I noticed yesterday that I have a serious problem against Zangief. I don’t know how to deal with command grabs in general, so maybe some tips on that would improve my matchup against Zangief a ton. Another problem I see is my wakeup options, How can I escape from a command grab on wakeup?
My main is Vega and my LP is between 1k and 1.4k. SFV is the first SF I take seriously, so any kind of tip is helpful and most gratefully accepted.
I’m no expert or use vega but I do know that Zangief’s game is all about getting in close, he struggles to get in but deals massive damage when he does. On wakeup I’m not sure if you can do an ex move so zangief will start respecting your wakeup attacks. Try jump back light punch to see if you can escape. Use your speed advantage and do not fight him in close, attack and evade attack and evade. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be able to help you more.
With Zangief his ultimate goal is obviously to grab you, and secondly is to get close enough to you so that you fear his grab and make decisions in fear of his grab. This leads to the wakeup options you’re having trouble with. That’s Gief’s domain, and you’re likely going to be at a disadvantage if you find yourself in it, as he’s played well enough that you’re he’s forced you into playing his wake-up game.
With Vega (Claw), you can abuse your good range to zone him. Keep him away and it’ll frustrate him. Try to bait his V-Skill with a safe poke and then fish for a hit to chunk down his life. I don’t play Vega truthfully so I can’t help you with exact normals, but I imagine that’s the main idea.
When it comes to wake-up options, it’s really all a more complicated game of Rock Paper Scissors. It cycles between: backdashing out of corner, neutral jumping, jumping away or blocking. Depending on what the Gief does, these are usually your options.
pick a space on the screen and control it with your normals and anti airs the best you can. He doesn’t have green hand to get in quick. Just watch out for whiff punishes by good giefs, V-trigger vacuum and St. HP armor when he thinks you might throw a poke out and you’re good.
It’s really hard to find a zangief online, but I’ll try to follow all your advices next time. Thanks for all the advices!
I don’t play a whole lot of Vega, but as a Fang player, I might be able to give you some tips. Personally, I think Zangief works best when you are afraid. My answer to that is to simply dont be. I like to play very aggressively against Zangief and then push back and play very defensive. Alternating between those two play styles has been very effective for me. Don’t let him push you back towards the corner and instead try to push him. Try to force him to start jumping at you; at which point, you can start doing anti-airs or air throws. Also, since Vega’s dash speed is so good, you can occasionally dash up and throw him if you’ve managed to force him to sit still for a bit. If you can play against him aggressively enough to scare him, you can keep him from approaching you. If you can do this, you’ve probably already won.
Finally, never let him get closer than your max range st.mp.
That’s all I’ve got.
find the tips of all your attacks and get comfrontable with them. Don’t get predictable with jumping or u will eats air spds alls days longs