GGXRD/Axl Low

Axl Low
Defense Modifier: x1.06 Guts Rating: 1 Stun Resistance: 60 Jump Startup: 4F Backdash Time: 16F Backdash Invincibility: 1-8F Movement Options Double Jump, 1 Air Dash, Dash Type: Run Full Frame Data GGXRD/Axl Low/Frame Data

Overview

Axl originally lived in the 20th century. During this period, he fell in love with a girl named Megumi. He grew up in the slums and eventually found himself in the middle of a gang war. Thanks to his strength, he was able to put an end to the conflict in six months (with no casualties). It was sometime after this victory when Axl was forced to go through his first time slip into the 22nd century.

Axl enters the Sacred Knights Tournament in hopes of finding a way to get back to his own era. He was apparently led to believe that the winner of the tournament could have a wish granted to them.

Later in the series, Axl is wandering about, looking for Faust, in hopes of being cured by a doctor of such skill. He encounters various people on the way, and fights them, chalking it all up to bad luck. Then he meets up with Sol Badguy. After this, the path splits. In one ending, Axl fights Kliff Undersn and Justice, and then realizes that he's been thrown back in time once again. In the other (more likely) ending, he battles Faust, and then is diagnosed with involuntary timeslipping. Faust blames this on there being an alternate version of Axl in existence.Axl meets up with I-No, among other people, while wandering about. As is the case with many other characters, I-No is the catalyst that causes the events that follow. In the first ending, he meets up with That Man and finds out from him that Raven is the cause of his timeslipping, and it is implied that Raven is the alternate version of Axl that was diagnosed by Faust. In another, Axl fights with Zappa, and afterward begins to wonder how Megumi is faring. In his third ending, he ends up fighting a future version of himself; he also asks "himself" that if he can return to Megumi, but receives no answer. This allegedly has something to do with actions performed by Axl later on. Perhaps more light will be shed on this in later games. Interestingly, since the three endings have nothing to do with each other, and don't contradict each other in any way, it is entirely possible that they all happened.Axl first battles I-No. Depending on the method of victory, Axl may continue travelling, or he will once again be forced through time, during the first Sacred War, forced to battle Kliff Undersn, Order-Sol and even another version of himself.

In Xrd, Axl confront I-No yet again just to tell her to bring him to That Man with important information. I-No bring Axl to The Backyard to meet That Man. Axl tells That Man the message, than Axl learned that he have no way out to escape.

Strengths

• Has extreme reach from many moves, this means he can work around most of the cast's zoning as well as harass close range fighters.
• Strong anti-air game
• Can often get damage and knockdown from AA hits as well as with meter.

Weaknesses

• Pokes are slow and often situational.
• Pressure is very reliant on frame traps.

Move List

Normal Moves

5P

5P	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 28 Mid S YRP 7 6 19 -11 Mostly an anti-air, but can tag taller characters out of their setups/projectiles/what have you from full screen.

5K

5K	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 16 Mid S YRP 6 3 12 -3 Axl's jab. It's not as fast as most jabs and it's on the wrong button. Dodges some low attacks by putting your foot out of the way.

c.S

c.S	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 28 Mid SJ YRP 7 6 10 +1 Mostly a confirm or a poke at close range (Good throw OS, for example). A decently fast anti-air as well, but not as reliable as 2S

f.S

f.S	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 33 Mid S YRP 9 3 22 -11 Huge long-range poke that's way faster than most things with the range it has. Staggers on counterhit.

5H

5H	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 42 Mid S YRP 16 4 17 -2 Slow, but decent range, damage, and a little bit of upper-body invincibility. Extremely big counterhit.

2P

2P	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 24 Low S YRP 12 6 18 -10 Probably your worst low poke, but nice if you need something fast at long range. Can gatling into 6H.

2K

2K	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 9 Low S YRP 7 5 6 -1 Low profile like crazy. An awesome poke and an awesome tick throw. If you're going to spam a normal...

2S

2S	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 22,18 Mid SJ YRP 8 9,6 15 -5 One of the best anti-air moves in the game, and your main confirm into TK Axl Bomber for knockdown. Hits twice, second hit has a vacuum property. Jump cancel-able from either hit.

2H

2H	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 22,18 Low,Mid - YRP 11 8,6 16 -4 A good way to stop ground approach or just poke at someone from far away. Staggers on both hits, but doesn't really get you a combo without meter. Post 1.10 patch the second hit will knock down on counterhit.

j.P

j.P	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 10 High / Air CS YRP 7 4 9 - Kind of a weak air jab, mostly just for chaining together air normals, or dodging fireballs when you hit with a jS

j.K

j.K	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 18 High / Air SJ YRP 8 8 12 - Your best air-to-air poke, huge untech on counterhit.

j.S

j.S	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 16,12 High / Air, Mid / Air S YRP 11 8,8 9 - A very strong approach tool and safe jump from far away. Hits twice. Can even reverse gatling to j.6P.

j.H

j.H	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 38 High / Air S YRP 10 12 9 - Your main falling normal into damage. Also the best way to hit below Axl

j.D

j.D	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 40 High / Air S YRP 10 2 22 / 5 Landing Recovery - A launcher from the air. You use this to confirm air-to-ground into a real combo for no meter. Post 1.10 patch gives wall splat effect.

6P

6P	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 32 Mid SJ YRP 9 3 16 -5 Upper-body invuln, but not very, and also not a very good hitbox. Situational anti-air or ground poke

3P

3P	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 24 Low S YRP 11 4 8 +2 Godlike low poke and frame trap. Launches on counterhit. Great for baiting reversals.

6K

6K	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 22,18 Mid,Mid SJ YRP 11 5(2)8 15 -5 An anti-air that covers a range that 2S doesn't cover. Good against jump back, and also a situational confirm into knockdown on some characters where 2S wouldn't work. Hits twice.

6H

6H

Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 46 All - YRP 23 9 9 +1 A big overhead that you really want to hit meaty with. There are tricky ways to do this with 3P-6H, but the easiest way is obviously just to meaty it on oki. Gets off the ground pretty early, so it'll beat lows and prevent throws a lot of the time (Though it will lose to most throw OSes). Also good for calling out a backdash, and as a situational anti-air. Bounces opponent on counter hit leading to combos.

j.6P

j.6P	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 24 Mid S YRP 7 6 14 - Excellent poke for certain ranges, also a good confirm from a falling jS

2D

2D	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 30 Low S YRP 10 10 12 -8 Sweep with a decent amount of range. Not much else to say

5D

5D	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 25 High - YRP 26 6 15 -4 We jumpin' rope, kids. Pretty telegraphed compared to other dusts, but also has some lower-body invulnerability.

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw

Ground Throw	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 0,50 Ground Throw: 78750 - R 1 - - 71 A strong, comboable throw, which can go into knockdown and decent damage for Axl against most characters in the game. Throws the opponent behind Axl, which makes the backthrow/forward throw tradeoff work backwards for Axl.

Air Throw

Air Throw	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 0,60 Air Throw: 192500 - R 1 - - - Pretty standard fare airthrow. Knocks down

Dead Angle Attack

Dead Angle Attack	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 25 All - - 9 2 17 -5 Kind of a lame DAA. It is pretty fast, but 6P is one of Axl's worst hitboxes. Not usually worth the meter.

Special Moves

Sickle Flash

Sickle Flash [4]6S Sickle Flash Melody Chain Spinning Chain Strike

Version Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. Attack 20×3 Mid - YRP 12 12(3 Hit) 39 -15 Melody Chain Sicle Flash > 8 or 9 35 Mid - YRP 1 12 35 -6 Spinning Chain Strike Sickle Flash > 2 or 3 26×5 Low - YRP 7 [2(5)]×4,2 17 -5 Sickle Flash (or "Rensengeki", usually abbreviated "rensen") is a staple of Axl's gameplan. It's fast and hard to contest on the ground, which makes it a strong tool for stopping approaches from midscreen, killing projectiles, and punishing attempts to do stuff far away from Axl in general. Rensen knocks down on hit and can be YRC'd as a pressure tool. Melody Chain is mostly used to prevent opponents from jumping over a rensen to get in, but can also put them in an unfavorable position to tech from, and can be RC'd for a combo into knockdown. Spinning Chain Strike provides a more damaging knockdown option in the corner, and can also be a pressure tool when Rensen gets blocked, allowing a quicker low option than is otherwise available to Axl after rensen comes out.

Artemis Hunter

Artemis Hunter 623S Benten Sama!	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 46 All - R 9 6 30 -22 A pretty standard dragon punch that doesn't leave the ground. Good for interrupting pressure or punishing approach. Knocks down on counterhit, and has less punishable recovery than most dragon punches, though it's still -22 so you can't expect not to get punished on block. Axl's ideal RC into damage.

Thunder Shadow Chain

Thunder Shadow Chain 63214S

Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 45 High / Air - YRP 28 4 13+3 After Landing 1 A leaping crossup attack that can dodge some attacks. Moves Axl very quickly forward, and can be YRC'd to create a giant leap across the screen, letting Axl approach in a lot of diverse situations. Decent in pressure and neutral, but since it's not quick or invincible, you need quite a few frames to do it.

Spindle Spinner

Spindle Spinner 41236H	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 0,80 Ground Throw YRP - 27 25 41 34 A very slow but far-reaching command-grab. An early RC can lead to any combo from the ground, but it's also extremely reactable and extremely punishable if the opponent jumps over it.

Heaven Can Wait

Heaven Can Wait 214P/K P catches Mids and Highs, K catches Lows	Version Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. P 0,80 - - RP - - Total 29 37 K 0,80 - - RP - - Total 29 60 Decent counters for shutting down long range pokes or predictable approaches. The low counter leads to a combo, but both will net you knockdown right next to the opponent.

Axl Bomber

Axl Bomber j.623H	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 50 All - YRP 9 4 10 After Landing - Axl's primary combo ender, leads to knockdown and relaunches if done from low to the ground, as well as being a decent anti-air, although Axl has way better ones for most situations. Can be early YRC'd to effectively give Axl another jump.

Sparrowhawk Stance

Sparrowhawk Stance 63214H

Version Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. Stance - - - YRP - - Maximum 188 - →High Stance > P 40 All - YRP 41+7 16 29 - →Mid Stance > K 32 All - YRP 41+7 17 24 - →Low Stance > S 24 All - YRP 41+11 17 29 - End Stance Stance > H - - - YRP - - Total 28 - Axl's main option for oki from the entire screen away. Loses to most projectiles, due to the attacks still having hurtboxes.

Overdrives

Sickle Storm

Sickle Storm 2363214H	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 50×2,30×2 Mid - YRP 14+1 8(2 Hit)(20)12(2 Hit) 39 -11 List what the move is used for List interesting properties in bullet points like invul, floating opponents on CH, etc. Follow the Help:Writing_Character_Pages guidelines

Shark Strike

Shark Strike 214214S	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. 20,27 Mid, All - YRP 7+3 6(12)2 6 11 Performs a full-screen sickle toss similar to Rensengeki, with a follow-up that pulls in on hit or block. Doesn't do much damage on its own, but on hit puts the opponent into an extended stagger that's quite useful for setting up combos.

Instant Kill

Amphora Conflagration During IK Mode: 236236H	Damage Guard Cancel Roman Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv. DESTROY All - - 9+15 [5+12] 5 32 -20 [ ] Indicates during Hell Fire List what the move is used for List interesting properties in bullet points like invul, floating opponents on CH, etc. Follow the Help:Writing_Character_Pages guidelines

Strategy

General Tactics

Axl plays somewhat differently from a majority of the Guilty Gear cast. His normals give him coverage of a lot of spaces, but compared to characters that have, for example, a jab to throw out, he has to commit pretty hard to any option he chooses. Using Axl properly requires thorough matchup knowledge, and involves identifying the situations that opponents cannot handle well and forcing those situations upon them. The first step is to understand Axl's own advantages.

Axl's pressure takes place at mid-range. By mid-range, I mean outside of the range of most characters' fast pokes, such as 5Ps and 5Ks. At this range, Axl has a lot more ability to play safe, going for options like f.S, 5K, 2K, and 3P allow him to bully the opponent without much opportunity to punish him, and so while you don't have the ability to open opponents up quite as easily as some others, you can keep them in frame traps for a long time, and for many characters the only recourse is to try something risky. With Sickle Flash YRC, Axl can keep opponents in blockstun for a long time, and his mixup tools are unusual and force opponents to make big choices (jump over an unblockable, switch blocks or jump to beat a crossup, etc.).

Axl can also excel at approaching. From far away, a lot of characters will try to either set up or run in. Axl gets to stop both with fast, screen-crossing pokes that force most characters to either throw something out that will whiff if you do nothing, or get punished for running or trying to set up projectiles or whatnot. A full-screen knockdown can still often net Axl a safe jump overhead that puts him in the middle range he wants to play neutral/pressure from. A Sickle Flash YRC can simply force the opponent to concede offensive momentum in most situations where they can't immediately hit you.

Lastly, Axl is good at reactively stopping approaches from just outside his optimal range. Sickle Flash and Heaven Can Wait are difficult for long-range characters to get around, and his dominant anti-air game with tools like 5P, 6K, 2S, 2K net him a lot of control over opponents trying to jump, and sickle flash, 2H, and f.S form a strong base of tools to react to ground approaches with. While whiffing an attack can be dangerous for Axl, having breathing room means you have time to react to whatever the opponent is trying.

So the basic gameplan is: Identify the matchup. Are they going to have a hard time approaching you? Stay back and stop them. Can they beat your f.S at midrange? Bully them from there and keep them in blockstun. Are they going to try to stay back and set up? Punish them from further away than they can deal with, then keep offensive momentum with oki. There's a bag of tricks to learn on top of this basic strategy, but your number one job is to identify which of Axl's three strongest games you want to be playing, and play it.

When Axl is under pressure, he can rely on FD to push opponents into the midrange he wants them to be in, but as far as fast options to get people off of you go... you're kind of out of luck if you want to be safe. If you can get a window big enough to jab, your counter is a good option if you know they'll throw an attack and which way it will hit. If you know you don't have the frames, you can DP or super, but they're pretty risky, so make sure you're right! And then Axl does have the option to throw if you can get a good IB in, so throw OS with 6P or c.S is probably your go-to breakout. Occasionally you can get away with throwing a 2K to low-profile or a 6H or 5K to low-crush, but I would consider those to be very matchup-dependent and hard reads in most cases.

Tips and Tricks

Okizeme Options

• j.P - Delayed safejump, can lead into a second overhead depending on timing. Also a good tick throw.
• j.K - Can be jump cancelled, can lead to big damage on jump-out counterhits, horizontal range means safer against throws
• j.S - Safe from a long range. Second hit can meaty can lead into Thunder Shadow Chain cross-ups.
• j.H - Lots of blockstun on block, can potentially lead to big damage.
• j.D - The riskiest aerial option due to the recovery/landing animation but can lead to big meterless damage on hit.
• 2K - Relatively safe, goes into a tick throw.
• Thunder Shadow - A decent crossup in some situations, and the YRC lets you just air-approach with it (Not a bad way to get an airthrow, either)
• Spindle Spinner - If you're pretty sure they'll block or blitz on wakeup. This can lead to very fat damage with 50% meter.
• 2H/3P - Both pretty safe from a certain range, baits out DPs and stuff.
• Sickle Flash - Forces them to be in blockstun. At the right range, most characters can't do much besides block, and will take a knockdown if they don't.

TK Bomber

Globally, the chain route for TK Bomber is 6K > 2S > TK Bomber (j.6321417-3H or 6923H or 9623H, delay the H). Depending on certain characters, you may have to delay either 2S or TK Bomber. The input for TK Bomber is different than other TK inputs due to the height requirement in order to use it. This chain route can be done from throws, Artemis Hunter (DP) RC, and anti-airs that can be jump cancelled (6P, 6K, c.S and 2S). From a DP RC, you can add an additional loop of 5P > 6K > 2S > TKB. In the corner, you can loop the TKB chain route off of a throw: (6K > 2S > TK Bomber) x n > 5K > 2S > TK Bomber, where n is usually 2.

Combos

All combos done on Sol unless noted otherwise.

c.S > RC/Super Combos

Midscreen

c.S>5HS>2D>[4]6S~9>RC>63214HS~PKPKPK [197]

c.S>5HS>2D>[4]6S~9>RC>66>c.S 2S(2)>jc>j.HS>jD>j.623HS [200]

c.S>5HS>2D>[4]6S~9>RC>63214S>c.S 2S(2)>jc>j.HS>5D>j.623D [196]

c.S>5HS>2D>>[4]6S~9>RC>IAD j.623HS, 5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>jD>j.623HS [195]

c.S>5HS>214214S, 66>5P>6K(2)>c.S>5HS>[4]6S~9 [180]

c.S>5HS>214214S, throw, 66>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>jD>j.623HS [167]

c.S>5HS>2D>623S>RC>66>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623H, 5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>jD>j.623HS [218]

c.S>5HS>RC>IAD j.HS>jD, c.S>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>jD>j.623HS [196]

c.S>5HS>2D>2363214HS [200]

Corner

c.S>5HS>2D>[4]6~9>RC>66>(c.S 2S(2)>jc>j.623HS)x2 [206]

c.S>5HS>2D>214214S, 66>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5K>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, OTG 2K [196]

c.S>5HS>RC>5D, IAD>j.S(1)>HS>jD, c.S>5HS>>[4]6S~3 [199]

c.S>5HS>RC>5D~6, c.S>6P>c.S>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5K>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS [199]

c.S>5HS>RC>IAD j.HS>jD, c.S>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5K>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, OTG 2K [197]

Throw Combos

Midscreen

Throw, 66>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 66>OTG 2K [102]

Throw, 6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 66>OTG 2K [97|Ramlethal]

Throw, 6K(2)>jc>j.623HS [83|Venom]

Throw, 6K(2)>jc>j.K>jc>dj.S(2)>5HS>j.623HS [103|Venom]

Throw, 66>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>jD>j.623HS, 66>OTG 2K [104|Potemkin]

Corner

Throw, (c.S>jc>j.623HS)x2, c.S 2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, OTG 2K [140|May]

Throw, 6P>(c.S>jc>j.623HS)x2, c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, OTG 2K [138]

Throw, 66>(6P>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS)x2, OTG 2K [123|Potemkin]

Throw, 66>6P>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5K>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5K>c.S>jc>j.623HS [120|Potemkin]

5D Combos

Midscreen

5D~8,>j.D>j.D>jK>jc>dj.H>jD>j.623HS [121]

Corner

5D~6, j.S(1)>j.HS>j.D, c.S>5HS>>[4]6~3 [139]

5D~6, c.S>6P>c.S>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5K>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, OTG 2K [141]

5D~6, c.S>6P>c.S>jc>IAD j.HS>jD, c.S>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, OTG 2K [128|Potemkin]

41236HS Combos

Midscreen

41236HS(0)>RC>IAD j.HS>j.D, c.S>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>j.D>j.623HS [212]

41236HS(full)>RC>66>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>j.D>j.623HS [187]

Corner

41236HS(0)>RC>IAD j.HS D, c.S>5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, c.S 2S(2)>jc>j.623HS [221]

41236HS(full)>RC>66>(c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS)x2 [171]

623S RC Combos

Midscreen

623S RC>66>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.K>jc>dj.HS>j.D>j.623HS [140]

623S RC>63214HS~PKPKPK [140]

623S RC>66>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>j.D>j.623HS [171]

214P RC Combos

Midscreen

214P RC>c.S>2S(2)>jc>j.K>jc>dj.HS>j.D>j.623HS [156]

214P RC>c.S 2S(2)>jc>j.623HS, 5P>6K(2)>2S(2)>jc>j.HS>j.D>j.623HS [177]

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