GGML/Potemkin

	Defense
	180%Raw Value: 18
	Jump Startup
	12f
	Backdash
	22f
	Meter Gain Mod
	50%Raw Value: 5
	Charge Time
	80f
	Forward Walk Speed
	60%Raw Value: 460
	Backward Walk Speed
	44%Raw Value: 256
	Dizzy Resistance
	120%Raw Value: 36
	Fastest Attack
	2HGuardAllStartup6Recovery6Advantage-27 (6F); Potemkin BusterGuardThrowStartup1RecoveryN/AAdvantageN/A (1F)
	Reversals
	Potemkin BusterGuardThrowStartup1RecoveryN/AAdvantageN/A (1F)

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Potemkin is god awful. We don't even need move descriptions, just look at the images and say "it sucks" to yourself for almost every single thing here and you have Potemkin. Potemkin's normals are horribly slow, he can't dash, he can't infinite despite having a charge, said charge is also sluggish, he lacks any future moves such as F.D.B or Hammerfall to assist him in approaching zoners or pressuring, he's gigantic, and he has twelve frames of prejump (jump startup) which renders him glued to the ground and thus susceptible to all kinds of malarkey in this game such as the near-universal CC infinites.

None of Potemkin's strengths are real, such as his high damage normals not mattering due to the abundance of infinites in this game. Potemkin also sports many grabs that deal decent damage, three of which come out instantly, yet they still suck since the opponent can tech immediately after being hit thus rendering any followup pressure impossible. Worse, most have terrible range and they beg the question of "how did Potemkin get close and grab someone in the first place?" His super is a fullscreen megapunch that's air unblockable, a rare trait in GGML, but he'll never get to use it any way so who cares?

Don't play him. You won't have fun, and you certainly won't win.

Potemkin

Potemkin gets on his hands and knees and prays that his opponent will run at him so he can command grab for 35 damage.

Pros

Cons

Can't Be Pressured Up Close: Potemkin's Guard Cancels are genuinely really good. Potemkin Buster is an instant command grab that can be used out of block stun, and Mega Fist is a highly evasive option

Can't Infinite: While he can charge, an inability to dash makes performing infinites impossible.
Can't Approach: Potemkin has horribly slow movement, jump startup, and frame data. Additionally Pot lacks the tools to approach in Missing Link. He doesn't have Hammerfall or Flick and Slidehead is techable. Mega Fist is plus and big but doesn't go far enough to be reliable.
Can't Harness His Strengths: Potemkin's best moves are held back by the fact that he can't get in to apply them. Potemkin Buster may be amazing, but using it depends on the opponent willingly entering his effective range, because he has no good way to get into range on his own terms.
Can't Reasonably Charge: It takes Potemkin a woefully long 80 frames to increase the level of Graviton Stamp, which makes them very impractical to access. To add insult to injury, the 3rd level of Graviton Stamp is worse than the 2nd level.
Can't Keep Up Pressure: While Pot hits hard, none of his combos or Pot Buster lead to continued pressure thanks to all knockdowns being techable.
Can't Quickly Build Meter: Potemkin is tied for second worst meter gain in the game which means he will likely only be able to access his super while in Desperation state.
Can't Catch a Break: because he's so tall some characters, like Chipp and Millia, gain access to character-specific pressure and combos against Potemkin.
Can't.

Note: Potemkin is tied with

Justice for highest defense in the game at 18. This would be awesome, except he's super immobile and people are going to infinite you if they get in anyways. Potemkin also has a , but he will never get a chance to use it in practical competition because it costs meter, which he builds incredibly slowly, and he's probably going to be caught in an infinite before he builds that much.

Unique Mechanics

Desperation Chip

When Potemkin is below half health and has a full Chaos meter, his H normals deal a small amount of chip damage.

Normals

Damage

A quantification of how a character's health bar is reduced when they are hit.

Guard

The act of defending against incoming attacks. Guarding either negates the damage from an attack entirely or reduces it to minor chip damage.

Low: Guarded against while crouching
Mid: Guarded against in either the crouching or standing state, but not while airborne
High: Guarded against in the standing state
All: Guarded against while crouching, standing, or while airborne
Throw: Cannot be guarded against, but only applies to grounded opponents
Unblockable: Cannot be guarded against

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.
Active: The active frames of an attack refers to the amount of time an attack can hit the opponent.
Recovery: The recovery of an attack refers to the amount of time an attacker must wait before they may perform another action, even blocking.
On-Block: A measure of frame advantage when the opponent blocks an attack. Positive values indicate that the attacker can act first. Negative values indicate that the defender can act first.
On-Hit: A measure of frame advantage when the opponent is hit by an attack. Positive values indicate that the attacker can act first. Negative values indicate that the defender can act first.
Invuln: Short for InvulnerabilityA state where a character cannot be hit. A common component of reversal moves.

5P

10f jab. We're off to a great start.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
7	All	10	4	16	-12	-5	none

Horrible jab. 10 frames of startup and ridiculously unsafe on block, requiring a CC to prevent your imminent death. You won't be getting any CC pressure either thanks to Potemkin's inability to dash. The range at least isn't awful, but why would you ever use this over 2S if you want to poke? Or just at all?

5K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
5	Low	14	6	16	-12	-1	none

Low kick. Even more horrible than 5P. The startup is even worse, and the rest of 5K's epic frame data doesn't do it any favors either. Potemkin has to CC nearly all of his normals just to avoid death, and that's no exception here.

Air Unblockable for no reason

c.S

c.S

Animation deemed too goofy for future games

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
15	All	12	15	0	+1	+12	none

This button is a sin, and not in a good way. The first hitbox is a tiny box behind him on frame 12, and then it does not hit in front of him until frame 18. Only use is it's total lack of recovery, making it useful for Pot Busters

Check out those hitboxes. You waited 18 frames for that.

f.S

f.S

Becomes c.S in every other game, to the joy of everyone

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
16	All	12	12	17	-18	-8	none

Outclassed by 2S in every way. Not sure why you'd use this, outside of maybe going for a silly anti-air with the first hitbox.

5H

You're not getting any cool Counter Hit conversions in this game.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
29	All	22	14	7	-11	+6	none

Huge, high damage normal. Unfortunately it's incredibly slow to start up, albeit with plenty of active frames and not too much recovery.

When Potemkin is below 50% HP and has Max meter, this normal deals chip damage.

Fierce Strike

6P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
9x2	All	12	6,6	13	-11	-4	none

If you're from +R, you probably saw the image and said "hell yeah I have an overhead again!"

Not an overhead, despite the animation

Unhelpful move in general. Has an anti-air hitbox but it's not great.

2P

5P, but better.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
7	All	9	6	14	-12	-5	none

A mostly better jab thanks to its quicker startup. If you're playing GGML you should already be used to charge cancelling normals, but you'll especially need it for Potemkin since you'll die otherwise.

2K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
12	Low	15	6	18	-15	-14	none

Air Unblockable

Hilariously slow. Awful. Just don't even bother. Use 2S instead.

2S

Your best poke, and it's not even that good.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
16	Low	10	19	0	-10	+1	none

Pot's best poke thanks to its large hitbox and decent speed compared to his other big normals. Like most of his normals, it's not disjointed, so it is susceptible to whiff punishes.

Your only actually usable normal
Unlike +R, does not vacuumTo pull the opponent towards the attacker, usually on hit or on block. the opponent.
Technically active for every frame past startup, giving it 0 recovery frames.

2H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
25	All	6	8(2)10(6)5	6	-27	-8	none

Big and fast anti-air. Good at sniping at aerial opponents, although more often than not it'll clash rather than beating anything. Unfortunately is lacking in any horizontal reach, isn't air unblockable, and launches the opponent high and away, making it unrewarding outside of the decent damage. It's also Potemkin's fastest button at 6F, so you'll need to use this sometimes for abare, although generally Pot Buster and Mega Fist are better for this.

When Potemkin is below 50% HP and has Max meter, this normal deals chip damage.

j.P

j.P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
7	Overhead	10	5	11			none

Would be a decent air-to-air but it's slow. Somehow still tied for his fastest air normal.

j.K

j.K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
5	Overhead	10	10	5			none

Tied for his fastest air normal. Has more active frames than j.P but a worse hitbox.

j.S

j.S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
16	Overhead	12	27	6			none

Potemkin's best air normal. Barely slower than j.P and j.K and due to Pot swinging it over his head, the hitbox covers angles above, in front, and below him. It's also incredibly active. On top of that it's slightly disjointed.

This normal is a must use in many matchups to stop the opponent from just air stalling and also to jump in, although jumping with Pot is always a big risk since he has no ways to change his air momentum.

j.H

j.H

Flagrant disregard for personal safety. These are the eyes of a madman.

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
21	Overhead	11	16	11			none

Potemkin's grappler body splash. Has a decent hitbox and is one of the few normals in this game that crosses up consistently, although Potemkin has no ways to set that up. Besides that it's outclassed by j.S in every way.

When Potemkin is below 50% HP and has Max meter, this normal deals chip damage.

Universal Mechanics

Dust Attack

S+H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
20	Mid	18	4(2)12	19	-29	+64	none

Painfully slow mid. No idea what you'd ever use it for.

Throw

6H or 4H

Fun Fact: If you do 632146P, you do a bigger grab with better range, more damage and a better knockdown. Crazy, right?

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
25	Throw	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	-14	none

Potemkin's classic throw where he tosses the opponent behind himself. Good at making space from the opponent, which is the worst possible thing Potemkin could do in this game. Maybe useful if you're cornered and want to put the opponent in it.

Instant Kill

Nuclear Hammer

P+K > 236X

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
FATAL	Mid	12	13	23	N/A	N/A	Above Ankles All

On the worse end for IKs but not the absolute worst. It has good invuln for the entire duration and the hitbox is decent for anti-airs but annoyingly small for anything else. It's also just slow so good luck landing it against a zoning opponent.

Much lamer than Magnum Opera or Infernal Tour.

Specials

Potemkin Buster

632146P

1F Guard Cancel Command Grab

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
32	Throw	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	+8	none

The best command grab in the game, on a character who can only apply it on defense.

GGML Pot buster is a bit weird. The damage isn't great, and he doesn't have any way to apply it on offense thanks to the missing tools from his kit. The thing is, it's one of the best defensive tools in the game. It can be used as a guard cancel to instantly grip an opponent who is grounded within PB range out of their block string. Even without guard cancel, its 1 frame startup and inability to whiff makes this command grab incredibly annoying when Potemkin is defending.

Pot Buster can be option selected with Instant Kill to cover against opponents attempting to fuzzy jump against him.

This move would be absurd on any other character, but instead it's on Potemkin.

Does not have a whiff animation.
Only comes out when within range and the opponent is throwable.
Potemkin is +8 against perfect tech on hit, "knocks down" without tech.

Nitro Hook

41236P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
31	Throw	17	22	0	N/A	+2	none

A forwards advancing hit-grab that does a low wall-bounce on hit.

This move is mostly redundent because Potemkin Buster fills its role better, but it is one of the few ways to reasonably get a knockdown. It's by no means a guaranteed knockdown, because the opponent can avoid getting knocked down by teching within 2f of hitstop ending, and they can buffer the tech input during hitstop.

Might potentially maybe see use as a guard cancel?

Mega Fist

236P or 214P

FMF is actually plus in this game, so spamming it is justified.

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
Mega Fist Forward	18	Overhead	20	15	0	+8	0	High Profile All
Mega Fist Backward	18	Overhead	19	15	0	-5	0	High Profile All

One of Potemkin's few good moves in this game. It high profiles, goes a decent distance, is heavily disjointed, and leads to combos on hit. Unfortunately it doesn't go far enough to rectify Potemkin's speed issues.

Mega Fist Forward is highly plus, a way for Potemkin to end blockstrings or attempt to reestablish offense

Graviton Stamp

623P

You thought this would give a knockdown? Of course not.
Doesn't exist. You'll never get to charge for that long...
...but if somehow you do, Lv3's no longer terrible.

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
Graviton Stamp	9	All,Unblockable	27	10	21	N/A	-18	Low Profile 27~41F
Graviton Stamp Level 2	27,6x2	All,Unblockable	27	29	26	N/A	-43	Low Profile 27~70F
Graviton Stamp Level 3	47,17x3	All,Unblockable	27	29	26	N/A	-43	Low Profile 27~70F

Unblockable belly-flop that fires a projectile when leveled up, but whose launch is immediately techable.

It's Slide Head. Yes the move list calls it Graviton Stamp, but in the code it's Slide Head, and everybody knows it's Slide Head. The first hit (belly-flop portion) of the attack is a true blockstring into the unblockable shockwave.

Gracefully costs Potemkin the entire round on use. It's massively unsafe on hit no matter what and very easily avoidable. GGML is already a very jumpy game, so having a move that only really impacts the ground is just making yourself a sitting duck ready to be blasted. Then again, you picked Potemkin, you probably already wanted to lose.

Level 2, in addition to it's usual behavior, fires a projectile similar to Sol Badguy's Gun Flame.
Level 3 fires a significantly larger projectile. Accessing this level of Slide Head can be incredibly difficult due to Potemkin's abysmal charge time.

If your opponent is merciful enough to let you charge for that long, your reward is a spit in the face. Both leveled versions of "Graviton Stamp" are, contrary to initial appearances, WORSE than the regular version due to being incredibly unsafe on hit.

Advantage in [brackets] is for when the move is done in the corner

Slam

6K

Anbe couldn't program a 2nd throw, so he just put it on 6K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
20	Throw	1	N/A		N/A	-7	4F Full Invuln at the end

Can be teched and because of his awful movement, Potemkin isn't very good at tech chasing.

So, this is a fun move within the context of gear Historically. In ML, characters have 1 throw that is on both 4H and 6H. In later games, characters could pick between backwards throw (4H) and forwards throw (6H). Potemkin, our resident grappler, was ahead of the time on that concept. 4H and 6H both still give back throw, but this move acts as his forwards throw and thus gives him the choice that would later go on to be standard.

Works like a normal gear proximity throw, so it does not have a whiff animation and only comes out when within range

Supers

Gigantic Piston

632146H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
45,14x5	Mid	26	6(2)30	21	-6	-9	none

Potemkin inflates his arm to comically large size then punches forward with some kind of corkscrew punch.

This move goes almost full screen, does good damage, and is air unblockable. Unfortunately has long startup and isn't disjointed. It will destroy projectiles but it can very easily be whiff punished by IKs.