GGST/Nagoriyuki/Starter

Blood Meter

The Blood Gauge is separated into 3 Bars.
Special moves fill The Blood Gauge upon use. FukyoGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A fills 0.5 of a Bar, other Specials fill 1 Bar.
As the Gauge fills, Nagoriyuki's Slash and Heavy Slash moves become faster and longer, but he takes increased damage.
Hitting your opponent with any Heavy Slash normal, f.SSSGuardAllStartup14Recovery35Advantage-22, or 623PGuardGround ThrowStartup7Recovery48AdvantageNA greatly decreases the Blood Gauge.
Filling all 3 Bars will force you to Blood RageGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup4+(38 Flash)+3Recovery70Advantage-12 and lose the round. Avoid doing it at all costs.

Motion Inputs

Nago's ability to cancel Specials into other Specials is an essential part of his Combo and Pressure game. Since all of his Specials require a specific motion to input, you must become comfortable with performing several motion inputs in quick succession, mainly the following:

into
into into Hold
into into Hold

The rest of this page will use Numpad Notation. For example

will be written as 214H.

Key Moves

Control the Ground:

5K
God button. Use when you don't know what to press.
2S
Check their toes with this.
214H
Close the gap for 1 Blood Bar.
5H
Hits very far at high Blood, but weak to jumps.

5K and 2S will be your pokes of choice at close-to-mid ranges. 5K has less range but fast Startup The time before an attack is active including the first active frame. For example, an attack with 10F startup means the attack will do nothing for 9 frames, then hit the opponent on the 10th frame. and low Recovery The recovery of an attack refers to the amount of time an attacker must wait before they may perform another action, even blocking., while 2S is slower but has more range and also hits LowAn attack that the opponent must block crouching.. At farther ranges, use 214H at low Blood Levels and 5H at high Blood Levels. Careful with 214H, as while it is very strong, this Special does cost 1 Blood Bar, meaning you can only use a limited number of times before going into Blood Rage. Both of these attacks have oppressiveGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3 hitboxesGuardAllStartup16Recovery27Advantage-14 and high reward on hit. Once you establish control of the ground, opponents will try jumping, which is why you must also learn how to...

Control the Skies:

6P
Ol' reliable.
c.S
Hits almost as high as it looks.
2H
Big damage, but careful not to whiff it.

6P is your default Anti-AirA grounded attack that hits the opponent out of the air. Use it when you don't know which anti-air to press. It has a very good low profile hitboxGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6 and hits far. However, 6P has a blind spot against opponents directly above Nagoriyuki, which is where you will use c.S, as it has fast start-up and a high vertical hitboxGuardAllStartup7Recovery10Advantage+3. Finally, 2H has a massive hitboxGuardAllStartup15Recovery29Advantage-17 but is very slow, which means you cannot use it on reaction to jumps. Use 2H when predicting a jump from your opponent.

Other:

236K
Your only "cheap" Special.
623H
Only for combos for now.

214K or 236K (Fukyo) - Nago's most important Special. It costs only 0.5 Bars to use, meaning you can utilise it more often than your other Specials. Use 236K (Forward) to close space with an opponent and 214K (Back) to retreat during your pressure.
623H (DP) - Close-range combo tool.

Combos

Spend Blood on Special moves for good combos. At high Blood Levels, combo with H normals instead:

Ground Combos Long-Range

214H always connects from any range on any poke.
Knock them down with 214H. After this, OTG The act of hitting the opponent when they are knocked down. Short for "off the ground" or "on the ground." with 2S, cancel it into 236K, then meaty Hitting an opponent to cover the moment as they lose invincibility. The most common one is performing an attack early on okizeme to gain frame advantage and bait reversals. with 2K from any range and c.S on closer hits.

Sample combos:

5K > 214H > 236K > OTG 2S > 236K
2S > 214H > 236K > OTG 2S > 236K
f.SS > 214H > OTG 2S > 236K

Close-Range

623H route has more corner carry and causes a Wall Splat when close to the Wall. However, it only connects when close to the opponent.
Launch them with 623H, cancel into 236K then hold [4] in order to not switch sides. Pick up with c.S and finish with f.SSS, then 236K to get closer for pressure.

Sample combos:

5K > 6K > 623H > 236K [4] > c.S > f.SSS
5P > 6P > 623H > 236K [4] > c.S > f.SSS
c.S > f.SS > 623H > 236K [4] > c.S > f.SSS

High Blood Level

At higher Blood Levels your routes will have to be shorter but it will be easier to land your faster and longer S and H normals.
5K > 6H and 2S > 5H combo on regular hit at high Blood.
You can use these routes at low Blood Levels as well.

Sample combos:

c.S > f.SSS
2K > 2D > OTG 2S > 236K
5K > 6H > 236K
2S > 5H > 236K
Counter-Hit 5H > 236K > OTG 5H > 236K

Anti-Air Combos

Keep your opponents on the ground by punishing their air approaches. Remember that 2H is too slow to be used on reaction to jumps. Instead, press it as a call-out against jumpy players.

Sample combos at low Blood: Sample combos at low Blood:

Counter-Hit 6P > 623H > 236K [4] > c.S > delay f.SSS
Counter-Hit c.S > 2H > 236K > 5K > 623H > 236K > c.S > f.SSS
Counter-Hit 2H > 236K > 2H > 236K > 623H > 236K [4] > c.S > delay f.SSS

At high Blood, you can end all of the above combos early with 2S, f.SSS or 6H instead:

Counter-Hit 6P > 236K > OTG 2S > 236K
Counter-Hit c.S > delay f.SSS
Counter-Hit 2H > 236K > 6H > 236K

After an air throw (can be done at any Blood level)

j.6D or j.4D > OTG 2S > 236K

The Wall

Use 6H for both Wall Splats and Wall Breaks whenever possible. If you're too far away, break with 2H instead.

How to Buffer Moves

Most of Nago's Normal A type of attack that is performed by pressing a single button, and possibly a single held stick direction. moves have to be immediately cancelled into a Special to get a combo. For example, 5K requires an immediate cancel into 214H for it to knock down. Since you cannot visually confirm hits like these before pressing your Special, you will instead need to Buffer moves, which means always inputting a Special like 214H regardless of whether it hit or whiffed. One benefit of Buffering is that Specials do not come out on whiff, which gives you freedom to press pokes like 5K and 2S with minimum risk and maximum reward.

If you whiff, immediately start Blocking to avoid being hit by your opponent's counter-attack.
If you get a hit, confirm the hit into the rest of your combo.

5K or 2S (whiff) > 214H > Block
5K or 2S (hit) > 214H > confirm into 236K > OTG 2S

Round Start

Nagoriyuki has a great round start toolset. Get the first hit and convert it into a knockdown and pressure.

Beat slow or low-hitting moves:
- 5K > 214H > 236K, OTG 2S > 236K
Beat high-hitting moves:
- CH 6P > 214H, OTG 2S > 236K
Punish walk back:
- 2S > 214H > 236K, OTG 2S > 236K

Neutral

Control ground space with Nago's far-reaching and rewarding moves like 5K, 2S and 214H.
Once your opponent gets frustrated and starts to approach with IAD An air dash performed from a standing position as quickly and as low to the ground as possible from a jump. Done by inputting 956 754, and depending on the game, using a dash macro right after a jump.s, be ready to counter with anti-airs like 6P.
The Blood Gauge can be used either in combos to maximise damage from landing your Poke An attack that's thrown out to occupy the space in front of you and remind your opponent not to try and come closer. Usually, this is a far-reaching and safe normal move with little risk.s, or to approach your opponent with tools like 214H. Use the former against characters that you can beat in Neutral When neither player is in an advantageous position in terms of stage position. (which is most of the cast), and the latter against characters that outrange you, such as Zoner A character in a fighting game who's primary gameplan is to stay far away keep distance from their opponent. The two main sub-archetypes are projectile zoners and spacers.s.
At high Blood, land hits with your huge H normals and f.SSS to return to low Blood.
Once you land a combo and knock them down, transition to...

Pressure

Meaty c.S/2K:

After a knockdown from OTG 2S or f.SSS, use 236K and Meaty Hitting an opponent to cover the moment as they lose invincibility. The most common one is performing an attack early on okizeme to gain frame advantage and bait reversals. with c.S or 2K. From there, Nago has many series of attacks that naturally beat mashing opponents.

Sample blockstrings:

c.S > 5K > 6K > 214H
2K > 5P > 6P > 214H
2K > c.S > f.SS

If your opponent blocked 214H, cancel into 214K and hold [6] to retreat safely while remaining Plus When you are able to freely act, but your opponent cannot (usually because they are still trapped in block stun from your attack). Being plus (or "positive") in a fighting game is quite strong; it means you always have a headstart on your next attack, even if it's only by a very slim margin..

How to land 623P (Bite):

623P (Bite) is Nago's command grab. It deals good damage and drains almost all of the Blood Gauge on hit, allowing you to apply even more pressure after. Get good at landing it to strike the fear of the grab into your opponents.

236K's momentum allows for a Tick Throw A throw done after attacks, very soon after if not exactly when throw invulnerability expires on the opponent. A Tick Throw take advantage of that the opponent naturally expect a Frame Trap coming, making it very hard to react to or escape from. 623P from most blocked attacks.
NOTE: Opponents cannot be thrown for a few frames after leaving Blockstun When a character successfully blocks an attack while standing or crouching, the defender is forced into a stun animation for a set period of time where they are incapable of acting. This period of time is called blockstun., which means you have to delay 623P. When unsure of the timing, aim to be slightly late rather than too early.

Sample tickthrows after a knockdown:

236K > delay 623P
236K > c.S > delay 623P
236K > c.S > f.SS > delay 623P
236K > 2K > delay 623P (works against FD)

Using f.SS:

Nagoriyuki's most straightforward pressure tool is f.SS. Going into f.SS forces your opponent to make a decision. The 3 most basic tools are:

Cancel into 214H and OTG 2S on hit. On block, cancel into 214K for safety.
Retreat with 214K then f.SS again, which can punish opponents who mash on Fukyo.
Grab with a slightly delayed 623P.

Regularly switch between these options to keep your opponent guessing.

What to do if you get knocked down

Always use FD Faultless DefenceA special type of blocking in Guilty Gear that negates chip damage and pushes the opponent back further than usual. This type of blocking comes at the cost of a resource. until the opponent adjusts their pressure. Backdash, Throw and 5K will be your main defensive options.

FD Faultless DefenceA special type of blocking in Guilty Gear that negates chip damage and pushes the opponent back further than usual. This type of blocking comes at the cost of a resource. as you are waking upThe state and animation a character goes through when they rise from being knocked down. This animation is usually invulnerable for its duration, and usually retains invulnerability to throws for some time after it ends. to push them out of their effective Throw range.
Use 5K during gaps in their pressure after pushing them out.
Abuse Nago's large ThrowGuardGround ThrowStartup2Recovery38AdvantageN/A range against gaps in pressure at point-blank range.
Backdash (44 or 4+Dash) to retreat midscreen or punish Throws on a read.
Jumping generally isn't good since Nago doesn't have a double jump or an airdash. You will have to fight your way out more often, especially in the corner.

Spending Meter

Spend Tension on Roman Cancels and Wasureyuki (632146S)GuardAllStartup7+(173 Flash)+2Recovery54Advantage-39 to continue your offense and drain the Blood Gauge:

Use f.SSS > Forward Dash Red RC to reset pressure and drain a chunk of the Blood Gauge on block, while leading to big damage and even more Blood drain on hit.
Always use 632146S after a Wall Splat for big damage, Blood Drain and a Hard Knockdown. After the Wall breaks, do 236K > slightly delayed c.S to continue pressure.
Red RC allows to extend combos for big damage and Blood Drain even at high Blood Levels, most notably on 5K > 6H:

5K > 6H > Forward Dash Red RC > 5[D] > 5K > f.SSS

Further Learning

The Strategy page contains lots of information about all sorts of tricks and tips that Nagoriyuki can do. After you feel like you have become comfortable with Nagoriyuki, it is recommended to proceed further into more intermediate and advanced techniques like: