KingHippo
Alternative-Fact Checker
So amidst the doom and gloom here, I notice the general consensus seems to be that Commando is still unviable trash and is akin to picking Dan or Sean and giving up against the opponent. To be fair, I thought this to be the case as well, even despite the buffs that were given in the Predator patch. Lately, however, I took a look again, and perhaps I may have misinterpreted what those buffs did to Kano's overall game.
I have a video here, a little visual aid that will help explain what I mean (Also, I recomend turning the sound off, something glitched in the Upload Studio and the sound is way off. Plus, you can just make the sounds yourself as you watch! Fun!)
http://1drv.ms/1GyeKaI
So what I'm going through here is the options, the meta game, if you will (RIP Dusty), that follows the newly safe choke on block. A disclaimer: despite my blocking the f4 xx choke standing, I assure you that it jails on block, as choke does in almost all of Kano's strings.
So we can see here in the video that EN Upball done after choke is a pretty safe option. It will beat pokes, even d4's that go a little low, foward, neutral and back jump, and even a reversal backdash (One could still backdash, but it can't be reversal timing, has to be a bit delayed). Both Spin and EN Spin, which are probably some of the fastest specials in the game, lose to EN Spin, with a bad trade for Kung Lao since both hits knock him out of the armor. Even if you crouch block, you'll see that you're close enough to where EN Upball will hit twice on crouch block, keeping you at the -5.
I also explore some of the other options after choke. You'll see command grab will beat pokes and throw, but will whiff on certain strings due to them being unthrowable. EN Spin will also trade, a bad trade for Kano since it will only do 1%. Slower armored moves may not have the same trade, so play with it and see what you can find. Lastly, I show Parry and EN Parry, which are 4 and 2 frames, respectively. Choke being -4, it's almost the perfect setup to use a Parry, and you can see that most normal moves will lose to the regular one, with only Spin needing an EN Parry.
Using the new Upball and Choke, Kano can not only safely get up in many scenarios, but also build extensive meter on block, which is something he could not do very well before. Not only that, but the Choke, even on block, has a little game going on after it that has a lot of ins and outs and will require guesswork on the part of both opponents. Another neat trick you can do is use Choke and bank on the opponent holding crouch block, which opens up D4 xx Rib Breaker. This is an unjumpable tick, and can only be escaped by armor or backdash on a strong read.
I don't have a video for it, but let's also take into account how this affects his own getup game. As the bellyaching in the forum shows, EN Upball can be crouched at certain ranges and will whiff the second hit, which is supposed to make it safe on block. To do this, the opponent has to crouch at a certain range and block. There are two flaws to this, however; 1) You're gonna let Kano just get up and probably use his great backdash to get out of dodge and therefore avoid a precious Okizume (TM) moment, and 2) Crouch blocking at the range to make Upball whiff makes you prey to Rib Breaker, which will reach at that distance and knock you on your ass. You could crouch a little farther back, I suppose, but I'm not sure how well you can pressure your opponent on knockdown at that distance.
There are still flaws to his gameplan. I have no doubt Commando Kano gets zoned out pretty harshly, due to his terrible jump and lack of long mid range pokes besides f4 and d4. I also have no doubt that his damage is low, and only gets into the 30's after a hit confirm into EN Cannon Ball. He also requires quite a bit of guesswork, and none of his options are absolutely foolproof.
I don't think this is broke, or probably even top tier. It's probably a mid tier character, but the point is the variation now works as a cohesive unit and can probably place given the right player. All it needed was the tools to work properly, and I think with those two buffs, minimal as they were, Commando Kano got some really nice things to work with.
Discuss, fellas!
Edit: I also don't mean to insult those who have been using Commando Kano for awhile now, for which this discussion is no doubt day 1 stuff. I'm merely trying to provide a visual aid against a strong defensive character and how the Commando options work even against top tier options. It's good to revisit the basics every now and again!
I have a video here, a little visual aid that will help explain what I mean (Also, I recomend turning the sound off, something glitched in the Upload Studio and the sound is way off. Plus, you can just make the sounds yourself as you watch! Fun!)
http://1drv.ms/1GyeKaI
So what I'm going through here is the options, the meta game, if you will (RIP Dusty), that follows the newly safe choke on block. A disclaimer: despite my blocking the f4 xx choke standing, I assure you that it jails on block, as choke does in almost all of Kano's strings.
So we can see here in the video that EN Upball done after choke is a pretty safe option. It will beat pokes, even d4's that go a little low, foward, neutral and back jump, and even a reversal backdash (One could still backdash, but it can't be reversal timing, has to be a bit delayed). Both Spin and EN Spin, which are probably some of the fastest specials in the game, lose to EN Spin, with a bad trade for Kung Lao since both hits knock him out of the armor. Even if you crouch block, you'll see that you're close enough to where EN Upball will hit twice on crouch block, keeping you at the -5.
I also explore some of the other options after choke. You'll see command grab will beat pokes and throw, but will whiff on certain strings due to them being unthrowable. EN Spin will also trade, a bad trade for Kano since it will only do 1%. Slower armored moves may not have the same trade, so play with it and see what you can find. Lastly, I show Parry and EN Parry, which are 4 and 2 frames, respectively. Choke being -4, it's almost the perfect setup to use a Parry, and you can see that most normal moves will lose to the regular one, with only Spin needing an EN Parry.
Using the new Upball and Choke, Kano can not only safely get up in many scenarios, but also build extensive meter on block, which is something he could not do very well before. Not only that, but the Choke, even on block, has a little game going on after it that has a lot of ins and outs and will require guesswork on the part of both opponents. Another neat trick you can do is use Choke and bank on the opponent holding crouch block, which opens up D4 xx Rib Breaker. This is an unjumpable tick, and can only be escaped by armor or backdash on a strong read.
I don't have a video for it, but let's also take into account how this affects his own getup game. As the bellyaching in the forum shows, EN Upball can be crouched at certain ranges and will whiff the second hit, which is supposed to make it safe on block. To do this, the opponent has to crouch at a certain range and block. There are two flaws to this, however; 1) You're gonna let Kano just get up and probably use his great backdash to get out of dodge and therefore avoid a precious Okizume (TM) moment, and 2) Crouch blocking at the range to make Upball whiff makes you prey to Rib Breaker, which will reach at that distance and knock you on your ass. You could crouch a little farther back, I suppose, but I'm not sure how well you can pressure your opponent on knockdown at that distance.
There are still flaws to his gameplan. I have no doubt Commando Kano gets zoned out pretty harshly, due to his terrible jump and lack of long mid range pokes besides f4 and d4. I also have no doubt that his damage is low, and only gets into the 30's after a hit confirm into EN Cannon Ball. He also requires quite a bit of guesswork, and none of his options are absolutely foolproof.
I don't think this is broke, or probably even top tier. It's probably a mid tier character, but the point is the variation now works as a cohesive unit and can probably place given the right player. All it needed was the tools to work properly, and I think with those two buffs, minimal as they were, Commando Kano got some really nice things to work with.
Discuss, fellas!
Edit: I also don't mean to insult those who have been using Commando Kano for awhile now, for which this discussion is no doubt day 1 stuff. I'm merely trying to provide a visual aid against a strong defensive character and how the Commando options work even against top tier options. It's good to revisit the basics every now and again!