Zeromus_X

GGs thunderbolt, your defense was impressive. I was like "man this guy just techs every throw, what do?" I would have played more but I froze right after you and Ronald-kun's match and I'm getting sleepy lol.

I'm gonna guess he's referring to Mu's zoning tools being nerfed a little (Habaya much slower, more difficult to extend the travel time of 236D, etc) It'll definitely be nice to not get sucked into counters after he parries a projectile from half a screen away lol. I didn't know that Fumajins have shorter duration either; that'll definitely be nice.

Double post, but this shit is godly. You can even do it midscreen: (DP blocked) 214C (CH) > step/dash 214D > dash under 5AA (should turn around) > 236A~B(1)~D > dash 2A/2B > 5C > IAD jB > jC > land 236B~D (may need to dash 5C afterward), 236B~DxN (6k, 6.5 w/shots, 39 meter gain) ...but it will "only" build 39 meter before hitstun deteriorates, so you need at least 11 meter to add the Mudoon at the end. EDIT: The Teddie silence combo can be changed just a bit for a 50 meter only version: only: 5B >5C > 2C > Mudoon > 214D > 236A~D > 214C > 5D > 236A~D > 5DD > immediate 5AA > 236B~DxN (8.5k, 9k with shots, just under 9.5k with Silence shot, and kills with Awakening super, A, D)

Try to set just one C-trap on the ground to seal off EX Dash Spring; otherwise, just one in the air will be enough to stop them from going in for free. Other than that, try to rely on movement and play a passive game to bait the Yosuke into doing something dumb to get in. If the Yosuke is hellbent on gliding or airdashing into your face, try to DP them or roll through them. Then you can be more liberal with placing traps and stuff once they play honestly. A lot of Yosukes will try to throw kunai to stop you from zoning and clear away traps; but this is actually extremely punishable. If you see them high jump into the air to do kunai, try to roll through them and get a free 5B punish due to the kunai's recovery. If they do Moonsault too much in their blockstrings, just roll through it for free. Airthrow can work sometimes, but if they cancel into an attack you run the risk of being CH. Also check out the Matchup threads in the Naoto Group; I'm not sure if it's visible to everyone, but you just have to click Join to view it. The Yosuke thread has some good tips: http://www.dustloop.com/forums/group.php?groupid=100

Np, glad to help. There's also loads of info in the wiki, especially the strategy sections: http://www.dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mu_%28BBCSE%29

AoA~C (FC) > HJC jB > OMB > dash 2[C] > 5C > IAD jA > jC > land EX Fangs > 236B~DxN (4.6k, 4.95k with shots) -AoA launcher into 25%/OMB route. Thought of this today when I landed an AoA midscreen when an opponent was lower on health, but not quite close enough to the corner for D followup. Only need 5 meter and a burst to start.

Here's my ft10 vs Axis, around the 1:40:00 mark: http://www.twitch.tv/ehrikirhe/b/414930501 Any tips? Overall, I had a pretty awkward neutral game against Kanji because I couldn't keep him out of the air. A lot of times, I tried to 2B where I should've just DP'd or done rising jA/B/airthrow or something. I also didn't try to punish the lightning by taking away Persona cards enough. I should've gone in a bit harder on Kanji since I didn't really go for much mixup outside of trap oki; I tried to play neutral too hard and ended up in the awkward situation where time is almost up and I don't have the life lead several times.

1) Using steins in corner combos is dependent on the opponent's height and how much proration/untechable time is affecting the combo. General purpose combos in the corner, work on everyone: (starter) > SoD (wallbounce) > 6A, (delay) 6B > 6A > j2C > j5D > 2B > 6A > jC > j2C... Throw > 6A > delay 6B > 6A > jC > j2C > j5D > 2B > 6A > jC > j2C... 6B (overhead) > SoD > 6A > 5C > 2C > jC > j2C > j6!D > 2B > 6A > jC > j2C... After the j2C you can set up another stein for oki or go into super for damage. The last combo path with the 6B is commonly called the "high loop" and it can work off of other starters without much proration like 2B, 5C, SoD or 2A, 2B , 2C > SoD, to squeeze out more damage. 2) In the situation that they're blocking a 214D or several 236Ds, feel free to mix it up more with airdash mixups into a high (jB jA...or low jB, j2C) or land and do an empty jump low (2B), overhead (6B) or throw depending on the timing and if they're still in blockstun. But for general pressure situations outside of a guaranteed oki mixup, Mu is more of a frame-trap/tick throw character. Go for throws a lot since her throw is generally rewarding and she has a good throw range. Tick throw and attempt throw-reject miss setups with 2A and 2B. Even if they break the throw, you can 5C them right afterward to force them to block, which not a lot of characters have a good answer to. Stagger strings (stop, then dash back in to continue pressure, or delay your chains to keep them guessing) with 2B are good, since it is neutral on block. Don't forget to toss in Mu's 6B as well. At lower levels of play, people will get hit by 6B a lot but higher level players will start to block it and make attempting a special cancel on block dangerous. But it is always an option if you're sneaky since it gatlings from a lot of Mu's normals. If the opponent is conditioned to block high after you use 6B a lot, you can sneak in lows with 2B or 3C. Typically, once you get to your C moves in your chains your pressure is about to be over, which can be fine since Mu is usually at the advantage in the neutral game, or if the opponent is in the corner, you can still harrass them with your pokes. Cancelling into 3C is the safest at this point since it is Mu's only jump-cancellable C move on block. Otherwise, you'll have to commit to a special or stein cancel, which should be fine if you're spaced well enough.

You can also replace the 2[C] with 2B provided you didn't use it somewhere in the combo previously. There are a lot of different ways to fill out SMP combos with the required number of moves without changing damage too much, sodon't feel limited to exactly what's listed in the combo thread.

Welcome to our thread of fighting games, food, Magic: the Gathering, and other generally socially awkward activities. Who recommended you? I'm gonna guess Ted/Synthesis because he loves Umineko and you have a Bern avatar.

Tbh, 80% of the stuff you open in a box will be junk. But there's always EDH and Pauper EDH to find a place for all of your junk rares and commons. EDIT: And yeah, Limited da bess

Yeah that's fine.

You don't get too much time for a mixup off a regular 236D, but you can still run in and do a blockstring to try and crank up their guard bar a bit. If you FRC the 236D, you can jump up and do an airdash mixup into a high/low. jD and j214D are also options to mix it up with crossups and throws. Oh yeah, TK'ing a 236D in the air is a good extra-meaty option, and makes the CSE safe after a throw. It's also good against chars like Sol or Faust that can go underneath the ground CSE.

BBCP 6/7/2013 Tachikawa Singles [6/7/2013]Keba vs 8C Platinum [6/7/2013]Keba vs Serizawa Mu [6/7/2013]Keba vs Jasu Valkenhayn

GGs to Diarmuid, even though we didn't get to play much before the connection went underwater. =(

So I asked Hong at PCP about Modern Masters drafts, and PCP doesn't plan on doing any Limited events with it. They will however be giving out a box to whoever wins the Thursday Night Modern tournament this week, maybe something you'd consider Ruben.

Yeah, the threat of SMP is scary, but as long as the opponent plays the matchup correctly and holds their burst for the right moment, they can keep even or stay ahead of Naoto in resources because of how meter-dependent she is. I mean, Naoto's frame traps are decent, but not like Mitsuru's "you guessed wrong on this throw, here's half your life meterless" level of threatening.

GGs Ryan. I think PSN collapsed or something, because I got signed out right after that last match. I'll probably go to PCP today and test out my Bant ramp deck. As long as I get at least one Craterhoof Behemoth off the top, I'll be satisfied.

As far as opening opponents up, Naoto is more of a frame trap and tick throw-based character. She has a great throw range and can mix up her 5A/2A strings into tick throws, frame traps with delay chains, or even attempt some crossups (5A > 7jump air turn airdash jB is one of my favorites) or throw baits (run up, jump, falling jC CH for massive damage). 2A, 5A, and 5AA are only -3, -2, and -1 respectively, and are all jump-cancellable, so you can stagger, tick throw, or crossup at any time with them. Once people start blocking, you can attempt to reset your pressure with charged 2C, as it is +8, as long as you aren't obvious (close up 5A/2A into charged 2[C] can be scary if you space it so they can't throw you). 5B is good for tick throws sometimes since it moves forward, and you can delay chain into 5C to throw bait them. If you have them really conditioned, you can even attempt to reset pressure after 5B without cancelling, since it's only -5. Oh yeah, and her AoA is the third fastest in the game, tied with Narukami, and very rewarding if you hit with it near the corner. It's just harder to hit higher-level players with unless you're sneaky, and punishable on block. If your opponent is really low on life and you just need one hit to kill them, EX Aim can be a good crossup since nobody ever looks out for it. You can even do an IAD crossup, land, and EX Aim for a double crossup lol. Other than that, you can check out Diarmuid's massive writeup he made a while back, it gives some trickier ideas for mixup (like airdash jA> airthrow cancel whiff, landing throw) as well as everything else you could possibly want to know about Naoto: http://pastebin.com/Sy8yK63F

Under pressure, Naoto doesn't have the greatest options, but it depends on the situation. Counter Assault is the most reliable, but it uses 50 meter. Gold Burst is excellent for Naoto if it lands because it supplies her with precious meter to kill people. If you have no choice but to Green Burst, try to burst when you get near Awakening. Other than that, you just have to pay attention to your opponents pressure tendencies and choose when to smart mash, DP, or EX Aim to get out. In Awakening, Kick super is an option that opponents often forget about, and you can ToD people if if FCs. On the offense, Naoto typically relies on safejump setups midscreen with her jC. Try practicing the timing after Sweep, Sweep > 236A~D, Throw followup, and 5AAA. Her jC safejumps almost every character's DP, but against Yosuke you should just do rising jA (triggers counter), jC (CHs) instead. In the corner, ending combos with C trap oki is the way to go, since you can pretty much kill them if they get hit (214C hit > 5C > 214A~Cx5, Mudoon > 214D > sweep > 236A~B(1)~D, 5AA, 236B~D a bunch), or you can hold back to block DPs while letting the trap explode if they choose to block and still maintain advantage. Once they're conditioned to block, you can do trickier mixups like IAD jAA, empty jump 2A, throw, or AoA, or short hop jB > jD > landing 5AA link, or start throwing them before the trap explodes to mix it up like Diarmuid posted earlier. If your opponent is really low on life, you can use EX Trap for oki, which deals massive chip damage on block and gives you more time for a mixup. Against Narukami, you can do a deep jC (blocked) into a rising jAAA fuzzy guard. Just avoid using trap oki against Teddie, as his DP beats it for free.

Tokens are usually a pretty popular deck and easy to make. You could probably make a cheap White token deck with lots of soldiers and humans. Or add in Green for Selesnya stuff if you have a bit more of a budget. EDIT: Black is good too because of Lingering Souls, and white/black/green tokens is very competitive in Standard right now.

Just the fact that he can no longer be cute with counters as much makes the matchup look much better in my eyes, despite lolXFactor. He could always kill us in 2-3 good combos anyway; but the counters made Mu have to play around them much more than most other characters' defensive tools. I want to say she can still go into an Ikutachi route off 2A, as long as the opponent is crouching, but without access to the game it's hard to say with the new time-based combo system. Everytime I see a Mu in the videos get an A confirm midscreen they usually just end the combo at Sword of Decimation.

I think there's a clear difference when distributors are charging $100 over the suggested retail price. I would be perfectly willing to buy a box for $160, but I couldn't break even on $260 even if I pulled a Goyf or something.

260 retail is just straight up greed honestly. Would've been a fun box to tear through, but I'll probably just buy the singles I want anyway.

Watch out comboing into 236A on Teddie. If you aren't close enough, the 236A won't combo because of Teddie's stupid hitbox. I've just started to do regular sweep oki or Autocombo safejumps on him. I never thought about doing a meaty 2[C] after 236A~D, I'll have to start trying that out. On the subject of setups there are a few I've been working on recently: Sweep > 214D: This isn't a great setup for gaining an advantage, but at the same time, it also has the least commitment. The trap will devour rolls which people are oft to do against Naoto's midscreen oki, and you can still attempt a midrange pressure game or charge a 2[C]. If you cross them up, you can push them back into the trap for continued pressure. It's also decent in the corner because you can charge a 2[C] and still be safe from most reversals, while catching them trying to up-back or press buttons. (midscreen) 66 7jA+C, airdash jB: I've been using this after seeing Labrys players, among others, use it in videos. Any character can do this, but it works wonders with Naoto because of her speed. On their wakeup, dash, jump back, air turn, then airdash backwards over them. If you time it right, you'll make most of the DPs in the game go in the wrong direction, whiffing entirely and preventing a super-cancel. It will also CH any jump back airthrow attempts, again, if timed properly. Also doubles as a throw bait and quick cross up off of jump-cancellable moves in your blockstrings. Re: Neutral, I also agree that it's the most important aspect of playing Naoto. I've been reading some stuff about Ky in GG, and this post got my attention: I really like the idea of a "Negative" play-style and think it applies to Naoto quite well. As soon as I stopped trying to challenge other characters' normals and started focusing more on movement, and not commiting to setting a bunch of traps at once, my success with Naoto started to increase. I recommend reading the whole thread even if you don't play Ky or GG since it offers some interesting tips about playing fighting games in general.