[P4A] Yukiko Amagi - Strategies & Tips

[choysauce]

this is a frame trap i've been mixing it up with after a 236B knockdown

236 > 5D > ]B[ > 2C > 5C > 236[A]

the frametrap is when you release the B, because some people might want to 5A/2A the persona to take a card. punish their greed with a B release in their face.

they could probably just DP the initial 5D, but they will eat a B release. so it's a decent trade off for them to take a card. so in this case, you MIGHT be able to run up and 5C or maybe even FC 4/5D again lol. (gotta test this last bit)

also this is mykey's unblockable reset in the corner after AoA > D

AoA > D > 2C > 2B > 5C > 5B > SB Agi > ]A[ > Firebreak > ]B[ > AoA > C Maragi

the combo i go for after is as follows

Pillar > 5C > 5BB > 5C > 5BB > TK A Agi > ]A[ > 5AAAA

delay the last A so that the A Agi from the autocombo will have them get knocked to the ground, if done early they will tech in the air

this combo might fail at the 3rd A for the autocombo for an easier one just omit the first 5C

not sure which is safer C or D Maragi but this setup gives you a meaty fire pillar in the corner.

the height and timing for which you have to hit the Final AoA is very strict. it feels like the B release has to be done around where yukiko's face is.

[Ciddypoo]

this is a frame trap i've been mixing it up with after a 236B knockdown

236 > 5D > ]B[ > 2C > 5C > 236[A]

the frametrap is when you release the B, because some people might want to 5A/2A the persona to take a card. punish their greed with a B release in their face.

I use this one every so often but yeah, usually a telegraphed 5D just gets hit. It's worth taking an unboosted Agi blast to rob a Persona card from Yuki, so I usually prefer just meatying them with the explosion and running up behind the Persona after 5D to see if I can catch them on CH if they want to poke the Persona with a 5/2A, then at least you get a full b&b off.

You can also get like paltry damage by just throwing two fans after the 5D and confirming the B release if the opponent decides to hit the Persona and eat fans, lol. That'd at least be more than just one explosion.

[MikelAL93]

Added Choysauce's new contributions to the OP.

[Warhound]

Okay so I have a question that needs some serious love.

I see Japanese players laying the pressure down constantly. I don't get how they do it, if Yukiko throws fans from a jump there's recovery on landing. That's just one example, but I can't figure out how they're doing it.

[Ryd']

Use attacks that are/can be delayed to fill in large gaps in pressure and don't be predictable. Things like 5D, 2D/jD, and Agi (especially SB) are the most significant tools for this. You have to teach your opponent to respect your frame traps and whatnot so they'll let you get away with bigger stuff; just don't get too crazy. jB recovery can be covered by dropping jD first. It's hard to give specific advice without being provided with specific situations, so just watch videos, see what the Yukikos are doing, and think about why the opponent isn't challenging setups and whatnot; if you have questions about specific situations, post links for reference. Yukiko can generally pressure most characters rather effectively, especially if she corners them and you can maintain proper spacing.

[choysauce]

mykey gave me some really good advice about what to keep in mind when developing your patterns of attack.

know when your recovery is very well, and make reads while u are pressuring them.

so by knowing the recoveries of your moves, you can make tighter frame traps to make your opponent impatient. and know when to readjust yourself when you've exhausted a pressure string.

all the while you must think, what do they want to do? do they want to a)take a persona card b) evade/roll to get to me c) keep blocking etc.

with that you must decide how tight you need to keep your strings and when to let them hang themselves and respond accordingly.

[MikelAL93]

First post updated to include the new tips that are submitted by Ryd' and Choysauce.

From this point on, I will like it for people who have questions submit those to the Q&A thread. I want this thread to be for people to submit their tips and tricks, not to ask questions; so, to prevent any further confusion, questions should be asked at the Q&A thread instead of here.

[Ryd']

Been playing around with trying to setup high/low unblockables midscreen. I don't think I've seen this specific setup, but it's a variation of using 236A+B to setup a midscreen crossup. Following the standard 3D 5B followup to drop the persona behind your opponent, you can do:

5C 2C 236[A+B] ]B[ 5B 2D ]A[ 2A+B

You want to time the sweep with the end of 2D so that you can pick up off of it, and you want to sweep with the tip of the sweep's range for the best spacing for a followup. If you have everything spaced/timed properly (persona just behind the opponent), you can do something like:

236~]B[ 5BB 236[A+B]

And from here either go into a Maragi combo, or setup a Fire Break+Maragi unblockable. You may need to dash toward the opponent a bit after the 236 depending on spacing and whatnot.

Setting up the initial unblockable isn't airtight; there are two notable gaps, mainly at 2C 236[A+B] and when you go to cover the unblockable itself with the ]A[. I've only been able to try it against a few opponents, but most haven't been able to escape at the first one; they tend to get hit (I've had a Chie reversal, but at this distance, Yukiko should be safe and you get a free punish; Teddie should be able to escape it with BD, Naoto's BD may be troublesome), so if you're good at quick confirms, you can pick up off that for damage. The latter point is a bit trickier, but you'll control where the gap is with the ]A[. Ideally, you'd want it to cover the 2D to prevent reversals when you go in for the unblockable, but if you read an early escape, you could release it earlier and aim to pick up off that if at all possible. You're at a pretty good space here to avoid most reversal attempts, so primary methods of escape will likely be jumps, slides, a few B+Ds, and long range supers; all of which should be avoidable and punishable with a good read. A twitchy opponent will likely need to be trained to respect it, a more cautious opponent will probably eat the setup once before trying to escape.

Counting the initial combo (something like 2A 5AA 5B 5C 2C 236), you can get upwards of 7k damage at lv 0 fire with back to back unblockables (2D+sweep, Fire Break+Maragi) for 75SP. If they start not teching at the Maragi combo, you can always switch it up to Fire Break+SB Agi; less damage, but nobody can escape that setup without eating a free combo of some sort if you're on point.

[Ciddypoo]

I like this setup. It might be a pretty good one to mix up with the roll crossup that tanaka-special used:

Did a standard b&b into B Agi and did 2/3D > 5C > 2C > SB Agi (hold A and B), run at opponent, release A to put them in blockstun and roll/dodge and release B as you cross them up and lead into 5A combo.

Ryd''s setup is nice because if they try to roll out (which you can train them to do if you just go for regular 2D, run up 2A setups), your dashup 2A+B will still hit them, or you could probably even confirm into a bigger combo.

Like you said, the setup has some problems with B+D reversals, but if use the dashup roll crossup, it's a good DP bait if you aren't fighting someone with a multi-directional B+D. I've used it to some pretty good effect against Narukami and Mitsuru.

Only thing is that tanaka's mixup requires ]A[ since you need A to roll, while this one requires ]B[ so you can throw a fan. Might make it easier to telegraph if they're watching carefully enough. Anyone wanna try and work out something that would miraculously work for both? :D

[Ryd']

I don't know if it'd be possible. I was aiming for something that would guarantee 2D to drop the persona behind the opponent so you'd get the reverse B Agi and combo into bigger damage (3k with a Maragi combo, more (collectively) with Fire Break setup) as well as keeping Yukiko out of harm's way for as long as possible, so the positioning is a bit sensitive. You could skip the fan and aim go straight into 2D, but that might screw up the spacing on allowing the Agi release to cover 2D, or allowing the 2D to hit at all since the fan gives a bit of pushback to help position them for it (my memory's a bit hazy on the specifics here since I was playing around with a lot of different setups); then again, they'll know something's up the moment they see 2D, and that comes right after the fan, so the difference is heavily telegraphed either way. I could be wrong on the issue of spacing though; I don't have time to hit up the lab atm, so feel free to test things out; otherwise, I'll play around with it some more when I get the chance. Given the spacing though, a lot of opponents should be hesitant to get too reckless even if they recognize the setup since Yukiko doesn't have to commit to anything until she goes in for the unblockable, which is covered by Agi.

[Ciddypoo]

I'll tinker around in the lab later as well. As far as things being telegraphed, you could also vary the fan throw with 4B/5B/6B and see where that leads. I typically find that the fan speed you choose is important anyway when you go for any 2/3D mixup, since some fans can try to cover the counterpoke that hits your Persona.

Anyway, yeah, needs more labwork.

Another interesting tidbit that's probably common knowledge (esp to Liz players), but if you jump and do sideswitch (A+C) and do j.C, the range on the j.C is extended greatly. I'm gonna try using this against big jumpers like Lab/Yosuke and see how it compares to just using regular j.C.

[Ryd']

Fire Break shenanigans in awakening: This is a silly little trick I do every now and then that tends to catch people off guard; not sure if I've seen it posted elsewhere. If you activate Fire Break while sitting on a good amount of meter (100+), but don't immediately put it to use (anticipated a reversal following the activation and held onto it, activated in neutral just to make your opponent wary, etc.) and you land a hit with your opponent not in the corner, you can do your basic bnb into A Agi xx C Agidyne and store the Agi. If necessary, back up while they're being blown away so that you can catch their tech with the beginning of D Maragidyne. Most opponents will be forced to block this, or at least be heavily inclined to do so due to being at full screen and seemingly safe since Fire Break has gone on cooldown (it's hard to determine whether or not Agi pops in Agi xx Agidyne if you're not looking for it). Right as Maragidyne pulls them into the Agi, release it and enjoy the extra free damage + whatever you tack on at the end.

Not the most damage you can get for the meter, but situationally useful for closing out a round.

Edit: Alternatively, you could do combo into B Agi, hold, D Maragidyne on wakeup, release Agi when Maragidyne hits, but this will be a lot more obvious. On the other hand, it'll likely return more damage if it lands and you toss in D Agidyne at the end. Variety in tricks never hurts though. The first one is still useful, as if you're on the verge of going into awakening, you can use the HP cost of super canceling to push you into it, and the Maragidyne may come as more of a surprise, making blocking on impulse a lot more likely.

[MikelAL93]

Fire Break shenanigans in awakening: This is a silly little trick I do every now and then that tends to catch people off guard; not sure if I've seen it posted elsewhere. If you activate Fire Break while sitting on a good amount of meter (100+), but don't immediately put it to use (anticipated a reversal following the activation and held onto it, activated in neutral just to make your opponent wary, etc.) and you land a hit with your opponent not in the corner, you can do your basic bnb into A Agi xx C Agidyne and store the Agi. If necessary, back up while they're being blown away so that you can catch their tech with the beginning of D Maragidyne. Most opponents will be forced to block this, or at least be heavily inclined to do so due to being at full screen and seemingly safe since Fire Break has gone on cooldown (it's hard to determine whether or not Agi pops in Agi xx Agidyne if you're not looking for it). Right as Maragidyne pulls them into the Agi, release it and enjoy the extra free damage + whatever you tack on at the end.

Not the most damage you can get for the meter, but situationally useful for closing out a round.

Edit: Alternatively, you could do combo into B Agi, hold, D Maragidyne on wakeup, release Agi when Maragidyne hits, but this will be a lot more obvious. On the other hand, it'll likely return more damage if it lands and you toss in D Agidyne at the end. Variety in tricks never hurts though. The first one is still useful, as if you're on the verge of going into awakening, you can use the HP cost of super canceling to push you into it, and the Maragidyne may come as more of a surprise, making blocking on impulse a lot more likely.

That's really cool. Thanks for sharing this tip, I guess I will put it to good use next time I try to combo into Maragidyne.

Truth be told, I never really bothered to combo into Maragidyne myself, but this tip will help me find a creative way to do so.

[choysauce]

I'll tinker around in the lab later as well. As far as things being telegraphed, you could also vary the fan throw with 4B/5B/6B and see where that leads. I typically find that the fan speed you choose is important anyway when you go for any 2/3D mixup, since some fans can try to cover the counterpoke that hits your Persona.

Anyway, yeah, needs more labwork.

Another interesting tidbit that's probably common knowledge (esp to Liz players), but if you jump and do sideswitch (A+C) and do j.C, the range on the j.C is extended greatly. I'm gonna try using this against big jumpers like Lab/Yosuke and see how it compares to just using regular j.C.

This goes for any auto correcting C attack.

Works super well when doing run under 5c. Since the persona comes from behind yukiko it essentially increases the range. Great for a surprise attack

Sent from my R800x using Tapatalk 2

[zankoku]

Using Fire Break with Agidyne will keep the unblockable property for the Agidyne fireball for the remainder of the match. (This is probably a bug)

Notes: If you activate Fire Break and use Agidyne with it, the fireball blast at the end is unblockable. This is normal; but even during cooldown or you don't activate Fire Break for a subsequent time, the Agidyne fireball is still unblockable. This doesn't work if you use Fire Break and use the unblockable for anything other than Agidyne.

lv.4 Agidyne fireball does 2380.

lv.8, each Agidyne fireball does 3400.

Otherwise it's 1700 per shot at lv.0.

Patch today eliminated this glitch.

[MikelAL93]

Patch today eliminated this glitch.

Well, that sucks. I guess I have to take out that tip.

Thanks for letting me know on this update, its a shame that it has to go.

[gli]

Some deceptive Persona usage:

- j.C whiff > land > 5C

- Agi delay > 5C (strict. Input 5C just before Konohana-Sakuya disappears from Agi)

In both cases 5C comes out wherever Konohana-Sakuya is on screen.

j.C moves Konohana-Sakuya forward and then the 5C input comes out.

From full-screen the Agi > 5C pressure becomes a pseudo-frame trap. Usually after Agi you can expect your opponent to attack and go for Persona Break in which case you should release Agi to mix things up. The delay 5C input catches the opponent trying to run out otherwise.

[choysauce]

one quick tip to utilize

after a combo'd 236, the typical pressure string is to use 3D. many times people like to roll this to escape (this would work if you don't use fans after the 3D)

so for those who like to roll

use 2D and fatal them for it. run up and use gli's 2D FC combo

[Valin]

Quick fun Firebreak OMB usage. It's really simple but very effective. 5AA > 236A ]A[ without holding the A at all is a true blockstring, so if you use it with firebreak, the A is unavoidable by everything but dead angle.

Doing OMB on the release into the standard double loop nets you 5011 damage with D super finisher. A very easy way to finish someone off if you find its the final round and they don't have burst, you just have to catch them blocking 5AA.

Also, I like gli's 2D FC combo, but I personally add a 5AA before that, so just in case it doesn't FC 5AA is easier to continue pressure over 5BB. Like so: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld9YSG970UM (It's less damage, but I like the options afterwards on the chance it doesn't FC)

[MikelAL93]

OP updated.

Nice new tips and tricks you got there guys, I'm glad we are getting a nice list of them that come in handy.

[choysauce]

saw some sick tricks to note from the 4v4 yukiko vs akihiko concept matches videos

please help me elaborate or theorize on how to optimize these things.

-meaty j4B (fan) after sweep (2AB)

this is pretty gimmicky imo, since the fan coming out is obvious, but since you are in the air, a good player will naturally hold back to block jump ins

-air turn back dash j.C

the japanese use this liberally for good reason,

1. lets you back that ass up to create space fast,

2. the j.C autocorrects and has extended range due to it starting from yukiko's backside (this is mainly used so the enemy can't chase you with their own airdash)

3. you can extend the pressure/frametrap if they are close enough to the j.C with an longer reaching 5C, since the placement of the persona is remembered for a bit

-fans in between 5C > 2C blockstring

i'm guessing there's a tiny gap for these strings (frame traps) and makes it much harder to IB,

you can also change up the fan speed/timings to mess up their IB timing or catch them hitting buttons/escaping

-rushdown blockstring

if you do a blockstring and can get them to block a 4D, you can run up and hit 5AA as a frame trap. you may lose a card, but trading cards for damage is totally worth it if you can afford to lose one

-easy AoA unblockable setup in corner

AoA > D > 2C > 2B > 5C > 5BB > 236AB > ]A[ > 214D > ]B[ > 2AB > 236[A]

sets an unblockable agi on their wakeup, you can combine this tactic with gli's safejump agi setup and see what kind of combo you can get off of that if you are scared of their reversal

this setup does less damage overall (pre and post unblockable) than the one posted on the front page that was created by Mykey, but much easier to execute

-ensuring 3D gets behind opponents

saw that the japanese players, namely stunedge, would dash up a tiny bit after the 236B knockdown > 3D to make sure the persona got behind anyone that wasn't cornered

will look through the vids again to xcopy some more japanese tech

[Ciddypoo]

-ensuring 3D gets behind opponents

saw that the japanese players, namely stunedge, would dash up a tiny bit after the 236B knockdown > 3D to make sure the persona got behind anyone that wasn't cornered

I noticed this too, but another purpose I found is that at the right spacing, 3D will go behind them and 2D will land just slightly in front of them. The 2D will beat rollout attempts as well.

[choysauce]

another thing i just remembered them doing was

-knockdown after high hit stun decay

if you want a knockdown and you know if a 236A will allow the opponent to tech in the air (which greatly decreases advantage in the pressure game)

do the 3rd hit of the auto combo AAA,

this will bound them to the ground,

you can then cancel into 236C for meaty maragi pressure

this may or may not work depending on your combo

because there is a significant gap between the 2nd and 3rd A

just putting this here as something to highlight for creative use

[MikelAL93]

The Japanese players sure know how to kick major ass with Yukiko huh?

Thanks for sharing these with us choy, these will come in handy one of these days for players that are new to Yukiko.

[choysauce]

for the air turn backdash trick, if you are high up in the air or want to do an extended attack before having to land for 5C, you can use j.236A and it will keep the extended persona position

also

full screen short hop j.6B... gdlk