[CSE] Valkenhayn vs Arakune

[Kiba]

Discuss the Arakune matchup here.

Punishes:

Anti-airing:

Zoning:

Their game plan:

Strategy:

Char specific details:

• Be careful with wolf movement. Getting hit by Ara's 5C AA can lead to 80% curse on normal hit and 100% curse on FC.
  

[Nyaame]

Well, I'm a rather new Valk player, but I would like to get this vs. Arakune board moving, as I have a friend that consistently gives me trouble with Arakune. I'll jot down what I've seen below, and follow up with some of my own issues and questions!

Punishes: I've had good success playing Arakune's distance game. Whenever he goes for his j.6D OR his j.236D, if I respond by jumping and w[66D] > j.5C > 3C then I am immediately in, and on the offensive, which is where Valk wants to be vs. Arakune. You can also switch up the 3C for 6C for a high-low switch-up, but the 6C is not safe.

Anti-airing: Only success I've had here is 6A, or w[5B], followed up by their respective follow-up combo's. Generally, if Arakune is in the air, I'm in the air as well because Arakune's j.66 > j.4B can beat out most of my AA attempts.

Zoning: Generally, Valk wants to be in Ara's face, not zoning. But if Arakune starts to zone you, you can run the w[66D] > j.5C > 3C (or 6C) to close the distance, as this arcs over the 6D bug and all clouds, depending on your timing.

Their game plan: Alternating between zoning / bugging / clouding you, and baiting you into AA's. Be careful when wolf cannoning in at Arakune or he will 5C you into some huge curse meter gain.

Strategy: Run different angles of attack constantly. Pressure, pressure, pressure seems to keep Arakune at bay, but don't get reckless, or you will get cursed, which is very VERY dangerous for Valk. Low health + 4 guard primers means that you need to be aware of everything Arakune can do to break your primers, and dodge them if at all possible (chicken dodge w/ barrier during curse block strings).

Obviously, any seasoned Valk player will read this and laugh at me on many points. Again, I am new to Valk, but I very much like the play-style he runs. I constantly get mixed up by Arakune's high-lows and cross-ups mid-curse block strings. Any suggestions of when I can poke Ara out of his block strings, or better ways to keep him on the defense would be greatly appreciated!

[Kiba]

Obviously, any seasoned Valk player will read this and laugh at me on many points. Again, I am new to Valk, but I very much like the play-style he runs. I constantly get mixed up by Arakune's high-lows and cross-ups mid-curse block strings. Any suggestions of when I can poke Ara out of his block strings, or better ways to keep him on the defense would be greatly appreciated!

Naw dude that's not funny at all and it's very much appreciated. Thanks for the input. I definately need to try going air to air more because I usually rely on w[5B] and I don't win that all the time.

I generally don't try to poke Arakune out of his strings because I do not have many opportunities too. The only time where I retaliate is if he uses 5D. He's forced to jump because it cannot be followed up into anything else, in which case, you could punish him. If he jumps, I usually jump and air grab him, but if it's a better Arakune I may try to get back at neutral because 5D > j.4B is difficult to deal with and trying to air grab is basically giving him the free opportunity to curse us.

[50-50罠]

Punishes:

j.B You can turn to Lycan on Arakune's j.B's. This allows Valk to land w[j.AAA], or w[5b]> etc... The timing is normally late, or as soon as it would hit. Remember that the invul on Lycan is from frames 1-6, so your window isn't big. Also I just now played with this in training mode. So if any other Valk's will try this and confirm, that would be great.

j.2A, B, or C: Same as above, however; and this is a big HOWEVER. Pretty risky doing this, but it just depends on how close Arakune will be when falling down. If he's right above you it seems as though you'll get Valk CH. If your on the outskirt of the atk though it'll whiff. Obvious choice of punish atk here is w[5A]. This one's a bit risky, but just some useful tech to know. This is a move you rarely see outside of curse. You can also you Rasen Wolf and evade the atk also.

j.C ( Instant Overhead ) : Same as first paragraph. Turn to Lycan, and I prefer w[j.AAA], but you can w[5B], but I'm not sure if w[5B] is a legit counter. Not risky, but Arakune, rarely uses this move outside of curse, so chances are slim for using this I think. Be warned if you screw up Arakune get's a FC.