TD

for not having the rod, generally it gives the least advantage on oki outside of tk iris which is good, but you have to commit to it. with pumpkin you are more or less completely safe vs everything, and frog involves commitment too but the risk/reward and damage is way higher than 1, 2, or 3 poles. (combining the too also means guaranteed 2 second mixup) you can also just 236a while frog is active during corner oki.

Depends on what combos you're talking about really. The only time you really need to use a pole in a combo is as an ender for additional heat/wind gain/untech time... midscreen or corner (damage is meh), or if you must use it early in a combo for a windless juggle state, usually midscreen. Poles are great tools but on oki it's probably best just to focus on pumpkin and/or frog. If you try to hoard them especially in the corner, your pressure will become weaker: stacked poles are actually worse in combos and offer the same advantage on block, so it is best to have one without 50 heat and if you get a hit/block with frog, get the other two out for a 3 pole max damage bbl/guard break. With heat of course Only certain situations allow you to get pumpin and frog oki in the corner, but if you can't get it, pumpkin OR frog oki is almost as good. All of her oki options are very scary pretty much. (Also, pumpkin covering frog for oki is pretty unsafe)

Most other Rachel's are subpar. It's not just that no is really good, it's that the rest aren't that great either. This is not to take credit from tetsuwo or rin who are top Rachel's behind no, they are good, but their 'good' simply does not cut it compared to him right now. The point I'm trying to make is that there is a certain standard that some people are looking for when they are analyzing videos that no is above right now and no one else is. We all watch the videos I'm sure, and the general consensus is that no right now is the only one worth seriously considering. Good is not great. Great wins tournaments. Some of us are looking for great. Personally, will I continue to watch everyone? Yes. Do I still consider no to be the highest quality of rachel right now? Yes. tl;dr what tofurr said

Notice how we never recommend anyone outside of N-O currently

J2c is an overhead? Somehow it just doesn't look like one.

Well you know, in a figurative sense. It doesn't seem like litchi is into grandeur and power. She's more of the cheesy love and friendship type with a very very naughty twist. Though is she volunteered to be Rachel's maid, outfit and all, I'm sure that would be very interesting. Quite, in fact...

That isn't really a problem, 6a still juggles with wind for a windless smp-less combo mid screen, and the other starters are still pretty good at what they do. Corner carry (j3db jc) + 6a + wind is how you will start mid screen ground combos, and jc 2d stuff is how you'll start air juggles. N-o has a good knowledge of avoiding smp. He has shown that combos can be done even with a combo staple being used so early. There are routes that I've already noted an could share if inquired.

its even because rachel wins at fullscreen, which has mostly been the case throughout most of the games, but litchi has a harder time getting rachel to the corner and doing damage in general without ch, and her pressure is weaker than her cs1/2 selves. instead of a normal, full range of options at her disposal in the past, ex stresses that litchi needs to play very solidly in the neutral or be made into rachel's bitch for the first time, l can agree with that 'just be good' thing, except l would say you have to be better, not just good, to win this matchup as litchi.

in ex she gets jc 2d dj2c lv2 j214a 1d 5cc from this route. it is a 4 winds combo in ex but it is worth it and you get 1.5 - 2 winds back as well as more damage and meter gain as its cp counterpart, with the same corner carry and pumpkin oki

here l am again. lol. her 'signature' combo route (the route you're pretty much guaranteed to see in damaging combos, which is ...jc 2d dj2c lv2 stuff) has changed to (5b) 6a 236a or 4b, so most combos will now aim to instead get the opponent into a low juggle state. her basic bnb's and corner carry have largely remained the same.

you can it's just silly to do so? well l guess rachel is kinda like being a manager, her specials being the employees. and wind being the budget. not like the defensive behemoth that is hakumen, but it's fun commanding everything on the screen, like good employees

rachel is really fun, at least try her for a little and see if you like her, playstyle wise

how many do you see now?

he also doesn't like losing to rachel he even grew some huevos and started with threats. an insolent child, he is.

its ok. and l forgot to say ggs. (ggs guys)

...yeah, I'm going to do something else, we'll try at a later time.

That went to hell rather quickly

haven't played in a few days so im not sure if l too will be sucked into the lag vortex. inv

would anyone like to (try to) play who is from ec and hasnt experienced the general lag psn has been causing for others lately. ?

sounds cool and im interested. wont be able to confirm entry until the week of. psn: howling-_-moon

2c is not only the worst get out of jail free move, it throws rachel right back in the hole. the mindgames...

l would have taken the candy and been happy, bonus if there were shapes of rachel, nago, gii, or wolf valk.

Monkey see monkey do, sadly.

Oh yeah, that is a problem. Only solution I have when I play ragna is to prioritize charge and make every hit hurt, or at the very least use tsu's amazing corner carry to get him to an optimal place for a little more damage/meter. Hoarding the charge/meter for strong defense also works because you're more likely to be in an oki situation than he is, and tsu is faster than ragna which matters a little.

Assuming this wasn't a joke, tsubaki has the means to punish mashing with frametraps rather well, and it starts with stagger/charge cancel mixups.