Zoidberg747
My blades will find your heart
I want to compile a list of all of Baraka's bad matchups, and have quotes for how to handle these matchups. I can give my best advice, and others can add on. So first off, here are what me and other Baraka users believe to be his bad matchups. This is going to be a work in progress for a while, but add whatever you can and I will add it when I can:
vs Kung Lao:
Vs. Kabal
vs kenshi
Vs Freddy:
Vs. Raiden:
Vs. Cyrax:
Vs. Smoke
vs Kung Lao:
Vs. Kung Lao
At the start
Let him make the first move. The key to this matchup is to bait and punish. If he decides to teleport, neutral duck. If he rolls forward deal with that(see up close and midscreen). The key here is to be patient and not get yourself combo'd right off the bat.
At Fullscreen
Kung Lao is usually very mobile, so you have to watch out for that. Unless he does an instant air dive kick, you should be able to block or spin. If he teleports, usually they don't go for the overhead. If you block the teleport 3 you can blade spin him away. If he throws it is not a huge deal, but he does require you to make a guess. In my personal experience, the best thing to do is try to neutral duck on reaction. Then the next time he teleports stand block and he will have to grab, and if he does he is throwing you away. He also has his F+3 which can travel the whole screen. Depending on how far he does it you can chop chop on reaction so he runs right into it. As far as zoning goes it is the same for any other character. If he throws a hat block it and dash. If he throws a low hat fuzzy block and dash. Nothing horrible here.
ADHD Kung Lao's
Some Kung Lao's really like to move. A lot of online KLs are like this, but there are a few in the offline scene as well. This is much more manageable imo. If they like to F+3 a lot, once you block it you can blade spin them away. The worst they could do is teleport, but you will have enough time to block. If they dive kick a bunch, try and dash backward and make him come to you. When you see him go into the air block or spi, because you spaced it correctly if he divekicks or JIPs he will be hit. These guys are much more manageable, because you just have to make good reads and be patient.
At Midscreen
This is the best place to be in this matchup. Here is a good place to play footsies and whiff punish. I like to be tricky with my movement in this matchup. If I am at midscreen I like to sweep into blade charge. Even if it is blocked he cannot spin because you are still not on him. I would assume most KL's would F3 to get in your face and start pressure. However, after a few times blade charging, whiff the sweep and dash back. If they decide to f3 it will whiff and they will be wide open for a punish. Another good tactic is to dash in just before D4 range and whiff a D4. Most KL's that know the matchup will spin D4 on reaction, and then you will have another punish. That brings me to my next point, D4 is a MOOT tool in this matchup. Kung Lao can spin it on reaction for a full combo. A much better tool is faking like you are about to D4. If Kung Lao does F3 on you remember to dash backwards, this prevents him from getting pressure(His F3 is -4 which gives you time for a backdash). If you feel lucky you can chop chop to try and read a dash or F3. If he tries to F1(hat swipe) just block it and he is -11 on block. This gives you time to b11 which jails or F44 F4 which resets them for more pressure.
Up close
This is where the matchup gets tricky. Kung Lao's meter building revolves around 2 into 2,1,2,1,2,1,2(-26) or 2,1,2,1,2. Most of them only do this when they hit confirm, but if you block it you can actually 1,2,1 into slices for meter build of your own(or just blade charge). If they try and mix it up by going 2,1 or 2 he will be neutral on block. This is where you need to try and poke to get some of your pressure going. If they 1 or 1,2 or 1,1,2,1 they will be neutral on block, again the best strategy here is to try and d3 out. If the d3 hits you can either backdash to try and whiff punish or follow it with pressure(F44 F4 would be a safe option). Dont try and d3, d3, d3 though, because he can catch on and spin on reaction for a full combo. The other problem is with 2,1 command grab, you have to respect this option. He can also use his regular throw after 1,1 or other variations of 1 or 2. The good thing about that one is it can be neutral ducked or you can be throw breaked. The command grab is worse but does not lead to an insane amount of damage. Oh and if they 2,4 low hat, blow that shit up(no good KL does this anymore lol).
Oki
This section is short because of his spin, you can't do anything lol. D4 gets blown up, sweep gets blown up. If you get him into a combo, end it with the reset. If you want to try and bait the spin or teleport, you can try. However, a lot of times the KL player is going to get smart and just get up and start attacking you while you are blocking. This is why sometimes it is better to just backdash if you knock KL down. Then he might teleport but you should know how to deal with that(See Fullscreen).
Waking Up
If KL knocks you down you do not have too many options. When you see him try and do anything you can EX blade charge on reaction. If he tries something stupid like low hat to try and prevent you from waking up(know smart player would do this in blade charge range) you can blade range through it.
In the corner
KL is still at a disadvantage when he is in the corner. He can spin out of some of Baraka's stuff, but he is still vulnerable to some corner pressure. A good tactic is to follow a b31 combo into reset with an F44 F4 follow up. This catches a lot of people off guard because most Baraka players follow with 2,2 1+2 or F2 after the reset. If the F44 F4 is blocked you need to block to prevent a spin. If he does you are going to have a free punish. If he blocks your b3 you can end it with 2,2 instead of 1 for an overhead or end it with 2 into slices for meter build. If you hit him with a b31 he will most likely duck when you reset, and this is where you either want to f2 into slices for damage or F2 into EX slices for a full combo. If you think he is going to try and teleport out, you can f44 into f4.
When Cornered
KL is devastating in the corner, especially with his corner combos. the best thing to do here is wait for him to make a move and counter poke. The block again and see if they spin. If they do that is your chance to full combo punish, and this time end the combo in blade charge so your are away from the corner. If he tries to 2,4 or do a low into command grab or throw, take the knockdown and get back up and block. If he tries to do 2 or 1 pressure let them hit and punish accordingly(see up close). The most important thing though is to be patient and not try to jump out. Because while being chipped to death sucks, being hit by a 45-50% corner combo sucks even worse.
Poking
Considering KL can blow up any poke with a full combo if you get too predictable, you need to mix it up. This is probably a matchup where I really think d3 into slices can be tried, because while he can blow it up, he can also blow up another poke. This way you are mixing him up and keeping him on his toes. Another good tip is when a poke hits(Especially D4) backdash to try and either whiff punish a spin or make him try to get in with f1 or f3 that can be backdashed again or punished. Once again he can spin D4 on reaction because of its execution frames, so use it at your own risk.
Countering his pokes
Kl's pokes are actually not that great if you block them. If you block a d1 of his you can automatically F4 into frametraps. If he d3's then you can poke back yourself and either backdash or start pressure. Keep in mind that he cannot punish our d3 with his d3 because his has a 9 frame execution. So this means that when you d3, he can only counter with a d1. If you block the d1 you put him at -13 and have a window to start pressure(You can do slices here to build meter and put yourself in the neutral game). If his d1 or d3 hits he is at no more than +3 frames advantage so just try and block the next one. His D4 is exactly like Baraka's in that it is neutral on block and +12 on hit, but it has a much shorter range and is not as effective.
Meter Usage
You want to save meter for breaker. While doing f2 EX slices combos and getting a get in free card with EX blade charge sounds nice, you want to save it. Kung Lao has a very high damage output, and you will need that breaker later. Especially if you are in the corner, the breaker can save you from taking a lot of damage. If you have a full bar then you can maybe do one EX blade charge, but dont do the F2 into EX slices. Even though that resets it is much more effickient to save that bar and try to F2 slices instead for a knockdown. If he teleports out or gets out, you have meter to get back in. If he doesn't, you keep him in the corner without sacrificing a bar.
Meter Building
Same as always, but you have to be careful. Jumping in on Kung Lao is a big no no and should almost never be done. High risk medium reward there. Like I said above the best thing is to try and whiff punish and make good reads. If you have him in the corner and see he has X-ray or think he is going to get out, counterpoke to try and bait him into doing soemthing. However if you end up getting f44 f4 off or even f4 then going into 2,2 1+2 slices is certainly ideal, because that is almost a whole bar. If you can get 1,2,1 b1,1 b3,2 f2 or any string off then canceling into slices will build you some meter. Even when you poke him, if you want to take a risk you can go for the slices and possibly build some meter. Oh, and if you are one of those people who loves fancy corner combos, try to do the triple spin combo. B31 B31 spin spin spin. I have no idea if the last one will hit but it doesnt matter, because you need to gain as much meter as you can and that is the best way to do it.
Anti Airing
Blade spin. If he jumps at you blade spin. Like I said on whiff it builds you meter. If he tries to dive kick he is getting hit. If you space it correctly he will be hit if he tries to JIP. F44 F4 can also work as well but does not work well against the divekick.
Keys to the matchup
At the start
Let him make the first move. The key to this matchup is to bait and punish. If he decides to teleport, neutral duck. If he rolls forward deal with that(see up close and midscreen). The key here is to be patient and not get yourself combo'd right off the bat.
At Fullscreen
Kung Lao is usually very mobile, so you have to watch out for that. Unless he does an instant air dive kick, you should be able to block or spin. If he teleports, usually they don't go for the overhead. If you block the teleport 3 you can blade spin him away. If he throws it is not a huge deal, but he does require you to make a guess. In my personal experience, the best thing to do is try to neutral duck on reaction. Then the next time he teleports stand block and he will have to grab, and if he does he is throwing you away. He also has his F+3 which can travel the whole screen. Depending on how far he does it you can chop chop on reaction so he runs right into it. As far as zoning goes it is the same for any other character. If he throws a hat block it and dash. If he throws a low hat fuzzy block and dash. Nothing horrible here.
ADHD Kung Lao's
Some Kung Lao's really like to move. A lot of online KLs are like this, but there are a few in the offline scene as well. This is much more manageable imo. If they like to F+3 a lot, once you block it you can blade spin them away. The worst they could do is teleport, but you will have enough time to block. If they dive kick a bunch, try and dash backward and make him come to you. When you see him go into the air block or spi, because you spaced it correctly if he divekicks or JIPs he will be hit. These guys are much more manageable, because you just have to make good reads and be patient.
At Midscreen
This is the best place to be in this matchup. Here is a good place to play footsies and whiff punish. I like to be tricky with my movement in this matchup. If I am at midscreen I like to sweep into blade charge. Even if it is blocked he cannot spin because you are still not on him. I would assume most KL's would F3 to get in your face and start pressure. However, after a few times blade charging, whiff the sweep and dash back. If they decide to f3 it will whiff and they will be wide open for a punish. Another good tactic is to dash in just before D4 range and whiff a D4. Most KL's that know the matchup will spin D4 on reaction, and then you will have another punish. That brings me to my next point, D4 is a MOOT tool in this matchup. Kung Lao can spin it on reaction for a full combo. A much better tool is faking like you are about to D4. If Kung Lao does F3 on you remember to dash backwards, this prevents him from getting pressure(His F3 is -4 which gives you time for a backdash). If you feel lucky you can chop chop to try and read a dash or F3. If he tries to F1(hat swipe) just block it and he is -11 on block. This gives you time to b11 which jails or F44 F4 which resets them for more pressure.
Up close
This is where the matchup gets tricky. Kung Lao's meter building revolves around 2 into 2,1,2,1,2,1,2(-26) or 2,1,2,1,2. Most of them only do this when they hit confirm, but if you block it you can actually 1,2,1 into slices for meter build of your own(or just blade charge). If they try and mix it up by going 2,1 or 2 he will be neutral on block. This is where you need to try and poke to get some of your pressure going. If they 1 or 1,2 or 1,1,2,1 they will be neutral on block, again the best strategy here is to try and d3 out. If the d3 hits you can either backdash to try and whiff punish or follow it with pressure(F44 F4 would be a safe option). Dont try and d3, d3, d3 though, because he can catch on and spin on reaction for a full combo. The other problem is with 2,1 command grab, you have to respect this option. He can also use his regular throw after 1,1 or other variations of 1 or 2. The good thing about that one is it can be neutral ducked or you can be throw breaked. The command grab is worse but does not lead to an insane amount of damage. Oh and if they 2,4 low hat, blow that shit up(no good KL does this anymore lol).
Oki
This section is short because of his spin, you can't do anything lol. D4 gets blown up, sweep gets blown up. If you get him into a combo, end it with the reset. If you want to try and bait the spin or teleport, you can try. However, a lot of times the KL player is going to get smart and just get up and start attacking you while you are blocking. This is why sometimes it is better to just backdash if you knock KL down. Then he might teleport but you should know how to deal with that(See Fullscreen).
Waking Up
If KL knocks you down you do not have too many options. When you see him try and do anything you can EX blade charge on reaction. If he tries something stupid like low hat to try and prevent you from waking up(know smart player would do this in blade charge range) you can blade range through it.
In the corner
KL is still at a disadvantage when he is in the corner. He can spin out of some of Baraka's stuff, but he is still vulnerable to some corner pressure. A good tactic is to follow a b31 combo into reset with an F44 F4 follow up. This catches a lot of people off guard because most Baraka players follow with 2,2 1+2 or F2 after the reset. If the F44 F4 is blocked you need to block to prevent a spin. If he does you are going to have a free punish. If he blocks your b3 you can end it with 2,2 instead of 1 for an overhead or end it with 2 into slices for meter build. If you hit him with a b31 he will most likely duck when you reset, and this is where you either want to f2 into slices for damage or F2 into EX slices for a full combo. If you think he is going to try and teleport out, you can f44 into f4.
When Cornered
KL is devastating in the corner, especially with his corner combos. the best thing to do here is wait for him to make a move and counter poke. The block again and see if they spin. If they do that is your chance to full combo punish, and this time end the combo in blade charge so your are away from the corner. If he tries to 2,4 or do a low into command grab or throw, take the knockdown and get back up and block. If he tries to do 2 or 1 pressure let them hit and punish accordingly(see up close). The most important thing though is to be patient and not try to jump out. Because while being chipped to death sucks, being hit by a 45-50% corner combo sucks even worse.
Poking
Considering KL can blow up any poke with a full combo if you get too predictable, you need to mix it up. This is probably a matchup where I really think d3 into slices can be tried, because while he can blow it up, he can also blow up another poke. This way you are mixing him up and keeping him on his toes. Another good tip is when a poke hits(Especially D4) backdash to try and either whiff punish a spin or make him try to get in with f1 or f3 that can be backdashed again or punished. Once again he can spin D4 on reaction because of its execution frames, so use it at your own risk.
Countering his pokes
Kl's pokes are actually not that great if you block them. If you block a d1 of his you can automatically F4 into frametraps. If he d3's then you can poke back yourself and either backdash or start pressure. Keep in mind that he cannot punish our d3 with his d3 because his has a 9 frame execution. So this means that when you d3, he can only counter with a d1. If you block the d1 you put him at -13 and have a window to start pressure(You can do slices here to build meter and put yourself in the neutral game). If his d1 or d3 hits he is at no more than +3 frames advantage so just try and block the next one. His D4 is exactly like Baraka's in that it is neutral on block and +12 on hit, but it has a much shorter range and is not as effective.
Meter Usage
You want to save meter for breaker. While doing f2 EX slices combos and getting a get in free card with EX blade charge sounds nice, you want to save it. Kung Lao has a very high damage output, and you will need that breaker later. Especially if you are in the corner, the breaker can save you from taking a lot of damage. If you have a full bar then you can maybe do one EX blade charge, but dont do the F2 into EX slices. Even though that resets it is much more effickient to save that bar and try to F2 slices instead for a knockdown. If he teleports out or gets out, you have meter to get back in. If he doesn't, you keep him in the corner without sacrificing a bar.
Meter Building
Same as always, but you have to be careful. Jumping in on Kung Lao is a big no no and should almost never be done. High risk medium reward there. Like I said above the best thing is to try and whiff punish and make good reads. If you have him in the corner and see he has X-ray or think he is going to get out, counterpoke to try and bait him into doing soemthing. However if you end up getting f44 f4 off or even f4 then going into 2,2 1+2 slices is certainly ideal, because that is almost a whole bar. If you can get 1,2,1 b1,1 b3,2 f2 or any string off then canceling into slices will build you some meter. Even when you poke him, if you want to take a risk you can go for the slices and possibly build some meter. Oh, and if you are one of those people who loves fancy corner combos, try to do the triple spin combo. B31 B31 spin spin spin. I have no idea if the last one will hit but it doesnt matter, because you need to gain as much meter as you can and that is the best way to do it.
Anti Airing
Blade spin. If he jumps at you blade spin. Like I said on whiff it builds you meter. If he tries to dive kick he is getting hit. If you space it correctly he will be hit if he tries to JIP. F44 F4 can also work as well but does not work well against the divekick.
Keys to the matchup
- Movement(Back dashing to force a whiff, dashing and back dashing, dashing in for pressure)
- Save your meter for Breaker
- Know how to punish his strings
- Bait out spins and whiff punish
- Build as much meter as you can
- Be as cautious as possible with pokes
- Always end combos with a reset.
Vs. Kabal
vs kenshi
At the start: From the very beginning I suggest walking forward and blocking. Anything else is asking to be punished, and the key to this matchup is not being at fullscreen. So your safest option here is walking forward and blocking.
Fullscreen: At Fullscreen you have to make reads. He can really hurt you here, so you have to dash block at the right times. The problem with walking forward is if you mistime it you can get hit with a teleflurry. When you block one you can dash forward, and you have to keep doing this until you get close. You can EX blade charge, but honestly dont do this unless A. You have full meter B. You are punishing a teleflurry. Kenshi can end his combos with a blade charge to get you at fullscreen again.
Midscreen: Once you are at about midscreen you have a bit of an easier time. You still cant punish a teleflurry with blade charge(it is only -3 on block), but you can dash which means you are in his face. If he really keeps hitting you with teleflurry you can blade charge to hit him while he tries to teleflurry. You can get punished for it sure, but you have to take some risks to win this matchup. You can also jump over a teleflurry at this range and go for a jump in punch. Even if he blocks it you are at least up close.
Up Close: There is a misconception that Kenshi is bad up close. This entirely false, he is still very good up close. In fact, he still has a good advantage on Baraka up close. If you can get your frametraps off then do so, however be aware that if he has meter he can EX spirit charge to get out of them. A better alternative is to end with slices, which can build a lot of meter(Breaker or EX blade charge) and leaves you at neutral on block for more pressure. If he tries to spirit charge up close you can actually punish with a F4,4 into F4 for a reset. After that you can mix it up with either a 2,2 1+2, 1,2,1 or d3 for the safest option. You can end it all with slices or not, it kind of depends on how your opponent has been reacting.
Keys to the matchup:
-save meter for breakers
-EX blade charge to get in when you have full meter
-dash block instead of walking forward and blocking. You will get hit by less teleflurries.
-Recognize patters. If he gets to repetitive with teleflurries at midscreen, do a blade charge to stuff him.
-Punish any spirit charge attempt with F4,4 into F4 for pressure and mixups
-End all combos in a reset. You do not want to deal with Kenshi's wakeup, it is not worth the damage.
-Get him in the corner, this makes it easier for you to apply pressure
-Mix it up with strings canceled into slices, then stop canceling it to see if he tries to punish. If he falls for it he gets a move blocked and gives you a punish.
-Poke to keep him in check up close(D4 if possible).
-Be careful up close and allow him to make the first move. Off of a punish you can get your pressure started.
Midscreen: Once you are at about midscreen you have a bit of an easier time. You still cant punish a teleflurry with blade charge(it is only -3 on block), but you can dash which means you are in his face. If he really keeps hitting you with teleflurry you can blade charge to hit him while he tries to teleflurry. You can get punished for it sure, but you have to take some risks to win this matchup. You can also jump over a teleflurry at this range and go for a jump in punch. Even if he blocks it you are at least up close.
Up Close: There is a misconception that Kenshi is bad up close. This entirely false, he is still very good up close. In fact, he still has a good advantage on Baraka up close. If you can get your frametraps off then do so, however be aware that if he has meter he can EX spirit charge to get out of them. A better alternative is to end with slices, which can build a lot of meter(Breaker or EX blade charge) and leaves you at neutral on block for more pressure. If he tries to spirit charge up close you can actually punish with a F4,4 into F4 for a reset. After that you can mix it up with either a 2,2 1+2, 1,2,1 or d3 for the safest option. You can end it all with slices or not, it kind of depends on how your opponent has been reacting.
Keys to the matchup:
-save meter for breakers
-EX blade charge to get in when you have full meter
-dash block instead of walking forward and blocking. You will get hit by less teleflurries.
-Recognize patters. If he gets to repetitive with teleflurries at midscreen, do a blade charge to stuff him.
-Punish any spirit charge attempt with F4,4 into F4 for pressure and mixups
-End all combos in a reset. You do not want to deal with Kenshi's wakeup, it is not worth the damage.
-Get him in the corner, this makes it easier for you to apply pressure
-Mix it up with strings canceled into slices, then stop canceling it to see if he tries to punish. If he falls for it he gets a move blocked and gives you a punish.
-Poke to keep him in check up close(D4 if possible).
-Be careful up close and allow him to make the first move. Off of a punish you can get your pressure started.
Vs. Freddy
Starting the match
The most important thing here is to move forward. Whether it be walking forward or dashing forward, you need to go forward. If for some reason the Freddy decides to start with NMS you can blade charge on reaction. You want to be near Freddy as much as possible, as that will make the matchup much easier on you.
Understanding Freddy's Zoning
Most of the Freddy's you have faced probably like to zone. It is what the character excels at, so this makes sense. If you dont know what you are doing you will likely get blown up by his zoning, so hopefully after this explanation you will get it better. So first thing is first, most Freddy's like to start by throwing a glove toss. What you need to understand is if you block a glove toss, you then MUST block a fullscreen ground claw. They dont always have to do a ground claw after, but if you move at all you will get hit, so it is a good idea to block the first few. The good thing is that far ground claw is unsafe on block, so this lands you a free walk or dash forward. Freddy fingers is the same, you must block the far ground claw. So the key here is to wait for him to ground claw so you can dash forward. Obviously if he just chucks glove toss' all the time then obviously continue to walk forward, just realize that he can catch you with Far Ground claw if he wants. Some of you may wonder about when or when not to use EX blade charge. Like I said before, Far Ground Claw is unsafe on block so when he does that you can EX Blade charge to get in. If he uses his EX Far Ground Claw he is -13 on block, so once again you can dash forward. But according to m2dave the best defense for this move is just to jump forward. The other tool Freddy has for zoning is his Sweet Dreams. Now I dont think most Freddy players will use this unless it is enhanced, because it is 59 frame execution. So you can walk a considerable ways forward while he is recovering from this. Again, dont think most will use it. EX is slightly faster but it still can be dashed I believe.
At Midscreen
At Midscreen you have to watch a few more of his options. If he ground claws he is at negative frames so you can blade charge if in range or dash forward. If you block a glove toss you can get a free dash, but watch out for ground calw because if a mid one hits he can combo into a fullscreen one and you are back where you started. If Freddy goes into NMS he can do either 1 or 2 to catch you at this range. However you can always blade charge when he goes into NMS. However if you dont, just block high as NMS 2 is an overhead. He can also B+2 if you get in close enough, but once this is blocked you can poke into pressure(ill go into that later). If you get close to Freddy he may try to teleport out. You can in my experience hit him out of it with blade charge or EX blade charge. If he tries to freddy fingers you can do a JIP into 2,2 1+2.
Up close
Yeah, I will be honest with you here, this will not happen often. When you do get up close, you want to know what you are doing. This will probably needed to be updated once Somberness gets the Freddy block advantages done, so for now I can only go with what M2dave has posted and some general guesstimates. Once you get in close you need to apply your pressure while watching out for his. 2,2 jails freddy on block so 2,2 1+2 into frametraps or slices for meter is your best option. This is why when you get up close you need to realize when to jump in, if Freddy tries to ground claw up close and you block it, jump in into 2,2. If he tries to Freddy Fingers, JIP into 2,2. If he glove tosses he would still have enough time to AA you, so that is better to just try and dash. D3 or D1 to try and stay in on him, cancel into slices if you have to. Be warned that it is a 13 frame gap so it gives him JUST enough time to 2,2 into a combo. A better approach here would be to d3 multiple times until he tries to either backdash or teleport out, then you can hit him with a blade charge. If you can d3 enough to where he blocks low, you can sweep which leaves you at +11 and can dash in or slices to continue pressure and gain a lot of meter. D4 can be used sparingly but once again you want to be in on him and make sure he doesnt have a chance to escape back to fullscreen. Another thing thanks to 1man3letters is b11 and b1f1 will hit because of his hitbox. These can be used to jail and continue pressure.
Instead of trying to ream out a bunch of possible scenarios, I am going to just show some of Freddy's strings and how to punish them/react to them:
F4,2,1: This is one of his better strings and will be used a lot. The last hit is -6 so you can d3 out of this one, but you have to watch and see if he pokes as well. He can cancel it though into teleport or NMS, however this does not hurt us because blade charge takes away those options.
B+2: High combo starter. When blocked I am going to guess you can poke him, again there is no solid frame data yet. This is an overhead and cannot be fuzzy guarded. You can also punish with f44 f4 if you think he is going to attack again.
B+3: His low which can also be canceled into specials for combos. Once again cannot be fuzzy guarded, but I think it is minus frames on block but you should be able to poke out into pressure(or F44 into F4 if you think he may attack again).
B+1, 2, u+1: It has a bad speed and hitbox so I would punish with a string of your own like f44. Not really going to be used outside combos, but if it is then try and punish it.
Oki(Preventing wakeup)
Freddy has 3 main options for waking up:
Teleport and EX teleport: If he tele's just dash forward, he will be near the corner anyway. Same thing with EX tele(You can't blade charge it because of invincibility frames). However, this could be a good time to use sweep as an oki move, and if he teleports you can then blade charge to stop Freddy from trying to whiff punish.
EX Sweet Dreams: Dont know much about this except that it has armor. If you sweep you should be able to block this in time.
NMS: He can do this on wakeup but he is not blocking and that is a free blade charge for you. It will make sweep whiff I believe but again you can blade charge if he goes for a whiff punish.
Wakeup
When Freddy knocks you down you need to see what he does. If he is throwing a glove toss, get up and block it and dash forward(see Fullscreen). If he tries to NMS or Sweet Dreams blade charge will hit him because of the invincibility. Same for EX Sweet Dreams. If he tries to Freddy Fingers or Glove toss really close, and you have meter, you can EX blade charge him. If he tries to Teleport EX blade charge him as well(or blade charge if you can).
In the corner(Baraka):
Once you get him in the corner, it is pretty bad for him. What you want to try and do is JIP into 2,2 so he is jailed. You can end the string and do the frametrap to try and get him to block high. Once there you can do a b3, now of course you have two options here. You can either hit it into b31 b31 b31 F4 or if he blocks it do either b3, 2 slices for meter build or b3,2 2 to knock him down. Once you reset him you can either go for the 2,2 1+2 or the b31 again. He cannot teleport out or anything like that, although he will most likely try and poke out. If he does just poke him back and be patient, he is in a bad position, dont give him a mistake here. F44 F4 can also be used in the corner, but if he blocks the F44 it is better to go into a poke or something instead of F4 because F44 is only -3 on block while F4 is worse(blanking atm sorry). You can also chop chop in case you think he will try to teleport, and of course reset him. He can punish this though so that is a risky move. The key here is to keep mixing it up with b3 and 2,2 because of his big hitbox. If you need to use U+3 to gain some advantage into more pressure, but I personally just mix it up with 2,2 1+2 slices(for meter) 2,2 1+2 b31 b31 F4 or b31 b31 b31 F4(for reset) or b3,2 slices or b3,2 2 for when he blocks the F4.
In the corner(Freddy):
There are times when Freddy may try to corner you, and the key here is to get out and try and reverse it if you can. See the string section up there to see what to do against certain strings. If he knocks you down he might try to EX sweet Dreams to make you stand up and block. If he does get up and try to jump out if possible, he will most likely still be in recovery frames and it will put him in the corner instead. You can also blade charge but that will knock him away so that is not ideal. But yeah, just know when to punish and how to punish his strings and you should be good. The one thing you need to look out for is him with meter. If he has meter he has a safe 50/50 with either B+2 EX Spike or B+3 EX Spike. If you block and guess right, you can poke out with d3. You just have to guess right, but it isnt the end of the world because he has to have meter to do it.
Poking and Counter Poking
Again without block advantage some of this is guessing, but some I am sure about. His D1 is as good as our D3 so you need to watch out for that. His D+2 is 10 frames so it can punish things like d3 slices. His D3 is 7 frames so it is still very solid. His d4 is meh because it is 13 frames and not too great of a range. You have to watch out because of his good pokes. You cannot d1 because if it gets blocked he can d1(it is -7). D3 is a much safer option and can get you some pressure(albeit it only has like +2 frame advantage on hit). D4 can be used also because it grants +13 on hit. However the danger of this is it has a slower startup, so it could allow Freddy to backdash(which is not what you want).
Keys to the matchup
Starting the match
The most important thing here is to move forward. Whether it be walking forward or dashing forward, you need to go forward. If for some reason the Freddy decides to start with NMS you can blade charge on reaction. You want to be near Freddy as much as possible, as that will make the matchup much easier on you.
Understanding Freddy's Zoning
Most of the Freddy's you have faced probably like to zone. It is what the character excels at, so this makes sense. If you dont know what you are doing you will likely get blown up by his zoning, so hopefully after this explanation you will get it better. So first thing is first, most Freddy's like to start by throwing a glove toss. What you need to understand is if you block a glove toss, you then MUST block a fullscreen ground claw. They dont always have to do a ground claw after, but if you move at all you will get hit, so it is a good idea to block the first few. The good thing is that far ground claw is unsafe on block, so this lands you a free walk or dash forward. Freddy fingers is the same, you must block the far ground claw. So the key here is to wait for him to ground claw so you can dash forward. Obviously if he just chucks glove toss' all the time then obviously continue to walk forward, just realize that he can catch you with Far Ground claw if he wants. Some of you may wonder about when or when not to use EX blade charge. Like I said before, Far Ground Claw is unsafe on block so when he does that you can EX Blade charge to get in. If he uses his EX Far Ground Claw he is -13 on block, so once again you can dash forward. But according to m2dave the best defense for this move is just to jump forward. The other tool Freddy has for zoning is his Sweet Dreams. Now I dont think most Freddy players will use this unless it is enhanced, because it is 59 frame execution. So you can walk a considerable ways forward while he is recovering from this. Again, dont think most will use it. EX is slightly faster but it still can be dashed I believe.
At Midscreen
At Midscreen you have to watch a few more of his options. If he ground claws he is at negative frames so you can blade charge if in range or dash forward. If you block a glove toss you can get a free dash, but watch out for ground calw because if a mid one hits he can combo into a fullscreen one and you are back where you started. If Freddy goes into NMS he can do either 1 or 2 to catch you at this range. However you can always blade charge when he goes into NMS. However if you dont, just block high as NMS 2 is an overhead. He can also B+2 if you get in close enough, but once this is blocked you can poke into pressure(ill go into that later). If you get close to Freddy he may try to teleport out. You can in my experience hit him out of it with blade charge or EX blade charge. If he tries to freddy fingers you can do a JIP into 2,2 1+2.
Up close
Yeah, I will be honest with you here, this will not happen often. When you do get up close, you want to know what you are doing. This will probably needed to be updated once Somberness gets the Freddy block advantages done, so for now I can only go with what M2dave has posted and some general guesstimates. Once you get in close you need to apply your pressure while watching out for his. 2,2 jails freddy on block so 2,2 1+2 into frametraps or slices for meter is your best option. This is why when you get up close you need to realize when to jump in, if Freddy tries to ground claw up close and you block it, jump in into 2,2. If he tries to Freddy Fingers, JIP into 2,2. If he glove tosses he would still have enough time to AA you, so that is better to just try and dash. D3 or D1 to try and stay in on him, cancel into slices if you have to. Be warned that it is a 13 frame gap so it gives him JUST enough time to 2,2 into a combo. A better approach here would be to d3 multiple times until he tries to either backdash or teleport out, then you can hit him with a blade charge. If you can d3 enough to where he blocks low, you can sweep which leaves you at +11 and can dash in or slices to continue pressure and gain a lot of meter. D4 can be used sparingly but once again you want to be in on him and make sure he doesnt have a chance to escape back to fullscreen. Another thing thanks to 1man3letters is b11 and b1f1 will hit because of his hitbox. These can be used to jail and continue pressure.
Instead of trying to ream out a bunch of possible scenarios, I am going to just show some of Freddy's strings and how to punish them/react to them:
F4,2,1: This is one of his better strings and will be used a lot. The last hit is -6 so you can d3 out of this one, but you have to watch and see if he pokes as well. He can cancel it though into teleport or NMS, however this does not hurt us because blade charge takes away those options.
B+2: High combo starter. When blocked I am going to guess you can poke him, again there is no solid frame data yet. This is an overhead and cannot be fuzzy guarded. You can also punish with f44 f4 if you think he is going to attack again.
B+3: His low which can also be canceled into specials for combos. Once again cannot be fuzzy guarded, but I think it is minus frames on block but you should be able to poke out into pressure(or F44 into F4 if you think he may attack again).
B+1, 2, u+1: It has a bad speed and hitbox so I would punish with a string of your own like f44. Not really going to be used outside combos, but if it is then try and punish it.
Oki(Preventing wakeup)
Freddy has 3 main options for waking up:
Teleport and EX teleport: If he tele's just dash forward, he will be near the corner anyway. Same thing with EX tele(You can't blade charge it because of invincibility frames). However, this could be a good time to use sweep as an oki move, and if he teleports you can then blade charge to stop Freddy from trying to whiff punish.
EX Sweet Dreams: Dont know much about this except that it has armor. If you sweep you should be able to block this in time.
NMS: He can do this on wakeup but he is not blocking and that is a free blade charge for you. It will make sweep whiff I believe but again you can blade charge if he goes for a whiff punish.
Wakeup
When Freddy knocks you down you need to see what he does. If he is throwing a glove toss, get up and block it and dash forward(see Fullscreen). If he tries to NMS or Sweet Dreams blade charge will hit him because of the invincibility. Same for EX Sweet Dreams. If he tries to Freddy Fingers or Glove toss really close, and you have meter, you can EX blade charge him. If he tries to Teleport EX blade charge him as well(or blade charge if you can).
In the corner(Baraka):
Once you get him in the corner, it is pretty bad for him. What you want to try and do is JIP into 2,2 so he is jailed. You can end the string and do the frametrap to try and get him to block high. Once there you can do a b3, now of course you have two options here. You can either hit it into b31 b31 b31 F4 or if he blocks it do either b3, 2 slices for meter build or b3,2 2 to knock him down. Once you reset him you can either go for the 2,2 1+2 or the b31 again. He cannot teleport out or anything like that, although he will most likely try and poke out. If he does just poke him back and be patient, he is in a bad position, dont give him a mistake here. F44 F4 can also be used in the corner, but if he blocks the F44 it is better to go into a poke or something instead of F4 because F44 is only -3 on block while F4 is worse(blanking atm sorry). You can also chop chop in case you think he will try to teleport, and of course reset him. He can punish this though so that is a risky move. The key here is to keep mixing it up with b3 and 2,2 because of his big hitbox. If you need to use U+3 to gain some advantage into more pressure, but I personally just mix it up with 2,2 1+2 slices(for meter) 2,2 1+2 b31 b31 F4 or b31 b31 b31 F4(for reset) or b3,2 slices or b3,2 2 for when he blocks the F4.
In the corner(Freddy):
There are times when Freddy may try to corner you, and the key here is to get out and try and reverse it if you can. See the string section up there to see what to do against certain strings. If he knocks you down he might try to EX sweet Dreams to make you stand up and block. If he does get up and try to jump out if possible, he will most likely still be in recovery frames and it will put him in the corner instead. You can also blade charge but that will knock him away so that is not ideal. But yeah, just know when to punish and how to punish his strings and you should be good. The one thing you need to look out for is him with meter. If he has meter he has a safe 50/50 with either B+2 EX Spike or B+3 EX Spike. If you block and guess right, you can poke out with d3. You just have to guess right, but it isnt the end of the world because he has to have meter to do it.
Poking and Counter Poking
Again without block advantage some of this is guessing, but some I am sure about. His D1 is as good as our D3 so you need to watch out for that. His D+2 is 10 frames so it can punish things like d3 slices. His D3 is 7 frames so it is still very solid. His d4 is meh because it is 13 frames and not too great of a range. You have to watch out because of his good pokes. You cannot d1 because if it gets blocked he can d1(it is -7). D3 is a much safer option and can get you some pressure(albeit it only has like +2 frame advantage on hit). D4 can be used also because it grants +13 on hit. However the danger of this is it has a slower startup, so it could allow Freddy to backdash(which is not what you want).
Keys to the matchup
- Know his zoning(Read the section up above)
- Know when to dash in
- Know when it is safe to jump in
- Use frame traps and 2,2
- Get him into the corner
- Stay in his face
Vs. Raiden:
Vs Raiden(
Starting the Match
I find either dashing forward and blocking or walking forward and blocking is the best way to go. This way you can try to elicit a reaction and punish accordingly. This is the safest way to start the match in my opinion.
At Fullscreen:
At fullscreen one of Raiden's options is to spam lightning balls at you. All you have to do is walk forward and block when they are about to hit. You will most likely be midscreen by the time they get two lightning balls off. This will build him some meter, and maybe chip you some. The only other thing you need to respect here is the teleport and the superman when he is in range. If you are walking forward you will be able to react to the superman and block it for a full combo punished. The teleport may be used to get in, if it is just spin immediately to punish. I will say that this matchup will not be played at fullscreen most of the time, and technically he does have a slight advantage vs. Baraka(although it is trivial). Also as always you can EX blade charge the lightning on reaction.
At Midscreen:
Once you are midscreen you need to start playing your footsie game. Using your sweep and canceling into blade charge will fake out most people one or two times. After that you can block to try and stop any superman attempt, and punish when blocked. If they try to teleport to punish, you can spin to punish. If you are in D4 range it can check Raiden. One of Raiden's best footsie tools is his B3. If he tries to do this and you block it, he is at -7. You can then d3 and backdash to try and whiff punish, or start pressure. If he uses his F2 he is neutral at block, so you can either guess he is going to poke and block low, poke yourself, or take his next blockstring and punish accordingly. He could also teleport after the F2, which is why poking may not be the best idea for the F2. His D4 is not really effective in the matchup due to ours having a much larger range.
Up Close:
You need to always respect his teleport, it will get him out of a lot of situations. You need to know how to punish his strings if the Raiden decides not to teleport. For instance, if he tries to do his b312 string he is -3 on block. What you can do on this is d3 the first time it is blocked. After you block another b312, he will most likely teleport, which you can spin. Also after he b312s you can F44 to get him away from you. It is 6 frames so Raiden cannot do much but teleport to avoid it, but even then he only has like 2 frames to punish. If he does his 3,3,4 string he is 0 on block, so the best option here is to throw. Throwing will get you out of most of his pressure game. However he can always cancel into the teleport, which means you can either spin if you expect it or just block and try and guess the next string right. He is also 0 on block after he uses f2,4. Again throwing or trying to bait the teleport is your best option for punishing his strings on block. As for your pressure game, you can still cancel things into slices. For instance, say he is dashing in, once he does you can 4 slices which is something around 12 frames. They usually will not expect it so they will either get hit for damage or dash block and get hit by it for meter build. If he is about to dash in you can also use either F2,4 to push him towards the corner or F2 slices for meter build/damage. If he is within dashing range, you can also use b3,2 slices for meter build, or b3,2 2 for the overhead which will hit unless he knows Baraka's string ends in the overhead and blocks the last hit high(it is -14 on block, so you have to evaluate how well your opponent knows the character).
Footsies
Playing Footsies with Raiden is not so easy considering some of the footsie tools he has at his disposal. Your sweep can be used very well here, because if you are within sweep range and it actually hits, you get a knockdown. If it gets blocked, you are +11 frames on block and have enough time to F4 to stuff any punish he tries to do(he may have like a 1 frame window to teleport, but I cant think of him doing that unless you get predictable with it. Even then I dont think he can punish the whiffed F4 in time). If that 1 frame window scares you, just slices after the sweep to be 0 on block. You can also use D4 to check Raiden from sweep range, and you can use it to bait a teleport for a punish. You can also use slices as a footsie tool, as it has good range and put you at neutral on block. Once here you can poke into pressure or bait a teleport.
The other part of this is respecting Raiden's footsies. His B3 is used a lot as a footsie tool, so when they do this they are -7 on block. This means you can d3 punish, and once again you must either commit to some sort of pressure, wait for him to react with a string, or wait for a teleport. You can also use the d3 to start up your footsies again. Just backdash after the d3 and start your footsies again. Another tool Raiden uses for footsies is his f2. On block his f2 is neutral, so you can either d3 and either hit or get a clash with his 6f d1(p1 advantage, blah blah) or just wait and see what he does after. If they decide to end the f2 into f2,4 it is the same thing, he is neutral. The one good thing about this matchup is you do render his d4 useless with your d4. His d4s range makes it to where he cannot d4 unless he is close to you, and if he does hit it you will at the very least probably be crouching(try and react when he pokes to at least duck, because then he will only be at +8 and at the most he can poke instead of 15 which gives him a plethora of options). If you manage to see it and block it he is still neutral on block. So while it can be useful to him when you are in its range, if you stay out of it's range and check him with d4, you can make him use the move less.
Oki
Honestly any oki is going to be a risk. The best thing imo is to sweep, because it will lower his hitbox to stop most of Raiden's wakeups. Obviously he could just wakeup teleport, but the beauty of sweep is it is special cancelable so you can cancel it into the spin to punish. Otherwise you can try to D4 or something else to lower the hitbox. If they get smart and start just blocking low to try and block and punish, you can f2,4 to get them in the corner or f2 slices to get some damage.
Wakeup
If he keeps trying to pressure you can spin or charge to armor through it. I really cannot think of much to put here, other than blade charge if he tries to throw a projectile and watch what he does. Make sure if you do the blade charge it is punishing something, dont just throw out the blade charge or else you will be punished. Standing up and blocking may be your best option here.
In the Corner(Baraka)
When you finally get him cornered, you wont keep him there for long. Let's face it, his teleport will kill your corner game. There are a few ways around this, like using b31 b31 f4 instead of b31 b31 b31 f4. The first combo will leave you at +16 frame advantage, which allows you to f3,2 slices or f3,2 2. If he blocks the slices you are neutral and can d3 into more pressure. If you get the knockdown, see oki. Anything else like f2, slices he can teleport before they hit, so in the corner it is best to not leave him a huge opportunity to punish if something whiffs because of the teleport.
In the Corner(Raiden)
To start this off I am going to list some common Raiden corner combo starters, and how to punish them if you manage to block them:
F4(0 on block): When he does this you can go for the d3(especially if you have p1 advantage) otherwise you have to wait for his next blockstring.
B312(-3 on block): You can throw here to corner him. If nothing else d3 to make him counterpoke and maybe blade spin to get him off of you.
3,3,4(-1 on block): D3 or throw. See above.
F2,4(0 on block): See above
Once he gets you in the corner you need to punish when you can. You should probably save your breaker here because he can get 40-43% in the corner. Any throw opportunity you can get is crucial, because it reverses the situation. after a b312 is the safest time to throw. Otherwise just know when you can poke into either spin or slices to get out of the situation. Yes Raiden can teleport out of the d3 slices but if he does you are still out of the corner.
Meter Usage
Like I said before I usually save the meter for breaker in this matchup. EX blade charging through lightning is pointless in my opinion, because you can dash in very easily instead of wasting a bar. Plus you still get hit by the lightning, and once you get in he can teleport out very easily. the F2 EX slices in the corner is kind of risky in this matchup, because you technically will ever have an opportunity where he can't just teleport before the F2 hits. So save the meter for breaker, EX blade charge if you really need some damage to end a round or something.
Meter building
This is very hard in this matchup. Off of any string cancel into slices. Whenever you can stop his dashes with F2 end in slices. If you can b3,2 slices it will build a lot of meter as well. If you want to take a risk and Jip into 2,2 1+2 into slices you can build a lot of meter as well. Trying to bait teleports will work well, as even if he blocks the spin builds a lot of meter. you have to be careful to time the punish right though, or he can neutral duck and full combo punish it.
Keys to the matchup
Starting the Match
I find either dashing forward and blocking or walking forward and blocking is the best way to go. This way you can try to elicit a reaction and punish accordingly. This is the safest way to start the match in my opinion.
At Fullscreen:
At fullscreen one of Raiden's options is to spam lightning balls at you. All you have to do is walk forward and block when they are about to hit. You will most likely be midscreen by the time they get two lightning balls off. This will build him some meter, and maybe chip you some. The only other thing you need to respect here is the teleport and the superman when he is in range. If you are walking forward you will be able to react to the superman and block it for a full combo punished. The teleport may be used to get in, if it is just spin immediately to punish. I will say that this matchup will not be played at fullscreen most of the time, and technically he does have a slight advantage vs. Baraka(although it is trivial). Also as always you can EX blade charge the lightning on reaction.
At Midscreen:
Once you are midscreen you need to start playing your footsie game. Using your sweep and canceling into blade charge will fake out most people one or two times. After that you can block to try and stop any superman attempt, and punish when blocked. If they try to teleport to punish, you can spin to punish. If you are in D4 range it can check Raiden. One of Raiden's best footsie tools is his B3. If he tries to do this and you block it, he is at -7. You can then d3 and backdash to try and whiff punish, or start pressure. If he uses his F2 he is neutral at block, so you can either guess he is going to poke and block low, poke yourself, or take his next blockstring and punish accordingly. He could also teleport after the F2, which is why poking may not be the best idea for the F2. His D4 is not really effective in the matchup due to ours having a much larger range.
Up Close:
You need to always respect his teleport, it will get him out of a lot of situations. You need to know how to punish his strings if the Raiden decides not to teleport. For instance, if he tries to do his b312 string he is -3 on block. What you can do on this is d3 the first time it is blocked. After you block another b312, he will most likely teleport, which you can spin. Also after he b312s you can F44 to get him away from you. It is 6 frames so Raiden cannot do much but teleport to avoid it, but even then he only has like 2 frames to punish. If he does his 3,3,4 string he is 0 on block, so the best option here is to throw. Throwing will get you out of most of his pressure game. However he can always cancel into the teleport, which means you can either spin if you expect it or just block and try and guess the next string right. He is also 0 on block after he uses f2,4. Again throwing or trying to bait the teleport is your best option for punishing his strings on block. As for your pressure game, you can still cancel things into slices. For instance, say he is dashing in, once he does you can 4 slices which is something around 12 frames. They usually will not expect it so they will either get hit for damage or dash block and get hit by it for meter build. If he is about to dash in you can also use either F2,4 to push him towards the corner or F2 slices for meter build/damage. If he is within dashing range, you can also use b3,2 slices for meter build, or b3,2 2 for the overhead which will hit unless he knows Baraka's string ends in the overhead and blocks the last hit high(it is -14 on block, so you have to evaluate how well your opponent knows the character).
Footsies
Playing Footsies with Raiden is not so easy considering some of the footsie tools he has at his disposal. Your sweep can be used very well here, because if you are within sweep range and it actually hits, you get a knockdown. If it gets blocked, you are +11 frames on block and have enough time to F4 to stuff any punish he tries to do(he may have like a 1 frame window to teleport, but I cant think of him doing that unless you get predictable with it. Even then I dont think he can punish the whiffed F4 in time). If that 1 frame window scares you, just slices after the sweep to be 0 on block. You can also use D4 to check Raiden from sweep range, and you can use it to bait a teleport for a punish. You can also use slices as a footsie tool, as it has good range and put you at neutral on block. Once here you can poke into pressure or bait a teleport.
The other part of this is respecting Raiden's footsies. His B3 is used a lot as a footsie tool, so when they do this they are -7 on block. This means you can d3 punish, and once again you must either commit to some sort of pressure, wait for him to react with a string, or wait for a teleport. You can also use the d3 to start up your footsies again. Just backdash after the d3 and start your footsies again. Another tool Raiden uses for footsies is his f2. On block his f2 is neutral, so you can either d3 and either hit or get a clash with his 6f d1(p1 advantage, blah blah) or just wait and see what he does after. If they decide to end the f2 into f2,4 it is the same thing, he is neutral. The one good thing about this matchup is you do render his d4 useless with your d4. His d4s range makes it to where he cannot d4 unless he is close to you, and if he does hit it you will at the very least probably be crouching(try and react when he pokes to at least duck, because then he will only be at +8 and at the most he can poke instead of 15 which gives him a plethora of options). If you manage to see it and block it he is still neutral on block. So while it can be useful to him when you are in its range, if you stay out of it's range and check him with d4, you can make him use the move less.
Oki
Honestly any oki is going to be a risk. The best thing imo is to sweep, because it will lower his hitbox to stop most of Raiden's wakeups. Obviously he could just wakeup teleport, but the beauty of sweep is it is special cancelable so you can cancel it into the spin to punish. Otherwise you can try to D4 or something else to lower the hitbox. If they get smart and start just blocking low to try and block and punish, you can f2,4 to get them in the corner or f2 slices to get some damage.
Wakeup
If he keeps trying to pressure you can spin or charge to armor through it. I really cannot think of much to put here, other than blade charge if he tries to throw a projectile and watch what he does. Make sure if you do the blade charge it is punishing something, dont just throw out the blade charge or else you will be punished. Standing up and blocking may be your best option here.
In the Corner(Baraka)
When you finally get him cornered, you wont keep him there for long. Let's face it, his teleport will kill your corner game. There are a few ways around this, like using b31 b31 f4 instead of b31 b31 b31 f4. The first combo will leave you at +16 frame advantage, which allows you to f3,2 slices or f3,2 2. If he blocks the slices you are neutral and can d3 into more pressure. If you get the knockdown, see oki. Anything else like f2, slices he can teleport before they hit, so in the corner it is best to not leave him a huge opportunity to punish if something whiffs because of the teleport.
In the Corner(Raiden)
To start this off I am going to list some common Raiden corner combo starters, and how to punish them if you manage to block them:
F4(0 on block): When he does this you can go for the d3(especially if you have p1 advantage) otherwise you have to wait for his next blockstring.
B312(-3 on block): You can throw here to corner him. If nothing else d3 to make him counterpoke and maybe blade spin to get him off of you.
3,3,4(-1 on block): D3 or throw. See above.
F2,4(0 on block): See above
Once he gets you in the corner you need to punish when you can. You should probably save your breaker here because he can get 40-43% in the corner. Any throw opportunity you can get is crucial, because it reverses the situation. after a b312 is the safest time to throw. Otherwise just know when you can poke into either spin or slices to get out of the situation. Yes Raiden can teleport out of the d3 slices but if he does you are still out of the corner.
Meter Usage
Like I said before I usually save the meter for breaker in this matchup. EX blade charging through lightning is pointless in my opinion, because you can dash in very easily instead of wasting a bar. Plus you still get hit by the lightning, and once you get in he can teleport out very easily. the F2 EX slices in the corner is kind of risky in this matchup, because you technically will ever have an opportunity where he can't just teleport before the F2 hits. So save the meter for breaker, EX blade charge if you really need some damage to end a round or something.
Meter building
This is very hard in this matchup. Off of any string cancel into slices. Whenever you can stop his dashes with F2 end in slices. If you can b3,2 slices it will build a lot of meter as well. If you want to take a risk and Jip into 2,2 1+2 into slices you can build a lot of meter as well. Trying to bait teleports will work well, as even if he blocks the spin builds a lot of meter. you have to be careful to time the punish right though, or he can neutral duck and full combo punish it.
Keys to the matchup
- Punishing Teleport with throw or spin
- Saving meter for breakers
- Playing proper footsies and reacting to his
- Using sweep as an oki tool
- Ending combos with F4(Like b31 b31 F4 which leaves you at +16)
Vs. Cyrax:
Beginning of the match
Walk back and wait. 90% of the time they will throw out a bomb or a net to check you. If it's a bomb instant blade charge punish. If it is a net you can jump over it for a free blade charge.
Fullscreen
You need to make your way back to mid range. At fullscreen you can throw out sparks with no worry, because nets won trade at that range. It will probably do nothing but maybe chip, so no real point in being there. At fullscreen it is easy to dodge bombs and nets. If he teleports know that you can pretty much do anything while he appears, although I usually just do 4 slices to be safe. Thetetraspirit also does f44 4 charge, which is good damage.
At Midscreen
Blade charge is a very powerful tool in this matchup. If he tries to bomb you, blade charge. If he tries to net you, jump over net and blade charge. If he starts trying to get in close you can D4 and back away to maintain the spacing. I like to be midscreen as much as possible with cyrax. The only risk you take is making one mistake and losing like all of your health. But aggressive never works against cyrax anyway. The key to this matchup is keeping him here and making him make mistakes. However, you MUST be on point with your spacing. If you blade charge and whiff, you will be full combo punished(aka killed). This is why jumping over nets and blade charging can sometimes be risky, because if you do it too far you might whiff.
String Breakdown
Although you don't want Cyrax to be up close to you, if he is here is a breakdown of his strings and what to do if you block them.
1/1,1- Both neutral on block, you could go for a poke or blade spin but his poke could beat yours
1,1,1- -8 on block, punish with 4 slices for pressure, or if you are a robot, the string does have a 6 frame gap that you could try and spin them out of it. But that probably wont work so just block it and do 4 slices
1,2- Neutral on block, if you poke you risk the danger of them doing 1,2,1
1,2,1- If blocked is -10, punish with 4 slices for pressure
1,2,3- Never seen it used but it is neutral
2/2,1/2,2- These strings are very good. All our neutral on block and some have good pushback. You can poke but again it comes with a risk.
2,1,2- This string is interesting. On block it is actually neutral, however it has an 8 frame gap between the last two hits. So if you block the first 2 hits you might as well spin because unless he pokes you will spin him out of pressure or the last hit. Be careful becaus eif they get wise and know Baraka they will just duck and full combo punish.
3/3,3- Both give you a guaranteed d3 but he could block and counterpoke. He is at -6 and -4, so don't let him bully you with these strings.
3,3,4- He is at +5. Take whatever he throws at you after. Might want to duck to block a poke. Really good string.
4- He is at -3 so poke.
Pokes- If he pokes you with anything but d4 and you block it, counterpoke.
B2- He is +2. You can poke if you think he will do anything but poke, but that is risky.
B3- Never used but if he does it 4 slices for pressure
B4- He is -7 after his sweep. Since you are already ducking when you block it a poke is your best option
F2- Bad startup so you should be able to spin it on reaction. But if it hits he is at +11 so you are at his mercy.
U4- He is -5, poke or use a fast attack.
Command Grab Shenanigans
Someone may have to correct me on this. First off if he grabs you once and does nothing, he is neutral. However no one will ever do that, they will do b1,2,1,2. Now after this he is at +34, so he may do a variety of things:
Jump in- you cant jump out and must tech it like a throw with 1 if its tried again
Dash for more pressure- Since a forward dash is 23 frames for cyrax that means he is still +11 up close, so you just kind of are at his mercy here.
Throw out a bomb or net- Only if he wants to space you out or something. Neither guarantees anything and are easy to block/avoid
That is mostly it. If he times it right he can dash forward and command grab you again, but that isnt guaranteed and you can spin that.
Oki
Cyrax has very limited wakeup options:
Teleport: Can full combo punish
Bomb: Can blade charge if in range
Net: Can either block if up close and punish or jump over and blade charge
Ragdoll kick: Safe but also very little damage.
Buzzsaw: Is -10 so block it and you have free pressure.
Anti Air jump- Can Spin it on reaction, just make sure to input spin the direction you are facing(i.e df3 instead of db3) and it will autocorrect to spin the anti air everytime.
Wakeup game
It really depends on what the Cyrax player does. If he tries to net or bomb, blade charge will blow through it. Other than that you can roll back to get in midscreen range. If you get knocked down in the corner and they try the bomb trap, the spin will knock him away and you wont get hit by the bomb. More on that in corner section
In the corner
Cyrax really doesnt have options. He can't teleport out, he cant anti air out(see oki). His only option is his EX Ragdoll which will switch the position. However since it is not armored, as long as you dont leave holes in your corner game he can only hope to counterpoke. All strings work on hiws hitbox so you can bully him. The key here is to reset him every time. You do not want him to switch the position or possibly get out. Plus you need the damage when you can get it. Also, dont use meter in your corner game like EX slices. More on that later. Pretty much you just have to watch out for EX Ragdoll, or anti-air jump. Other than that you can pretty much do whatever you want.
When cornered
Cyrax has some dirty little tricks in the corner that you should be aware of. The first is his bomb trap. After a combo if he ends it in u4 and does a close bomb, you are forced to wakeup or get launched. However with Baraka you can just wakeup spin and you will avoid the bomb and get out of the trap. This "splat can also be achieved with the last hit of 2,1,2, Buzzsaw, njp and b2. B2 is the only one that with the bomb leaves him at +19, so at that point you want to spin and hope he blocks it to stay at neutral. Keep in mind that he does not have to bomb and could be at at least +28(a lot more for everything other than buzzsaw).
The best way to get out of the corner is to spin when he tries to do the bomb trap. You can go for a throw to switch up the position, but if you whiff you get 80% comboed.
Meter Usage
I am going to lay out one simple rule. DO NOT USE METER FOR ANYTHING BUT BREAKER. I break this rule all the time but really you shouldnt use meter for anything else. Unless an EX blade charge will win you the round/game after he throws a projectile. It is also good to study up his combos to know his unbreakerable ones and if it is worth it to break at certain times.
Meter Building
A max ranged blade charge cannot be punished by Cyrax. Just make sure not to whiff. If at fullscreen you can throw out sparks with no threat, until he gets smart and dashes under them. Of course slices pressure and resets when you can get them help too.
Anti Airing
Blade spin imo. Even if he does his anti-air jump, you can still spin it on reaction..
Keys to the matchup
Save meter for breaker
Keep him in blade charge range
Be very careful
Abuse his lack of wakeup options
Corner him
Do not get hit by nets
Do not whiff anything
Walk back and wait. 90% of the time they will throw out a bomb or a net to check you. If it's a bomb instant blade charge punish. If it is a net you can jump over it for a free blade charge.
Fullscreen
You need to make your way back to mid range. At fullscreen you can throw out sparks with no worry, because nets won trade at that range. It will probably do nothing but maybe chip, so no real point in being there. At fullscreen it is easy to dodge bombs and nets. If he teleports know that you can pretty much do anything while he appears, although I usually just do 4 slices to be safe. Thetetraspirit also does f44 4 charge, which is good damage.
At Midscreen
Blade charge is a very powerful tool in this matchup. If he tries to bomb you, blade charge. If he tries to net you, jump over net and blade charge. If he starts trying to get in close you can D4 and back away to maintain the spacing. I like to be midscreen as much as possible with cyrax. The only risk you take is making one mistake and losing like all of your health. But aggressive never works against cyrax anyway. The key to this matchup is keeping him here and making him make mistakes. However, you MUST be on point with your spacing. If you blade charge and whiff, you will be full combo punished(aka killed). This is why jumping over nets and blade charging can sometimes be risky, because if you do it too far you might whiff.
String Breakdown
Although you don't want Cyrax to be up close to you, if he is here is a breakdown of his strings and what to do if you block them.
1/1,1- Both neutral on block, you could go for a poke or blade spin but his poke could beat yours
1,1,1- -8 on block, punish with 4 slices for pressure, or if you are a robot, the string does have a 6 frame gap that you could try and spin them out of it. But that probably wont work so just block it and do 4 slices
1,2- Neutral on block, if you poke you risk the danger of them doing 1,2,1
1,2,1- If blocked is -10, punish with 4 slices for pressure
1,2,3- Never seen it used but it is neutral
2/2,1/2,2- These strings are very good. All our neutral on block and some have good pushback. You can poke but again it comes with a risk.
2,1,2- This string is interesting. On block it is actually neutral, however it has an 8 frame gap between the last two hits. So if you block the first 2 hits you might as well spin because unless he pokes you will spin him out of pressure or the last hit. Be careful becaus eif they get wise and know Baraka they will just duck and full combo punish.
3/3,3- Both give you a guaranteed d3 but he could block and counterpoke. He is at -6 and -4, so don't let him bully you with these strings.
3,3,4- He is at +5. Take whatever he throws at you after. Might want to duck to block a poke. Really good string.
4- He is at -3 so poke.
Pokes- If he pokes you with anything but d4 and you block it, counterpoke.
B2- He is +2. You can poke if you think he will do anything but poke, but that is risky.
B3- Never used but if he does it 4 slices for pressure
B4- He is -7 after his sweep. Since you are already ducking when you block it a poke is your best option
F2- Bad startup so you should be able to spin it on reaction. But if it hits he is at +11 so you are at his mercy.
U4- He is -5, poke or use a fast attack.
Command Grab Shenanigans
Someone may have to correct me on this. First off if he grabs you once and does nothing, he is neutral. However no one will ever do that, they will do b1,2,1,2. Now after this he is at +34, so he may do a variety of things:
Jump in- you cant jump out and must tech it like a throw with 1 if its tried again
Dash for more pressure- Since a forward dash is 23 frames for cyrax that means he is still +11 up close, so you just kind of are at his mercy here.
Throw out a bomb or net- Only if he wants to space you out or something. Neither guarantees anything and are easy to block/avoid
That is mostly it. If he times it right he can dash forward and command grab you again, but that isnt guaranteed and you can spin that.
Oki
Cyrax has very limited wakeup options:
Teleport: Can full combo punish
Bomb: Can blade charge if in range
Net: Can either block if up close and punish or jump over and blade charge
Ragdoll kick: Safe but also very little damage.
Buzzsaw: Is -10 so block it and you have free pressure.
Anti Air jump- Can Spin it on reaction, just make sure to input spin the direction you are facing(i.e df3 instead of db3) and it will autocorrect to spin the anti air everytime.
Wakeup game
It really depends on what the Cyrax player does. If he tries to net or bomb, blade charge will blow through it. Other than that you can roll back to get in midscreen range. If you get knocked down in the corner and they try the bomb trap, the spin will knock him away and you wont get hit by the bomb. More on that in corner section
In the corner
Cyrax really doesnt have options. He can't teleport out, he cant anti air out(see oki). His only option is his EX Ragdoll which will switch the position. However since it is not armored, as long as you dont leave holes in your corner game he can only hope to counterpoke. All strings work on hiws hitbox so you can bully him. The key here is to reset him every time. You do not want him to switch the position or possibly get out. Plus you need the damage when you can get it. Also, dont use meter in your corner game like EX slices. More on that later. Pretty much you just have to watch out for EX Ragdoll, or anti-air jump. Other than that you can pretty much do whatever you want.
When cornered
Cyrax has some dirty little tricks in the corner that you should be aware of. The first is his bomb trap. After a combo if he ends it in u4 and does a close bomb, you are forced to wakeup or get launched. However with Baraka you can just wakeup spin and you will avoid the bomb and get out of the trap. This "splat can also be achieved with the last hit of 2,1,2, Buzzsaw, njp and b2. B2 is the only one that with the bomb leaves him at +19, so at that point you want to spin and hope he blocks it to stay at neutral. Keep in mind that he does not have to bomb and could be at at least +28(a lot more for everything other than buzzsaw).
The best way to get out of the corner is to spin when he tries to do the bomb trap. You can go for a throw to switch up the position, but if you whiff you get 80% comboed.
Meter Usage
I am going to lay out one simple rule. DO NOT USE METER FOR ANYTHING BUT BREAKER. I break this rule all the time but really you shouldnt use meter for anything else. Unless an EX blade charge will win you the round/game after he throws a projectile. It is also good to study up his combos to know his unbreakerable ones and if it is worth it to break at certain times.
Meter Building
A max ranged blade charge cannot be punished by Cyrax. Just make sure not to whiff. If at fullscreen you can throw out sparks with no threat, until he gets smart and dashes under them. Of course slices pressure and resets when you can get them help too.
Anti Airing
Blade spin imo. Even if he does his anti-air jump, you can still spin it on reaction..
Keys to the matchup
Save meter for breaker
Keep him in blade charge range
Be very careful
Abuse his lack of wakeup options
Corner him
Do not get hit by nets
Do not whiff anything
Vs. Smoke
Beginning of the match
At the beginning of the match I usually dash forward to try and get in Smoke's face. More than likely the smoke will try and dash backwards, so it will even it up. Just make sure not to dash into a smoke bomb(That would be lulzworthy).
Fullscreen
The majority of this matchup will be chasing smoke down. Basically you never want to be fullscreen, because spark is useless and he can just throw smoke bombs at you. Do not be fullscreen, use dash blocking and dash walking accordingly. The best way to do this is to block a smoke bomb, then dash once or twice. Rinse and repeat.
At Midscreen
Blade charge is a good tool in this matchup. The key here is to be within blade charge range, because after a blocked smoke bomb you can punish with blade charge(It is -9 and blade charge is 10 frames. They can possibly block it but even if they do you still are in their face). Just make sure if they backdash you wont whiff, because if you do you are dead. Footsies may come in to play. Blade charge out ranges any of his normals, as does D4. He does have good pokes in d3, and of course any whiffed D4 is a free combo for him. You have to be very careful playing smoke, as one mistake can cost you a round.
String Breakdown
Sometimes Smoke may come at you with strings, you should know how to punish.
B23- An overhead that is very deadly. When this is blocked you DO NOT try and punish it. Many times smoke will smoke bomb after this string, so you should wait for him to do this and then punish with blade spin or a poke. He can also end with smoke away, but you can blade charge him out of it.
3d12- The main combo starter for Smoke. It is neutral on block and can also be ended with smoke bomb to get punishers. Your best bet after this is to either wait for smoke bomb and then punish, or back dash quickly and block again. You do not want to poke because if you do he can b23 to punish for full combo.
214- Smoke's fastest string. He can either end it with smoke away or smoke bomb. Either wait to punish smoke bomb or backdash. Poking is asking to be punished.
112- I dont think I have ever seen this string, but it is -17, so that is probably why. Punish it with b3 for full combo or whatever you want to.
D4- On hit they get a free blocked b23. Do not fall for the trap of trying to counterpoke with D4, because b23 will get you. Simply backdash, make them whiff, and punish with blade charge. Your D4 outranges theirs but it can be whiff punished.
D3- Very fast with good range. Only gives +3 advantage so do not freak out. Let him poke and backdash to whiff punish. Dont try to counterpoke.
B4- All you need to know is it is neutral. Just take the knockdown, if he tries to oki you can always blade charge or spin for a safer option(he will most likely just dash backwards).
F4- It is slow but it is safe on block(-2). Has a little bit of pushback. Best thing to do is backdash to get in blade charge range.
Spacing
Spacing is everything in this match. You want to be just at blade charge range, where all he can really do is smoke bomb(which does no chip). Smoke will try and space with b23 and other strings, but at blade charge range his strings will whiff and you can punish. His D4 or D3 are outranged by our D4, but it is super dangerous to poke Smoke.
Wakeup
Your main wakeup option is blade charge, especially if he tries to smoke away or backdash. Be careful that you do not whiff on wakeup. If he tries to pressure with strings you can spin as wakeup.
Oki
Smoke bomb is a fearsome wakeup. Smoke away has invincibility frames but you can wait till he appears again and blade charge to get back in his face or punish if he isnt blocking.
In the corner
This may sound crazy, but you DO NOT want to corner smoke in the usual sense. If you get in close to try and frametrap, he can EX smoke away. You want to keep him cornered staying at blade charge range. He is forced to make a move because smoke bomb does no chip, any pokes can be blade charged(they whiff), any smoke away is blade charged, any jump is blade charged etc.
Example(At 1:40, I screw it up but you get the gist):
If you do want to frametrap you will have to get creative(instead of 2,2 1+2 do 2,2 F44 to get them off guard).
When Cornered
EX blade charge can be used to some effect. If you think he will do a string into smoke bomb, an EX charge after the string will get you out. Spin can also be used to punish smoke bomb. The key is to not counterpoke or get caught in a reset.
Anti Airing
Spin can be used to anti air effectively as always. F44 can be used into F4 but will be beat by jumping kicks. To stop a crossover simply spin him.
Jumping and Crossovers
A really bad idea against Smoke. D1 and 2 are great AA for reset combos. Very very dangerous and should only ever be done if you have breaker and are feeling lucky.
Meter Usage
Breaker. Nothing else, ever. (I break this rule all the time, but really you should follow it). You will regret wasting any meter, trust me.
Building Meter
You build lots of meter in this MU. Blade charge will be used to get in and get blocked frequently. Slices pressure can be used sparingly. Sometimes spark is ok if it catches them off guard, if it doesnt parry isnt a huge deal.
Air Throw
Smoke has an air throw that you need to be familiar with:
A. All Air throws are untechable, which means you either stand up or wakeup attack.
B. Most combos are ended with air throw.
C. They will either whiff a teleport(Beaten by any wakeup), or get within b2 or d4 range. If they do this you can blade charge to keep them in check and get close. They also might smoke towards or crossover, spin beats both options.
Keys to the matchup
Save meter for breaker
Stay within blade charge range
Don't try and corner in usual fashion
Don't ever try and counterpoke
Get in close for slices pressure or other frametraps
Dont ever get hit(Seriously though, his resets are what make this 4-6)
At the beginning of the match I usually dash forward to try and get in Smoke's face. More than likely the smoke will try and dash backwards, so it will even it up. Just make sure not to dash into a smoke bomb(That would be lulzworthy).
Fullscreen
The majority of this matchup will be chasing smoke down. Basically you never want to be fullscreen, because spark is useless and he can just throw smoke bombs at you. Do not be fullscreen, use dash blocking and dash walking accordingly. The best way to do this is to block a smoke bomb, then dash once or twice. Rinse and repeat.
At Midscreen
Blade charge is a good tool in this matchup. The key here is to be within blade charge range, because after a blocked smoke bomb you can punish with blade charge(It is -9 and blade charge is 10 frames. They can possibly block it but even if they do you still are in their face). Just make sure if they backdash you wont whiff, because if you do you are dead. Footsies may come in to play. Blade charge out ranges any of his normals, as does D4. He does have good pokes in d3, and of course any whiffed D4 is a free combo for him. You have to be very careful playing smoke, as one mistake can cost you a round.
String Breakdown
Sometimes Smoke may come at you with strings, you should know how to punish.
B23- An overhead that is very deadly. When this is blocked you DO NOT try and punish it. Many times smoke will smoke bomb after this string, so you should wait for him to do this and then punish with blade spin or a poke. He can also end with smoke away, but you can blade charge him out of it.
3d12- The main combo starter for Smoke. It is neutral on block and can also be ended with smoke bomb to get punishers. Your best bet after this is to either wait for smoke bomb and then punish, or back dash quickly and block again. You do not want to poke because if you do he can b23 to punish for full combo.
214- Smoke's fastest string. He can either end it with smoke away or smoke bomb. Either wait to punish smoke bomb or backdash. Poking is asking to be punished.
112- I dont think I have ever seen this string, but it is -17, so that is probably why. Punish it with b3 for full combo or whatever you want to.
D4- On hit they get a free blocked b23. Do not fall for the trap of trying to counterpoke with D4, because b23 will get you. Simply backdash, make them whiff, and punish with blade charge. Your D4 outranges theirs but it can be whiff punished.
D3- Very fast with good range. Only gives +3 advantage so do not freak out. Let him poke and backdash to whiff punish. Dont try to counterpoke.
B4- All you need to know is it is neutral. Just take the knockdown, if he tries to oki you can always blade charge or spin for a safer option(he will most likely just dash backwards).
F4- It is slow but it is safe on block(-2). Has a little bit of pushback. Best thing to do is backdash to get in blade charge range.
Spacing
Spacing is everything in this match. You want to be just at blade charge range, where all he can really do is smoke bomb(which does no chip). Smoke will try and space with b23 and other strings, but at blade charge range his strings will whiff and you can punish. His D4 or D3 are outranged by our D4, but it is super dangerous to poke Smoke.
Wakeup
Your main wakeup option is blade charge, especially if he tries to smoke away or backdash. Be careful that you do not whiff on wakeup. If he tries to pressure with strings you can spin as wakeup.
Oki
Smoke bomb is a fearsome wakeup. Smoke away has invincibility frames but you can wait till he appears again and blade charge to get back in his face or punish if he isnt blocking.
In the corner
This may sound crazy, but you DO NOT want to corner smoke in the usual sense. If you get in close to try and frametrap, he can EX smoke away. You want to keep him cornered staying at blade charge range. He is forced to make a move because smoke bomb does no chip, any pokes can be blade charged(they whiff), any smoke away is blade charged, any jump is blade charged etc.
Example(At 1:40, I screw it up but you get the gist):
If you do want to frametrap you will have to get creative(instead of 2,2 1+2 do 2,2 F44 to get them off guard).
When Cornered
EX blade charge can be used to some effect. If you think he will do a string into smoke bomb, an EX charge after the string will get you out. Spin can also be used to punish smoke bomb. The key is to not counterpoke or get caught in a reset.
Anti Airing
Spin can be used to anti air effectively as always. F44 can be used into F4 but will be beat by jumping kicks. To stop a crossover simply spin him.
Jumping and Crossovers
A really bad idea against Smoke. D1 and 2 are great AA for reset combos. Very very dangerous and should only ever be done if you have breaker and are feeling lucky.
Meter Usage
Breaker. Nothing else, ever. (I break this rule all the time, but really you should follow it). You will regret wasting any meter, trust me.
Building Meter
You build lots of meter in this MU. Blade charge will be used to get in and get blocked frequently. Slices pressure can be used sparingly. Sometimes spark is ok if it catches them off guard, if it doesnt parry isnt a huge deal.
Air Throw
Smoke has an air throw that you need to be familiar with:
A. All Air throws are untechable, which means you either stand up or wakeup attack.
B. Most combos are ended with air throw.
C. They will either whiff a teleport(Beaten by any wakeup), or get within b2 or d4 range. If they do this you can blade charge to keep them in check and get close. They also might smoke towards or crossover, spin beats both options.
Keys to the matchup
Save meter for breaker
Stay within blade charge range
Don't try and corner in usual fashion
Don't ever try and counterpoke
Get in close for slices pressure or other frametraps
Dont ever get hit(Seriously though, his resets are what make this 4-6)
(joke)
