DeathAndHealing,
Nori Batousai,
Utricle
Flash MU Notes
Punishing:
- Lightning kick is -5 which means it is only punishable by Super. You can, however, go for any quick mid-hitting move (22, F2) or throw which he
must block or break. In other words this is where his pressure ends. Don't be fooled and continue to block! If he attempts to D1 after you block his lightning kick (D1 is his fastest move), your next move will beat him. My recommendation is to welcome this shift in momentum and pressure him back intelligently. Identifying when to be offensive and when to be defensive is key. If you block this kick and do nothing you've already lost your moment to turn the tides.
- Lightning charge (BF+2) aka headbutt is punished easily (-21) and from any range by F23.
- Flying Uppercut (DB+3) is punished easily (-17) by F23 and 223.
- Speed Dodge (DB+1) is punishable immediately after activation, during the first few moments of his shake. If you try to F2 him afterwards he will block it. If you time your reactionary attack correctly, his [MB] "burst" will actually lose. It seems to only work if Flash successfully evades an attack using Speed Dodge. This doesn't come up too much, but sometimes players feel the need to risk a close range speed dodge, so it's a good thing to remember.
Dismantling the
Running Man Stance;
I found a very effective and simply way to completely remove this stance's "mix-up":
block low.
Headbutt follow-up (F~1) - block and punish with F23, just like his normal headbutt.
Slide follow-up (F~3) - block and punish with anything, preferably 223 or F23.
Overhead follow-up (F~2) - blocking low causes the 2nd hit to overshoot and whiff entirely, punish when this occurs. If you for some reason you stand block the whole thing, the overhead is unsafe and punishable by F23 anyways.
Remember, low blocking > this stance from a distance. If Flash uses stance cancels in pressure, you can't punish him but you might be able to interrupt him with D1 if he goes for a string.
General Tips:
- Pushblocking causes Flash's trait to disappear instantly. Also, Flash cannot block while trait is active, so trying to clip him with D1 is a pretty good idea.
- Flash j2 has great priority, so D2 AA is out of the question. I would recommend air-to-air j1, j2, or dashing underneath and punishing him when he lands. If he takes to the air and you haven't made up your mind, dashing underneath is probably the best option.
- There is no trick to beating his high / low mix-ups. Block correctly when standing or perform wake-up scoop / rising grab off the ground to beat him out. Backdashing on wake-up is a very bad idea as Flash's overhead option F2 inherently moves him forward, meaning he doesn't have to work too hard to punish it.
This match-up is similar to Superman vs. Aquaman in that Flash is not very exploitable aside from the punishes you get if you play intelligently. Go about the neutral game however you see fit and make sure to get damage in when he does any of the unsafe moves mentioned above. Superman doesn't have a strong 50/50 game so he needs to use match-up knowledge and smart play to score hits and do truckloads of damage, especially in match-ups against solid characters like this.
