GGACR/I-No/Matchup/Sol Badguy

The General Gameplan

Keep it simple: Err on the side of safety while you gather information.
- Use f.S from a range that he can't easily punish, to encourage him to go over in a way that you can easily anti-air or under in a way you can blow up with 5H for big damage.
  - Note that you can reliably deal with GV with 5H because it's slow, but for 2D you need to be more aware of his spacing and how quickly he can move forward.
  - Because f.S is slow to start up, 2S is a primary keep him out when he's advancing and too close for f.S to work.
- When he gets in, use FD to push him out and make his attacks whiff. Think about the pressure options your opponent uses and identify how effective they are at using Gunflame FRC to extend or set up pressure.
  - Gunflame without FRC can typically be punished with jump > Sdive.
  - Counter-poking is generally risky as you take more damage from a counter hit normal starter combo than you would from Wild Throw combo.
  - IB is also effective for creating gaps to escape in by jumping or using STBT, but it's tricky and you need a plan to use it effectively. You'll learn more about that below in the escaping pressure section.
- Try to figure out your opponent's cadence or set-ups for Wild Throw since his high/low mixup isn't terribly dangerous, save for a few specific gimmicks that cost meter and/or are position specific.
- Don't panic burst against Wild Throw or Bandit Bringer if you get hit. The proration is heavy, so unless your guard bar is flashing you wont eat Sol's full damage, and it's also a common "panic burst" point that Sol's are looking for.
- Keep an eye on his Sidewinder conversions. If your opponent uses a 2P > 2H pickup they are specifically trading damage to bait a burst, which is valuable info on your opponent's thought process.
- Toe the line between being low commitment to avoid damage and taking risks when the risks are lowest.
  - Example: When you have over 50% to RC and become safe, or when you're at a distance that forces Sol to commit to moving to get into range to punish you.
Try to get a handle on your opponent's mental state and play style. Also figure out how consistent they are and what they know.
- Some Sols overuse his high commitment options (Volcanic Viper, Grand Viper, Riot Stomp) when they don't have meter or burst to give them a margin of safety. You can beat such players by playing safely.
- Some Sols push too far on Sidewinder loops for that little extra damage and drop them instead of taking the knockdown, or lack conversions that would scare you away from some options. If an option doesn't actually lead to damage, you don't have to fear it as much and run as many counter plays against it.
- Some Sols just kind of generally use 5K, 6P, 2D and 5H in neutral to fish for big hits and don't know how to dance. You can beat such players by having a stronger neutral game.
- Keep an eye out for more generalized/fundamental weaknesses, such as over reliance on reversal DP or reversal super, or a lack of normals to encourage you to block so that he can set up command throw, etc.
Also figure out if your opponent actually knows anything about fighting I-No.
- It's common for people to get tagged by the lingering hitbox of f.S when you use it for oki.
- Force Break Dive is incredible to snipe people in the air since it has strike invul right when it goes active, but also covers distance quickly. A lot of players just don't expect it.
- If your opponent doesn't know how to space their jump ins you'll be able to anti-air reliably.
- Strong note control from outside your opponent's effective range can make them feel like the matchup is in your favor even if it's not. Generally for safety you want to keep notes low in this matchup to deal with Grand Viper, but being able to feint low and then go high to catch them jumping or using IAD can be quite effective.
- A Sol player that doesn't have a solution for a hitbox will commonly "just VV" to beat it.
Test your opponent with plays that specifically beat the options they use most, and then watch for their adaptations. (Use the "Move Interactions" section below if you need tips)
- Getting your opponent to overuse reversals is a great way to get easy damage in the corner. Remember that note doesn't let you do a mixup for free - it lets you watch them block, then safely run your mixup while they're committed to blocking. If you don't see them blocking, punish their escape attempt.
- Conversely, encouraging your opponent to block with several consecutive successful reversal baits means they're now more susceptible to your mixup, or might spend meter to Dead Angle.
- Some opponents will change up their neutral positioning to see if it baits you into overextending. Some will add a bunch of "noise" (such as spamming jump P or IAD backwards j.H) trying to accomplish the same thing. Sol is the kind of character where it's also really effective to just change when VV is used without exactly using it more or less often than is "normal" for the player.
- Some opponents have the poise to switch to a completely defensive mindset and block until you're forced to run a mixup that leaves a gap (such as j.D), which they can easily exploit with Sol's moves (5K for speed, Volcanic Viper for the invul, etc.)
- If your opponent doesn't try to adapt, either you're winning for free or your offense still loses to their stubbornness and you need to adapt more.
Slowly tune your offense to be more and more oppressive to your specific opponent.

What Your Opponent Can Do

3f startup 5K that anti-airs on frame 5 and has a generally good hitbox with some disjoint.
An incredible DP (2 versions) that can start combos when used as an anti-air, and has a follow-up that knocks down.
A fast startup 2D that low profiles under just about everything in the game that can be low profiled.
A slow-startup but fast-moving low profile attack that starts combos.
A slow moving ground projectile that he can FRC to advance behind and/or set up a high/low mixup behind.
A 6P that wallbounces on hit, ensuring that even trades are in his favor.
Delay gatlings that allow him to run effective frametraps.
A command throw that leads to full combos.
A 2-hit j.H that has zero recovery frames and a shrunken hurtbox, along with a self-gatling-on-whiff j.P that also has an incredible hurtbox.
A combo tool (Sidewinder) that scales its damage up with more "Clean Hits" in a combo, leading to situational huge damage, and large average damage. Sol pretty much doesn't need to spend meter to do damage.

Sol can play quite effectively by switching between two basic strategies:

Being super aggressive with his DP that beats anything to encourage blocking, which he then command throws.
Being patient with his pressure and neutral, and baiting his opponent to press buttons when they shouldn't which leads to big counterhit combos.