GGML/Axl

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Frame Data

Matchups

Strategy

Resources

Overview

Overview

Axl, everyone's favorite British goofball, unfortunately hit the ground pretty rough in his introduction to the series. He's painfully rushed and unfinished, with both of his supers failing to combo into themselves (meaning he can't abuse Desperation Mode), janky or tiny hitboxes, stiff animations, and practical frame data that's worse than the numbers imply due to startups happening somewhere in Narnia. His viability is further hurt by having no strong gameplan to force, few good combo routes which lead to low damage by GGML standards. To make matters worse, Axl was supposed to have GGML's charge mechanic on 623S, but due to a misplaced semicolon in the code, Axl cannot charge and thus cannot charge cancel, locking him out of the most common access to infinites. Thankfully, though, it's not all bad! Dototsu grants him a safe-on-block reversal, combo starter, and full-screen option when dashbugged; 5K is a 12-frame advancing overhead that can combo into Dototsu; an incredibly low-profile Instant Kill starter; and a counter that catches most non-low-profile moves. Combined with useable long-range normals and specials, Axl can play an effective Turtling strategy, which while maybe not tournament viable, lets him hold his own as a character against most of the cast in casual play. At Least He's Not Potemkin. Axl's main saving grace is that he doesn't have the crippling limitations that  Potemkin does, and therefore can still somewhat competently play neutral.

Plus, he has the confidence to wear jorts to a fight. You can't compete against that.

 Axl  Axl uses good defensive options and useable long-range pokes to play a turtling bait-and-punish game that many opponents can't afford to disrespect.

Pros

Cons

• Solid Defensive Options: Axl has a solid counter with 214P and a mostly invulnerable move with 214K. Furthermore, Axl's IK has a very low profile throughout its duration which is good for counter poking.
• Good IK: Axl's Instant Kill starter gives him an incredibly low-profile hurtbox for its entire duration, and his punish-oriented gameplan allows for several opportunities to use it, potentially getting around one of his biggest weaknesses in his poor damage.
• jorts

• Can't Charge: Being unable to Charge means that Axl misses out on Charge Cancels, which are what allow most characters in GGML to perform infinite combos. Changing one semicolon in the code gives him the ability to charge. Thanks ASW.
• Broken Supers: Neither of Axl's supers actually combo with themselves; opponents simply fall out of them and can block and punish the rest.
• Poor Damage: Even compared to some characters who don't have CC infinites Axl's damage isn't good. Justice, Kliff, and Potemkin can all bring the pain better than Axl.
• Finnicky Ground Buttons: Axl's normals have a tendency to be slower than they appear. Their early hitboxes often appear in an unfavorable position and need to travel to hit where they are wanted. Combined with his awkward gatlings and normals' long total duration, it can be punishing to press buttons against mobile characters.
• Lacking Air Buttons: j.P, j.K, and j.S all cover similar angles, but all have poor range. j.H has an enormous dead zone between him and the Kusarigama's head.
• Honest in a Dishonest Game: Missing Link is a grimy game, and that's no secret. If a character isn't explicitly disgusting in some way they are going to get eaten because most of the cast are monsters.
• Poor matchup spread against top tiers: While Axl can hold his own against most of the cast, he has crippling matchups in  Justice,  Millia Rage, and  Dr Baldhead - very popular top tiers.
• Sprites Try To Look Tough: but it's still Axl, even in GGML.

Note: Axl's movelist is smattered with random periods of invulnerability. These are placed in awkward points within the animations, which can make them impractical to leverage intentionally, and can result in awkward interactions on occasion.

Axl
Defense
100%Raw Value: 10
Jump Startup
3f
Backdash
22f
Meter Gain Mod
120%Raw Value: 12
Charge Time
N/A
Forward Walk Speed
100%Raw Value: 768
Backward Walk Speed
96%Raw Value: 563
Dizzy Resistance
83%Raw Value: 25
Fastest Attack
Reversals

Normals

5P

5P

• 

• 

• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
7	All	5	10	15	-15	-5	none

• fully extended on frame 10

5K

5K

• 

  The jank finally works in his favor

• 

  frame 12

• 

  frame 16

• 

  frame 20

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
14	Overhead	12	16	9	-3	+3	none

A gap closing overhead for a zoning character. Converts into 214K on hit. Jump cancelable on block to make it safe.

• Axl lunges forwards during the kick

c.S

c.S

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
13	All	8	11	11	-2	-2	none

Add a description to this move using the |description= field

Describe what the move is used for.

Explain the basics of why the initial purpose of the move is worth knowing or worth doing. Mention downsides that are important to know. If the move is particularly important it might have a spot on the stategy page—an important anti-air will likely be mentioned in the neutral section, or an important combo move will be mentioned in the combo theory.

f.S

f.S

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
15	All	12	8	20	-8	-8	none

Add a description to this move using the |description= field

Describe what the move is used for.

Explain the basics of why the initial purpose of the move is worth knowing or worth doing. Mention downsides that are important to know. If the move is particularly important it might have a spot on the stategy page—an important anti-air will likely be mentioned in the neutral section, or an important combo move will be mentioned in the combo theory.

5H

5H

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• 

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• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
17	All	6	12	10	+8	+12	none

• Hits in front of axl on frame 12

6P

6P

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
11	All	7	17	11	-19	-18	none

Add a description to this move using the |description= field

Describe what the move is used for.

Explain the basics of why the initial purpose of the move is worth knowing or worth doing. Mention downsides that are important to know. If the move is particularly important it might have a spot on the stategy page—an important anti-air will likely be mentioned in the neutral section, or an important combo move will be mentioned in the combo theory.

4H or 6H

4H or 6H

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• 

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Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
9x2	Overhead	7	33	7	-13	-8	none

Useful for tick-throw situations

• hits in front of Axl on frame 16

2P

2P

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• 

• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
7	Low	5	11	13	-16	-5	none

This is actually a really nice button. It's fast to start up, has an above average hitbox, and becomes essentially a 2S in disguise when allowed to extend fully.

The main problem with this, and other chain normals, is that the total duration is long. Be mindful not to whiff.

2K

2K

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
9	Mid	9	13	14		-13	none

Axl's air unblockable anti-air. Why they chose this to the the one is beyond me.

• Air Unblockable

2S

2S

• 

  You tell me what this animation is supposed to be

• 

• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
14	Low	4	4(4)4(4)4	13		KD	none

A bizarre move which alternates between hitting in front of and behind Axl at regular intervals. Causes a techable knockdown, which can make the move unsafe on hit if the opponent is ready for it.

2H

2H

• 

  Randomly invuln at 2 points

• 

• 

• 

  Arc forgot the hurtbox AND hitbox here

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
12x3	Low	12	8(3)8	31			Strike 19~22, 31~34

Long range ground button.

The most interesting thing about this move is that it's missing hit and hurtboxes at 2 points in the animation, randomly making him unable to hit or be hit for a few frames at a time.

j.P

j.P

• 

  Fully invuln for 3 frames before going active

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
5	Overhead	8	8	4			Full 5~7

Laughably tiny button. It's like j.K but slower and with a few invuln frames for memes.

j.K

j.K

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
9	Overhead	7	10	8			none

This wouldn't be too bad if it weren't for the range. Sadly, the hitbox is almost identical to the size of Axl's body, which makes it easy to anti-air.

j.S

j.S

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
15	Overhead	6	3	13			none

Like j.K, the hitbox for this move is almost pixel-perfect to the sprite. This means if you want to use it as a jump-in, you need to be close enough to the opponent to tell what brand of toothpaste they use.

j.H

j.H

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
22	Overhead	5	24	1			none

This move is almost good. It has a very tall hitbox, it's fast, and it's really active. The problem is that the entire space between Axl and the head of the kusarigama is a dead zone, effectively making the move into a thin vertical line roughly round-start distance away from him.

• The active frames are so long that under most circumstances you land before a recovery animation can play through

Universal Mechanics

Dust Attack

S+H

• 

• 

  He does this bit twice in a row

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
18	All	3	8(19)9(12)6	9			none

• Whiffs on some crouchers
• Also not an overhead

Throw

6H or 4H

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
20	Throw	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	KD	N/A

Standard Guilty Gear throw.

• Side Switches on hit

Dash Attack

6[6]

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
13	All	22	until contact	10		KD

Add a description to this move using the |description= field

Describe what the move is used for.

Explain the basics of why the initial purpose of the move is worth knowing or worth doing. Mention downsides that are important to know. If the move is particularly important it might have a spot on the stategy page—an important anti-air will likely be mentioned in the neutral section, or an important combo move will be mentioned in the combo theory.

Instant Kill

P+K > 236K

No results

Axl's instant kill has an incredibly low profile hurtbox for the entire duration. Although it's slow and not that big, the hurtbox makes it valuable to counter-poke obvious attacks.

Specials

Rensen Geki

[4]6S

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
14	All	16	13	42		KD	Strike 63~70

It's the same Rensen you know and love from later games in the series, but with a major downside: Axl cannot roman cancel (or an equivalent) in this game. In later games, rensen + roman cancel is an incredibly potent, multi-purpose option. Without access to roman cancels, this move is significantly less valuable and is considerably more risky when the opponent avoids it.

Oh and it's randomly invuln for a few frames at the very end of the recovery.

Kyokusa Geki

[4]6S > 8H

• 

  This animation makes more sense than Strive's equivalent

• 

• 
• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
5x2	Mid	6	26	31			Strike 6~14; 51~63

Add a description to this move using the |description= field

Describe what the move is used for.

Explain the basics of why the initial purpose of the move is worth knowing or worth doing. Mention downsides that are important to know. If the move is particularly important it might have a spot on the stategy page—an important anti-air will likely be mentioned in the neutral section, or an important combo move will be mentioned in the combo theory.

Benten Gari

623S

• 

• 

• 
• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
18	Mid	8	19	18			Upper Body 8~11; Strike 40~45

Big anti-air special.

Oddly enough, this move is supposed to be charge cancellable, but the developers accidentally added a semicolon to the end of the function declaration that would allow him to charge, meaning that when you try to charge, the function doesn't return anything, so he can't charge. With some minor adjustments to the code, Axl is able to charge cancel this special. However, his options after CC are too janky or slow, and he cannot do CC infinites. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I guess.

Tenhou Seki

214P

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
	All	5	33	16		KD	Anji 6P shaped 5~38

Add a description to this move using the |description= field

Describe what the move is used for.

Explain the basics of why the initial purpose of the move is worth knowing or worth doing. Mention downsides that are important to know. If the move is particularly important it might have a spot on the stategy page—an important anti-air will likely be mentioned in the neutral section, or an important combo move will be mentioned in the combo theory.

Raiei Sageki

41236K

• 

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
28	Overhead	63	15	47		KD	Gone 20~62; Strike 103~114

Add a description to this move using the |description= field

Describe what the move is used for.

Explain the basics of why the initial purpose of the move is worth knowing or worth doing. Mention downsides that are important to know. If the move is particularly important it might have a spot on the stategy page—an important anti-air will likely be mentioned in the neutral section, or an important combo move will be mentioned in the combo theory.

Dototsu

214K

• 

  The move that makes Axl a character

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
14	All	16	8	5			Strike 1~3,6~15,24~28

• intermittently invulnerable

Supers

Yousou Renjin

63214K

• 

  Ninjortsu: Jorts Assassination Technique

• 

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
~50?	Low,All	1	Until Reaches Wall/Enemy	N/A		KD	none

For some reason, this move isn't listed in Axl's move list in game in either the original release or the 2019 re-releases. Just Missing Link things I guess.

Much like his 23632H, these compete with Dragon Install 2nd for the worst super in all of Guilty Gear. If you manage to hit someone with this, they can tech out and punish Axl. This will be a grounded hit, so it'll easily confirm into a CC infinite and cost Axl the entire round.

This move comes out instead of a dashbugged Dototsu if you attempt it while you have meter, or are in Desperation Mode. Make sure to keep an eye on your health.

Byakue Renshou

23632H

• 

  Daisuke's vision needs glasses

• 

  Ready to watch Axl's hurtbox phase in and out of existence?

• 

  There it goes!

• 

  Now it's back!

• 

• 

  There it goes again!

• 

  Now it's back again!

• 

• 

• 

• 

  Hitbox lingers until the flame particles are all gone

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	On-Hit	Invuln
50,7x2	All	6	20(21)50	3		KD	Strike 1; All-But-Foot 2~9; Strike 10~14; All-But-Foot 15~36; Strike 37~43

• Suicide button

Drops on hit just like 63214K, and is very easily punished. However, the first hit does a lot of damage, so hit-confirming into this off of a stray hit when your opponent is low enough is a viable kill option.

Colors

• GGML Axl Low Color 1.png

  Default

• GGML Axl Low Color 2.png

  Alt. 1

• GGML Axl Low Color 3.png

  Alt. 2

• GGML Axl Low Color 4.png

  Alt. 3

• GGML Axl Low Color 5.png

  Mirror

Navigation

Guilty Gear: The Missing Link

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May

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