taken from the General Information thread:

May:

Shoto:5,5

Ok, I haven’t played decent Mays enough to really judge this, but from what I experienced and what I know about her I say it’s an about even matchup (but with little a tendency towards Axl) which requires a lot of patience from both players.

A horizontal dolphin will loose to a 5P and may get countered by214S (623P won’t help as May gets pushed back after the dolphin connects). A vertical Dolphin has to be blocked high, but after that you can punish with either 5P into combo while she is airborne, or (much easier) with 2H into 6H. This makes Dolphin spamming not on option for May in this matchup.

May could be said to be the second grappler of the cast, as she needs to get near and deals the big damage tough her command throw and short range low hitting setups. Nevertheless while she can’t take as much damage and doesn’t have okizeme as dangerous as Pots, she is much more mobile and quite fast. As she doesn't have to many offensive tools to bridge the distance and is vulnerable to anti air stuff, so prepare for a lot of movement from both players.

Nevertheless she still can wear Axl down as she may get meaningful damage out of single hits over the time, but Therefore you can rather safely rush her down.

Once she gets her KD or get near trough other means you have to deal with her mixup (which is actually not that strong once you got used to it. She uses 2H for crossup / fake crossups setups and her j.D gives her some height and thus works similar like an additional double jump. During her offence (which is usually quite short) there are two moves that may not hit you: her 2D which allows her to go into an insanely high damage combo for 25% tension and her command throw which gives her a bit less damage but needs no tension. Nevertheless her mixup is not too variable so after you learned to deal with it (usually just block [except for the CT of course]) it, becomes very hard for her to really get in some big damage combo. Outside of that the only thing that may never happen is that you get hit by a CH j.H, which nets her a free over 200dmg combo. Apart from that its business as usual for Axl.

General strategy:

With Venom's range and projectiles, it can be very hard to zone him out, so while Venom is not particularly defensively weak, your only real choice is to go for offense as often as possible. Venom kills you at long range and close range, but is slightly more vulnerable around mid-range.

Defensive tactics:

Venom has some very solid ways of keeping pressure down, even from ranges that most characters don't. If he's shooting low projectiles, you can kill them with rensen, but it's often safer to just IB or dodge them. In fact, I find myself IBing a lot more against Venom than in most other matchups. Since Axl doesn't have anything particularly invincible, getting locked down is a bitch, and you're going to be blocking a lot if you want to win once Venom gets momentum. With IBing, you can occasionally find an opportunity to Housoubako a jump or a ball, or Raeisageki out, or even get a throw off. Unfortunately, FDing Venom out is not very useful, as a good Venom will often have a ball he can send at you to keep pressure going. Be patient, block well, and try to find an opportunity to throw out something fast, such as 2K, or 5K, jump and chicken block, or beat a ball out with rensen. (It's actually remarkable how similar to Axl Venom is in his blockstrings). Don't try to punish FB Mad Struggle, it's level six and has tons and tons of blockstun, it does however have 14F startup, which means you can Housou it if you IB whatever he does before it.

Why you can't zone Venom:

Axl has a bit of a problem dealing with projectiles, and Venom has them in spades, ready to quickly cover any part of the screen. Essentially, the only time you can safely throw out a poke is when Venom is trying to set up balls, and this is the only way to castrate (har har) his ability to lock Axl down while still you have the chance. When it comes right down to it: chains are hitboxes, balls are not, and something with a hitbox is going to lose to something without one every single time. Throwing out pokes will lose to any and all ball hits, as well as carcass raid and stinger aim (Which is FRCable). Yeah, it's a bitch.

Offensive initiative:

Basically, your goal is to wait until you can catch Venom setting up balls, or making a mistake/gap in his rushdown, and then capitalize on it. I tend to try to set up a safe knockdown first, either by beating out a SA ([4]6S/H/D) with Rensen or Housou, or just waiting for a small gap, possibly made by IBing, and going for throw/2D/f.S. Then just keep pressure. Normals to watch out for during gaps are c.S (5F), 2D (6F, low-profile), and Venom's DAA (Invincible from F1, 11F startup, invincible through the first three active frames).

Pros:

-Axl can sometimes prevent ball summoning from far off

-Ball teleport is easy to punish with 2S/6K

-Rensen can occasionally eat projectiles

Cons:

-Gaps in Venom's rushdown are scarce, and hard for Axl to work with

-If there are balls on the screen, most of Axl's long range options are fairly useless

-Balls can be made to avoid Rensen entirely

-Fast, invincible DAA can take advantage of Axl's long startup time for moves during blockstrings.

My opinion:

6-4, Venom's advantage. Axl has a lot of tools he can't use in this matchup, and making one mistake can make it very difficult to come back. With few invincible moves, balls are a nuisance at all times for Axl, allowing Venom to keep him on the defensive for the most part. This is Axl's worst matchup, and the only one that's significantly to his disadvantage.

Overview:

Slayer is a scary character to fight no matter who you are. His incredible priority and huge damage output make getting hit an unhappy prospect. In addition, Slayer has a lot of weird ways around Axl's normal tools that make life a little more difficult. Still, a lot of Slayer's tricks can be thwarted by mere patience and decent reaction time, and the same tools that seemed ineffective when thrown out first can completely shut Slayer down if thrown out second, and as always, Axl does well once he's on the offensive.

Zoning and AA, and why Slayer is something entirely different:

I say "don't throw shit out randomly" a lot, but this applies double for Slayer. BBU, BDC K Mappa, DoT, 6P, and DHD all beat 5P at max range pretty easily, and Slayer's ridiculous 2H is practically an end-all, be-all answer to anything you can do in terms of low pokes. Additionally, if j.H has time to get active, it will beat 5P, and 6K with no problem at basically any range, and 2S at about half-range and closer. Slayer can BDC, or, for that matter, just forward dash through Rashousen, Rensen, f.S, and 3P. Even 2K can be beat out by 2H or Slayer's 2K without much problem. So when zoning slayer, your first priority is to be out of Slayer's surprisingly long effective low range, meaning out of the range of 2H. 2D reaches farther, but it's also a lot slower, and you should be defaulting to low block anyway. From here, you move into the next phase:

Guessing games:

At mid-range, this is a very defensive game. You must master the ancient Axl secret of sitting still and waiting for something to happen. If Slayer doesn't have the meter to DoT you, you can go back to zoning with some far-range games with j.S, 2H, and 2P fairly comfortably. If you play guessing games with Slayer, you're potentially risking a good giant chunk of your life for guessing wrong. On the other hand, you could end up with a round-deciding hit if you guess right. In order to win guessing games with Slayer, however, you have to keep track of space, and how much meter Slayer has, and what you can do to beat things he does. Basically, you can beat any low with 6H. BBU loses to any low hit, but is safer to just block and punish. A forward dash will lose to anything with high active frame counts (you should be able to do 2H or 2D on reaction, 6H is a risker option). 2H is a decent option against Dandy steps, but it's better to just block those. If your reaction time is super-fast, Housou works against Mappa, BBU, and Dandy steps other than Crosswise Heel. If you're feeling lucky, K mappa can lose to even a fairly late 5H. If you somehow end up in 2H's range, you can beat it out with 6H, but only if you do it very early. At that range, I prefer to jump or block.

On the offensive:

Once you get Slayer blocking or knocked down, you can definitely go into offense mode, but with a few differences from normal. With Slayer's invincible dashes, you have to be careful even when you're rushing down. Any gap can lead to you missing and being punished, so be ready to FRC that 2H or Rensen and block if need be. In particular, Slayer can dash through many setups into 6H (I'd almost say don't use it, but it still is a fairly good overhead.), most rashousen setups, and Rensen. You want to avoid being predictable, and if there are any gaps in your rush, make sure that you're safe, as doing a big risky move like 6H in a large gap can mean whiffing through a dash, dandy step, or BBU.

Watches is a Lunatic, volume 6: HARDSLASH ALL DAY

I really, REALLY love 5H in this match. It's just one of those weird things, but I've found that Slayer has a tough time dealing with it from certain ranges. It's a much better zoning tool than it is against most characters, being good for match start, anti-airdash, and even mid-range zoning. Without a run, that huge hitbox and occasionally-useful upper-body invuln makes it a tough wall move for Slayer to get past once he's about match-start or further from you. Don't spam it, of course, but keep it in mind.

Pros:

-Lots of high-active-frame lows mean that BBU is very dangerous to throw out.

-When Slayer has no meter, he has a hard time getting in, due to not having a run or a long airdash.

-2H pullback is a beastly meaty, as the only real reversal option against it is super, and it gives Axl a lot of frame advantage on block.

-When Slayer is forced to move first, Axl can safely react to most things at mid-to-far range.

-Nothing particularly difficult to block and lack of gatlings make strings a lot less difficult for Axl to break out of.

Cons:

-Poking game is very dangerous, even at max range.

-j.H makes AA a huge challenge

-Double-hit DHD combos are easy, due to Axl's wide falling hitbox.

-2H is far too good as a random clutch button, as it beats out most low moves Axl will try to throw out, including 2K, 5H, 3P, 2P, 2H, f.S, etc.

-lol BDC through rensen.

My opinion:

5-5. This match is very dicey for both parties. Slayer may have a slight advantage, but I'm not willing to call it 5.5. This match is a lot of work, since most of it is fought from a basically neutral situation.

Added note:

Since this match involves a lot of guess-work, this guide is meant only to provide a safe, baseline strategy, since obviously players of both characters will vary greatly in how they tackle neutral mixup situations.

Basic strategy:

As Axl and Testament both operate well at mid-range, this match can heavily depend on spacing. On the one hand, Axl's huge range, gigantic active frame counts, and solid AA game make getting in a hell of a lot more work than Testament is accustomed to in Accent Core. On the other hand, mere keepaway can backfire, as S EXE beast allows Testament to harass you if you get too comfortable staying back. So you really need to get your offense rolling as best you can, and the simple way to think about this is in three steps:

1. Cripple Testament's offense.

2. Get Testament either knocked down or blocking, using options he can't deal with.

3. Keep Testament locked down (Harder than it sounds).

Defensive tactics:

S EXE Beast blockstrings can be a lot like Eddie's Mawaru rushdown, even without the FRC. Luckily, it contains a lot more opportunities to break out, especially for Axl. Due to his narrow hitbox, IBing and FDing properly (Specifically, FD the last normal before the EXE beast, IB the beast and anything else whenever possible), can get you out of Testament's effective range (Assuming the beast isn't FRC'd), which gives you time to poke with 5K or even f.S. 2D, 2K are the main lows to watch out for, 6P is the fastest overhead, and it's 17 frames, so the basic block low, wait for overhead rule applies.

HS EXE beast: It's level 5, and after 1 frame, it won't disappear if Testament is hit, so it's a nightmare of a poke up close. A well timed 6H, raeisageki, rensen, or 623P will avoid it, but it's safer to jump. You'll also have to deal with is Testament's poison OD, which is fast and usually trades with things.

On wakeup, some Testaments will try to get you with an ambiguous-crossup meaty Badlands. This is actually pretty easy to deal with, as all you have to do is attempt a throw when you see the startup. If the testament does the move too late, he'll get thrown, and if not, 5H's upper body invulnerability will often beat out Badlands and counterhit for a huge chunk of damage and possibly knockdown. Note that a normal badlands out of the blue can be beaten by most if not all of Axl's copious AA options fairly easily.

Offensive tactics:

When going in, try to hit Testament first from outside his effective range. j.S is useful, since he doesn't have a ridiculous fast 6P like Ky or Johnny, and Raeisageki (S) can be hard to deal with as well. Go for pokes like 2H and 2P outside of Testament's 5H range (2P can be dangerous to try if he goes for Badlands or Grave Digger.) 3P at max range is a good thing to fish for counterhits with, as it'll knock down. Basically, just go for either a blockstring or a knockdown, and keep pressure as best you can. Just watch out for H EXE beast, as trading is always bad. Also remember to avoid getting into the range that 5S becomes c.S, as that gives Testament a 5F normal, which is faster than any of yours. Also, I'm fairly certain that a well-timed 2K will go under both 5H and f.S.

Screen maintainence:

Watching where Testament places traps is important, as it's good to get rid of them as soon as possible when you can. For Zeinests, you can just use the appropriate long range attack (5P, 6K, 2S), which you should do any time Testament is too far away to punish it or busy setting something else up, as not having them on the screen is preferable. 6K and 2S have much bigger hitboxes than they look like they do, so there shouldn't be anywhere you can't reach fairly easily.

HITOMI (trees) are a bit more problematic. You can of course get rid of the smaller ones by hitting Testament (j.S is a good tool for this). Both can also be gotten rid of by passing over them, which Raeisageki (S) and Raeisageki (H) are both good tools for, especially with running momentum. For the larger trees, it can also be safer to try to catch Testament with a Rashousen, since Axl is invincible throughout the whole followup animation, but slides forward, which will activate the trees harmlessly if they're between him and Testament. If you feel especially courageous, you can also use trees to set up Housoubako, since they take a long time to come out and Housou counters on the second frame. This is especially cool, as it gives Axl a move that's invincible to strikes, hard to block (Must be faultlessed in the air, and is unblockable on the ground), can lead into combos on counterhit (or with 25% meter) and will knock down by itself. Just don't get predictable, or Testament can just hit you with something low before the tree activates it.

Dealing with markings:

A marking is Testament's only real way to turn the match around. It stuffs your offense, gives Testament offensive help, and can set up unblockables with the crow transformation and any low. So don't get marked. Save bursts for combos that can mark, avoid high markings, rensen through or 5P over low markings. If you do get marked, wait it out (Could a Testament player tell me the average and maximum number of actions the crow will do before the marking goes away? I thought it was four or five, but I don't remember.) Block Testament's rushdown, and if you see the crow turn into the girl, jump and FD to avoid unblockables. If you see an opportunity, hit Testament with a poke to get rid of the mark, but for the most part, you should avoid attacking until the marking is gone.

Pros:

-Zeinests and other zoning tools of Testament's are all but useless

-No significant counters to Axl's aerial options.

-Most damaging combos can be started from outside of Testament's effective range.

-Uses a lot of aerial approach patterns that Axl can easily AA.

-Has a hard time keeping Axl blocking midscreen without meter.

-Several opportunities to safely activate Housoubako

Cons:

-In the corner, Axl has severe difficulty safely getting out of blockstun, due to HS EXE beast.

-Marking forces Axl to go on the defensive, which is a loss of precious momentum.

-Axl is very easy to BL loop, and thus can take a lot of damage in a lot of situations.

-Most close-range options trade unfavorably with HS EXE beast.

My opinion:

At least 5.5-4.5 in Axl's favor. Testament almost entirely loses the ability to zone and the ability to come in from the air, which is fairly crippling. Still, this matchup is not an easy win, due to markings and HS EXE beast, not to mention Testament's ability to get damage off of basically any hit.

Well, that's all I've got right now. I'll probably edit this if I or someone else thinks of something that seems to warrant being in the first post. Feel free to contribute, discuss the matchup, whatever. I think this new format is going to work really well, and I'll be making more of these threads when I have more time (I wrote this one first because it was the one I had the most information about in the previous matchup thread)

taken from the General Information thread:

Robo-Ky: 5,5

coming soon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODJkeDD1PxI

That's just the easiest way to set the loop up, although there's several ways of doing it. The one in the video is a blocked 2s 6k, iad j.kph 5k [c.s 6p]. The []'s being the loop itself.

So far, it works on Axl, Ed, Pot, Jo, and Slayer. As long as the enemy can't crouch low enough for 6p to whiff, the loop will work on them. It allows you to build up their guard gauge as much as possible, then using a mixup for massive damage.

There are ways of escaping the loop, like crouching the iad. But that's not a reliable tool because if you suspect axl's going for the loop and you crouch, he can cancel the 6k into 6h instead of iading. Also, you can fd and push axl away, but since there is no pushback to increase, faultless will barely move him away and will completely destroy their tension bar. In the situation that they do faultless (and they will), you drop the loop and go for mixup (like raei s, 6h, 2h, 5d, etc).

Basically the blockloop is a way to make your aa even more dangerous. If they don't fd your aa they'll get comboed, and if they do fd your aa they run the risk of getting blocklooped (which means they'll lose tension or get their guard gauge smashed)

I'm sure this is possible in AC as well, although the string will be different since his pokes have different attributes to them. I'm curious as to what y'all can find with it.

General strategy:

Order Sol is probably the best example of why Axl's zoning capabilities can be a bitch for close-range characters. He has no viable tools to get in on you, and his real guessing games start at about five character widths closer to you than you ever have to let him get, so this is pretty straightforward. If he does get in, be patient and push him out. If you land a combo, continue your rushdown as long as you can, then run away and zone him some more. Simple.

Zoning and RAPE:

When I say Order Sol can't get in on Axl, I say it with one caveat: The Axl has to be smart. This means you don't throw things out randomly. While SV isn't the world's best DP, it can still beat out chains if you whiff with them, and that can mean you've temporarily lost the ability to keep HOS out. That's why, like I-No, you should employ RAPE (Reactionary Anti-air Poke Entrapment) wherever possible. Lucky for you, HOS gives you ample time to react to anything he can try to do to approach. Throw out 5P only as a reaction to a jump from mid-to-far HOS (BRP counts as a jump). If you time this properly, even if he predicts you and SJIADs over it perfectly, you still have time to block or even punish before he gets in. Use f.S as your primary tool against run-ins, with the occasional 2H or 2P thrown in CAUTIOUSLY as a low from far away (He can punish 2H with a jump-in). Your only real worry should be gunblaze, which is hardly an issue, as you can throw it when he tries to cross you up, or just hit him out of it with 2K or 3P if he doesn't. Other than those specifics, just wait for him to do something, and throw out the right poke at the right time. You won't have much problem keeping him out...

Defense:

...But no one's perfect. Either by being psychic or just catching you at a weak moment, there's a slim chance that a good HOS will somehow be able to get in once or twice per match. Fighting HOS up close is not a cakewalk, but it's nowhere near Axl's worst matchup. The usual "try to FD him into optimal f.S range" works decently, but you can also do some specific things to beat him out: First: Watch his strings and see where he has to do a special to continue. Any LV 1 special can be beaten out with Housou, so IB and try to punish with either that or, in most cases, 2K. Lv. 1 BRP in particular is a bad move for HOS. Even if it connects, you can usually throw him if it's not CH, and if you IB it, it's even more sure. Once you get a throw, I'd go for a knockdown variation, to get some Oki-->Pressure going.

"Runaway" HOS:

It's kind of laughable to say that HOS has a keep-away game, but a lot of HOS players will try to get out of your range and charge up, and since level three is more problematic for you than level one, you should know how to deal with this. Basically, HOS will probably think he's being very smart, because if you try to get him, he can just charge burst and CH you for knockdown, right? Your job is to make him wrong. Go for an IAD j.S, but make sure it's low enough that if he charge bursts, you won't get hit. If he does charge burst, land and rensen immediately. The better option is to run in, but you need a little less distance between you and him to do so. When running in, watch for the charge burst, and if it doesn't come by the time you're right up to him, hit 5K. If the 5K doesn't connect (Meaning he charge-bursted), you have time to recover, block, (Try to IB) and sweep to punish. If he charge bursts before you get close, just FD break the run, and block. From there, do a combo and start your rushdown. The only reversal you need to worry about is SV, which is risky. His supers are either too slow or not invincible enough to work in that capacity.

Pros:

-HOS has few if any approach tools that make Axl guess.

-Normal jump is too low to force Axl to use pokes other than 5P as AA in most situations

-Very vulnerable to Housou

Cons:

-Close in game forces Axl into hard guessing games, since he doesn't have anything fast enough to exploit natural gaps into lows.

-Can do large damage off of throws, which is harmful because Axl is very vulnerable to tickthrows.

-SV is a decently invincible reversal, and Axl's offense can contain gaps large enough to be punished by it.

My opinion:

6-4, Axl's advantage. HOS has a slight advantage once he gets in, but it isn't as noteworthy as Eddie's, Millia's, or Jam's, and getting in in the first place is almost impossibly hard for him, arguably as hard as it is for I-No. 6-4 is a bit generous, but I don't want to call it quite 6.5 either.

General strategy:

This matchup is a little unusual, as Ky has a lot of answers that other characters don't have to your midrange stuff, which makes for some hard spacing games for both players. Meanwhile, there are a lot of things that are a lot safer for Axl here than they should be, but I'll go over that later. The point is, your gameplan in this matchup is going to involve a lot of guessing games, which you can make work to your advantage if you learn what you can do safely at what range, and how to punish Ky for basically the rest of the match once you take the offensive momentum out from under him.

Zoning:

Ky can stun-edge chains, his f.S can stuff Rensen at mid-range, and his fast, long-reaching lows (stun dipper, 2S) can be very ugly when you're stuck doing an upper-body-only reversal move. Ky's 6P is probably the ugliest AA you'll ever have to deal with besides VV, so your air-to-ground game suffers significantly. It would seem that Ky has a slew of options that just make Axl's day a lot harder. The solution: Let Ky move first, and keep him at an uncomfortable range, taking away and punishing his options until you get a knockdown. It's the same gameplan as vs. Testament, but it's harder up close and easier far away. Remember that running 2K can be timed to go under either stun edge, including HASE (Not CSE though), and that rensen is still an anti-stun-edge option from far away (outside f.S's range.) Aerial game should be mainly used to punish un-FRC'd CSEs and the like, and with normals, you should make sure you're low enough that if the move whiffs, you'll hit the ground, making 6P unable to connect with the giant-ass hitbox that is a whiffed j.S (which is mainly what I'm talking about). Basically, play it safe.

On the defensive:

There's not much to say here except LEARN TO BLOCK. Ky has to use meter to keep his rush going when you're blocking, so block low, wait for overheads, crossups, and especially tickthrows. You should really be IBing most of why Ky does, because if you do, you can pretty much punish any string-ender he tries unless he uses meter getting out of it, as Greed Sever, Stun dipper, and CSE all have either too much recovery or too much startup to be safe against Axl, even if you have to use Housoubako. Basically, be patient, chicken block if necessary (A good way to prevent tickthrows from CSE), and wait for a real gap you can get a knockdown from. Ky can't do a hideous amount of damage to you most of the time, but he can get knockdown from a lot of things and has a pretty good oki game, which will chip away at your lifebar. One of the hardest and most important things to learn to block is the ambiguous crossup that is Ky's j.D on wakeup, and all I can say is play a Ky who knows how to do it and adapt.

Dr. Strangerush or: How I learned to stop worrying and love 2K:

Ky doesn't have anything amazing to break out of blockstrings (Well, aside from a 12F DAA, which can be annoying), but he's not as vulnerable as Eddie and Axl either, so it's pretty generic stuff. What's different is your Oki pattern. Ky is simply ill-equipped to deal with meaty 2K. He literally cannot do anything. It does under SE and VT, and recovers in time to block and punish anything else he can do (This is assuming you can do a perfect or near-perfect meaty, hitting with the last few active frames). If Ky backdashes away, you have something like 10 frames up on him, so throw something out or just run up in that time. It's also an easy way to start a blockstring, so it's ideal as hell as an anti-Ky meaty. Still, your local Ky may eventually learn to block low, and it's so much more satisfying to at least occasionally go for a hit, so these other options, while less solid, are still viable:

Meaties that are less practical but more fun:

Safe air normal: This is almost as good as 2K, and is a nice option for high hits. The only reason this isn't as good as 2K is because it takes longer to set up.

2H: The 2H pullback meaty has the advantage of working from far away, and staggers too!

Housou: If the Ky just somehow isn't getting the message that VT is not a reversal anymore, a late oki Housou in the corner might be just the trick to do lots and lots of damage for no meter. Eventually, the Ky will probably wise up and start doing something low on wakeup, so try to do this as late as you possibly can if you're going to go for it.

6H: On the flipside, if the Ky is conditioned to never ever do VT ever, meaty 6H becomes an option again. Please note that if your opponent can react well, you'll probably get VT'd anyway, and I will laugh. You can also do a 6H WAY too early to meaty, recover, and block the VT for a cool AA combo.

Raeisageki H: The way Sytha describes it, "this looks like a jump." Your local Ky may not fall for it as often as he does, but I don't doubt that a lot of Kys are used to trying to VT when they see someone try to jump in on oki. Fun fact: This will also punish bursts. If you have half meter, feel free to RC and combo.

Pros:

-Rensen, Housou, and 2K form a set of options that make regular stun edges risky.

-Oki against Ky is ridiculously effective, making it hard for Ky to gain momentum

-Air to ground is a game Ky likes to play a lot. Needless to say, Hokuto Shi- I mean Axl AA is unbeatable!

Cons:

-Ky also has good AA (DGE!), which gets rid of Axl's favorite long-range pressure tool, 2 hit j.S, as well as most other aerial options.

-Ky has a ton of tickthrows, which are a huge weakness for Axl.

-Ky has a fast midscreen option against Rensen, which is completely stupid.

My opinion:

5.5-4.5 Axl's advantage. This matchup is weird for both parties, and both have to play differently, but Axl has an edge, mainly due to his ability to keep offensive momentum once he's got it.

taken from the General Information thread:

Anji:

Shoto:6,0

Ok, I haven’t played Anji too much, but like in Slash he has terrible problems getting in on Axl and his guard point normals aren’t have as good against a chara who either works on long range an thus is out of reach or doesn’t use classical frame traps for rushdown. But honestly I may not know enough of this matchup to judge it right now.

DW: 6.5 (Maybe even 7)

Considered Axl's best matchup. For one thing, Anji is not a character whose aerial moves can easily deal with Axl's long-range moves, and thus approaching from the air is seldom if ever an option for him. Axls fast, far-reaching lows fuck up his autoguard (which for the most part only blocks high). Fuujin's H and D followups (If you don't beat the Fuujin out with a rensen) can usually be punished on reaction with a 2K, 2H, or 623P, and the fan one can just be blocked. Block low until you see the startup animation after Fuujin, however, because the S followup is fast. Make sure you're punishing on reaction, however, as you'll want be ready if he tries to do the K followup, in which case you can typically throw him before he can throw you. Dealing with butterfly rushdown is also remarkably easy with tools like rensen for far away, Raeisageki or simply j.S at mid-range, and 623P or 2K close in. Or just get out of its range and watch it fizzle and die like the weak fireball it is, while still keeping up your long-range offense. Think of it as a stun edge, except slower, less range, and no threat behind it.

General Strategy:

With the ability to have a ton of shit on the screen and two airdashes, Dizzy can be a little scary for Axl. This match essentially boils down to "stay on top of her or you die."

Spacing games:

Firstly, when in a neutral situation, try to never be in Dizzy's IAD range. While an early 5P can hit her out of it, IAD j.2S is possibly the only aerial move in the entire game Axl simply can't easily deal with. Lucky for you, if she tries to airdash in from too far away, 5P will hit her even if she superjumps. Also, you should always try to not be where an ice spike can hit you when coming in from the air. Since you have 5P and IAD j.S to punish any and all summon attempts, Dizzy has to get you knocked down before she has any toys. Make sure not to throw out 5P or 2P or any poke really when Dizzy is in neutral, as a lot of Dizzy players have the mistaken impression that throwing out an ice spike randomly in hopes to counterhit you is a good idea, and letting them do it will just encourage this behavior. You can bait it for a free knockdown with rensen if it gets too annoying. When you throw something out at long range, do it on reaction to Dizzy trying to jump or summon something. If Dizzy DOES get a fish and rush in, no matter how strong the temptation, do NOT default to Housoubako. You will hit the fish and Dizzy will get her knockdown, and once she gets a knockdown, it's basically GGPO Axl. Speaking of which, Dizzy players who know the matchup well will play conservative and fish for a knockdown. If this happens, you have little to fall back on, but here's some stuff that's good to try:

Defense:

It's hard for Dizzy to get in, but once she does, the Japanese matchup assessment starts to make sense. Being in blockstun or knocked down in any way is highly to Dizzy's advantage, and between fish on the screen and her huge throw range she has some tick-throws that are a bitch for anyone to get out of, let alone Axl, who is probably the character worst equipped to deal with tickthrows in general. In short, defense is hard as hell and Axl can't get out very easily. It's VERY hard to FD her out as well, as you have to deal with fish while she dashes back in, so you want to be IBing and chicken-blocking (To avoid tickthrows) as often as possible. Benten (only by virtue of being throw-invincible a little bit), f.S, 2K, 5K, and sometimes 3P are your poking options, and first you have to gain frame advantage. Remember that hitting Dizzy is much better than hitting the fish, but that you have to watch out for the fish, too. In my opinion, this match is up there with Eddie and Venom as far as being hard to break out of pressure in, so try to avoid losing momentum in the first place.

Pros:

-Dizzy can't easily summon from neutral

-Dizzy can't easily approach from the air if she's too far away to cross up.

-Dizzy's big hitbox in the air makes her very easy to combo for Axl. In the corner, he can do horrible, horrible things to her for not much meter, bringing his overall damage output up significantly.

Cons:

-Axl has no viable way to get out of Dizzy's lockdown/Oki, so a knockdown could well be game over

-j.2S at ideal range isn't something Axl can deal with very well

-Tickthrows with added range are a bitch

My opinion:

HH calls this 6-4 Dizzy's advantage. I used to think it was a little better than that for Axl, but now I'm almost inclined to agree. Either way, Axl is solid enough overall to be tough for Dizzy when in neutral, but really suffers on the defensive, moreso probably than against most other characters.

General strategy:

Millia's probably got some of the scariest mixup in the game on oki (A lot of which is unreactable), and it's a safe bet that the millia you're playing knows how to use it. Learn to fucking block, and make sure not to do anything too stupid.

Anti-Air:

Axl has a huge problem in this matchup: His AA game gets destroyed by Millia's pin, and a CH pin is something you don't want to get hit by. Basically, be very careful when Millia does have her pin, try to get her to throw one when you can block, and then puppyguard that thing like your life depends on it. Some people say go for Housou against it, but I disagree. She can block Shiranami just fine, and if you DON'T shiranami, you just get thrown. Millia likes to approach from the air, and if she doesn't have that pin, she's as much a sitting duck there as any other character. Keep it that way if at all possible. For 2K her only good anti-lowprofile air normal is j.K as far as I know, and she has to do it very low, which is not a normal part of millia's approach. Go ahead and duck under pretty much any IAD attempt, especially j.D.

Waking up:

Like I said before, Millia's oki is going to be a bitch to block, but you have to learn it. Her basic pattern is always going to be to put a disc on top of you and go high-low-crossup while you're forced to block it. If it's a FB disc, you cannot reversal out, period. If it's an H disc, you can get out of exactly one mixup, and that's Iron Savior. Even though it's low, it's apparently enough off the ground to get beaten by S Benten sometimes, so if Millia gets greedy, you can sometimes go for that (If it's super deep, it does hit low enough to beat S Benten, but will trade with H benten). Of course, she can always FRC and block, so don't be too confident in it working. Other than that, you just want to block. She isn't amazing at keeping pressure going, so once you block that one mixup, you have to worry about a short string and maybe a throw attempt. If she goes for bad moon and doesn't FRC it, you get to punish her a lot of the time, everything else you kind of have to wait out. If you're afraid of throws or just think you can't react, you can try to 1FJ out of anything if you can do it on reversal, but if you do it too much you might get airthrown, and for Pete's sake, remember to have enough meter to FD or you'll just get smacked by a c.S half the time. Going for throw will work sometimes, but never do it, because Millia can bait that shit all day and gets to combo you into knockdown for trying.

Neutral:

This may just be me being old-fashioned, but I try not to do anything too slow and low against millia. IADing over stuff is a great way for her to get in, and she'll take the opportunity where she can. Go for 3P and f.S when she's running in, and get in yourself with things like 2K or air stuff. Once you get her into your pressure, she's no different from any other character. No real reversals to speak of besides super, which is actually pretty fast, so try to avoid doing anything too risky when she has 50+ meter. Don't go for 2K in that situation, or Bomber, or 6H, just do something safe and FRCable (Raei, 2H, Benten), or run and faultless to bait it if she's way too antsy. If you feel ballsy and are sure she'll do it, you can smack her with 63214H just like any other high-recovery reversal, but that's all flashiness. Watch out for roll and fuck her up for doing it. 2H, 3P, 2K, and throw are all good tools for this. You'd think she'd be able to roll out of Rashou, but she can't, so that works as well as it does against anyone. One thing to remember is that you should probably go for knockdown from every combo on millia, and doing so off of throw is very hard, so going for throw-->Rensen is probably your best bet.

Pros:

-Small throw range means Millia has to work for those tick throws.

-No reversal besides super, so you get to oki her most of the time.

-Benten beating iron savior is still way too cool.

Cons:

-Pin makes it hard to AA. Luckily she only has one.

-Oki mixup is way too strong

-Airdashes make it a little harder to see where she'll get hit in the air, but that just means you have to be a bit faster on the draw.

My opinion:

5-5 dead even. This match is a lot of hard work for Axl, but it's not in Millia's favor like some would claim. She gets to rush in a lot when she has a pin, but if you're smart, you can make life hard for her, especially from the air. If nothing else, Axl can win the war of attrition hands down. You only need two good combos to kill her (One and a half if they're corner combos), whereas she has to get you to guess wrong at least three or four times to eat your lifebar.

Overview:

This match is all kinds of stupid. It's worse than Baiken v. Baiken in terms of sheer raw banality. Whereas Baiken v. Baiken is like setting two rocks down and waiting for them to fight, Axl v. Axl is like giving large spears to two hobos and putting them in a sumo ring blindfolded after spinning them around a couple times. Your gameplan is to dick around trying to outpoke this guy until someone gets a knockdown, then rush like there's no tomorrow, since there's not much he can do about it.

Long range:

Axl is a hard character to zone out, as he can cover any range you can. Try to predict what he's going to do and beat it. If he throws out a 2P or 2H, you can IAD or raeisageki in. If he throws a 5P, you can run in or try to tenhouseki it. If he throws out a rensen, go for raeisageki or some other tomfoolery that'll go over or through it (just watch out for the 8 followup.) If his rensen whiffs, just run forward and be ready to FD break. If he tries to jump in, AA him with something. If he tries to run in, hit him with a low. Most of his shit gets beaten by rensen, but be careful about whiffing it, and it'll trade with his dumb green projectile (I think it's called rensen or something). Remember, your AA is better than his Air-to-Ground, so use that. If you can get him blocking or knocked down, you can start your rush.

Rushdown:

Axl's main weakness is his lack of good tools to break out of pressure with. His DAA sucks, and his weak excuses for reversals (some weird projectile counter thing and that terrible DP) get beat out by any low, so go for a lot of those. His high startup on most normals (6+) and 4F jump make him especially susceptible to tickthrows (Or tick-rashou), and it also makes it difficult for him to break out during gaps. Just be careful doing overheads, as your overheads are kind of slow, he has good AA options, and he has a low-profile move that'll go under Bomber. Either way, he's pretty much the best character to rush down, even easier than Eddie, so try not to let up.

Defense:

That dick Watches down at the Axl forums has been telling all the Axl players our darkest secret: Axl has a hard time breaking out of rushdown. So if anyone reads his guide on this matchup, expect them to be riding you pretty hard when they get the chance. To get out of Axl's rush, you need to be able to see his overheads (Bomber, IADs, 6H, and the occasional 5D) and IB like a mofo. FDing isn't that useful, since Axl has a lot of ways to get back in or just attack from a range, such as Rensen FRC, and various gatlings into 2H, 2P, or 5P (His long range moves, in case you didn't know). He even has a long range command grab, which can be hard to get out of if you can't 1FJ. I know it's a pain, but you should really familiarize yourself with Axl's gatlings and J/SCable moves, since that'll clue you in on when there might be gaps. Most of the time, the gaps are largest when Axl tries for an overhead. If you're IBing, you should be able to see it coming and beat it out, depending on what the overhead is. For 6H, 6P and Housou should both work (Benten is a little risky, as if you do it too late, it'll just trade.) For Axl Bomber, you can go under it with low profile 2K, or, if it's not in an air blockstring, just beat it before it starts up with c.S, 5K, or 6P. For IADs, go for regular AA options if you have time, but a good Axl can make it so you just have to block. Raeisageki might be thrown in from time to time, and depending on the preceding string, you might not be able to AA it in time, so block it. Just watch out for the FRC, since that's a common throw setup.

Pros:

-Axl has to think carefully about his zoning in this match, since Axl can punish him at the same range.

-Axl is defensively weak, which makes Axl's usually mediocre-to-moderate rushdown capabilities much more effective.

-4 frame jump makes tick throws and Rashousen setups harder to escape.

-The Axl player might have an aneurysm and die because of how completely stupid this match is.

Cons:

-Axl has to think carefully about his zoning in this match, since Axl can punish him at the same range.

-Axl is defensively weak, which makes Axl's usually mediocre-to-moderate rushdown capabilities much more effective.

-4 frame jump makes tick throws and Rashousen setups harder to escape.

-You might have an aneurysm and die because of how completely stupid this match is.

My opinion:

10-0 Axl's advantage. Axl wins no matter what.

taken from the General Information thread:

Jam

Shoto: 5,0

Jam has to say goodbye to some of her toys in this matchup. Her Puffball FB is not only worthless in most situations but a real danger. If done at the right time / distance 63214S will go over it and you can counter them on reaction. If you keep out of the distance in which a normal fake Puffbal into throw will be efficient there is not even mixup you have to fear. All other puffball variation can be stopped through 2P or even 2H. Her instant Air dash is low enough for 5P to connect, and since it is fast and has lots of forward momentum chances are good that you can go right on with a combo. Her Uppercut whiffs if you do a 2K as reversal; as you can start nearly all of your pressure / mixup options this move is lost to her as a reversal. Apart from that even that she is quite fast thanks to her really bad range she has to get real close, what gives Axl a lot of time to react to her, and especially in anti air situations you are in reach for anti air attack way before she can connect an jump in and all of her delaying and crossup stuff often just gives you more time to aim; not to mention that your catches have no problem dealing with corssups. If she has grounded you her 6H is so damn slow that depending on how she times it you can even reversal her out of it on reaction.

The only thing that makes this matchup close to even for Jam is that she has incredibly good damage from random hits and you have to make unpleasant decision once your on the receiving end, as you have no chance to poke her out and she has good tick throw opportunities.

DW:4.5

While a lot of what Shoto says is true, I'd still say that this matchup is slightly in Jam's favor. Axl may have a lot of options against her IAD, but most of them are made risky by IAD Gekirin or TK Ryuujin. FB puffball loses its usefulness as a stand-alone move, but given the low stance of the slide and the invincibility of the move itself, it's still a decent way to punish a lot of Axl's mistakes from most ranges. IAD j.H will go over and counterhit 2H, 2P, Rensen, and, given a SJIAD, oftentimes 5P as well, which means that some AA has to be pre-emptive.

2H is definitely a good option if you see a slide coming, and 3P is a great way to prevent run-ins. This match is the only one where I'd use 5H a defensive poke, as it'll beat out a lot of slide variations, IADs, and TK Ryuujin when timed properly. On the offensive, Rashousen becomes much more risky, but by no means does that mean that it's not viable. Besides airthrowing (which is always a danger), Jam doesn't have a lot of answers for Raeisageki (S) with running momentum from across the screen. Also: While not many Jams use this, a 236S dash into Choujin (FRC) is very weird for Axl to deal with, particularly if he tried to beat the dash with 2H

taken from the General Information thread:

Baiken

Shoto:5,0

This matchup has to be played differently by both players. Baikens big advantage is that Axl has no normal that is fast enough that it couldn’t get successfully guard canceld and Axl is not an character that has good standalone mixup. Therefore Axls 623P makes Baikens air tatami a risk for her and his Anti Air game is fully intact. Furthermore on long range the only counter that is a danger for Axl is the Ouren (“Superman”) guard cancel. Nevertheless if you cancel your normal into a 63214S you may escape it or if you feel lucky or your opponent spams it you can even cancel in one of your catches; and on long range you should not get punished for that if she does just block. Just stay away from 2H outside of punishment situation, it's just not a valid tool in this matchup. Try to interrupt her when she wants to close in on the ground or to make her jump where you don’t have to be afraid of her guard cancels and can make fully use of Axls anti air options.

Nevertheless this is a tough match for both players. Except developing certain one hit setups and relying more on throw setups the key to this matchup is to understand the way Bakien has to be played and judge when a player wants to guard cancel, i.e. waiting for you attack and in when he is either trying to move / attack and can be attacked / interrupted.

DW: 5.5

Until AC, a good Axl could zone Baiken out all day. This changed when Ouren was added... or did it? Ouren's achilles heel is that it can't connect in the corner. At all. This means that if you're in the corner, Ouren is no threat. On the contrary, in fact, it's a very long jump that leaves Baiken very punishable. Now you can zone Baiken to death again! Lows will cripple her ground approach with her guardrun (or anything else, really) and Axl has the best Anti-Air options in the game. Just stay out of Sakura range and you should be golden. If you feel ballsy, you can try to bait Sakura with c.S and cancel into S raeisageki for a meterless 300+ damage combo.

taken from the General Information thread:

Potemkin:

Shoto:5,0

This is Axls hard work matchup. As the match start (that is after you gained some distance) your have a very big advantage. Pots movement is more limited than that of every other chara, which in most situations make your anti air chains unavoidable for him (the best he can do is block). Furthermore your 2hit chains beat his Hammerfall on long to range and a 2P or even a charged rensen will hit him out of the startup or his Slide Head. Furthermore there is not much he can do against a j.S. The only options you have to think about in that range are his anti air grab once you get nearer or his Heavenly Potemkin Buster. What gets quite problematic in this matchup is that even if there is a safe opportunity to start rushing, you can’t seize that fully. All you get is one or at best two guerrilla like attempts. After a 6H you can’t rush without leaving a gap that could be enough for a Pot Buster; every option that just leaves a tiny gap allows him to backdash and then pot buster.

Once he gets you grounded you are in serious trouble. You can’t countertrhow and if you jump your opening yourself up for his anti air grab. Your reversal is not a real option as his standard okizeme involves a low starting combo, nevertheless as it is throw invincible it may be some sort of last hope thing. Since you should have lots of tension as you won’t have too many chances for combos or for rushdown, if you can even DAA tick throws (that is the P attack that starts the mixup). As pot gets his main damage from throws, even your burst becomes something pre-emptive, you burst to escape mixup.

As you can see you collect damage over the time having nearly constantly the advantage but seldom being able to land a big comb. Nevertheless should you lose it chances are very good Pot will turn the tide. Weird as it is this makes it a fair matchup for both players.

The key to this matchup is that you have to play as variable as possible even that you have the advantage in most of the time, as if your opponent figures out patterns or recognize a flaw in your gameplay he will get a chance to instantly win the match. (btw: Keep an eye on the timer as in this matchup time outs are quite common)

General strategy:

This match varies a lot from summon to summon, obviously, so you're going to have a different gameplan for each of the five different "faces" of Zappa.

Naked Zappa:

Offense:

Zappa can have a hard time dealing with zoning when naked, but don't get too hasty. Remember that lows are your best tool against him, and that 5P is now strictly anti-air, since it's really just a free opportunity for Zappa to run in (He can hit your chain with summon, and can cover almost max range distance by running before 5P recovers). When trying to get in, remember that summon is strike invincible, but not throw invincible, and takes 10 frames to start up. It is dangerous to leave gaps in blockstrings, but other than that, this move shouldn't give you any trouble. FD break your run or do safe air normal to get in on summon if the Zappa is trying to bait you into getting hit by it, or Rensen for knockdown if it's far away. If you block it and aren't FDing, you can punish with sweep-->Rensen (FRC)-->Combo very easily. A less safe way to beat it out is to try to housoubako it on reaction, which can net you more damage in certain circumstances but generally is just to be flashy.

Defense:

While Zappa shouldn't be able to rush in on standard mid-range zoning tools (f.S, 3P, 2H) that well, if he does get in, just IB most of his strings and if you can, housou or backdash to beat summon when it comes. Remember that Zappa's 6P is low and very invincible, and both 5K and 5D are lower-body invincible. Zappa's offense isn't that dangerous without summons, the only thing to worry about is if he has full meter, and thus can go for 3-summon into Raoh combo for quite a bit of damage.

Dog:

Offense:

A common mistake made by every character is to try to kill the dog while it's not moving, which you can't do. If you're far away from Zappa and aren't too far behind, there's no reason not to just sit there, keeping a rensen charged, possibly throwing out fast normals (2K, 3P, 5K) to avoid negative penalty. Wait for either the dog or Zappa to move and poke him out with something appropriate. You can get the dog dead with either 2K, 2P, or Rensen, or by AAing Zappa or the dog if either tries to jump in.

Defense:

Don't be too impatient while blocking, Zappa has some pretty solid blockstrings and combos with the dog, so just FD him out, IB the dog stuff, kind of like a weaker version of Eddie. The main thing to watch out for is the meaty unblockable nonsense if you get knocked down. This is one circumstance in which light benten is a good reversal, as unless you can reversal 1FJ consistently, it and super (Don't do super) are the only easy ways out of it if the meaty is properly timed. You'll probably get hit for doing a Benten unless you can FRC it, but the tiny naked Zappa combo you'll eat is generally worth not losing a bunch of life until Zappa messes up the meaty (or you die).

Sword:The sword is almost laughably easy to zone out. Rensen is good, a lot of things are punishable, you can even use Tenhouseki to catch 63214H if you're feeling playful. What you definitely don't want to do is try to get in. With a very good DP, and a lot of high-priority normals, the Sword gives Axl a lot of problems up close, since he doesn't have anything comparable. Just zone, and wait for an opportunity to combo. Remember that after a blocked sword rush (236S), Zappa will often try to delay instead of doing the followup, which may give you time to hit him. One thing to remember is that Zappa's main sword overhead, 6H, hits high once, then low once.

Triplets:

"Offense"/Poking:

This is the only summon that really gives Axl significant problems. It's like a weaker Venom combined with the equivalent of a Testament marking. Projectiles are flying all over the screen, and chances are, if you're throwing things out randomly, your chains will get beaten, and you'll probably get possessed. Remember that when Zappa throws out a ghost, he stands up high enough to get hit by 5P, so try to stuff the startup of his projectiles whenever you can, and much like Ky's stun edges, the straight ghost (236S) can be beaten fairly easily with rensen. Some Zappas also have a weird habit of hanging around in the air, using failed ghost summoning. Be careful AAing them unless they don't have any ghosts coming back. If they're out of your poking range (very possible), you can go for H Raeisageki as long as you do it quickly, to get that extra reach.

Defense:

Especially if the Zappa knows his FRCs, the triplets are easily his most solid ghost for sheer lockdown. You just have to block a lot, watching out for the same lows Zappa always has, and for 6H (16F overhead, 3 hits, startup looks a lot like his normal H), and j.H (exploding ghost, can be a very ambiguous crossup). Wait for Zappa to run out of ghosts to try anything, but remember that an FRC'd ghost projectile doesn't count toward his limit of three.

When possessed:

If you're possessed and locked down at the same time, Zappa's blockstrings are even more dangerous, as he has you in blockstun more and has the occasional opportunity to set up unblockables with the banana peel (hits low). Like a Testament marking, poke him out if you get a chance, but usually you just want to wait it out.

Raou:

Unlike most characters, Axl actually has an easier time with Raou than any other summon. 5P can stuff DA's startup, or you can just rensen through it. Raou has a hard time getting in, and when he is in, his mixup isn't very ambiguous. Just block low and watch for tickthrows (the only genuinely scary thing) and dust (slow and obvious). FD him out if you can, and don't let him do DA summon on you over and over, as there are gaps in it, it does 4x chip damage, and it doesn't have any pushback. Bellow's Malice (Super) can be stuffed by 5P as well, which is easy to do if you're watching for it or DA. Just keep him out and only try to do damage if you get a combo from your AA. Keep away game is easy, getting in is hard, and getting hit can mean your whole lifebar, so don't bother with anything but the keepaway.

Pros:

-Most summons can be zoned out without extreme difficulty.

-Lots of long-reaching lows make it hard for Zappa to run in.

-Raou isn't very powerful in this match.

-No real answer to Axl's AA, and therefore very limited aerial approach.

Cons:

-Strong lockdown ability with sword and ghosts

-Ghosts give Zappa projectiles, which counter Axl

-Lots of low hits and low stance make a lot of Axl's moves less useful

-With no invincible moves, Axl will usually take damage when getting out of Dog meaty unblockables

My opinion:

Sword: 5.5-4.5, Axl's advantage

Dog: 6-4, Axl's advantage

Triplets: 4-6, Zappa's advantage

Raou: 7-3, Axl's advantage

Overall: 5.5-4.5, Axl's advantage. It would be probably be 6-4 if all the summons were out equally often, but Raou tends to be out less than the others, and Zappa now has a few ways to pick and choose his summons (the 2, 1, 0 timing stuff and the unsummon FB)

General Strategy:

This matchup can be very intense, and is basically a contest to see who can get the first hit in, as neither character can really get out of pressure very well, and both die from 1-2 combos from the other. So obviously practice your blocking, but most importantly, get rid of little eddie and RUSH THAT SHIT DOWN.

Defensive tactics:

Surviving Eddie rushdown is pretty much the same for most characters: Block extremely fucking well, and try to predict and get out of unblockables as best you can. So the only comment I'll make on that is that Axl has the unusual property of having an extremely narrow standing hitbox. While this probably won't net you a free escape from a blockstring, it has saved my life a few times when I guessed wrong against 5K (One of Eddie's main low options in his stupid endless blockstrings). Basically, to make 5K not combo into 5S, you should try to FD probably one move per string that'll push you back, then IB Mawaru's backhit as often as possible. This sounds (and is) hard, but if you can get the timing down, it can get you a few lucky breaks. You should still generally follow the block low, wait for overhead rule, though, since Eddie's fast overhead, 6K, is still 18F startup, which is well within the realm of "seeable." Watch out for tickthrows too! To get rid of little eddie, I tend to try to zone and fish with j.S, 2P, and occasionally rensen (Of course go for AA stuff if he jumps). Anti-air can be a little hard against Eddie, but not too hard. 2K will go under basically anything he can do, 6P is a good way to beat out j.K trickery, and you can do the standard long range stuff as long as you make sure to keep track of where he's flying. Housoubako and Benten (light) are semi-viable options to get rid of little eddie up close, just expect to get hit by a naked Eddie combo afterwards.

Arr Tea Es Dee!

Eddie suffers from the same problem Axl does: A lack of fast normals and invincible moves. While he does technically have a 5F normal in 2P, it's pretty weak in terms of hitbox and active frames, and 2K will even duck it! So here's your chance to pull out all the stops. Almost any frametrap that Axl can do will work on Eddie, as well some of the more longshot blockstrings (5K, 5H, 2D, Rensen comes to mind). Try to build guardbar if you can (Any jumping normal besides P builds 10, with 10 per hit on j.S, hardslashes build a ton, two-hit pokes build a ton, 5P fuzzy-guards, so don't worry if he tries to duck the second hit, and Kokuugeki FRC stuff builds a ton), mix him up with high-low-throw-crossup-unblockable-feint stuff, and just generally stay on him like alcohol on Mr. Mamation. With Eddie's terrible defense, guts, and a little guardbar, you can completely rape his lifebar like he rapes yours and everyone else's!

6H is an unusually good tool against Eddie, for use as a meaty, guardbar builder, and general overhead. It goes over several of Eddie's key pokes, and is difficult to beat on reaction for a character with nothing fast or invincible enough to really do so.

Pros:

-Extremely good AA can decently neutralize Eddie's powerful air game.

-A few nonsense hitboxes work to Axl's advantage (2K goes under a ton of shit, Dizzy animation can't be IK'd, narrow standing hitbox makes 5K-->5S not combo, Standard command grab-->Puddle combo doesn't work, etc.)

-Once he gets momentum, Axl can make it very difficult for Eddie to get out of lockdown.

-Axl has the damage/guardbar output to kill Eddie very quickly.

-Getting rid of little eddie is slightly easier with tools like long range pokes and 2F startup on Housoubako.

Cons:

-lol unblockables

-lol full stun combos

-lol Mawaru blockstrings

-lol tick-commandgrab

-Basically all the reasons Eddie is good apply to Axl (with the possible exception of air-to-ground superiority)

My opinion:

4.5-5.5, Slight advantage for Eddie. This matchup can go either way very quickly and easily, and it's certainly not Eddie's easiest or Axl's worst, however, the advantage is probably still his, for all the same reasons he rapes so many other characters.

Contributors:

Digital Watches, Teyah

So... feel free to discuss anything else about this matchup here. If something I or someone else here comes up with seems noteworthy enough, I'll add it to this first post.

taken from the General Information thread:

Faust

Shoto: 5,5

On long range you are the king of the hill; even that Faust usually gets more damage if he hits your 5P will just beat everything Faust has and even make it hard for him to throw out items.

Once out his items are actually more of a problem than one would think. Mini-Faust / Pot / R-Ky control aerial space as long as they are in the air they are quite problematic for your movement and long range pokes; should you ever come in a position to have to block them you should be careful what you do after that as this usually leaves Faust with the advantage (but the problem is it is rather situational what Faust gets from this so you just need experience with that kind of situation)

He furthermore has good jump ins with good range which if used in the right manner and the right situation can interrupt your air to air and anti air pokes. Furthermore Faust has some of the best Anti Airs in the game so don’t put too much emphasis on jump ins.

He doesn’t have a real lockdown, but should he get you cornered his fast big hitbox normals are a danger if you try something stupid. Should you want to jump be aware that Faust has good long range air to air normal which make escaping via air out of the corner somewhat risky.

Nevertheless all the stuff that makes Faust good can be countered to a good degree trough your long range options which force him to be very cautious with attacking from long range or throwing items. Furthermore your 6H goes over his 2P and his treasure chest OD, taking away his only options he has to escape pressure. As his air dash is arguably the worst in the whole game he just can’t get in easily on you and has to constantly work his way into his optimal distance. The rest is knowing his moves and knowing situations which are created through his items.

Basic strategy

You don’t know this matchup, you die! While this is true all matchups, it is especially true for this one. This matchup is about avoiding as much of Chipps offensive options as possible, blocking a lot and waiting for the few chances to gain the initiative. Chipp has more options to move in and to avoid trouble than any other chara of the cast. So be prepared for the hell of a matchup!

Zoning

The only range where Axl can truly outzone Chipp is about the max range of 2P. Here he can’t use his tripple jumps to avoid all of your anti air attack ankles and he can’t simply teleport in as you will hit him with 5P before the startup or it ends.

In this range he will try to come nearer trough FD brakes and jumping manouvers while not trying to endanger himself. While he should find his way in quite fast try not to hand it to him but do not already get hit while doing so!

Should you get the idea of running up to allow you more mixup (like trying to get in a distance for a max range 3P) you will experience that all that Chipp needs is a short reactonary dash.

So actually you should use stuff like: short dash, jump back or airdash back; jumping up, than double jump back; jumping back than jumping forward to get in reach for j.S etc. Through this you hopefally bait him into moving and let him actually do the the "last step".

Should he react with jumping or airdashing at you while you are trying to make him move on the ground keep him at bay with a j.6P.

The only way you should think about getting in is with stuff that leaves with a clear advantage. J.S or even a deep j.6P may help you with that. In some situations even stuff like a running 6H will be an option but just don't try to push anything even that I agree that it is quite hard to efficently opperate in that range against Chipp and not getting either too risky or too repetitive.

If you make the wrong decision he will end up close, where you don’t want him. Neverthelss you can still block and work from there, so don’t risk too much trying too keep him away.

Btw.: Whenever he gets in reach for his j.D don’t even try to Anti Air him as he will hit you nevertheless in 99% of cases.

Neverthelss keep in mind that because Chipp is that fast, he has to make decisons “earlier” than other characters. He may be too fast to allow you to counter his running in on you on reaction, but actually he can’t react to you as well. If you see him running up form certain key distances you can use S(f) even that he is not at range when you input the move, but he will be there when it gets active. On the other hand should he just want to do a running jump or IAD you should be able to block. I know this is vague but right now I don't know how to put this whole concept in words :P.

Teleports

For teleports while not pressured just try to react to the sound of them. It is just too fast to react on sight and if he FRCs them they are actually perfectly safe.

I’m not too sure what the best options are so I’m looking forward to discuss this in the forum^^.

Considering the reward the teleports that make him appear in the air in front of you or in your back seem to be his first choice. 2S could be an action as it will always come out no matter which side he ends up. 623P may be one as if he crosses you up 214P should come out! I heard rumours that airthrows should work as well but I just can’t pull it of reliably and thus are very sceptical about it.

I have to admit that this is a guess since he could use one of the teleports that leave him groundbased, but they should not realy allow him to directely punish you (?). Nevertheless should he start baiting a reaction just stop doing it^^.

Anti Airs

Chipp can actually come at you in ankles that you can't cover and many of his moves even beat your 6P (for example his drill kick). He even may use his tripple jump to get out of your vertical range.

Once he is in range for his j.D don't try to beat it with any offensive option, as it will give him a CH which allows him to combo.

623P or even 214P (if he comes from a distance like with an IAD) may be options, but just don't ever try them when he still has the option to double jump (especially not if your cornerd) as he may just let your counter whiff and then punish you (even that you may ocasionally get away with a 623P).

Nevertheless him having to use vs catches tactics may give you some room to move as he with that limits himself and has to leave gaps which may allow you to escape (the same is true for DAAs). But be cautios with them. Don't spam them and never do them without having an "idea" why he should attack.

When I started leraning this matchup I nearly never used them at first since I didn't knew enough of Chipps options to counter them; and still when I try to really rely on them I usally have gotten desperate! They just have to be present enough to appear as a solid thread to him (actually I started writing a paragraph about using catches so if your lucky you can find that one in the General Tactics thread).

Defensive tactics

Wakeup

623P and 623S are even worse options to break free in this matchup than they are in others; or lets say even "more situational". Chipp is faster than any other chara which allows him to run up and still attack meaty in situations where you would’nt exspect it, so there may not be the gap you need for 623P to get active or for getting a safer shot with 623S. I don’t say that such situations are not there but they are the exeption not the rule and you need some vs. Chipp experience to see them.

Should he start to bait your DP in such situations make use of the FRC, since this gives you an aditional rushdown attempt (or a combo should you hit).

Nevertheless he has lots of good low options which still leave him with the advantage, so he need not even care for your Uppercut as long as he can make sure that his move will end up meaty.

Then there is teleport okizeme where he will switch sides and where it gets very hard to figure out if he can still get away before you stand up. Furhtermore this will fuck up your DP inputs so the only option in that situation you should think about that exept blocking is throwing him should he end up in throw range with his last teleport.

Crossups

IMO Chipps has the best crossup options in the game. As he doesn’t really get better combo options if you’re up against the wall he may be even more dangerous midscreen than in the corner. With his FDC Drill Kick he can change to mometum of his jump allowing you to attack from the back or from the front.

Now he will try to make them as ambibious as possible. GG allows you to block you in both directions for the first few frames after your opponent crossed you up. This means should he be too fast with his crossup, it doesn’t matter which direction you block. So if you’re in doubt if he goes for a fake crossup or a real one just consider it fake. Should the attack still cross you up chances are good it was too fast and you can block it either way.. but if it was a fake one, you will get hit if you tried to block it as a real one.

One aditional remark: should he air throw you in the conrer he can go for a crossup even in the corner; usually he will go for Alpha Blade (TK Alpha Blade?) which allows him to go for a high damage follow up combo.

Getting rushed

If he rushes you block low and look for overheads: His 6K and his 5D. Actually the 6K only gets interesting if he get a CH with it as then he can combo from the wallbounce, so as long as you don’t try anythig stupid this move will only get interesting if your guard gauge is flashing (and should he end up to near after it just throw him).

Against his leaf throw the best thing you can do is jump forward and air throw him on reaction, jumping up with j.H may work also. Just don’t try to jump out doing nothing, as then he can simply airthrow you.

Apart from that the main thing Chipps rush is based on are frame traps. Actually as you have no fast poke to get out you should not even be tempted to try anything. Use FD to create gaps and let him work. Just stay cool once the guard gauge starts flashing: This is something that you can’t completely avoid fighting Chipp.

Should he try to push it too much and start using IADs to get in again just air throw him. You have more time to do that than you would think as long as you await it.

The most harmles of his mixup is a simple throw setup. Should you anticipate it and see him running up go for 5K, 2D rensen FRC; either you get a combo or the initiative.

Tech Traps

In this matchup you will learn how to tech the right way or you will loose!

There basically are two kinds of traps he may utilize:

1.) The first on is the basic air throw tech trap where he simply throws you if you recover at the first possible moment. If some of his air combos end in the corner he can even save his tripple jump, let you recover, than jump and catch you for a free corner knockdown. In this case either recover and imediately double jump or simply tech the airthrow. Keeping this in mind when you come to the situation is the hard part.

btw.: If you’re not absolutely sure what you're doing, don’t tech OTG Gammas! He want’s you to tech so he can airthrow you. He can go for a little combo from it but as the damage is down to 25% and as it will allow you to instantely recover afterwards this is not what he wants! If you tech chances are good you will be airthrown scoring him some extra damage while still having the knockdown.

2.) Whenever you end up in a combo which lets you recover so high up in the air that you can’t see Chipp, let yourself fall down first and TECH ON SIGHT! Should you tech too high up in the air he can run in your direction an wait for you when you get down. There he can do stuff like nail you with standing punches, which you have to block with FD and as he can chain the move into itself it drains tension like nothing. Should you run out of tension he will follow up with an air combo; even if you’re tension should suffice he ends up having the initiative. So always wait till you can see him again, then decide how to tech and how to double jump / airdash afterwards

Btw.: Should he come near you in the air and force you to block he can basically setup the same manouver: He can delay some of his moves so that he falls down faster than you and will land before you. Then he may start again with 5Ps.. (start to FD as soon as he lands)

Offensive tactics

Once you got the initiative it pretty much gets back to standard. Just keep in mind that Chipp players have learned to avoid risks at any costs, so be sensible but keep the mixup high! Should you get a combo in against him (at least for 214 catch or throw combos) going for the knockdwon is in most cases the best choice: Keeping the initiative is worth the lost damage against an agile character such as Chipp.

His Uppercut isn’t really that great. See the General Information thread for information how to deal with it; while Axls 2K doesn’t duck it both 3P methods (avoiding and baiting) work great againt him: As his beta blade has no good horizontal reach it will whiff in most cases and even if you’re a bit off with your late meaty timing you will at least get a clash.

One thing you should now is that he can combo from his DAA should he get the wallbounce so if you see a situation where that is possible and he has 50% tension try to work with DAA baits without being to obvious so that he won’t see his chance to escape.

Pros:

- Axl can get damage from every succsesfull action which Chipp can’t

- Axl already does good damage which gets even better thanks to Chipps low defense modifier

- Axl catches make Chipps Cross up attempts (as long as they are not done as okizeme) always a danger

Cons:

- Chipps incredible good movment makes it hard to zone him out

- Once he gets in medium range nearly all of his moves outpritize yours

- Close up Chipp can use adittional pressure patterns without risking too much as Axl just doesn’t have the tools to poke him out

My opinion:

Hm.. I think I still go with 5:5. Maybe a small adavantage for Chipp but as I don't have the feeling I have understood everything there is to understand about this matchup I can't say that for sure.

General strategy:

Since I-No's game is mostly aerial, and Axl has the game's best anti-air, it shouldn't be too hard to keep control of this matchup. The ideal is to keep I-No around mid-range (4-8 character widths) and get her stuck in AA combos. While I-No has a decent lockdown game up close, her only ways to get in are by air and with Stroke the Big Tree, so really, a smart Axl can keep an offensive advantage throughout the whole match, forcing I-No to choose between blocking and taking large chunks of damage by getting AA'd.

Tactical analysis:

I don't feel the need to cover offensive tactics, as rushdown is pretty standard (Go for mixup, blockstrings, watch out for reversal super, etc.) However, the defensive aspect of this matchup changes a lot based on range.

Close up:

The number one thing that fucks people up about I-No is that when she's locking you down, you have to block high and watch for stray lows, instead of vice versa. Like any character, I-No can take advantage of Axl's lack of fast moves and 4F jump (Defensive weakness, for short) once she gets him blocking, so your first priority is to make things easier for yourself. Use FD to push her out, since her typical quick landing low/redash/occasional throw mindgame won't work if she's pushed too far back. This can also give you more time to react to her dash, allowing you to try things like Housou or S Benten.

Mid-Range:

Like I said before, this is where you generally want to be in this matchup. I-No only has two options from here: Try to dash in, or Stroke the Big Tree. Chemical Love/Note projectile attempts are easy to stuff with 5P or sometimes 6K, but if you don't react fast enough, just dodge or block it. CL in particular can be ducked by 2K, and if it's not FRC'd, that can mean you have a chance to turn the momentum in your favor. 3P, 6H, and 2H will kill Stroke the Big Tree before she has a chance to FRC (3P is the safest to try.) Dash-ins have the obvious problem of having to deal with Axl's amazing AA game, and almost anything she tries can be killed with what I like to call Reactionary Anti-air Poke Entrapment (RAPE for short). Basically, throw AA stuff at appropriate angles and follow up with a combo where appropriate.

Long Range:

I define this as starting where 5P/6K/2S won't combo, and onward from there. At this range, I-No will try to get in on you from far above you, or try to launch notes at you from outside of your range. You can usually watch where the note is going, and just duck or jump it. Most I-No's will use you jumping as a chance to try to cover some distance, since I-No would prefer to fight Axl air-to-air over ground-to-ground. Lucky for you, you have Kokuugeki, which is fast, has enormous range, and has to be FD'd in the air. Along with the fact that it's FRCable, these things make it a GREAT air poke against I-No*, especially since, unlike the fairly weak j.6P (I miss the Slash version), it doesn't count as part of your body. If she tries to get in directly above you, a superjump+Airthrow or quick Raeisageki (H) can do wonders, and Kokuugeki will still connect as well (It covers a big 270 degree circle, which ends way above Axl).

Pros:

-Incredible AA game makes most of I-No's approach useless.

-Most if not all of I-No's options can be countered on reaction from mid-range.

-Kokuugeki and j.S outrange Chemical Love and are faster than Note Projectile, an thus long range air-to-air game is in Axl's favor.

-Axl has a low-profile move, which makes CL and various other moves less of a threat.

Cons:

-I-No still has some pretty ambiguous and quick rushdown stuff, which, with CL FRC, can make it hard for Axl to find a gap.

-Note projectile can be a nuissance, and makes Axl play a game that's less to his advantage than ground-to-air.

My opinion:

6.5-3.5 in Axl's favor. I-No is left with very few options, and Axl's moveset just doesn't fit well into her game. While she can turn it around if she gets momentum, her ability to gain said momentum is entirely dependant on scoring a knockdown, which usually means that the Axl made some mistake or another that he won't necessarily reliably make.

Footnotes:

* = Disputed by Shoto