Dacidbro

Gonna kick these off the ground, no time to keep waiting Will update to look more professional later, when there's more info to throw around and I have time to waste with the cosmetics. Against Tsubaki, there really isn't that much to it. Play her like you would Ragna, except with a lot less respect Her mixup is gimmicky. The main things to watch for are rather constant lows (Don't get antsy and try to jump out, hold low block and wait for an opening to retaliate), a slow overhead and slow low that look very similar, and an unblockable that takes charge meter. Constant lows: Just block it, seriously Slow overhead/low 5A, win Unblockable (YOU CAN'T GUARD POINT IT, don't try) Daifunka, win (If the daifunka input is too tough for your slow fingers, a really quick Dnails can work, sometimes) Also, That's pretty much it, at a basic level. Will add more later, but Tsubaki should be the least of your problems.

Gonna kick these off the ground, no time to keep waiting Will update to look more professional later, when there's more info to throw around and I have time to waste with the cosmetics. Tao is a character that loves air shenanigans, so be prepared to spend a lot of time in the air. Thankfully, Bang's air-air has gotten a significant buff. For air footsies; If below Tao, meaty j4C If even with Tao, jB or jA or grab, dependant on distance and situation If above Tao, falling jB or jC Be wary on jump in, Tao's 6A will stuff anything you have flat, if an opponent Tao gets too 6A happy, throw some (rather close) Dnails to make her think twice and get some free damage/pressure The key to this match is forcing Tao to wakeup. If you can get your random air footsies to connect to jC and force a wakeup situation, it will significantly turn the tide in your advantage. Another thing to watch for, Tao's air grab becomes some odd 4k damage (!!!), and Tao's drives make her mobile enough that she might be able to grab you without there being anything you can do. If you see that coming, just block and tech the grab, don't panic. In a similar key, if you find yourself in the corner, go for the corner air grab rape if you can; often Tao may try to grab you and you'll tech, often she'll be holding jC and you'll get a grab counter. Good times. I'll add more later.

Gonna kick these off the ground, no time to keep waiting Will update to look more professional later, when there's more info to throw around and I have time to waste with the cosmetics. Okay, so you're up against the hero of justice, you. Part A Playing Smarter, Not harder First things first, there is no one specific thing you can do in this matchup. This is a mirror, he has every tool you do. This being said, you can certainly tip the scales in your favor if you make intelligent decisions. Some intelligent decisions; Nails -Use them wisely -If you conserve nails, your opponent will think he is doing better than he really is; Bang's nails RAPE Bang. Since Bang functions rather poorly in pressure, use TKDnail strings to mess him up -Don't waste them on approach, you don't need it anyway, and a smart bang can GPoint cross you up for it. It's more risk than it's worth for what's intended to be a safety crutch. Oki -ALWAYS take true oki -Bang is horrible on wakeup -If you have a significant lead, don't even respect Ashura; if it hits you, down tech and you have frame advantage (What is the best move to use here? If you use too quick a move, it whiffs on invuln. 5B should be guaranteed force block/lead to punish 6D, But maybe you can meaty 5C?) Meter -Save it for CA/Ashura -Bang's damage is good enough without meter, just troll true oki wakeup situations and save your meter to get out of it, imho Part B So what can I do that he can't Something that will really help you in this matchup is understanding your character better than your opponent does. For example, if you know Bang's 6D is overhead vulnerable/unsafe through attack, and 5D and 2D are both low vulnerable, you realize that you can keep your opponent LOCKED in pressure, often. And any time he throws a guard point, you just casually tack a 2C 623B on(if applicable), and suddenly most Guard Points he throws is a free 3k combo. The example I use isn't flawless, so don't think that's the end all beat all solution to Guard Point, I just want to get across the point that if you know more about the character's moves than your opponent does, you can react better than he can. Here's a couple things to know that you might not; -5C is not only an overhead, it's air unblockable -Nearly all of bang's normals can cancel to command grab, but it only really ticks with jab, and it only purples on a choice few others (I.E., d5A and d2A will provide a tick-throw scenario on block or hit, d2B and d2C will provide a purple throw on block) -You only have 12 nails ( Okay, it's a joke, but I want to emphasize using them intelligently) -Do you know everything you can gatling to? If no, you're missing out on mixup, and your opponent can surprise you Basically, just get a really, really solid understanding of your character, and you simultaneously get a really, really solid understanding of your opponent. The player that researches more profits double in a mirror. Will add more later

Gonna kick these off the ground, no time to keep waiting Will update to look more professional later, when there's more info to throw around and I have time to waste with the cosmetics. Part Approach Wait, I can't use random nails?! Hakumen has way too many perfect responses to empty nails. The most simple, he can 6D your nail and have perfect invincibility all the way til he's active again. This means he either gets a free counter (Since you're obviously going to try to use random Dnails to approach or you put them in a blockstring, otherwise there's no reason) or gets away free (Empty A nails, B nails, C nails). Another possibility is he read your nails from so far off he had time to cut them open into a projectile barrier. This means your nails were not only wasted, but you gave him free magatama and a way to stall for MORE magatama, and possibly got hurt in the process. Damn, that sucks. A good remedy for this problem is if a Hakumen is quick enough on his toes to counter your TK Dnails (Which is really the only place this is a big problem), try, instead of TK Dnails after 2B, a simple jump cancel falling jC. Free counter hit combo if he 6D'd at what would have been your nails. Cool. After that, he will be more hesitant to counter. Another way to make Hakumen scared of the counter is your wonderful command grab. A couple powerful tick grab setups are d5A > 623C, d2A > 623C, d5A > 2A > 623C, and d2A > 2A > 623C. You get the idea. This way, if hakumen is mashing on his counter in futile attempt to save him, you'll just rape him with 2k + oki. And what's great is these tick grabs will beat out just about anything Hakumen can do, unless he reads it specifically and neutral jump falling j2C punishes you, which will hurt. But wait, what if your opponent Hakumen is only countering on reaction?! Yes, there are Hakumen's intelligent enough to IB > Counter blockstrings instead of mindlessly flail about throwing counters. Well, in this case, I'll take a very simple example. 5A 5B 2B, Hakumen can IB 5B and counter 2B. So what do you do? Mix that mofucker up, if you see him IB 5B, change it to; 5A 5B 6A, and you'll get a free counterhit and still look like you're going to do the move he wanted you to. Sweet! Part Spacing What do I do about AID j2C So, you're trying to outspace the king of physical zoning, only parred by Tager. What can you do to make situations more advantageous for yourself than him? Air to Air As recommended by Daiandoh, air to air generally sucks. Here's why; -jC will outrange everything you have -j2C will beat out anything from below, and the lasting hitbox will go all the way until it hits you, beating out all your aerials more often than not -j2A is a pretty decent air to air too, if timed right should at the very least trade with most of Bang's aerials -His aerials will automatically cut your get-pressure-free-nails usually, so you can't even rely on that So Hmm. Seems like don't try to match Hakumen air unless you're close, not don't try to match it at all. Bang's jA is the god of close range air combat, so if you're already nearby him in the air that's a pretty safe bet. But what abou if you're above him in the air? Well, none of his normals will beat you out, but a Hotaru sure as hell will.. so if he reacts correctly you'll lose outright every time. Okay, so only air-to-air combat Hakumen if you can force a proximity situation, and since you really can't do that very often at all, make air-air a non-priority entirely. Sounds smart. Summary, captialize on specific air-air situations, but avoid it usually. Ground to Air Ground to Air is a pretty good scenario all around. You have a couple pretty solid anti airs for someone with as slow and predictable an approach as Hakumen; here's a couple. 5A -Fantastic for if he's directly above you, at roughly your head level -Combos very well 5B -Quite good if he's low in the air but a bit in front of you -Combos very well 2D/5D -Shaky, a bit slow, but will beat out AID Attack clean (5D is less surefire, but has further horizontal range) every time -Really only good to stuff an AID, so try not to use it for other scenarios 6C -Alternate AID stuffer/Badly spaced descent punisher -Tricky timing, but once you get it right, it's a very high power Air Unblockable, and if he does block it, you break a primer and get free pressure. Awesome. -If you successfully combo it (6C > j623B > 5B > etc if very low, 6C > jB > j623B > 5B > etc if moderate, 6C > jC if high) you will either get extraordinary damage or at least wakeup oki. Ashura -Great for a wakeup Ground-Air scenario -Careful, a smart Hakumen may empty jump to bait Ashura then flash buffer jD on reaction, and jD counter HURTS -So, only use Ashura if you see him use an attack (You can buffer the 236236 and only actually super if he does something during the input; if nothing, block or grab or etc) So, ground to air is pretty good. Just understand which option is best when, and realize none of them are surefire. You may have to block in some circumstances, don't be afraid. Hakumen's pressure's not that bad. Air to Ground Hakumen's primary air stuffer was removed (6A is no longer good for it), so his anti air became quite limited. A couple to watch for though; 2C -Air unblockable, good vertical range -Unsafe on barrier block, so block it Jump Grab -Will interrupt a badly designed jump cancel pressure -Just something to note, especially since Hakumen's air grab HURTS Jump Back jC/j2C -Will stuff completely any obvious aerial approach -Just don't be that obvious -Puts Hakumen back towards the corner, so if a Hakumen really likes this answer let him troll himself until you have him all the way to the wall, then predict his escape route 5D -Lasts an eternity now -Not that dangerous, only does about 1K noncomboable IIRC -Gives him 1 magatama and mild wakeup oki -If you see the 5D, respect it, but it takes 7 or so frames to get out, so he has to predict your aerial -Simple solution is if he's 5D happy empty jump in grab once Part Blocking Defense? Against Hakumen? Believe it or not, Hakumen has a unique wakeup game. He doesn't really have amazing pressure, persay, but he has some interesting quirks. On your wakeup, TK Tsubaki is one of Hakumen's highest payoff (with really high cost though) attacks. If you got jumpy and used 6D, you're gonna get raped all over town, so do NOT drive on wakeup. Just block, or down tech 5A is going to be a good call often. Just remember, he has a quick low that's free (3C) and a quick overhead that's 3 magatama (TK Tsubaki); if he has less than 3 magatama, block low and watch for the stomp. If he has 3 or more magatama, watch for both Zantetsu and Tsubaki. Rule of thumb, if he jumps on your wakeup, block high IMMEDIATELY. What's that? You want to use your flashy new reversal super, Ashura? Don't, he can counter it on reaction, it's a waste of meter just to possibly get raped. His wakeup game isn't that scary, so just relax, you'll feel like an idiot if you blow 50 meter in an attempt to get out of Hakumen's really low key pressure just to get countered for 4k+. I haven't played this matchup enough, help

Gonna kick these off the ground, no time to keep waiting Will update to look more professional later, when there's more info to throw around and I have time to waste with the cosmetics. Part A: Precurse How do I not get Bees Subsection A Arakune is a lot more simple this time around. Watching videos and playing with some of America's best Arakunes has shown me that the most straightforward key to winning this matchup is endless pressure and always choosing perfect oki combos. As long as you meaty him with perfect timing every wakeup, he's going to be hard pressed to get out (Is his backdash invulnerable frame 1?), and in the corner it's nearly impossible (A similar question, is his forward dash invulnerable frame 1?). Just use your nails for extra pressure and keep him locked down, if the questions to my previous questions is no and he doesn't have meter, he literally has to block right, which can get really tricky against Bang. Noteworthy mixups 5C 6B is nice, since a lot of people are still adjusting to blocking the double overhead and if he tries to mash out 2A like many Ara's like to, you'll get a 6B CH. Dnails 5C is fun, since it gives them enough time to jump out, but not enough time to not get hit by 5C, meaning they have to either standing block it, air-barrier block it (Which should reground them with frame advantage for you to 6A), get combo'd into 6A, or maybe mashout jab/grab. The last option is the most dangerous, but if you do a couple Dnail strings, most players won't feel comfortable with it. Combo from 5C to use is going to be 5C 6A 623B d6C j623B 2B 6C jC, IIRC. In corner, 5C 6A 623B (dash other side) 5B 2B jB(j4C?) jC. After you've made them afraid of jumping with your wonderful 5C mix, you can get free command grabs after Dnails and on wakeup! Using 5C meatys all over the place, I've gotten people so scared of jumping that I never missed a command grab, in tournament. Very strong strategy, especially against American blockers. Subsection B Noteworthy Arakune tricks to avoid and understand Bellbug -Stays out on block (IIRC) -Slowly floats down -Is higher than graphically shown, don't be fooled (Either by grazing it in air or thinking you've already blocked it on ground) -WILL FUZZY OVERHEAD YOU (?!)(IIRC?), so DONT CROUCH AS IT FLOATS DOWN ON YOU (A brief explanation of fuzzy overhead; as it is coming down, you think "Oh, I'll duck this by blocking low", however, your standing hitbox is still considered active, and you get overheaded instead) -Just block it high or 5D Guard point it (2D is slower, has less options for crossup, makes you more vulnerable) Summary: Avoid it, you can easily stay away from it, but when it comes down to it, just man up and block it for the 10% or so curse on block. it isn't the end of the world, and if you try to get fancy you might eat a lot more curse for your trouble. Clouds -They can't stop the Bang now -If you have curse gauge to work with, often it's best to ignore it completely if you see an opening (EX, he puts out cloud, follows with bellbug; you dash in as soon as he puts out bellbug, eat 30some curse, and get him under pressure) Summary: Know what cloud does what (Air-denial cloud, homing cloud, follow cloud), and it's really straightforward. Don't respect it as much as you instinctively want to from CT, and if Arakune gets comfortable around his cloud make him pay for it. jD -Brings out a bug on the ground -Makes him very vulnerable Summary: Just watch out for it, it's primarily a combo filler, but some Arakune's use it as a very bad mixup. If they use it and are close, it's so slow startup you can jab them out of it, and if you hit them, it negates the bug. Also, you can often punish with Guard Point. 6D -Double bug hit action -Is most commonly used as a really bad blockstring with sole intent of raising curse -Can be first hit IB'd to daifunka (lmao) Summary: Not as dangerous as Ara wants you to think, just guard point it, really. 6A 5D -Overhead to curse -If you block it, you have to block the 5D Summary: Reaction 2D his 6A's, you'll almost always get him on CH. Part B Okay I got bees what now Block, on some wakeups maybe ashura. I had previously said you can ignore blocking low; however, this is not the case, as his 2C (Street shark) prorates well enough to get 8-10k damage. Clearly, not good. So, work on understanding his curse mix up game. I would still say be much more afraid of the overheads than the lows, as if you block the street shark he loses a lot of time and pressure; but if you block the jC, you're still heavily in his mix. Just keep your cool, go easy on the instant blocking (tends to drop your guard if you IB bees instead of his hit if you go for more than one every now and then) and as much as you can, run away in the air. Utilize the super double jump + air dash until he catches up. When curse is over, return to precurse strat Will add more later, particularly what to avoid.

It's only Norcal, Socal figured it out.

I dunno maybe we had a miscommunication I need you to rig the seeding so I dont play him

The tournament was run really smooth, but next time I need you to rig the seeding so I don't play Zong more than once thx man

Hell yeah man, I'm your guy. I've already tutor'd like 6 separate people on the path of justice, I can definitely help you out.

Read the announcements You don't talk about pirated things However, greatness is great.

I'm glad I don't have to try to compete with a new character, already having 90% of the muscle memory was nice.

QQ Hazama is either A tier or really high B tier, you don't have any reason to be sad. :d You don't know misery til you played CT Bang, Haku or Tager.

Keep workin it. Get it perfect for each character. It's a lot of work, but there's no other choice

Yeah I haven't done anything with it Tech traps in general are just like.. why even bother now

No, he probably won't end up accepting the challenge, cause he knowwwwws he aint nothin to me. Crank that execution man. You got this. I wanna see you post up on some Norcal tournament rankings. Remember, if you can't do the combo 10 times in a row, you need to work on it more.

Hey man. You gettin that 236236 down? And I know, I can tell Skye is particularly bright.. but somehow he was noooot learning Blaz fast. :d Tell him I'm putting 5 bucks on our first summer match, so he better be good enough by then.

Lmao. I'm not 'worried' about him, it's just.. He said by summer he would be at my level How he intends to do that is just far beyond me

Which one o-o Like.. off jC?

Yep. And you're "Tager Guy", lmfao I was talking to you with Dabbit (I think?) that one day. Good times.

Yeah, sounds about right. I tried to teach him more, but he was too mindboggled by the singular BnB I taught him

I hadn't connected that, but I agree; I like the darker lighting too. Is Skye learning Bang like he promised me he would? He said he was going to be AS GOOD as me by the time I got back. I laughed at him, but I still really hope he does somehow.

The pink one is better, imho More interesting traps and powerful resets. I'm probably going to steal the combo to corner air grab attempt, so much damage if it hits o_O

Yeah.. j4C does so much it might reverse it a bit.

That's gotta be Skye

If you RC, you can dash-punish even a C, I'm sure. Huey, that's what happened in CT, but now it lets you teleport instead of getting stuck in stun