The Good, the Bad, and Ugly as Hell Baiken Matchups

[Star-Demon]

Sheeeit

I think I jump too much and I did not cool out during the match. Coopa has serious openings and I got way too excited.

[kaeru]

Against Potemkin, be careful how you jump at him, be patient. The potemkin you fought wasn't trying it, but usually, you will get your tatami's flicked everytime and this is VERY dangerous.

I noticed you used a lot of meter comboing into overdrive. This is kind of a waste, comboing into your overdrive reduces overall damage, costs 50% meter and doesnt even get you knockdown. Against Potemkin you safely use your anti airs if he jumps at you, if he is on the ground, you can fish with 2D as well. Using j.D at neutral right off the ground is also a good way to keep Potemkin at bay, and if you get a knockdown, go in for mixup. Be careful of his backdash, if you notice a pattern with the backdash you can meaty with 5P and after it whiffs you can try a 6K to try and catch the end of his backdash, or a j.D to make to stay safe from the pot buster that is sure to come afterwards. If you hit with a 5f.S, try to combo into j.D to get knockdown. This is very important against potemkin, and even combos into airdash tatami if you are willing to FRC the j.D.

Hope that helps you out!

[Star-Demon]

It was coast to coast - very hard to FRC do anything correctly, so I mashed super after confirms LOL

Yeah, I didn't use my ground tools very well and I got all excited and panicky because I was scared of Slide head - I know he knows combos off slide head, so I was trying ot avoid getting super armored and slide headed.

[kaeru]

It was coast to coast - very hard to FRC do anything correctly, so I mashed super after confirms LOL

Yeah, I didn't use my ground tools very well and I got all excited and panicky because I was scared of Slide head - I know he knows combos off slide head, so I was trying ot avoid getting super armored and slide headed.

There are tons of people in New York and New Jersey for you to play online with, and have a decent connection ! I can't imagine trying to improve in a match with THAT much latency.

[Star-Demon]

There are tons of people in New York and New Jersey for you to play online with, and have a decent connection ! I can't imagine trying to improve in a match with THAT much latency.

I said I think I could beat his Potemkin and he called me out. I had to do it. (I still think I can beat his potemkin)

[Zida]

I'm having serious troubles with May. I'm a fairly good player, and I can deal with everyone in my playgroup group except for May.

I keep hearing that the May matchup is 5-5, but I'm just not seeing it. Here are my issues:

• He utilizes safejumps and constantly tries to bait my alpha counters to the point where I've nearly completely stopped using them against him, other than to get out of a bad situation.
  
• I have to spend tension to get a dustloop going, since tatami, j.PD and tatami, j.PSD don't work at all against her. This means that most of my tensionless damage comes from a standing D, and he knows all of my oki setups to get that going. Also, if I'm always spending tension on frc tatami, I don't have enough for tricky setups like instant overhead Youzanzen, RC, combo and I also don't have tension to make Sakura safe. What should I be doing meterless? If I have no tension, what should I be going for against May? Should I always tatami frc for a full combo against May, or save my meter for other things?
  
• It seems like dolphins aren't always punishable by my P alpha counter. Is there a more reliable way to punish them?
  
• I always want to save my burst for a lame loop (May's extremely damaging dolphin loop), meaning I can't go for gold-burst setups to net much-needed tension in this matchup. Am I right in doing this? It seems like having 3/4 of my health gone makes tension less relevant.
  
• I can't seem to properly air-to-air may. Anytime I jump, I either immediately get smacked in the face by a dolphin, trade in the air, or just flat out lose the trade and eat a counterhit leading to lame loop. In general, it feels like being in the air is a bad situation against May. However, being on the ground leaves me open to vertical dolphin crossup BS that leads into oki. I guess a way to phrase this question would be: where in the hell is my optimal area on the screen vs May? What areas should I look to control?
  

Any help at all with these issues would be greatly appreciated.

[Solid Gold Wall]

all i can say is that the best thing to do tensionless is probably: gatling > 2D > j.D. in the corner without tension, try to set up a throw so you can build some meter with the followup combo.

for crossup vertical dolphin, sometimes i do suzuran to get away, but i'm not sure that's really the best option... honestly, i wouldn't mind some good advice on this one either.

[Zida]

all i can say is that the best thing to do tensionless is probably: gatling > 2D > j.D. in the corner without tension, try to set up a throw so you can build some meter with the followup combo.

for crossup vertical dolphin, sometimes i do suzuran to get away, but i'm not sure that's really the best option... honestly, i wouldn't mind some good advice on this one either.

Suzuran is definitely an option against crossup dolphins, but you lose out on a good punish. If you block a dolphin that hits towards the top of your hurtbox you can Youshijin it for a nice conversion, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to try to block when it's so ambiguous. I've practiced my instant youzansen so that I can try to use it on reaction to punish a vertical dolphin, but I'm not so sure it will be as reliable as I want it to.

Some things I've learned that might help in the matchup that I didn't mention in my original post:

• 
  
• If the May likes to use H and 6H a lot, punish every once in a while with mawarikomi (K alpha counter) into throw. Be careful though. Since Baiken's throw range is smaller than May's (and most of the cast's for that matter), your opponent can throw you first, so don't abuse it too often. It's still nice to make them try to bait it a lot once you condition them./
  
• You can punish May fairly well with super on wakeup. A lot of May's best oki options don't hit meaty (raw Overhead Kiss, anyone?), so super is a good option in this matchup if you somehow find yourself with enough meter. Just don't use it too much or it'll get baited.
  
• Don't airdash in and go for a j.H. It's one of the worst things you can do. If you're midscreen and May is hanging back with a ring, consider using iad back tatamis or neutral jump tatamis in the corner. This forces May to come in, and you can punish impatience this way.
  

Even with all of the above knowledge, I still do terribly in this matchup. I feel like it's almost as bad as the Slayer matchup, but I never really hear too much about it.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Zida

[Star-Demon]

May is definitely one of those doable matches high level but you need a really good grasp of both characters and how the other player is behaving - but very hard when you are the underdog in any way. The game is not helping you win, so you really do need to outplay your opponent.

Off the top of my head: Things to remember:

1. Every time May is crouching or blocking she is probably charging.

2. Because of 1, Dolphins are always charged.

3. Because of 2, Approaching May always carries the risk of getting dolphin-ed, especially vertical dolphin.

4. Because of 2, Your jump cancels are incredibly dangerous.

5. Because of 3 and 4, Your best bet to beat her is to make her approach all the time.

From there, you pretty much have to be an absolute bitch during the match. You can't risk getting counter hit by May (We're talking AC may here who will just loop you to death) into GGs. Playing the match will require being very patient and playing very safe.

[kaeru]

This is an extremely tough matchup for me as well. I can rarely beat the May in our group.

Certain things to keep in mind:

I disagree with wakeup super, a good May will use 3K on oki against Baiken, when they have meter. It low profiles sakura, it low profiles Yoshijin, and it low profiles the overdrive. If they have the slightest feeling you're going for a counter or reversal, this will stuff it, and if they have meter to RC it, it has enough blockstun to create mixup after you've blocked it. Be careful with your wakeup options against May with meter.

jump backwards S or neutral jump S or neutral jump D are good pokes to throw out at neutral.

For combos, save your meter as much as you can and go for gatling 2D -> j.D as Solid Gold Wall mentioned, very good advice !

I don't know how to block dolphins or how to punish them, but May players will tell you that it's punishable, i haven't figured out the best way yet, though. I know counters are not the answer, dolphins are supposed to be a punishable move without counters, so try to find a way to punish her recovery.

Don't rush her down, she has better range in almost all situations except when you are zoning her with j.S or j.D. Also getting hit by a CH j.HS or 6P on the ground is BAD, don't let it happen.

Horizontal dolphin can beat backwards airdash tatami, so don't become predictable with it.

This could make for an interesting discussion !

[Star-Demon]

Is Baku's hitbox bigger than Sakura's? That might be worth the 25 meter in more situations than trying a Sakura FRC.

EDIT: While I'm here - what ARE the bad Matchups?

When I think bad match I ask myself a few questions:

Is the game helping them win?

Are your tools worthless in this fight?

Is your basic gameplay bad in this fight?

I suppose we can throw Baiken vs May on there.

Baiken vs Potemkin is supposedly 3-7. I can't remember what places I've heard it.

Baiken versus Slayer is supposedly bad, although I've been told that Slayer can't make you block.

Baiken versus Testament may be bad because testament can make you face the wrong way, making your GCs worthless. (ofc, then there's BADLANDS BADLANDS BADLANDS)

I've never seen a matchup chart for AC+, so I'd like to see what everyone thinks.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Star-Demon

[Orrax]

My opinion of Baiken's bad matchups and a brief explanation:

Potemkin: once he gets momentum, it's incredibly hard to stop him.

Slayer: don't get hit.

Testament: One of the few characters who can effectively zone Baiken in AC.

Sol: lol 2D. Plus he has a lot of effective ways to bait counters and is really difficult to deal with when he gets in. But a lot of Sol players don't have any idea how to play this matchup, so... yeah, maybe people won't agree with me on this one.

I really don't think May is that bad, but I haven't played the matchup in forever. I'm pretty sure you can 6P or even P counter dolphins if you're fast enough. Air dash back j.S is probably safer than tatami. I think it's possible to zone her effectively as well, and I don't think she's got a lot to stop Baiken's offence once it gets going, but I'm not 100% sure of either of those (it has been too long). Oh, and she can command grab you out of your super, so that's another reason not to do it on wakeup.

[Solid Gold Wall]

i agree with you on sol, that match is really frustrating when the sol player knows how to handle it. i'd add jam to that list also for mostly the same reasons as sol, plus the massive damage she does.

and yeah, i don't know if may's necessarily a terrible match for baiken, i think it's more that she's just plain annoying in general!

[Zida]

I'll throw in my 2 cents as far as matchups go. I'm not best in the US material or anything, but I feel like I know some matchups very well, so here are my difficulties:

Slayer: Very difficult for Baiken because his mixup game is very dangerous. Near-instant lows and overheads that lead in to damage in addition to easy cross ups thanks to his dash and very rewarding throws. In addition to this, a lot of his normals have very little recovery, so you don't get many opportunities for any counter shenanigans. His j.D (? the one where he sticks both palms out together, pretty sure it's j.D) flat out beats most of Baiken's air options since it gives him a weird disjointed hurtbox.

May: Reasons in my previous posts. I feel like people don't give enough thought towards BnBs working against her. She's the only character I've found that you can't do above ~20% damage against without meter, since you can't launch with tatami and get a j.P link in. This matchup is really the only one that's thrown in my face weekly, so I'm the most confident about it.

Potemkin: I've only really played against a rusty Raekwon (who went to SBO for AC at one point) and a rusty Abegen at FR a couple times, so I don't know this matchup extremely well. Pot can instant block ad j.H and punish you with a buster, so just don't do it unless you're high up enough to make it safe with a tatami afterwards. However, if you play lame and utilize mats well, it's certainly a winnable matchup. It's rough since you can't rush down (a pattern I'm finding a lot of bad Baiken matchups follow), but I don't feel like it's as bad as the Slayer matchup or even the May matchup for that matter. Pot has high damage in general, but you also have high damage against Pot. Don't be afraid to extend your corner dustloops with j.D frc tatami, and always drop a meaty mat on his head or throw out a meaty kabari so he can't try to buster. Use your alpha counters well in order to not get caught in unblockable slidehead situations (Ouren works well, but don't let it get baited).

Jam: I haven't played against a good Jam, and probably won't until I get to go to a major or someone gets Doren2K out of hiding, but I can see how this would be a bad matchup, at least for similar reasons to May. Your BnBs are very tight against Jam, but she can rip you apart with damage off of things like throws (and Baiken is pretty susceptible to throws). Overall, the risk/reward is highly in her favor. Her normals are similar to Slayer in that they can't be punished very easily with alpha counter shenanigans, as well.

Testament: This guy is a pain for most characters, honestly. Playing lame with back airdash mats isn't an option, since Testament does lame better than you. Rushing down is tough with traps, and badlands loop freaking hurts. EXE beast turns you around so that Ouren flips you away from him. A LOT of knowledge of Testament is going to help you a lot in this matchup to get in. Once you're in, the chances of you winning increase exponentially. Use your meter for mixup and oki and stay on him.

Sol: You want to block. He wants to Wild Throw.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Zida

[Hellmonkey]

Slayer: Very difficult for Baiken because his mixup game is very dangerous. Near-instant lows and overheads that lead in to damage in addition to easy cross ups thanks to his dash and very rewarding throws. In addition to this, a lot of his normals have very little recovery, so you don't get many opportunities for any counter shenanigans. His j.D (? the one where he sticks both palms out together, pretty sure it's j.D) flat out beats most of Baiken's air options since it gives him a weird disjointed hurtbox.

You're thinking of j.H which is quite easy to youshijin. Baiken has bigger problems with Slayer like getting antiaired into huge damage and knockdown by 5p/2s, getting CH by 2H (instantly dying), hit by random DoT or random hit into DoT, etc.

However you choose to play this matchup, don't get hit.

May: Reasons in my previous posts. I feel like people don't give enough thought towards BnBs working against her. She's the only character I've found that you can't do above ~20% damage against without meter, since you can't launch with tatami and get a j.P link in. This matchup is really the only one that's thrown in my face weekly, so I'm the most confident about it.

Actually comboing on May is quite easy and fun. In the case of tatami combos specifically, it's written about in the guide but you can delay your tatami mat slightly after 2D and still connect a j.P on May, Bridget and Dizzy with no problems. 2D -> j.D FRC iad tatami wallcarry also works, you have many options to combo on May, she is light but has a big hitbox.

As for punishing overhead dolphins, it's very easy to do with an instant block (especially the crossup one they always like to do in the corner).

The biggest fear factors here are 6P, OHK, 5H CH and getting hit by her jump-in. Also 3K can be annoying as Kaeru pointed out.

Despite these problems you can catch a decent amount of her stuff with Ouren at mid range and mawarikomi closer in to throw as mentioned above. Close range is really where you have to display strong defensive fundamentals (FD and IB properly, 1f jump or backdash out when appropriate). Try not to mash out, and if you do use 6PH/5SH when she's in throw range.

Learning how to counter her dive-in attack with youshijin is important for this matchup, and made significantly easier if she hits you higher up on your hitbox.

Tatami is actually pretty nice in the matchup because if you manage to land the CH, easy wall carry and huge damage by following up with combo into j.D FRC . You also can practically always get corner knockdown using sj.D airdash j.SD as opposed to j.SD ad j.SD.

Potemkin: Pot can instant block ad j.H and punish you with a buster, so just don't do it unless you're high up enough to make it safe with a tatami afterwards. However, if you play lame and utilize mats well, it's certainly a winnable matchup. It's rough since you can't rush down (a pattern I'm finding a lot of bad Baiken matchups follow), but I don't feel like it's as bad as the Slayer matchup or even the May matchup for that matter. Pot has high damage in general, but you also have high damage against Pot. Don't be afraid to extend your corner dustloops with j.D frc tatami, and always drop a meaty mat on his head or throw out a meaty kabari so he can't try to buster. Use your alpha counters well in order to not get caught in unblockable slidehead situations (Ouren works well, but don't let it get baited).

This matchup is tough but I don't think it's for these reasons. j.H has high reward but is pretty risky in any matchup. Against Potemkin he can backdash punish, IB punish (even flick your mat IIRC if you are doing it higher up), trade 2H, early heavenly etc, it's just not strong. You shouldn't be jumping in on Potemkin from neutral very much in the first place.

It's actually not usually worth blowing meter on j.D FRC in the corner on Potemkin. It easily extends her combo on him but you get a good chunk of damage with (*)j.PSD ad j.SPSD or (*)j.SPSD ad j.SPSD. You can also throw in 2D in the air portion of the combo in the corner fairly easily (2D j.SPSD after launching for example). Saving your meter is very important so you have meter to FRC tatami and TK youzansen to keep them locked down from your corner knockdown.

Both Kabari and Ouren are too risky to use much in this matchup, especially try not to Kabari much in neutral because he can slidehead on reaction. Even having him block a Kabari isn't that great because now you're grounded with minimal frame advantage (especially if he IB) right next to him, not where you want to be. Ouren is a useful tool to punish but not to throw out against Pot.

The matchup is tough, but knowing how to fight it will make lesser Potemkins a walk in the park.

As for what you DO want to use, j.S is strong and a spaced tatami can be as well. Punishing Hammerfall from all angles is important because it goes through so much and leads to huge damage with FRC. Being able to backdash Slidehead properly and on reaction (so he doesn't catch you with 5S or 2S backdashing) is also absolutely necessary. You also need to be able to punish it by airdashing in on reaction from further away. The biggest key here is setting up a decent value/return scenario which takes a lot of spacing on Baiken's part to not risk taking a random hit or pot buster.

Also learn a character like Eddie/Testament and make your life easy when the Pot player shows up. (last time I played FAB i went 0-10 with Baiken (although taking many rounds) and then won an easy three rounds straight with Eddie)

Edited June 20, 2013 by Hellmonkey

[Zida]

I just read that delayed tatami bit in guide a little earlier today and I'm already starting to get the hang of the delayed tatami into sj.P vs May. I'm sure that's going to help me a lot, as well as IB against dolphins, which I admittedly don't do enough.

Thanks for expounding upon those matchups.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Zida

[Star-Demon]

Dude, "Learn Eddie" is not an answer for a Baiken Matchup. :mrbiscuits:

I love being challenged by Potemkins - it really gets me back into controlling space, providing threat on the screen and moving around and attacking very smartly.

People that think they can play Potemkin and dump on that 3-7 matchup because of Slide head -> hammerfall cancel -> GGs are going to find themselves losing a lot of life for a 3-7 match. Now if I can really just do the Potemkin and slayer strat of "never getting hit" then I'm in really good shape for someone as new as myself.

[Hellmonkey]

Dude, "Learn Eddie" is not an answer for a Baiken Matchup. :mrbiscuits:

I love being challenged by Potemkins - it really gets me back into controlling space, providing threat on the screen and moving around and attacking very smartly.

People that think they can play Potemkin and dump on that 3-7 matchup because of Slide head -> hammerfall cancel -> GGs are going to find themselves losing a lot of life for a 3-7 match. Now if I can really just do the Potemkin and slayer strat of "never getting hit" then I'm in really good shape for someone as new as myself.

Actually, learning another character stronger in a given match-up will give you a better idea of the opponent's weakness. You can then search to create those situations with any character. This is particularly useful for Baiken because you learn to defend and make space without counters.

I also don't know where you get the 3-7 idea from, it's not that bad. You get knockdowns from anywhere with j.D and do big damage on him for minimal meter allowing for good use of youzansen mixup.

[Zida]

Anyone have any ideas yet about how some of Baiken's matchups have changed in +R? The only two characters I've gotten to play against more than 5 games each are Axl and Venom, and I actually like those matchups better now. It seems like Baiken's improved neutral-game makes it easier to get in without having to rely purely on patient approach.

Venom's nerfed anti-air makes him fairly easy to jump in on now, and the ability to use guard cancels out of Suzuran makes punishing fullscreen balls cake. As a funny aside, if Baiken has used up her air options, she can still use the j.D FD cancel bug to avoid having to block a Dark Angel when falling down. This obviously isn't that useful, but it's something to throw Venom off of his game. FB Tatami isn't actually as useful in this matchup as I had assumed it would be, but it's okay since Baiken's other new options are great in this matchup.

Axl not being able to combo off of Kokuu Geki makes him easier to air-to-air, since all you really have to worry about are Axl Bomber and j.S. However, his new FB is terrifying and makes you think twice about using Kabari frequently or jumping in (as if that was a good option in the first place).

I'll probably have more to say on these matchups and hopefully a few more in a couple days when I get to play people again. I'm still trying to get our May player to actually play the game instead of whining about the removal of lame loop and the Overhead Kiss nerf. I'm really curious about the May matchup since she used to give me hell.

[Digital Watches]

While I haven't played this matchup much yet in +R, I can assure you that Axl can get a combo off of counterhit Kokuugeki most of the time, and normal hit at certain distances.

[Zida]

While I haven't played this matchup much yet in +R, I can assure you that Axl can get a combo off of counterhit Kokuugeki most of the time, and normal hit at certain distances.

Ah okay. He said something about it knocking away instead of knocking up (sort of like the tatami changes, I suppose), so I assumed it wouldn't be combo-able midscreen without an FRC or something. No more spreading misinformation. I promise!

[kaeru]

Some great info from you guys.

I've played some long sets against a strong Potemkin, and i will admit though some things are a bit easier, in general his normals will still beat Baiken's most of the time. You need really good spacing in this matchup. His 6HS is lower level attack, so you no longer need to IB or 1 frame jump or guard cancel to avoid the slide head that usually comes after. Not to mention Slide head no longer offers a combo without FRC and proper spacing. Combos do more damage to Potemkin now (AC combos involved a lot of extra j.P which made damage suffer).

I still find this to be a tough matchup for me (mostly because the Potemkin player's skill wildly exceeds my own). Out spacing him is my biggest issue. Yoshijin can work against his jump ins where 6P fails, but the timing is really strict because it is not fully extended for long and its easy to fall short. I will make a point to try and Suzuran~Zakuro instead next time and hope for better results.

[Zida]

I really need to get in some sets against a good Pot sometime soon. The only Pot player around here is a retired Raekwon187 and I don't think he's messed with +R at all.

I'm really excited about slidehead not being nearly as ridiculous, but the matchup is likely still in Pot's favor. Suzuran->Zakuro should definitely be your go-to antiair if 6P isn't working, so good call on that. That hard knockdown is great and Suzuran offers you a few frames of jump-in protection (depending on how long you wait to Zakuro).

I know that Pot can reliably combo wider characters after a Pot Buster; however, I don't know what I should watch for after getting hit by one. Any ideas there before it costs me a match?

[kaeru]

From what i can tell so far, he needs to be close to corner against Baiken to pick her up after a Pot buster.

In general Hammer Fall Break is your biggest warning something bad is about to happen. Knowing this, i still find it a bit hard to react to, and 6K in time, to beat the pot buster. Also, if Kabari is blocked, Potemkin can Pot buster for free from quite a long range away, so either make sure you Tetsuzansen (FRC) to avoid it or mash 6K or backdash after it. Same goes for 2HS, it's a free pot buster if you don't backdash or 6K or jump after it.

I want to find a way to reliably beat his backdash on Oki, perhaps a more experienced player can help with this.

I know for a fact if you are in +frames or on Oki and you meaty a 2K really well, you will have time to whiff, recover and do something else before he can punish. I'm not 100% sure how much time there is, but i plan on taking a look at the frame data to examine the options. Some ideas I am thinking of are:

2K> double tap 6P, if 2K whiffs, the first 6P won't come out as you will still be recovering. I am hoping the second tap will allow a 6P to be active during his last recovery frame on backdash, need to do some match to check it out.

2K>6P (if whiff) 5P, same idea but react to the whiff with a 5P instead of double tapping 6P

2K>6K need to try this one, too

This stuff only has a shot to work if 2K is meaty-ed properly. Keep in mind Pot Buster is 3 frames to active and he can be hit during those 3 frames. Also his backdash has 20 invincible frames and only 1 recovery frame. So basically backdash->pot buster has a 4 frame gap that if you can fill with active frames, he will get hit.

2K is active on frames 6-10 inclusively, then recovers for 6. Even with the worst meaty ever (hit with first active frame), 2K double tap 6P should work. I will have to try this for sure, next time.

[Zida]

I got some good +R sets in with locals from a different city, so I'll post some thoughts on a few matchups.

Anji: This matchup has gotten a little more difficult for Baiken. Anji's guardpoints can be beaten by normals with long active frames, like Baiken's 2D or AC invincible Sakura. +R Sakura is overall faster and still good versus guardpoints, but you have to think a good bit more and not just throw it out. As far as 2D goes, in AC, you got a full midscreen combo off of 2d->Tatami into corner carry. In +R, you don't get that anymore, but that doesn't mean a raw 2D (without being gatlinged into) is a bad idea. You can still stuff his guardpoint counters with it and follow up with a tatami, but you can't really combo unless he's close to the corner. You can, however, keep up the pressure with a kire tatami directly following Anji neutral or back teching. Anji's new FB makes him have an even more deadly reset game, so be aware and learn quickly. All that said, this matchup is still perfectly doable, although you have to be more patient now rather than just throwing out Sakura to stuff a guardpoint counter or get out of a butterfly mixup. 1-frame jumping is far more useful in this matchup now.

Chipp: Not much has changed in this matchup on Chipp's side of things. Chipp has more damage now with FB Alpha Blade combos and you have to look out for FB Beta Blade, but Chipp's toolset remains largely unchanged. That said, Baiken's side of things has changed a bit more. You need to be on point with your midscreen combos. You won't get much of a chance to get Chipp in the corner due to his crazy speed. This wasn't a problem in AC since midscreen combos were easy and had built-in corner carry without trying. This matchup is now all about neutral-game, and both Chipp and Baiken have plenty of good tools.

Kliff: I honestly didn't get time to figure this matchup out enough. Solidplay (former Sol and Robo player) has picked him up quickly and Solid is a better player than me. However, I noticed the new wheel counter is absurdly good in this matchup. Solidplay couldn't figure out a way to safejump and avoid it with Kliff (although he was able to with Sol). This means that Kliff's options are more limited, and he can't instant-overhead you into a 3-hit air combo that leads into tons of damage. Kliff's most useful super is very quick, and can easily punish a back ad Tatami or a neutral-jump Tatami, so just avoid them when he has 50% tension. This matchup will definitely get better once we get patches, as the Kliff on PSN is the "broken" Kliff that got a nerfbat on Japanese arcades. Until then, be aware of his backdash and absurdly good normals. Don't play footsies with him from half-screen and learn to block his crossup special, and you'll be in a good spot.

Testament: I didn't get as many games in as I'd wanted against him, but this matchup seems slightly more difficult. His pressure is improved in a lot of ways. FB curse works on you even on block and EXE beast can be held so that it stays and can then be FRC'd to get a 2nd! He can now teleport, although I'm not entirely sure of its properties. From what I could tell, he can teleport to the location of his EXE beast, and I was able to punish it with a run->2p on a couple of occasions. His new combos still hurt, but not as much as they used to. Careful rushdown is the way to approach this matchup, although it's always been that way in my experience. Keep an eye out for webs and trees and be aware of them, and get him into a corner.

Sol: Not much to say here, honestly. The matchup feels largely the same as AC with some new bells and whistles on each side, but I'll give my thoughts anyway. Be aware of Volcanic Viper on wakeup and bait it when possible, but be ready for him to RC and get a throw/low mixup. Don't let him punish your guard cancels with Ground Viper. If you have good reflexes, Bandit Revolver is punishable with the wheel counter. On the same note, Bandit Bringer is even easier to punish. His new Dragon Install is absolutely terrifying. He has the potential for an instant overhead (his new slam) that leads into combo, so don't get close. When he's in Dragon Install, your ideal area is in the air within range of your j.S with your fingers at the ready to FD a VV. Rather than trying to guess a command grab or a low, don't get put in a position where you're forced to make that guess. However, 1-frame jumps are your friend in those situations.

Edited October 11, 2013 by Zida