GGX/Baiken

	Damage Received Mod
	x1.18
	Guts Rating
	4/5
	Gravity Mod
	x1
	Stun Resistance
	60
	Prejump
	2F
	Backdash
	17F (1~9F Strike Invuln)
	Wakeup Timing
	24F (Face Up)/ 36F (Face Down)
	Number of Jumps:
	2
	Number of Air Dashes:
	1
	Fastest Attack
	Reversals

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Overview

cool tatami mat

Baiken

Pros

Cons

Free Guard Cancels: Baiken's guard cancels allow her to act during blockstun, forcing the opponent to play more cautiously, even on offense. Many matchups may require opponents to end their pressure early or go for safer but less rewarding options.
Hits like a truck:
Strong mixups:
Sealing Magic: BakuGuardMidStartup6+3Recovery46Advantage-30, her Guard Cancel Overdrive, inflicts one of several powerful debuffs on hit, including, but not limited to increasing the damage the opponent takes and sealing their special moves, potentially putting them on the backfoot during their own pressure.

Limited meterless conversions: Many of Baiken's normals have limited gatlings, and often rely on close proximity, counter hits, or crouch confirms to convert into combos.
Meter-hungry:
Below-average health: Baiken has below-average effective health. Letting an opponent slip through her defenses could be catastrophic.

Normal Moves

Frames

Active

Window

5P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
8	Mid	5	2	6	+2

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
1

5K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
14	Mid	7	6	6	-2

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
1

c.S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
28	Mid	10	2	11	+1

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

f.S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
32	Mid	9	6	8	0

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

5H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
44	Mid	11	2	22	-5

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
3

Dust Attack

S+H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
45	High	29	2	26	-9

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
3

2P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
8	Mid	6	3	7	0

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
1

2K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
12	Low	5	5	6	-1

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
1

2S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
32	Mid	11	3	9	+2

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

2H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
20×3	Mid	8	7(2)6(2)2	15	-9

Can be gatlinged into from any normal attack but 6P and H normals
Uncancellable outside of RC

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

Sweep

2S+H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
30	Low	8	9	9	-4

Can only be gatlinged into from c.S, minimizing FDC potential

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

6P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
15, 25	Mid	8	6(2)4	9	-3	1~13F Upper Body

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
1, 2

Jump cancel on 2nd hit only

6H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
66	Mid	14	8	28	-17

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
3

j.P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
10	High/Air	5	8	10

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
1

j.K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
18	High/Air	7	8	12

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

j.S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
32	High/Air	9	10	14

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

j.H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
40	High/Air	15	Until landing	0

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
3

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw

4H or 6H

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
60	40 pixels

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-

Dead Angle Attack

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
25	All	6	7(2)3	6	-4	1~5F All 6~17F Strike

The other Baiken page can make all the plausible deniability arguments it wants for having a rainbow text "JUMP-CANCELLABLE DEAD ANGLE ATTACK" caption, this universal option is entirely overshadowed by Baiken with 50 meter being able to do the same with Sakura (412S) but better, safer, and more rewarding in every way. DAA has a marginally better hitbox for catching jumping opponents, but Baiken's 6P still doesn't have a great AA hitbox, so you really shouldn't bother with this.

May be an alternative to Baku as a metered option that's faster and would lead to more damage but combos from Dead Angle can't lead to a kill. Even with its better AA hitbox and faster startup, it's more likely to whiff than Sakura in general.

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

Special Moves

Tatami Gaeshi

236K (Air OK)

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
236K	40 [20]	All	15	17	15	-5
j.236K	40 [20]	All	21		Until landing+12

Version	Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
236K	2
j.236K	2

236K:

Values in [] are for late hit (after 6th active frame)
Disappears if Baiken is hit

j.236K:

Values in [] are for late hit (after 6th active frame)
Disappears if Baiken is hit

Youzansen

j.623S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
44	High/Air	5	16	11		1~7F Strike

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

Every ground option except blocking is disabled for 9F if landing without FD

Suzuran

63214K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
				Total 28		4~25F High Guardpoint

Unlike in later titles, Baiken cannot cancel Suzuran into Guard Cancel specials, making all of them unable to be used in combos or raw in neutral.

Fortunately, it still sees use as it recovers quite quickly with guardpoint against Mid and High attacks until it ends, allowing it to semi-safely advance and potentially punish high-recovery moves. It still loses to lows and throws, however, which are already options people want to use liberally against Baiken.

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-

Guard Cancels

Zakuro

412P

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
20×6	Mid	11	16	13	-7	1~13F Strike

A guard cancel option with a large anti-air hitbox, quick startup, and invuln, making blocking > Zankuro a solid situational anti-air where 6P or other options may fail. Unfortunately, it doesn't operate as a hitgrab that makes it function consistently on hit as opposed to later titles and doesn't grant a knockdown, leading it to have inconsistent reward and no okizeme when successful.

Opponents closest to the center of the pinwheel when the move is first active will get struck by more hits than if they were first hit near the edges.

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
2

Mawarikomi

412K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
				Total 28		1~16F Strike

Guard cancel dodge, allowing for Baiken to remain in a defensive position and potentially get out of the corner or close in on zoning attempts. Its raw invulnerability is somewhat obsolete due to Sakura taking about as long & being about as punishable by astute opponents, but Sakura has a hitbox which leads to a combo if successful and can be Roman Cancelled if baited and blocked. It is still helpful especially in the aforementioned situations, though without the ability to use guard cancels in neutral, it is difficult to take advantage of its strengths unless an opportunity is handed to you.

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-

Sakura

412S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
30	Mid	19	4	32	-17	1~19F Strike

Invulnerable guard cancel with a strike hitbox, but quite slow & has a thin, misleadingly short hitbox that isn't active for very long. Does allow for a conversion on hit and an especially good one on Counterhit, though for typical Sakura duties it's much too slow to punish things that you couldn't already punish just by waiting out the blockstun.

Due to the additional expense and lack of safety caused from Baku, a lack of an H guard cancel, and it being an enhanced invuln window giving it overlap with K guard cancel, Baiken's guard cancels are notably less versatile than in other entries. This overall results in Sakura attempting to fulfill many niches at once and is solid across the board - especially for a meterless way to get out of blockstun; but its mostly universal application results in a less diverse or specialized array of options for Baiken to use.

Staggers on hit for ()F, staggers on counterhit for ()F

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
3

Overdrives

Tsurane Sanzu Watashi

236236S

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
60×3	Mid	7+1	6(12)6(13)3	22	-6	1~9F Strike

Level	Guard Bar+	Guard Bar-
3

Baku

463214X while guarding

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Invuln
20	Mid	6+3	3	46	-30	1~14F Strike

Metered guard cancel option that is very quick with a large hitbox & solid invuln, though it's very unsafe if someone manages to block or bait it and it doesn't lead to much damage or followup on hit. It does, however, apply a debilitating Curse debuff depending on which button was used to execute it:

P Curse: Disables the opponent's ability to jump.
K Curse: Disables the opponent's ability to use any kind of special attack. This includes Baiken's own guard cancels, Dead Angle Attacks, Overdrives, Instant Kill activation & execution, Anji's autoguard followup KouGuardMidStartup2Recovery11+8 after landingAdvantage-41, and Jam's DivekickGuardHigh/AirStartup9Recovery8 after landingAdvantage-.
S Curse: Lowers the opponent's damage output by 50%.
H Curse: Increases damage taken by the opponent by 50%.