GGXRD-R2/Leo Whitefang/Strategy

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 Leo Whitefang


General Tactics

Leo is perhaps the strongest rushdown character in the game and has a relatively straightforward gameplan. Many of Leo’s moves push himself forward, meaning that opponents will be forced to respond to possibly endless pressure. By using frame-traps Leo is able to punish these responses and quickly win rounds. The goal is to score a knockdown and then push your opponent to the corner, where Leo can perform H fireball 50/50s that force your opponent to guess for their lives. Additionally, Leo gets access to better combo routes in the corner that will delete your opponent’s health bar. Leo scores knockdowns by doing his 236S special and its two rekka followup specials 236H 214S. He can also knock down opponents by using bt.H, 2D, and bt.214S. Leo’s blockstrings are very similar to his combos, making the character easier to learn and understand. Leo is a great character for beginners as his specials will give players basic execution training, as well as introduce concepts such as charge motions, rekkas, stances, parries, restands, fireballs, and crossups.


Neutral

Leo is not as fast as other characters, and has a short dash instead of a run (66 input). This is perfect for quick and small forward movements during offensive pressure, but somewhat limit Leo’s movement generally. His normals are designed for rushdown/offensive pressure and may lose out to characters with stronger midrange options. Despite being a little slower in the neutral game, Leo has neutral options that are incredibly difficult for most characters to deal with so long as your opponent does not preemptively interrupt them. They are listed below.

  • 5H is Leo’s best neutral option. It is a giant normal that hits in front and behind, can confirm into 236S or 2D (also 6H on counterhit), and scales well for damage. On counterhit it leads to a full combo both on the ground and in the air. By holding the H button after doing 5H Leo goes into Brynhildr stance. This stance is more commonly referred to as “backturn” as Leo is facing away from the camera and showing his back instead. Throwing out a big move like 5H in neutral would be a daring commitment for most characters in this game, but Leo’s ability to go into backturn after 5H makes Leo difficult to approach, especially by opponents in the air. In backturn Leo gains access to bt.D, a frame 1 parry that can parry anything in the game. He also gets access to bt.P, a quick anti-air normal that makes Leo’s upper-body completely invulnerable. There are other benefits to backturn stance, but for neutral these are the 2 most important tools. 5H is a top-tier normal by Xrd standards. It has both offensive and defensive capabilities. If you aren’t sure what to do in neutral, just run forward and do 5H.
  • 236H is Leo’s Berserker Dash special move, and more or less his 2nd best neutral option. Leo runs across the stage and does a strike at the end with a decently sized hitbox. This move makes up for Leo’s short dashes, and usually lets you skip neutral entirely if uninterrupted. This move has 2 versions. The first only goes about halfway across the stage, the 2nd version goes basically fullscreen. In order to get the farther version, you have to be dashing before inputting 236H. This can either be done manually, or by doing an extra 6 input at the end of the special, like so - 2366H. The slick input shortcut is technically less inputs overall, but there is nothing wrong with inputting the dash manually and then doing 236H. Typically the input shortcut is reserved for tight timings in certain combo routes. This special is very likely to be interrupted, so it is recommended that Leo players try to disguise their intentions by delaying timings or just backdashing in neutral and then throwing it out (this usually works). The opponent knows that you as a Leo player want to get in, so you should backdash to confuse them and then go in.
  • Dash jump j.K is Leo’s 3rd best neutral option because while committal, it is a very easy way to win neutral and even the best players will have trouble dealing with it. Some characters do not have great anti-air options or need to preemptively 6p to beat it, resulting in even advanced players being too late on their 6p attempts and getting hit instead.


Round Start

  • Leo's round start options aren't the best, compared to more aggressive characters; instead, each of them is meant to deny a specific type of round start from the opponent.
    • 5K advances forward while raising Leo's hurtbox and being plus on block; if your opponent intends to dash brake to close the gap, 5K can get you in immediately to start your offense. It whiffs if they don't advance, however, and doesn't do well to stuff air approaches.
    • Microdash 2S is a risky option to stuff high-hitting moves and hit them low while starting pressure. It'll beat Johnny's f.S done at the same time, for instance, but keep in mind you obviously can't block during a microdash and you're dashing straight at them at round start. If they block if, you're plus; if it hits, you're in.
    • f.S is comparatively slow at 10 frames, but reaches round start distance and is jump cancellable for safety/approaching with IAD. If your opponent blocks f.S, consider cancelling into 236S to get in safely, with the 236H followup available if you're willing to take a risk to get into Brynhildr stance at -3 disadvantage. Unfortunately, at round start distance you can't confirm into anything except 2D without a counterhit or a crouch confirm. Leo's f.S can also be hit out of startup by faster buttons such as Sol f.S, meaning it has to be used cautiously.
    • 6P can tank fast-approaching normals such as Haehyun 6H, and you earn a juicy air combo into Brynhildr on counter hit. It whiffs at round start range, though, and it's extremely possible for an opponent to hit the armor and still stay safe or even punish you if they're using a fast poke.
    • 2D is an advancing low that can sometimes beat other low options such as Johnny 2S or Sol 2D cleanly, while at the same time giving you a fantastic knockdown to begin your pressure. Just keep in mind that 2D is also a punishable -5 while being horrible on whiff.
    • H Eisen Sturm is an incredibly risky option, which makes it an ideal round start since your opponent will never expect it. You know you want to. Think of the mental damage you'll deal as they wonder 'why?' and punish you for 60% of your lifebar after stealing your panic burst. H Eisen Sturm will beat most non-disjointed pokes cleanly due to its 13f invincibility, while also "earning" you a knockdown if it hits. The large vertical hitbox is nothing to sneeze at, either, leaving it a risky-yet-rewarding anti-air round start option. Your followup okizeme will vary depending on how many hits of the flash kick you landed; if you need the knockdown that badly, consider S Eisen Sturm instead.
      • Seriously, though, don't do this.

Scoring Your Knockdown

  • 2D is a long-reaching low-to-the-ground move that carries dash momentum. In combos, gatling into it from c.s, f.S, or 5HS; on hit, you can YRC the HS version of Graviert Würde for projectile oki or use 236HS to get into backturn stance.
  • The third hit of your rekka (236S~236HS~214S, or 214S in backturn) causes a knockdown whether it hits them on the ground or in the air. The rekka version will frametrap if they blocked the second hit, making it a good way to punish attempts to throw or mash out. The backturn version always knocks down on grounded hit and can lead to a juggle with 5K or c.S if it hits an airborne opponent high enough. Both versions will reward you with 6[HS] on counter hit.
  • Siegesparade (j.236HS) isn't technically a knockdown, but it serves the same purpose of starting your backturn pressure by bringing them to the ground for a restand. It'll combo at most ranges off of j.K, j.S, and j.HS, so learn to confirm the hit.

Brynhildr in Neutral

  • In Brynhildr stance, Leo's walk speed and dash speed gain significant upgrades without losing access to his space-controlling specials, though shortening the range of his normals and leaving him unable to block. It can be worth it to enter Brynhildr stance in neutral with 5[H] depending on the matchup, such as against Johnny or .
    • bt.P is a deceptively effective anti-air. Against opponents who want to take to the air to get around your stance, stuff them with bt.P and jump cancel it for a full air combo to start your close-range Brynhildr pressure.
    • bt.S is fast, disjointed, and covers a significant portion of the screen with little recovery. It can be used to stuff ground approaches; on normal hit, convert into 236S > 236HS to begin Brynhildr offense, while on counter hit confirm into bt.214HS for an air combo.
    • bt.D parry can discourage long-ranged pokes such as Johnny's Mist Finer or Ky's f.S. Fear of getting parried can make your opponent hesitate before trying to counter-attack Brynhildr stance, which can earn you valuable time to approach or begin your offense. It also reflects projectiles, so if an opponent is smothering you from a distance, finding the time to enter stance can let you walk in while using their offense against them. This isn't foolproof, however, as you lose invincibility as soon as you catch a projectile; knowledgeable opponents can YRC and hit you while you're recovering from the reflect.

Blockstrings

Okizeme

Leo has several Oki options depending on location and meter:

  • 236H after rekka series. After hitting your opponent with Leo’s rekka and followup specials for a knowdown midscreen, Leo can do 236H to run past them and enter backturn stance. Keep in mind that backturn stance is riskier than front-turn.
  • Run up 5H. If you don’t want to end up on the other side of your opponent but still want to enter backdurn, you can just input 66 before 5H and then enter backturn. Don’t put yourself in the corner with the previously listed 236H oki.
  • Dash jump j.K or any other air normal. By adjusting for the character-specific wakeup timings in this game, Leo can do a safejump off rekka knockdowns anywhere on screen. It is easiest to do with j.K but you can still do it with the other buttons. This is probably Leo’s safest meterless oki.
  • Microwalk IAD j.S. After knocking down your opponent after rekkas, Leo can microwalk forward and then Instant Air Dash over the opponent and fall with j.S. This is a difficult-to-see crossup and also a safejump if timed correctly. This is Leo’s best meterless oki option for competitions as it is also a knowledge check on the crossup and safejump aspect. The timing of the IAD will have to be adjusted for character-specific wakeup timings, but it is not too difficult after practice. This option is very useful for fighting Potemkin and Slayer, as they tend to have greater usage of backdash. As this is a crossup option, they will have to input the opposite direction and won’t get the backdash invuln if they don’t predict the crossup. This is worth labbing and learning, and in the past has translated to free wins in competition as people aren’t used to the knowledge check.
  • 25% Meter: Off any midscreen rekka knockdown, Leo can do spend 25% meter to get improved okizeme. This can be done with Heavy Fireball YRC (YRC H Graviert Würde) and then running forward to meaty your opponent with a normal. The most standard option after the yrc fireball is to meaty with 5H and then go into backturn. Entering backturn raw would be punishable under normal circumstances, but in this setup the heavy fireball will force the opponent to block during our recover frames. After entering backturn, dash forward once and start mixing.
    • DANGER: One of the main defensive mechanics that dismantle Leo’s pressure is Blitz. During this oki setup, your opponents will be very likely to attempt stand blitzing. To make sure you get the most out of your fireball YRC setups, it's rarely ever recommended to do meaty 5H unless your opponent is completely out of resources. Instead, opt for 2S 2D to go low. There is a much higher percent chance of this working in the current oki metagame. If the opponent gets hit by this sequence, the 2D that would usually get a knockdown, instead juggles them into the heavy fireball, giving you an air combo. This combo is almost always 66 c.S sj.K j.S j.H j.236H.
    • (Alternatives) There are 2 viable alternatives for the heavy fireball setup. The first is to fake a meaty by dashing in with 5K and then throwing the opponent into the fireball for a combo. The second option is to immediately input Berserker Dash 236H for a crossup. After the crossup hits, the heavy fireball will connect with your opponent, giving you plenty of time to confirm into bt.214H 66 5K c.S j.K j.S dj.K j.H j.236H. Note that these two options are more risky as they can get thrown if read by your opponents. Despite this, these options can be very important for varying your gameplay and keeping opponents on their toes. For example, a Baiken player who is looking to parry your meaties would have no chance against the throw setup.
    • (Unblockable) The final option off midscreen heavy fireball YRC is the unblockable setup. After meatying and entering backturn, Leo has the option to do bt.214H RRC and spend an extra 50 meter to combo off his unblockable special move. Opponents can either blitz the initial meaty, use an invincible reversal to beat the meaty, or dead angle during the setup. If they do not have the resources to dead angle/blitz and fail to escape the meaty 5H of the setup, then they get hit by the unblockable. If midscreen and not close to the corner, do 5D8. If close to the corner, do 5D6.

Brynhildr/"Backturn" Pressure

Your goal in Backturn stance is to overwhelm the opponent's mental stack and remind them not to mess with the King by forcefully and definitively countering their options. Leo's close-range offense is the bane of new players and impatient players alike, as almost every option is a knowledge check and every mistake sends them back to square one. Almost any button Leo hits will force some kind of reaction or movement option. Leo's trades the strike-throw and decent defense of his normal stance for the normals of a king.

  • bt.K is The Pressure Starter and your go-to meaty. Throw-invincible, quick, special-cancelable and low-hitting, any attempt to escape except with an invincible reversal will get stuffed. You can stagger it with itself to hit with it twice in a row, which may tag people expecting bt.HS after it. You can also gatling into Leo's other normals or a special (such as bt.214HS or 236HS) to force a reaction, too. Dashing through the opponent and tagging them with bt.K is an excellent way to remind the opponent to be afraid of you while adding left-right offense to the mental stack.
  • bt.P is throw-invincible like its low-hitting cousin to beat wakeup throw attempts, and exchanges the low hit for a high hitbox that can reliably anti-air. It also gatlings into and from bt.K, enabling gapless multi-low strings that can trip up people expecting an overhead or trying to mash DP. It's also Leo's only jump-cancellable normal while in backturn; you can surprise the opponent by making them block a sudden IAD, or counter a jump-in and convert into Siegesparade.
  • AMEN TO OUR LORD bt.HS. HALLOWED MAY BE THY FORWARD ADVANCE, AND BLESSINGS UPON THY OVERHEAD STRIKE WHICH GRANTS EXCELLENT DAMAGE WITH 632146S ON HIT AND 6 PLUS FRAMES ON BLOCK. PRAISE BE UPON THE MERE 18-FRAME STARTUP (frame 20 against crouchers) - FASTER THAN THE WICKED GREED SEVER - AND HIGH-UP HITBOX TO CAPTURE ANY WHO WOULD TRY TO JUMP AWAY FROM THE KING. Seriously though - this is one of your highest-damage starters in backturn. On a corner hit, you can easily break 60% damage by comboing into 632146S and juggling after, and it confirms a knockdown if j.S catches someone in the air. This is how you win.
  • bt.D beats any strikes cleanly - if the parry activates and they're close enough, they will get hit. Don't rely on it, however, as the recovery is quite long. Players who aren't ready to punish bt.D can sometimes get hit by a second one, but more often than not the first one clues them in that you'll do a second and you get counter hit during your recovery. It can also be thrown.

When in backturn, it's important to keep your opponent afraid to act - you can't block, and exiting Backturn is a commitment either of meter or time that you may not have. Intimidate your opponent by presenting varied options and have them too busy worrying about what you'll do next to try and escape.

  • bt.214H is the scrub killer. An overhead that leads to a juggle on hit and staggers on block, this is how you keep the opponent paying attention so they stay afraid. If they block, they have to be ready to mash out of the stagger to avoid a free 5K into knockdown - and if you RRC when it's blocked it's completely inescapable except with burst. While it's interruptible with mashing or a throw, if your opponent is too far away for a quick button to reach - say 2P or 5P on most characters - then they might get counter hit for the troubles. You can create this situation through pushback from your blockstring - it's a particularly strong cancel. Find out if your opponent understands how to deal with bt.214H and abuse this if not. The looping nature of Leo's offense means you can set the situation up again and again and again; if they can't deal with it, you win.


Tips and Tricks

Fighting Leo

First and foremost, the Leo matchup is a knowledge check. He lacks strong neutral presence without meter for YRC S Graviert Würde or the time to set up H Graviert Würde. In addition, Leo is vulnerable to Blitz Shield in backturn stance; he lacks a way to handle it without a hard callout or waiting patiently.

Whatever you do, don't allow Leo to get close in backturn stance and don't let him enter it. Brynhildr Stance is his win condition, and it's almost impossible to escape without a dedicated read; good Leo players will fill the mental stack with too many options to reliably react. He struggles with neutral, so abuse his short range and keep him away from you as best you can.

To deal with Brynhildr (backturn):

  • Be ready to throw Leo if he tries to reset pressure by dashing through you or using 236H.
  • Don't try to throw Leo unless you can visually confirm or predict he's committing to something that can be thrown. If you mess up and try to throw early, you're going to eat bt.K or 6K and die.
  • Mash on or use blitz shield against bt.214HS (the giant overhead kick) - and if you block it, begin mashing immediately. Hold back, an attack button of your choice, and mash two other buttons to immediately be using Faultless Defense when the stagger ends. Otherwise, you risk being counter hit.
  • Don't get counter hit. Any counter hit will lead to absurd damage and corner carry, in addition to putting you at the whims of Leo's strong oki.
  • Blitz Shield Attack and Dead Angle are your friends; he doesn't have any way to deal with these options except hard callouts.

Leo struggles with zoning due to his slow speed, step dash, and stubby normals. Abuse any long-range tools you've got and bully him. His 6P can't contest space in the same way that others can due to the armor property, so don't be afraid to extend hurtboxes if you think you can get away with it - most of his space-control tools have long recovery.

The following guide was translated by BloodWolf (American May player) and compiles information from top Japanese Leo players. Ruu, Takehara, and T5M7 overseas have been putting in a TON of work breaking down the character and what your options are. This is a long write-up, but it is really good information.

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s733/client/snv?noteGuid=7e53ba64-cbdd-4ace-b24d-b3d1f67b8093&noteKey=d3cc40d32ace0fcd8f70d79d767d4c51&sn=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.evernote.com%2Fshard%2Fs733%2Fsh%2F7e53ba64-cbdd-4ace-b24d-b3d1f67b8093%2Fd3cc40d32ace0fcd8f70d79d767d4c51&title=Leo%2B%2527Countermeasures%2527%2B-%2BNormals

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