(Just off the bat, if you were worried, this isn't a "Catwoman is top 10 thread -- I'm not going to exaggerate here).
So, Bit is likely going to kill me, but I'm going to reopen the "is Catwoman a bad character" discussion. Putting aside the sheer matchup counts (since depending on a how a game is balanced, even a character with more losing matchups can still technically not be "a shitter" if the distance is workable), I want to actually discuss Catwoman's meta and get into specifics. In tournament matches I am observing the following:
-A superb footsie tool, overhead and whiff punisher in f1
-A tricky oki game, with f1, b1, and armored f3, alongside the ability to stuff numerous wakeups
-A b3 with superb range that goes under a good deal of other character' footsie tools
-A backdash that also goes under several other moves
-A solid longer-range check in Cat Dash -- it may be unsafe when used/spaced incorrectly, but it still keeps opponents honest when used judiciously and sparingly
-Air normals that have hitboxes that take priority over a lot of things in the game; how many times were people's AA's or air-to-airs stuffed by j1 and j2 for full combo at WCW?
-Although she doesn't have a litany of useful wakeups, her trait does it's job well enough when needed
-The ability to make strings (relatively) safe with Cat Claws
-Solid damage
-Decent enough unclashable damage when need be for closing out matches
So my serious question is, other than the obvious matchups like AM and Bane, if you just look at her ability to compete with other characters in this game in neutral/oki/damage, what is it that makes her "a shitter"?
Yes, when you count matchups she's not going to be on top of the heap, but does her description as a "terrible character" (which conjures images of SF4 Dan) draw attention away from her ability to compete with other characters in the cast at a high level, in terms of the meta?
Put another way, is it possible that should could lose a fair amount of matchups, but not by a significant enough degree to keep her from being viable as a tournament character when played with solid fundamentals?
And for educational purposes, what specifically is it that players of all other characters are not doing, that renders her tools completely useless and makes her appear to be the bottom feeder that she is made out to be? If everyone is just terrible at the matchup, then what can players of the rest of the cast do in order to render her more ineffective? I want to get more specific than "she has bad matchups" and "well, play her yourself in tournament if you think she's not worthless".
Anyway, I'm curious to see what everyone thinks about her meta, at this point in the game's life cycle.
Also don't shoot me Steve -- and congratulations.
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