Jolt
Uprise
So, I *think* I have new tech in development, but it isn't flawless. I need help from the experts here but I think I've tested for every option I could think of and I have answers. I personally believe that it pushes ethereal just a step further. However, it also makes an extra acknowledgment to just how meter hungry ethereal can be if you're using all options. But having (and knowing) all the options is what makes the variation so strong.
This is ANTI-BLOCK pressure tech which I feel significantly benefits Mileena. I'll go ahead and be honest, this is a gimmick as nothing is GUARANTEED, but it definitely makes reads a necessity.
We are basically going to try to borrow from some mind games created by Ravenous's low pounce. We're doing that by using our regular throw after + on block strings. So just from @TakeAChance 's Ethereal Guide, we have:
123~Ex Fade = +7 on block
21~Ex Fade = +4 on block
B22~Ex Fade = +4 on block
F23~Ex Fade = +7 on block
From my notes I have
4u3~EX fade as + 10
f1~EX fade +9 (ONLY IF BOTH HITS CONNECT)
f14~EX fade + 10
f3~EX fade + 14
f34~EX fade +13
My notes could definitely be off by a frame or 2, I'm new at this but I've tested with Cassie's Getaway Flip and Kung Lao's Tornado.
From my understanding, the fastest normal in the game is 5 frames and the fastest special is 6 (Cassie and Reptile). Because of this, Ethereal gets a throw opportunity after the above cancels. That means when we don't have enough advantage to go for our low or overhead during pressure, we can still have the option of throwing.
So you're probably thinking: "Well, yeah...but they could just back dash".
We have a counter to that option. A few counters, actually, depending on how safe we want to be:
ANTI-BACKDASH OPTIONS:
1. Ball roll - Doesn't take any meter, leads into a full combo. Risk is it's very punishable, if they blocked and didn't back dash you're eating a combo.
2. EX Roll - gives armor in case they actually attack and don't back dash, but once again punishable. Also, I PERSONALLY have trouble getting as much damage on EX roll combos as I do on standard roll
3.F44 OS - This one is nice, though I'm not sure if it's universal. If they do in fact back dash, you'll get a full combo from the roll. If the f4 doesn't make contact, the second 4 comes out and hits them so you still didn't miss out.
4. FADE - You're feeling risky, or you're SURE they will back dash. You get some meter and you get some space to start throwing sais. But let's be real, this option is just as good as any. All of the anti-backdash options are risky.
With that said, if they want to escape via backdash, they are taking just as much of a risk as you attempting to punish one.
Now you're saying: "Myron, you're dumb. They can armor through this"
First of all, it's not like we don't already have gaps in our pressure. Second, we already have an answer to that.
ANTI-ARMOR OPTIONS:
1. EX Roll - We're so positive at this point that we'll win any trades.
2. EX Fade - Haha, why not? Our other option spends a bar anyway and we might get a whiff punish on this one thanks to @ZeroEffect 's tech.
2b. EX Fade Towards or Away - Might give a potential whiff punish into a ball roll combo, would be matchup specific
3. Delay EX fade- Doesn't cost anything, you already used the meter. They won't know you're not coming out until it's too late, then you whiff punish accordingly. I find this one to be a last resort. Currently after an EX fade, most people I see simply block but I know that won't last forever.
"Alright, Mr. Know-It-All, how about if they jump?"
ANTI-JUMP OPTIONS:
1. Blockstring/JAIL - Depending on your frame advantage, you could honestly just jail here. They couldn't jump if they tried. Let's make them block somre more. What will jail will just depend on what string we started with (frame advantage)
2. NJP - Let them jump, tell them to sit back down and enjoy the combo.
3. JIK - We're still at frame advantage, so we should win any trades here. This is a nice, beautiful, meter building full combo
"Yeah, bud, there's this whole other issue here. Throws are techable."
ANTI-THROW TECHING
Ok, you caught me. They can tech the throw. With the throw, they're only eating 12% if they get hit. However, they have to also not be blocking. That's where we get back into frame traps and jailing
1. The mind game - If they predict you will grab, they will be pressing a button. If we are at frame advantage, we will win out with standing 1 which means: full combo. I think a player's best bet is honestly to accept the throws, but those knockdowns WILL add up. If a player just allows the throws, we get to MB into a guaranteed 50/50 (EX Roll or f4). Disadvantage is that technically requires 3 bars of meter for the opportunity. By the time a player starts just allowing the throw, we will have most likely already won the match.
The more I think about it, I probably have some redundant information in here. I consider this a work in progress as I don't feel it is completely optimized. Once we have the tech/strategy optimized, I'd definitely be willing to do a video. I HOPE this makes sense in text. At least enough for people to get what I'm saying. This is a homeless person's low pounce for ethereal lol. Could be all it takes to shift the tide.
IF this tech is viable (I'll leave it to the masters to determine), it will be even more important to manage our meter effectively and do everything we can to rebuild it. Good news is we still have the traditional low-meter ethereal pressure to fall back on. It's all about the mind game.
I'll be the first to admit, this is pretty obvious stuff. It's hardly reinventing the wheel, but every little bit helps. I haven't seen anyone mention throwing after an EX fade or how it slightly changes Ethereal's pressure game. Until now I've just been doing block strings into a safe fade away but I'd say this helps.
If anyone has feedback, improvements, or questions, just let me know. I'm looking to get this as solid, fleshed out, etc. and then I'll create a video (if it's worthwhile strategy/tech) and we can get it added to the Ethereal guide
This is ANTI-BLOCK pressure tech which I feel significantly benefits Mileena. I'll go ahead and be honest, this is a gimmick as nothing is GUARANTEED, but it definitely makes reads a necessity.
We are basically going to try to borrow from some mind games created by Ravenous's low pounce. We're doing that by using our regular throw after + on block strings. So just from @TakeAChance 's Ethereal Guide, we have:
123~Ex Fade = +7 on block
21~Ex Fade = +4 on block
B22~Ex Fade = +4 on block
F23~Ex Fade = +7 on block
From my notes I have
4u3~EX fade as + 10
f1~EX fade +9 (ONLY IF BOTH HITS CONNECT)
f14~EX fade + 10
f3~EX fade + 14
f34~EX fade +13
My notes could definitely be off by a frame or 2, I'm new at this but I've tested with Cassie's Getaway Flip and Kung Lao's Tornado.
From my understanding, the fastest normal in the game is 5 frames and the fastest special is 6 (Cassie and Reptile). Because of this, Ethereal gets a throw opportunity after the above cancels. That means when we don't have enough advantage to go for our low or overhead during pressure, we can still have the option of throwing.
So you're probably thinking: "Well, yeah...but they could just back dash".
We have a counter to that option. A few counters, actually, depending on how safe we want to be:
ANTI-BACKDASH OPTIONS:
1. Ball roll - Doesn't take any meter, leads into a full combo. Risk is it's very punishable, if they blocked and didn't back dash you're eating a combo.
2. EX Roll - gives armor in case they actually attack and don't back dash, but once again punishable. Also, I PERSONALLY have trouble getting as much damage on EX roll combos as I do on standard roll
3.F44 OS - This one is nice, though I'm not sure if it's universal. If they do in fact back dash, you'll get a full combo from the roll. If the f4 doesn't make contact, the second 4 comes out and hits them so you still didn't miss out.
4. FADE - You're feeling risky, or you're SURE they will back dash. You get some meter and you get some space to start throwing sais. But let's be real, this option is just as good as any. All of the anti-backdash options are risky.
With that said, if they want to escape via backdash, they are taking just as much of a risk as you attempting to punish one.
Now you're saying: "Myron, you're dumb. They can armor through this"
First of all, it's not like we don't already have gaps in our pressure. Second, we already have an answer to that.
ANTI-ARMOR OPTIONS:
1. EX Roll - We're so positive at this point that we'll win any trades.
2. EX Fade - Haha, why not? Our other option spends a bar anyway and we might get a whiff punish on this one thanks to @ZeroEffect 's tech.
2b. EX Fade Towards or Away - Might give a potential whiff punish into a ball roll combo, would be matchup specific
3. Delay EX fade- Doesn't cost anything, you already used the meter. They won't know you're not coming out until it's too late, then you whiff punish accordingly. I find this one to be a last resort. Currently after an EX fade, most people I see simply block but I know that won't last forever.
"Alright, Mr. Know-It-All, how about if they jump?"
ANTI-JUMP OPTIONS:
1. Blockstring/JAIL - Depending on your frame advantage, you could honestly just jail here. They couldn't jump if they tried. Let's make them block somre more. What will jail will just depend on what string we started with (frame advantage)
2. NJP - Let them jump, tell them to sit back down and enjoy the combo.
3. JIK - We're still at frame advantage, so we should win any trades here. This is a nice, beautiful, meter building full combo
"Yeah, bud, there's this whole other issue here. Throws are techable."
ANTI-THROW TECHING
Ok, you caught me. They can tech the throw. With the throw, they're only eating 12% if they get hit. However, they have to also not be blocking. That's where we get back into frame traps and jailing
1. The mind game - If they predict you will grab, they will be pressing a button. If we are at frame advantage, we will win out with standing 1 which means: full combo. I think a player's best bet is honestly to accept the throws, but those knockdowns WILL add up. If a player just allows the throws, we get to MB into a guaranteed 50/50 (EX Roll or f4). Disadvantage is that technically requires 3 bars of meter for the opportunity. By the time a player starts just allowing the throw, we will have most likely already won the match.
The more I think about it, I probably have some redundant information in here. I consider this a work in progress as I don't feel it is completely optimized. Once we have the tech/strategy optimized, I'd definitely be willing to do a video. I HOPE this makes sense in text. At least enough for people to get what I'm saying. This is a homeless person's low pounce for ethereal lol. Could be all it takes to shift the tide.
IF this tech is viable (I'll leave it to the masters to determine), it will be even more important to manage our meter effectively and do everything we can to rebuild it. Good news is we still have the traditional low-meter ethereal pressure to fall back on. It's all about the mind game.
I'll be the first to admit, this is pretty obvious stuff. It's hardly reinventing the wheel, but every little bit helps. I haven't seen anyone mention throwing after an EX fade or how it slightly changes Ethereal's pressure game. Until now I've just been doing block strings into a safe fade away but I'd say this helps.
If anyone has feedback, improvements, or questions, just let me know. I'm looking to get this as solid, fleshed out, etc. and then I'll create a video (if it's worthwhile strategy/tech) and we can get it added to the Ethereal guide
