Wow, some good info here.
(War God)
I throw OH out when I F1 and a LOT of people I play respect it even though its punishable. The pushback kind of makes it awkward for them to advance because it gives this false impression that they can't do anything.
I'm in love with df3, that move instills fear. Does nice chip, if you read a jump in and time it right, takes a good chunk off, goes into a hard knockdown, that move really keeps your opponent in check. Part of our game should, imo, rely on scaring the opponent to not get too comfortable. Kotal has the tools to just make people show respect.
(Blood God)
So for Blood God, we need to knock down. Knocking down should be our #1 priority so we can set up. For me, I feel this variation is a variation of extremes, extreme risk for extreme reward. I use Obsidian Totem to reduce Blood Sacrifice damage and since it practically lasts forever if I don't overextend. I then would use Sun Ray in conjunction with Blood Totem to regain any lost health. So i'm constantly setting up, fiending for hard knockdowns in order to set up my huge damage combo potential. Since we can combo into totems, I don't have to worry so much about having the Crystal up at the start so my opponent can run away from me.
I have to play EXTREMELY patient, and cash out on huge damage potential. Extreme risk for extreme reward, and sort of playing mind games with my opponent. This was all from some recent sessions at my school, and since everyone is trying to level up, I can try out stuff without completely being overwhelmed. This was just me trying out a playstyle with the weakest variation and seeing what good can come from it.
@UltraDavid videos also made it easier to play a more solid game.
A lot more work needs to be done though, but I will say Blood God is fun because of how many scenarios you have to account for, and it tests your ability to adapt on the fly with apparent disadvantages.
