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.
Key Knockdown Moves
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 - Asuka needs to choose between recovering resources or safe jump. Asuka can perform a safe jump by whiffing 5P followed by IAD j.D.
