GGST/Faust/Matchups

From Dustloop Wiki
< GGST‎ | Faust




Ambox warning.png A large amount of information on this page is old, and potentially outdated. Make sure to verify any information yourself before blindly trusting it.

Matchups

Table of Contents
GGST A.B.A Icon.png GGST Anji Icon.png GGST Asuka R Icon.png GGST Axl Icon.png
GGST Baiken Icon.png GGST Bedman Icon.png GGST Bridget Icon.png GGST Chipp Icon.png
GGST Elphelt Valentine Icon.png GGST Faust Icon.png GGST Giovanna Icon.png GGST Goldlewis Icon.png
GGST Happy Chaos Icon.png GGST I-No Icon.png GGST Jack-O Icon.png GGST Johnny Icon.png
GGST Ky Icon.png GGST Leo Icon.png GGST May Icon.png GGST Millia Icon.png
GGST Nagoriyuki Icon.png GGST Potemkin Icon.png GGST Ramlethal Icon.png GGST Sin Kiske Icon.png
GGST Sol Icon.png GGST Testament Icon.png GGST Zato Icon.png
Detailed
  • Replay Theater is a great resource to find high-level matchup footage.
  • High-level replays may also be found in-game (Main Menu > Collection > Replay > Search).
  • The Counterstrategy page will generally have some basic counterstrategy against each character in the game.
  • Please keep in mind that matchup charts are subjective and not all players may agree on them.

Krackatoa's List of Character Specific Interactions

Find the Google Doc here (Currently updated for 1.17) listing afro setups, safejumps and other nifty pieces of info


Anji Mito

Round Start


Anji's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
2PGGST Anji Mito 2P.pngGuardAllStartup5Recovery10Advantage-2
6PGGST Anji Mito 6P.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery25Advantage-17
5KGGST Anji Mito 5K.pngGuardAllStartup8Recovery9Advantage-2
f.SGGST Anji Mito fS.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-9
charged 236HGGST Anji Mito 236H.pngGuardAllStartup16 [32]Recovery21Advantage-8 [-6]

Dealing with Fuujin

Plan A: Creating Whiff Punish Opportunities

The go-to punish for Fuujin is to bait it out entirely. Backdash preemptively, or upset its spacing with backwalk to get better opportunities for yourself.

This also acts as a hedge against 236KGGST Anji Mito 236K 1.pngGuardStartupRecoveryTotal 34~50Advantage-.

Plan B: Block Fuujin

It's expected to have to block Fuujin over the course of the match. Just how it is, sometimes.

YRC

YRC is very useful, as it can disable Anji's post-Fuujin followups, and offer you a lopsided offensive chance with Snip vs. 2K or c.S

Dealing with the Fuujin Followups

  • Rin (Overhead) may need to be blocked standing on a read. You might be able to stand block it on reaction, but it's difficult.
  • Nagiha (S, Low) is -7 and offers you the chance to approach after. Done too close, you can punish with 5K.
  • Shin: Ichishiki (P, Projectile) can be dealt with on reaction. It doesn't catch jumps well. Depending on the spacing there are many avenues to punish. j2K at a distance is good to get over it. In close, 9j.K will lead to a high damage conversion.
  • No Followup: Anji can steal away your turn by cancelling into nothing and going in. This is less scary midscreen if you can FD, but quite terrifying in the corner. You can represent any counterpoke in this situation, but you will be playing into Nagiha.

Dealing with Spin

Risky, high reward read is dash up Snip.

You can hedge against Spin with 2P and 5K. You won't be punishable. This allows you to check approach with less commitment.

Like Fuujin, backwards movement and waiting it out can offer up a guaranteed punish window.

Dealing with forward throw into butterfly Okizeme

Faust can crawl under the butterflyGGST Anji Mito 236P.pngGuardAllStartup29RecoveryTotal 52Advantage-6 to avoid it as long as he isn't using FD or being struck by Anji. Faust's blocking animation is high enough to trigger the butterfly, so mixing up the timing at which you get hit by the butterfly can mess with the options Anji has during his Oki setup.

Normal Timing:
Faust intentionally stand block or FDs the butterfly for the normal timing an Anji player is accustomed to. He gets to do whatever he wants into a mostly safe butterfly 2nd hit for plus frames.

Delayed Timing:
Faust crawls the butterfly, and intentionally stand block or FDs later in the timing. This can be used to play around the Anji attempting to run up throw when they know a crawl is coming, as well as open gaps if the Anji is going for normal Okizeme timing.

Crawl Timing:
If Faust crouch blocks the entirety of the butterfly going by, then the only thing that triggers it is going into block stun by an Anji button. Anji striking Faust's crawl block before the butterfly is activated delays the butterfly strike that begins flying up. Depending on the string that Anji uses (2K>2D or c.S>f.S>etc) a gap large enough to contest with a Faust button presents itself while the butterfly is going up. For example: Anji doing a 2KGGST Anji Mito 2K.pngGuardLowStartup7Recovery11Advantage-2>2DGGST Anji Mito 2D.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery22Advantage-11 triggering the butterfly (instead of the normal timing) leaves a gap large enough for Faust to advance forward and avoid the second strike of butterfly. A mix-up with throw can happen here if Anji knows Faust intends to crawl under the entire butterfly.

Plans:

  1. Crawl the butterfly and wait for Anji to trigger a blocking situation, challenge space with a 5P or 2K before the butterfly 2nd hit happens.
  2. If Anji starts grabbing crawl, intentionally delay FD to trigger the butterfly at a timing that grants grab invincibility, take a turn.
  3. Normal timing of butterfly (not entirely sure of the advantage here other than keeping Anji on his toes).

Asuka R

Round Start


Common Round Start Interaction Table
Asuka's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs

Neutral


Offense


Defense


Axl Low

A delicate matchup, but not unwinnable. Overall a hard matchup for Faust due to Axl out-poking and out-damaging him at both midscreen and fullscreen. Delicate and thoughtful play is required to get in on Axl and applying afro will ultimately be your win condition in the matchup.

  • 6P and j.2K are two potent buttons for answering Axl's jump-ins and grounded pressure (mostly in the form of Rensen and Winter Mantis), respectively.
  • Axl's 5PGGST Axl Low 5P.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery19Advantage-11 [-3], 6PGGST Axl Low 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery22Advantage-13, 5KGGST Axl Low 5K.pngGuardAllStartup6Recovery11Advantage-2, 2SGGST Axl Low 2S.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery23Advantage-16 and Axl Bomber can be ducked under.
  • If you do get in on Axl, be mindful of his Sickle StormGGST Axl Low 236236H 1.pngGuardAllStartup11+1Recovery26Advantage-2 reversal and look to punish it after the first hit and before the second.
  • Practice dash-blocking.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Axl's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
2PGGST Axl Low 2P.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery14Advantage-6
5PGGST Axl Low 5P.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery19Advantage-11 [-3]
6PGGST Axl Low 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery22Advantage-13
f.SGGST Axl Low f.S.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery19Advantage-8
2HGGST Axl Low 2H.pngGuardLowStartup11Recovery26Advantage-18 [-8]
214SGGST Axl Low 214S.pngGuardAllStartup24Recovery21Advantage+3
214HGGST Axl Low 214H.pngGuardAllStartup14Recovery29Advantage-24
IADB j.SGGST Axl Low j.S.pngGuardHighStartup14Recovery18Advantage-

Dealing with Rensen

It is possible to answer RensenGGST Axl Low 46S.pngGuardAllStartup24Recovery29Advantage-19~-9 with j.2K on reaction. You severely limit Axl's on-block options if you can represent this.

Rensen Followups

At certain heights, air FDing the 8 follow upGGST Axl Low 46S8.pngGuardAllStartup8Recovery34Advantage-11 can put you in a fairly even or even advantageous situation. It's based on spacing and height of the FD, however.

The spinning followupGGST Axl Low 46S2.pngGuardLowStartup7Recovery19Advantage-6 can be answered with j.2K.

The explosionGGST Axl Low 46SS 1.pngGuardAllStartup18 [22]Recovery24Advantage-3 [+10], generally, needs to be blocked. It's possible to walk forward or jump out of the explosion at certain ranges, but dashing is dangerous because of Faust's wide hurtbox while running.

Dealing with j.S

Once Axl leaves the ground, you can attempt to space yourself with forward dash to get in a range where you can represent 6P. If Axl delays his j.SGGST Axl Low j.S.pngGuardHighStartup14Recovery18Advantage- after jumping in order to bait 6P, the counterplay is to keep running forward.

If you do manage to 6P the j.S, it will be counterhit, and you can usually pick up with Mix Mix Mix.

Dealing with Rainwater

This attack will leave a gap outside of meaty situations. Done in a blockstring, the callout for it is a low j2K over the active frames, preferably followed up with 66RC to convert.

Dealing with Snail

-24 on block, you can punish with dash far.S>2H, Scarecrow PRC Snip or Raw Super.

Representing Deep Forward Dash

One thing to remember is that in this matchup, certain normals from Axl are best answered with brash approach. A full run without stopping will get you all the way in should Axl 5P, and will dramatically upset his j.S spacing.

It can be a good idea if the Axl is too passive, or doesn't represent any approach of his own. Since a simple run cannot be counterhit, his damage will be limited without meter.

This also works a lot better if you can represent a reaction j.2K vs. Rensen.


Baiken


Round Start


Baiken's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Baiken 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery19Advantage-10
f.SGGST Baiken fS.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery15Advantage-7
2SGGST Baiken 2S.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery19Advantage-8
Walk Back 2HGGST Baiken 2H.pngGuardLowStartup17Recovery26Advantage-13
Neutral Jump j.SGGST Baiken jS.pngGuardHighStartup8Recovery19Advantage+1 (IAD)

Notable Interactions


Neutral


Offense


Defense


Dealing with Wakeup Parry

Do a lot of delayed c.S on their wakeup. If you have 50 bar, Snip is quite nice because you can bail from a failed attempt with PRC, and if your timing is correct, you can Kara-cancel the Snip into Super should Baiken wakeup with 236236S.

Bedman

Round Start


Common Round Start Interaction Table
Bedman's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs

Neutral


Offense


Defense


Bridget


Round Start


Bridget's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs

Notable Interactions

Neutral


Anti-air

-Bridget has many ways to alter her air momentum and make her movement unpredictable with Roger Dive and Rolling Movement. Using 6P as an anti-air is ill-advised due to its long recovery, making it susceptible to whiff punish especially with her long normals. It is better use low-commital normals such as 5K or 2K to swat her out. Alternatively, j.H is a great air-to-air to with a large disjoint to snipe her out from the air.

Offense


Defense



Chipp Zanuff

This character is fast, but has exceptionally low life. While you may never hold the pace of the match in your hands, you're a threat, even on the backfoot. Rising j.H allows you to control the air should Chipp dally too long up there, while 5P and 2P act as strong hedges against his movement while you try to gather data for harder reads.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Chipp's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Chipp Zanuff 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery25Advantage-16
f.SGGST Chipp Zanuff fS.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery20Advantage-8
2SGGST Chipp Zanuff 2S.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery17Advantage-7
2DGGST Chipp Zanuff 2D.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery19Advantage-7
IAD j.HGGST Chipp Zanuff j.H.pngGuardHighStartup8Recovery17Advantage+4~5 (IAD)

Dealing with Leaf Grab

Reaction j.2K will counterhit the heck out of Leaf GrabGGST Chipp Zanuff 63214S.pngGuardGround ThrowStartup27Recovery15AdvantageN/A. It's easy to time and unlike other jump-out tools, can be done up to the last moment.

Leaf Grab normally dies to most prediction mashed options, if you find yourself mashing out for other reasons.

Dealing with Rekkas

First RekkaGGST Chipp Zanuff Resshou.pngGuardAllStartup13Recovery16Advantage-4 is technically punishable, but the followups can always be represented. The conservative play is to keep blocking, and look for the more favourable situation that comes with the 2nd Rekka.

After 2nd Rekka

You can always represent 5P safely after 2nd RekkaGGST Chipp Zanuff Rokusai.pngGuardLowStartup8Recovery21Advantage-6, however, if Chipp does go for the overhead follow-upGGST Chipp Zanuff Senshuu.pngGuardHighStartup20Recovery20Advantage-9, crawl into c.S can net you some nice damage. Most Chipp pressure is structured around PRC/RC pressure extensions off 2nd Rekka, so this doesn't come up as often as you would think.

If Chipp has meter to spend, and he spends it on your guard, that's not a bad thing, necessarily.

Dealing with Alpha Blade (Horizontal)

The situation following a blocked Alpha BladeGGST Chipp Zanuff Alpha Blade Horizontal Ground.pngGuardAllStartup29Recovery19Advantage-4 leaves you in a neutral situation, more or less. Trying to swing at Chipp means he can represent an airdash back in over your mid-range options, so mix it up between playing reactively, swinging and approach.

Dealing with Alpha Blade (Vertical)

Rising Alpha BladeGGST Chipp Zanuff Alpha Blade Diagonal Ground.pngGuardAllStartup27Recovery17Advantage-2 leaves Chipp airborne. Good for you. You can dash under to upset spacing on his followups, or jump at him with rising j.H if he delays in an attempt to bait out a grounded anti-air.

If you airblock this, however, the extended blockstun makes his choice of followup mostly lock tight.

It should be noted that this option is hard to block on reaction. You'll want to practice it.

Dealing with Alpha Blade Wall Cling in the Corner

Representing c.S on reaction to Alpha Blade on your guard can delete Chipp should he go for the wall cling cancel.

Dealing with j.2K

5K acts as a potent anti-air against j.2KGGST Chipp Zanuff j.2K.pngGuardHighStartup16RecoveryUntil Landing+8Advantage+3 (IAD), surprisingly. If Chipp is representing this at low heights, it can be better to try and dash to upset the spacing of it instead.



Elphelt Valentine

Round Start


Common Round Start Interaction Table
Elphelt's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs

Neutral


Offense


Defense


Faust

 FaustThe Doctor asks meeee, Why can't I give him an answer?


Round Start


Faust's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
2PGGST Faust 2P.pngGuardLowStartup7Recovery11Advantage-3
6PGGST Faust 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery32Advantage-21
5KGGST Faust 5K.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery8Advantage-2
f.SGGST Faust fS.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery20Advantage-8
2HGGST Faust 2H.pngGuardLowStartup14Recovery29Advantage-12
j.2KGGST Faust j.2K.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery9 after LandingAdvantage-

Notable Interactions


Neutral


Offense


Defense


Giovanna

Perhaps Faust's hardest matchup: not only is Giovanna un-fuzzyable while afro'd, 5K will always whiff in neutral against her despite the haircut she currently has AND her cartwheel attack (Sol Nascente)GGST Giovanna Sol Nascente.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery21Advantage-15 will flip an applied afro upside-down, meaning it cannot be hit or inflamed during its animation. In addition to this, her mobility is very dominant and will quickly lead poor Faust into the corner where he must deal with Giovanna's array of plus moves and high damage. Her mobility is not as effective for maneuvering around items, however.

  • Notably, Faust can crawl under Sol PoenteGGST Giovanna 214S 1.pngGuardAll, HighStartup{4} 27Recovery21Advantage-5, TrovãoGGST Giovanna Trovao.pngGuardAll [All (Guard Crush)]Startup27Recovery13Advantage+4 [+15], 5PGGST Giovanna 5P.pngGuardAllStartup4Recovery9Advantage-2, 5KGGST Giovanna 5K.pngGuardAllStartup6Recovery12Advantage-2, 5HGGST Giovanna 5H.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery19Advantage-5 and 6HGGST Giovanna 6H.pngGuardAllStartup17Recovery5 + 10 After LandingAdvantage-10. Keep an eye out for the cross-up on Sol Poente though, as Faust must switch crawl directions when it occurs.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Giovanna's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Giovanna 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-9
66 5KGGST Giovanna 5K.pngGuardAllStartup6Recovery12Advantage-2
f.SGGST Giovanna fS1.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery16Advantage-4
2SGGST Giovanna 2S1.pngGuardLowStartup9Recovery15Advantage-6
5HGGST Giovanna 5H.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery19Advantage-5

The Importance of the Rule of 3, with respects to Neutral

[Krackatoa: I want to do a video on this.]

At any point, a player is playing with the intent to react, the intent to approach, or the intent to preempt an option swung by their opponent. They rotate between all three of these based on what they think the opponent is doing, or about to do, in a given moment.

Gio Playing Reactively

If Gio is looking to play reactively, she may wait to bait out normals, or forward dash and block, as either maneuver will confer a strong situation should Faust swing at her. Since Faust doesn't have much in the way of + normals, having anything blocked or whiff is more or less bad for him in this matchup.

You can answer this kind of play by threatening to approach, to force the Gio to act. Dash in throw or dash in 5P/2K/2S is something to represent vs. Gio, just to keep her on her toes, and force her into the other decisions. Depending on the normal or option you use to approach, you may hedge against other options.

Gio Playing Preemptively

If Gio is mindful of your approach, or your desire to keep her out by swinging, she may swing more frequently in neutral. 2DGGST Giovanna 2D.pngGuardLowStartup17Recovery12Advantage-8, 5H, dash c.SGGST Giovanna cS.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery10Advantage+3... She has a lot of options available. If she's scared of any of the above: slow down. Introduce more passiveness to your play. Back walk, backdash, these can be used to upset her spacing. She's going after buttons and movement she expects to be there, so you may be offered opportunities to whiff punish with f.S or 2H.

Gio Looking to Approach

In some cases, Gio is intent on touching you, to prey on you for both playing reactively and looking for whiff punishment. It's not a bad situation for her, to get in with any normal in particular, as they all offer up a favourable situation in terms of damage on hit and pressure on block.

If you've been goading her into approach, now is the time to swing. f.S, 2H, 5H, low j.2K. These options will net you damage and counterhits as she attempts to get offense going.

Defense

Faust will want to switch between purely reactive play, fuzzy jump, and the occasional counterpoke on defense. Gio has the means to challenge each easily, but cannot cover them all simultaneously. Gio without meter is stuck running throw mixups, more or less, which are pretty volatile if you favour fuzzy jump on defense.

Crawling Sol Poente (214S) and Trovao (236K) is strong to get down, because it offers you a guaranteed back throw punish on reaction.

YRC is good

Gio's unmetered defense isn't too scary, so YRC can confer a pretty sizeable advantage, and deny her the offense. Hold your bar for it.

Dealing with Sol Nascente (623S)

This move is incredibly dominant. Wait it out in situations where you think it might be on the table.

Punish it on block with f.S > 2H > Item Toss.

In situations where Gio is minus, but not punishable such after Sepultura (214K)GGST Giovanna Sepultura.pngGuardAllStartup13Recovery20Advantage-4, 2P can shut Sol Nascente down as it lacks lower body invuln in the initial startup frames.

Dealing with Sol Poente (214S)

On Reaction

Faust can use 'Crawl > Throw' vs. Sol Poente on reaction with proper spacing. If Gio crosses up, you need to return to 2 before correcting your crawl for the appropriate direction.

Faust can 2K and 5K on reaction as well, which does lead to pretty substantial damage.

On Prediction

Sometimes, you may want to hedge in pressure with 6P or 5K to deal with another Gio option. Higher hitting attacks done on prediction will beat it out.



Goldlewis Dickinson

You out-neutral Goldlewis most of the time and can run effective afro-based offence on him because of his poor defense and size. This matchup is only ever difficult if you happen to be cornered without meter.

  • 5K and 5H are especially effective in this matchup due to how active they are.
  • You can crawl, Scarecrow or air dash any version of SkyfishGGST Goldlewis Dickinson Skyfish.pngGuardAllStartup25Recovery75~134 TotalAdvantage-13. Just be on the lookout if Goldlewis has meter to PRC it and react to your option.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Goldlewis's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Goldlewis Dickinson 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery27Advantage-19
5KGGST Goldlewis Dickinson 5K.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery12Advantage-7
f.SGGST Goldlewis Dickinson f.S.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery23Advantage-12
684HGGST Goldlewis Dickinson Behemoth Typhoon (684).pngGuardAll* (Guard Crush)Startup12Recovery21Advantage-5
j.DGGST Goldlewis Dickinson jD.pngGuardHighStartup14Recovery14Advantage+13 (IAD)

Notable Interactions


Neutral


Offense


Defense



Happy Chaos

 Happy Chaosfar slash
Unfavorable

Happy Chaos can shut down Faust's trademark gameplan by existing but there is definitely counterplay to the Gunslinging Messiah. Whether it is sCrow PRC or threatening him with long normals for trying to spam Steady Aim.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Happy Chaos's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Happy Chaos 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery25Advantage-16 2P, 2S, 2H, 2D Everything else 2K Walk back, Do nothing
2KGGST Happy Chaos 2K.pngGuardLowStartup7Recovery12Advantage-4 low j.K, f.S, 5H Everything else 2P(Clash) Walk back, Do nothing
f.SGGST Happy Chaos fS.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery21Advantage-14 5P, 2P, 6P, 5K, 2K Everything else f.S Walk back, [3]
2SGGST Happy Chaos 2S.pngGuardLowStartup11Recovery18Advantage-7 2P, 6P, low j.2K Everything else 2K Walk back
6SGGST Happy Chaos 6S.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery24Advantage-14 5P, 2P, 6P, 5K, 2K, 2S, 2D 2H, 6H f.S, 5H Walk back
Microwalk back 2SGGST Happy Chaos 2S.pngGuardLowStartup11Recovery18Advantage-7 f.S, 5H, 2H, 2D 2P, 5K, 2H, 6H Nothing Walk back, Do nothing
2DGGST Happy Chaos 2D.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery19Advantage-8 5P, 2P, 6P, 2K, 6H, 5[D] Everything else None Walk back
236PGGST Happy Chaos 236P.pngGuard-Startup-Recovery29 totalAdvantage- Microwalk 2P, f.S, 6H Everything else None Microdash FD Brake Crawl , Jump
  • Chaos has a 35% chance to punish your whiff punish with Gun Shot

Answering Scapegoat


Your safest option against Safegoat is to jump cancel 5K to keep yourself safe.


Dealing with Curse

Reacting to Curse with an instant air dash jH will be your best option, otherwise jumping over it is the safest option. If you jump early enough you may even be able to catch his recovery using j.2K.

Neutral


Unfortunately there are rarely spacings to throw items due to screen control with gun, but we have alternatives. Using FD Brake to dashblock guardcrush loops is very useful and once you are in the midrange we can start to contest him. Options like f.S and 2H can be very useful at punishing Steady Aim and buttons like Chaos' 2S, 6S, and 2K. Confirming CH f.S and/or 2H in to 236S will be VERY important. If you are sitting on 50 tension you can begin to represent 214S PRC into 236H, c.S and 2K for full screen pressure to prevent them from auto piloting in to Steady Aim. Preemptive buttons from Happy Chaos such as 2P and 2K can counterhit the start up of PRC but require them to press early.

Offense


During your normal strike throw pressure (5P, 2K, and c.S staggers) Happy Chaos can threaten to break away using 5P, 2P and 2K. 5P and 2P are used as his fastest abare tools at 5F startup. 2K can be used to low profile Faust's 5P staggering. On offense you want to look for a hard knockdown for good items and using the item's plus frames (Hammer, Weight, Bomb, Trumpet, Meteors and Mini Faust) to create mixup situations. You can tk236S at close spacings to threaten crossups and continue with mix loops. Most of these mixups (unless prefaced with guardcrush) will lose to fuzzy jumps but delaying any strike can catch prejump frames. When you land a knockdown you want to do your best to stay on offense due to Happy Chaos' incredible pokes and screen control, consider your situation when breaking the wall! Look at your items and if you can get a hard knockdown from super to maintain an advantage. 236H can lead to a lot of damage or pressure if you play around the explosion and raised hurtbox from Afro.

Defense


When blocking Chaos midscreen it is invaluable to watch his concentration gauge and bullet count as well as meter. Narrowing down Chaos' options and assessing the risk he is taking when doing certain mixups. He may be giving up his turn or taking a massive risk when doing typically safe (with gun) options. Looking out for 5D and Roll is vital to your survival on defense, he has an array of fuzzy mixups when given 50 meter aswell, but when midscreen make sure to use Faultless Defense to push him out and prevent button into roll. When blocking in the corner all of this is turned up but he can wallslump off of any non-launching normal thanks to gunshot. Holding your YRC or Burst for this situation is very important!

I-No


Round Start


I-No's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST I-No 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery18Advantage-9
f.SGGST I-No f.S.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-13
2SGGST I-No 2S.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery23Advantage-11
2HGGST I-No 2H.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery14Advantage-5
236SGGST I-No Stroke the Big Tree.pngGuardLowStartup16Recovery16Advantage-7
66 j.SGGST I-No jS.pngGuardHighStartup8Recovery20Advantage- / j.HGGST I-No jH.pngGuardHighStartup12Recovery21Advantage-

Notable Interactions


Neutral


Offense


Defense


Dealing with Stroke

Dealing with I-no Offense: Stroke.mp4


Jack-O


Round Start


Jack-O's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Jack-O 6P.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery20Advantage-12
f.SGGST Jack-O fS.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery17Advantage-9
5HGGST Jack-O 5H.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery23Advantage-6
2DGGST Jack-O 2D.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-19

Notable Interactions


Neutral


Offense


Defense


Dealing with Minions Being Shot at You

If Jack-O is in the air, 5K acts as a very strong catch-all option without a lot of whiff recovery.

If Jack-O is grounded, 5P acts as a strong reactionary option vs. Minion ShootGGST Jack-O 236K.pngGuardAllStartup15Recovery25Advantage-12 (236K).

If Jack-O is grounded, 2K works well against normal-launched minions, which bounce.

Multiple Minions is where things get a little weird.


Johnny

Round Start


Common Round Start Interaction Table
Johnny's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs

Neutral


Offense


Defense


Ky Kiske


Round Start


Ky's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Ky Kiske 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery17Advantage-8
f.SGGST Ky Kiske fS.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery16Advantage-5
2SGGST Ky Kiske 2S.pngGuardLowStartup11Recovery20Advantage-8
2DGGST Ky Kiske 2D.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-10
236KGGST Ky Kiske 236K 1.pngGuardLow, AllStartup7Recovery30Advantage-19 [-14]

Okizeme

Safejumps and Reversal-Safe Options

  • Timed correctly, Meaty 2K goes under Vapor ThrustGGST Ky Kiske 623H.pngGuardAllStartup13Recovery44Advantage-38 [-33].
  • It is also possible to safejump with j.2K and option-select crawl under Vapor Thrust.

Dealing with Stun Edge

Dealing with Foudre Arc

Foudre ArcGGST Ky Kiske 214K.pngGuardAllStartup24Recovery6Advantage-2~+6 [+5~+12] covers a lot of space, but has slow startup. Do a lot of preemptive j.2K, falling j.H and 5K. You can 5P on reaction if you're a lord.

Dealing with Air Stun Edge

Dealing with Stun Dipper

Stun DipperGGST Ky Kiske 236K 1.pngGuardLow, AllStartup7Recovery30Advantage-19 [-14] is incredibly fast, but has a low hitbox. If you're scared of it in neutral, you can represent dash blocking low, a low j.2K, swinging really early with 2H, or using movement to upset Ky's spacing. Each hedge against other Ky options a little differently.

Stun Dipper to Extend Ky's Offense

Ky can freely choose to extend blockstrings with Stun Dipper PRC as an additional frame trap. It's best to wait it out to force him to spend bar.

Stun Dipper Done During Certain Faust Blockstrings

You must end your 5P/2P strings at max range in order to have time to j.2K over Stun Dipper, otherwise you can't challenge it at all.
Trapping reversal Stun Dipper with your other strings are fairly straight forward.

Dealing with Vapor Thrust

Crawl

Going under 6KGGST Ky Kiske 6K.pngGuardAllStartup25Recovery11Advantage+4 on reaction leads to a c.S punish. You can keep your eyes open for it on defense.

Notes

  • Grounded Ride The LightningGGST Ky Kiske 632146H.pngGuardAllStartup8+1Recovery99Advantage-82 might be dangerous for Ky if items are out: slipping on a peel, getting hit by a hammer, trumpet horde, mini Faust, meteors, weight or bomb will promptly stop Ky during the overdrive.


Leo Whitefang


Round Start


Leo's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Leo Whitefang 6P.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery17Advantage-5
66 5KGGST Leo Whitefang 5K.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery13Advantage-3
2KGGST Leo Whitefang 2K.pngGuardLowStartup7Recovery11Advantage-5
f.SGGST Leo Whitefang f.S.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery21Advantage-13
2SGGST Leo Whitefang 2S.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery13Advantage-2
2DGGST Leo Whitefang 2D.pngGuardLowStartup12Recovery19Advantage-8

Notable Interactions


Neutral


Offense


Defense



May

 MayYoho. Mina genki?

May may seem like her approach is oppressive, but playing reactively and low-commit in neutral can confer strong rewards. Making sure you have anti-air 6P ready to go can net you strong rewards, and Faust has decent options to hedge against Totsugeki.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


May's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST May 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-7
5KGGST May 5K.pngGuardAllStartup8Recovery11Advantage-5
2SGGST May 2S.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery18Advantage-7
IADB j.HGGST May j.H.pngGuardHighStartup12Recovery15Advantage+9 (IAD)
DolphinGGST May Mr. Dolphin Horizontal.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery20 (24 OH)Advantage-3

Reactable Answers and Punishment

Options you can whiff punish or answer on reaction, options in (brackets), ordered by ease:

  • 3K (far.S/2H/5HH)
  • 5H (far.S/2H)
  • 6H (far.S/2H)
  • Beachball (K.Crow PRC, dash up far.S/2H)
  • 6P (far.S/2H)
  • far.S (far.S/2H)
  • Whiffed S.Up Dolphin (5P>6P, 5K)

Dealing with Up Dolphin (What's Up Dolphin???)

Against S.Up Dolphin: just blocking, crouching or moving to upset Up Dolphin is enough to grant you a decent answer.

Against H.Up Dolphin: If it's passing overhead, moving out of the way can be great. If it's whiffing in front, you may swing or go for punishment with 5K.

After Blocking Up Dolphin from the front

Blocking Up Dolphin from the front doesn't confer notable frame advantage, so feel free to challenge May afterwards with 5P, 2P or 5K.

Blocking H.Up Dolphin with May Overhead

Summary
  • FD initially to upset spacing on potential falling normals.
  • Afterwards, play reactively to anti-air (2K vs. airdash, 6P vs. doublejump)
  • Should May try for something after falling, you may be able to buffer a 5P on reaction to her falling, which should challenge fall > command grab handily.
Breakdown

H.Dolphin leaves May at advantage, but airborne. S.Dolphin leaves May at 0, but airborne.

Using FD against the potential falling jump normal will upset spacing, and may encourage May to use her air options to create a more advantageous situation instead. Her airdash and double jump from this situation seem weak to reactive anti-airs.

Summary of Dealing with Totsugeki 🐬🐬🐬

  • Represent 2P after blocking S.Totsugeki.
  • Practice buffering 6P on reaction to both Totsugeki's (S will be blocked).
  • Buffer prediction 5K and 2P in neutral as a nice hedge against either Totsugeki. Most buttons with will handily, but you may not want to play into May's other options.
  • If you commit to grounded defense during pressure, you will gain opportunities to challenge Totsugeki.
  • If you block a Charged 6H, you must block H.Totsugeki.

Dealing With Totsugeki 🐬🐬🐬 In Pressure

Challenging both Totsugeki on Reaction (Difficult)

Due to H.Totsugeki's long-winded startup, and S.Totsugeki's very fast startup, it is possible to press 6P, 5P or 5K on reaction to seeing a Dolphin, and only have it come out in time versus H.Totsugeki (S.Totsugeki is too fast, and will be blocked).

In order of ease, 6P is easiest and 5K is the most difficult (But most rewarding)

Done cleanly, this allows you to play reactively to net yourself an escape, with the only guaranteed way for May to force a safe H.Totsugeki being Charged 6H, which comes with its own counterplay.

After Blocking S.Totsugeki

May is left at -5 at a distance.

Representing 2P in this situation stops May from jumping, but doesn't net you much. If May decides to backdash here, 2P allows you to still challenge whatever she decides to followup with.

If she does backdash, representing 5K will lead to great damage if she decides to Totsugeki back in. You can represent high-reward CH options like 5H, but they're best converted on CH with bar, and are reaction punishable, unlike the 5K.

2P in this situation forces May to slow down and block after S.Totsu, or backdash, both a better situation. You can also wait to bait out her attempts to get back in in this situation.

If you do manage to IB S.Totsu, you get a guaranteed 5P>6P punish.

Totsugeki from 6H

Fully-charged 6H not only cranks RISC, but allows for a guaranteed H.Totsugeki on block.

Airblocking either c.S or uncharged 6H from May will lead to a guaranteed H.Totsugeki on block, keeping her at advantage. You will need to remain grounded in order to net yourself an escape, but this naturally plays into command grab.

Challenging Charged 6H

Saving Burst for this situation is important, but you may have to challenge eventually. It's generally better to swing against May with faster options, such as 2P, 5K and 5P, just to make it harder for her to snipe your response.

If you are trapped by uncharged 6H here, you will die without Burst (And even then, you will potentially lose a lot of life to Burst-safe routes)

Dealing With Totsugeki 🐬🐬🐬 In Neutral

Predictive Answers to Totsugeki

Most of Faust's buttons in neutral will snipe a Totsugeki outright if she runs into it.

Reactive Answers to Totsugeki

Reaction 6P remains a strong answer if May is in footsies, but from further out, can be baited by Unheld/Held Totsugeki shenanigans. See below for more answers.

Dealing with Unheld/Held Totsugeki

Because Totsugeki travel distance is controllable, you can time a normal to whiff punish a Totsugeki while blocking one that is held for longer.

This is best done with 5P, and is generally an answer to situations where you fail to react in time to hit H.Totsugeki out of startup.

If the H.Totsugeki is being used this way from too far out 5K becomes very strong, as it cannot be whiff-punished if May cuts the Dolphin short.


Millia Rage

Millia is very fast and can easily close the gap or even punish when you use 236P, so rely less on zoning and focus more on neutral, pressure, and oki.

Your biggest tool in this matchup is adaptation, Millia is a character that has a lot of options and player freedom, every Millia will have a different toolbox of mixups so take note of them and find counterplay.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Millia's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Millia Rage 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery16Advantage-11
5KGGST Millia Rage 5K.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery12Advantage-3
f.SGGST Millia Rage f.S.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery19Advantage-7
2SGGST Millia Rage 2S.pngGuardLowStartup11Recovery18Advantage-6
2DGGST Millia Rage 2D.pngGuardLowStartup12Recovery19Advantage-8

If you think they are going to Mirazh you can command grab and it's really funny.

Dealing with her mosquito-ass movement

Rising j.H is a strong option to represent in this matchup. If Millia spends too much time up above the 'Danger Zone' (Minimum height for rising j.H and above), then it can be really rewarding to represent rising j.H.

Another thing to keep in mind is how many air options she has left. If she's burnt her extra jumps too high up, she'll be very weak to a repositioned 6P.


Nagoriyuki

Faust, all things considered, has a decent matchup against Nagoriyuki. Nagoriyuki's movement is dramatically hindered when his Blood Gauge is high. This allows Faust to dominate neutral later on in the match.

If you get hit, however, you will explode.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Nagoriyuki's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Nagoriyuki 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6
5KGGST Nagoriyuki 5K.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2
2S
214HGGST Nagoriyuki Kamuriyuki1.pngGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3
214KGGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A~6 214HGGST Nagoriyuki Kamuriyuki1.pngGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3
623HGGST Nagoriyuki Shizuriyuki1.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7

General Gameplan

  • Don't get hit early. The longer you stall, the more advantageous the match becomes for Faust.
  • Blood Gauge determines the pace of the match. Once Nago is about to pop, he can't move. This is where you start to bully him.
  • Make sure your whiff punishment of his various options is on point. You want to cleanly go in after Nago whiffs normals as he tries to challenge your various options in neutral.
  • Conserve Burst for the eventual Counterhit you'll suffer once he's in. A Nago playing around burst is spending Blood Gauge he doesn't need to.
  • Save meter for YRC and Item Super. Use RC to convert if it will kill, or you have the opportunity to break the wall with Wheelchair Super while maintaining meter advantage.
  • Have a gameplan for his various Blood-reliant special moves. They are very dominant, but do push Nago closer to a losing situation if he doesn't open you up with them.

Punishing Blood Gauge Activation

If Nagoriyuki popsGGST Nagoriyuki Activation.pngGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup4+(38 Flash)+3Recovery70Advantage-12, Snip is the premier punish. You afflict Nago with Afro state while allowing the damage buildup to progress due to Blood Rage.

Follow the knockdown with a slightly delayed jumping j.D to meaty him after Blood Rage DeactivationGGST Nagoriyuki Deactivation.pngGuardN/AStartup1+(59 Flash)Recovery0AdvantageN/A.

Forcing Blood Gauge Activation

  • If you have the HP to spare, you can let him combo you before bursting.
  • Do low Love from a distance to ruin CloneGGST Nagoriyuki Zarameyuki1.pngGuardAllStartup18~29RecoveryTotal 39Advantage+5 approach (Clone is expensive, if it doesn't get him in that's bad).
  • Superjump airdash out of the corner if Nagoriyuki is at high blood.
  • Challenge grounded FukyoGGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A approach with 5P to halt his approach.

The Importance of Spacing

Your goal is to jockey for item opportunities in neutral. Until Nago is in, he'll be rotating through a few categories of options: looking to spend Blood to approach outright, walk forward and swing to clip your own buttons, or playing reactively to take advantage of your responses and movement in neutral.

Backing up too far too quickly can quickly secede ground to Nago, denying you precious metergain and screen real estate.

Once Nago is on the verge of popping, then it's fine to back up, or look at more passive, distant spacings. If he cannot FukyoGGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A without popping, he cannot move, and cannot navigate item chaos.

Spacing Yourself for Whiff Punishes

If Nago whiffs f.S OR 2HGGST Nagoriyuki 2HComparison.pngGuardAllStartup19Recovery29Advantage-17 over your crouch (or outside of range) > Punish with dash f.S > 2H > Item Toss

Dealing with Clone

Maneuvers involving CloneGGST Nagoriyuki Zarameyuki1.pngGuardAllStartup18~29RecoveryTotal 39Advantage+5 are very expensive Blood-wise, and the startup is based on the distance away from the victim. The further out you are, the longer it takes for the clone to travel before starting up the actual attack. This means that Faust can react to Clone at a distance with a low j.2K to go over top of the hitbox. If Nago is intent on using the clone to bypass neutral from farther out (Following it with a Fukyo or two), representing this option can force him to follow clone with subpar or more expensive options.

Blocking Clone is not entirely a bad play either, as Clone with Fukyo (236K)GGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A or Beyblade (214H)GGST Nagoriyuki Kamuriyuki1.pngGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3 follow-up (required to follow the clone) has a very large blood cost. It might get Nagoriyuki in, but if the clone doesn't connect, he may be on the verge of popping Blood Rage. Not great, but if you survive, the matchup quickly tilts into your favour. Hold your burst and meter to take advantage of high-blood Nagoriyuki.

Preemptive Scalpel (41236K) is alright at dealing with Clone, however, its long startup means it's freely punishable with reaction 6PGGST Nagoriyuki 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6 in neutral. The move is fairly high reward. It will pierce through Clone and hit Nago, allowing you damage and items.

Preemptively throwing out Love (j.236P) can snipe Clone follow-ups, however, this is quite risky as it needs to be done well before Clone. Depending on spacing, Nagoriyuki's rising j.D or 2HGGST Nagoriyuki 2HComparison.pngGuardAllStartup19Recovery29Advantage-17, can be quite rewarding for him, and offers a strong reactive answer to Love.

Using Love Safely

You should be weary of just using the move in neutral, as Nago's 2HGGST Nagoriyuki 2HComparison.pngGuardAllStartup19Recovery29Advantage-17 can snipe it out reliably at midrange or long range depending on his blood level. However, the active, persistent hitbox is good at keeping him from approaching.

Nago's rising j.D covers most of the screen at pretty distant ranges. It acts as a free reaction punish to any Love done too high up. If you've double jumped into Love, or simply through Love at the apex of your jump, a good Nago will probably kill you for it.

The best height and spacing for Love is just within your f.S max range, and just above Clone's hitbox. Test it out in the lab.

Dealing with Fukyo

In neutral, it's very difficult but likely possible to challenge FukyoGGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A on reaction with 5P. Otherwise, you can preempt raw Fukyo with Faust's various spread of pokes.

In blockstun, Nago is -7 at best off 6HGGST Nagoriyuki 6HComparison.pngGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup17Recovery30Advantage-2 > forward Fukyo. This is not the case if you airblock an attack, which confers much more plus frames. This heightens the importance on staying grounded.

Dealing with Nago Once He's In

Once Nagoriyuki is in, take stock of his Blood Gauge. If he's at high blood levels, YRC and Burst become very powerful options. Forcing Nago out of pressure at that point is very bad for him. If he doesn't have high blood, he has lots of options to work with.

This means his Command Grab (Bloodsucking Universe, 623P)GGST Nagoriyuki Bloodsucking Universe.pngGuardGround ThrowStartup7Recovery48AdvantageNA is a very high reward option. Nagoriyuki can represent the grab whenever he's at advantage and in front of you, or whenever you've committed to staying grounded to FD him out or deny his attempts to catch you jumping.

This means you'll want to represent 5P if Nagoriyuki favours stagger pressure with unchained normals, or fuzzy jump if he routinely threatens tighter strings.

In the end, you'll want to block and defend a lot. If he hits you and you don't have burst available, you're in a very bad situation.

The Post f.S > S Situation

Nagoriyuki has the ability to special cancel after f.S > f.SS. It forces him in and allows him to represent Bloodsucking Universe or other special cancels in that same situation.

This is where holding onto Burst is very valuable. If you get counterhit for challenging the gap with 5P, you can still burst Nagoriyuki away and put him in a very bad, losing situation.

Faust Normals On Block, at a Glance

Faust doesn't necessarily have very safe cancel options. Item Cancels are reaction punishable with Beyblade (214H)GGST Nagoriyuki Kamuriyuki1.pngGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3. Raw f.S and 2H are also very disadvantageous. You'll want to represent the threat of Scalpel or MMM after f.S and 2H in order to stop Nago from just moving in uncontested. If he's fearful (he might not be), he may play more passively, and you can simply let raw normals recover after swinging.

At the very tip of f.S and 2H on block, backdash will keep you from blocking Beyblade, otherwise, you're quite liable to get clipped.

Meter Use and Meter Management

Don't get hit in the opening of the match. You want to spend time building up meter so that you have options available to you once Nago gets in.

Having YRC on deck when Nago is pressuring you at high blood values is priceless. An incredibly strong option that can turn the match around in an instant.

Item Super is incredibly notable in this matchup as well. Supers have a shorter Tension Gain Penalty than most Roman Cancels, so it can quickly lead to a snowball situation. Nago at high blood values also doesn't have the means to do anything about a screen full of items.

Burst Points and Burst Strategy

Your main goal is to save burst for high-blood Nagoriyuki. Even if you get hit, it can be a decent play to wait for him to spend blood on his conversion before bursting.

If Faust successfully bursts a high-blood Nagoriyuki, he's winning.

Nagoriyuki 623HGGST Nagoriyuki Shizuriyuki1.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7 offers a pretty strong burst point. He needs FukyoGGST Nagoriyuki Fukyo.pngGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A to avoid burst, and outside of counterhit, it's a very committal bait.

In other situations, Backwards Fukyo can almost always be represented to get a burst to whiff. While Nagoriyuki may maintain pressure if you don't burst, the entire maneuver involves Back Fukyo > Forward Fukyo, which is very expensive overall.

This is the true power of holding burst. If the Nagoriyuki fails to bait the burst, you're in a very strong situation when you do finally escape.


Potemkin

 PotemkinRun awaayyy

This matchup is littered with reaction checks up to the point where Potemkin gets meter. The cleaner you are with your answers, the more he's denied bar, damage, openings and opportunities.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Pot's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
2PGGST Potemkin 2P.pngGuardAllStartup8Recovery9Advantage-1
6PGGST Potemkin 6P.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery25Advantage-15
f.SGGST Potemkin f.S.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-8
2DGGST Potemkin 2D.pngGuardLowStartup13Recovery18Advantage-8

Dealing with Hammerfall

While Potemkin can represent HammerfallGGST Potemkin Hammer Fall.pngGuardAllStartup18~62Recovery26Advantage-9 raw, usually it's covered with PRC to make it one of his stronger approach tools. Faust has a few options to deny Pot's approach, but the stronger options usually require him to be further out.

Raw, on block

Easiest punish is 5K>2D

At a distance: Rising j.K > j.2K 66RC j.H

This is a pretty interesting response to Hammerfall at a distance, because in some cases, it can touch the armor, Pot PRCs, and then struggles to stop the j.2K 66RC, denying him bar.

Any Normal > Bone Crushing Excitement

This is a high-damage option should you swing at Potemkin early enough, and spy that your normal is going to connect on Hammerfall armor. Done too close, you won't have time, but works quite well at mid-range off most buttons.

Dealing with Garuda Impact

Garuda ImpactGGST Potemkin Garuda Impact.pngGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup28Recovery24Advantage+19 inflicts Guard Crush state, this means if Pot is close enough when he lands it, he can force a Strike/Throw situation with no room to fuzzy. Your gameplan will revolve around denying Potemkin this situation.

In a blockstring

If your reactions are good, you can net yourself a j.S punish should Potemkin go for this uncovered by PRC. If your reactions aren't good, you can always represent it as a read.

After Potemkin PRCs

Because of the extended blockstun caused by PRC slowdown, you have to hold the resulting 50/50.

If Potemkin doesn't have you cornered

Technically possible to backdash it on reaction, eat an air hit, and recover backwards to regain space.

Dealing with Slidehead

[Editor's Note: There's a lot of options here, which is best?] [j.2K on reaction > MMM?] [MMM on reaction?] [IAD j.H on reaction?]

Like Hammerfall, if you happen to clip the SlideheadGGST Potemkin Slide Head.pngGuardLowStartup29Recovery24Advantage0 armor with a normal, you may have time to cancel into Bone Crushing Excitement.

Dealing with Megafist

You can either get MegafistGGST Potemkin Mega Fist.pngGuardHighStartup25Recovery16Advantage-6 to whiff to allow for a properly-timed f.S>2H>Item Toss punish...

or dash block in to upset spacing to allow a 5P>6P punish.

You can also represent rising j.K in neutral as a prediction option.

Dealing with Wakeup Megafist

Megafist gets airborne on frame 2, clearing most normals in your arsenal by frame 3. You can still meaty Potemkin on his wakeup, but you need to be cleaner than you would in other matchups.

Ramlethal Valentine

Not as awful as some say, but can definitely get difficult if you mess up in the corner. Crawling below Bajoneto or reacting to it accordingly after blocking is key to getting the hang of the matchup. This may help if you're lost.

  • Remember to be patient and respect Ram's long pokes, as she may cancel them into Bajoneto at any time. Getting a Ram to Bajoneto midscreen will neuter her pressure and damage quite a bit (aside from allowing punishment), meaning that you get to go ham with pressure.
  • Also respect her Mortobato reversal, as it is -30 on block and hurts like hell if you don't block it. Avoid air-blocking it as the pushback will make it safe.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Ramlethal's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Ramlethal Valentine 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery18Advantage-9
5KGGST Ramlethal Valentine 5K.pngGuardAllStartup7Recovery11Advantage-2
2KGGST Ramlethal Valentine 2K.pngGuardLowStartup6Recovery9Advantage-2
f.SGGST Ramlethal Valentine fS.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-10 [-13]
2SGGST Ramlethal Valentine 2S.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-5 [-8]
IADB j.SGGST Ramlethal Valentine jS.pngGuardHighStartup12Recovery24Advantage+5 (IAD)


Dealing with f.S

If you're midscreen, learning to deal with f.SGGST Ramlethal Valentine fS.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-10 [-13] on block is a useful thing to have down, as it opens up dashblocking as a way to play against other options while not dying outright to other Ram options.

Ram will enter a spread of options from f.S, and it's decent to understand how to deal with all them.

Summary of Options after f.S 5H on Block

There's a range where, if Ram gatlings into 5HGGST Ramlethal Valentine 5H.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery28Advantage-12 [-13], a mix of f.S and purely reactively play are strong options.

The options are as follows:

f.S 5H

This gatling is punishable with your f.S.

f.S 5H Sildo Detruo

The f.S used to check 5H on block will become c.S in this situation! This means SildoGGST Ramlethal Valentine Sildo Detruo.pngGuardAllStartup22Recovery17Advantage-2 is a poor choice for Ram if you swing f.S after 5H.

If you're playing reactively, you can check Sildo with 5P on reaction.

f.S 5H (S or H) Bajoneto

If you're playing reactively, you can crawl under BajonetoGGST Ramlethal Valentine Bajoneto S.pngGuardAllStartup20RecoveryTotal 37Advantage+9 and stand into f.S for a full punish.

If Ram doesn't have meter for RC, f.S gets hit by Bajoneto for very little reward.

f.S 5H Erarlumo

If you're playing reactively, you can shut down ErarlumoGGST Ramlethal Valentine Erarlumo 1.pngGuardAllStartup16Recovery12Advantage-5 with 5P or 5K, but the reward isn't great.

If you were swinging with f.S, you might eat shit here.

Dealing with Earl (Erarlumo/214P,214P,214P)

Dealing with Dauro (623P)

Dealing with Flip (Sildo Detruo/214K)

5P > 5K on reaction.

Dealing with Banjo (Bajoneto/236S/236H)

Dealing with Bajoneto: Krackatoa's .mp4 Guide to Shutting Down Swords on Reaction.


Sin Kiske

 Sin KiskeOne-Liner
Favorability Goes Here


Round Start


Common Round Start Interaction Table
Sin's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs

Neutral


Offense


Defense



Sol Badguy

A delicate matchup. You have the tools to win handily in neutral, but once he gets in, a single frame trap can end your life if you play into it. Don't get counterhit.

You will rotate between the following:

  • Passive play in order to find whiff punish opportunities, find anti-air opportunities, and goad Sol into staying grounded.
  • Swinging preemptively with f.S and 2H in order to shut down grounded approach, and to coax Sol into the air or into his various high and low profile attacks (Such as Bandit BringerGGST Sol Badguy 214K.pngGuardHighStartup30Recovery13Advantage-3 and Night Raid VortexGGST Sol Badguy 214S 1.pngGuardAllStartup15~31 [32]Recovery32 [26]Advantage-17).
  • Preemptively checking Sol's attempts to go after your more committal options with less committal ones. Faust's long 2P, 5K anti-air, j.H air coverage, and low j.2K.

A lot of this matchup is understanding when to do nothing, when to swing, and when to keep to low-commit tools.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Sol's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Sol Badguy 6P.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery20Advantage-11
f.SGGST Sol Badguy fS.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery13Advantage+2
2SGGST Sol Badguy 2S.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery15Advantage-7
6HGGST Sol Badguy 6H.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery43Advantage-27
2DGGST Sol Badguy 2D.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-4
Dash 623HGGST Sol Badguy 623X.pngGuardAllStartup13Recovery19+10 LandingAdvantage-26


New Player Goals

As mentioned above, you'll work on understanding when to play reactively while doing nothing, when to swing big buttons, and when to keep to low-commit tools that are unlikely to be whiff punished.

When using 2P to check Sol's forward movement, or if Sol is too close, you need to follow up with repeated 2P, otherwise he can mash f.SGGST Sol Badguy fS.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery13Advantage+2 after being hit. Keep doing it until he's pushed out or starts to challenge with weaker, faster normals. This brings your disjointed 5H online as a strong whiff punish.

Once Sol tries to hedge against your more dominant ground options in neutral, switch things up by playing purely reactively, whether it's to fish for whiff punishment or to anti-air.

Covering the air with preemptive rising j.H occasionally can act as a strong deterrent to Sol's entire air approach, including Bandit Bringer.

Don't get counterhit. Easier said than done, but avoid playing into Sol's optimal starters. Giving him easy and rewarding ways to wallbreak is best avoided.

Learn the situation after Bandit Revolver's first hit. Sol's ability to control the second hit means there's no one correct answer in that situation (Reversal 2P punishes BR, but can be trapped by the followup).

Learn how to shut down blockstrings into Gun Flame. Too close and it's unsafe on block thanks to your 5K. If Gun Flame is done too far out, a preemptive jump followed by reaction j.2K is available as a punish. Reaction jump into reaction j.2K may be possible.

Dealing with Sol Corner Pressure

The goal here is to not get counterhit, and to avoid getting RISC cranked to a state where you explode off a stray hit. This means putting a priority on not getting cornered early on, so you have meter to defend yourself. This also means you don't want to waste meter throughout the match unnecessarily.

The Importance of FD

If you're cornered with meter, FD reduces RISC gain, creates space, and forces larger gaps or more wasteful plays (Such as Bandit Revolver > RC) if Sol wants to stay in.

If you don't have meter, challenging gaps gets much trickier for you. The gaps are smaller, so Sol's tick throws and pressure overall becomes harder to deal with. This makes your answers such as jumping, poking or crawling more predictable in their timing and easier to snipe. It's easier for Sol to keep you in place, and RISC gets cranked.

Throw Defense

Tight throw attempts should be challenged with late throw break, fuzzy jump, occasionally 5P, occasionally backdash. All the above options hedge a little differently against other options in Sol's close range kit.

Late Throw Break cannot be counterhit easily, and Fuzzy Jump can't be counterhit at all. Force the Sol to try and play around these two option and you can simplify defense overall. A Sol trying to hedge against both of these will want to leave larger gaps in his pressure in an attempt to bait throw breaks or jumps. This will give you openings to 5P/5K.

When to Act on Defense?

Guilty Gear defense is all about acting during gaps.

Common moments to challenge are as follows:

  • When Sol cancels into Bandit Bringer/Gun Flame/Bandit Revolver. This is usually after a 5HGGST Sol Badguy 5H.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery20Advantage-5 trap on block, but can suddenly come after other normals, depending on the spacing. (See the other sections for more answers)
  • When Sol tries to regain lost ground by dashing up after a normal. (Poking out can be good here. 6P, 5K, 5P, 2P)
  • When Sol tries to throw. (Fuzzy jump is strong here. Late Throw Break can be good too if he's using Throw over Wild Throw)
  • When Sol backs off to try and bait you into a bad situation. Maybe he wants to go after your jumping state, or allow you to whiff a Super. (Poking out can work here.)
  • When Sol tries to trap you with repeated f.SGGST Sol Badguy fS.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery13Advantage+2 (Crawl into Reaction 5P or commit to 6P)

FD forces Sol to commit sooner than he would like. The gaps he leaves when you're FDing are much larger should he want to stay at a relevant distance.

Taking the Throw

If Sol is not representing Throw, you might avoid fuzzy jumping, mashing 5P or looking for Throw Breaks in order to take full advantage of his other options. Crawling gets much stronger if you're not worried about throws.

It's alright to eat a few throws, they don't do a ton of damage, and the reward you can potentially get when Sol doesn't throw is quite large.

Sol's minus moves forcing him to act

If Sol is representing 2SGGST Sol Badguy 2S.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery15Advantage-7 or 5HGGST Sol Badguy 5H.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery20Advantage-5 in a bid to trap you from crawling or mashing, consider it a small victory, as he'll be forced to leave himself minus, or cancel into special moves that are easier to deal with.

Dealing with 6S

Sol 6SGGST Sol Badguy 6S.pngGuardAllStartup15Recovery20Advantage-9 is a fairly dominant normal, but has a very extended hurtbox on whiff. This means that if you backdash well out of range at the same time Sol goes to 6S, you can freely whiff punish on reaction with 2H.

Backdashing in neutral overall is quite safe, provided Sol doesn't run too deeply before 6S. This allows you to upset spacing while also offering up pretty nice punish opportunities. Just be wary of Negative Penalty for backdashing too much.

If Sol is gunning for your backdash in neutral, his timing for 6S is going to be much later and the spacing much deeper. This bolsters your checks against forward movement. 5H, f.S, 2H and low j.2K become much more threatening, potentially netting you counterhits.

Dealing with Gun Flame

Gun Flame Up Close

Gun FlameGGST Sol Badguy 236P.pngGuardAllStartup18RecoveryTotal 54Advantage-10 done too closely is unsafe on block, easily punished with 5K. A 5K done in range that hits a smidge too far out may not combo into anything reliably without RC.

Gun Flame at Max Range

Usually Sol may try to Gun Flame from further out, where it nets him more advantage on block. You can beat this by jumping preemptively and punishing his recovery with j.2K. Gun Flame has full Counterhit Recovery, so the j.2K leads to full combo.

Gun Flame in Neutral

If a Sol is throwing Gun Flame out at a distance as some sort of counterpoke, you can take the opportunity to reposition, or throw an item.

Dashing Gun Flame

Swing 2H at him when you see him start running. He'll eat shit.

Dealing with Bandit Revolver

Sol can control whether not to perform the second hit of Bandit RevolverGGST Sol Badguy 236K.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery9+6 LandingAdvantage-7. Bandit Revolver with no follow-up is punishable by 2P>6P, but that can be trapped by the follow-up. Here are the common situations and followups:

  • Bandit Revolver followed by no extra inputs.
  • Bandit Revolver with 2nd hit done tightly.
  • Bandit Revolver with the 2nd hit done late.

After blocking Bandit Revolver, mix it up between reversal 2P after the 1st hit, and blocking/crawling into late stand throw, and just blocking outright. This should cover the spread of the above options quite well, and keep Sol guessing.

Dealing with Bandit Bringer

Bandit Bringer in Neutral

You can capitalize on Bandit BringerGGST Sol Badguy 214K.pngGuardHighStartup30Recovery13Advantage-3-happy Sols with the occasional preemptive 5K and the occasional preemptive j.H. These are high reward options that convert well.

Low-commit pokes such as 2P and j.2K in neutral are very unlikely to lose outright by wayward Bringers.

Bandit Bringer in Blockstrings

Rising j.P trades favourably even against the tightest Bandit Bringers done in blockstrings. It's also very unlikely for a Gun Flame to catch this maneuver.

Reversal 5K is a high damage option but can be clipped or CH by Gun Flame/Revolver

6P can shut down any attempts to punish your escape with Bandit Revolver. Either the BR is done too tightly to trap you, or you 6P through any gap.

In short, when you're scared of Bringer, use more rising j.P and 6P out of block. Depending on spacing and timing, Gun Flame may actually lose to 5K.

In Summary

6P when Gun Flame or hard delays aren't on the table. Rising j.P acts as a nice hedge when Gun Flame is on deck. 5K is an outright callout against BB.

Dealing with Night Raid Vortex

Night Raid VortexGGST Sol Badguy 214S 1.pngGuardAllStartup15~31 [32]Recovery32 [26]Advantage-17 has a lot of startup. If you're scared of NRV, stay away from the options that get crushed by it, and focus on a toolset consisting of the following options that do well:

  • Low j.2K
  • 2H
  • 2P
  • 2K

It can be shut down on reaction at fullscreen with 2P (And with tight reactions, 2S), but in close quarters, you need preemptive reads. Both can be appropriate depending on what else you're trying to beat.

NRV RC is a common bully option once Sol has 50 bar. Operating with the above list when he's sitting on meter can keep him out. If you hit him before he reaches the PRC window.

NRV is punishable on block, so if PRC isn't on deck, that's always a great option.

Dealing with Volcanic Viper

It's his DPGGST Sol Badguy 623X.pngGuardAllStartup9Recovery18+10 LandingAdvantage-28.

Just Block Lol

You know, not doing anything is pretty good, but when you need to play around the rest of Sol's kit, sometimes using options that are simply harder to tag is the best you can do.

VV In uh... Neutral...

In neutral, keep to your more constrained, faster normals like 2P, or start swinging far reaching attacks such as f.S and 2H at a greater distance, to ensure Sol can't get in a meaningful range before letting it rip.

A Sol doing dash up DP probably isn't blocking.

Shutting down Reversal VV

Small delays in pressure where you block before acting are all you need sometimes in order to bait out a reversal from Sol.

On his wakeup, you can usually dash up delay throw in order to hedge against wakeup DP and wakeup super together, without giving up the offense.

Shutting Down Reversal VV RC

Staying out of range on his wakeup is an easy way to bait it out. Going for throw/command grab can deny him the chance to RC on block/hit as well.

Dealing with Fafnir

You may crawl under Fafnir on reaction. This is generally the go-to, high reward answer. However, in situations where you want to swing preemptively at Sol's approach, you may find yourself hedging against other options as well if you swing 2H or far.S.

Upon Blocking Fafnir

It's very plus, so consider Sol "in" once you block it. It creates a Guard Crush situation, so respect his pressure, and remember to FD the Fafnir to deny him a tight dash up grab.

Crawl

Crawl under 5HGGST Sol Badguy 5H.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery20Advantage-5, f.SGGST Sol Badguy fS.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery13Advantage+2, 6SGGST Sol Badguy 6S.pngGuardAllStartup15Recovery20Advantage-9, any hit of Bandit Revolver.

If you see 5KGGST Sol Badguy 5K.pngGuardAllStartup3Recovery25Advantage-16 or 2KGGST Sol Badguy 2K.pngGuardLowStartup5Recovery11Advantage-2, you can safely crawl afterwards unless Sol does something super dumb thanks to limited gatling options after K normals. A hard reaction, but worth it for what you get.

If you're playing reactively on defense and looking to Crawl, you may consider trying to late throw break should Sol dash up instead.


Testament

This matchup seems to favour Faust right up until 236S lands on block from a decent ways out. Luckily, Testament lacks a reliable way to force that situation in neutral.

Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top


Round Start


Testament's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
6PGGST Testament 6P.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery15Advantage-7
f.SGGST Testament fS.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-7
2SGGST Testament 2S.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-7
236SGGST Testament j236S.pngGuardAllStartup16~22Recovery27Advantage-4
j.236HGGST Testament j236S.pngGuardAllStartup13~19Recovery21Advantage+2
Walk Back

Notable Interactions

Mini Faust clashes with Grave Reaper.



Neutral


Offense


Defense


Dealing with Grave Reaper (236S)

You can j.2K it on reaction. A strong option to represent and practice.


Zato-1

 Zato-1??? I dunno feed him nuggies or something.


Round Start


Zato's Button Loses To Beats Trades Whiffs
2PGGST Zato-1 2P.pngGuardAllStartup6Recovery9Advantage-3
6PGGST Zato-1 6P.pngGuardAllStartup12Recovery12Advantage-6
f.SGGST Zato-1 f.S.pngGuardAllStartup10Recovery23Advantage-12
2SGGST Zato-1 2S.pngGuardAllStartup11Recovery20Advantage-10
2DGGST Zato-1 2D.pngGuardLowStartup10Recovery17Advantage-9
Walk Back 5HGGST Zato-1 5H.pngGuardAllStartup13Recovery19Advantage-9

Notable Interactions


Neutral


Offense


Defense




Navigation

Systems Pages