ikeTATARI

You have to be very conscious of what's going on - most of his close range stuff can be beaten just by paying attention and 5Aing or using your reversal in the right spot. Make him approach you - his defense his much better than his offense, and while some of his jump ins and such are good, they're beaten by basically any anti-air. On the flipside, Valk has a pretty scary anti-air in 2C, and it'll get you into the corner (and give him 30~ meter), so definitely avoid being too jumpy with him.

For 2C CH combos, you can literally just dash forward and 2C. I adds a respectable amount of damage without being hard to do, and I think it even builds 50 meter. Anyway, here it is: [h] CH 2C > 66 > 2C > 6B > 5B > 5C > 236C > 9D > jAA(A) > j236A > j236B > jCD > jB > j214B > 9DD > jB > djB > djC > (j236236C) [5.5k (6.7k), 50% MG] The important thing to note is that this combo builds 50% meter all by itself, meaning you get a guaranteed DD ender. If you're not confident with your ability to hit all three [w] jA 's though, don't do it, as it only builds 48% heat for less damage - you're better off doing the 2C > 6B > 3C > 2C > 5C version if this is the case. Still, with practice, meterless 6k~ combo off CH of a move that has gatling that make it totally safe? Yes please. You can also get the dash from max 2C range - it'll still link. I didn't realize, but it's basically exactly what was posted above, except it doesn't require any meter (and you get an ender for free, or the meter for stupid 5B > 5C > 236A > RC combos.)

I didn't say bad matchups, I said in his favor matchups. I think most of his are gonna be even or 6:4 at most.

You don't need to DC - just pressing D mid combo automatically dashes forward, so you can go right into [w]jB. One thing you CAN do off a 236A is DC 236D (the C halts your momentum and puts you on the ground for the command throw). It's pretty good on people that think you're gonna do something else. Additionally, you can [w] jA to beat people that do something without invincibility - I just don't think it combos into [w] 5B.

I don't think Valk is gonna have a lot of matchups that are in his favor, honestly, just because he has to work so hard to get in. Wolf form approach is REALLY unsafe against most characters, since blocking is no longer an option while you're in it. I know when I was playing as him, I had a really hard time against Hazama, Lambda, Mu... Basically anyone who doesn't have to approach him. Also a lot of his pressure options can be beaten clean by people with reversals - though, on the flipside, it's really easy to bait reversals as Valk, so it could be a blessing if used right.

Yeah, in order for those 5A combos to connect 100% of the time (on characters that aren't Tager), you have to be as close as possible when you start them. I think unless you're in a punish situation (where you know you're close enough) you can do 5A>3C>2B>etc - it's less damage, but it still builds quite a bit of meter.

Here's something to note - 5B>5C>236C COMBOS ON CROUCHING OPPONENTS. This is why 6B>5B>5C>236C always works - the second hit of 6B forces them to crouch. That said, if you hit someone who is crouching with 5B, by all means, 5B>5C>236C into the world of hurt that is Valkenhayn punish combos. Otherwise, I would go for the 236A - it's safe, it leaves you at a good range, and everything he said above. But yeah - 5B>5C>236C is gdlk on crouching opponents.

I just thought I'd note here - any combo that ends with jB djB jC in the corner, you can double jump backwards to protect yourself from wakeup reversals - the combo still connects normally, but instead of landing in the corner right next to your opponent (with them teching right as you hit the ground, making you vulnerable to get cornered or wakeup reversal'd if they're quick), it leaves you at optimal range to either punish a forward tech or get them panicking in the corner. If you feel like that leaves you too far back, doing the dj straight up leaves you closer without being point blank.

If you read the post linked in the announcement about valk, they say that PSN will release on time, but 360 is having problems, and currently has no projected date. Source.

I'm gonna put another vote in for Carl's jB - it is easily the FC move I hit with the most. Throw out some Nirvana normal, jump straight up, jB, FC! Yaay! I mean, maybe he doesn't get HUGE DAMAGE ALL THE TIME off of it, but it sets him up to have a long time to position Nirvana for traps afterwards, and with the right setup you get damage -> sandwich, which is gg for Carl. Honorable mention are the ones above, but jB FC is pretty much the only reason I don't consistently fail as Carl, sooo...

Honestly, we have no idea the properties of any of these moves - we don't know how good the pokes they're hitconfirming from are, or how good his rushdown is to get him those hitconfirms. I mean, yeah, if he has 7k combos that's great, but if he has to be in their face using a sweep (which would make said sweep unsafe on block) to hitconfirm into those combos, it's not really that scary. Also, Makoto gets that kind of damage in the corner, and yet she's not scary because she has a hard time getting in - I see Valk having similar problems due to the fact that even though his Wolf form has fast dashes, it can't block and you have to change direction manually. The combos that were hitconfirmed from more realistic pokes didn't really seem that terrible, and the combos he has off of his slow, punishable moves make me think he's a "punish" character - his normal combos are okay, but his real strength comes from choosing the right normal to beat your opponent's moves.

You could play on pad. Or you could spend 40~50 dollars on a stick specific to the system you play on. Sticks aren't really expensive anymore, and there are so many to choose from - at least, if you want to keep it to one specific system. My opinion though, easiest character to play on pad would have to fit these criteria (for me, personally) - Not a lot of dash cancels in their combos, not a lot of high jump cancels, and not a lot of crazy inputs (720s, tk9's, etc). With that said, I play Lambda on a pad (waiting on my stick) and do just fine - if you can TK crescent saber with the analog stick, you can do anything you would be able to do on a stick on a pad. The only thing I miss on on are the 236C 5CCCCCCCC 6C 66 2DD tk214D 66DD -> air combo combos, but that's pretty ridiculous anyways (and not integral to her gameplay).

The trick with aggressive Tagers is to make them defensive, at least when playing you. You have to condition them to either block or eat damage. The first thing I do when I play a Tager is 214D~C from fullscreen. If they block it, I'm playing someone with a brain - if they B Sledge, I happily CH 5D them for their troubles, and if they somehow magically time an A Sledge, I start sword pressure. The choice they make is showing you what they think of the matchup - if they're B Sledging they obviously either don't know it or think that for some reason it'll be safe this time. Blocking it? Defensive Tager, you win. Timing A Sledge means they actually know this game and know how to play their character. Additionally (though someone earlier called the Japanese Tagers bad, or something), if you watch the videos from the previous page you see the Lambda continuously pushing Tager away with sword pressure strings - I believe the basic idea of the one they use is 2DD 6DD j5DD j2DD j214D~C. And then he either lands and waits to see what Tager does, or does another 2D(D) and then lands and waits to see what Tager does. This is a VERY good strategy - the trick in this matchup is to use 236D(~C)/214D(~C) to force jumps, and then pressure with 2D. If they're trying to use that ghetto Tager airdash you'll get combos, and if they're blocking they end up a fullscreen away from you. Also, just for everyone who says "DP GADGET FINGER"! If you DP after a Gadget Finger and Tager backdashes, he can 360/720 you for free because his backdash is longer than hangovers. The only way for this to be entirely safe is to gravity seed RC backdash... But that takes a lot of meter, and if you've committed to it you'll lose your chance at combos. I generally wait for the first gadget finger and see what they do - if they just mash into a blockstring/360 I DP the next time I get GF'd - generally this is a Tager that is unfamiliar with this matchup and so doesn't know how to beat your DP. What I -do- do is backdash, though - depending on what he does it generally gets you out. I do have to say, those Japanese Tager vids, even if they weren't as useful for American players trying to learn the Tager matchup, were some PRIME examples of Lambda sword pressure. That was FANTASTIC keepout on the Lambda side.

I think everyone is ignoring the fact that without wallbounce from 22D, Tsubaki hits something like 3.5k with 3 charges and 50% meter. She's still a terrible character because they removed all of her options to do any sort of damage WITHOUT charge (or with 1 charge), but in doing so, removed the ability for her to do damage even WITH charge.

I really, really wish I could do this combo. I can't get the 9j214D method of tking this to work - I was hopeful because it seemed that being able to alternate 9/7 tks is the most stable method of getting the loop down. Currently though I can't even get the 6A to link after the 2147D. The video is helpful for the timing - and for knowing that it builds enough meter to end with distortion (for a yummy 6k damage) - but any tips on TK9 input as it pertains to Lambda's corner loop or getting the 6A to link? I'm not sure if I'm just not linking it right or what.