Smarrgasm
What's a Smarrgasm?
Rain Notes
This is probably going to be a lot similar to the regular guide on tym but whatever. http://testyourmight.com/threads/rain-guide.6016/First things first, Rain is all about meter, RH pressure, and Bubble resetting.
43 is his most valuable string. 33 is faster but less reliable. Back 2 has a high low mix but it is easily fuzzy guarded.
Rains pokes are all pretty decent. D1 is 6 frames and has good reach. D3 has some range but can leave him vulnerable. D4 doesn’t have great reach but it is good for pressure and you can buffer RH to catch them off guard.
Rain’s throw is also an essential part of his game. It gives you free damage if they are blocking completely throughout your pressure as well as giving you some oki options because of the way you come out of the throw.
RH Cancel pressure-This will be the thing you must work on most other than just getting in with rain and his Armored dash which ill reference later. You have to make the opponent think you are going to let the roundhouse go. You can be poked out of RH cancels if you don’t let it go but for them it is very risky because you will get full combo’d and set back up into another bubble reset if I let the RH go. See this thread for my “vortex” for Rain. http://testyourmight.com/threads/rains-vortex.15035/
Mixing up the RH pressure is what you have to do to keep them off guard. I use mainly 43 33 and just 4 bc if you are really fast you can hitcomfirm all of these. I also mix in pokes just to keep them honest and of course throws. You just have to find your own rhythm for this.
43, 33, 3, and 4-These are going to be the main points of your offense. They are his fastest, most damaging, and will keep your pressure by mixing them up. 4 and 3 are essential alone because the RH will naturally combo off of these unlike 43 and 33. 4 RH is possibly his most damaging cancel ability. Learn to use it and your pressure will level up amazingly.
B2- This string is probably one of my favorite things about rain. It has SOOO much range. It has a mix up (albeit bad) but its still good as an alternating string. The low is perfect for checking any character without a reliable wakeup. (It works especially good on kitana if you time it well cause it ducks cutter). It also allows you to set up the bubble and keep your pressure. This is also his best spacing/footsie move because if they jump and fall short this can sometimes AA or just freely check them and create space.
24- This string is a bit of a preference type deal. Many people see it as a good part of rains RH pressure because it is 0 on block and +5 on hit. You can also cancel it into RH making it a very good RH mixing tool. I personally dont use it as well or as much as i should. It's just another good offensive option for Rain.
Ex RH- On reaction you can blow up ANYTHING. Be a little cautious to become too anxious to throw it though. I get crossed up so much trying to mash it out. Against Johnny I tend to either have it always work or never. Its schizo. It is perfect in the corner as it sets them back in the corner and it is by far Rains best move.
Armored Dash-I still have not perfected the Armored dash. Basically you just do a RH cancel with the ex and you retain the armor. This opens them up for the 45+% bnb instead of just a RH combo. It can dash through clones, other armor, projectiles. Youll have to just get used to it by trial. It is hard but so rewarding if you can do it.
Ex Bubble-This another one of rains most devastating tools. It gives you the ability to take away a full bar or meter from your opponent while also setting up your RH cancel meter building offense. I tend to only use this a lot against meter dependent characters or when a breaker is coming.
Wake-ups-This section is gonna make me salty. Rains regular wakeups are garbage I have to say. I have gotten hit out of wakeup geyser and water gun HUNDREDS of times. The only reliable wake ups are when you can EX any move and have your armor. Geyser however is good if they are trying to jump at you. I wouldn’t advise it too much cause sometimes it will misread and give you water bubble leaving you open for days.
Lightning-I would be wary to use lightning outside of combos unless they are fullscreen and you wanna check them. It is very slow and if it misses they will easily get to you and get free pressure.
Teleport-Rain has a non-hitting teleport that is relatively quick but the opponent will catch you easily if they are expecting it. Do it mainly to dodge projectiles or EX it to catch them off guard.
AA-His standing 1 or 2 can both be used as anti air but online they aren’t extremely reliable. I prefer using EX RH just cause its reliable and more damaging. You can also use water gun if you don’t wanna spend meter.
Tricks-There are a couple of gimmicks im gonna list here. Some are good, some are risky. You may wanna try some or use none at all. It is up to you.
1-During RH cancels you can choose (to catch your opponent off guard) to teleport during a RH just by hitting down up while still holding the RH. You can also cancel the RH with a Jump to try to cross your opponent up and continue your pressure.
2-At the end of the rounds if I have meter to waste I will start teleporting like crazy trying to force them to do something. This opens up EX-tele for chip or 13% to kill. Ex tele is easily my most used kill move. Or just any armored move.
3-Not really a useful game gimmick but cool for fatality screen. If you use H20 Boost and then any ex-move (my favorite is water gun cause of my signature). Your whole body will glow pink/purple until the h20 boost runs out.
4-Another note for geyser kick. It is possible to continue into combo in certain situations where the opponent flies close to you after the geyser hits. If you are quick you can land 43-Any combo continuing special (whichever your preference). http://testyourmight.com/threads/using-geyserkick-to-start-combos.15360/
5-JK-tele is another decent trick that can be use. It gives you the ability to choose how to pressure their wakeup because you come up ambiguously as they fall. http://testyourmight.com/threads/jump-kick-tele-combo-ender.14976/
