Went in the lab with Nina for the first time and came up with a few things (If this has been found out already, then I’m sorry. First time trying out the character so yeah.)
#1: After watching the Persona Combo video, I noticed you can use her command grab after connecting a EX SS. So I figured, instead of going for the full grab’s sequence, drop it as soon it connects, leaving the opponent in a standing postion(waaaaaaayy better than knocking down an opponent, considering all the wakeup options in this game). So, now they have to guess between a low, an over head(is her lp+mk an overhead btw?), or trying to reversal out of it. I tried Ryu’s lp DP, Zangief’s super, and Marduks command grab as reversals, and Nina can safely block/jump after the grab connects. I just need to learn her options, and I feel this might be a strong tactic once she has a bar.
#2: Messing around with Pandora. The standard Geyser kick BnB (Cr.HP xx GK x2 into watever), if done a little eariler, send the dummy extremely high. So, Pandora after the second GK, activate super for 500-600 damage. I tested this with a few characters and some supers can only connect in the corner, while some can be done midscreen. I found this special since all the pandora combos either use one bar, or a jump cancel. Nina simply uses a GK with no meter.
I’m very interested in this character, and she seems pretty fun with her GK juggles.
that’s very sneaky , I’ll try that out on players later
the grab reset that is
The more I play Nina the more I think using meter for damage with her is not a good idea, unless you need that extra damage to kill your opponent. Nina with meter can punish fullscreen tagging for 400+ dmg with ex blond bomb, and ex geyser punishes tons of things for 350 dmg or so from pretty far away (fireballs, neutral jumps, any slow whiffed move), and there is her command grab. All of this is pretty scary. On the other hand, ex SS/super/cross art combos aren’t that great damage-wise compared to her meterless bnbs.
Also, seen that Alioune vs Starnab video on Yogaflame’s channel and noticed the former used SS as a poking tool. I thought the move was too unsafe for that, maybe I should test that in training mode.
It’s safe enough against a lot of characters because of distance people need to punish Nina and it hits low. MP/HP Skullsplitter is only -5 on block.
I think a meter is good to use generally in two scenarios for Nina:
[LIST]
[]Get a good jump in
[]EX-Rolling Dash into arm breaker to finish someone off.
[/LIST]
The bulk of her damage is usually done through the typical juggle and pokes. I haven’t found any good ways to get good damage after tag cancels so I don’t think it’s worth using her to start those types of combos. It’s better for me to just do a full 40~50% combo with just Nina alone than expend meter to extend.
But otherwise, IMO she’s very self sufficient and you may be better saving meter for your second character whose on point or anchor that may need it.
Yeah i guess you’re right for skullsplitter. -5 is like MK scissor kick in SF4, it was safe against most character if spaced correctly.
It’s probably punishable by characters like Claw though, I need to try this in training mode.
Skullsplitter has 4 active frames, If you space the skullsplitter, it’s -4, -3 or even -2 on block, because of the set amount of block stun it gives.
Same goes for Geyser cannon, it’s normally -6 on block, but you can make it safe for 3 frame DP’s
Just came in to say wow, I love this character. Took me a week to try her, but I instantly fell in love with her pokes, flash kicks into ccg, and her high-low combos that do not involve links. Seriously, is there any other character with so few links? Perfect for a scrub like me.
anyone know what nina’s hit and hurtboxes look like? i thought she was supposed to have disjointed limbs but it doesn’t seem that way. sometimes i’ll be full screen away throwing out a cr lk or cr mk and get hit by my opponent’s fierce or cr mk. I’m not really overexaggerating. The only way they caught my poke so i’m not understanding these invincible limbs.
Also, here is a vid of some of my play in the 1st sf x tekken tourney on Guam. We are all pretty bad. I got second, which isn’t too impressive considering everyone on my side of the bracket was pretty new to the game.
[media=youtube]ZjTUCZOqUM8[/media]
All my matches were on the stream but the notable ones start at 41:45. can’t believe I almost lost to a guy who doesn’t even have this goddamn game. What can nina do against these cros ups? AA jump mp only?
Also, any ideas on how to improve my combos? I used to try hk geyser, cr hp xx hk geyser, ex skull splitter into command grab but i dont find it as consistent as hk geyser, cr hp xx hk geyser, cr hp xx blonde bomb.
I could use some advice on footsies with this character as well. I really think the df lk poke string is shit.
^ In training mode, compare the damage on ending with fireball vs. arm snaps. I believe after a long combo the difference was 4 dmg. I almost always end with cr.HPxxQCF+HP because of this. It’s easier to execute consistently, and doesn’t eat up the clock. I only end with the snaps when I want a flashy finish ^.^
^ Its like an 11 dmg difference or something like that, but yeah, a petty difference.
I always say this and I stand by it
sometimes you have to style and be flashy
even if what you do is more work for less damage
This probably has been asked before but I am having trouble connecting all three parts of her command grab consistantly. It says to press two punches during the previous part but I don’t when to do it. She goes into the next part but than the opponent escapes.
Any help will be appreciated 
the way i do this is
first hit do it right after the opponents head snaps back after she hits it
second hit when her head comes up and you can see her eyes
Thats pretty much the same way I got it down. Also if you don’t mind using meter, you can do the EX version then all you have to do is the last input of the grab since it does the first two automatically.
And do you all have any good BnB’s for Nina? Mainly using her and Kazuya /Hugo and the combos in the strat guide are pretty meh
The first input is the toughest to connect. The visual queue I look for is the white shockwave that flies up from their head as she jars it. When I see that I input it, and it always works.
The ones I generally use are j FP, st Mp > cr MP xx HK geyser, cr FP xx HK geyser and then one of the following enders
- cr FP xx blonde bomb
- ex skull splitter > command grab
also, for tagging into hugo i just do nina’s command overhead, and tag during it. pretty difficult to hit confirm but it is a strong opener. other options of course are just to tag cancel the geyser juggle.
If i have hugo on point, you can do some solid damage for 2 bars by doing splash, cr mp xx light clap, cr mp xx ex lariat, tag nina, cr fp xx hk geyser, cr fp xx hk geyser, whatever ender. does silly damage. (then again, for 2 bars u could just do 651 damage with hugo by himself but options are nice.)
pulled off the nina pandora combo today in a game online, guaranteed kill on the guys dhalsim. Right as Juri connects with her super “TIME OVER” I lose because im in pandora mode. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Oh well Nina is still a ton of fun and her BnB is just entertaining to do. I love how her BnB is also how she starts pretty much everything she is going to do as well. It like throwing a dice after you BnB to see how you are going to end it? Super? Cross art? pandora? Command throw? Blonde bomb? choices choices.
My only concern with this option is that, you still need 2 bar to be able to pull of some supers, unless u have a very quick super. if you activate pandora with zero bar off of the geyser kick juggle, most characters will not build the meter back quickly enough before being able to pull out their super.
What combo did you use to start pandora?
I’ve been trying to get a hugo pandora combo started by nina, but the only one i have requires 2 bars and its just wahtever combo into hk geyser kick, cr fp xx hk geyser kick, pandora hugo super.
The 2 bars are required because you can’t build enough bar fast enough prior to the super whiffing.
In the corner, with nina I’ve been doing the same combo into pandora and when hugo comes in i can connect with raw launcher (17 frame startup) and hk back breaker. However, for whatever reason I can’t get any of his normals to hit…If i could get a st lk or even cr lp to hit, I would be able to go into clap, build enough bar for super and hit with super. This makes me a sad panda that I can’t figure it out. anyone have ideas or another option to keep my opponent in the air longer prior to activating pandora? does nina have anything that is jump cancellable?
It seems to me that the only hit confirmable geyser kick out of cr.mk is the LK version. I’m still not 100% sure though.
edit: at cr.mk max distance
What do you guys think of ex blond bomb? It comes out way too slow to reaction punish a fireball. Is it only useable as a guess? Or maybe a reaction to someone trying to switch from far away?