[CSE] Hazama vs. Mu 12

[Dusty]

Discuss Extend match up here.

[_Sey]

How do you guys go about this match up?

I've read that this is supposedly in Hazama's favor but I don't really see it.

I don't think it's in Mu's favor either, or at worst just slightly in her favor.

Full screen I'd say it's definitely in Mu's favor, Hazama's chains won't reach except for like, iad j5D(?) so there's no reliable way to turn off her steins.

And it's even worse if Hazama doesn't get the chance to close the distance before she puts out 2+ steins or a command laser.

3/4 ~ Mid screen Hazama can reliably make Mu block chains, so steins aren't as annoying, but this is where her stupid j.C/5C comes into play.

Close range is w/e, I guess Hazama has the advantage because his pressure is a lot scarier than Mu's.

Once we get a knockdown, Mu is pretty much forced to respect our okizeme.

[iad j3ab] won't let her mash DP or backdash unless she really wants to lose.

Once she finally commits to blocking we can run our usual oki.

Therefore what I get after playing a few matches against some decent Mus:

get momentum ASAP or this match-up can easily turn into a nightmare because of how good steins are at limiting Hazama's chains approach.

Also, using 5D~ to approach feels like one of Hazama's worst choice in this match up, where stuff like sj > j4D~D (asap) or pretty much most air approaches are a lot more useful to get close to her.

If she goes for a preemptive j.C it will stuff all kind of approaches Hazama can do starting from a 5D, or at least that's what it feels like to me.

Of course when trying to get in by air there's the risk of getting hit by her 2C, but Hazama has so many options to bait it out that I think it's ok.

Our damage got lower while her is still pretty much the same tho, so I guess she has a few more chances to run it back if we lose momentum.

I've also tried paying closer attention to what japanese Hazamas do vs Mu, but most of the time all the Mus are very aggressive and won't sit back and mash steins if they have the lead, which at least to me seems like a pretty strong tactic.

So I guess I'm definitely missing something about this, but I can't quite get it.

I'd like to read/discuss a bunch precise counters/ways out to most situations Hazama can be in in this match up, a general overview of the match up won't really be helpful.

i.e: When Mu is setting up her steins wall, is there a specific pattern I should be looking for? (I know about Mizuchi and Mu's command laser, it's not really that useful though).

While playing with a bunch of differents Mu I've noticed that one setup that everyone does is to mash 5C right after they make you tech a throw.

After this you should never try to jump out because if Mu does 5C it will hit, instead just walk back and 5D once she whiffs 5C, if done fast enough it'll punish her (of course the safest option is to block).

If she tries to get in by jumping, I'd say 2C is overall better than 5A as an AA in this match up.

Or, well, as far as AA'ing her j.C/j.2C I'm pretty sure 2C is better, while for her j.B I'd say 5A is better.

tl;dr: I hate Mu, plz let me mash my chains

[Gyokuran]

I think that this matchup is pretty even, yeah, 5D~D is pretty much the worst that you can do against her, but if you whiff the chain with a j.A you can create some rare situations, maybe forcing Mu to punish with some 6A, DP, etc.

I think that this matchup, you can pretty much say that's all about patience, i think that's the most difficult part because you are seeing how you are pretty much zoned with those D lazors, steins and etc, but even Mu players have limits, so keep that in mind, if you see any option to attack you need to do well, i prefer to stay more closer to her because the mobility of Haz seems to be less in this matchup