Digital Watches

You're new here, huh?

If you make one o' them shirts where there's printed stuff all over it (Not just like, a square in the front) and do it like my Av. (One prominent Ouroboros, chains all over the place, simple and elegant) I would buy one.

Slayer hurts.

Right, the note on the ambiguous frames was really just to imply that you can't exactly see what's going on from frame 1 while in blockstun. And yeah, probably wouldn't recommend trying to DAA super out, especially from the distance you're normally at. I guess super would usually connect, but if I was just going to FRC rensen anyway... OOPS. You fucked up, guess that's 50% of your meter and you're still blocking.

Actually, EHuang's approach that he described is a very smart one. Blocking a rensen isn't bad, and it's definitely a fact that pushing Axl out with FD makes it much easier to confirm Rashou. Generally, Axl doesn't have to stop his blockstring when you FD (Rensen FRC is great) but he loses this mixup option unless you're really slow. Oiboi: You can't summon in the air! If Axl is seriously throwing 5P against a grounded Zappa at neutral, he's either trying some really shady mindgames, dicking around, or doesn't know what he's doing. But yeah, 6P (FULL BODY INVULN, I SWEAR) and 5K are good ways to get over Axl's lows if he tries to nab you with one. Of course, it helps that 3P hits from WAY too far away for you to counter hit him from... but yeah, definitely a solution. This stuff really belongs in the matchup section. If you don't mind me moving these posts, we can go into a more detailed discussion there. And 36F is pretty fast when you consider that you're in blockstun for about 18F of that from 5H (Less with other moves or if you IB, but still a good chunk of it), normal jumping takes 3F to get off the ground, and Airdashing takes time to get over there, along with the attack startup. Like I said, you can jump soon enough to punish it, but Rensen/rashou startup is ambiguous for at least 10F, so you're either 1fJing (And giving up the ability to IAD) or guessing.

The issue here is that generally if you're getting hit by Rensen, you're going to be hit in jump startup, not once you're already in the air. Yeah, 1FJ is a decent enough option. Gotta do it quick to punish rashou feint though, since it's only 36F (And the jump doesn't happen 'til you're outta blockstun). I hesitate to call IB->Reversal a "solid" option, but yes, if you can make a gap, Axl moves tend to have a lot of startup. Don't get baited, lol. Er, you got A in my P!~ But in all seriousness, the only neutral thing you should be looking out for from Axl is 2H (And this is a Zappa thing, a lot of matchups that's actually kind of a bad plan too). 2P is really just to hold you in blockstun when he's sure you won't do anything about it, such as if you're already in blockstun or just not expecting it. Throwing 2P is pretty much suicidal most of the time, since it's got like, garbage-tier priority. Troof, though I'd be surprised if you could explain to me why I would ever throw out a 6K intentionally while you're on the ground (5P a little less so, since it'll punish you for trying to ghost fireball, but still it's not something to poke with) Naw, Axl only gets to zone Zappa a little because stuff like 3P and 2H hurts him for assuming he can run under stuff. Playing this as a keepaway matchup (Axl only has like 5 of those) is free game for a good Zappa. Well, unless you've got the sword. Then I get to keep you out all day. Zoning from this matchup should really be from midscreen, about 3P/f.S range, since Zappa has no real answers for that distance. Well, sort of. Zappa pressure ends up being not that scary without dog (Triplets will do in a pinch if you have meter, but it's only optimal if you get a curse off.) Zappa does want to be close, but that's because he just can't do anything from far away. It may just be experience, but Zappa getting in doesn't make me sweat. Eh, Super is a pretty dumb thing to try against ghosts, I don't really see why anyone would want to do that. From neutral and distance, you just AA Zappa out of projectile spamming as best you can, and if he goes in, it's just, you know, block and hit him when there's a gap. It's only a problem if you get possessed, at which point flying rocks and banana peels and stuff make it tough for Axl to safely get out. In other words, patience. Aye. It's unfortunate for Zappa, but he kind of just has to play the guessing game. Yeah, and this is crucial: Axl players need to remember to be conservative with your offense when Zappa has dog or Raou. Especially the latter, either do a real blockstring or just fish for counterhits while he does stuff. I'm unsure why throwing a ghost in the middle of getting hit by a blockstring could be a good idea. Presumably you'd just get punished. Troof. Well yeah, but DPs will ruin anyone's day if they're a scrub and don't know when to look for/bait them.

4: I have an inherent bias towards white design, black background 8: Like Kyle says, it's easy on the eyes and just aesthetically pleasing as a color scheme.

Wat. Sirsmoov is alive?

Yeah, it's tough because this is one of like five or six matchups where Axl can actually zone effectively from just about any range (By contrast, characters who aren't Pot, Anji, HOS, Johnny, ABA, and to an extent Slayer have no trouble getting in as long as they stick to the ground for the most part (Poor I-No) and don't get predictable. Axl isn't really a good zoning character.) Johnny basically wants to be in a "dead zone" for Axl moves when he's trying to play spacing games, that is to say, around max range for Axl's 3P and f.S (Where he can't really get a combo off of them). This is where Johnny can carve out an advantage with superior pokes like f.S and 5H (although it's not free by any means), and possibly get a good hit or even a knockdown. The important thing is to get your pressure going.

I covered that in the general blanket statement "Plus it gets complicated, because this is Guilty Gear and Axl can pretty much throw rensen/Rashou into his string at a LOT of places, so you can't as easily memorize the situation and watch out for it after specific string-ender moves." I hesitated to say where specifically, because for the most part, you can throw it in pretty much anywhere. Most commonly I'll do 6H, 5K->Rensen/Rashou, but I try to mix it up, and I'm sure other people have different habits/strings that they use more often.

Eh, it's still something like 75 damage and knockdown for more oki. I've had lots of matches where people just resign themselves and say "I'll stay on the ground and block no matter what" (Sometimes out loud!), but usually after three to five blockstrings into Rashousen, they're willing to try to get out again.

I posted this in the Johnny forum, figuring that while Axl players know this, other players might have a little trouble. Then I realized that while it seems intuitive/obvious to me, I've been playing a long time and it's not really specifically outlined anywhere (That I can find.) Anyway, in case anyone was confused (You probably weren't), here's an explanation of the Rensen/Rashousen mixup situation: Axl defaults to Rensen as something to use after he's expended any gatling options/gotten too far away from the opponent to hit them with more blockstring. While you can make this a solid blockstring by ending your string with something high-level (e.g. 5H->Rensen) and cancelling right away (Which you especially do if you want to FRC and keep your string going), Axl will more often, intentionally or not, leave a small frame window between the last normal and the rensen. If you're especially impatient and think this window is somehow big enough to poke out (Er, it's not, 'nuff said), people will try to jump or swing or something, and rensen will just eat the startup and knock you down, giving Axl free oki. Continuing to block is almost always your best option, because eating a rensen is a free knockdown, or, if the Axl GUESSES you'll do that and FRCs it (or just has ungodly good reaction time) a free combo, which will probably hurt a lot because you were just blocking shit and your guardbar is up.. However, Axl can screw with you for trying to block, because he has Rashousen, and until the special effects come in (The green bubbly stuff or the Blue giant zappa-orb thing), the animations are exactly the same. What this means is that if you know you can't jump out of the string before the rensen hits, you're probably going to sit there and block, and although Rashousen isn't fast, it's a lot of frames in before you can tell it's not a rensen, and it doesn't count as a commandgrab, so it'll eat your jump startup if you try to jump too late. This is made especially dangerous now that Axl has a feint for the move, so that basically, if he fakes it and you jump late, you're at a great range for Axl to kill you with his stupid-good AA, which, best case, you faultless and get into another blockstring, minus a chunk of meter, and worst case, you get smacked and take a good 1/3-2/3 of your life, depending on character, spacing, whatever. The OPTIMAL solution to Rashousen is to jump early. That is to say, REALLY fucking early, right when you're out of blockstun, because that way, even if Axl does the feint, you get a free punish, because it's just not fast enough to recover. The problem with that is, well, you know, jumping too early makes you eat a rensen, and it's hard to tell. You can 1FJ, but then you won't get the forward IAD, and probably won't get your punish. Plus it gets complicated, because this is Guilty Gear and Axl can pretty much throw rensen/Rashou into his string at a LOT of places, so you can't as easily memorize the situation and watch out for it after specific string-ender moves. Essentially, it's a lot of conditioning and visual ambiguity. While it's definitely true that a lot of people play impatiently and just try to jump/poke out/stop blocking and eat Rensen, you'll see it among people who aren't quite as bad at defense because Rashousen strikes fear into the hearts of man and beast alike.

Aye, the mixup there is Rashousen, actually. I guess I should explain this as people don't seem to get it. Axl defaults to Rensen as something to use after he's expended any gatling options/gotten too far away from the opponent to hit them with more blockstring. While you can make this a solid blockstring by ending your string with something high-level (e.g. 5H->Rensen) and cancelling right away (Which you especially do if you want to FRC and keep your string going), Axl will more often, intentionally or not, leave a small frame window between the last normal and the rensen. If you're especially impatient and think this window is somehow big enough to poke out (Er, it's not, 'nuff said), people will try to jump or swing or something, and rensen will just eat the startup and knock you down, giving Axl free oki. Continuing to block is almost always your best option, because eating a rensen is a free knockdown, or, if the Axl GUESSES you'll do that and FRCs it (or just has ungodly good reaction time) a free combo, which will probably hurt a lot because you were just blocking shit and your guardbar is up.. However, Axl can screw with you for trying to block, because he has Rashousen, and until the special effects come in (The green bubbly stuff or the Blue giant zappa-orb thing), the animations are exactly the same. What this means is that if you know you can't jump out of the string before the rensen hits, you're probably going to sit there and block, and although Rashousen isn't fast, it's a lot of frames in before you can tell it's not a rensen, and it doesn't count as a commandgrab, so it'll eat your jump startup if you try to jump too late. This is made especially dangerous now that Axl has a feint for the move, so that basically, if he fakes it and you jump late, you're at a great range for Axl to kill you with his stupid-good AA, which, best case, you faultless and get into another blockstring, minus a chunk of meter, and worst case, you get smacked and take a good 1/3-2/3 of your life, depending on character, spacing, whatever. The OPTIMAL solution to Rashousen is to jump early. That is to say, REALLY fucking early, right when you're out of blockstun, because that way, even if Axl does the feint, you get a free punish, because it's just not fast enough to recover. The problem with that is, well, you know, jumping too early makes you eat a rensen, and it's hard to tell. You can 1FJ, but then you won't get the forward IAD, and probably won't get your punish. Plus it gets complicated, because this is Guilty Gear and Axl can pretty much throw rensen/Rashou into his string at a LOT of places, so you can't as easily memorize the situation and watch out for it after specific string-ender moves. Essentially, it's a lot of conditioning. While it's definitely true that a lot of people play impatiently and just try to jump/poke out/stop blocking and eat Rensen, you'll see it among people who aren't quite as bad at defense because Rashousen strikes fear into the hearts of man and beast alike.

Anti-Air 2K (Largely used to low-profile under moves that don't hit the ground) gets hit by Johnny's j.H and Divine blade, as well as, I'm pretty sure, KJ, you can PROBABLY also j.K it, but I'm not too sure on that one. What you can ALWAYS do is block low on landing. Even if your move doesn't hit him, the meaty 2K I get away with hitting should be blocked the majority of the time, as, well, that's how air normals work. You can land and block.

Er, yeah you can get punished for summoning far away, but you can always get a knockdown and do sweep->Summon. From a neutral position, getting in on any character is a guessing game. Just in Axl's case, you have to wait for him to throw out something before you can IAD. Yes, trying to run away and keep Axl out from match start isn't prudent most of the time, but getting in is where you want to be and not super difficult, especially if you can get that knockdown, and frankly, f.S is going to beat most moves Axl tries at match start. A good venom isn't trying to get in just by running forward, so Axl's ground tools aren't going to be as effective as against someone who is. It's a guessing game, and winning it makes the match turn heavily in your favor. Facts: -TK Bomber has a minimum height, increasing its startup. From the air, the two moves (S mad struggle) have about the same startup, and TKB is more visible. -Axl cannot normally do TKB in a blockstring from the ground. He has to either airdash (This requires meter to rensen you first, and then you're expecting the overheads), or hit with an extremely close 6P (Which doesn't leave you in much blockstun, you still have most AAs as an option WITHOUT IBing) or c.S (You can still jab out if you have a jab.) -TK Bomber has 18F recovery after landing, meaning if you whiff it, you get hurt. Many venoms use S Madstruggle to whiff intentionally and do more mixup, as it only has 6F recovery after landing. -TK Bomber has a lot of blockstun. But with the high recovery, this only really allows you to continue your blockstring by linking 2K or 5K. You can do frametraps, but then, so can anyone off good SD. S Mad Struggle has a whole ton of mixup you can do with it, including whiff->Throw (Tough for Axl in particular to deal with), Hit->Low, Hit->Madstruggle again (High), Whiff->Low, etc. It's genuinely tough to block, as opposed to just forcing you to block. -TK bomber nets you a combo near the corner, or knockdown all the way across the screen. TK mad struggle can net you knockdown anywhere and you get to stay on top of Axl and even summon balls. It not being Easy for the Venom player, like I've mentioned before, doesn't make it an even matchup. Yes, you still have to play some guessing games, and yes you can still lose the match for guessing wrong, but in terms of options in a given situation, and ability to shut the other character down once they get going, as well as turn the match around once it's started to go one way, Venom is at a significant advantage.

Is this GG or BB?

Not sure Ky qualifies as low-tier.

I get it, because.

Hitbox size, shape, and fall rate. I'm almost certain no character is EXACTLY the same, and Millia gets hit especially hard in terms of just having to do basically a different combo for each character (If not button-wise, then definitely timing-wise) from what I've heard and, well, tried out a little in training mode. With Guilty Gear, the mentality is less learning a few characters than learning just one, as there aren't really unwinnable matchups so counterpicking is really only going to split your experience a bit. That's the good news. The bad news is that as far as combos go, there's going to be hard stuff, and you're going to have to practice it, and some of it is going to be character-specific. But I guess if you want (Relatively) easy combos, I guess go with Jam? Some jam players are going to come bitch me out about this, and don't get me wrong, there's going to be some stuff you'll have to practice, especially if you're new to GG, but in terms of practical, non-combo-vid combos you can use to do your damage once you get your hit, Jam has been the easiest for me to learn so far.

Correction: Axl can deal with you MUCH BETTER if you jump. Yeah, you can't just sit there against a good Axl and have free reign to dick around with whatever, but we're talking about high-level, you both have a strong command of the way your characters and the other characters zone, Venom is at an advantage. Advantage doesn't mean Axl can't dominate if he's smart enough to trick you or has the command of spacing to put himself in a good position when he can and defend well when he can't, because GG just isn't that kind of game. EDIT: And yeah, don't poke with 6H at neutral except as AA. I have no trouble dealing with that move on the ground.

If you're seriously worried about getting countered, I don't think we're talking about the same situation. Venom wins the mid-range footsie war most of the time, even without balls. I mean, there's definitely a spacing where Axl has the advantage in that respect, but it's not some ginormic range that's most of the screen. Venom 2S and f.S are really fuckin' manly moves, and I'm pretty sure f.S in particular can stuff rensen pretty handily from a good distance, like Ky's. You can argue the damage thing gives Axl some kind of vague edge, but zoning ain't a game he's winning here, just flat out.

I've also heard that there are spacing concerns with millia combos that have to be taken into account to get everything to connect.

Lawl. Um, yeah, there are ways for Axl to win, and staying on top of venom is it, but a good venom is gonna know how to get around those mid-range issues, and his f.S is almost as good a poking tool as Ky's in this matchup, so I would disagree that venom has issues with that range, especially since good venoms aren't just trying to run in without something covering them (Which is the ONLY reason you should be eating 2H at mid-range instead of punishing it hard, so like, be Zappa or HOS or ABA or Anji or something). Also, 2P is not a poke at neutral midrange, it's for punishing and keeping you blocking. If you don't believe me, go into training mode and have Axl throw it out. Now do any move that might hit it. It'll probably beat it. So yeah, Axl does a lot more damage (I'd even go far as 50% damage from 25% meter, if not more), but he's still not got nearly as good ways to just lock that shit down in this matchup. Axl pokes at mid range are f.S, 3P, 5H, and 2H, and frankly, Venom can deal, it's really not that stacked there. If damage was all that mattered in a matchup, Millia would be bottom-tier.

Oh. Haha, didn't see that post 'til now. Thanks for catching that.