vercengetorix

As long as we're talking about FB SA, the only time I use it is against my friend's Testament. Sometimes when I'm full screen away or so, he likes to summon EXE beast from behind, so I wait for it and jack him with the FB SA in an attempt to get him to stop doing it. Another alternative is to do the FB SA and then charge it while you wait to see if he summons or jumps. If he summons, let it go. You usually get hit, too, but the trade is in your favor. Of course, I would regard this as a waste of tension outside of round-ending situations, so it doesn't happen often at all.

God, how true! I think I'm pretty good with Venom, but then my friend comes along with a basic Ky, Slayer, or Axl and gives me the hardest time doing basic things I can see but not escape from. Granted, he's really good, but I can pick OS and run across the screen and uppercut him and win in two or three combos. Still, Venom is so much better than any other character style-wise that it doesn't even matter.

But, in all fairness, the whole CR at the end of the block-string is, I still contend, not the greatest idea. See the last quarter of the new 'Assassin' combo video for more concrete examples. I want to stay the best way to end hit strings is with either DC to cool stuff, SA frc to more stuff, or sweep>summon. But, these three options each have about six combinations each, at least the way it works out in my head.

Usually a bad idea, yes. Most characters can punish Venom pretty badly if they're paying attention. It is 23 frames until Venom can attack again, and as a result you can eat supers on reaction from most of the cast. A general rule is, if you're on the ground, the farther away you are from the other person when summoning (except Testament, Chipp and Potemkin, of course, in which case it doesn't matter) the better off you are. Some characters, though, don't have a good way to punish 6h to ball summon from far away. Robo-Ky is a prime example, but Millia, Potemkin (Slide head doesn't hit fast enough b/c it takes 24 frames to come out...it's close, though) tension-less Slayer, and a few others don't have a good response to the 6h-ball summon. Also, in fairness, counter-hit 2s is a pretty safe ball summoning opportunity, especially if the person is too far away to sweep. You could just stinger them for more damage, though. I wouldn't venture as to which option is better. And, also in fairness, if you were N-Otoko, you would set up balls after blocked CR in the corner, but we can't all be ballers like that. (He balances out the ball summon with a near-psychic j.p to keep people in the corner, though.) If you absolutely need a ball out off of a block string, you're better off (but not always best off) going for the Dubious Curve at the end of the block string. If nothing else, it's safe once it hits. The bad part is that it's not safe between the last hit and the DC. But it's a lot fewer than the 16 or so (i didn't do the math, but i could) frames you can get punished during the ball summon.

Man...Jam is tough... OK, here's what I do. First, no short-range poking...Jam's pokes are better than yours and she will FB through your pokes anyway. If you're going to poke, make sure you're at enough of a distance to recover. Second: if you must summon balls outside of okizeme, make sure you are as far away from Jam as possible. Sometimes, rarely, you can get away with summoning balls in the air, but it's not something to get predictable with. The match is similar to Baiken in that you have to abandon the usual lockdown patterns in favor of some more keep-away finesse business. The point of all this is that keeping pressure on Jam is not advisable unless it's Potemkin air-tight. NO CR pressure (unless it's off of a max-range 2s, and not in a pressure string that starts up close), and no DC pressure either. I mean, you can throw them out once in a great while (maybe once a round) but they are risky and may get you killed. Having said that, here are things you CAN do: Jam likes the air. A lot. Use this knowledge to your advantage. after her pressure strings, she may try to IAD at you--make sure you 6p or 6h that stuff if you get the chance. Even 2h can work in a bind. She'll be more cautious or she'll die. Once she gets smarter, you'll have to get smarter, too. Go for the meaty Stinger Aim wakeup (use Carcass Ride for a change in the corner)--even if she parries and burst rushes, you'll still have the advantage b/c you can rush down or throw if you see her running through your SA randomly. You NEED electric balls if you want to rush Jam down because it's harder to parry three hits than one. Make it happen. Also, like Baiken, throw her a lot. Other than that, just block a lot. I mean, this is a Slayer-esque matchup where one random mistake leads to a K.O. Come to think of it, a couple of characters do this to Venom. Maybe that's why he's not top-tier.