Even if you manage to deal with this, he still has the 1,1 / 1,1,b3 xx special or just plain 1,1,b3. If you predict 1,1,b3 special cancel and use armor that has slower start-up than 9 frames and EB doesn't special cancel, you get full combo punished. I can normal upbball through 1,1,b3 xx mb sand grenade and 1,1,b3, but the command grab will catch me (Yeah I know I can punish the grab on a read). Not only that, EB can just do 1,1 and leave himself at +2 and that move recovers as fast as pre-patch Kano vanilla b1. EB can look how I block and use the hesitation caused by not doing the last hit of the string to either do his unseaable b3/f1-mix-up or just command grab again, or whatever he wants. b3,2 xx ex sand grenade can't be armored through if I remember correctly.
Why does this character need to have all these options? If all the hits of the 2-series were unsafe on block then it would be fair, right now it's just free safe chip or at least KND when someone at least doesn't block the last hit... or an almost guaranteed tic throw. His strings will catch backdashes, the f1-series, a tool that's supposed to be a mix-up tool but oh wait he can use it as a footsie tool as well, even without a read he can catch me if I try to backdash after blocking ex sand grenade.
Like what are my options to defend against this character? I still have to beat him in footsies, if I don't and get knocked down my defensive options are reduced to armor and hope for the best. I have to assert my own 50/50 coin flip game to beat him. Getting a correct hard read on this character is damn near impossible due to the amount of options he has.
Ex sand grenade is the real problem though, it should be negative on block and terminate his momentum. Lol what other character in the game has a launcher that's advantage on block?
