[CP] Carl vs Valkenhayn

[Psykotik]

Discuss the Valkenhayn matchup here

[sinder]

So using Ada as a wall in this MU is useless since he can pretty much go through her (I had a big wtf moment when this first happened)

Brio and 8D are pretty much the only options we have to take him down

expect to be heavily annoyed when fighting him <_<. Remember to pray when you're dealing with wolf form face to face as well since they're aren't many good options to get out (not even block)

well 5A can work, but good luck..............

i'm going to say 3-7 for this match up as valks main concern with Carl should be getting him to a corner. even if Carl manages to call Ada the valk player can use wolf and easily attack her and jump away. CON is definitely difficult to achieve because of the amount of airtime wolf form will get

Pretty damn hard in CP, my #1 worst MU in the game

[Psykotik]

Definitely not a 7-3 matchup. Carl has ways to deal with Valk.

Neutral

I find volante to be extremely useful in this matchup as it keeps Valk from charging straight at you from the ground be it via wolf cannon, run, 6D, etc. Once you have a Volante out, Carl can use 8D and Brio to cut off Valk's aerial routes. If you don't have time to throw out Brio and you think Valk's going to charge at you from the ground, you can act on your read using 6D or Tenerezza. If you can get Valk to respect your neutral options, you can begin locking him down by moving forward and moving doll moves to cover you.

Offense

Valk's defense options aren't that good so once you catch him without meter, go ham on your offense. If he has 50 meter, he gains access to a reversal super and/or a counter assault, which isn't great but can break your offense if you overextend it so opt for safer pressure strings when he has the meter. Thanks to Valk's tall hitbox, he can be hit with "tall people" combos (such as the [..], 46D, j.B, j.C, 2B, 5B, 5C, 8D route and its variants) and is easier to hit w/fuzzies and the like.

Defense

Valk's 6C can be vivaced. If Valk ends his pressure with Nacht Jager (236A) and doesn't have meter to RC it, you can (and should) mash 5A after it since Jager is 0 on regular block and is guaranteed to at least trade with Valk's 6f 5A. If Valk does human normals or specials into 6D for pressure, you can mash 5A between the human move and wj.A. This works against most human moves on regular block afaik. Human 2A to wolf 5A can't be mashed on regular block but can be mashed on IB.

He can bait this by doing human move into 4/7D but those can also be dealt with if you have the read (6A when appropriate). His safest transform option is human moves into 4D wolf brake, which resets the game to neutral. You can't outright punish this but him resetting the game to neutral is better than having him in your face.

If you're caught in wolf mixup, try to IB barrier his strings to put him at a range where he can't do wolf brake j.As. This will force him to use 5C 6D j.A as a means to continuing pressure, which can be escaped by either IBing wolf 5C and then mashing 5A or using Vivace. On that note, Vivace on wakeup is not advised as wolf 5A and 5C beats it clean and wolf brake j.A (the only thing that Vivace theoretically beats) will recover in time for him to catch Vivace if he goes for it. If you're knocked down against him, you could try wakeup backdash + tenerezza (wakeup Brio will whiff if he's in wolf form) but he can still catch it if he's ready for it. Wakeup OD + tenerezza is very useful against wolf setplay due to his inability to block in wolf form.

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Both characters are strong setplay characters who have poor defense. If one character catches the other, the round could very well end from that hit. This matchup boils down to the decisions in neutral made by both players. Although Valk's neutral is one of the strongest in the game, Carl possesses neutral options that Valk must respect if he wants to win. I personally feel that the matchup is even although it could be argued that the matchup is slightly in Valk's favor.