Guardian

6B fatal in the corner: 6B[FC], 2C, 5C, 236B, RC, 2C, 6C, 2C, 2147B~1D, land, [w]236A, [w]236B, j.236A, j.236B, 7C, j.B, j.B, land 5D, 5B, 2C, j.9D~[w]j.B, 3C, [w]j.A, land, 5D, 5B, 632146D. 9.4k+ The meter building of doing 4x [w]236x is ridiculous. Put it in all your corner combos now.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how to beat his j.A spam tactics, I'm listening.

Just about any of his wolf cancellable moves on block (except 6C, and I'm actually not sure if I should even post this) can be mashed out of by 95% of the cast. 4/7C are good for baits if your move is blocked. On hit however, (like with 236A), you get a free wolf mixup with [w]j.A. A properly spaced [w]j.B out of a 5C dash can beat A mashers, but the spacing is TIGHT. Can we please stop using 236A in pressure now? Pretty please?

236A is a horrible move against ragna outside of combos. He can srk it on reaction, especially if you're using a telegraphed guard string. In this matchup, 5C is your best friend. It can beat his 90% of his pokes (including 5B) if spaced properly, but you have to be somewhat preemptive with it. IB~6A is not a good idea during Ragna pressure b/c he can easily throw/go low and crush 6A for big CH dmg. If they're doing a lot of overheads or doing really predictable pressure then that is definitely a viable option, but not against a ragna that really knows what they're doing. Your best bet out of Ragna pressure is to not let him get in in the first place. If he does, IB~backdash is your only worthwhile safe option. Off of CH 236B you can get a quick 5D, [w]j.A, land, 5D, 5B, 2C, etc.

236A should only be used in combos. Outside of that it sucks. You should only go for a wolf mixup on hit, and even then it's not foolproof vs srk. If you REALLY wanna bait it, you're going to have to do something like 236A, 7D~5C~5D. If done correctly, you should go back to the max height of the 7D cancel, flip in a neutral state and transform back. No SRK can punish that (on a 236A HIT), and it's somewhat difficult on block. Ragna can still run up and srk punish on block however.

But that's the thing, the only [h]normal you can fuzzy guard is j.C. 6C/236C are really telegraphed, and can be crawled on reaction IF the tao player can see it. (21 frames is NOT fast) I wasn't comparing ragna's 6B to valk's 6C, I was comparing how hard the mix up is to see off of their respective moves. 2B~rozen is much easier to block than Ragna's 6B~GH. After some testing, she can in fact crawl under both 6C and 236C after normal blocking 6B (you can't even string 6B to 6C, so any 6C setup can be crawled on reaction). You're right about 5B to 3C/j.C fuzzy not being able to be crawled, but again that doesn't mean much if you don't have 50%. Anytime you have less than 50%, she can just block low and crawl your 6C/236C on reaction. The strats you posted are good, just not vs a Tao that knows the match up.

Tao's crawl goes under ALL of valk's human overheads (even 236C). Even if you try to fuzzy her w/ [h]j.C off of any of the jump cancelable normals, she can STILL crawl under you. Valk's human overheads against her are trash. [w]j.b is the ONLY overhead that beats crawl when done after a low 4/5/6C dash. She can crawl 6C and 236C on reaction, then punish you with whatever she wants. The only overhead you might get on her is [h]j.C, which isn't much unless you have 50% meter to cancel or get a super. If rozen is blocked you can get punished by just about the entire cast, especially if they IB it, even if you do a wolf cancel. 2B into rozen isn't particularly difficult to react to, especially when comparing it to harder overhead strings (i.e Ragna's 6B~Gauntlet Hades, Litchi j.C fuzzy, etc).

I can't say I agree with this in general. Not using multiple overheads ok, but none in wolf at all? And Human overheads harder to deal with than wolf overheads? You can't be serious.

Doesn't work, they can tech a bit after the 2nd 236B. General FYI: Wolf fuzzy guard mixups don't work on Tao. She can crawl under the multiple overheads.

Fixed that 4 ya

Played this match a lot today, here's what I took from it: At Mid range, Tager is deadlocked. All he can safely do is 5A and attempt to walk you down. If he whiffs any C or D moves, you get a free transform punish and/or mixup. He can't jump in on you at all, with anything ([w]5B and 2C beat all his aerial options). Trolling him in wolf is very effective, as 7C and 4C make Tager's 2C a little easier to bait. His 5A will beat or trade with EVERYTHING you have though. Counter-poking with j.C or 5C seems to be the only counter to it, and even then that's risky. If you get magnetized, just wolf dash in various directions. It will REALLY mess up your magnetized jump trajectory, as [w]4/7C seem to ignore the magnetized state within the first few frames of the back dash. If he gets you actually blocking, you'll have to guess before you can get out, so make sure your defense is good and/or you know the match up pretty well. One wrong grab and it's pretty much over. If you get him blocking, try to get him to guess on a wolf mix up. He has a REALLY hard time handling all the AA baits and cross-ups.

This. I've had questions about alot of matchups, but I guess the mods don't think that anyone still knows how he works?

2A will beat a 3D cancel true, but it's a guessing game that's not in your favor, b/c [w]j.b will beat your 2A. It's a 50/50 on both counts, and this is if you 'see' the transformation, which isn't going to be very viable vs a Valk that doesn't do the normal braindead pressure i.e. 5b, 5c, 236A~5/2D, etc

The problem with mashing 5A vs transformation mixups is that if they choose to do a 3D cancel from something like a shoulder, your 5A will whiff and you can get CH command grabbed or hit w/ [w]5A into combo. ID is your best bet if you just HAVE to do something. This is on block mind you. If you get hit, you HAVE to guess unless you're gonna ID. 5A will get beat if you get hit by 236A~wolf pokes.

Gonna try to get the Tally crew to come to this

I played this match up a TON the other day, and since the valk mods won't let anyone post, I'll post my findings here for you guys. IB destroys alot of Valk's pressure, but not all of it. 6C is a concern for everyone, but the main pokes you should worry about are 5C, j.C, 2C, and 6B. If you learn to 'see' his transformations, then you should use the 623D to try and catch him, as he can do multiple wolf backdash feints(4 or 7C in wolf) to make you whiff the C version. When he starts using multiple backdashes though, that's when the match gets....interesting. Don't count on ID too much though, as he has A LOT of hidden tactics that bait DPs/Supers/Reversals. His j.C stuffs all of your ground pokes except 6A. If he has 100%, you're looking at anywhere from 5.5k-6.7k from anywhere on the screen. Once you get into 5B range, you can go to town, b/c he has NOTHING for that move. When you get in, stay in, keep him in the corner and rape. He can only guess wrong 3 times (2 if you have enough for a Blood Kain combo) Max range 5C is really good to counter your 5B, but Ragna's 5C can also beat that out. Don't use 2D alot, as he can punish with 5C for a HUGE combo. After awhile, the match turns into a well played chess game of who can get the first hit. I personally think the match up is 5-5, but the person I played believes it's 6-4 in Valk's favor b/c of Valk's movement, mixup and dmg potential are all greater than Ragna's. I think it's 5-5 b/c of 5B. My God what a retarded move. Regardless, take my ramblings for what you will.

this does work at point blank range, but I believe you have to do them simultaneously for it to work

I got 8 chains to work on ragna after a FC hotenjin: FC 236236B, (adjust) 6D~A*3, 623D, 663C, 236236B, 66, 4D~A*3, 4D~D, j.214B# Does 7094. Probably not practical, but I'm thinking 4D~A*n after the 2nd hotenjin does more than staple 214D~C followups

Well FaultyDef kinda spoiled one of my combos, but here's another off of the j.C fuzzy, don't think it's been posted (100% meter req, works midscreen): j.C, j.236236C, RC, 5D, 236A, j.AAA, 236A, 236B, 3CD, j.B, 214B, 9DD, j.B, j.B, j.C. 5.3k+

-Hazama has to zone. HAS TO. If Valk starts his pressure, it's gonna be hard for hazama to escape, especially if he's rushing in wolf mode. Lots of 4/6/5D~A here to bait wolf dashes. -Valk's 6A is practically a srk, especially w/ an IB, so close pressure will only take you so far. -You shouldn't be fighting him (or anyone else for that matter) at mid-range, as that's Hazama's weakest range. -Valk's wolf normals are gdlk, so only poke w/ chains, specials, or well timed normals (5A, 2A, 5C, 3C) -He doesn't get a free mixup after a blocked 236A. If he transforms, a 2A/5A will hit him before he can mix you up.. -Valk is a walking overhead. If there's any doubt, stand. His human lows are below average. (2B is pretty slow, 3C is punishable on IB iirc, just jump 236B)

Ok, just looked at the vid, and what upset me was 5C, 4D not combo-ing at all on an airborne opponent. So much for 5A anti air hit confirm combos. Off of 3c, it looks like you MIGHT be able to get 214D~D, 2A, 5B, 2C, 4D into whatever.

If we can't do 3C 214D~C, that just means we'll have to do 3C, 214D~D, 2B, 5C, 4D~D, etc. It just becomes a minor damage nerf, which is ok b/c hazama's BnBs w/o a CH or Hotenjin didn't do much dmg anyways. These nerfs actually don't seem too bad, considering japs have him at #3.

The shoulder is safe, but he doesn't get advantage. If you IB, all followup attempts can be mashed out of. Now, the combo you've all been waiting for: (in corner of course)236B RC 2C, 6B, 2C, 6C, 2C, sjc tk j.214B, D, w.B, w236B, w236A, w236B, C, (w)j.B, (w)j.B, D, (h), 5B, 632146D. Does 8.9k+

Going into wolf modes after 236A/C isn't going to be viable after a week or so. If people get used to seeing you change after those specials, most of the cast can just mash 2/5A to CH you for big damage. Wolf mixups are best done after a blocked 6B, 6C or a fake 236B. Approaching with him is a bitch though.