GGST/Zato-1/Matchups

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 Zato-1



Matchups


 Anji Mito

An advantageous matchup for Zato, Anji doesn't have amazing ways of dealing with Eddie neutral and his pressure options are lacking.

  • Do not be afraid to block vs Anji, he lacks scary mixups and his primary means of scoring big hits are from counter hits. If you play patiently on defense it is relatively easy to safely escape or punish his options.
    • All of the FuujinGGST Anji Mito 236H.pngGuardAllStartup16 [32]Recovery21Advantage-8 [-6] follow-ups besides Fuujin~SGGST Anji Mito 236HS.pngGuardLowStartup15 (28 with early cancel)Recovery20Advantage-7 are reactable, punishable, or both. Additionally, Fuujin with no cancel is -16 on block. As such, even though the cancels can be delayed quite a lot, the delayed cancel is not generally scary enough to deter you taking your turn back.
      • Fuujin~PGGST Anji Mito 236HP.pngGuardAllStartup30 (43 if early cancelled from Fuujin)RecoveryTotal 43+6 after LandingAdvantage+7 is reaction punishable with a rising air button, j.D is the easiest option with Zato and results in a full combo. Anji's will generally use this move as an early cancel as the pushback from a blocked Fuujin will make the +4 frames of advantage he gets much less powerful.
      • Fuujin~KGGST Anji Mito 236HK.pngGuardStartupRecovery22+6 after LandingAdvantage- is hard to react in time to outright punish, but all of Anji's options afterwards are easily interruptible. The most common are throw, c.S, backdash, and jump. Jump > j.D will either punish these or safely move you out of the corner. It's also good to mix in jump, throw, and mash on reaction as there is different risk reward to all of these options.
      • Fuujin~SGGST Anji Mito 236HS.pngGuardLowStartup15 (28 with early cancel)Recovery20Advantage-7 is Anji's only safe Fuujin follow-up, however at -7 it's generally the end of his turn. It is a low with solid reward on hit, so respect this move and look for his other options. Depending on spacing 2S, 5H, 2D and various Eddie summons can be useful for taking your turn, watch for Anji trying to backdash or jump to steal a turn back and be ready to punish or counterpoke.
      • Fuujin~HGGST Anji Mito 236HH.pngGuardHighStartup21 (34 with early cancel)Recovery24Advantage-9 is a reactable and very unsafe overhead. 2D is your most reliable non-metered punish option.
    • ShitsuGGST Anji Mito 236P.pngGuardAllStartup29RecoveryTotal 52Advantage-6 aka butterfly is a blockstring an oki tool. If used in blockstrings or mistimed on oki it can be reflected with 214S.
    • 236KGGST Anji Mito 236K 1.pngGuardStartupRecoveryTotal 34~50Advantage- aka spin is used in pressure to beat counterpokes but can be reacted to with throw or dash throw to punish.
    • Overall it's best to wait and react to Anji's options, look for no cancel or a dash indicating a throw attempt and counterplay. This is one of few matchups where Zato's lack of defensive options doesn't feel so bad.
  • Zato's Neutral is strong in this MU. Anji is not very fast and lacks very long range moves to stop your from using Eddie.
    • Spin is strong vs many of Zato's normals as they have generally long recover, however Spin doesn't do much vs Projectiles. As 22H and Eddie are considered projectiles they are very strong in neutral vs Anji. Even if he successfully spins either of these you can use an active move such as 22H, 5H, or 236K to force Anji to block once he leaves the spin invulnerability.
    • Anji has a high jump arc, a large j.H, and a long airdash. As such it can be hard to consistently anti-air him with 6P. The most consistent AA options vs Anji is 6P vs IAD and Air Throw vs jump / superjump > airdash.
    • At midrange Anji's buttons have a good ratio of speed to range and can be hard for Zato to contest. It's important to remember that blocking Anji isn't very scary and many of his pokes are low reward on normal hit. As such it's best to play carefully and patiently at this range and favor blocking and movement over counterpoking.
    • Anji has no fullscreen options making summoning Eddie very safe and easy, exploit this to control space and the pace of the match.
    • KouGGST Anji Mito 236S.pngGuardAllStartup12 [28]Recovery14Advantage- is a solid anti-air hampered by it's slow startup and long recovery on whiff. If you can bait an Anji into whiffing Kou using neutral jumps or other tricky movement you can punish with j.D, Air Throw, or even 2H.
  • Defensively Anji is nothing special.
    • His 5f 2P is one of a few that rivals Zato's 5f button in terms of range but the reward on hit and block is even worse, he can't consistently combo off of it and also doesn't have a single frametrap option after it even on hit. There is little reason to respect this button.
    • Spin is really good defensively in spaced pressure scenarios, but baiting it out is rewarded with a throw punish.
    • His only reversal 632146SGGST Anji Mito 632146S.pngGuardStartup1Recovery10Advantage- is a parry that can even parry projectiles, but loses invulnerability after the attack goes off on parrying a projectile. It can be punished with a PRC. Additionally as it is his only reversal and it loses to throws, going for throws on oki and pressure situations is less risky than against most characters.


 Axl Low

  • Axl's zoning makes the use of Eddie in neutral a near non-factor. Patient dashblocks and flying high above the range of his anti-airs will reward you heavily once you make it in, as Axl is particularly weak at dealing with Zato's pressure.
  • Cancelling jD into a PRC will allow you to launch yourself across the screen using its momentum and get in over a gap in Axl's zoning. Additionally, cancelling jD fast PRC into jH will work well as a fullscreen punish into a knockdown to get Eddie pressure started.


 Baiken

  • 4P+K OS is a fairly safe way of dealing with Baiken's H KarbariGGST Baiken 41236H.pngGuardAllStartup18Recovery19Advantage-3 RPS. If she goes for the same side option, or no cancel you will simply stand FD. If she goes for the delayed option you will 6P the crossup and punish.
  • Ground TatamiGGST Baiken 236K.pngGuardAllStartup15Recovery5Advantage-3 is slightly minus on block, despite appearances. There is also a significant gap between the two hits on the ground that can be punished with a moderately fast move such as f.S or 5H. You can take advantage of this if you make the first hit of Tatami whiff by FDing. Most two hit strings into Tatami, such as c.S > f.S or 2K > 2D, can be FD'd to force the first hit to whiff, giving you the chance to mash or jump out.
  • YouzansenGGST Baiken j236S.pngGuardHighStartup9Recovery7 after LandingAdvantage-14 (IAS) is always negative on block, making it punishable if done rising and negative but generally safe if done falling.

 Chipp Zanuff

  • Chipp is one of Zato's hardest opponents due to his extremely strong mobility making it hard to pin him down in neutral. However, even once you've managed to do so, his fast slashes and array of tricky special moves can cause problems for Zato's slow and vulnerable pokes in the close range. Even on defense, his fast buttons and reversal options force Zato to always be wary.
  • Trying to rush down Chipp and chase after his jumps will almost always result in Zato losing the encounter simply because Chipp has faster and more options, so staying grounded and cycling Eddie moves, primarily Leap to cover the air, will more often yield a better outcome
  • Zato has a lot of trouble dealing with Chipp's oppressive mixups, but knowing the escape points will make it significantly easier. Fuzzy jumping and switching guard into a jD will cover all options for his "disappearing" moves, blocking both horizontal and diagonal alpha blades and punishing the genrou zan command throw.
  • Be careful whiffing high recovery moves like 2S up close, since he can either directly punish or get in from reactions alone. 5P is really nice in this match up if you are not confident.
  • Leap, raw or negative edged, is very hard to deal with for Chipp since it covers a lot of where he would like to be and does a ton of damage, which hurts Chipp much more due to his low life. He still has more ways around it than most of the cast, so be sure you are ready to chase him down if he has wasted his jumps to avoid it.
  • Be careful when you decide to use 22H as Chipp wants to be in the air most of the time, and can punish 22H attempts with jump ins when used carelessly.


 Faust

A slightly disadvantageous matchup for Zato. Faust's items make Eddie neutral difficult and Zato's options to interact with the items are weaker than most of the cast. Additionally, Faust's ability to run away is strong vs Zato's overall slow movement.

  • Defense against Faust is fairly straightforward. He is essentially a strike throw character with a scary command grab and solid stagger options.
    • 2KGGST Faust 2K 1.pngGuardAll, Low, LowStartup5Recovery12Advantage-2 is the primary button to watch out for strike / throw / stagger pressure on. It is -2 on block, multi-hitting, has large range, hit-confirmable into 2D for a knockdown, and can force you to block in the air even if you managed to jump out. Due to these properties it is a strong button for staggered pressure into command throw attempts. Fuzzy jump is difficult to use due to it's multi-hitting property, it's easier to watch for the lack of a cancel and attempt to jump or mash 5P. At anything further than point blank the first hit of Faust's 2K will whiff making it effectively a 10f low. As such, mash is often a better option than jump.
    • (Write About Command Throw here)

 Giovanna

  • WIP


 Goldlewis

  • WIP


 Happy Chaos

  • This MU is played similar to Axl. You cannot summon Eddie much from range as Happy Chaos can Shoot you very easily for doing so, and Oppose does not armor the gun shots.
  • To approach HC doing Steady Aim zoning your best option is dash block, you can gain ground between each shot. Zato's air movement is too slow to be of use here.
  • Zato has a couple of unique neutral options against HC:
    • Amorphous between Steady Aim shots is safe and can effectively win neutral for you. You can be punished for the super but if they choose to do so they get hit by Amorphous.
    • If you manage to raw summon Eddie you can BTL and move Eddie forward to attack HC while he is trying to zone. He has to exit Steady Aim to be able to attack Eddie and you cannot be shot in BTL.
  • Defense against HC is very difficult for Zato, it's easy to be locked down. There are a couple of things to think about
    • FDing can space HC outside range to 5D as it has very limited range removing the threat of an overhead. FD will also make HC have to dash up to attempt a throw which gives you a better chance to jump, mash, or backdash out.
    • If you get wall slump'd into oki choosing wakeup backdash is a really good option if you have health to spare. Often you will be hit airborne out of the backdash and they can no longer loop the oki and must wallbreak, resetting to neutral.


 I-No

  • WIP


 Jack-O'

  • WIP


 Ky Kiske

  • Invite Hell (22H) is -7 on block, so in some strings like c.S > 5H > 22H Ky can punish with Stun Dipper. However, at such close range the second hit of Stun Dipper will not combo into the first, so Ky must have meter to get an actual punish.


 Leo Whitefang

  • Both the S and H version of Leo's Gravierte Würde projectile can be reflected with Drunkard Shade (214S), the S version doesn't travel very far once reflected so it is not useful to reflect. The H version, however, should be reflected to prevent being placed in a blockstring for free.
    • S Gravierte Wurde is one of the best tools in the game for shutting down Eddie neutral, your only option with Eddie is to -H- the fireball than DS -P- or -S- to lock Leo down. This won't result in a punish but can frametrap any jump or mash attempt.
  • Many of Leo's best neutral tools lose to 6P. This includes 5K, 6K, f.S, 2D, and even 5H will lose in it's first few frames of startup
  • Invite Hell is very strong vs aggressive Leo neutral, his IAD is slow and his buttons have limited enough range that even blocking 22H at close range he is not in a favorable position to RPS.


 May

  • Making use of Eddie to harass May from a distance and forcing her to commit to dangerous approaches is a big deal in keeping May honest, whilst also not risking running into big counterhits. Stuff like Leap > unsummon as well as using oppose against hasty approaches are examples of this.
  • After a blocked S horizontal dolphin, your main options are to either jump or 2P to check a potential 2S attempt. Even if she jumps or backdashes when you use 2P, the low recovery on it allows you to block what she does afterwards. Alternativley, you can 66BRC after a blocked S horizontal dolphin to check what May is doing. If she hit 2S or another grounded button, you can punish. If she jumped, go for an anti air/air throw.


 Millia Rage

  • 214P on block is often cancelled into fast RC forward j.K when Millia has meter. Hair car is 2D punishable, however if you opt for this on reaction to blocking you will be hit by the RRC j.K. You can fuzzy mash a standing normal while holding back to block the j.K while punishing the Hair car if it is not cancelled. f.S is the best option.
  • j.H > 66 > j.H can only be contested with 5P.

 Nagoriyuki

An advantageous MU for Zato. The name of the game fighting Nago is to force him into Blood Level 2. If you succeed in doing so while not being in pressure you have essentially won. His only way past Zato's zoning is via jumping, Clone, or Beyblade. The former is easily AA'd and the latter two options cost blood meter that Nago doesn't have access to in Blood Level 2 without activating Blood Rage. Play cautiously and reactively until he is unable to force an approach then you can lame him out with zoning.

  • Punishing Blood Rage ActivationGGST Nagoriyuki Activation.pngGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup4+(38 Flash)+3Recovery70Advantage-12:
    • Use Damned Fang (623S) to punish Nago activating from a distance. The long animation that plays on connect does not freeze Blood Rage's HP drain, leading to a very high damage punish.
    • If you block the activation your options are weaker as he is only -7. 2K > 2D is good if he is close enough for 2D to connect.
  • CloneGGST Nagoriyuki Zarameyuki1.pngGuardAllStartup18~29RecoveryTotal 39Advantage+5 (236S) will kill all Eddie summons except "Oppose" (236H/]H[) and go straight through 22H. Using Clone > Fukyo ForwardGGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A (236K) will essentially instantly win neutral for Nago unless you have "Oppose" already out. However, this will cost Nago a lot of Blood so if you can avoid being hit you are in a good position.
  • BeybladeGGST Nagoriyuki Kamuriyuki1.pngGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3 (214H) and f.SS are moves that you want to FD to avoid being put in a strike/throw mixup situation between Nago's Command ThrowGGST Nagoriyuki Bloodsucking Universe.pngGuardGround ThrowStartup7Recovery48AdvantageNA (623P) and ShizuriyukiGGST Nagoriyuki Shizuriyuki1.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7 (623H). You can sometimes react to these options with FD, sometimes you have to be predictive but FD is a low commital option so it's easy to go for.
  • It's important to check Fukyo forward when done in neutral or off of normals, Nago is never plus in these scenarios but may try to use Fukyo forward to continue pressure. 5P is the most reliable option and least likely to get you killed if you were wrong but jump and throw can also help to deter mindless use of Fukyo. Don't be baited into pressing buttons if the Nago does Fukyo BackGGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A (214K) as this is a common option to create whiff punish opportunities.
  • Saving your meter for defense, neutral, and keeping Eddie alive is smart, consider returning to neutral and preserving meter rather than overextending your pressure. YRC, Making a mistake on offense and being punished can cost you rounds in this MU.
    • YRC can save rounds of defense as long as it doesn't get blocked
    • j.D > PRC > Fast Cancel j.H is a quick way to create distance, and is difficult for Nago to chase or punish.
    • Sun Void (632146S) is a neutral option vs Nago, as it is a super he can't clone through it and can't avoid it well either. It can be a great option if you've run out of Eddie meter.
    • PRC can save you if you've overcommitted in neutral and are about to be punished.
  • Choosing when to burst is different in this MU. Most of the time you don't want to burst to avoid damage, instead aim to burst at points where Nago has, or will have, high blood level if he does not finish the combo. Nago players will sometimes choose to cash out and spend lots of blood on a combo knowing that the ender for the combo will drain the gauge. Burst at these times to send Nago fullscreen without access to his best neutral tools.
    • Watch for use of lots of specials in a combo to know when he is building lots of blood and stop him from using f.SSS, 6H, or Super to drain the gauge.
  • Jumping and using flight is a risky idea in this MU. Nago has a suite of the strongest AA's in the game at a variety of ranges all of which lead to very high reward.
  • Nago has some of the strongest options for round start in the game, generally it's best to start defensively with walk back, down back, or backdash unless you have a hard read.


 Potemkin

  • Anti airing Mega Fist can be inconsistent due to how preemptive it has to be done. Because of this, it is better to block it, or set up oppose beforehand and punish it afterwards. Blocking forward megafist ends Potemkin's turn, and allows you to start your pressure on him.
  • Be careful summoning Eddie in neutral, Slidehead will kill Eddie if Zato is hit by it and Pot also has a variety of huge buttons for counterpoking Eddie.
    • If you backdash a slidehead in neutral that is a free point to 214H Empty Summon and you cannot be punished with any of Pot's options like Slidehead or Hammerfall.
  • If you instant block forward mega fist, you can punish with Damned Fang.
  • Make use of f.S's multihits to beat out hammerfall or slide head.
  • You can grab/command grab the startup of his grounded overdrive, Giganter.
  • Only use flight to get away from Giganter if Potemkin doesn't have 50% meter or else he can catch you with Heavenly Potemkin Buster.
  • Always punish Hammerfall on block with 2K > 2D for a free Oki setup.
  • Without Burst, make use of Blue or Yellow Roman Cancel to get out of Potemkin's oki.
  • Be aware of his Potemkin Buster usage to use back dash or jump to avoid it.


 Ramlethal

  • Ram's primary win condition is getting you into the corner, and Zato's particularly weak defense to her pressure makes it even more important you prevent this as much as possible
  • Throwing swords from long range isn't particularly ideal for Ram, so you have the upperhand in neutral fullscreen. Avoiding the first scramble interaction and establishing Eddie cycles in neutral will work much better than blazing in and getting counterhit by slash.
  • Conserve meter to use for defensive purposes against her oppressive corner mixups
  • Drunkard Shade (214S) is able to reflect the explosion of a thrown sword, however use this carefully when you have the space to safely get it off
  • With enough space after it's thrown, superjump jD will fly out after the gap Ram's 236S leaves in the corner. This will send you high enough to avoid her jP
  • Be extra cautious of Ram's Mortobato reversal, as it catches backdash and jump while dealing massive damage that especially hurts our fragile shadow man. Be extremely safe with your summon pressure when she has meter
  • Ram's exceptionally fast dash speed allows her to run up and throw you during a 236X manual summon in neutral, so be cautious of using them outside of fullscreen range
  • Trying to trade pokes with Ram's enormous sword slashes is almost guaranteed to fail, so make use of 6P and 5P in scrambles instead


 Sol Badguy

An even(ish) matchup. Zato can control the pace of neutral using his zoning tools but struggles to escape Sol's pressure and maintain pressure of his own.

  • Sol has some of the strongest defensive tools in the game. This forces you to either find your opponents habits or keep your pressure very tight, leaving little gaps.
    • 5K is a 3f button that can punish even the smallest gaps in your pressure. With this move he can mash the "Pierce" gap, AA "Leap", mash the gap between c.S > 5D, and also hit behind him in variety of scenarios. These include in the "Pierce" gap when Eddie is sandwiched and when Eddie right behind him. You will need to practice making your sandwich and other pressure true string in addition to playing the "Pierce" gap RPS well in order to actually pressure Sol.
    • S Volcanic ViperGGST Sol Badguy 623X.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery18+10 LandingAdvantage-28 (623S) and H Volcanic ViperGGST Sol Badguy 623X.pngGuardAllStartup13Recovery19+10 LandingAdvantage-26 (623H) are among the best DPs in the game. They are fantastic abare An attack during the opponent's pressure, intended to interrupt it. tools both on wakeup as well as in Eddie Pressure. A few things to keep in mind when dealing with these moves:
      • Punish SVV with 2D or 5H as Sol lands, both lead to large reward if Eddie is ready to be summoned. It can be hard to react to this move whiffing in time, if you have this problem 2D is the less risky of these two options.
      • Punish HVV with 2H while Sol is in the air, this leads to large reward regardless of Eddie being ready or not.
      • The active frames of both version are sizeable and get extended if Sol hits Eddie due to hitstop, delay your reaction to the move if Eddie is likely to get hit or you might try to punish too early and get hit.
      • "Oppose" is a good option against both versions as Sol cannot RRC his DP if it comes into contact with "Oppose". Use "Oppose" both in pressure and on oki to keep Sol respectful.
    • Out of a jump Sol has two great options to escape pressure and alter his jump arc. Both Air Bandit RevolverGGST Sol Badguy 236K.pngGuardAllStartup10RecoveryUntil Landing+6Advantage- (j.236K) and Air Bandit BringerGGST Sol Badguy 214K.pngGuardHighStartup22~29 [30]RecoveryUntil Landing+18Advantage- (j.214K) watch for these options and be ready to block or chase them down as needed. However, it can be hard to Zato's slow dash speed. If you find yourself struggling to keep Sol in the corner due to these options try spacing yourself further away in order to have more time to catch him.
  • Defensing against Sol is also a scary prospect. His reward for most hits is very high and he can keep you pressured until your RISC gauge is maxed out. There are a few things to think about when defending against Sol.
    • When blocking c.S / f.S pressure FD is the easiest option to get him off you, not only will it stop him from raising your RISC gauge it will also push him out of range of his +2 on block f.S and force him to have to run up to continue pressure or gatling into a longer range normal with weaker options. Stand FD is more effective at pushing him away but opens you up to being hit by lows such as 2K and 2D, stick with crouch FD unless you have the read that they don't like to use lows in pressure.
      • Mashing can be risky but is often the best option to escape. Jumping against Sol is hard as he has some of the best anti airs in the game and is very able to chase your airborne escape options down. When mashing you want to primarily use 5P, 6P, and longer range moves such as 2D and 2S.
      • Use 5P in situations where Sol is point blank and might be overextending his pressure so as when you think they are going for a tick throw or after some of his special moves.
      • 6P is used to beat some of his key pokes and pressure moves such as f.S, 6S, and even 5H. It has good reward on CH but can be whiff punished if the Sol is on point.
      • Longer ranged moves should be used when Sol is attempting to wait at range or heavily delay his options.
    • After Sol gatlings into 5H or 6S he can no longer maintain plus frames without taking a risk or spending meter. His primary options afterwards are Gun FlameGGST Sol Badguy 236P.pngGuardAllStartup18RecoveryTotal 54Advantage-10, Gun Flame FeintGGST Sol Badguy 214P.pngGuardStartupRecoveryTotal 25Advantage-, Bandit BringerGGST Sol Badguy 214K.pngGuardHighStartup30Recovery13Advantage-3, and Bandit RevolverGGST Sol Badguy 236K.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery9+6 LandingAdvantage-7. Your best defensive RPS options to rotate through are dash block, 6P, jump / superjump forward, and Drunkard Shade.
      • Spaced Gunflame is plus on block but Drunkard Shade (214S) can be used to reflect it back at Sol and punish him. Be aware that it's difficult to impossible to react to Gun Flame vs Gunflame Feint with Drunkard Shade and Sol can punish or continue to pressure you if he does Feint. So save your reflects for a read or if the Sol is predictable with Gun Flame. Dash block is a strong option as it will bring you closer to spaced gunflames making them less advantageous or even negative on block. Addtionally, dashblock allows you to be in range to react to Gunflame Feint and interrupt Sol attempting to steal his turn.
      • Grounded Bandit Bringer is only -2 on block and hardly feels like the end of Sol's turn. 6P will often beat or trade with grounded, non-delayed Bandit Bringer, both are in your favor. After blocking it your best options to mix in are 5P as a fast check to him pressing slower buttons and dash block to escape, and potentially, punish if he attempts to jump, backdash, or DP.
      • Bandit Revolver is a frametrap option with a -7 on block first hit but with an optional second hit can be delayed quite a lot to frametrap and is a CH combo starter. 6P also works here and will punish any frametrap timing. Contesting the first hit on block is a scary option but a less risky one if Sol has no meter as the second hit is -11 on block. Generally speaking the risk / reward on challenging Bandit Revolver first hit is not in Zato's favor, and it's best to respect the first hit unless the Sol is trying to use it a lot to steal turns.
  • Neutral is where this matchup is won or lost for Zato. Zato's primary moves to use are 6P, 22H, and of course various Eddie Summons.
    • Summoning Eddie at 3/4 to fullscreen is pretty safe in this MU as Sol doesn't have any moves to punish you with at that distance. He can use Night Raid VortexGGST Sol Badguy 214S 1.pngGuardAllStartup15~31 [32]Recovery32 [26]Advantage-17 on a read but you can react to this with 2K or throw. "That's a Lot"GGST Zato-1 That's a lot.pngGuardAllStartup27→42→57→72 [31→46→61→76]RecoveryTotal 74Advantage+55 (236K) is especially useful as he limited options to navigate around it. It will also clash with Gun Flame and win as one of the drills will nullify the flames. Using Eddie offensively is a bit harder as Gun Flame is a surprisingly good keep out tool. "Oppose" can be used after sending Eddie forward to catch the flames or Sol trying to kill him and then cancelled into another special, but Sol has a very easy time contesting Eddie pressure with gaps such as when Zato is far away.
    • 6P and 22H are used in conjunction to make Sol's life hard when approaching. 6P will beat many of Sol's key approach tools such as f.S and 6S as those moves lose to low profile. Sol has to rotate in 2S, 2D, 6H and special moves to beat you preempting him with 6P. Once he is rotating in other options you can begin to use your riskier normals such as 2S, 2D, and 5H to beat those options and you enter neutral RPS in which Zato has the upper hand. 22H will stop any grounded approach he tries which forces him into the air. 6P will then be your go to AA for stopping air buttons trying to move around 22H or "That's a Lot". Keep in mind that Sol can use Bandit Bringer in the air to stall and punish you for whiffing a 6P. Due to the angle, size, and delay-ability of Bandit Bringer it is very difficult to consistently anti air. Your best option is to simply blocking the move standing and either punish with 5P or try to create room to return to neutral. It's not viable to react to an immediate air button vs Bandit Bringer, this means there is a form of RPS around what air option Sol will pick, be careful not to default to only blocking or only using 6P.

 Testament

  • WIP

 Zato-1

  • Whoever gets Eddie out first is at a major advantage, so it is crucial that you get them out before the opposing Zato does.
  • When the opponent has Eddie out, you can use superjump into flight to go over Leap's effective range, and make it harder for the opponent to utilize against you.
  • Make use of 5P and 2P as pokes to jab the extended hurtboxes on the tips of 2S and fS
  • If you and the opponent both get Eddie out and intend to use drunkard shade to move Eddie forward, try to do it second, so drunkard shade's hitbox kills their Eddie, while also moving your Eddie forward to lock them down.
  • Open your Eddie summons in neutral with either Oppose (H) or That's A Lot (K), as if the other Zato targets your startup frames with a Drunkard Shade Eddie attack, the Oppose will asborb it or the drills will kill Eddie as he moves across the ground.
  • All the info in Anti Zato Tips is applicable to this matchup on both ends

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