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The Queen of Mix: Sheeva Guide

RoboCop

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Welcome to The Queen of Mix Sheeva Guide! This guide won't cover all of Sheeva, just this specific variation Dragon Charge - Battle Scars - Queens Punishment.

The Battle Scars/Queen's Punishment kombo is pretty standard, as it gives her a very strong 50/50 game. Queen's Punishment hits low and Battle Scars is treated like an overhead. This combination gives her 50/50s off of every touch, from her gapless strings to her quarter-screen f1. The fuzzy window is only 3 frames, so it's a very legit 50/50. Queen's Punishment lets her apply her anti-movement debuff and Battle Scars allows her to kombo for around 28% 1-bar.

For the 3rd move, I went with Dragon Charge. It allows her to kombo into 28-30% from her b122 and b211 strings, as well as from her f1. Because it's so fast (12 frames) and covers so much space (half screen), it helps her immensely in the neutral. One of her biggest weaknesses is the overall stubbiness of her buttons. This gives her a much better screen presence, allowing her to deal 24% 1-bar with a naked Dragon Charge. It allows her to punish many attacks she would otherwise be unable to punish and allows her to prevent her opponents from trying to neutral-duck her zoning while within Dragon Charge range. Overall, I feel that it adds much more utility to her kit than her other options.

This loadout is a hardcore mix machine. Here are some of your mixing options:

21~db4: high-overhead-low​
21~bf4: high-overhead-overhead​
2~db4: high-low​
b2~late.db4: mid-overhead-low​
b2~early.db4: mid-low​
b2~late.bf4: mid-overhead-overhead​
b2112: mid-overhead-mid-mid-overhead​
b211~db4: mid-overhead-mid-mid-low​
After any b122, b211, or f1 you get a mix betwen the low db4 or the overhead bf4. B122 is only -2 on block so it's massively staggerable. The full b1221 is only -2 and resets the neutral and even kombos in the corner.​
A savvy opponent will usually try to stand-block, as they take much more damage from Battle Scars than they do from Queen's Punishment.​
Sheeva can easily switch sides with her opponent using Queen's Punishment (hold back) or Battle Scars. By amplifying Battle Scars, she can land another rep of 21~bf4 to keep her opponent on the same side.​
Not only do these moves give her insane mix, but they also provide excellent oki! Battle Scars leaves you +15 just barely outside sweep distance, meaning they have to guess again between low b4 or overhead b3. Holding back during meterless Queen's Punishment provides a similar oki situation. Forward Queen's Punishment puts them full screen, but amplifying will leave you in a similar situation to Battle Scars.​
Though Queen's Punishment and Battle Scars are both punishable, Sheeva has the tools you need to scout out your opponent's reactions. B122 and b211 on block both give you plenty of time to see if your opponent is stand-blocking or crouch-blocking, allowing you to decide which move to end with. I've encountered no players who will switch their block level during the final hit.

Her movement is very solid, with nice fast long-distance dashes and very respectable walk speeds. Her wavedash is quite easy to do and very effective. To do it, just double tap forward to dash, and then tap block~forward at the same speed you double-tapped forward. It sounds like buh-dap, buh-dap, just 4 easy buttons split into 2 sets. forward-forward;block-forward. Because her wavedash covers so much distance, you rarely need more than one rep, though you can keep tacking on block-forward to continue wavedashing.

Her Fatal Blow is pretty amazing. It's a roughly full-screen "punchwalk" that hits multiple times and includes an overhead. I'm surprised at the number of high-level opponents who have blocked the initial hits, only to let go of block too early and eat the final hit, triggering the full FB damage. It's also very easy to kombo into, allowing her to hit around 45ish%, or even breaking 50% if she lands an armor break with it.

Her zoning is quite strong. Her projectile is very similar to Rain's, in that it's a high, but the amplify is a mid that's difficult to see, so your opponent usually needs to treat it like a mid. It's very fast and safe and the amplify can even reset the neutral for you after block strings. D1~bf1.amplify is uninterruptible (except for flawless blocks) and fully resets the neutral.

As good as those tools are, she's not without her weaknesses. Dragon Charge helps overcome her overall stubbiness and slugishness, but it's still quite unsafe at -19 and -13. She only has 950 health. Her attacks seem to have very low priority, meaning if you attack at the same time as your opponent, they will usually beat you out. This could just be a "me" problem, but she has by far the strictest inputs of any character I've played. I regularly have trouble getting her simple bf1 fireball to come out, instead getting a standing 1. You'll press b122 and only get the b1. When I play her, I usually feel like I'm fighting the game more than my opponent. Her u2 is borederline useless, though I actually quite like her u3. Her d2 is surpringly solid, even if it has no horizontal range. She can have significant difficulty dealing with aerial characters such as Fujin, Jacqui, Kabal, and Sindel.

Kombos
I'm an online warrior who values reliability over optimization. You can usually sneak in an extra f3 into some of these kombos to gain an extra percent or two, but the timing can be quite tight, especially when figuring in ping. So, these are just my simple, reliable, non-optimized kombos.

Due to her stubby range on b1 and especially b2, it's usually best to land a d3 first so you can jail into the b1 or b2. It also lets you jail into her high 21 string.

Midscreen Meterless
21~bf4: 19%​
21~db4: 17%​
2~db4: 13%​
b122~db4: 18%​
b122~bf1: 15% but leaves them standing within b4 range and you're +9​
b211~db4: 20%​
b211~bf1: 15% but leaves them standing within b4 range and you're +8​
f1~db4: 15%​
f1~bf1: 12% but leaves them standing within b4 range and you're +8​
f3-f3-21~bf4: 23% or end with db4 to not switch sides and deal 22%​
Midscreen 1-Bar
bf4.amp--21~bf4: 24%​
bf2.amp-dash-21~bf4: 24%​
21~bf4.amp-21~bf4: 28%​
21~db4.amp: 20% and applies anti-movement debuff​
2~db4.amp: 16% + debuff​
b122~bf2.amp-dash-21~bf4: 29%​
b122~db4.amp: 20% + debuff​
b211~bf2-dash-21~bf4: 30%​
b211~db4.amp: 22% +debuff​
f1~bf2.amp-dash-21~bf4: 28%​
f1~db4.amp: 18%​
f3-21~bf4.amp-f1~bf4: 28%​
Midscreen 2-Bar
Any 1-bar kombo can become 2-bar by amplifying the final bf4 and komboing into f1~bf4 if you want a side-switch or f1~db4 if you don't. For example, 21~bf4.amp-21~bf4.amp-f1~bf4. Her 2-bar kombos usually cap out at around 34%​

Corner Meterless
All midscreen kombos work in the corner. Canceling b122 or b211 into bf1 will usually deal around 15-17% and leave you +7, turning your 12-frame b1 into a 5-frame attack the opponent must respect or flawless.​
b1221-d1~db4: 23%​

Corner 1-bar
All midscreen 1-bar kombos work in the corner. If opponent is still in the corner near the end of your kombo, end with db4 rather than bf4, as bf4 will throw them out of the corner. If the opponent is already out of the corner near the end of your kombo, such as after 21~bf4.amp, then end with bf4 to put them back in the corner.​
b1221-d1~db4.amp: 25% + debuff​
General Strategies

This variation doesn't have access to her armor break, but that actually works out in your favor. Your goal is to get your opponent to spend all their defensive meter, allowing you to demolish them with your mix. Sheeva has excellent oki, with almost all of her options leaving her nearby the opponent at +15 or more. Once the oponent has no meter, you can bully them with your 21, b211, b4, and b3 mix. Don't amplify your db3 while the opponent has no meter because this will waste time and they won't be taking any movement damage, anyway.

In the neutral, use your wavedash, f1, b4, and b3 to reach your opponent. Every f1 is a 50/50 between f1~db4 and f1~bf4. d3 is your poke of choice. Every d3 allows you to jail into your 21 mix. Don't be afraid to spam b122, as it's only -2 on block with no gaps. Every b122 is also a 50/50, or you can use b1221 to remain safe (besides flawless block) or b122~bf1.amp to reset the neutral. B122 is an excellent stagger string. If the opponent is poking after b122, start ending it with bf4 and you'll punish them for trying to poke. If you have meter, doing d1~bf3.amp after a blocked b122 is usually worth the risk, as you can deal 24-30% damage if they don't block it, and it works a surprising amount of the time.

So, there you have it. Sheeva, the Mix Queen! Please let me know if I've missed anything or gotten anything wrong.
 
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RoboCop

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Kotal still shits on her really hard and Frost can give her some problems. Not too sure about her other bad matchups. I assume Jade and Fujin both give her problems. Runaway Scorpion can give her a ton of problems.
 

Gooberking

FGC Cannon Fodder
I find her zoning to be a little intriguing. I suspect she can't quite keep someone out as well as a lot of the other characters that amp with 2 projectiles since she only has the one at at time to worry about. But the fact she gets her knockdown and back projectile without having to time invest in a second projectile means you can't really win a zoning war against her; even with another strong zoner.

Her faster recovery keeps her safer, and it's way easier for her to knock you down than the other way around. Going to z-war with her can work out with enough of a life lead, but in most cases I feel like trying will slowly slide off into Sheeva's favor.

Then when you try to go in, she has some strong, hard to contest mid range moves to try and get to you first; applying that mix stuff from up there. Basically feeding into giving her what she wants.
 
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RoboCop

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Just spent the last hour getting ripped to shreds by a good Kollector who could fuzzy my mix. All I could do was zone and try to use frame traps, though he was reacting to my frame traps about 99% of the time. Felt utterly unwinnable.
 

Gooberking

FGC Cannon Fodder
Hmm. Tried looking at how that would work. Actually seems kinda easy to do. That's knowing when the mix is coming.

Mid match I'd probably just freak out and get hit more. That's how I roll and all that
 

RoboCop

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Hmm. Tried looking at how that would work. Actually seems kinda easy to do. That's knowing when the mix is coming.

Mid match I'd probably just freak out and get hit more. That's how I roll and all that
I don't think he ever fuzzied s2~db4, though getting into s2 range against Kollector is easier said than done. But after every b122, he was able to fuzzy and punish for 35%.
 

MuMuGuy

Noob
Is there a reliable way to land f3 after Sheeva’s launchers, or is there an easier alternative? Her f3 is slow as dirt and whiffs most of the time. Sheeva seems to struggle with her juggles.
 

RoboCop

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Is there a reliable way to land f3 after Sheeva’s launchers, or is there an easier alternative? Her f3 is slow as dirt and whiffs most of the time. Sheeva seems to struggle with her juggles.
I usually just leave out the f3s. It usually adds only a single percent or two, and in some cases she actually gets better damage without the f3s. I find it whiffs too often to be a reliable juggle.
 

MuMuGuy

Noob
I usually just leave out the f3s. It usually adds only a single percent or two, and in some cases she actually gets better damage without the f3s. I find it whiffs too often to be a reliable juggle.
So do you just do b122 after after Dragon Charge and her other launchers? I found using d1 to be reliable after AMP Shokan Snag, but I could find anything similar for AMP Dragon Charge.

I appreciate it
 

RoboCop

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So do you just do b122 after after Dragon Charge and her other launchers? I found using d1 to be reliable after AMP Shokan Snag, but I could find anything similar for AMP Dragon Charge.

I appreciate it
I don't use Shokan Snag, but when I was messing with it, yeah, I would launch and end with b122~snag. After amp dragon charge I usually dash and do 21~ender.