Ok guys, I've spent a good chunk of the afternoon in the lab with Miss Z. First of all, I'm hooked. She's a very cerebral character, requiring excellent mind games to win, but really rewarding creativity. Now, I've compiled a list of what I believe to be her best combo options. I compiled this list based on the themes of maximizing damage, reliability, and reset options, and economizing meter usage. My goal was to have as many combos as possible use the same basic button sequences, thus eliminating unnecessary complexity in learning the character. I've added a section at the bottom discussing how to end her combos. Please let me know what you think!
LEGEND
-no meter
*1 meter
**2 meters
[multiple options]
Note 1: you can replace all instances of 223 with f21 and still do the same combo. This makes the combo more reliable (especially online), but reduces the damage by about 2%.
Note 2: you can drop the "u3, dj2" part from any combo for 2% less damage.
(b21: unsafe, non-launching, overhead-low starter, replaceable with any other non-launching starters, such as 22, d1, etc., which are safer but more blockable)
*b21~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, [2/f21]~[ender] - 28-30%
*b21~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, b1u3, (late)ji3, f21~[ender] - 36%
**b21~bf1+MB, b3, walk, (late)ji3, 223~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, [2/f21]~[ender] - 42-43%
(b23: slightly unsafe, launching, overhead starter, uncancellable)
-b23, (early)ji2, f21~[ender] - 20%
*b23, (early)ji2, 223~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, [2/f21]~[ender] - 32-33%
*b23, (early)ji2, 223~bf3+MB, walk, b3, (late)ji3, f21~[ender] - 35%
(b1u3: safe, launching, low starter, uncancellable)
-b1u3, (late)ji3, f21~[ender] - 21%
*b1u3, (late)ji3, 223~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, [2/f21]~[ender] - 33-34%
*b1u3, (late)ji3, 223~bf3+MB, walk, b3, (late)ji3, f21~[ender] - 36%
(metered divekick: safe air starter, costs 1 bar)
*(air)db3+MB, f21~[ender] - 11%
**(air)db3+MB, 223~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, [2/f21]~[ender] - 26-28%
**(air)db3+MB, 223~bf3+MB, walk, b3, (late)ji3, f21~[ender] - 31%
(b3/f3: bounce attacks, safe, burnable for armor)
[b3/f3], walk, (late)ji3, f21~[ender] - 24%
*[b3/f3], walk, (late)ji3, 223~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, [2/f21]~[ender] - 37%
(ji3: safe jump-in, good for crossovers)
ji3, f21~[ender] - 17%
*ji3, 223~bf3+MB, ji2~u3, dj2, [2/f21]~[ender] - 34-35%
*ji3, 223~bf3+MB, walk, b3, (late)ji3, f21~[ender] - 37%
(Enders)
dd3[f/b]: My favorite ender. See notes below for reasoning.
du [f/b]: Good ender for mixups.
bf3: Good ender for mixups.
bf1: Decent damage + advantage, leaves opponent standing
bf2: Best damage + knockdown
db2: Decent damage + slight advantage, leaves opponent standing
4: Trait is a great option for when you want to frustrate and zone them.
uu3: Not a cancel, but good for mixups
f211: Good damage, sets up zoning. Can be followed by teleport for surprise mixups.
(The use of ending re-stand strings in dd3: )
Ok, this is huge for Zatanna. Basically, by cancelling into dd3 while your opponent is standing, you leave him in a huge mixup. Not only does he not know what you're going to do next while you have frame advantage, but he doesn't even know where you are! And where you are gives you huge possibilities that vary depending on whether you ended in 2~dd3 or f21~dd3:
(Ending in 2~dd3)
1. If you do just dd3, Z is the middle duplicate. This means that any jump-ins she does WILL cross up, but your opponent can't know that in advance.
2. If you do dd3b, Z is the far duplicate. This means that any jump-ins she does will NOT cross up, and she's safer from fast retaliation, giving you whiff-punish options.
3. If you do dd3f, Z is the close duplicate. While she can still cross up, this option's use is that she remains close enough to hit the opponent with a mixup while they are trying to decide how to counter an expected jump-in. Note that she is punishable by fast attacks.
(Ending in f21~dd3)
1. If you do just dd3, Z is the middle duplicate. However, f21 pushes the opponent away, and any jump-ins she does will NOT cross up. She is relatively safe.
2. If you do dd3b, Z is the far duplicate. In this case, she is MUCH farther away than just ending in 2~dd3b. This gives her the same jump-in options (no crossups), but will also cause farther reaching attacks to whiff against her, giving her great whiff-punishing. This can be useful in certain matchups (e.g., Superman).
3. If you do dd3f, Z is the close duplicate. However, she is too far away for standing mixups, but her jump-ins will cross up if timed right.
So there you have it, guys. Enjoy and please DO critique and analyze this!
