Felicia

Almost sounds like that they want to improve Hakumen's ground game and midfield combos - something he tends to lack anyway. Magatama was pretty easy to amass if you and your opponent just stalemated and couldn't find an opening to really punish. It basically ends up rewarding Haku-men by playing a waiting/turtling game without really turtling, especially since Hakumen's sword is really difficult for some characters to break through and get in (Makoto, is one example).

tiger knee Konig.

Even if you use a pressure string like 5B > 6B into 5/2A > 2C you still won't be in range to pull this combo off. Realistically, this isn't a viable combo against most of the cast, due in part to many of them having faster jabs, and that Valk's human form just isn't good in a close-range fight. You're likely to get hit by 5A spammers more often trying pull this combo off. It works against Tager, and there are some strategies in the corner where this can work, but overall, this isn't that viable of a combo.

Hmm, interesting... Valkenhayn uses 6B as an anti-air during the final Hakumen fight. I wonder if there's more to this move.

5C tracks ground pretty well, actually. Wish I could say the same for some other character's 5Cs. So the new Valk mirror match is the same two players from the previous match up. There's a lot more patience this time around over the last set of games. It definitely seems to suggest that Valkenhayn needs to be patient and wait for those openings, and press the advantage when he can. It also seems to suggest that Valkenhayn can really stop momentum before it starts. Note 5C beating Makoto's 3C. I suspect there could be similar advances against Valk that could be stopped with just a few of his normals. Not too much use of wolf outside of combos this time around, there's a clear risk vs. reward when using it. I wonder if the idea behind using wolf form outside of combos is to pressure or maintain an offensive, rather than try and advance using Valk's human form?

Looks more like a hitbox thing. Wolf form is low to the ground so it might be able to avoid some special highs like Gauntlet Hades. The Butler match was pretty good, especially the final round there where the Astral is pulled out. Looks like invincibility and an anti-air property in his Astral - makes it a great tool for baiting at the end of the round. It seems like Valkenhayn players are still searching for just the right way to approach and get their damage in. 6A seems like it could be good for breaking pressure and 2C is a solid anti-air. Meanwhile 6C has some great pressure and its a solid guard break.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nKWNwoyqvs Spanish match. Valkenhayn vs. Arakune

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm12187310 Valkenhayn vs. Hakumen. Mirroring this from the character board.

When you have Haku-men's god priority sword, it's pretty easy to just swing randomly and keep people out. There aren't really many characters in the game that can truly compete against the sword, but they have other methods. What's important to note, however, is that 5C and 6C are going to be important tools for Valkenhayn to break in or space properly against other mid-range, long-range and close ranged characters. He'll certainly have tools to deal with extra-long-range characters (like Lambda) with his wolf form, but it does seem important that Valk will need to rely on footsies a bit more often that others. Perhaps, finding ways to bait players to coming at him.

On those challenge videos, his damage looked pretty normal. Definitely had some high end stuff, mostly due to rapid cancels, but most of his stuff seems pretty normal. Of course, there's bound to be far better looking and damaging combos outside of his challenges.

So I just posted an 11-minute video debuting Valkenhayn's astral and even some early footage of combos and possible strategies. What do you guys think?

Valk's Astral and more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_96stPlP0eA

Yep. It's the same thought I had when I saw wolf-form. Looks like he's got some furinkazan movement there. Although, he can't do a diagonal air dash like Bang can, he has to use a special, which seems to have some interesting Beast Cannon (from Jon Talbain in Darkstalkers) qualities in the angles.

Yeah. Seems like you can just tap D to transform, tap D to go back or just hold D to enter wolf and release to return to human form. Beyond that; Valkenhayn looks pretty slow. 5B's got good range, 5C has incredible range, but both of them are fairly slow. His 5A doesn't appear to be 5 frames either, but just fast enough. It would seem that Valk could have some trouble with extremely long range zoners (Hazama, Lambda) and short-range characters (Noel) and maybe Bang, assuming he still has a 5-frame 5A when the balance patch comes out. I can definitely see why Japanese players are saying Valk is really strong or too strong right now, but I think that's a good thing. It's a good first impression of the character and certainly shows potential. I think it's too early to say what he'll be like against the current roster (and not the balance patch coming out later this year). There's a lot of crazy stuff that can go on and happen with each of the characters that could - and will - put Valkenhayn in his place. Just noting the few peculiarities behind Valkenhayn's movements; he can't dash, onlu hop like Haku-men. Which means air dashes could be easily bait-able characters with DPs or zoners. His wolf form moves very fast - mitigating his somewhat stunted mobility - but it can't block. He has a fairly damaging command throw and no mention (yet, or perhaps I missed it) of an overhead, so his throw is his main option in breaking turtling or for mix ups (beyond mids and lows). His 6C is a double kick press with a lot of start up, but guard crushes and is apparently safe on block; also seems to wall bounce... on counter hit? His air distortion looks like DP bait if it isn't combo'ed into. Though maybe there's invincibility frames in there? Still, it's work in progress. We won't know the final stuff until he's actually available. Got about 3 weeks until September is over, so he be available within that time.

Here's some flexible combos that take about 4 Installs or more and if you have 100 or 50 heat. From corner (either you facing away or facing against the corner) (back)Throw > 214214D > 236D > 22D > 214D > 623D > j.214D > 6CC > 236236C/D (C version is about 4,100, D version is about 6000). Throw > 214214D > 214D > 623D > j.214D > 2CC (or 3CC) > j.B > j.C > j.214D > 6C > 236236C/D (4.500 on C version or 5,800 on D version). Since Tsubaki has a number of ways in relaunching an opponent (2CC, 3CC, 6CC) you can alternate between these and find one that's more comfortable for you. 6CC, however, will do the most damage. As a note for other really simple Install combos, you can do something like (22D > 6C)x3 > 236236C/D if you've got the meter for it. Easily get you around 4k-ish damage.

Okay, since I think some people feel a little lost on what combos work, let's start with the basics. In terms of basic BnBs to use and setups for Installs here are two. 5BB > 2BB > 5CC > 236A > 214A > 22A. 3CC > j.B > j.C > dj.C > dj.CC > 236A > 214C. These two combos can be done anywhere on the screen and are fairly effective openers. You can pick up some more advanced stuff later, but first try and master these two. After both of these combos, hold D to begin Installing and you should get 1 Install charge before your opponent recovers. Try not to get too ambitious with Installs, especially against those with really good ranging tools or mobility.

Go for a mid-screen air combo (like the one just mentioned, or in the combo video) from time to time. It's usually safer and gives you more time to pick up Installs while your opponent is picking himself off the floor. Don't be afraid to use 3C and 3CC - it is another launcher for Tsubaki and does lead into some good stuff.

It is, but you can do a combo similar to this without the 5BB. Simply do 5B, 3C, 3CC, into air combo.

Define meter. Is it Heat, or Installs? Also keep in mind that Bang and Ragna are top 3 characters in the game for a reason. Would you define Litchi as rush down then? With Ragna and Tsubaki, their 5Bs are both similar, and very different. The differences between them, actually balance out when you consider both their strengths and weaknesses. Sarcasm, my friend. Keep in mind that Ragna's and Bang's major combos, and damaging ones, both use their Drives. Tsubaki cannot be dishing 3-4k damage without touching her Drive, as it gives her an unfair advantage when it comes to dealing damage. Every character in the game has to use their drive to achieve the big damage, Tsubaki isn't immune to that. So complaining about Tsubaki's low damage output without Installs, is silly. Installs are a part of her game, and finding openings to start Installing is something that every Tsubaki player needs to learn; as well as getting around the shortcomings. As I said above, sarcasm, my friend. =)

Tsubaki's damage is fine, and on par with the rest of the cast. Note that just because a character gets their damage up close does not necessarily mean they're rushdown-style characters. Keep in mind, also, that Ragna does not have the pressure game that Tsubaki does. And god forbid that a character needs to use their drive to deal big damage. It's not like any other character in Blazblue has to use their drive in any meaningful way to bring their damage up.

No point in doing that. You'll get plenty of time to Install after 22C finishers. Right now, I can't find any reason to RC unless you do something unsafe and need to guard to prevent punishment.

Well I played around a bit with Tsubaki (not as much as I could have, really). And basically, if Tsubaki doesn't want to force a mix-up or really, engage the opponent, she can just cancel a single normal hit into 22C and space herself out for Installs. No complex block strings are really needed. And on a positive end, 22C does leave her fairly safe. I found where her invincibility is on her 623A. It's located in front of her. I'd guess her arm/leg. Basically you could Barrier to push out the opponent then 623A to break any long range strings. Actually seems to work really well against, Litchi. 214214D, even just throwing this in for mix-ups seems pretty good because you could do a number of normal strings, then cancel in 236D, pop right behind the opponent and go from there. You could do this with just a normal Install. But 214214D gives you a limited time for an infinite amount of D specials, that you could create situations where the opponent is literally spinning and isn't sure where to block. It might be me, but it also seems like you do more damage while under 214214D's effects. j.236D > j.214D is really strong. If the block the attack, they're locked in block stun (and position) for a long while. Regardless of whether the attack hits or not, Tsubaki recovers instantly and you can create a pretty mean mix-up here. For example, if they block j.214D standing, they're stuck like that until the animation ends, meaning you could go low for a guaranteed combo. Problem with this, is that it requires 2 Installs. I decided to play a more defensive game with Tsubaki this time around. I found it a lot easier to pick up Install stocks and just playing, almost solidly, with Install moves. It turned out a bit better than I expected. But I did run into issues where I was hitting Negative Warnings. So I'll need to find some areas where I can just bait the opponent. Luckily, Installing by itself seems to send off flags that I need to hit, and if you have a good feel for the recovery time on your Installs, you should do okay. Funnily enough, I couldn't get the opponent to really come at me during jumping Installs. 2D and 5D they'd rush me, but j.D they didn't come close. Strange. Unfortunately, I didn't really play against a character with a strong rush down, so I don't know how effective this is against Bang/Ragna/Noel or Lambda. I imagine these guys won't make it that easy. BTW, here's a combo I tried out. Worked against Tager all right, not sure how well it'll do against someone else: 5BB > 2BB > 5CC > 214A > 623C > j.214C. Of course any variant that leads to 214A should work.

Well got some time in today. Couldn't check much, but I did get a few things looked into. 623C normally can lead to a DP A. 623CH, you can get to an air combo using 5B. It's really tight on the timing, though. Didn't try 6C, though... next time, maybe. j.236D leads to 6C launcher. I was able to get a j.B off from j.236D, but that was against Tager. Couldn't check against other characters. Tried 5B > 5C > 214C. Not a valid combo. Never said that j.2C up-scales. Only suggested that the reason someone might use j.2C over j.C might be because scaling. As in; using j.C twice in a combo would scale the damage down more harshly than using j.2C once or twice in a combo. I'm not sure whether it does or it doesn't. I do know that, using j.2C is better for Air-to-Ground attacks because j.C doesn't have much vertical coverage.

214214D may not be a bad option to go into. It functions similar to Mugen, but without the 8 star requirement. So Tsubaki can go into it often (with the way she gains meter and how dependent 236236C/D is for Install). Might be best to have 2 Install stocks, go 214214D and then do some stuff. You'll be able to use more than 3 or 4 D moves with just 2 Installs.

With regards to Ice Car C in CT, yes you could do it. But there was a reason why everyone used the B version and that was to avoid Sekka-jin move-prioritizing over everything. Since Jin's early BnB combos involved plugging 2C or 3C, and because of the 5-Frame button holding, players often used Ice Car B to avoid hitting Sekka-Jin. Sekka-Jin only requires 4 buttons presses themselves and often times, players may double tap or the button could register twice, etc. In general it was just easier to sacrifice 90-ish damage for a guaranteed finisher. As far as C Ice Car is concerned in CS... doesn't look possible. C Ice Car has a notable start up time before it hits, but I will check it when I go there today. As far as Jin's air-combos are concerned, anything that worked with the old j.C (now j.2C) will work with the new j.C. Basic air-combo for Jin is j.B > j.C > j.B > j.C > j.D... Even the game's Easy mode uses this basic combo. There really isn't a case where you'll need to use j.2C over j.C in a standard air combo. Though, perhaps the reason it's used is because of pro-ration scaling? 623C doesn't lead to anything anymore. Either Jin has a longer recovery time, opponent is knocked out further, or the opponent simply recovers faster (or a combination of all three). On counter hit, it depends where your opponent is. But you can't do the above combo in either case. In your other combo, are you talking about j.236D? Or just 236D? If its the former, no you can't do that anymore, except maybe in a corner. If its the latter, you might be able to get something out of that (again in a corner). j.236D has pretty massive recovery that, unless you actually on top of your opponent when it hits, you probably can't follow-up with anything.