[CT] Carl Clover Combos: Clap Trap Inside

[Kyle]

Nah, Zoogs is right. Often I use "5B, J.B, J.C, BackDash" as well

[MisoSowee]

i know this is probably a noob question but. when you're doing clap trap, do you input the 8d before the throw? because if do it after and they throw break, i'm usually interrupted, but if i do it before and they don't, for some reason i can't throw again. doing 8d AFTER the throw lets me just combo on through in training but... yah. maybe i read something wrong but it didn't really mention it D:

[Zoogstin]

What do you mean? You just should just airdash forward and go for a second throw. I kind of do the throw and 8D simultaneously I think. Throw does have startup which gives the 8D enough time to get past the interrupt window.

[MisoSowee]

What do you mean? You just should just airdash forward and go for a second throw. I kind of do the throw and 8D simultaneously I think. Throw does have startup which gives the 8D enough time to get past the interrupt window.

oh. that makes sense then xD

it's just a tad awkward on a pad tho. i'll get used to it sooner or later. thanks :D

[4Corners]

Just think of an airdash as a ground dash, input-wise. Seems like common sense, but it didn't occur to me for a bit.

[feri]

I'm not sure of the exact mechanics but clapping without turning off nirvana consecutively seems to cost lots of bar. I'm not sure if this is mentioned elsewhere but you should try to turn her off an back on mid combos anywhere you can that is possible. Anyways, I wanted some big dmg vs Hakumen/Rachel (and anyone else who mashes punishable shit during sandwiches). Should they dare press the suicide buttons during your sandwich (chair/D counter). (2c > 8d ) x 3 > 2c > 214214d = 7k dmg I had no idea it did so much dmg Make sure nirvana's hands smack them every time and not just the shock wave part. Also, another combo which is not too practical since Carl's AA is not too hot. Deep 6a CH > 22d > vivace A > 5b > j.b > j.b > j.c > 8d > whatever you want.

[4Corners]

Adding on top of Feri's idea, I decided to test something:

Intentionally getting the 8d clap to hit so that they fast fall every time after a grab break.

After messing around for a while, I think I've decided that break>8d (dash in) 5b jc j.b, j.c, 8d (land) 2c 8d is optimal for damage when going back into throw loop. If you can get the 8d to hit twice even once, it does around 3.2k, not including previous or following damage. You can do another rep to make it come out to 4.6k. If you have 50% meter, you can also follow up with (2c 8d)*2>uppercut super after the 5b reset and it'll do about 6.5k damage, if you do it right.

tl;dr - if your opponent has bursted and you have 50% meter, there's no way plausible for them to survive the next combo. Nirvana with 1/3rd health can do 6.5k damage. 1/6 health= 5.2k damage if you get one double-clap, 4.3 with no double-clap. And that's without the 1k or more that lead to the reset being ignored.

Now double that. See how easy it is to kill opponents that burst?

The throw loop from 2a actually has a lower damage/Nirvana health ratio than the reset combo if you land even one double-clap (using 4 Nirvana moves in each combo). Get lucky and have them throw-break into the clap that makes them plummet, and you'll be scoring 4.2k off no meter, which then leads into 7k after just 3 claps. One more reset, and they're done for.

I'm starting to think that against any Carl that cannot do the loop 100% every time, you should never ever burst. All you do is make Carl's job easier. Hell, even against good Carl players, you may be better off never bursting. Without barrier, he can control the ground, air, has easy pressure that leads to big damage, and he can kill you in less than 3 seconds if he has meter.

Don't forget about canceling pressure into super when your attacks stop connecting. Burst gets nommed, they eat 4-6k, and you either get a loop or a sandwich. Nasty.

EDIT:

I also have a Carl combo that takes 100% tension and is corner-only. Damage is crap, too. Good news? It burns 8 seconds. Chances are pretty high that if you have them in the corner, you've already burned some time without Nirvana. Pretty much just summon her at any point in the combo to go into the corner loop.

...3c xx gear (wait) gear, sj allegretto

I think when all is said and done, this combo will do about 2.5k. Not great, but if you're waiting for Nirvana, this is the shit. There might be a way to extend this even further.

Really, I think that all Carl-only combos should be used to regain Nirvana's health, not to do damage. Let's find the longest strings we can, eh?

[feri]

Really, I think that all Carl-only combos should be used to regain Nirvana's health, not to do damage. Let's find the longest strings we can, eh?

Would you believe I'm doing stuff like j.a x n then an air grab to waste time...

I hope its not punishable actually (Do you get air options reset after an air grab break) cause I wouldn't like to fall into that Arakune's super that mimics Dizzy's necro grab.

Just so the rest of you know this is possible..

2c > vivace A > 2c > vivace A > TK Allegretto.

Also, are you sure post burst damage is doubled?

[4Corners]

I dunno for sure. Posting from my phone, soz I can't check right now.

[Zoogstin]

Post burst damage is 150%. So take the normal damage and add 50% to that NOT another 100%. So its not double damage. Negative penalty however causes double damage.

[4Corners]

That's still a fuckton of damage, either way. :D EDIT: j.a*n is pretty cool. :D

[feri]

Carl Nirvana Opponent combo off naked 4d, 'I' can't hit confirm this 4D dash up (if needed) 236A (side switch) low 2C~236A~[3] Situation should be Nirvana Opponent Carl [4]b vertical jump j.b Allegretto 7d Inputs are reversed after side switch, its just me showing you how much nirvana needs to walk to you at any given moment during the combo. Off to go get butt raped by Rachels in a tourney, rendering most things I've learned (albeit badly learned) useless.

[Urkelbot]

Hey guys I'm really noobish with Carl, to the point where in a match I'm purely trying to land a 2C to pop them up into a clap trap, and the most advanced combo I can do is 3C>2B>2C clap trap if I'm lucky... so I need some help haha... for one, I'm not really sure I understand how the throw loop works, because it's a purple grab so can't they just tech it? Also, would you say that the best combo to learn first is one involving summon? My problem is I'm only effective with Carl when the opponent is in between me and Nirvana, which is of course the obvious place for the opponent to avoid.... thanks

[Zoogstin]

I first learned a couple of ground loops. 2A 5A 5B 6B 6D repeat or 2A 5A 5B 5C 6D repeat. After that I immediately started practicing the one of Carl's most important BnB's: 2A 2B 3C 22D IAD j.2C allecan 2C into throw loop. This is that summoning combo you're looking for. It allows Carl to combo into a throw loop from anywhere on the screen no matter where nirvana is. Practice this for as long as it takes to get it down. To answer your question about the opponent teching the grab, the throw loop is also called the Clap "Trap". Nirvana's 8D is completely airunblockable. Only 4 characters have gimmicky ways of getting out of it. As for the rest of the cast, if they break your throw, they'll get hit by the 8D and you can just run up while they're falling and relaunch them again. Pretty much there aren't many ways for the opponent to get out of it once you've gotten started with it.

[4Corners]

^pretty much what he said. Learn a ground loop or two (which also double as pressure strings!), and then get to work on the summon combo. Also, learn how to do dankass loops. I'll post a video on that in under a week. :D! Also, I'd suggest learning 2a, 5a, 2b, 6b instead of Zoog's 1st combo. It has 3 lows in it, which doesn't really matter much against people that just block low constantly. The advantage to using 5b over 2b is that you can jc it for quick cross-ups or stupid combo/pressure strings. I also like 2b because people seem to react to a tick offa 5a less often if they're watching for a low. Just my 2c

[Zoogstin]

5b is jc-able as well. But yeah I can see how 2b is a better tool.

[4Corners]

I said thaaaaaaaaaaat. D: Zoooogz, move to Colorado already. Phae is coming to NDK this weekend! Now I get to see how Cali Carls roll. Wooooooooooooooooooo!

[Zoogstin]

My bad I misread. I thought you were saying 2b was jump canceable and not 5b. After talking with Frank the Tank I don't think BB is going to die. What's keeping the game alive are not so good people.

[4Corners]

Like you? lololjkjk Yeah, the scrub-base is huge for this game. It's like the fighting community's version of Brawl. Only it doesn't suck.

[Niru]

IDA? what does that mean and how do i do it? i watch the vid and all i see is after the 3c he jumps dash alle-can im having a hard time with the alle-can cause in my mind im switching sides so i roll the wrong way and he dosnt do it or i alle-can late and i screw it up could anybody give me some pointers?

[Zoogstin]

IAD means Instant Air Dash which is what the Carl's you were watching were doing. As for the alle-can issue, just keep on doing it until you start telling yourself to do the motion in the right direction.

[4Corners]

Also, for the timing, I find it easy to wait until I see the j2c actually start before I start doing the cancel. It's a pretty short window, and you only want to do it until muscle memory takes over, but that should help (I hope).

[Kyle]

4corners & zoogs: Thanks for keeping this place rolling. As of now I get internet mon-fri.

[Zoogstin]

Wow that's goofy. But yeah glad to help out.

[4Corners]

Same. Chatting random Carl stuff is nice. Gives me stupid ideas. :D