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D'vorah strategy, game plan, some kombo's

Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
To begin with one great thing about D'vorah is her first tournament variation works well (for me) in both competitive play and custom variant play.

D'vorah places low in the tier lists because she is 1. Difficult to make safe without the use of meter. 2. Doesn't get a normal guaranteed off of a poke. 3. Struggles with zoning playstyles. 4. Doesn't have a jump in that crosses up unless you delay it super late. 5. Doesn't have a mid aside from her db4 ovipositor rush which you need a bar to make safe. 5. Few of her combo strings completely whiff on block leaving you punishable.

I feel like the problems are with the character fundamentally (normals, pokes, jump ins) and not as much her specials. Her specials are actually quite great. My only problem being with her ex db1 mid launcher being -36 I believe.

Now that I have highlighted her problems, I'm going to give some good information on working around those problems and making the character work. Not here to complain or ask for buffs.

General gameplan:
Firstly you need to realize that off of a d1 you get a throw attempt, another poke, or a db4 special guaranteed. Anything else is gimmicky but to make her work you may have to play that way. I try to condition with pokes into db4 to get them actually respecting and then you can start going for high starters like her 8 frame s1 or her 15 frame f1. As far as ending things off safe with db4 ex I have little ghetto mix up that works on people. You can sometimes manage to get away with being safe off of db4 without meterburning because the opponent is fearful of the meterburned extended part. Against people with slower reactions and are maybe more respective you can actually manage to get a poke. After the meterburned version you are -3 so you're free to poke or block. Learn to cancel db1 into her ovipositors because this can catch a ton of people and the ovipostors can provide enough hitstun for a throw, a quick mixup, or more of her stagger game involving d1's, d1's into her db4 , f1, f13, s4, s44, s1 and finally s12. I feel like staggering anything else is too negative and not worth it. SOMETIMES, I can manage to stagger f2 into d4 but only at max range. I would then cancel her d4 into strepsiptera for mixups, more pressure, etc. When in the mid range realize her ji1 is absurd so using that is one of her most deadly tools and can lead into full combo into strepsiptera set up. I almost always end combos off with strepsiptera and not df2 because I prefer the oki pressure with the bug then the slight increase in damage. As far as zoning goes it is really hard to do but I try and put out strepsiptera to protect myself especially against teleport characters. Then, i throw out bf1's like crazy while slowly edging my way in. Sometimes I throw out the meterburned air bugs to stress my opponent in neutral to make getting in easier. I wouldn't do this too much though because it takes forever to recover from it and can leave you open. Try jumping over a projectile and setting it up so you have a bit more time to be safe and return to throwing out bf1's and moving in. f22 d1+3 is key to getting in if the string works against the character you're fighting. If it does work f22 d1+3 can actually be special canceled on block into anything, preferably db4. Boom you're in.

I think I covered a majority of it, may have left some stuff out. I apologize for it being an extensive conglomerate mess of a paragraph but I'm in class and rushing before it is over to get my knowledge out there. (lol)

As far as combo's go I'm 100% sure there are plenty more but these are what I do that are the most optimal. I never go for 2 bar combo's because they aren't worth it and you need your meter.

Easy midscreen: F13xDB1mb f13x either df3 or df2 your preference.
Easy Corner: F13xDB1Bmb s1 d1 s12 either df3 or df2
Hard Midscreen: F13xDB1mb dash s1 f13x either df3 or df2
Hard Corner: F13xDB1Bmb s2 d1 either df3 or df2
Easy midscreen side switch: F13xDB1mb B34
Hard Midscreen side switch: F13xDB1mb dash s1 B34
Hard Midscreen side switch: F13xDB1mb dash s1 dash s121+3

Fatal Blow (Midscreen) F13xDB1mb dash s1 dash s4 FATAL BLOW
Fatal Blow (Corner) F13xDB1Bmb s2 d1 d1 s4 FATAL BLOW
Fatal Blow (Midscreen, Hard) F13xDB1mb dash s1 dash s1 dash s4 FATAL BLOW (you have to cancel the dashes pretty early).

She has some weird combos you'll get rarely with bug setups but I don't have time to get them down. (They're on YouTube all over D'vorah combo guides if you're interested.)

This is what I have to give about D'vorah. Comment and tell me something! I'm sure I left things out. My gamertag on Xbox is Iconic Horror if you want to see some gameplay or experience it.
 

Ck AeroVoid

Mk Casual, KI God
I will def add you tonight!
main is the same as what is pointed at ;)
<-------------------
also I haven't played her much yet, but she seems more fun than X
 
Good stuff here man. Main thing is definitely her mind game of d1 xdb4. Sad that this is really her only conditioning tool. I would add that after conditioning f22 xdb4 and f22d1+3 you can do f22 x df2 to become -9 instead of -15 - this does 2 things besides shortening your recovery and block advantage. 1) Removes flawless block gap on the 1+3 part 2) Allows you to steal a turn off if they are waiting for a db4 cancel.

21 is a great pokewar ender, if you get a chance to back out the range of their d1 range, do a slight step back then enter 21222 or stagger 21. The s2 does not move her hitbox and kind of pulls her back then the 1 lunges forward with a hitbox from her spit as a mid that will usually catch poke spammers.

You can combo off any EX Strep with f22d1+3 corner or midscreen (if atleast 2 bugs hit)

Bf4 may be an underrated restand at +4 on hit you can do a couple of things. D4 xEXDB3 for pressure - d4 catches jump back/forward/neutral. You can step up and throw. After conditioning with that you can step back and whiff punish pokes/d2s for a full combo
 

Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
Good stuff here man. Main thing is definitely her mind game of d1 xdb4. Sad that this is really her only conditioning tool. I would add that after conditioning f22 xdb4 and f22d1+3 you can do f22 x df2 to become -9 instead of -15 - this does 2 things besides shortening your recovery and block advantage. 1) Removes flawless block gap on the 1+3 part 2) Allows you to steal a turn off if they are waiting for a db4 cancel.

21 is a great pokewar ender, if you get a chance to back out the range of their d1 range, do a slight step back then enter 21222 or stagger 21. The s2 does not move her hitbox and kind of pulls her back then the 1 lunges forward with a hitbox from her spit as a mid that will usually catch poke spammers.

You can combo off any EX Strep with f22d1+3 corner or midscreen (if atleast 2 bugs hit)

Bf4 may be an underrated restand at +4 on hit you can do a couple of things. D4 xEXDB3 for pressure - d4 catches jump back/forward/neutral. You can step up and throw. After conditioning with that you can step back and whiff punish pokes/d2s for a full combo
Thank you!
It's nice that you pointed out canceling into df2 off of certain block strings because I just thought of that yesterday and started doing it. It is definitely useful for stealing turns or at least making yourself (relatively) safe.
I never actually use the bf4 restand because I disregarded it since it's only +4. It seems d4 into strep is one of her main tools in neutral as well.
 
This is a great post, thank you. I really want to give her a go (I'm a fairly casual player with limited time) but so many people are down on her, it's discouraging.

Have you tried making the 2nd variation work at all? I really like that cocoon teleport move so it would be interesting to play around with it.
 

Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
This is a great post, thank you. I really want to give her a go (I'm a fairly casual player with limited time) but so many people are down on her, it's discouraging.

Have you tried making the 2nd variation work at all? I really like that cocoon teleport move so it would be interesting to play around with it.
Thank you for the support! Ignore the downplay and try not to let it discourage you, while she is definitely difficult to make work, but that just makes her 3X more fun to play. I looked at her second variation, I believe the teleport could be really great for getting around zoning if you have the reads in you but I feel Strepsiptera and the fun setups and fear you can put in your opponent is almost invaluable.

If you're a casual player and want to play with custom made variations, try strepsiptera and widow's kiss together. Then you get the cocoon move and the invaluable setups and respect from strepsiptera. :D
 
Thank you for the support! Ignore the downplay and try not to let it discourage you, while she is definitely difficult to make work, but that just makes her 3X more fun to play. I looked at her second variation, I believe the teleport could be really great for getting around zoning if you have the reads in you but I feel Strepsiptera and the fun setups and fear you can put in your opponent is almost invaluable.

If you're a casual player and want to play with custom made variations, try strepsiptera and widow's kiss together. Then you get the cocoon move and the invaluable setups and respect from strepsiptera. :D
I definitely don't want to be. I'm working on getting over online anxiety and this game has been therapy for me. I've never been able to play online as much as this game, which is great. I'll stick to the first variation and you advise and see where we get. I definitely like the game plan and her aesthetic. At my pace, it would be a long time before I would have to concern myself with tiers and so on anyway. Thanks!
 

MuMuGuy

Noob
Have you tried making the 2nd variation work at all? I really like that cocoon teleport move so it would be interesting to play around with it.
I use Arachnophobia. Widow’s Kiss (aka. Cocoon Teleport) is her only real anti-zoning tool, but it’s slow to start and she can be hit out of it. When it lands, it does decent damage meterless or can be EX’d for the capture, allowing set-ups or an easy combo, which is heavily scaled sadly.

My favorite part of the Variation is Deadly Swarm. Fireflies can put a wasp on the opponent that stays until used by Deadly Swarm or a Fatal Blow hits. Up to 5 wasps can be attached, with each doing 30 unavoidable damage when one uses Deadly Swarm. The threat of 150 unavoidable damage can make people play sloppily and panic as they lose HP, with many tending to panic mash FB.

Early in matches, I try to spend my full Off. Meter to do EX Widow’s Kiss and then do EX Swarm while the opponent is trapped in the cocoon since EX Swarm instantly stacks 5 wasps. EX Widow’s Kiss can only be combo’d into from f22 or 4 (or a read on a jump).
 
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Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
I use Arachnophobia. Widow’s Kiss (aka. Cocoon Teleport) is her only real anti-zoning tool, but it’s slow to start and she can be hit out of it. When it lands, it does decent damage meterless or can be EX’d for the capture, allowing set-ups or an easy combo, which is heavily scaled sadly.

My favorite part of the Variation is Deadly Swarm. Fireflies can put a wasp on the opponent that stays until used by Deadly Swarm or a Fatal Blow hits. Up to 5 wasps can be attached, with each doing 30 unavoidable damage when one uses Deadly Swarm. The threat of 150 unavoidable damage can make people play sloppily and panic as they lose HP, with many tending to panic mash FB.

Early in matches, I try to spend my full Off. Meter to do EX Widow’s Kiss and then do EX Swarm while the opponent is trapped in the cocoon since EX Swarm instantly stacks 5 wasps. EX Widow’s Kiss can only be combo’d into from f22 or 3 (or a read on a jump).
nice unique way to go about using her!!
 
I use Arachnophobia. Widow’s Kiss (aka. Cocoon Teleport) is her only real anti-zoning tool, but it’s slow to start and she can be hit out of it. When it lands, it does decent damage meterless or can be EX’d for the capture, allowing set-ups or an easy combo, which is heavily scaled sadly.

My favorite part of the Variation is Deadly Swarm. Fireflies can put a wasp on the opponent that stays until used by Deadly Swarm or a Fatal Blow hits. Up to 5 wasps can be attached, with each doing 30 unavoidable damage when one uses Deadly Swarm. The threat of 150 unavoidable damage can make people play sloppily and panic as they lose HP, with many tending to panic mash FB.

Early in matches, I try to spend my full Off. Meter to do EX Widow’s Kiss and then do EX Swarm while the opponent is trapped in the cocoon since EX Swarm instantly stacks 5 wasps. EX Widow’s Kiss can only be combo’d into from f22 or 3 (or a read on a jump).
Interesting. See that swarm skill is what I was looking at as well. It's almost guaranteed damage at one point or another. Seems like a pretty cool skill. I will have to sort through some of the early youtube videos for combos but most of those guys don't even bother posting inputs.

Edit: it looks like you can get some crazy damage for fun from that 2nd variation if someone jumps in?
 

Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
Interesting. See that swarm skill is what I was looking at as well. It's almost guaranteed damage at one point or another. Seems like a pretty cool skill. I will have to sort through some of the early youtube videos for combos but most of those guys don't even bother posting inputs..
I really like the swarm move, I wanted it but 1. I just can't give up strepsiptera, probably her best special IMO 2. The move that gives extended combo strings gives her a useful krushing blow/side switcher, and an overhead string that is really useful in the matchups it doesn't whiff in. 3. That air bug move is what I would replace the swarm with if I could but even it has its uses. Once you have enough craziness going with strep and the puddle you can set it up for even more craziness. MK REO has a video on youtube of a KOTH he played using D'vorah and he really switches it up a lot and uses the air bug well.
 

Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
^^^Actually, I think anyone viewing this should check out MK REO's video of a koth he used D'vorah in. I remember specifically one of the first matches he fought Lion and when he got him to the corner he cycled through using Strep, the puddle, and air bugs to keep insane pressure going and it really had him locked down.
 

Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
Another good YT video for reference is Dark Lord's compilation of combo's, setups, and more for the bug lady.
 
For anyone interested, REO, Michaelangelo and a few others were playing KOTH last night and had a whole discussion on D'vorah. They are good players and I like REO's outlook on characters/tiers in general. Also worthwhile to watch and see how he played her vs how "experiences" players reacted to her setups. I guess those videos aren't accessible without subscribing but worth a watch on his Twitch if you can get to them.

TLDR play who you like, and she's probably a bit better than people give her credit.
 
Yeah imo reo plays dvorah better than bee and this guy Wavy plays her better than both of them. I've been studying his gameplay since way before honeybee ran into him and posted a video. He has a YT channel with like 4 matches. 1 with a win vs kitana prime!

I agree though reo has the best outlook on characters and where they stand currently and he digs into their potential. Seeing as how I've always been a 1-2 character player, I dedicated my first character to learn the ins and outs of, to be dvorah and Reo and the Wavy dude gave me the best hope to just grind it out lol. I don't care about tiers that much (mained cheetah in I2 and cyber sub zero in mkx) so I'll be a low tier and fun over high tier and basic/uncreative
 
Dark lords combos are extremely hard to hit online lol alot of dash cancel or specific micro steps that he doesn't explain or notate lol
If you are interested, I took his videos and wrote down/figured out all the inputs. I am still testing them all to figure out where to dash but I can post the notations if you guys want. They are similar to what we saw in this thread but specifically, I did get the Fatal combos for 700+ damage. Very situational but insane damage. However these would only be for the WIdow's Kiss variation as the other variation setups are even harder to note. THere's a lot o them too.
 
Yeah imo reo plays dvorah better than bee and this guy Wavy plays her better than both of them. I've been studying his gameplay since way before honeybee ran into him and posted a video. He has a YT channel with like 4 matches. 1 with a win vs kitana prime!
Can you please link his Youtube? I cant seem to find it.
 
If you are interested, I took his videos and wrote down/figured out all the inputs. I am still testing them all to figure out where to dash but I can post the notations if you guys want. They are similar to what we saw in this thread but specifically, I did get the Fatal combos for 700+ damage. Very situational but insane damage. However these would only be for the WIdow's Kiss variation as the other variation setups are even harder to note. THere's a lot o them too.
Hell yeah. But im mainly interested in the ones that are more viable and doable in a match
 

Iconic Horror

Behold The Kingdom Of The Wretched Undying
Dark lords combos are extremely hard to hit online lol alot of dash cancel or specific micro steps that he doesn't explain or notate lol
they are indeed difficult. i don’t really use his kombos as much as i use his video to help me come up with new ideas and things to do