Dreamcatcher
EFL Founder
All but guaranteed punisher against Quan Chi's Teleport Stomp. Dash back as soon as you see the portal opening and cancel your dash with block. So now whether the opponent is teleporting behind or right above you, you should block them and they become punishable. The only reason it's not guaranteed is if for some reason they actually teleport in front of you, which can happen and I can see this happening as a high level mixup down the road. Obviously the other ways it won't be guaranteed is if you are in midair and get "clipped" by it, or if you just plain screw up and cancel your dash too soon so Quan Chi can still teleport behind you without penalty. This is pretty much the same for Sheeva's teleport stomp too as she can also go in front or behind you upon command. I know you're probably saying "Why don't you just punish him when you teleports behind you?" And the answer is because he can end up teleporting when you are throwing a projectile and are vulnerable. It simplifies the counter by stopping the opponent in their tracks altogether.
Abuse position on a stance/crouch blocking Shang. Without a doubt, Shang has the slowest uppercut in the game. Because of this, he can't really counter a good crossup. By good crossup I mean a well timed jump punch into a combo that you normally wouldn't do on a Cage-type character that has a decent uppercut. Of course they could do a SUJP if you become predictable. But this HUGE hole in Shang's normals can definitely be exploited, so look for the opportunities. A good idea is to link a JP into a combo that either starts with a low or overhead. Quan Chi's B+3 1+2 is insanely difficult to counter sometimes because it starts with a low and ends with an overhead... that means the opponent has to crouch block the first hit and stance block the second, or they get launched. Find combos like these for your character and use them on a blocking Shang. He's really a sitting duck unless he's throwing out a projectile or in your face already.
"Dash Jabs" by Cage, Sonya, or any other character can be stopped with crouch kicks from just about any character... just like in the classic games.
After whoring as much out of them to test their effectiveness, I think it's a novelty for most characters and only useful for a few like Cage who actually have the speed for it. Other characters like Cyrax, would really just benefit from quick normal combos with the end command left off. (ie with Cyrax, 21 repeated until unblocked... cancel into net--->start combo) This is tough to explain without videos but your experience just playing is the best way to learn it. See it done and make what works for you your own rushing strategies. And really only use the quickest and best combos when you intend to use them for rushing with the last hit left off. It kinda goes without saying but just keep that in mind.
I'm still working on overhead properties. If you haven't noticed, they have some depth. Like for instance, you can do Reptile's 321 dash overhead... and finish your combo BUT if your combo starts as an anti air, it will knock the opponent down and end the combo. Let's say Quan Chi is doing a teleport (like above) and you block him, then he curls up for punishment mode in midair. You initiate the 321 combo while Quan is still in the air and when you do the dash to overhead punch... he gets smashed the ground, ending the combo. Why is this? Does the first hit of a combo count as an "overhead" if it's started from anti air? There are a lot of weird scenarios like this, especially for characters like Cyrax who thrive on the overheads in the juggle sequence. I'm not trying to over complicate something that can probably be easily explained. But until I read a table or something that provides details of the whats and whys with sufficient evidence, I will keep messing around with this.
Johnny Cage's EX Shadow Kick and Jade's EX Green Kick are completely full screen with armor, just like Reptile's Xray. They are among the most useful EX moves in the entire game because of the reach, speed, and armor. The smartest way to use them is against a player who is keeping their distance with some zoning and generally doing a lot to avoid you. To keep it simple, just use it to travel far through a projectile. You will take damage from the projectile if hit, but will connect every time. I actually had this 100% equalized in a mid game match TWICE today in the same set, when I had Cage EX shadow kick against Jade EX green kick. It was jaw dropping, they just both stopped in the middle of the screen with a lot of green bursts everywhere. lol
Kenshi's Telefury has absolutely NO cooldown, is fullscreen, and is unbreakable. Noob players will move to Kenshi in a hurry.
Smoke's OTG Smoke Bomb is not completely removed. What seems to be changed is his air throw and 3 D+1 2 combo are both slower... and the bomb won't hit if the opponent has already landed. The window of timing is a little bigger than what you would call a "relaunch" window in UMK3. Right above the ground.
Abuse position on a stance/crouch blocking Shang. Without a doubt, Shang has the slowest uppercut in the game. Because of this, he can't really counter a good crossup. By good crossup I mean a well timed jump punch into a combo that you normally wouldn't do on a Cage-type character that has a decent uppercut. Of course they could do a SUJP if you become predictable. But this HUGE hole in Shang's normals can definitely be exploited, so look for the opportunities. A good idea is to link a JP into a combo that either starts with a low or overhead. Quan Chi's B+3 1+2 is insanely difficult to counter sometimes because it starts with a low and ends with an overhead... that means the opponent has to crouch block the first hit and stance block the second, or they get launched. Find combos like these for your character and use them on a blocking Shang. He's really a sitting duck unless he's throwing out a projectile or in your face already.
"Dash Jabs" by Cage, Sonya, or any other character can be stopped with crouch kicks from just about any character... just like in the classic games.
After whoring as much out of them to test their effectiveness, I think it's a novelty for most characters and only useful for a few like Cage who actually have the speed for it. Other characters like Cyrax, would really just benefit from quick normal combos with the end command left off. (ie with Cyrax, 21 repeated until unblocked... cancel into net--->start combo) This is tough to explain without videos but your experience just playing is the best way to learn it. See it done and make what works for you your own rushing strategies. And really only use the quickest and best combos when you intend to use them for rushing with the last hit left off. It kinda goes without saying but just keep that in mind.
I'm still working on overhead properties. If you haven't noticed, they have some depth. Like for instance, you can do Reptile's 321 dash overhead... and finish your combo BUT if your combo starts as an anti air, it will knock the opponent down and end the combo. Let's say Quan Chi is doing a teleport (like above) and you block him, then he curls up for punishment mode in midair. You initiate the 321 combo while Quan is still in the air and when you do the dash to overhead punch... he gets smashed the ground, ending the combo. Why is this? Does the first hit of a combo count as an "overhead" if it's started from anti air? There are a lot of weird scenarios like this, especially for characters like Cyrax who thrive on the overheads in the juggle sequence. I'm not trying to over complicate something that can probably be easily explained. But until I read a table or something that provides details of the whats and whys with sufficient evidence, I will keep messing around with this.
Johnny Cage's EX Shadow Kick and Jade's EX Green Kick are completely full screen with armor, just like Reptile's Xray. They are among the most useful EX moves in the entire game because of the reach, speed, and armor. The smartest way to use them is against a player who is keeping their distance with some zoning and generally doing a lot to avoid you. To keep it simple, just use it to travel far through a projectile. You will take damage from the projectile if hit, but will connect every time. I actually had this 100% equalized in a mid game match TWICE today in the same set, when I had Cage EX shadow kick against Jade EX green kick. It was jaw dropping, they just both stopped in the middle of the screen with a lot of green bursts everywhere. lol
Kenshi's Telefury has absolutely NO cooldown, is fullscreen, and is unbreakable. Noob players will move to Kenshi in a hurry.
Smoke's OTG Smoke Bomb is not completely removed. What seems to be changed is his air throw and 3 D+1 2 combo are both slower... and the bomb won't hit if the opponent has already landed. The window of timing is a little bigger than what you would call a "relaunch" window in UMK3. Right above the ground.