Jason D.

As much as I love the winded backdash, it does indeed lose to a 5C. Or a Spark Bolt too, but that's kind of wasteful. However, it is perfectly safe against 5A and 6A (even one held down). It's a great option because it pretty much changes Tager's mixup to "5C" or "anything else". And personally, I get away with winded backdash near 100% of the time, since no Tager who knows the match-up would ever be using Gadget Finger on Rachel anyway. Incidentally, I was testing this out earlier, and you should never 2C against his 6A. Despite how hilarious it is in theory. Tager has a LOT of invincibility. Here is how it goes: Tager lets go of 6A, Rachel starts 2C, Tager hits Rachel's guard point, Rachel hits Tager's guard point, and then Tager recovers first. Free throw. Not so hilarious. Tager's guard point doesn't last that long on paper, but I believe getting stuck in hitstop from Rachel's guard point actually extends his invincibility time. So just a reminder, if you want to beat out his 6A, your only option is 3C.

A 7K combo you say? Why, I did one just the other day. Just start with a level 3 j.2C, do a couple BBLs, George, 5CC, and then some more stuff. (My opponent was pretty well dead by this point.)

Once you notice Rachel reading during j.2C, you can never un-see it.

Well, in an odd bit of news, apparently Rachel's cat chair can't clash anymore in CS2. Though feel free to tell me if you've actually seen one. I just spent some time testing it versus Ragna's ID. She auto-guards it, Ragna doesn't get hit, and... that's it. I even set the system back to version 1.01, and in the same situation it did clash. Every time. Quick history lesson. In CS1, if Rachel's cat chair clashed with something, she would be unable to cancel it into any other move. (Yes, really.) So she will be forced to go through the entire recovery animation. The opponent, however, will be able to cancel their clash at any time like normal, unless they also used some strange move that didn't allow it. (Total known moves: 1 - Rachel's 2C.) In this situation, the only thing Rachel could do was RC the clash. If she didn't/couldn't do that, she was in trouble. In summary, clashing a 2C really sucked. So what does this change mean for CS2? For one, it makes cat chair a bit more effective, as you will never clash, and the clash will never protect your opponent from receiving their well deserved electrocution. They will hit your auto-guard during the 2C's active frames, and then get hit right after. However, on the negative side, if the 2C cannot hit the opponent, even a Rachel with 50 meter cannot be saved. Take the example with Ragna's Inferno Divider. Ragna uppercuts, hits Rachel's auto-guard, but then he remains untouched because he's still invincible. And once again, Rachel is forced to go through the 2C recovery animation. Now, in CS2, Rachel cannot RC in this situation, as she is never able to RC an auto-guard contact. Ragna, on the other hand, no longer gets a free clash cancel, as there was no clash. He can, however, RC because he "hit" Rachel's guard with the move. So, there you have it. New unlisted cat chair mechanic. Mostly a buff, but with a small downside too.

To answer tofurr's question in the last thread, about doing a level 2 j.2C into a 5CC, the only trick is to make sure you hit them with the j.2C when they are really low to the ground. Otherwise they'll just tech too high in the air. I had a bit of problems with this combo myself though, mainly involving the 2A whiff. So I just stopped doing that. Now I just do the j.2C, wait really late, and then cancel it directly into 5CC. It's been working so much better for me.

Just a reminder, Rachel's 2A is mid, not low, so it won't stop Tager's 6A. 2B and 3C are the ways to go if you find yourself punching into his super armor. I've also been dying to counter it with a 2C, but the opportunity has yet to present itself. Also, his 6A can only take so much damage before the armor breaks. I know for a fact that it can't survive a 6CD.

If you do a mid-screen 5B, 5CD, 3C, BBL combo on a character who won't take all six hits (which, sadly, is most of the cast), buffer a 4D into the BBL motion. In other words, 6-3-2-1-4D-6C. Now they're taking all six hits. Make them feel the pain.

In addition, for the j.2C stuff, keep in mind that launching your opponent off the ground with a 6A is actually one of the hardest ways to get the combo to work. You'll either need to super jump, or do it like 6A, 5B, jump cancel forward, very slight delay, j.C, etc. The easiest ways to start the combo is off a throw, counter hit 2C, air counter hit j.C, air counter hit 6A, or simply a George or Sword Iris. The basic idea is to let them fall as low to the ground as possible when you hit them with that first 5B. Also, to make it easier, feel free to use an additional j.B if you want to. Like so: 5B, jump cancel, j.B, j.C, 2D, jump cancel, slight delay, j.2C. If you started low to the ground, it'll still work perfectly, and the damage is nearly identical. The extra delay time from the j.B helps to reduce the amount of fast inputs you're doing, and it actually makes the combo much easier to land on shorter characters who tend to float under the first j.C.

Tager's Sledge follow-up now has projectile invincibility also. So be careful trying to punish him after a full-screen Sledge, as there might be a fist coming down, which will easily beat out a pumpkin, 5B, or so on. However, the Hammer part is still extremely punishable if you block it. Also, against a standing Tager, a wind-less 5CC can no longer be followed up with 236C. (I'm sad). But it will still combo into 236B if you're close enough to the corner.

It's SanoshiCon 2011! I can't wait!

More importantly, if you start the match with 236A+D, Ragna can hit you first if he does his 5C. In fact, his 5C is the only thing that he can do to counter that. But unfortunately, nothing Rachel can do can counter his 5C, so it pretty much reigns supreme as the match-opening move. Though with that being said, keep in mind that Ragna has to 5C IMMEDIATELY when the round starts, otherwise the lobelia will win. I get away with starting a match with 236A far more than I should be able to, to be honest. And it's also a good way to gauge how familiar your opponent is with the match-up. I've even had a good number of people try the 5C, fail their timing, and then mentally conclude "Well that doesn't work", and they never try it again.

It's also a great excuse for getting rid of all these tokens. And I'm especially willing to take on all challengers in CvS2. Also, someone said that AI put Jewpuncher back in, which I've never played away from my keyboard before, so that'll be interesting to do. ...And I guess I also haven't played it in like three years. But whatever.

I'm sure it's just Platinum's hitbox. For some characters, notably Lambda/Mu, their electrocution hitbox is noticeably smaller than their regular hitbox. So you can BBL them, the first hit will connect, then they'll switch to their electrocuted pose, and then the remaining hits will miss. I certainly haven't been playing any Platinums anytime lately, but I imagine she's the same way. So yes, as long as you position Rachel or the poles really really close to her, it should fully hit.

Yeah, that's what I meant about the regen. And now that you mention it, IS ground Tempest Dahlia no longer in the air? If she was airborne the wind regen would've stopped during that, according to the normal rules. I kind of hope they didn't change that, since it was her only move that took her off the ground on frame 1. As opposed to 6C and BBL, which are dirty lies.

Interestingly, from that same clip, Rachel's wind regain doesn't cease when you do Tempest Dahlia. This was probably an oversight, but whatever. So apparently now, not only will Tempest Dahlia not cost you any wind, but you'll in fact regain full wind anytime you do it.

I can't find any mention of a day or date. This confuses, and yet humors me. And apparently BB isn't on the schedule.

6CD j.C does instead work on a standing grounded Rachel opponent. It didn't work in CT, but she secretly got taller in CS. And if your opponent likes to 2C a lot, start poking with 5B. 5B will clash the cat chair, easily, and leave her open for your best punish. Obviously, like any mirror, you have the same exact advantages that your opponent will. I think the big thing to keep in mind is that Rachel's corner lock-down works extremely well on another Rachel. So try to get him there before he gets you there. Also, the beginning of every round will be 236A+D. No exceptions! (Nothing Rachel has can get around this.) If two lobelias aren't bouncing off each other, one of the Rachels isn't doing it right.

Huh. Well I can definitely make the 5th. Don't know about the 12th, though. Probably be some overlap here with FFA.

The new 5CC is certainly more wind-intensive than it is currently, but that doesn't mean she's not going to have other combos she can do now. Personally, I'm thinking that 6B to 6C is going to be seeing a lot of use. Depending on how well that connects from various ranges. But yeah, (5A/2A), 5B, 6B, 6CD. And the force standing means you can always continue with the j.C. And my favorite thing is that the 5B, 6B part means you can actually get some damn hit confirmation now, instead of 5B, 5CD... COUNTER!

Nah, as much as I'd like it not to, the pumpkin really does need to disappear when Rachel is hit. You'd have to be a pretty dumb character to have fireballs that'll hit an opponent in the back while they're attacking you.

Yeah, I kind of figured that's what it was trying to say. I mean, it makes sense for j.A to become an overhead again, and j.2C becoming mid was their way of not making it abuse-able. And like Polka said, it'll still make a fine cross-up. And more to my personal liking, you can now fish for level 2 hits and NOT be vulnerable if it's blocked. Oh, and as for George, I also figured it was saying that he'd work kind of like Nirvana. He takes a hit, his meter goes down. When it's empty, he dies, and then it starts refilling. And once it's refilled, he'll be ready to use again.

Videos from SoCal Regionals are in. Here's some Rachel guy you might have heard of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N30mQ33dd2w vs. Ragna http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMpb39b1nFY vs. Lambda

Sanoshi, if Sev gives you a ride down there tonight I can give you a ride back. But work this out quick! I'm leaving for Riverside in like 30 minutes. Probably passing AI at like 7:30 or so... Also, Huey, Walnut is waaaaay close to AI. Public transportation should not be much of an issue. Definitely tell us (me) when you're in town.

Me too. Get ready for Morrigan CvS2 combos!

I like the #1 XBL Rachel. He has 10 wins, out of 10 games. That's a 100% win rate! Dude makes me look like a scrub.