[CT] Arakune vs. Taokaka

[Shinsua]

This thread will be all about tenderizing the oh so delicious Kaka Fighter, Tao

How to avoid certain attacks,

How to know what hits are best to endure,

How to really put a beat down on her,

And perhaps, even what sides go best with a dish so divine

[Mindgam3]

I seem to have trouble getting Tao off of me after the rushdown has begun. It seems like all of my quick pokes get eaten up by 5b and then I become a combo dummy thereafter. Aside from getting her cursed as quickly as possible and playing keep away/harassment from the beginning of the match, is there anything I'd be able to do on reaction against her rush down mixup (ex: 2a, 5b, 6b, her drives, that kind of stuff)? Edit: Upon scouring the Tao forums, apparently Arakune ought to have the advantage. But I'm puzzled as to what TaoFTW means by "...Rachel and Arakune have an answer to everything you throw out - whether it be a 2a or risky 6c's. Rachel and Arakune has her 6a to beast out every normal you have in the air. While they have an answer to kill your air game, they also have numerous ways to shut out your mobility." I want to know these numerous ways.

[Dime_x]

well i'm a newb and everything i say has to be taken with a grain of salt. but that having been said, at my low level of play i was and still am having troubles with taos rushdown, but i have figured out a couple of things that make it easier on me to defend against her and get a mark: use 5A NOT 2a for defense (aras 5a is i6 just like taos 2a and 5a meaning whoever does there move first wins) whereas ara's 2A is i10 which is HORRIBLY slow making it a BAD choice for defense. generally speaking when on defense one of your goto options should be 5A x2 >6b which will knock her to the other side of the screen allowing you to get out a cloud or a bell bug, position yourself better etc. second thing is that most low level taos and even some high level ones i see on vids LOVE to start off ALL of her combos with 2A. so, ara's 6c totally destroys all low moves. once or twice a round i will throw this move out when i sniff out a 2a and if i have atleast 50% meter, cause then i can rc the 6c loop into another 6c loop or go for a curse combo which puts the match HEAVILY in your favor. and last i have been using aras 5c against her as an excellent AA, versus taos that like to pressure from the air predictably, it can even hit her j.5d drive if you anticipate it. from there just jump cancel j.a> j.b> j.c> j.d BC bug 6c loop for nice damage and curse. anywho these things have helped me out alot. -dime

[Shinsua]

Edit: Upon scouring the Tao forums, apparently Arakune ought to have the advantage. But I'm puzzled as to what TaoFTW means by "...Rachel and Arakune have an answer to everything you throw out - whether it be a 2a or risky 6c's. Rachel and Arakune has her 6a to beast out every normal you have in the air. While they have an answer to kill your air game, they also have numerous ways to shut out your mobility."

I want to know these numerous ways.

I do too. . .

[Faustus]

I do too. . .

Add me to the list as well.

I have some experience playing against Tao (my sister is getting better and better with her for every passing day), and I want to second the importance of 5A>6b as Dime_x stated. Also, I have found the bell-bug in combination with the "hovering cloud" (the one that sits above your opponent's head) to work really well when trying to cut down Tao's mobility, making it harder for her to control air-space.

And when you have a cursed Tao and yourself on different sides of the screen, for God's sake don't loose it all to a random kitty litter-throw. I am sad to say that it has caught me a few times to many when I go for a cloud-summon...

[RedTao]

Well, this is coming more from my experience with Tao than with Arakune, but... Yeah, she can be dangerous. Her 5B is about as fast as your 5A and can lead to 3.6k damage (!), AND she has a good long-range ground poke (5C) that can lead to 4k+ (!!) on counter-hit, so be really careful whenever you're on the ground. She's very fast and if the Tao player can hit confirm things can get painful. But, Tao doesn't have any good anti-air options. She's got her 6A, that move where she claws above her head twice, but that's weak and prorates heavily and I believe it loses to both your j.B and dives. So, definitely, even more than usual, try to stay in the air as much as possible. Some popular Tao moves that are punishable: - her 6B overhead, that little somersault, is extremely unsafe, especially on startup. Punish! It often comes after a string of blocked 2As, because it moves her forward a little to keep the pressure on. - A lot of Tao players, if they whiff an attack or push you too far away, like to cancel into drive to leap through you and land on your other side and continue with either 5B or a throw attempt. If you see this coming, Tao's really unsafe when she lands from the drive, and you can punish. - Tao's only strong way to approach from the air is j.C, and I am pretty sure Ara's 5C stuffs this, like Dime was saying. Sweet. Haven't tested extensively though... Otherwise, just watch for random drives. A lot of Tao players like to go crazy with the drives and it can feel overwhelming but it's usually pretty unsafe for them. Hope that helps!

[Skye]

No, do not stay in the air all the time, Tao beats you in the air, choose your moments, if you can land a 5A 6B then tiger knee a cloud, seriously, choose your moments, Tao's J.C and Drive beats you in the air, and you'll have to choreograph your attacks too far in advance to beat her--her main priority is her speed, which places them as better air attacks, if you're gonna be in the air, J.6C your ass off, if you can't catch her and she can't catch you, then that's good for you. When the curse is on, zone. I almost always advise against it, but being in Tao's face is about as safe as being in Tager's face while on the ground. If you can find a combo setup that starts from long range, do it, Tao's speed seriously limits your options and good Taos can react to your every move. Wait for her to approach, learn her strings and punish them, then jump/bell, try your best to not get hit for the sake of keeping cloud/bell out, it does great pressure if you can limit her options, if you get the anti air cloud then jump to your heart's content. If you get the homing cloud, then make Tao come to you, and try to barrier block her into it, if she tries to cross you up with her dive, then jump. If you get the cloud shield, then again, wait for her to approach. If she decides to projectile spam, well they are slow enough to avoid them, duck or jump to your discretion. That's about all I know.

[Matt]

if you can land a 5A 6B then tiger knee a cloud

You can't tiger knee a cloud. It is impossible because there is a distance requirement of how far you have to be off the ground to pull out a cloud.

[Skye]

You can't tiger knee a cloud. It is impossible because there is a distance requirement of how far you have to be off the ground to pull out a cloud.

You sure about that, I pulled off some low clouds before, not straight off the ground, but still....

Point being, get in the air, cloud and get your ass back on solid ground before she gets up and back in your face.

[MisoSowee]

You can "technically" TK a cloud. Case-in-point would be TK'ing allegretto as carl. It doesn't look like a TK... but it is... technically o_O

[Tronzilla666]

Well I usually do not have trouble playing Tao. One thing is to rush in when they are cursed but if Tao is not cursed you need to be poking her and trying to run away to curse her. It can be tricky when they are cross dashing you but other than that I have had no real problems. Tao should not be a real threat to Arakune in the long run.

[Skye]

I noticed that 5C is really good here. It shuts down her drive approach, unless you're too late and she gets behind you. From there I noticed a few Taos to run in with a 6C. If you can land a 5C, go into a loop, if Tao doesn't burst and you score the recurse, the rest should be turtling/zoning. That strategy got me the best results vs Tao, precurse if you can lock her down, keep at it, Tao also has issues with pressure and she'll most likely barrier to push you off. 5a > 6b > cloud, go for cloud shield. If you get the anti air cloud, stay above it, and attack her from the air. If you get the homing cloud, turtle and teleport, try an get a bell out. Or you can pressure her with any method you can find, the cloud shield puts most opponents in a tight mix of defense and offense, on full defense, they'll crack an/or get cursed. Expect and go for air grabs.

[tolore]

5C is worthless, 2B crushes EVERYTHING she has from the air. 2B is so amazingly good in this match up.

[InspectorOda]

I noticed that 5C is really good here.

D~B > 4k+ Damage CH Combo. NEVER use 5C against Tao unless you wanna die, only use 2B to AA.

If you get the anti air cloud, stay above it, and attack her from the air.

Stay away from Tao when you have a ceiling cloud. She'll out-prioritize you up close even with the cloud, but zoning is much more effective since she can't escape as easily anymore.

[Skye]

I always manage to catch Taos before they get behind me, but I sort of do it preemptively. Not debating, just saying. I find 2B harder to land/time, and because I suck at hit detect, I seldom capitalize on counter hit.

[InspectorOda]

I always manage to catch Taos before they get behind me, but I sort of do it preemptively.

Not debating, just saying. I find 2B harder to land/time, and because I suck at hit detect, I seldom capitalize on counter hit.

That's probably because in online play, timing a correct D~B is extremely hard. Offline, 5C will never work against Tao.

For 2B, if you score a CH, they'll have huge untechable time so you should be able to use hjc > jA > etc. For Tao you'll need to hit confirm if it was a grounded or aerial hit though because her D can be retarded sometimes. For grounded hits, you'll need to do a 2D very quickly though.

By the way, the reason 2B doesn't work well for you is probably because of input lag online. Same reasons why using D~B is hard online.

EDIT: Does anyone know when CS discussion can start for matchups? By now everything that is possible has already been said for CT.

[Skye]

That's probably because in online play, timing a correct D~B is extremely hard. Offline, 5C will never work against Tao.

For 2B, if you score a CH, they'll have huge untechable time so you should be able to use hjc > jA > etc. For Tao you'll need to hit confirm if it was a grounded or aerial hit though because her D can be retarded sometimes. For grounded hits, you'll need to do a 2D very quickly though.

By the way, the reason 2B doesn't work well for you is probably because of input lag online. Same reasons why using D~B is hard online.

EDIT: Does anyone know when CS discussion can start for matchups? By now everything that is possible has already been said for CT.

I suck at 2B offline. My timing generally sucks. I've practiced both combos, I can do them, it's just I have trouble timing the 2B and then once I get it right, I can't capitalize on it due to bad hit detect (another reason 5C works for me, since I can combo from it regardless of CH or normal strike).

I've only done a 2B CH combo once (and it was achieved offline), I was so happy, but then my opponent burst mid loop, so I was sad...

Make no mistake, I do offline too, it's just since I have no car and no tournies happening in Detroit, I really can't get out there without depending on an outside source, which I have none that has both a car and interest in BB, as well as the will to drive out to like Ann Arbor for me.

As for CS, due to how many people have actually played the game in US, it's gonna be a while. I give it to mid Jan/Feb.

[Mr.Biscuits]

5C is NOT good against Tao, it's too fucking slow. You'll have to do it extremely early and that's just too risky. 2B is the preferred Anti-Air in this match. 2B is just a good poke in general in this matchup. It beats her dives and a few of her ground pokes, which nets you a CH for either a 2a or 2D follow up. J.6abc into j.B works really well, especially low to the ground. Also fishing for her 6A and countering with j2a is king as well. Just have to get spacing down so you don't get raped in the face wth a dive.

[Skye]

5C is NOT good against Tao, it's too fucking slow. You'll have to do it extremely early and that's just too risky.

That's how I do it, I guess it's because of my opponent that I can tell when he's going to do his drive.

It bites me in the ass when I'm late on it though.

[Matt]

5C is NOT good against Tao, it's too fucking slow. You'll have to do it extremely early and that's just too risky.

2B is the preferred Anti-Air in this match.

2B is just a good poke in general in this matchup.

It beats her dives and a few of her ground pokes, which nets you a CH for either a 2a or 2D follow up.

J.6abc into j.B works really well, especially low to the ground. Also fishing for her 6A and countering with j2a is king as well. Just have to get spacing down so you don't get raped in the face wth a dive.

The speed at which 5C comes out, which is what I think you're saying, is not a problem in this matchup because 5C has head invulnerability basically on startup. The problem is that the Tao player should be able to press B(?) on reaction and go straight through 5C and punish it while it is recovering.

Also, 2B is a good anti-air and poke in every match-up. That thing is gdlk. GODLIKE!

[Skye]

Agreed, 2B is godlike. Let's enjoy it while we can.