Digital Watches

Er. I tried mashing it out for a while, to no avail, and then I realized that just doing the right input got the move out easily.

That's a good example of a standard combo, and will probably prorate less than 5K, c.S, 5H or 5K, 2D, or some similar variation. The problem with it is that c.S can be hard to get in without comboing into it, as you have to be fairly close to effectively hit a c.S, and Axl gets beat a lot at that range, plus it's all mid, so it's super-easy to block. Still, it's probably one of the better variations for damage/knockdown if you're fairly certain the opponent will go for a throw, as c.S should beat most characters' HS/6HS, and can be done from more range than a throw can, if I remember correctly. Also: I think those characters are fairly average weight, what they have in common really is that their hitbox in the air is huge.

Seriously, no real reason NOT to go with the 2S combo unless you're in the corner or are looking for fancy.

That seems a little more situational, but yeah, it works. Doesn't net an incredible amount of extra damage though.

For one thing, that's a badass b-loop, which I haven't tried, and now need to.

Eh. Good hidden moves are no better than good moves that are on the command list. But yeah, that seems to be what Arc is going for.

Clearly mashing the stick is not enough. We must also mash buttons, since a lot of these have 2-button inputs.

Unfortunately, that's risky and very hard to pull off. At the range that Baiken would be using the superman counter, I can't think of much that Axl can really cancel into 623S without an F/RC, and the superman hits you extremely quickly.

I've done it once, but I think it'd only really be good if your opponent is REALLY expecting a low afterwards, has bad reaction time, and doesn't attempt to beat whatever you do next after blocking the first one (Which is fairly safe on block if TK'd low.)

Zappa General strategy: This match varies a lot from summon to summon, obviously, so you're going to have a different gameplan for each of the five different "faces" of Zappa. Naked Zappa: Offense: Zappa can have a hard time dealing with zoning when naked, but don't get too hasty. Remember that lows are your best tool against him, and that 5P is now strictly anti-air, since it's really just a free opportunity for Zappa to run in (He can hit your chain with summon, and can cover almost max range distance by running before 5P recovers). When trying to get in, remember that summon is strike invincible, but not throw invincible, and takes 10 frames to start up. It is dangerous to leave gaps in blockstrings, but other than that, this move shouldn't give you any trouble. FD break your run or do safe air normal to get in on summon if the Zappa is trying to bait you into getting hit by it, or Rensen for knockdown if it's far away. If you block it and aren't FDing, you can punish with sweep-->Rensen (FRC)-->Combo very easily. A less safe way to beat it out is to try to housoubako it on reaction, which can net you more damage in certain circumstances but generally is just to be flashy. Defense: While Zappa shouldn't be able to rush in on standard mid-range zoning tools (f.S, 3P, 2H) that well, if he does get in, just IB most of his strings and if you can, housou or backdash to beat summon when it comes. Remember that Zappa's 6P is low and very invincible, and both 5K and 5D are lower-body invincible. Zappa's offense isn't that dangerous without summons, the only thing to worry about is if he has full meter, and thus can go for 3-summon into Raoh combo for quite a bit of damage. Dog: Offense: A common mistake made by every character is to try to kill the dog while it's not moving, which you can't do. If you're far away from Zappa and aren't too far behind, there's no reason not to just sit there, keeping a rensen charged, possibly throwing out fast normals (2K, 3P, 5K) to avoid negative penalty. Wait for either the dog or Zappa to move and poke him out with something appropriate. You can get the dog dead with either 2K, 2P, or Rensen, or by AAing Zappa or the dog if either tries to jump in. Defense: Don't be too impatient while blocking, Zappa has some pretty solid blockstrings and combos with the dog, so just FD him out, IB the dog stuff, kind of like a weaker version of Eddie. The main thing to watch out for is the meaty unblockable nonsense if you get knocked down. This is one circumstance in which light benten is a good reversal, as unless you can reversal 1FJ consistently, it and super (Don't do super) are the only easy ways out of it if the meaty is properly timed. You'll probably get hit for doing a Benten unless you can FRC it, but the tiny naked Zappa combo you'll eat is generally worth not losing a bunch of life until Zappa messes up the meaty (or you die). Sword:The sword is almost laughably easy to zone out. Rensen is good, a lot of things are punishable, you can even use Tenhouseki to catch 63214H if you're feeling playful. What you definitely don't want to do is try to get in. With a very good DP, and a lot of high-priority normals, the Sword gives Axl a lot of problems up close, since he doesn't have anything comparable. Just zone, and wait for an opportunity to combo. Remember that after a blocked sword rush (236S), Zappa will often try to delay instead of doing the followup, which may give you time to hit him. One thing to remember is that Zappa's main sword overhead, 6H, hits high once, then low once. Triplets: "Offense"/Poking: This is the only summon that really gives Axl significant problems. It's like a weaker Venom combined with the equivalent of a Testament marking. Projectiles are flying all over the screen, and chances are, if you're throwing things out randomly, your chains will get beaten, and you'll probably get possessed. Remember that when Zappa throws out a ghost, he stands up high enough to get hit by 5P, so try to stuff the startup of his projectiles whenever you can, and much like Ky's stun edges, the straight ghost (236S) can be beaten fairly easily with rensen. Some Zappas also have a weird habit of hanging around in the air, using failed ghost summoning. Be careful AAing them unless they don't have any ghosts coming back. If they're out of your poking range (very possible), you can go for H Raeisageki as long as you do it quickly, to get that extra reach. Defense: Especially if the Zappa knows his FRCs, the triplets are easily his most solid ghost for sheer lockdown. You just have to block a lot, watching out for the same lows Zappa always has, and for 6H (16F overhead, 3 hits, startup looks a lot like his normal H), and j.H (exploding ghost, can be a very ambiguous crossup). Wait for Zappa to run out of ghosts to try anything, but remember that an FRC'd ghost projectile doesn't count toward his limit of three. When possessed: If you're possessed and locked down at the same time, Zappa's blockstrings are even more dangerous, as he has you in blockstun more and has the occasional opportunity to set up unblockables with the banana peel (hits low). Like a Testament marking, poke him out if you get a chance, but usually you just want to wait it out. Raou: Unlike most characters, Axl actually has an easier time with Raou than any other summon. 5P can stuff DA's startup, or you can just rensen through it. Raou has a hard time getting in, and when he is in, his mixup isn't very ambiguous. Just block low and watch for tickthrows (the only genuinely scary thing) and dust (slow and obvious). FD him out if you can, and don't let him do DA summon on you over and over, as there are gaps in it, it does 4x chip damage, and it doesn't have any pushback. Bellow's Malice (Super) can be stuffed by 5P as well, which is easy to do if you're watching for it or DA. Just keep him out and only try to do damage if you get a combo from your AA. Keep away game is easy, getting in is hard, and getting hit can mean your whole lifebar, so don't bother with anything but the keepaway. Pros: -Most summons can be zoned out without extreme difficulty. -Lots of long-reaching lows make it hard for Zappa to run in. -Raou isn't very powerful in this match. -No real answer to Axl's AA, and therefore very limited aerial approach. Cons: -Strong lockdown ability with sword and ghosts -Ghosts give Zappa projectiles, which counter Axl -Lots of low hits and low stance make a lot of Axl's moves less useful -With no invincible moves, Axl will usually take damage when getting out of Dog meaty unblockables My opinion: Sword: 5.5-4.5, Axl's advantage Dog: 6-4, Axl's advantage Triplets: 4-6, Zappa's advantage Raou: 7-3, Axl's advantage Overall: 5.5-4.5, Axl's advantage. It would be probably be 6-4 if all the summons were out equally often, but Raou tends to be out less than the others, and Zappa now has a few ways to pick and choose his summons (the 2, 1, 0 timing stuff and the unsummon FB)

I-No General strategy: Since I-No's game is mostly aerial, and Axl has the game's best anti-air, it shouldn't be too hard to keep control of this matchup. The ideal is to keep I-No around mid-range (4-8 character widths) and get her stuck in AA combos. While I-No has a decent lockdown game up close, her only ways to get in are by air and with Stroke the Big Tree, so really, a smart Axl can keep an offensive advantage throughout the whole match, forcing I-No to choose between blocking and taking large chunks of damage by getting AA'd. Tactical analysis: I don't feel the need to cover offensive tactics, as rushdown is pretty standard (Go for mixup, blockstrings, watch out for reversal super, etc.) However, the defensive aspect of this matchup changes a lot based on range. Close up: The number one thing that fucks people up about I-No is that when she's locking you down, you have to block high and watch for stray lows, instead of vice versa. Like any character, I-No can take advantage of Axl's lack of fast moves and 4F jump (Defensive weakness, for short) once she gets him blocking, so your first priority is to make things easier for yourself. Use FD to push her out, since her typical quick landing low/redash/occasional throw mindgame won't work if she's pushed too far back. This can also give you more time to react to her dash, allowing you to try things like Housou or S Benten. Mid-Range: Like I said before, this is where you generally want to be in this matchup. I-No only has two options from here: Try to dash in, or Stroke the Big Tree. Chemical Love/Note projectile attempts are easy to stuff with 5P or sometimes 6K, but if you don't react fast enough, just dodge or block it. CL in particular can be ducked by 2K, and if it's not FRC'd, that can mean you have a chance to turn the momentum in your favor. 3P, 6H, and 2H will kill Stroke the Big Tree before she has a chance to FRC (3P is the safest to try.) Dash-ins have the obvious problem of having to deal with Axl's amazing AA game, and almost anything she tries can be killed with what I like to call Reactionary Anti-air Poke Entrapment (RAPE for short). Basically, throw AA stuff at appropriate angles and follow up with a combo where appropriate. Long Range: I define this as starting where 5P/6K/2S won't combo, and onward from there. At this range, I-No will try to get in on you from far above you, or try to launch notes at you from outside of your range. You can usually watch where the note is going, and just duck or jump it. Most I-No's will use you jumping as a chance to try to cover some distance, since I-No would prefer to fight Axl air-to-air over ground-to-ground. Lucky for you, you have Kokuugeki, which is fast, has enormous range, and has to be FD'd in the air. Along with the fact that it's FRCable, these things make it a GREAT air poke against I-No*, especially since, unlike the fairly weak j.6P (I miss the Slash version), it doesn't count as part of your body. If she tries to get in directly above you, a superjump+Airthrow or quick Raeisageki (H) can do wonders, and Kokuugeki will still connect as well (It covers a big 270 degree circle, which ends way above Axl). Pros: -Incredible AA game makes most of I-No's approach useless. -Most if not all of I-No's options can be countered on reaction from mid-range. -Kokuugeki and j.S outrange Chemical Love and are faster than Note Projectile, an thus long range air-to-air game is in Axl's favor. -Axl has a low-profile move, which makes CL and various other moves less of a threat. Cons: -I-No still has some pretty ambiguous and quick rushdown stuff, which, with CL FRC, can make it hard for Axl to find a gap. -Note projectile can be a nuissance, and makes Axl play a game that's less to his advantage than ground-to-air. My opinion: 6.5-3.5 in Axl's favor. I-No is left with very few options, and Axl's moveset just doesn't fit well into her game. While she can turn it around if she gets momentum, her ability to gain said momentum is entirely dependant on scoring a knockdown, which usually means that the Axl made some mistake or another that he won't necessarily reliably make. Footnotes: * = Disputed by Shoto

Slayer: Overview: Slayer is a scary character to fight no matter who you are. His incredible priority and huge damage output make getting hit an unhappy prospect. In addition, Slayer has a lot of weird ways around Axl's normal tools that make life a little more difficult. Still, a lot of Slayer's tricks can be thwarted by mere patience and decent reaction time, and the same tools that seemed ineffective when thrown out first can completely shut Slayer down if thrown out second, and as always, Axl does well once he's on the offensive. Zoning and AA, and why Slayer is something entirely different: I say "don't throw shit out randomly" a lot, but this applies double for Slayer. BBU, BDC K Mappa, DoT, 6P, and DHD all beat 5P at max range pretty easily, and Slayer's ridiculous 2H is practically an end-all, be-all answer to anything you can do in terms of low pokes. Additionally, if j.H has time to get active, it will beat 5P, and 6K with no problem at basically any range, and 2S at about half-range and closer. Slayer can BDC, or, for that matter, just forward dash through Rashousen, Rensen, f.S, and 3P. Even 2K can be beat out by 2H or Slayer's 2K without much problem. So when zoning slayer, your first priority is to be out of Slayer's surprisingly long effective low range, meaning out of the range of 2H. 2D reaches farther, but it's also a lot slower, and you should be defaulting to low block anyway. From here, you move into the next phase: Guessing games: At mid-range, this is a very defensive game. You must master the ancient Axl secret of sitting still and waiting for something to happen. If Slayer doesn't have the meter to DoT you, you can go back to zoning with some far-range games with j.S, 2H, and 2P fairly comfortably. If you play guessing games with Slayer, you're potentially risking a good giant chunk of your life for guessing wrong. On the other hand, you could end up with a round-deciding hit if you guess right. In order to win guessing games with Slayer, however, you have to keep track of space, and how much meter Slayer has, and what you can do to beat things he does. Basically, you can beat any low with 6H. BBU loses to any low hit, but is safer to just block and punish. A forward dash will lose to anything with high active frame counts (you should be able to do 2H or 2D on reaction, 6H is a risker option). 2H is a decent option against Dandy steps, but it's better to just block those. If your reaction time is super-fast, Housou works against Mappa, BBU, and Dandy steps other than Crosswise Heel. If you're feeling lucky, K mappa can lose to even a fairly late 5H. If you somehow end up in 2H's range, you can beat it out with 6H, but only if you do it very early. At that range, I prefer to jump or block. On the offensive: Once you get Slayer blocking or knocked down, you can definitely go into offense mode, but with a few differences from normal. With Slayer's invincible dashes, you have to be careful even when you're rushing down. Any gap can lead to you missing and being punished, so be ready to FRC that 2H or Rensen and block if need be. In particular, Slayer can dash through many setups into 6H (I'd almost say don't use it, but it still is a fairly good overhead.), most rashousen setups, and Rensen. You want to avoid being predictable, and if there are any gaps in your rush, make sure that you're safe, as doing a big risky move like 6H in a large gap can mean whiffing through a dash, dandy step, or BBU. Watches is a Lunatic, volume 6: HARDSLASH ALL DAY I really, REALLY love 5H in this match. It's just one of those weird things, but I've found that Slayer has a tough time dealing with it from certain ranges. It's a much better zoning tool than it is against most characters, being good for match start, anti-airdash, and even mid-range zoning. Without a run, that huge hitbox and occasionally-useful upper-body invuln makes it a tough wall move for Slayer to get past once he's about match-start or further from you. Don't spam it, of course, but keep it in mind. Pros: -Lots of high-active-frame lows mean that BBU is very dangerous to throw out. -When Slayer has no meter, he has a hard time getting in, due to not having a run or a long airdash. -2H pullback is a beastly meaty, as the only real reversal option against it is super, and it gives Axl a lot of frame advantage on block. -When Slayer is forced to move first, Axl can safely react to most things at mid-to-far range. -Nothing particularly difficult to block and lack of gatlings make strings a lot less difficult for Axl to break out of. Cons: -Poking game is very dangerous, even at max range. -j.H makes AA a huge challenge -Double-hit DHD combos are easy, due to Axl's wide falling hitbox. -2H is far too good as a random clutch button, as it beats out most low moves Axl will try to throw out, including 2K, 5H, 3P, 2P, 2H, f.S, etc. -lol BDC through rensen. My opinion: 5-5. This match is very dicey for both parties. Slayer may have a slight advantage, but I'm not willing to call it 5.5. This match is a lot of work, since most of it is fought from a basically neutral situation. Added note: Since this match involves a lot of guess-work, this guide is meant only to provide a safe, baseline strategy, since obviously players of both characters will vary greatly in how they tackle neutral mixup situations.

Venom: General strategy: With Venom's range and projectiles, it can be very hard to zone him out, so while Venom is not particularly defensively weak, your only real choice is to go for offense as often as possible. Venom kills you at long range and close range, but is slightly more vulnerable around mid-range. Defensive tactics: Venom has some very solid ways of keeping pressure down, even from ranges that most characters don't. If he's shooting low projectiles, you can kill them with rensen, but it's often safer to just IB or dodge them. In fact, I find myself IBing a lot more against Venom than in most other matchups. Since Axl doesn't have anything particularly invincible, getting locked down is a bitch, and you're going to be blocking a lot if you want to win once Venom gets momentum. With IBing, you can occasionally find an opportunity to Housoubako a jump or a ball, or Raeisageki out, or even get a throw off. Unfortunately, FDing Venom out is not very useful, as a good Venom will often have a ball he can send at you to keep pressure going. Be patient, block well, and try to find an opportunity to throw out something fast, such as 2K, or 5K, jump and chicken block, or beat a ball out with rensen. (It's actually remarkable how similar to Axl Venom is in his blockstrings). Don't try to punish FB Mad Struggle, it's level six and has tons and tons of blockstun, it does however have 14F startup, which means you can Housou it if you IB whatever he does before it. Why you can't zone Venom: Axl has a bit of a problem dealing with projectiles, and Venom has them in spades, ready to quickly cover any part of the screen. Essentially, the only time you can safely throw out a poke is when Venom is trying to set up balls, and this is the only way to castrate (har har) his ability to lock Axl down while still you have the chance. When it comes right down to it: chains are hitboxes, balls are not, and something with a hitbox is going to lose to something without one every single time. Throwing out pokes will lose to any and all ball hits, as well as carcass raid and stinger aim (Which is FRCable). Yeah, it's a bitch. Offensive initiative: Basically, your goal is to wait until you can catch Venom setting up balls, or making a mistake/gap in his rushdown, and then capitalize on it. I tend to try to set up a safe knockdown first, either by beating out a SA ([4]6S/H/D) with Rensen or Housou, or just waiting for a small gap, possibly made by IBing, and going for throw/2D/f.S. Then just keep pressure. Normals to watch out for during gaps are c.S (5F), 2D (6F, low-profile), and Venom's DAA (Invincible from F1, 11F startup, invincible through the first three active frames). Pros: -Axl can sometimes prevent ball summoning from far off -Ball teleport is easy to punish with 2S/6K -Rensen can occasionally eat projectiles Cons: -Gaps in Venom's rushdown are scarce, and hard for Axl to work with -If there are balls on the screen, most of Axl's long range options are fairly useless -Balls can be made to avoid Rensen entirely -Fast, invincible DAA can take advantage of Axl's long startup time for moves during blockstrings. My opinion: 6-4, Venom's advantage. Axl has a lot of tools he can't use in this matchup, and making one mistake can make it very difficult to come back. With few invincible moves, balls are a nuisance at all times for Axl, allowing Venom to keep him on the defensive for the most part. This is Axl's worst matchup, and the only one that's significantly to his disadvantage.

Order SOL (stands for Shit Out of Luck) General strategy: Order Sol is probably the best example of why Axl's zoning capabilities can be a bitch for close-range characters. He has no viable tools to get in on you, and his real guessing games start at about five character widths closer to you than you ever have to let him get, so this is pretty straightforward. If he does get in, be patient and push him out. If you land a combo, continue your rushdown as long as you can, then run away and zone him some more. Simple. Zoning and RAPE: When I say Order Sol can't get in on Axl, I say it with one caveat: The Axl has to be smart. This means you don't throw things out randomly. While SV isn't the world's best DP, it can still beat out chains if you whiff with them, and that can mean you've temporarily lost the ability to keep HOS out. That's why, like I-No, you should employ RAPE (Reactionary Anti-air Poke Entrapment) wherever possible. Lucky for you, HOS gives you ample time to react to anything he can try to do to approach. Throw out 5P only as a reaction to a jump from mid-to-far HOS (BRP counts as a jump). If you time this properly, even if he predicts you and SJIADs over it perfectly, you still have time to block or even punish before he gets in. Use f.S as your primary tool against run-ins, with the occasional 2H or 2P thrown in CAUTIOUSLY as a low from far away (He can punish 2H with a jump-in). Your only real worry should be gunblaze, which is hardly an issue, as you can throw it when he tries to cross you up, or just hit him out of it with 2K or 3P if he doesn't. Other than those specifics, just wait for him to do something, and throw out the right poke at the right time. You won't have much problem keeping him out... Defense: ...But no one's perfect. Either by being psychic or just catching you at a weak moment, there's a slim chance that a good HOS will somehow be able to get in once or twice per match. Fighting HOS up close is not a cakewalk, but it's nowhere near Axl's worst matchup. The usual "try to FD him into optimal f.S range" works decently, but you can also do some specific things to beat him out: First: Watch his strings and see where he has to do a special to continue. Any LV 1 special can be beaten out with Housou, so IB and try to punish with either that or, in most cases, 2K. Lv. 1 BRP in particular is a bad move for HOS. Even if it connects, you can usually throw him if it's not CH, and if you IB it, it's even more sure. Once you get a throw, I'd go for a knockdown variation, to get some Oki-->Pressure going. "Runaway" HOS: It's kind of laughable to say that HOS has a keep-away game, but a lot of HOS players will try to get out of your range and charge up, and since level three is more problematic for you than level one, you should know how to deal with this. Basically, HOS will probably think he's being very smart, because if you try to get him, he can just charge burst and CH you for knockdown, right? Your job is to make him wrong. Go for an IAD j.S, but make sure it's low enough that if he charge bursts, you won't get hit. If he does charge burst, land and rensen immediately. The better option is to run in, but you need a little less distance between you and him to do so. When running in, watch for the charge burst, and if it doesn't come by the time you're right up to him, hit 5K. If the 5K doesn't connect (Meaning he charge-bursted), you have time to recover, block, (Try to IB) and sweep to punish. If he charge bursts before you get close, just FD break the run, and block. From there, do a combo and start your rushdown. The only reversal you need to worry about is SV, which is risky. His supers are either too slow or not invincible enough to work in that capacity. Pros: -HOS has few if any approach tools that make Axl guess. -Normal jump is too low to force Axl to use pokes other than 5P as AA in most situations -Very vulnerable to Housou Cons: -Close in game forces Axl into hard guessing games, since he doesn't have anything fast enough to exploit natural gaps into lows. -Can do large damage off of throws, which is harmful because Axl is very vulnerable to tickthrows. -SV is a decently invincible reversal, and Axl's offense can contain gaps large enough to be punished by it. My opinion: 6-4, Axl's advantage. HOS has a slight advantage once he gets in, but it isn't as noteworthy as Eddie's, Millia's, or Jam's, and getting in in the first place is almost impossibly hard for him, arguably as hard as it is for I-No. 6-4 is a bit generous, but I don't want to call it quite 6.5 either.

Instead of a placeholder: taken from the General Information thread: Anji: Shoto:6,0 Ok, I haven’t played Anji too much, but like in Slash he has terrible problems getting in on Axl and his guard point normals aren’t have as good against a chara who either works on long range an thus is out of reach or doesn’t use classical frame traps for rushdown. But honestly I may not know enough of this matchup to judge it right now. DW: 6.5 (Maybe even 7) Considered Axl's best matchup. For one thing, Anji is not a character whose aerial moves can easily deal with Axl's long-range moves, and thus approaching from the air is seldom if ever an option for him. Axls fast, far-reaching lows fuck up his autoguard (which for the most part only blocks high). Fuujin's H and D followups (If you don't beat the Fuujin out with a rensen) can usually be punished on reaction with a 2K, 2H, or 623P, and the fan one can just be blocked. Block low until you see the startup animation after Fuujin, however, because the S followup is fast. Make sure you're punishing on reaction, however, as you'll want be ready if he tries to do the K followup, in which case you can typically throw him before he can throw you. Dealing with butterfly rushdown is also remarkably easy with tools like rensen for far away, Raeisageki or simply j.S at mid-range, and 623P or 2K close in. Or just get out of its range and watch it fizzle and die like the weak fireball it is, while still keeping up your long-range offense. Think of it as a stun edge, except slower, less range, and no threat behind it.

Instead of a placeholder: taken from the General Information thread: Potemkin: Shoto:5,0 This is Axls hard work matchup. As the match start (that is after you gained some distance) your have a very big advantage. Pots movement is more limited than that of every other chara, which in most situations make your anti air chains unavoidable for him (the best he can do is block). Furthermore your 2hit chains beat his Hammerfall on long to range and a 2P or even a charged rensen will hit him out of the startup or his Slide Head. Furthermore there is not much he can do against a j.S. The only options you have to think about in that range are his anti air grab once you get nearer or his Heavenly Potemkin Buster. What gets quite problematic in this matchup is that even if there is a safe opportunity to start rushing, you can’t seize that fully. All you get is one or at best two guerrilla like attempts. After a 6H you can’t rush without leaving a gap that could be enough for a Pot Buster; every option that just leaves a tiny gap allows him to backdash and then pot buster. Once he gets you grounded you are in serious trouble. You can’t countertrhow and if you jump your opening yourself up for his anti air grab. Your reversal is not a real option as his standard okizeme involves a low starting combo, nevertheless as it is throw invincible it may be some sort of last hope thing. Since you should have lots of tension as you won’t have too many chances for combos or for rushdown, if you can even DAA tick throws (that is the P attack that starts the mixup). As pot gets his main damage from throws, even your burst becomes something pre-emptive, you burst to escape mixup. As you can see you collect damage over the time having nearly constantly the advantage but seldom being able to land a big comb. Nevertheless should you lose it chances are very good Pot will turn the tide. Weird as it is this makes it a fair matchup for both players. The key to this matchup is that you have to play as variable as possible even that you have the advantage in most of the time, as if your opponent figures out patterns or recognize a flaw in your gameplay he will get a chance to instantly win the match. (btw: Keep an eye on the timer as in this matchup time outs are quite common)

Ky Kiske General strategy: This matchup is a little unusual, as Ky has a lot of answers that other characters don't have to your midrange stuff, which makes for some hard spacing games for both players. Meanwhile, there are a lot of things that are a lot safer for Axl here than they should be, but I'll go over that later. The point is, your gameplan in this matchup is going to involve a lot of guessing games, which you can make work to your advantage if you learn what you can do safely at what range, and how to punish Ky for basically the rest of the match once you take the offensive momentum out from under him. Zoning: Ky can stun-edge chains, his f.S can stuff Rensen at mid-range, and his fast, long-reaching lows (stun dipper, 2S) can be very ugly when you're stuck doing an upper-body-only reversal move. Ky's 6P is probably the ugliest AA you'll ever have to deal with besides VV, so your air-to-ground game suffers significantly. It would seem that Ky has a slew of options that just make Axl's day a lot harder. The solution: Let Ky move first, and keep him at an uncomfortable range, taking away and punishing his options until you get a knockdown. It's the same gameplan as vs. Testament, but it's harder up close and easier far away. Remember that running 2K can be timed to go under either stun edge, including HASE (Not CSE though), and that rensen is still an anti-stun-edge option from far away (outside f.S's range.) Aerial game should be mainly used to punish un-FRC'd CSEs and the like, and with normals, you should make sure you're low enough that if the move whiffs, you'll hit the ground, making 6P unable to connect with the giant-ass hitbox that is a whiffed j.S (which is mainly what I'm talking about). Basically, play it safe. On the defensive: There's not much to say here except LEARN TO BLOCK. Ky has to use meter to keep his rush going when you're blocking, so block low, wait for overheads, crossups, and especially tickthrows. You should really be IBing most of why Ky does, because if you do, you can pretty much punish any string-ender he tries unless he uses meter getting out of it, as Greed Sever, Stun dipper, and CSE all have either too much recovery or too much startup to be safe against Axl, even if you have to use Housoubako. Basically, be patient, chicken block if necessary (A good way to prevent tickthrows from CSE), and wait for a real gap you can get a knockdown from. Ky can't do a hideous amount of damage to you most of the time, but he can get knockdown from a lot of things and has a pretty good oki game, which will chip away at your lifebar. One of the hardest and most important things to learn to block is the ambiguous crossup that is Ky's j.D on wakeup, and all I can say is play a Ky who knows how to do it and adapt. Dr. Strangerush or: How I learned to stop worrying and love 2K: Ky doesn't have anything amazing to break out of blockstrings (Well, aside from a 12F DAA, which can be annoying), but he's not as vulnerable as Eddie and Axl either, so it's pretty generic stuff. What's different is your Oki pattern. Ky is simply ill-equipped to deal with meaty 2K. He literally cannot do anything. It does under SE and VT, and recovers in time to block and punish anything else he can do (This is assuming you can do a perfect or near-perfect meaty, hitting with the last few active frames). If Ky backdashes away, you have something like 10 frames up on him, so throw something out or just run up in that time. It's also an easy way to start a blockstring, so it's ideal as hell as an anti-Ky meaty. Still, your local Ky may eventually learn to block low, and it's so much more satisfying to at least occasionally go for a hit, so these other options, while less solid, are still viable: Meaties that are less practical but more fun: Safe air normal: This is almost as good as 2K, and is a nice option for high hits. The only reason this isn't as good as 2K is because it takes longer to set up. 2H: The 2H pullback meaty has the advantage of working from far away, and staggers too! Housou: If the Ky just somehow isn't getting the message that VT is not a reversal anymore, a late oki Housou in the corner might be just the trick to do lots and lots of damage for no meter. Eventually, the Ky will probably wise up and start doing something low on wakeup, so try to do this as late as you possibly can if you're going to go for it. 6H: On the flipside, if the Ky is conditioned to never ever do VT ever, meaty 6H becomes an option again. Please note that if your opponent can react well, you'll probably get VT'd anyway, and I will laugh. You can also do a 6H WAY too early to meaty, recover, and block the VT for a cool AA combo. Raeisageki H: The way Sytha describes it, "this looks like a jump." Your local Ky may not fall for it as often as he does, but I don't doubt that a lot of Kys are used to trying to VT when they see someone try to jump in on oki. Fun fact: This will also punish bursts. If you have half meter, feel free to RC and combo. Pros: -Rensen, Housou, and 2K form a set of options that make regular stun edges risky. -Oki against Ky is ridiculously effective, making it hard for Ky to gain momentum -Air to ground is a game Ky likes to play a lot. Needless to say, Hokuto Shi- I mean Axl AA is unbeatable! Cons: -Ky also has good AA (DGE!), which gets rid of Axl's favorite long-range pressure tool, 2 hit j.S, as well as most other aerial options. -Ky has a ton of tickthrows, which are a huge weakness for Axl. -Ky has a fast midscreen option against Rensen, which is completely stupid. My opinion: 5.5-4.5 Axl's advantage. This matchup is weird for both parties, and both have to play differently, but Axl has an edge, mainly due to his ability to keep offensive momentum once he's got it.

Testament Basic strategy: As Axl and Testament both operate well at mid-range, this match can heavily depend on spacing. On the one hand, Axl's huge range, gigantic active frame counts, and solid AA game make getting in a hell of a lot more work than Testament is accustomed to in Accent Core. On the other hand, mere keepaway can backfire, as S EXE beast allows Testament to harass you if you get too comfortable staying back. So you really need to get your offense rolling as best you can, and the simple way to think about this is in three steps: 1. Cripple Testament's offense. 2. Get Testament either knocked down or blocking, using options he can't deal with. 3. Keep Testament locked down (Harder than it sounds). Defensive tactics: S EXE Beast blockstrings can be a lot like Eddie's Mawaru rushdown, even without the FRC. Luckily, it contains a lot more opportunities to break out, especially for Axl. Due to his narrow hitbox, IBing and FDing properly (Specifically, FD the last normal before the EXE beast, IB the beast and anything else whenever possible), can get you out of Testament's effective range (Assuming the beast isn't FRC'd), which gives you time to poke with 5K or even f.S. 2D, 2K are the main lows to watch out for, 6P is the fastest overhead, and it's 17 frames, so the basic block low, wait for overhead rule applies. HS EXE beast: It's level 5, and after 1 frame, it won't disappear if Testament is hit, so it's a nightmare of a poke up close. A well timed 6H, raeisageki, rensen, or 623P will avoid it, but it's safer to jump. You'll also have to deal with is Testament's poison OD, which is fast and usually trades with things. On wakeup, some Testaments will try to get you with an ambiguous-crossup meaty Badlands. This is actually pretty easy to deal with, as all you have to do is attempt a throw when you see the startup. If the testament does the move too late, he'll get thrown, and if not, 5H's upper body invulnerability will often beat out Badlands and counterhit for a huge chunk of damage and possibly knockdown. Note that a normal badlands out of the blue can be beaten by most if not all of Axl's copious AA options fairly easily. Offensive tactics: When going in, try to hit Testament first from outside his effective range. j.S is useful, since he doesn't have a ridiculous fast 6P like Ky or Johnny, and Raeisageki (S) can be hard to deal with as well. Go for pokes like 2H and 2P outside of Testament's 5H range (2P can be dangerous to try if he goes for Badlands or Grave Digger.) 3P at max range is a good thing to fish for counterhits with, as it'll knock down. Basically, just go for either a blockstring or a knockdown, and keep pressure as best you can. Just watch out for H EXE beast, as trading is always bad. Also remember to avoid getting into the range that 5S becomes c.S, as that gives Testament a 5F normal, which is faster than any of yours. Also, I'm fairly certain that a well-timed 2K will go under both 5H and f.S. Screen maintainence: Watching where Testament places traps is important, as it's good to get rid of them as soon as possible when you can. For Zeinests, you can just use the appropriate long range attack (5P, 6K, 2S), which you should do any time Testament is too far away to punish it or busy setting something else up, as not having them on the screen is preferable. 6K and 2S have much bigger hitboxes than they look like they do, so there shouldn't be anywhere you can't reach fairly easily. HITOMI (trees) are a bit more problematic. You can of course get rid of the smaller ones by hitting Testament (j.S is a good tool for this). Both can also be gotten rid of by passing over them, which Raeisageki (S) and Raeisageki (H) are both good tools for, especially with running momentum. For the larger trees, it can also be safer to try to catch Testament with a Rashousen, since Axl is invincible throughout the whole followup animation, but slides forward, which will activate the trees harmlessly if they're between him and Testament. If you feel especially courageous, you can also use trees to set up Housoubako, since they take a long time to come out and Housou counters on the second frame. This is especially cool, as it gives Axl a move that's invincible to strikes, hard to block (Must be faultlessed in the air, and is unblockable on the ground), can lead into combos on counterhit (or with 25% meter) and will knock down by itself. Just don't get predictable, or Testament can just hit you with something low before the tree activates it. Dealing with markings: A marking is Testament's only real way to turn the match around. It stuffs your offense, gives Testament offensive help, and can set up unblockables with the crow transformation and any low. So don't get marked. Save bursts for combos that can mark, avoid high markings, rensen through or 5P over low markings. If you do get marked, wait it out (Could a Testament player tell me the average and maximum number of actions the crow will do before the marking goes away? I thought it was four or five, but I don't remember.) Block Testament's rushdown, and if you see the crow turn into the girl, jump and FD to avoid unblockables. If you see an opportunity, hit Testament with a poke to get rid of the mark, but for the most part, you should avoid attacking until the marking is gone. Pros: -Zeinests and other zoning tools of Testament's are all but useless -No significant counters to Axl's aerial options. -Most damaging combos can be started from outside of Testament's effective range. -Uses a lot of aerial approach patterns that Axl can easily AA. -Has a hard time keeping Axl blocking midscreen without meter. -Several opportunities to safely activate Housoubako Cons: -In the corner, Axl has severe difficulty safely getting out of blockstun, due to HS EXE beast. -Marking forces Axl to go on the defensive, which is a loss of precious momentum. -Axl is very easy to BL loop, and thus can take a lot of damage in a lot of situations. -Most close-range options trade unfavorably with HS EXE beast. My opinion: At least 5.5-4.5 in Axl's favor. Testament almost entirely loses the ability to zone and the ability to come in from the air, which is fairly crippling. Still, this matchup is not an easy win, due to markings and HS EXE beast, not to mention Testament's ability to get damage off of basically any hit. Well, that's all I've got right now. I'll probably edit this if I or someone else thinks of something that seems to warrant being in the first post. Feel free to contribute, discuss the matchup, whatever. I think this new format is going to work really well, and I'll be making more of these threads when I have more time (I wrote this one first because it was the one I had the most information about in the previous matchup thread)

Eddie General Strategy: This matchup can be very intense, and is basically a contest to see who can get the first hit in, as neither character can really get out of pressure very well, and both die from 1-2 combos from the other. So obviously practice your blocking, but most importantly, get rid of little eddie and RUSH THAT SHIT DOWN. Defensive tactics: Surviving Eddie rushdown is pretty much the same for most characters: Block extremely fucking well, and try to predict and get out of unblockables as best you can. So the only comment I'll make on that is that Axl has the unusual property of having an extremely narrow standing hitbox. While this probably won't net you a free escape from a blockstring, it has saved my life a few times when I guessed wrong against 5K (One of Eddie's main low options in his stupid endless blockstrings). Basically, to make 5K not combo into 5S, you should try to FD probably one move per string that'll push you back, then IB Mawaru's backhit as often as possible. This sounds (and is) hard, but if you can get the timing down, it can get you a few lucky breaks. You should still generally follow the block low, wait for overhead rule, though, since Eddie's fast overhead, 6K, is still 18F startup, which is well within the realm of "seeable." Watch out for tickthrows too! To get rid of little eddie, I tend to try to zone and fish with j.S, 2P, and occasionally rensen (Of course go for AA stuff if he jumps). Anti-air can be a little hard against Eddie, but not too hard. 2K will go under basically anything he can do, 6P is a good way to beat out j.K trickery, and you can do the standard long range stuff as long as you make sure to keep track of where he's flying. Housoubako and Benten (light) are semi-viable options to get rid of little eddie up close, just expect to get hit by a naked Eddie combo afterwards. Arr Tea Es Dee! Eddie suffers from the same problem Axl does: A lack of fast normals and invincible moves. While he does technically have a 5F normal in 2P, it's pretty weak in terms of hitbox and active frames, and 2K will even duck it! So here's your chance to pull out all the stops. Almost any frametrap that Axl can do will work on Eddie, as well some of the more longshot blockstrings (5K, 5H, 2D, Rensen comes to mind). Try to build guardbar if you can (Any jumping normal besides P builds 10, with 10 per hit on j.S, hardslashes build a ton, two-hit pokes build a ton, 5P fuzzy-guards, so don't worry if he tries to duck the second hit, and Kokuugeki FRC stuff builds a ton), mix him up with high-low-throw-crossup-unblockable-feint stuff, and just generally stay on him like alcohol on Mr. Mamation. With Eddie's terrible defense, guts, and a little guardbar, you can completely rape his lifebar like he rapes yours and everyone else's! 6H is an unusually good tool against Eddie, for use as a meaty, guardbar builder, and general overhead. It goes over several of Eddie's key pokes, and is difficult to beat on reaction for a character with nothing fast or invincible enough to really do so. Pros: -Extremely good AA can decently neutralize Eddie's powerful air game. -A few nonsense hitboxes work to Axl's advantage (2K goes under a ton of shit, Dizzy animation can't be IK'd, narrow standing hitbox makes 5K-->5S not combo, Standard command grab-->Puddle combo doesn't work, etc.) -Once he gets momentum, Axl can make it very difficult for Eddie to get out of lockdown. -Axl has the damage/guardbar output to kill Eddie very quickly. -Getting rid of little eddie is slightly easier with tools like long range pokes and 2F startup on Housoubako. Cons: -lol unblockables -lol full stun combos -lol Mawaru blockstrings -lol tick-commandgrab -Basically all the reasons Eddie is good apply to Axl (with the possible exception of air-to-ground superiority) My opinion: 4.5-5.5, Slight advantage for Eddie. This matchup can go either way very quickly and easily, and it's certainly not Eddie's easiest or Axl's worst, however, the advantage is probably still his, for all the same reasons he rapes so many other characters. Contributors: Digital Watches, Teyah So... feel free to discuss anything else about this matchup here. If something I or someone else here comes up with seems noteworthy enough, I'll add it to this first post.

Hm. One: Now that 214P has good followup options, it's definitely my first choice for trying to get around ambiguous crossups. It stays out for a long time, can't be crossed up, and, as far as I know, most crossups tend not to be projectiles. Now that it's a setup for standard combos, it's really easy to net damage while avoiding entirely the problem of determining whether a move will cross up. Note: I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you can do it on reaction to a move coming out, as baiting it will remain fairly easy if you're trying to get it in too often. Also: Now that the chains, especially 5P, 2P, 2H and 6K, are so much faster, stronger, and have more followup potential, throwing them out against characters that have to get in (and aren't Jam or Chipp) seems to be a lot more viable than before for spooking the opponent out of attacking, as well as controlling space on-screen. From a combination of conjecture, limited experience (local play), and watching some of the few Axl AC match videos, this seems especially viable against I-No, Zappa, and Anji. As a general strategic thing, reacting to any character's approach with the right chain-poke is more rewarding than ever now, and is a lot easier, since the chains seem to come out faster and also seem harder to beat. This can either hit the opponent, and ideally start a combo or change the momentum of the match in your favor, or at the very least force the opponent to faultless (if they're in the air). I also like Benten a lot more as a wakeup option now, although having to guess between needing high or low invulnerability is still annoying in a game with so many Oki options that can be hard to predict.

Hm. Well, all I can recommend is keeping your strings short, making sure you can make her hesitate to counter (throw a 214P or 623P into a string where the baiken you play usually counters, if you can predict it). Try to put the baiken in as few situations where she gets to block as possible. As an added note: The superman counter doesn't hit at all in the corner, so if you're in the corner and she tries it, you basically get a free combo.

I'm not sure if they can tech after the bounce. I'm sure 5P hits, but haven't been able to connect with anything else.

From a bomber? I think it knocks them far too far away to effectively run up and get a c.S in fast enough... have you tested this? I guess you could get a short dash+5P in close enough to follow it up...

The B-loop is now with the regular bomber, which floorbounces, thus making it viable in a looping combo. Sometimes, to continue the combo longer, an FB bomber-->Regular bomber is necessary. I've never run into a situation in the corner where I can't just 2S-->Continue B-Loop, unless you're doing it too slow or your combo before it is too long (in which case they get to tech faster.) If you're talking midscreen, I don't really think you can do much. I just usually go for another 5P for some meager extra damage.

Okay. Tested and proven: c.S and 5K can both pick up after slide, meaning that you can get combos that prorate a lot less by using c.S after sliding them with Raeisageki in the corner.