Mr. Kimura Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 Any tips on approaching Valkenhayn? His anti airs and 5B are strong, it ruins lives.
PhoenonX Posted May 12, 2011 Posted May 12, 2011 Any tips on approaching Valkenhayn? His anti airs and 5B are strong, it ruins lives. Valk still has anti-airs besides 6A? His 2C's Head-Invulnerability was taken away (thank gosh, that move was way too gawlike, especially on CH). Anyways, your own 5B is amazing, and has just as good range. 236D also works as a great way to get in as it's + on block if you space it right, try to not be predictable as he can IB it if he sees it coming putting you at -. His 236A/Dash Tackle is now - on block in CS2, you should be able to jab afterwards safely unless he rapids or cancels into wolf form. If he cancels into wolf form after 236A, try to DP or 5B, either works as he can't block in wolf form.
BatousaiJ Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 Valk's best anti-air is his wolf form 5B. It's probably one of the best in the game as far as anti air goes. The trick against valk is to not play the air game against him too much if you can and play some footsies against him. Make sure he respects your land to land pressure and get in there when he wolf forms randomly with 236C/D. Now with his human form substantially nerfed from its previous iteration, most good valk players will make their attacks in wolf form and it'll very difficult to block his mix up in that form(actually kind of impossible on reaction if done well) so try to knock him out of his wolf form taking advantage of your pokes/invinc moves in the holes of his offense and once you knock him out of his wolf form, get on him and don't let him go. Valk still very much lacks a good DP option to get out of pressure outside of expending 50 meter for counter assault/DD so stay close to him and beat him down once you have the advantage. The match up really hasn't changed very much to be honest it's just that he doesn't really kill you in two combos anymore- he's still quite deadly and you should always be looking for the holes in his wolf offense and do more than just block as he'll get you eventually.
Airk Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 Valk's major downfall is that, really, he's not THAT Scary in human form anymore. 236A is no longer + on block, 236C is no longer a high. He really has to go wolf to generate any serious mixup, and when he does, he puts himself into "Oh yeah, I can't block" mode. Figure out when he likes to wolf out, and attack with 236C or D if he's far away, or a 214 move. None of his wolf moves except wolf5A have foot attribute, so 214 moves timed correctly will go right through his attacks and hit his unable to block self, so if you can anticipate an attack, he's not in a good place. OTOH, good Valk players spend a lot of time airborne, and it's not at all safe to chase him up there. Try to figure out where he's going to land and catch him with something when he does.
Ginseng Posted May 13, 2011 Author Posted May 13, 2011 I'm going to let you guys and pktazn really talk about this one. I don't play any valkenhayn players to really give input :D
Mr. Kimura Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 Thanks. I think its more of me derping than anything, since I'm picking up Tsubaki as of recent. If I have any more specific situations to ask about I'll ask it. Usually I play more defensive against him but common sense tells me not to (but I do it anyway).
pktazn Posted May 14, 2011 Posted May 14, 2011 Hmmm... I don't go against Valk that often either. I went against one when he first came out in CS1 and that was it. All I know is his wolf form lols all over you and it doesn't look like that's changed in CS2.
Edge Reaper Posted May 16, 2011 Posted May 16, 2011 Valk's are rather rare on netplay lately, but I did play him for a bit in CS2 so I'll share what I advice I got. I suppose it's worth noting that low IAD is something of a bad idea. Don't underestimate 6C. It really doesn't do much anymore outside of a corner since he can't wolf cancel out of it, but it will stuff air dashes if you're too low, and damage is still damage. In general, like Batousai was saying, staying groundside is the best approach, because Valk can get some nasty damage just off j.214. Also, I would recommend keeping charging to simple 5D taps. I would especially recommend against crouch charging thanks to Valk's 236C. It's a very easy combo tool, and while it's no longer an overhead, it's still pretty damn fast and covers a lot of ground. Unless you're fast enough to stop charging during the opening flash motion, you can kiss a good chunk of health good-bye. Yeah, using 5D is kind of basic advice, but against Valk, its rather important. In CS2, corners are nothing but bad news when fighting against Valk. It's not that he isn't dangerous anywhere else, but it's in the corner where his options really start to become CS1 scary, when wolf-form starts to combo back into human form, and that oh so unfun 6C becomes a valid combo tool. Just avoid being against the wall. Best choice would 236D, but jumping out is also a valid option. Just gotta remember that even if he gets you in the air, it could have been a lot worse if he kept you stuck in the corner. That said, Valk is rather squishy and like Airk said, has a preference to be airborne, which got quite a bit unsafe in CS2. His counter pressure methods aren't great unless he changes into wolf form. In that case, 236 C/D are just wonderful, because even if you don't succeed and knocking Valk out of wolf form, it can create a good space between you and him, forcing him to waste some of his wolf gauge to cross that distance. All and All, the best defense is to put the pressure on him when you can. Should note, this all from netplay experience, so grab some salt.
Kiba Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 You just need to keep moving in this matchup keeping out of the air like many of you have mentioned. His 2C is still a decent AA despite the lack of invulnerability it has. If you want to abuse mobility, 214X/236X (236C and 214D especially) are the way to go. If Valk makes contact with these moves it's usually our favour right?
Errol Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 (edited) You just need to keep moving in this matchup keeping out of the air like many of you have mentioned. His 2C is still a decent AA despite the lack of invulnerability it has. If you want to abuse mobility, 214X/236X (236C and 214D especially) are the way to go. If Valk makes contact with these moves it's usually our favour right? Depends, wolf psycho crusher almost always trades in Valk's favor vs. any of 236x, including 236d, however if he isn't doing that then yes. also, if he does it at a range where it ends within range of 5b, that's an easy punish. I also want to say that being in the air is good against Valkenhyne.. at the right times. his air to air is better, and wolf anti-air is gross.. but generally speaking I don't have success in any matchup staying entirely on the ground. Particularly Valk doesn't have good anti-air options on wake up, even with 50 heat. Edited July 28, 2011 by Errol
Recommended Posts