Jam v. A.B.A. (GGACR)

[Amadeous]

5.5-4.5, Jam's Favor:

Overall:

Jam's definitely got an advantage in this matchup. In normal mode, Jam can run circles around A.B.A. and freely charge, while A.B.A. is forced to go for a grab or a lucky 6H if she doesn't want to burn a blood pack. Once A.B.A. gets Moroha mode, it's not even that much of an advantage to her. A.B.A.'s Moroha pressure still lacks many lows in it and is full of frame traps, giving Jam opportunities to parry out of A.B.A.'s pressure. In addition, Jam still controls the pacing through her higher movement. While she can't go toe-to-toe with A.B.A.'s large normals, she can easily whiff punish anything that A.B.A. throws out. Finally, ALL of Jam's confirms easily get her knockdown, and she has a strong enough oki game to put A.B.A. in a vortex leading to more knockdowns (which means A.B.A. gets IK'd a lot in this MU).

Opener:

Jam can rush in with a 2S and beat just about anything A.B.A. tries to do, but if Jam tries much more than that, through say IADing in at start of the round A.B.A. will be able to counter with a nice meaty 6H into Moroha into combo. Don't IAD against A.B.A. at the start of the round. Jam also has an option to IAD back and charge a card. Doing so might provoke the A.B.A. to burn a bloodpack and enter Moroha Mode, so do so at your own risk.

Neutral:

Assuming A.B.A. is Normal Mode, Jam can freely run circles around her. A.B.A. still has huge normals but they are very slow, and no real pressure to speak of. The big thing to watch out for is that her f.S is a low in Normal Mode, so you can't parry it. Just because she's slow doesn't mean you don't have to be careful though. A.B.A. has very impressive anti-air, regardless of Mode, so don't IAD at her stupidly.

If A.B.A. DOES get the Moroha Mode started, it does make Jam's life harder, but it's not a free win for A.B.A. Jam has the movement to keep up with and run away from Moroha A.B.A., and A.B.A.'s normals still have enough recovery that Jam can rush in and punish. Jam has to play a very solid ground and air game here, getting away from A.B.A. to make her impatient and feel the timer of Moroha Mode counting down. Don't rush in blindly, because A.B.A.'s big normals will destroy Jam rushing in. Puffball can be stuffed by her Moroha 6H and Danzai as well, so don't rely on it as an in.

Offense:

In Normal Mode, A.B.A.'s rather pathetic when placed on the defense. She'll look for spots to slide out and try to grab, or mash 5P/2P in an effort to get you off her. Her 5P is 3 frames, the same as Jam's, but it has a slightly better hitbox that makes it harder to crouch. In general, watch for spots where she'll try to slide, and 6H to punish her attempt at a grab. Note though that if she goes for raw keystab after a slide, it WILL beat 6H despite it being a grab; keystab has a strike hitbox as well.

In Moroha Mode, A.B.A. gains the defensive move Danzai. Normal Danzai can be dealt with the same way one deals with Potemkin's Hammerfall; break the super armor by mashing fast gatlings. FB Danzai however has infinite super armor during the first strike of the move, so using JCable moves is the best bet. Doing a fast recovering move like 5P or 5K, it might be possible to hit the super armor, then parry the first hit of Danzai. Note that despite Jam's ways to deal with Danzai, it's still a very high reward move for A.B.A., so always be on the watch for it.

Finally, be sure to end ALL combos in knockdown against A.B.A. in Moroha Mode. She has a funny weight/hitbox, so you may need to learn some character specific combos, but after 3 knockdowns Jam can VERY EASILY Instant Kill A.B.A.

Defense:

Again, in Normal Mode A.B.A.'s offense is rather anemic. She'll likely be looking for a grab or some AA, maybe a lucky CH 6H, but A.B.A. lacks any sort of real pressure in Normal Mode. Using her jH as a pressure string is useful, but Jam can easily parry it.

In Moroha Mode, A.B.A.'s offense does a complete 180. She can be VERY scary on offense when she has Moroha Mode. Generally her gameplan now is "Crank Guard Bar -> Frame Trap or Mixup -> Combo into huge damage". However, because of the nature of Moroha Mode, she is on a timer. As she runs low on Moroha Mode, she'll likely go for easier hits or forgo cranking the guard bar up to try to keystab out of Moroha Mode (or break pressure entirely and try to blood pack out). In addition, A.B.A.'s pressure and mixup, while scary, is generally consisting of crossups and frame traps. A.B.A. does not have many lows in her repertoire during pressure, so it's very possible for Jam to parry her way out, hitting with a fast 5P 2D, knocking A.B.A. down and killing her momentum. The best time to look for these openings are when the A.B.A. uses her rekkas, or other frame traps she does.

A final note for being on defense against A.B.A.: ALWAYS try to FD 2H. Her 2H is +2 and has an FRC point to make it even more +. FDing the first hit to make the second whiff gives you a prime opportunity to try to parry or punish her whiffed 2H. Pushing A.B.A. out also means she wastes her precious time rushing back in!

Other Notes:

A.B.A. is a heavyweight, and has a very strange hitbox, so adjust your combos accordingly. She also has a very slow wakeup speed, slowest in the game, so be ready for that.