Can anyone explain the pros to Dragon Fangs compared to the other variations and what matchups are preferable for DF? I'm not very knowledgeable on that variation.
This was in the general thread and sort of already answered, but since I've been playing a lot of DF lately and I'm getting that warm tingly sensation you get when you learn a new character and want to evangelise, I guess I'll post this here.
Dragon Fang
Notable attributes
- Fang Spin has shorter range than punch walk and only has 1 hit of armour, but does more chip, is only -3 on block, and has a better hit box against airborne opponents. Ex Fang Spin is Goro's best anti-air and a great move to throw out if you think they're going to jump away.
Part of the learning curve of DF is understanding when's the best time to PW and to FS.
- D1 has extra range and a
disjointed hitbox. It has the same range as Johnny Cage's d4. Add in the fact that it has some very good specials to follow up with and you have one of the best pokes in the entire game. d1xx Fang Spin; d1xxPW and d1, Shokan Stab are all great to throw out on defense and can be used sparingly on offense for chip pressure and meter building (d1xx Fang Spin and d1xx PW are not block strings, but if you alternate them with d1,Block, its tough for the opponent to reaction armour through them, making them still solid on offense). However, note that D1 still has less range than Goro's d4.
Part of the learning curve of DF is knowing how to use D1 to out prioritise the opponent's ground buttons and when to buffer into a special.
Once you learn that, then you gotta learn how not to
over rely on down 1 because its still just a poke- its good for stuffing the opponent's buttons but can't optimally punish negative on block moves because it doesn't start combos.
- B12, 11 and 121 have extra range. This makes certain punishes easier than in Goro's other variations.
- NJP has more range and a slightly disjointed hitbox. Always nice for defense.
- Low Fang is a 14 frame low that has
slightly more range than f3. Its also not too bad on whiff with only 21 recovery frames. Although the frame data says its -8 on block, its actually less than that if you hit at the tip of the claw. Fully spaced out, its around -6- Reptile's elbow dash and Lao's Spins can't punish it but Reptile's Ex Slide will always be able to punish it. Ex Low Fang has a really long armour window. If you meaty an opponent and he does a 1 hit wake up attack, there's a good chance you'll have armoured his wake up attack (and probably recovered faster to boot).
- Shokan Stabs has 2% more damage but slightly worse oki than Shokan Grab because its less + on hit. But this isn't really a big problem, because you can follow up with- Dash-run,f4 / Dash-run, Low Fang / Dash-run, Ex Low Fang / Dash-run, PW / Dash-run Ex PW. Between them they cover all(?) the opponent's wake up options and have a 50/50 embedded.
Pros:
- Best defense amongst all three variations. No questions.
- Best footsies or second best amongst all three variations thanks to the power of a disjointed hitbox on d1. KW is still the king of whiff punishing with Chest lunge.
- Best chip pressure, thanks to Fang Spin.
- Strong oki due to Ex Fang Low having armour and being +12 on block.
- Decent far range mix up due to Fang Low and f4 being a 50/50.
Cons:
- Worst screen control. This is pretty much why few players main DF- KW has ground pound / Chest lunge and TF has strong fireballs. DF has to takes risks to get in with stomp/dash/jump. Fireball can counter zone some characters, but won't win you games.
- No risk free pressure- everything you do with DF on pressure can be countered. The good news is that DF still has good odds as long as you remain unpredictable. Don't get stuck with the same 1 or 2 pressure approaches.
Match ups:
I'm unsure what are his bad/worst match ups. But one thing is almost for sure- DF is Goro's best variation against Scorpion, because the other variations still have a tough time against his j3 and air teleport.