MBAC: Kouma: In Depth, and everything else you need to know

[S-Blade]

How to 22C

22C is one of Kouma's most advanced tools, most powerful, and, very simply, changes the game quite drastically for the next situation where the players need to outguess one another. So, the goal of 22C is to activate it in a position where you can initiate a guessing situation, do so, and then take the (offensive) action most probable for success depending on the status of your opponent.

When to activate:
You don't want 22C to hit your opponent on non-counterhit because the resulting situation is very difficult to get the use of 22C superarmor from. In other words, you want 22C to either: Counter-hit, or be blocked.
The first hit of 236b is EX-cancellable. 236b and the rekkas in general are also easily punishable, but reaches far, has a hit of superarmor, and is a good poke disregarding how unforgiving it is. When you are willing to 22C and have the meter, random 236b becomes strong. Either it hits and you lead into a knockdown, or it's blocked....and you cancel it into a blocked 22C. This is the easiest and probably the best way to get a blocked 22C in. As for getting a CH 22C in....there are a lot of ways to bait CHs. Frame traps, shielding, guessing right, the list goes on; it's more part of basic melty play than anything Kouma-specific so I won't list it here. 22C is also a great wakeup tool if you're willing to gamble that your opponent will use some meaty move when you wake up.

Engaging:
CH 22C is easy: just 2C and go into the oki of your choice. It doesn't even need to be a real oki. Dance around if you want, because 22C superarmor will change your opponents way of play and often confuse them, and usually if they don't know what's going on and you do, you cash in big. If you do something unexpected it could throw off a player who's used to identifying and dealing with your oki.
Blocked 22C, you have two options. Dash in or IAD in, depending on if you think they'll try an air escape or ground escape (usually they'll go by habit because of which moveset of theirs, ground or air, is better). 22b is too slow and restricting and readable. If your opponent is not in the corner after the pushback from the 22C, you're going to have a very unfavorable situation and will have to read your opponent early on (next step).

Reading your opponent and punishing:
The first part of this is easy. Find out where they're going. The smartest thing to do (usually) against a superarmored Kouma is to run away and avoid him. You need to cut your opponent off, which is why it's best to have them in the corner, where it's a lot easier to do.
The second part is hard. You need to figure out what they're going to do to you, or if they're going to block. Remember this: when you activate 22c and somehow the end result is you getting thrown or airthrown, you lose. If you're in their face and you have superarmor, you can flat out guess and you'll probably win too. But in maximizing the use of superarmor we can create some better odds. With those in mind, you want to bait something from your opponent for your best chance of success. It usually doesn't matter what you bait, because many things become safe for you and dangerous for them so you can get very creative here, and through that, very unpredictable. Example: intentionally whiff A grab in front of their face. When they go by instinct to take the free combo, 5b them in the face and go into a corner combo that doesn't have reduced damage due to 2a's. It'll hurt. A lot. You've paid 200% meter for 5k+ damage, but the technique you used to do it was your key to beating out (maybe even gimmicking out) a player who's much better than you.

22c is Kouma's trump card, his hidden forbidden jutsu. When things got hot and intense, pull this out for the win and you'll be hearing dramatic music following it.

(i might add more to this later, after i finish this calculus project. at 1:40 am. >_>)

[abitofBaileys]

So does this mean, he superarmor leasts longer than the attack itself? And what do you mean by oki?
Just curious about it.

[Nevan]

Yes, basicly 22C super armor last 4 seconds after the activation(correct?;O). Oki stands for Okizeme:also ‘wakeup’ attack, an attack on an opponent getting up from a knockdown state without teching.

[abitofBaileys]

Then I have to change my whole Kouma strategy. Previously, I thought the 22C was only a super version of 22A with more flames and blockstun effect. Damn, this gives a total of numerous new tactics.

+HEAT for S-Blade and Nevan for the explanation. Thanks.

[S-Blade]

It's between 2 and 3 seconds, I forget exactly how many frames. Okizeme in MBAC usually implies a mixup of some sort, so for Kouma I usually mean the superjump-backdash and dash-jump-up mixups.

Good luck if you can build your entire Kouma playstyle around 22C; it's pretty advanced and pretty hard to do. It's sort of like playing SA3 Makoto in 3rd Strike....more rewarding than anything else, but coming at a high cost.

Usually if you're significantly better than your opponent you won't even need 22C superarmor. You should just be to guess right.

[Kamina]

Great work S-Blade sama, 22C can be a great asset when youre under heavy fire, it could easily put your opponent on the defensive and 3-4 seconds might just mean the whole match with all the damage Kouma dishes out.

[Nevan]

No more no less m8, just likes S-Blade said this is 'Kouma's forbidden hiden jutsu' or its last resort, looks kinda useless at a 1st glimpse, but in a in depth look, u get to know the magic arround it a great work S-Blade! Once more Shinso i agree with ya, it sure can turn the tables with a great usage of this 'jutsu'

[Kamina]

S-blade sama, I dunno if this is really helpful or not, but in training mode, I was working on a combo while the opponent's on block and lets say in a situation I do 2a 5c and then 5b and then whiff it with 5a, I notice that theres a shorter dash in distance and also I think I can still reach the opponent with one 2a poke while my opponent's 2a poke is off by at least a frame or two,with the exception of long pokes like Nero and his freaking Jumanji snakes.. and also.. I think if ya time the dash right, if a poke does come your way, I think Kouma's clash frames come up, because theyre at the beginning of the dash and being at that distance...... but anyway, I was wondering if this was effective or not.... oh and btw lol I dont think Kouma's much of a Ninja with a Superarmor jutsu, more of a B ball MVP whos about to kick it into overtime lol, Kishima Kouma, Basketman!!! DUNK!!

[S-Blade]

he has a shorter dash-in motion because he's moving backwards from the pushback of 2c/5c. nothing out of the ordinary

dash-clash is more useful for clashing with clashable-projectiles like mech-hisui's rockets or ciel's knives because you don't have to anticipate them, you only have to time them. it's sort of hard and would take some practice to do it reliably, but if you can, a LOT of disadvantageous matchups go away. ciel, warc, mech hisui, hisui, the list can go on. however, aoko and akiha are there to stay.

kouma needs to be teamed up with white len for a j.[C] airthrow alleyoop lolol

[Kamina]

Well I wasnt exactly asking why it was shorter, but rather if its useful for his mixup, at that distance, its a pretty quick reaction for you and your opponent, but it could all be in your favor, its sounds like some big pressure in the corner too, being that close after whiffing from 5C 5B, its like Indiana Jones with the boulder coming for you and you gotta make that quick decision to eat it or run, it wont be too troublesome dashing in because of clash frames, it kinda sets in some sort of safety before getting on the inside and flaming all over your opponent....quick guessing but it might be worth it

[S-Blade]

if you're in 2a range, then go for it. this is because you can mixup between

5c5b 5awhiffcancel 2a -> combo
and
5c5b 214b grab -> whatever

[S-Blade]

Updated the Match-Ups post with better, more helpful information.

[Kamina]

Good work, keep it up!!

[Kamina]

Question about the JAP Rekka BNB...... errmm so far, I can do it on Sacchin and Warachia with some ok timing, but when it comes to anyone else, its totally different and I cant connect with that second rekka, so then if thats the case, then I guess it only works with some characters considering the strict and very unforgiving timing.. lol I was practicing this for like 3 days straight but now I think I got the hang of it a lil, but anyway, how many characters do you think you can connect with this BNB??

[S-Blade]

yeah, it's character-specific. but which ones are possible and which ones are not possible?

 

[ennvi]

I knew Nero is possible....since it's the only one I could do T_T

[Xie]

Alright Kouma fans, I've got some new secret tech for you guys (which might not be a secret, but I don't see it in this thread or anywhere, so correct me if I'm wrong). At first glance Kouma's normal throw is totally useless compared to his command throw in damage and etc, but there is actually a practical application for it. If your opponent is in the corner, try throwing out a normal throw instead of a command grab. Why? Well, Kouma's normal throw is techable, but therein lies a tech punish that can punish techs in any direction if your opponent is cornered when it hits. The hard part about this is that only Kouma is really slow, so your timing has to be at least above average. Furthermore, you have to pick the correct normal or timing based on how far they are going to land from you or which direction they picked. It's very doable on reaction, but it takes quite a bit of practice.

General guidelines:
If the tech lands your opponent close to you (you grabbed them off the screen with a dash in grab and they back/neutral tech OR they forward tech when you aren't totally in the corner), use 2a to start the tech punish.
If the tech lands your opponent farther away from you (they back/neutral teched when you weren't totally in the corner or they forward tech when you were very close to the corner), use 5b to start the tech punish.
A tech punish that crosses you up (99% of forward techs in this setup), it has very, very, very different timing from a tech where they do not cross you up.
If you smell a no tech (psychics only, nearly impossible on reaction), you can mash 2aaaaa then end with a 5c/2c for about 2k damage, which, is about the same if you command grabbed with no ender (though technically it deals slightly more due to the extra hits and being harder to reduce).

This is generally what I tend to do when I corner someone, anyone else got any good corner game tips?

[Kamina]

Well I dunno if this is anything useful, but for an Aoko who sets up orbs in the cornering and trying to hit you with a laser, what you can do is if youre a little far away, Kouma's dash can avoid it, though the dash is kinda short at that distance, so 22B can be used, its a kinda long dash that can get you close plus super armor never hurt anyone, and with that orb defense on the ground, you can use 22A or maybe 22C if you want to take out the orb and maybe if your lucky, youll get that counter hit and either go for a loop or an air throw depending on the situation....

[abitofBaileys]

You can dash after the 22B dash, too. Means further distance, nearly the whole screen, if it's not a ground orb. In the other case, simply 236A 236C, to first erase the orb and then punish the 236{B} of Aoko with a wallslam, that you can combo out, if you are close enough.

OR, 236A 22B, for orb erasing and dash-in.

[S-Blade]

problem with 22b versus aoko is that it loses to throws, and aoko can throw Kouma into the orbs to put him back at square one, or after throw punish techs (although iirc neutral tech is actually pretty damn safe if your opponent isn't psychic or at least isn't in heat), or put a 421 orb in your face for an orb setup which sucks a lot. the solution works for getting in because Kouma doesn't have any "nice" clean options, but better aokos (and there are a number of them around) will have you covered on 22b.

XieXie, that's actually pretty damn nifty. I wouldn't have thought of using his regular throw that way. I'm not going to use it myself though because I don't play anyone who makes really stupid techs XD and I still sort of like my options after a command grab (grabbing without followup is so useless in the corner compared to what it usually gives you that the "down" followup actually shines a little more in this situation)

Range and recovery on regular throw is still waaaay better than A grab, so whenever your opponent has -that- much life left, regular throw is still good.

[Xie]

Post air throwing an opponent, what do you guys do to control the flow of the match? That is, what do you guys do to keep on the offensive? The wakeup for an opponent after air throw isn't long, which limits Kouma's options against a downed opponent. Personally, I use his dash-up mixup and the sjbd Oki the most, but both of them are pretty fallible against certain situations. So what do you guys do? I most often lose the flow to wakeup reversal back (or even forward) dash/runs, which is kinda anoying...

[S-Blade]

When I do airthrow (rarely to occaisionally), I just go straight for dash-in.

Beating backdashes is pretty standard for Kouma. There are often backdashes you just can't beat unless they're in the corner, like the Shikis'. He has 236b for that extra reach, but nothing special like Sion's whip, a full screen projectile like Ciel's or MH's, mega far pokes like Wara or Nero, etc. Usually unless you're one of these characters you shouldn't be "guessing" backdash anyway, since them backdashing does still give you a bit of an advantage. Either you start to exit corner (which isn't as good of a thing for kouma than it is for other characters since he can do awesome shit inside corner) or they start getting closer to their corner. The disadvantage comes from characters that can keep Kouma very far away like MH (projectiles) or Ciel (throwing knives at the end of blockstrings, or even just for the hell of it). These are bad matchups and you just sort of have to find a way to deal with them 

[FireBearHero]

P.S. you guys should stop discussing how to beat Aoko since it's impossible. She's way too strong for you. That shit is BROKEN for realz. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ATTEMPTING TO FORMULATE COUNTER STRATEGIES!!

On a more serious note:
1. Dash underneath orbs
2. hold block as you regain standing position and trigger the orbs
3. bara her in the face out of orb blockstun
4. ?? ??(do whatever else it is that kouma does. EX dunk a few times I guess?? ??)?? ??
5. PROFIT!

[Xie]

One thing I've begun to notice about Kouma is that (while totally obvious, but has to be said anyways to make a point) he's not really rushdown against a lot of characters. In fact, against a lot of the more powerful high priority/high speed characters, on a neutral momentum state (that is, no one is on offense or has frame advantage), there's not a whole lot he can do except get ready for a  defense state, or attempt to shield through an opponent's offense (or try to win a battle of normals, which is futile against most characters). So on that note, anyone have any good gimmicks tactics for baiting an opponent into making an offensive mistake that you can punish?

[S-Blade]

EX Dunk. Just do it.



his EXes are really good, ex dunk beats poky players and gets you advantage, or you can 236b and 22c on block for a setup or continue and get knockdown on hit.

as for meterless options....you can grab if you're close enough, or in certain situations like if you're good and confident (and up against the right character) you can just block and bara A grab when a "MY-HUEJ-HITBOX-IS-IN-YOUR-FACE" move comes. alright, that's 50% meter, but you should have that much  at least ;p but most of the time in a neutral situation it's just flat out RPS/guessing game with the exception that raw A grab isn't viable unless you're in their face, so you really just have to guess. 22a works sometimes because it has that hit of superarmor and is just fast enough not to be able to react to, but it puts you right back into that same neutral situation more often than not.