Match-up Discussion Hawkgirl Matchup Discussion

[Euphoric]

Aquaman- ?

Ares- ?

Bane- 6-4

Spoiler

Alright look, before I give my thoughts on the matchups I play alot I just wanna say a couple things.......

Waiting until HG "falls down/her flying time runs out" is NOT and should not be a valid tactic . I think you guys saw a video or something of somebody getting hit after their flight timed out and they got hit by KF's super and lost. Let me tell you something. Ask most of the HG players who are worth a damn. My flying time ends, WHEN I WANT IT TO. I'll press fly and drop out of my own flight before my flighttime ends by itself and I do it quite often. Sometimes, I'll air dive out of it. The time I do it the most is after I MT and you block it.

Underestimate her inclose game at your own peril. Does HG have great 50/50 mixups like CW or WW? No. But her D1 and her D2 are top 3 in the game. Her sweep is fast and has good range and mixes up well with her lightning fast IAdive kick. Standing 3 hits multiple times and sets up the 3~WE/MC tech beautifully and is tough to get around for someone getting up. So you can think "Oh, I'll just get in close and take her out!" Naw buddy. You gotta cut through some D1s and D2s first.

Now.........

HG vs Bane

6-4 (HG advantage)

This is not the easy matchup many think even though there's really no way for Bane to stop her lame game. Bane has a really, really good dash, so he can block an air MT and dash in. BUT he's also really tall and really wide and his jump is as slow as growing grass. He's not gonna jump attack you out of any air MTs or air MCs.

But once he gets venom and you decide to play the ground game, it's his advantage. Many of HGs attacks are one hitters and Bane (with venom) eats those things for breakfast. Most Bane's don't use his venomed charge from mid-range but vs HG it is a viable tactic. MC and WE 3 get run over. Up close venomed double punch runs through d1, d2, and anything else other than a well placed 3. DP is 0 on block and HGs d1 and Bane's d1 are 6 frames. However, there's pretty much nothing stopping him from doing another DP or god forbid a command grab. On knockdown, Bane with venom is incredible. DP is gonna rip you a new one and only leaves you with MC and blocking as options. But MC gets eaten by Bane's jumping D3 so you have to keep it unpredictable vs his wakeup. Push block if you can because that'll give you room to fly and take the steam out of his attack again. Be aware, Bane's B23 is +5 on block and his D1 is +17 on hit (yeah that's right, +17) lots of banes you to block the B23 and frame trap you so you can't get away. BUT..... you can WE the 3 of the B23.

Most smart Banes only use meter for clash. The good thing about this though, even if you lose you get sent full screen so you can play keepaway again.

Once Bane's venom goes into debuff, he's pretty much like a prostitute going to her pimp without money, so prepare to rape his face. Go after him hard and don't be scared to get hit because even if you do his combos won't do jack in debuff. NEVER let him get away without intelligently managing his venom time. If you see that meter with an "X", go fuck him up. And once you knock him down with sweep or an air to air d3, the 3~WE tech rapes his face (even if he's got venom).

Overall, HG has the matchup advantage if she plays lame and goes to town on him during bebuff. Alternate between backdash and MC on wakeup and push block if you feel the pressure. Dont worry about holding onto meter because a clash is the best thing to happen to HG in this matchup.

Batman- ?

Black Adam- ?

Catwoman- ?

Cyborg- ?

Deathstroke- ?

 

[Euphoric]

Doomsday- ?

Flash- ?

Green Arrow- ?

Green Lantern- ?

Harley Quinn- ?

Hawkgirl-5-5

Spoiler

Mirror Match that comes down to player skill only and how knowledgeable you are about your character and their tools. Life lead and zoning intensive match up that requires strong, patient footsies.

The Joker- ?

Killer Frost- ?

Lex Luthor - ?

Nightwing- ?

 

[Euphoric]

Raven- ?

Shazam- ?

Sinestro- 3-7

Spoiler

Hawkgirl vs Sinestro

3-7 (Sinestro advantage)

This matchup is very very hard on HG. She can't play lame at all. It's as if Sinestro was created just to crush her.

Starting with Impact Event, these are the boulders that fly from the sky (and track) and land on you. This single move crushes everything she does in flight and her jump because she jumps so slowly and so high. When it connects, you get slammed to the ground for an untechable knockdown which usually gives him time to dash back or god forbid build up his trait a bit. He can meter burn it on reaction and if meter burned you bounce up and back away from Sinestro. Most Sinestros take this time to blast you with his Fear Blast to push you even farther away. Some Sinestro jerks can even combo his shackles off of the Impact Event MB and either blast you with a fear blast or just let you sit there and build up his trait. Another thing about Impact Event, is because HG's dash is so slow and the meteor tracks so well, one dash isn't gonna cut it or a dash into an MC or WE3 isn't gonna cut it either. You have to anticipate the boulder and then dash past it.

Ok, so jumping and flying is out. So let's dash. Well, that's where his Fear Blast comes in. It's quick and annoying as crap. Because HG's dash is so slow and seems to recover from it slow, this palm blast can tag her right in the face. When meter burned, Sinestro shoots about 5 blasts that are hard to get around. And they're at the perfect height to hit HG while she tries to MB or WE to try to get closer. Dashing and blocking is the slow, painful, and safest way to only get in unless you jump....... and if Sinestro calls a meteor while you jump, you get comboed and pushed back to full screen again. Fear Blast is high so you can duck all of it but only on anticipation. And if you get caught ducking that stupid meteor.... oh the frustration.

And then there's most frustrating thing of all and that's his trait. Once this thing is out, you're basically screwed and really the only thing you can do is go for a hail mary MC or clash to end it. This stupid satellite thing shoots tiny "pew-pew" lasers on command. These things are insanely fast and make everything of his safe. It can hit HG out of everything and pretty much makes it impossible to get in. And even if you get in, he can use trait to get you away and punish things he normally can't punish.

With all this before you the tactic vs Sinestro is clear. Find a way in and DONT' LET HIM OUT. Do NOT end combos with flight 3. Only end combos with MC MB if you get him into the corner. Try to end combos with air D3 so you can do the 3~WE tech because it's pretty good against him. Many Sinestros like to bait you into a range where they can B13 you. Getting hit with this starts a pretty damaging combo that will push you back to full screen again. You can punish B13 but I think there's some new thing going around where Sinestro can cancel the B1 into a trait charge and into something else. It sounds scary as hell and I hope we can d1/d2 out of it on reaction. Another thing to watch out for is the Arachnid Sting (which you can't duck anymore. Thanks NRS) This is most Sinestro's last resort to push you out and a good wakeup attack. If you get hit with this, they can meter burn and ....... you guessed it!..... push you back to full screen. You can punish the the first hit of the Sting but if you're late, you'll get hit by the MB and pushed back full screen. And if you block the MB, you get pushed back far enough for him to get out of dodge.

Basically, find a way in and stay there. Don't let him push you out. Try to keep him guessing with your approach and make him feel like he can either palm blast or meteor you to keep you out. If a Sinestro player knows the matchup he'll start walking backwards and refuse to block low because he knows only our sweep can knock us down. Adding more to this frustrating matchup is that Sinestro has a fast backwalk and he can literally moonwalk his way out of sweep range. Stay in. Keep him from pushing you out. Use your D1 a lot to keep him still. And don't let him get that damn trait charged.

Solomon Grundy- 7-3

Spoiler

One of Grundy’s main problems versus Hawkgirl is that he has a hard time dealing with her aerial diagonal mace toss zoning. Hawkgirl’s flight trait means that even Grundy’s full screen option of swamp hands is rendered relatively useless for getting in on her forcing him to inch in without the benefit of the mind game of MB swamp hands, which can launch for full combo.

When Grundy does get in on Hawkgirl it is very difficult for him to keep consistent offense going because Hawkgirl’s strings such as back 2, 3 distort her hitbox making walking corpse and other grabs whiff completely while still dealing solid damage and potentially launching Grundy for a full combo. Wing evade 2 and 3 are also great for evading his armored tools and getting a safe distance away to space him out, zone and play footsies. Mace charge shifts her hitbox making it entirely avoid grabs, but experienced Grundy players can use a MB cancelled walking corpse into down 2 to punish mace charge for full combo. This tactic requires meter and can be countered with MB mace charge although since Grundy has a very small hitbox at times MB mace charge’s second hit will whiff on him more so than most of the cast and you can be punished hard, but it doesn’t happen to much to discourage usage of the MB version.

Not only does Hawkgirl set the pace of this match up and outzone him, her basic character design makes Grundy struggle to mount a consistent offensive game when Grundy does get in on her. Damage wise Grundy wins and he can check flight and ambiguous dive kick pressure with his down 2 and anti-air grab so you want to be wary of approaching him as he can check aerial opponents well enough up close.

Superman- ?

Wonder Woman-5-5

Spoiler

Wonder Woman vs Hawkgirl 5-5 (One of my favorites)

This is a match up where both characters depend so much from ther air control, in this one both characters have the tools to own the air, this is what makes this match up so hype, for Hawkgirl her best air option is straight mace toss, this will make difficult for Wonder Woman to be able to jump but... Wonder Woman has the advantage to choose from which height to use her air demigodess charge (her best air option), so if she is smart she can use if above or below of the mace toss, Hawkgirl must read the height where her opponent will use that move, so she can throw a mace toss, in this match up the opponents barely will use their rushdown game since both can keep her opponent at far distance (this is what makes this match up an air control fight) but in the rushdown Hawkgirl has great pressure and Wonder Woman has great frame traps with her lasso and sword stances! In the air also Hawkgirl can't stay so much time in the air so i wouldn't recommend to use her trait. This is a very solid 5-5 without any possible advantage of anyone.
If Wonder Woman has Hawkgirl in the corner, Hawkgirl is one of the characters that can get out from her godlike corner game using mace charge when Wonder Woman make her B2, also if the opponent is as smart as to not use the typical corner game and keeps jumping 3 we are in a trouble, since jump 3 will beat all of our moves, so we must block and search an opportunity to get out with D1~Mace Charge or D1~WE

 

[Euphoric]

Lobo- ?

Batgirl- ?

Scorpion- ?

Zod- ?

Martian Manhunter- ?

 

[TurboTaco]

I figured this is the best place to post this. Does anyone have any tips on fighting Batman? I usually stay in the air and throw maces but against Batman he has too much anti-air with his gun and trait. I've no idea how to beat a good Batman.

 

[kriaser]

For Batman, you can make his trait miss if you cancel fly mode before the bats get to you. I'm pretty sure you can even forward jump over them if you're on the ground since Hawkgirl jumps a mile into the sky. The homing on the robot bats is not very good. They just have speed.

Other tips against Batman is that you don't want to play a ranged game very much. Trades with the grappling hook against Mass Toss is well in your favor since he doesn't get his second hit, but you cannot perform this on reaction because Mace Toss is slow on start up. You can fake some Mace Tosses by holding the button then dashing.

Bats jumping attacks are pretty solid, so if you plan to anti-air using d2, make sure you do it early enough, otherwise he may beat you out completely.

I normally approach Batman cautiously, just because I know he has a lot of mixups but people online don't seem to know that yet. I don't have much solid advice outside of the above.


I did want to talk a bit on Raven, assuming this is the board to be using... if someone updates the portraits.
She can beat you in a ranged game, no problem. She also has very good wake up moves. And she can destroy you in the air, the same way she beats you in the ranged game. She has a borderline full screen throw (Soul Crush) that must be blocked and doesn't seem punishable at distance. You have to get in and mix her up. Soul Crush cannot get you when you are somewhat distance in the air. But it can still hit you in the air.

Raven is a great zoner and really puts Hawkgirl on notice when it comes to attempting to control space. I believe this is a fight that requires learning to get in and what to do after a knock down.

 

[TurboTaco]

For Batman, you can make his trait miss if you cancel fly mode before the bats get to you. I'm pretty sure you can even forward jump over them if you're on the ground since Hawkgirl jumps a mile into the sky. The homing on the robot bats is not very good. They just have speed.

Other tips against Batman is that you don't want to play a ranged game very much. Trades with the grappling hook against Mass Toss is well in your favor since he doesn't get his second hit, but you cannot perform this on reaction because Mace Toss is slow on start up. You can fake some Mace Tosses by holding the button then dashing.

Bats jumping attacks are pretty solid, so if you plan to anti-air using d2, make sure you do it early enough, otherwise he may beat you out completely.

I normally approach Batman cautiously, just because I know he has a lot of mixups but people online don't seem to know that yet. I don't have much solid advice outside of the above.


I did want to talk a bit on Raven, assuming this is the board to be using... if someone updates the portraits.
She can beat you in a ranged game, no problem. She also has very good wake up moves. And she can destroy you in the air, the same way she beats you in the ranged game. She has a borderline full screen throw (Soul Crush) that must be blocked and doesn't seem punishable at distance. You have to get in and mix her up. Soul Crush cannot get you when you are somewhat distance in the air. But it can still hit you in the air.

Raven is a great zoner and really puts Hawkgirl on notice when it comes to attempting to control space. I believe this is a fight that requires learning to get in and what to do after a knock down.

Thanks for the reply, one thing I found with Batman is that he has poor wake up options so perhaps that is a good time to punish him. Also Raven! I just got destroyed by one online, it was also the first Raven I'd played against. She is really strong at zoning, not too sure how to beat her yet.

 

[kriaser]

Thanks for the reply, one thing I found with Batman is that he has poor wake up options so perhaps that is a good time to punish him. Also Raven! I just got destroyed by one online, it was also the first Raven I'd played against. She is really strong at zoning, not too sure how to beat her yet.

Simply put, you have to stay close and mix her up. The down side is that she has some decent wake up options and a teleport that is seemingly impossible to punish with a d2 if she teleports above you. At least online it felt that way. She's going to vary heavily according to the player using her, so any advice other than "know what she is capable of" is out of my league at the moment.

 

[TurboTaco]

Simply put, you have to stay close and mix her up. The down side is that she has some decent wake up options and a teleport that is seemingly impossible to punish with a d2 if she teleports above you. At least online it felt that way. She's going to vary heavily according to the player using her, so any advice other than "know what she is capable of" is out of my league at the moment.

Yeah I think that was most of my problem, not actually knowing what she does. Gonna have to practice her a bit myself so I know what she can do.

 

[Boodendorf]

Vs Raven is all about getting in and not letting her out, baiting wakeup attacks and watching out for random soul crush or whatever she can throw.

Also Killer Frost feels completely free to Hawkgirl imo, she doesn't seem to have any decent air to air or ground to air tools.

Here are imo the most annoying matchups for Hawkgirl so far:
Green Lantern: I haven't encountered a good one yet but just thinking about fighting that character makes me want to play another char than Hawkgirl.

Green Arrow: Chris G said that he bodied Hawkgirl free but tbh since I haven't seen a single decent green arrow online/met one offline, I'm not sure, it definitely doesn't look like a 9-1 mu to me though.

Catwoman: her j2 and her small hurtbox will make a lot, and a LOT of stuff you do just plain miss her. The range on some of her attacks are so fucking dumb (b3, cat claw dash thing, j2). Also once she gets in you'll have one hell of a time getting out.

Cyborg: Dude seems to have much better space control than hawkgirl, especially with his TK projectile stuff. I think he's going to be one tough guy to beat.

And finally, Sinestro: once he gets fixed, because right now he's a joke, but when the patch happens we won't be laughing as much. His boulder thing eats flight for breakfast, and he can bait where you land with that air... attack thing that spawns an axe from the ground or something.

 

[kriaser]

Here are imo the most annoying matchups for Hawkgirl so far:
Green Lantern: I haven't encountered a good one yet but just thinking about fighting that character makes me want to play another char than Hawkgirl.

Green Arrow: Chris G said that he bodied Hawkgirl free but tbh since I haven't seen a single decent green arrow online/met one offline, I'm not sure, it definitely doesn't look like a 9-1 mu to me though.

I've fought several Green Lanterns, none that I would call pro or amazing, but he is still deadly with wakeup attacks and general high low combos. He's not difficult to zone against since he can't really clip you out of the air with much and a lot of his projectiles are punishable with a air Mace Toss. It'll really come down to who has the best mixups.

Green Arrow can be difficult to deal with, but he's not impossible. Pay attention to freeze arrows and muscle your way in. His reversals aren't amazing.

I don't have enough experience with the others to say much. I haven't fought any really legit catladys who knew how to do anything other than whip and her forward moving claw slash.

 

[Boodendorf]

HG - KF matchup being AT LEAST 7-3 confirmed:

No vertical hitbox lolololol.

 

[Boodendorf]

So I'm currently fighting a decent Green Lantern and mother of god it's TOUGH!
Your zoning beats his zoning, but he can so easily catch you if you try to fly above him. Even if you manage to get past his zoning, you'll probably eat a Lantern's might. That thing is disgusting, god, I don't even know if you can punish it on block. Also, for some reason, crossing him up is much difficult because of his gigantic hurtbox, really annoying.

 

[kriaser]

So I'm currently fighting a decent Green Lantern and mother of god it's TOUGH!
Your zoning beats his zoning, but he can so easily catch you if you try to fly above him. Even if you manage to get past his zoning, you'll probably eat a Lantern's might. That thing is disgusting, god, I don't even know if you can punish it on block. Also, for some reason, crossing him up is much difficult because of his gigantic hurtbox, really annoying.

Lantern's Might is punishable, depending where you are at on the screen. Lanterns might seems to have a slightly longer range than Hawkgirls sweep. Mace Charge is too slow on punishing (at distance, but can punish up close, in which you should just combo or sweep). So, worst case, you miss a sweep. Best case he did it on wake up and you can punish with a free 12 WE2 or whatever type of combo you like. Since it is sweep punishable, 14 frame moves will hit him. Just be aware of your range.

 

[RunwayMafia]

In my opinion...solid HG players should never lose to characters like Killer Frost or Aquaman. They have no way of attacking her out of the air unless they dash in and jump at you. If you are crafty you can really lame them out and anticipate their approach and combo them with 2~MC or D3 (stomp) and get right back in the air. I feel very safe against characters like them...even Bane has difficulty.

 

[Boodendorf]

Lanterns might seems to have a slightly longer range than Hawkgirls sweep.

slightly longer range than Hawkgirls sweep.

Hawkgirls sweep.

 

[kriaser]

My tests never showed him being able to reach that far, but yeah, slightly longer than her sweep. I don't see the problem.

In all seriousness though, when I did tests, Mace charge seems to have a HUGE hurt box while she's doing the loop around, and Wing Evade does seem to have a weird hurt box too. It may have contributed toward getting grabbed at the range. I can't say for sure.

It still stands as a punishable move that's no more fearful than Raven's soul crush.

 

[Boodendorf]

That's not slightly longer than her sweep, the range of her d3 isn't even as good as her d1. So it's not slightly, but very.

And yeah I noticed the weird hurtbox on ground MC during the loop, that's annoying.

 

[TurboTaco]

Anyone got any tips on how to beat Deathstroke? I find myself struggling to punish Deathstrokes.

 

[kriaser]

Anyone got any tips on how to beat Deathstroke? I find myself struggling to punish Deathstrokes.

Punish what, exactly? Guns or his specials?

 

[TurboTaco]

Punish what, exactly? Guns or his specials?

His gun zoning and then when I get close I get hit by sword slash or overheads

 

[kriaser]

His gun zoning and then when I get close I get hit by sword slash or overheads

A lot of Deathstrokes like to spam guns and do the forward moving sword slash when you reach around mid-screen. Take it into training mode and find out your best combo for punishing the sword slashes first off. Even if it's just a sweep. I don't remember the range it leaves you at off hand.

As for the guns. It's just basic zoning. All his guns fire in a straight line. Guard low when on the ground. Force your way in and just wait him out once you get in close because the sword is likely coming.

 

[TurboTaco]

A lot of Deathstrokes like to spam guns and do the forward moving sword slash when you reach around mid-screen. Take it into training mode and find out your best combo for punishing the sword slashes first off. Even if it's just a sweep. I don't remember the range it leaves you at off hand.

As for the guns. It's just basic zoning. All his guns fire in a straight line. Guard low when on the ground. Force your way in and just wait him out once you get in close because the sword is likely coming.

I know how to get in on him, its just when I do the damage I deal isn't enough compared to all the chip damage I've taken. I find that her Mace Charge is completely useless against him as he can instant air you. I think I just need to practice more. Was just wondering if anyone else was having problems with Deathstroke players?

 

[Mr. Mileena]

As a WonderWoman player, it seems like the matchup is terrible for hawkgirl.

WonderWoman controls the air very well and she has normals that can hit her out of bf2.

What players don't realize is that you have to make Hawkgirl come to you when she does not have the life lead.
Hawkgirls love waking up with bf2, and it's easily countered with armor.

 

[Boodendorf]

As a WonderWoman player, it seems like the matchup is terrible for hawkgirl.

WonderWoman controls the air very well and she has normals that can hit her out of bf2.

What players don't realize is that you have to make Hawkgirl come to you when she does not have the life lead.
Hawkgirls love waking up with bf2, and it's easily countered with armor.

imo it's all about predicting when WW will try to do her uh air bf3 (offensive air dash). Just throw an air forward mace and she'll get hit. WW d2 is so damn annoying though...