BBCF/Celica A. Mercury/Starter

The goal of this page is to provide new Celica players with a foundation to build further knowledge and ideas upon, or for anyone to just pick the character and start having some fun. It does not include exhaustive explanations of common combos or strategies, or even each move the character has. Check the dedicated pages for each topic, including the main Overview page, to really start learning (once those pages are updated).

Buttons To Press In Neutral

5BGuardMidStartup10Recovery16Advantage-4: Main grounded poke, best used when approaching. Confirm into 5CGuardMidStartup13Recovery17Advantage-4 > 214CGuardAllStartup15Recovery26 (29)Advantage-4 for a knockdown at far ranges, or 2CGuardMidStartup14Recovery17Advantage-1 > 5DGuardMidStartup11Recovery33Advantage-17 when close to convert into a full combo.
6BGuardMidStartup12Recovery23Advantage-9: Anti-air, great when used both offensively or defensively. Confirm into 2C and then jump cancel on hit for a reliable combo conversion, or safety on block.
236BGuardAllStartup18RecoveryTotal: 46Advantage-6: Fireball that knocks down, best used around its maximum range. Gives ample time on hit to close the distance and start pressure.
j.CGuardHigh/AirStartup12Recovery23Advantage-: Long-range air button, best used aggressively from a dash jump as an air-to-air approach, or defensively while falling from a normal jump as a low recovery counterpoke.
j.BGuardHigh/AirStartup9Recovery16Advantage-: Main jump-in/IAD approach button. Confirm with j.C for a reliable combo/pressure starter.

What To Do If You Hit Them

Confirm normal hits by going up the attack buttons in order, starting from whichever button hit: A > B > C > D.
Assuming you're not at full health, cancel into 214BGuardHighStartup25Recovery24 [16]Advantage-10 [-2] to launch, then do 6CGuardMidStartup21Recovery20Advantage-2 to launch them again, then finish the combo somehow.
A stable way to do decent damage and end in a knockdown after a launch: 6B > 2C > jump, j.B > j.C > jump, j.B > j.C > j.214A
If you are still at full health... great job! Just keep mashing D or something.
Once you've knocked them down, press 2AGuardAllStartup6Recovery11Advantage-2 or 2BGuardLowStartup9Recovery14Advantage-3 on their wakeup.

What To Press If They Block

2A > 2B > 2C is a simple blockstring that keeps opponents close and ends on your safest button, setting you up for stagger resets or tick throws. It also contains a low and an automatic frame trap, so it's a good start for keeping people respectful.
5B and 6B are both jump cancellable on block, so you can use them when spaced further out to go for an instant air dash to reset pressure and put you back up close.
2B, 3CGuardLowStartup13Recovery25Advantage-11, 2DGuardLowStartup19Recovery29Advantage-17 and 2DDGuardLowStartup9Recovery33Advantage-17 are your lows. All of them other than 2B can be quite risky, so they're best used more carefully in targetting specific defensive behaviours.
6AGuardHigh, LowStartup24Recovery20Advantage-8 and 214B are your overheads. 6A is unsafe and only reliably leads into combos in the corner. It can only be cancelled into from other A buttons, so it's only useful when your opponent is respecting your pressure. 214B is either unsafe and leads to nothing normally, or safe and leads to a full combo when enhanced. It's a special move, so it can be cancelled into after almost anything, so vary your strings and don't get too predictable with it.

What's Next For A New Player?

Make your neutral wins more impactful by learning and practicing proper combos and confirms from your common hits, and how to cover different wakeup options after each combo to maintain an advantage.
Understand your pressure options and the purpose of each of them (e.g. delaying cancels and the implications of doing so, how to target different defensive options) to make your advantage matter.
Develop your neutral and defense by playing the game against people, picking up on how other characters function and general player behaviours, and combining that with a deeper understanding of your character and options to develop counterplay to your opponent's options in key situations.
In other words: This character is as basic as it gets. Get good, and good luck!