Cat Setups

[f-wlen ice loop]

Starting a new thread for this one because these are important.

Ren's got a lot of cat setups. These are important because in addition to using spacing and footsies with her jumps and airdash, you will need to mix it up so people who have seen how she moves and can block her attacks will get hit. While these setups will usually come at the cost of reduced damage and won't guarantee a hit, they will add an element of the unexpected into your game.

If you don't understand what's going on in this thread please read the general Ren thread first to familiarize yourself.

Midscreen EX Ice BCat Guaranteed Knockdown

... -> 236C 214[6] [ B ] 5C (2 hits) j.BC dj.BC airthrow (airthrow onto BCat). 214[6] [ B ], SJ...
 -> j.C/j.2C
 -> j.2C (fake) into 2B or throw
 -> j.C dj.C fuzzyguard

The midscreen BCat combo is best done from distances where you are slightly before the halfway point of the screen. If you start from your corner, you will have enough room to do a crossup after your SJ, which would be the first two options. About one width further than that and the combo will incur enough pushback that Ren won't be able to do a crossup but will be able to time a SJ.C in order to go for a fuzzy guard string.

Midscreen EX Ice BCat Ambiguous Block

... -> 236C 236[A] 2B (pause) 214[6][ B ], ...
 -> IAD j.A/throw
 -> dodge/walkblock
 -> 421A/crouch
 -> 421B/jump
 -> 421C/run

(omit the 236[A] if you are more than half a width from the opponent)

This setup, when properly timed, places a bcat directly under an opponent waking up, making it unsafe for them to mash moves out against an attacking Ren. With the cover of bcat she can then place the opponent in a series of 50/50 situations. IAD j.A can be used to start blockstrings, go for a doublejump mixup, crossup and attack, or whiff into a throw. Dodge will switch sides with the opponent and make the cat hit the other direction, allowing Ren to launch from 5A (1 hit) 5C (2 hits) into an air combo; alternatively, she can simply walk forward or block to bait out wakeup supers. 421A can be optioned with crouch to attack from either the left or right side. 421B can be optioned with jump to go low with 2B or to attack with j.C into further blockstrings. 421C can be optioned with run to cross up opponents, and run itself can be used to throw punish people who try to backdash out of the setup.

Midscreen EX Ice Rocket Cat Mixup

... -> 236C 236[A] 2B (small pause) 214C, ...
 -> run throw
 -> run further, throw, air combo
 -> dodge
  -> 5A...
  -> throw, air combo
 -> meaty 5B/C

(omit the 236[A] if you are more than half a width from the opponent)

This setup has fewer options than the BCat mixup and is a little outdated, but is still good for people who haven't seen it before. The delay between 2B and 214C is what makes this setup work, as if you mistime it the opponent will either still be in wakeup throw protection or be in blockstun of 214C. An opponent who blocks will be thrown onto the rocket cat for a bit of extra damage. If they try to backdash, you can throw them out of the recovery of their backdash onto the rocket cat and do a short air combo afterwards. As with most of Ren's cat setups this one is countered by wakeup super; against that, you can use dodge (assuming the super isn't EX Hiero) and punish. You can also use dodge to switch sides and throw them onto the rocket cat if they continue to block. Meaty 5B/C will allow you to stop wakeup mashing and chicken blocking.

Corner Fuzzy Guard Setup

... -> airthrow -> OTG string -> 214[6][ B ], ...
 -> 5C (1 hit) 2A
 -> 5B 2A
... -> airthrow -> OTG string -> 214C, ...

This is a double part setup which works in extremely difficult circumstances. First, you must air combo the opponent near the corner ending with an airthrow and not have them groundtech; then, you have to land an OTG string and not have them groundtech afterwards. When that's done, you force blockstun with 5C or 5B, both of which are vulnerable to wakeup supers. If all this succeeds, then you can IAD during the blockstun of BCat and go for a safe fuzzy guard. Advanced players will usually allow you to get to this point more than beginners will, ironically, because the implied threat of Ren's tech punishes and wakeup baits is enough to keep them blocking. This setup is to be used sparingly as any number of things can throw it off: playing against inexperienced players who tech a lot, players willing to gamble to get momentum, or against someone with a good wakeup super. In those situations, baiting is advisable until enough respect is garnered for you to run this setup through all the way.

Corner Untechable Fuzzy Guard Setup

... -> 236C 236[A] 2B (pause) 214[6][ B ], ...
... -> 236C 236[A] 2B 214C

This setup cannot be teched, obviously, due to the 2B. It sacrifices some damage you would've gotten from the followup to EX Ice and instead gives you a situation where you have the potential to net more damage than you would've gotten. This setup is best used when your proration is already low, either after an EX Shield, or off a multiple airthrow combo. In those situations, you can easily sacrifice the minor damage from the followups to maintain pressure and allow your rebeat penalty to drop so you can land fresh damage on the opponent. If you land a clean hit into EX Ice it's your call whether you want to sacrifice the damage or not, as in that situation you will be giving up a decent amount for a non-guaranteed gain.