[CSE] Iron Tager vs Arakune: Insects never die

[A.X.I.S.]

Insects 4.0 lets go!

This match up is tough and will cost you big time if you are not careful.

You're gonna have to be able to make top notch decision making if you want to win.

Objective:

Survive and do as much as you can to win.

Reason:

You can't afford to get hit by Arakune because getting hit will usually lead to curse meter.

once that meter is full you are forced to block 14 seconds of uninterrupted mix up.

Far range:

Voltech charge and move in carefully, be fully aware of where he is and how high he is in this range.

Avoid j.D and be wary of bell bug and clouds, you want to make Arakune have very little to no curse meter in this range.

Medium range:

In this range you can continue to footsie in or take a chance.

Jumping in on Arakune is very risky because his 5C can cleanly beat all of our options.

Arakune has 2D in this range and it can be sledged if you call it out, unfortunately he can 2C(shark) you for a fatal counter combo.

Just be very cautious in this range, AC and 2C are good if his approach is telegraphed.

Close range:

On the defense you will have some trouble here depending on if you are cursed or not, for now lets assume you are not.

J.B is really hard to beat for an approach, him landing a poke leads to curse, and he can use instant overheads and fuzzy's on us.

Now on our offense, anything with a gap can be back dashed out, other than that just use normal grappling tactic's.

Strings and pokes

• 5A>5A>2A
  
• 5A>2A>5A>rising j.B
  
• 5A>6A
  
• 5A>5D>jump cancel
  
• 6A>2B>2A>5A
  
• 6A>jump cancel
  
• 6A>5D>jump cancel
  
• J.B>5A/2A
  
• j.B>6A
  

J.B:

Arakune's primary jump in tool, hard to deal with because of it's many hits and attack levels, thankfully you can back dash buster it.

You can also 2A, 2C, and AC him but these are all situational.

6A:

6A is Arakune's overhead and getting hit by this will usually mean 70% or 100% curse from him.

He can gattling this into 2B to hit low and make 6A safer than it already is, he can also use 5D to add curse meter on block.

6A is jump cancelable as well.

5C:

Arakune's anti air and it has loads of invulnerability.

Do not challenge this move lest you take a fatal and give Arakune free curse, if you are gonna jump in then jump in blocking.

2C:

Shark really fast low that fatals, has a ton of active frames so it can hit you even if you think it won't.

It's really unsafe on block so punish it with a 360B for unburstable damage.

He likes to use this move when you are being unsafe...this move is the only thread you have when arakune is on the ground.

J.D:

Arakune's air projectile, has a lot of start up so you can react accordingly.

Getting hit or blocking it adds curse meter.

2D:

Hits low two times, sledge it, avoid it, or block this.

6D:

Bell bug, it hits overhead so it is not only a zoning tool but also used for unblockable setups.

This move gives a lot of curse on hit.

Avoid this if you can.

Easier said than done.

F of G:

Gives him 100% curse meter on hit.

This move hits low and is a projectile. (previous games it was unblockable.)

If this move is randomly thrown out don't do anything to get you caught.

Curse:

Curse is hard and scary but it is a way to make your life easier and I am gonna break it down for all of you.

1. Know what is jump cancelable.

Knowing this helps you be able to block instant overhead strings.

2. Know what is special cancelable.

Knowing this helps you be able to block cross ups in curse and keeps you from getting hurt really bad for it.

3. When blocking in curse look at Arakune and what normals he uses not what bugs that are hitting you.

4. Barrier block a bit, push him away from you so he has less opportunities to mix up.

5. IB and gain meter so it makes the unblockable setup (6D while your in the corner>bug lockdown>2C just when the bell bug is about to hit.) possible to defend against.

Those are the main things to point out.

[Zoular]

During curse:

The cross up/under where he uses A bug while teleporting

http://youtu.be/N6bAlTDGn_k?t=3m25s

I'd like to know how it works exactly, I was told that you are meant to watch out for a certain animation and that if its still apparent, you'll know which direction to block.

[Isorropia]

Basically he uses repeated 2As to keep you blocking while the rest of his bugs leave the screen (so he can combo with them later). Then it's a simple 2A cancelled into teleport, and the A bug called by the 2A will hit while arakune is on the other side of you, crossing you up and comboing into C bug. If an arakune is doing repeated 2As during curse, they're probably going for this mixup.

I usually just see the mixup coming based on the 2As, blocking it on reaction might be possible but you'd have to look for the animation of arakune disappearing, which is pretty tough.

[Zoular]

Yeah I know when its coming, problem is I don't know which direction to block. Arakune could be on the other side of the screen when the bug is hitting so I switch my block, but I get hit, there times I don't switch and I'll continue blocking but that's not guaranteed

[shigoshi]

I fought an arakune and got my rear end handed to me twice by him. I could get my combos going into huge damage however one dropped combo and he just curses me and I'm dead. He just smashed me to pieces with unblockable combos (well, I think they were. Does getting high, low and overheaded at once count as unblockable?) and thus my health just disappeared and trying to get in against him was near on if not impossible. I few B sledges throw his cloud caught him off-guard once or twice but that was it. It was just impossible to get him magnetised.

Personally, I think I should of been jumping more and using tager plane (J.b) and such however he was just too quick for me to keep up so any advice to ether catch him so I introduce his mask to Mr. floor or anyways of at least slowing him down. Possibly any ways of dealing with the bugs while cursed (I know being cursed means you may as well put down your controller and wait for it to wear off but anything to at least lessen or counter him while in this state).

[A.X.I.S.]

Catching Arakune is a tough thing to do, you just gonna have to call him out on stuff and play really defensive.

Defensive=/=passive FYI.

[Manta]

214D > 236A has some limited use against bug storms. The whole move is projectile invulnerable, which catches out some arakunes who think they've got a free approach when you're covered in bees.

[Manta]

In other news, jumping when you see him forward dash, air dash or double jump will allow you to escape some of his fake outs.

[Ctrlaltwtf]

Being entirely honest and not trolling here: Arakune is by far my easiest matchup on Tager, I have no idea what people think is difficult about him for a Tager to deal with. Sledge hammer, Voltic Charger, Spark Bolt, and Atomic Collider are like Arakune's worst nightmare.

And no, this is not me fighting superbad Arakunes who don't know crap. This is me fighting competent Arakunes who go through all the pressure strings, mix-ups, and floaty stuff as usual and Tager simply not giving a fuck.

The moment Arakune is magnetized he simply cannot escape with his terrible air dashes (aka Atomic Collider bait)

[mAc Chaos]

> arakune

> easy

They must not be moving around right or running away enough... or something.

[Ctrlaltwtf]

> arakune

> easy

They must not be moving around right or running away enough... or something.

By far, the easiest matchup for me on Tager.

I see a kune and go "haha, my little bitch."

I have no clue what there is to complain about against Arakune. I have a much harder time fighting Arakune on Hazama or Haku-men. It's not like I can beat him braindead, but I don't have to worry about anything specific when fighting Arakune on Tager, like people seem to suggest. I just have to worry about all the things I'd have to worry about if I was fighting Arakune on any other character.

I mean, yeah, back in CT Arakune was a bitch on Tager but times have changed. (you can tell that comment on the thread title was written during CT because it says v-13 lol)

[ThaMusli]

Do you have any videos of you playing the matchup?

I play a good Arakune regulary and i find it very hard for me to see your points on this matchup. Tager lack the movement options and tools to constantly get in arakunes face and that makes it easier for kune to set up his stuff than in other matchups. Playing to reckless will often lead to you getting hit by dumb stuff and getting alot of curse on ya. A little bit off "not giving a fuck" attitude is needed since kune will otherwise get free meter from clouds and blocked D moves but to much of it have never been effective for me.

I have no idea how you find this Tagers easiest matchup but im very willing to see your opinion on the matchup cause i need all the help i can get!

[A.X.I.S.]

My best friend IRL is a Arakune main.

The match up is pretty ass especially when Arakune decides to not zone and use rising j.B once he is close.

Sad that blocking gives Arakune curse meter.

[Osuna]

I've stomped plenty of arakune because they were unfamiliar with the match up, but our anti airs suck, and our projectile invulnerable moves suck and he's in the air and/or shooting projectiles at you a lot. It's more about Tager being a weak character than about Arakune being broken now adays.

By suck I mean all of our anti airs can get stuffed by his air options even magged he has a lot of control over where he lands and what happens because of his air options. The affects they have are confusing for someone new to the match up.

And you can punish sledges with projectiles and Stuff hammer with projectiles.

[Ctrlaltwtf]

Maybe it's 'cause I just have the experience to deal with Arakune from my Hazama or something, I don't feel handicapped on Tager all. I'm not saying the matchup is an autowin or anything, I'm just saying all the same rules apply to Tager that apply to anyone else who fights Arakune. Yeah, you have a hard time when you get cursed, who doesn't?

When you're cursed it's all about wasting the Curse Gauge as much as possible. If I land a guarded hit on Arakune while Curse is full I make sure to do a stupidly long mid-string followed by Sledge -> Follow Up -> Rapid Cancel -> do it all over again for the sake of wasting time.

Probably the most powerful advice you can ever have against Arakune is to go limp if he gets a curse combo going from a bad starter, which usually happens right when he fills his Curse Gauge off of a combo. That means even when it starts blue beating just sit there and eat it. It will do shit for damage until he decides to finally try and reset it, which is your chance to get back to blocking.

[ThaMusli]

Im familiar with all that tech already. Thanks anyways.

And the problem with curse in this matchup is not how you deal with it but that you have a much harder time avoiding GETTING cursed.

[Osuna]

Tager doesn't have a DP a good CA or an anti air that works in small gaps. He's also really big and slow and relatively easy to curse as he tries to trudge across the screen. Up close, j.B is insanely good against Tager compared to most, and sledges are long slow and vulnerable moves.

Also

236A->236A RC 236B, 5C>6A>623C, Stuff works on ground and air hit off of Asledge, much better than 236A236ARC236A236A.

[Mucky]

Maybe it's 'cause I just have the experience to deal with Arakune from my Hazama or something, I don't feel handicapped on Tager all.

my brain

[Koopa_Klawz]

Being entirely honest and not trolling here: Arakune is by far my easiest matchup on Tager, I have no idea what people think is difficult about him for a Tager to deal with. Sledge hammer, Voltic Charger, Spark Bolt, and Atomic Collider are like Arakune's worst nightmare.

And no, this is not me fighting superbad Arakunes who don't know crap. This is me fighting competent Arakunes who go through all the pressure strings, mix-ups, and floaty stuff as usual and Tager simply not giving a fuck.

The moment Arakune is magnetized he simply cannot escape with his terrible air dashes (aka Atomic Collider bait)

If these Aras were as good as you claim, then shouldn't they also be able to punish mindless sledging (you did say "not giving a fuck after all)? Also, j.B > any AA Tager has. Even with magnetism, Ara can just tap Tager out of AC with j.B while being pulled in.

[Ctrlaltwtf]

236A->236A RC 236B, 5C>6A>623C, Stuff works on ground and air hit off of Asledge, much better than 236A236ARC236A236A.

yeah if you actually hit him but I believe I said

If I land a guarded hit on Arakune

As in, he's blocking this so I'm just gonna spam as much pressure as possible for the sake of turtling his Curse gauge down.

[mAc Chaos]

Can he not use bugs while he is blocking?

[Errol]

I don't play arakune, but I don't think he can do it while blocking. Not that it matters too much. As soon as there is a gap in your blockstring he can do it and the game is over.

[C0R]

He can do it while teching and bursting as well.

[Ctrlaltwtf]

He can do it while teching and bursting as well.

A sledge counters this though, as you'd just ignore the bugs and force Arakune to block again. 6A does this beautifully as well. Insects really aren't as much as a threat to Tager as Arakune's god damn j.B aggravation. Usually if I get stuck in Arakune's j.B I'll IB as many hits as possible and build meter for a CA.

[Osuna]

Ok, so if he blocks asledge instead of punishes it since he apparently had options while you were doing it or he wouldn't have blocked.

After the Asledge unless you rapid the Asledge itself you are alreadyin a bit of trouble. No IB required between sledge and hammer there is a gap. And you'll still have bugs coming at you while he bacdashes or maybe supers depending. Also sometimes Hammer will get stuffed by a bug before it hits.

It is better to rapid the Asledge and go from there. Also Jesus does our CA suck.