[CS2] Noel vs. Carl

[Raptor]

Matchup Ranking:

GOOD NEUTRAL GAME, GREAT DAMAGE, OK RESETS

vs.

GOOD NEUTRAL GAME, GOOD DAMAGE, AMAZING RESETS

Recommended Playstyle: A mix of keep away and aggressive

You DO NOT want to find your self in-between Carl and Nirvana. However, Carl himself will be hard pressed to get out of pressure once he's on the defensive without 50 meter. Making the kid block also makes him unable to use his robotic sis. In other words, you shut down Carl, you also shut down Nirvana.

General Strategy:

Carl Clover has the ambition of growing up like GG's Eddie. Combined with Nirvana, he has insane reset and unblockable potential, making his offense pretty damn scary. His defensive options aren't so great however, especially without Nirvana. He also has the HP of a little kid. 9500. You have at your disposal a character that can unleash monstrous damage to her opponents, averaging around 3k-4k of damage midscreen and 5k-6k with meter on corner. You do the math on how much your guns really bring the hurt to this shota.

Do whatever it takes to get in on the kid and start wailing on him for reasons stated above, but be wary of where Nirvana is. You would want to stay away from the space between him and his life-sized action figure.

If you have to block, do so in Carl's direction. You will block both his and the doll's attacks no matter which side it is at.

Your Best Tools(For This Matchup):

6A: Aside from him using j.2C RIGHT at top of your head, his jump-ins aren't really anything to write home about. 6A beats his jump-ins clean.

2D: This will mostly beat all of Carl's ground normals except 6A. You land this twice into a combo, he dies.

B/C Optic Barrel: Potshots from afar will keep Carl at bay. This can also annoy Carl enough to approach you a faster way....leaving Nirvana behind.

Has A DP?: Nope

Has A DP With Heat?: Gear Super. Unreliable in general due to startup. However, it is hard to punish due to both his proximity to the gear itself and to the fact that the gear stays there regardless of Carl getting hit. NIRVANA CAN STILL MOVE DURING GEAR SUPER.

Things To Look Out For:

236A/B (Vivace) - Command Dash that has some invulnerability. Carl will pass through you depending on distance. Your opponent will use this for mixup and as a positioning tool to get you between him and Nirvana. The A version doesn't have foot-invulnerability during the animation, but so far your 2B is the only normal fast enough to catch him.

j.2C - This move is a threatening cross-up when used with an IAD. Using Alle gretto (214C) with this move will enable him to land on the ground instead of bouncing off you on block/hit, allowing Carl to continue his pressure. I suggest to not bother to 6A this as most Carl players will use this move outside of your 6A's ideal angle.

6A - Very good anti-air, but like Noel's 6A, very bad recovery on whiff

Edited July 19, 2011 by Raptor

[Chowfin27]

Just a little tidbit to spread BB love : Carl might not have a DP but Ada does...:P I dont know if you were talking about Carl himself or with her...

[SkyKing]

Also, his 6A is a decent anti-air with some invuln on it.

[Spiteful]

Another note: using 50% meter to counter assault out of Carl+Nirvana sandwich is usually worth it. It gets you out of harms way, and puts you in a pretty good position.

[SkyKing]

Another note: using 50% meter to counter assault out of Carl+Nirvana sandwich is usually worth it. It gets you out of harms way, and puts you in a pretty good position.

Just gotta be careful with the spacing though. There is a chance that you don't get fully behind him and stay in the sandwich if you CA incorrectly, and now your back where you started minus the 50 heat you spent. Still a really good option when it works.

[Chiizu]

One thing you have to look out for is the double grab trick. Ada purple grabs you and obviously, you tech, then comes fucking Karuru who grabs you. Pretty hard to see coming if you're not being wary. His 5C is an almost godlike zoning tool too, beats most of your normals with its incredible reach.

[Tae Seong Kim]

Hmmmm... Muffing (Muzzle Flittering) Carl while he is in the corner makes Noel face the other direction for a split second upon landing. You may end up doing 2B in the other direction (towards the corner) if you input it right away after landing from the Muzzle Flitter. Luckily, due to BBs amazing hitboxes, the 2B still hits Carl. :D But that is just the beginning.

Now, when you input 6C (I am 6Cing away from the corner now, like you would do against any other character in this situation) after the wrong way 2B, you get a 5C attack instead. This is probably because Noel is still facing the other direction during the input of 6C, so the game read the input as a 4C. Because of this, it ruins the rest of the combo!

So...

- 2B... Facing the wrong way... But the move still connects! Lol!

- 6C... She turns around and faces the correct direction... But ends up doing the wrong attack...

You can fix this by simply delaying the 2B for like a frame or two. This will give her time to turn around and not face the wall.

Or you can input the 6C in the opposite direction (6Cing towards the wall).

After that, just resume the rest of the combo normally.

Edited July 19, 2011 by Tae Seong Kim

[Chiizu]

After playing a lot of Carls offline, there are 2 things I have learned.

First point, you better have an awesome guard. If you ever get stuck between Nirvana and Carl with no heat, you're in for some heavy duty blocking. If you can survive long enough though, Nirvana's life will most likely be empty. THERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO RUSH THE SHIT OUT OF THAT SHOTA.

Second point, I know I'm going to get yelled at for this, but 2D is simply godlike in this matchup. It beats absolutely all of his tools except 6A so the only time you shouldn't 2D is when he's near Nirvana, but if she's dead it doesn't really matter does it? 2D auto locks on Vivace so he can't get away for free, or rather, MAKE HIM PAY. Carl has no real reversal, take advantage of it.