GGST/May/Counterstrategy

Fighting May

May’s goal is to force you into the corner, rush you down, and mix up her offense options at a fast pace so that the defender has to pick a defensive option relatively quickly. May has many strong tools to achieve this, including good ground and air movement, a variety of pokes to harass her opponent, and powerful counterpokes, anti-airs, and air-to-air options. She has high damage output, so if you pick the wrong option, she just deletes your life bar. Same thing happens if she gets a successful command grab. May is at her weakest when she is defending because her kit lacks meterless tools to escape from pressure. On defense, May needs to rely on matchup knowledge, universal mechanics, and her metered reversal to escape her opponent's pressure.

Round Start

May has several strong options she could open up with at round start, though her reward from them is usually very limited. For starters, she has relatively fast and disjointed pokes that can be difficult for characters to contest. Her 2SGuardAllStartup10Recovery18Advantage-7 is a 10 frame disjoint that can’t be 6P’d by most characters. 6P will at best, trade with 2S. It also beats a good amount of other, slower pokes. It is a mid instead of a low, so it can be blocked standing. On normal hit, it only leads into S Dolphin, which is 0 on hit. On counter hit, it can lead to a combo comprised of S Dolphin > 5KGuardAllStartup8Recovery11Advantage-5 > 3KGuardLowStartup11Recovery15Advantage-10. 3K causes a soft knockdown that May gets limited oki on.

For non-disjointed pokes, she could open up with 5K. 5K has 8 frames of start up and more reach then 2S, but loses to most 6Ps and faster buttons. It's also capable of going above certain low attacks while active. Her reward on hit and counter hit is a difficult to hit-confirm 3K. While May can normally link into her 6HGuardAll [All (Guard Crush)]Startup16~39 [40]Recovery24Advantage-8 [+8] from a counter hit 5K, at round start distance, the 6H will not reach unless May does a microdash/walk before pressing it. This would add to the start up of 5K, making it slower and lose to more options. 3K is a slide that’s quick, calls out 6Ps and stops you from simply walking back with an 11 frame start up. 2KGuardLowStartup6Recovery10Advantage-2 is a 6 frame low with good range. It doesn't low profile very well, and is mostly used to check fast lows with extended hurtboxes. Her reward from it on hit is often not much more then a 3K soft knockdown.

May could also attempt an aerial approach. She has an excellent jump that goes very high very fast. This allows her to jump out of some roundstart options. If she IADs forward, she will put herself behind you if you don't move backwards, unless she walks backwards first. What May follows up with depends on if you whiff a button or not. If she puts herself in the air, her options are limited. She can get somewhat creative and come in at different angles, but she still has to come to you. She’ll usually come at you with j.HGuardHighStartup12Recovery15Advantage+9 (IAD) or j.2HGuardHighStartup13Recovery6Advantage+2 (IAD). Both options lose to 6P, though it does have to be timed well. May's aerial buttons aren't disjointed, but their hitbox is so large that they can still be difficult to anti air. If she airdashes, look for the sigil behind her and prepare yourself to 6P. You could also hit her with an air-to-air counter hit or an air throw if you’re feeling confident. However, May can bait out anti-air options with j.DGuardHighStartup10Recovery21Advantage-8 (Airborne), an air-normal that thrusts her upwards and alters her jump trajectory, so don't be too preemptive when it comes to using your 6P or other commital anti-airs.

Then, there's Mr. Dolphin. This is May's trademark special move where she propels herself towards her opponent on the back of a Dolphin. There are four Dolphin variations where May will fly in at two different angles: horizontal and vertical. At round start, May could open up with the S versionGuardAllStartup7Recovery20 (24 OH)Advantage-3 or H versionGuardAllStartup25Recovery20 (18 OH)Advantage+7 of Horizontal Dolphin. The S version has a fast, 7 frame start up and is -3 on block, and the H version has a slow 25 frame start up, but is +7 on block. S Dolphin loses to 6 or less frame buttons and low profiles. It is generally used to call out backdashing at round start or slower buttons. On counter hit, it staggers, giving May an opportunity to dash in for a guaranteed Overhead KissGuardGround ThrowStartup6Recovery40AdvantageN/A. Overhead Kiss is a command grab that can combo into a wallbreak. The S versionGuardAll→HighStartup6Recovery7 (21 OH)Advantage0 (Airborne) and H versionGuardAll→HighStartup11Recovery8 (19 OH)Advantage+6 (Airborne) of Vertical Dolphin can be used as callouts for certain characters' round starts that take them to the air, such as Potemkin's Mega FistGuardHighStartup25Recovery6Advantage+4. S Vertical Dolphin is 0 on block and doesn't move May very far, so its easy to make it whiff by doing nothing. H Vertical Dolphin is +6 on block and puts May behind you if you do nothing, so you can press a fast button to punish the recovery. On hit, May's reward depends a lot on spacing, but can be quite high. You can also use an anti-air to hit her out of it, or use fast startup buttons that reach at round start to beat it outright.

Finally, May can simply walk backwards to whiff punish you, though this is character dependent. As with all characters, walking backwards will lose to very long reaching lows, such as most characters' 2S.

May's round start options make it so that simply retreating gives her more pressure. However, her options generally only cover a single space at different times. She can’t be everywhere at once. You can eliminate most of her options and react to the rest if you microwalk out of 2S range, and then crouch block to protect yourself from 3K. 3K is -11 on block, leaving her fairly unsafe. Walking back will also prevent you from getting hit by an S Horizontal Dolphin. If she opens up with H Horizontal Dolphin, this move has 25 frames of start up, so try and react to it and counter hit her. If your character has a P/K button with 5+ active frames, use that as your go-to anti-Dolphin button. The more active frames, the better.

Neutral

May’s offense (and her neutral to a lesser extent) heavily revolves around the use of her Dolphin special moves, specifically S Horizontal Dolphin. As long as May is approaching you, she isn't holding down or back, which means that she isn't charging Dolphin. If you force May to release her charge, one of her most explosive offensive options is off the table. Try to put distance between you and May and force her to advance so that she has to release the charge. This will make it so that her neutral gameplan has to be to get in.

May does have decent neutral tools and ways to approach, including her aforementioned disjointed pokes and her aerial mobility. She can also use Dolphin as a means of getting in from certain distances. Both versions of Horizonal Dolphin have 11 frames of recovery and S and H Vertical Dolphin have 7 and 8 frames of recovery respectively, making them difficult to whiff punish from outside of their range. Engaging her without having to worry about her having an opportunity to charge Dolphin is only possible if you have the space at your back to position yourself. Having space behind you is key to responding to May's approaches. Put distance between the two of you, but don't put yourself in the corner doing so.

Dealing With May's Ground Approach

May's grounded game generally revolves around her fast movement and her strong pokes, which include 5K, 2S, 2K and S Horizontal Dolphin. She also has a very disjointed 5HGuardAllStartup13Recovery15Advantage-4 to counterpoke with, and a very long f.SGuardAllStartup12Recovery19Advantage-8, which is disjointed at the tip of the anchor. May can play a good rushdown game, but she also has the tools to play a decent defensive neutral game as well.

Midscreen, May's reward on hits is usually very limited. Outside of counter hits from her pokes, or having 50 Tension for a Roman Cancel, her reward will usually be an S Dolphin, and nothing else. To play around these normals, keep a few things in mind:

1. Her normals are generally slow on whiff. f.S, 2S and 5H in particular are decently whiff punishable by the greater part of the cast. A good portion of May's disjointed normals also extend their hurtboxes when active frames end, so you don't have to be as close to punish them as you might think. If you’re not confident you can directly punish her, remember, sometimes just taking your turn may be the best way to punish. If you punish her directly, even better. If May whiffs her disjoints, she’ll typically use S Horizontal Dolphin right after, so whatever you do, don’t let her whiff her disjoints and then Dolphin you in the face for free.

2. Her normals are generally weak to counter poking. Her highest reward moves in neutral, like 5K and S Dolphin, are not disjointed. Other normals have major extended hurtboxes. 5K can be hard to contest, but will lose to most characters counter poking with 6P. Otherwise, you'll mainly want to utilize your fast, low recovery P or K normals. Horizontal Dolphin can be counter hit by most fast buttons and low profile attacks, so don't let her get away with using it from a far distance without you blocking something beforehand.

3. Her normals have fairly decent range, but they're not at all the farthest reaching pokes in the game. May dislikes being outranged quite a lot. If you have far, disjointed normals that are hard for May to press buttons into, such as Ram or Ky's f.S, using them can dissuade May from using her strong buttons in neutral.

Dealing with May's Aerial Approach

It is a common misconception that May's aerial normals are disjointed. As mentioned in Round Start, almost all of them are not. j.D is a disjoint, but it's not a button May uses to attack the ground from the air with. j.SGuardHighStartup12Recovery15Advantage+6 (IAD), j.H and j.2H all can be beaten by 6P. However, these normals' hitboxes are very large and can hit very deep. She can also delay or switch between her aerial normals to make it much harder to 6P them. Aside from 6P, most characters have very good j.P or j.K normals to contest her with. Fast, disjointed air buttons (for instance, Ky's j.S) can also contest May in the air as well. Last but certainly not least is air throw, which is an excellent ground-to-air anti-air tool to stop May from simply airdashing in at you. Try to make sure you don't block air normals from May on the ground, she will usually be very plus, particularily on j.H. If May is too high in the air, her aerial normal won't be plus, and you can challenge a blocked air normal with a ground throw. Though bear in mind, if a normal was too high up, May can usually gatling into j.D to try and catch you mashing for high reward, so be careful.

Approaching May

May has a strong whiff punishing game thanks to her good movespeed, great air mobility, and of course, S Dolphin. If you present yourself as able to deal with May's ground and aerial approaches, better May players will shift their strategy to try and punish you for pressing buttons preemptively in neutral by making them whiff. Her reward for whiff punishing depends greatly on how far away you whiffed something, if the whiffed move has extended hurtboxes or not, if the whiffed move puts you in a counter hit state during it's recovery, etc. If you see a May start to be more reactive in neutral, try advancing on her without pressing as many buttons, especially if they are holding down back to charge Dolphins. You do not want to rush in and mash something pre-emptively. Try dashblocking, empty jumping or use the space this gives you to set up your character's strong neutral/offensive options.

Offense

May does not have any particularly amazing strengths on defense compared to most of the cast, but her tools are useful. Her fastest buttons are her 4 frame 5PGuardAllStartup4Recovery8Advantage-1 and her 5 frame 2PGuardAllStartup5Recovery8Advantage-2. 5P has great reach and very low total duration, making it a very strong mashing normal. Her reward off of it is also fairly good, with a gatling into 3K for a soft knockdown and some oki.

She has no meterless invincible reversals. Her invincible reversal Overdrive is The Wonderful and Dynamic Goshogowara-sanGuardAllStartup6+4Recovery55Advantage-31, where she summons an orca for a two-hit attack. This move is a great reversal that has a 10 frame startup with a few tricks to it:

The move consists of two hits. The first is the upwards uppercut, which is invincible, and the second is the downwards splash, which is not. There is a 22 frame gap between the two hits, during which, you can attempt to punish it. However, even if you successfully attack, Burst, or YRC May during the downwards splash, the Overdrive will continue and can still hit you. It's generally not recommended to attempt to punish between the two hits, and to simply just punish the second hit, which is -31 on block. If you do want to punish between the hits, your options are your own invincible reversal move, or an air throw. However, again, these options are very risky and costly if you mess up.

If May has 100% Tension, she can use a Purple or Red Roman Cancel during the move to get off the orca while the attack continues. This can lead to an extremely damaging combo on hit or a potent high/low left/right mixup on block. She can even do Strike/Throw depending on the setup. May's position after the Roman Cancel can be difficult to see, since the orca is in the way. This is the one scenario where going for an air throw could be a good way to deny her the mix and make her waste meter if she does the PRC setup. Its difficult to do this however, so you might have to just block it and pray that you guess right. You can also attempt to input your own invincible reversal during the super flash. If your invincible reversal successfully hits May, this will keep her from getting a chance to Roman Cancel it. However, whether or not this will work will depend on the character you're playing as, your position on screen and the distance May uses the Overdrive from. For example, if May uses it at either point blank or close ranges, Sol can input H Volcanic Viper during the super flash to hit May out of the attack and avoid the downwards splash at any position on the screen. However, from towards the midrange, while Volcanic Viper will still hit May, Sol will be hit by the downwards splash. At close and point blank range, if Sol inputs Tyrant Rave during the super flash either midscreen or with May in the corner, it will whiff and then Sol will be hit by the downwards splash. If Sol's in the corner, however, the second hit from Tyrant Rave will actually hit May while she's behind Sol and cause the wall to break. If your character has an invincible reversal, it may be worth experimenting with it to see what the interactions are at different ranges and positions on screen.

On defense, May's backdash has very few invulnerability frames, so she gets clipped from everything. Stagger pressure can be very valuable because of this.

Defense

Defending Against May's Pressure

May pressure is generally Strike/Throw-based offense. The big threat behind this offense is the sheer reward she gets for opening you up. May builds RISC very fast, builds Tension fairly quick, and has all around high damage on her combos, especially counter hit ones. Furthermore, May can also hold back during her strings, allowing her to cancel into Horizontal Dolphin at almost any time, most commonly after her most negative normals. For a full breakdown of how her pressure works and what the options you do will result in when May does a certain string, you can check this document.

Like with most characters, her most common pressure starters are c.SGuardAllStartup7Recovery8Advantage+3, 5K and 2K. 5P is another very decent pressure starter as well. c.S is easily May's best pressure starter. Its +3 on block, recovers extremely fast, has an incredible array of options for gatlings, staggers and specials, and builds a lot of RISC. 5K is May's further range pressure starter and poke. Blocking this gives May a more limited, but still solid set of options to enforce strong pressure, and getting hit by this allows her to deal out major damage. Her options from 5K are generally riskier, but not without reward for being right. 2K is May's only non-committal low poke. It has decent tick throw potential with some scary gatlings to back it up.

The best way to defend against May’s pressure is to simply block it while using Faultless Defense whenever you can. Faultless Defense will greatly limit the options she can use in her pressure. If you’re able to IBFD her pressure starters, that’s even better, as it will push her out significantly farther. May can perform strong stagger pressure by running up with c.S, and can threaten a tick throw immediately after any regular-blocked c.S with Overhead Kiss. If you're in the corner, a successful Overhead Kiss can lead to a damaging and almost completely Burst safe combo. It can't be stressed enough how important it is to use Faultless Defense against May. Using Faultless Defense will prevent her from being able to rely on c.S stagger pressure and give you more time to react if she tries to dash in for a tick throw. Challenging or mashing against May is almost always extremely risky, as she gets immense reward from a successful counter hit. In the corner, backdashing also becomes a big risk as May’s pressure tools allow her to catch backdashes in the corner. Since she usually ends her strings with S Horizontal Dolphin, her pressure generally forces you to play RPS after blocking it (which is explained further in the Defending Against Dolphin Section). You'll generally want to wait for a blocked S Horizontal Dolphin, because this is generally when you can take some kind of turn against May, whether it's challenging her or simply attempting to escape or retreat from her.

After c.S or 5K, one of her most common frametrap options is 6H. May's 6H is a command normal that deals massive damage on counter hit anywhere on screen. Even if it trades, it can and will redecorate your health bar if May is on point. May can also hold 6H to charge the attack. If fully charged (which takes 40 frames of start up), the attack will do even more damage on hit and Guard Crush on block. There is a 3 frame gap from c.S to 6H on non-tall characters standing and most characters crouching. May will be out of throw range unless c.S was Instant Blocked. You can challenge 6H with an invincible reversal. This will work even during the 3 frame gap between c.S and 6H, though your execution and timing needs to be on point. If you block the c.S with Faultless Defense and immediately use a meterless invincible reversal, it can whiff if May charges 6H. While charging 6H, May keeps the anchor lifted higher up, which shifts her hurtbox and can lead to your invincible reversal getting counter hit. You'll have to slightly delay your meterless invincible reversal to challenge a charged 6H, so bear that in mind. You won't have to worry about delaying most invincible reversal Overdrives.

If May does 6H after a 5K, there is an 8 frame gap against most characters. While this does mean that most mashing will beat it, if May delays/charges the 6H, she can cause a lot of faster buttons to whiff depending on spacing since 6H shifts her hurtbox. Using Faultless Defense on a far range 5K will make 6H itself whiff and allows you to punish its extended hurtbox. As long as you're using Faultless Defense, this could make 6H after 5K an unappealing choice for May. If you happen to be counter hit by 5K, she might miss out on a big conversion by not using 6H, and you can exploit the flaws in her other options. After 2K, 6H has the same 8 frame gap here as it does on 5K, with the difference being that May is a lot closer, which makes holding 6H to avoid fast buttons a less useable option. It’s generally not used after 2K often because of this, being reserved for when May thinks you will be counter hit by the 2K.

6H is -8 on block, has no disjoint, and keeps its hurtbox extended for the entire duration of the move, which makes it punishable via a 5P or 2P at bare minimum. There is, however, a special cancel window into Dolphin on this move, so mashing can result in getting counter hit by Dolphin, which is very strong for May. Many Mays will let this move rock on block and attempt to reset their pressure. Midscreen, 6H can also be backdashed on reversal timing by characters with 5 or more invulnerability frames on their backdash (characters with backdashes that have 4 frames need to delay it slightly) after blocking c.S. This will make 6H whiff, and you can punish her after. This won’t work in the corner however, as May can simply delay the 6H to catch backdashes. Don’t always default to backdashing after c.S. Backdashing is not without risk, since May can use a different option to catch it, but it does avoid the immediate 6H on block situation and forces May to use different, less rewarding options after her common pressure starters. Use with extreme caution. Your safest option when it comes to 6H, whether it’s delayed or not, is to simply block it. Unless you want to gamble, it's best to continue to block after blocking 6H. After blocking it, check what buttons or movement May uses afterwards to try and regain pressure, and try to defeat those.

2HGuardAllStartup11Recovery26Advantage-20, like 6H, has very good reward on counter hit, though it does have a few issues that make it less useful then 6H. It is much more minus on block, at -21, making it a lot harder to reset pressure with, even with the Dolphin cancel available. It also loses to backdash with much less counterplay, and it will whiff if c.S was blocked with Faultless Defense, which provides a really big whiff punish opportunity. This move sees more use from beginner May players then veterans, simply because it's worse then 6H in most points.

5H is a safer, less rewarding frametrap option for May. Without meter, her reward midscreen is a short combo that leads to a soft knockdown from 3K and it's limited oki. In exchange, 5H is only -4 on block and safe thanks to pushback in many cases, meaning its a prime point for May to reset or end pressure on. Because of the threat of S Horizontal Dolphin, it's recommended to wait and see what the May does to reset pressure, and try to defeat that, much like 6H. 5H also catches backdashes and jumps very well, even if for low reward, so don't overuse them to escape May's other options.

Outside of strike/throw, May doesn’t really have much in terms of mix to open her opponent up without Tension. Her 6KGuardHighStartup28Recovery6Advantage+2/5DGuardHighStartup20Recovery26Advantage-15 are her only standing overheads. They do not lead into anything at all without Tension, both just being neutral on hit without special cancels. They both have 20 frames of startup, and have the same 4 frame gap from c.S. She can attempt to go for these after 2K for a cheeky high after a low. 5D has more range (in fact, she has one of the furthest reaching Dusts in the game, if not the furthest), but is -15 on block. 6K is much better on block at only -2. She’s also out of throw range very often, allowing for some amount of stagger pressure. Faultless Defense makes it harder to use 6K, as it will cause it to whiff on further spacings, which is generally the preferred option because of its better situation on block.

If May ever dash cancels 5K, she’s -11 on block, so its always punishable. Don't backdash this, don't jump this, just press your 2K and punish it. More daring May players will use the dash cancel to sneak in a pressure reset or a throw, or attempt to catch you for trying to backdash the 6H. If she dash cancels, she’s committed to the dash for a total of 30 frames, with the only way to stop the dash early being to spend meter and BRC. If there is no meter on deck: react to the giant flames, press 2K, and run your okizeme. If May jump cancels from 5K, her forward jump will carry her far enough for j.H to hit you without her needing to airdash. IAD is also an option, but outside of the corner, it might make her appear behind you depending on the distance from the 5K. Everything from this is fairly simply anti-aired, but can catch you trying to contest her other options.

Defending Against Dolphin

S Horizontal Dolphin

When trying to escape from or challenge May’s pressure, one of the best opportunities to do so is to wait until she goes for one of her special moves, specifically S Horizontal Dolphin, since that is her most common pressure ender provided she didn’t go for some other option that resets her pressure. S Horizontal Dolphin is -3 on block, and upon blocking it, May will usually be spaced far enough that most fast abare can't reach her if she does nothing, making it very safe. More importantly, -3 is good enough to give May a chance to retake her turn, or better yet, score a big counter hit for a combo. Not trying to contest May after S Dolphin leads to a good May simply never letting you have a turn until they open you up, so you will have to play Dolphin RPS.

How Dolphin RPS works will depend on which character you play. May will pick different options more frequently depending on what your character can or can't contest, or what the player in particular thinks they can get away with against you. Your options include (but are not limited to):

Continuing to block, and waiting to see what May will do.
Poking (usually with a f.S or 2S but this is character dependent)
Counter poking with 6P
Jumping, either to to reposition (usually to escape the corner) or as a hard read to intercept a jump from May

May’s options include (but are not limited to):

Walking back to block while also charging another Dolphin
Crouch blocking
Backdashing
Jumping backwards
Jumping forwards
Counter poking with her 6P
2K
5K
Another S Dolphin
2S

Different characters have different options to engage with here. You’ll have to lab with your character to see what options yours has. Here is a Twitter thread containing a list of a few post S Dolphin interactions with every character in the cast. If you would like to lab it yourself, or don’t see some option on here you think might be useful, try the following:

Choose May in training mode, and select the character you play as the opponent
Set your character to Guard All, and to do whatever move you would like to test on block (Training Settings - Counter-attack Options will let you pick moves or record your own custom response if it involves multiple attacks or movement)
Do [4]6S on the bot of your character, and do any May move you would like to test against. It's best if you have certain options you're trying to beat from playing against May, but if you have no idea where to start, her most common options would be 5K, 2K, backdash, jump, block, and 6P. If you need to time a specific May option, aim to do it as May's feet touch the ground after getting off the dolphin.
Check the result of the interaction
Repeat step 2-4 for as many interactions as you want to

If you really do not want to play Dolphin RPS, using Faultless Defense on S Horizontal Dolphin will generally space May out far enough that neither of you can really threaten the other, so you return to a slightly advantaged neutral position. You might even be able to score a whiff punish on a May who wasn't expecting you to use Faultless Defense.

H Horizontal Dolphin

May could try to cash in on the respect forced by the threat of S Dolphin frametraps by mixing it up with H Horizontal Dolphin. It’s 25 frame start up in addition to the travel time makes it reactable, and it loses to most fast buttons, and all 6P's. Its +7 on block, so generally speaking, you do not want to block H Horizontal Dolphin, and outside of rare meaty setups, you don't have to. If you do end up blocking it, use Faultless Defense to make 5K whiff on the common spacing, making it much harder for May to enforce her plus frames. Never mash after blocking it. May has a few options if you block H Horizontal Dolphin:

5K, which will beat any and all abare due to it being a 1f gap. Remember, counter hit 5K leads to a massive amount of damage. Your option here is to backdash it or simply continue blocking and see what happens after.

May can try to run up and throw you, or try to reset pressure with a 5K/2K/c.S. These all lose to abare, but can catch you if you try to backdash 5K.

May can do S Horizontal Dolphin to catch your backdash on 5K for big reward. This also catches most mashing if done correctly. On block you go into the previously discussed S Dolphin RPS.

H Vertical Dolphin in the Corner

Another common pressure situation is blocking H Vertical Dolphin in the corner. May is +6 after this, and recovers in the air, which means her j.PGuardHighStartup5Recovery12Advantage+2~5 (IAD j.PPP) will catch all attempts to press buttons, including 6P. A blocked j.P at that height allows May to either go for a strike/throw mix between 2K and Overhead Kiss, or to establish other forms of pressure on respecting opponents. However, this entire situation can be avoided fairly easily in one of 2 ways.

1. 6P the Dolphin. On its downwards arc it loses its disjoint and functions as if it were a simple jump-in attack.

2. Walk forward. even a single pixel of forward movement will make H Vertical Dolphin completely whiff and allow you to punish May with a counter hit for a massively damaging combo. Don’t let May players get away with this knowledge check! Keep them honest.

S Horizontal Dolphin Whiff Setups

Another technique May players like to use is to whiff S Horizontal Dolphin from a blockstring into a pressure reset or grab. At the spacing where S Horizontal Dolphin will whiff, it will lose to most buttons. However, May can threaten a slightly delayed Dolphin (Horizontal or Vertical) to frametrap you with. Most, if not all setups that space May out enough for a whiffed S Horizontal Dolphin into Overhead Kiss will not work if parts of them were blocked with Faultless Defense, or are otherwise escapeable. If you fight a May that is using this setup a lot against you, try using Faultless Defense during parts of their setups and space them out. This can make them whiff, allowing you to escape the corner or even score a whiff punish!

If you demonstrate that you know how to properly interact with May after blocking one of her Dolphins, you can start conditioning her to block, so that May begins to associate Dolphins with the end of her turn. From that point on, the match flow should stabilize, and no matter which Dolphin May chooses, it will begin to carry inherent risk.

Defending Against May Okizeme

May has a few different Okizeme setups players like to run. The following is not an exhaustive list by any means, but are common setups May players use, what they achieve, and what you can do to make them harder to use.

c.S/Overhead Kiss Oki

Fairly standard meaty c.S oki common to all characters. May can run this off of most hard knockdowns she gets, and also off of soft knockdowns in the corner. May’s c.S has 6 active frames, so a well timed meaty will catch reversal backdashes with less than 6 frames of invulnerability. On block she'll be +3 to +8 depending on what frame her meaty connects, so throwing or resetting after is hard to stop. Like most meaty close slashes, invincible reversals/invincible reversal Overdrives can allow you to get out.

May has the shared lowest proximity range for c.S, along with Giovanna and Sol. This means its harder - but not impossible - to press c.S at a throw safe spacing. May can delay her c.S beat fuzzies and backdashes, however, this makes it easier to throw or mash her out of c.S stagger pressure due to this low proximity range. That being said, it’s not recommended to mash all too often, since you’ll explode if you're wrong, but it is something to keep in mind if you notice the May delaying often.

The other side of this standard oki is from Overhead Kiss. Like most "meaty" throw setups, the 5 frames of grab invulnerability after waking up means May players will time it to land on frame 6. Most mashing, jumping and backdashing will cause Overhead Kiss to whiff. The standout part of Overhead Kiss oki vs regular and command throw oki is that May gets a full combo off of it in the corner. Like other grab setups, well timed Overhead Kiss oki will beat DP's, but not invincible reversal Overdrives.

As previously mentioned, Faultless Defense is very good against c.S, and throws of any type lose to jumping, backdashing and mashing. Given this, a good tool to use on wakeup against May's running this oki is to block (preferably Instant Block) c.S with Faultless Defense, and then do a fuzzy jump/mash/backdash. This will make c.S weaker on block than normal, while allowing you to escape any potential grab as well. May can delay c.S to catch your fuzzy, but since her c.S proximity range is low as previously mentioned, that will allow you to escape by other means.

Arisugawa Sparkle (Beach Ball) Oki

Arisugawa Sparkle (aka Beach Ball) is a move that has May summon a seal that launches a beach ball at the opponent. There are two versions of this move. 214PGuardAllStartup48RecoveryTotal 45Advantage+29 sends it downward at a ~50⁰ downward angle and is mainly used for May’s okizeme setups. 214KGuardAllStartup48RecoveryTotal 45Advantage+29 fires at a farther reaching, ~15⁰ downward angle. Once the beach ball makes contact with the ground, it will explode with an expanding hitbox. If you’re in neutral or on defense, the ball can be destroyed if hit by an attack. You can hit this with a 5P or 6P, or the active button you’re using to counter H Dolphin. Once you hit it, follow up with a special cancel in order to make yourself safe. It has 48 frames of start up, making it even more reactable than H Dolphin. Try not to block this, or let May get this out.

May can use this on your wake up to enforce her pressure. The ball explosion can leave May upwards of +40 on block, meaning you will have to block whatever May might want to try after you block it, even including a fully charged 6H. This oki can be run off of 2D anywhere on screen, or after certain setups after a wallbounce in the corner. It can also be done after some other knockdowns, but it will be less effective there. This setup tries to time Beach Ball in such a way that the explosion after it hits the ground is the part you block. The explosion will also frequently catch people trying to backdash or jump it out, and is usually reversal and parry safe.

Generally speaking, there’s not much you can really do if May is in a position to use this type of oki. Beach Ball has a comically slow startup time (48 frames) and recovery time (45 frames), so May can generally only use it for okizeme or from extremely far ranges. From the plus frames of Beach Ball, May has a variety of options she can do, including run up c.S, a fully charged 6H, or even a safe jump. Because it is so plus however, throws will need a very big delay to work. You will usually block something else before throws become an option again.

To get the explosion to hit meaty off of 2D, May has to slightly delay her special cancel into Beach Ball. Some cheeky Mays will exploit you being conditioned to block when you see Beach Ball, and will instantly cancel P Beach Ball (instead of slightly delaying it), or use K Beach Ball. Both of these options will cause the Beach Ball to whiff. During the Beach Ball setup, she can run up and grab you with either a regular grab or Overhead Kiss. This is not a mixup you can easily see, especially if she’s going for the instant P Beach Ball setup, so try and be mindful of it existing. A fuzzy jump or backdash might help out here.

With Tension, May can use Purple Roman Cancel during Beach Ball’s startup to do some left/right strike/throw setups while the ball is still launched at you. These mix ups can be hard to punish if blocked correctly, and if the Ball hits, May is able to combo from it. This is another situation where the only thing you can really do is defend, and you’ll have to guess correctly during the mixup. Try and avoid being in a situation where May can use Beach Ball as a meaty, but if you can't, you will probably have to just defend against whatever May is feeling like trying afterwards.

c.S OTG Oki

After a knockdown, May can hit you with an OTG c.S. She can do this off of many knockdowns, but it’s mostly done midscreen off of a hard knockdown from Overhead Kiss, a hard knockdown from being hit in the air by S Vertical Dolphin or certain air hits from H Vertical Dolphin, and in the corner off of Throws. c.S OTG does a bit of damage and sets May up for a safejump both midscreen (7 IAD forward j.H) and in the corner (9 IAD j.H). These safejumps are plus enough on block to allow for c.S pressure after if you don’t use Faultless Defense to push her out. There are also several setups that fake a safejump to try and hit you with Overhead Kiss or 2K instead that can be done from a whiffed j.P. Fuzzying is an option, but her 2K will beat those, so be careful.

Besides safejumps, May can also dash cancel the c.S to go for meaty c.S or Overhead Kiss instead. Dash canceling an OTG c.S will carry you a good amount towards the corner, and leaves May +14, giving her the option of reversal safe meaties as well. Fuzzies work well here, but May can delay her meaty to beat these.

Normal Throw into j.2H Left/Right Mix and Additional Mixups

If May lands a throw midscreen, she can and set up an ambiguous left/right with j.2H. This mixup is potent because the j.2H is a safejump on either side, so you cannot escape with any invincible reversal. Furthermore, it is incredibly difficult to see which side May will hit on if done correctly.

There are some ways to tell which side May will land on if you're looking for it, but they are very subtle. First, try and check if May walked forward a bit before jumping. If she did, she will most likely crossup, while not doing it will usually lead to her going for sameside. It is possible to do a crossup without the walk forward or a sameside with the walk forward, however, so this tactic isn’t foolproof. If she didn't do a walk before jumping, look carefully at when May does j.2H. If she does it just as the airdash ends, but before she starts falling, she’ll land sameside. If she just barely started falling, its a crossup. Don’t feel bad if you get mixed by this setup. It’s very hard to spot as is, nevermind in the heat of a game.

Her reward for normal hits on j.2H is fairly low, only giving her 2K > 3K for a soft knockdown. j.2H is plus enough and close enough for 2H > H Vertical Dolphin to combo, which can lead to a wallbreak near the corner or a better knockdown midscreen, but this is not hit confirmable. Whenever you expect to block j.2H, use Faultless Defense on it. It makes setting up pressure after very difficult for May, and if she tries to confirm into 2H, she’ll whiff and be wide open for a big punish.

Besides the j.2H left/rights, there are a few other setups May can use that look similar. May can choose to whiff j.2H and try to land an Overhead Kiss on you. However, this does lose to meterless invincible reversals and grabbing on wakeup. If you fight a May who does this to you often, try fuzzy grabbing them.

May can also whiff j.K instead of doing j.2H. If she does this, she's likely to do a cross you up and then hit low with 2K. It's hard to react to this while also worrying about the other setups, but it is something you can look out for.

There is also an alternative safejump setup, with backwalk > 7 > IAD delay j.H vs backwalk > IAD > 7 > j.H whiff > Overhead Kiss. This allows her to get either a safejump or a sameside Overhead Kiss.The difference between whiff j.H and the safejump is hard to see, but a fuzzy might help you out if you see this setup often.

S Vertical Dolphin OTG Setup

After landing a hard knockdown that keeps May close to her opponent, such as from a 2D, she can OTG with S Vertical Dolphin. This allows her to do a low air dash that leads into a j.K safejump. j.K will not safejump against characters with a 3 frame normal, in which case, she can use j.P instead. Though, this leads to much worse pressure on block. Aside from a safejump j.K, May can also delay the j.K to catch backdashing, or go for an Overhead Kiss instead on landing. Blocking j.K leads to a c.S frametrap unless you used Faultless Defense. This situation mostly boils down to a guess between strike/throw. Use Faultless Defense on j.K to weaken any pressure after, and try fuzzies to avoid getting thrown instead.

Corner Throw > 2H/5H OTG

After a corner throw, May can do an OTG 2H (or sometimes 5H) to use one of two setups.

For the first setup, may can cancel the 2H/5H into P Beach Ball. The Ball will go flying off-screen and won’t hit the floor, so May ends up in less advantage if you block it, but she still has enough time at this spacing to run up and land a meaty c.S after. Any advancing special move that will hit frame 8 or faster, or an advancing special that low profiles like I-no's Stroke the Big Tree, can punish this setup. Fast characters like Millia, Leo, and Gio can also punish it by dashing into a 2K. Otherwise, you can try to hit the ball or May before she lands the c.S. Try fast, forwards advancing normals or specials if your character has them.

Another setup is going from an OTG 2H into H Horizontal Dolphin. Depending on how the May inputs the H Horizontal Dolphin (either by tapping it or from holding the charge), the Dolphin will either whiff, and May can try to land an Overhead Kiss on you, or, it will connect. Due to how dolphins work, May won't get any additional plus frames from a meaty H Horizontal Dolphin, but she’s still +7 on block, allowing her to land a free c.S after, since it has a 7 frame startup. Getting air hit or counter hit by the Dolphin here will lead into a full combo for a lot of damage, and on normal hit May can still do a decent combo into 3K, which leads to a strike/throw mix with c.S or Overhead Kiss in the corner.

She can hard bait reversals on the whiff variant, but reversals still work on the meaty or if she attempts an Overhead Kiss. Fuzzies might be useful, and Faultless Defense will make the pressure from a blocked H Horizontal Dolphin worse, although at this spacing you will still have to block 5K > 6H even with Faultless Defense.

Midscreen Soft Knockdowns from 3K

A common end of Mays midscreen combos is 3K. Since a successful 3K only leads to a soft knockdown on hit, there is limited okizeme May can actually do from it. The only meaties May can really present are 5P or 5K, and she has to hard bait any and all invincible reversals. Backdashing is also something May will have to call out by delaying her meaty, which opens her up to mash/throw on wakeup. Faultless Defense is also very strong here, particularly against the 5K meaty, since May will be spaced out by it in a way that makes 6H likely to whiff, and allows you to punish it. It's generally considered May's weakest oki.

Post Overdrive Wallbreak Setups

After breaking the wall with an Overdrive, May gets a safejump that will work against all invincible reversals jump >IAD > j.H. Using Faultless Defense is very strong here, as it will push May out and force her to use weaker pressure afterwards.

Again, the importance of this can’t be stressed enough: use Faultless Defense whenever you’re defending against May. Doing so is really strong, and you should do it whenever possible.

Bursting Against May

Thanks to May's disjointed normals, as well as the frame advantage on Horizontal Dolphin, May can be difficult to Burst against. While being comboed by May, avoid Bursting after being hit by a Dolphin. It's better to Burst before a Dolphin hits you rather than after. Try to avoid Bursting immediately after you've bounced off of the wall as well. If May lands an Overhead Kiss on you in the corner, this is also a situation where you should not Burst. If done properly, the combo May can do from a corner Overhead Kiss is essentially completely Burst-safe. You're better off just holding onto your Burst post-wallbreak.