Also, I’m gonna reserve this post to list every match up we’ve done so far.
Strider Hiryu
[details=Spoiler]vs Strider: Unlike Raccoon, who has running and traps, and Akuma, who has damage and amazing buttons, Strider has mixups. A teleport happy Strider with no meter for him is practically a joke for Nemesis. Nemesis’s sH rips through teleport attempts, as well as jH for dealing with wall cling. Nemesis has multiple ways to instant KO Strider if he even coughs on him. Strider CAN block pretty quick after he teleports, but Nemesis can also react quick enough for that to not matter, especially since sH can cross up Strider even after he teleports. The armor from sH causes Tiger to teleport to become almost null, though Strider can choose to not teleport so I’m gonna call it neutral. Lastly, as a tall character, Nemesis can abuse Vajra H use very, very much by getting a free grab. So the key to his game, his teleports, are out, but Strider’s not beaten yet. Strider’s zoning vastly outclasses Nemesis Rockets, and birds do a real number on Nemesis bunny hopping and rockets. However Tigers really don’t do much to stop Nemesis approach since they get neutralized so easy. Strider’s zoo is more an annoyance than a definitive threat. His buttons are also on the weaker side, though he does have speed and he can instant overhead Nemesis and lead into a weaker combo. Basically, Strider with nothing can hurt and annoy Nemesis, but Nemesis can kill Strider
Strider’s Neutral game:** 4**
vs Strider with meter: The amount of meter is key. Two or lower and there’s no differnce, but hitting three and Strider’s damage quickly graduates. Oroboros can really do a number on Nemesis, but his high health usually means that unless X-Factored, Nemesis will probably survive. More dangerous here is Ragnarok, which gives Strider enough straight damage off of errant hits to bode a significant threat. Usually, if Strider connects with either of these, Nemesis will be put into a damage range where the once annoying Strider has evolved into a serious threat. It evens up the respectfulness and leaves Nemesis on the hesitant side to use armor, though Nemesis still has the damage upper hand.
Both sides have the potential to take the other out and both have significant advantages, so this is a draw in my book, but only AFTER Strider spends his meter.
Strider with Meter: 5
vs Strider with everything(X-Factor LVL3 and meter): Now we’re getting dangerous. Strider’s speed boost pretty much eliminates any openings he previously had except for Vajra. While Strider’s damage has been boosted, he still cannot take down Nemesis from start to finish. The speed boost however, means that Nemesis is much less confident in his button presses. More importantly is the meter. Everyone knows how much of a pain LVL3 X-Factor Oroboros is, and unless you’r Vergil you probably can’t do jack squat about it. Ragnarok, however, has turned the once laughable Strider combo into instant death. There is much to fear here. However Nemesis pressure is still in effect: if he can pinn down Strider he might have a chance. That’s about his only hope though.
Strider with everything: 9
vs Strider with assists behind him: Strider’s approach is benefitted by various assists, though there is nothing in particular that makes him any more than a threat. His teleports become much more viable however, though damage is still pretty low. Strider combos don’t build a great amount of meter, so DHCing from the get go is usually a no go. Still, Strider has full access to his tools and that is worthy of notice
Strider with assists: 6
Based on averages, Strider’s overall difficulty is:6
Based on real life probability, Strider’s difficulty is more likely to be: **8 **for him constantly being an X-Factor character and having everything available to him[/details]
Hulk
[details=Spoiler]
Vs Hulk: Make no mistake: Nemesis is a heavy killer, and this is a perfect example. Next to Haggar, Hulk is the topest of the top tier big boys. And Nemesis can keep him out all day every day. Hulk has his sH/jS, Gamma Charges, and Gamma Crush. Charge is the easiest to deal with, since not only will the armor be negated by Reach’s multiple hits, but contact pushes him out and stops his jumping in because of height of standing Deadly Reach. In addition, Nemesis gets to completely avoid the whole ‘when does he use Gamma Crush to be safe?’ Punish with sH. The armor will tank the initial jump from Crush. You’ll be able to 1. do a Bio Hazard Rush, making any aggressive safe DHC is such no longer 2. sit there, guard and punish with S or 3. Move out of the way. sH isn’t too much of a threat since you can essentially have your own version to match. If you’re fast enough you can cancel into Grab. Which also straight up beats sH, and since that’s what Hulk does almost all the time, throw that out while Hulk is close since he just option select sH’s. Basically, Hulk has several useful tools that work against others, but Nemesis can beat all of Hulk’s important stuff, and while Hulk CAN fight back, he can’t deal with Reach or Grab well. He’s too big to get out resets, which means that for both characters, on touch equals death, but since Nemesis can confirm of Reach, advantage Nemesis.
Hulk Neutral Game: 2
Vs Hulk with meter: Nothing changed
Hulk with meter: 2
VS Hulk with everything: Again, not that different, but you really need to be on your toes, since Hulk gets instant death from anything in this mode. Not really THAT much different from anyone else though
Hulk with everything: 4
Vs Hulk with Assists: Probably the biggest issue is the pressure assists give that let Hulk Charge, but it’s generally not that big of a deal because most Hulks still do the same thing than without assists.
Hulk with Assists: 5
In real life Hulk is probably about **4. **The reason? Nemesis does have to do actual work, where Hulk just has to get lucky once. Nothing really improves his normally really strong neutral game to a staggering degree, and Nemesis can really shut him down with Reach.[/details]
Doctor Doom
[details=Spoiler]
Vs Doctor Doom: Doctor Doom is of the type who like to hide Lasers in his fingers as well as a jetpack on his ass. He chucks Beams of Plasma all day, and is perfectly content to fly away as well as Dive at you with his Foot. The Latverian dictator is a very formidable for pretty much the whole cast, but it’s surprising how Nemesis can actually deal with a lot of his tools. Foot Dive is a very, very good attack that gives you forever to confirm into a full combo, but it’s still only one hit. If you are very good at timing, an anti-air st.H can net YOU a combo instead if your opponent becomes to Foot happy. Nemesis is a walking, towering hurtbox, which means Doom can have an easy time landing and confirming from an instant overhead with the 2-hit j.M. Because of this, it may actually be better to try and keep Doom out.
Full screen, Doom does have his zoning tools. A fairly fast and durable beam as well as a full screen wall of Photon Shots can keep Nemesis out well, but that’s not to say they completely shut down your game. The smartest move a Doom player can do vs the Nemesis player is Standing Photon Shot, since the angles work really well to keep him out. At the same time, however, they do not stop Nemesis from Super Jumping towards Doom and slowly making his way towards the villain. If Doom opts to fire his Beam instead, this is the Nemesis player’s chance to take advantage. You can actually normal jump and fire an Air Rocket at Doom. The angle is perfect for sailing over the Beam for a headshot, landing you a free 150k and a reminder to your opponent not to overuse Plasma Beam. Hidden Missiles is a thing too, but it’s the same as Plasma Beam - Fire a Rocket in response, because Doom’s recovery on that attack is quite large, then block the incoming Missiles. This match-up quickly becomes a Zoning game.
Doom’s bread and butter, however, is taking to the air for his fights. This can be quite troublesome - or so you’d think. Air Plasma Beam does nothing for this matchup at all - most angles won’t hit you, and you could simply jump and tag doom with j.S. Air Photon Shot is Doom’s best choice in the skies - It covers pretty much the whole screen, except for straight across. Nemesis’ plan here should be to Super Jump to Doom’s level and tag him every so often. When you see a Doom Super Jump up-back, Jump with him and smack him with an Air Deadly Reach. The sheer range on the attack should hit Doom every time, while successfully dodging the Photon Shots. This is a very viable way of taking Doom out of the air, and from here you just have to keep trying to push Doom into the corner in order to cut off his options. Once you have him cornered, the next time you get Doom into the air try tagging him with j.M’s and j.S to get that full combo.
Doom has not the best normals, but still some that will beat Nemesis outright, so take a lot of caution to Doom’s that rush you down and push block him away. Do not let him get you at point blank range, unless you have extremely godlike blocking skills.
As a side note, beware of Doom’s j.H, since it will do a good job of locking you down. Push block again and just try keeping him out.
Doctor Doom Neutral Game: 6
Vs Doom with meter: Not much changes when Doom has meter. He has a safe Super in the form of Photon Array, but the chip damage isn’t too good. The worst that can happen is if Doom gets you in a full combo, which if done right WILL kill you when stacked on top of the chip damage and possible 3 bars built doing aforementioned chip damage.
Doom with meter: 6
VS Doomwith everything: X-Factor Doom is scary to deal with when he’s rushing you down. Block extremely, extremely well. His mix-ups are insane in Dark Doom mode. The chip damage is boosted, but as long as you can avoid most of his shots like we described in the first section, you should be good. Again, the key is keeping Doom out as hard as you can, because everything will kill you in this mode.
Doomwith everything: 7
Vs Doom with Assists: Doom is not much of a character that needs an assist, nor do I feel he benefits too much from assists (except maybe Vajra). Since Doom likes to spend a lot of time at the very tip-top of the screen, he cannot call assists very often. As long as you are keeping him out you shouldn’t have to worry about unblockable assist set ups. The only thing to be wary about is if you tag him at the top of the screen, make sure to block anything since Doom can call assists as he falls from getting hit.
Oh, and if he is using Vajra to back him up, make sure to be very cautious since any tag from Strider will lead to a full Doom combo.
Doom with Assists: 6
Realistically, I would rate Doom at 6. Doom is a very good character with good normals and zoning, but push block is your friend. Mix ups are non-existent at full screen, and Doom’s chip damage when you’re maneuvering around should be negligible. I feel the worst time to fight Doom is behind X-Factor, but just play patiently and Nemesis should be able to win this fight through perseverance and heavy-hitting attacks. [/details]
Dormammu
[details=Spoiler]
vs Dormammu: Everyone’s favorite cosmic conqueror has many tools to deal with his foes, from self-generated teleport mix ups to an amazing zoning game. Perhaps his biggest asset, and threat to enemies, is his Dark Spell system. Give Cabeza De Fuego a second to breathe, and one more hand gets lit up. However, Nemesis (or as I like to call him lately, Jeepers Creepers), has some tools of his own to keep the pressure on. Jumping Angled Deadly Reach is great for knocking a careless Dormammu player out of a couple of things. Stalking Flare? Yo man, lemme just poke you through your fireball. Flame Carpet? I don’t have to be close to attack you. Charging a spell? Lemme just get in this free 100k while you recover.
“But Fuzzy, Dormammu can just sit back and throw pillars at you from full screen all day.” This is true, but as long as Nemesis doesn’t Advance Guard, his big butt will bring him to the ground and Nemesis can start making his approach slowly but surely. Also, have you seen Nemesis’ HP? Chipping him out would take even the Dread Dormammu quite a bit of time. One more thing that evens this match up is Dormammu’s King-like stature. Being tall makes you that much more awesome, but it leaves you as a bigger target for anti-air Tentacle Slams, bro.
“Okay, but what about those teleport mix ups?” True, Nemesis can fall prey very easily to Dark Matter xx Mass Change. Crouching? Lemme just overhead you. Standing? Enjoy blockstun or the 50/50. Perhaps the best option is to react with Standing H. As us Nemesis players know, it’s a great anti-air with a single hit of armor. Dark Matter being Dorm’s only option for the cross up teleport game is one hit, meaning armor just eats it up and smacks Dorm out of the air. The best part about this, though, is that if Dorm chooses not to Teleport and instead opts to either Charge a hand or throw pillars, you can still cancel the normal into an appropriate Special, or even just Deadly Reach.
A final note, though. Nemesis can normally zone characters with his Rockets and Deadly Reach, but against Dormammu this won’t work as often. Go for the TK Rocket and Dormammu could easily punish you with the projectile nullifying M’s or H’s, then cancel into a punish of his choice. So with this, Nemesis has no choice but to go in.
Dormammu has a lot of tools, but Nemesis has the right tools to even this match, in my honest opinion. Both characters are forced to respect each other in a 1v1 situation. Dorm cannot afford to simply sit back and get pelted, and Nemesis cannot let himself be put into a situation where the opponent has time to do shenanigans. Any Dorm player knows time is your best friend, but hopefully the Nemesis player knows Time is a wicked foe.
Dormammu Neutral Game: 6
vs Dormammu with meter: Stalking Flare is one of Dormammu’s best tools for making time. While it’s true he cannot call it out naked for fear of Deadly Reach, it’s easy to simply use Dark Matter -> Pillar -> Stalking Flare. The more meter the Dread Lord has, the more times he can do this. Even the meaty Nemesis will go down fast against 5 Stalking Flares and endless pillars, as well as the multiple Dark Spells no doubt being charged in all of that down time. What does more damage than chip damage, though? That’s right, class, Full combos ending in Hypers! A skilled Dorm can hit about 700 or 800k, with one bar, and that’s without spells. Add those aforementioned Spells I charged while I was Zoning you, and I just hit almost 1 Million. Add in Chip Damage and Nemesis is probably dead. Even a basic Teleport Mix Up -> Air Series -> Dark Dimension does a lot of damage. However, if Nemesis is keeping the pressure on Dormammu, then it would stand to reason that you won’t eat a full combo. With Air Deadly Reach, Stalking Flare is not too much of an issue, meaning Dormammu can’t use his Meter to assist his neutral game very easily. Though, that damage output is not to be taken lightly.
Dormammu with Meter: 7
vs Dormammu with everything (X-Factor Level 3 AND Meter): Ugh. Just. UGH. You know when Dormammu enters, and floats up off his throne, and says “You will not survive this”? Yeah. He means it. XF Level 3 damage on Dormammu is ridiculous. That with meter is ridiculous. The speed boost, while not as ridiculous, is enough to be a very great threat. A pillar into Stalking Flare is safe from retribution against Nemesis, and Dormammu can easily charge 3 Spells while you’re on the other side of the screen. This is the worst part, though. Literally, quite literally, Dormammu can charge two Creator Spells and one Destructor Spell, and unleash a volley of Meteors that do a lot of chip damage in X-Factor Level 3. During the time you are taking those hits, he can charge 3 more Spells, and by the time you have dashed maybe a third of the screen closer, he can unleash Meteors again, rinse and repeat. Oh, you finally felt like you got close enough to tag him with Deadly Reach? Well, Meteors come out no matter what once Liberation is cast. You played patiently and finally got close enough to grab him? Well, no you didn’t, because all of that meter he’s been building has gotten Dormammu another Stalking Flare to push you away. This match up is close to impossible for you, Nemesis. If you have X-Factor, you could use it to survive, but that’s about it. Unless you popped yours way later than his, there’s close to no hope. The only chance you really have is hope, for SOME INANE REASON, Dormammu jumps and you just happened to call Tentacle Slam M at the same time.
Dormammu with everything: 10
vs Dormammu with assists: While you have a better chance against this than X-Factor’d Dorm, it’s still an incredibly hard match up behind the right assists. With Rapid Slash, Drones, or Hidden Missiles, Dorm’s zoning level skyrockets through the roof. Each assist call is really another chance to charge more Spells, which are just so incredibly overwhelming. Even if Dormammu is backed by something as simple as a beam, that means his mix ups with Mass Change have just become that much safer. Dormammu won’t even have to use Meter to keep you out if he has something like Missiles backing him up. The worst part, though, is that if you try to punish/kill an Assist with Air TK Rockets, Dormammu can simply st.M to nullify it and punish you. While not impossible, this match up is pretty damned hard, and you’re best using your own assists to try and even up the match. One plus, however is that you could use Deadly Reach to tag an assist and perhaps lighten the assault on yourself.
Dormammu with assists: 9
On average, Dormammu’s difficulty is: **8 **
Based on real life probability, I would estimate Dormammu’s difficulty to be a 7. The reasoning for this is that Dormammu is most commonly seen in the 2nd slot, meaning he’ll only have one Assist to back him up. What this also means is that Nemesis, commonly a Point character, will have the advantage of being in the game before Dormammu has had the chance to set up a lot of his shenanigans. Keep that momentum going and the match should stay in your favor. [/details]
I would totally be up for writing more of these later, but this one just took me half an hour…
