GGST/Leo Whitefang
Leo Whitefang is a versatile character who shifts back and forth between a defensive neutral and his aggressive Brynhildr stance. His bountiful moveset is well befitting a King of Illyria.
Leo is defined by Brynhildr stance. It’s a unique, back turned stance that sacrifices the ability to block in exchange for a plethora of mix-up tools. These include bt.K, a fast low, and bt.H, a fast overhead, both of which start combos. Attacks in Brynhildr stance can be staggered and delayed to mix up their timing, or canceled into regular stance for plus frames. Further boosting the stance's offensive potential is Glänzendes Dunkel - a command grab, and Blitzschlag - a Guard Crush. In addition, the stance's lack of defensive options is compensated for with Kahn Schild, which can parry strikes and reflect projectiles.
Proficient switching between neutral and stance is key to mastering Leo, but entering stance can be risky. Leo’s sluggish movement and vulnerability to being whiff punished necessitates caution when looking for an opening. Luckily, the handsome devil has the tools for the job. His f.S and 5H have the reach to control the mid range. Their flexibility is boosted due to his unique ability to gatling 
buttons into 
buttons. His projectile, Gravierte Würde, has both a fast version and an advantageous version. Score a knockdown for an opportunity to safely use Zweites Kaltes Gestöber, a grounded Cross-upAttacking your opponent after changing which horizontal side you are on, usually by jumping over them. that enters stance. His powerful DPDragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion., Eisensturm - the version of which will grant a hard knockdown - can be used to turn the tides on your opponent. Even on the back foot, Leo will strike fear into his opponent's heart!
Armed with powerful stance mix-ups, strong defense, long-reaching normals and a spectacular sense of humour, Leo truly is a man of anyone’s dreams!
| Lore: | The Second King of the United Kingdoms of Illyria.
He may come off as wild and arrogant, but he's a surprisingly cautious person. He hates losing and holds himself in high esteem. He spares no effort when solving problems. He's made his own personal dictionary, and makes a hobby of defining existing words with actual people and events. |
 Leo Whitefang , classified as a Balance character, is an all-rounder who wields twin swords, turning his back to his opponent as he fights. |
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| Pros | Cons |
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| Leo Whitefang | |
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| 3🔰A rating of how beginner friendly this character is out of 5, according to Arc System Works. |
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| Defense: | 1.00 |
| Guts: | 3 |
| Prejump: | 4 |
| Backdash: | 20f/5f invuln |
| Weight: | Heavy |
| Unique Movement Options: | Step-Dash during Brynhildr Stance |
Normal Moves
5P
- Leo's fastest normal.
- Can cancel into itself and 2P as well as gatling into 6P, which is useful if your opponent blocks 5P while in the air or to simply confirm into a combo.
Leo's fastest normal at 5F startup, this button has very little whiff recovery and can be canceled into several attacks on block. This move is commonly used as a pre-emptive way of stuffing approaches such as May's horizontal dolphins or various Chipp and Millia attacks. It can also be used as an anti-air, especially in cross-up situations or when 6P would simply be too slow to use. One trick to using this in neutral is to execute it using 4P to charge for a fireball. By doing this, you can whiff 2 5Ps and then immediately throw an S fireball if the opponent didn't approach or get hit by the 5Ps.
Gatling Options: 5P, 2P, 6P, 6K, 6H
5K
Let's get this gameplan started
- Can be used as a pressure reset point to go into lighter/heavier buttons or a throw.
- All-purpose combo tool. Gatling into 6K into a special cancel for combos.
- Depending on spacing, can hit meaty and have frame advantage in neutral.
A forward advancing normal with strong reward and movement. The tradeoff is that 5K is a tad slower than the average K normals. However, because 5K moves forward, you can leverage it in conjunction with Leo's step-dash to cover a deceptive amount of space and have an active hitbox ready at the same time. 5K allows you to invade the opponent's space from ranges where Leo normally can't reach. Even if 5K is blocked, Leo is only -1 and can gatling to 6K for a frametrap. Combined with tick-throws, 5K is a great tool that can take you from neutral to Brynhildr mix before your opponent even has a chance to think. As an additional note, if you don't commit to anything after the 5K, the pushback leaves you outside of reversal throw range, creating a really strong throw/strike/bait mixup on block.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, 6H, 5D, 2D
c.S
- Common pressure and combo starter, leads to high reward on hit
- Ground bounces on hit, making it situational for midscreen juggles
- Situationally a high-reward anti-air, but without upper body invincibility.
- Combos to f.S, 2S, 5H, 2H on normal hit
- Combos to 5[D] and 214S on CH
Leo's main starter for big grounded punishes. It also allows for good stagger pressure since Leo can delay his gatlings for frame traps or jump cancel to reset pressure.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, f.S, 2S, 5H, 2H, 6H, 5D, 2D
f.S
- Propels the opponent far on air hit, making it hard to use in juggles midscreen.
- Hold S during recovery to enter Leo's guarding stance on frame 24.
- Combos to 5H, 236S, and 632146H on normal ground hit
- Combos to 6H, 236H and 214S on CH only
This is your primary poking tool. It has decent startup for a mid-range poke, but also extends your hurtbox. You don't want this to whiff unless you're trying to get into [S] guard point stance. However, since the hurtbox on 5H lingers less and leads to more damage on CH, it is usually a better choice than f.S if you want to get into guard point. f.S and 5H gatling into each other. This means f.S is a great tool for building meter and RISC. Connecting f.S is usually a win on block or, even better, on hit. Some common times to press are when the opponent tries to dash at you from longer distances or when you think they will use an attack that extends their hurtbox into your range.
A major word of warning is that this move can be low-profiled in a number of ways: 2D's, 6P's, etc. Avoid being too obvious with usage by mixing things up with 2K, 2S, 5H, and 2D.
Gatling Options: 5H, 2H, 6H
5H
- Reverse gatlings into f.S or 2S for extended pressure.
- Combos to 632146H, 236S, f.S, and 2S
- Big CH starter when canceled into 236H midscreen
- Even larger CH starter when canceled into 236S in the corner
- Hold [H] to enter Leo's guarding stance on frame 25.
- Has a much lower-hitting hitbox than f.S and will hit opponents trying to low profile your pokes.
Huge poke that leads to rewarding combos, especially on counterhit, but with significant recovery. When you are getting low-profiled for poking with f.S a lot, it's worth considering poking with 5H instead. It can be a useful mid-range meaty tool for the same reason, since some players will try to call out f.S meaties with wakeup 6P or something similar after a soft knockdown from 236S midscreen. Recommended to cancel to S Gravierte Würde for safety on block.
Gatling Options: f.S, 2S
5D
- Uncharged Dust
- Uncharged dust on-hit is 0 or neutral frame advantage and causes float
- Causes 80% proration on-hit
Universal overhead attack that's pretty fast. Using BRC before uncharged dust allow you to maintain frame advantage and convert off the faster overhead. Can be gatling from 5K, 2K, or c.S for a mixup.
- Charged Dust
- Data in [] represents values when fully charged.
- Charged dust leads to soft knockdown (+36).
- Holding up during the hitstop frames of charged dust will activate homing jump:
- Doing a homing jump will cause an area shift and put the opponent into a unique high damaging air combo state.
- Pressing any attack twice without jump/dash cancel will activate the homing jump finisher causing a hard knockdown (+23).
- Homing jump combos can sometimes increase meter balance enough to activate positive bonus.
Similar to uncharged but is slow enough to be reacted to, but if it does land it gives a very high damaging combo.
6P
- Solid anti-air with upper-body invincibility. Can beat many f.S attacks, such as Sol's.
- Combos from 5P or 2P, but has shoddy horizontal range. Generally Leo can only do a single jab before 6P.
- 6P can hit behind Leo, but is hard to combo from when that happens.
Being a 6P, the most obvious usage for this move is as an anti-air. However, as mentioned before, there are times where it may be too slow, since it's a 10F startup normal, in which case it may be better to 5P instead. 6P doesn't reach very high, either, so there are times where it's better to simply flashkick or even 2H instead, such as when the opponent is double-jumping to bait it.
Another use for this move is in the neutral ground game. Since 6Ps are all upper-body invincible, this allows you to 6P some ground pokes, such as various other character's 5Ps, f.Ss, and even some command normals like 6Ks. While it may be unintuitive to press a 10F normal vs things like 5Ps, it can work because the upper-body invulnerability frames start on frame 1. On counterhit, you can easily confirm into 214[S] or 236H, or if you're feeling fancy, it is possible to charge a full H flashkick as a combo from 6P as well, though the timing is quite tight.
6K
Great for combos
- Very useful normal to combo into from K buttons.
- Frametraps and combos from 5K and 2K. 2K>6K's gap is throwable, but 5K>6K is not.
- 5P or 2P > 6K does not combo, but can be a useful frame trap.
- Gatlings into 6K gives you enough time to charge, letting you confirm into H Eisensturm for a hard knockdown.
Leo's 6K is an essential part of his blockstrings, hit-confirms, and pressure. It is safe unless Instant Blocked and you can frame trap afterwards, so this is often the best command normal to cancel into.
Unfortunately, it doesn't really see a whole lot of use in neutral, as it's slower than a f.S poke, low-profilable, -4 on block, and only has punishable-on-block special cancel options afterwards. Since that results in a poor risk/reward ratio, this move is better used as a frametrapping tool off other blocked normals than in neutral.
6H
- Ground bounce on air hit. Launches the opponent midscreen, which limits its use to the corner usually.
- Excellent OTG option to finish combos at the cost of pressure.
- Can be used to fish for CH or extend pressure by advancing forward, but somewhat risky because it is slow.
- Larger range than Leo's other normals, but is limited by its very slow startup.
Gatling Options: f.S, 2S
[H]S or [S]H
[S] Version
[H] Version
Attack
- Blocks mid and high attacks, but loses to lows and throws. Lows will counter-hit Leo.
- Can guard supers!
- The stance looks different when activated from f.S or 5H, but it has the same properties and follow-up.
If you hold the button after f.S or 5H, you will go into a guard animation. If you press the opposite button you are holding (S while holding H or vice versa) you will perform a follow up attack. You can exit the stance without attacking by releasing the button you are holding; doing so has 16 frames of recovery. Because you do not go through blockstun while holding the guard point, you can often let go of the stance and still punish large attacks that are guarded.
2P
This move is pretty similar in usage to 5P, but is a frame slower in startup and also has a couple extra frames of recovery. Due to this, it's generally better to use 5P instead, but since 5P can be low-profiled, there are instances where you should use 2P. 2P can also be very situationally used as an anti-air with sort of a low-profile hurtbox, which gives it a slight advantage over 5P in some cases. If the move is blocked, you can frametrap into 6P or 6K, or try to leverage the disjointed hitbox of 2S despite it not being a gatling.
Gatling Options: 5P, 2P, 6P, 6K, 6H
2K
Low mixup
- Leo's staple low for mixups and poking outside of stance.
- Gatling into 2D or 6K for combos and pressure, or 5D for an overhead mixup.
2K is Leo's fastest normal besides jabs and has decent reward, making it Leo's best punish starter for many moves that are slightly unsafe. It is also a great tool for taking your turn back when the opponent is safe but disadvantaged.
Gatling Options: 6P, 6K, 6H, 5D, 2D
2S
- Roughly the same range as 2K.
- One of Leo's only disjointed normals.
- Floats mostly directly upward on air hit, allowing for the 2S > 5H loop in the corner.
- Combos to 5H, 2H, and 236S on normal hit
- Combos to 6H and 214S on CH
A surprisingly good poke. 2S has 10 frames of startup, hits low, and can be used to low-profile some horizontally-oriented jumping attacks, like Ram's j.S. 2S's disjointed hitbox also lets you win some surprising interactions in the midrange into the opponent's faster attacks with extended hurtboxes. This mostly affects P, K, and f.S attacks. 2S also gatlings into H normals and can rarely even be used to convert off some trades.
Gatling Options: 5H, 2H, 6H
2H
- Launches on ground hit and also useful for extending air juggles
- Has occasional use as a high risk, high reward anti-air.
- Fast enough to make true blockstrings from f.S and 2S
Important combo filler. 2H allows Leo to combo into 214[S] -> bt.K / bt.S for juggles.
Gatling Options: f.S, 2S
2D
- Despite the awkward animation, it is actually a low attack.
- Decently safe on block, especially when spaced
- Leo is airborne from frame 5. This means 2D can challenge tick throw attempts and also to beat some low attacks, but this can be exceptionally risky on defense.
- Can not cancel into specials.
- Leads to a large conversion on CH, making this a neutral tool worth respecting
This attack moves Leo slightly forward and it's good to use it while buffering [4]6X or [2]8X. Because it's airborne it will beat out other low pokes, but unlike most sweeps it's not a good option to go under the opponent's attacks. It also is not good for hitting moves like 
Sol's Night Raid Vortex or 
I-No's Stroke the Big Tree because Leo does not scrape the ground with his hitbox.
j.P
Leo's fastest air normal. Sometimes j.S is too slow after an air dash, but j.P will barely connect. Low reward on hit but strong on block. Used only when speed and blockstun is more important than conversion strength
Gatling Options: j.P
j.K
Leo's preferred jump-in attack.
- Decent hitbox for descending onto an opponent at an angle.
- Long startup, but an alright amount of active frames to compensate.
Gatling Options: j.D
j.S
- Hits twice.
- Essential combo tool for optimized midscreen combos
Pretty good air-to-air, since it allows for good conversions on hit and is relatively fast. The two hits also makes converting on grounded opponents stable and provides significant frame advantage on block.
Gatling Options: j.H
j.H
Either you're covering yourself during a backwards IAD, or you misinput your DP
- Only jump-in that provides CH benefits.
- j.S actually scales better in combos.
Massive horizontal high damage attack, but limited by its speed.
j.D
- Has landing recovery, be careful where you aim it.
- Cancels into special moves on hit or block.
- Can be used in corner combos due to it's wallbounce property on hit
Universal Mechanics
Ground Throw
6D or 4D
- Transitions to Brynhildr stance after a successful throw.
Leo's throw is an important option for opening up your opponent and getting stance pressure started. Moves like 5K and c.S offer great tick throw opportunities, and once your opponent becomes scared of the option, getting CH starters becomes much easier.
Air Throw
j.6D or j.4D
Special Moves
Gravierte Würde
[4]6S/H
Very advantageous projectile
"Engraved Honour"
S version
H version
- S version hits twice and travels about 3/4 of the screen.
- H version hits four times and travels one screen length before dissipating.
- Leo is in counterhit state for the recovery.
S Gravierte Würde is an excellent option for controlling space in neutral, as it's fast and covers a decent chunk of the screen. The H version, while slower in startup and travel time, goes further, is heavily plus on block and lets Leo approach behind it if he gets a chance to throw it out in neutral.
The multi-hitting nature of the projectile lets it beat single-hit projectiles, such as 
Ky's S Stun Edge and Sol's Gun Flame.
Eisensturm
[2]8S/H
The Silverback agenda
"Iron Storm"
H version followup
- H version has an additional hit that spikes the opponent to the ground, which causes a hard knockdown.
A meterless, huge reversal. Very unsafe on grounded block unless RC'd and with counterhit recovery to boot, so don't overuse it. The H version's hard knockdown allows Leo to start stance pressure afterwards by whiffing 236H immediately after landing.
Erstes Kaltes Gestöber
236S
"Cold Drifts: The First"
- No follow-ups anymore.
- Knocks down on hit.
- Punishable on regular block unless spaced well, and almost always punishable when it's Instant Blocked.
Leo's primary combo ender off of small hits without meter. Can dash in afterwards to get a meaty.
Zweites Kaltes Gestöber
236H
Important knowledge check
"Cold Drifts: The Second"
- [] is frame data for cross through
- Crosses through opponent if close after a minimum of 16 frames during the startup.
- Transitions to Brynhildr stance on crossup.
- Can be thrown making it risky to do raw, especially off of cancels
- Instant blocking leaves Leo point blank range and +2. The opponent can throw and OS the whiff with RC to beat all of Leo's meterless options. Leo can backdash and whiff punish a throw attempt.
Leo's 236H is an extremely important tool for entering Brynhildr stance from essentially any knockdown, but its usage in neutral is one he will have to scout your opponents ability to deal with or else you will be eating a lot of throws. Leo can also use 236H FRC throw to quickly close the gap, but it is an expensive cheesy option that should be used sparingly. Minor note: there is 1 frame as Leo transitions from front to behind the opponent where the opponent will whiff throw in the wrong direction, and be punished by 236H.
Turbulenz
214S (Hold OK)
"Turbulence"
- Transitions to Brynhildr stance if [S] is held.
- Too slow to combo on a grounded opponent without a counter-hit or RC, with the exception of 2H.
- Leads to large damage on counter-hit, but risky as it's pretty unsafe.
- Causes a hard knockdown, making it a good choice to end combos midscreen.
One of Leo's three ways into backturned stance. Usually unsafe to kick attacks unless spaced well.
Brynhildr Moves
bt.P
Brynhildr Stance -> P
Antiair and pressure tool
- +2 on block on earliest stance cancel
- Upper body invuln, which allows it to stuff jump-ins or moves with a high hitbox, similarly to a 6P.
Brynhildr stance anti-air, can also be used for pressure. Go into bt.K for combos or to continue pressure, decent reward on hit.
Gatling Options: bt.K, bt.S, bt.H, bt.D
bt.K
Brynhildr Stance -> K
Backturned low
- ±0 on block on earliest stance cancel
- Dash and jump cancelable.
Leo's only low while in the Brynhildr stance. Good option to begin Brynhildr pressure as it's plus, and leads to a good reward on hit.
Gatling Options: bt.P, bt.S, bt.H, bt.D
bt.S
Brynhildr Stance -> S
Combo tool
- +5 on block on earliest stance cancel
bt.S can be used for poking, combos and pressure. Usually followed up by bt.H, but mixing up between this and stance cancel -> 2K on block gives you a solid high/low mixup. Leads to a very good reward on hit with meter.
Gatling Options: bt.H, bt.D
bt.H
Brynhildr Stance -> H
Block this overhead
- +5 on block on earliest stance cancel
- Unlike in Xrd, hits frame 18 on crouching opponents
- Leo is considered airborne from frame 9. bt.K>bt.H done at the earliest timing is unthrowable, but a delayed bt.H cancel can be thrown.
Brynhildr stance overhead, leads to incredible reward on hit with meter when canceled into Stahlwirbel. It's punishable on block unless stance cancelled, which makes it plus instead and allows you to frame trap safely to continue pressure.
Gatling Options: bt.D
Kahn-Schild
Brynhildr Stance -> D
You thought it was your turn to play the video game?
"King's Shield"
- Leo's only defensive option from backturn.
- Catches strikes and reflects projectiles.
- At close range, instead of reflecting projectiles, the normal riposte will trigger as if you caught a strike.
- At range, attacks will be deflected off the shield and stagger the opponent, but won't guarantee damage.
The threat of this move makes mashing out of backturn pressure very scary, as you can turn generic mash buttons into parries off of blocked backturned moves. Good move for forcing opponents to respect you, but be warned that you will lose to throws or slower moves performed on read.
Glänzendes Dunkel
Brynhildr Stance -> 214K (Hold OK)
Mom always said: "If the can won't open up, DUNK IT!!"
"Shining Darkness"
- Stays in Brynhildr stance if held.
- Subtle animation helps offset the startup.
Respectable damage by itself, leads to a lot more if you have meter to RC it. Useful to open up the opponent when they are conditioned to block everything else you throw at them out of stance.
Blitzschlag
Brynhildr Stance -> 214H (Hold OK)
"Lightning Strike"
- Stays in Brynhildr stance if held.
- Plus on block and builds a lot of RISC.
- Leo's best non-super option for breaking the wall.
Brynhildr stance guard crush, used to keep a scared opponent locked down.
Cancel
Brynhildr Stance -> 22
Turn off the blender
- Cancels Leo's backturn stance, turning him to face the opponent.
Overdrives
Stahlwirbel
632146S during Brynhildr Stance
"Steel Vortex"
- Very fast.
- High damage.
- Hits fullscreen.
Just as good as it always was. Great to cash out after you catch someone with a backturn button as its single hit makes it great for adding damage and giving you a launch early on in combos. It's also helpful as a reaction super if you happen to be in backturn in neutral, which assuming you are means you're just enough of a nut to scare people with it.
Leidenschaft des Dirigenten
632146H
Weapon X!
"The Conductor's Passion"
- Very invincible.
- Locks opponent into a cinematic on hit.
- Interruptible between 4th and 5th (Final) hit.
Each swing has an enormous hitbox, and the opponent will often have to wait until after the fourth hit to try to punish it, giving you time to RC it. It is however, incredibly unsafe, so opponents will be able to see it coming from far away.
| 76% complete | ||
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| Page | Status | % |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | more detailed/accurate pros and cons, more detailed description of moves and their uses. | 17/20 |
| Combos | Very few combos, some video samples need to be recorded and new routes need to be added from the new patch. | 6/10 |
| Strategy | Missing several details and information needs to be formatted. | 8/20 |
| Frame Data | Missing proration on all moves. | 45/50 |
External References
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To edit frame data, edit values in GGST/Leo Whitefang/Data. |
Click [★] for character's full frame data
• HUD •
Controls •
Frame Data & System Data •
Patch Notes •
• Movement/Canceling •
Offense •
Defense •
Damage/Combo •
Attack Attributes •
Gauges •
Misc •