into U1, which puts Akuma into the corner and does a fair amount of damage.
Aside from the option selects listed, the following are effective vortex options on Balrog:
Crossup Tatsu.
Empty jump cr. LK (or cr.LK + cr.LP)
Safe jump HK/DF dive kick
Demon flip throw (Loses to headbutt)
Fake crossup command dive kick
Crossup air fireball
LK DF Flip Throw (after sweep combo, walk forward a bit and do it – should make headbutt whiff)
Punishing Ultra/Super
Ultra 1 –* On Reaction – *Raging Demon or EX Shoryuken. *On Block – *Raging Demon (can be done after 4th or 5th punch) or Walk forward – BnB
Ultra 2 – *On Whiff – *Raging Demon or Walk forward – BnB
Super – *On Reaction – *Raging Demon or EX Shoryuken. *On Block – *Walk forward – BnB or Raging Demon (Only first hit of Super must be actively blocked – you can buffer moves for the other 4 hits – there are 5 hits total for the Super)
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http://www.zerodarkgaming.com/2013/03/thief-4-31-new-details-revealed.html
Blanka
[details=Spoiler]Blanka
LK Tatsu>Sweep - NO
Fs. HK hits only once on low block
Guaranteed Demons
Blocked Slide (Super only if far, Super/Ultra if close)
Blocked Blanka Ball
Blocked Up Ball
Blocked Rainbow Roll
Blocked Super/Ultra 1
Effective Option Selects
Offense Tips
Patience is key in this match - mostly boils down to baiting moves and punishing mistakes/jump ins
Sweep or cr. MK are good ways to punish electricity, but some space between Blanka and Akuma is required
Upball is punishable on hit with a sweep (assuming you’re grounded when it hits)
On wakeup, try doing a DF palm whiff that lands just outside of electricity range to bait electricity
After a sweep, if Blanka has no meter, immediately do a MK Demon Flip kick - it should beat everything but block or FA
Mix tick throws into block strings if Blanka is mashing electricity during blockstun
Command dive kick stuffs electricity
Blanka can be safe-jumped, but it’s a 1-frame window
Defense Tips
Teleport when Blanka activates Ultra 1 unless you can afford to take the chip damage
When Blanka activates Ultra 2, forward jump for the first ‘hit’ and demon on landing. Another counter to Ultra 2 is to EX Demon Flip (or non-EX, if at the right distance) dive kick into BnB or cancel into Demon
Be careful throwing fireballs at less than 3/4 screen - EX balls go through fireballs and his slide hits from almost a half screen.
Don’t do air fireballs at the top of the jump arc if Blanka is within a half screen - reaction slide can punish
Focus Attack rainbow rolls (especially EX) if they look like they’re going to hit you - this avoids crossups and can get Akuma a free punish
Do not use jump-ins to begin attacks - electricity beats air attacks and does a lot of damage
If Blanka moves forward, he has ~1 second before he can Blanka Ball again
If Blanka is doing the command hop, he’s likely trying to get in for a throw/mixup, so teleport toward him
Punishing Ultra/Super
Ultra 1 – *On Reaction – *EX Shoryuken (if there’s a bit of distance) or Teleport (point blank, no follow up punish but avoids chip damage). *On Block – *Raging Demon or cr.MK xx LK Tatsu – DP/cr.MK xx EX Tatsu – DP (if near corner) (At point blank, must be blocked low, then high, then low)
Ultra 2 – *On Reaction – *Jump toward or Demon flip toward Blanka, getting as close as possible. Upon landing, do Raging Demon (if close) or block 2nd hit of Ultra (if not close) and then walk forward – BnB or Demon.
Super – *On Reaction – *EX Shoryuken or cr.MK Kara Demon (tight timing). *On Block – *Instant dash – BnB or Raging Demon
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