[CSE] Makoto vs Litchi

[StarGazer]

Match up Rating: 4.5:5.5

Overview: A versatile character with a lot of options in any given time. Have a solid average reward, insane oki and very strong offense.

Neutral: Her 5B staff range and disjointed box wrecks all your moves, make it whiff then punish with 5B in mid range or j.CC it but be really tight with your j.CC timing and spacing. Staffless 5B is much faster in both start up and recovery and although it lacks range but it still retain a good disjointed box (i heard it can be beaten easier with 2B but i never tried that). Just remember this move can stop your rush in with its speed(feels like 8 or 9 frames), feel free to bait it or 6C it. Staff 6B and 2B have insane range on ground so you must either advance carefully and try to IB (try to break your dash early so you don't IB it with barrier and avoid the pushback) or jump in on her (3C can also beat 6B, but will lose to 2B). Her staffless 2B is used in mid~long range especially with the staff launched to lock you down, beat it with 2B as the outer half of our 5B hitbox seems to be missing Litchi during her 2B, also, 2B can beat itsuu Guard point. Remember her lack of solid Anti Air options. If she ever tried to hold her ground you can easily beat her by switching between j.CC and rush ins. With this given info you'll find Litchi often in the air so always prepare to chase with your j.A/j.B or Anti Air her j.B/j.C with 6A. She have a pretty strong backdash with a special follow up that can be very annoying but can be easily beaten with 5A/6A once you get used to it, just remember to be ready for it with 66 once your move whiff. Her staff j.D can counter your Anti Air and chase attempt's while its hard to punish. Litchi crouching hitbox is hilariously small, make sure you jump in accurately with j.CC second hit. Her staffless 236B is god send fast and have Head Invul, but it's not safe for most of the time. If she uses Daisharin in neutral then you can BBS the hell out of her. Keep in mind which staff launch she set up and act accordingly. 3C can avoid the staff launch which can come in handy in positioning or can even beat Litchi from close range launch staff Possibilities after the staff launch is endless and hard to list it down on here. As a general tip, keep up a good mobility vs Litchi, if she tries to catch you down with her staff launch or limit you in neutral then try to escape or catch her by surprise. The neutral and the match up as a whole is not difficult to win but requires you to be on a high level of skill to start even doing something.

Offense: Litchi's DP cannot be RC'ed so baiting it with stuff such as 5B > Jump Cancel Barrier > j.CC or Reset pressure > guard > resume will be rewarding even if she have the heat for RC. Her DP also requires her stuff which leaves her helpless without it. In corner you can bypass the DP with Astroid Vision in the same fashion as this. Her Counter Assault can be low profiled with a well timed 2B. Expect a lot of jump out and backdash attempts when you fight Litchi.

Defense: Litchi offense as a whole is strong, and can get to insanity levels with proper staff set ups. Staffless: Her overhead 6A can come out of her A series and 5B, it's 22F fast and leads to meterless combos. 236C Also is an overhead but it's much slower and not safe if blocked, but remember, the fact that it is a special move means that it can come out of any hit, also it can late gatling into the follow up as a frame trap (rekka style). Keep in mind that j.236C have a positive advantage for most of the time. 6C is a 2hit move, the second kick hits overhead and have a solid frame advantage. Not really used as a straight overhead in strings because you can mash out of it in between the two kick or IB the second hit to take the momentum, but it can catch you by surprise between time to time since it can come out of most gatlings and since Litchi have a lot of overheads and stuff to deal with which make things confusing. 6C is usually used as a meaty to avoid the blockstop of the first hit which makes it hard to read, beware of that. With staff: 6A can't combo normally without RC or FCH, however it can gatling from 2B now while carrying the staff placement. 4D is an overhead that requires the staff, slow and have 4- advantage but it hurts on hit and can come out of a wide variety of gatlings. j.2D is a fast cross up tool with a high frame advantage that will get you locked down if the second connects. Anticipate it usually after her 5B since it's jump cancelable on block or as a meaty after wake up since it ruins your dp input with benefits. Try to jump out or jump and AA it to beat it, 6A is hard to use vs j.2D and even when it works i always end up trading with knockdown advantage. Litchi's 6D have a 2~3+ frame advantage which can be escaped by IB, and since her 2A is only 7F compared to our 6F fast 2A, you win the momentum. Its easy to IB the second hit of 6D because you know it will come at this exact time after blocking the first hit. Staff set up/launch can be used to used to reset the pressure and its quite hard to read duo to its speed/animation/flexibility. Just make sure you that you react to it really fast and with a 662A if needed since the pushback of the string might trick you into whiffing your mash out attempts. You can avoid the Ittsu (41236D~B/C) 2nd hit which have gigaton amount of frame advantage by dashing valiantly toward Litchi after the first hit. I score a lot of "IB Itssu > 665B CH" but if you feel lazy then you can try Block > 3C.

Hope that helps

Discuss