Strictly in terms of guard cancels(gc's), I've laid out a list of characters based on the merits & flaws of their gc's. Before going into this first, gc's and tech hits(pushblocks) are the two available options that characters have while in blockstun(and yes, anakaris being the exception). Looking beyond these options are the actual unique characteristics that each character possesses with their respective gc's which make their guard cancels viable as an option or not.
[Aside from Anakaris] Each character's tech hit ability is universal, and the implications of teching are always the same. Teching takes a character who is in a defensive position, and allows space for the merits of the player/character who teched to get him out. Ideally a tech is performed at the right time and the defending player is able to recover from the tech in frame advantage, or at least push the opponent away to a position where advancing with more pressure gets stuffed [or does not appear to be viable.]. Ill placed techs (that are successful), normally lead the main player to defending more of the opponent's pressure. Teching should be the default [and to some extent the knee-jerk] reaction against offensive pressure. While in higher levels, it can be 'baited,' at lower levels, getting into the habit of eying when to tech hits, whether it be staggered in and out single hit offense, or chains & long block strings, is always a viable option.
When in a defensive posture, there is a two phase flowchart you can go through before deciding whether or not to guardcancel:
1. Can I reliably predict when i'm going to block an attack?
no->block/retreat/df pop
yes->
2. Will Teching provide enough of a pressure gap to allow my character to change the pace of the match in my favor?
no->tech
yes->gc
Part 1 of this two phase question is the assessment of whether or not a guard cancel can be executed. it is a variable measurement of what the player sees and reacts to against an opponents offence. Quite simply, if you can reliably predict, block, and dp(or gc shortcut ) normally, then gcing becomes that much more of a viable option. If you aren't sure whether or not you're in a position to guard cancel OR tech, you may very well not need to, and attempting to do so may very well be more for your undoing than benefit.
Otherwise, if you are midscreen, and can afford to retreat backwards towards the corner, it may be worth the risk to give space in hopes of at least neutralizing a defensive position. Dark force popping will normally do the opposite, scaring the opponent away from you, depending on the character's darkforce(hyper/super armor dark forces, flight dark forces, victor). DF pops are one of the main reasons why I reccommend always having a meter or two on stock to allow for this option.
The second part assesses the outcome. Ideallistic guard cancels will yield a knockdown. Of the entire cast,bbhood, Lei lei [in a roundabout way] and *Anakaris are the only characters who's guard cancels do not net a player a knockdown on a successful hit(this is of course solely the guard cancel). This being the case(a knockdown), use guard cancels brings about implications that the player intends not just to neutralize a situation, but to completely reverse it, and place the opponent in a defensive posture having to deal with oki(wakeup).
To add to this, one must also assess the negative outcomes of a successful guard cancel, which are primarily whiffing and getting stuffed(beaten out).
The latter scenario occurs typically with [what I have deemed as] class 3 guard cancels due to there slow startup.
Judging whether a gc will wiff or not one must account the nature of the position of the opponent's offence. Generally what I look for is if the opponent is low and afar(a character to a half character away), or if they are pressuring with quick recovering light attacks from a low distance.
Using these paramaters along with the list below should allow you(the player) to best decide when to guard cancel.
Class 1 - Conventional Guard Cancels
The following characters have guard cancels that do exactly what they're suppose to do, and are reliable at doing so. Their gc's are reliable when rationalizing between gcing, and tech hitting.
All of these guard cancels, have different attributes that gives them utility:
Demitri - Demitri has the most reliable 'shoryuken' dp in the game. as a guardcancel, it is just as strong, but the pure vertical nature of this gc's hitbox makes it suceptible to fast blocked normals from afar.
Lilith - As a gc, Lilith's gc is at a decent startup speed and reaches out horizontally enough to catch opponents. [I find it to be ideal.]
Morrigan - One of the fastest in the game. reliable due to its speed, though it does lack the horizontal range that other characters have.
Bishamon - Bish's GC is a standard dp, I have not come across it much against the bish's i've played against[which i account to the lack of bish players really]. This being said, I think bish has an open option to choose between teching and using one of his own normals[which are great imo!], or guard canceling to change and/or neutralize the curreny rhythmn in a match. Bishamon is actually a character that I will universally tend to gc against. Good offensive pressure from bishamon leaves players to answer to his high-priority normals after successful tech hits.
Victor - While he is a powerhouse in terms of the priority of his normals, Victor's playstyle is very partial to the use of his guard cancel. the hitboxes and direction of his gc are very favorable, and additionally, he is generally safe when using the light/medium versions on block, allowing him to transition into offensive movement.
Zabel (L. Raptor) - Zabel's gc has a great disjoined hitbox upon activation, and has reasonable startup (±8f). from what i recall, Zabel's gc or ES gc can be converted into an unblockable j.lk setup.
Felicia - Felicia's guardcancel is a two part gc that knocks down differently depending on part opponents are hit by and where they are getting hit. There are cases where an aerial opponent can be successfully hit by the first rising hit of felicia's guard cancel, but recover in time to block and reposté the following hits.
Qbee - Qbee's gc is a two part gc. she actually hits on the springing and then on the way up of her gc. Knowing this, she has the potential to make aerial opponents recover before her should she only hit with the first half of her gc. Due to the nature of the character though, qbee can afford to tech hit most attacks and retaliate with an appropriate air/ground normal.
Talbain - Talbain's gc is by not means fast (nor does it carry its own invincibility), but imo his gc has utility, due to the ability to maneuver after it. this allows him to safely reposition himself on hit or block.
Jedah - Jedah's guard cancel has great horizontal reach. The only scenario that i have found jedah's guard cancel to be a unreliable answer thus far has been against blocked demitri drills(all versions wiff). Jedah does have one of the slower gc's, at 13 frames of startup (which is around the lower-mid range).
Class 2 - special case - These Guard Cancels are viable options under must more stringent conditions for the following characters. Teching, df popping, up/back, or old fashion blocking are generally their preferred options over guard cancels
Bulleta(BB hood) - BB's gc is one of the great novelties of vampire savior. Her gc makes her dissapear and appear behind the opponent in approcimately 35 some frames(most of which she is invincible). The obvious uses are for long blockstun moves(brilliant shower, sas's big beam, leilei's s.hp, cruel hunting, etc.). Generally BB players get by defensively with teching and up/back.attack.
Anakaris (Analog Chalice)- Anakaris's gc is ES only, and leaves him at a disadvantage. Nonethaless, it is a viable option for at least resetting the pressure, also his ES gc is the only defensive option he has while blocking. Anakaris is very much dependent on either controlling space from afar, or controlling the pace of the match with his hi/lo game, and frame traps.
Class 3 - Minimal/no use: Characters of this final class have guard cancels that are unreliable, and are generally disregarded in high level gameplay. Teching, df popping, up/back, or old fashion blocking are generally their preferred options over guard cancels
Aubath (Rikuo)- Aubath's guard cancel is one of the slowest in the game(24F). This coupled with the fact tha there is no natural invulnerability to the moves leaves aubath's gc to get stuffed before his gc completely executes more often than not. As such, teching is his primary defensive option. Fortunately, he has the repitoire of fast & safe normals for answers after successful techs.
Sasquatch - Sas's guard cancel [from my previous experience] seems as unreliable as aubath's guard cancel. On paper, sasquatch's guard cancels have a respectable startup that range from 7 to 10 frames.(7/10/9/9). From further assessment, where I think sasquatch is mediocre in his frame data, he suffers from the lack of inherent invincibility frames. Additionally, the hitboxes of his gc(the spinny foot) are located well within his hurtbox, which extends significantly further than the hitbox of the foot. No worries though, Sasquatch has an amazing offensive game, and aerials/specials/normals which can sufficiently assist him after a successful tech.
Leilei (Hsien Ko) - Leilei has the slowest guard cancel, at [at least 29 frames]. To be viable, a leilei player must also be proficient at pendulum canceling, on top of gc timing. There are applicable scenarios that her gc can be used, but like aubath, leilei has the normals that allows for teching and responding with the appropriate normals.
No comments:
Post a Comment