Ukyo Tachibana

The reason why 2P, 5K (delay) Split Seal can be effective is that you can use this as a tick throw setup as well. But instead of your conventional 5S to frame trap, Split Seal works the same way and you do get a few frames of advantage, to continue pressure.

Without having read anything yet, this is my own match analysis as done in ehuang-sama's "post mortem" style: **Ain vs Hase** (16:52-16:55) Ain: Opens the match with Stun Edge. This is a complete hard read and most likely mixed in with player familiarity because SE at this spot is USUALLY a bad idea in a lot of situations. Reason being: some Slayers like to open a match with 6P (which goes completely through a SE). The read gives Ain a minor payoff and tags Hase opening with a Dandy Step. Hase: Gets hit with the Stun Edge, and then curiously does 6P afterwards, perhaps thinking Ain would throw another SE. This backfires because Ain does max range 2K into 5S xx Stun Dipper for a knockdown. (16:56) Ain: Rushes in after a Stun Dipper knockdown with 2P, 2P, 5S. 2P mash is a standard burst/DAA bait that MOST Ky players SHOULD know and SHOULD utilize. Ain baits Hase's burst but Hase doesn't bite. Hase: Opts to not burst - unusual as I notice a good amount of Japanese players burst early to stop momentum. (17:08) Hase: (!) Gets reverse-thrown by Ain back into the corner, and Ain gets to initiate his katame all over again. Hase manages to IB most of Ain's pressure and does backdash into FD jump -> Footloose. VERY good escape and all Slayers should have this option to escape most pressure situations. (17:15) Ain: Ain does YRC (nothing) in neutral during Hase's Dandy Step. YRCing in neutral is a very underrated tactic - keep in mind that by doing so, you are slowing down time for a good 6 frames or so. This gives Ain a bit more leeway to advance forward without having to quickly react to a sudden Pile Bunker. (17:19) Ain: Gets hit by a Pilebunker combo, then bursts. Pretty good presence of mind here - because if he had bursted and Slayer had meter, that would be DANGEROUS for Ain to burst at this spot. (17:24) Hase: (!) Gets hit by Ain's knockdown into Split Seal -> DC CSE. He actually MANAGES to backdash out of this one but a bit late as he had to FD the final hits of DC CSE. Note to all Ky players: ANYONE can reversal backdash midscreen DC CSE - NOT JUST SLAYER. So be VERY wary of using DC CSE midscreen without meter to YRC! (17:29-17:31) Ain: Does standard pressure into SE that gets blocked. Afterwards, he does backdash->2D (which is USUALLY a good and standard response in the Slayer matchup. 2D is active for a long time and if done max range, it can hit most dandysteppers). Hase: (!): Notices Ain's (wrong) spacing completely, right after Ain backdashed. Ain was TOO close - this enabled Hase to reaction IAD D xx Footloose over Ky's extended 2D. (18:22-18:24) Ain: Techs out of Hase's air combo, then YRC (nothing) -> air dash out. Another underrated tactic. If you're the type of player who thinks they need "work" with their air techs, this is a good option. Slows down time for a good 6 frames or so without the immediate fear of getting air-to-aired or air thrown. Hase: Hase gets the same idea because as soon as Ain lands, he does YRC (nothing) into two forward dashes->throw. Ain was about to do another backdash into 2D (perhaps), but because of the time freeze, Hase manages to advance forward and throw Ain for free. (18:38-18:50) Ain: (?) Does YRC nothing (probably execution error, this "feels" like YRC SE but he might've done it too early) into j.K, j.S, j.P, JC j.P, j.S, j.HS. This feels like a burst-bait air combo with the P's thrown in, and Ain chooses NOT to HSVT at the end. Makes me wonder why - Hase had NO BURST and HSVT might've been good enough to kill. Very puzzling decision for Ain (probably just a brainfart) and this blunder enables Hase to snatch a victory away. (18:55) Ain: Opens round 3 by dashing forward, just like he did in the beginning of round 2. Another hard read perhaps (player familiarity-based) because this seems very risky to do. And sure enough, Ain runs into Hase's 2HS. (19:56-19:58) Ain: (!) Ain finally gets some momentum going. Lands a string->Stun Dipper combo that corner carries, does microdash CSE, then runs in and does 6HS. Ain hesitates in a very SUBTLE and MINUTE manner (1-2 frames?) while FDing, and this completely sells Hase into air dashing out of the corner. This backfires for Hase as Ain was ready for him with 2HS xx HSVT. Bad thing is it somehow pushed Hase the other direction. Regardless, this is a very good hard read for Ain that didn't net him the result he wanted, but he was still at the advantage. (20:01-20:14) Ain: (!?) Does 6HS into 2P, 2P xx Greed Sever. Perfectly acceptable "random" abare sequence here, as Ain had 50% meter to cover himself to safety IF Greed Sever is blocked. Ain most likely noticed Hase IBing during this situation also - and Greed Sever would also most likely clip any backdash attempt from Hase. The abare sequence worked to perfection - Ain's Greed Sever led to a midscreen VT loop with a Split Seal ender. For anyone who doesn't know, this is a very hard combo but since Ain was able to pull it off, he scored a corner carry with a STRONG oki possibility (since he ended the combo with Split Seal). The DC CSE oki then lands Ain a hit for a kill combo. (20:22-20:27) Hase: Opens round 5 with a (BDC?) Mappa. Doesn't work out well as Ain starts off the round with 5HS stagger into 2D xx Stun Dipper confirm. Ain: Decides to open with 5HS - not a typical round starter on Slayer matchups but once again there might be a hard read going on here due to Hase's player tendencies. Perhaps he KNOWS 5HS beats mappa round starters. After he scores the knockdown, Ain goes for 6HS, 2P, 5K, (SLIGHT DELAY) Split Seal. THIS is a frame trap - an option that us Ky players needs to explore. This should blow up most 2P mashes and some lows. (20:38-20:47) Hase: (!?) Lands a combo that corner carries into a knockdown. Hase then does 6P as oki. NOTE: Slayer 6P in the corner BEATS many options that Ky has, which includes: Both VT versions, and backdash. No need for Hase to really "guess" here and because of this, he tags Ain's backdash attempt. One thing that can beat Slayer 6P oki is a Blitzshield (which Ain had meter to spare). Ride The Lighting COULD work here but it's risky and could possibly clash with Slayer 6P. From 6P, Hase does a launch combo with 3 Dusts that NEARLY kills Ain. Ain (?!): Gets put into the corner, then decides to backdash on wakeup. VERY BAD decision by Ain here, as he gets 6Ped into an air combo that almost kills him. Hase gets to do another oki opportunity and THAT almost kills Ain as well, but lucky for Ain, he had a burst! Ain gets one more chance to close out this match. (20:48-21:22) Ain: (!?) Ain nearly comes back for a victory. Does YRC CSE from near max range into microdash Split Seal, CSE goes through it and activates DC CSE. Hase instinctively jumps but Ain was ready, and air throws him into the corner. The knockdown doesn't lead to anything as both players return back to neutral at midscreen, but Ain manages to score an anti-air 6P into 2HS xx Greed Sever, microdash HSVT, 2HS xx HSVT. Once again, this is the midscreen VT loop that Ain is famous for and is DIFFICULT to do (and most Ky players aspire to execute). Ain MANAGES to execute flawlessly in a pressure filled situation - where he needs it the most. The combo of course leads back into the corner and lets Ky do his CSE mixups one last time. Hase (!?): Nothing that Hase can do here but he DOES have a burst for one final escape. Ain baits him hard during his CSE mixups once again with 2Ps - in TWO separate occasions - but Hase has the DISCIPLINE to NOT burst here even with a very small life lead. Ain lands a hit on his third mixup and Hase FINALLY bursts, and the situation resets back to neutral with both players' health bars extremely low. Hase then decides to take it to the air, does YRC (nothing) air dash HS to finally secure the victory. Ain can't do much here. The time freeze from the YRC makes the air dash trajectory seem "faster" and "sudden". And combine that with 6-7 frames of time slowdown and it's hard for Ain to anti-air with anything. The only thing that Ain can do here is perhaps a YRC of his own - but Hase is pretty much committed to his airdash HS, and it would've REQUIRED Ain to IMMEDIATELY anti-air after his counter-YRC attempt. Very close match and well played on both ends (with a few debatable reads),and CRUCIAL decision making at the end to really make things interesting. Will do a postmortem on the Ain vs. Mugen match later!

This has been a supremely fun and humbling read. I have not been on Dustloop for more than 7 years and I kind of regret not finding this thread sooner. I will honestly admit I've learned a lot just reading through this thread, despite having played Ky for almost 10 years. A lot of eh_sama's trade secrets I already actually do (without giving it much thought) and for him to articulate and elaborate a lot of them in such precise and educated manner kind of validates that I've made good decisions as to what Ky tactics are "legit" and which tactics I should adapt. I especially loved his write-ups on "Rainbow of Death", "Katame" and "Doing Nothing". "Rainbow of Death" is even more relevant now in Xrd because ending a combo into Split Seal in the corner puts you in the PERFECT range for Rainbow of Death. Like you, I have always loved Faith, and I've always believed he was the best Ky ever. Some people have claimed I play Ky wrong because I play a more heavy neutral style (like Faith), and I simply scoffed and said no. Again, I'm glad you have articulated this well, and perhaps Faith Ky is the right Ky style all along. Since Xrd plays heavily like #R, I am glad to know you are playing it. I hope Faith goes back to playing fighting games again with Xrd, too!

Just saw the preview video, so to Bozac (or anyone else that can try it out): 1) Looks like the FB Greed Sever hops LOWER than the regular version. Can you verify if it's comboable from gatlings? And if it has a level 6 "stun" on block/if it's punishable on block/if it's unpunishable on max range? 2) Are you able to combo after a wall stick S javelin follow up (after Vapor Thrust)? 3) Are you able to do (combo)-> Stun Dipper -> Lightning Bolt FRC -> 2D xx 2364 D -> 5S, 2HS -> (air combo) with no damage scaling? 4) Does the new 3HS (the original 2-hit 6HS) still put people on crouch? If so, can you do 5S, 6K loops afterwards? Thx in advance!

Zappa could always do this, as Phrek said. I'm actually surprised you don't remember me doing this at all. My suspicion is: The sword has more spinning animation than it did before (hence more uptime) so it looks like it's staying in place, but the moment it's about to be retracted, you hit 2HS again and it gives the illusion that it's staying in place. I'd also like the add that the Dog falling asleep while neutral doesn't seem to be a big deal at all, at least not yet anyway (until I try it). My dog is always in motion so it "shouldn't" be an issue. Back in the days when Imo/Potato dominated, he used to turtle with dog like crazy, but then they made it so you can't turtle and stand still too much or the dog falls asleep. But this was easily alleviated in AC by doing 8D + 5S... Dog somewhat stays in one place while at the same time, you're covering horizontal trajectory with your own 5S.

I should definitely kill myself too, then :P All jokes aside though, Travis (Klaige) is probably the most improved out of everyone that I can remember, from this tournament. Rarely dropped combos, punished when the opportunity presented itself, good defense. Combine that with the fact that I sat blocking most of the time and completely forgetting how to block/punish certain stuff, and yeah, GGPO me! Obligatory shoutouts (this is great because I only attend one tournament a year now, which means, I also only have to do these once a year, lol?) Bozac "ElvenShadow": For orchestrating an excellent highway robbery - disguised as a complex underground video game gambling circuit - disguised as a Midwestern Guilty Gear Major! Mike "Geronimo": For running the majority of the Capcom-based fighters which includes (but not limited to) SF4. Mad props for your underappreciated and thankless job! Rob "HeartNana": Likewise, for running the anime loli fighter tournaments. I didn't get to see much of that "other side" but I heard there was some hype! Adam "Keits": Thanks for all the tournament match-capturing equipment, and thanks for running the Random Tournament, very fun! Just one suggestion though: You should make the players flip a coin as to who draws... and the other player should be the ONLY player to get to veto (since he didn't draw). OR... just eliminate the option to veto altogether (very sad I didn't get to play MTV trivia game, haha). Jesse "Fiestament": Absolutely surprised on how better you got with Testament. You weren't kidding when you said you were studying Shonen stuff non-stuff, haha. Should've lost against you in the tournament, for sure... Let's play at Jerry's house sometime! Aric "ChronoSabre": OG Slayer! We'll get you back in shape in no time now that you're free again! Jason "j1n": For always making tournament weekends a lot more entertaining than they already are (GG Grand Finals Color Commentary = gdlk!) and making hangouts a step above fun. Jerry "Nives": Always nice to hang out and you, thanks for the pre-tourney housing, and thanks for your XBox converter that didn't prove to be beneficial considering I lost most of my SF4 matches, haha. Don't beat yourself up too much for not carrying much weight in the team tournament, bad funks can happen to anyone, myself included. Travis "Klaige": As I've said above, probably one of the most improved players in the tournament, if not the most improved. After beating you so many times in countless tournaments, you have now beaten me in the last 2 tournaments we've been in, oh no! And to THINK... if you had stayed with Anji after all these years (instead of silly Venom/Slayer experiments), you'd be even better than your current level, right now! MANY THANKS for braving the cold, FROSTY weather and driving all the way here, despite your current house problems. And much apologies for having the venue completely change on such short notice - you are a trooper, for sure! Alex "Blue9": Awesome May, dude! You ended my team's tournament hopes by preventing my OCV, but I think I got revenge by beating you in the singles tournament with my REAL main character (Ky), ESPECIALLY since Jerry unplugged my controller and I essentially had to beat you 3 matches. :P Unfortunately for you, I am "The May Killer", and you ran into a really difficult roadblock, haha. With all of that said, you are really cool in person and I wish I had played more casuals with you. AND... I totally didn't know you were a guitarist for the Spoony Bards, haha. I like listening to your tunes at ACen for the past few years (one of my favorites last ACen was when your band did a rendition of the Star Wolf's theme from Star Fox 64, for example). I just ranked up in the nerd social circle by sheer association, hahaha. You on facebook? Hit me up, man See you at next ACen! Aaron "AKA": For a guy who apparently hasn't played GG in several months and has been playing nothing but BlazBlue, you still have owned most of us without breaking a sweat. Thanks for the Eddie shenenigans, you make "unwinnable" fights enjoyable! "MSong": Sorry for the rather embarassing Zappa vs. Robo-Ky team tournament match, haha. It happened so quickly that from an outside perspective, it looked like you just beasted on some random scrub. I hope I gave you a better showing in our NUMEROUS Ky vs. Robo-Ky matchups, even though none of them actually ever finished, haha. "Bipples": Welcome to the exclusive club of killer tournament Zappa players, which includes names such as fubarduck, KBNova, Rudy, 4gotten Kazama, HellSap, and of course, me, hahaha. Impressive Zappa though (especially if it's only 4 months old!). I had tons of fun playing Zappa mirror and was quite pleased I was the one to stop your 20-something win streak. :P "Senkei": Fun casuals with you also, man! I really like your Faust, it did a lot of original and cool looking mixups/attack sequences that Mr. ElvenShadow doesn't do. And to me, innovation = awesome. I can really see why you place well in tournaments, for sure, and if it wasn't for years and years of ElvenShadow experience, you would've probably made my matches against you look a lot worse on my end, haha. Thanks for coming to this tournament all the way from Florida! "MacArthur Blunts": Funnest player to watch at FF, period. I don't think I ever saw you drop any combos, every time I turned an eye. Not only did they hurt a LOT, they were mostly 20-30 hits that led to a knockdown. I mean, seriously, I never thought Slayer could do that many hits, haha. I really regret only playing one casual match with you (and when it happened, we didn't even get to finish the match). Maybe next year, lol. "SlyMoogle": Very impressive Anji, man! And props for beating AKA's Millia. We definitely need to have more hard-hitting Anjis around to represent. Thanks for the props during our casual matches, I credit it to my years of Anji experience vs. KBNova and (gasp) Klaige, haha. Plus, I used to be a formidable Anji player back in the days, too. "Tolore": Good shit taking BlackSnake down in Team Tournament, haha. I'm very sure SH_ is going to give him crap for this, nonstop! Also regret not having played you in any casuals, but that's okay, I hate Baiken with a passion anyway, having played against SH_ and Kevinforce for too many years. :P Thanks for coming all the way from Washington to play in this tournament! "Vortex": Probably the most pleasant surprise from the tournament. Someone from the new Team UIC is finally in the limelight! Consider this your coming out party, and I wish more good things to come for you! Let's play more at Jerry's sometime. P.S. Don't be afraid to play anyone in casual games, especially since you're never going to get extensive matchup practice elsewhere. "Bonzai": Your Testament is really scary, man, I'm surprised you didn't place as high as your spar mate. Maybe next time, keep going to tournaments! With experience comes tourney savvy. Also, let's play at Jerry's sometime! "Nappy Jin": Never sell yourself short, haha. So what if you haven't had a good tourney record against me? Think positively, you'll get me next time! "Beefman", "Dehumanizer", and whoever else I played in tournament: Fun matches, guys! To my legions of Quibatime Ky fans who may secretly be lurking and checking on my tournament placing on this tourney (lol): Many big apologies for not repping Ky hard enough, and only placing 7th. I'll just continue to come up with more original and innovative stuff, next time, and maybe I'll place better. And I still will continue to be the most exciting and creative Ky in America! To people I may have forgotten: I don't hate you or anything, I just have problems remembering everything. :P That was a fun weekend, guys. Tons of new faces (which is always good), and in case some of you can't put the name to the face, I was the guy with the white White Sox cap who played Ky and Zappa, heh. Not a lot of people recognize the OLD SCHOOL Guilty Gear players anymore, oh well. Very surprised to place 7th when I don't really play anymore. Maybe I should play in 2 tournaments a year (instead of just one), and I'll maybe place better next time, hahaha. Time to go back into fighting game tournament hibernation again (a.ka. retired mode). See you guys again in Frosty Faustings 3!

Realistically speaking, we were just fresh off of Final Round XI. While I'm sure Prucha could afford going, not sure if George could've. :P And I say this out of humility, but those 2 going might've not made a difference. Chicago (and Midwest in general) needs to regroup and step it up a bit. MW was the best last year but not this year, I suppose. We are losing to matchups that we don't really see being played at a very high level over here (mostly Eddie).

There's no thread about Texas Showdown (as if Dustloop totally condemned EmoGear, Planet Zero, and TS, haha). But yeah, Zinac (FA), Jais (BR), and Raekwon (PO) beat Kensou (CH), fubarduck (ZA), and Jan (PO). Chances are, those 3 will go to SBO. I heard Flash Metroid's team (with Alex G. and Marn) got eliminated in the first round, by Latif's team? Pozerwolf was on Latif's team and apparently beat Marn.

Honestly, if you ask me, Team U.S.A. for SBO should be Mr. Eleven Shadows, and the top 2 players at the moment, from U.S.A. Of course, do be decided in a major tournament. That'll basically give you the best U.S.A. has to offer. But I guess, unfortunately, being the best in this game (for our country) isn't the only prerequisite...

Forget it, Mike. It's been said already, forget the Philippines, haha. Maybe some other time, I could maybe go with you. I'll be your translator (character defamer)!

Sitting pretty in a crouch position against Raoh isn't as safe as you make it out to be. Because the moment Raoh throws you in the corner, you're going to get hurt for big damage. Also, Raoh's Dust is still pretty damn good EVEN if you block it. Not only does it not look like your typical dust, but it also gives you frame advantage on block, allowing you to continue pressure / frame trap / throw. I generally agree with what's said if Axl is keeping Raoh out from max range, but once Raoh gets in...

Actually, at this point we don't know for sure. In an MGS4 trailer, Old EVA tells Solid Snake, "Call me Big Mama". Whether this sentence has a literal interpretation or not still remains to be seen. From a conjecture standpoint, it is very possible that EVA could be surrogate mother for Big Boss' clones. If you remember the timeline at the end of MGS3 credits, there was a portion which says that "EVA mysteriously vanished" or something like that. It's not totally out of the question that the Patriots may have kidnapped EVA, then made her the surrogate mother for the Sons of Big Boss. Add all of these information together, and it still makes logical sense that Big Boss is Solid Snake's father. Random tangents, FTW! Carry on.

You can't air dash after Ky's FRC Javelin.

Baiken's TK Yousanzen is 9 frames startup (an example). You can "expect" it to come, but it should be nigh impossible to react to. And someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but the switching guard question might be different depending on whether you are in blockstun or not (and in which case, fuzzy guard applies).

That Ky was indeed sexy, but don't worry, Mario, Team Random will be BACK for payback, soon!