HNK/Rei

	Damage Taken
	100%
	Jump Startup
	4f
	Backdash
	1f

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Overview

If you want to control the air, look no further than Rei. With excellent mobility, a powerful moveset, and high versatility, Rei is a go-to pick for just about anyone.

Rei has a number of excellent pokes to help him control neutral. His f.B, 2B, 2D and j.D are all fast and long-reaching, giving him great control over the ground. If opponents try to jump in or airdash towards Rei, he has an excellent anti-air reversalGuardAllStartup8RecoveryAdvantage- for keeping them shut out. Furthermore, Rei's own air mobility is the best in the game. Triple jumps, multiple advancing special moves, and a suite of great ground-to-air buttons and specials can make him a total menace once he's gotten airborne.

While his control over neutral and defense are solid, Rei's offense is easily his scariest attribute. Almost every single one of Rei's grounded buttons are jump cancellable. Since IAD inputs can be done very low to the ground in this game, this allows Rei to perform an excellent pressure game that can threaten an instant overhead into a full combo at nearly any time. Even better, Rei's throws are also jump cancellable, giving him excellent mixup potential with high reward. It can be difficult to block Rei for extended periods of time.

At the highest level of play, Rei can be downright terrifying. Unlike the majority of the cast, Rei's basuke From Hokuto no KenA state during particularly long combos in which the victim of the combo begins to rebound off of the floor at extremely high speeds, most commonly while the attacker is also airborne. Resembles dribbling in basketball, hence the name. setups are easy and nearly universal, only requiring a single bar of aura and boost to work with. Rei's infinites are started by using his NantoGuardAllStartup38RecoveryAdvantage- super, which can be tacked on at the end of his BnB A staple combo that is simple yet effective. combos. This lets Rei threaten instant death at pretty much every point in the match past the first neutral exchange, solidifying his place near the top of the tier list.

Overall, Rei is an excellent and highly versatile character who is great for beginners and experts. His plethora of strengths and lack of real weaknesses often cause him to be considered the second or third best character in the game, and he remains a popular pick for everyone getting into HNK.

Rei

Pros and Cons

Rei controls the air with an arsenal of jump-cancellable moves and strong conversion potential.

Pros

Cons

Air Control: Rei is the undisputed master of the air thanks to his triple jump and unique air throw. It is also difficult to approach Rei in the air if he is on the ground, thanks to his solid DPGuardAllStartup5RecoveryAdvantage-.
Jump Cancellable Everything: Pretty much every single one of Rei's grounded moves (including his throws) are jump cancellable. This allows him to perform lengthy pressure sequences with multiple mixup opportunities.
Excellent Supers: DankoGuardMidStartup30-143RecoveryAdvantage- lets Rei control the screen very easily, NantoGuardAllStartup38RecoveryAdvantage- is a great reversal super, and KubuenrizanGuardMidStartup37RecoveryAdvantage- can steal stars at the end of a round and put the opponent in a precarious situation in the next.
Simple Combos: Rei mostly uses a single combo and routes in and out of it depending on the circumstances. All that changes are the starter and ender, making him very easy to learn.
Practical ToD: Most of the lengthy 100% combos that this game is known for can be character specific and difficult, but Rei's are relatively easy and practical. His infinites are even extensions of his BnBs.

Sluggish Crouching Recovery: Rei has the longest crouching recovery in the game; some character's have crouching-Rei-specific infinites, making his defense much more difficult against those matchups.
Execution: Rei is an infinite-centric character. Learning the routing to infinite anyone will require some character specific variations, and mastery of mechanics such as movement boosting.

Normals

c.A

c.A

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	9	5	3	4	+2

Jump cancelable.

Tied for one of Rei's fastest buttons. It is mainly used as used as an anti air against low airdashes and combo filler in midscreen combo routes.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

c.B

c.B

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	8	8	4	4	+3

Jump cancelable.

Low kick that is a mid. Not much usage from this button due to it's lack of hitstun.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

c.C

c.C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	19	7	6	13	-3

Jump cancelable.

Excellent anti air. Whiffs on crouching characters.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Jump cancelable

c.D

c.D

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	19	9	4	18	-3

Jump cancelable.

Excellent button for pressure with a lot of blockstun. Can go into instant airdash or 2D. Combos into banishing attack except on crouching Jagi where you would use 2D. Also combos into IAD j.B.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

f.A

f.A

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	7	5	3	4	+4

Jump cancelable.

The other 5F normal. Same usage as close A but is smaller vertically. Whiffs on Mamiya, Rei, Shin, and Jagi crouch blocking. Whiffs on Souther and Toki neutral crouching.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

f.B

f.B

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	7	7	4	5	+4

Jump cancelable.

Excellent midrange poke. Confirms into 2D except on crouching Jagi.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

f.C

f.C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	17	12	4	16	-2

Jump cancelable.

Not really used as a poke. Mainly combo filler.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Jump cancelable

f.D

f.D

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	17	14	3	16	0

Low invulnerable button. Can confirm into banishing strike by kara canceling 2D into CD as 2D~2C. Also confirms into Grave Shoot. Surprisingly not jump cancelable.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

2A

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	6	6	3	7	+1

Jump cancelable.

Faster crouching normal.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

2B

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
low	6	7	3	4	+6

2B is a great low. It's significantly plus on block, can be jump canceled, and has solid speed. It confirms into 5D and 2D. 2B > 2D does not combo against crouching Jagi.

Jump cancelable.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancelable

2C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All	16	12	4	14	-2

Cancels into itself.

Combo filler.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Jump cancellable

2D

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Low	13	14	5	20	-5

Jump cancelable.

Rei's furthest reaching low.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Jump cancelable

j.A

j.A

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
High		4	16

Rei's Fastest air normal. Good as an air to air.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

j.B

j.B

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
High		5	20

A very active air normal that is great for air to airs and the fastest button that will hit a crouching character from an instant air dash.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

j.C

j.C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
High		9	6

Hits above Rei. Mainly used to hitconfirm from 2D.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

j.D

j.D

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
High		11	5

Air to ground button that has a lot of blockstun and hitstun.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Command Normals

6A

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
High		24	4		-4

No real reason to use this but it's there if you want to.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

j.2B

j.2B

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Air Throw

j.6C or j.4C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Air Throw		4	4

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Universal Mechanics

Throw

6C or 4C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Throw		4	4

Jump cancelable, of course.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Jump cancelable

Kick Throw

B+D

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Throw		9	4

Also jump cancellable, who would have guessed?

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Jump cancelable, whiffs on crouch

Grave Shoot

A+C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All		16	7		-4

Good hitbox that also reflects projectiles. Also moves slightly forward.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Grave Launch

Reflects projectiles

Heavy Strike

A+B

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Unblockable		41	4

Pretty standard heavy attack unblockable.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Stagger

Banishing Strike

C+D

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All		18-33	4		-8

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On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Banishing Launch

Special Moves

Hien Ryubu

j.236A or j.236B

Version	Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Hien Ryubu A	All		11	Until ground, 25 (after hitting ground)
Hien Ryubu B	All		11	Until ground, 90 (after hitting ground)

A version bounces upwards off the ground.
B version glides across the floor.

Excellent air to ground projectile with utility in: stalling in the air to mess up anti air timing, having an active projectile to follow behind in order force a response from the opponent and start pressure, and being a mixup tool with boost.

Version	On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
j.236A
j.236B

j.236A (notes: bounces on ground contact)
j.236B (notes: slides across ground)

Nanto Gekisei Kakubu

623A or 623C

Version	Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Nanto Gekisei Kakubu A	All		8	14
Nanto Gekisei Kakubu C	All		5	22

623A

Cancels into air special moves.
No invincibility.

As it cancels into air special moves, one can use j.236C to follow up to get hits and create good corner carry for the Baskue.

623C

Rei's invincible reversal.

While being a DP, it is also often used in basket combos by Boosting out the last hit.

Version	On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
623A	Launch
623C	Launch

623A (notes: air ok, cancelable into air special moves)
623C

Air Nanto Gekisei Kakubu

j.623A or j.623C

Version	Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Air Nanto Gekisei Kakubu A	All		8	14
Air Nanto Gekisei Kakubu C	All		9	25

j.623A

Not commonly used.

j.623C

Has some invincibility.

Mainly used as a reaction to the universal guard cancel while still in the air.

WARNING!
In arcade version, Boost TKing this move after Grave Shoot (A+C > 6239E~C) will cause Rei's DP to hit infinitely many times; the technique is called a Grave Install, but the effect it has on Rei's DP is unique to it.
THIS IS A BANNED TECHNIQUE IN ORGANIZED PLAY. FAILING TO BOOST OUT OF THE LAST HIT BEFORE KO OR TIME OUT WILL SOFT LOCK THE GAME, REQUIRING A RESTART.

Version	On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
j.623A	Launch
j.623C	Launch

j.623A
j.623C

Nanto Jinshu Suizan

j.236D or j.214D

Version	Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Nanto Jinshu Suizan	High		15	Until Landing
Nanto Jinshu Suizan Backwards	High		15	Until Landing

Used as combo filler and an overhead option. Is airdash cancelable if at jump height. Wall bouncess on counter hit.

Version	On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
j.236D	Launch
j.214D	Launch

j.236D (notes: Airdash cancellable, wall bounce on CH)
j.214D (notes: Airdash cancellable, wall bounce on CH)

Nanto Kyoukaku Shoubu

j.214C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All		26	Until Landing

Rei creates a shield around himself with a hitbox that disappears when Rei lands on the ground, it hits, or is blocked. It eats some projectiles such as Souther's 623A.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Eats some projectiles

Nanto Kakuyokujinzan

j.236C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All		19	20

Jump cancelable.
Wallbounces on counter hit.

A rushing mid attack done in the air that knocks up on normal hit and wallbounce on counter hit. Integral in all of Rei's combos by airdash canceling or jump canceling with a button and itself.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Jump cancellable, wall bounce on CH

Nanto Koharyu

214C or 214C~214C

Version	Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Nanto Koharyu	Mid		20	12		-9
Nanto Koharyu Followup	Mid		12	5		-11

A two part move mainly used to beat guard cancels. 1st portion of the move has armor. 2nd input launches the opponent in a grave shoot state.

Version	On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
214C
214C~214C	Grave Launch

214C
214C~214C

Super Moves

Nanto Seiki Mouha

236236A

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
All		38	27

Uses 1 bar of Aura.

Reversal super with some invulnerability, great damage, and good hykuretsu combo potential. Attacks in the super can also beat projectiles.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level
Launch

Can cancel projectiles

Danko Sousaiken

236236C

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Mid		30-143	50-200

Uses 1 bar of Aura.

Rei charges up the attack with one hit of armor, flies up with invincibility, and then throws 3 projectiles that bounce around the screen. Charging the super increased the damage and the duration of the projectiles on the screen.

On-Hit	Boost Gain	Aura Gain	GC	Level

Chargeable

Kubuenrizan

j.2363214D

Guard	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	On-Block	Star Damage
Mid		37	4-24

Uses 1 bar of Aura.

A super mainly used to take as many stars as possible after A+C or 214C 214C at the end of a round. Has a little bit of invul that can go through guard cacncele but it isn't generally used in this manner.