Ryd'

Akihiko isn't the only one relying on reads here; Yukiko's attacks have to connect in order to keep Akihiko out. She can't just be chucking things blindly; one whiffed fan at around mid range (which is not that hard to navigate to as long as you're not eating everything sent your way) is enough for most characters to get in on her. Most of Yukiko's options are either slow on startup or have sluggish recovery; she's not Nu, who could spam relatively fast projectiles and had a near full screen teleport to reset distance once you got close enough to be a threat. Similarly, Akihiko is not Tager; he actually has mobility options and isn't slow as all hell, so getting to his desired range doesn't require the stars aligning or a seriously retarded decision from Yukiko. Which means she's going to have to play more conservatively in order to not eat every SB Corkscrew thrown her way. Being forced to play more safely translates to less crap to wade through once Akihiko reaches mid range, which improves his chances of getting in. Not that it's impossible for him to close before then, but it makes it a lot easier. And, of course, once he hits awakening, 100sp is practically a free ticket in from almost anywhere. A matchup isn't decided on the neutral game unless said neutral game is damn near impossible to win for a character (the apparently popular Nu vs Tager being a pretty good example of a truly nightmarish neutral game). Neutral at midrange+ isn't fun for Akihiko, but that's always the case with a close quarters character vs a zoner; you have to do a lot of blocking and slowly make your way in. Being forced to play extra carefully at certain ranges doesn't make it a flat-out bad matchup (otherwise what does it say that the situation is completely flipped once Yukiko loses momentum and Akihiko gets close?) unless said close-range character has crap for mobility and severely limited ranged options (most grapplers, which Akihiko is not). Dacidbro oversimplified his approach to the matchup (and admitted as such), but he's not wrong about it not being horrible; there are ways around everything Yukiko does, so it's entirely possible (and quite likely, assuming skilled players) that Akihiko will close in at least once in a round. Looking at the concept matches, the players' ability to read their opponents was the deciding factor. There were some rounds where people just got bodied, but there were a lot that came down to the wire, too. I can see the matchup possibly being slightly in Yukiko's favor just given the range she can command and Akihiko needing to get in his opponent's face to really do anything, but I really don't see her holding a substantial edge here. Her pressure is not airtight, her zoning isn't flawless, and a relatively minor mistake can easily cost her 50%+ of her health. Once Akihiko gets in, the match is almost completely out of Yukiko's hands, as she can't safely push any buttons (a 7f 2A is her only sub-10f move). Not to say that Yukiko's offense isn't scary (it is; multiple unblockables, range, extremely tight pressure under the right circumstances), but Akihiko is far from helpless in this matchup.

Speaking as a Yukiko player, the matchup feels pretty close to even. One good read is all it takes for Akihiko to get in at midrange once he hits 25SP, and 2 good hits is all it takes for him to destroy Yukiko's health bar. It's scary as hell for Yukiko to be dancing around Akihiko once he has meter because you can't make mistakes without losing a huge chunk of health if Akihiko is on point. Of course, if the Yukiko player makes better reads every step of the way, you're going to lose without ever getting close enough to touch her, but that kind of thing is true for every matchup. As for the concept matches, I suppose one could argue that team Akihiko seemed more well-rounded compared to team Yukiko (Whistler was the only player on either team who went 0-4), but that's splitting hairs since everyone else was packing a mix of wins and losses.

Everyone's meter gain goes on cooldown when they burn SP, it's not a penalty exclusive to Liz. No, everyone does not have a reliable reversal super. It's a lot more likely that most of Liz's options have a lot of inherent risk and are difficult to land reliably because of the huge potential payoff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD-ftDeZjD8&feature=youtu.be

I'm not being biased or anything; I main Yukiko, so I'm aware of the characters' strengths and shortcomings. It needed to go because it wasn't working the way Fire Break was intended. If it was supposed to provide the unblockable status to consecutive uses of a move on a single cooldown, it would've worked that way with everything. As it is, Yukiko can already get back-to-back Fire Break unblockables legitimately; it takes a little more work, but it's about as rewarding and uses less meter.

It needed to go.

Yukiko can cancel 5C and 2C into Dia during the IK superflash to negate it. Depending on spacing, she might also get a free punish off it as well.

Getting a bit more damage out of corner Maragi combos (à la challenge 30) and for being needlessly flashy; not that there's anything wrong with showing off. My main gripe with it combo-wise is that it actually seems to return a bit less damage than less extravagant variations (at least whenever it isn't used as a corner Maragi loop starter). You might be able to use it in blockstrings to provide enough time to setup high/low unblockables. Not with the maragis themselves, but use them to keep them pinned long enough to score 2A/2D or something. Nope, testing said otherwise.

Yukiko is a lot easier to learn than other characters who have operated on similar hold/release mechanics; Eddie in GG, characters like Aoko (and more recently, F-Akiha) in MB, just to name a few. I was actually a bit disappointed that she didn't have more complicated maneuvers. In P4A, I'd say Shadow Labrys is noticeably harder to learn in general because you're doing button holding a lot more often just to keep your persona alive, as well as doing inputs for two characters and having to time their inputs to cover and catch off of each others' attacks. Characters like Yu and Chie are probably easiest because their playstyles are very direct, and they get free oki off every knockdown with multiple chances to open you up each time. Where overall ease/difficulty among characters are concerned though, I don't really see there being a need to really compare this kind of thing. Yukiko should be harder to play on principle because of her ability to control space and force opponents to gamble or eat damage; BBCT showed how lame it is when you have zoning/setup characters who are effective with minimal effort. I think Yukiko's in a good place on the whole. She takes a little more work than the other characters, but she can turn a match around with the best them. And in terms of difficulty/complexity/effort, it could be a lot worse; she could be Venom (though I'd love it if she could even approach that level of complexity).

What's the general consensus on 214C+D usage? I've been playing with using it for oki in crossup 5C combos (5C 2B jB dj jA j214B 214C+D as you start falling). Jump over the opponent with jB as soon as you recover (delay the jB a bit to tag crouchers). Depending on how you time things, you get three results here if the opponent takes the setup: jB hits first: gives you a nice float and allows you to pickup after landing from jB with rejump, jB dj jA j214A; 1.8~1.9k, or 2.5k with 236236C finisher. If you're positioned so that the opponent's close to the corner after the bounce (with you outside of the corner), you can do rejump jBB jump forward j214B~5C (5C hits) 214214A for 3.3k. jB hits simultaneously with Hammer: you get 3 hits (Hammer, jB, earthquake from Hammer) + knockdown for 2.1k Hammer hits first: you get jack, really; jB ruins the bounce so that all you can follow up with is like...5AA; gets about 2k with just Hammer+jB. jB hitting first is obviously the most ideal of those. If you just go for a cross up/they block jB and eat the Hammer, the damage goes up by a fair chunk; just as an example, the corner combo ends up doing just under 4k. The greatest flaw here is that there's a small gap since you want the Hammer to be delayed to coincide with a jB. But if your opponent starts trying to escape early, you can input Hammer early enough to make it meaty. You should also be able to block anything that can be jump blocked if your opponent starts pushing buttons, and Hammer won't get stuffed by anything short of a super. Sorry if I'm reinventing the wheel here; just picked up SLabrys a week ago and have been experimenting with her many options. I don't think I remember seeing this in any of the videos I've seen though.

2A+2D with 2A opening you up doesn't break 2k without a super at the end. Sweep+2D (forgot about this) can lead to 3k+ midscreen if the persona drops behind you. You don't have to worry about noteworthy damage off a low in the corner, but be careful everywhere else.

There is no chicken blocking in P4A due to the whole 8 frames of not being able to block when jumping (3 before leaving the ground, first 5 in the air). How you deal with Yukiko's setups depends on which UB you're dealing with. Fire Break + Maragi: Reversal on wakeup and pray it isn't read, or don't tech at all and take the extra damage. Just delaying your tech doesn't work since Yukiko can and should be popping the wave manually, so you'll still get tagged by the pillar after your tech. There is no jumping out of this one or anything since the Maragi should be meaty when properly executed. If this is done in the corner off Agidyne (with an Agi in place to tag your wakeup), you might be able to reversal on wakeup and tag the end of the Maragi recovery; I haven't tested this though, so take it with a grain of salt. Fire Break + SB Agi: As this one can be held all day and the flames can be released so that Yukiko has enough time to not commit until you've been hit (allowing her to block/avoid and punish reversals), you're probably boned. Bufudyne > OMC can work if Yukiko's in range to be hit right after your tech, but that isn't always the case. 2D+2A: Tricky. Reversal on wakeup can work if she's in range, but Yukiko shouldn't be getting hit here since she's waiting for 2D to come down. Whether or not you can reversal just before the unblockable hits depends on when Yukiko releases the Agi that should've been sitting on your face. Ideally, the pop is timed so that it pins you down so you're forced to eat 2D+2A; in these situations, you have a small window before the Agi will be released where you can try to jump/dodge/whatever to escape. Jumping will likely get tagged by the Agi; best case, you only take a bit of damage and escape; worst case, Yukiko picks up off it and you get sent back into the setup. Dodges can be punished, and Yukiko should be able to block any reversals. If the Agi is popped early to stop wakeup escape attempts, the same escape methods can be tried to get out just before 2D hits, but can all still be punished. This unblockable generally doesn't lead to too much damage (especially if 2A opens you up) compared to the respective 4k+ and 3k+ the aforementioned setups dish out, so it's not outside of the realm of possibility for Yukiko to bait an escape attempt and punish for potentially bigger damage than she would've gotten otherwise. Just something to keep in mind. Fire Break + Maragidyne: If you're close to her anytime a Maragidyne goes off, you can punish with Bufydyne, DP, or throw right after the super flash. If you're not close, then you can usually jump or dodge it, though there are setups where there's an Agi in place to pin you down or it's timed so that the flames catch you on wakeup and you're forced to eat the super or risk getting punished for escaping it via reversal.

Tier placement has nothing to do with how aggravating it is to play against some characters. Liz can be really annoying for a few characters and people who either don't like to block or can't react to Thanatos' throw (even more so with potential lag thrown in the mix). Her flaws aren't a problem if the opponent never gets into a position to exploit them, and like most characters, she's brutally effective against people who don't know how to handle her.

I'm not sure what you mean about comboing into Maragidyne being weird; it's all a matter of spacing and how much hitstun decay you have in the combo. B Agi will almost never send the opponent directly into the first pillar that spawns from D Maragidyne, so you need to pop the Agi so that the opponent won't have recovered before the flames reach them; the superflash happens to be an ideal point in a basic combo (5AA 5B 5C 2C 236 214214D]B[), though if memory serves, you can actually delay it by a bit after the super flash (but not too much, or they'll hit the ground). Sadly, the Agi doesn't seem to have enough hitstun left at the end of Yukiko's bigger combos, so you can't do this following something like Maragi loops. On the other hand, comboing into D Maragidyne does provide a beautiful unblockable setup while giving you around 2.8~3k damage from the basic combo on a standing opponent, so it seems a fair trade. Comboing into C Maragidyne is generally trickier given the basic nature of the move, but still possible. I know it works off a short string into A Agi, and theoretically (I haven't tried this), should be possible if you do a reversed persona combo that sends the opponent flying next to you with a B Agi (the sort where you'd normally follow up with 5AA; a reversed basic combo into D Maragidyne). That should allow for an unblockable D Maragidyne follow up if you have the meter and wait for their tech. I don't think you'd be able to get anything off an unblockable SB Agi in this situation...

The follow up will depend on spacing and whether or not it was CH. CH is ideal (obviously); you can go into Maragi (C/D depends on spacing) and combo from there for a decent chunk of damage. I don't think there's anything "easier" if you're trying to pick up off a non-CH 2B.

All out breakfall additions? Follow ups to all-out attacks? If you mean the AOAs, it's a lot easier to mash A+B (or a bind if you use them) instead of just one or the other. Other than that, it's just a matter of getting a feel for when you need to hit C or D. Nothing really special necessary, just practice, practice, practice.

Confirmed. If you time an Agi to hit just before Sakuya impacts, the IK will fail to connect.

That's the A+B~C (FC) jA jB 236[A+B] ]A[66 j4D]B[ land 5BB 236 ]B[ combo? If so, the tricky part is getting your air dash out as soon as you're able to, and timing the Agi releases. You want to time the j4D and ]B[ so that Konohana Sakuya is a fair bit above your opponent since she falls faster than they will; you don't want them slipping out the top and being able to tech before reaching the bottom, which is the leading cause of failure whenever I try it. It's kind of a pain, and I'm not really sure it's worth the effort and bit of meter since the damage isn't much better than A+B~C (FC) jA jC dj jA jB 236[A]~]A[ 236~]B[, and it's really easy to drop if you're off the slightest bit. On the other hand, it does grant better positioning if you pull it off, since your opponent recovers close to the ground on the other end of the screen instead of high above you. I've seen that combo listed with a double jump instead of the air dash, but I haven't really seen better results with that. Maybe it'll work better for you though; who knows.

Jump cancel; odd choice from whoever put that in the wiki. Technically not incorrect, but TK or 2369 is more easily understood.

5AA 5BB 2369[A+B] is just a really tight input; you're probably being too slow. Yukiko doesn't really have high damage with low execution unless it's something silly like Maragidyne x3. Her reliable sources of moderate~high damage will usually come off some form of Maragi combos/loops, which generally start with 2B, 5A, 5C, 5D, and 236C/D with varying anti air and/or CH requirements. These combos have varying timings on inputs and Agi releases depending on spacing and how high you have the opponent floating. They're not the hardest things in the world, but it's really easy to screw them up if you're not careful.

If they're really close, they can escape this by throwing you or using a reversal (B+D or any super with invincibility); A+C dash works as well. A lot of characters can, and probably will, murder you for trying it. It's a good option if they've committed to something or you know they won't try to bait a reversal or anything, but it's incredibly risky in neutral against opponents who catch on to gimmicks or know to react to super flashes.

It's important for oki as well as being able to do noticeable amounts of damage.

Lots of them in the wiki starting from here: http://www.dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Yukiko_Amagi#Maragi_Combos Damage from 236[A+B] combos generally varies between 3-4k (unboosted), depending on the combo.

Alter the timing on releasing Agi. You can also detonate it manually by hitting D again when it's in the right position.

A successful troll. Is all that really needs to be said on the matter.