BBTag/Iron Tager/Strategy

Team Synergy

Point

Anchor

Recommended Partners

Waldstein

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General Tactics

Like any other grappler, Tager's gameplan is to get close enough on his terms to make his command grabs a threat. Courtesy of Tager's extremely high maximum health, you can afford to take some risks and make mistakes to either figure out your opponent or condition them into a favorable pattern.

Tager's primary tool to close the gap is usually Sledge, which blocks high and mid attacks while Tager is winding up. To establish the advantage, Tager should be looking to pair Sledge with an assist to add additional block/hitstun so that Tager can start his offensive pressure. When Tager is in the back, forcing the opponent to block his 5P, then using a long range normal/special to cover Active Switch can be a strong way to get Tager in safely.

Against opponents that actively maintain a lot of distance from Tager, you can also pursue them with Spark Bolt at the cost of 1 Skill Gauge. As this move will wallbounce on hit, you can easily get a damaging combo from using this move successfully. Be careful at full screen, as the opponent may not bounce far enough for 236C > 5AA to connect. This situation may require 2 Spark Bolts.

Tager can be difficult to pressure when he has meter. Two meter allows Tager to push block Spark Bolt to whiff punish laggy moves, as well as GETB through grounded stagger pressure. It is worth noting that any gap in pressure 6F or longer can be disrespected with 214A/B/C. Furthermore, Projectile attribute stagger can be disrespected with Sledge, due to its frame 1 Projectile armor. Rising jump normals can be disrespected with 236A, but be careful of trying to beat jump-ins with either Atomic Collider, as the hitboxes come out slowly and are likely to whiff.

It's also important to keep in mind that opponents will often jump to try to outmaneuver Tager's grabs, but this can often be used to your advantage! An opponent that jumps may actually be easier for Tager to grab in several situations given once his opponent has jumped, their movement options are typically limited to air dashing and double jumping. These options can easily fall prey to the aerial version of the GETB as well as j.214C. In addition, opponents baiting grounded throw options can be forced to block and land with 4A, which gives Tager a second chance at playing the grounded game.

Okizeme

Blockstrings

Tips and Tricks

Fighting Tager

Tager's fighting style is one of extremes generally speaking. He has moves that are extremely strong when used properly, but his low mobility, large size, and meter dependence often can force him into situations where he can be bullied by his opponent. In general, the most reliable strategy to grapplers usually involves zoning them. While Spark Bolt can be an easy reaction punish to careless long range projectiles, remember that Tager doesn't actually have many ways to hit you if you aren't inside the range where he can get a command grab on the ground. That being said, trying to simply run away and chip Tager to death with projectiles however is usually not a sustainable strategy, as at the end of the day, both Sledge and Spark Bolt are very strong anti-projectile tools.

What you usually want to do when zoning Tager is establish safe approach opportunities after he is forced to block. Tager's frame data is relatively mediocre, so he doesn't have many ways to easily break block pressure once it starts. You DO need to make sure however if he has meter, you are careful about leaving any blockstring gaps that Tager can reversal GETB through.

Tager primarily uses three options to approach: Sledge (5B), Voltic tackle (2B), and jumping forward using either j.B or j.C to bait buttons. If not pushblocked, Tager is extremely rewarded just for forcing the opponent to block. 5B is -4, 2B is +2, and low j.B is around +9~12. 2B is extremely reactable and does not go fullscreen. It is possible to reaction reversal 2B nearly 100% of the time. If the character lacks strong reversals or meter, neutral jumping will cause Tager to whiff, due to 2B's small vertical hitbox. 5B is not as easy to deal with as 2B, but is still exploitable. Active hitboxes that can cover the portion of the charge that has no armor and no hitbox blow this move up. Similarly, jumping towards Tager will force him to whiff. Some characters can reaction super to 5B startup and always come out on top. Tager 214B+C or Hyde 214B+C are notable examples. Tager j.B has 7f of landing lag, and his j.C has f of landing lag. Furthermore, both buttons have difficulty hitting or can't hit characters that are crouching or low beneath him. Additionally, Tager has no real air mobility outside of slight stalling with j.214X or j.C, so run up A+D will work on basically any character with a run and upwards reaching A+D.

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