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[CF] Kagura Neutral Tips and Tricks Guide

RurouniLoneWolf

By RurouniLoneWolf
in Kagura Mutsuki

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RurouniLoneWolf

RurouniLoneWolf

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Overall
 
A good chunk of Kagura's neutral game revolves around strategic use of Dragon's Spirit ([4]6A/B). However, Kagura's giant sword isn't just for show either. All his C normals have great reach and are great pokes for playing footsies with
 
 
Dragon's Spriit ([4]6A/B)
 
 
As you would expect of a character that was partially designed to be similar to Guile, there's a lot of emphasis on Kagura's version of Sonic Boom, Dragon's Spirit, to play his neutral game.
 
In its most basic application, Dragon's Spirit is great for controlling ground space. The A version of Dragon's spirit now moves faster, goes fullscreen and knocksdown on hit making it great for hindering ground approaches and opponents trying to do stuff on the ground in general. 
 
However, the true objective of Dragon's Spirit for Kagura is to use it to help him approach. Dragon's Spirit travels at just the right speed to comfortably run behind as cover.  By having this advancing projectile approaching the opponent ahead of you, the opponent can't really poke you out of an advance or do much of anything to stop you while they remain on the ground.
 
As you may have already caught on, most opponents will try to jump over Dragon's Spirit to avoid getting locked down by it and allowing Kagura to start pressure. However, this is also part of the plan. While forcing the opponent to take to the air isn't as big of a win as in a game like Street Fighter where you can't air block, it'll severely limit your opponent's options and get them to move in much more predictable ways that you can take advantage of. Here's a few tactics you can use against an opponent trying to jump out of Dragon's Spirit.
 
Sonic Boom + Jump up Air Throw
Jump up Air Throw is mostly good against opponents who try to get over Dragon's Spirit in a more passive manner such as double jumping or neutral jumping.
 
Sonic Boom Jump Up j.A
Jump up j.A is mostly good for hitting opponents who'll try and jump over Dragon's Spirit and attack you with a jump in.
 
Sonic Boom + 6C
Similar function as Jump j.A. The main differences are that 6C's long reach can allow you to outspace jump in attempts comfortably and it'll also lead to bigger damage on hit. However, 6C is also riskier to do. The cases that jump up air throw handles well are the cases that'll make 6C whiff and put them in a good position to punish.
 
 
Footsies
 
 
Of course, just trying to win the neutral game alone with Dragon's Spirit won't be enough. So, lets go over some ways to play neutral with good movement and pokes. 

dash > super jump falling j.C
For when you need to cover ground really quickly. The dash momentum will allow you to catapult yourself to the other side of the screen with a super jump and come down on an opponent with j.C's wide hitbox.
 
Jump Forward Barrier > falling j.C
Good for whiff punishing up close. Jump over ground pokes with jump forward barrier and then punish them on the way back down with falling j.C 
 
Jump Back j.C
Because of j.C's wide hitbox, jump back j.C can be a good defensive tactic to hit an opponent trying to approach you both from the air or the ground
Video Example 1 - https://youtu.be/wQ9-5WAwW9I?t=218
 
5C
Has great horizontal reach and it's startup has been shortened a bit in CF to make it more effective as a poking tool. Additionally, if you have 50 meter, this is a poke that can lead to some pretty good damage. Like most ground pokes, you need to be cautious of your opponent trying to jump barrier over it to whiff punish though. 
 
2C
Similar to its standing counterpart, 2C has great horizontal reach and can lead to great damage if you have 50 meter. 2C's main benefit as a poke over is that you can do it from a downback position in neutral, allowing you to charge Dragon's Spirit ([4]6A/B) and Dragon's Ascent ([2]8B/C) in case you need them. However, 2C is even more vulnerable to whiffing as a result of an opponent jumping because of how low it hits to the ground. So 5C tends to be a somewhat safer to poke with.    
 
 
Jump Stance (j.D)
 
Not as frequently used outside of vs Zoners matchups but j.D can be useful sometimes in neutral. The direction of Kagura j.D's descent can be changed by player input and can be used to mess up an opponent's spacing while putting yourself in a strategic position in some cases. Additionally, j.D stops Kagura's falling momentum so sometimes a good way to mess up your opponent's calculated spacing is to temporarily go into jump stance and then cancel it when you're ready. 
Stalling jump momentum Example - https://youtu.be/egXaGDlI8UE?t=782
 
 
Dealing with Zoning 
 
Zoning can be rough against a character like Kagura with slow movement but he still has his ways of dealing with it. The most important thing of all though is to not get impatient when up against a character with good zoning tools. 
 
Good movement
Because of Kagura's slow run speed, approaching from the ground using just good movement probably won't get you too far. Instead, you'll want to make good use of stuff such as dash > super jump forward Barrier and jump forward barrier to cover ground quickly and safely 
Dash super jump forward barrier Example - https://youtu.be/eEuSOGX1A8I?t=193
Jump forward barrier Example - https://youtu.be/eEuSOGX1A8I?t=236
 
Sky Dragon's Strike (6DC)
In terms of character specific tools, Kagura also has Sky Dragon's Strike (6DC), which has armor against projectiles. On counter hit, it will wall bounce the opponent to be picked up for a full combo. You can also use it from air stance as well to work it seamlessly into your natural movement in this match and cover more ground. Be careful though. Whiffing this entirely against a zoning character can be a disaster sometimes. 
 
Dragon's Spirit B ([4]6B)
Another good useful option is the B version of Dragon's Spirit. If you can find a big enough opportunity to throw it out, Dragon's Spirit B has a high enough projectile level to cancel out other projectiles and keep going, creating an opportunity to approach behind it. Do note that it's limited in how far it can travel. So it'll get you part of the way to close the gap with the opponent but you'll have to travel that last bit of distance on your own if they retreat. 
 
Dealing with Air Approaches
 
 
Dragon's Ascent B ( [2]8B )
1f invuln, great vertical and horizontal reach and can be converted into a full combo on hit are allreasons why the B version of Dragon's Ascent is great for beating jump ins. However, since this is a DP, you definitely want to use this mostly in situations where the opponent needs to commit to their jump in to avoid risks of it being blocked
 
5A 
While 5A doesn't have the invuln of a typical anti-air, 5A is fast, has good horizontal reach for a jab and hits higher up than you'd expect a standing jab to because of the upward angle Kagura pokes it out at. In situations where you don't have a down charge ready to use the B version of Dragon's Ascent and the opponent is directly above you, consider using a quick 5A to anti-air your opponent
 
6C
6C's massive hitbox makes it great for dealing with air approaches and the rewards on counter hit make it well worth going for. However, it's start up is somewhat slow. It has no real head invuln compared to other grounded normals you'd usually use to stop an air approach too.  You have to choose when to use this wisely. You preferably want to use this in situations where you can take advantage of 6C's massive reach the most since this is also the spacing where it's easier to throw out 6C without getting hit out of it.  
 
 
Round Start
 
 
Super jump forward Barrier
Good option to chase after opponents that'll try to retreat at round start. 
 
Super jump back > Barrier
Retreat. Super jump back gives you a lot of freedom in being able to react to the ongoing situation compared to other options.
Video Example - https://youtu.be/lMEpqPPB6-U?t=233
 
Jump Forward Barrier
Fish for a whiff punish on a round start poke
 
Neutral Jump barrier
Fish for a whiff punish without giving up ground
 
Down Back > Observe
A good passive option to go for at round start. It'll put you in a good position to react to jump ins with an AA [2]8B and more importantly, it lets you see what sort of things your opponent likes to do at round start. 
 
IAD j.B > j.A
Go on the offensive with a jump in. j.B's hitbox isn't anything special though so be weary of getting anti-aired if you're being too predictable.
 
5C
5C is a good option because its long reach will allow you to reach your opponent at round start. Just don't get too predictable with it since opponents can jump forward barrier to make it whiff and put themselves in a good position to whiff punish it. 
 
2C
Good round start poke for similar reasons as 5C plus the benefits of 2C over 5C mentioned earlier in the guide
 
6C
A good round start option since its wide hitbox will shut down air approaches and people who slightly hesitated with their ground approach.
However, it does lose to Round Start pokes so be careful

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