WUT

2HS is low invincible from frames 14-22, meaning you'd need to throw it out before Slayer tried to 2HS in order to avoid it. Every time I've tried this, I end up clashing with 2HS or both moves just whiff each other. Don't rely on HOS' 2HS to beat Slayer's 2HS; just stick to playing it safe or jumping to punish it if you lack meter to be a threat with Fafnir. I think you're misunderstanding. Slayer's 2HS becomes active after 13F of animation, and it's active for 2F. During frames 5-14 of the entire animation (which includes 1F of the move while it's active) he cannot be hit by low attacks. If Slayer did a perfect meaty 2HS (last active frame hits), he does not recover in time to guard a reversal Fafnir, as it has 22 frames of recovery animation to go through. I'm not saying a Slayer WOULD do a meaty 2HS, as it's actually a rather horrible idea to try and meaty 2HS as it's not active very long and it loses its low invincibility after the first active frame. I merely included it as another low in Slayer's arsenal, along with it being the low you're fighting against most often. During Oki, Slayer will opt for 2K and 2D as his low options, which is where reversal Fafnir comes into play. Also, you cannot punish Slayer's 2HS with Fafnir. he's at -5 if you guard it; -9 if you IB it. If he does it from further out and you guard the only thing you can actually punish 2HS with is Savage Fang.

Anything you've got? How close are you talking about? When you're right in his face sure, 2HS isn't a problem unless you poke with 2P/2K/2S/2D too much. But when you're around Slayer's 5K range, or in max 2HS range, 2HS is ridiculous and ruins everything that isn't Fafnir. And everything that beats 5K loses to 2HS. That, along with the reward for landing a 2HS, is why it's such a threat. Speaking of Fafnir: Fafnir: Active in 10 frames, low invincible from frames 1-11. Slayer's 2HS: Active in 13 frames, low invincible from frames 5-14. If you throw them at the same time or earlier, you lose. You have to throw Fafnir later to beat it consistantly.

Fafnir = low invincible from frame 1, giving you a 2F window to work with when beating meaty lows (you're invincible when waking up for the first frame). Even if Slayer does a perfect meaty 2K, 2HS, or 2D, he cannot recover in time to guard Fafnir. If Slayer does a fake meaty 2K (earlier, so it doesn't actually hit) so you Fafnir and he guards it, you're stuck at -6, meaning he can technically punish you with a 5K. If you're having that much trouble baiting reversal DPs, you need to opt for the safe meaty jump-in or dashing FD brake right outside of throw range. Just hold back during the jump in in case Sol VVs so you can guard, or wait for a moment if you opt to FD brake and react accordingly. I also use meaty 6P as oki against DP chars; you clash/whiff VV from the right distance and you whiff/clash/CH every other DP. Make sure you punish a reversal DP effectively; that will deter them from relying on it so heavily the next time you set up oki (unless they're thick-headed, which you can exploit in other ways).

If you guard the first hit of FB Danzai, you get a free 2S between the hits. If you IB that first hit, you can get in a 2D or Fafnir. If you're not that bold, guarding both hits leaves ABA at -11, so you can Fafnir there.

A few more observations on the Slayer matchup: - HOS' mobility is a great asset for this fight. After the mandatory Manual Charge to Lvl3, you can use Slayer's limited mobility to your advantage. Keeping in mind Slayer's main methods of closing the gap (Mappa, IAD/jump, 6HS/2D), you control the pace of the match as you dictate exactly when you move within range to fight him. Just space the shit out of him, make him whiff an anti-air with double jumps/IADs/superjumps, or punish him for trying to get inside. Combo, knockdown, rinse, repeat. You can successfully run away from Slayer and win; it's laughable. - Something I realized recently, that makes me feel like a total dumbass for only just now doing it, is that reversal Fafnir is both really dirty and extremely effective against certain reversal-safe tactics. For this particular matchup, Slayer's 2K, 2HS, and 2D all fail horribly when used as oki with Fafnir present. Making Slayer realize that throwing a meaty low = 180 damage for 25% tension, he'll opt more for high/throw, and limiting Slayer's options = awesome. Also, giving Slayer more to bait and worry about = always a plus. Tangent: Reversal Fafnir is also effective against the likes of Anji, May, and Axl. Anji and May: using 2S or 2K/2D for oki, respectively, baits reversal SV and GB effectively. Reversal Fafnir ruins both sets of meaty normals. An Axl using meaty 3P or 2HS (lol) is in for a rude awakening when you CH the shit out of him. Moral of the story: Reversal Fafnir is your friend. - Dandy Step > swinging with 2D. Pilebunker > GB AND descending j.HS. So, as stated, Dandy Step < RI. Use it. Make him shut up. More rock/paper/scissors fun. - As stated, RI > 2HS when used outside of 2HS range. When within 2HS range, you need to bait it effectively; RI doesn't win here. 5S(f) also does the job, but you've got a 3F window to work with or you get CH.

For the record, CH 2S leads to combo with Lvl2 RI/TR and Lvl3 RI/BRP/BHB/SF. CH 2S -> 6HS is indeed a Slash staple, but HOS has plenty of options when it comes to following up his CH fishing in ^C. This match is NOT hard. For HOS. Ground footsies are suicide for Millia, and Millia's AtG (her only advantageous poking position) is a guessing game that becomes null and void with j.P spam. A patient HOS poses a big problem for Millia; if he doesn't give her an easy opening/KD then her only means of winning (her oki) isn't a big issue. Knockdowns are always advised. Millia's ability to break out of pressure is mediocre, and HOS' oki is always solid. However, HOS can treat this like he's fighting Baiken/Chipp: if HOS lands a hit, max that damage. Her horrible defense means any combo HOS starts is going to HURT. Personal preference leads me to go for the KD instead, as pretty much any combo HOS lands that leads to a Dust Loop and ends with Lvl2 BRP will deal half damage, making his Oki after a potential round winner. Also, I'd consider HOS' 2D a threatening poke, even if Millia can get a decent punish for baiting/whiffing it. Effective poke (low profile, active relatively quick, deceptive range), 200~ish tensionless damage if he scores a CH, and he gains momentum on guard via CC or special cancelling. 2S, 5/2P, 5K, and 5S(f) are all more annoying when it comes to spacing and poking, but the damage potential is still there and should be considered.

The further they have to fly for the wallbounce after the BRP, the easier it will be for the Lvl2 GB to hit. Further away from the corner, but not with your back to the corner, is optimal. If you've got an easy hitconfirm into Lvl3 BRP, try for a Charge Keep Lvl1 GB instead. On the heavy/normalweights, you can get in an AC and a dashing 5S© for combo, or even go straight into a dashing j.S/j.HS, j.D on characters with wider aerial hitboxes (Testament, Potemkin, KY). Also, from a relatively low airthrow, Lvl1 GB FRC GB successfully crosses up. Mindgamez.

After 2D you have quite a few options for continuing a combo: 1: 2D CC link 5K, 5S©, 5HS SJ j.S, j.HS, j.D for 150~ midscreen. You can also go for a Dust Loop closer to the corner with just a 5K, 5S© jc. 2: 2D xx Lvl1 RI, link 5K still works on some characters. It's still just as hard as it was in Slash. 3: 2D xx Lvl1 BHB, link 5K/5S©. From a corner 2D, you can start a Dust Loop. 5S© link is hard, but manly (190~ damage for Dust Loop follow-up, no tension). You could just stick with linking 5K jc j.S to start a modified D-Loop, if you want to be a pansy. 4: 2D xx Lvl2 BHB, dashing 5S©. Same concept as Lvl1 BHB, but easier to link the 5S© and it deals less damage (Lvl2 BHB drains guard bar more). If you want to spend tension after a 2D, using Lvl1/2 BHB and AC FRC gives you a great launch for Dust Loop. With Lvl1 BHB you can link a dash-buffered 5S© or dashing j.P, and with Lvl2 you get a dash-buffered j.HS. The damage caps at around 190 or so with the full D-Loop with Lvl2 (Lvl1 is around 150~), but you're pretty much going to get a knockdown with Lvl2 BRP (or end it early and score a Lvl2 SV knockdown for 160~ or so).

6K CH not worth it? You score 150+ easy with 2D CC, 200~ with Lvl2, and 220+ with Lvl3. I'd never limit myself to saying "okay, I have 25% tension so now 6K is a viable oki option". You should be comfortable with all your launches. I'm not saying 6K is the be all, end all for Oki. I'm simply advocating more options. Sure, you are prone to eating reversal shoryus and overdrives if you go with a meaty grounded attack. You also prevent people from trying to escape via jumping or backdashing. It's a tradeoff. If you're having problems with people always reversaling your non-reversal-safe oki, then you're not punishing reversals effectively or your opponent is thickheaded, at which point you already control the pace of the match. As for American players not understanding the wakeup game....your feelings are pretty much dead on. Most Americans are afraid to guard, which is understandable given how a majority of them lack matchup experience versus most of the cast and can only learn the game with those they regularly play against, leading to bad habits. Bad habits in this case being to look for any and all opportunities to escape/poke/invincible move counterattack instead of doing the safe alternative: blocking. In tournaments especially, I get more damage from punishing escape/counterattack attempts then I ever do from GB mixups, fuzzy guard setups, or tick throws. Maybe it's just my style of play (potentially), maybe it's just people not knowing the matchup (doubt it, pretty much every scene in the US has at least one HOS player or someone who's dabbled in him), or maybe it's just bad habits or tournament jitters (most likely). Until more people get comfortable competing against players they've never had a chance to play extensively against, the American scene is always going to have that panicky defensive mindset. And for the record, dashing FD brake, 6P is manly for stuffing/whiffing reversal DPs, and it leaves you with frame advantage. It even goes so far as to clash with VV, leaving you primed to punish the shit out of him. If your opponent wants to reversal DP in the corner, you get 200 damage and a reset. It's amazing. Just pointing out that HOS' options in any given situation are amazing and you're never stuck with only being able to do just one thing at any point. That's why playing HOS is so fun.

I just find this absolutely hysterical. You can trade with Axl's 2P, 2HS, and Rensen via 2HS. Even when you're outside of Fafnir range. If you trade with 2P you actually recover in time to do a running 2S, 5HS SJ IAD combo, or you can opt for a full dashing j.HS into Dust Loop, depending on distance to Axl/the corner/your own manliness. A little too risky to be a viable solution to Axl's zoning, but if Axl spams that fucking 2P all day and you want to be even more awesome than usual, go ahead and make them shut up at least once with this little protip.

To clarify: Super ambiguous 6K (we'll say startup of 11F, since you want that throw invincibility before their reversal throw can take effect) will lose to Robo-Ky, Ky, Millia, Chipp, Faust, Venom, Testament, and Baiken 5HS, the fastest of those being 5/6/7 frames (Robo, Millia, and Chipp, respectively). It will trade with Sol and Moroha ABA 5HS (11). You will NOT be autoguarded by Anji 6HS (autoguard from frames 12-19 ) Super early 6K (leaves you at +6. You can actually be thrown out of it if you try for the last active frame, but no one's going to try throwing after you telegraph that 6K so heavily) is amazing for making people sit still and guard. Solid for oki. Super meaty 6K (full 10 frames of active goodness) will hit all but Pot, I-no, and Slayer out of reversal backdash. All that being said, 6K is awesome. It's an epic "STFU" move. Most importantly: 2D CC 6K whiff 6K CH never gets old.

Touche. I had other reasons for believing it wasn't Titanium Beast, aside from the color choices. Mainly the fact that, had it been TB, you would have heard me in the background heckling him. Alot. Edit: Good job dropping every SJ IAD combo, TB. If that is you.

That's Juicy. It's all about playstylez. Usually Titanium Beast uses the red/yellow lame color, and Juicy uses the dark blue ^C color or the Slash black/red one.

2S loses to or trades with HOS' 6P during spacing/footsies (aka the range where you're baiting to CH 2S and 2D). Not many people know that, but if you happen to fight a HOS who does you could easily find yourself knocked down and on the defensive should you get a little too crazy with the 2S'ing. As was stated, the key to winning this is playing patient and punishing HOS. Most OS players kill themselves by being predictable and using setups that are only truely effective when they aren't expected. Stay on the ground, as GB ruins most of your IAD cross-ups and resets. Bait Fafnir hard, as it beats a majority of your ground pokes. Same goes for 2S and 2D. You can bait Lvl3 SV easy enough. Just parry the last hit and punish. If you're accustomed to guarding cross-up GB during wake-up, just go ahead and parry it. It's a free punish, provided he doesn't FRC or AC FRC to make it safe. Don't FB Puffball unless you know he's going to jump. GB and 2D both make you pay for throwing it out.

I'm having some writer's block at the moment. I've been meaning to do a vs. Faust match-up thread for awhile, but I just can't decide what needs to be covered. I'm assuming most people don't have much experience fighting Faust. With that being said, what are your main concerns when going against Faust? Is it just dealing with zoning? His mix-up? I'd like to narrow it down, as my current plan of approach is waaaay too much to read. I'll probably edit this post once I get a clear idea of where to go with this one. Thanks guys. Let's get it started and branch out from here: Getting Zoned Faust has a relatively easy time keeping HOS out once he's pushed you back/escaped. 5S(f), 2HS, and 2D are all solid mid/long-range pokes that both annoy you and potentially start his offense (cancelling into item throw or scalpel pull). Along with his superb ground-to-airs, j.HS has absurd range, restricting your movement should you try to jump over his ground pokes from further out. Some things to keep in mind: 1: Faust is always at frame disadvantage when special cancelling into item throw (5S[f] and 2D leave him at -10, 2HS leaves him at -5). 2: Faust cancelling 2HS into 5P whiff leaves him with frame advantage (+2). 3: Scalpel Pull must be FD'd in the air, and you can't backdash it (kinda' obvious, but should still be mentioned). Getting in requires a little conditioning and finesse. Faust has huge recovery time on his zoning normals, so whiffing any of them means you're in. FD brake is a godsend. Same with delayed double jumping, straight up IAD'ing, or jumping FD. Any time you're forced to guard his zoning shenanigans means he potentially gets a chance to start his mix-up. Faust should rely on 2HS and 2D more than 5S(f) when it comes to poking, as it is beat by 2D and GB. 2HS and 2D both lose to jumping, however, which 5S(f) covers (to an extent). As such, you can condition him to throwing one or the other and acting accordingly to counter it. Against Anti-Airs Jumping eliminates Faust's overwhelming ground game, but poses its own set of risks. Faust's anti-airs are amazing. 5K, 6P, 2K (lol) and 2S can all ruin your day. There is a secret, however. Aside from 2S, Faust must commit to his anti-airs and throw them early, or they trade/lose to j.P whiff falling j.HS. Once you make him pre-emptively throw out his anti-airs, you can proceed to come in via 2S/2D. Pogo/ForceBreaks I treat Pogo Stance, its FB counterpart, and FB hand slap in the same manner; Greed Sever-esque moves. Bait them, and punish. Faust has frame advantage if you guard the hand slap; both the pogos allow him to be punished should you block them. GB is a good option against both the FB attacks; you'll whiff them and score a CH. HOS also has an amusing way of dealing with Pogo Stance. 5K, 5S©, and 5HS all hit him out of it once the attack has finished. A dashing j.P also does the job nicely. If you're forced to guard pogo stance, remember that P (Faust headbutt) is an overhead that leaves him with frame advantage, and S (ground flower) is a low with frame advantage. He doesn't get anything but a guard break from the headbutt, but he gets combo + knockdown if the flower hits. Yes, it's stupid. Against Items This will mostly be tailored to your plan of attack/escape once the item has been thrown. Food Leave it alone. You effectively halt item throw for the duration the candy is out. Chibis If it's Faust or Robo-Ky, you can either approach on the ground, or wait until they land and try to SJ over. If it's Potemkin, try to get on the other side as soon as you can (but be smart about it, don't eat 50 damage from j.HS while trying to AD past it). Hammer/Pan Whatever you do, don't get hit by them. That Dizzy Mod is absurd. 2 CH Hammers/Pans = pretty much a free Dizzy. Not nice. Bomb If you're forced to guard it, FD (it has chip damage x2). SJing right before it explodes is optimal, but if Faust is waiting on it he can air throw you into the bomb and combo off the resulting explosion (very manly). Faust will hesistate on poking you, as he can extend his hitbox into the bomb and end up being hit (stupid). Visually, the bomb pulsates 3 times before exploding, just to help with your SJ timing (or SV timing, if you're REALLY manly). Meteors I hate these things. Once Faust gets meteors, it's RTSD time for him. Thankfully, Faust's rushdown is really tame. SJing and guarding is your safest bet, otherwise you can try to GB if he approaches by air (Lvl2 escapes meteors rather nicely), or follow the earlier advice if he tries to approach with his longer ranged pokes. Poison Be extra cautious and try not to get hit by this. I tend to dashing FD brake into it just to get rid of it, because poison just isn't nice. If he manages to get Poison during Oki (aka his Faultless Defense Cancel j.D cross-up/fake mix-up), don't reversal unless it's TR (lol). It's free poison + combo for him if you do. Mix-up Faust has quite a few options. Most of his overheads you can reaction guard (5D, 6HS, FB hand slap), meaning you can guard low most of the time. However, when Faust starts jc'ing and then doing FDC j.K to mix-up, you're in for a problem. What's nice is that the timing to do FDC j.K mix-up is pretty tight. If he does it too early he won't be able to combo after (FDC'ing adds recovery frames if done too soon), and if he does it too late you can either guard it, or he still can't combo after (from being too high up). Faust also has a command throw...well, not really a command throw, but more of an unblockable. I say that because you actually have a 4F window to interrupt it (after frame 1 he'll perform the throw as long as you're not throw invincible, and it activates in 5 frames). Faust's tick throw setups are pretty easy to see, as most of his faster pokes leave him with frame advantage (5P, 2P, 2K). Also, don't ever get hit by his teleporting door crap. Just jump and FD to guard all 3 options, then punish him for being stupid. During Wake-Up If the Faust you're playing has any experience against DP chars, he should know this one. Meaty 2K cannot be reversal SV'd; you will whiff and he will punish. Thankfully it's telegraphed, so you can just guard low and wait to escape. As mentioned earlier, he may try for FDC j.D cross-up/fake mix-up during Oki. Personally I find it hard to guard, so I recommend exposure and just learning when it will or won't cross-up. Experience. Your Offense The fun part. Thankfully, Faust's ability to get out of pressure is weak. Aside from his FB hand slap and Pogo acting as Greed Severs, he pretty much has to sit there and guard or try to 1F jump out. This means that your CC pressure works nicely. Tick throws also work wonders, provided you punish his Greed Severs enough to make him think twice about throwing them out to counter your assault. Once you pin him down your main focus should be on keeping him there, which shouldn't be too hard given Faust's limited options. Have a blast.

If you're not 2/3rds to the corner or closer, don't bother trying to Dust Loop Johnny. If you are near the corner, you can't delay anything, or you can opt to only do one j.HS, j.D into a relaunch. From midscreen I stick to 5S©[JI], 5HS SJC combos on him. They lead to 180+ from a Lvl1 GB. Pretty nice.

You don't poke when you approach A.B.A. 5S(f) pigeon-holes you into too few options (Fafnir or jumping) on the ground, and her anti-airs must be met with respect. Empty jumping, jumping FD, double-jump, FD brake, all those little tactics you use when fighting someone who can outzone/poke you apply here. If she whiffs something you're in.

You should aspire to be manly. Doing manly combos gives you that moral victory. We should all be manly. Nail your full Dust Loops, your SJ IAD combos, and your SJI relaunches. HOS doesn't win fights by poking, he wins them by converting mix-up options into damage. Or by landing a Fafnir. Back on topic: It's time to be manly and Dust Loop Dizzy, Eddie, and Venom. Dizzy: Immediate j.HS, j.D, delay jc dj.HS, dj.D, land j.HS, j.D jc dj.HS, dj.D. Simply put, she's the hardest character to hit that first j.HS on when you're flush against the corner. 171 damage with a Lvl2 BRP makes learning that combo delicious, however. Eddie: Immediate j.HS, delay j.D, land, dashing 5S© jc j.HS, j.D jc dj.HS, dj.D. Breaks 150 with Lvl2 BRP. Nice. Venom: Immediate j.HS, j.D, slight delay jc dj.HS, dj.D, land, dashing 5S© jc j.HS, j.D. Same damage as vs. Eddie. Nice x2. So yeah. I'm going to quit being a pansy and Dust Loop these losers too. Everyone fear that corner throw -> Dust Loop. Aside from Johnny, anyhow. Stupid huge hitbox that's only in his feet.

I think this match-up is fun, honestly. Punishing Danzai and its FB counterpart never gets old. I'm not going to talk about vs. Normal Mode. It's just too easy. All your strongest Oki and mix-up work against her until she gets 25% Tension (for reversal FB slide), and your pressure can keep her locked down for quite a long time. Like LM_Akira said, 2K/2D lead to a free keygrab, and 2D can beat a few of your normals, so be wary. Other than that, have fun with that "free" pressure. The real bulk of this fight, and the part everyone is most concerned with, is against Moroha Mode. Some Protips: 1: Gotta' disagree with not combo'ing her. You CAN kill ABA. Even though her defense is huge and her aerial hitbox is retarded, damage is damage. 2: When going for a combo, prioritize knockdown. Three knockdowns = your biggest damage punish (a corner Fafnir into Dust Loop, most likely). Aside from that, scoring a knockdown puts ABA in a more panicky mindset; once they realize that they have one less knockdown before they permanently lose their health for pressuring you (discussed later), along with potentially getting a free combo on them for even more damage, you limit their options and can be more focused on dealing with their next action: trying to get out of Moroha Mode. 3: Most ABAs will hold their Burst until a knockdown, to maximize the number of times they can make mistakes before getting punished. So limit baiting Burst unless the combo you're going to do will kill her. This also means that alot of your 2D xx Lvl1 GB setups will get bursted. I tend to hold off on these particular setups until after an ABA's burst is gone. Just makes things easier. 4: Moroha Mode can keep you under pressure for quite a long time. Your guard bar is going to get cranked, but don't panic. Just watch for 5D, the throw (while landing j.HS, and after 2HS are the most advantageous points to throw for ABA, as your options after both are limited thanks to Danzai), and the unblockable (41236K, the little flip kick off the key). If you see the unblockable, just jump it; you don't even need to FD in the air to guard it. 5: Keep in mind that when Moroha Mode pressures/combos you, she's losing health. The longer you can guard her pressure, the easier it becomes to kill her if you get a chance to retaliate. Don't be afraid to guard (it helps you out in more ways than you think). 6: While throwing seems to be a sweet deal (adds a knockdown, gives you momentum), Danzai and j.HS both punish you hard for the attempt. Don't get too crazy with the tick throws, and never, ever take that throw bait on your wake-up. Not only do the aforementioned moves ruin your day, but 2HS is throw invincible, easy to hit confirm, and leads to massive damage. Prime punishes/escapes: 1: Danzai/FB Danzai: You can 2S/2D after the first hit (before the second) for a free CH. If you guard both hits, a running 5K/2P is easy to hit with. 2: 2nd hit -> 3rd hit of Rekkas: Learn to IB the second hit. Once you do, you can interrupt even the fastest input of the third hit with 2S. If you don't want to go through the trouble, you can SV inbetween, but that carries its own set of risks. 3: 2nd hit -> Unblockable: It's man time, 5HS that bitch. 4: Max range 5S(f): You can Fafnir this. If you don't want the risk, it's a free jump-in. 5: If she jumps: You GB. Unless she's right on top of you, GB will always cover you safely. 6: 2D: Fafnir . Oki NOT to do: 1: 6K: Reversal Danzai eats you. 2: 2HS: Same as above. 3: Normal whiff Lvl1 GB: Danzai HITS YOU OUT OF IT WTF.

Oho, very valid point. I've just gotten so used to poking out of throw attempts that strike invincibility rocks me. I'm spoiled by 3F 5K. Thanks for that. Edit: Old news, but 6P nulls Raoh's projectile. A vid in the OS Media Thread showcases one of the most manly 6Ps I've ever seen.

6P, 6P, 6P. This move is surprisingly good for this fight. It stuffs most of the sword attacks and nulls ghosts (including P ghost if timed properly). It also screws with Raoh's non-low pokes. Don't overuse it, as the slow startup can get you punished. Just know that you have an answer to plenty of situations from that pseudo-mid range you'll get caught in while fighting Zappa. No Summon: Mostly 2S and Fafnir bait. 5K is his best poke against you (feet/low invincibility throughout the move). Zappa's frame traps into centipedes (summon) are tricksy, so poking isn't recommended. Successfully blocking summon is a free Fafnir for you. Without a summon, Zappa can honestly mix-up running throw (free summon, possibly with orbs if he throws into a corner) or centipedes. It's simple, yet effective. Dog: As was stated before: hit Zappa. If you're poking, keep it to quick recovering/jcable normals (5/2P, 5K, 5S[c]), as you may need to block if Zappa tries to interrupt your pressure strings. Dog catching you in recovery/startup of your move = you just lost momentum. Zappa can also trade the dog with your pokes and get a resummon for more orbs. Just not nice feelings. Ghosts: They can zone you. You have to be patient. FD braking, empty jumps, jumping FD (ghost normals have deceptive range and still require you to FD in the air). Make him use up his ghosts and move in. 2D can get you under most of his pokes except for 2S and K ghost throw. 6P from the right range (within Ghost's 5S[f]/5HS range) is also a decent option. Sword: 2S > you. Only Fafnir can effectively deal with it on the ground. If you do try and jump in (not really recommended against Zappa unless you know he's going to do a laggy move), know that his 2HS and his DP can stuff your attacks before you can even get close. I tend to pause slightly when I jump in and FD if I see Zappa twitch. Again, 6P can beat a surprising amount of Sword's ground pokes. Raoh: That DP is ~100 damage if you eat it. So don't. Jumping FD nets you a free punish if you tries to anti-air with it and you guard it. If he RCs it to be safe, big deal. He just blew 50% to do so. 5D/5HS oki is kinda' tricky, but once you learn it he's not that threatening. Just watch for the throw, and if you plan on jumping to escape, please FD jump the entire way. That DP is massive. That's about all the input I have. GB is useful in certain situations (particularly against Raoh and Sword), but I'm honestly not comfortable enough with it to advocate using it against any one particular move/setup right now. Like everyone else, I need more Zappa experience .

Aside from Dizzy, you can get a variation of Dust Loop on everyone from a corner throw. Dashing j.HS, j.D, jc dj.HS, j.D land, j.HS, j.D jc dj.HS, dj.D works on Jam, ABA, Bridget, Sol, Testament, Zappa, May, Axl, Anji, HOS, Baiken, I-No, Chipp, Millia, and Pot. Immediate (no dash) Dust Loop works on Ky, Faust, Slayer, Eddie, and Venom. On Pot and Robo-Ky, you can add a 5S© after landing during a Dust Loop. It adds like 2 more damage, and it's easier than going for a regular Dust Loop on Robo-Ky. On Eddie and Venom, you can do dashing j.K, j.HS, slightly delayed j.D, land, j.HS, j.D jc dj.HS, dj.D. Less damage than immediate Dust Loop, but the timing is more forgiving. On Johnny, you can do dashing j.K, j.HS, slightly delayed j.D, land 5HS jc j.HS, j.D jc dj.HS, dj.D. Easiest variation of Dust Loop on Johnny (IMO), and does good damage. On Dizzy, I do a simple slight dash 5HS jc j.HS, j.D jc dj.HS, dj.D. I like taking knockdowns with Lvl2 BRP, and this alone does 150+ on her. These combos have been mentioned a few times. They're more reliable (once you're comfortable with Dust Loop delays) than their HJI counterparts, and they still net you Lvl2 BRP knockdown. 140+ on everyone that isn't Pot/Robo-Ky/ABA is pretty nice.

Nearly impossible to Fafnir? And why is that? Her short range pokes are Fafnir bait; her 6P, 6HS, and 5HS *can* touch Fafnir, but they have enough trouble with HOS' 2D, so she'll stick to her more reliable (2P, 5K, 2S) pokes to counter your 2S and 2D. If it's because she's in the air so much, then you need to make her sit her ass on the ground. If she leaves the ground and tries to IAD/cross-up, GB that bitch. It's all about conditioning, just as it always is when you're fighting in HOS' range. You make Jam worry about stopping you, your options (always present, always intimidating) should constantly restrict hers, leading to more manageable situations.

I wouldn't say it's in Ky's favor at all, honestly. Ky's ability to zone HOS is extremely limited, as he has to dedicate himself to his anti-airs or they lose hard. Ky's ground pokes, while outranging HOS, all lose to HOS' 2S/2D/Fafnir at some point, which are his main combo starters/spacing tools. HOS' damage and mix-up > Ky's mediocre zoning and strong-but-strangely-useless anti-airs (in this particular fight). Some tips: 1.) HOS meaty 6P > any reversal that isn't Ride the Lightning. 2.) Ky j.K beats HOS j.P and j.HS. If HOS is jump happy, j.K will make him shut up. 3.) IB'd Greed Sever, Stun Dipper, or 5D = free Fafnir. 4.) While Greed Sever is great at stopping HOS' ground assault, the risks (aforementioned Fafnir, 5HS that CHs if he commits himself to it, GB) make it incredibly dangerous. Still, if HOS is being predictable, punish him for it.

Most Lvl3->Lvl3 are just for show and not particularly practical. That being said, some of the more interesting Lvl3->Lvl3: RI -> BRP (Faster than going for a JC then high) RI -> RI (Opponent didn't FD = guard bar is almost to flashing) RI -> BHB (As LM_Akira stated, "free mix-up") RI -> SV (Combo-oriented, okay follow-up midscreen) BRP -> GB (Combo-oriented, decent mid-screen) BRP -> BRP (Lol 3 highs, lol combo)