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- Character Strategy pages generally also have a Counter Strategy section with basic universal counterplay.
Anji
- Ky can easily punish NagihaGuardLowStartup15 (28 with early cancel)Recovery20Advantage-7 with Stun Dipper RRC
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Axl
- Round start buttons RPS should you choose to not block revolves around Ky 6P (beats f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery19Advantage-8), f.S (beats 2DGuardLowStartup10Recovery17Advantage-9), and Foudre Arc (beats jump back j.SGuardHighStartup14Recovery18Advantage-, RainwaterGuardAllStartup24Recovery21Advantage+3, and backdash.
- Ky's usually-strong round start 2S option loses or trades to Axl f.S/2D.
- It is important to establish that 2HGuardLowStartup11Recovery26Advantage-18 [-8] is not free to use at mid-range. Instant Air Dashing over blocked 2H beats all of Axl's options other than 2H SnailGuardAllStartup14Recovery29Advantage-24 and 2H into nothing. Snail is punishable with either 66BRC c.S/6H or Stun Dipper when farther out.
- Should Axl whiff Spinning Chain StrikeGuardLowStartup7Recovery19Advantage-6, Foudre Arc will fly right over its low hitbox for a Counter Hit punish.
- Regular anti-airs are not recommended against jump back j.HGuardHighStartup12Recovery25Advantage+3 (IAD) in the corner. Instead, block it and punish it as Axl falls or Vapor Thrust it on reaction if possible.
- To punish superGuardAllStartup11+1Recovery26Advantage-2, block the first hit, then jump forward > falling j.H for a jump-in punish.
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Baiken
- Ky's Charged Stun Edge Okizeme can circumvent Baiken's parryGuard-Startup1Recovery32Advantage-, but be wary of being too predictable with 2P and 2K/5K frametraps.
- Be wary of throwing projectiles against a Baiken with 50 Meter as KenjyuGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup8+3RecoveryTotal 47Advantage+5 will beat it fullscreen.
- Ky can force Baiken to respect Ky via using Stun Dipper to low profile KabariGuardAllStartup18Recovery19Advantage-3 blockstrings and H Vapor Thrust certain blockstrings ending in Tatami (which leave a gap between the move and tatami)
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Round Start
- Baiken's fS will beat most of Ky's options outside of 6P but Ky walking back will force it to whiff. Kys 2S should beat most of Baiken's options outside of fS though, so the round start is fairly straightforward choices between 2S, 6P, and walking back.
Chipp
Faust
- Faust can practically nullify Ky's Charged Stun Edge okizeme by using Crawl
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Giovanna
- Giovanna's neutral presence matches Ky's while having more consistent rewards and better pressure
- Notably, her airdash descends very quickly, allowing her to more easily (relative to a lot of other characters) punish Stun Edge with an IAD An air dash performed from a standing position as quickly and as low to the ground as possible from a jump. Done by inputting 956 754, and depending on the game, using a dash macro right after a jump. on reaction.
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Goldlewis
- Ky can effectively zone Goldlewis with Stun Edge and his long normals (provided Goldlewis does not have level 3 security for SkyfishGuardAllStartup25Recovery75~134 TotalAdvantage-13)
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Happy Chaos
I-No
- Ky can force I-No to take greater risks than usual in neutral with proper use of 6H and 2H, forcing varied approach as they can catch both IAD An air dash performed from a standing position as quickly and as low to the ground as possible from a jump. Done by inputting 956 754, and depending on the game, using a dash macro right after a jump. and StrokeGuardLowStartup28Recovery16Advantage-2) attempts.
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Round Start
- 2S is a generally strong option. It will beat I-no's common normals and force her into trying to whiff punish by walking back or into using dives. Forward jump j.K calls out the dive. Most of these options convert into oki off successful hits, leading to a good round start for Ky.
Neutral
- I-no wants to get Ky blocking and Ky generally wants to keep I-no out. Thankfully Ky's 6H is a strong tool to stop I-no from easily moving forward as it covers both stroke and hover options, as well as being large enough to swing through Note. 6H also leads into high damage conversions on counter hit so it is a dominant tool at most ranges that I-no wants to approach from. Fireballs from a distance are also helpful to force movement patterns that are not strictly forward.
- Once I-no begins respecting 6H and Fireballs she'll either take to higher routes in the air to go over 6H or start contesting it directly with fS/6P. If she is using Dives you can bait them with dash block or preemptive jK attempts. Be careful not to fall on top of her if the jK was incorrect - air dash back instead to maintain some amount of spacing. I-no's 6P is very strong and will cleanly beat whatever falling normal you try to use. If I-no opts instead to use her fS/6P/2H then you are essentially playing footsies around a fairly large disjoint. Directly contesting fS with something like 6P is fairly risky due to its size. You can instead look to dash brake to force a whiff from it and then work with the whiffed frames to move forward or dash fS/6H to stop her from hitting another normal. From some ranges you can also just dash stun dipper and directly whiff punish the fS.
- 5K is a strong tool to react to stroke with in neutral. It will stuff both Strokes and since Stroke is crouching it converts into 6H which gives you big combos near the corner.
Jack-O'
Ky (mirror)
Leo
May
- Ky can control neutral on the ground fairly well with Stun Edge, 6P, f.S, and 6H, forcing May to approach from the air.
- Ky can consistently punish a blocked S DolphinGuardAllStartup7Recovery20 (24 OH)Advantage-3 with Stun Dipper RRC, forcing May to be wary of using it against a Ky with 50 meter
- Ky can have a hard time dealing with May's enormous damage output, making small mistakes very punishing.
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Millia
Nagoriyuki
- Nagoriyuki's massive disjointed attacks make it hard for Ky to contest or approach him in Neutral
- Nagoriyuki's explosive damage output can make it difficult for Ky to come back from making a small mistake
- Ky maintains advantage when Nagoriyuki has high blood. The threat of Blood Rage from continued special move use allows Ky to safely apply pressure from a distance with Stun Edge or to use Charged Stun Edge to safely approach and begin his strike/throw gameplan.
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Round Start
- 2D is the most favorable button to use vs Nagoriyuki's round start options. It will cover all of his normals and specials except for 5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2. It will also lose to him walking back in order to set up a whiff punish. Ky can convert a counter hit 2D into a wall break combo making this is also a high return option. Using f.S will allow Ky to cover Nagoriyuki's 5K.
- Although the above is true, the best approach to round start is most likely to avoid confrontation. Walking backwards, IAD back, or jumping back all carry substantially less risk then putting a normal out at round start as the wrong choice will lead into taking 50% damage, being wall broken, and Nagoriyuki having Positive Bonus. Thus being conservative in the approach to round start, unless you have a good read or good reason, is a strong way to start the round.
Neutral
- The matchup revolves around being more active at low blood with movement and Stun Edges. If Nago is playing a bit more passive or whiffing H normals you can try to move in and use longer range normals to fight him or take space. SE use at this point needs to be sparing. You want to use enough to keep Nago thinking about jumping / using cloneGuardAllStartup18~29RecoveryTotal 39Advantage+5 but not so much that you are easily read and he lands a solid clone > FukyoGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 25AdvantageN/A to get in on you. Ideally you play coy enough in order to force him to spend blood in an attempt to get in. Once at high blood he loses access to clone and Fukyo, and without these tools he is heavily abusable with Stun Edge and Charged Stun Edge. Use both of your projectile tools to get him jumping and punish bad jumps, or use CSE in order to force your way on top of him. When approaching behind CSE be wary of 5HGuardAllStartup16Recovery27Advantage-14 as at high blood it can disjoint through CSE and clip you.
- Just beyond Nago's 5H range is a solid range to be at as this lets you block 214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3 without being in command grabGuardGround ThrowStartup7Recovery48AdvantageNA range and also lets you play around his whiffed 5H/2HGuardAllStartup19Recovery29Advantage-17. If Nago whiffs 2H or 6HGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup17Recovery30Advantage-2 anywhere near this range, dash Stun Dipper to punish him. Consistently punishing whiffed high recovery H normals with Dipper or dash f.S is very important - any opening to get on top of Nago safely has to be taken.
- Nago's 2S is a god normal and very difficult to work around. It'll be the main tool used to keep you from approaching freely on the ground after you make him consider not relying on H normals as heavily. Stun Edge can be a way to keep him from pressing 2S freely, but is risky. If Nago is spamming 2S in your face you can also try and 2D to whiff punish it - this will require you being ready for the 2S.
- Raw forward Fukyo use has to be checked on reaction fairly consistently. 5P/2P into a combo is the easiest way to do this.
Defense
- Bursting Nago after he has spent a lot of blood is strong. For example: if he’s done a combo where he used blood to get in and then did his DPGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7, burst him immediately after the DP and he’ll now be at high blood and give you better control of neutral.
Potemkin
Ramlethal
- Ram controls the neutral in this matchup with her gigantic disjointed ground and air normals that are hard to contest on top of having deadly corner pressure
- Running 6P or Stun Edge are some of the only ways for Ky to contest Ram's grounded normals as 6H can be slow enough to lose or trade unfavorably.
- Stun Dipper generally cannot low profile H Sword TossGuardAllStartup20RecoveryTotal 43Advantage+3 out of a blockstring unless Ram launches it from near tip range of f.S/5H
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Round Start
- 2S is a strong round start that will beat most options Ram wants to use. She can 5k/2k to deal with 2s in a sort of neutral way or walk back and whiff punish it.
Defense
- Instant Blocking is a strong option versus Ram's rekka pressure. IBing the 2nd RekkaGuardAllStartup9Recovery25Advantage-12 [-10] generally allows for a throw punish unless she's already pushed out quite far from the blockstring. IBing both Rekka 1GuardAllStartup16Recovery12Advantage-5 and 2 should make this entirely guaranteed. This is difficult but can be done with practice!
- Defending in the corner against her sword toss pressure requires the use of Faultless Defense to push Ram out. One basic Ram pressure sequence is [...] c.SGuardAllStartup7Recovery10Advantage+1 -> 236HGuardAllStartup20RecoveryTotal 43Advantage+3 -> 5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery11Advantage-2/2KGuardLowStartup6Recovery9Advantage-2. Using FD will create spacing such that you can jump out before 2K catches you, or 6P the 5K if they are going for that option. If Ram does a longer blockstring, FD can push her far enough out that you can simply jump before the sword explosion and try to escape there, or dash block and escape the explosion situation on the ground.
Sol
- 5P/2P/6P are all fast enough to interrupt Sol f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery13Advantage+2 > f.S, or Faultless Defense will push him out.
- Sol can infamously punish Dire Eclat on block more reliably than the rest of the cast via 6HGuardAllStartup9Recovery43Advantage-27, but spaced blockstrings ending in 5H/6H/Stun Edge are safe with their pushback.
- The most consistent anti-air against Bandit BringerGuardHighStartup30Recovery13Advantage-3 is H Vapor Thrust, as Sol can delay it to bait out 6P/2H.
- Punishes against 6SGuardAllStartup15Recovery20Advantage-9 > GunflameGuardAllStartup18RecoveryTotal 54Advantage-10, after 6S:
- Jump forward j.H > 2D
- Close to the corner, j.H 66 c.S > 6H wallbounce > 5K/c.S > 6H > Dire Eclat/Vapor Thrust
- At close range with 50% Tension, Ride The Lightning
- From far range with 50% Tension, IAD An air dash performed from a standing position as quickly and as low to the ground as possible from a jump. Done by inputting 956 754, and depending on the game, using a dash macro right after a jump. BRC j.H > c.S > 5H > Dire Eclat/Stun Dipper
Overview | Frame Data | Matchups | Counterstrategy | Reverse Matchup Return to Top
Round Start
- 5K is a relatively safe start that can be confirmed into 2D or Stun Dipper on hit, or block/6H on block or whiff. From there, 6P is a hard callout to f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery13Advantage+2, and 2D has the greatest reward on a Counter Hit. Backdash > 6H also punishes 6HGuardAllStartup9Recovery43Advantage-27.
Testament
Zato-1
- Anji Mito [★]
- Asuka R♯ [★]
- Axl Low [★]
- Baiken [★]
- Bedman? [★]
- Bridget [★]
- Chipp Zanuff [★]
- Faust [★]
- Giovanna [★]
- Goldlewis [★]
- Happy Chaos [★]
- I-No [★]
- Jack-O' [★]
- Johnny [★]
- Ky Kiske [★]
- Leo Whitefang [★]
- May [★]
- Millia Rage [★]
- Nagoriyuki [★]
- Potemkin [★]
- Ramlethal [★]
- Sin Kiske [★]
- Sol Badguy [★]
- Testament [★]
- Zato-1 [★]
Click [★] for character's full frame data
Essentials
• HUD •
Controls •
FAQ •
The Basics
• Movement/Canceling •
Offense •
Defense •
Gauges •
Universal Strategy •
Detailed & Advanced Information
• Damage/Combo •
Frame Data & System Data •
Attack Attributes •
Misc •
Archived Information
• Patch Notes • Tier Lists •
- Attack Level
- Blocking
- Burst Gauge
- Cancels
- Clash
- Dash Cancel
- Faultless Defense
- Frame Advantage
- Gatling
- Gravity
- Guard Crush
- Guts
- Hitstop
- Hitstun
- Instant Air Dash (IAD)
- Instant Block
- Instant Faultless Defense
- Invalid Combos
- Knockdown Recovery
- Low Profile
- Minimum Damage
- Negative Penalty
- Off the Ground (OTG)
- Positive Bonus
- Prejump
- Proration
- Psych Burst
- Punish
- Overdrive (Super Attack)
- R.I.S.C. Level
- Roman Cancel (RC)
- Stagger Recovery
- Tension Gauge
- Throw
- Throw Clash
- Wall