[CP] Carl vs Azrael

[Psykotik]

Discuss the Azrael matchup here

Random Notes:

- 2C into 6D/3D is unsafe and can be mashed out of

[Ctrlaltwtf]

Holy shit his 5C shuts down so much, don't try to beat it during neutral. Just do something else that will force him to stop using it.

[sinder]

So apparently Azrael has a ton of frame traps?

 

I should drop out of school and major in blazblue because I am really out of the loop with these things <_<

 

wish I wasn't so busy, these MU threads need a massive update. Hopefully somebody can do it... *wink* *wink*

[Psykotik]

Trying to become an actuary isn't exactly an easy life either, cut me some slack :v

On a relevant note, I'll do a few write ups for a few threads (this one included) when my finals are done.

[Daedron]

How am I supposed to play this? 5C shuts down all doll usage and his normals are insanely good, what the hell is up with 5A and 5B? I can't even jump in on him. Do I have to use more Fucuo? Pushback seems so high that I can't really reach Az in time to even start pushing buttons. Backdash seems to mess with all attempts at sandwiching but I heard there's an OS for beating it and growler?

 

Someone told me this was in Carl's favour but I really don't see how.

[Zephyrion22]

This is what I've gathered from playing the match-up, feel free to correct anything you think wrong !

 

It is slightly in Carl's favour from what I've heard (then again may be false), but like against all the better characters  of the game, one mistake will heavily hinder your chance of winning the round. By no mean is the MU easy to play.

 

On neutral you want to play the footsies game fully.  Azrael can hit Nirvana hard and has good pokes with very good vertical and horizontal hitboxes,However, he can't jump cancel most of his normals (only 5A and 5B, and Nirvana's attacks can cleanly beat those with the right spacing) , meaning he can't just cheap Nirvana's life and run away/jump above her. Also his poor mobility (teleport dashes, no dash jump) gives him a hard time mounting an offense against Carl if the latter is behind his sis. Your best bet is to watch the chains he uses on Nirvana and react accordingly

-if you want to counter his attempts to 2C/5B to beat your jump-ins attempts you can use high jump airdash 2C if you feel gutsy, as his anti-airs don't have a cross-up  hitbox (except  6B, but no Azrael in his right mind should attempt that near Ada). If it counters, you can follow-up with Tenerezza and a full combo with the right spacing, you also want to make use of your double jump every once in a while

- if the Azrael go for 5C>6C/3C, you can just stay behind Nirvana and punish the 6C/3C with  your 5C you should again get 4k minimum  from it with the right confirms, be careful though, as 5C extends Carl hurtbox, so you really need to be on point with the spacing. keep in mind that said moves push Nirvana back, so don't hesitate to take a few steps back

-6A is your best friend against IAD attempts, and 236D/8D is your best friend against jumps/high jumps, make full use of them

With this , the Azrael should respect your options a bit more  and play less aggressively. Your main goal is now  to attempt to get in with Fuoco, 6D,46D (Volante gets eaten by Growler, so be careful with it) along with jumps and Vivaces, and counter jumps with 8D and Brio. you can also try and use your mobility to force Azrael to whiff his moves against both you and Nirvana to establish pressure. For example, you  fake your jump-in attempt > backdash before entering the 2C danger zone > doll attack."Nirvana dance" (constantly activating and deactivating nirvana to make the opponent whiff something against her and start  attacking from there) is also a good idea, as Azrael's best horizontal pokes have quite a bit of recovery on them.  You can also run away and get cheap hits, because Azrael can't do much about it, except attempting risky stuff.

 

once you're in the offense this isn't too hard, growler resets the neutral game most of the time and you have plenty of weapons to bait it and counter it, so you can play your game, his backdash can get him out of sandwich combo midscreen, so you should rely on your tight strings to avoid that, backdash is again a risky option for Azrael, as your Vivace cross-up attempts should let you stay in his face or even punish it (A vivace, B version takes too long to recover), he can't backdash when you attempt 3D mixups either, as it hits on both sides, in the corner, the backdash is out of the way and you should be able to trainwreck him with safe jumps and various mixups, if you get him here, don't let him go and the match is yours

 

On defense, it's the other way around. like in most of the MU you will have a hard time because of Carl's poor defensive options, and Azrael heavy mixup game makes it a lot harder, don't forget to rely on barrier if the Azrael abuses frame trap to get him out of your face, B vivace can evade his overheads, but loses to low attacks so you can use it very sparingly when you know the overhead is coming (his 6D is actually reactable if you train it enough and see the difference in the animation between 6D/3D so B vivace is not of question, much harder on 5D because of the fast start-up). Your goal here is to reset the neutral game ASAP, as Carl's neutral options can let you stall for time to get rid of your weak points. Also,  some Azrael players will become reckless if you escape with one or two weak points one you  so use it to your advantage

 

In the end, the first one who gets his offense  rolling wins the match. the fact that Azrael has mediocre movement options, but good normals means you need to play really safe. You should always prioritize re-establishing the spacing game over attempting an approach if you're not 100% sure that you can get in there safely. if you play patient and solid enough, you should have the upper hand on this MU

[dien]

You can 236B through his Distortion Drive: Black Hawk Stinger, even after he starts it up.  I find it useful since for some reason I'm never able to air barrier gaurd that move after startup.