Axl is a mindset, and that mindset screams Axl Bomber! If you want to control the neutral at the touch of a button, but also enjoy having the option to flaunt your execution so hard you turn your opponent into a highlight clip, Axl is for you. He can be as simple as pressing buttons to pressure entire sections of the screen with his oppressive, long-range normals (5P, 2P, 2H, f.S), anti-airs (6K, 2S, 5P), and long-range specials (Rensen, Snail, Rainwater). He can also convert said pressure into massive damage, employing his command grab (Winter Mantis) and instant overhead (j.H) to open up the opponent's defences. Once open, Axl has a plethora of options to dish out some damage via his ability to stop time - One Vision, or a TK Bomber loop. Axl has some flashy combos, sometimes making use of advanced techniques such as charge partitioning. Axl rewards a somewhat risky and reactive playstyle, relying on mixups and conditioning above all else. Resetting to neutral is almost always preferable for Axl, as his close range okizeme setups, while good, are inferior to his mid-range options.
His only real weakness is his defence, as he has little but metered reversals. Due to Axl's high recovery on whiffed normals, knowledgeable opponents can bypass your long-range pokes, such as by dashing under 5P, and deal damage with seemingly no recourse. Without tension, Axl must take risks to make the most of difficult situations.
Overall, Axl offers a diverse toolkit that is beginner-friendly, while also allowing for intermediate and advanced players to fully utilize their match-up and game knowledge. A good Axl must be able to make informed decisions on what their opponent wants to do consistently throughout the match, making hard reads to disable the enemy offence. It's also important to be aware of situations which allow for conversions into combos, allowing you to be on the offense from what is usually a defensive playstyle. If that sounds like your kind of thing, Axl is the character for you.
Axl Low Axl Low , classified as a Long Range type, is a long range attacker who can take opponents down at a distance.
- Zoning: massive normals allow Axl to easily control wide swaths of the screen with the press of a button. He also has Rensen to push opponents out and a command grab that is fastest at fullscreen to keep the opponent on their toes.
- Anti airs: great control of airspace with long-range normals and special moves. These complement his already great grounded buttons to make approaching him a nightmare.
- Close Range Tools: has a variety of frametraps and counterhit starters at close range. Even though he is best at midrange, Axl is no slouch when it comes to up-close offense.
- Damage: has relatively bad damage output, unless he has meter to spend and the opponent is cornered. Most of his buttons only let him combo into a special move for a knockdown and nothing more when they connect at max range.
- Close/Midrange Defense: no meterless reversal or counters, and dead zones in long-range attacks at closer ranges. Axl has to be careful about what normals he picks at what range.
Axl Low |
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Normal Moves
- All damage values are tested on Ky.
5P
- Throws the chain at about a 10° angle.
- Special cancelable.
- Whiffs on crouchers and people running at Axl (Except Zato).
- Damage value increases at max range.
Covers an incredible amount of ground and air space for how fast it is. Good at checking jumps and specials during startup.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, 6H
5K
- Jump and special cancelable.
- Closest thing Axl has to a jab.
Your go-to abare move. Gatling into 2D to build space and gain a knockdown on hit and cancel that into Rensen on block to start playing Axl.
5K can be used as an situational anti-air vs low airborne moves like Ky's Foudre Arc or I-No's hoverdash.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, 6H, 5D, 2D
c.S
- Jump and special cancelable.
- Combo and pressure filler.
2nd hitbox means it can be used as an situational (and potentially highly rewarding) anti-air vs opponents just above you.
Hits OTG after Soaring Chain Strike which lets him set up his safejump oki.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, f.S, 2S, 5H, 2H, 6H, 5D, 2D
f.S
- Special cancelable.
- Excellent mid-range poke.
Even though it doesn't extend as far as some of Axl's other pokes, it covers a space that his other normals are too slow to cover. Also excellent as a whiff punish button.
Gatling Options: 5H, 2H
5H
- Special cancelable.
- Downward sickle slice with decent range. Ground bounces on air hit.
Can be a mediocre anti air, if it hits early enough in the animation. See Hitboxes.
5D
- Forces stand.
- Results in a cinematic if charged or CH.
- Uncharged 5D is 0 on hit.
- Damage value increases when fully charged.
One of Axl's two overheads.
6P
- Axl's up-close anti-air.
- Special cancelable.
- Forces stand.
Axl performs a gut punch. Useful as a counterpoke to go through other long pokes due to its invulnerability.
Can combo into 214H from a spaced grounded hit or airborne hit, but will whiff on close grounded hit.
6K
- Special cancelable.
- Whiffs crouching.
- Damage value increases at max range.
Anti-air that hits around iad height. Also work as a great combo tool in air juggles, as it can go into rensen if you can buffer it early enough.
6H
- Advances very far forward.
- Gives a wallbounce on airborne hit in corner.
Axl's other overhead. If it connects deep as a meaty, it can link into 5K or c.S.
2P
- Special cancelable.
- Damage value increases at max range.
Quick low hitting poke, great at checking ground movement, especially since 5P whiffs on dashers.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, 6H
2K
- Special cancelable.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, 6H, 5D, 2D
2S
- Special cancelable.
- Whiffs crouching.
- Damage value increases at max range.
Big anti air that hits above and in front of Axl, excellent at discouraging jump ins.
Covers a huge area. On counter hit you get decent damage while knocking the opponent back full screeen.
Gatling Options: 5H, 2H
2H
- Special cancelable.
- Hits low profile moves.
- Damage value increases at max range.
Long range low that's essential for Axl's ground control. On counter hit, pops the opponent up letting you combo into Rensen from any range.
Also great as a gatling after f.s giving very consistent conversions.
2D
- Special cancelable.
Incredibly good when fishing for counter hits.
Gatlings from 5K, 2K and c.S, making it great for combo filler or a low mix-up.
Cancel into Rensen ([4]6S), Snail (214H) or Rainwater (214S) seemingly leaves you with favourable spacing for a Red Roman Cancel (RRC).
j.P
- Special cancelable.
- Damage value increases at max range.
j.K
- Aerial action allowed (dash).
- Special cancelable.
Axl's fastest air button making this the preferred normal in close range air-to-air situations.
Gatling Options: j.D
j.S
- Special cancelable.
- Damage value increases at max range.
Huge air-to-ground move that controls a lot of space. Has a hitbox in front of Axl on startup letting you clip opponent trying to jump at you.
On deep, crouhching or counterhit, let's you combo into j.214H. Otherwise, it's a decent frametrap that's tricky to punish.
Loses to 6P at some ranges so be cautious.
Gatling Options: j.H
j.H
- Special cancelable.
- Damage value increases at max range.
Hits directly below Axl, making it good for jump ins, or challenging offense when jumping.
With 50 meter for red rc, this turns into an instant overhead that can come from a raw jump or a jump cancel from 5K or c.S, boosting Axl's offensive game.
j.D
- Special cancelable.
- Wall bounces in corner.
Blows the opponent away on hit making it a decent jump in. Plenty of pushback on block meaning you don't need to worry about throws when landing.
Turns into a strong combo tool in the corner letting you get wallbounces and special cancel into Axl Bomber.
Universal Mechanics
Ground Throw
Standard ground throw that gives hard knockdown. Can get a follow-up OTG 2K for added damage. Can be followed up with an IAD j.H for a safejump.
In the corner, can be OTG'ed by the first hit of his Sickle Storm overdrive to end rounds
Air Throw
Your standard air throw. Fits into his anti-air kit by being his best option against opponents directly above him.
Special Moves
Sickle Flash
[4]6S
- Axl's longest range poke and your best friend.
- Follow up cancel window 24~36F, Can be delayed up to 40F
Full-screen chain strike projectile. Axl's signature move. It's very commonly referred to as "Rensen" (short for the Japanese name "Rensengeki").
Projectile persists if Purple Roman Cancelled (PRC), similar to how YRC functioned in Xrd, but appears to be less useful due to the long startup and the fast speed of the projectile.
Soaring Chain Strike
8 after Sickle Flash
- Sends the opponent towards you, even on block.
- Whiffs crouching.
Pulls back the chain in a upward arc. Mostly used to catch the opponent when they jump over Sickle Flash.
Spinning Chain Strike
2 after Sickle Flash (Hold OK)
- Vacuums the opponent no matter what.
- Can be held for more hits.
Sickle Flash's close-range option. Leaves Axl quite open at a distance. Excellent for chewing through armor like Potemkin's Hammerfall. Very vulnerable to jump-ins if held, so use with caution.
Winter Cherry
S after Sickle Flash
- Detonates the sickle.
- Can be delayed up to 40F. Axl shouts his signature "Yes!" if delayed explosion hits. Values in [] show the delayed explosion data.
The sickle will only detonate at the maximum range of the move. If it is used anywhere other than fullscreen, it will likely whiff.
The delayed version is useful for locking down your opponent from fullscreen, as it makes the move safe and increases the damage on hit, as well as the chip damage on block. Possibly also increases the size of the explosion - at least visually.
Winter Mantis
41236HS
- Axl's command grab.
- Slow but starts from the opposing corner.
- Damage value changes at point blank range.
- Arrives between 28~46F, Unblockable
Full-screen command grab with excellent damage. The command grab is active only during the pullback, meaning the startup goes from okay at long-range to horrendous at close range. At point blank range, Axl will perform a grounded Axl Bomber instead allowing him to combo after without the use of RC.
Rainwater
214S
- Moves Axl backwards while being difficult to punish.
- 3F of Landing Recovery
Axl jumps backwards and swings his sickle in a downward arc. Can be converted in the corner from a close hit with either 5P or 5K
Good for ending blockstrings or baiting throws.
Snail
214HS (Air OK)
- Has a deadzone in front of Axl.
- Air version has longer range.
- 10f of landing recovery for air version.
Axl does a mid-ranged chain strike in an upward arc for the ground version, and a downward arc for the air version.
Air version works as a combo tool after j.S on deep, crouching or counterhit, or as a decent long range frame trap on block.
Axl Bomber
j.623HS
- Air only, not a reversal.
- Causes hard knockdown
- 7F of landing recovery
Upward flaming uppercut that can't be used grounded.
TK Axl Bomber, either performed raw or from a jump cancel, is an essential combo tool for Axl's high damage routes.
Overdrives
Sickle Storm
236236H
- 8F between first and second hit
Axl's only invincible reversal. First hits high for anti-airing, while the 2nd hit covers the whole ground.
While the 2nd hit is safe on block, if the 1st hit is blocked grounded the opponent can jump over the 2nd hit for a full jump in punish.
One Vision
632146P
The first input of the command, at the cost of 50% Tension, activates the install, this is indicated by a purple aura around Axl. This can only be used on the ground. Executing the command again anytime after that does NOT cost any Tension and will activate roughly 2 seconds of timestop. The activation can be done both on the ground and the air. It can be activated during normals, specials or in neutral.
The activation of One Vision can be blocked by the opponent, so it is recommended to only activate from a hit-confirm or if completely sure the opponent is committed to an attack (i.e using One Vision as a whiff punish). If One Vision is blocked, the timestop effect does not occur and the install fizzles out; as such, the spent Tension is wasted.
Install lasts 5 seconds (295F?) from when you activate it after the first input. After this, it wears away. (And plays a subtle sound effect.) - Unblockable and seemingly removes Axl's hitbox during the animation, but is not strike invincible during its startup.
Effect time lasts 2 seconds (125F?) - Blockable both crouching and standing.
Video Guides
External References
- Open Beta 2 data provided by @apI4fRGlmFAaJ5T https://twitter.com/apI4fRGlmFAaJ5T/status/1393906277986623492
- Translation by Pssych https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1p37W1E6wPlvJEyM01LC1-fU5Faunj5JXOTr8XRnCnMc/edit#gid=2076950116
- Hitbox Images provided by Azrael_MadDog: https://twitter.com/Azrael_MadDog/status/1404824217611296769
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Page | Status | % |
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Overview | Needs more character data as it becomes available, transparent images of moves and hitboxes where they are missing, more thorough move explanations (with properties and uses). | 16/20 |
Combos | Good job lads. Just need to keep it tidy and organised. Keep things colour coded and sorted by difficulty, followed by button (P,K,S,H,D,j). We've got videos for nearly everything, which is fantastic. All that is left is to fill in the gaps for tension gain and wherever someone was too lazy to say anything beyond how much damage a combo does. | 9/10 |
Strategy | Needs more coverage on general strategy, or at least more elaborate ones. Oki and frametraps are not really Axl's thing, but we should think about listing practical stuff like setups, safe-jumps, etc. A lot of blockstrings were removed from the combo page some time ago, so look into older revisions and transfer them to Strategy. We should reluctantly also tell people how to beat our boy Axl in the "Fighting Axl" section. | 6/20 |
Frame Data | Missing data from a few moves such as recovery and active frames for overdrives and air normals. Please list your sources somewhere as well. | 40/50 |