Topics

1

Tournament Results / GUARD CRUSH!!! - Brooklyn, NY - 06/09/10 Results

« on: June 10, 2010, 02:53:32 PM »

Guard Crush 06/09/10 Results
Melty Blood: Actress Again

1st - Jiyuna
2nd - Spooky
3rd - Fox
4th - Shiki
5th - Josh Ballard
5th - NerdJosh
7th - Kamina
7th - DaiAndOh
9th - Purge

Super Street Fighter 4 (60-man Bracket)

1st - Dieminion
2nd - Ryder
3rd - Henry Cen
4th - Citiofbrass
5th - Chris Hu
5th - AuLord
7th - Arturo
7th - Damdai
9th - NerdJosh
9th - Min
9th - Tinshi
9th - Kreymore
13th - AVC Skeme
13th - Adnan
13th - Trent
13th - GBPoeta




Tatsunoko vs Capcom: UAS
CANCELED!!!!!!
NO ONE SHOWED UP....wait....1 guy showed up. Shout out to Ray Ray for tryna hold down a 1 man bracket

Vids:
SSF4 Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8D33CFCDF060ACAD
MBAA Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8885BF3868333B04

2

Tournaments and Events / [June 12-13] NYC Road to EVO 2 - $1K Pot - Plane to EVO 2K10

« on: May 31, 2010, 06:50:20 PM »

Copy/Pasted from SRK
http://shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=222564


2 Day Event! [June 12-13] NYC Road to EVO 2 - $1K Pot - Plane to EVO 2K10
Team PIE presents: Feast Coast's Second Serving aka Road to Evo 2

Lexington Marco LaGuardia Hotel
137-07 Northern Boulevard
Flushing/LaGuardia Airport, NY 11354
Phone: 718-445-3300
www.marcolaguardiahotel.com

Room are $119/night (double beds are the same price). Discounts are now over so it is at $119 a night

For people flying in from out of state, try to fly into LaGuardia Airport because the hotel provides a free shuttle to and from the airport and hotel.

For people taking mass transit to the hotel, it's a short walk from the 7 Train. you would get off at queens bound Main street flushing (last stop)

For those driving to the venue, the hotel has on-site parking.

==============================
Games will be:

Super Street fighter 4 Teams PS3
Super Street Fighter 4 Singles PS3
Tekken 6 PS3
Tatsunoko vs Capcom WII
Melty Blood Actress Again PS2
HD Remix PS3
Street Fighter 3 Third Strike PS2
Capcom vs SNK 2 PS2
Ultimate Mortal Kombat XBOX360
Marvel vs Capcom 2 ps3

Smash Brawl and Melee has been eliminated as an official tournament. You can see the notes as to why this happened.

===============================

My apologies for the last minute change:

This will be a $20 venue fee event if you pay via paypal!
Send a $20 payment to teampienyc@gmail.com via paypal.com. Please send this payment as “payment owed” or “gift”.

***Registration will also be available on Friday for $20.On Saturday, it will be for $25 for the venue fee. This is only to try and prevent last minute registration for our main event.****

OFFICIAL CHANGE!!!

Registration will be available on Friday June 11th 2010 at Chinatown fair located at 8 mott st NY, NY 10038 starting at 8 pm.

you can get the respectable info here : **they have 3 SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4 cabinets**
http://shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=144887


All weekend the venue fee will be $20 instead of the extra $5 late fee. My purpose of the late fee is to prevent late entries the day of the tourney. The best way to encourage early registration is to give away a free venue for every 10 ppl that registers up to 3 give aways (30ppl). just keep in mind that this tourney is capped to 256!

if you have any questions please call me at 347-494-0476
==============================

More setups and help will come from BIG E from philly and sweetjohnnycage

Streaming will be done through teamspooky.com
==============================

Schedules:

scheule changes!!


Melty Blood Actress Again
Starts at 3pm Sunday
$5 entry
Double elimination
70/20/10
Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
Starts at 12pm Sunday
$5 entry
Double elimination
70/20/10
HD Remix
Starts at 3pm Sunday
$5 entry
Double elimination
70/20/10
Super Street Fighter IV 3v3 Team Tournament
Starts at 12pm Saturday
$15 Per Team
Japan Iron Man style
Double Elimination
Prize pot will be split 70/20/10
Tatsunoko vs Capcomt
Starts 2pm Saturday
$10 Entry Fee
Double Elimination
Prize pot will be split 70/20/10
Tekken 6 Singles Tournament
Starts 2pm Saturday
$10 Entry Fee
Double Elimination
Prize pot will be split 70/20/10
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Starts 2pm Sunday
$10 entry fee
Double Elimination
Prize pot is 70/20/10
Super Street Fighter IV Singles Tournament
Starts 6pm Saturday and will continue on Sunday
$10 Entry Fee
Double Elimination
Prize pot will be split 70/20/10
256 man cap
BONUS!!!First place winner will recieve a round trip plane ticket to Evo 2010 on top of the 70% of the pot!!!
Capcom vs SNK2
Starts 2pm Sunday
$5 entry fee
Double Elimination
Prize pot is 70/20/10
Ultimate Mortal Kombat
Starts 2pm Sunday
$5 entry fee
Double Elimination
Prize pot is 70/20/10



==============================

The tournament will be run using Damdai's Tonamento website for live up-to-the-minute tracking.

Please pre reg here if you would like but I MUST HAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER TO ENTER IN TONAMENTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so pm it or email it to me PLEASE

==============================
I am also proud to announce that our tourney will be a part of:

"Road to EVO 2010" Fighting Game Documentary - EC Feature
http://shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=235199
===============================

Get hyped guys this is for the best shit talkers in the world.. NYC!!

3

Tournaments and Events / GUARD CRUSH!!! - Brooklyn, NY - 06/09/10

« on: May 28, 2010, 10:02:56 AM »

Srk Thread: http://shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=238581


copy/paste:
MikeG, Booty Clappa, and Team Sp00ky Present...

"Guard Crush" Bi-Weekly Tournament


Games for the event
Super Street Fighter IV - Xbox360 (Singles)
Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: UAS - Wii (Singles)
Melty Blood: Actress Again - PS2 (Singles)

Tournaments will be Double Elimination
RANDOM Brackets will be generated through Challonge.com


Price: $5 for Venue, $5 Pot for each game
Pot for each game will be split...
1st - 70%
2nd - 20%
3rd - 10%

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where: Game PAD Inc (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=...05814573636083)
6727 Bay Parkway Between 67th and 68th Street
Brooklyn, NY
Directions by MTA: Take the N train to Bay Pkwy. Take the B6 Bus to Bay Pkwy and 68th street. The F and D Train also go to bay pkwy, where you can catch the B6.

When: Wednesday June 9th
Registration and Casuals Will Begin at 5pm.
All Tournaments Will begin at 7:45pm.
All tournament will begin simultaneously.
Note: It is very important that people show up before 7:45. If for some reason you are running late, please give either myself or Booty Clappa a call and we will put your name in the bracket. Once the brackets are generated, we cannot add names into the bracket.
Mike's Cell: 347 472 2105
Booty's Cell: 516 652 8223

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rules:
Sets will be 2 out of 3 Matches
Loser's and Winner's finals will be 3 out of 5 matches
Grand Finals are 3 out of 5 matches with the guy coming out of the Loser's bracket having to win 2 sets and the guy coming out of Winner's only having to only win 1 set.

Super Street Fighter IV
- 2 out of 3 rounds
- 99 seconds
- Color 11 and 12 banned
- Loser of the previous match may switch characters
- Before the start of your first match, you may request double blind select. If you do, you both must tell either Me or Booty Clappa your character pick. After, you both then select your character in game, you must then tell us your Ultra selection to prevent Ultra to Ultra counter picking.
- Winner of a match may switch Ultra's and can be done after your opponent selects his character, but must be BEFORE your opponent selects his Ultra


Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
- 99 seconds
- Loser of the previous match may switch characters

Melty Blood
Archtype earth banned.
Airport + Ryogi stages discouraged.
2/3
3/5 winners/losers/grand finals.

Loser may change character and moon.
Winner may change moon [only if loser changes.]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone, please bring your own Stick/Controller for Xbox 360. 2 Wii Sticks will be provided for TVC, but we haven't figured out if we will be getting sticks for PS2 (Melty Blood) or not. We will update this as soon as we find out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Stream will be brought to you by Team Spooky
teamspooky.com

4

Tournament Results / 2 Blast 2 Furious NYC Results

« on: May 01, 2010, 08:59:01 PM »

Melty Blood: Actress Again
1: Jiyuna ($66.50)
2: Sp00ky ($19.00)
3: XAQ ($9.50)
4: Rei
5: Braver
5: Fox
7: SumAznDude
7: Zaelar
9: Purge
9: Tinshi
9: Rayza
9: Shiki
13: HardBread
13: Leo
13: MVGFinest
13: Riceman
17: Kamina
17: Ivolt
17: Greek




Super Street Fighter 4:
1: Flash ($108.50)
2: Chris Hu ($31.00)
3: Andre ($15.50)
4: Min
5: NerdJosh
5: kreymore
7: XAQ
7: tinshi
9: Hyperhal
9: DS
9: Sabin
9: Reese
13: HardBread
13: Jesse
13: Ricardo
13: Shiki
17: Sp00ky
17: BootyClapper
17: DaFeetLee
17: Lawrence
17: Greek
17: Mike C
17: Ben Fong
17: MarioDood
25: Anakron
25: Teddie
25: Richard
25: SonyDigital
25: Fox
25: Twilight
25: MGVFinest

Vids:
MBAA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CRgkTd9CfE

SSF4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuK8voFA3G4

5

Melty Blood Auditorium / MBAA: Current code at SBO!

« on: April 09, 2010, 07:23:56 AM »

http://www.tougeki.com/topics?id=62

http://teamspooky.com/content/?p=330


Just announced as a category C game!
The tougeki page notes that the format will be 2v2. Since the game is still unreleased, they plan to post a schedule for Qualifiers around the end of May.

Get Hype?!?!?!?!?!

6

Tournament Results / 3-27-10 ON BLAST! SF4 + Mbaa Full Results

« on: March 27, 2010, 09:39:22 PM »

SF4
1: Sabin ($94.50)
2: Chris Hu ($27.00)
3: Rahsaan ($13.50)
4: Henry Cen
5: Aulord
5: Hold Dat
7: Rhys
7: Tinshi
9: Antishoto
9: Nerdjosh
9: Mincent
9: Manny
13: Spab Rog
13: Andydemon
13: Ben Fong
13: Shaggy
17: Vinnie
17: MGV
17: DS
17: Carlos
17: Jin
17: Adnan
17: Kelloggs
17: Luke
25: Alex
25: Buns of Stone
25: Hyperhal

Vids from the stream:
http://www.justin.tv/clip/42f6075210f0f869 Start from here for all 3 parts. (Still processing)

MBAA
1: ZTB ($77.00)
2: XAQshinor ($22.00)
3: Seto Kaiba, World Class Duelist ($11.00)
4: Sp00ky
5: sumAZNdude
5: nightroad
7: Lain
7: MasterChibi
9: Bk-Lee
9: Mynus
9: Nas
9: Tinshi
13: LPT
13: Kamina
13: Fox
13: Braver
17: Shiki
17: Jimmy
17: Zidane
17: Ehrik
17: Purge
17: Mincent
17: MGV

Vids from the Stream:
http://www.justin.tv/clip/83704e90953e09ea Start from here for the first of 5 parts.

Apologies if anyone's name is spelled wrong. Thanks to Tinshi for running this event, good shit to everyone who attended.

7

Melty Blood Auditorium / Teamspooky.com Ongoing thread.

« on: November 20, 2009, 06:13:50 PM »

This is just a discussion thread for Team Sp00ky, the group, as well as teamspooky.com the official group's website. This thread can be used for feedback on the site and what we are doing in general.


Upcoming shows:
Blast Processing: Melty Blood Actress Again Concept Matches April 17th, 2010:
http://teamspooky.com/content/?p=343

2 Blast 2 Furious SSF4 and MBAA singles tourney + live stream:
http://teamspooky.com/content/?p=360


The stream URL is located at
http://teamspooky.com/content/?page_id=171 or
http://www.justin.tv/teamsp00ky

Event calendar:
http://teamspooky.com/content/?page_id=344

Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AkumaHokoru

Coming soon: Cafepress.com shirts!


Outdated stuff:
Team Sp00ky show Episodes:
Episode 1: Melty Blood Actress Again Featuring XAQshinor, Sp00ky, ZTB, Mynusdono, Zidanel33t, Tinshi, Shiki、MasterChibi:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2610722
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2612161
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2612880

Episode 2:
Vanguard Princess Featuring sumAZNdude vs Sp00ky
http://teamspooky.com/content/?p=189
Melty Blood Featuring Rithli, Shiki, Sp00ky, Zar the Biscuit, sumAZNdude, MasterChibi, XAQshinor, Fox.
http://teamspooky.com/content/?p=191


Please leave any comments or feedback in this thread. I will try to keep shows archived on ustream in case you miss one or want  to go back and rewatch.

8

Michael Roa Valdamjong / H Roa

« on: September 26, 2009, 10:09:59 PM »

5A: Ugly little foot poke. Best saved for RBs/ 6AAA
5B: Good distance mid poke
5C: 2 Hit heavy poke. Good hitbox, can be used as anticipatory anti air. Cancel the first hit in longer strings if you want to stay in.
6C: Weird little wave. Chargable (adds range/damage/forces knockdown on hit.) Jump cancellable on block. Can be empty cancelled to exes (use 214C)
2A: Typical fast low poke.
2B: Typical mid speed low
2C: Ugly little foot sweep. Can be used as risky anti air. Use it as followup to air counter hits.
j.A: Ugly little air poke. Not too great but faster than j.C
j.B: Another ugly looking air poke. Good for tagging people who like to get above you.
j.C: Pretty fast air poke. Good for grounded opponents.


214X: Lightning bolt. Unairblockable, safe, good range. EX version sets up long blockstrings.
236x: Soko Darou. A version is antiair/to tag people who move out of strings. It can be unsafe in some cases. B version has frame advantage and is hard to avoid once it has started. C version is used to tag laggy moves or as a combo ender.
623x: Typical dp. Unairblockable.
Air: 236x: Aerial version of his dp. Relatively safe. A version can be used as really early antiair but it will lose if done too late.. B version has applications after 6C. C version can be used to end an aircombo as a round finisher, does a little more damage than airthrow.


Combos:
2A 5B 2B 5C 6AAA 2C 6C j.BC dj.BC airthrow (basic bnb, omit 6aaa when out of a normals or at bad distances)

2A 5B 2B 5C 6AAA 6[C] 236A/C (oki after)

2A 5B 2B 5C 6AAA 6[C] 41236C (high damage with oki after)

Air CH: 2C 6C j.BC dj.BC airthrow.

6C 214C iad.B land j.BC dj. BC airthrow (use when opponent attempts to jump out of 6C 214C)

236B 5A 6C j.BC dj. BC airthrow

Strings:
2A 5B 2B 5C(2 hit) 2C 6C 214C 236B 2A 5B 2B 5C (2 hit) 2C 6C 214C 236B 2A 5B 2B 5C
(Guard crush string. Good versus opposing H moons. Use when you reach heat during a blockstring. Watch out for bunker)

6C iad.B: Primary option off 6C. Good to toss out sometimes just to establish you can do it and stop jumpouts. Especially dangerous when opponent is expecting 6C 214C.

6C 236B: Similar to above. Good way to keep the opponent locked down because of 214C threat, without actually using 214C.

6C 214C: Main corner oki setup. Can use 236X/iad.X after.

214B 236A: Snuffs jumpout/pokes after 214B.

Buffering tricks:
236A+B~A: Dashing antiair. Stops long distance setups. Can set up ground crossups. Combo 5A 6C after on CH.

6A+B3214C: Dashing 214C. Good after airthrow. Even if opponent evades it they will have to waste jumps to keep from getting tagged.

6C 2369A 214C: Confuses opponents waiting to antiair 6C iad.B. Tight despite not looking so (214C will tag the opponent during early jump.)

5A 4EEEE 2C 6C: Use on H-Moons to bait out bunker after 214C redash mixup. If they bunker you will grab them, if they dont you will perform a string.

Defensive strategies:
236C: Useful versus several characters with long range strategies. Common moves it will defeat:
H V.Sion: 6B (look for the hand animation)
H Roa: 236X
Aoko: 236X/22X (look for the hand animation)
F V Akiha: Air pit (listen for the voice clip)
Chaos: Summons (Watch for the opening coat animation)
Etc.

214B: Set this up as antiair/anti crossup. If the opponent doublejumps, 214C or 236A immediately.

Weaknesses:
236B startup can be 2A'd or jumped out of.
No real tricks off midscreen throw other than 236B. You can attempt to tech punish with 236C but it's unwieldy.
No real followups to 236B midscreen unless you hit with the edge.
Weak shield counters.
Weak jump attacks.
No real overhead.

9

Tournaments and Events / FUC Temecula - w/e place and time - TvC|F/UC|LaTale(o wait we arent wc fags lol)

« on: December 19, 2008, 11:25:11 PM »

All you need to know is that EC is godlike, theres gonna be a lot of drinking, and theres a F/UC tourney sometime durin this event. Look, you wanna be here, but you don't know where 'here' is

Too bad

OH WE'RE PLAYING SOME OTHER GAMES AND THERES A BBG TOO 

10

Sion TATARI (Vampire) / H-V.Sion

« on: December 13, 2008, 07:31:17 AM »

Mostly will go over changes and 'new' strategy, as 90% of her old mbac strats are intact.

Normals:

5A: Longer range than old one, otherwise pretty much the same.
(new) 6AAA: Half moon chain. Connects off 5C except at really long ranges, Sets up 2C to Akiha or Satsuki summon, usable in blockstrings to similar effects as the old 2C delay 2b tactics but doesn't hit low.

5B: A really awesome new normal where V.Sion swipes at air. this is awesome antiair, awesome in blockstrings, has 'Anti-A armor'.

5C: Same as in mbac but made Cancellable.

2A: same as mbac

2B: A new normal that still keeps its neutral frames on block but no longer hits low and has shorter range. do NOT use this in longer ange combos it will miss.

2C: Slightly sped up otherwise same as MBAC.

J.A: Same as MBAC

j.B: A new move with an awkard animation that makes it an excellent crossup. Apllicable similar to old Ciel j.B, now you can airdash at people freely and use this to hit even if you overshoot them.

j.C: same as MBAC.

Command normals:
6B: A strange new move where V.Sion points and creates a drill. This works similar to 236B on block having high + frames. It also has a lot of shield frames at the beginning making it a somewhat unwieldy anti-air. This is crouchable if not point blank.

6C: A new overhead. Chargable which adds range. dodges lows. dodges throws. anti-a armor. NOT cancelable, you must link after it to combo or connect with a summon.

3C: Old 3B

j:2B: anti A armor added.


Specials:

236X: Same as MBAC

623X: Same as MBAC. 623C now lands based on whether the first hit was blocked/shielded or not and does not have the same followups.

214X: Same as MBAC

Shields:
high: untechable 623A. free to use 2C xx summon or a bnb after it lands.

low: modified version of 2C. Cancellable (summons work best)

new notes:
Airthrow is techable. use land 5B or late j.2B to snuff techs where possible.
Losing 6B ground bounce requires heavy modification of summon combos.
Throw xx 2C is no longer a 1 frame link and much more viable.
Super double jump added.
Malice bnb is much easier, try 2AB 5B 2C 5C 623B j.BC airdash C sdj.ABC airthrow or other variations.
5A whiff 2A can replicate some old normal Sion tactics. Try 5C 2A whiff 2C 236B as a ghetto version of the old normal sion warning shot blockstrings.
 
Summon setting: 2AB 5B 5C 6AAA 2Cxx summon

Summon tricks:
6C is much more worthwhile than the old 6B in summon setups. It beats many more tactics such as defensive throws and 2A xx jump.

Throw breaks are worthless in the face of summon setups. Try 2ABC xx Satsuki Summon Meaty 2B5A dash up throw. On break satsuki hits 2C 5C 3C j.BC sdj.ABC airdash C airthrow. It's actually less damage for the opponent to TAKE the throw in this scenario.

Midscreen
2ABC akiha summon:

-----IAD B (hits meaty crossup) or IAD j.2B (fake crossup)
1)Akiha hits dash to corner 5C j.BC dj. BC airdash C airthrow
2)opponent blocks crossup: [6C or 2A] 5B 5C 6AAA 2C akiha summon

11

Kohaku's Video Room / Random ass melty tourney vid from a may 31 nyc event.

« on: June 14, 2008, 05:14:59 AM »

http://teamspooky.com/content/?p=49

from a may 31 nyc event.

12

Kohaku's Video Room / SAUFVI Top 3 vid.

« on: May 29, 2008, 03:17:14 AM »

http://teamspooky.com/content/?p=38

13

Kohaku's Video Room / Sony Vegas: Encoding settings?

« on: May 28, 2008, 05:17:52 AM »

Hey guys,


What settings do you guys use to encode Melty Matches in Vegas? I've seen Arlieth use a 2 pass method but I don't know what bitrate he used, whether it was cbr or vbr, which encoding technique, and etc. I have a long queue of vids waiting for me to figure out the right settings and this would save me a shitload of time.

14

Sion TATARI (Vampire) / Damage Maximization vs. Strength of Okizeme (School of THER vs School of Wagu)

« on: October 24, 2007, 10:38:41 AM »

As you increase your match experience and your consistency both offensively and defensively, you begin to develop a personal style to your play. The choices you make match after match may be different than another person at a similar skill level to you with the same character. In a perfect world, you would be able to maximize your effort in all areas. But we are human and as such we always have some areas we are stronger in than others. Capitalizing on your strengths will help you to buffer your weaknesses and improve your win ratio.

In V.Sion's case there are 2 main areas of 'split'. There is the very vanilla Hit and Run tactics, versus the versatile but unpredictable summon heavy rushdown. Of course there is plenty of mix between the two and heavy borrowing. There are some scenarios where 2C xx Akiha summon is the only combo option, and on an opponent near death setting up summons is useless in the face of a 236C combo for the win.

Here are the strengths and weaknesses of these differing styles of play which will help you to choose whether you want to strengthen one of the two paths or use a 'balanced' approach. Included are common scenarios and options that you should dedicate yourself to.


1) THER school.

In this scenario we are going to approach each match as if it is the last, and each hit as if it's the only hit we are going to land ever. Defensively you are reflexive, responsive and safe, your long term goal is to merely play smarter than the opponent. The glory will come from your win record rather than your fancy setups.

--Spotlight on B attacks.
Your 5B and 2B do not prorate like most of your other normals, and thus these attacks are the meat. You want to include both of them in every combo you possibly can, as early as you can, preferably while omitting A attacks.

A Common place people 'miss' B attacks is 6B:
6B 5C 236C is strong, as is 6B 2C 5C 623B. However if you have dash momentum on your 6B or are point blank, use the more powerful 6B 5B 2B 5C 236C or 6B 5B 2B 2C 5C 623B.

Use 5B in punishment scenarios:
A weak habit to have is using 2A to start combos when you are punishing blocked attacks such as wakeup EXes. Using 5B 2B to start your punish instead where applicable will increase your damage output.

--Use more powerful Malice Variants:
2A 2B 2C pause 5C 623B j.C pause jump back.C airdash C Airthrow
2A 2B 2C pause 5C 623B j.C pause dj.BC airdash C Airthrow

--Recognize 5C 236C opportunities and execute immediately:
j.2B 2A 5C 236C is one of her more difficult combos but rewards you with high damage off Divekick.

5C 236C dash j.CB dj.BC Airdash C Airthrow is another difficult combo but rewards you with one of the highest midscreen damage combos in the game.

--Focus on safely escaping common high risk scenarios at a winning ratio.
Learn to recognize the danger setups and develop your 'Spider Sense'.

Common setups you should learn to block or escape:
Akiha 5C 2C 623B xx j.22C -> 82C or 2A or Throw

Satsuki Airthrow xx superjump into j.C or 2C or EX bite.

Aoko 1-2-3 into 421[A] mixup.

Ciel Airthrow xx Airdash mixup or meaty 2CC mixup.

Red Akiha j.C xx Airdash fakeouts.

These are just examples. The key here is to be able to immediately recognize Top tier mixups and frame traps and be prepared to defend them rather than using poor options that these setups are near foolproof against. By blocking these at high ratios of success you give yourself more opportunities to eventually turn the match around.

--Recognize Match reset situations and capitalize.

This goes both ways. You should recognize when you've pushed yourself out too far during your blockstrings and be prepared to cover midscreen again rather than dashing into high priority panic button pokes. Bait the panic button, and if it doesn't come, back off and start anew.

In the same way, you should be able to recognize when the opponent is no longer in a strong enough position to attack you in the corner, and escape using your dash, jumping, or using 5B to beat poorly placed attack strings.

2) Wagu school

In this scenario we are going to approach the match with confidence and a bit of a haughty air. We will attempt to counter setups with high damage gambits in order to put the fear of your defense into the opponent. We will sacrifice some Malice combo damage to set up dangerous summon rushdown and put the fear of your offense into the opponent. The glory in this scheme of play comes from the satisfying aggressive nature.

--Spotlight on Akiha summon.

Arguably your strongest mixup, use your 2C to Akiha summon rushdown to enforce your aggressive nature on the opponent. Practice your high/low/throw options, and when you've developed these continue to add new ones until the setups blend and become less and less recognizable. Mix powerful baits in to discourage countering your setups by occasionally backdashing out of ex range or using shields to stuff heat activation. Keep in mind your are sacrificing guaranteed malice damage to set this up, so make it count.

Add in Satsuki summon once you've developed several Akiha summon mixups to create less recognizable mixups.

--Use more powerful Sequence Variants:

Certain sequences lead to Malice or 5C 236C BNBs that deliver only half of what they could do. In these situations setting up the Akiha summon sacrifices negligible damage for a strong mixup that will give huge return on your investment.

Examples: Antiair EX Shield 5A 6B dash 2C 214C (near corner)
              Throw 2C 214C (corner)
              j.2B 2ABC 214C
              6B 2C 214C after multiple Reverse Beats.


--Focus on countering common high risk scenarios at a winning ratio.

When you can smell what the opponent is cooking, use well placed 5B clash frames/counter hits or EX shields to immediately counter the setup. If you were going to block low, low shield will cover the low option, and if you get tagged by the high option instead, well it would have hit you either way. Tag the opponent this way a couple of times, then recognize his bait the next time and escape immediately to add insult to injury.


--Recognize Match reset situations and assert your claim to the field of play.

When you are in a situation where you can no longer attack safely, you can use well placed Summons or 623A / 236A to try to tag the opponent's escape options, as well as your high speed dash to shake the opponent up despite your sometimes disadvantageous position. 214A from out of the opponent's range cuts off a section of the playfield, as does random 214C. On Defense use 236C to force an opponent to block and immediately switch the opponent's gear from offense to defense, or 623A to stop IADs or some long range pokes. Use Bara 214A/C or Bara Dash on long range enders such as Ciel 5CC or Warc 214A to force the situation into your favor.


No one person can master all tactics, but by picking and choosing to develop the tactics you are strongest in, you can assert your strengths on the opponent to cover your weaknesses.

15

Sion TATARI (Vampire) / Blockstring Yomi and how to improve your hitconfirm ratio.

« on: September 26, 2007, 06:03:57 AM »

I get a lot of questions regarding why I use certain blockstrings or why X is better over Y. I'd like to run through what goes through my or any major V.Sion player's mind when certain strings are used, and how to implement them properly as well as when to know not to use them.


Here are the key moves that you'll find useful in blockstrings and why.

5A: Neutral on block. String Starter that doubles as stuffing jumpouts and some pokes.
2A: -2 on block. String starter that hits low.
5B: Neutral on block. String starter that stuffs low shield as well as many pokes.
2B: Neutral on block. String starter that allows you to poke without being at near point blank range. Stuffs high shield. Hits low.
236B: +4 on block. Punishable by dodge. Prime Bara target.
236C: +4 on block. Punishable by many Baras as well as some shield bunkers.
j.2B: +1 on block if done low enough.

These are the moves that will 'lead' your rushdown. The key here is to create fluid strings that leave you at neutral or advantage, while not letting your opponent be able to grasp when your string ends or which string is coming next.

I'll run through these starting from lowest level to highest (note I am not labeling these as 'worst' to 'best'. Even the simpler blockstrings still have their uses at the highest end of the game with some exceptions.)

Yomi 0:

5C 236C: This is a good option at the low end. Poking after 5C will get snuffed and on block it's +4 as well as on hit giving you a easy 236C BNB. However this suffers from being punishable by backdashing after the 5C for many characters.

2ABC 5A whiff: A safe option that makes for easy combo hitconfirms but puts you a long distance from the opponent and is generally subpar. Punishable by bunker.

Yomi 1:

5C 236B: A little better than 5C 236C because there is no EX flash to give away the setup, this string is very usable up until the highest level of the game, where it is punishable by dodge with most of the cast. You can almost chain this repeatedly on opponents and keep dashing back in with throw or the poke of your choice, mixed in with some cautious baiting to stuff random heat activation and random EX, until you land a hit.

2A pause 2A pause 2A: A generic tactic that works as a stagger in it's most simple form. It allows you to stay point blank to the opponent and stuff attempts to poke you, training them for your better blockstrings or throw options. As you improve you can hitconfirm counterhits landed with this into a full bnb.

Yomi 2:

5B pause 2B or 2B pause 5B: These options work on the same concept as 2A pause 2A. However they are level 2 moves which makes them more deceptive. Train the opponent with this and he will fear any blocked level 2 move, allowing you to use 5B xx dash in or 2B xx dash in instead.

5B/2B xx 236B: This doesn't work at the lowest level because of the opponent's propensity to poke it. However at the higher level it is an excellent string that allows you to be nearly point blank to the opponent with +4, making it one of the deadliest frametraps in the game period.

5C/2C 236A xx 236C: This string is superior to 5C 236C in almost every way. It's tougher to counter, gives the same frame advantage, and if you have the meter, can be used mindlessly just like 5C 236B, without the gap for escape options. However it is one of your prime bara targets and at the highest end will fail you often.

2A/5B/2B to j.2B: This string requires some spot on execution but rewards you with a strong punisher of some common pokes. 

2A 5B 2B 5A: This string primarily is used to fake your 5C strings.


Yomi 3:

5A 2B 2A or 5A 5B 2A: This string works at the highest end of the game as a strong stagger when your hit confirm skills are up to snuff. It punishes smart players looking for 236B or 236A xx 236C by allowing you to end a string early and dash back in. It chains into other staggers or fakeouts, and is generally unpredictable when mixed in with 6B or delayed 2C options.

2C 2B: Extremely unpredictable string that gives you strong hitconfirm options. A high percentage of the time a 2C means the end of your rushdown, which is why this string works so well. Requires point blank range.

5C 214X: Another extremely unpredictable tactic, since 5C is identified with 236 rushdown.

5C (no followup): Similar to 5C 214C, this works despite you being at disadvantage because 5C signifies a time when poking is bad or when you should be preparing to bara 236A xx 236C.



Hitconfirming Tips:

5C 236A 236C isn't just a blockstring. The point is that it also autoconfirms a 236C combo for you. Try using delayed 5C in strings into this setup and following up based on whether it hits or is blocked.

Things to teach yourself how to hitconfirm from:

Dash 2AA: You should be able to recognize whether this has hit or is blocked and adjust accordingly.

5B or 2B: You should be able to recognize when these counterhit and confirm to big damage. On your best day you should be able to hitconfirm off these raw.

Dash 5AA: Learn to use this to snuff jumpouts, then recognize if it hit a grounded opponent, a jumping opponent, or is blocked, and confirm to the proper options.

j2B: On smaller characters keep in mind that 2ABC 5C 623B will not work. Use 2ABC 214C instead.

16

Sion Eltnam Atlasia / Kubo's secret SBO technique: Sion Cutting Synch advanced resets.

« on: August 14, 2007, 08:31:53 AM »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut2mZKIGJgQ

Although we only got to see 2 of his matches, we can see the technique he saved for the tournament specifically, which are several new variations of Sion resets that lead to high damage opportunities.

It looks like the secret to this technique involves using the basic cutting synch loop into 5[C] 214B. From here you have multiple options that can allow you to reset the combo damage, go into heat activation, or just finish the combo.

The 'trigger' is 5B. Here are the options Kubo uses, as well as what I have mapped as the full set of techniques I believe he was prepared to use.

1:15: 5[C] 214B 5B 2B 5C(1hit)5A (combo is now reset) 2C 421A. In this case the 2C was successfully blocked but gave Kubo an easy sudden throw setup for the win. On hit the 2C 421A leads into the double otg combo, or otg into TK j.214C for easy 3k damage.

2:09: 5[C] 214B 5B 2B 5C 214A immediate heat activate. This is actually an old setup, but worth noting here because it is probably what gave him the ideas for the other options.

9:35 5[C] 214B 5B (in between here the combo is now reset) 6B 2B 3B xx 421C. This is a variation of an older setup modified for his new 'cutting synch reset' theme.

Here is what looks like the full set of options Kubo was prepared to use.

5[C] 214B 5B2B5C (one hit) 6B 3B 421C
5[C] 214B 5B2B5C (one hit) 5A 2C 421A
5[C] 214B 5B2B5C (one hit) 5A Dash up throw
5[C] 214B 5B2B5C (one hit) 214A heat activate

5[C] 214B 5B 6B 2B 3C 421C
5[C] 214B 5B 5A 2C 421A
5[C] 214B 5B 5A Dash 2A
5[C] 214B 5B 5A Dash up Throw


Note that there is another (implied) damage increase once your opponent is aware of these:

He will stop mashing damage after 5[C] 214B because he wants to watch your setup closer and does not want to accidentally get himself counter hit.

17

Kohaku's Magical Garage / Expert Strategy: Reversing the opponent's options rather than just blocking

« on: July 09, 2007, 10:25:22 AM »

At the higher and higher levels of the game, your opponents will tighten up their rushdown, mixups, and wakeups. Options such as Kohaku 22C, V.Sion Akiha summon, Aoko 421A, And Akiha/Red Akiha pits are all setups that will lead into those characters getting 2 to 3 mixup attempts on you for blocking. Your chances of success against these tactics are always in the opponent's favor -- you have to guess right just to survive, while the opponent successfully hitting you leads into that opponent gaining good damage and in many cases resetting you right back into the setup.

However when you acknowledge this, you can take advantage of the 'flaw' of these setups. They give the opponent confidence in their attacking, and thus by using skillful reversals you can damage the opponent in situations where they are highly unlikely to bait you or even expect you to attack.

Reversal option #1: Heat activation.
People are less likely to heat activate when they aren't actually waking up or do not have a high amount of red life. Your opponent knows this, so after you have woken up completely he is less likely to bait this tactic. However it is bar none the best reversal against many of these mixups. When Akiha knocks you down and sets pit, wait for the spot where she should go for high/low/throw and activate to push her away safely. Sion Warning shots/V.Sion 236A xx 236C? Wait for her to dash back in and activate. Most mixups of this type involve the idea of the opponent dashing in to you while they have something covering them or just have massive frame advantage -- heat activation will nullify these immediately and give you breathing room instead of having to guess.

Reversal option #2: Setup specific bunker cancels.
We all know about the basic bara 214C options. However, this does not apply to all characters, as some of them have poor 214C options. Also the opponent is aware of your bara options, and portions of his setups may look to bait your bara or just insure they are out of range. So in this case we need to look to the bara options that the opponent is not going to look for or count on often.

Example A: Bara dash
This type of bara nullifies frame advantage, and thus can be used against many frame advantage setups. Bara dash defeats Sion warning shots, Ciel 5CC, Sion 6C 4C, V.Sion 236B, Miyako stomps, and any other such pressure that involves forcing you to block a move with high frame advantage and following up. Although you cannot directly punish them in this manner, the fact that you are nullifying their frame advnatage reverses the situation. An immediate dash 2A or dash throw may catch the opponent off guard for some easy damage, or just plain old put you at advantage and force the opponent to have to block in a situation where he should have been on the offensive.

Example B: Bara Superjump
This type of bara is used to reverse primarily Ciel 214C, but allows you to escape other things as well. You can escape Kohaku 22C, Warakia 5C or 2C xx tornado, and other similar ideas that involve a short continuous string of blocked attacks, although the opponent himself can reverse your reversal if he is looking for it.

Reversal Option #3: Clash Frames/Super Armor/Random EX.
Using an attack with a high amount of clash frames during it's startup will allow you to attempt to reverse the opponent while you are at disadvantage, since during your disadvantage they are more likely to clash with the startup of your move. Also the opponent is gong to be looking for wakeup EXes less often since you are no longer waking up, and this option becomes stronger, though more dangerous because of execution miscues or the chance the opponent screwed up and thus has time to block after your ex flash.

Example attacks:
Sion 2C or 623A/C
V.Sion 5B
Shiki 2C or 623A/C
Kohaki 2B
Kouma 2B or 22C or 214C
Hisui 5B


Reversal Option #4: "Defensive Offensive"
The opponent will often use wakeup EXes to stop you from rushing them down on wakeup. Most of these options are actually unsafe if blocked -- their real threat is in the fact they will out prioritize your meaties. You COULD just stop to block them, but now you've put yourself into a guessing game -- will they do it or won't they? Baiting nothing is not in your favor and can allow a quick on his feet opponent to detect your attempt to bait and escape or attack you with 2As. We can defeat this with attack strings with built in failsafes. You can never capture all of the options in one shot, but by covering multiple options at once you give yourself higher ratios of success over a waking up opponent whom you do not want to give priority back to.

Example A: Abusing empty cancels.
All A attacks in the game can be canceled empty into another attack or shield. This can be abused to cover multiple of the opponent's options when they are cornered
 Meaty 2A --- opponent blocks ---mixup
              --- opponent backdashes --- empty cancel to more 2As to hit them during their backdash recovery
              --- opponent performs wakeup ex -- cancel the A into a shield
             
This does not defeat all options of course. Some wakeup EXes cannot be shielded in time due to their fast startup, and unless you are very good at detecting a wakeup heat, you will not be able to shield it in time.

Example B: Backdash into long range attack.

This will often defeat heat activations, and can lead into another mixup for you or even a BNB or OTG combo.
Sion: Backdash 2C. Goes under most wakeup exes.
Kohaku: Backdash 2C. Allows meaty 22C after.
Shiki: Backdash 2C

Example C: Throw setup
Many wakeup exes can be jumped out of or thrown during their startup. Thus going for the throw setup allows you to be prepared to cover these. Akiha's 236C can be thrown during startup, Kouma 214c can be jumped, etc etc. When you are looking to bait these specific moves, the throw setup allows you to cover 2 angles against it.

18

Kohaku's Magical Garage / Advanced technique: How to abuse the opponent's hitbox to defeat their defense.

« on: May 18, 2007, 05:50:10 AM »

In most fighting games, whenever you block an attack high there is a small period of time where even if you crouch, your hitbox is the equivalent of your standing hitbox. This little known fact doesn't really sound like much, since in most situations where it occurs you are just going from an overhead to a low or another (slow) overhead, and it does not effect gameplay.

However, this short period of time is in fact abusable to create ridiculously difficult to block strings that are the opposite to your opponent's instinct. For them to block such a setup correctly they have to block 'wrong.' And as we've already discussed, any setup that abuses a good opponent's instinct is always top tier.

The idea is we are going to force the opponent to block an attack high as in a typical high to low setup, and convince them to block low immediately after based on their own instinct. Then we are going to attack them with an early jump attack (which is still possible since despite the fact that they are crouching, their hitbox is the equivalent of their standing hitbox).

Example 1: Kohaku
Kohaku has one of the game's best overheads in her jump early C. However, this technique is character specific -- it actually does NOT work on the entire cast. In the case of the characters it does not work on, this technique can be utilized instead.

2AB5C2C 236A 236C pause into meaty 22C. (This is one of Kohaku's common 22C setups.) ->
IAD Deep BC land jump Early C land 2C 5C 5B j.BCA dj. BC Airthrow.

Explanation: IAD deep j.B (opponent blocks high) j.C (Hitbox of j.C forces you to land earlier than normal) and upon landing immediately jump early C. (opponent fuzzy guards to low expecting 2A, and you hit their glitched hitbox for a 22C combo.) land 2C 5C 5B j.BCA dj. BC Airthrow.


The best part about this setup -- even if the opponent gets hit by the IAD B, you still have enough time to combo despite your setup after failing. Very difficult sequence to block correctly.

Example 2: Aoko
Very typical, textbook setup.

2AB 6ABC 236C 421A (This is her staple orb setup BNB.)
Jump in deep j.AC land jump early C [Release orb] Airdash C 2AB 6ABC 421A

Explanation: Jump in Deep A (opponent blocks high) j.C (forces Aoko to land earlier than normal) and upon landing immediately jump early C. (Again hitting their glitched hitbox.) Release orb Airdash C land 2AB 6ABC 236C 421A (Reset the opponent back into your orb setup.)

Example 3: V.Sion
Here is an example of taking a character who's natural mixup is quite weak, and converting it into a powerful, fearsome series.

2ABC 214B (Typical satsuki summon setup.)
IAD Deep C dj.Early C j.2B 6B 2C 236C j.BC Airdash C dj. BC Airthrow.

Explanation: IAD Deep C (opponent blocks high and immediately fuzzyguards to low anticipating your 2A upon landing) doublejump C on the way up (lightning fast overhead in a situation where the opponent is expecting a low) j.2B (comboing the divekick after allows you to land earlier) 6B 2C 236C j.BC Airdash C dj. BC Airthrow. (Typical Satsuki summon combo)

Example 4: V.Sion
Forgive me using a character twice here, but it's no secret she's the character I know best. Here is an example on how to abuse Chaos/Warakia's height during their standing hitbox to land otherwise impossible overheads.

2ABC 5C 623B j.C dj. BC Airthrow. (Typical V.Sion BNB.)
Jump AC land jump Early C j.2B 2ABC 214C.

Explanation: Jump AC (hits meaty and forces chaos to block high) land jump Early C (Chaos Fuzzy guards to low and you hit his glitched hitbox) j.2B 2ABC 214C (the 2A is a link, and the distance this leaves you at makes an Akiha summon setup the most consistent followup.)



Conclusion: This technique is not for the faint of heart. It requires spot on execution, and failing can get you punished instead of forcing some good damage. However mastering this techique at the advanced to expert levels will give you a mixup option that even the best of the best cannot block at a high ratio of success.

19

Melty Blood Auditorium / Hi! Insult evo staff again ever and I will find you.

« on: May 01, 2007, 12:53:44 PM »

You know who you are.

I'm doing alot of fucking work. Do you understand that concept? Do you think doing this shit is easy? Do you think it's cheap? Do you know what its like to spend $1200 just to get 3 hours of experience versus one jap player who actually plays mb?

Do you know what it's like to fight the stigma behind this game?


From now on, I don't give a fuck if you have a personal vendetta with evo staff ever. Do not pull some shit like you did with Mr. Wiz. If any evo  staff or SRK admins EVER present themselves in the channel, you treat them with your utmost respect. Either that, Or I will find a way to have you fucking banned. If you have a problem with evo or evo staff, keep it to your fucking self.

20

Sion TATARI (Vampire) / Character Specific notes and comments.

« on: April 30, 2007, 04:25:47 PM »

This is a small guide for some common scenarios you will have to deal with versus certain characters. It is by no means a matchup chart. I also do not pretend to be perfect, so take my advice with a grain of salt depending upon your local comp.



Aoko:

j.C Dissipates Air Orbs safely if spaced right.
Akiha summon dissipates ex orb.
Beware of summoning at full screen range, 236B can punish you.

Notable wakeups:
623C (block or 2A and shield when you see the ex flash).
Heat activation (bait and punish)



Bara 214C (beats 5C)
Bara 421C (beats 236A xx 236C on block)

Notable counter strategies:
Her Dashing 3C can beat you when you have frame advantage and is difficult to bait and punish. Stagger your chains effectively or use 236C when you are at disadvantage to bait and punish it if possible.

Nanaya:
His 2A beats 6B (Hitbox is a little too big to go over)
2B is a common panic button from bad nanaya players. Stagger or use 6B to defeat it.
j.A beats your j.C. Adjust your air game accordingly.
5A beats j.C but loses to divekick. Abuse counter hits on this for easy dive kick combos.

Notable wakeups:
623C (block or IAD and doublejump at the last moment to go past it.)
Heat Activation (bait and punish)

Arc:
j.C beats a lot of your attacks clean. Block or bait her into bad positioning before challenging it.
Beat Edge 5B mixup can be countered with high shield xx malice bnb or wakeup 623C.
Your 5B and 5C lose to her 2B. Throwing these out while on defense to attempt random counter hits is not as effective.

Notable wakeups:
22A/C
Heat Activation (bait and punish)

(More later)

21

Sion TATARI (Vampire) / Secret weapons and tactics -- how to be random.

« on: April 25, 2007, 04:51:05 PM »

When you deal with opponents who are below your level of play, you are always at an advantage.

In V.Sion's case, there are a few elements that new or inexperienced opponents have misconceptions about.

V.Sion has multiple meaties that all can lead into strings that are even or advantage on block. She also has a damaging throw in the corner, an overhead with lower body invincibility that defeats common panic moves, and the unusual looking 236C combo set, which most new or learning players do not understand. She also features the 'scrub killer' Akiha summon, which leads to easy, repeated 4500+ damage combos on opponents who do not understand how to tackle it.

However, as you get better and better and face up against opponents who are at your level or above, things change. Not only does a good person know not to take any risks against blocked 236A xx 236C, he may even be bold enough or prepared enough to bara it.

A good opponent will take no unnecessary risks on wakeup other than activation, their wakeup ex of choice, and block, knowing full well V.Sion's meaties and tricks will destroy any further options. They also will block 6B at increasingly higher ratios, nullifying it's usefulness.

How do we combat these increased efficiencies of defense? It's time for Random

The most important point abut V.Sion and random:

The end goal is to land 236C in a situation where you can get the full followup combo.  Landing these random tactics net you nothing if you cannot hit confirm to the big damage when you finally score a hit on an unexpected or punishable situation. Even landing your throw setups merely opens them up to convince them to not block, so that you can score 236C the next time.

So how do we go about setting up Random? The idea is we are going to exploit the opponent's intelligence. Your opponent wants to be as slick as you are. He thinks he knows your options and what you will do. He's waiting for you to go for something he has a counter for. He knows your normals, your specials, the common uses for them, all of your common bnbs, and if he landed on your character on random select he could probably mimic 70% of your own play successfully. Now it's time to shake him up.

1) Nullifying the opponent's defensive options instead of attacking outright on their wakeup.
This is the first step. Your opponent will only ever shield, ex, or heat activate on wakeup if given a choice, as these 3 are the only options that will defeat you in close with a high probability. His other choices such as wakeup backdash are calculated risks that are difficult for you to predict or bait. What can we do about this?
 -- Meaty 236B from near max range. This cleanly beats many many wakeup EXes. You recover in time to keep them cornered if they activate. It's deep enough to stop wakeup jump. It's way out of range of way too many opposing pokes. And it's +4 on block, an extremely
advantageous situation in which you can dash back in and continue your pressure even if they did nothing.
 -- Meaty 214A. When your opponent is used to seeing you in close, this one takes them for a ride. It's defeatable by a lot of wakeup EXes but beats wakeup activation, wakeup jump, and many other options. And throwing it out puts the fear of the move into them, letting you get off 214C instead for a great mixup opportunity.
 -- Backdash. Who the hell expects this from V.Sion? Her backdash sucks.
 -- IAD xx double jump at the last possible moment. If you don't see an ex flash, divekick immediately.
The idea here is that the chances of your opponent using an ex are MUCH lower when they aren't waking up anymore. This allows you to put them into patterns where they become frustrated because they feel that are perpetually on defense.


2) Prey on their intelligence on defense.
 -- Feign a disadvantageous situation. Whiff a throw point blank and then immediately 2A. Pretend to mistime a meaty, then 2A right away. Purposely dash too long, making it look like you are going for a throw setup, then 5B them in the face. Whiff some 2As as they wake up,. then throw them.
 -- End strings in places that normally are not a string ender. 5C xx nothing defeats people preparing to bara your 236A xx 236C. It's also unexpected because its one of the few disadvantageous situations for you. Boldly summoning in their face will catch them off guard for being too defensive.
 -- IAD when they expect dash xx throw. Extremely dangerous situation for the opponent, because most ways to defeat tick throw lose very badly to IAD.
 -- Set up an advantageous situation and do nothing. You'd be surprised at the random shit that suddenly gets thrown at you that you can easily block and punish.

3) Prey on their Instinct.
 -- Use 6B in situations where there 'should' be a 2A. The most common example is jump C (blocked) 6B. Attacking after blocking a jump in is a nono in most situations, and you can exploit this in this manner.
 -- Come down from a tech without pressing an attack when the opponent is positioned to antiair with EX shield. You can easily punish his shield when landing.


Many of these situations can be turned around by the opponent. In fact sometimes you will be punished for a good attempt at being random because the opponent's own response is equally random. Learn to create situations the opponent has not seen or does not understand, and punish him for responding with the wrong choices.

22

Sion TATARI (Vampire) / Explanation of Combos and Tactics

« on: March 23, 2007, 10:07:14 AM »

V.Sion's gameplay can be broken into 3 very simple phases.

Phase 1: Score a knockdown.

This phase differs based on the opponent you are fighting. The goal is to either land a CH j.A into a small bnb + airthrow, or exploit their mistakes to land a direct hit to bnb. This phase gets better with matchup experience and understanding of which of your pokes will force easy counter hits or beat them out during their positioning/zoning gaps.

Phase 2: Exploit your knockdown and attack.

Here are where your many frame neutral/frame advantage attacks come into play. 2B or 5B as meaties will defeat poor wakeup attacks. You can use j.AC or IAD C mixup. 236B or 236A xx 236C can be used when you are running out of normals to pin them down, as can whiff cancelling early and dashing or IADing back in. You also have to master 'Passive' rushdown. Bait their activation or wakeup ex. Exploit when they will jump out and j.A to land a clean hit or force them into a possible guard break. Throw people who are too defensive or like to buffer bara cancels to loosen them up. This level is the hardest to master, you have to use many different tactics against different players, with the only universal constants being the above mentioned concepts.

Phase 3: Hitconfirm to 236C.

This phase is the easiest of the 3 phases to actually master, but requires alot of practice as well as being very comfortable with your normals. Any hit close enough to the corner on a grounded opponent should connect to 5C 236C for your max damage bnb. Lower damage bnbs should only be used when they will kill, when landed as a part of phase 1 and your opponent is in the air or not close enough to the corner, or to generate more meter for your next 236C combo.

Notable Combos:
2A 2B 2C 5C 623B j.C dj.BC Airthrow

2A 2B 2C 3B j.BC dj.BC Airdash C Airthrow

2A 2B 5C 236C j.BC dj.BC Airdash C Airthrow (Near Corner -- remove first j.B from longer distances.)

6B 2C 5C 623B j.C dj.BC Airthrow

6B 5C 236C j.BC dj.BC Airdash C Airthrow (Near Corner -- remove first j.B from longer distances)

2B 5C 236C Dash jump C Airdash C dj.BC airthrow (This is how you connect 236C combos midscreen. The timing is difficult.)


Notes on the 2A 2B 2C 5C 623B j.C dj.BC Airthrow bread and butter.

This combo is one of the most difficult for newer and even experienced V.Sion players. There are two secrets to connecting this combo.
1) Delay the 5C slightly after 2C. Even a small delay will make your chances of connecting the combo easier.

2) Delay the jump cancel after the first j.C. This is the hardest part of the combo from my personal experience. You actually have to pause before doublejumping rather than doublejumping immediately like you would in most other character's bnbs.

The benefits to mastering this combo are its' slightly better damage and the higher meter generation, giving you more opportunities to land 236C combos or use 236A xx 236C in your blockstrings. In it's absence, you can use 2A 2B 2C 3B j.BC dj.BC Airdash C Airthrow.


Defense:

Unfortunately, this is the price you pay for your very consistent damage. V.Sion has very few good defensive options. You have to have faith in your ability to block and wait for your chance to escape.

EX Shield xx 5A 6B dash in 5B 3B j.BC dj.BC Airthrow. (This is how you set up Anti Air EX shields.)

5B Is fast enough to defeat many pokes, but has very short range.

236C can be used to defeat pokes and gaps by forcing them to block.

2A is soso against tick throw setups.

You have to learn to overcome your fear of the corner and block your way out. Any incidental damage because you were cornered is the cost of doing business -- using extreme measures to get out of the corner will just get you baited and punished. Take Calculated guesses with your blocks, heat activation, or 236C to minimize the damage you take while in the corner. More extreme random measures like j.A, jump airthrow, and 623C should only be used to defeat recognizable opponent patterns.

23

Kohaku's Magical Garage / How To Tech Punish like a Pro.

« on: March 20, 2007, 06:07:30 AM »

Tech Punishing is a mid level technique that helps you control your opponent's actions (to a degree) by causing them to fear ground teching. It prevents people from mindlessly teching out of the corner, allowing your rushdown patterns to run much longer. Once you've taught your opponent that teching your common setups is bad, you can go into new wakeup setups/patterns that are only an option on opponents who do not tech. You can also try to tempt them into a tech using techiques such as double OTGs while waiting for the tech to inflict much more damage than the double otg would have netted.


What is tech punishing?
Whenever you ground tech, there is a very small recovery window upon completing your tech and standing on your feet. During this window you cannot block/attack/perform any action. This can be exploited by landing any sort of meaty attack so that it hits them immediately upon completion of their tech for free damage.

Even if you 'miss' the window, you can often still punish their tech anyway. Forcing an opponent who just teched to block pins them down for your rushdown. Also you may not be able to hit them in time, but it is extremely hard to escape a throw just after teching.

Examples and setups

Miyako: Airthrow in the corner after bnb. If they tech neutral or back you can dash in and 2A or quickly throw. If they tech forward you can 2A them during the window where they cannot block. If they do not tech you can dash in for an otg String.

Aoko: Ground throw. Neutral or back tech can be defeated by dashing and landing a meaty 2C or just throwing them again. Forward tech can be defeated by merely waiting in place and 2Bing them when they land from their tech.

Chaos: Ground throw near the corner. If they air tech, you can jump back and j.C to force them to stay in the corner. Any ground tech can be punished by 2A. Not teching allows you to set up a meaty A snake pattern for rushdown. You can also just 5B them for not teching and land an easy invalid j.C loop.

Hisui: The infamous j.BB loop near the corner. This has several options for when the opponent does or does not tech and is an example of how tech punishing adds many options to your characters game that could not exist otherwise.

Kohaku: j.C near the corner in BNBs. Any tech option can be defeated with 2C. Not teching allows an easy OTG string. Teching the OTG string allows her 2C xx combo. Not teching the OTG string gives her a chance to set up meaty EX cactus.

Any character: The otg/double otg setup. Whenever your opponent does not tech and you go for an otg string, they have an opportunity to tech right after. This is punishable the same way you punish other techs. You can also end your first otg string early to see if they are holding for a tech in case you miss your full otg string, wait for them to pop back up, and punish. Once they dont hold a direction, you can start an otg string, end it early, dash back in, and do another otg string. And then when they expect the double otg, you can do the first part of your otg string, wait for them to pop back up, and punish again. This tech punish mindgame with otgs can be done by almost anyone.

Conclusion

Tech punishing allows you to prey on the opponent's fear for free damage, and at the high level you can use the fear of your tech punishes to set up long rushdown patterns that are actually techable, but the opponent chooses not to tech for fear of your tech punish damage. Master these techniques and it will add to your damage and mindgame.

24

Kohaku's Video Room / Hell Camp #3 Round Robin vids

« on: March 15, 2007, 07:40:22 PM »

Featuring Xaq playing a shitty Arc and then playing his Mech Hisui to a first place win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8J6HH3ZSAQ Xaq Vs Sp00ky

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeHbaYqIM20 Xaq vs Zar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTpLWcun4Gc Xaq vs NQC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLZcBV2zg4 Xaq vs IPT

25

Melty Blood Auditorium / The Team Bloody Tuna Melt is going to SBO! Thread.

« on: March 07, 2007, 12:38:14 PM »

Hello peeps.

This thread is just a small venue where I am going to post some information on our trek to the SBO Last chance qual, as well as any pertinent information. Mostly I'm making it so that people can ask me questions, air out anything they want to air out (like telling us to our face you think we;re idiots or whatever else may have you) and similar.

Point 1: are you serious?

Yes, we are serious. I have already requested the necessary time off from my job, and have about 40% of the funds I think i will need saved. My job has offered to allow me to take out a small loan if necessary as well. Also a few of the #meltyblood and #MBAC people have offered to donate money to the 'cause' though at this time we are NOT accepting any donations.

Point 2: Why are you doing this?

Primarily because there is no significant enough major for melty blood happening in the U.S. this year. Evo has announced it's game set and has decided it will not run it. The U.S. has received no melty blood qualifier for sbo due to reasons I do not know and that are beyond my control. Thusly This is our last hurrah if you will for the game and our last chance to prove what we have wanted to prove.

Point 3: I think what you are doing is awesome and represents the U.S.!

At lot of people have said something like this. I just want to point out that we are doing this for our own mostly selfish reasons. The fact that it may represent the U.S. MB or tourney scene as a whole is only a side effect. Definitely We have love for the tourney scene and our home country, but I'm not going to pretend we're doing this to be noble. We're doing it because of pride and because we have something to prove.