Espio
Kokomo
Purpose of this thread: I want people to learn the Cheetah match up and learn how to not get gimmicked and mixed without knowing their options versus her. She has good mix ups and will inevitably open you up at some point, but the more knowledge people have to prevent themselves from being put in positions they don't have to deal with the better.
There's been a lot of buzz about her and I see a lot of people arguing match up numbers for her while also stating they don't know the match up or don't know it well. Cheetah is not a character you're going to do well against unless you do know the match up. She is a character that is fairly decent, but due to match up unfamiliarity becomes a nightmare for many.
This guide will be a work in progress. Expect videos of interrupts and punish scenarios.
Back 1, 2, grab- The overhead is reactable and highly interruptible by essentially the entire cast for full combo. 6-8 frame normals/specials are ideal, but the window is fairly easy to do consistently.
MB Blood Lunge- Unblockable air command grab. This can be blown up with a neutral jump into full combo if read since it is -60 frames on whiff so the entire cast can do their best punish into whatever set up they'd like.
Predator pounce- This move is full combo punishable on block AND whiff so make sure to punish her hard for it.
3,3,2 starts with mid, low, overhead overhead and all parts if the string are negative so staggering it at any point is a check for you, don't over respect her. If she does the complete string, she is full combo punishable at -10 by a decent amount of the cast.
Down 3- minus 8 on block and mostly safe, but ends pressure. If spaced incorrectly, it is punishable by faster pokes around 6 frames.
Back 2, grab (back dash evades this grab option).
Back 1,1, down 3- The last hit of this string hits low and is safe on block with pushback, but it can be backdashed on the last hit.
Forward 2,3- Forward 2 is a two hit normal that is mid, low so remember to block it low otherwise she can put you in an over plus 30 restand scenario and you have to respect follow up mix ups. Forward 2,3 is minus 4 on block so you can gain your turn if you block it correctly.
1, 2 grab is an unblockable grab, you can jump out to check/punish.
1,1,2- while this is plus 6 on hit, nothing is guaranteed after since even her best ranged options whiff other than forward 3 which is 30 frames (which is not guaranteed either).
2,2 has a gap in the second hit of the string thus making it back dashable and back dash covers her two command grab options too so it's killing three birds with one stone if you really don't wanna guess.
Primal rage can actually be avoided on wake up with a properly timed neutral jump and since she is very minus on whiff you can approach and can get your full combo while taking zero chip damage from her wake up. Jump normals are also an option as well.
Savage ambush and primal rage are both full combo punishable so if you make a read on the command grab option, the recommended punish is with a fast standing normal into BNB of choice.
Other useful advice: If she does blood lunge into high hitting strings, challenge her and make her respect the fact that it's not an impossible to interrupt jailing option. Most Cheetah players will do 1,1,2 after landing a lunge into jump normal on block, make her have to think about it and make her be forced to mix it up.
Her only unreactable overhead starter on the ground is her savage ambush command grab at 14 frames so when it comes to strings, you can always just default to low block to start with and her strings that have overheads thrown in are either: unsafe on block as mentioned above or the overheads are reactable since the string has natural delay and is also likely to be unsafe.
If she cancels her strings into pounce, be on the look out for MB blood lunge as that and dive bomb are likely options to keep you on your toes.
In this video, you'll notice I get hit by the first back 1,2 (this is because I was testing a normal to see if it interrupted that doesn't). Sticking to your fast poke or standing normal punish is ideal.
Punishing her two command grab types
This is just a starting point and I am open to feedback or adding additional information that might be useful!
There's been a lot of buzz about her and I see a lot of people arguing match up numbers for her while also stating they don't know the match up or don't know it well. Cheetah is not a character you're going to do well against unless you do know the match up. She is a character that is fairly decent, but due to match up unfamiliarity becomes a nightmare for many.
This guide will be a work in progress. Expect videos of interrupts and punish scenarios.
Back 1, 2, grab- The overhead is reactable and highly interruptible by essentially the entire cast for full combo. 6-8 frame normals/specials are ideal, but the window is fairly easy to do consistently.
MB Blood Lunge- Unblockable air command grab. This can be blown up with a neutral jump into full combo if read since it is -60 frames on whiff so the entire cast can do their best punish into whatever set up they'd like.
Predator pounce- This move is full combo punishable on block AND whiff so make sure to punish her hard for it.
3,3,2 starts with mid, low, overhead overhead and all parts if the string are negative so staggering it at any point is a check for you, don't over respect her. If she does the complete string, she is full combo punishable at -10 by a decent amount of the cast.
Down 3- minus 8 on block and mostly safe, but ends pressure. If spaced incorrectly, it is punishable by faster pokes around 6 frames.
Back 2, grab (back dash evades this grab option).
Back 1,1, down 3- The last hit of this string hits low and is safe on block with pushback, but it can be backdashed on the last hit.
Forward 2,3- Forward 2 is a two hit normal that is mid, low so remember to block it low otherwise she can put you in an over plus 30 restand scenario and you have to respect follow up mix ups. Forward 2,3 is minus 4 on block so you can gain your turn if you block it correctly.
1, 2 grab is an unblockable grab, you can jump out to check/punish.
1,1,2- while this is plus 6 on hit, nothing is guaranteed after since even her best ranged options whiff other than forward 3 which is 30 frames (which is not guaranteed either).
2,2 has a gap in the second hit of the string thus making it back dashable and back dash covers her two command grab options too so it's killing three birds with one stone if you really don't wanna guess.
Primal rage can actually be avoided on wake up with a properly timed neutral jump and since she is very minus on whiff you can approach and can get your full combo while taking zero chip damage from her wake up. Jump normals are also an option as well.
Savage ambush and primal rage are both full combo punishable so if you make a read on the command grab option, the recommended punish is with a fast standing normal into BNB of choice.
Other useful advice: If she does blood lunge into high hitting strings, challenge her and make her respect the fact that it's not an impossible to interrupt jailing option. Most Cheetah players will do 1,1,2 after landing a lunge into jump normal on block, make her have to think about it and make her be forced to mix it up.
Her only unreactable overhead starter on the ground is her savage ambush command grab at 14 frames so when it comes to strings, you can always just default to low block to start with and her strings that have overheads thrown in are either: unsafe on block as mentioned above or the overheads are reactable since the string has natural delay and is also likely to be unsafe.
If she cancels her strings into pounce, be on the look out for MB blood lunge as that and dive bomb are likely options to keep you on your toes.
In this video, you'll notice I get hit by the first back 1,2 (this is because I was testing a normal to see if it interrupted that doesn't). Sticking to your fast poke or standing normal punish is ideal.
Punishing her two command grab types
This is just a starting point and I am open to feedback or adding additional information that might be useful!
Last edited:
