GGReload/Axl Low

Overview

Combos

Strategy/Counter Strategy

Full Frame Data

Axl Low
Defense Modifier: x1.06 Guts Rating: 1 Weight: Medium (x1.00) Stun Resistance: 60 Jump Startup: 4F Backdash Time: 16F / Invul: 1~8F Wake-Up (Face Up/Down): 36F / 32F Movement Options Double Jump, 1 Air Dash, Dash Type: Run Colors P K S H D Start Normal SP

Overview

Axl is a dork, and you'll love him all the more for it. Based off of Guns and Roses' own Axl Rose, Axl is a British Goofball who has easily the highest range in the game.

Jumping against Axl is suicide, since he can cover most of the entire screen with normals that cover a huge amount of the stage. He has an unblockable attack, two crossup attacks, two counters, a frame-one autoguard move, and surprising damage potential for a character who's built for range when he's near the corner. Rensen Geki is a good projectile that works for pressure and combos, eating through other projectiles and has two followups, one for catching jump attempts and the other for tacking on damage and knockdown. He can bait reversal options with his counters and some of his long ranged normals (3P in particular). However, when opponents are in Axl's face, there's very little he can do about it. His super is easy to bait, his Dead Angle is slow and has a bad hitbox, and Hachisubako (autoguard DP-esque move) is weak to lows and unsafe on block. If you like keeping the pressure on from a bit far away, Axl might just be the character for you.

Strengths and Weaknesses

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Strengths	Weaknesses
Massive reach In the running for best anti-air in the game Easily works around most of the cast's zoning games High damage output in and near the corner Has an unblockable Several tools for baiting reversals	Very easy to combo Poor reversal options Pokes are slow and situational Mixup is subpar Has to seriously work to play around projectiles Long range chain normals have hurtboxes 4f jump startup

Overview

Combos

Strategy/Counter Strategy

Resource Dump

Full Frame Data

Normal Moves

5P

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 32 Mid SR 7 8 14 -10 An anti-air for catching jump startup and low air approaches. Situationally useful for punishing projectile startup. The extended hurtbox and high aim makes it a fairly weak poke for grounded neutral, and it should be used sparingly against grounded opponents who aren't extra tall. DOESN'T chain into anything in #reload, along with the lack of vacuum makes this a very limited tool Gatling Options: N/A

5K

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 16 Mid SR 6 3 8 +1 Axl's jab. It's pretty slow, and also you do it with the K button. Decent safe pressure starting tool and poke One of the better normals to use in stagger pressure and tick throws Moves Axl's low hurtbox backward, allowing it to avoid low pokes when properly spaced. This is your fastest normal, but it's too slow to escape perfect tick throws, which makes Axl particularly vulnerable to them. Gatling Options: 5P,2P,6P,3P,c.S,f.S,2S,5H,2H,5D,2D

c.S	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 28 Mid SJR 7 6 10 +1 A good move for throw option selects and combo filler. jump cancelable. +1 on block, making it especially good to option select with throw. Can be used to get the confirm after frc rensen or axl bomber in the corner. Gatling Options: 5P,2P,6P,f.S,2S,5H,2H,6H,5D,2D

f.S

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 33 Mid SR 9 3 22 -11 Left hook Good footsie and approach stopper Good round start move, only directly contestable in a few matchups Staggers on counterhit. This can allow some tricky situations with rashousen, but also makes the hitconfirm into rensengeki more guaranteed Can be low profiled under If this move is done at typical spacing, cancelling it into a Rensen Geki will combo against a crouching opponent, but not against a standing opponent (unless counterhit). Gatling Options: 5H,5D

5H Totally not an overhead

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 42 Mid SR 16 4 17 -2 5H is mostly combo or blockstring filler, but has some useful properties. Bounces on counterhit, making it rewarding in frametraps. Given Axl's different pressure structure in #Reload, this is an essential frametrap tool Has some hurtbox shenanigans that often work like upper body invul, so it will occasionally trade favorably (especially on counterhit). At -2 on block, its one of Axl's safest ways to end a blockstring without an frc Raises guardbar by 20 points 5H's main selling points are its damage, guardbar, and stun. Many of Axl's special moves have a lot of startup, and canceling from 5H is often the best way to make them harder to contest Gatling Options: 6H,5D,2D

5D

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 20 High Ｒ 26 6 15 -4 Axl's dust doesn't lead to much damage, but has decent corner carry and can catch them not paying attention because, like all 5D's, it hits high. Its main strength is that it has huge range for a dust. Its weakness is that its tied with S Raei Sageki for Axl's slowest move (28F startup). 5D also has some lower-body invuln near the active frames, and can be used to call out lows pre-emptively While 6H is usually preferred as an overhead due to faster startup and better nominal frame advantage, 5D is safer in many circumstances because it pushes the opponent further away and doesn't put Axl right in jab range in its startup Axl can do a fake impossible dust combo (8jD-8jD-TK Bomber) from nearly any range, which can be converted into a bomber loop from pretty far from the corner. With the Axl Bomber FRC, it can also lead to a normal air combo midscreen. Fun Axl Fact: This move has so much range, it can make it hard to actually get the launch combo if it connects from too far away. You can sometimes fix this by using j.6P to pull them closer to Axl at the beginning when the screen flashes.

6P

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 32 Mid SJR 9 2 17 -5 1~10F upper body invul, but not as much as most 6Ps. The hurtbox extends higher than 2S and the hitbox is tiny, so it's pretty bad as an anti-air, especially since Axl is a walking surface-to-air missile and any of his long range chain attacks will serve you better. 6P launches on counter hit and has the upper body invul, so it can occasionally work as a high-reward counterpoke, but 3[P] is much more effective for that and less likely to get you killed. Mostly this move serves as blockstring filler, adding some extra guardbar when you have the space to gatling it from c.S or 5K, and it's Jump-Cancelable, so it can add some tricks to your pressure. Gatling Options: 3P,c.S,f.S,2S,5H,2H,5D,2D

6K

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 36 Mid SJR 11 4 23 -13 Long range chain, hits between the angles of 5P and 2S. This move serves two main purposes The first is to use this as useful combo filler after comboing into Rensen FRC when they are too far away to go right into 2S. The second is using it as a general anti air to threaten direct jumps, and air-dashes done close to you. It does have a lot of recovery though, so its only recommended for this as a last resort when other anti-airs will miss. It's tricky to combo into this from anything other than rensen FRC outside the corner, but if you're too far for 2S you can get a combo directly from an anti-air 6K, but only with j.K, or j.6P Can chain back and forth with 2S to force an aerial opponent to spend a ton of meter FDing or catch them trying to tech All of Axl's long range chains have a hurtbox and this is no exception. Don't stick a fork in the electrical socket. Gatling Options: 2S,6H

6H

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 46 High R 23 9 0+9L +1 A leaping overhead with long startup and active frames. Safest to do after 5H, but c.S and 3P are also good choices. Airborne between frames 11 and 31, so it can beat most low-hitting attacks if you read them correctly. If 6H lands as an anti-air, it can usually confirm into a combo Hitting 6H late as meaty on wake-up gives you a big frame advantage, but can be reacted to with invuln reversals Decent untech time, used for higher-damage air combo extensions A great move to RC for pressure/combo extension Moves Axl closer to the opponent (can help get you to preferred range for a matchup/situation) 6H can whiff entirely by jumping over some crouching characters if done too close. It will occasionally hit them as a cross-up (especially against Faust), but it's not very reliable

2P

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 28 Low SR 11 4 18 -12 Like 5P, but lower Extends faster than 2H, but generally a weaker low poke option, especially due to its lack of reliable gatlings and low damage Great for extending pressure with 6H gatlings, and is special-cancellable to boot Really bad hurtbox, so not very useful for neutral (Many 2Ps, 6Ps, and anything low profile will beat it clean from almost max range) Gatling Options: 6H

2K	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 9 Low SR 7 6 6 -1 They call him Axl Low for a reason Axl's fastest low Decent for tick throws, especially with sliding momentum Incredibly low-profile, will duck many projectiles and falling air normals Gatling Options: c.S,f.S,2S,2H,5D,2D

2S

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 34 Mid SJR 9 5 20 -14 Great anti-air Huge upward range and decent horizontal coverage, plus a crouching hurtbox. This is what Axl uses instead of a 6P Jump-cancellable and chains from 6K, so very important for converting into air combos More untechable than 6K, allowing followups like j.H or j.D Does not cover the range directly above Axl. Never use in situations where the opponent is falling straight onto Axl, such as when his back is to the corner and they are coming down along the same edge of the screen (At this spacing, your best anti-air option is probably airthrow or tenhouseki, but 5H also works if you have enough time to get it out) Gatling Options: 6K

2H

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 40 Low RF 11 8 22 -11 Big low hooks Huge range low that PUSHES out a decent amount Not special-cancellable, and only gatlings into both 6H and 5D, which is limits its use in combos and blockstrings significantly compared to +r Great for stuffing zoning attempts, especially the setting of projects from far away. FRC point(?) can save you from a whiff punish or sometimes extend pressure Staggers on hit, so it could link into rensen from closer ranges if the opponent doesn't mash. Decently disjointed at the tip, so it clashes with several DPs and pokes if spaced well Gatling Options: 6H,5D

3P

3P

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 24 Low SR 11 4 8 +2 One of Axl's best okizeme options. (see here for in-depth coverage of 3P as okizeme ) His only chain move without a hurtbox on the chain. Only the Axl sprite itself can be hit during this move. Slow at neutral, but a great pressure starter if it connects No vacuum, so quite weak to FD. Your best meaty and a good combo starter. Low, plus on block, and chains into a varieyt of useful movesl ike 5h and c.s. One of your better tick throw options too. Gatling Options: C.S,2S,5H,2H,6H,5D,2D

2D	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 30 Low SR 7 8 12 -8 Sweep the leg Axl's sweep has more range than most Good low mixup late in your strings One of the easiest confirms into rensen in most situations

Air Normals

j.P

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 10 High, Air SR 7 4 9 - Axl's only actual jab Useful for air tick throws and blockstrings Occasionally helps with spacing in air combos Can gatling from j.S to preserve counterhits and avoid projectiles and guard counters trying to hit the j.S hurtbox Often used falling as a relatively safe jump-in that can lead to j.K for a second overhead At least we get a mashable jab in the air! Its a good air-to-air, and works for bringing them to the ground if you get them to block it. Jumping up and air-to-airing with this move can be a useful way to catch people trying to jump in when they expect 2P or try a weird angle that Axl's anti-airs have trouble covering. j.P gatlings into all of Axl's other air normals, so you have lots of options to confirm into a combo. If you anti-air or jump in with mash j.P near the ground, you can gatling into j.H → landing cancel, then continue the combo on the fly (5K, 2S, and 5P work well for the pickup). You can also set up a bomber loop in the corner with jump in>late air dash>j.P>j.D>H Axl Bomber. Mix this up with j.H safe jump and empty jump 2K so they'll never see it coming. Gatling Options: j.6P,j.K,j.S,j.H,j.D

j.K

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 18 High, Air SJR 8 8 12 - The Boot Surprisingly long reach, great air-to-air tool Untechable forever and ever on air counterhit, often long enough to land and pick up a combo One of your fastest rising normals, and crucial for picking up air combos from weird spacing Good for option selecting with airthrow j.K is a useful air-to-air with good range and speed. j.K can also work as a last resort jump in when the spacing or timing are wrong for j.H or j.S. Gatling Options: j.P,j.6P,j.S,j.D

j.S	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 28 High, Air SR 9 7 18 - Sky hooks Long-range downward overhead Great for disrupting attempts to zone Situational combo extender in the air Can reverse-gatling into j.P to be safer from guard counters and projectiles on block The highest-range safe jump normal in the game Gatling Options: j.P,j.6P,j.H

j.H	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 38 High, Air SR 10 12 9 - Ignorant air button Hits in a circle all around Axl's body Great for adding blockstun to air strings IAD j.H is useful as a burst-safe extender after a launch Adds a lot of the damage in Axl's air combos The best and often the only option to catch low-profile moves while falling Gatling Options: j.D

j.D	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 44 High, Air SR 10 6 18+5L - The drop kick Decent-range overhead Launches and is very untechable, use it to convert air-to-ground hits Primary combo filler for bomber ender, as it's the highest-damage air normal that combos into regular Axl Bomber Can possibly make their burst whiff, if done from low altitude and at max range

j.6P	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 16 High, Air SR 7 6 14 - 5P, but in the air Very fast and not a lot of pushbacks Great rising air normal for anti-airing where 6K won't reach Gatlings from j.S to add another long-range overhead to a blocked approach Generally a pretty good air-to-air poke

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 50 Throw: 45 Pixels - - - - - Puts the opponent opposite the direction you threw them (forward throw puts them behind Axl, back throw puts them in front) Best move to option select with is c.S link into 5P, 6K, or microdash > 5K to confirm into a combo Throw > Rensen Geki is a burst safe kill

Air Throw	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 60 Throw: 110 Pixels - - - - - An average, but useful airthrow. Grants an oki. If you know you can't end a bomber loop in knockdown, watch for your chance to tech trap them with an airthrow and put them back in the corner Best move to option select with is j.K, but j.H works too

Dead Angle Attack	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 25 All R 17 4 8 +2 Not very good, but one of Axl's few ways to defend himself Very easy to low profile +2 on block Axl can combo off his Dead Angle Attack with DAA>5P>whatever. The damage is very small, but the moves after the Dead Angle can kill the opponent if they are almost out of life.

Specials

Benten Gari 623S/H

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. S 46 Mid R 4 4 31 -18 A fast, throw-invulnerable attack about as big as Axl's body Comes out in 4F, making it Axl's fastest attack Upper-body invuln comparable to some of the better 6Ps in the game Good as a combo starter, launches and has an FRC point after the hit Sometimes trades with overheads, and can allow a meterless air conversion in this situation While not a real invincible DP, this is your go-to, fast, throw-invulnerable move that can potentially get the opponent off of you. Invuln is only above the knees, so S Benten may trade or lose to some low profile moves Due to hitstop, this move's FRC has a hit and a whiff timing. It costs more meter, but you can opt to go for the whiff timing to make sure you either RC or FRC either way. Its risky due to not being a real DP, but the partial invul allows S Benten RC/FRC to used as a frame trap. S Benten RC/FRC is a viable way to continue the combo if you don't have Rensen charged up Because the FRC point is so early, gatling into S Benten FRC is a way to quickly put Axl back to neutral for safety. H 36,24 Mid R 9 4(4)1(2)1 33 -18 A low-crushing anti-air with a followup Lower-body invincible and also throw-invuln, so sometimes can be used to beat mixup Situational anti-air, but pretty slow to start up. The extension on the second hit covers a range somewhere in-between 6K and 2S The chain part of this move's hurtbox doesn't go all the way up, so it may beat some things that Axl's other anti-airs lose to. The Axl Bomber followup is untechable for a long time, so this is a good meterless ender for air combos you want to knock the opponent down (This is good for when you don't want to spend meter on a prorated combo from throw or Tenhouseki, or just want to keep your pressure in exchange for doing a bit less damage) H Benten RC can continue the combo if you don't have Rensen charged up, and raise the opponent's guardbar 40 points, while continuing your pressure if they block. You can opt to do H Benten at the end of a surface-to-air combo with Axl's long range buttons to get a burst safe kill Followup H Benten Gari -> 623H 55 All R 13 4 Until L+10 - Follow-up version of Axl Bomber The followups can be done even on whiff Untechable for a long time, so this is a good way to end a combo in knockdown

Rensen Geki [4]6S

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 20*3 Mid F 12 1*12 39 -15 Fast projectile that hits near the ground. One of Axl's most important tools. Axl's farthest reaching attack Hard knockdown most of the time, good for ending ground strings Considered a projectile, and will stuff many other projectiles. Rensen only disappears if Axl's body is hit. Useful long range bullying tool if used carefully. The threat of Rensen can get people to jump, giving you a chance to anti-air them. Can catch people trying to hit the hurtboxes on long range chain normals. Good chip and OTG damage. Can be followed up with Kyokusa Geki or Sensa Geki from f41~62, so you have significant wiggle room to make it ambiguous. Works as a long range oki if you simply want to reset to long range neutral after a knockdown. The FRC point allows Axl to continue pressure from massive frame advantage and launch from most ground hits. Extremely important to making Axl threatening at long range and dealing with opponents who attack the hurtbox on long range chains. The FRC is a cornerstone of Axl's pressure and confirms, so it is absolutely essential that you master it.

Sensa Geki Rensen Geki -> 2

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 26*5 Low R 7 2(5)*4,2 17 -5 Low followup to Rensengeki Occasionally catches people low, but not much of a mixup because there's no overhead threat Does a lot of chip damage and guardbar (8 points x 5 if they all connect) Great for tacking on damage and ensuring knockdown in the corner Pulls the opponent slightly toward Axl, which can take them out of the corner and allows crossups on oki Safer on block than Rensen, but still dangerous because the opponent can faultless to push themselves out early.

Kyokusa Geki Rensen Geki -> 8

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 35 Mid - 1 12 35 -13 Anti-Air followup to Rensengeki Catch people jumping over Rensen Very untechable on counterhit, but usually not a combo extender Covers a wide arc encompassing most of Axl's normal anti-air range Adds one more projectile hit after the three hits from Rensen, and can still be performed even if Rensen was completely negated. Considered a projectile. Does not have a hurtbox other than Axl's body.

Rashou Sen [4]6H

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 1,80 Unblockable - 27 16 50 - Full screen unblockable Not actually a throw, and so will catch jump startup and other throw-invul actions. Unblockable, but SB-able in the air (Leading to weird janky interactions) Not a lot of damage, but an essential tool for forcing people to jump Much of the startup is low-profile The projectile cannot be negated by other projectiles, and will simply pass through them until touching the opponent. Hitting the opponent puts Axl in an invincible throw animation, making this a great tool for getting through projectiles and traps Reload doesn't have the feint added in AC, making it much more predictable and thus harder to land successfully

Tenhou Seki 214P/K

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. P 110 - - - - Total 29 - High/Mid counter Comes online in 4F, counters from f4~17 Traps any high/mid attacks, but not projectiles. Also works on crossups. Due to Tenhou Seki's fast startup, you can counter a lot of slower moves on reaction. Taking a hit during the active frames of Tenhouseki causes an invulnerable throw animation that crosses the screen and hits the opponent no matter what. Useful for dealing with crowded screens if you can bait a hit. Allows a full air combo, but it's scaled to 65% Since the activation is essentially a guaranteed throw, it doesn't matter how many hits the opponent's attack has or if it's invincible. Great for catching reversals. Works on Johnny's Mist Finer, even during Bacchus Sigh. K 110 - - - - Totak 29 - Same as the high version, but only traps low attacks (Not mids)

Hachisubako 623P	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 60 F R 16 3 27 - Autoguards highs and mids from frame 1 Special autoguard state makes Axl ignore hitpause when struck during the autoguard frames Probably Axl's best reversal option This IS a counter: It wont hit if not activated, which makes it easier to bait

Raiei Sageki 63214H

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 20*3 High, Air RF 74 28 35 - I must go, my people need me Goes all the way to max height, then hits all the way until Axl lands You can hold the button to stay in the sky longer You can DI left or right to move around through the entire move. Useful for messing with the opponent's spacing, covering more distance, or making it cross up ambiguously. Maintains running momentum, so it can travel almost the whole stage if done from running RCing this move puts Axl on the ground almost immediately no matter how high you hit. This allows for a fairly easy conversion, and can put the opponent at frame disadvantage above you if they block it in the air. The leap upward is very fast, and will dodge a lot of attacks and then punish them Axl's best way of catching opponents who can fly over his grounded AA kit, like Bridget Axl is still considered to have traversed the horizontal space he covers, so this can wipe out a whole forest against Testament

Axl Bomber j.623H	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 60 All R 9 4 Until L+10 - Throw-invulnerable, so it can beat airthrow attempts Axl Bomber can sometimes be used as an additional diagonal forward jump, or to mess with anti-air spacing and timing. Major combo ender midscreen and combo extender in the corner; TK Bomber loops lead to Axl's highest damage

Overdrives

Byakue Renshou 2363214H

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 50*2,30*5 Mid Ｒ 14+1 4,4(19)13 41 -14 Sometimes you just need a real DP Axl's only true fully-invulnerable reversal Two parts: First a giant multi-hit benten, then a big flaming rensen Pretty slow, and can be punished if they block or dodge the first part The first part hits slightly behind Axl on its last active frames and does double chip damage The second part is pretty unsafe on block, but not terribly so

Shiranami no Homura Hachisubako -> 421P

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 30*2,50 Mid*2, HLA R 7+8 9,9(13)4 37 -49 Up in flames Can happen extremely quickly out of Hachisubako, including while the opponent is in hitpause from connecting with the autoguard frames Launches the opponent, so it's the easiest and cheapest way to convert from Hachisubako (Which is otherwise nearly impossible) Kinda risky if they can make it whiff, and the combo from it is scaled a bit, so pretty situational overall

Instant Kill

Rensen Ougi: Midare Gami in IK Mode: 236236H	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. DESTROY HL - 13+15 37 3 -6 Chains we can believe in Like most IKs, super slow, risky, and not gonna see much play at a high level Active for a long time, and has a huge coverage along the ground, so if you're already in IK mode, you can punish DPs and bursts and stuff pretty pre-emptively

Navigation

Overview

Combos

Strategy/Counter Strategy

Resource Dump

Full Frame Data