BBCF/Azrael/Strategy

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 Azrael



General Tactics

Video Guides

If you want a day 1 guide for Azrael, this written guide is a good starting point that goes into more detail. The guide below discusses Azrael at length. If you want to jump right in with the character, consider using the video below as a reference as you learn more about him. For another video resource, check Bojack's guide

Weakpoints

Azrael's a character whose consistency is hidden behind how capable you are at looping your Weakpoints as well as applying their implicit threat. Explicity, Azrael's main source of mixup and return exist in either his Drives or big Counter Hits. However, the latter itself can also be compounded by the existence of a weakpoint. Because of how ingrained his weakpoints are, the ceiling that is Azrael's threat can passively increase. Inversely though, the floor that exists as his counter-play can remain consistently apparent if you fail to maintain his Weakpoints and the threat they carry.

Strengths

  • Azrael's combo theory sees a large expansion so long as one weakpoint exists.
  • As a result of this, his damage also greatly increases. If fully optimized, it's not outside of the realm of possibility for Azrael to kill majority of the cast in 2-3 good hits.
  • Azrael can better force a mental overload on the opponent by leveraging different returns on alternate forms of mix-up.

Weaknesses

  • Outside of 2D, all of Azrael's Drive moves are reactable and fully realistic to block out
  • Every Drive move except 2D is negative on block. 5D on Instant Block is -7 and fully punishable.
  • Because they lack cancel points outside of OD, every Drive normal and special can act as a "free" burst point. This will force him back into neutral where he doesn't shine too brightly.

The Timer

Azrael's Weakpoints - unlike say Susanoo's Seals - are on an invisible timer and not permanently attached to the opponent once applied. Each Weakpoint is on its own timer at 1000F (or 17sec) as mentioned on the Overview page. Because of this, it's important to always be aware of how much longer a Weakpoint will stay before dissipating. This can make the difference between obtaining the damage necessary for the kill or dropping it and potentially the round. Although the desired scenario of having both Weakpoints applied is enticing at almost all times, it's never a bad idea to burn and refresh one Weakpoint when it's about to run out. In fact, given how Azrael's combo theory has evolved over the years, burning the aforementioned Weakpoint generally should grant a return of both anyways.

Pressure

Because of Azrael's poor movement and late cancels, he greatly suffers from the existence of proper IBB'ing (Instant Block Barrier). This forces him to either attempt pressure resets that get him back in or cut pressure early with a mix-up attempt via Drives. Naturally if you have a High Weakpoint applied, you'll inherently want to lean towards opening people up with 5D or 6D for the immediate return. This isn't particularly a bad idea given the level of reward achievable off of a successful Weakpoint proc. That being said, the opponent will be far more aware of the threat of those two normals because of the reward you get off of those Overheads. Because of this, the explicit and implicit threat of moves like 2D and 3D rise exponentially. The same problem arises in the reverse situation but that goes without saying.

This ability at increasing a player's mental stack is one of Azrael's strongest features about him because this also increases the threat of offensive options such as Gustav for pressure resets and Throw attempts. 2D exists as both an opportunity for mix as well as a pressure reset point given it's +2 on block. If done early into a string, Azrael isn't pushed out far enough by barrier to be forced into a committal option to get back in for pressure and he'll still be close enough to extend it just a wee bit longer. Because it also only has 17f of startup, this is his only Drive normal that's relatively "unreactable" and generally safe to toss out in pressure. While 5D is the normal that's heavily popularized, 2D is your best friend!

To further go in-depth when it comes to the implicit threat that comes with having a Weakpoint applied, most players who are oft angsty when it comes to blocking Azrael will try and force their way out as early as they feel possible. They'll often look for points that seem like clear chances for a drive mix-up to come out and they'll usually make an attempt to fuzzy jump out or mash a reversal if they have one. Sometimes, they'll also use OD OS as a crutch (a strong option select against Azrael's Drives). As an aside, you should always take into account the existence of Overdrive whenever it's on the table. Staggering A normals and using jump cancels (e.g. 5A > jc or 5B > jc) will let you remain relatively safe against Overdrive's threat while still maintaining your offense. If the opponent doesn't have Overdrive, you can be far more liberal with your grander mix-up attempts. Being passive while you have a Weakpoint on while still enforcing your threat is key in these moments as one misstep from the opponent will almost always net Azrael a colossal amount of damage when he has at least one Weakpoint.

Overdrive and by extension Scud Punishment

Overdrive doesn't truly add an insane layer to Azrael's gameplan and character depth, but it does have its benefits. Azrael's Overdrive is truly only ever seen to close out a round and guarantee most kills because Blackhawk Stinger in Overdrive does about as much damage as targeted Nuclear Explosions; as well as Scud Punishment's largely increased hitstun when Azrael can successfully force it to crumple instead of blowback (this allows an extension into Exceed Accel or Blackhawk Stinger) to squeeze out the damage for a win. Azrael having the ability to special cancel his Drives in Overdrive allows him to have a vastly different mentality when it comes to pressure structure.

Doing options such as 5D becomes less of a calculated gamble and a significantly safer route to take because you can cancel it into a quick, blatantly plus on block options like Gustav or cheekier pressure resets like Sentinel or Tiger. The latter specifically giving you the added benefit of leading into a solid route. Should the opponent not have the resources to counter Azrael (specifically Counter Assault or Overdrive), it's a very solid tactic to string an opponent into an unblockable with Blackhawk Stinger. An ancient blockstring that allowed this was 5A > 5BB > 5D > Gustav > 5A > 2A > 2D > Blackhawk Stinger.

Scud Punishment is a move that's seen its strength exist inversely with Azrael's improved combo theory unfortunately. As a super that grants Azrael one free usage of both Weakpoints for the entire duration of a combo while also refreshing them for their predetermined 1000f - the move on paper sounds like a great usage of 50 meter. However, the existence of one weakpoint more often than not begets the existence of two. Unfortunately for Scud, Weakpoints don't refresh themselves mid-combo; meaning although he'll be at the mercy of SMP, he's sadly locked out of some situational routes that allow him to make the most of awkward pickups. To make matters worse, Scud interacts with combo proration absolutely horrendously which greatly weakens the damage of almost any route you choose to sprinkle it into with the exception of doing double/triple super routes in Overdrive. Most routes Azrael has that involve using both Weakpoints will almost always out-damage any that include an early Scud usage with the added bonus of not burning any meter. To add insult to injury, most routes that also require Azrael to burn meter (e.g. Rapid Cancels or Blackhawk) will net you the same reward that Scud does - both off of the immediate route and the passive threat of double Weakpoints.

Although this doesn't particularly mean that Scud Punishment should never be used in combos. There can be certain instances where it's better to use it over a different route (e.g. if you OD through a reactable move while your back is to the corner) and as such, can still serve a purpose in your gameplan.

However, not all hope is lost for Scud. Azrael's wakeup options for escaping oki are all easily beatable with certain hitstop OSes that tend to cover almost all bases. Low profiling Panzer is a privilege that around 90% of the cast has in droves and catching his Backdash is no difficult feat. In fact, most hitstop OSes will generally cover both at the same time. This is where |Scud shines at its brightest, existing as an extra reversal option on wakeup to keep in your back pocket should the opponent not properly cover that. Most option selects or Oki routes that characters have tend to not take Scud Punishment into account and that gives the prodigal super its own strength. As an added bonus, Scud's CH properties forces an astronomical amount of crumple time on grounded hit. This allows for things such as a Fully Charged Valiant or Hornet (the Valiant option is character specific) or gives him the option to force a beneficial sideswap.

Routing: Looping Double Weakpoints vs Burning Both for One

As mentioned in the Scud Punishment section, Azrael's combo theory has only been on the rise since he's first existed (as a fighting game character ought to deserve). The main goal all Azrael players should have in mind is obtaining and maintaining one or both Weakpoints at any and all times and Azrael routing has assisted in maximizing the consistency of such. Today, Azrael combo theory has reached a state where so long as you have one Weakpoint applied, you can realistically end a combo with both. This is very strong for the character - but comes with its own drawback: sacrificing damage for the prize of both Weakpoints.

Yes it's true, almost all of Azrael's routes that prioritize the end goal of achieving double Weakpoints usually come at the cost of shaving off varying amounts of damage to do so. Because Azrael's damage is still usually high, it sometimes tends to be negligible. That being said, this can make the difference between hitting an average damage ceiling of 4.7k and a quick damage cap of potentially 5.1k. For the most part, a good mindset to have is generally choosing to loop double Weakpoints on average or stray hits - and burning both to maximize your damage when it comes to your ideal punishes.

There are instances however, where the inverse can be preferred. There's no fault in shooting for both Weakpoints to increase the return on the next stray hit as this will still yield an impressive amount of damage. Azrael's known for being a character that gets his damage by "hitting you twice" and this doesn't go away just because you've obtained a Weakpoint. Another good mindset to have when it comes to the illusion of choice is to simply loop your weakpoints until your opponent reaches a health threshold where burning both for maximum damage guarantees the kill. Which - as stated far above - can happen within 2-3 successful blows.

TK Specials

Azrael can't cancel his dash directly into specials. Because of this, he has to cancel it into jump and then cancel the jump startup into his specials. These are Tiger Knee (TK) inputs. An example of this is TK Tiger: 662369C. Visually, Azrael will dash and - depending on the speed of your input - cancel it into Tiger either immediately or after gaining some distance from his forward dash. Bear in mind that if you switch sides with his forward dash, you’ll have to reverse the input of the special (662369C becoming 662147C if you switch).

Growler is a particularly known example of this. By using a TK, Azrael can quickly crossup the opponent with a dash Growler by inputting 662147B.

TL;DR (For Beginners)

Important Moves
  • 236A: Primary engage tool
  • 6C: Alternate engage tool
  • Backdash: Strong option in neutral and defense
  • 6B: One of many antiairs
  • 623B: Reversal, can be low profiled
  • 5C: Stellar poke/Counterpoke
  • 214B: Absorbs Projectiles


Azrael attracts many players with his stylish animations, big damage, insane lore, and kickass theme. Azrael's gameplan is to play calmly in neutral, pick a spot to engage, apply a weakpoint, and pop it for great damage. In the right hands, Azrael can overwhelm many opponents. In the wrong hands, reckless aggression with Azrael will get blown up and put him in the backseat. Players need to get used to relatively small pressure strings and navigating neutral with a teleport dash. Against certain zoners, 214B is a great way to deal with projectiles. It also gives a stock of 236B which can blow up most projectiles. It's important to understand the range of Azrael's pokes, and how to back off and reset pressure accordingly. Gustav is a great button for engaging, but if it's IB'd you often want to backdash or jump afterwards. 6C is also a neat tool for approaching because it'll beat low hitting moves and is air unblockable. However, it'll lose to fast pokes (e.g Ragna 5B). A healthy rotation of Azrael's pokes and calm neutral play are key to playing effectively.

Once Azrael is in, he can start to threaten weakpoints and other mixups. 5D is a great way to set up or trigger an upper weakpoint. 2D is a solid way to reset pressure or set up a lower weakpoint. You can also crossup with forward dash, though that can be blown up with certain tools.

On defense, Azrael has several useful tools. For example, he has multiple anti airs: 5A, 5B, 6B, and 2C. Each work in different situations. His DP is somewhat situational because it can be low profiled, but it's still useful. With 50 meter, you can rapid cancel and launch yourself across the screen. Backdash is also a great way to get out of pressure and reset to neutral.

Blockstrings

Azrael blockstrings are generally free-form, but if you absolutely need some blockstrings, these are good to start with:

5A > 2A

5A > 2A has a gap because 2A is slow, but 2A is also +2.

5A > 5BB

You can stagger 5B or 5BB to frame trap and catch mashes

5A > 2A > 2B > 2D

2D is useful in pressure to reset pressure or use its weakpoint. This string also has many stagger points to frame trap, reset entirely, or special cancel into Gustav.

Okizeme

For more information, see this Oki Guide

Tips and Tricks

  • 5C is a stellar poke.
  • If Gustav is IB'd, you can backdash safely most of the time.
  • Remember that forward dash is jump cancellable!
  • You can often backdash to wait for a better situation to move into a close range.
  • It's generally best to get double weakpoints to get great reward off of more conversions.

Fighting Azrael

  • IB Gustav Buster. It makes the move -1 so that you can beat out Azrael's 5A mash afterwards. It also means that Azrael can't blindly reset pressure.
  • In the corner, the majority of the cast can cover most of Azrael's wakeup options with 1A > 1B. It'll time a 2B to beat backdash, you'll low profile DP with and the 2B will knock him out of Sentinel Dump (214C).
  • If Azrael has 50 meter, be wary that Azrael can safely return to neutral on 623B > RC, even on block.
  • Use Crossup OS (1[B] > Ax) in order to call out Azrael's crossup dashes. By holding 1[B] and mashing A, you'll block lows facing the same side and 2A mash Azrael out of his forward dash crossup. Done properly, you'll see Barrier flicker while Azrael stays on the same side. If he opts to crossup dash, you'll hit Azrael with a 2A.
  • If you're not confident in reacting between 6D/3D, you can always jump and barrier when you see the startup. You'll barrier 6D and jump over 3D.

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