GGACR/A.B.A/Strategy

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Learning Resources

Skeletal Minion's A.B.A Guide

General Tactics

The following content is ripped from Skeletal Minion's guide linked above.

Notable Moves

Normals: 5P, 5H, 6H, 2S, 2H (M), j.S
Specials: Bonding (Keygrab), Injecting & Displacement (Bloodpack)
Force Breaks: Judgment (Danzai), Eradication (Konzetsu), Dragging
Overdrives: Goku Moroha/Altercation

Normal Mode

A.B.A.’s gameplan is very simple in Normal mode: get out of it.

How you do this will obviously depend on your opponent’s character, but typically this will involve one of the following at the start of the round and in other NM situations throughout the match:

Evade something with slide > throw > Keygrab
Evade something with slide > combo punish into Rekkas FRC > 5H > Keygrab
FB Slide is 100% invul the entire move, so if you have 25%, you can get out of jail free. If spaced right, you can FB Slide through most things and punish.
Anti-air > combo > Keygrab
Raw Keygrab as a counterpoke, be aware that the long recovery on this move can get you punished if blocked.
Rekkas for a slower option with some reach, if they hit use a Bloodpack.
j.H. If it lands, combo into Keygrab. If it gets blocked, you might be able to tick throw with 5P if you don't get thrown yourself. If people expect the 5P and FD it they will create enough distance to make the throw property of the Keygrab not activate, go directly into Keygrab after the j.H if you think they will FD.
Chain into 2D > Keygrab
5H hit or block > Bloodpack
5H on counterhit > Keygrab
Bloodball to create space > Bloodpack
Reversal Mushrooms > Keygrab (after 1st cloud) or Bloodpack (after 3rd cloud)
Starter (which could be 5K, f.S, j.H, etc) > combo into Rekkas FRC > 5H > Keygrab
Razor kick (236K) to go over lows and bait throws. Staggers on CH, combo into keygrab. You can also FRC it to combo on normal hit.
Wait and see what your opponent does

An important place where a lot of Normal mode is played is right at the start of each round. Your options here are character specific. Do you start backdashing to create space for a Bloodpack? Raw Bloodpack, anticipating that they’ll back away instead? Raw Keygrab to catch their opening poke? Slide in to go for a throw? There are several choices that can be made here, and there’s never a really “right” answer, but smart play in the first few seconds of each round can be the difference in obtaining Moroha early on to stamp out your opponent or getting pushed into the corner and crushed while in Normal mode because you weren’t able to transform. Some rounds are literally decided in the first few seconds due to this. Play smart here, and when in doubt, go with the safer options (backdash, IAD away, wait and see, etc).

When you land that Keygrab or Bloodpack, IT’S TIME. Now you can actually fight back, and that’s because you’re in...

Moroha Mode

Now that you’ve made it into Moroha, you can start fighting back.

If you’re not already in, play footsies by utilizing your normals. When something connects, you can push directly to the corner if it hit. If blocked, draw them in with 2H and 5H, then go to work wrecking their guard gauge. If they start getting pushed too far away, re-vacuum them back in or burn 25% to extend your pressure via 2H FRC or 3rd Rekka FRC. Observe when they’re trying to poke out and frame trap--A.B.A.’s frame advantage on most normals in Moroha is pretty damn great. Mix it up by throwing in staggered Rekkas. Pay close attention to your Moroha gauge, and if it dips below 30%, back off or go for a transformation. You don’t want to lose because you failed to bait a single DP or was mashed out once by 2K > 2D, then got IK’d. Capitalize when you open them up and end the combo appropriately depending on the needs of A.B.A.’s subsystems. When their guard bar is flashing, DESTROY. In Moroha, you have the upper hand, and once you get in you can straight up bully your opponent. Please note that it’s not entirely free though: DAAs are a free knockdown, so they must be baited/punished accordingly (or if you’re styling, Danzai on reaction). After a combo, if you ended in Keygrab, you’re back at step one in Normal mode, so Bloodpack back into Moroha or get back in there to land a Keygrab. If you went for damage, were able to perform Bloodpack FRC > Keygrab, or are otherwise still in Moroha as they stand, depending on how they were knocked down you could run in and time a 2H to bait throws and begin your pressure anew, jump and go for a fuzzy while safe jumping reversal attempts, meaty with a FB Bloodball to set up the unblockable, run up and go for throw...it’s up to you.

Blockstrings

Okizeme

Fighting A.B.A

Don't let her get into Moroha mode.
If she is in Moroha mode you need to prioritize knockdowns to reduce her meter.
If she loses Moroha mode you might be able to IK her.

Matchups

NOTE: The old matchup subforums can be found here: http://www.dustloop.com/forums/index.php?/forums/forum/53-aba-matchups/

Things to note when discussing matchups:
-General ratio
-Optimal/inoptimal spacings
-Strong/Weak buttons
-Things to watch out for
-Character specific confirms
-etc etc

A.B.A	-/-
Anji Mito	-/-
Axl Low	-/-	Fighting against Axl requires a lot of risky hard reads to approach, and his reversals/counters can become a problem. Watch out for his 2K, as it's very low profile. IAD over telegraphed low chains, but beware of misreading – any guess that puts you in the air against Axl is risky. Try to save some meter for FDing while in air and try to FD after air tech to avoid resets (you can OS by holding 4+P+K while attempting to tech). Moroha/Goku Moroha 5H will stuff his 5P at range if you time it right, and the second hit might whiff. If it does, the CH 5H(1) stagger gives you plenty of time to run in and start a combo. It's risky, but can be worth it if you get a hard read on 5P.You can bait his reversals (except super) with max range Moroha/Goku Moroha 2D or Danzai. It’s also fairly easy to hit double orbs on Axl, so go for those when you can during corner combos.
Baiken	-/-	Hard baiting Baiken's guard cancels with dash throw mixup is a large part of the matchup. The Guard cancels make it difficult to get RISC up or perform block strings. Some of the guard cancel options can be avoided by jump canceling. Some can also be beat outright with call out Danzai. The best poke to use is probably f.S; Moroha 2D midscreen doesn't get as much mileage without meter because Baiken is so floaty. Jump ins against Baikens can be a gamble because of her anti air options. Zakuro (upward Pinwheel guard cancel) makes it so j.H being a giant hitbox less effective, as Baiken can just block and Zakuro. Baiken's 6p can sometimes just win outright against j.H. Be aware of doing rekkas up close. If you're right next to Baiken, the third rekka can whiff and go through her, side switching, and you will get punished. Baiken's j.H can be tricky to anti air if done directly above you, be ready for unexpected clashes. Baiken's tatamis are extremely active and control space for a long time. Jumping Forward and blocking, play cautiously to close the distance. Her 2H beats non-FB Danzai, but its mediocre hitbox will sometimes result in trades. Be ready to shake out of slip stagger. Baiken's 2D has a large hitbox, is fast, and can be made safe jump cancelling or going into Tatami.
Bridget	-/-
Chipp Zanuff	-/-
Dizzy	-/-	Dizzy’s f.S completely beats non-FB Danzai in neutral, her 2S is a very strong anti-air, and her throw range is noticeably larger than ABA's, so use caution when tick throwing. Thanks to Ice Spike, she can confirm basically any ground hit into a knockdown, and often into a fish oki setup. Fish armor is a huge problem, especially during pressure/oki. Your 5P is best anti-fish button when they're close. At range, f.S's two hits can tag a fish and still connect with Dizzy. When she has a fish on top of you, the only wake-up reversal option you really have is Danzai > Goku cancel since fish can eat a hit for her. But even that is very risky as she may recover in time to punish depending on what she was doing.
Eddie	-/-
Faust	-/-
I-No	-/-
Jam Kuradoberi	-/-
Justice	-/-
Johnny	-/-
Kliff Undersn	-/-
Ky Kiske	-/-
May	-/-
Millia Rage	-/-
Order-Sol	-/-
Potemkin	-/-
Robo-Ky	-/-
Slayer	-/-	Watch out for his 6P when using anything that hits higher than his lower body. Slayer’s 6P hitbox, together with its upper body invincibility make it hard to contest. During Normal mode Slide low profiles many of his moves, but beware of his 2K, 2H, and 2D. Razor kick (236K) can beat them if you have enough time to get it out, but it's ultimately a disadvantaged situation for ABA. You can Keygrab his dashes/specials if he's sloppy with them during his pressure, and your 5P can stuff some of his higher hitting normals.2S, 6P, and even 5P can stuff his j.H if timing/spacing is right.DoT can punish your forward dash, making it a risky approach when he has meter. Once you're in Moroha mode, Danzai shuts down a ton of Slayer's options, as they're mostly single hitting moves. Beware of Slayer when he has 50% meter for his Dead on Time (DoT) super, since he can easily punish you with it if Danzai is blocked, and Counterhit DoT hurts. Goku Moroha’s faster Danzai makes it hard for Slayer to play neutral, but once again, watch out for DoT. Moroha/Goku Moroha 2D can beat BBU at range, since it has no lower body invincibility.
Sol Badguy	-/-	Normal Mode Slide goes under many of his pokes, like f.S and 5HS. Punish careless pokes/pressure with Slide into Throw > Keystab, or directly into Keygrab. Slide loses to 2K and especially 2D, but you can hard call out these with 236K (though it will sometimes whiff over 2D, use caution). Keystab if you get the CH stagger, or you might be able to tick throw with it into Keystab depending on spacing. FB Slide through Gunflame nets you a free Throw > Keystab. 6P beats Riot Stomp clean, confirm into a simple jump combo for Keygrab. It's tricky to anti-air his j.H, but you can sometimes force a clash with 5P. During Moroha mode the matchup becomes much easier, but has some significant challenges. For one: if you're ever at less than 1/3 on Moroha gauge, the next Wild Throw or Volcanic Viper (VV) you eat is death as he can freely IK afterwards. You can bait VV with max range 2D, and also safe jump VV with deep j.S, if the j.S is blocked, you can block confirm into fuzzy dj.S. After blocking VV, watch out for his followup, as it can mess up your punish timing, or worse, CH you. VV gets him out of unblockable setup, but you can call out with FB Danzai or max range 2D. Take care when using non-FB Danzai for anti-air as his j.H hits twice. His 2D can low profile your f.S at range, using 2D or 6H might be a better option. Doing combos on him, for example 2HS>IAD routes, or landing the third Rekka in loops can be tricky due to his weird air hurtbox. IAD Orb oki isn't recommended since he can VV out, unless he has sliver of life left and you want to force a trade with rear orb to kill him.
Testament	-/-
Venom	-/-
Zappa	-/-