TITANIUM BEAST!!!

Ragna changes: shades of CS1, I like it. Real meterless damage off of 5B midscreen, discourages a lot of hopping around and backdashing when in dash 5B range, also indirectly buffs 6B since you can now go for 6A afterwards without it being practically suicide. Overall it will depend on how much damage he can actually get, I already have an idea for a midscreen route.

Apparently it's not a key chain, but a charm strap.

THE DREAM IS DEAD. #ripanime

Technically activating uses any Tension you have, I guess. If you cancel activation without performing the IK, you lose all your Tension. Eh.

The freeze on IK activation only occurs if you have 50% Tension or more, it doesn't actually use the Tension for the activation. Moves that cause wall stick, like Dust attacks, can give enough time to activate without having to use an RC.

Wouldn't necessarily count on it. Sin =/= Order-Sol. That and footage of Kazunoko for Xrd has been pretty hard to come by. He was playing Sol early on, but I haven't seen anything of him recently (unless he picked up a different character).

Anybody versed in Japanese willing to translate the tweets regarding Sol? Some online translation services gave me an inkling, but still pretty unclear...

If it's only two characters then I better be able to play it for more than ten days. >=|

lol who cares about practical when it comes to IK? GET SWAGGED IK combos have one practical use, and that is where they would kill when a normal combo would not due to guts rating.

Is setting up a JP PSN account for PS4 as easy as it is for PS3, or can you migrate over the account you have from your PS3? Cuz if it isn't that hard, I may have an excuse to grab that PS4 a little early.

lol the comboed IK is my calling card. Ask anyone who was at the last NEC I attended (2010, I think), I was handing out DI combos all over the place. And that was before you could juggle with it. XD

Neither of us have been playing actively as of late. I think he does a lot of stuff in an anticipatory manner (the way he does most of his anti airs, for example), which works out if he's got a good bead on how I'm playing, but goes poorly if I'm on point. As I mentioned a little earlier, he came in a little cold, and this is not what I would consider to be typical of our matches.

Yeah I wish I could say that I meant to grab that GS, but more just being in the right place at the right time lol. We talked after about dealing with BR, hopefully he'll have something prepped next time.

He attempted once and I got lucky with a j.HS CH when he tried to go in after the FRC. Star oki I have no trouble with. Really, that move is more troublesome when you want to get close.

I pick good times to BR, basically. Talked with the dude afterwards about counters. I personally think blocking and using IB or SB on the second hit is the safest route to counter level 2 and level 3 BR. Ky can 6P it, but spacing matters (if you're close when you do BR, it will hit 6P before the above knee invul kicks in). Probably character specific.

Usually I only do it on the air hit. I usually check my Charge to see how much I have left as the move starts up (or in the middle of a combo, depending). If I have enough, I'll go for 2D into lvl2 BHB, but otherwise I just AC and go for a basic oki. You have to already have it in mind in order to react fast enough without opening yourself up. As far as matchup opinions, I mean, at first I felt kinda bad about it, but looking back, it pretty much confirms how I feel about the matchup. This is not a typical outcome when we play; in fact, earlier that night, I lost a set to him 3-2. But I went into this set focused and on point, and he was probably a little cold. Nothing overly dominant about the character portion, I just feel like I managed to make the right decisions the majority of the time.

Actually is safe depending on timing, and if you are worried about throw you can 6K to discourage that. Most likely the time I got thrown was because I ACed too late.

http://youtu.be/q0FG0WULVWs PWS (purifyweirdsoul) KY vs Blake&White (TitaniumBeast!) OS FT5 Exhibition match

http://youtu.be/q0FG0WULVWs FT5 between me and our local Ky player. Have at it.

Tell you what, you comin' to TFC this year Brandino? If so, we could probably set up some matches with Brent and see if that makes a difference. Seriously though, come to TFC. Probably the only major I'm gonna make this year.

Honestly Sesshyru, I think you're a bit biased in this case. Having access to the best Ky on the East Coast is both a blessing and a curse. Even in matches that I lose, I don't feel like it's because Ky has some magical advantage. The neutral is just annoying; once you get in, you're golden, and it's not so difficult as to put HOS at a significant disadvantage in the matchup.

Matchup numbers assume both players are roughly even in skill and matchup knowledge, so they are usually reflective of nothing, unless the metagame has had a few years to mature.

.5 advantage or disadvantage basically means that in a first to 20, someone wins or loses an extra match. That's how insignificant it is. Frankly, unless you're talking about 7-3 or greater, most matchup numbers don't mean much at tournament level.

Yeah but if you look at that matchup difference, it's still so minor. The way the actual matchup is played doesn't change a whole lot. Ky just has to be a little more careful due to the damage difference now. How important is it to the matchup to be able to use Stun Dipper in footsie/staggered pressure? The key word you use is nuances, which implies subtlety. Yes, the matchup changed, but not majorly. It may be in HOS's favor now, but the way it's played hasn't changed much.

In spite of the major improvements HOS got in +R I don't think the matchup changed a whole lot.