Sahgren

Rest up until you're healthy again, Orion. The first post of a thread on DL isn't so important that you should force yourself to do it when you aren't feeling well. On the matches (namely with Masashi): Anyone know why Masashi prefers [w]j.B oki over [h]j.C? I notice that he very rarely ends with j.C if he can help it.

6B gatlings into 3C, so I imagine that there isn't a whole lot of a gap there. Thanks for the advice, I'll work on all that.

Got a friend to upload some videos for critique. Platinum/Ragna (GammaGearJustice) vs. Valkenhayn (Sahgren) Ragna (GammaGearJustice) vs. Valkenhayn (Sahgren) From what I can tell: Don't switch into wolf as much. At points I'm going into wolf when I should be taking advantage of the human normals. Don't be as scared of DPs. Gotta respect 'em, but I was just straight up scared at points. Work on my damn execution. Watch my wolf meter. In the very first round I let it run out twice.

Worth noting that, according to the frame data, guardpoint on Rachel's 2C doesn't start until frame 3. That means she can't use it as a reversal on wake-up unless you screw up your meaty.

Really? They look like claws attached to Slinkies to me. Guess they could be drills if he makes a fist.

Anybody got any advice on this matchup? Currently I'm figuring that I should spend the entire match avoiding getting trapped, wearing away at the doll, and generally trying to piss the Carl off into overextending.

Off of an aerial command grab you should be able to do the exact same combo as if you landed a ground command grab. j.236D > 2C > 6C > slight delay 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 2D > 236B > j.236B > 5/6C~D > j.B > dj.B > dj.C (4k DMG, 55 MG) Off of a human air throw it changes on the spacing. If you're close enough to the corner that they cross you up when falling, the combo I tend to use is: Air Throw > 5A > 2C > sj.D~AAA > j.236B > 5/6C > j.B > j.B > 5B > j.AAA > dj.D~C (2.8k DMG, 29 MG). That should put them back in the corner. If you're far enough away from the corner but close enough to land a 2C, you can do: Air Throw > 2C > 6C > 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 2D > 236B > j.236B > 5/6C~D > j.B > dj.B > dj.C (4.2k, 49 MG). The exact same combo as if you landed a c-grab, just with more damage and less meter gain.

Running up to mix him up while in wolf is unsafe, but it does force the Tager to hold back even when you're magnetized in order to cover the possibility that you do rush in. That in turn makes running away easier, since the Tager won't be going balls-to-the-walls offense in order to try and draw you in. Ultimately though, that's a judgement call you'll have to make in each match in terms of how much you're willing to take the risk. For the 360/Atomic Collider mix up (I'm assuming after a Gadget Finger), backdashing as soon as possible forces them to mix in poking with 5A and drawing you back in with 6A, so at the least you'll make them try stuff that won't immediately punish you for standing still/jumping. For pressure, keep it short before running away. Valk is considerably more mobile than Tager, and with his strong pokes you can play keep away fairly efficiently, so you really don't have much of a reason to add on risk by attacking aggressively. Play it safe and lame it out with pokes and the occasional wolf rushdown to wear them down and force them to try something you can punish. In general: Keep mixing it up. Tager has to rely on out yomi-ing you in order to land hits and get the advantage. Keep mixing up what you're doing in order to prevent them from getting a read.

In the screenshot for Relius (the only one where you can see crap) it looks like there's an Ignus meter. They can't make him too similar to Carl without it looking like a cop out, so his drive could possibly be that you switch from controlling Relius to controlling Ignus, and are put on a timer for how long you can use Ignus similar to Valk's wolf gauge.

Spend some time getting used to his movement in both human and in wolf. Other than that all I can think of is just the general "Get used to their normals/specials. Learn some combos."

You'll want to catch them as low as possible with the 6C leading up to the 4D. If you catch them too high, they'll either be able to tech before they fall into the d.6C or be outside the range of BT.

I'll look up a video of practical Valk combos, but for now I can't find any. The problem with using the c-grab as an ender is that then you'll just get a purple grab that they can break. You can, however, set it up so that you reset into the c-grab, as shown in this video. Edit: Accidently killed two birds with one stone. In the video he keep resetting into practical (albeit not optimal) combos, minus the enders.

Yeah, teching is recovering. You're right in that 6C isn't that great outside the corner. On the other hand, it's an overhead they have to watch out for (even if the return isn't much midscreen), it break primers and put you at a frame advantage on block, and gives you semi-decent corner carry on hit, so it's worth throwing out just to make them watch out for it. Corner Combo: [h]2C > 6B > 3C > 2C > 6C > 2C > j.214B > 2D > 236B > j.236A > j.236B > 5/6C > j.B > j.B > 5B > j.D~B > dj.B > dj.C > j.236236C if you catch them on the ground with a 2C. If you catch them in midair with the 2C, do: [h]2C > 6C > slight delay 2C > 6B > 2C > rest of the combo. You'll want to catch them as low as possible with the 2C after the 6C so that the 6B will hit. Command Throw Combo (corner): [w]236D > [h]2C > 6C > slight delay 2C > 6B > 2C > j.214B > 2D > 236B > j.236B > C~D > j.B > dj.B > dj.C. The c-grab will automatically revert Valk to human form for you. You can do 2C > 6B > 2C > 6C > 2C instead for easier timing on most of the cast, but you'll need what's originally listed for characters with awkward hitboxes such as Rachel. Command Throw Combo (midscreen): [w]236D > RC > j.236A > j.236B > 5/6C > j.B > j.B > 5B > j.D~B > dj.B > dj.C. RC the c-grab right after he finishes biting the opponent so that you stay in wolf form for the j.236A.

The majority of these are his move names, you can check them from the in-game command list. Usually when he puts a letter in front of the move name, he means you're supposed to use the A version or B version depending. Examples: Konig: The wolf cannons. "AKonig" means to do [w]236A/j.236A. "#Konig" would be the # of cannons you're supposed to do. Rosen: 236C, his dash uppercut. Jagd: 236B, his spinning low kick. Ukemi means to tech after getting hit. Shubalts and Weise probably refer to 236B ~ 236B like with Jagd. Why he calls it that is beyond me. I have no idea what NETA is.

Wait... it's possible for a Valk to go somewhere while not chauffeuring a Rachel?

Even if they don't IB, they'll have enough time to poke out of 2A > 6B or damn-near-anything > 6C. 2A > 2C > 6B is perfectly safe for all non 1 frame reversals such as DPs. On the other hand, if you keep mixing in frametraps such as 2A > 2C that'll make them scared to poke out, you should be able to slip in random 6Bs and 6Cs for mix up. Edit: Did some testing and 2C > 6B does lose out to 5/6 frames jabs on IB. Good to know that that thing isn't as safe as I first thought.

While it's not airtight, the safest blockstring I know of for going into 6B would be 2C > 6B. It leaves a couple frames open so it actually frametraps into 6B, but you can eat a reversal if they know that the hole is there. Main problem is that Valk's attacks have a noticeable amount of pushback, so unless your blockstring leading up to 2C is as short as 2A > 2C at point blank, you're going to be out of range for the 6B. The only way to go into 6C without them poking out (that I know of) is 6B > RC > 6C, and they can still poke you out of it if they IB the second hit of 6B.

Noel can use 3C, yeah. On the other hand, that's a rather large risk for the Noel player, since you can punish a blocked 3C into 3-4k and guaranteed corner carry from almost any range. Figure out how willing the Noel player is to take that risk and respect that option accordingly, since that could swing the round in either's favor.

There's a slight delay in between hitting the C and D. Hit the C, wait a bit (until Valk starts moving forward), then try hitting D to transform, otherwise the transformation will get eaten by the startup animation of the dash. You could notate it as C~D if you want to accent that there's a delay there, but since that's a pretty common portion of Valk's combos it's just generally understood what the timing is.

For one, we do have a combo thread that lists practical found combos and a Q&A thread for questions on how to do something/why you should do it, so be sure to check and post in those next time. As for things such as wolf cannons > [w]j.C~D > j.B > dj.B > dj.C and [w]5B > j.D > j.B > dj.B > dj.C, you'll just have to get used to the timing on those. They're fairly standard in Valk's combos, and basically every combo after a certain point requires that you be able to consistently switch between human and wolf. Some simple combos to learn first: [w]5B > j.AAA > j.236A > j.236B > j.214A While it's not the complete combo, it is something to tide you over until you can get down changing back and forth in between wolf and human mid-combo. Also useful for when you're running out of wolf meter and just can't afford to do the full combo. Make certain to delay the j.236A > j.236B so that the opponent is below you for the j.214A, otherwise it'll whiff. Can be started off of a [w]236A, but you'll have to run back under them to position yourself correctly for the [w]5B. [h] CH 5B/ CH 5C/ Crouching 5C > 236C > 9D > j.A > j.236A > j.236B > 5C/6C > j.B > j.B > 5B > j.D~B > dj.B > dj.C Basic combo for if you hitconfirm a CH 5B/ CH 5C/Crouching 5C. The j.B > j.B is a link, so time hitting the second j.B right as you see the first end. Can also be started if you can hitconfirm a j.C on a crouching opponent. Just start is off as j.C > 5B > 5C instead.

There's that. 5CC is also nice in that it's easier execution wise, so the chance of you screwing up and getting something they don't want is much smaller. All else fails, you could end up with a regular 5C > j.A rather than 3C > 5A. Still, I've already got down 3C > 5C (in training mode), so I'll stick with that.

As said before (many times), 3C does allow you to cancel 3 frames earlier. It might not be all that much, but that's the difference between handing them what is essentially a free IB. Besides, I already got it to muscle memory for 3C > 5C

It looks like he did the j.A fuzzy without a j.A to start it off. The input was probably 3/1/2C > 5C (break) > j.A, but there might be other ways of doing it. Edit: Tested, and I got what looks similar to what's in the video with 3C > 5C > j.A. Good to know that thing works without the initial j.A.

PSN: Sahgren Loc: SoCal in the Summer, Sonoma State University, CA in the NotSummer. Mic: None. I'm on randomly, but I should have the free time to jump on at almost any time if people want to play me.

Thanks for the advice, I'll do that. I'll also look into trying to get a car/motorcycle/finding a bus that at least gets me down to Southtown Arcade if MB starts rolling there.