SkyKing

Going for damage is pretty much not gonna be her MO. I think moreso conditioning and reaction is how she's going to end up being played now. God, I'm really hoping not to have to play her like a SF character.

Wow, WTF about Noel huh? So she's gonna play pretty much like CS1 minus the Haida Loop, with still no real BnBs midscreen without 5D guessing and counter hits. Although I am glad to see Tsubaki somewhat viable now. And Tager for high? Pretty cool.

I'm liking these changes more and more. Air blocking the way it was in previous versions allowed the defender to always have a slight advantage to whatever way throw just because it pretty much a "get out of jail free" option. With this change, I feel that you now have to think before you jump. Fighting games in general held jumping as a risky situation, so I'm glad that it's going in that direction. I, personally, quietly rage when I play Noel against any Arakune just because jumping is so good for him. Also, just waiting on dat Noel info. Gimme something like 5C -> 3C natural combo, and I'll be good. Also, I don't mind give everyone move property nerfs since the system in general is already a buff to some of the cast.

Noel Vermillion

They probably don't want everyone who can gatling into 3C or an equivalent to do those long combos. Their sweeps were basically THE launcher of choice, and gave them braindead follow-ups since it was so easy to hit confirm. Seems like they are turning this more and more into GG. If they really wanted to, then they would just reduce tech time on any OTG options. That would totally deny a lot of characters' BnBs.

Wait, Noel's a rushdown character in CS? First time I've heard of that. X3 I don't mind 5C not moving forward, so long as it can still be JC'd and is still fast. Her changes so far are kinda good, but I still want to know how she's going to "flow." Really wish that she can go back to being a true rushdown character, and not the reaction-based one from CS1.

Here are mine. Nothing flashy, just changed the parts to Sanwas for the SE sticks. The TTGL Girls stick stopped working on me during a tournament, so kinda bummed about that one.

I'd like to see: Noel's old 6A hitbox Tager with a fast, far-reaching normal. Potemkin had this, why shouldn't Tager. Rachel's old 6B counter hit stun. Tsubaki with Order-Sol's charge cancels. Other than that, yeah Tsubaki's pretty much the cream of the crap. Everyone else has something going for them that let them play in a strategic way, but Tsubaki's got that charge that Scream's out "Use me as bait!" and no game to back it up.

I try not to use j.2C as a gimmick until near the very end of the match when you do have meter and your opponent had to burst to avoid losing. It ground bounces on counter hit, so any combo she hits will lead to very big damage, and that sets up points to bait bursts. If it is blocked, the ambiguity of the move allows you to relatively safe options off after canceling into a Stein. I really like air Steins to air dashes, and you can mix them up by either going into or out of the direction you place it. I'd just say to watch out for specific dp's that hit more above than across. Also, if you do attempt j.2C really low the Steins may not come out or you'll have a harder time canceling into them. EDIT: Can't cancel into Steins after block j.2C. Even so, I think that if it decides the match, it would be worth it to go for the ambiguity factor. If it doesn't work, you can always RC into several options, like Steins sets, dp, or even gold bursting if you feel gutsy.

She's got that 5A whiff on crouching that can be used intentionally to green throw during block strings. Seen Kaqn do this several times with Ragna, so Makoto should have an even easier time doing this. Just watch out for this.

I find that 3C is a pretty bad habit, and learning to space it is important so characters with range don't think it's so free. If blocked I end up doing 5D -> JC -> j.4D -> air backdash -> j.2D to cover my tracks. Then, on landing you can detonate, laser, or 5C depending on if they chase you or not. I tend to play Mu-12 as a mid-ranger, set Steins when given room and using 5C and j.C to play footsies. As soon as I land a combo, I go back to that sweet spot so they don't have a chance to retaliate. My 2 cents there.

I see this as 5-5 or 5.5-4.5 Makoto. Makoto can just play defensive if she isn't up close. I think the ability to parry will decide this matchup, as most of Noel's normals are about the right distances to which Makoto can expect. Space loop hurts, since ending in oki can lead to setups for a loop reset or a baited 5D to get parried. She can also stuff air dashes and whiffed moves with Big Bang Smash, so be mindful when Makoto gets 50 Heat. On the flipside, Noel has 5C, which is pretty hard to parry, and her drives still go through Makoto's if they just throw them out there carelessly. 6A can actually be usable here since Makoto's aerials are kinda slow, but her jump is kinda odd so it may take some spacing. Haida looping her is pretty weird, but just getting knockdown and damage should be good. Makoto's wakeups can include Asteroid Visions, Corona Upper (her dp), and Big Bang Smash. Just bait these out and punish.

There may be too many hits when d.C or BT becomes active. I'd cut the combo short one move, likely the d.C. j.D, d.6B, BT instead of j.D, d.6B, d.C, BT.

I would probably rate Mu where Jin is right now, maybe a little bit higher. With her mid-to-long range style, I think she would need to be able to adapt on the fly. She's really good at locking and trapping, but I feel she'll lose more than her fair share against the more aggressive of the cast, like Bang, Ragna, and Tao. Also, her normals or sub-par save her 6A and C's, so matchups could be determined by that as well.

I've now started to analyze match videos from the perspective of the player who loses. I think that understanding why you lose is another factor that goes into growing up as a player. Especially with characters that have major matchup problems, I feel it is imperative that you know why you get caught in something, or why some things do not work. You can't be perfect if you don't know what flaws to stay away from.