Jason D. Posted July 30, 2010 Posted July 30, 2010 This thread is for discussing Rachel vs Arakune in BB:CS. Best advice: Don't get cursed!
Jason D. Posted July 31, 2010 Author Posted July 31, 2010 Let's start by talking about pre-curse Arakune. As the match starts, he'll probably be jumping back and summoning clouds and bell bugs, and daring you to run into them. You can zone him if you want, but ultimately it's not too effective. He's too jumpy to pin down with a lot of things, and George is almost useless. Even better is to rush him down. A good winded run or air dash can get you in fast enough to punish any D bug summons, and her j.C can take him out of the air fairly easily. You might as well enjoy being on the offensive while you can. However, don't assume that he's helpless without curse. He still has some very good normal moves, and can almost fight toe to toe with Rachel. For one, his 5C anti-air will stop any air approach, and can even lead to 100% curse. So don't do any obvious jump-ins. Also, if he decides to go on the offensive, there's nothing you can do about his j.B. He'll instant air dash, cancel into a guard, and then j.B on the way in. This'll put him right next to you, where he can mix up lows with an overhead, or just make you block a curse attack. And then he can repeat this over and over, starting with another j.B. You could try using 2C to beat it, but that's also risky in case he tries to fake you out and simply keeps blocking. Also, if you're in the right range, he could use 2C or 3C to counter your summoning or zoning attempts. These are risky for him though, so punish it if you block it. Arakune's hit animation is kind of weird, to the point where it's hard to run up and 6A him after a 5CDC -> 236B. I personally prefer to just instant air dash and call Sword Iris instead of running in. Never fails. However, this same weird hitbox of his also makes your A Lobelia at the end of air combos hit him in situations where it would miss other characters. And in a surprising twist, Rachel's hitbox actually gives her a slightly advantage over most characters in this match. When he does the combos where he punts you across the screen and then tries to hit you with a j.D, the move usually misses her. Some of his dive loops have a hard time hitting her too. She might be fat on the ground, but she's still as short as ever. That's right, her hitbox is actually good for something. I'm as shocked as you are. Now, when Arakune does curse you and goes into fever mode, be prepared for pain. You have, at the very least, 16 seconds of pure blocking ahead of you. She has no reversals, and she has no way out if she gets pinned down. Block the highs, block the lows, block the cross-ups, and especially block the cross-up j.C. Make one mistake, and it's going to cost you dearly. If you're cursed at a distance, jumping around and flying with wind can help waste some time, but it's still a maze of bugs out there, and you'll probably get a Negative Penalty as a reward for your great maneuvering talents. Be very careful not to run into any stray bugs. You'll also run out of wind pretty fast if you're hopping around, and it usually doesn't take too long before you bump into something and you're pinned in blockstun. Also, if somehow you do land an attack on him during his curse, just do the longest combo you can think of. Even though his meter slows down when he's getting hit, and maybe you only shortened it by about .5 of a second, every little bit helps. And when you're done and he's about to tech off the ground or in the air, stay away from him. The moment he techs, a mass of bugs will descend upon you. Nice combo you did, but now that's it. There is no oki game here. Move along.
TD Posted August 1, 2010 Posted August 1, 2010 Actually, l find zoning him a great tool fullscreen: to bait his approach, and extend your mind games so that he'll fear summoning anything as much as you do at close range. Planted lobelia's (and empty Sword lris) can keep Ara from free jumping around. lt's about restricting his air game, and baiting him to make mistakes. j.C has worked well fo me when he's too high and preparing to dive.
currentlemon Posted August 13, 2010 Posted August 13, 2010 When cursed, all you need to do is watch Arakune. None of his bugs are overheads, so you can pretty much block in any direction. Just barrier block the D bug when its going upward.
crazycrackers Posted August 17, 2010 Posted August 17, 2010 When cursed, all you need to do is watch Arakune. None of his bugs are overheads, so you can pretty much block in any direction. Just barrier block the D bug when its going upward. Well yeah, the point of the bugs is that they keep having to block everything he does for like 20 seconds straight. I don't know how helpful something like "just watch arakune and block all of his stuff" is honestly. If you can do that, either your blocking is really dam good or the Arakune is doing something wrong. >_>
GenoWhirl Posted August 17, 2010 Posted August 17, 2010 Spam lobelias. Then, when he predictably teleports, CH j.C into hype combos
crazycrackers Posted August 18, 2010 Posted August 18, 2010 j.236a lobelias word the best since it keeps you out of the way of his j.d, has a nice arc, and will often allow you to block a surprise 2c as well. Also have a pumpkin out in case he gets past your lobelia zoning in some way that you hadn't immediately prepared for so you can defend yourself.
Kuuhaku Posted August 23, 2010 Posted August 23, 2010 Rods/seeds are still great for punishing Arakune when he goes for a cloud or when he teleports. Pumpkin is a good way to approach Arakune too. Also, if you're cursed- there are some better places to get hit than others. In some parts of Arakune's block strings, if you get hit that actually throws off his damage by a lot. Now, it's a lot better if you don't get hit, but just saying if you do get hit- it's better to eat 2k damage than 10k damage. jC is still your friend in this match up too. It really hasn't changed that much from CT, other than Arakune can destroy you in one combo while you can't destroy Arakune in one combo. Pre-curse Arakune's zoning is probably the one zoning setup in the game where Rachel wins most of the time. And 6A doesn't eat clouds for free. But... 6A's still a pretty good anti-air against Arakune.
LordPangTong Posted September 7, 2010 Posted September 7, 2010 While it is easier to zone Arakune than the rest of the cast, it doesn't work forever. Eventually the Arakune will wise up to the lobelias and be able to summon the curse cloud without getting interrupted. Depending on which cloud is summoned, this situation can be very bad for Rachel, as her movement isn't very... good. In this sense, I agree with Jason D. and say go for offense. (After a bit of zoning to feel him out.) If you run up and fight Arakune without curse, there isn't a heck of a lot he can do outside of trying to anti-air you or use jB. When in close quarters, be sure to stay unpredictable and use 236A at close range to counter his 2C and jump out attempts. Before rushing in, it is a good idea to have a few poles in his vicinity and maybe the pumpkin to back you up. The situation feels pretty in Rachel's control when you're fighting Arakune with no curse meter. If you happen to get cursed, I find the first thing you should try is to jump the hell off screen. SJ.8D 8D seems to work nicely, then rapid input 236C to stall even longer. (Also, be weary of any bugs that attempt to fly upward at you as you do this.) If you get put in blockstun, its pretty rough, as we all seem to agree on. I like to try and 2C Arakune's overhead/dive attempts to get him off me, then just go into air combo from there and run away again. A general rule is, if you're about to be cursed, conserve as much wind as you can and be prepared to run the fuck away.
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