G4S KT
Gaming4Satan Founder
Wrath of the Jackalope 2.0
A Note on Smoke's hitbox: Smoke has one of the biggest crouching hit boxes in the game aside from Sheeva and maybe freddy. This means he can be victimized by jab pressure very easily. There are exceptions to this rule, but basically in practice, it means this:
All of the cast's standing jabs will hit Smoke while crouch blocking and jail him. However, if Smoke is naked crouching they will whiff. This is true for ALL characters for AT LEAST the first hit of their jab strings. KL, for example, while the first hit of all his jab strings will whiff on naked crouch, all of the rest of the hits in the string will hit smoke special mid, regardless of whether he's blocking or not. Make sense?
-GENERAL STRATEGIES
-Strategy Shift: jump happy v. jump-less
If they're jump happy, chill on the d4 and b2 because jumps will clear them easy. Wait to AA stuff
If they rarely jump, come at them hard with b2 and d4 into block pressure.
If they have air mix ups: Save meter and EX shake jump ins to slow them down
-Strategy Shift: block heavy (turtlers) v. button happy (mashers)
If they are block heavy, and are really respecting d1 xx SB, use 3d1 mix ups heavily and throw A LOT. Do NOT poke n smoke
The nature of Smoke's normals makes it tough to open up cautious opponents, so just throw them
You get free invis or oki pressure if they don't tech roll
Conversely, if you smoke drift past an opponent while block stringing them, you'll end up outside of their
d1/d3 range. You can blow them up with b2 if they try to poke you, or you can jump back in if you're bold, or
you can d4 and then follow up (d4 will be in range).
If they are button happy, use d1 spam to bait then poke n smoke
You can test how much they're respecting a follow up to a poke by d1 spamming them
-Strategy Shift: sitting on life leads
If you've got a life lead, don't b-e- aggressive ever. You want them to chase you.
-Reading Your Opponent
Probably the MOST important thing to do as a Smoke main is get a read on your opponent and do it in a hurry. The nature of Smoke's character
makes him pretty ineffective unless you leverage his abilities in the right way. In a tournament setting (best 2 of 3) If you can't get a bead on the
other guy PDQ you're in trouble. If you were to watch some of my pool matches in tourneys, you'd probably say "this dude is supposed to be a
good Smoke player?" for the first match and the beginning of the second match. But what I've done in that time is download my opponent, and
once that has happened it's over.
Luckily, Smoke can be played in a way that forces your opponent to make moves on you, allowing more time to read them. I'll cover some of
these strategies in the Footsies sections below.
-FOOTSIES TECHNIQUES
-FOOTSIES FROM NEUTRAL
-The Shuffle:
This is a universal footsie trick, but Smoke wants to make heavy use of anything that can get an opponent to whiff an attack. The shuffle is simply staying on
the edge of your opponent's max range attack and walking repeatedly (shuffling) in and out of range, trying to coax them into attacking. If they whiff something,
SB or b2 punish.
-Walk Back > Jump In
I know this seems simple and risky, but if someone is block dashing you down and you're walking backward, jumping immediately forward WITHOUT telegraphing it by changing directions on the ground can catch them off guard. This is especially applicable against characters with good block dashes.
-Runaway Smoke Bomb (RSB):
The goal of RSB is to annoy your opponent into doing something you can capitalize on, and to download them. Basically, you want to stay at full screen and
repeatedly drift away, while mixing in forward dashes, invis, and peppering them with SB. Some characters with super fast teleports can shut down this
strategy (Sektor and Noob Saibot come to mind), but as long as you stay erratic with your movements you can watch how your opponent handles it and react
accordingly.If they try and teleport, block/punish. If they block dash to close space AA if they try to jump or Jiu Jitsu them (see below) if they stay grounded.
The achilles heel of RSB is cornering yourself. If you're facing a patient opponent who will let you corner yourself by doing this, stop outside the corner by about 1 full screen and let them come to you. That way you'll room to maneuver.
-Shake 'N Bait:
This can be mixed into RSB or used independently. This is another quick way to download your opponent in-match. It's quite simple; you just shake and hold it and watch your opponent. Then, when the time is right, Dash out and jump over them into a CUP. Normally, your opponent will attempt to walk up and poke you out of it. If they do that, you know you have an aggressive opponent and will probably score damage or pressure. If they simply wait you out, you know you have a patient opponent and can leverage that against them. Some characters can shut this strategy down (again Sektor, Noob Saibot, Ermac, and Mileena come to mind), so it's match up specific. You can take advantage of this against non-teleporters and slow teleporters. It also works to some degree against KL.
-Invis:
Invis might be the best bait in the game. It obscures you so that it's hard for your opponent to judge the your spacing and whether or not you're in recovery.
Most people go way out of their way to try and hit you, even to the point of doing something punishable, if you close into a threatening range while
invisible. Everyone handles it differently, though giving you another opportunity to download them; they might get jumpy and come at you or they might turtle
up. Either way, you're throwing them off balance and given an opportunity to download them further.
There's also no reason to not be invisible all the time while RSB-ing. At full screen you can get it (almost) for free.
-Formless
Smoke drift is an amazing tool to force whiff punishes. You can dash towards an opponent, well inside their attack range and then drift away. If they attempt to do anything that has a bit of recovery you can whiff punish with SB or b2. If they are reluctant to do anything as you're harassing them by dashing up to their face and drifting away, you can mix them up with a throw or d4 to begin pressure.
Alternatively, you can spend a bar and use the invincibility of EX drift to force whiff punishes on moves that would otherwise connect. For example, you're fighting an Ermac player. Normally Ermac has nothing to fear by checking Smoke with telepush from anywhere other than up close. If you make a read on their telepush and EX drift in anticipation, you'll travel right through the hitbox of it and can full combo punish. You can apply this to many characters. Make good reads and call that shit out with EX drift, then whiff punish with SB or another method.
EX drift is also a pretty good vehicle for attacking, especially from a range that will ACUP (ambiguously cross up). If you use EX drift at them from ACUP range, you can throw attacks with relatively little fear that you will be stuffed or punished. Alternatively, you can poke them and begin pressure that way. Obviously only do this when you have meter to burn.
-BAITING AA's AND TEACHING THEM NOT TO JUMP
I felt like this aspect of Smoke's game was important enough to warrant it's own section.
One of Smoke's most important attributes is his ability to completely destroy all jump ins with standing 2 unless the opponent has air mix
ups, particularly dive kicks. Most teleports are easy to scout and the recovery of standing 2 is fast enough that you can (usually) still block and punish.
Getting people to jump at you as Smoke isn't that hard, either.
-using a lot of d3s at max range (and whiffing some as well) is a great (and safe) way to bait jumps.
Peck at them then back off. Just pay attention for far reaching low avoidance attacks like Kabal's f3.
-d4 fishing & d4 xx SB at max range is a good jump bait, especially If they don't have a way to blow up d4 (kitana f21, sektor b1 for example).
Whiffing d4's outside max range can work too, but can back fire if they call you out on it by dashing in and jumping over it.
Then you're in pressure.
-RSB is good to bait jump ins and punishable teleports.
-Moonwalking (see below)
Once you have convinced your opponent to not jump at you, your ground game can open up.
-FOOTSIE APPLICATIONS WHILE ON OFFENSE
-The Fake Out
Another universal footsie trick, but it's worth mentioning. There are 2 versions I like to apply.
-Don't Tread On Me
When you score a knockdown and are right next to your opponent (such as after a sweep or letting them plant at the end of a combo) you can mind game them into throwing a punishable wake up by simply walking up onto them and pushing them across the screen. Then, block when you feel they're about to throw the attack. If they want to hang out on the ground, standing 3 will hit them grounded and give you a block string.
-Moonwalk
After successfully landing a JIP or CUP, you can moonwalk forward or backward instead of dialing a blockstring. Walking forward can startle them into pressing a butting which you can attempt to beat with 2(14). Walking backward can cause them to jump at you, which you can AA. If they don't jump, you can walk back momentarily, then b2, d4 or jump at them if you're feeling saucy.
-Float Like a Butterfly
Using smoke drift as part of pressure is something that I've been developing that is, as of yet, largely unexplored. But, it can be applied very powerfully
for some non-traditional pressure.
These are the basic principals it operates on:
-smoke drift towards while at point blank range leaves you outside of d1/d3 and most normals (you and the opponent), but inside d4/b2 range.
If you see them throw a d1 to try and hit you, it can be blown up for a full combo with b2.
-smoke drift towards at max d4 range places you at point blank range, but on the opposite side of your opponent. As you reappear, you want to
d1 or d3, and then follow that up. There is a window where they can poke you before you reappear, but requires precision timing and if you expect this, you can block and retaliate with your own poke.
-smoke drift away at point blank range leaves you just outside jump distance. This is a "follow me" bait, because if they advance at you to try and stay
on you, you can jump at them and the smoke drift animation obscures your jump until you're well in the air, giving them much less time to react.
this can score you a block string and give you pressure back when they thought it was over, messing with their head.
Here is an example set up/blockstring:
d4 (hit) > b2 (block) xx drift towards (check for their d1, no d1) > d4 (hit or block) xx drift toward > d3 (hit) > CUP … And so on.
-214 Moonwalk
After a blocked 214, pokes will whiff (you might need to take a step back) and can be blown up with b2. If they jump at you it can be AA'd easily.
If you feel they will try to jump after they block the string, 214 xx SB will catch them.
-FOOTSIE APPLICATIONS WHILE ON DEFENSE
-Jiu Jitsu: Using Their Momentum against them - If you're facing down a character that is block dashing up to your face and hitting buttons, don't dash forward
into a poke or d4 or sweep; let their forward momentum bring them into range. This especially applies to Kung Lao. When you counter-poke their offense
with d1/d3 you can relatively safely assume that they will be frightened and hesitate, allowing you to throw them. If you can score a sweep or d4, even
better, then the pressure can be reversed. Be carefully against low avoiding special mids, however. They will clear d3/d4/sweep. Use d1 in this case.
-Legs For Days: Countering Sonya/Mileena d4 - This is a simple, but risky, way to blow up these bitches' d4's and scare them into not d4-ing.
Basically, if they're in d4 range and you sniff one out, throw a SB. Even though the d4 will hit you, the SB will hit them for a full combo.
This is risky because if they call your bluff and jump at you, you'll be at best put into block pressure, at worst eating a big punish. Depending on how quickly they adapt, you might only be able to do this once. But then you can call them out on their jump attempts and go for AA.
-SMOKE, THE CORNER, AND YOU
-You're Cornered
The best way to get out of the corner is to never get put there in the first place. If your opponent lands a combo on you and puts you into the corner, as long as
they can't standing reset you, you can do wake up EX smoke drift and be completely invincible from start to finish. Your opponent might expect this and move pretty
far back to counter your escape. If you see this, don't wake up drift. Instead, wait until they begin to come towards you again and THEN EX drift past them.
If you find yourself cornered, the worst thing you can do is panic and try to jump out or throw a teleport punch on wake up. This will normally get you blown up and put right back into the corner. Instead, you must be patient and wait for an opening to d1 or d3. After that, see "breaking pressure" below for what your follow up options are.
-You've Cornered Your Opponent
Now this is where things get fun. Smoke can very effectively keep an opponent in the corner and his tool set is well suited to cause confusion and panic.
My 2 preferred options for ending corner combos are invis and drift toward and each has it's own advantages.
-Invis
Ending a corner combo in invis can cause your opponent to panic. Depending on what their tendencies are, this can cause them to try and jump out, which you can
AA, wake up attack which you can block/punish or some other counter depending on the character, or they will try and turtle up. If they turtle up or try to stay
grounded, you can throw standing 3 at them with the confidence that it will beat both laying down grounded and most wake ups (if they've waited long enough to have lost their invincibility).
-Smoke Drift Towards
Ending a corner combo in smoke drift towards the corner can confuse your opponent. Smoke drifting towards the corner has some interesting properties and requires
some explaining. If your opponent is making direct contact with the corner, then you will re-appear on the same side that you started on. However, if there is ANY
space between them and the corner, you will end up on the corner side and they will be pushed slightly out to make room for you. Which one will happen is kind
of a crap-shoot because it has to do with what the hit animation of your opponent is doing at the time, it's nigh impossible to tell for certain which side you'll be on.
But that's the genius of 3d12; to input the string it doesn't matter which side you're on. That's your best option after ending a corner combo with drift towards: 3d12.
Your opponent won't be sure which way to input a wake up attack so if they want to try, they'll have to guess. If they guess wrong, you'll get a full combo.
Alternatively, they might just block, in which case you can continue block pressure or throw them
Now, it's not always a good idea to get in your opponents face after I've cornered them. Many times I like to back off to maybe jump distance or just outside and wait for them to try something to escape. Jumps get baited and AA'd, direct charges result in a sweep or d4 and then a throw back into the corner. When they're in the corner they are forced to do something pro-active to get out and you can take big advantage of this.
If they have safe/advancing wake ups you want to counter according to the match up. Noob, for example, back up and SB if you suspect the upknee; Nightwolf, d4 his shoulder, and so on.
-BLOCK STRINGS, MIX UPS, & OTHER PRESSURE
-Cross ups: Because Smoke's normals are slow and all besides b2 have short range, crossing up is super important with Smoke to be able to continue pressure.
Setting yourself up with one with d3 is super important to be able to do effectively. If they start going for d1 or other anti-cross ups or d3 avoidance start jump kicking them.This becomes risky against characters with armor, however. You'll have to bait out the armor and punish.
Out of a cross up punch, all of Smoke's pressure options are available which is huge. Another great thing is that Smoke has access to a nasty 50/50. You can either d4 to trap them and continue pressure, or you can go b23 and hit confirm SB or smoke drift. Conditioning them to block low after a CUP
by d4-ing the first time or two is a great way to get yourself free launches with b2.
-D4/B2/Throw: This is easily Smoke's most important pressure mix up. If you hit with d4, b2 is guaranteed. Once you teach them this, after d4
You can walk up and throw them. Also, if you connect d4 within 1/2 of it's max range, another one is guaranteed. They can't even armor
out when done properly. They MUST block low to get out of d4 > short dash > d4 spam which opens them up to b2. If they try and jump out,
you can convert that to a full combo with d4 > d1 xx SB.
-D4 xx SB: This can catch people pressing buttons because the SB is cancelled out of d4 extremely suddenly. At max range, this is completely safe and
from my experience so far, impossible to even reverse pressure on. It can also result in jumping (see above).
-Advancing D3 Spam: this can be a good way to get in if they don't have/aren't using low avoiding special mids. It can also result in jumping (see above)
-D3 > 2(14) pressure: This can be poked out of, but it is a good way to continue pressure if you connect with d3 at close range.
Can lead into 214 > Moonwalk set ups and will AA jump attempts for full combo conversions if you're paying attention.
-D3 > 3d1(2) pressure: This is best used after your opponent is scared to jump. They have a 6 frame window to input their d1 to stop you, but you have psychological
advantage and once your standing 3 is onscreen it's unlikely they will attempt to poke you unless they've already committed to it. This can be jumped out of if
they commit to the jump during the hit recovery of d3. But, even if they cross you up, the CUP thrown whiffed 85% of the time I tested it. It also blows up
attempted d3 retaliation for a full combo.
-D3 > CUP: Cross ups are a very important part of Smoke's pressure, and if connect with d3 at point blank range, a CUP can only be AA'd
ON THE WAY UP by fast advancing AA specials (kano ball, flip kick, etc.) or a jumping attack. If they try any other grounded normal you will
clear it and punish. Once you're in the air, if you've been using this tactic and suspect that they will try to NJP or instant JK you, your
instant JK can beat it. If they try to walk backwards into position for grounded AA, you can throw a JK at them and because of the angle, normally win, or
t-punch out of the way.
-D1 Spam: This is more of a shenanigan than anything else. It's best used to test your opponent early to see how jumpy they are and download them further.
-D1 xx SB (poke and smoke): good for breaking pressure against mashers for a full combo, but otherwise risky (see below). Use sparingly as part of pressure.
-D1 > Throw: Hitting an opponent out of an attack typically grants enough hesitation to throw them unless they are a button masher.
-D1 xx drift: will put you at a slightly closer distance than mentioned above in "Float Like a Butterfly" due to push back on d1.
-1 > (1) > 3d12: Standing 1 has extremely fast cool down. If your opponent blocks your standing 1, you can throw a standing 3 at them almost for free unless they
call you out on it. If they don't remain blocking, and hesitate even an instant before retaliating, standing 3 will hit.
-214 Moonwalk/mix ups: After a blocked 214, most pokes will whiff (you might need to take a step back) and can be blown up with b2. walking back can also
bait them into jumping at you. If they respect a follow up and remain blocking you can d4 them.
-11 on block allows a throw mix up. If you've condition them to block 112, the rhythm and appearance of 11 > throw is identical to 112.
-3d1 Mix Ups: These can be very effective as long as you don't over use them. They have a a slight telegraph and a window of 9 frames to
input a poke that will beat a 3d1 loop. This is enough time to poke you out if they think it's coming. Out of 3d1 you can have a few options:
-3d1 loop
-throw
-d1/d3 (if you want to beat their poke)
-just finish the string.
Here's where another mix up can come. Out of the completed string you have a choice:
-3d12 > frame war d1 (will AA jump outs)
-3d12 > throw (if you suspect they will respect the d1)
-3d12 > cross up (if you suspect they will respect the d1)
-112, b14, & 214 all trap into SB on block
-b1 has the most block stun of all of Smoke's normals. b1 xx invis on block is only somewhere between -5 to -7 (this is just from me eyeballing it).
-Some example Block Strings
d3 > 3d12
… > 2(14)
… > CUP
… > 2 xx drift through
1 > 2 > (2) > d3 > CUP
… > d1 (spam) xx SB
… > d1 > throw
1 > (1) > 3d12
d4 > throw
d4 > b2 > d1 xx SB
… > d3(d3) > b23
… > d3 > CUP
… > 2(14)
… xx drift towards > d3 > CUP
d4 xx drift > d3 > CUP
… > d3 > 2
… > d3 (spam) > AA
… > d1(to catch jumps)
b2 > drift through
… > d1 xx SB
… > d3 > CUP
b1 xx invis > d1
… > NJP (if you suspect a jump)
11 > b2 > d3 > CUP
… > throw
… > d3 > throw
… > d1 > SB
3d1 > (3d1) > throw
… > drift through
… > walk backward > b2
**they might jump at you here**
3d1 > 3d1 > 3d12 > d3 > CUP
... > d1 xx drift
3d12 > d1 xx drift
CUP > d4 > 3d1(2) mix ups
… > b23 xx drift away > jump in
… > 1 > 3d12 > d1 xx drift towards > d4 > b23 xx drift away
… > 112 xx drift toward > d4 > throw
… > 11 > throw
**Note that by including smoke drift in your offensive pressure, you can loop patterns until your opponent capitalizes on an opening and escapes**
-COMBO ENDING SET UPS
-Jump Kick/Air Throw
-Whiffed T-punch: crosses up, slight advantage
-Smoke drift towards: puts you at point blank range. No advantage
-EX Smoke drift towards: crosses up, leaves you at point blank range. No advantage
-21
-Smoke drift toward: If they tech roll, doesn't cross up. If they don't tech roll, crosses up. Slight advantage
-214
-Smoke drift toward: Chases, out of range if they tech roll. Slight advantage
-EX Smoke drift toward: Crosses up if they don't tech roll. Slight advantage
-Invis: 3/4 screen knock away. Slight advantage
-f4
-Invis: Full screen knock away. Heavy advantage
-Whiffed T-punch: Crosses up. Heavy advantage
-Invis > Whiffed T-punch: Crosses up and you are invisible. No advantage
-Miscellaneous set ups:
-After t-punch on hit, you can whiff a t-punch to get on them. If they tech roll, they will cross under you during the recovery of whiffed t-punch and you can
attempt a throw; they must wake up in the right direction at the right time or jump.
-Breaker link smoke bomb: after you break an opponents combo while in the air, you can throw a free SB as soon as you hit the ground. This SB will OTG and launch them if they don't tech roll. From what I can tell this is completely safe and they can't even reverse pressure on you.
-BREAKING PRESSURE
Here is where Smoke can struggle. If you're not extremely familiar with your opponent's move set and properties you can get fucked up.
Do yourself a favor and learn what ALL of the rest of the cast's strings look like, where they have advantage, where you can poke or escape and what
their untechable knock downs are.
-Smoke's options to break pressure are d1, d3, EX shake, or jump out (but only if you scout a throw or a jump-able opening). What's crucial is how you follow up
and that really depends on your opponent.
-d1 xx SB - only if your opponent is a button masher. If they continue to mash, you can do it more but normally this will only work once.
After it connects the first time, they will normally block subsequent attempts which won't get you out. Don't be greedy.
-d1 > throw - if you're playing a cautious opponent who respects a follow up after a connected d1 you can score a throw pretty much for free.
-d1 xx drift away - on hit, d1 xx drift away is completely safe except for full screen fast-advancing-specials.
-d1 xx drift towards - this will cross up your opponent and it's kind of ballsy. If they block the d1, they can hit you out of the drift startup,
but on hit d1 xx drift towards is difficult to punish. Depending on how long your opponent hesitates with a
retaliation you could potentially get a full combo punish on a whiffed move.
-d3 > d3 (repeat) > AA baited jump - This can work great if your opponent really likes to try and cross you up. NJP them for a full combo.
-d3 > throw - This works if your opponent is playing more cautiously and respecting a follow up.
-d3 > 2(14) or block pressure - Again this works if they are respecting a follow up.
-EX Shake - Self Explanatory. Loses to all pokes and low attacks so use at your own risk
-Cross Up Defense - Smoke has 3 options to defend against cross ups: d1 (punish), d3 (avoidance), EX Shake (punish).
Whether or not d1 works is dependent upon the timing of BOTH your d1 and their CUP. It doesn't always work because of Smoke's huge crouching hatbox.
The most damage you can get off of it is 35% or so with 1 bar and you risk potentially eating a massive combo or losing 2 bars. I would stay away from it entirely. Alternatively, options 2 and 3 are safe and more consistent. Also, if you follow your avoidance d3 with d4, they will be unable to block it due to the "bug" that prevents crouch blocking after a deep JIP. Then you can pressure them. If they cross up over a poke or other whiffed move, your ONLY option is
to block, or if you're feeling like a jedi, EX shake.
-METER USAGE
Smoke's best use for meter is breaker, hands down. You should try to ALWAYS have a breaker on deck when you go on the offense. You can run away to get meter by pulling it out of the air (late whiffed air grab) or shaking and doing invis and getting them to block SB. Smoke drift on it's own has negligible meter gain
(1/45th of a bar).
The second best use of meter is EX shake. Using EX shake on an opponent who's pressuring you really hard is a great way to slow them down and give you breathing room. It's also a great anti-cross up/AA in general since i beats all dive kicks.
Third best use of meter is a tie between EX smoke drift and EX invis. Both have their uses, but spending a meter on EX invis can backfire.
After that is EX teleport punch which honestly sucks and is almost entirely useless except as a round ending punish against someone who is carelessly pressuring
you on wake up. It really should be safe on block IMO. The hit box of Smoke's X-ray sucks so bad you will end up being burned by it more often than not.
I've actually seen Smoke's fist make contact with the other character and the move not hit. X-ray is only good for unbreakable damage inside combos
or for trollin'. Dash canceling the X-ray into a throw to win a match can be a really hype and lolzy way to win if you find yourself playing on stream or something.
Rough Match Ups: KL, Sonya, Kabal, Cage
Match Ups That Aren't Bad But Require A Specific Approach: Kitana, Reptile, Mileena, Cyber Subz
Kung Lao: Large Advantage KL
One of if not the worst MU Smoke has for several reasons.
One, you can't run away from KL. Whiffed dive kick and teleports chase smoke drift faster than you can do them.
Two, he has heavy air mix ups. A jump in > top screen teleport is super fucking hard to punish unless you really commit to it on prediction.
Three, spin. Spin blows up all cross up pressure for full launches for free and makes it risky to even poke him to get out of pressure.
And worst of all, four, all of his jabs jail you in crouch block, so it's effortless for KL to put you in pressure.
I don't have to mention that you should never ever jump at KL right? Good.
In order to beat Kung Lao you HAVE to punish his shit. His normals are straight up better than yours in every way. In order to keep from being pressured (because his standing 2 has such retarded range), you have to naked crouch and d4 a lot as he's charging in at you on the ground. This is risky because he can f33 xx spin you for full combo. You really have to guess what he's going to do because if you try to block check his f3 you're easily jailed into pressure. His pressure is ridiculous, too. You're likely eat a fuck-ton of chip and nickel & dime damage from his overhead/low mix up. You MUST take risks to get out of his pressure and it's super fucking easy for him
to put you there.
Thankfully, after the nerf, low hat is -14 on block. This is enough of a window to punish with 21 xx SB but is risky; if you're off by 2 frames and you get blocked you're getting launched by spin.
Against Teleport, you want to d3 > d1. 99% of the time the KL player will teleport > 3. Use your d3 to dodge it and you can knock him out of the air for a combo. This is really tight because of Smoke's huge hit box and you're going to get blown up if you mistime it.
Like was mentioned above, you HAVE to punish his spin and dive kick in order to win so your entire strategy has to revolve around baiting one, the other, or both. if he's a fan of whiffing dive kicks, when he jumps dash forward and block. Sometimes KL players like to get risky with dive kicks from up close. That shit is deceptively fast and is very hard to block on reaction since you have so much more to worry about once he goes airborne.
To get baited spins, you want to fish for knockdowns (sweep) and then get in his face when he's on the ground. Hopefully he'll carelessly spin and you'll get a punish. You're probably going to need to get 2 launchers in a row in order to do any damage because KL builds meter like no other, especially since his pressure is so easy to get started.
The best punisher for spin is still dash in > 21 xx SB.
If you can't bait Kung Lao into blocked spins or dive kicks, you're probably going to lose.
Sonya: Advantage Sonya
The reason this match up isn't worse than it could be for Smoke is that you can really force Sonya to guess on the way in. She has no way to chase you/get in on you besides d4 or jumping at you. Her jab strings will jail you in crouch block after the first move but most of the string will whiff over your head on naked crouch, giving plenty of time to d4. She has no fast special mids so she has to rely on d4 xx military stance. If she touches you with d4 you must block the follow up MS f1.
But that's where you make her guess. As stated above, the Sonya approach on Smoke goes down like this:
She stays grounded:
Sonya d4 loses to SB for full combo
Sonya d4 beats AA watching for +1 pressure
Smoke d4 beats all dash-up grounded pressure attempts for reversed pressure
She jumps at you:
Smoke Standing 2 beats jip/jk for full combo
Smoke Standing 2 goes 50/50 with dive kick (depends on angle, height, and input time of both moves) both get combos, but Sonya's combo off dive kick is much worse
Sonya Dive kick loses to block for a full combo
Sonya jip beats block for pressure.
So this getting in guessing game with Sonya is in Smoke's favor, but once she gets in her pressure and completely safe MS mixups are bananas. If she does MS off of a block string, you can normally get a poke in or jump out so that's probably your best bet.
Another note is that d1 xx SB beats armored cartwheel. If the d1 is eaten by cartwheel's armor, the SB will connect right after the armor goes away. You don't get a combo from it but the trade is in your favor since you will have done more damage to her, she will have wasted a meter, and you'll be at advantage.
Cyber Subz: Probably 5-5 but really really annoying
This match is all about dive kicks. You can punish a high up dive kick on block with b2, but you gotta be quick. Lower body dive kicks are safe but you can go for a b2 to reverse pressure. Smoke's standing 2 AA is not much use in this MU because CSZ's dive kicks beat it out right. The only way to stop him from dive kicking is to be within jump range and take to the air before he does. His AA game isn't that great and he can't do much about max height jump kicks but can AA with jabs if you jump from too far out. If you're above CSZ in the air, you've beaten dive kick and should take the opportunity to jump kick/air throw into oki pressure.
CSZ is no slouch up close either. his jab pressure and 3 string can be rough and both the overhead and low versions launch and his parry is annoying as fuck. Against his kick string your best bet is to guard low first because 33 is quick and if you don't see the second quick low kick, fuzzy guard the over head. You can wake up t-punch out of most of his bomb set ups, just watch to see if they bait it.
First, you want to get him out of the air by getting above him and jump kicking his dive kicks, and then get in his face on the ground. Use lots of d4's to beat the parry.
Scouting and punishing slide is a good way to get damage as well.
Kabal: Advantage Kabal
First off, it's important to realize that Kabal is very difficult to run away from. EX nomad dash can beat smoke drift from anywhere on screen on reaction. And, even though shake prevents iaGB from keeping you away, he can still use them as a footsie tool. He can shoot them up close and your only safe option is to duck under them, and he can bait shake by shooting over your head and then punish with ND. Basically, you have to pay very close attention and have precise knowledge of how much higher Smoke's hit box gets when he shakes. If Kabal shoots over your head, t-punch him. If he shoots within shake height, shake him. This guessing game is risky but it's unlikely the Kabal will be shooting that many projectiles at you anyway.
One of the things I dislike most about this match up is that Smoke is one of the only characters in the game with nothing to put on screen to occupy space and prevent Kabal from checking him with a nomad dash from ANYWHERE. SB can sometimes pull Kabal out of ND start up, but it loses for full combo if you try to do it on reaction. Once he ND'es at you, you HAVE to guess whether he's going to commit or not. That sucks; He can force you to guess whenever he wants from anywhere on screen. My only advice here is to 1: play him up close so he can't check you, or 2: dash forward or back to mess with his spacing. Specifically, dashing forward and blocking to try and get him to bounce off you, or dashing back in an attempt to get something to whiff and punish it. Invis is your friend here.
Up close, Smoke catches Kabal's NDC pressure the worst of any character in the game; huge hitbox and no armor (x-ray doesn't count you dicks). Your best bet is honestly to wait for f32 and let yourself get hit by the 2 and roll away. Poking out is incredibly fucking hard. d3 doesn't really work because f3 and f4 go over it and blow you up, and even if you slip in a d1, you have to hope that they are frightened into blocking because your only follow up option that will beat any of his normals is another d1 and if he blocks that, you're right back into pressure.
d1 xx SB is a decent counter to NDC pressure from sloppy Kabals because they will be most likely trying to input something when it happens, launching them. Good luck doing that shit to someone like REO though.
If your opponent has a tendency to armored ND, try and bait it by throwing a couple d1's or d3's and then blocking. Otherwise, you'll need to download their habits to capitalize on punishment. Cross up at your own risk since armored ND beats it. However, max height JK will beat armored ND because when the kick connects you float
in place for a second and Kabal goes under you.
Kabal is another character who you will need to get two launches on in a row in order to do any damage because of how much he'll build meter.
Kitana: 5-5
Beating Kitana is all about whiff punishing. And not jumping into fans.If you can avoid jumping into her fans you're in good shape. All of Kitana's normals will beat Smoke's
If you try and get aggressive with d4/b2/jump ins. Don't do that.
When at sweep range, you can't trade normals (even d4) because hers will almost always win for massive damage. Instead, keep running away and get her to whiff f21 or another string. She gets blown up by b23 easy on whiff. d1 xx cutter seems to be the go-to pressure option for Kitana, but as long as you're crouching, even if d1 hits you get d4 for free since cutter whiffs on naked crouch. d4 on wake up snuffs most of her options as well, just delay it slightly so the wake up invincibility is gone by the time it connects and be careful of wake up EX fan lift; that's a full combo punish on block. Up close, poke the shit out of her and cross her up. Her only consistent cross up defense is EX fan lift.
Reptile: 5-5 maybe slightly in Smoke's favor
Reptile's go-to force ball shenanigans are useless here, except for EX slow ball and then dash in front of it, which can be annoying to deal with, but that's it. This means that the Reptile is forced to rely on elbow dash for nearly his entire game.
There are two ways to approach elbow dash, and which one works depends on the player. The first is to remain at the ambiguous edge of dash range and then NJP when you see it. Many times, the reptile player will dash up and try to to cross up or throw a string. NJP will beat both of those for full combo. If they never learn how to deal with this, then the match is already over.
If the NJP strategy isn't working, then you want to stay far away from the ambiguous dash range, either full screen running away or right up in his face. From full screen, Reptile has no options besides EX slow ball and then getting in front of it. Otherwise, he has to approach you. Hanging out at fullscreen really isn't in your favor because rep can just double dash and there he is in your face.
If he isn't falling for the NJP shenanigan, you definitely want to smother reptile. Stay well inside dash range and make him afraid to use it.
Up in each other's face, Reptile and Smoke share remarkably similar normals if you break them down, but Smoke's 50/50 is much better (d4/b2 > d4/acid hand/slide) and Smoke is much more mobile up close so I feel like he wins there. If the reptile player is eager to dash and punish your pokes, wait to block one and then blow him up for it. If you're up in Reptile's face and he's scared to dash, you're at huge advantage.
Things to be aware of: EX elbow dash leaves him at +5 so you have to block the follow up unless it's d3, which you can jump over. Most Reptile's will end strings with acid hand, but block low for the slide just in case and fuzzy guard acid hand. On block, acid hand pushes you way back but is -6 or so, meaning you can jump at him and there isn't much he can do about it besides EX force ball as AA. In reality, that's his only consistent and damaging AA option, so you can get away with lots of jumping. However, if you land from a jump and you are inside elbow dash range, you can't get off the ground again before dash hits you, so just block it.
Mileena: advantage Smoke
All you really need to know about Mileena is how to punish her specials and d4 because without abusing them, Mileena can't do a whole lot. Mileena MUST approach you and MUST take risks doing it.
On block:
telekick (with or without sai) - normal AA combo ( 2 > 2 > d1 xx SB)
EX telekick (with or without sai) - d1 punish ( d1 > d1 xx SB)
Roll (normal or EX) - 3d12 > 3d12 > d4 xx SB > ender of your choice
You can really win this match by punishing her specials because a lot of the cast can't do much about them. It's super easy to bait them out on wake up too, just pull some "don't tread on me".
Things to be aware of: u4 is +9 on block so you have to block the follow up unless it's another u4. If you're scouting them, you can punish u4 with your AA 2 combo. You should normally always block low. u4 is super easy to see coming and her most dangerous mix up is b3 > EX roll, the b3 being low and EX roll being over head. Once you block the b3, just fuzzy guard high. There's really nothing to fear by getting hit by the second hit of the b3 string.
When she knocks you down, she can whiff telekick to get in. Don't panic when you see it because there isn't anything you can do about it, just acknowledge that she'll be right next to you.
While basically identical to Sonya's, her d4 is much less scary because it doesn't lead into guaranteed pressure. If you're facing a d4 happy mileena, smoke bomb her ass back to the stone age.
Mileena blows you up bad for jumping, so stay grounded for the most part.
A Note on Smoke's hitbox: Smoke has one of the biggest crouching hit boxes in the game aside from Sheeva and maybe freddy. This means he can be victimized by jab pressure very easily. There are exceptions to this rule, but basically in practice, it means this:
All of the cast's standing jabs will hit Smoke while crouch blocking and jail him. However, if Smoke is naked crouching they will whiff. This is true for ALL characters for AT LEAST the first hit of their jab strings. KL, for example, while the first hit of all his jab strings will whiff on naked crouch, all of the rest of the hits in the string will hit smoke special mid, regardless of whether he's blocking or not. Make sense?
-GENERAL STRATEGIES
-Strategy Shift: jump happy v. jump-less
If they're jump happy, chill on the d4 and b2 because jumps will clear them easy. Wait to AA stuff
If they rarely jump, come at them hard with b2 and d4 into block pressure.
If they have air mix ups: Save meter and EX shake jump ins to slow them down
-Strategy Shift: block heavy (turtlers) v. button happy (mashers)
If they are block heavy, and are really respecting d1 xx SB, use 3d1 mix ups heavily and throw A LOT. Do NOT poke n smoke
The nature of Smoke's normals makes it tough to open up cautious opponents, so just throw them
You get free invis or oki pressure if they don't tech roll
Conversely, if you smoke drift past an opponent while block stringing them, you'll end up outside of their
d1/d3 range. You can blow them up with b2 if they try to poke you, or you can jump back in if you're bold, or
you can d4 and then follow up (d4 will be in range).
If they are button happy, use d1 spam to bait then poke n smoke
You can test how much they're respecting a follow up to a poke by d1 spamming them
-Strategy Shift: sitting on life leads
If you've got a life lead, don't b-e- aggressive ever. You want them to chase you.
-Reading Your Opponent
Probably the MOST important thing to do as a Smoke main is get a read on your opponent and do it in a hurry. The nature of Smoke's character
makes him pretty ineffective unless you leverage his abilities in the right way. In a tournament setting (best 2 of 3) If you can't get a bead on the
other guy PDQ you're in trouble. If you were to watch some of my pool matches in tourneys, you'd probably say "this dude is supposed to be a
good Smoke player?" for the first match and the beginning of the second match. But what I've done in that time is download my opponent, and
once that has happened it's over.
Luckily, Smoke can be played in a way that forces your opponent to make moves on you, allowing more time to read them. I'll cover some of
these strategies in the Footsies sections below.
-FOOTSIES TECHNIQUES
-FOOTSIES FROM NEUTRAL
-The Shuffle:
This is a universal footsie trick, but Smoke wants to make heavy use of anything that can get an opponent to whiff an attack. The shuffle is simply staying on
the edge of your opponent's max range attack and walking repeatedly (shuffling) in and out of range, trying to coax them into attacking. If they whiff something,
SB or b2 punish.
-Walk Back > Jump In
I know this seems simple and risky, but if someone is block dashing you down and you're walking backward, jumping immediately forward WITHOUT telegraphing it by changing directions on the ground can catch them off guard. This is especially applicable against characters with good block dashes.
-Runaway Smoke Bomb (RSB):
The goal of RSB is to annoy your opponent into doing something you can capitalize on, and to download them. Basically, you want to stay at full screen and
repeatedly drift away, while mixing in forward dashes, invis, and peppering them with SB. Some characters with super fast teleports can shut down this
strategy (Sektor and Noob Saibot come to mind), but as long as you stay erratic with your movements you can watch how your opponent handles it and react
accordingly.If they try and teleport, block/punish. If they block dash to close space AA if they try to jump or Jiu Jitsu them (see below) if they stay grounded.
The achilles heel of RSB is cornering yourself. If you're facing a patient opponent who will let you corner yourself by doing this, stop outside the corner by about 1 full screen and let them come to you. That way you'll room to maneuver.
-Shake 'N Bait:
This can be mixed into RSB or used independently. This is another quick way to download your opponent in-match. It's quite simple; you just shake and hold it and watch your opponent. Then, when the time is right, Dash out and jump over them into a CUP. Normally, your opponent will attempt to walk up and poke you out of it. If they do that, you know you have an aggressive opponent and will probably score damage or pressure. If they simply wait you out, you know you have a patient opponent and can leverage that against them. Some characters can shut this strategy down (again Sektor, Noob Saibot, Ermac, and Mileena come to mind), so it's match up specific. You can take advantage of this against non-teleporters and slow teleporters. It also works to some degree against KL.
-Invis:
Invis might be the best bait in the game. It obscures you so that it's hard for your opponent to judge the your spacing and whether or not you're in recovery.
Most people go way out of their way to try and hit you, even to the point of doing something punishable, if you close into a threatening range while
invisible. Everyone handles it differently, though giving you another opportunity to download them; they might get jumpy and come at you or they might turtle
up. Either way, you're throwing them off balance and given an opportunity to download them further.
There's also no reason to not be invisible all the time while RSB-ing. At full screen you can get it (almost) for free.
-Formless
Smoke drift is an amazing tool to force whiff punishes. You can dash towards an opponent, well inside their attack range and then drift away. If they attempt to do anything that has a bit of recovery you can whiff punish with SB or b2. If they are reluctant to do anything as you're harassing them by dashing up to their face and drifting away, you can mix them up with a throw or d4 to begin pressure.
Alternatively, you can spend a bar and use the invincibility of EX drift to force whiff punishes on moves that would otherwise connect. For example, you're fighting an Ermac player. Normally Ermac has nothing to fear by checking Smoke with telepush from anywhere other than up close. If you make a read on their telepush and EX drift in anticipation, you'll travel right through the hitbox of it and can full combo punish. You can apply this to many characters. Make good reads and call that shit out with EX drift, then whiff punish with SB or another method.
EX drift is also a pretty good vehicle for attacking, especially from a range that will ACUP (ambiguously cross up). If you use EX drift at them from ACUP range, you can throw attacks with relatively little fear that you will be stuffed or punished. Alternatively, you can poke them and begin pressure that way. Obviously only do this when you have meter to burn.
-BAITING AA's AND TEACHING THEM NOT TO JUMP
I felt like this aspect of Smoke's game was important enough to warrant it's own section.
One of Smoke's most important attributes is his ability to completely destroy all jump ins with standing 2 unless the opponent has air mix
ups, particularly dive kicks. Most teleports are easy to scout and the recovery of standing 2 is fast enough that you can (usually) still block and punish.
Getting people to jump at you as Smoke isn't that hard, either.
-using a lot of d3s at max range (and whiffing some as well) is a great (and safe) way to bait jumps.
Peck at them then back off. Just pay attention for far reaching low avoidance attacks like Kabal's f3.
-d4 fishing & d4 xx SB at max range is a good jump bait, especially If they don't have a way to blow up d4 (kitana f21, sektor b1 for example).
Whiffing d4's outside max range can work too, but can back fire if they call you out on it by dashing in and jumping over it.
Then you're in pressure.
-RSB is good to bait jump ins and punishable teleports.
-Moonwalking (see below)
Once you have convinced your opponent to not jump at you, your ground game can open up.
-FOOTSIE APPLICATIONS WHILE ON OFFENSE
-The Fake Out
Another universal footsie trick, but it's worth mentioning. There are 2 versions I like to apply.
-Don't Tread On Me
When you score a knockdown and are right next to your opponent (such as after a sweep or letting them plant at the end of a combo) you can mind game them into throwing a punishable wake up by simply walking up onto them and pushing them across the screen. Then, block when you feel they're about to throw the attack. If they want to hang out on the ground, standing 3 will hit them grounded and give you a block string.
-Moonwalk
After successfully landing a JIP or CUP, you can moonwalk forward or backward instead of dialing a blockstring. Walking forward can startle them into pressing a butting which you can attempt to beat with 2(14). Walking backward can cause them to jump at you, which you can AA. If they don't jump, you can walk back momentarily, then b2, d4 or jump at them if you're feeling saucy.
-Float Like a Butterfly
Using smoke drift as part of pressure is something that I've been developing that is, as of yet, largely unexplored. But, it can be applied very powerfully
for some non-traditional pressure.
These are the basic principals it operates on:
-smoke drift towards while at point blank range leaves you outside of d1/d3 and most normals (you and the opponent), but inside d4/b2 range.
If you see them throw a d1 to try and hit you, it can be blown up for a full combo with b2.
-smoke drift towards at max d4 range places you at point blank range, but on the opposite side of your opponent. As you reappear, you want to
d1 or d3, and then follow that up. There is a window where they can poke you before you reappear, but requires precision timing and if you expect this, you can block and retaliate with your own poke.
-smoke drift away at point blank range leaves you just outside jump distance. This is a "follow me" bait, because if they advance at you to try and stay
on you, you can jump at them and the smoke drift animation obscures your jump until you're well in the air, giving them much less time to react.
this can score you a block string and give you pressure back when they thought it was over, messing with their head.
Here is an example set up/blockstring:
d4 (hit) > b2 (block) xx drift towards (check for their d1, no d1) > d4 (hit or block) xx drift toward > d3 (hit) > CUP … And so on.
-214 Moonwalk
After a blocked 214, pokes will whiff (you might need to take a step back) and can be blown up with b2. If they jump at you it can be AA'd easily.
If you feel they will try to jump after they block the string, 214 xx SB will catch them.
-FOOTSIE APPLICATIONS WHILE ON DEFENSE
-Jiu Jitsu: Using Their Momentum against them - If you're facing down a character that is block dashing up to your face and hitting buttons, don't dash forward
into a poke or d4 or sweep; let their forward momentum bring them into range. This especially applies to Kung Lao. When you counter-poke their offense
with d1/d3 you can relatively safely assume that they will be frightened and hesitate, allowing you to throw them. If you can score a sweep or d4, even
better, then the pressure can be reversed. Be carefully against low avoiding special mids, however. They will clear d3/d4/sweep. Use d1 in this case.
-Legs For Days: Countering Sonya/Mileena d4 - This is a simple, but risky, way to blow up these bitches' d4's and scare them into not d4-ing.
Basically, if they're in d4 range and you sniff one out, throw a SB. Even though the d4 will hit you, the SB will hit them for a full combo.
This is risky because if they call your bluff and jump at you, you'll be at best put into block pressure, at worst eating a big punish. Depending on how quickly they adapt, you might only be able to do this once. But then you can call them out on their jump attempts and go for AA.
-SMOKE, THE CORNER, AND YOU
-You're Cornered
The best way to get out of the corner is to never get put there in the first place. If your opponent lands a combo on you and puts you into the corner, as long as
they can't standing reset you, you can do wake up EX smoke drift and be completely invincible from start to finish. Your opponent might expect this and move pretty
far back to counter your escape. If you see this, don't wake up drift. Instead, wait until they begin to come towards you again and THEN EX drift past them.
If you find yourself cornered, the worst thing you can do is panic and try to jump out or throw a teleport punch on wake up. This will normally get you blown up and put right back into the corner. Instead, you must be patient and wait for an opening to d1 or d3. After that, see "breaking pressure" below for what your follow up options are.
-You've Cornered Your Opponent
Now this is where things get fun. Smoke can very effectively keep an opponent in the corner and his tool set is well suited to cause confusion and panic.
My 2 preferred options for ending corner combos are invis and drift toward and each has it's own advantages.
-Invis
Ending a corner combo in invis can cause your opponent to panic. Depending on what their tendencies are, this can cause them to try and jump out, which you can
AA, wake up attack which you can block/punish or some other counter depending on the character, or they will try and turtle up. If they turtle up or try to stay
grounded, you can throw standing 3 at them with the confidence that it will beat both laying down grounded and most wake ups (if they've waited long enough to have lost their invincibility).
-Smoke Drift Towards
Ending a corner combo in smoke drift towards the corner can confuse your opponent. Smoke drifting towards the corner has some interesting properties and requires
some explaining. If your opponent is making direct contact with the corner, then you will re-appear on the same side that you started on. However, if there is ANY
space between them and the corner, you will end up on the corner side and they will be pushed slightly out to make room for you. Which one will happen is kind
of a crap-shoot because it has to do with what the hit animation of your opponent is doing at the time, it's nigh impossible to tell for certain which side you'll be on.
But that's the genius of 3d12; to input the string it doesn't matter which side you're on. That's your best option after ending a corner combo with drift towards: 3d12.
Your opponent won't be sure which way to input a wake up attack so if they want to try, they'll have to guess. If they guess wrong, you'll get a full combo.
Alternatively, they might just block, in which case you can continue block pressure or throw them
Now, it's not always a good idea to get in your opponents face after I've cornered them. Many times I like to back off to maybe jump distance or just outside and wait for them to try something to escape. Jumps get baited and AA'd, direct charges result in a sweep or d4 and then a throw back into the corner. When they're in the corner they are forced to do something pro-active to get out and you can take big advantage of this.
If they have safe/advancing wake ups you want to counter according to the match up. Noob, for example, back up and SB if you suspect the upknee; Nightwolf, d4 his shoulder, and so on.
-BLOCK STRINGS, MIX UPS, & OTHER PRESSURE
-Cross ups: Because Smoke's normals are slow and all besides b2 have short range, crossing up is super important with Smoke to be able to continue pressure.
Setting yourself up with one with d3 is super important to be able to do effectively. If they start going for d1 or other anti-cross ups or d3 avoidance start jump kicking them.This becomes risky against characters with armor, however. You'll have to bait out the armor and punish.
Out of a cross up punch, all of Smoke's pressure options are available which is huge. Another great thing is that Smoke has access to a nasty 50/50. You can either d4 to trap them and continue pressure, or you can go b23 and hit confirm SB or smoke drift. Conditioning them to block low after a CUP
by d4-ing the first time or two is a great way to get yourself free launches with b2.
-D4/B2/Throw: This is easily Smoke's most important pressure mix up. If you hit with d4, b2 is guaranteed. Once you teach them this, after d4
You can walk up and throw them. Also, if you connect d4 within 1/2 of it's max range, another one is guaranteed. They can't even armor
out when done properly. They MUST block low to get out of d4 > short dash > d4 spam which opens them up to b2. If they try and jump out,
you can convert that to a full combo with d4 > d1 xx SB.
-D4 xx SB: This can catch people pressing buttons because the SB is cancelled out of d4 extremely suddenly. At max range, this is completely safe and
from my experience so far, impossible to even reverse pressure on. It can also result in jumping (see above).
-Advancing D3 Spam: this can be a good way to get in if they don't have/aren't using low avoiding special mids. It can also result in jumping (see above)
-D3 > 2(14) pressure: This can be poked out of, but it is a good way to continue pressure if you connect with d3 at close range.
Can lead into 214 > Moonwalk set ups and will AA jump attempts for full combo conversions if you're paying attention.
-D3 > 3d1(2) pressure: This is best used after your opponent is scared to jump. They have a 6 frame window to input their d1 to stop you, but you have psychological
advantage and once your standing 3 is onscreen it's unlikely they will attempt to poke you unless they've already committed to it. This can be jumped out of if
they commit to the jump during the hit recovery of d3. But, even if they cross you up, the CUP thrown whiffed 85% of the time I tested it. It also blows up
attempted d3 retaliation for a full combo.
-D3 > CUP: Cross ups are a very important part of Smoke's pressure, and if connect with d3 at point blank range, a CUP can only be AA'd
ON THE WAY UP by fast advancing AA specials (kano ball, flip kick, etc.) or a jumping attack. If they try any other grounded normal you will
clear it and punish. Once you're in the air, if you've been using this tactic and suspect that they will try to NJP or instant JK you, your
instant JK can beat it. If they try to walk backwards into position for grounded AA, you can throw a JK at them and because of the angle, normally win, or
t-punch out of the way.
-D1 Spam: This is more of a shenanigan than anything else. It's best used to test your opponent early to see how jumpy they are and download them further.
-D1 xx SB (poke and smoke): good for breaking pressure against mashers for a full combo, but otherwise risky (see below). Use sparingly as part of pressure.
-D1 > Throw: Hitting an opponent out of an attack typically grants enough hesitation to throw them unless they are a button masher.
-D1 xx drift: will put you at a slightly closer distance than mentioned above in "Float Like a Butterfly" due to push back on d1.
-1 > (1) > 3d12: Standing 1 has extremely fast cool down. If your opponent blocks your standing 1, you can throw a standing 3 at them almost for free unless they
call you out on it. If they don't remain blocking, and hesitate even an instant before retaliating, standing 3 will hit.
-214 Moonwalk/mix ups: After a blocked 214, most pokes will whiff (you might need to take a step back) and can be blown up with b2. walking back can also
bait them into jumping at you. If they respect a follow up and remain blocking you can d4 them.
-11 on block allows a throw mix up. If you've condition them to block 112, the rhythm and appearance of 11 > throw is identical to 112.
-3d1 Mix Ups: These can be very effective as long as you don't over use them. They have a a slight telegraph and a window of 9 frames to
input a poke that will beat a 3d1 loop. This is enough time to poke you out if they think it's coming. Out of 3d1 you can have a few options:
-3d1 loop
-throw
-d1/d3 (if you want to beat their poke)
-just finish the string.
Here's where another mix up can come. Out of the completed string you have a choice:
-3d12 > frame war d1 (will AA jump outs)
-3d12 > throw (if you suspect they will respect the d1)
-3d12 > cross up (if you suspect they will respect the d1)
-112, b14, & 214 all trap into SB on block
-b1 has the most block stun of all of Smoke's normals. b1 xx invis on block is only somewhere between -5 to -7 (this is just from me eyeballing it).
-Some example Block Strings
d3 > 3d12
… > 2(14)
… > CUP
… > 2 xx drift through
1 > 2 > (2) > d3 > CUP
… > d1 (spam) xx SB
… > d1 > throw
1 > (1) > 3d12
d4 > throw
d4 > b2 > d1 xx SB
… > d3(d3) > b23
… > d3 > CUP
… > 2(14)
… xx drift towards > d3 > CUP
d4 xx drift > d3 > CUP
… > d3 > 2
… > d3 (spam) > AA
… > d1(to catch jumps)
b2 > drift through
… > d1 xx SB
… > d3 > CUP
b1 xx invis > d1
… > NJP (if you suspect a jump)
11 > b2 > d3 > CUP
… > throw
… > d3 > throw
… > d1 > SB
3d1 > (3d1) > throw
… > drift through
… > walk backward > b2
**they might jump at you here**
3d1 > 3d1 > 3d12 > d3 > CUP
... > d1 xx drift
3d12 > d1 xx drift
CUP > d4 > 3d1(2) mix ups
… > b23 xx drift away > jump in
… > 1 > 3d12 > d1 xx drift towards > d4 > b23 xx drift away
… > 112 xx drift toward > d4 > throw
… > 11 > throw
**Note that by including smoke drift in your offensive pressure, you can loop patterns until your opponent capitalizes on an opening and escapes**
-COMBO ENDING SET UPS
-Jump Kick/Air Throw
-Whiffed T-punch: crosses up, slight advantage
-Smoke drift towards: puts you at point blank range. No advantage
-EX Smoke drift towards: crosses up, leaves you at point blank range. No advantage
-21
-Smoke drift toward: If they tech roll, doesn't cross up. If they don't tech roll, crosses up. Slight advantage
-214
-Smoke drift toward: Chases, out of range if they tech roll. Slight advantage
-EX Smoke drift toward: Crosses up if they don't tech roll. Slight advantage
-Invis: 3/4 screen knock away. Slight advantage
-f4
-Invis: Full screen knock away. Heavy advantage
-Whiffed T-punch: Crosses up. Heavy advantage
-Invis > Whiffed T-punch: Crosses up and you are invisible. No advantage
-Miscellaneous set ups:
-After t-punch on hit, you can whiff a t-punch to get on them. If they tech roll, they will cross under you during the recovery of whiffed t-punch and you can
attempt a throw; they must wake up in the right direction at the right time or jump.
-Breaker link smoke bomb: after you break an opponents combo while in the air, you can throw a free SB as soon as you hit the ground. This SB will OTG and launch them if they don't tech roll. From what I can tell this is completely safe and they can't even reverse pressure on you.
-BREAKING PRESSURE
Here is where Smoke can struggle. If you're not extremely familiar with your opponent's move set and properties you can get fucked up.
Do yourself a favor and learn what ALL of the rest of the cast's strings look like, where they have advantage, where you can poke or escape and what
their untechable knock downs are.
-Smoke's options to break pressure are d1, d3, EX shake, or jump out (but only if you scout a throw or a jump-able opening). What's crucial is how you follow up
and that really depends on your opponent.
-d1 xx SB - only if your opponent is a button masher. If they continue to mash, you can do it more but normally this will only work once.
After it connects the first time, they will normally block subsequent attempts which won't get you out. Don't be greedy.
-d1 > throw - if you're playing a cautious opponent who respects a follow up after a connected d1 you can score a throw pretty much for free.
-d1 xx drift away - on hit, d1 xx drift away is completely safe except for full screen fast-advancing-specials.
-d1 xx drift towards - this will cross up your opponent and it's kind of ballsy. If they block the d1, they can hit you out of the drift startup,
but on hit d1 xx drift towards is difficult to punish. Depending on how long your opponent hesitates with a
retaliation you could potentially get a full combo punish on a whiffed move.
-d3 > d3 (repeat) > AA baited jump - This can work great if your opponent really likes to try and cross you up. NJP them for a full combo.
-d3 > throw - This works if your opponent is playing more cautiously and respecting a follow up.
-d3 > 2(14) or block pressure - Again this works if they are respecting a follow up.
-EX Shake - Self Explanatory. Loses to all pokes and low attacks so use at your own risk
-Cross Up Defense - Smoke has 3 options to defend against cross ups: d1 (punish), d3 (avoidance), EX Shake (punish).
Whether or not d1 works is dependent upon the timing of BOTH your d1 and their CUP. It doesn't always work because of Smoke's huge crouching hatbox.
The most damage you can get off of it is 35% or so with 1 bar and you risk potentially eating a massive combo or losing 2 bars. I would stay away from it entirely. Alternatively, options 2 and 3 are safe and more consistent. Also, if you follow your avoidance d3 with d4, they will be unable to block it due to the "bug" that prevents crouch blocking after a deep JIP. Then you can pressure them. If they cross up over a poke or other whiffed move, your ONLY option is
to block, or if you're feeling like a jedi, EX shake.
-METER USAGE
Smoke's best use for meter is breaker, hands down. You should try to ALWAYS have a breaker on deck when you go on the offense. You can run away to get meter by pulling it out of the air (late whiffed air grab) or shaking and doing invis and getting them to block SB. Smoke drift on it's own has negligible meter gain
(1/45th of a bar).
The second best use of meter is EX shake. Using EX shake on an opponent who's pressuring you really hard is a great way to slow them down and give you breathing room. It's also a great anti-cross up/AA in general since i beats all dive kicks.
Third best use of meter is a tie between EX smoke drift and EX invis. Both have their uses, but spending a meter on EX invis can backfire.
After that is EX teleport punch which honestly sucks and is almost entirely useless except as a round ending punish against someone who is carelessly pressuring
you on wake up. It really should be safe on block IMO. The hit box of Smoke's X-ray sucks so bad you will end up being burned by it more often than not.
I've actually seen Smoke's fist make contact with the other character and the move not hit. X-ray is only good for unbreakable damage inside combos
or for trollin'. Dash canceling the X-ray into a throw to win a match can be a really hype and lolzy way to win if you find yourself playing on stream or something.
Rough Match Ups: KL, Sonya, Kabal, Cage
Match Ups That Aren't Bad But Require A Specific Approach: Kitana, Reptile, Mileena, Cyber Subz
Kung Lao: Large Advantage KL
One of if not the worst MU Smoke has for several reasons.
One, you can't run away from KL. Whiffed dive kick and teleports chase smoke drift faster than you can do them.
Two, he has heavy air mix ups. A jump in > top screen teleport is super fucking hard to punish unless you really commit to it on prediction.
Three, spin. Spin blows up all cross up pressure for full launches for free and makes it risky to even poke him to get out of pressure.
And worst of all, four, all of his jabs jail you in crouch block, so it's effortless for KL to put you in pressure.
I don't have to mention that you should never ever jump at KL right? Good.
In order to beat Kung Lao you HAVE to punish his shit. His normals are straight up better than yours in every way. In order to keep from being pressured (because his standing 2 has such retarded range), you have to naked crouch and d4 a lot as he's charging in at you on the ground. This is risky because he can f33 xx spin you for full combo. You really have to guess what he's going to do because if you try to block check his f3 you're easily jailed into pressure. His pressure is ridiculous, too. You're likely eat a fuck-ton of chip and nickel & dime damage from his overhead/low mix up. You MUST take risks to get out of his pressure and it's super fucking easy for him
to put you there.
Thankfully, after the nerf, low hat is -14 on block. This is enough of a window to punish with 21 xx SB but is risky; if you're off by 2 frames and you get blocked you're getting launched by spin.
Against Teleport, you want to d3 > d1. 99% of the time the KL player will teleport > 3. Use your d3 to dodge it and you can knock him out of the air for a combo. This is really tight because of Smoke's huge hit box and you're going to get blown up if you mistime it.
Like was mentioned above, you HAVE to punish his spin and dive kick in order to win so your entire strategy has to revolve around baiting one, the other, or both. if he's a fan of whiffing dive kicks, when he jumps dash forward and block. Sometimes KL players like to get risky with dive kicks from up close. That shit is deceptively fast and is very hard to block on reaction since you have so much more to worry about once he goes airborne.
To get baited spins, you want to fish for knockdowns (sweep) and then get in his face when he's on the ground. Hopefully he'll carelessly spin and you'll get a punish. You're probably going to need to get 2 launchers in a row in order to do any damage because KL builds meter like no other, especially since his pressure is so easy to get started.
The best punisher for spin is still dash in > 21 xx SB.
If you can't bait Kung Lao into blocked spins or dive kicks, you're probably going to lose.
Sonya: Advantage Sonya
The reason this match up isn't worse than it could be for Smoke is that you can really force Sonya to guess on the way in. She has no way to chase you/get in on you besides d4 or jumping at you. Her jab strings will jail you in crouch block after the first move but most of the string will whiff over your head on naked crouch, giving plenty of time to d4. She has no fast special mids so she has to rely on d4 xx military stance. If she touches you with d4 you must block the follow up MS f1.
But that's where you make her guess. As stated above, the Sonya approach on Smoke goes down like this:
She stays grounded:
Sonya d4 loses to SB for full combo
Sonya d4 beats AA watching for +1 pressure
Smoke d4 beats all dash-up grounded pressure attempts for reversed pressure
She jumps at you:
Smoke Standing 2 beats jip/jk for full combo
Smoke Standing 2 goes 50/50 with dive kick (depends on angle, height, and input time of both moves) both get combos, but Sonya's combo off dive kick is much worse
Sonya Dive kick loses to block for a full combo
Sonya jip beats block for pressure.
So this getting in guessing game with Sonya is in Smoke's favor, but once she gets in her pressure and completely safe MS mixups are bananas. If she does MS off of a block string, you can normally get a poke in or jump out so that's probably your best bet.
Another note is that d1 xx SB beats armored cartwheel. If the d1 is eaten by cartwheel's armor, the SB will connect right after the armor goes away. You don't get a combo from it but the trade is in your favor since you will have done more damage to her, she will have wasted a meter, and you'll be at advantage.
Cyber Subz: Probably 5-5 but really really annoying
This match is all about dive kicks. You can punish a high up dive kick on block with b2, but you gotta be quick. Lower body dive kicks are safe but you can go for a b2 to reverse pressure. Smoke's standing 2 AA is not much use in this MU because CSZ's dive kicks beat it out right. The only way to stop him from dive kicking is to be within jump range and take to the air before he does. His AA game isn't that great and he can't do much about max height jump kicks but can AA with jabs if you jump from too far out. If you're above CSZ in the air, you've beaten dive kick and should take the opportunity to jump kick/air throw into oki pressure.
CSZ is no slouch up close either. his jab pressure and 3 string can be rough and both the overhead and low versions launch and his parry is annoying as fuck. Against his kick string your best bet is to guard low first because 33 is quick and if you don't see the second quick low kick, fuzzy guard the over head. You can wake up t-punch out of most of his bomb set ups, just watch to see if they bait it.
First, you want to get him out of the air by getting above him and jump kicking his dive kicks, and then get in his face on the ground. Use lots of d4's to beat the parry.
Scouting and punishing slide is a good way to get damage as well.
Kabal: Advantage Kabal
First off, it's important to realize that Kabal is very difficult to run away from. EX nomad dash can beat smoke drift from anywhere on screen on reaction. And, even though shake prevents iaGB from keeping you away, he can still use them as a footsie tool. He can shoot them up close and your only safe option is to duck under them, and he can bait shake by shooting over your head and then punish with ND. Basically, you have to pay very close attention and have precise knowledge of how much higher Smoke's hit box gets when he shakes. If Kabal shoots over your head, t-punch him. If he shoots within shake height, shake him. This guessing game is risky but it's unlikely the Kabal will be shooting that many projectiles at you anyway.
One of the things I dislike most about this match up is that Smoke is one of the only characters in the game with nothing to put on screen to occupy space and prevent Kabal from checking him with a nomad dash from ANYWHERE. SB can sometimes pull Kabal out of ND start up, but it loses for full combo if you try to do it on reaction. Once he ND'es at you, you HAVE to guess whether he's going to commit or not. That sucks; He can force you to guess whenever he wants from anywhere on screen. My only advice here is to 1: play him up close so he can't check you, or 2: dash forward or back to mess with his spacing. Specifically, dashing forward and blocking to try and get him to bounce off you, or dashing back in an attempt to get something to whiff and punish it. Invis is your friend here.
Up close, Smoke catches Kabal's NDC pressure the worst of any character in the game; huge hitbox and no armor (x-ray doesn't count you dicks). Your best bet is honestly to wait for f32 and let yourself get hit by the 2 and roll away. Poking out is incredibly fucking hard. d3 doesn't really work because f3 and f4 go over it and blow you up, and even if you slip in a d1, you have to hope that they are frightened into blocking because your only follow up option that will beat any of his normals is another d1 and if he blocks that, you're right back into pressure.
d1 xx SB is a decent counter to NDC pressure from sloppy Kabals because they will be most likely trying to input something when it happens, launching them. Good luck doing that shit to someone like REO though.
If your opponent has a tendency to armored ND, try and bait it by throwing a couple d1's or d3's and then blocking. Otherwise, you'll need to download their habits to capitalize on punishment. Cross up at your own risk since armored ND beats it. However, max height JK will beat armored ND because when the kick connects you float
in place for a second and Kabal goes under you.
Kabal is another character who you will need to get two launches on in a row in order to do any damage because of how much he'll build meter.
Kitana: 5-5
Beating Kitana is all about whiff punishing. And not jumping into fans.If you can avoid jumping into her fans you're in good shape. All of Kitana's normals will beat Smoke's
If you try and get aggressive with d4/b2/jump ins. Don't do that.
When at sweep range, you can't trade normals (even d4) because hers will almost always win for massive damage. Instead, keep running away and get her to whiff f21 or another string. She gets blown up by b23 easy on whiff. d1 xx cutter seems to be the go-to pressure option for Kitana, but as long as you're crouching, even if d1 hits you get d4 for free since cutter whiffs on naked crouch. d4 on wake up snuffs most of her options as well, just delay it slightly so the wake up invincibility is gone by the time it connects and be careful of wake up EX fan lift; that's a full combo punish on block. Up close, poke the shit out of her and cross her up. Her only consistent cross up defense is EX fan lift.
Reptile: 5-5 maybe slightly in Smoke's favor
Reptile's go-to force ball shenanigans are useless here, except for EX slow ball and then dash in front of it, which can be annoying to deal with, but that's it. This means that the Reptile is forced to rely on elbow dash for nearly his entire game.
There are two ways to approach elbow dash, and which one works depends on the player. The first is to remain at the ambiguous edge of dash range and then NJP when you see it. Many times, the reptile player will dash up and try to to cross up or throw a string. NJP will beat both of those for full combo. If they never learn how to deal with this, then the match is already over.
If the NJP strategy isn't working, then you want to stay far away from the ambiguous dash range, either full screen running away or right up in his face. From full screen, Reptile has no options besides EX slow ball and then getting in front of it. Otherwise, he has to approach you. Hanging out at fullscreen really isn't in your favor because rep can just double dash and there he is in your face.
If he isn't falling for the NJP shenanigan, you definitely want to smother reptile. Stay well inside dash range and make him afraid to use it.
Up in each other's face, Reptile and Smoke share remarkably similar normals if you break them down, but Smoke's 50/50 is much better (d4/b2 > d4/acid hand/slide) and Smoke is much more mobile up close so I feel like he wins there. If the reptile player is eager to dash and punish your pokes, wait to block one and then blow him up for it. If you're up in Reptile's face and he's scared to dash, you're at huge advantage.
Things to be aware of: EX elbow dash leaves him at +5 so you have to block the follow up unless it's d3, which you can jump over. Most Reptile's will end strings with acid hand, but block low for the slide just in case and fuzzy guard acid hand. On block, acid hand pushes you way back but is -6 or so, meaning you can jump at him and there isn't much he can do about it besides EX force ball as AA. In reality, that's his only consistent and damaging AA option, so you can get away with lots of jumping. However, if you land from a jump and you are inside elbow dash range, you can't get off the ground again before dash hits you, so just block it.
Mileena: advantage Smoke
All you really need to know about Mileena is how to punish her specials and d4 because without abusing them, Mileena can't do a whole lot. Mileena MUST approach you and MUST take risks doing it.
On block:
telekick (with or without sai) - normal AA combo ( 2 > 2 > d1 xx SB)
EX telekick (with or without sai) - d1 punish ( d1 > d1 xx SB)
Roll (normal or EX) - 3d12 > 3d12 > d4 xx SB > ender of your choice
You can really win this match by punishing her specials because a lot of the cast can't do much about them. It's super easy to bait them out on wake up too, just pull some "don't tread on me".
Things to be aware of: u4 is +9 on block so you have to block the follow up unless it's another u4. If you're scouting them, you can punish u4 with your AA 2 combo. You should normally always block low. u4 is super easy to see coming and her most dangerous mix up is b3 > EX roll, the b3 being low and EX roll being over head. Once you block the b3, just fuzzy guard high. There's really nothing to fear by getting hit by the second hit of the b3 string.
When she knocks you down, she can whiff telekick to get in. Don't panic when you see it because there isn't anything you can do about it, just acknowledge that she'll be right next to you.
While basically identical to Sonya's, her d4 is much less scary because it doesn't lead into guaranteed pressure. If you're facing a d4 happy mileena, smoke bomb her ass back to the stone age.
Mileena blows you up bad for jumping, so stay grounded for the most part.
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