Question What is the best way to use Skarlet?

[ryublaze]

I've picked her up recently and she seems like a fun character but I have a hard time pulling off her combos, especially online. The information I've gathered is that she is a good zoner and her Dagger Toss dash cancel is awesome.

In a real match, I have trouble actually starting a combo. Rushdown characters like Johnny Cage always are painful. Sometimes I use EX red dash into Up/Downslash as a wake-up attack but it can be a waste of meter if they jump or block.

I noticed that you can use Dagger Toss after any of her moves. With the dagger cancel, you can constantly keep pressure on a blocking opponent if you always end your combos with Dagger Toss followed by a cancel. I also read that F+2, 1, 2, 1+2, Blood Dash, 4 (or Upslash) is a good offensive combo. and I know that ending combos with 1, 1, 2 is good because it prevents wake-up attacks.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but in combos would doing Blood Dash before an upslash be a good idea? I mean, if you just add in the blood dash, you'll push your opponent further to the corner.

For zoning, I don't have much trouble. Mixing up the daggers is fun and leaves the opponent guessing when to let go of block. The weakness to the dagger projectile is that it can be jumped over. What I do is dash cancel backwards when my opponent jumps in. An X-Ray can be used at this moment since it is good anti-air, or maybe an uppercut.

 

[Ninj]

Against characters like Cage and Reptile who both have ways to cross the screen and are more powerful in terms of brute-force than Skarlet, the air-down-dagger is your best friend. Using your backward jumps into downward dagger catches Cage's EX Shadow Kick for a poke while he flies under you and will snag a Reptile who's elbow dashing to get up to you. Don't be afraid to completely zone out a Cage with no meter (and expect the EX shadow kick, plan your movements accordingly) and a Reptile.

Don't be afraid to mess people out of their combos with d3 as it's very quick.

Learn how to follow up with a powerful combo with f2 1 2 12, like this one:

212 dagger xx 23dagger xx 23 redslide dash is a solid punish

Skarlet is very good at unraveling other player's tactics. Assume that a pattern starts with 1 and you will quickly see how to punish people extremely well. Use her dash into downslash/upslash accordingly.

If you're fighting a player who likes to pause on the ground, as in they don't do a wakeup and don't hold block so they stay lying down, be ready to slide into downward slash - you will knock them up and be able to juggle easily into a 212 dagger xx 23 dashslide (into EX down slash if you want).

I'd be happy to play you in some matches to show you...ahh but I see you're PSN. Oh well.

Anyway, hope some of this helps. It's easier to describe her strengths when you give a particular matchup.

Oh yeah, edit: Don't be afraid to do her dash slide 2 times in a row then dash slide into downward slash after they've been trained to block low.

 

[ryublaze]

Ah, thanks a lot. I'll be sure to use the air downwards dagger more. That reset looks really good, but I am having trouble pulling off a down/up slash after red slide. I've only been able to pull it off a couple of times. Using downslash after slide seems like a really good tactic going from low to mid.

 

[Ninj]

Ah, thanks a lot. I'll be sure to use the air downwards dagger more. That reset looks really good, but I am having trouble pulling off a down/up slash after red slide. I've only been able to pull it off a couple of times. Using downslash after slide seems like a really good tactic going from low to mid.

My mental block was that I was trying to do 3 moves separately. df3, 4, df or db2. Think of it as all one move.

And yes, that is a good tactic but only if you're smart about it. Remember - Skarlet is very vulnerable to anyone who's paying attention to a full punish on a blocked downslash.

 

[DarkaThnBlack]

Ah, thanks a lot. I'll be sure to use the air downwards dagger more. That reset looks really good, but I am having trouble pulling off a down/up slash after red slide. I've only been able to pull it off a couple of times. Using downslash after slide seems like a really good tactic going from low to mid.

the method i used to use (b4 i relised its a glitch & is being removed) is to do the red dash plink 42 & hit forward as soon as you hit the opponent.
easy works 100% of the time

 

[ryublaze]

Thank you. I was doing slide, 2, df2 but then I looked here and saw that I was inputting it wrong. Slide, 2, b/f works like a charm.

212 dagger xx 23dagger xx 23 redslide dash is a solid punish

I usually do 2,1,2,dagger cancel,212,dagger cancel,1,1,2 but I drop it a lot. I also noticed that b2 or u3 are good starters for blocked teleports.

 

[Ninj]

Thank you. I was doing slide, 2, df2 but then I looked here and saw that I was inputting it wrong. Slide, 2, b/f works like a charm.


I usually do 2,1,2,dagger cancel,212,dagger cancel,1,1,2 but I drop it a lot. I also noticed that b2 or u3 are good starters for blocked teleports.

Stronger reset combo that can win a an entire round is the following:

jip 212 dagger cancel 23 dagger cancel xx 112 df34+df2 xx 212 dagger cancel xx 112 df34+db2 (to anticipate lowblock) xx 23 dagger cancel xx 23 df34+EXdb2

Mix up the db2/df2 as appropriate to punish a trained opponent. This is absolutely not perfect - any opponent with real experience against Skarlet will be watching for the df3+db2 and block accordingly. But against most players online, you should find strong success with that string.

Against some players, completing full strings even if they're blocking can sometimes work. I will sometimes complete the following string even if they block every hit:

jip 212 dagger cancel xx 23 dagger cancel df34+db or df2, depending on what I want to do in that situation.

Mix it up too - find ways to incorporate f312+db2 or df2 or df34 and b1 1 f4

Hope this helps.