Oki vs. Resources
One of the most important and frequent decisions Asuka has to make is whether to prioritize pushing his offence on a knockdown or staying back to build resources. It's rare for Asuka to have strong meaty presence and strong resource building on the same knockdown. He generally has three choices when applying okizeme:
- Few/no resources gained and a safejump
- Some resources gained and a meaty
- Many resources gained and no oki
Which option to pick generally comes down to the matchup, state of the game, and player preference. There are many upsides to each, and one shouldn't be exclusively used. For example, Asuka's safejumps can lead into meterless fuzzy overheads in the corner. On the other hand, Asuka is more than comfortable resetting to neutral, especially with full mana and 4 spells. Be sure to watch how many resources you have, and adjust your oki accordingly.
Common Knockdowns
5H - Generally not preferred as an ender, but often the only one available. Launches fullscreen with few opportunites for oki, but plenty of time for building resources. Asuka can start pressure after by timing a projectile Spell (preferrably Delayed Howling Metron) to hit meaty, or by using Go to Marker to teleport next to the opponent.
6H - This is Asuka's best meterless knockdown move and gives ample time to manage resources. Asuka can perform a safe jump by cancelling into Chant/Recover Mana/Bookmark then followed by IAD j.D.
2D - Gives slightly less time for resource management than 6H. At close range, Asuka can perform a safe jump by cancelling into Chant/Recover Mana/Bookmark, OTG c.S followed by IAD j.D. At long ranges, omit c.S and go straight in to IAD j.D.
6D/4D - Asuka needs to choose between recovering resources or safe jump. Asuka can perform a safe jump by whiffing 5P followed by IAD j.D.
Metron Screamer 808 - Fairly similar to 5H, although with higher damage and slightly more advantage. The same meaties apply.
Aquila Metron - Asuka has to choose between a safejump or resources after this knockdown. To perform the safejump, just go straight into IAD j.D.
High Compression Submicron Particle SphereGuardAll [Guard Crush]Startup6+1RecoveryTotal 32Advantage+36 [+47] - One of Asuka's strongest enders. Always allows for a partial hold of Recover Mana and a safejump, and gets even more advantageous the farther away it lands. Since the advantage is variable, the safejump generally has to be manually timed.
Normal Meaties
c.S - Basic plus on block meaty that catches backdashes for high reward. Can become more plus when hitting with the later active frames, but will become weaker to backdashes as a result.
6K - Two hitting low with excellent proation. Generally Asuka's best low option when used for mixups, and synergizes well with throws.
6H - Fairly gimmicky overhead with very high reward on hit. Strong if the opponent isn't reacting to it, but weak otherwise.
2D - Low projectile meaty. Can be spaced to be safe on block, as well as outspacing most meterless reversals. Be aware that many metered reversals have enough forward movement to hit Asuka on wakeup. Fairly weak returns on hit, so don't rely on it.
j.D - Asuka's primary safejump option. Can sometimes be jabbed out of the startup, in which case use j.S or j.H instead. In the corner, deep safejumps with j.D can be jump cancelled for a fuzzy j.K.
Spell Meaties
Delayed Howling Metron - Strong meaty after distant knockdowns, as Asuka has enough time to run back in and continue his pressure. Other cube spells can be used for this purpose, but this spell is generally the best at it.
Delayed Tardus Metron - Powerful option which pushes Tardus's already extreme frame advantage into absurd territories. It lets Asuka have even more freedom in his pressure, such as both using Bookmark and comboing off of 5D.
Metron Arpeggio - Getting a knockdown is one of the best times to set up Arpeggio. It doesn't benefit greatly from hitting meaty, but Asuka is still able to do basically anything he wants after using it.
Accipiter Metron - Unreactable, reversal safe, plus on block overhead that gives full combos on hit. Extremely obnoxious when combined with his other low meaties.
Shooting Time Stretch (Decelerate) - Most of Asuka's cube spells can be used similar to Tardus while this staff is up. The frame advantage is much worse than Tardus, but it's still much better than what those spells would normally be.
Low-Pass Filter Gravity - While this staff is active, Asuka's j.D can hit as an instant overhead. Not only that, but Asuka also needs much less time to set up a safejump thanks to his low jump height. This allows for greater resource building while still being able to safejump the opponent.