Neutral
Playing Footsies
5K is lower-body invulnerable throughout the animation. This allows it to go over and counter-poke many crouching and low moves. 5K is fast to start, has decent range, and doesn't take long to whiff, but it frequently pushes May out of 2D range, preventing her from getting an easy knockdown from it. 5K, 2K, and f.S are May's key pokes.
f.S is one of her longest-ranged ground normals. Slow to start and more whiff punishable than 5K, but has great reach and can be jump-cancelled or special-cancelled to preserve momentum. On block, a frequent check is to cancel f.S into Applause for the Dolphin, which can help May keep slight frame advantage depending on how early or late she releases it. Good for killing Eddie since its range & cancel options keep you mostly safe from Zato's punish options.
2S has slightly less range than f.S, but is 3f faster, gatlings from f.S, and can be special-cancelled. Its long range means that May is usually out of range to hit-confirm into anything besides S Mr. Dolphin! (Horizontal), but its pushback on block can be sometimes useful to make certain moves whiff intentionally for Overhead Kiss or fuzzy attempts from YRC'ed charge dolphins.
2K is her fastest low. A great low poke to fish for knockdown from 2D into safe summons or safe jumps. A low-risk whiff and a decent abare tool because its reach is much better than her 4f 2P at only 1 extra frame of startup.
2D has only slightly more range than 2K but is still a good tool to sweep people charging at May on the ground. At -1 on block, it is very safe to check people with, so long as you're not in a position to whiff or get jumped over by moves like Ky's Greed Sever. On hit, confirms easily to Mr. Dolphin! (Horizontal) or Applause for the Dolphin/Don't Miss It!. On block, usually best to just let it rock rather than lose more frame disadvantage by cancelling to Mr. Dolphin! (Horizontal).
6P can be a useful counterpoke against long-reaching mid moves like Ky or Faust's f.S, or many of Axl's chain normals. Its long upper-body invul allows it to slip past many of these moves and counter-hit the opponent's extended hurtbox for a knockdown. This allows May to knock down from surprisingly far away and special-cancel to Applause for the Dolphin or Don't Miss It! to protect her as she approaches. However, its slow startup and somewhat long recovery on whiff make it vulnerable to whiff punishes and low profile moves if used too frequently.
3K is a critical tool in some matchups (Ky, Slayer), but must be used very carefully. It low profiles well, but is horribly unsafe on block both due to its static difference and May's recovery in counter-hit state, so if you use it recklessly, you will get badly hurt. Never use this move on a whim; learn the specific situations where it is useful (going under Stun Edges, sweeping Slayer if he Dandy Steps without meter to YRC, punishes where nothing else will reach on time) and only use it then. In general, you should avoid using 3K without 50% meter available for red or purple Roman Cancel to stay safe on block/whiff or collect a combo afterwards. The poor recovery on this move if not RC'ed means May doesn't have time for optimized oki afterwards; you usually only have time for meaties such as 5K or 6K. On the upside, if you Roman Cancel eK on hit, you can easily run up and do c.S into an air combo ending with knockdown for much better oki.
6H has very long reach, but is extremely unsafe if whiffed, and not very rewarding if you get an uncharged ground hit (without RC). It hits fairly high in the air, though, making it somewhat useful as an anti-air against opponents jumping backwards. Its area of air coverage is also quite good, covering most of the anchor's arc, including directly above May's head. On hit or block, cancel to Applause for the Dolphin to stay safe and/or set up pressure/oki. If you need a gapless string, you can also charge either version of Mr. Dolphin! (Horizontal) during the animation, at the cost of advantage on block.
j.P is May's fastest air normal. Very short on reach, but if you are extremely wary about whether or not you'll win an air exchange, this is the normal to use. OS air throw with j.6P+H.
j.K reaches higher above May's head than j.P, and is only slightly slower. Very useful to pick up a combo from normal air hit j.S > j.H at normal jump height. Also worth OS'ing air throw with j.6K+H.
j.S is May's best air-to-ground normal from IAD or jump-ins. It reaches downward a fair bit and can be jump-cancelled, allowing May to harass opponents with jump cancels on block into another j.S or a j.2H. It is her prime safe jump tool since it reaches so deep and starts and recovers faster than her jH. This move should nonetheless be used sparingly at neutral in matchups where the opponent has easy and powerful anti-air options, such as against Sol or Ky.
j.H is May's longest-reaching air normal. It is slow to start, but covers a large area in front of May and a little above her head in front, allowing her to hit aerial opponents she might be falling under from a jump. While it leads to big damage and knockdown on air counter hit, it should be used with a careful eye for jump spacing (the farther from your opponent's max air dash range, the better) because its slow speed and GIGANTIC hurtbox make it vulnerable to air normals that are faster and/or have superior horizontal range (i.e. Faust and Ky air normals). Don't use this move for close-range air exchanges, that's what j.P and j.K are for.
S Mr. Dolphin! (Horizontal) is sometimes useful in serious moderation as a footsie tool. It doesn't knock down on hit, but it's fast and almost never punishable -- at least not on normal block -- due to the pushback. You do NOT want to use this move as a staple poke; it is way too vulnerable to 6P. If your opponent is not already in blockstun and you want to poke at them, just use normal pokes like 5K, 2K or f.S. The speed and range of this move are its main advantages -- sometimes [4]6S is the only move that will reach far enough, fast enough, to punish a given move on whiff or block (i.e. MAX range blocked Greed Sever). On hit, you're safe but not particularly advantaged -- as suggested in Mission Mode, if you attempt to just Blanka ball people to death with [4]6S back-to-back, you will eventually get called out with a painful 6P combo. On ground hit, for 50% meter, you can Roman Cancel, land, microdash and link 5D to collect a combo. This takes some practice, but can be a valuable expansion from an otherwise forgettable random hit.
Anti-air
6P is a strong anti-air, but its use is a bit different from more "traditional" anti-air 6P's such as Ky's, I-no's, or Sin's. May's 6P has great upper body invul in exchange for being very slow to start, meaning it can be ground blocked if you start it too late. Tts Sol-style blowback on normal hit also limits your combo options because without running momentum, May usually won't stay close enough to reach with any normals besides her far 5S. (You can't do c.S > IAD > jP with her, either; the hitstun decay from cS is insufficient for a non-blackbeat link.) Despite those drawbacks, the move is quite safe if blocked due to your chain options, such as c.S to jump cancel or f.S blockstring. On counter hit, the greater hitstop keeps May closer, allowing her to do a full air combo. This move is your preferred anti-air if the opponent is air dashing at you and is guaranteed to end in front of May's face (hi I-no).
2H is May's new anti-air normal in Xrd. It reaches fairly high and doesn't bring a lot of her hurtbox up there with the anchor. Its coverage is superb (covers in front of May, then above May's head, and can hit behind her on the ground at the very end), but it's very unsafe on block if not chained or cancelled to something else. This move is your preferred anti-air if the opponent is approaching (jumping in or IAD) right above May's head, particularly if you expect them to immediately use an air normal (hi Slayer). On normal hit, you can cancel to [2]8H for a simple knockdown, but on counter hit, you can chain to 2D (whiffed) and link c.S into a full air combo! Despite its power, this move is of limited use against certain characters with long-reaching, deep-hitting jump-back normals such as Ky's jH. It's not a good idea to try and use this move on an opponent retreating in the air.
Mr. Dolphin! (Vertical) H sees some very occasional use as anti-air if you expect that the opponent will stay too high in the air or FD on the way down to avoid 6P or 2H. It has no upper-body invul, but its speed and reach means it will usually win or trade with a button press, unless you used the move far too frequently and the opponent is specifically baiting it.
Controlling space with summons
Applause for the Victim (or "hoop dolphins", or just "Applause") is May's staple summon. Depending on the button pressed (or held), May controls a different area of screen space with a dolphin projectile that can either be released immediately or delayed while May is free to move around. The dolphins inflict enough blockstun to be slightly plus on block if released immediately, and greatly advantageous for May if released after she fully recovers from the summon.
At neutral, the button you want to summon with mostly depends on two factors: how far you are from your opponent, and whether you want to keep them from running or jumping. P Applause is best used when you're very close to your opponent, particularly if they're in the corner, so that you don't spawn the dolphin behind them off-screen. K Applause is your go-to dolphin from a close knockdown such as 2D, as it helps set up "double dolphin" oki and controls a bit of air space if delayed. S Applause is what you cancel to from max-range pokes such as 5K or f.S, or if you knocked the opponent down far away from you, such as after [4]6S. H Applause is an anti-jump alternative to S Applause for cancelling poke recovery; it works especially well cancelled from 6H, forcing opponents that jump away from S Applause to air block.
New to Xrd is the "Hop on Dolphin" ability. If May is in an airborne state near a released Applause projectile, she will instantly cancel whatever she was doing into a special Mr. Dolphin attack, which travels full screen very fast and is cancellable on hit or block (!) into any remaining air action, including air dash(!) and air jump. This has powerful use in okizeme setups, but is less useful at neutral because riding a dolphin can be very dangerous on whiff in some situations. A very basic use of this property at neutral is to call and hold a P or S Applause dolphin (optionally, YRC to recover faster), run towards the opponent, and make them guess whether you're going to attempt a ride into a blockstring or combo (by doing 6K > release > ride > air dash > etc), or releasing the dolphin on the ground ahead of May to counterpoke the opponent's attempt to 6P or escape the dolphin ride. (No. 2 is probably the "sneakier" default option against smarter players who know how the dolphin ride mechanic works.)
f.S > S Applause is a powerful pressure string against most opponents, but it's important to mix up between immediately releasing the dolphin and holding it, particularly against characters like Potemkin who can reflect the dolphin if released predictably. By mixing up immediate release with held release, you keep the opponent guessing whether they need to sit still or act quickly to evade Applause pressure. You can further confuse this timing by not always cancelling to S Applause, opting instead to try alternative strings like f.S > jump cancel, 5K > 2D, or the occasional chain to whiff 5H or 2D. The less predictably your opponent sees an Applause dolphin at neutral, the less frequently they can react and call it out.
Don't Miss It!, usually just called "beach ball", is May's new space-control summon in Xrd. It has a long vulnerable startup, but the ball it creates moves slowly and lasts a long time, restricting a lot of space for May's opponent while she's free to move around. The ball despawns immediately if May is hit or knocked down, meaning that May can't get too reckless if she wants to maintain the beach ball's protection. The ball is a projectile, and can be reflected by moves like Leo's stance D and destroyed by other projectiles.
The most commonly used ball is the P ball because its lower horizontal momentum is more useful for the slow and safe approach that May favors on offense. The basic application of P ball is to follow closely behind it, attempting to get the opponent to either sit still to block the ball, or to get hit by the ball while attempting to attack May. At longer ranges, you can make the opponent block Applause dolphins to pin them in place while the ball is making its way over. There's no hard and fast rule for good ball use except not to be too aggressive. Most opponents are smart enough to see that the most economical way to get the ball off screen is just to hit May once, so that's the first thing they're going to try and do. If you play carefully and deny them that option, the beach ball will give you more meaningful protection.
The ball is great once it's out, but its call must be protected since its startup is long and vulnerable. There are two main ways to do this:
- (1) summon from a knockdown, such as 2D > 214P, or 2D > [4]6H, then 214P
- (2) YRC the startup to allow May to block earlier
Raw beach ball summons can be mildly or very dangerous depending on the matchup (especially Ky and Faust, with their fast, long-reaching normals and specials). If you have to call a beach ball raw at neutral, it's best to do so on reaction to an opponent's jump or a slow, long-ranged whiff of their own, so that the opponent is caught in the middle of an animation while you summon. Treat the beach ball like a whiff punish, basically.
Many people have trouble calling a beach ball while holding a P or K Applause dolphin because completing the beach ball command the "traditional" way (end on 4) overlaps with Faultless Defense (4P+K), which takes priority. You can get around this by performing the Don't Miss It! command as 2145P or K, returning the stick or D-pad to neutral before pressing the button. The buffer for the special is fairly generous, so experiment with doing this command as slow and clean as possible so that you can do it in the heat of a match.
Offense
Tools
5P is fast, but can be crouched under by many characters. Use it as a quick check from a dash if you suspect your opponent may try to jump back away from your pressure.
2P is your fastest normal move, but should be used carefully since its short reach requires frequent dashing to stay in its range. On block, you can do short strings to advantageous moves such as 2P > 5H or 2P > 6K. On hit, chain to 2D for a minor combo into oki or a safe jump.
2K is your fastest low, use it to open people up or train them to block low. On block, chain to 2D for two lows. At closer ranges, chain to c.S to expand your gatling routes to include low (2K > c.S > 2D), overhead (c. S > 6K, 5D, or 6[H]), or frame advantage (c. S > 5H). Chaining to blocked 5H usually requires the corner and running momentum.
5H has short reach and slow startup, but resets your pressure on block with its tremendous frame advantage. On ground counter hit, you get a stagger that grants you great frame advantage, but usually not enough time to confirm a (non-blackbeat) combo from followups like dash 2P or even dash Overhead Kiss. (Go for them anyway; with a fast enough followup like the two moves listed, most human players can't struggle out.) Since its hitbox goes all the way to the floor and its hurtbox isn't very far extended, this move can be used to counter hit whiffed normal pokes at their maximum range, hurtbox permitting. On air counter hit, you have plenty of time to dash up and air combo.
5D is slow but long-reaching. Due to its reach and only being -5 on block, it is hard or impossible for many characters to punish on block. Its long reach makes it occasionally useful as a pseudo-counter-poke against opponents who are either whiffing short-ranged crouching moves (2P, 2K) trying to zone or abare you, or who have whiffed a big move that May won't be able to punish, but you know they'll be too committed to blocking afterwards to react to the overhead. This move will not hit good players very frequently, but it's usually safe enough if blocked to attempt every once in a while.
6K is May's new overhead in Xrd. It has short range, but is safe on block (though disadvantageous on Instant Block), jumps over lows (not low invulnerable from frame 1, though), and is a great throw-invulnerable meaty (if timed properly) on the opponent's wakeup. On counter hit or a meaty normal hit, May can link normals such as 2K to get a minor combo afterwards. Another perk of 6K is that it will chain from almost every normal May has, though its long recovery makes it inappropiate to whiff at the end of blockstrings. Use this move as an alternative to 2K and Overhead Kiss at very close range, mixing between the three from tick situations to confuse your opponent's blocking.
Throws are usually less rewarding to land than Overhead Kiss (depending on your combo execution), but if you need raw speed to grab someone with less fear of abare, there it is. At midscreen, you should favor Overhead Kiss as your throw option, but in the corner, throw is a bit more useful because you get most of (all?) the normal Applause oki routes, plus some gimmicky OTG resets if you think the opponent will tech into them.
Overhead Kiss is quite likely one of the reasons you play May in the first place. Use it to grab opponents who have been trained to sit still during May's pressure. Overhead Kiss leads to some fairly easy and damaging basic combos midscreen, but can be tricky to combo off when May or her opponent is cornered, so be sure to practice emergency confirms. Common ticks into Overhead Kiss can include 2P, 5P, 5H, or 6K (blocked or non-counter hit).
Held Applause dolphins, if available, are basically a "stored" Gun Flame you can use to cover gaps in your blockstrings or make disadvantageous moves safer. Since they count as projectiles, they can be invaluable to defuse certain opponents' zoning patterns by eating 1-hit projectiles and allowing May to dash in during the opponent's recovery. This is a difficult property to exploit against Ky, because he recovers so incredibly fast from his Stun Edge YRC, but can be very useful against Zato's Invite Hell, since it will eat an obnoxiously meaty projectile that keeps May away while his Eddie gauge is refilling. If you are able to get to the opponent's other side while holding an Applause projectile, the dolphin will launch in its original direction and can create an Eddie-style sandwich. This tactic, however, is generally not worth it because it requires such a big gap to cross over, and the dolphin is only good for 1 hit. It's much more practical to use a held Applause dolphin "Gun Flame" style rather than in this manner.
Mixups
At close range, mix up between 2K, 6K, and Overhead Kiss, to create a basic high-low-throw guessing game. This is May's basic neutral mixup. You can further protect this mixup by starting it from May's 2P, which gatlings to 2K and 6K and ticks from +0 into Overhead Kiss. If 6K is blocked, you need to chill out a bit. You're only at +1, and if IB'ed, you're minus on block and most opponents can abare out with their fastest normals. (You might also be in normal throw range vs characters like Ramlethal.) On 6K hit, if you can't confirm a combo, it's often worth it to treat it like a tick and try this same mixup again, since 6K will jump over 2P mashes, 2K will counter-hit, and Overhead Kiss is fast enough from advantage to grab normals out of their startup. Like with most basic mixups of this archetype, this mixup is weak to invulnerable reversals (DP-type moves), and if you get too spammy with 6K you run the risk of Blitz Shield. Remember, this mixup is meant to supplement good footsies, not replace them!
Occasionally, you can YRC the startup of 6K or [4]6S/[4]6H and go for an overhead with immediate jK (must be done quickly from 6K YRC), or you can land and go low with 2K, or throw with normal throw or Overhead Kiss. Use this mixup infrequently, however, because if you commit to jK, smarter opponents will react to the YRC and use a fast normal (or air throw) after (or during) the freeze to hit May out of jK.
An occasional corner mixup when pressuring with 5H or 2P > 5H is to chain 5H to either 2D or 5D for a disadvantageous (but usually safe, especially with 2D) high-low mixup. You can chain 5H into D moves fairly late, allowing you to create a mash trap if the opponent expects another dash 2P > 5H or raw 5H. Be mindful of pushback, however, where 2D is concerned, so that you don't get whiff punished for being "too clever" (or not clever enough).
With Applause for the Victim
With the appropriate Applause dolphin being held on the opponent's wakeup, you have a LOT of okizeme options. You can use the Hop on Dolphin property to turn rebounded Mr. Dolphin! (Horizontal) into air dash combos or blockstrings, or you can use the ground hitstun/blockstun from a released dolphin to extend combos or blockstrings. If you won't be close enough in time to use an optimal oki setup, you can release the dolphin once the opponent wakes up to force them to block until you get into attack range. The possibilities are VERY many, so for the sake of brevity, here are some basic, iconic applications and why they are useful:
- (1) (K dolphin set) [4]6S > ]K[ > dolphin ride > (air dash jS > jH) or (air dash jK > jS) > combo or blockstring
- (2) (P or S dolphin set) 2K or 6K > ]P[ or ]S[ > combo or blockstring
Setup (1) does not force a high-low mixup, but allows you to bait an opponent who you think might reversal while keeping most of your offensive initiative. If the opponent wakes up with such a move, you can block and punish with a combo. If the opponent doesn't take the bait and wakes up blocking, you can keep them from moving (or counter hit a non-6P normal) by lashing out with Mr. Dolphin! (Horizontal), cancelling the rebound into a dolphin ride, and air dash in afterwards to continue your pressure. Cancelling the "Blanka ball" rebound into a dolphin ride is a powerful combo tool that is safe on block, a very important skill to cultivate if you want to play May well.
Setup (2) doesn't bait reversals (well, not from meaties, that is), but it greatly enhances May's fundamental mixup (6K vs 2K vs throws) by allowing combo extension on hit or extra frame advantage on block. The links both to and from the dolphin release take some practice for optimized combos (such as 6K > ]P[ > c.S > (5H or 2D) > ([4]6S or [4]6H)), but at the very least you are generally guaranteed an easy 2P/2K link into sweep knockdown back into the same setup. (Or a different one, if you prefer!)
One of the best Xrd players to teach dolphin setplay applications is Kazuki. Once you have tried basic dolphin setups like the ones listed above, watch videos of his matches and take note of the different things he does from different knockdowns.
With Don't Miss It!
Beach ball setups are more gimmicky on the whole than Applause oki, but they can still have their use. Knowing setups involving beach ball can be useful in matches where you really want a beach ball on screen after a sweep in case you want to switch to zoning (such as Axl, to a lesser extent Faust).
Beach ball setups usually imply using the P ball after a sweep. If you use K ball after 2D > [4]6S, the ball will land where the opponent landed, but not before the opponent fully wakes up and can easily block or escape the ball. You can solve that part of the problem by YRCing the ball startup and running in, but you tend to arrive so far ahead of the ball that it doesn't offer you as much protection from blockstrings as you'd get from 2D > P ball.
Basic examples of beach ball setups include:
- (2D > 214P) wait "two beats" > 2K > 2D > (opponent blocks or gets hit by beach ball > dash cS > air combo)
- (2D > 214P) wait a beat > 2K > 6K > (opponent blocks or gets hit by beach ball > ground combo)
- (2D > 214P) wait a beat > 5D > (homing jump if Dust hits) (You can also combo from homing dash, but May crosses herself up and needlessly complicates follow-up combos. Just do a homing jump Dust BnB.)
The main weakness to these setups is fairly obvious: May has to act before the ball does, putting herself at risk. If she succeeds, she gets a decent combo into a knockdown for a new setup. But if the opponent guesses right and HITS May out of her setup string, the ball is despawned before it can protect May. May is investing in the future (beach ball combo!) at the cost of the present (if May wants to meaty the opponent, she has to put her body at risk). There is also the character-specific nature of attempting to trap people with 2K strings -- you either wait a long, vulnerable time to delay the string so that the beach ball pops the opponent high enough on hit, or you hit earlier with a longer string that may not pop the opponent high enough to pick up the combo.
A better use of beach ball oki is in the corner after a (already cornered) knockdown using 2D > [4]6S. From 2D > [4]6S rebound distance or slightly further, calling a P ball will drop it straight onto your opponent's head, keeping them from jumping out of the corner. YRCing the beach ball will give you more advantage to play with as the opponent wakes up. Once they're awake, you can call an Applause dolphin to cover your approach or just go in raw, fishing for beach ball links into an extended combo. Examples include:
- (2D > [4]6S > 214P > (YRC)) 2D > [4]6S > (if beach ball hits, dash cS into air combo)
- (2D > [4]6S > 214P > (YRC)) dash up blocked normal > 6K > (if beach ball hits, link into ground combo)
- (2D > [4]6S > 214P > (YRC)) dash up cS > 6[H] > (if beach ball hits, cancel to [4]6H)
Your body is still at risk during these setups (less so if you YRC the ball and call an Applause dolphin before going in), but the positioning is much more in your favor since there is no escape from the ball except past May. You can also bait reversals without losing much initiative by just blocking after calling the beach ball, since the opponent cannot move backward to escape to neutral.
Blockstrings
2P > 5H is a basic close-range string to keep frame advantage while raising the opponent's RISC gauge. This string gives powerful frame advantage, but pushes you away from the opponent, meaning that if you want to repeat this same string, you must microdash and risk getting abare'd. It's important to learn your opponent's tendencies and recognize when you can safely keep peppering them with this string, and when you need to hang back and attempt to whiff punish and/or bait and block their abare move. After the pushback from this string, you can do 5H in an attempt to counter-hit short-ranged abare normals, but if the opponent uses a move with enough range to hit May's feet, you'll get hit yourself.
5K > f.S is your go-to long-range string if you don't want any gaps. The long pushback is good to keep characters like Potemkin away, and you can either let f.S rock or cancel it to jump or an Applause dolphin if you want to immediately go back to work at neutral.
2K > 2D is probably May's safest blockstring to attempt. Two lows, only -1 on block, safely spaced from any punishment. If you don't think the opponent will try 2P/2K to stop you, you can keep checking with this string, trying to make the opponent whiff something that you can whiff punish into knockdown.
f.S > Applause for the Victim P or S is not a true blockstring, but as detailed above, its variable gap allows it to pull double duty as a frame trap or a potential pressure reset. Immediate release will trap non-projectile-invulnerable mashing, and delayed release can allow May to potentially start a new and better blockstring with the dolphin starting the string or filling it in. This string gets even better if you YRC the Applause dolphin, allowing May to move earlier and safely get to point-blank range.
cS > 6H > Applause for the Victim is a good route in the corner, where backdash and jump back are less useful. 6H > Applause is not a true blockstring (?), but varying the dolphin release timing is very useful to confuse both jump-happy opponents and opponents with reflectors like Potemkin. You can also alternate between 6H and 6[H] to scare players with the threat of 6[H] > [4]6H, making them want to jump away from regular 6H.
Defense
Meterless Options
Lacking a fully invulnerable special to wake up with, May's meterless defense is basically just to block on wakeup, with the occasional wakeup backdash where a gap and a safe space behind her occur. (Or a throw, if the opponent's meaties are sloppy.)
Mr. Dolphin! (Vertical) S is throw invulnerable from frame 1, but even against grabby characters like Potemkin (or May), this is almost never worth it, less due to the threat of punishment than the relative lack of reward for just correctly reacting to a throw attempt and jumping/air dashing to escape the situation (and whiff punish if they didn't OS YRC into the grab command). You risked a brutal bait for 40 damage, no knockdown on air hit, and escaped a throw you presumably knew (or guessed well) was coming and could have escaped with a jump anyway. Whoopty-friggin'-doo.
Being patient and blocking honestly is easy in some matchups (Slayer, to a lesser extent Ky and Ramlethal), hard in others (Millia, especially I-no. A good I-no basically requires a PhD to block). The best way to avoid situations of extended blocking is to play the best neutral game that you can. This means don't jump a lot unless there's no way in hell you can be punished for it, don't hit a lot of buttons (especially while jumping, May's aerials are pretty lackluster), and try to quickly figure out the ranges where opponents will poke, jump, or IAD so that you can respond with anti-air and counterpokes. The less you get hit, the less frequently you're forced to block on wakeup, and the more the opponent has to get tricky (or ideally, predictable) trying to open you up.
If you are stuck in an extended blockstring and are waiting on a gap to escape, just try to Instant Block everything you can. The additional meter will help you a lot the next time you're under pressure, giving you more frequent access to Faultless Defense, Blitz Shield, Ultimate Whiner, and Dead Angle Attack.
Meter Options
May's defensive options expand a bit when she has 25% meter. Blitz Shield can range from mildly useful to invaluable depending on the matchup (Blitz Shield destroys predictable Slayers, and fighting Axl without Blitz Shield is a nightmare). May gets a lot of mileage out of Blitz Shield because she has a relatively basic and effective tactic to avoid the counter-Blitz guessing game; if you expect the opponent to Blitz back at you, you can wait for them to whiff their Blitz and Overhead Kiss them. 95% of the time, even if you miss the literal punish window, you will get a successful Overhead Kiss because nobody who values their life -- or hasn't read you like a Dr. Seuss book -- is gonna do anything but down-back after a failed Blitz.
Even if you only Blitz the first hit of an H Tandem Top or an Eddie buzzsaw (a la Mission Mode), the minor window of invulnerability to throw can be invaluable against certain Millia and Zato oki setups. This is a good skill to learn now, in 1.0, before it becomes REALLY good in 1.1 where it can result in a Reject.
At 50% meter, May gets Dead Angle Attack. Since the animation is the same as her 6P, it has okay vertical coverage but not a lot of horizontal range -- if you want to use it, you want to be sure the opponent's momentum is committed to coming at you rather than pushing themselves out of its range. Easy against I-no and Zato (so long as Eddie doesn't take the blow), harder against Millia.
At 50% meter, May can also use Ultimate Whiner as a reversal, since it's strike and throw invulnerable from the 1st frame of startup. It's -13 on block, but the pushback is kind of weird, so less experienced opponents may miss the punish on it.
Great Yamada Attack does more damage than Ultimate Whiner, but it is not invulnerable from the 1st frame, making it inappropriate as a wakeup super against an opponent who isn't doing sloppy setups. Yamada's best use is the same as it traditionally is, to blow up people who are attacking really recklessly with bad IADs or other vectors where they're committed to momentum or recovery frames. Though it's 0 frames after the flash, it's still unlikely to hit an opponent who is attacking intelligently, focusing on a strong ground game rather than YOLO IAD.
General Tactics
May rewards a strong ground game, not just because the ground game in GGXrd is more important than in other anime games, but also because May doesn't really have the ability to compete in the air with many characters. This can be annoying for beginning players because when using her normals, May usually has to choose between range and speed -- she usually can't have both, especially not in the air. Using May's stubby little T. rex limbs to counterpoke footsie monsters like Ky and Faust takes a good knowledge not just of the maximum range of her pokes vs theirs, but also where their respective hurtboxes lie. By understanding the matchup (or mismatch) between hurtboxes, you can judge at what range you can counter-hit the opponent's normals without getting hit yourself.
A good ground game lets May turn into a mini-grappler with Overhead Kiss. Good footsies make the opponent clam up and block, which makes them vulnerable to Overhead Kiss. The same Potemkin/grappler fundamentals apply to May -- don't grab just for the hell of it. Grabs are an earned reward for successfully teaching your opponent to block on cue.
May has two priorities when setting up her neutral game: (1) Get to a safe distance or a safe situation to call summons without being hit out of their startup (2) Approach to a safe mid-range distance where May can attempt to whiff punish with 5K, poke at ankles with 2K, or anti-air jumps and IAD with 6P or 2H
Depending on the matchup, point (1) can be a mild luxury or absolutely necessary to control the matchup. Some characters, like Axl, are monstrous to deal with if you don't have beach balls and sea mammals restricting their movements. Even if they don't get hit by these projectiles, just having them on screen can keep the opponent from doing actions that would otherwise keep you from moving freely to avoid getting hit. (Axl blew up your beach ball with his DP? Too bad for beach ball, but that's time he could have spent anti-airing you or in your face, jacking up your RISC gauge with 2H > YEEHOO x n. Definitely, inarguably worth it.) Any time your opponent whiffs a move that they can't cancel and you can't punish is a good time to put up a summon.
Anti-air 2H goes a long way with May because on air hit, it is a MASSIVE burst bait. Since May's hurtbox isn't in the anchor, the opponent's burst on 2H will go harmlessly upward, and May will be perfectly spaced to easily continue whatever combo she planned to start. A good way to use this property without the use of YRC burst OS (which is going away in version 1.1.) is from an Overhead Kiss starter. If you hit cS early enough, you can chain to 2H and not only still land 2H > [2]8H on most opponents, but their burst will also go harmlessly through your whiffed 2H, allowing you to pick your air combo back up right where you left it. Very effective on lightweight characters such as Zato and Millia since they go up faster than others.
When you get the life lead and the situation is at neutral, you need to get into a turtle mindset and not be a hero. Stay just aggressive enough that you have control of the situation at neutral (and have enough meter to FD specials), but don't get reckless trying to "kill" the opponent -- try to let them "kill" themselves trying to get the life lead back. Keep your distance and invite them to charge at you and get counter hit. If you get a knockdown, run setplay, but focus on low risk rather than high reward. Once the situation returns to neutral, accept it and back off. This is a common-sense mindset in most matchups, but absolutely invaluable in some. (Ky jumps readily to mind. When you get the life lead on Ky, you need to defend it with your life. If you give him a stray knockdown because you got too greedy, he can and WILL run it back with his oki and pressure. Do not give him that opportunity.)
Tips and Tricks
One of the first and most important tactics to learn with May is her safe jump from combos into 2D > [4]6S. With an immediate dash jump into a late jS, May can easily safe jump many powerful DPs and reversal supers. Very critical against characters like Ky, who don't have a lot of frequently used moves that are unsafe on block AND in range for May's stumpy normals to punish. Reversal moves that May can safe jump with this setup (executed properly) include:
- Axl: Artemis Hunter (623S)
- Chipp: Beta Blade (623S)
- Elphelt: Judge Better Half (236236D) (timing is tight, but possible)
- Ky: Vapor Thrust (623S or 623H), Ride the Lightning
- Leo: Eisen Sturm ([2]8S or [2]8H)
- May: Ultimate Whiner (63214H)
- Millia: Winger
- Potemkin: Heavenly Potemkin Buster (236236S)
- Ramlethal: Explode
- Sin: Hawk Baker (623S)
- Slayer: Eternal Wings
- Sol: Volcanic Viper (623S or 623H)
- Zato-1: Amorphous
The only downside to this safe jump are (1) wakeup Blitz Shield, and (2) if the opponent has a fully invulnerable non-attack evasive move they can perform on wakeup (i.e. Potemkin's backdash), they may be able to, if not punish, at least completely evade May's attack (read: May may get backdash Potemkin Bustered if the May player doesn't react to Potemkin's backdash). Not an abusable setup, but still a vital conditioning tool to teach your opponent that they can't mash throw or DP freely against your jump-in oki. Also very useful to bait unsafe moves from players that might not otherwise throw them out.
A good method to learn the hurtbox on May's ground normals (or any character's ground normals, really) is to go to training mode, pick Zato as your dummy and program him to do a single Invite Hell (22S). Move slowly towards the Invite Hell and try to whiff attacks through it. If you don't get hit, get closer. If you get hit, move farther away. Keep trying to whiff pokes through the Invite Hell without getting hit, and you'll get a better idea what parts of May can and can't be hit during certain moves. (This is a good illustration of why 5H is such a good counter-hit tool. It reaches all the way to the floor, banging on the opponent's low poke, but her hurtbox doesn't begin until inside the tip of May's forward foot. If the opponent can't reach the vertical line beginning at May's front foot with their poke, their attack will miss and May gets a counter hit. Hooray!)
Use training mode to learn which pokes May can counter-poke with her 6P. Some results are fairly obvious (Faust f.S, Ky f.S), others may pleasantly surprise you (Zato 2S! As long as you do it at max range...). Don't leave this knowledge up to guesswork -- if you have a suspicion about how two moves interact, test it! Knowing little things like these can seriously put you ahead in the neutral game, and create some nasty surprises for opponents who THINK they have you figured out.