KH StarCharger
Kombatant
Before I start with the Pros and Cons Let's just start with an overview of Ms. Kyle. This character is an outright menace in the right hands. She's difficult to master but once anyone gets her tools down, they can cause any character hell. She relies on her powerful frame traps and her ground game to just gash her opponents to shreds once she finds an opening. However, there are certain aspects of her game that can leave her pretty wide open as well. Some of which are outside of her control at the moment. So for anyone wanting to learn the kitty cat, keep these advantages and disadvantages in mind.
Pros:
1) She has an i6 punishing normal that can lead to big damage
2) Her hitbox is fairly low compared to the rest of the cast and she can work wonders with that .
3) Outstanding combos that can led to either big damage or wicked mixups.
4) Four strings that leave her a plus advantage that can range from +1 to +3
5) Unbelievably good Oki game off of a hard knockdown
6) Sustainable vortex pressure when she gets an opponent in the corner (thanks to the phantom crossups)
7) A low hard knockdown normal (whip trip DF3) that reaches 3/4 of the screen
8) Her trait can be a fully invincible wake up reversal
9) Second to none overhead to low game to keep people guessing
10) Safe mid hitting special move in her cat claws
11) Cat Dash can cover full screen with meter burn and has a hit of armor to it.
12) Jumping 2 can really control some space both in air and on the ground for her and is a primary tool of hers for getting in while in the air.
13) Unclashable F3 and B3's when she uses her combos leads to both big damage and untechable setups for vortex pressure without having to spend meter. (if you didn't have to spend it already with an armored overhead or stage transit)
That's a good list of positives and with what comes next, she needs every ounce of them to make up for this:
Cons:
1) Unlike most of the cast, her stage transit and her F3 don't leave her at advantage on block
2) Her playstyle can force people to play very unpatiently against zoners
3) Some of her most reliable followups from a jumping 1 (such as b2, b1, st1, etc.) can be stuffed with d1's
4) She has no way of getting damage on an opponent from full screen without having to use her meter for a cat dash which is full combo punishable on block and can only absorb one hits for a limited time.
5) Below average movement and very floaty jump arc makes her easy to anti air or keep at bay for some characters
6) Vortex pressure can be sustained at midscreen mainly by using meter; a resource that CW has a hard time building since she has no projectile or long distance attack as mentioned in con #4.
7) Her anti airs are very poor due to the poor starting time and or priority of her D2 (14 frames), St3 (13 frames), and her anti air whip (15 frames).
8) Her Evade is too slow to really be used effectively and her low evade's command (even with good practice) is tough to implement in combat. What's worse is that there is no really big gain in meter by using it even on an evaded projectile.
9) Her cat stance can be poked out of during a block string if one get's predictable in their use of it during a block string.
10) Start up times on her specials in general holds her back in many respects if one wants to react to a certain move.
11) Outside of using it as a reversal, her trait is fairly pathetic in in it's uses since it can be pushblocked (if you want to go for chip), can be clashed, and it doesn't enhance her overall game play in a gamebreaking way at all.
From a distance, the cons seem to make her look like a character that isn't much to fear. Although, when you take a look at how her pros compliment her cons and vice versa, the only way to know is to use the character personally and find out how she is for yourself. Overall, she is very time consuming to learn all of the ins and outs and her strings commands take some getting used to, but she is extremely rewarding to play with once all of those basics have been practiced and mastered. With the game being out for all of a month thus far, much more tech has yet to be discovered, but considering how far the community has come with CW, I believe the best is yet to come. So overall analysis, yes she is a good character and yes she is a character that can be self reliant at tournaments. Just remember this for any matchup: All she needs is ONE hard knockdown and the rest will fall into place. Let me know what ya'll think of this list and feel free to add to it.
Pros:
1) She has an i6 punishing normal that can lead to big damage
2) Her hitbox is fairly low compared to the rest of the cast and she can work wonders with that .
3) Outstanding combos that can led to either big damage or wicked mixups.
4) Four strings that leave her a plus advantage that can range from +1 to +3
5) Unbelievably good Oki game off of a hard knockdown
6) Sustainable vortex pressure when she gets an opponent in the corner (thanks to the phantom crossups)
7) A low hard knockdown normal (whip trip DF3) that reaches 3/4 of the screen
8) Her trait can be a fully invincible wake up reversal
9) Second to none overhead to low game to keep people guessing
10) Safe mid hitting special move in her cat claws
11) Cat Dash can cover full screen with meter burn and has a hit of armor to it.
12) Jumping 2 can really control some space both in air and on the ground for her and is a primary tool of hers for getting in while in the air.
13) Unclashable F3 and B3's when she uses her combos leads to both big damage and untechable setups for vortex pressure without having to spend meter. (if you didn't have to spend it already with an armored overhead or stage transit)
That's a good list of positives and with what comes next, she needs every ounce of them to make up for this:
Cons:
1) Unlike most of the cast, her stage transit and her F3 don't leave her at advantage on block
2) Her playstyle can force people to play very unpatiently against zoners
3) Some of her most reliable followups from a jumping 1 (such as b2, b1, st1, etc.) can be stuffed with d1's
4) She has no way of getting damage on an opponent from full screen without having to use her meter for a cat dash which is full combo punishable on block and can only absorb one hits for a limited time.
5) Below average movement and very floaty jump arc makes her easy to anti air or keep at bay for some characters
6) Vortex pressure can be sustained at midscreen mainly by using meter; a resource that CW has a hard time building since she has no projectile or long distance attack as mentioned in con #4.
7) Her anti airs are very poor due to the poor starting time and or priority of her D2 (14 frames), St3 (13 frames), and her anti air whip (15 frames).
8) Her Evade is too slow to really be used effectively and her low evade's command (even with good practice) is tough to implement in combat. What's worse is that there is no really big gain in meter by using it even on an evaded projectile.
9) Her cat stance can be poked out of during a block string if one get's predictable in their use of it during a block string.
10) Start up times on her specials in general holds her back in many respects if one wants to react to a certain move.
11) Outside of using it as a reversal, her trait is fairly pathetic in in it's uses since it can be pushblocked (if you want to go for chip), can be clashed, and it doesn't enhance her overall game play in a gamebreaking way at all.
From a distance, the cons seem to make her look like a character that isn't much to fear. Although, when you take a look at how her pros compliment her cons and vice versa, the only way to know is to use the character personally and find out how she is for yourself. Overall, she is very time consuming to learn all of the ins and outs and her strings commands take some getting used to, but she is extremely rewarding to play with once all of those basics have been practiced and mastered. With the game being out for all of a month thus far, much more tech has yet to be discovered, but considering how far the community has come with CW, I believe the best is yet to come. So overall analysis, yes she is a good character and yes she is a character that can be self reliant at tournaments. Just remember this for any matchup: All she needs is ONE hard knockdown and the rest will fall into place. Let me know what ya'll think of this list and feel free to add to it.
