BBCF/Izayoi/Strategy

Izayoi

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

General Tactics

TL;DR (For Beginners)

Izayoi's basic gameplan is to play defensively in Normal Mode and zone in order to gain stocks, then switch to Gain Art (GA) mode and rush down the opponent. She must switch between Normal Mode and Gain Art Mode depending on her stocks and the game situation. Moves like 236C and 236A are particularly good for keeping opponents at bay and building stocks. Izayoi has solid pokes and teleports in order to back off or confirm hits. In GA, she uses her strong mixups to open up the opponent. You can use forward dash with j.A to create an instant overhead, use 236D > 214D to create a safe crossup, or use her new C normals for great pressure.With the right starter and good execution, she can also deal great damage off of most confirms. The important thing to remember how many stocks you have at a given moment. If you're running low, you want to make sure you're in a good position to change modes and build stocks again. If it's available, Overdrive makes stock management much easier. In neutral, you can use OD to quickly gain stocks in Normal Mode, or you can stay in Gain Art mode and passively gain stocks to close out a match.

Important Moves

5B - Great midrange poke
236B - Another Great poke. Hits low and gives Izayoi a stock.
623C - Reversal
214C - Great back off move, especially in pressure after Crusade Seraphim
2A - Great button to mash with. Leaves Izayoi plus, hits low.
236A/D - Great projectiles for covering neutral. 236A in particular is great for zoning and getting stocks in Normal Mode
214D: Amazing teleport to start pressure and crossup
2C (GA): Great for blockstrings. Amazing damage off of a Fatal Counter.

Blockstrings

Like any other character in Blazblue, Izayoi's blockstrings are varied and change depending on game state, characters, and the players. This section is intended to introduce common concepts that you can implement and change to suite your needs. Some of the more complex strings here show how far down the rabbit hole you can go.

Normal Mode

Generally speaking, normal mode blockstrings intend to stay safe, build stocks, or frame trap the opponent.

5B > 236A

A very safe blockstring into Sonic Saber. Gives you a stock if they block Saber. Probably the closest thing to a basic Attack > Fireball sequence from more traditional fighting games.

2A > 5B > 5C > 236B > 214C

A solid blockstring to gain a stock in pressure and back off to neutral. You can also hold the stance to catch jumps and/or frame trap.

2A > 5B > 2C > 5C > 6C > 236[B]~A > 2A > 6A > IAD > j.B > j.A

Somewhat complex but great blockstring to teach you some core concepts from Izayoi. Stance cancels are an amazing way to increase frame advantage and continue your turn. 6A jump cancel is also a great tool for staying in if you get pushed out. j.B is a great air normal because it can also cross up for left/right mixups.

2A > 2A > 2B > 2C > 236A > 236C > 214C(on block)/214B(on hit)

A solid blockstring that uses Sonic Saber to back off, then re-engage with 236C. 236C is a solid special to hit afterwards because of its speed and range. C Mirage Thruster (214C) is a great special for backing off during pressure. Even if this entire string is blocked, you gain 2 stocks from it while staying safe.

Gain Art Mode

Gain Art Mode blockstrings introduce tricky mixups for your opponent to deal with. Depending on your current stock count and your needs, you may end up removing or adding certain GA specials/extensions to these. Regardless, these strings show some of the crazier things Izayoi is capable of in the right hands.

5B > 236A > 236BD

You can use raw Astraea in order to catch out people trying to jump after 236A.

5A > 5B > 5C > 236D > 214D > 2A

A basic set up for left/right mixup into 2A. You can also dash j.A for an instant overhead. If you want to preserve stocks, you can opt for 236A > 214D, but that requires farther spacing to set up frame advantage.

66j.AA > 2A > 5C > 2C > 2A > 5C > jc > 66j.B

Introduces some high/low ideas for Gain Art pressure. Forward dash j.A sets up a strong high/low mixup. You can j.A a second time for a high, or 2A for a low.

2A > 2A > 6A > 2C > 236D > 214D > 2B > 2C > 2A > 5C > jc

Intrdouces pressure resets with left/right mix. 2C is a strong pressure reset. It leaves Izayoi plus, and Fatal counters. 236D > 214D sets up strong left/right mixup in general.

66j.AA > 2A > 5C > 2C > 2A > 5C > jc > 66j.B > 2A > 2A > 6A > 2C > 236D > 214D > 2B > 2C > 2A > 5C > jc

DO NOT try to copy and memorize this. This is a demonstration of how you can combine the other blockstrings for nutty pressure sequences. Play with this sequence and experiment with it.

Okizeme

Normal Mode

2A Hitstop OS (2A > 5C Check):
After any 623C knockdown, run up 2A into buffered 5C will catch any wake up that isn't immediate. If the 2A hits, the 5C will automatically come out and you can cancel into another 623C for a free 2 stocks. If the 2A whiffs, you will recover with slight frame advantage.

IAD j.C Safejump:
After 632C knockdown, IAD>j.C. Very easy and secure setup. Depending on the timing, you can also catch forward rolls with this maneuver. This can confirm into your normal NM BNB.

Gain Art Mode

66 j.C Safejump:
After Strike Fall, immediately do a 66 j.C as low to the ground as possible. This will catch anyone not getting up immediately and other inputs can be buffered early during the j.C to automatically confirm a pickup if it hits and do nothing if it whiffs. Safe against all reversals. This is the default oki setup that most Izayoi players will go to. The only real downside to this is the total lack of safe mixup on wakeup as even a simple 66 j.A loses to 5A mashing.

D Saber Oki:
After any Strike Fall ender, do 236D immediately. This is safe vs any ~5f or slower reversal, tends to be safe against 4f or faster reversals anyway due to spacing, and will catch almost all wake ups except for midscreen back roll or very delayed techs (which can easily be caught by 66 j.C or other normals). Since the corner removes the back roll option, it's ideally used there. Do note that there are character specific counters like Hakumen's Yukikaze. While a solid setup into a number of mixups (dash high/low, teleport left/right, etc.), it is fairly expensive to use 1 extra stock at the end of every combo and the aforementioned counters are still a threat.

5C > 623C Oki:
After any Strike Fall ender, do 5C immediately while buffering a 623C (or any other special/super). If the opponent does anything that isn't an immediate wake up, the 5C will hit and the buffered special will come out. If the opponent gets up immediately, the 5C will whiff and still leave you at advantage. The downside to this setup is the limited mixup potential and (potentially) limited damage (ie. 66 j.C after is loses to mashing but 66 j.A is safe against even 5f A normals).

Trans-Am Oki:
After basically any sort of knockdown, you can pop Trans-Am and observe what they're doing during the super flash. If they are trying anything except for a normal tech, you get to confirm a free punish during the super flash. If they wake up normally, there are a couple of tricks you can do. A common one is to 3C under them and get a free cross under while the bits cover for your recovery. Whiffing her overhead (6[B]) will cause the bits to hit your opponent and let you go for an empty low or some riskier mixup.

Examples of using Trans-Am on Oki

Tips and Tricks

Note that all the following tricks are specific to Gain Art mode.

236A > 214D from fullscreen can often catch people who are passively responding to fireball zoning. It converts into a full combo on hit and leads to pressure on block.
66 j.C > jump cancel > IAD > crossup j.C. Due to the nature of her aerial airdash, this works as a fast crossup to crack open a particularly stubborn defense.
Whiffing air grab after a hoverdash lets Izayoi fall faster than normal and opens up empty low/throw as mixup options.
44 j.236B > j.214D is a stock intensive but strong wakeup option. The backdash tends to have enough invuln to escape meaties (obviously not viable against Jin's snowflake or other oppressive setups) and j.236B can convert into ~3.5-4k depending on stock usage. This can also be used as a means of baiting and punishing DP's when the opponent has meter to rapid cancel.
You can aim the hoverdash's trajectory by holding an up or down directional. Holding down after a hoverdash moves Izayoi in a manner similar to a typical instant airdash.

Izayoi's taunt has an active hitbox and starts up in around 16 frames. This can be comboed after with rapid cancel or followed up meterless if Trans Am is active. The best follow up normal after rapid cancel is usually 6A due to it forcing crouch. Obviously this should only be used for stylish punishes due to it being a poor starter and having awful startup.

Fighting Izayoi

Izayoi's gameplan can be simplified into a few main steps:

Fill her Zero Weave guage (AKA get stocks)
Get in on you (which isn't that hard if she's using her fireballs, teleports, and multiple air options)
EZayoi you to death with her brutal mixups
Repeat if she runs out of stocks

Normal Mode

Knowing this, you should absolutely exploit her weaknesses during Step 1 and keep her there. You should be doing everything in your effort to avoid getting touched by her fireball and slashes as they still build 1 stock on block. While she covers big sections of the screen with her specials, they are somewhat slow to recover so you can whiff punish them with careful movement or just blow through with certain specials. Air approaches are somewhat of a good option since her only real grounded anti-air is her 623B which has a tendency to whiff if spaced carefully. None of her teleports are safe so feel free to mash if they're doing sneaky B teleports in the corner.

Gain Art Mode

Now she has stocks and is starting to look a bit scary. You probably messed up somewhere or she decided to burn OD on round start. Regardless, you need to avoid letting her get in on you. Be aware that she has 3 air options in this mode so things like two jumps > airdash or airdash > jump are a possibility. Her ground dashes can be punished since she cannot block until she stops. If she ever teleports in the air, that means that it was a D teleport and she will appear behind you. Remember that it is unsafe if you aren't already blocking a fireball so mash/jump if she does it raw. Avoiding fireballs in general is more important now since blocking one means she gets a free teleport in on you.

If she does get in on you, you will need to start guessing as her high/low game is unreactable up close. Her pressure is stubbier in GA mode due to 5C's reduced range and 6C's lack of cancel options so barrier can throw a wrench in her pressure. Unless your opponent shows that they are willing to end pressure/burn stocks when pushed out far enough, expect them to hover dash to reset pressure once they can't hit you with 2C. Dash ins can be cleanly beaten out by preemptive anti airs, reversals, or even mashing.