@RobotMakoto
Lii’s walk speed is weird to get used to at first, but once you mess around with her spacing a bit more, you get the hang of it. It doesn’t really hinder her at all. She doesn’t need to advance terribly rapidly on most characters because she has a lot of ways to threaten people who try to poke her or jump at her.
Getting to df+HK range is the first step to getting in with Lili. Once you get here, people who know the matchup won’t want to jump at you because the ensuing Andante combo will hurt and get Lili in anyway. Hover at this range for a second or two to make sure your opponent knows and/or respects the threat of df+HK, and then start looking for f+MK/c. MK range.
f+MK is her best way to get in on people, by far. There’s absolutely no shame in needling people who are staying on the ground with f+MK. You’re only +0 on block, but even at tip range you’re well-spaced to start walk jab pressure (fishing for Bedtime confirm, tick throw, or bait reversals/crouch tech/alpha counter) or poke people’s ankles with c. LK/c. MK xx Dendrobium.
f+MK, MP is negative on block, but should still be safe from most characters not named Julia (not sure who besides her has 2-frame punishes yet). If you know they’re going to try and mash out of your pressure when you go negative, you can attempt a pre-emptive mid/low counter (OCCASIONALLY…don’t get predictable) and teach them to sit still when you’re not at least jab punishable. Still, better to try and hit-confirm f+MK before hitting MP.
Bear in mind that just plain walking in, if you know your opponent’s footsie habits well, can also work well to get Lili into jab range. Lili doesn’t walk very fast, but even once she’s past Andante range, she has at least two good options to teach people not to hit buttons to try and keep her out – her max-range pokes (f+MK, c. MK) and her counters (hcb+P).
If you think they’re going to be passive as you can approach, use f+MK and c. MK xx special until you walk into jab range. Basic stuff. If you think they’re going to try and cut you off with zoning pokes or close-range jumps, this is where the counters come in.
LP counter doesn’t do a lot of damage (compared to an Andante combo), but it’s active from the first frame and thus can be done VERY late against jump-ins if you’re too close for Andante (and it’s a lot easier than walk-under Andante if you’re in crossup range). Hard knockdown right into an okizeme tactic of your choice.
MP counter can beat deep jump-ins and pretty much any poke that isn’t actually ground-humping low (remember that her counters are hitbox-height-based and not absolute vs. certain moves). Use to beat badly spaced jabs or baited pokes to teach your opponent to use something else (or nothing at all) to keep you out.
HP counter is the most risky, but can really be good to mindfuck people who rely on c. MK to keep you from advancing. If you’ve been blocking a couple low forwards and have figured out the range/situation in which your opponent is most likely to throw them, try to catch one with a counter at max range. If your counter whiffs and it doesn’t get punished, don’t worry, but lay off the non-anti-air counters for a while to be safe. Hopefully just the threat of the whiff counter will have taught your opponent “Okay he knows about low forward, time to mix it up a little”, and here you can attempt to get ahead in the mindgames about how your opponent will counter your counters and turn that to your advantage.
Once you’re in, your main move is standing LP. Whore the hell out of this move, because it (or once you’ve used it a lot, the mere THREAT of it) leads to everything else. If it hits, you can do multiple jabs before confirming to Bed Time into special or fierce->launcher. If it’s blocked, you can hang onto the frame advantage for a very long time with more s. LP, s. LP, Left Right Combo, f+MK, etc. Go low occasionally with c. LK/c. MP/c. MK to remind your opponent that they can’t just hold back to walk away from your pressure during jab gaps. Her overhead is decently fast, but I’d still hold off on using it on block for the most part (except from stuff like TK EX divekick, because they’re pretty much guaranteed to sit still and hold db after suddenly blocking that). Attempt the overhead occasionally from something on hit instead (f+MK,MP or Dendrobium), where the frame advantage is a lot bigger and mashing on reaction is harder.
Her jab can also be a good setup for jump back HK divekick (to stomp on or discourage crouch tech/low interrupts Cammy-style), or crossup j. MK if you think they can’t handle walk-under on reaction (and you don’t already have them in the corner). Other than that, stand LP all day. Jab pressure in general is good in this game, but Lili’s is some of the best because it’s so easy to confirm and requires very little risk or commitment to do so (Bed Time is the shit).
And once you get the life lead from landing a good combo with Lili, don’t be afraid to get a little lame. Advance far enough to put your opponent under mental (if not literal) pressure and control the situation, but don’t go nuts trying to go in deep unless you really need the damage to pull ahead, or unless you really need to hold down a character who’s good on offense but bad on defense (e.g. Vega).
Lili has low life, but she has a lot of good ways to defend herself at mid-range (anti-air Andante, counters), decent anti-fireball options (Divine Step, empty Feisty Rabbit at long range, a good vertical jump that can LEAD to reaction Divine Step on fireballs), and a good dash/backdash if she either needs to charge an opponent running away with the life lead, or to run away herself when time is running out and she has the lead. She’s not only good at pressure, but can set some fairly strict rules about how and when people can attack her when she has the advantage. Learn how and when to play her both offensively and defensively to maximize her potential.
EDIT: As for alternative anti-airs, you don’t really NEED any besides df+HK and s. MK. c. HP can hit directly above her head, but it doesn’t go up very far and will probably lose badly to really good deep jump-ins (might beat certain shallow crossups, though). Pretty sure s. MK already covers that range with much greater vertical range and a LOT more upper-body invincibility. Only trick is to use it EARLY, not late. All the invinciblity is concentrated in her attacking leg (about from her chest upwards), and lasts only for the duration of the active frames.
If you’re not in position for/ready to react with Andante or s. MK, just use her LP or MP counter (LP should work more than MP unless they have an INSANELY deep jump-in that somehow avoids Lili’s head hitbox). Empty jump beats counters, of course, but you can do the counters so late that you can really train people to jump-attack super-late or not at all against Lili, allowing you to anti-air with s. MK/df+HK a lot easier on reaction.
