Yuri:
Yuri seems to get a lot of hate around here. I don’t really know why, she has a ton of stuff to work with if you’ve got the imagination (or just bite it off of somebody else).
Pros:
-Excellent ground game:
-standing roundhouse is Sakura-esque. A little less priority, but still a great move to have. Effectively gives Yuri a long ranged power move/whiff punisher. Actually recovers faster than Sakura’s roundhouse and gives Yuri a hefty +6 on block. One of the few abusable pokes in the game that isn’t punishable by rolls or jumps.
-Very good sweep. Long range, fast (not 3 frames like the book says. That’s an error. It’s 6 frames), bufferable! Another ideal whiff punisher.
-Standing short is yet another fast, long ranged poke. Bufferable into super and safe to just throw out in general. Gives her the coveted “whiff punisher into super” that most characters lack. Also gives her the ability to get a max range counter hit low short, chain standing short and super similar to Iori and Kim.
-Fast ground fireball. Really big hit box AND knocks down! All of them are very buff ground tools, especially with RC. Guarantees a CC when hit in the corner.
-The air fireball, while not nearly as abusable as in CvS1 is still a very useful zoning tool. It gives non-roll grooves fits and is also a good set up tool. Becomes particularly beastly in the corner as the opponent no longer gets pushed back by it, and if they get knocked out of the air by it Yuri gets a free CC.
-Yuri’s jab uppercut has lower body invul, and guarantees a CC if hit even midscreen. Strong DP has upper body invul and is perfect anti-air, while fierce DP has the most range and does slightly more damage in combos.
-Yuri’s reflector is a buff ass move. Aside from its obvious use in reflecting projectiles (ahem… Guile), it gives +2 on block. RC reflector on wake up is similar to Blanka’s RC elec: throwable, but if blocked is safe and gives Yuri the initiative. RCed reflector on a rising opponent is basically free, and sets up a ton of mix ups afterwards, and crazy ass mix up in the corner. More on this a minute.
-Her supers are useful multi purpose moves, but they’re basically less damaging variants of Ryo’s.
-Good cross up with short. Hard to block after certain set ups.
-Her butt overhead is the fastest overhead in the game at 9 frames. Of course, if you do it that close it’s very unsafe, but if distanced well enough or timed meaty enough it gives a potential +3 on hit and +9 on block. You can use it to move forward like a pseudo hop kick, and it also sets up RCs and CCs well.
-Good dash, also able to corpse hop. Sets up RC reflector well.
-Easy links allow for practical b&b combos with good damage.
-Tied for best alpha counter in the game. A ridiculous +10 (?!) if blocked. Basically guarantees reflector mix ups after.
-Monstrous corner patterns.
Cons:
-Yuri’s main flaw is her lack of damage dealing in general. Her potential damage caps at about 7400, and while her b&b’s do good damage, she can’t do a lot of damage outside of point blank range without super/CC.
-Certain RC moves and fast rolls make her air fireballs mostly useless except as meaty moves.
-Rolls in general give her trouble unless she sticks with just normal moves.
-Short characters can crouch her reflector, fairly heavily neutering her close game and wake up mix ups.
The crazy corner mix up:
Knock down an opponent in the corner, get over their body and do an RC reflector. Since the reflector is essentially a projectile, Yuri doesn’t get pushed back at all and is at a +2 advantage. From here she can:
a) throw, then start over, or
b) low short into another reflector
If the opponent does anything short of a DP or super to escape the throw, the +2 advantage insures that the low short counter hits, causing the reflector to combo. In A-Groove you get a free CC here, other grooves just dash up and start the process over. If the 2nd reflector is blocked, you can:
a) throw, then start over
b) RC reflector
c) low jab, low roundhouse
d) low fierce, strong fireball
RC reflector moves Yuri slightly closer to the opponent while beating any moves he might try to stick out. If two RC reflectors are done, Yuri is back at point blank range. The opponent can counter this by throwing or rolling. Low jab counters either of these. If the low jab hits, it will most likely be a counter hit allowing the low roundhouse to link easily (1 frame link otherwise). If this happens, buffer to short air fireball to hit super meaty and start over. If blocked, you can still short air fireball if you want to be agressive. If your opponent blocks it (most likely against P/K groove), you get a free dash in RC reflector and can start over. Low fierce, strong fireball is yet another alternative. If that counter hits, the strong fireball will combo and you get a free CC or can start over. If blocked, Yuri is pushed right to the edge of her jab fireball range. Jab fireballs are very abusable here, check for yourself.
Not only are you creating huge pressure with the quick mix ups, but each reflector is also doing chip and a very large chunk of guard bar.
Best Grooves:
A-Groove: Tons of guaranteed CC situations, also CCs are much more damaging than her supers.
C-Groove: Good level 2 cancels, stored super helps. Supers also patch up some of her problem areas, such as countering people who jump up and down. Alpha counter abuse available.
N-Groove: Her midrange game is tighter with run, and the ability to run also gives her more options in her corner mix up. A few good cross up sets up too. Other than that N-Groove gets the nod just because it’s the only remaining roll groove and she needs RC.
EDIT: Oh, forgot to add where I think Yuri’s ranked. In my highly scientific fashion, I rank A-Yuri higher than N-Ryu and lower than A-Todo. Pretty much near the middle of the cast.
