Vs. Kabal (3-7)
General Strategy:
Your number one goal in this matchup will be to push Kabal into the corner, and keep him there by any means.
Why? - Kabal is the master of all trades in this game. He can kill you with superior zoning. He can kill with excellent spacing tools with Nomad Dash, F+4, F+3, etc. Or he can kill up close with his incredibly scary rushdown. Pitting him in the corner limits his options to two choices: jumping out, or spending meter to get out.
How? - The most common way of achieving this is by properly spaced Blade Charges. Kabal has no way of punishing Blade Charges if done from mid to max-range. On top of that, Blade Charges beat out iAGBs (instant air Gas Blasts) if they aren't done at their lowest point. Try to refrain from using meter for EX Blade Charge unless you know the Kabal player is very close to the corner, especially if you are full screen. The reason is because there is a possibility of your EX Blade Charge whiffing.
What do you do once Kabal is cornered? - Establish ground control with footsies, using D+3, D+4, F+44 and 4~Slices as your primary tools. If the Kabal player attempts a jump-in, punish with a Spin, or step back and B31. Your main goal is to get a reset in the corner and then maintain the pressure. Kabal's fastest normal, D+3 is 7 frames. Baraka's D+3 is 6. Use this to your advantage and pressure with D+3s after frame traps to keep him honest about poking you, and F+44s to keep him from jumping. As soon as Kabal has meter, he will attempt an EX Dash to escape, so always be wary of his meter. Also, NEVER do a cross up jump when you have Kabal cornered, I can't stress that enough. If you do you give him an opportunity to escape, or even worse, corner you.
*Stray from using Spin at the end of block strings while Kabal is cornered as you will always get the unsafe version.
Match Start:
At the start of the round, most Kabal players will start zoning with iAGBs. The reason is because it is the safest way to start off a round, and covers a lot of possibilities. If you walk back, you have to block, if you jump forward/back/neutral, you get hit and lose 30%. The other less common possibility is the Kabal player will attempt to start pressure with D+3 or D+4, and go into NDC strings. The best way to counter either strategy is by walking or dashing back, and Blade Charge/EX Blade Charge as soon as you see the Kabal player hit a button. This covers about every scenario, even if the Kabal player jumps in, or walks back himself, Blade Charge is your best option. It'll give you the meter bonus, first knockdown, and will most likely encourage the Kabal player to start zoning, and backing himself into the corner.
Mid-screen Footsies and Zoning:
The very first rule against fighting Kabal is NEVER NEVER NEVER jump at him. Unless you know for a fact you can get him with a cross-up, jumping in is always a bad idea. Even with a cross-up, you need to make sure you do it when has has no meter because EX Dash will eat your cross-up attempt.
Your biggest asset midscreen will be Blade Charge. It forces the Kabal player to have to commit to zoning, or jumping in and attempting to pressure. Punish any iAGBs and whiffed normals with Blade Charge. Once the Kabal player begins respecting BC and blocking, use D+4, or 21~Slices to get in, and begin your pressure.
Once you begin your pressure, remember that you have advantage after everything that ends in neutral due to your 6-frame D+3, so use it as much as possible. If they attempt to cross-up to beat your D+3, Spin instead, njp or D+4.
Up-close:
Kabal up-close can be a nightmare, especially for Baraka since he has a large hitbox. What this means is any of Kabal's NDC strings will hit even if you're crouch blocking. If you're fighting against any high level Kabal player, you need to familiarize yourself with what you can and can't escape since Kabal's block advantage differs depending on the string he NDC'd from. Here's a list of the advantage Kabal gets from his NDC pressure strings:
1,1,1 - +8 (+13)
1,1,B+4 - +1 (+6)
2 - +9 (+14)
2,1 - +1 (+6)
3 - +3 (+8)
D+4 - -2 (+3)
B+1 - +1 (+6)
B+1,2 - +2 (+7)
F+3 - 0 (+5)
F+3,2 - +2 (+7)
F+4 - -5 (0)
*the number in parentheses is the advantage if cancelled into EX Nomad Dash.
What this means is any string that is +1 or less, Baraka can D+3 out of (unless Kabal is P1 side in which case he will win the trades) without fear of getting hit. Kabal's fastest normals to go into NDC are 9 frames (his 2 and F+4), so keep this in mind as well. Your best bet of getting out of this pressure is always EX Blade Charge, but if you don't have, or want to spend the meter, get yourself accustomed to what you can and cannot poke out of.
Full-screen Zoning:
Kabal's zoning is impeccable, so attempting to counter zone with Baraka is impossible. Blade Spark will almost never trade with iAGB because Kabal will land and be able to block in time while you eat a fireball to the face. Using Blade Charge to close distance isn't a good idea either because you'll either eat a Gas Blast while you recover, or a Ground Saw. Your best bet to get in is to dash crouch-block until you get into jumping range. At that point you have to attempt to read your opponent: if you think they'll iAGB, you Blade Charge (or close more distance and attempt an AA D+4). If you guess Ground Saw, you jump. It really depends on what your opponent is doing, and it's a major reason why it is such a difficult matchup. You have to begin your offense on a guess. Most if the time, the safer bet is to Blade Charge because the worst that could happen is you eat a Ground Saw.
Meter-building and usage:
Building meter in this matchup is very, very tough. Blade Spark isn't an option, and Blade Charge only does so much. So how do you build that all important yellowy goodness? The best way is once you get your pressure going, use inescapable frame traps that lead into Slices. For example, if you hit Kabal with a D+4, you can B+32~Slices to build nearly an entire bar, and your left in his face at neutral. His only way to escape would be to jump away, or use meter. Or if you've trained the Kabal to block after 221+2, you could tack on 4~Slices, to build an entire bar.
Keys to the Matchup:
*Always keep an eye on Kabal's meter. He can EX Dash through any of your frame traps, so always keep that in mind, and block (after a blocked 221+2 for example) every so often when they have a bar in an attempt to bait it out.
*Maximize your damage with every opportunity you get when you get inside, and ALWAYS end with a reset.
*Punish hard, and often. This means always punish a blocked dash with your B31 BnB into reset, as well as punishing every iAGB with Blade Charge if you're in range.
*Learn to fuzzy guard his strings, as he can always end them in Saw or Hookswords (Low, then High). Both moves are negative on block. Anytime Kabal is at disadvantage, pressure with D+3 or D+4 into your pressure strings.
*Never give up a jump-in. Self explanatory.
*Familiarize yourself with any zoning patterns, and punish accordingly.
*Be wary of overusing D+4 as Kabal's F+4 will stuff it.
*Kabal has a medium hitbox, so don't use D+1~Slices as it'll whiff and can be punished.
*B31 is punishable by full combo on block. Use it only as a punish.
*Never use Blade Spark if Kabal has meter, as he can punish with EX Dash from full screen.
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