BatousaiJ

Gonna run some lazy casuals tonight if any east coast players want to hop on and join in(PSN). After the ball game though.

The trick with the j.236D link is that if you're too close when you go into 623C, you'll hit them as you're coming down with j.214A but that's easily corrected by recognizing when you're too close and delaying the 623C a little bit after 5CC to make it connect on every character in the game. The good thing about 236D stun is that even if they're hit while crouched, they'll be standing up while crumpling and you'll be able to do the 2C > 214D without fail. While in other cases of crouch stun 2C > 214D would not work.

Gonna have to learn that whiff combo eventually if you're going to pull near the maximum potential out of Tsubaki. As for 236D, you can do a lot of stuff with it, especially if you've got more charges to use. I thought I had a combo section with some multiple charge combos off of 236D on the tutorial thread but I guess I skipped multiple charges on that one. Here's a good one. 236D > dash 5B > 2C > 214D > 2CC > IAD j.CC > 5B > 2CC > 236B > 214B > 22B [3667 damage, 34 meter gain] dash 5BB doesn't work btw, you'll miss on the 2CC before the ender. If you want a meaty heavier damage combo instead... 236D > dash 5BB > 5CC > 623C > j.214A > j.C > j.236D > j.214A > 6CC > j.C > j.CC > j.236A > j.214C [4015 damage, 37 meter gain]

You go straight through george with 236C/D. If george activates on proximity, you'll just go through him without killing him but if he doesn't trigger right away, you'll kill him and hit Rachel if she's behind him. A or B won't kill him but you generally shouldn't be using those out of combos anyway. The same can't be said of the pumpkin though.

3CC isn't just "not safe" it may just be the most unsafe normal in the entire game. However, sometimes I like to throw it out there when I've got 50 heat to waste as you'd be surprised how many people will get caught off guard by delaying that second hit of 3CC and then you can go into nice meaty IAD combo for good damage/corner carry.

This match up is really all about patience and proper use of 236C(prediction + timing) to get in. Once you're in, she's got no reversible unless she spends 50 heat for her DD so if you've got a lambchops cornered with no heat, go buck wild and do whatever you want to her. When she has the heat, they'll usually go for DD or a CA so try to bait out the former(don't forget that it's a overhead, don't try to block it low) and stay in her face. This is one match up where if you have to choose between being in their face and getting some charge, you choose the former everytime(same thing with Arakune). You can kill people chargeless with relative ease now. Once you get in, don't let them go without having them pay for it either with a burst or with 50 heat. As stated before, you can bust out of corner spike chaster lock down with 214D which is always fun to do just make sure you've got the timing down on it as getting CH by spike chaser = big damage.

Fighting Litchi in the air is inadvisable. Her normals in the air are so superior to our own that often times it's better off going for air grabs instead of trying for a j.C or something when you expect to meet her in the air. The whole point of being aggressive against Litchi when she's staffless is that she has no DP or guard point option making it completely safe for you to be in her face doing whatever mix up you want when she doesn't have the staff. When she does though, be wary of her DP and try to bait it when you think they're going to pull it out and then after blocking go for a counter hit combo of your choice(5B > 6CC being the easiest to land). 2C works wonders against overconfident Litchi players who like to dominate the air game and given they like to set up their offense on approach by dropping their staff and etc, you should get ample opportunity to charge in this match up. Also, watch out for Litchi's overhead options, there are two you should especially be looking for(I don't know the command for them). One is the one where she uses her hand/hand + staff and the other is the one she kicks off of the staff. She has another when she's staffless but that was is particularly slow so it's easy to block. Her guard point when the staff is rotating around her will block mid and head moves but is vulnerable to low moves(2B works well) and throws. Litchi has a new move where she comes straight down and that hits mid for first and low for second hit. She drops down with her staff and the first hit can be guarded high or low but the second must be guarded low so remember that as many Litchi players like to use this as a easy way to cross over when they've got the staff. This match up really isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. Just get used to her blocking her gatlings, bait out that DP when you think it's coming, try to stay on the ground and make her pay for using her guardpoint with lows and throws.

Err... for starers be wary of her overhead gatling, and her 3C which will go right "under" any and all 236x moves. Watch out for the infamous tail when she's in the air as that'll change the timing of when you should intercept with 2C. Know what moves of her's is + on block and respect it and don't try to just mash her out unless you're calling out a overhead or crossover transition. Makoto's DP is pretty good as well with good invinc so bait and punish just as you would inferno divida. It takes a long time to catch on to Makoto's mix up option and getting caught in the corner against her can often times spell doom so this is a match up where it's all about getting used to her gatlings and mix up options(make sure you use barrier to push away and counter assault when you find yourself locked down in the corner) while not getting baited to using 236x as they'll just 3C that all day to your dismay. Makoto's the only character that can effectively and easily shut down our 236x and 2C option with relative ease so this is a tough, tough match up through and through. Just get used to fighting her and hope for the best. I'll add something more here after I get some matches against Omniscythe.

Bang still has most of the things going for him that still makes him incredibly annoying to deal with. If you knew the match up in CS 1, it hasn't changed that much except for the fact that he isn't as... retarded as he used to be and messing up here and there will not spell immediate doom. A special mention to his double air dash makes picking him off the air quite the hassle and try not to get take his j.236D nails on the ground as that'll open you up for pressure. I haven't had enough matches against good bangs in CS 2 and while he's definitely still very good and scary in the right hands, he's not as silly as he used to be.

Thanks for the check. It's certainly viable as I find myself using it from time to time successfully but without the option to continue with 236D midscreen after crossover makes the benefits much less appealing. With the corner to your back though, this is my favorite ways or turning the tides rather quickly.

God damn, I had that 236236C come out as 623C before myself. Such a fail moment when you've got the kill lined up -__-;; As for Valk, I'm having the toughest time using the new Valk properly. In CS 1, most of my strategy was to use him in his human form and go wolf for direct mix ups and combo continuation only. Now you basically have to use wolf form all the time and the whole transition hasn't worked out too well for me.

Personally, I'm a fan of this 2 charge combo for a 5B starter mid screen. 5BB > 5CC > 623C> j.214A > j.C > j.236D > j.214A > 6C > 236D > dash 5C > 2CC > 236B > 214B > 22B. Corner to corner carry that ends with positional/charge advantage, works with either 2A/5A starter added on, relatively easy execution and works on everyone(if the j.214A hits them after j.236D, either you're too close to the corner or you need to delay the 623C a little bit). Once again though, I can't stress enough that max damage isn't important for mid-screen combos, it's the carry and advantage you end with that you have to be looking out for the most.

I've got some good experience fighting good Noels lately and have been formulating my strategy against her. First off, get off the idea that there's one sure fire way to beat all of Noel's wake up options. There just isn't. Some options work for multiple situations while others are exceptionally good for certain ones. You can beat 5D wake up everytime with a throw, you can stuff 2D with a lot of things depending on the timing on how meaty you make your option. I've found 5B a good normal to stuff 2D but it's not a surefire as it can still get beaten out if you toss it out when it just goes over the hitbox. You can beat 2D rather easily with 214x and on CH, you can go into a full IAD combo after dash 2CC for easy damage. The good thing about the 214x option is that even if it trades, you'll still get out ahead. You can also beat 2D with 22x if they're using it in the middle of your block strings. When a Noel starts to try to mash out of my 5C > 6B link pressure with 2D(which works), I immediately start throwing in 22C into the mix ambigiously after 5C and catch them on a CH. Tsubaki has all the tools in the world to keep a Noel player honest. If your block string doesn't throw of of these other options in there from time to time, they'll be able to mash their way out of your pressure and considering good Noel players will have you mostly dead after two 2D/5D CH hits, it's important to make sure they don't rely on it too much and if they do, to use it against them as a weakness. 4D is easily beaten with 22x as well as that has the distance to hit them without you ever being in danger of being hit by the 4D itself. Remember for all of the uses of 214x and 22x vary depending on when you're trying to use it whether that be in the middle of a block string or on a fast approach. You can figure out which will be best to use when and it's fairly obvious. Just be aware of what you can do when these hits do land as CH as you'll want to continue the combo afterwards to make them think twice about mashing things out. Don't try to fight Noel air to air with j.C as you'll lose out most of the time and don't let your 2C be baited for that j.D attack as that will hurt. Fight her on the ground, your 5B will hit her faster than her 5C can but just remember that 5B will whiff over 3C so if they catch on to that, watch out. If you have your strat down on how to shut out her D mashing strat(pro btw), you'll be able to fight her on more or less a equal term where she'll actually have to "block" your pressure and that's where you lock them down to the corner and laugh at them. Oh and lastly, Noel's counter assault has a bad habit of knocking her into one of Tsubaki's gatlings with auto-correct so make sure you whenever that happens.

Lets continue this discussion in the match section vs noel. I'll chime in there as well since I've been having a lot of matches against good Noel players lately and I've found out some things that work well against her.

Nice, roll that Tsubaki train down at London, Kiba~ All the way

Considering if you're throwing j.214C out there to actually hit people with you want to RC anyway, this isn't a bad combo to know. While a blocked j.214x doesn't spell almost certain doom anymore since it has a decent knockaway on block, it's still incredibly unsafe so keeping an RC option for yourself when you use it is a good idea. First problem is that your one charge option is a character specific nightmare. It will not work with the same timing with everyone(vs some characters it requires very precise timing) while simply not being possible against Tager... add to that the fact that you forgo the whole untechable time(for free charge) and corner carry you want in a BnB, I'd recommend you choose a different combo as you goto one charge combo. As for the second combo you listed, it just doesn't work. IAD isn't an accessible branch to continue the combo with after that series of hits.

I entertained the idea of whiff j.214C myself for awhile and logically it felt like it might be easier since you're getting rid of the dash component entirely but after awhile, I don't really think this is the case. The way the hitbox for 2C and the falling opponent works the "sweet spot" for where you have the biggest timing chance to land both hits of the 2CC is not where j.214C lands you. You can land it sure but once you got the timing down for the dash, you'll notice yourself hitting the 2CC closer to the opponent than you think. After all this time, my consistency with this link is nowhere near where I would like it and I personally think it's just a matter of practice and adjusting properly to the various degrees of lag I come across. Offline though, I'm confident enough to go for it everytime it's relevant to use. Online, only really in very good conditions.

The second 2CC only really works during very specific links like the fatal. Generally the most you can do off a standard DP whiff combo is something like this. 5BB > 5CC > 623C > j.214A > 2CC > 623C > j.214A > hjc. j.C > jc j.CC > j.236A > j.214C is what it is if memory serves. Not worth doing usually over the standard 2CC corner carry loop to be honest but if you want to get fancy and get some max damage without charges/fatal stuff, that's the best you'll probably be able to do midscreen.

NY is right around my area if you need a sparing partner to train with. If you have any questions about specific factors of her game, try the simple questions and combo threads where there's a lot of information already.

Ya I got that you pointed it out, it's just important enough to warrant being reiterated with examples. As for your "willing to spend resources", as we all know if you win with 2 charges left, they won't carry over to the next round and losing with a bunch of charges in tow just feels like ass. Don't be a hard ass and treat each and every charge like you'll never get another as that will make you predictable to play against. I'm generally in the camp of using my charges more liberally(not needlessly though) especially in crucial moments of the game where you need to take advantage of every last invinc frame and point of damage to gut out that win. As for the Hazama example, it's precisely a matter of input on the beginning of battle. Just try to put out a 22A and have the Hazama player spamming 3C at the start and see which one wins every time. There are a handful of moves like that and it helps to be aware of them.

That's one of the most difficult combos I've ever seen or tried and I've made three combo videos! Yikes. Good luck getting that to connect in a match. I've done the 6CC > 214D > IAD x 2 combo a few times for giggles since it's got two full IAD hits in it but when it comes to punishing attacks, I've found many times you don't even have time to land a 6C or 5C CH for that max CH damage. On the other hand 5B CH > 6CC is a good alternative and will be able to punish given distance and window of opportunity that the other CH hits simply can not land. I would recommend first and foremost people learn the combos off that starter first before going into max damage territory as far as actual viability in a real match goes. Practice, practice, practice. Edit- Saw myself dropping a easy combo today against some people and thought it was odd so I ended up testing it out. The combo 5BB > 5CC > 22B > 236D > 5B > 2CC > 236B > 214B > 22B does indeed work but it does not work with 5A as its starter. The funny thing about this is that it will however work with 2A starter. I was under the impression the combo ability of 5A/2A as in how it affects untechable time was exactly the same and it seems that it isn't. Interesting... but annoying.

Lets not forget the nice damage you can do off of a 623D > j.214D in the corner that you wouldn't other wise using 623A > j.214D. Or if you have three charges, 623D > j.214D > 236D for that massive damage. There are even fancy RC combos you can do off 623D itself on CH that you can't do with 623A as well. 623D CH(first hit) > RC > 5C > 2CC > IAD combo works just fine and is actually pretty easy to connect. Off a none CH hit you can even do 623D(all 3 hits) > RC > 2CC > 236B > 214B > 22B (hooray for untechable time) So basically, more invinc frames, better hit box, not only a projectile, more combo ability and damage. It's obviously the superior move and well worth the use of a charge in many situations. As to address the starter option, in all honesty I would say the "best" starter is just simply to block and see what your opponent does first. Everything else can be easily punished if you're being read and especially on the first match you want to get an idea of what their preference of a opener is and try to punish that in the second round if they're dumb enough to start off the same way(and many do). 22A starter is actually quite strong as it's got the range and speed(IAD combo off CH too) and even if they choose to jump over it to start, you have time to recover before they can land a hit usually. It'll get beaten out by some normals on the ground like hazama's 3C and etc so just know the match up and see if they can beat your option. I also enjoy using high jump backwards and getting a bit of j.D charge and then either air dashing forward or backwards to suit my needs. The trick with j.D is basically to only use it when you can air dash to continue pressure or back up to get to a safe range. Of course, the safest option is and always will be untechable time 5/2D but I find the more time you are able to charge successfully, the more frustrated and reckless my opponent gets in their attempt to stop my charging which allows me to punish them for it.

Tsubaki's 623A/D is a good way to get people out of your face if they don't respect your DP option. 236C/D also have their uses as 236D is + on block, crosses over even in the corner and goes into a meaty combo off hit/CH. 236C you can combo off of on hit with 5A/2A starter and 5B if it's a CH and if you make sure you hit them at the end of its active frame, it's relatively safe. 214D has a great deal of invinc frames and on hit/CH it goes into a very damaging combo, with or without other charges to expand. It'll get beaten out by low pokes but it's one of those high risk, high award kind of move that's great to have as an option especially against zoning characters. Make sure you use 22C to break primers and get that + frames if they're too far away for you to continue your block string normally and mix in that sexy 22D unblockable in unpredicatable fashion to keep them on their toes as a naked 22D hit can often lead to massive damage. As for her 236236C/D, it's nice to be able to add a bit of damage at the end of a combo if you so choose but it's generally a better idea to save for RC unless it's a kill combo. 236236C also works as a good reversal but getting baited can often spell doom.

Playing against Jin hasn't changed much other than having to watch out for using that 6A more often which is annoying when he uses it without meter and very dangerous when he does. Don't play that air to air game with Jin since his j.C and j.B will rock your world all day and play footsies with him with 5B since it's faster than his 5C and use your trusty 2C when he comes in on your aggressively from the air with j.2C and j.C. If he's got you locked down, respect the + frames and throw out some wake up/IB DP so he respects your DP option but don't overuse it or he'll punish you for it. If he respects the DP option, he'll lay off the attacks to bait it and that's your opportunity to get out or start a pressure string of your own. Watch for his ice projectile while you're charging full screen and be prepared to block it. Don't get to aggressive against him on his wake up since Jins love DP'ing especially when you've got your back to the corner so bait it and punish accordingly. Jin's got a better pressure game and can do more damage off random hits than before so play the distance game carefully and use 236C/D approach to your advantage.

The most important thing you should take away from that video other than entertainment value is the mix up section where he uses j.236C and others in inventive ways. I can easily see that being viable in real matches.