rev0lver
Come On Die Young
Hey guys, I'm making this thread so we can discuss Kitana's footsie setups and tools to blowup pokes which, as you should already know, are some of the best in the game. This is my favorite tactic to use, as you guys may have seen me fail with my followups on stream. Unfortunately no one's really made a thread about it, so props to GuamoKun for the idea.
Her best anti-poke tools, or moves that will make pokes whiff, are as follows:
B12- This can be both a great move and a bad move. It moves her hitbox back, making short range pokes whiff. It can also be a mixup with cutter to get them standing, or a ghetto 50/50 with b1~fakeout kick (you can see the low coming, but it still catches a lot of people). The downside to this move is that it's pretty slow, and anything can be interrupted after the b1 with a poke or fast normals.
B3 - This move is great as it's not too slow, and lifts Kitana's front leg up to avoid pokes. It doesn't have the advantage of being cancelled into a mixup, but if they have a high hitbox you can hit a crouch-blocker with b33~fakeout kick and their only option to interrupt is with armor (I think?).
F3 - This should definitely be used less than the others, as it has slow startup (b1 is slower but her foot moves back quicker in the animation). However, the advantage of this move is the fact that both of Kitana's feet go in the air. This can be effective against d4's and some other low attacks. It makes Kabal's ground saw whiff, can anyone confirm if this works on other low fireballs?
33 - Possibly Kitana's best pressure tool. What's so good about this move is that it's her second fastest normal, can blowup crossover attempts, and can blowup low pokes with the same leg-rising properties. Unfortunately, the poor range on the move makes it less reliable to be used particularly as an anti-poke, and your only cancel options are a tough hit-confirm into cutter or ex lift.
Characters NOT to abuse anti-pokes on:
Sonya, Mileena, Baraka (long-range d4's)
Kenshi (he'd rather armor you away than try to play footsies)
Kitana (long-range d1)
Shang Tsung, Ermac (d3 avoids most of these for some reason, can anyone confirm other chars like this?)
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Setups:
These are moves that allow for either the use of an anti-poke tool, or the use of f21/21 to blowup their poking attempt. These moves provide pushback on block which allows Kitana's long-range starters to hit them if they try to do something. I'm going to write "big pushback" if it allows a f21/21 followup and not an anti-poke, and "small pushback" if it does allow an anti-poke:
21 (big pushback, -5)
f4b4 (big pushback, -1)
f41 (big pushback, 0)
b4 (big pushback, -7)
d4 (big pushback, 0 blk, +16 hit)
ex cutter (big to medium pushback, 0)
b12 (big to medium pushback, 0)
33 (small pushback, 0 blk, +10 hit)
d1 (small pushback, -15 blk, -1 hit)
d3 (small pushback, -7 blk, +3 hit)
I'd also like to mention that backdash cancelling an accidental ex fan can set up a f21 or 21 as well. But you're normally likely to get hit first.
Some examples in footsies and pressure I'll use:
d3, 33, b3~ex fan
b12, f21
21, f21
d4, mixup between f21 and walkup grab
b1~cutter, d3, b1~ex fan
The possibilities are endless!
If anyone would like to add to these lists with something new they find I will update!
Her best anti-poke tools, or moves that will make pokes whiff, are as follows:
B12- This can be both a great move and a bad move. It moves her hitbox back, making short range pokes whiff. It can also be a mixup with cutter to get them standing, or a ghetto 50/50 with b1~fakeout kick (you can see the low coming, but it still catches a lot of people). The downside to this move is that it's pretty slow, and anything can be interrupted after the b1 with a poke or fast normals.
B3 - This move is great as it's not too slow, and lifts Kitana's front leg up to avoid pokes. It doesn't have the advantage of being cancelled into a mixup, but if they have a high hitbox you can hit a crouch-blocker with b33~fakeout kick and their only option to interrupt is with armor (I think?).
F3 - This should definitely be used less than the others, as it has slow startup (b1 is slower but her foot moves back quicker in the animation). However, the advantage of this move is the fact that both of Kitana's feet go in the air. This can be effective against d4's and some other low attacks. It makes Kabal's ground saw whiff, can anyone confirm if this works on other low fireballs?
33 - Possibly Kitana's best pressure tool. What's so good about this move is that it's her second fastest normal, can blowup crossover attempts, and can blowup low pokes with the same leg-rising properties. Unfortunately, the poor range on the move makes it less reliable to be used particularly as an anti-poke, and your only cancel options are a tough hit-confirm into cutter or ex lift.
Characters NOT to abuse anti-pokes on:
Sonya, Mileena, Baraka (long-range d4's)
Kenshi (he'd rather armor you away than try to play footsies)
Kitana (long-range d1)
Shang Tsung, Ermac (d3 avoids most of these for some reason, can anyone confirm other chars like this?)
_____________________________________
Setups:
These are moves that allow for either the use of an anti-poke tool, or the use of f21/21 to blowup their poking attempt. These moves provide pushback on block which allows Kitana's long-range starters to hit them if they try to do something. I'm going to write "big pushback" if it allows a f21/21 followup and not an anti-poke, and "small pushback" if it does allow an anti-poke:
21 (big pushback, -5)
f4b4 (big pushback, -1)
f41 (big pushback, 0)
b4 (big pushback, -7)
d4 (big pushback, 0 blk, +16 hit)
ex cutter (big to medium pushback, 0)
b12 (big to medium pushback, 0)
33 (small pushback, 0 blk, +10 hit)
d1 (small pushback, -15 blk, -1 hit)
d3 (small pushback, -7 blk, +3 hit)
I'd also like to mention that backdash cancelling an accidental ex fan can set up a f21 or 21 as well. But you're normally likely to get hit first.
Some examples in footsies and pressure I'll use:
d3, 33, b3~ex fan
b12, f21
21, f21
d4, mixup between f21 and walkup grab
b1~cutter, d3, b1~ex fan
The possibilities are endless!
If anyone would like to add to these lists with something new they find I will update!
