Phase 3
Feels Good Man
How to Fight Like a Child - Phase 3's Shazam Primer
Intro – Shazam is typically classified as a mixup grappler whose game plan revolves around abusing his high and low command grabs. This guide is for anyone who wants to learn where to get started, including strengths, weaknesses, some setups, wakeup options, mixups and even combo tips. Hopefully by the end of this guide you’ll have a basic foundation from which to develop your own playstyle.
P.S. - Sorry, it's pretty long but I tried to be thorough.
Chapter I – Getting In
Shazam, at first, appears to be a fairly mobile grappler. He has both an approaching and a retreating teleport (think Smoke Away) supplemented by a nearly full-screen, overhead Psycho Crusher equivalent named Atlas Torpedo. These tools can be used in conjunction with his jump to gain distance but I want to make something abundantly clear: Atlas Torpedo is -12 on block.
Getting In Part I - Atlas Torpedo (BF2) and You
Remember when I said that he appears to be a mobile grappler? Well, in some matchups he is severely limited because this -12 can be full combo punished quite easily. Atlas Torpedo, on block, passes through the opponent and allows Shazam to continue traveling for a short distance. This makes the move slightly difficult for some characters to punish; however, characters like Green Lantern and a few others simply don’t give a flip and will punish you for big damage every time. One of the first orders of business for the Shazam community will be to compile a list dissecting Torpedo’s safety against the entire cast. Anywho, you’ll have to completely re-evaluate your options depending how hard your opponent can punish Torpedo. Losing Torpedo, or simply relegating it to hard punishing from far away greatly hinders his options.
Side Note: MeterBurned Torpedo - Normally MB Torpedo isn't really fantastic but it happens to truly shine on several stages. When Shazam MeterBurns his Torpedo he drags the opponent an extra long distance before throwing them back on the ground. On stages with damaging interactables located in the corners (Arkham, Gotham, Atlantis, etc.), you'll find that even from near-midscreen Shazam can make his way to the corner, land in front of an interactable and use it as the opponent is getting up, netting some free damage. If you see yourself with an opportunity to safely use this move near an interactable, do it!
Once you know how judicious you have to learn when and how to use it:
1)Full Screen punishing. Anything punishable from a distance that is too far for you to cover with a jump in/b2 combo starter can be punished with Torpedo or EX Torpedo. If you know your frame data then you risk nothing. So, if you avoid an Aquaman trident from far away or almost anything from Sinestro, etc. from very far away, etc., you can use the Torpedo for some free damage and a knockdown. You’ll only want to use this from far distances because at sweep distance or a little past there he has a better punishing option which I’ll discuss in the next section.
2)Wake Up. If you know the character can’t punish Torpedo then this can be an option, especially if you seek to exit a corner or move towards a stage hazard. Be careful with this one if you’re dealing with a character who can punish it.
3)At a little past sweep distance, instead of raw Torpedo you can use B2 and immediately cancel into Torpedo. Shazam’s B2 is a lunging overhead (like Torpedo) that covers past sweep distance. On hit you’ll get a 2-hit combo (11%) which is better than Torpedo anyway (9%) and on block it isn’t all that different than had you just used the Torpedo. If you whiff this B2, then… well, while we’re on the topic…
Getting In Part II – The People’s Elbow (B2)
I’m going to give this move its own section because in my opinion, it does a lot of what Torpedo does but better. As I mentioned before, you can use B2 to cover a lot of space and simply cancel into Torpedo (this cancel must be committed to early though) to initiate a fast, ranged offensive. As I said, on hit it’s a combo, on block it’s a double-overhead blockstring.
What happens if it whiffs though? Well, this is one of the reasons I like the B2 string so much. You can followup B2 on whiff, on block or on hit with 3 (thus making it B2,3). This will make Shazam do an upward shoulder charge not unlike Shao Kahn’s or Doomsday’s. Many times when this move whiffs it’s because people jump and this combo can be done on whiff, catching jumpers out of the air. The nice thing is, if you input B2 xx Torpedo immediately and it whiffs because of a jump, you can still hit 3 and get the shouldercharge.
B2 is punishable on block (-11) but because you can cancel into Torpedo or B2, 3, people will be hesitant to punish. One last thing about B2 – on hit you can cancel it into his command grab for a combo. What this means is, if you can punish something but you’re too far for a jump in or dash, you can use B2 xx High Grab and score a combo. So, get in that lab and get a feel for the spacing of B2 and Torpedo so you know how far you can be to punish with B2 xx Grab and at what distance you’ll need to use Torpedo.
Overall B2 is a very solid move with a lot of utility despite being unsafe.
Getting in Part III – Mercury Stream (DB/DF3)
His teleport has some vulnerability frames making it something you can’t just spam for a free way in; although if you use it wisely you’ll find it to be an invaluable tool. Mercury Stream can be used to dodge a projectile and punish, it can be used in certain instances on wakeup for a decent escape and above all, it’s one of the more consistently effective ways to circumvent stage hazards. As time goes on players will be employing stage hazards as part of more complex setups, but if you’re playing against some just throwing them around all willy nilly, the Mercury Stream is a great move to avoid it. You still have to get the timing down – it’s not a get out of jail free card, but it’s a hell of a lot easier than backdashing it or attempting to jump over some of these things. You can come out of the teleport pretty quickly with his command grabs so you can get a little tricky with this if you know your opponent stays grounded.
Okay, so now you know how to get in with Shazam so… We in there.
Chapter II – We In There
We In There Part I – The Jump In and Jump Over
Okay, so for Jump In and Jump Over pressure we’re going to look at two moves mainly.
J2 – J2 has a great crossup hitbox with oodles of hitstun and it’s really easy to jump over the opponent and use this at a point in which it’s genuinely difficult to tell which side you’ll need to block. You can press it early or wait a little – this move is a very legit crossup. This is the go-to for crossups in my opinion and outclasses the J1 and J3 because of its ambiguity, immense hitstun and the fact that it doesn’t knock down.
J3 – This is great if you’re jumping over a projectile and looking to punish for a combo on the way down. Yes, it knocks down but Shazam can convert with F1, 2 xx Grab for some good damage if you’re willing to spend a bar (which, as Shazam, you always should be). It’s also a good option when your trait is active because it’s a punching move.
We in There Part II – Oh Shit, They Blocked My Crossup
That’s okay, because this is where Shazam really shines… sort of. Shazam has an extremely potent albeit risky 50/50 mixup. There’s a string in particular you could be aware of: 2,2.
2,2 jails the opponent (except for backdash, more on that further down) and forces them to react to your 50/50 command grab mixup, so upon jump in it’s a solid option to use 2,2 because if it hits you can hitconfirm into his standing command grab and if it’s blocked you can choose whether to go low or high and they have to guess. Both options, if whiffed, are unsafe though and this leads to the crux of Shazam’s problems. On knockdown, on jump in, when pressuring, etc. it all comes back to this 50/50 mixup. If you hit it, great, if not you’re getting blown up. Scorpion players might start getting flashbacks right about now.
You’ll have to decide how YOLO you want to be, but as the Shazam community we need to find setups that will trick people into blocking the way we want them to. Let's talk about some safer options...
Opponents can backdash safely out of the command grab mixup, but if you know it's coming you can either Torpedo/MB Torpedo for the increased damage (MB Torpedo is a great choice if you know you can carry to a corner with a stage hazard) or, depending on the character and what your opponent chooses to do following the backdash, you can actually B2 xx Herculean Might them for a full combo. Some dashes are very quick and tricky to hit so we might need to compile a list of people we can safely land this on.
We in There Part III – Other Setups and Defense
If you don’t feel like committing to the command grab mixup, or you’ve found yourself in some other situation in which you can initiate pressure, you do have other options. Some of these options work very well on the defensive too.
F12 - This string +3 on block, the second hit is an overhead (which new players may not be looking for), you can hitconfirm it into his standing grab for a combo, and if it's blocked, since it's +3, you can start a 2,2 command grab mixup or go into the d1 setup. Only real downside is that the first hit is high so you'd have to watch for the ol' ducking punishes.
D3 Sweep – This is a great option for offense or defense. It has range, it lowers Shazam’s hitbox to duck many high attacks and it scores a knockdown off of which Shazam gets to go to town (see next section). The sweep is a very solid tool for Shazam. Learn it well.
D1 – Oh boy, this move is silly. D1 is +1 on block with a 6 frame startup but Shazam gets pushed away a little on block, allowing for only two of these before he’s out of range for another. This is okay though, because it allows for one of Shazam’s trickiest setups. D1 on block, much like 2,2, allows you to go for a command grab setup, so you can use D1 xx Achilles’ Clutch (low grab) and if they blocked the D1, they’ll get grabbed. To make sure they block a D1 so the grab succeeds, I often like to do is use D1 twice. Since D1 is +1 on block with a 6 frame startup, it doesn’t matter whether it hit or not. Use another to feel out your opponent.
The first one is to see what kind of player they are. If they’re hitting buttons and often get hit by your first d1, you’ll want to use a second one (since they’ll be aware of your low pressure and start blocking low) and cancel immediately into the low command grab, granting a combo. If you find they’re great at blocking your initial d1 and counterpoking you can go straight into the lowgrab off the first instead. This also opens up for more mixups because if they’re aware of this mixup and start standing for whatever reason you can…
a.Go for a D3 sweep for a knockdown.
b.Cancel a d1 into the unsafe but rewarding standing command grab.
We in There Part IV – Knockdown, Mixup, Knockdown, Mixup
This is essentially what Shazam is best at: bullying the opponent when they’re knocked down with a variety of pretty solid mixup options. So far you should be ending your combos with knockdowns that leave you close to the opponent and you know how and when to use D3 for mixups. At this point you start his dangerous anti-wakeup game. Here are your options:
1)Crossup attempt. Depending on your opponent’s wakeups and whether you want to be risky, this is always a good choice. He has a solid crossup so it’s a reliable, generally safe option. This also allows you to hitconfirm if the crossup connects with a string into grab combo opposed to just going for the naked grab.
2)As they’re getting up, use the high or low grab. It’s risky, although it can work particularly well on characters with poor wakeups. The recent “Killer Frost” vortex suggested Shazam can get free standing grabs if timed correctly because characters automatically stand on the first frame of getting up but these options ultimately get beaten out by backdashes and wakeups.
3)Bait wakeup and punish. Some characters have very nasty wakeups and if you see someone abusing them to escape your pressure, just bait it out and punish.
4)If you see them constantly backdashing you can punish with a B2 xx Grab, but the success depends on the characters’ backdash, your timing or your ability to scout it. If you don’t have confidence that this attempt will not be blocked, you can always use B2 xx Torpedo if they can’t punish it, and if they can, B2 and pause if they’re conditioned to respect the B2, 3.
Pretty much all this stuff puts Shazam right back into the position of mixing up a grounded opponent: his sweep, his B2, B23, Torpedo, his combos, etc. You’ll find yourself in this position a lot and your choices will largely depend on the tendencies of your opponent, so watch them closely and see how they’re typically reacting to your mixups!
Chapter III – Traits, Footsies and Ranged Game
Traits, Footsies and Ranged Game Part I – A Fistful of Lighting: Shazam’s Trait
Right now Shazam’s trait is interesting because it powers up his punches yet he’s a grappler whose best strings for pressure, setups and even combos are almost exclusively kicks. Personally, I think the best time to activate this is when you’re approaching a corner because he can do absolutely ridiculous meterless corner damage using this trait and a variation of his 112 easy-as-pie corner juggle combo. Get them afraid and either score a mixup or punish that really brings the hurt.
I haven’t had a ton of time to explore this trait fully though so we should definitely work on getting the most out of it.
Traits, Footsies and Ranged Game Part II – Ranged Game, AA’s and Footsies
First of all, the ranged game consists of getting in because Shazam’s projectile really isn’t all that good. The damage is mediocre, it’s easy to duck and avoid, and the startup isn’t great. His MB does chip for a ton (5.63%) and you can’t duck it, but the startup is so ridiculously long (39 frames wtf) that some people can pretty much bop you for it on reaction.
On a side note, MB Bolt of Zeus does actually have a use, even if it is a situational one. If you end a combo with a knockdown, like EX Torpedo or an interactable, or some other string with hard knockdown you can MB Zeus and they'll more or less have to block it. If your opponent is 5.63% or less away from death and you're going for the chip out, you might as well use it. Sure, this isn't an extremely common situation but it could end up winning you a round one day.
The footsie game is interesting, depending on how respectful your opponent is. For jumpy opponents the bad news is, Shazam doesn’t have an anti-air grab and really doesn’t have any purely spectacular anti-air options. He does air-to-air pretty well with j1 and j2 but if you’re reacting on the ground I haven’t found a go-to strategy that works well with any degree of spectacular consistency. D2 is an obvious pick but it’s definitely not one of the best in the game.
For those respectful footsie players who patiently remain around sweep distance, Shazam has a TON of whiff punishing tools. B2 whiff punishes and goes into combo, his high command grab has excellent range (much more than you’d think, it goes a bit past his sweep distance -- get acquainted with the spacing on this move asap) and his low command grab can out-range people in a poking war. Shazam is actually very lethal from this range because of how quickly he can close that space with an attack or grab. His D3 is also an good tool given that it leads to a knockdown and allows Shazam to get mixups.
Chapter IV – Combo Tips
There’s a combo thread and consolidating all Shazam data into one thread would be remarkably silly, so I’m not going to list all his BnB’s here.
Try to end combos as close to Shazam as possible to make the continuing mixups easier. Torpedo after 112 or his Standing grab after f223, f12, 11, etc. are good enders because they knock down, do decent damage and leave Shazam close enough to continue mixing up.
When trying to create combos, you can wallbounce following the EX standing command grab (you can cancel the landing animation earlier than you think – in fact you can jump out of it and make Shazam look like he’s doing an airjump). Out of this you can do a j.3 or even two j.2’s in a row.
Obviously in the corner 112 is godlike. Keep all these things in mind as you contribute your BnBs to the Shazam Combo Thread.
This is actually spilling into 6 pages in Word so I should probably cut things off here. Feel free to discuss anything, ask me about strategies and add your two cents to this. I just figured I’d make a quick starter guide for anyone looking to pick him up and get a general sense of what to do.
A lot of people, including myself has expressed concerns with Shazam but I love the character and I'll be continuing to work hard with this community to develop tech for good ol' Billy. Hopefully this helps some of you get started.
(NEW) Chapter V - The Wake Up Game (Vortex Tech)
Shazam has something particularly dirty that makes him extremely dangerous in several matchups. If Shazam scores a hard knockdown with certain moves (like sweep and EX Torpedo), he can hit you with a 100% inescapable Herculean Might on wakeup. You heard me right: you cannot duck, you cannot backdash, you cannot jump. You will eat this grab unless you do a wakeup, and here comes the mixup: Shazam either grabs you for free or baits your wakeup and punishes with either a normal or a crossup.
If you're playing against stick players, because of the wakeup timing, you can often hear them press buttons and just jump or block in response to it. Either way, a character's ability to escape this depends entirely on what kind of wakeups they have. Some characters don't move at all and have tragically unsafe wakeups, whereas other characters have safe, advancing wakeups. If you land the grab again or go into combo again, you go right back into the vortex and they're forced to guess again.
We'll have to explore this tech, perhaps in its own thread, and develop a list of characters who can consistently and easily escape this. For the time being though, get in the lab and test this out. Figure out the timing and get used to punishing wakeups. Also, we'll need to explore all the knockdowns off of which we have the time to get the free HM.
Intro – Shazam is typically classified as a mixup grappler whose game plan revolves around abusing his high and low command grabs. This guide is for anyone who wants to learn where to get started, including strengths, weaknesses, some setups, wakeup options, mixups and even combo tips. Hopefully by the end of this guide you’ll have a basic foundation from which to develop your own playstyle.
P.S. - Sorry, it's pretty long but I tried to be thorough.
Chapter I – Getting In
Shazam, at first, appears to be a fairly mobile grappler. He has both an approaching and a retreating teleport (think Smoke Away) supplemented by a nearly full-screen, overhead Psycho Crusher equivalent named Atlas Torpedo. These tools can be used in conjunction with his jump to gain distance but I want to make something abundantly clear: Atlas Torpedo is -12 on block.
Getting In Part I - Atlas Torpedo (BF2) and You
Remember when I said that he appears to be a mobile grappler? Well, in some matchups he is severely limited because this -12 can be full combo punished quite easily. Atlas Torpedo, on block, passes through the opponent and allows Shazam to continue traveling for a short distance. This makes the move slightly difficult for some characters to punish; however, characters like Green Lantern and a few others simply don’t give a flip and will punish you for big damage every time. One of the first orders of business for the Shazam community will be to compile a list dissecting Torpedo’s safety against the entire cast. Anywho, you’ll have to completely re-evaluate your options depending how hard your opponent can punish Torpedo. Losing Torpedo, or simply relegating it to hard punishing from far away greatly hinders his options.
Side Note: MeterBurned Torpedo - Normally MB Torpedo isn't really fantastic but it happens to truly shine on several stages. When Shazam MeterBurns his Torpedo he drags the opponent an extra long distance before throwing them back on the ground. On stages with damaging interactables located in the corners (Arkham, Gotham, Atlantis, etc.), you'll find that even from near-midscreen Shazam can make his way to the corner, land in front of an interactable and use it as the opponent is getting up, netting some free damage. If you see yourself with an opportunity to safely use this move near an interactable, do it!
Once you know how judicious you have to learn when and how to use it:
1)Full Screen punishing. Anything punishable from a distance that is too far for you to cover with a jump in/b2 combo starter can be punished with Torpedo or EX Torpedo. If you know your frame data then you risk nothing. So, if you avoid an Aquaman trident from far away or almost anything from Sinestro, etc. from very far away, etc., you can use the Torpedo for some free damage and a knockdown. You’ll only want to use this from far distances because at sweep distance or a little past there he has a better punishing option which I’ll discuss in the next section.
2)Wake Up. If you know the character can’t punish Torpedo then this can be an option, especially if you seek to exit a corner or move towards a stage hazard. Be careful with this one if you’re dealing with a character who can punish it.
3)At a little past sweep distance, instead of raw Torpedo you can use B2 and immediately cancel into Torpedo. Shazam’s B2 is a lunging overhead (like Torpedo) that covers past sweep distance. On hit you’ll get a 2-hit combo (11%) which is better than Torpedo anyway (9%) and on block it isn’t all that different than had you just used the Torpedo. If you whiff this B2, then… well, while we’re on the topic…
Getting In Part II – The People’s Elbow (B2)
I’m going to give this move its own section because in my opinion, it does a lot of what Torpedo does but better. As I mentioned before, you can use B2 to cover a lot of space and simply cancel into Torpedo (this cancel must be committed to early though) to initiate a fast, ranged offensive. As I said, on hit it’s a combo, on block it’s a double-overhead blockstring.
What happens if it whiffs though? Well, this is one of the reasons I like the B2 string so much. You can followup B2 on whiff, on block or on hit with 3 (thus making it B2,3). This will make Shazam do an upward shoulder charge not unlike Shao Kahn’s or Doomsday’s. Many times when this move whiffs it’s because people jump and this combo can be done on whiff, catching jumpers out of the air. The nice thing is, if you input B2 xx Torpedo immediately and it whiffs because of a jump, you can still hit 3 and get the shouldercharge.
B2 is punishable on block (-11) but because you can cancel into Torpedo or B2, 3, people will be hesitant to punish. One last thing about B2 – on hit you can cancel it into his command grab for a combo. What this means is, if you can punish something but you’re too far for a jump in or dash, you can use B2 xx High Grab and score a combo. So, get in that lab and get a feel for the spacing of B2 and Torpedo so you know how far you can be to punish with B2 xx Grab and at what distance you’ll need to use Torpedo.
Overall B2 is a very solid move with a lot of utility despite being unsafe.
Getting in Part III – Mercury Stream (DB/DF3)
His teleport has some vulnerability frames making it something you can’t just spam for a free way in; although if you use it wisely you’ll find it to be an invaluable tool. Mercury Stream can be used to dodge a projectile and punish, it can be used in certain instances on wakeup for a decent escape and above all, it’s one of the more consistently effective ways to circumvent stage hazards. As time goes on players will be employing stage hazards as part of more complex setups, but if you’re playing against some just throwing them around all willy nilly, the Mercury Stream is a great move to avoid it. You still have to get the timing down – it’s not a get out of jail free card, but it’s a hell of a lot easier than backdashing it or attempting to jump over some of these things. You can come out of the teleport pretty quickly with his command grabs so you can get a little tricky with this if you know your opponent stays grounded.
Okay, so now you know how to get in with Shazam so… We in there.
Chapter II – We In There
We In There Part I – The Jump In and Jump Over
Okay, so for Jump In and Jump Over pressure we’re going to look at two moves mainly.
J2 – J2 has a great crossup hitbox with oodles of hitstun and it’s really easy to jump over the opponent and use this at a point in which it’s genuinely difficult to tell which side you’ll need to block. You can press it early or wait a little – this move is a very legit crossup. This is the go-to for crossups in my opinion and outclasses the J1 and J3 because of its ambiguity, immense hitstun and the fact that it doesn’t knock down.
J3 – This is great if you’re jumping over a projectile and looking to punish for a combo on the way down. Yes, it knocks down but Shazam can convert with F1, 2 xx Grab for some good damage if you’re willing to spend a bar (which, as Shazam, you always should be). It’s also a good option when your trait is active because it’s a punching move.
We in There Part II – Oh Shit, They Blocked My Crossup
That’s okay, because this is where Shazam really shines… sort of. Shazam has an extremely potent albeit risky 50/50 mixup. There’s a string in particular you could be aware of: 2,2.
2,2 jails the opponent (except for backdash, more on that further down) and forces them to react to your 50/50 command grab mixup, so upon jump in it’s a solid option to use 2,2 because if it hits you can hitconfirm into his standing command grab and if it’s blocked you can choose whether to go low or high and they have to guess. Both options, if whiffed, are unsafe though and this leads to the crux of Shazam’s problems. On knockdown, on jump in, when pressuring, etc. it all comes back to this 50/50 mixup. If you hit it, great, if not you’re getting blown up. Scorpion players might start getting flashbacks right about now.
You’ll have to decide how YOLO you want to be, but as the Shazam community we need to find setups that will trick people into blocking the way we want them to. Let's talk about some safer options...
Opponents can backdash safely out of the command grab mixup, but if you know it's coming you can either Torpedo/MB Torpedo for the increased damage (MB Torpedo is a great choice if you know you can carry to a corner with a stage hazard) or, depending on the character and what your opponent chooses to do following the backdash, you can actually B2 xx Herculean Might them for a full combo. Some dashes are very quick and tricky to hit so we might need to compile a list of people we can safely land this on.
We in There Part III – Other Setups and Defense
If you don’t feel like committing to the command grab mixup, or you’ve found yourself in some other situation in which you can initiate pressure, you do have other options. Some of these options work very well on the defensive too.
F12 - This string +3 on block, the second hit is an overhead (which new players may not be looking for), you can hitconfirm it into his standing grab for a combo, and if it's blocked, since it's +3, you can start a 2,2 command grab mixup or go into the d1 setup. Only real downside is that the first hit is high so you'd have to watch for the ol' ducking punishes.
D3 Sweep – This is a great option for offense or defense. It has range, it lowers Shazam’s hitbox to duck many high attacks and it scores a knockdown off of which Shazam gets to go to town (see next section). The sweep is a very solid tool for Shazam. Learn it well.
D1 – Oh boy, this move is silly. D1 is +1 on block with a 6 frame startup but Shazam gets pushed away a little on block, allowing for only two of these before he’s out of range for another. This is okay though, because it allows for one of Shazam’s trickiest setups. D1 on block, much like 2,2, allows you to go for a command grab setup, so you can use D1 xx Achilles’ Clutch (low grab) and if they blocked the D1, they’ll get grabbed. To make sure they block a D1 so the grab succeeds, I often like to do is use D1 twice. Since D1 is +1 on block with a 6 frame startup, it doesn’t matter whether it hit or not. Use another to feel out your opponent.
The first one is to see what kind of player they are. If they’re hitting buttons and often get hit by your first d1, you’ll want to use a second one (since they’ll be aware of your low pressure and start blocking low) and cancel immediately into the low command grab, granting a combo. If you find they’re great at blocking your initial d1 and counterpoking you can go straight into the lowgrab off the first instead. This also opens up for more mixups because if they’re aware of this mixup and start standing for whatever reason you can…
a.Go for a D3 sweep for a knockdown.
b.Cancel a d1 into the unsafe but rewarding standing command grab.
We in There Part IV – Knockdown, Mixup, Knockdown, Mixup
This is essentially what Shazam is best at: bullying the opponent when they’re knocked down with a variety of pretty solid mixup options. So far you should be ending your combos with knockdowns that leave you close to the opponent and you know how and when to use D3 for mixups. At this point you start his dangerous anti-wakeup game. Here are your options:
1)Crossup attempt. Depending on your opponent’s wakeups and whether you want to be risky, this is always a good choice. He has a solid crossup so it’s a reliable, generally safe option. This also allows you to hitconfirm if the crossup connects with a string into grab combo opposed to just going for the naked grab.
2)As they’re getting up, use the high or low grab. It’s risky, although it can work particularly well on characters with poor wakeups. The recent “Killer Frost” vortex suggested Shazam can get free standing grabs if timed correctly because characters automatically stand on the first frame of getting up but these options ultimately get beaten out by backdashes and wakeups.
3)Bait wakeup and punish. Some characters have very nasty wakeups and if you see someone abusing them to escape your pressure, just bait it out and punish.
4)If you see them constantly backdashing you can punish with a B2 xx Grab, but the success depends on the characters’ backdash, your timing or your ability to scout it. If you don’t have confidence that this attempt will not be blocked, you can always use B2 xx Torpedo if they can’t punish it, and if they can, B2 and pause if they’re conditioned to respect the B2, 3.
Pretty much all this stuff puts Shazam right back into the position of mixing up a grounded opponent: his sweep, his B2, B23, Torpedo, his combos, etc. You’ll find yourself in this position a lot and your choices will largely depend on the tendencies of your opponent, so watch them closely and see how they’re typically reacting to your mixups!
Chapter III – Traits, Footsies and Ranged Game
Traits, Footsies and Ranged Game Part I – A Fistful of Lighting: Shazam’s Trait
Right now Shazam’s trait is interesting because it powers up his punches yet he’s a grappler whose best strings for pressure, setups and even combos are almost exclusively kicks. Personally, I think the best time to activate this is when you’re approaching a corner because he can do absolutely ridiculous meterless corner damage using this trait and a variation of his 112 easy-as-pie corner juggle combo. Get them afraid and either score a mixup or punish that really brings the hurt.
I haven’t had a ton of time to explore this trait fully though so we should definitely work on getting the most out of it.
Traits, Footsies and Ranged Game Part II – Ranged Game, AA’s and Footsies
First of all, the ranged game consists of getting in because Shazam’s projectile really isn’t all that good. The damage is mediocre, it’s easy to duck and avoid, and the startup isn’t great. His MB does chip for a ton (5.63%) and you can’t duck it, but the startup is so ridiculously long (39 frames wtf) that some people can pretty much bop you for it on reaction.
On a side note, MB Bolt of Zeus does actually have a use, even if it is a situational one. If you end a combo with a knockdown, like EX Torpedo or an interactable, or some other string with hard knockdown you can MB Zeus and they'll more or less have to block it. If your opponent is 5.63% or less away from death and you're going for the chip out, you might as well use it. Sure, this isn't an extremely common situation but it could end up winning you a round one day.
The footsie game is interesting, depending on how respectful your opponent is. For jumpy opponents the bad news is, Shazam doesn’t have an anti-air grab and really doesn’t have any purely spectacular anti-air options. He does air-to-air pretty well with j1 and j2 but if you’re reacting on the ground I haven’t found a go-to strategy that works well with any degree of spectacular consistency. D2 is an obvious pick but it’s definitely not one of the best in the game.
For those respectful footsie players who patiently remain around sweep distance, Shazam has a TON of whiff punishing tools. B2 whiff punishes and goes into combo, his high command grab has excellent range (much more than you’d think, it goes a bit past his sweep distance -- get acquainted with the spacing on this move asap) and his low command grab can out-range people in a poking war. Shazam is actually very lethal from this range because of how quickly he can close that space with an attack or grab. His D3 is also an good tool given that it leads to a knockdown and allows Shazam to get mixups.
Chapter IV – Combo Tips
There’s a combo thread and consolidating all Shazam data into one thread would be remarkably silly, so I’m not going to list all his BnB’s here.
Try to end combos as close to Shazam as possible to make the continuing mixups easier. Torpedo after 112 or his Standing grab after f223, f12, 11, etc. are good enders because they knock down, do decent damage and leave Shazam close enough to continue mixing up.
When trying to create combos, you can wallbounce following the EX standing command grab (you can cancel the landing animation earlier than you think – in fact you can jump out of it and make Shazam look like he’s doing an airjump). Out of this you can do a j.3 or even two j.2’s in a row.
Obviously in the corner 112 is godlike. Keep all these things in mind as you contribute your BnBs to the Shazam Combo Thread.
This is actually spilling into 6 pages in Word so I should probably cut things off here. Feel free to discuss anything, ask me about strategies and add your two cents to this. I just figured I’d make a quick starter guide for anyone looking to pick him up and get a general sense of what to do.
A lot of people, including myself has expressed concerns with Shazam but I love the character and I'll be continuing to work hard with this community to develop tech for good ol' Billy. Hopefully this helps some of you get started.
(NEW) Chapter V - The Wake Up Game (Vortex Tech)
Shazam has something particularly dirty that makes him extremely dangerous in several matchups. If Shazam scores a hard knockdown with certain moves (like sweep and EX Torpedo), he can hit you with a 100% inescapable Herculean Might on wakeup. You heard me right: you cannot duck, you cannot backdash, you cannot jump. You will eat this grab unless you do a wakeup, and here comes the mixup: Shazam either grabs you for free or baits your wakeup and punishes with either a normal or a crossup.
If you're playing against stick players, because of the wakeup timing, you can often hear them press buttons and just jump or block in response to it. Either way, a character's ability to escape this depends entirely on what kind of wakeups they have. Some characters don't move at all and have tragically unsafe wakeups, whereas other characters have safe, advancing wakeups. If you land the grab again or go into combo again, you go right back into the vortex and they're forced to guess again.
We'll have to explore this tech, perhaps in its own thread, and develop a list of characters who can consistently and easily escape this. For the time being though, get in the lab and test this out. Figure out the timing and get used to punishing wakeups. Also, we'll need to explore all the knockdowns off of which we have the time to get the free HM.
Even after the concerns I plan to give this character most of my effort for now and I see no reason to think otherwise. Can't wait to find setups and uses for the trait.
its still rather terrible but at least its not as pathetic as it was 
