CrazyFingers
The Power of Lame Compels You
THE ORIGINAL SLASHER
Welcome to another guide by yours truly. Today we will be going over my favorite variation for my favorite slasher villain, the drowned child who revived into a vengeful six foot tall killing machine, Jason Voorhees.
Breakdown
- Slasher Jason is a rushdown/spacing character. He uses his large hitboxes created by his weapon of choice (the machete) to control areas of the screen other characters only dream of covering while also using his very solid plus frames, staggers and mixups to pressure his opponent. While his combo execution is some of the easiest in the entire game, do not be fooled. To have success with this character the player must have a complete understanding of the character. He is surprisingly unsafe unlike his other two variations who are nothing but safe. This guide will hopefully lead you on the path to playing this character to a high degree. In my opinion, this character is one of the best spacing characters in the entire game if played correctly and is definitely worth your time.
- Great space control (B1, 12/122, F4, Machete Toss)
- Fantastic mids.
- Good plus frames
- High meterless damage.
- Little to no dependence on meter.
- Mid projectile.
- Completely covered in armor.
- Solid pokes.
- A monster on knockdown.
- Strong jump punches.
- One of the better NJP's in the game.
- Can be very unsafe.
- Awkward Armor.
- Gets nothing off of air to airs.
- Gets very little off of AA's.
- Issues with low profiling.
D1- 6f Mid that's -4 on block. D1 is our main poke and for good reason. Being +14 on hit means that our main tools (B1 and S1) jail into it and its speed and decent range make it one of the best D1's in the whole game.
Jump In 1/2- Extremely hard to anti-air, these two jump normals makes you jumping in a lot less risky to you. One is 3f faster than the other but all in all, both are equally strong. They are also very strong for jumping back and making an advancing string whiff and punishing that string with the jump normal for a full combo, making these two buttons very scary in general.
NJP- 9f with a long reaching hitbox. Unless the opponent's NJP is as long reaching as your's (such as Predator's) you will win most NJP encounters and this will beat most jumps that come your way. Can also be used as a space control tool and if done far enough away can be followed by a B1 check and if they disrespect that B1 check you get a full 32% meterless.
B1- 9f mid with good range but is -11 on block. This is your main tool to control the midrange that Slasher like to stand in. If you are far enough away from the opponent when they block B1 it becomes very hard to punish which means you can then sometimes follow that up with another B1 but you MUST keep your spacing in mind. Don't do that point blank on your opponent or you will get blown up heavily. Is also our main trip guarding tool. If you space your self at that perfect range for B1 then you will immediately become a very scary force on the screen.
B12- Starts with our 9f mid and is instead -9 on block. Going into the 2 part of B12 makes the range slightly larger but gives us less hit advantage. This string is special cancelable which means it can be made safe by canceling into one of a couple of special moves, making this a solid string to use in the neutral at that B1 range.
B122- The rest of our B1 string, this is one of our surprisingly plentiful meterless launchers. It's still -9 but not special cancelable so it's less safe. You'll be using this a ton if B1 connects and it will be a large part of your damage output simply because you'll be using B1 for punishes a ton.
F4- 16f low that is -8 on block. This is your low starter and continues into a meterless launcher. F4 can be canceled into specials to make it safe but you will not get nearly as much damage from it if it hits.
F42- This is the string most people probably know Jason for. It goes low overhead and launches for MASSIVE damage. The only problem is it is -11 on block which is punishable by basically everyone in the cast. The good news is, the block stun is weird so sometimes people lose the punish which is nice for us. You will be using this for both mixups and extending combos, learn to love this one but don't overuse it as it is unsafe as mentioned before.
S1- 9f high, +2 on block. S1 is the start of our main stagger string. After standing one you can check with B1, grab or just do another S1. It's a very solid normal and you'll use it a ton.
S12- +2 on block and has a good amount of range for space control. This will continue your very solid stagger pressure as your are still +2 after this thing is blocked. Use this string people, you need it.
S122- -2 on block and the end of our Slasher specific S1 string. This string has some intense range and is another big part of our staggers. S122 into shoulder charge in the corner gets you a full combo which makes the stagger game in the corner that much scarier.
F2- 18f Overhead that will ALWAYS be canceled into a special move. This is one of two tools you will use to mix your opponent so they are conditioned to block overhead and not low where all your damage is. Important tool for Slasher that should always be in the back of your mind.
D2- Our best anti-air. Slasher's uppercut is 9f with a GIANT hitbox. This thing covers a good amount of air space and can anti-air basically any normal (not necessarily on reaction but still beats a ton of stuff). Have fun D2ing jumpy players to death.
F3- I LOVE this normal. It's slow at 24f and hits overhead. The beauty of this thing is when you hit it meaty, it becomes even more plus than its already +7. The start up animation is almost identical to the start up of F4 which makes it basically a 50/50 that if they guess right loops into itself on knockdown or if they guess wrong leaves you extremely plus. Abuse the crap out of this normal on knockdown because trust me, you don't want to mix out on this value.
Jump In 1/2- Extremely hard to anti-air, these two jump normals makes you jumping in a lot less risky to you. One is 3f faster than the other but all in all, both are equally strong. They are also very strong for jumping back and making an advancing string whiff and punishing that string with the jump normal for a full combo, making these two buttons very scary in general.
NJP- 9f with a long reaching hitbox. Unless the opponent's NJP is as long reaching as your's (such as Predator's) you will win most NJP encounters and this will beat most jumps that come your way. Can also be used as a space control tool and if done far enough away can be followed by a B1 check and if they disrespect that B1 check you get a full 32% meterless.
B1- 9f mid with good range but is -11 on block. This is your main tool to control the midrange that Slasher like to stand in. If you are far enough away from the opponent when they block B1 it becomes very hard to punish which means you can then sometimes follow that up with another B1 but you MUST keep your spacing in mind. Don't do that point blank on your opponent or you will get blown up heavily. Is also our main trip guarding tool. If you space your self at that perfect range for B1 then you will immediately become a very scary force on the screen.
B12- Starts with our 9f mid and is instead -9 on block. Going into the 2 part of B12 makes the range slightly larger but gives us less hit advantage. This string is special cancelable which means it can be made safe by canceling into one of a couple of special moves, making this a solid string to use in the neutral at that B1 range.
B122- The rest of our B1 string, this is one of our surprisingly plentiful meterless launchers. It's still -9 but not special cancelable so it's less safe. You'll be using this a ton if B1 connects and it will be a large part of your damage output simply because you'll be using B1 for punishes a ton.
F4- 16f low that is -8 on block. This is your low starter and continues into a meterless launcher. F4 can be canceled into specials to make it safe but you will not get nearly as much damage from it if it hits.
F42- This is the string most people probably know Jason for. It goes low overhead and launches for MASSIVE damage. The only problem is it is -11 on block which is punishable by basically everyone in the cast. The good news is, the block stun is weird so sometimes people lose the punish which is nice for us. You will be using this for both mixups and extending combos, learn to love this one but don't overuse it as it is unsafe as mentioned before.
S1- 9f high, +2 on block. S1 is the start of our main stagger string. After standing one you can check with B1, grab or just do another S1. It's a very solid normal and you'll use it a ton.
S12- +2 on block and has a good amount of range for space control. This will continue your very solid stagger pressure as your are still +2 after this thing is blocked. Use this string people, you need it.
S122- -2 on block and the end of our Slasher specific S1 string. This string has some intense range and is another big part of our staggers. S122 into shoulder charge in the corner gets you a full combo which makes the stagger game in the corner that much scarier.
F2- 18f Overhead that will ALWAYS be canceled into a special move. This is one of two tools you will use to mix your opponent so they are conditioned to block overhead and not low where all your damage is. Important tool for Slasher that should always be in the back of your mind.
D2- Our best anti-air. Slasher's uppercut is 9f with a GIANT hitbox. This thing covers a good amount of air space and can anti-air basically any normal (not necessarily on reaction but still beats a ton of stuff). Have fun D2ing jumpy players to death.
F3- I LOVE this normal. It's slow at 24f and hits overhead. The beauty of this thing is when you hit it meaty, it becomes even more plus than its already +7. The start up animation is almost identical to the start up of F4 which makes it basically a 50/50 that if they guess right loops into itself on knockdown or if they guess wrong leaves you extremely plus. Abuse the crap out of this normal on knockdown because trust me, you don't want to mix out on this value.
Specials "Hack n' Slash Tools"
Shoulder Charge- Jason's dash move. -6 on block and is a high. You'll be using the ex version of this to armor through projectiles and sometimes on wake up but keep in mind it's a high so it can get neutral ducked and punished. Finally, this is what you will be canceling into from strings to make them safe.
Killing Machine- Upon activation of this move Jason Voorhees will have a brief period of infinite armor. This means you will armor through everything and not give a single shit. However, upon this running out you will go into a "fatigued state" which will have you completely open to anything the opponent wants. You also cannot jump with this active so keep that in mind as well. This move is basically only to be used to close out a round. There are way to cancel this disability out which includes using X-Ray and using certain interactables.
Choke- This is your combo ender. EX one has two hits of armor and catches late neutral jumps so it's decent for wakeup but I wouldn't recommend it unless you see the opponent coming back down from neutral jumping or you see them jumping in. Otherwise, it's just a combo ender. Can spend a bar to get some extra damage on your combos if you want but I rarely do unless it'll kill/it'll give me the sick brutal.
Machete Toss- This is our projectile and it's a pretty damn good one. It's mid hitting so it forces jumps from some characters. Does 9% which is quite chunky and the recovery isn't terrible. The EX version does 15% and has one hit of armor making it pretty good for trades and that's really all I have to say about it, solid projectile.
Psycho Slash- This is our mid hitting wakeup. Only problem? It is death on whiff and all it takes to make it whiff is jumping over Jason. It's an ok wakeup but only has one hit of armor and when it whiffs, you will get punished 9/10 times. Use this in conjunction with armored shoulder charge to cover your options.
X-Ray "The Horror"- This is our X-Ray. Basically, we use this to end games or to stop the stun from Killing Machine. It's +15 on block which is nice but really it's just a normal X-Ray.
Killing Machine- Upon activation of this move Jason Voorhees will have a brief period of infinite armor. This means you will armor through everything and not give a single shit. However, upon this running out you will go into a "fatigued state" which will have you completely open to anything the opponent wants. You also cannot jump with this active so keep that in mind as well. This move is basically only to be used to close out a round. There are way to cancel this disability out which includes using X-Ray and using certain interactables.
Choke- This is your combo ender. EX one has two hits of armor and catches late neutral jumps so it's decent for wakeup but I wouldn't recommend it unless you see the opponent coming back down from neutral jumping or you see them jumping in. Otherwise, it's just a combo ender. Can spend a bar to get some extra damage on your combos if you want but I rarely do unless it'll kill/it'll give me the sick brutal.
Machete Toss- This is our projectile and it's a pretty damn good one. It's mid hitting so it forces jumps from some characters. Does 9% which is quite chunky and the recovery isn't terrible. The EX version does 15% and has one hit of armor making it pretty good for trades and that's really all I have to say about it, solid projectile.
Psycho Slash- This is our mid hitting wakeup. Only problem? It is death on whiff and all it takes to make it whiff is jumping over Jason. It's an ok wakeup but only has one hit of armor and when it whiffs, you will get punished 9/10 times. Use this in conjunction with armored shoulder charge to cover your options.
X-Ray "The Horror"- This is our X-Ray. Basically, we use this to end games or to stop the stun from Killing Machine. It's +15 on block which is nice but really it's just a normal X-Ray.
Combos
Here are the combos that I use in my games. They also happen to be max damage so win win. Enjoy! All these can have their enders enhanced for slightly more damage if need be.
MIDSCREEN
F42, F42, F42, 11 xx DF1 (36%)
B122, F42, F42, 11 xx DF1 (32%)
NJP, F42, F42, 11 xx DF1 (31%)
111/122 xx BF3/DF1 (15%/21%)
CORNER
F42, F42, F42, 111 xx DF1 (38%)
B122, NJP, F42, F42, 111 xx DF1 (35%)
NJP, F42, F42, 111 xx DF1 (33%)
122 xx BF3, D1, B122, 111 xx DF1 (30%)
Gameplan- Slasher Jason as mentioned before will use his superior space control, decent plus frames and 50/50's to put the pressure on the opponent. He can also be played more defensively, using his spacing to open up his opponent and lay the hurt. In order to succeed with this character, you must know your range and when your safe/not safe. Without further ado let's get into this.
Staggers
Slasher Jason has some of the better staggers in the game but they also require a decent amount of thought behind them, a little more than other staggers as the framedata in some cases is against him. Let's go over what Jason will stagger and break down each string/normal.
S1- S1 as mentioned is +2 on block. This allows you to play around with a lot after the opponent blocks it. B1 will come out in 7f after they block a S1 making it a great tool to use for a check afterwards.
S12- Another tool that is +2 on block. You will most likely use this more often than S1 but S1 is still something to keep in mind. S12 covers a decent amount of space which also helps with our spacing. All in all, use this string in the neutral a LOT people. It's possibly our strong footsies tool outside of B1. Speaking of B1, you can again use B1 to punish people trying to poke out of your stagger pressure/plus frames.
S122- -2 on block and the final bit of our stagger here. Whenever I use S122 I tend to not special cancel it for a bit and possibly check a high with a D1 and then after awhile when they start trying to get out of the -2 I throw in a shoulder charge which knocks them down and sets me up for Jason's disgusting OKI game. In the corner this stagger gets a bit scarier as you can launcher them for 30% after S122 xx Shoulder Charge.
B1/B12- Now you'd think being -11 on block this isn't something you'd ever use by itself. Enter spacing. Basically, at certain ranges B1 is VERY hard to punish for some characters. This means after B1 you can follow up with ANOTHER B1 if you space it correctly. This stagger can be used to get people to over-respect B1 which means you get to continue your pressure, which is what we want. The same thing can be said for B12 as well. Also keep in mind that if the opponent knows the matchup and can blow up B1 from any range to cancel into BF3 to start getting that respect because they will immediately want to punish and they'll eat a mouthful of shoulder for doing so, hopefully gaining respect eventually.
S12- Another tool that is +2 on block. You will most likely use this more often than S1 but S1 is still something to keep in mind. S12 covers a decent amount of space which also helps with our spacing. All in all, use this string in the neutral a LOT people. It's possibly our strong footsies tool outside of B1. Speaking of B1, you can again use B1 to punish people trying to poke out of your stagger pressure/plus frames.
S122- -2 on block and the final bit of our stagger here. Whenever I use S122 I tend to not special cancel it for a bit and possibly check a high with a D1 and then after awhile when they start trying to get out of the -2 I throw in a shoulder charge which knocks them down and sets me up for Jason's disgusting OKI game. In the corner this stagger gets a bit scarier as you can launcher them for 30% after S122 xx Shoulder Charge.
B1/B12- Now you'd think being -11 on block this isn't something you'd ever use by itself. Enter spacing. Basically, at certain ranges B1 is VERY hard to punish for some characters. This means after B1 you can follow up with ANOTHER B1 if you space it correctly. This stagger can be used to get people to over-respect B1 which means you get to continue your pressure, which is what we want. The same thing can be said for B12 as well. Also keep in mind that if the opponent knows the matchup and can blow up B1 from any range to cancel into BF3 to start getting that respect because they will immediately want to punish and they'll eat a mouthful of shoulder for doing so, hopefully gaining respect eventually.
Spacing
Okay so this section will not be explaining how to do something to you, I am simply going to inform you on how important this aspect is for Slasher. Slasher's safety is completely dependent upon how you space yourself in a game. If you space incorrectly, you are going to get blown up for playing your game. Go to the lab and make sure you know your maximum ranges. If you don't, you will not only get punished on block but you will get whiff punished to high heaven and it will not feel good at all. Keep all of this in mind when you're playing the character and your gameplay will most certainly improve.
Mixups/OKI
Our final section of the guide, I decided to bunch up mixups along with his OKI game because they really go hand in hand for Slasher. I'll go through our "mix tools" and then give you a breakdown of how you should approach mixing up the opponent.
F4/F42- This is our low starter as mentioned before. You will start using this after you have established your overheads as a threat. Be sparing at first and then when they start equally respecting both overhead and low options you can throw it out a little more.
F2- F2 is one of two overheads. You'll be canceling into shoulder charge every time as I mentioned. Later in this section I will go over why that is but just keep in mind this overhead is completely safe to use but it's slow so be sure to choose your moments where you'll use it wisely.
F3- As I stated earlier, this normal is gross. It's an overhead and is minimum +7 on block, even higher when you do it meaty. While F2 is the overhead you'll use while the opponent is standing. F3 is what you'll use when they have fallen down.
F2- F2 is one of two overheads. You'll be canceling into shoulder charge every time as I mentioned. Later in this section I will go over why that is but just keep in mind this overhead is completely safe to use but it's slow so be sure to choose your moments where you'll use it wisely.
F3- As I stated earlier, this normal is gross. It's an overhead and is minimum +7 on block, even higher when you do it meaty. While F2 is the overhead you'll use while the opponent is standing. F3 is what you'll use when they have fallen down.
Okay! So Slasher's OKI game is pretty damn good but it really only consists of two things. F4 and F3. F4 and F3 have VERY similar animations, making it harder to distinguish these two normals makes it essentially a 50/50 on knockdown. This is where that whole "canceling F2 into shoulder charge" thing comes into play. Before patch, this would give you a safe 50/50 in the corner for tons of damage but sadly that was nerfed. New reason for doing this? Shoulder Charge not only gives you a good amount of corner carry but it set ups perfectly into a meaty F3. And remember, F3 is highly plus, especially when done as a meaty attack. When you see F3 blocked, you begin your pressure. When you see it hit, you mix once more. It's a beautiful thing really.
That has been my Slasher guide! I'll end this with some links that will also help you out in becoming a better Slasher player. If you enjoyed the guide please to comment and share your opinions! Did I maybe miss something or get something wrong? Let me know! Cheers!
Frame Trap Guide: https://testyourmight.com/threads/slasher-has-frame-traps.62027/
Stagger Guide: https://testyourmight.com/threads/your-guide-to-staggering-as-slasher-and-dealing-with-them.62035/
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