CHOMP CHOMP HISS! - The Reptile Matchup Thread

[Scoot Magee]

Yeah a charged ex ball is a great counter to reaction telekick.

 

[Crackpipe]

I have the most trouble against Kabals who know how to zone. Reptile loses the zoning game with Kabal. What's your strategy? Do you try to close the gap with elbow whiffs and dash blocking and then rush them down?

 

[ZeroEffect]

Mileena's sais are quick enough on startup and recovery to make it difficult for Reptile to get anything on screen or to even elbow in without taking a hit or jump and risking eating an air sai. And even without using them, if she chooses to, she can wait for the reaction telekick to any of Reptile's projectiles since they are very slow on startup, resulting in a safejump scenario. Those two things aside, her normals outclass Reptile's in terms of the footsies game. Vs a good Mileena, it's pretty uphill and I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes Reptile's worst matchup. She's much better than people give credit for.

About teleport, it is punishable by anything if you stand block it, but she can make it difficult to punish her since she can sai anytime before she touches the ground and throw off your timing for optimal punishes. EX teleport, I'm pretty sure is 100% safe.

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from with Sai pressure from range. If she could keep at that distance she'd be golden. But sai isn't very damaging and can't be her only source of damage. She'll have to come to you eventually.

The problem I see with this match is that, one blocked roll, or teleport turns the matchup around for Reptile. He out damages her and can start his forceball/dash pressure once she's knocked down.

I'm sure acid spit is fast enough to trade with sai successfully, and it's too fast to reaction telekick/roll unless at full screen. She can't roll under forceball like most projectiles, so if she isn't waiting to telekick she's forced to guard and face block traps. If she is waiting to telekick... then you have your way in. She can't be throwing sais and buffering telekick motion at the same time. EX Acid spit and EX forceball thwart her telekicks if read correctly, and dash negates her close pressure. Even if she blocks dash she only gets a throw (if you're really on point) whereas reptile gets combos off her unsafe specials. If she does land a throw, however, she can start the zoning process all over again. But hey, it's not like she's Kitana and gets 40+% off of an anti air projectile.

 

[ZeroEffect]

It isn't worth the meter unless you REALLY need to put them into a situation where they can't do a wakeup attack.


And Mileena's mixup is Up 4 (Overhead) and Back 3 xx Roll (Low).

Both net her full combos.

That mixup will get easier to block once you see it more.

Also watch out for Back 3 xx EN Roll, it hits low then overhead. That's a BITCH to block.

Well after blocking Back+3, if you just block high and accept the second sweep you really don't lose much damage. Then you can roll away from any followup she might try while you're grounded.

 

[THTB]

Okay, not sure if people know some of this stuff, but if you do, just bringing it into the limelight:

With Mileena, most characters can standblock her teleport and in order for sai to hit, she has to let herself drop before it will hit, leaving her open to AA combos from everyone in the game...except for Reptile. Reptile's standblock hitbox is low...very low. In fact it is the lowest in the game. So low, that Mileena can instant sai after, and it jails, and she's at advantage. Reptile can punish it by crouchblocking like every other character, but unlike everyone else, his normals are slow, and as such, he won't be able to do it often. Reptile can also d4 to duck under teleport and even potentially hit it, but the timing is REALLY strict and you aren't doing it on reaction. Simply put, Mileena can abuse teleport vs Reptile, and at best, if it's crouchblocked, there's about no reward other than frame advantage. This makes the Mileena matchup SO difficult...3-7 in her favor isn't looking too far out the picture.

In positive news, there are three characters who can d4 in-between Raiden's launcher strings...Reptile, Mileena, and Sonya. This is quite a great deal easier to time than dashing...less rewarding, but easier. Vs these three characters, Raiden has to use meter to deal with this.

 

[RapZiLLa54]

Good info THTB. I played REO for a solid half hour Reptile vs Mileena and it was so painful especially since I have a lot of experience with this matchup at least so I thought.... The sai jail I was never aware of until last night, man it sucks since she can basically abuse that move to no end since Reptile can't really punish it.

You can't trade projectiles and with no rhyme to reason as to why the ball goes under the forceball makes it even more difficult to read a situation. Telekick on reaction to any projectile and the mix up game begins because of the free jump in. It was a rough night lol.

 

[karizzma]

How do you guys deal with a smoke player on his wakeup and your own? I discovered I couldn't dash on wake-up if he had a smoke bomb on the way so is the answer just to block every time you wakeup? Also on his wakeup I couldn't seem to maintain any pressure without getting blown up with his ex-parry or tele-punch.

 

[RapZiLLa54]

Yeah you have to block everytime your knocked down vs smoke when a smoke bomb is on the way but luckily it does no chip damage so its not a big deal.

Dealing with smokes wake up attacks are tricky so your best bet is to try to bait them. I rarely try to rush down smoke due to the EX parry and his teleport being so fast. You have to make the right reads.

 

[Scoot Magee]

Yeah you have to block everytime your knocked down vs smoke when a smoke bomb is on the way but luckily it does no chip damage so its not a big deal.

Dealing with smokes wake up attacks are tricky so your best bet is to try to bait them. I rarely try to rush down smoke due to the EX parry and his teleport being so fast. You have to make the right reads.

Fuck ex parry. Rush him down anyway, if he uses ex parry he wasted 1 meter and did shit damage. Don't let him breath.

CDjr even mentioned that smoke has no reliable AA besides ex parry. If you're really worried about the parry you can empty jump into down 4 xx green hand (I know it doesn't connect but the chip and meter is good) or something of the sort.

 

[THTB]

Reptile can just d4 vs Smoke on wakeup, and the only thing he's gonna do to escape is smoke teleport.

 

[karizzma]

I should have some videos being uploaded of my matches against this smoke. During these several times I did d+4 and I still got beaten out with his wakeup. Also after a 3, 2, 1 string should I end with the green hand if the string was blocked or is there some mix I can get out of it?

 

[Somberness]

Okay, not sure if people know some of this stuff, but if you do, just bringing it into the limelight:

With Mileena, most characters can standblock her teleport and in order for sai to hit, she has to let herself drop before it will hit, leaving her open to AA combos from everyone in the game...except for Reptile. Reptile's standblock hitbox is low...very low. In fact it is the lowest in the game. So low, that Mileena can instant sai after, and it jails, and she's at advantage. Reptile can punish it by crouchblocking like every other character, but unlike everyone else, his normals are slow, and as such, he won't be able to do it often. Reptile can also d4 to duck under teleport and even potentially hit it, but the timing is REALLY strict and you aren't doing it on reaction. Simply put, Mileena can abuse teleport vs Reptile, and at best, if it's crouchblocked, there's about no reward other than frame advantage. This makes the Mileena matchup SO difficult...3-7 in her favor isn't looking too far out the picture.

In positive news, there are three characters who can d4 in-between Raiden's launcher strings...Reptile, Mileena, and Sonya. This is quite a great deal easier to time than dashing...less rewarding, but easier. Vs these three characters, Raiden has to use meter to deal with this.

Oh wow, I didn't know that, although I did experience the scenario but just figured it was from the Reptile user moving slightly after the tracking ends so that it hits lower. I wonder how many rage quits I can create just doing non-stop teleports. I'm too nice to do that to someone though, unless they were asking for it.

And the Raiden info is good to know too, I have a strategy that involves naked jump backs or ones mixed with sais that turns into a jump punch if he decides to teleport but it is hard to get him off you once he gets in. The random electric flys are always a problem, but he has to do 4 of them to out damage you if you manage to block one.

 

[Scoot Magee]

I should have some videos being uploaded of my matches against this smoke. During these several times I did d+4 and I still got beaten out with his wakeup. Also after a 3, 2, 1 string should I end with the green hand if the string was blocked or is there some mix I can get out of it?

Really the safest thing to do is cancel 321 into the green hand. You can get some mixups off 321 but you can end up giving the other player some damage. It depends on the character you're playing against. If I'm not mistaken both players are left at nuetral advantage and most characters have faster generic lows than reptile. The safest options for the other player to do is a generic low which I beleive get's beaten by a guess dash (I've never used this after 321 really). When they stop using the low poke you can continue another string or if the player has a fast reversal move like lao's hat spin you can guess to block after the string and punish.

Since theres no official frame data for advantage on moves it's hard to say what really works. From experience if end most of my 321 strings with green hand people tend to not press anyhing when I end 321 without the hand. That can give you time to do a quick 12b1, 1221, 321 or even like a d4 xx hand. I really don't know exactly how reliable that is though considering with some good reactions you can block low and wait for the string to stop and if you see the green hand coming you can just switch to high gaurd on reaction.

This is one of reptiles weeknesses because of how slow the startup is on his normals. Shit changes if you get an ex slow ball behind you though. If that's the case you can 321 321 321or whatever variation you want for massive chip in front of the ball. If you guess they'll try to jump out you can njp and get a combo. A lot of characters will try to jump out because it is a good escape because they can't really punish without taking damage. Some characters are harder to get into this trap but it works.

 

[Sabin]

Yeah, Mileena match is a pain in the ass..her generic lows go under reptile j.p too its soo annoying..
I just found out the hard way after losing in tourney that I have never fought a real Kabal player before. Anyone have some tips for that matchup?
I know saw gotta be baited on wakeup of course, but if I start losign in the fireball war, its really hard to close the gap.
Ex autocorrect dash is a bitch too considering it beats crossups.

I generally have the most success trying to zone kabal before he can, and then going in from there. But sometimes I forget I can't do fast forceball right away, get a standing 3 and get kileld in the fireball war (this is after i made him block FFB already)

 

[Scoot Magee]

Yeah, Mileena match is a pain in the ass..her generic lows go under reptile j.p too its soo annoying..
I just found out the hard way after losing in tourney that I have never fought a real Kabal player before. Anyone have some tips for that matchup?
I know saw gotta be baited on wakeup of course, but if I start losign in the fireball war, its really hard to close the gap.
Ex autocorrect dash is a bitch too considering it beats crossups.

I generally have the most success trying to zone kabal before he can, and then going in from there. But sometimes I forget I can't do fast forceball right away, get a standing 3 and get kileld in the fireball war (this is after i made him block FFB already)

I havent played a kabal yet but I know reo and crazy dominican play kabal. You can get some exp vs them if you come through on thursday. I need to play that match too.

 

[Dark_Rob]

Shit changes if you get an ex slow ball behind you though. If that's the case you can 321 321 321or whatever variation you want for massive chip in front of the ball. If you guess they'll try to jump out you can njp and get a combo. A lot of characters will try to jump out because it is a good escape because they can't really punish without taking damage. Some characters are harder to get into this trap but it works.

When you do that to me I want to hit you over the head with my stick. much love Scoot.

 

[Sabin]

I havent played a kabal yet but I know reo and crazy dominican play kabal. You can get some exp vs them if you come through on thursday. I need to play that match too.

I've been slacking and I know Evo 2 weeks away and WCG next week!
The Kabal player who I lost to at 8bit was actually really really good.

 

[karizzma]

Thanks a lot scoot. Wish I knew some this stuff before my tournament, but oh well. Now I know better for next time.

 

[RapZiLLa54]

Played a Nightwolf last night and for some reason I couldn't escape his shoulder charge. Did they change this? I thought you could just duck and uppercut so when I got knocked down once I knew a 2nd one was coming so I'd crouch uppercut and instead got hit again... Then tried holding down block on wakeup and it hit again..??

 

[Scoot Magee]

Against mlileena EX force ball works great as an aa that will net you like 30% but I don't think it's fast enough to do on reaction to the teleport. Usually any mileena player will teleport kick as soon as she see's a forceball coming out and if you charge it it wins pretty much every time.

It cost's meter to do but it gets you some big damage and opens up for some offense so you can build the meter right back.

 

[GNG Iniquity]

How does one deal with Sindel? I played a good Sindel not long ago, which mostly just alternated between low and air fireballs; I couldn't get close to her. Her low fireball even snuffed EX FB - I was at a loss after that. One can hop the low fireballs, but she'll just hit you with an air fireball on reaction. Felt like a 7/3 to me, not a fun matchup.

 

[PND OmegaK]

Played a Nightwolf last night and for some reason I couldn't escape his shoulder charge. Did they change this? I thought you could just duck and uppercut so when I got knocked down once I knew a 2nd one was coming so I'd crouch uppercut and instead got hit again... Then tried holding down block on wakeup and it hit again..??

Was it enhanced? The second hit in his EX Shoulder Charge is an overhead.

Also iniquity, I have the exact same problem. Sadly, about 2 people in the whole world actually main sindel and its impossible to get good match up experience against her. I tried asking like a month back and got no replies.

 

[THTB]

Reptile has to take damage to get in...which should not be news to us. Best to throw a slow forceball after blocking a low fireball, like normal.

 

[retic]

How does one deal with Sindel? I played a good Sindel not long ago, which mostly just alternated between low and air fireballs; I couldn't get close to her. Her low fireball even snuffed EX FB - I was at a loss after that. One can hop the low fireballs, but she'll just hit you with an air fireball on reaction. Felt like a 7/3 to me, not a fun matchup.

I'd rather face Kitana's zoning than sindel's

i usually play against this very good sindel player in the japan room (tanhiro? gg man...your sindel = beast ...) and the VERY few times I win the matches, it's because i was able to do a psychic dash before the shot fully animates.

will try THTB's suggestion to do a slow forceball then get in.

 

[sLeeK]

Kano: Blocked upballs should always get punished by dash. And a fireball war is gonna be near-impossible to win. Do the best you can to get a life lead, then make Kano have to come to you.

Cyrax: No projectile wars unless from fullscreen, even then be careful. Never let Cyrax get a blocked JP...do everything you can to avoid that scenario...jump away, dash under his crossups.

Kung: Basically dash is gonna be your best friend, since dash deals with a lot of his options. Low hat up close is punishable by dash, dash avoids jump-ins, dash gets away from EX teleport...lol.

Liu: It's hard to win this match from far, since low fireball pretty much makes it hard to even get a projectile on screen. You're probably gonna want to get close. When up close, be aware of his parry, do d4 xx acid hand to get him off of attempting to use parry. Once you've conditioned him to stay away from parry, then you should be free to do whatever. If he's pressuring you, be aware of f12. After a blocked string he can f12 and you can't jump out. Any other move is a free crossup jump. Also, take advantage of dash in this particular situation.

Someone PLEASE get this man a F****** CAPE, HE'S A HERO!