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GOTCHA! - The Jax Match-Up Thread

You can deal chip damage from a distance, he can't(EX Energy Wave hits crouchers by the way). Both of you can build meter, but if you have enough meter for an EX Dash Punch, he should be afraid to fire projectiles at you. As long as you are ducking under his projectiles and not blocking them, you should be building meter more quickly than him, even if he fires projectiles as fast as he can (duck, grab, grab, duck, grab, grab...). If he's letting you get full meter, gladly accept it; that's three 17% damage EX Dash Punches that get you through any clones/balls/melees/etc. (won't beat his X-Ray) and allow you to continue pressure. Perhaps you could even X-Ray him to finish him off if you're close enough to each other and he does something slow.

As long as you have the life lead, he has to come to you because he has no means of long-range chip damage and you do, and you both have means of building meter from a distance (yours is better). If he's waiting inside his clone at a range at which it's unsafe to build meter for fear of EX Ice Beam, Slides, or melees, don't be afraid to back off a bit; a single EX Dash Punch through any of his moves, and you've both outdamaged and switched sides with him, as well as put yourself in a position where you can choose to either apply pressure or back off. If you can, try to bait a Slide or EX Ice Beam, as well; EX Ice Beam is probably his best tool if you're meter building because it's actually rather fast, but you should be able to duck/block in time to avoid it unless he starts it before you start whiffing a grab.

But yeah, Ground Pounds and Ground Pound feints may work as well, if he's really just sitting there blocking, letting you grab at the air until your meter is full. If he has the life lead, they may be your best option, too, assuming that's why he's crouch-blocking behind his clone and not doing anything else. Even if he does this, though, he'll have to set up more clones, and he's vulnerable to (EX) Dash Punches when doing so. He'll be even more vulnerable if he's trying to corner you because he'll have to move forward before setting the next clone if he wants to make any progress.

Ah, one more thing: if you aren't managing to build up at least one bar of meter whenever you get in and after he gets away or counterattacks, try to build up a bit more before going for an EX Dash Punch unless you know you can take him out with it. Simply having the meter to perform an EX Dash Punch limits his options.
 
How about Smoke?
I feel like you have to play really cautious and defensive, which is a problem. As Jax, I feel like you have to get momentum going, and you have to keep your opponent on the ground, guessing what you will do next. Against Smoke, this seems harder. EX Shake, wakeup teleports, and smoke bombs make it hard to be aggressive. I find myself just dash blocking constantly, looking for an opening, but if Smoke plays keep-away, all I have going for me is a possible EX dash punch.
 
I main Jax and the most difficult opponent for me is Kitana. All those damn fans! Her low stab jab is fast as shit and she has 2 anti-air moves as well as an air projectile. I have yet to figure out a way to consistently get through her ground and air game. Jax is just too slow and as soon as I get near her she flies to the other side of the screen. Anybody have any tips for facing Kitana?
 

imblackjames

Ive seen the leprechaun
Well idk about you jax players but kenshi is a huge pain in my butt.....i find it hard to get in on him more so than the other players he has too many tools to keep me at bay
 
How about Smoke?
I feel like you have to play really cautious and defensive, which is a problem. As Jax, I feel like you have to get momentum going, and you have to keep your opponent on the ground, guessing what you will do next. Against Smoke, this seems harder. EX Shake, wakeup teleports, and smoke bombs make it hard to be aggressive. I find myself just dash blocking constantly, looking for an opening, but if Smoke plays keep-away, all I have going for me is a possible EX dash punch.
I main Smoke (until my boy Rain comes out!) and I've fought a couple of Jax. Something that can catch a Smoke who has been knocked down is a ground pound cancel (baiting a possible teleport) and block. This allows you to punish with a combo. Also, while the smoke bomb does build meter for Smoke it does no chip damage, so dash block your way in close enough to do damage. Smoke is all mind games and if you can bait a teleport youve got yourself a good punish.
 

salvificblood

Worst Sub-Zero Ever
You shouldn't use ground pounds too loosely against Sub-Zero; a good Sub-Zero will get a lot of freezes against you if you do. Jax's best bet is to ex punch through the clone on reaction. As a Sub-Zero player, I have trouble with that sometimes.
 

imblackjames

Ive seen the leprechaun
I dont know if anyone else noticed this but when your facing Raiden if you time it right you can do a gotcha grab them as they appear next to you from a teleport. i found it scares raidens into not teleporting as much which makes them more careless in their approach.
 
I main Smoke (until my boy Rain comes out!) and I've fought a couple of Jax. Something that can catch a Smoke who has been knocked down is a ground pound cancel (baiting a possible teleport) and block. This allows you to punish with a combo. Also, while the smoke bomb does build meter for Smoke it does no chip damage, so dash block your way in close enough to do damage. Smoke is all mind games and if you can bait a teleport youve got yourself a good punish.
You can't cancel Ground Pound into block... and you can't cancel into EX Dash Punch to armor through it because he comes too quickly from behind to get to the armor. The only options seem to be to dash into a crouch to duck under the teleport and quickly punish, or to cancel into a jump over the teleport punch and begin pressure with a jump-in punch, but you can't cancel the jump-in punch because it's a backward jump. Both of these options can be started after the teleport punch starts, but I doubt anyone can do them on reaction. There's also the interesting option of using close Ground Pound or EX Ground Pound to hit Smoke out of the Teleport Punch before he hits Jax, but it seems a bit too impractical/risky.

EDIT: Actually, now that I think about it, depending on how much time you have off the knockdown, EX Ground Pound might not be so bad. Worst case scenario: he uses Phase Towards and begins pressure or uses Phase Away and escapes. Not sure what knockdowns would be good to follow up with this, though, especially with rolling considered.
 

Malec

Noob
hi, i started to play jax 2 days ago and i love him, but i have a hard time against players that just sit back and abuse there d3, d4, d1 whatever lowpoke, i have no idea how to handel them.

for example melina: using d4 with that huge range, she can use it 2 times on block before she pushes me out of range, i can jump in between but if u jump in, her hitbox is to low with the second d4 to hit her with anything, if i jump back, she just start to us her projectile air and ground in the mix, i cant win projectile war against her. jax d,u4 overhead is to slow and the range sucks, cant use dash punsh (d,f2) while she is ducking in the back. so my problem is, its hard for me to get in and when i manage to, how to beat d4 spam.
 

NRF CharlieMurphy

Kindergarten Meta
You shouldn't use ground pounds too loosely against Sub-Zero; a good Sub-Zero will get a lot of freezes against you if you do. Jax's best bet is to ex punch through the clone on reaction. As a Sub-Zero player, I have trouble with that sometimes.
play Jax like you were Johnny Cage. Except ground pound when he hides. Cancel into a jump over if you see him react with Ice Ball.
 

Gotcha

Noob
hi, i started to play jax 2 days ago and i love him, but i have a hard time against players that just sit back and abuse there d3, d4, d1 whatever lowpoke, i have no idea how to handel them.

for example melina: using d4 with that huge range, she can use it 2 times on block before she pushes me out of range, i can jump in between but if u jump in, her hitbox is to low with the second d4 to hit her with anything, if i jump back, she just start to us her projectile air and ground in the mix, i cant win projectile war against her. jax d,u4 overhead is to slow and the range sucks, cant use dash punsh (d,f2) while she is ducking in the back. so my problem is, its hard for me to get in and when i manage to, how to beat d4 spam.
yea for me melina/kitana/pretty much any one with a good poke is a hard match up
for people like that, that know ur poke is slow
back up, throw out a energy wave, see how they respond, and go in first with F4,du3
you just have to make them block so you can put pressure on them
if not they will just keep outpoking them, and with mileena you want to try to bait out her teleports and rolls on wakeup by stading over/close to them
 

Hitbox_Tyrant

"R.T.S.D" -Alex Valle
Number 1 rule with jax..PATIENCE lol. Once u get in ur opponents face..beat the shit out of them xD for zoners u need to utilize his ground pound fake outs and catch him slippin :]
 

CY MasterHavik

Master of Chaos and Jax
Number 1 rule with jax..PATIENCE lol. Once u get in ur opponents face..beat the shit out of them xD for zoners u need to utilize his ground pound fake outs and catch him slippin :]
I need to cancel ground pound more. I do after I score a knockdown. If time right. I gets a free ground pound on most wake up attacks.