P4AU/Labrys

Labrys

Health: 9,500 Combo Rate: 60% Persona Cards: 3 Backdash Time: 21 Backdash Invincibility: 1-6 Movement Options: 1 Double Jump/Airdash, Dash type: Run All Jumps have 3F prejump, can not input any commands for the first 2 airborne frames, and have blocking disabled for the first 5 airborne frames All air backdashes are invincible 1-5F Play-style Offensive Rushdown/Momentum/Power-Up

Introduction

P-1 Climax Nickname: " Yasogami's Steel Council President"
Persona: Ariadne
Arcana: Wheel of Fortune
Backstory:
Labrys is an Anti-Shadow Supression Weapon developed by the Kirijo Group. She is of the 5th generation, which makes her Aigis's (7th Generation) predecessor/older sister. While she is an artificial being, due to her Plume of Dusk, she acquired her own train of thought or emotions which developed her personality much quicker. Another unique trait she held was that she had a Kansai-ben (Boston in the English dub) accent. Not wanting to kill her "sisters" (other units) anymore, she attempts to escape the Kirijo Group, but fails. She ends up in the Midnight Channel, where she is the Student Council President of a false Yasogami High School, which was created based off her desire to become a normal girl. However, she forgets the events of her time with the Kirijo Group and a promise she made to a dear friend.

After running into Elizabeth, who tells her of her truth about her past and who she really is, Labrys is haunted by her words and refuses to believe it, which produces Labrys' shadow self. Remembering the promise she made with her friend, she comes to terms with what she really is and accepts her shadow, receiving her persona, Ariadne.

In Ultimax, Labrys returns as a member of the Shadow Operatives to help deal with the new crisis.

Strengths/Weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
Massive normals to poke with in neutral Posseses a plethora of mixup and pressure tools Red axe can lead to very high damage Is not overly reliant on her Persona	Has trouble against heavy pressure and zoning. Relies heavily on being able to block effectively Requires momentum to get any real damage No meterless reversal

Special Gauge - Axe Icon

Basics

Labrys has a special axe icon above her SP Gauge which changes in level depending on how often you attack with moves that utilize Labrys' massive axe (this includes blocked or whiffed attacks). It will slowly decrease over time when you aren't using moves that swing the axe, and decreases even more when Labrys is hit. The levels are broken down into the following colors with 1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest:

No Color (Gray)
Blue
Green
Yellow
Red

The higher the level of the Axe Gauge is, the more damage she does. Once you reach her red axe level, she gains the following special properties in addition to extra damage:

Added Hitstun
All Counter Hits by attacks that increase the Axe Gauge become Fatal Counters

Under Red Axe, Labrys also does significant chip damage with her axe normals and Skills, such as Guillotine Axe. See her frame data for exact values, as her moves scale slightly differently.

Management

Before we go into how you should manage Labrys' axe level, let's go over how her levels increase and decrease and other factors to note when playing as Labrys.

At the start of each match, the axe gauge starts at level 3 (Green).
At the end of each round, her current axe level will carry over.
The higher the level of your axe gauge, the faster your gauge will decrease, so it can take 7 seconds for the gauge to fall from level 4 to level 3; however, it will only take 4 seconds for the gauge to fall from level 5 to level 4.
The axe gauge will always drift to a level 2 (blue) status so if you are at gray or blue the axe will drift up despite Labrys being idle, whereas as yellow or red it will drift down to green.
Using certain special moves will build the gauge faster then normal moves such as Guillotine Axe.

Knowing this, don't focus too much on reaching red axe status, instead just look for ways to get in on your opponent first and know your proper BnB's after getting that first hit in. After that first hit happens you'll usually be at least at yellow axe status, with the followup okizeme pushing you up to red axe. At this point, it's merely keeping up that momentum and finishing the job with Beast. If your opponent blocks your mix up and pushes you back, don't fret about the axe level declining as it can be built back up just as fast.

External References

Normal Attacks

5A (Normal)

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
5A	120/160/200/220/240	All	7	3	19	-7	Body
5AA	240/320/400/440/480	All	11	3	20	-6	Body
5AAA	600/800/1000/1100/1200	All	12	2(6)3(10)6	30	-19	Body

Labrys 5A is slow, has short range and doesn't chain into 2A like many other 2As but it has a good amount of hitstun, especially at higher axe levels, and a good hitbox that allows it to be used against both grounded and airborne opponents.

5AAA has great corner carry, on both hit and block, while keeping Labrys close to her opponent.

5A (Shadow)

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
5A	120/160/200/220/240	All	7	3	19	-7	Body
5AA	240/320/400/440/480	All	13	3	15	-1	Body
5AAA	600/800/1000/1100/1200	All	22	4	23	-8	Body

5B

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
No Charge	600/800/1000/1100/1200	All	15	2	25	-8	Body
Half Charge	900/1200/1500/1650/1800	All	36-87	2	35	-11	Body
Full Charge	900/1200/1500/1650/1800	All	120	2	25	--	Body

Dash cancel is -3 on block
Backdash cancel is -2 on block
Good all around tool for Labrys

Although it has a slow startup, 5B is a good ground poke when well spaced. In pressure, 5B has several follow up options such as dash and hop cancels as well as chaining into stuff such as 2C, Sweep or Chain Knuckle that make it very useful for varying your pressure.

Dash Cancel is +4 on block
Backdash cancel is +5 on block
Causes sliding knockback on hit

The half charged version is mostly useful for combos. The sliding knockback can combo into chain knuckle midscreen and gives you lots of time to do other things when you're in the corner. It's also good to use in pressure sometimes followed by the forward dash cancel so you can take advantage of being +4 to reset pressure.

The fully charged version is unblockable. However, due to the long startup and being able to react to the flash that occurs when you're performing an unblockable, the fully charged version doesn't currently have any practical uses.

2A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
160	L	7	2	14	-1	Leg

Chains into itself up to 3 times

Standard crouching jab. It's range is short though. During pressure, 2A is good for stagger pressure and tick throws. When on the receiving end of pressure, 2A can be good for mashing out of gaps in pressure big enough to fit in a 2A if the opponent is close enough.

2B

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
No Charge	480/640/800/880/960	All	17	4	26	-11	Body
Half Charge	720/960/1200/1320/1440	All	38-93	4	34	-14	Body
Full Charge	720/920/1200/1320/1440	All	120	4	34	--	Body

Good Anti-Air

A great anti-air due to its wide hitbox. The head invulnerability is slow to kick however so it's best used to deal with jump in attempts in neutral than it is dealing with jump attacks during pressure

The fully charged version is unblockable. However, due to the long startup and being able to react to the flash that occurs when you're performing an unblockable, the fully charged version doesn't currently have any practical uses.

j.A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
300	HA	11	4	6	-	Head

j.B

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
360/480/600/660/720	HA	15	4	14	-	Head

One of, if not Labrys' best, poke. It has a wide hitbox and is good for both jump ins and air to airs. Like most jump attacks, predictable j.B's do lose to 2B Anti-Airs but so long as you aren't being predictable, you'll find this normal to be one of your most valuable tools.

j.2B and j.BB

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
j.2B	480/640/800/880/960	All	18	5	25	-	Head
j.BB	480/640/800/880/960	All	13	6	22	-	Head

Causes wall bounce

Labrys' new air command normal that mimics j.BB. At Red Axe, j.2B is good in midscreen combos to allow for great corner carry. It can also be good in pressure from a hop cancel to reset pressure, when used sparingly.

j.BB is good in corner combos, where it's easy to make the most use of the wall bounce to get more damage out of your combos.

All Out Attack

A+B

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
180/240/300/330/360	H	27	4	32	-17	Body

Standard all out attack. Has good range compared to most other AoA's, but like all AoA's, the startup is slow enough to block high on reaction and it is very punishable on block unless you OMC. Best used very sparingly.

Sweep

2A+B

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
600/800/1000/1100/1200	L	15	3	20	-6	Leg

Common combo ender for oki routes

Usually used to end combos at lower axe levels so that you can go for Weaver Arts: Sword oki and keep building your momentum/axe gauge level. Labrys' sweep can also be good for beating pokes because of the general buff to sweeps in Ultimax that gave them chest invulnerability, which goes well with the fact that Labrys' sweep slides her forward.

Persona Attacks

5C

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
300×1,150×3	All	31	4.4,6.6	16	-3	Projectile

Good neutral tool

Slow startup but 5C covers a lot of ground space and pulls the opponent in towards Labrys on its way back, making it a good ground poke if you can get it out.

5D

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
5D	300×2	All	38	16	53	+5	Projectile
5D~D	200×5	All	19	-	-	-	Projectile

2C

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
500,250×2	All	28	2.2,14	14	-2	Projectile

Dash cancel is +1 on block

Mostly used in corner combos. It's also sometimes used in pressure due to it being dash cancelable, allowing you to go for a pressure reset. The startup of 2C is slow though, leaving an opportunity for opponents to mash or jump out of pressure. Be sure to vary your pressure to make it harder for opponents to deal with on reaction.

j.C

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
300,150×3	All	13	6,6,6	33	-	Projectile

Has a vacuum effect on airborne opponents

Mostly just used in air combos. The vacuum effect makes it very good to pull opponents in for the typical air Guillotine Axe ender.

j.D

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
400×3	All	33	-	46 Total	-	Projectile

Slow startup but once they're out, the gears from j.D cover a good portion of air space and make air movement in this area difficult for the opponent. This can be good against certain characters with a strong air game in neutral.

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw

C+D

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
0,840/0,1120/0,1400/0,1540/0,1680	Throw	5	3	19	-	Throw

Comboable on CH with Red Axe

Good mixup tool when combined with 2A stagger pressure to do 2A tick throws. In general, you can OMC it to convert it into a full combo with 5A. On CH with Red Axe, you can convert it into a combo with 5A. As Labrys' fastest ground action, it can be a good defensive option in some instances where her 2A would otherwise be too slow.

Air Throw

j.C+D

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
0,900/0,1200/0,1500/0,1650/0,1800	Throw	4	3	19	-	Throw

Wall bounces in the corner

Similar to her ground throw, Labrys' air throw is her fastest air option, making it good in up close air battles where j.A and j.B are too slow to use. The air throw wall bounces in the corner. At yellow axe and higher, it's possible to get a combo off the wall bounce.

5th Gen Axe Slash

B+D

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
No Charge	540/720/900/990/1080	All	26-85	4	42	-29	Body
Full Charge	540/720/900/990/1080	All	100	4	42	--	Body

Wall bounces on CH when not charged, always wall bounces when half charged

Unlike most other furious actions, Labrys furious action has a long startup. Also instead of being invincible, it has a guard point, meaning every time she autoguards an attack, hitstop gets generated and adds on to her startup. For these 2 reasons, it can often be easy for opponents to react to the furious action's startup and cancel whatever they're doing into a DP to counter her, weakening its effectiveness as a reversal. Best used very sparingly, preferably when opponents aren't mashing 2A on your wakeup to fish it out.

On the plus side, the move will cause a wall bounce on counter hit, allowing you to follow it up with a combo unlike other furious actions. The half charge version of this move will always give a wall bounce, making it useful in some combo routes.

Unblockable version of her furious action. Unfortunately due to its long start up and being able to react to the unblockable screen flash, the fully charged version does not have any practical uses currently.

Guard Cancel Attack

6A+B while blocking

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
0	All	-	-	-	-	-

Based on her 5AAA normal. Slow as Guard Cancels are known to be.

Skill Attacks

Chain Knuckle

236A/B

Starter
Dash
Break

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
A	500	All	20	8	36	-1	Body
B	500	All	24	14	41	-1	Body
SB	500	All	24	8	41	-1	Body
Dash	-	-	-	-	30~32 Total	-	-
Brake	-	-	-	-	22 Total	-	-

Forces Fatal Counter on CH

Can be good at controlling space on the ground since both versions cover a good amount of distance and the frame advantage is good on block. However, whiffing a chain knuckle can be very costly so it's best to use it not too often.

A version goes 2/3rds of the screen B version goes just short of reaching fullscreen

Winch Dash is mostly just used to go into the extra attacks. The brake is mostly used when getting a FC combo from chain knuckle so that you can close the gap between you and your opponent and keep the combo going.

Chain Knuckle Extra Attack

Chain Knuckle > A/B

Extra Attack

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
A	600/800/1000/1100/1200	H	20	10	36	-29	Head
B	480/640/800/880/960	L	13	3	20	-6	Leg
SB	600/800/1000/1100/1200	All	11	4	15	0	Body

The A version and SB extra attacks are mostly used in combos. The B version currently does not get much use since it is not special cancelable like the A version is.

B version hits low, allowing for mixup. A can be cancelled into Guillotine Axe. SB will cross up and go behind opponent on hit.

Guillotine Axe

214A/B

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
A	180,280 (720) 240,384 (960) 300,480 (1200) 330,528 (1300) 360,576 (1320)	All, H	11	5(9)12	20	-5	Body
B	180,480 (1200) 240,640 (1600) 300,800 (2000) 330,880 (2200) 360,960 (2400)	All, H	18	5(9)12	20	0	Body
SB	180,384 (960) 240,512 (1280) 300,640 (1600) 330,704 (1760) 360,768 (1920)	All, H	18	5(9)12	20	0	Body

Combo ender on the ground

A version is mostly used to end combos on the ground. Does a good amount of damage and gives the axe gauge a nice boost

B version has longer startup but does more damage. Mostly used at higher axe levels where the added hitstun makes it easier to combo into.

The SB Version is special cancelable and causes a small ground bounce. It's a key move in a few combos designed to increase the axe gauge as close as possible to Red Axe. ( Can cancel into strings to trap opponent mid-combo and lead to corner-carry.)

Guillotine Aerial

j.214 A/B

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
A	240,120,600 (800) 320,160,600 (800) 400,200,600 (800) 440,220,600 (800) 480,240,600 (800)	All, H, All	12	2(4)10	45	-13 (-6)	Head, Body
B	360,180,600 (800) 480,240,600 (800) 600,300,600 (800) 660,330,600 (800) 720,360,600 (800)	All, H, All	17	3(6)10	40	-8 (-1)	Head, Body
SB	300,150,600 (800) 400,200,600 (800) 500,250,600 (800) 550,275,600 (800) 600,300,600 (800)	All, H, All	12	2(4)10	35	-3 (+4)	Head, Body

Staple air combo ender

Good for ending combos due to its ability to bring the opponent back down to the ground for oki or to be comboed into a Beast super for damage.

On startup, SB version has invulnerability. (Could be used for air-to-airs or to armor your way through some atacks)

Weaver's Art: Sword

22A/B/C/D

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
300(.200)	All	81	14	38 Total	15	Projectile

Good neutral and oki tool

Weaver's Art: Sword is most commonly used as an oki tool at lower axe levels from a sweep combo ender. B version is optimal after sweep, while A version will be good in corner. If opponent backdashes or jumps back, you could catch with a C strings. If they're likely to Evasive Action out of the oki, you could catch with A strings, or grab.

SB Version has two different configurations. Using the SB version by inputting A+B will summon the A and C versions of the sword. Using it by inputting C+D will summon the B and D versions of the sword. Both configurations can be good at boxing the opponent in, halting their movements and making it easier for you to close the gap.

Weaver's Art: Orb

236C/D

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
C	400	All	46	-	40 Total	-	Projectile
D	400	All	91	-	40 Total	-	Projectile
SB	400	All	46	-	35 Total	-	Projectile

Has a dash cancel point early on in the move
Good neutral tool for obstructing air movement and approaching
Can be used to extend pressure

C version travels at air dash height and is good sometimes to create an obstacle that needs to be maneuvered around

D version falls to the ground and goes across the screen at ground level. It takes a while for the orb to fall to ground level before it starts travelling though. But once it starts travelling across the ground, it's good at covering an approach. In pressure, if you can manage to keep the opponent blocking long enough, it can also be used to extend your pressure.

SB version is the same as the D version but it falls to the ground much quicker, making it easier to use for things you'd use the D version for.

SP Skill Attacks

Weaver's Art: Beast

236236C/D

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
C	1200,800,400 1200,900,450 1200,1000,500 1200,1300,650 1200,2000,1000	All	4+9	(8)6×19	37	-43	Body
D	1200,480,240×8 1200,540,270×8 1200,600,300×8 1200,780,390×8 1200,1200,600×8	All	4+13	8,6,3×8	48	-59	Body
SB	1200,480,240×11 1200,540,270×11 1200,600,300×11 1200,780,390×11 1200,1200,600×11	All	4+21	8,6,10×13	65	-95	Body

Damage SP Skill used to boost the damage of a combo at the end. Best used to close out a round.

C version does not do as much damage as the other versions but also does not use up the axe gauge. Good for when you want to add more damage to your combo to win the round and want to keep axe level for the next round

D version uses up the axe gauge, which in turn will increase the damage output of the SP Skill proportional to your current axe level. Red axe gives the biggest boost, giving it the ability to add a lot of damage to even the most damage scaled combos. A very valuable tool in Labrys' arsenal.

SB version uses up the axe gauge and does even more damage than the D version of the super. However, it also has almost double the startup of the D version as well, making it hard to combo into under normal circumstances.

Awakened SP Skill Attacks

Weaver's Art: Breaking Wheel

214214C/D

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
C/D	180×5,90×N	All	4+12	123	101 Total	+21	Projectile
SB	180×7,90×N	All	4+12	171	101 Total	+63	Projectile

Labrys' best reversal option

Because of the shortcomings of Labrys' furious action and Brutal Impact, Weaver's Art: Breaking Wheel is her best reversal. It covers a good amount of ground space and is + on block, making it good for shifting momentum. Although the move itself only hits on the ground, it can be difficult for airborne opponents to escape falling into the gears if they lack good positioning or have used up their air movement options.

C Version has the gears appear in front of Labrys. This is the version usually used for reversals.

D Version has the gears appear at about 2/3rds of the screen away from Labrys. Can be good for catching people doing stuff or locking them down long enough to close the distance on them.

SB Version has the gears appear in front of Labrys and expand out to almost fullscreen distance. Very + on block.

All versions stay even if you hit Labrys, so if you try to mash something fullscreen you're probably going to get hit.

Brutal Impact

214214A/B

Startup is slow and has guard point against all attacks
The attack is unblockable

Version	Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
A	3000/3000/3000/3900/6000	UB	112+5	6	88	-	Body
B	4500/4500/4500/5850/9000	UB	175+5	6	88	-	Body
SB	6000/6000/60007800/12000	UB	248+5	6	88	-	Body

The attack will come out immediately in response to an opponent hitting the moves guard point, and will eventually come out if left unprovoked
Grabbing also counts as an attack that will trigger the super

Unblockable super that does a ton of damage. Unfortunately, the start up is very long, including after the super flash when the move is activated. The move does not hit behind Labrys, so jump-cancellable moves that triggered her counter can easily bypass the risk of getting hit by this move. Worse yet, characters can also punish the move with their own reversals on reaction to the super flash, such as supers. Thanks to all the above point, this move has no practical application in a real match.

Instant Kill

Weaver's Art: Inquisition

222C+D

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Frame Adv.	Attribute
K.O	All	1+59	-	115 Total	-	Projectile

Fully invincible until recovery
Cannot be comboed into

Labrys summons Ariadne to shoot an arrow across the screen, and if successful, proceeds to trap the opponent, throws her axe at them, and with an extended chain arm, barrages the opponent with axe strikes, cultivating in dropping the axe on top of them. This IK at least has the benefit of hitting full screen. However, it still suffers from a long reactable startup and the ability to be blocked, all while requiring 100 SP, making it hardly worth it to use. Could potentially be used to counter certain supers on super flash like Adachi's Atom Smasher or Akihiko's Maziodyne, but practical instances for this IK are few and far between.