Oiboi

Dizzy is quite possibly one of Zappa's worst matchups, if not THE worst. A good Dizzy is Zappa's worst nightmare; All of Zappa's invul frames and maneuverability are near useless, and she can even outpoke him at times. Naked/Unsummon: -Get a poke in and summon. 6P and 5K are your only real options aside from f.S, but she can 5K or 2K either of these. -Watch he set ups. Don't give here a chance to get started or you'll be in a bad spot. -Careful of her grab range, don't randomly summon in hopes of hitting here or invulning through something. Ghosts: -Throw P tosses more than anything. Get a hit to interrupt her setups and get in her face, but beware the fish. -With the ghosts, closer is better in this match. If you give her distance, she'll kill you. Sword: -Close is key, get close and beat her with pokes into a combo. Her crappy defense and huge hitbox make her easy to combo. You'll be able to really hurt her with out too much trouble. -Once she zones you, it's over with the sword. Getting inside is a tough job, even IAD j.HS isn't safe because of her spear. Dog: -Heres your key. Slowly move the dog closer and use it to break her pressure. The good thing is that you can use the dog even when being pressure in the corner from a huge setup. -Once you can hit with the dog, you can get close and end things. Raou: -Dizzy's terrible defense comes in handy now. Pressure her and put as much chip damage as you can until you can get a hit in. -Once you get a hit, don't give her a chance to get out. Overall: Dizzy is a force to be reckoned with, but it's not impossible. Run jump FD'ing will help get in close, but her air grab range is crazy. Stay close and you'll be able to hurt her. Summon is your friend until you get a summon, then stay in her face and wail on her until you win. You can run under f.S if the Dizzy isn't bright enough to not do it, but 5K and 2K are tricky because there so fast. Her Defense is bad, like I said, so once you hit her a few times, you'll be winning. This really comes down to experience with the player and practice. As usual, tips/comments/questions welcome.

Testament may seem overwhelming, but a good defense and proper poking can turn the tables pretty easily. Naked/Unsummon: -Pretty simple while naked, Just wait for the Testament to pressure and go for a poke or counter summon. -If you can get pressure at the start of the match before they can lay a trap (For instance, if Testament attempts to attack) 6P, 5K or the summon will beat most of his moves. Learn what works best and take your chance, but don't try this if they set a trap. -Watch out for EXE Beast. It's not as scary as it looks, but don't ignore it either. If Testament goes for the EXE Beast FRC into Normal pressure, summon into the normal. They never expect someone to counter here. -Badlands is a dangerous move. Gaurd the first hit, countersummon the second or hit the recovery. Ghosts: -Use these babies to put Testament on the defensive, and keep him away. -Using the ghosts to stay in the air is a good option from across the screen if he's going for EXE Beast to try to interrupt your pressure. Use a S or K toss to stop a badlands. -Using them to disarm his traps works well too. Make sure you watch is moves and remember where the traps are. Sword: -This one is hard to use properly in this match, but the pokes are a great tool. DP will interrupt EXE Beast FRC pressure, as well as beat out Badlands. -This may be the worst summon for this matchup, but it's certainly not bad. Damage output is good, pokes are nice; Not as many options as the others, but it will work. Dog: -This is just silly. 8D to get rid of zeinests, 6D goes through hitomi's. Set the dog up behind testament and theres nothing they can do. -They'll probably try to smack the dog if you use it to kill the Zeinests. This is when you run in for resummon. -Don't let EXE Beast kill the dog. Theres nothing you can do if this happens. If you need it out of the way, do 4D so that you can keep blocking. -Watch out for badlands. If they throw it out when your attacking and the dog is attacking, it'll just hit you both. Raou: -If they're smart, they'll try to set traps and use badlands to avoid you. If your smart, you'll pressure them until they try badlands and Edguy. -If they block, theres not a lot you can do. Tick throw is an option on Testament, though, but watch out for his quick pokes. -Keep the pressure on. Nothing out of the ordinary with Raou. Overall: Mind Testaments Mixups and pressure and you shouldn't have too much trouble. Zappa's one of the only characters who can counter Testament, so use it to your advantage. Always watch Testament to watch the traps, and don't fall into them if you can help it. Zappa can run under most Zeinests, but Hitomi will mess you up, so be careful. As stated, Testament can seem overwhelming, but once you learn the holes in the pressure, this matchup is fairly easy. As usual, feel free to post tips/comments/questions.

While you guys are on that topic, Anyone wanna do me a solid and get Zappa's Forcebreak? =D (Yes, I realize the 'solid' comment was lulzy)

Potemkin is a very tough matchup for nearly any character, but since Zappa doesn't have many throw invincible moves and Potemkin has Potemkin Buster, He's forced into a tight spot. Naked/Unsummon: -This is one of the only matchups where it's advisable to free summon (without hitting/from a combo). This is because getting close to Potemkin is a dangerous endeavor, and even more difficult is landing a combo and summon. -That being said, if you can manage it, hit him with a summon. f.S Will open him up on many occasions, and some of his long reaching moves can be countered with a summon. -Without a summon, don't even think about standing a chance against Pot. If he gets in your face, start poking, but only to open up to get a summon. Ghosts: -This should be obvious: Zone him. Avoid him like the plague. Careful he doesn't try to F.D.B. your ghost tosses. -It's possible to get in close somewhat safely with the ghosts, but it's not advised. Don't jump in, even if you throw a ghost; He'll just Heat Knuckle grab you out of the air (The range is ridiculous, jumping in the air is only safe if your on the other side of the screen completely; I've seen crazy stuff). -These are the most reliable summon, but not necessarily the best. The damage is useless against Pot, but you can stay pretty safe for a while. Sword: -Risky, but great rewards. Most pokes are beyond his grab range, but he still has Hammerfall and Judge Gauntlet to combat the sword. -LOVE THE DP. It's Zappa's one useable grab invincibility move (I believe he has another? But it's not as useful) and it can put Pot in the air, allowing for a combo. -Pot is ridiculously easy to combo because of his size and weight, so pummel him non stop. -The swords pokes are fast enough that you can pressure him, wait, and then continue your pressure again and sometimes catch pot trying to counter. The timing is less than a second, but it's enough to trick a Potemkin into thinking he can hit you. Dog: -Great, great summon. I can juggle Potemkin across the screen with the dog and have a legitimate combo the whole way because he's so heavy. -Get the dog behind him and wait for him to start an attack. The moment he does, that's when you take it to him and really beat him up. -Dog combos can be infinites on Pot. If your so inclined and have the endurance to hold up such a feat, be my guest. Raou: -Obviously the best summon for this matchup, or so you'd think. If you don't get a hit in, your going to be in trouble. You can't exactly opt for a tick throw because Potemkin players will instinctively Pot Buster your as soon as your close enough. -Darkness anthem spam will work great. Watch out for an F.D.B., and you can block it and Edguy whatever he tries to follow it with. -The standard 6HS DA K toss loop is tricky on Potemkin because when he groundslides, most of his hit box is off the screen. It will only work if your at a certain range. However, his size is so huge that you can smack him with Edguy more times than most characters with the right setup and timing. Overall: I can see why a lot of people have trouble with this matchup. His grabs are a huge pain for Zappa because that's one of Zappa's biggest weaknesses, and his new slidehead into ridiculous combo stuff will catch any sloppy Zappa player. 5K, backdash, or jump over Slide head NO MATTER WHAT THE COST. Potemkin's 2S is an annoying move as well, and beware of his 6K overhead. Don't get in the air, just don't. There is nothing Zappa has that will beat Potemkin's anti-airs. Instead, get some pokes in and play mindgames. This is a tough matchup, but you can win despite all of Potemkin's insanely broke stuff. (Yeah, that's a personal opinion, but you can't exactly argue against it.) As usual, tips and comments are welcome.

Yep, pretty much my exact same experience. I remember matches where I made one mistake and got comboed for a while and barely lived because the slayer made a mistake. Thanks for the info, I'll add it to the first post (I wanna keep these tidy for people to read without too much searching)

After fighting many of Slayers (As I'm sure nearly anyone has; He's quite popular now) I've got some strategies, but not all is failproof, so with this matchup particularly tips and comments are appreciated. Naked/Unsummon: -It is imperative that you do not get hit. Slayer can punish very easily and very fast, and absurdly hard. Do not make mistakes. -Do not summon if he tries a dandy step move. Whether it's a feint or not, you won't win. -5K and 6P are your friends, especiall because Slayer's 2H is deadly stuff. You can catch him out of his dash with a summon, though, even if he attempts to dash through it. -I said it before, but I have to say it again: Do NOT make mistakes. Many Slayer's can kill from a single poke, regardless of how much health you have. Very rarely do I ever win a match once I get under 50% health. -Get pressure and keep it. Don't give him a chance to turn the tables. Ghosts: -Slayer will get very annoyed at these. These are the only summon that Zappa has that can outzone Slayer's ridiculous pokes. -Stay away and throw ghosts, but don't throw them all at once. Again, keep a ghost on at all times if you can, and make him scared to get close. Watch out for his dash and punish him as soon as he tries to avoid a toss with it. -You won't deal a lot of damage, but you'll deal enough. Take it slow and beat his gaurd down until he either dies or you get another some. Sword: -Poke away. Most of the Sword's moves are fast enough to beat many of Slayer's Normals, but watch out for feints (sometimes a quick 236S will beat a dandy step, but not always. Even a swordswipe is risky). -Once you get a hit in (most likely from a DP or swordswipe), Combo for all it's worth. -Slayer has scary anti-airs. Stay on the ground if you can, but if you HAVE to get into the air, use J.HS as needed. It won't keep you entirely safe, but it'll help. Dog: -Risky business, but great damage. Dog can eat most of Slayer's moves for you to punish (However, some will simply hit the dog then you). -Keep your guard on but watch out for grabs. Hit him out of pressure and really hurt him. -This is when you put on the damage. Smack him up and take away his health. Get some orbs while your at it. Raou: -Even with this guy, this match is hard stuff. Slayer is like a smaller Raou, both in speed and damage output, so this is the only time your fighting on even ground. -Pressure and wait for him to try to hit you. Careful that he doesn't actually hit you though... Edguy will help with most of his moves, but it's still risky. Darkness anthem will hit him too if he tries to use a move to come in on you. If he Dashes through DA, That's when you can punish for all it's worth. Make sure theres a giant 6HS Raou fist as soon as he comes out of the dash. -Don't get stupid. Slayer's priority is terrifying stuff, so don't go running in with Edguy expecting to win the match. Overall: This match is pretty obviously in Slayer's favor, but I've won before, and I know it can be done. You just really have to be careful; Slayer's pressure strings are hard to counter and they seem to go on forever. Watch out for 6K feints on wakeup, and careful of how decieving his 2D is, the range goes forever. Zappa doesn't have many pokes that work well here, but perseverance and good countering will win the match. And again, Don't make mistakes. Really, if you plan to win this matchup, you need a lot of experience and a lot of practice to become flawless enough to win. Things 5K works against: 2HS 2D (Must be anticipated, can't do it on reaction because 2D's startup is too ridiculous) 2K Things 6P works against: (Pretty much everything else but I'll detail a few good moves it works on) 5HS 6HS 5K Any dandy step (Chase him and 6P, none of the followups except K will touch you and you wanna hit him before he comes out anyways) Mappa's Dead On Time (Must be preemptive, but works so well; close range, you have to hit the 'effect' around his feet) Things to look out for: 6K 2S Pilebunker (beats summon) Throws (Reload people know how stupid slayer's throws are against zappa) Any air moves (Only the sword and dog will be safe against these) Any of his other supers besides DoT BBU (despite appearances, beats 6P, summon, etc...) As usual, any tips and comments are welcome.

Yeah, J.HS is an amazing move lol. Still risky, but I'll add that to the first post. If you time it right, 2D whiffs through edguy, but it doesn't leave you in a good spot. Also, if he's going for a 2D you shouldn't be going for Edguy anyways. Thanks for the more info.

Matchup strategies for Ky. Naked/Unsummon: -Wait for him to make a mistake and poke into summon. Most of his moves can't get through the summon, so it's relatively safe to spam it here (as long as you don't act stupid and summon into a stun edge coming from across the screen, anyways). -Watch out for Greed Sever and 236K. Keep your defense up, don't get mixed up or you're going to pay for it. Summon will beat the second part of 236K. -6P Goes through f.S, 5k will avoid 2S but beware that it may not work at close range. 2S is fast, so it's hard to dodge with 5K anyways; if he likes to use it, you can probably anticipate though. Ghosts: -Zone him as safely as you can. He's quick and has a lot of range, so watch out for rushdowns and punish with a SJ j.HS when necessary. Ghost tosses will work best (Try S toss FRC K toss if you anticipate a 236K to get away from the S toss). -As with Sol, keep a ghost at all times if you can manage. Ky isn't too difficult to get some damage on, but keep in mind that he's rather heavy. -Once you get a haunting, you can start playing with his head and baiting him into getting hit by the ball/banana/flowerpot. Get up in his face (shouldn't be too hard, Ky's love to pressure) and wait for a CH/poke him and get a combo in. -Grabs always catch people off guard when you have the ghosts, particularly Ky's because they'll try to poke and pressure as much as possible. Wait for them to get into blockstun and nab them as soon as possible. Sword: -He can outpoke most of the swords moves, actually, so be wary. j.HS Is actually applicable if your careful, FRC and FD if you think there going to do a DP. Also, j.HS beats Greed Sever hands down, just jump and hit it and it'll win. -Poke his gaps in pressure strings and punish. DP FRC is your friend. Only his projectiles will beat the swipe. -Overall, once you get a hit in the sword can deal a load of damage to Ky. His weight makes it particularly easy to combo him with the sword, since he simply falls into the hits. Dog: -Best summon aside from Raou on Ky. He lacks any multihit moves (unless you count Sacred edge and 236K, which can be ran under/punished) so just pressure him. -While he lacks multihits, he's very quick, so you better have fast reactions for resummon or blocking. Poke him into combos while minding his own pokes. -Set your dog up in a good spot and theres nothing he can do. Get the dog behind him or set up near you and wait for him to try to pressure you, than poke him with the dog. Raou: -As usual, Pressure him. Chip damage as required until you open him up. -Watch out for a CSE when you do Darkness Anthem. If you can time it right, you can cancel CSE by hitting it with the Charge hits of Darkness Anthem, then throwing the DA for the third hit. However, in most cases, Ky can hit you while your doing it unless your right in there face. If you block CSE and wait for him to come in to continue pressure, Hit him with Edguy. -Ky's only options is to attempt to zone or block. Keep the pressure until he makes a mistake and end it. Overall: Ky's pokes make this a frustrating match. However, it's hard to say who has a clear advantage in this match. If your careful, Zappa can be just as threatening and scary. Gaurd low the majority of this match. He's got some fast pokes, like his 5K, that will hit low, so unless you see an overhead coming (5D, 214K), stay down. Run under his projectiles and prepare for him to try to poke low if your too slow. You can 5K after you get past the projectile, which is probably safest, but if he's still in the move get a 6P in before he recovers. Watch your defense and this shouldn't be too tricky. As usual, feel free to comment and add your own tips. I'll try to consolidate any and all info added into the first post here.

I suppose I'll start this subforum off. I'll throw in my 2 cents on as many characters as I can, and any suggestions are, of course, welcome. For organization and the like, I'll separate each match by character. Obviously, this thread will be about Sol. I'll also organize by summon strategies, and then make an overall strategy. Naked/Unsummon: -Very important you don't naked summon. Always, ALWAYS summon from combos or as a countermeasure. Sol can very easily punish, and most good Sol's are good are grabbing you out of the summon, So be sure not to make silly mistakes. Don't go for the summon in pressure strings either. -Get a summon as soon as possible against Sol. Some characters you can stand a chance against without one, but it's even riskier against Sol. -Watch your defense and get a grab when you can. Grab = Free summon. No need to get too fancy without summons. Ghosts: -Keep the pressure going. FRCing Ghost tosses from pressure strings keeps you safe from counterattacks, as well as allowing you to continue your pressure string if you choose to. Watch out for DP's and gunflames; Volcanic Viper can be punished with a ghost toss, but a gunflame will just stop the ghost. -Try to get a haunting on them and keep your distance. Don't worry about damage with the ghosts; Just keep your pressure and poke them when you can, the Ghost's pokes are pretty good against Sol if you use them right. -Once Sol makes a mistake, take your opportunity. Get some ghost tosses on him, but don't waste all of them; In some matchups you can throw out all the ghosts without too much concern, but Sol can pressure pretty fast, and the ghosts don't put on a lot of untechable time. Keep at least one for a f.S poke at all times. -Get Orbs. That's the only real use for Ghosts other than pissing Sol off in this match. Sword: -Sol will hate the sword. Poke intelligently, and maximize damage off your pokes. -Don't do 236S too often. Sol can hit through it without much difficulty, and it's not safe in pressure strings. It does work when he's coming down from VV, though, and if you have tension, theres not much he can do. -Know your FRC's. Sol can't do anything if you can DP and Swordswipe every poke attempt, even on whiff. Scare him into the corner and mix him up. -6HS is a good move if he's jumping in. c.S or f.S works if he's on the ground, 2S in some cases. 5HS also works well if your not sure what he's going to do. -j.HS isn't a good option on Sol. This is one of those NO-NO's in this matchup; He can simply DP Zappa if you jump in. It's good for Oki crossup, especially if you FRC to keep yourself from wakeup DP. Once the VV whiffs, you can punish. -"jH is still good zoning move against Sol for defense since it's like a wall when you jump back with it, usually it will clash if he does VV in a situation like that, otherwise he'll probably get hit. crossup jH after knockdown does not need frc to be safe from VV. just do the dash jump crossup (which sadly does no damage but whatever) and you'll be totally safe" --Tiamat Dog: -Nothing too fancy here. 5D to poke him if he tries to pressure you, if he throws out a DP punish with 8D. BR or BB can be punished hard if you let the dog get eaten and instantly resummon. -Poke him open and go for standard dog combos. Sol has to get close to hurt you or the dog, so keep the dog close. Bait him by staying far away and spamming 2D, 2HS; One will hit, almost no matter what he does. Watch out for DP, VV is multihit and will hit you and the dog if your not careful. Raou: -Pressure, Pressure, Pressure. Force an opening and KILL. -Watch out for Grand Viper counter when you throw out 6HS. Goes right under it. Same with Darkness Anthem, Toss K DA's until you get a confirm hit. If your fast enough, you can catch them if he gets cocky. -Edguy beats all. There is nothing Sol can't do against it if you use it smartly. Example, if he VV's, Edguy. DON'T Edguy in pressure strings unless you can RC it to play mindgames/get chip damage. Even then, Darkness anthem is much safer. -2D can beat Edguy, or sometimes whiff through, but it doesn't leave Zappa in a good spot. Likewise, watch out for Grand Viper here too. Overall: Just play smart. Keep your defense up and counter as efficiently as you can. Don't fall for Wild Tosses, backdash if he gets too close, and keep in mind that 6P and 5k go through most of his pokes. Be careful if he starts spamming gunflame, he's probably planning to Wild Toss or try a mixup. Overall, this is a tough fight, but it's not impossible if your careful. As stated, feel free to add any thoughts you may have. I'll try to do more matchups as I can.

Sergeant? Eh?

So was that second-to-the-last song from Hotel Dusk? What's the name of it? I loved it. (For clarification, talking about the one that's like a cross between Megaman and GG. I desperately need this song.) Also, good vid. This'll definitely help those who are eager to get better. Maybe making a video of how to do basic stuff for complete beginners (Quarter Circles, half circles, DP's, TK's, etc.) could help them too, but that's up in the air for pretty much anyone to do. Again, pretty good.

Yeah, but the infinite is basically pointless in AC, not just because it's not infinite anymore, but because of proration. You can get more damage (and even dizzy status if done right) by doing 2HS 2D into something. The advantage to this setup, in my opinion, is a counterattack will hit the dog and not you, the 2HS connects and you can sweep into summon; so it's almost failproof (unless your fighting someone who has a lot of multihits). If you're fighting an aggressive player, though, you can poke with 6P or 5K and go into a semi infinite if you like. It's all about getting through the defense. Kanom, that site is pretty neat. The strange translations on the home page are almost intriguing (Foul eyes? Can't mean souls because it goes way past 8). I'll look more into it and see what they have up there. Thanks.

That's probably my favorite combo in that video. It's pretty strict timing, but you have to cancel as soon as the hitstop is over (basically, cancel on the first possible frame. j.D has a bit of startup, so if your too close to the ground, it won't connect before being cancelled; your timing and execution has to be flawless). Also, practice your FRC's, as it'll help alot. Getting used to the strict timing will help in the long run of getting other tight executions down. Good luck :3

Needs moar valentine...

Is that off Counterhit 623HS? I can't imagine 66 S connecting after a normal hit FRC...

I know, but I'm simply suggesting you learn the sword too because your gonna have that match where you get the sword and not the triplets, so...

If you do it enough, they'll get wise to you and start baiting you. Very rarely is a counter summon a good option against good players; The only times you can do it is when you see a fairly slow and obvious attack starting, otherwise they'll poke out with a small one when they expect you to counter, then grab/guard and attack from there. It's really difficult timing now, but if I remember right, you can still run under Greed Sever and countersummon if your close enough as Ky starts it. Not saying counter summon isn't bad or has shit priority, just saying to be careful with it or your opponents will find easy ways to punish you for empty summons.

The sword is perhaps Zappa's fastest summon, so I'm not sure how it's bad against millia (the only one faster might be Raou). If the dp is your best bet against millia, then learn the FRC and make it your best friend, because you can't always have the summon you want. Learn the combos off your sword moves too, you never know when you'll get the opportunity in a match. ( with sword: 623HS FRC 2HS JC first hit j.K j.S JC j.K j.S j236HS for instance)

Good old mixups. Also, I lol'd. I'd think a counter summon into her j.HS or 2j.HS would probably work, but I've yet to fight a may yet, so don't quote me on that. Anyways, always trying for a countersummon is gonna get you killed anyways, since if they block it, you can get punished like mad. If you block her, theres not much she can do, but if you slip, your screwed; I know may can make some pretty airtight pressure, so it's all about poking at the right time, I suppose. And why a new thread for matchups is beyond me...

Just thought I'd note, on the Zappa frame data note, the author said: The point is that he can use his unsummon off of any move during these modes (except in the air, and the summon, obviously). Not exactly silly, but not sure why the Mook decided to be so specific about that, or are FB's even considered specials?

Psyduck means I'm joking/take what I say with a grain of salt, lol.

Phrekwenci: OTG Summon off airgrab isn't good enough? Anyways, can't remember if this was noted in the sticky (Can't believe it took me this long to figure this out) but Zappa can run under the first part of HOS's Rock It. If it's been noted, ignore me for being a retard:psyduck: Also, not sure if any of the new players know about all of Zappa's OTG options (I know theres the epic table of OTG Summon, but theres more options than just OTG summon). If anyones interested, I can try to detail it pretty well. And I have to say that Zappa has a pretty good advantage over Jam (since this is the new matchup thread lulz). He can Summon/6P/5K through nearly every attack, and she's easy to combo. But still, Jam has quite alot to keep the table level if the players good. Just throwing it out there.

Zoogstin: Yeah, this should be in the matchup thread lol. Kanom: Pot has aerial pot buster now... I don't know why they thought that was a good idea...

I personally feel that Dizzy may be Zappa's worst matchup, actually o_O Eddie can get countersummoned rather easily if your intelligent, but Dizzy can lock Zappa down better than anyone. Also, Potemkin is annoying just because of his grab ranges (makes it hard for Zappa to do as he pleases).

lymvirus: Not exactly a glitch, nearly every move in the game will keep the characters forward momentum; Zappa just has a very long slow down time, allowing him to summon through quite a lot of stuff (Say your dashing at axl and he tries to do 63214S, You can do summon counter and keep moving away into a safe distance). This works in certain other situations as well, like countering a Greed Sever (harder nowadays, the range wasn't so huge back in the day), Bandit Bringer, etc. In Slash, you could go under Grave Digger and summon, though I don't know the validity of this in AC anymore. aaronyu2: Not at full length. If your within range of his pokes, You can use most of Raoh's moves to punish him from block, or try for a clash/counter with Edguy. Darkness Anthem reaches almost all the way to the other edge of the screen; if they're doing an attack or trying to rush in, they'll get hit/blocked.