If I pick up Joker,
How do I play him, archetype wise?
Best footsie tools? Punishers? Combos?
How reliable are teeth set ups?
Thank you kindly,
I play him half rush down style half footsie, relying a lot on frame traps and whiff punishment.
I do switch to a more zoning style based on match ups.
His best footsie tools imo are b+1,3, d3 and f+2,3.
d3 is the longest ranged sweep in the game, but it is kinda slow at 14f. It also can be punished by some characters.
b1,3 is safe on block at -4 and is his longest ranged normal outside of sweep. Since it is only -4, you can get people to not push buttons using the parry. But it is just frame timing to beat 6f jabs. I also use b1,3 to whiff punish on reaction.
For whiff punish set ups i use f2,3 which is his third longest ranged normal that can link into his ex rlg for a full combo. The second hit is not a true mid though so you need to be careful with its use.
The 2,1,2 string is really good as well. It can be used safely against most of the cast (some characters can duck and punish the final 2 though, however this can be mixed with 2,1,3 to keep them honest). On block when cancelled into teeth you are safe and it gives you a push block set up. Once they respect that and just try to jump away you can get your own pressure off. 2,1,2 teeth into ex rlg is also uninterruptable and they must block it. On block it is a safe jump.
For punishing, my main punish strings are 2,1, 3,2 and f2,3. Its all specific to the punished move though. 3,2(14-15f cant remember) gives the most damage if you are on point. If you are slower 2,1 (or 1,1) work well but reduce the damage alot. f+2,3 is your main long ranged punisher(13f). For things that are outside of range you need to insta j2 or punish with sweep/acid flower/b1,3. Have to learn what punish to use specifically.
As for combos my bnbs are
opener ex-rlg b3 d2 far teeth j2 far teeth 3 acid flower 3,2(one hit) acid flower
The execution is rather hard though so you can do the easier
opener ex-rlg b3 j2 3,2 acid flower which does like 5% less (builds a lot less meter though)
Once you get the execution for the harder combo down you gain access to more reliable teeth set ups.
You can also replace the j2 far teeth with 2 acid flower for a blockable reset. But it does grant a safe jump on block. Likewise you can replace the 3 acid flower with 2 acid flower.
Teeth Set Ups
Outside of the harder combo, most teeth set ups can just be tech roll out of. The best you can get without the d2 teeth j2 combo is comboing into sweep, but even this is unreliable due to gravity scaling. You also need to drop a lot of damage for this ender.
If the stage has a background bounce, you can use that to set up an untechable knockdown for your teeth set up though.
Gimmick Set Ups
opener ex rlg b3 j2 3,2,3 teeth
If they don't tech roll, they eat the unblockable set up if you time a cross over j2 properly. But it is really gimmicky since it loses to straight up tech rolling. There are a number of set ups like this were you cancel into teeth. These set ups dont hit meaty too either, so they can jump out/dash out if your jump in isnt a meaty attack. But then if your jump isnt meaty, they can block the jump in and then block the low teeth.
Corner
My main bnb is
opener ex rlg d2 teeth j2 teeth 3,2 teeth 3 flower 3 flower
You can get a meaty teeth set up though by doing
opener ex rlg d2 teeth j2 teeth 3,2 teeth 3,2 teeth (both 3,2 far teeth are single hits)
In the corner 2,1,2 on block/hit cancelled into teeth into a properly timed b1,3 is also unblockable. But this loses to wake up attacks.
Thats a general break down. good luck
