[CS2] Rachel vs. Platinum

[gli]

Overview

Platinum is a cross between Rachel and Ragna. Her items, particularly bombs and missiles, can disrupt you while zoning or summoning. Hammer and Fan give Platinum access to higher damage combos, so be careful of getting hit while she has these items. Her normals, especially her C normals, have pretty good hitboxes and outrange Rachel.

When Platinum has bombs or missiles it's best to stay on the defensive. Try jumping over missiles and misdirecting bomb shots. If you block missiles or bombs it means Platinum gets in (bad). One way of shifting momentum against missiles is to space yourself correctly so you can jump and attack to get inside after successfully jumping over a missile. Use wind if you have to. Bombs you can just dash in and wind if you can predict when Platinum will launch some bombs.

Platinum up-close has decent pressure. One frame trap involves her 6C attack that's cancelled into Swallow Moon that is immediately cancelled into j.C. Platinum does have a command grab which closes distance since she has to run towards you first. Landing this nets her a "reload" of the current item she has equipped or if she has no item, she gets the next item queued equipped. If Platinum uses this grab mid-pressure you can avoid this by jumping if you think they will commit.

Your gameplan should generally be the same. Corner carry into corner trap. Do not play this match-up midscreen.

Tips/Misc

• If you see Platinum's command grab coming, you can hit her out of it. 2A/6B should work fine.
  
• Air Hammer breaks two guard primers, so be careful. Super version of the Hammer is also annoying as it will trip you if you're on the ground at all.
  
• You want to keep track of what item Platinum has. The orb in her staff changes color depending on what item.
  
• If she has bat, keep in mind that she will try to use it if you put her under pressure. She gets no damage off of it, but it is pretty safe for her to throw out.
  

Character Specific Combos

JPN Match Up Videos

Here

Edited May 12, 2011 by Bohemian Polka

[gli]

I know it's a bit early but I had a chance to play against some decent Platinum players both in arcades and on PSP Adhoc Party matches. So far I think this match-up might be one of the more difficult ones for Rachel.

From experience, Platinum feels like I'm fighting a cross between Ragna and Rachel. With bombs or missiles she has tools to disrupt your own zoning or summoning attempts. With hammer or frying pan she gets access to more damaging combos. She also has normals that out range Rachel's.

Against bombs or missiles it's best to stay on the defensive. Try jumping over missiles and misdirecting bomb shots. If you block missiles or bombs it means Platinum gets in (bad). One way of shifting momentum against missiles is to space yourself correctly so you can jump and attack to get inside after successfully jumping over a missile. Use wind if you have to. Bombs you can just dash in and wind if you can predict when Platinum will launch some bombs.

Platinum up-close has decent pressure. One frame trap involves her 6C attack that's cancelled into Swallow Moon that is immediately cancelled into j.C. Platinum does have a command grab which closes distance since she has to run towards you first. Landing this nets her a "reload" of the current item she has equipped or if she has no item, she gets the next item queued equipped. If Platinum uses this grab mid-pressure you can avoid this by jumping if you think they will commit.

Your gameplan should generally be the same. Corner carry into corner trap. Do not play this match-up midscreen.

[sinder]

her hammer is dangerous

I cant beat any platinum user with Rachel

If they are spamming out missles can't you just use 3C with 6D?

[gli]

I prefer to block or dodge them altogether. Platinum will use missiles for the same reason you use pumpkin. It's to approach and force you to block. Most of the time I just neutral super jump to avoid them and let them come to me.

[sinder]

I prefer to block or dodge them altogether. Platinum will use missiles for the same reason you use pumpkin. It's to approach and force you to block. Most of the time I just neutral super jump to avoid them and let them come to me.

thanks, ill try this since avoiding the missiles was the last thing on my mind in the match. Its tricky because if u corner her and screw up, she can corner you and punish badly. Plus even when you say it(the match) shouldn't take place in mid-screen its I totally agree. Thanks for the posts since i'm still trying to beat at least one platinum lol.

[gli]

So my 360 is pretty much dead. I'm getting E74 errors :X

The reason? I played around 50+ Platinum matches against LostSoul.

My notes from the massive session:

- Her command dash is extremely good for mix-up. I recommend training yourself to react to it as well as studying when your opponent wants to use it (if ever) to make reacting to it easier. I did manage to Gold Burst it on prediction in order to clinch a win and comeback from literally no life at all.

- Swallow Moon is only a really useful high/low mix-up when they use it really low to the ground. Otherwise you can react to it.

- j.C and 5C will almost always beat any normal you throw out (it felt like this to me in the matches anyway). I don't recommend trying to beat her with normals alone. When in doubt, just block. Do not attempt anything without cover (pumpkin or frog). Any of these hits can lead to big damage and corner carry for Platinum. These normals alone can mean death when you are in the corner if the Platinum player spaces properly and has decent mix-up. Every now and then attempt to 6A her jump-ins but be really careful -_-

- Mami Circular! LostSoul used it as an anti-air whenever I wanted to jump towards him and throw out a normal (even without meter to rapid cancel!). While not all Platinum players will play like this it's good to be aware of its uses as an anti-air.

- When you do have her in corner keep an eye on her items as well as her meter. Be more cautious when she has the Magical Bat as well as 50/100 heat to use Cure Dot Typhoon as a reversal super to get out. Random Mami can also get her out.

- When blocking any of her pressure, again, pay attention to her items. When she has the Magical Pan she has access to a good instant overhead. The Nyanko(really big ranged overhead) is also an instant overhead but it doesn't lead to damaging combos like the Pan does.

- Zone her whenever possible. If you don't see her with Cat Missiles or Bombs I highly recommend zoning. Likewise if she does have bombs and missiles I recommend rushing her down (especially if she doesn't have that all-too-useful Bat). Without a DP (her Bat) the player will probably want to use Mami Circular as a surrogate-DP especially if they have meter to make it safe with Rapid Cancel.

- Don't know what to do at a certain point? Block, block, block. I cannot stress this enough. If you don't think you can safely hit her with a normal then you probably cannot. Just keep defending until you see a clear opportunity.

Not sure how I feel about this match-up. I feel like it is in Rachel's favor despite me losing more in the end. Random Mami is a psuedo-gimmick that got LostSoul the win at times. It's like if Tager's gimmick factor was put into a solid character then it'd be Platinum ;D

It's a new character to get used to fighting and I'm still learning.

Edited May 30, 2011 by glirandly

[Son of a Gun]

This is why I REALLY hate the paid DLC stuff. I have no decent way of training against her. I only have vids on youutube and online sessions.

I don't see a lot of Plats, but when I encounter them it's usually like: "WTF can she do that?", "what was that?", "Shit this didn't work either", "Hmm..KO".

I see missiles and bombs and I end up in a bubble or whatever...

By the way, those vids are't encouraging either. A lot of them are Rachels getting beaten up, among which some very good players.

[Yggjrasil]

Mystic Momo (214 D with Bat,Hammer,Cat,Pan) ruins Rachel... Just sayin', don't make it a habit to air summon a lot against a Platinum with an item equipped. On CH it's untechable till you land, plus if you're near the corner, Plat can get 4-5.5k off of it, 7k+ if she has Hammer as her next item.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Yggjrasil

[Tari]

As long as you don't air summon at that specific height/angle from Platinum, you're pretty much okay. If she has time to run up and Momo you, then she has time to run up and 5C/6A/j.C/etc. you, too, which means you've done something wrong.

In general, the match is probably at least slightly in Rachel's favor. If Plat gets missles, bat, or (to some degree) cat hammer, she can make the match a bit more even in neutral, but she really has very minimal answer to Rachel's particular brand of rtsd/zoning.

The problem with the Rachel v. Plat matchup is that Platinum is very good at applying continuous pressure, and if she gets in, she can stay in fairly well. Once the flow of battle turns against Rachel, I'm sure everyone already knows, Rachel has pretty mediocre answer to extended pressure... unless you count mashing 2C, which really isn't much of an answer. It's equally bad for Platinum if Rachel gets her cornered and applies heavy pressure, though, so eh.

[Yggjrasil]

It's a fun match-up nonetheless. I love trying to find new ways to deal with Rachel. Oh yeah weird tibit, Dream Sally oki picks up Rachel lying down. Her fat laying hitbox sometimes throws me off.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Yggjrasil

[gli]

Not really specific to this match but:

It's really important to be mindful of when you summon in this match-up. I'm having less trouble with this match-up since I now realized I lose to a lot of Platinum players online that prefer to not play neutral and rely on sneak hits such as a forward tech or forward airtech into j.C. Don't summon when you already know they have the option of air tech. Chances are they will tech into j.C and punish whatever you were trying to bring out.

Oh and not related to Rachel but I didn't know you could create a Void with Hakumen using j.2A on the bubble. Most of the other Hakumen C attacks cause it to only disappear.

Edited December 2, 2011 by glirandly

[kotokot]

her 2B is really annoying. You can't zone her with 236A like other chars. Her heartcar is pretty retarded, you can easily whiff lobelias or pumpkin, even some normals whiffs.