[CSE] Hazama Vs. Litchi

[Lich]

Personal opinion, Match-up: 5-5

General gameplan:

Momentum is extremely important in this match-up as neutral is a very dangerous area to stay in. Hazama should try his best to keep his distance until he has a sure fire way of getting in. Midscreen neutral is the most threatening position Hazama can be in so avoid it at all costs. Hazama’s movement is somewhat restricted by Litchi’s staff, but he can still move. Hazama must be more careful with his chains and try to approach from angles Litchi is not expecting. Once in, stay in and finish the match as soon as possible because one touch can mean Hazama is about to go for a ride. A strong defense is the most important tool in this match-up.

Fullscreen Neutral: This is where Hazama shines in most of his match-ups but this one is a bit trickier. Litchi's staff gives her a very annoying tool that helps get in like no other. If the Hazama player is unsure of how to deal with the staff than this match-up will be extremely difficult. The goal here is to keep her out, but try to get in. It is easier than some might think. Just pay close attention to her, pay attention to when she puts her staff down. 5D~D will launch the staff through the air, while 2D and J.D launch it across the ground. From this distance it is easy to see what way she is launching her staff and to simply go around it as long as the Hazama is strong with his movement. Even if a chain clashes with the staff you can still fly to it and go over the incoming staff; although, NEVER fly into a flying staff that you have not already clashed with because you will get hit, so just pay attention. Generally, you should not head in the direction you know the staff is going.

Litchi's 5D~D: Easily beat by 5D at this range as she either has to block or get hit if she tries to run in. If she tries to follow her staff with an air dash, a nearly fully extended 5D~D will go under it, so you can try to fly away. It is a bit risky, though. 6D will clash with it if launched at the same time, but again; you can still fly to it, so just fly away. CAREFUL not to be too risky with chains when you don’t have movement options, because then you’re a sitting duck. .

Litchi’s 2D~D: It is a free ride in. Just fly over it, she rarely uses it in this match-up for this reason, but it will beat you if you’re not fast enough with your chains and opt to sit there and try to zone her, so try to stay mobile.

To sum it up, it is safer to Zone out Litchi and force her to make a move with staff. Then it is your chance to counter-act and try to get in. If Hazama is being too careless and just trying to move all the time, he will get hit. The end goal here is to get in a pressuring position without endangering yourself.

Midscreen Neutral:

Don't be here. This is the most dangerous position for Hazama. On the ground, 3c is relatively strong as it hits Itsuu and goes under 6B, but other than that, he literally has no tools. Don't try to jump and fly away either, for it is simply too easy for Litchi to smack 5D~D and get a counter-hit for free corner carry/oki which is exactly what Hazama does not want. Bottomline, Litchi’s normals outrange Hazama’s and even in the air Hazama has no tools against her. Don't be here.

Close Range Neutral:

Close Range Neutral can be very, very scary for Hazama, but at the same time, it is scary for Litchi, too. Hazama has to really mind his spacing here, but for the most part Hazama’s tools out prioritize Litchi’s. I feel the good buttons here in this match-up are 2a, 5a, 2b, 2C,

2a: For if she is right next to you, your 2a beats hers and out prioritizes every button she has. It is also extremely useful for mashing out of pressure, as always.

5a: Did I say 2a beats everything? Well it does, and 5a is faster, so have fun with this button. Of course 2a will beat it, but if she tries to hit any other button you’re solid. Everything else that is crouching is too slow to do anything. Plus, if she is trying to come in from the air, we all know how good a button this can be. (I hope so)

2B: Again, you have to know your spacing on 2b, but it is extremely useful for getting out. If you know your spacing, you can use this to beat out pretty much any button at max range that she has. As long as you are within 2b range you’re relatively safe. Any farther you should probably not be there. Careful, though, 4D beats this button clean.

2c: Will shit on all jump ins. Simple as that, as long as she is not covered by staff.

Hazama Pressure: Litchi is a bitch with wake-up options. For when Hazama actually gets knock-down and attempts to pressure her, she has a godlike back-dash and a dp. Granted, it is not a good dp, but it is a dp. A couple of OS' referred to me by Sey seem legit. -

iad j3AB

--if she backdashes or rolls back you hit her with jB

--if she DPs you barrier and can land and punish her with 5C (CH) 214D~C ...

--loses to no tech, forward roll and I guess Litchi may be able to DP/Barrier os the setup?

- late iad j2C/late jump in j2C

-- beats DP

- 2B~4AB

-- if she doesn't tech the KD you pick her up, if she does DP you barrier it

-- "loses" to BD, it's a pretty safe setup to run.

- dash 2B~5B~D

-- this one is kinda ghetto/weird, if she techs right away she end up blocking 2B > 5B, if she does BD I think she ends up blocking a lv1chain which you can cancel into 236D for safety (there's a gap between 5D and 236D though so keep that in mind), if she does her BD+follow up you'll punish her with a max level chain.

you can also do dash 2B 4B and if you late gatling it you'll block wake up gold burst and you'll hit meaty 5B even if she does a late neutral tech.

Aside from wake-up when you actually get her to block, I tend not to worry too much about her DP, as she cannot rapid cancel it to make it safe, so it is kind of a bad option for her. Plus, the only reward she gets is returning to neutral; however, if Hazama does bait her dp, it is a free punish. She has to sit there and take it: 5c Houtenjin, or a meterless 5c(1)>214D~C Level 1 are most optimal. If Hazama gets the bitch to actually block, she is free to all of your mix-up. She does not have high-priority close range buttons and no real anti-air, so Hazama can do pretty much whatever he wants when pressuring. The only thing she can do is back-dash out, but as long as you keep it tight she shouldn’t be able to get away. Now, if you get her in the corner, without a staff, GO HAM. Get in dat ass. She has nothing.

Being Pressured: Being pressured is the scariest part of the match-up. Without a reliable reversal, Hazama must block and mash at the right moments, otherwise you’ll be blocking forever. Best times to mash are: Staff put downs, IB last hit of 6D, and a blocked4D. There are definitely more, but these are the most notable and ‘safest’ places to mash. Any time she puts her staff down, it is a get out of jail free card, as long as you see it. Mind your spacing, 2a if she is in your face, 2b if she is out of 2a range. Oh and if you’re that good at reading it, and she pushed herself too far, commit to a 3c and laugh when they get blown up. RARELY should you do that, but it works occasionally. After an IB’D 6D Hazama has the advantage as it leaves him at +0. Again, 2a beats everything, or you can actually throw her and she can’t do anything about it, except tech if she knows. The only options she has are: rapid canceling to continue pressure/blow up your mash, back-dash which will make your 2a whiff and put you at midscreen neutral without staff, or just block. Otherwise she gets hit. You can blow up the back-dash with 3c and if she rapids you just simply have to block. 4D, depending on her spacing, is negative. Generally, she does it in mid pressure so it is nearly always negative. The closer she is to you, the more negative it is. If Hazama blocks it at max range, it is like +6 or something. Lol That generally does not happen, though. As always, mind your anti-airs if she does jump, but also always be mindful of where the staff is.

Other Notes: Staffman: Staffman mix-up is the scariest part of the match-up and the key point to her pressure. They will always go for a high or a low, and you obviously can’t mash, so it all comes down to your reaction time. There is no cute trick Hazama has to stop this; you simply have to know how to block.

Back-dash:If she ever manages to get a back-dash off, a lot of Litchis try to air dash in to try to regain momentum and come flying in with actives. Just recognize this as one of her only real options after back-dash and anticipate it. You can buffer stance after you see a back-dash and wait for the unsuspecting whore to come in to get hit by B follow-up. Or, if you’re real good with the button, commit to a 2c for huge damage.

Itsuu: In the odd situation that is flying in from the air while she has her staff, a lot of litchis will try to do Itsuu A version. Whichever goes into the air. Again, anticipate and recognize that she will do this and respond by letting the chain hit her auto-guard, then proceed to do B follow up. Depending on your spacing, you may just have a get in free card right there. Come flying down with buttons my friend.

Also, if you end up blocking ItsuuB(1) or ItsuuC(1) while on the ground it is actually very punishable.

ItsuuB(1) on normal block can be barrier jumped out of, or simply forward dashed out of before the second hit. On IB, Hazama can commit to a dash 3c from nearly any distance and land a counter-hit. If you're really close, it is too easy to land a dash 5C for max damage.

ItsuuC(1) on normal block can be jumped out of, even without barrier. On IB Hazama can still commit to a dash 3c/5c, but the timing is a bit stricter.

Any other helpful information you may have please feel free to respond and contribute. If it is valid, I'll edit it into the first post. I haven’t played LK in quite a while, let alone litchi, so I may be missing a few things about the match-up. I don’t know though cuz I would have added it if I did. lol

[_Sey]

Other Notes: Staffman mix-up is the scariest part of the match-up and the key point to her pressure. They will always go for a high or a low, and you obviously can’t mash, so it all comes down to your reaction time. There is no cute trick Hazama has to stop this; you simply have to know how to block.

This is not 100% true, there's a setup (I don't know/remember the specifics) where Hazama can neutral roll 3C (RC) and you will CH hit her out of Kokushi.

This won't save you from the whole mix up though since you'll still have to block the doll but Litchi won't be able to mix up you (because she's knocked down, duh).

I think Litchi may still have a chance at a mix up after she techs the KD, but it's still better than having to block the whole thing though.

I'm sure there's a video in litchi forums that shows this setup, I'll search it up later I guess.

edit: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm18240163 the setup is there, somewhere, I can't be bothered to watch it all again to point out the minute where Hazama beats Litchi of her setup sorry, just watch it and you'll see it

Also, if you end up blocking ItsuuB(1) or ItsuuC(1) while on the ground, remember that you can jump back barrier to get out of the follow up since it's not a "true" blockstring.

It is mandatory that you barrier right after you jump out as it will shrink your hurtbox, otherwise I'm pretty sure that you'll be stuck blocking it.

I'm not sure if Litchi can do anything about this, maybe IAD air throw/jA?

Alternatively if you are put in the same situation but you are very close to Litchi I'm pretty sure you can 2B or 3C (or Hountejin?) her out of the follow ups.

If Litchi does daisharin midscreen to try to stall the match I'm pretty sure you can dash under her and air throw to beat it unless she does some kind of weird daisharin inputs.

Also after a IB'd 6D[m] Hazama isn't really at a frame advantage (you end up at 0), it's just that his 2A is faster than hers so she can't do much about it/she can only do what you've wrote already, well, I think she can jump out too if you commit to 2A.

(semantics, I know, just thought I'd point it out).

As far as 214D~A okizeme goes, you can do a bunch of things to beat DP/BD.

There's a few OS you can run:

- iad j3AB

--if she backdashes or rolls back you hit her with jB

--if she DPs you barrier and can land and punish her with 5C (CH) 214D~C ...

--loses to no tech, forward roll and I guess Litchi may be able to DP/Barrier os the setup?

- late iad j2C/late jump in j2C

-- beats DP

-- forgot what it loses to, I think late neutral tech mash

- 2B~4AB

-- if she doesn't tech the KD you pick her up, if she does DP you barrier it

-- "loses" to BD, it's a pretty safe setup to run.

- dash 2B~5B~D

-- this one is kinda ghetto/weird, if she techs right away she end up blocking 2B > 5B, if she does BD I think she ends up blocking a lv1chain which you can cancel into 236D for safety (there's a gap between 5D and 236D though so keep that in mind), if she does her BD+follow up you'll punish her with a max level chain.

you can also do dash 2B 4B and if you late gatling it you'll block wake up gold burst and you'll hit meaty 5B even if she does a late neutral tech.

I actually haven't practiced much lately so I may have forgot some OS/I could be wrong on a few of those, but I'm pretty sure I'm not.

[Lich]

I haven't watched the video, but if Litchi does a real combo into a real combo ender then you can't avoid it and you must block. What I'm assuming happens in the video is the Litchi does some Jank ass combo ender and the Hazama recognizes it and seizes the opportunity. Personally, I'd like to know what it is myself but I don't have a nico account.

The stuff about Itsuu B and C, oh yeah I forgot people did that. Haha Rarely will you see Litchi's do it because it is so unsafe, but it is infact match-up information and deserves a spot on the main post.

The OS' are new to me, though so I actually learned something. I'll go ahead and edit the first post accordingly.

Edit: Also, I should probably brush up on frame-data again. You keep correcting me, haha.