GGST/Nagoriyuki/Matchups

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Frame Data

Matchups

Strategy

Resources

Counterstrategy

This page covers advanced topics which require competitive expertise to confirm.

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Matchups

Table of Contents

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.

Anji Mito

Anji

Slight Advantage

Anji forces Nago to play more patiently, since he can Spin his way through the normals Nago likes to use to control neutral. Once Nago gets in, there's little Anji can really do to get Nago off of him except for mashing 2P or Kachoufuugetsu Kai, or relying on burst/YRC.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Anji's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
2PGuardAllStartup5Recovery10Advantage-2
6PGuardAllStartup10Recovery25Advantage-17
5KGuardAllStartup8Recovery9Advantage-2
f.SGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-9
charged 236HGuardAllStartup16 [32]Recovery21Advantage-8 [-6]

-The threat of Spin will force Nago to tame his round start. It’s not wise to always open up with a button or special in this matchup since Anji can just Spin through them.

-Walking back and punishing either the end of Spin or whatever Fuujin follow up he tosses out is likely your best bet here. It’ll likely be either the Hop or the Low.

-If he instead tries to IAD in, be prepared with 6P.

Neutral

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-Nago wants to play a little outside of Anji's range so that he can punish Spin or Fuujin and then get in on Anji, since he doesn’t have much to get Nago off of him outside of 2P, Counter Super, and Burst/YRC.

-Anji’s going to be fishing for hits with f.S/5K or doing random Spins to try and catch Nago's long range pokes. 6P his pokes, and be cautious when using your bigger buttons like f.S, 2S and 5H. You can’t just throw them out constantly, or Anji will spin right through them.

-If Anji’s throwing out Butterfly from a distance (which he really shouldn’t be doing), you can get through it with Clone > Fukyo.

-If you accidentally trigger Spin, remember that you can PRC and throw punish it if he’s up close. If you need blood back, you could intentionally trigger Spin and then PRC and hit him with Bite.

Offense

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-Nago needs to be especially patient with his pressure once Anji has Tension, as Kaachoufuugetsu Kai can be very devastating if triggered. Remember, unlike Spin, you can’t PRC to make yourself safe if you trigger this. Try to bait it out, since it's vulnerable to throws.

Defense

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-If he does Butterfly on knockdown, Nago can mash 5P/2K, or throw him if he’s not spaced correctly. If Anji's too close, doesn’t bait these options, and Nago's button/throw lands, the Butterfly will disappear. It’s not always wise to constantly do this, however.

-All of Fuujin’s follow ups have answers to them:

• Jump and either air grab or hit him with an aerial during Fan Toss.
• Throw after Hop. Because of this move's recovery, Anji can immediately be thrown out of it once he lands.
• The low is -7. If he’s up close, punish with 5K.
• The overhead is -15. You gotta learn to fuzzy block or react to this. If he has Tension, Anji might go for the overhead and then PRC it to hit you with a low, so you might have to react to that as well.

Axl Low

Axl

Slight Disadvantage

Axl really takes advantage of Nago's lack of mobility by controlling the ground with his long reaching normals, as well as Rensen. It's also easy for him to anti-air Nago because of his slow and obvious jump arcs. Careless management of Nago's blood can make this match up very difficult for him.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Axl's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
2PGuardLowStartup10Recovery14Advantage-6
5PGuardAllStartup7Recovery19Advantage-11 [-3]
6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery22Advantage-13
f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery19Advantage-8
2HGuardLowStartup11Recovery26Advantage-18 [-8]
214SGuardAllStartup24Recovery21Advantage+3
214HGuardAllStartup14Recovery29Advantage-24
IADB j.SGuardHighStartup14Recovery18Advantage-

Round start's going to be a big part in determining the size of the hill Nago has to climb in this match up.

Neutral

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-As mentioned before, Axl really takes advantage of Nago's lack of mobility. He can control the ground extremely well with his normals and Rensen, and since Nago's jump is slow, it's easy for Axl to anti-air him as well. Nago needs to play especially patiently in this match up, and know when and how to advance on him.

-Do not constantly spend blood from full screen on anything that isn't Fukyo. Nago should instead save it for when he gets in and goes on the offensive. The loss condition is almost guaranteed if Nago's built up two bars of the blood gauge and he's behind on the life lead. This is almost impossible to come back from.

-Nago should alternate his approach between normal jump, super jump and Fukyo forward. Try getting crafty. Bait his anti airs by jumping back and then Fukyo forward. Maybe then attempt to hit Axl if he’s airborne or just be content with closing the distance to the mid-range.

-It might be tempting to approach with 236S > Fukyo since Clone goes through Rensen, but you need to be reserved with it. Don't rely on it as a crutch in this match up. Axl can bait it out or burst, and Nago will have filled up almost half of the Blood Gauge trying to approach. The same applies for canceling Fukyo into 214H from full screen. Time it well, and mix these options with your other methods of approach.

-If Axl's jumping around a lot with j.S, try and hit it with 6P or swing 2H preemptively if you see a pattern. 2H might even work if Axl is grounded. It can hit him out of a bunch of his normals and stuff, especially if you’re on level 2 blood.

Offense

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-Because of Axl’s 5 frame, low profiling 2K, Nago's offense has to be air-tight once he gets in on him. Axls will typically mash 2K since it’s their primary way of getting anyone off of them.

-2K will most commonly be used when blocking Beyblade. Nago can frame trap with 623H, but this will make his blood go up a lot. He can also Fukyo backwards and try to get something started. This will especially work in the corner with f.SSS. Midscreen, Nago needs to delay the back Fukyo slightly, or else f.S will go over Axl’s head since 2K low profiles. In the corner, Nago doesn't need to delay the back Fuyko off of f.SS, but he does if Axl blocks 214H.

-To punish his invincible reversal Overdrive, block the first hit and then jump the second hit.

Defense

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-It’s hard for Axl to do a lot of damage if Nago plays defensively himself, so take time to play defensively and see if Axl gets frustrated or impatient.

-Rensen and its follow ups is what Axl will mainly be using to zone us out. Try to avoid blocking Rensen by jumping it. Axl can really lock Nago down if it’s blocked. If Nago does block it, KEEP blocking in case he does a follow up.

-How to Deal with Rensen’s Follow Ups:

• Spinning Chain Strike - Punishable by a jab if you’re close to him, and if you’re far it’s punishable with a f.S.

• Soaring Chain Strike- You’ll see this one especially often since Nago has no way to avoid Rensen outside of jumping. If you can avoid it by preemptively jumping Rensen or making it whiff, it has a pretty heavy recovery period. Also try instant blocking it to cut down on the blockstun.

• Winter Cherry - There are 2 versions to this: a fast one and a slow one that Axl has to input with delayed timing after a Rensen. This is a way for Axl to harass more after Rensen since the fast bomb can catch jumps and the slow bomb keeps you on blockstun for a long time, as it’s very plus. To counteract this: try normal jumping forward AFTER the fast bomb to avoid another Rensen, and normal jumping forward BEFORE the slow bomb happens after blocking it. Or you could wait and see what happens, see if Axl gets frustrated. Mix it up. If Nago blocks either of the bombs and Axl does ANOTHER Rensen, he’s guaranteed to be able to do the vertical follow-up after shooting out another Rensen with perfect timing. You’re going to be in this situation a lot where Axl is pulling you in, so get used to it. Prepare to tech a grab or take the pressure. You will NOT get away with mashing or a reversal super since you’re pretty negative. Look out for that in particular.

-Avoid Winter Mantis at all costs. This is the most important thing to look out for, especially at full screen or midrange. Best way to do this is with a backdash or a jump. Don’t jump forward as Nago though, because it can catch him doing that. Bear in mind it starts up faster the closer you are to the back of the screen. If Nago happens to evade this, he can punish Axl from pretty far away with 214H. Get REAL good at punishing this.

-If Nago is full screen, and Axl activates Time Stop super, he’ll likely try to bait Nago into blocking and use Winter Mantis to pull him in and set him up for a damaging combo. Be aware of this, and react to whatever Axl does once Time Stop is prepped. Axl is 0 on block after he activates Time Stop, do be patient and wait for his next move, don’t immediately go charging in.

Baiken

Baiken

Even

Once you're in, HiiragiGuard-Startup1Recovery32Advantage- is a very strong defensive response to Nagoriyuki's frametrapsGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7 due to losing blood and health, but successfully baiting the parry will almost always win you the round. Nagoriyuki's inherently poor defense makes dealing with Baiken's pressure much harder than normal, and overly reliant on Faultless Defense and Instant Faultless Defense to create distance.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Baiken's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery19Advantage-10	623HGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7, 2SGuardLowStartup12Recovery21Advantage-11, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A > 214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3	5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2	6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6 (Clash)	2KGuardLowStartup7Recovery8Advantage-1
f.SGuardAllStartup9Recovery15Advantage-7	6P, 214K > 214H	5K, 623H, 2S	N/A	2K
2SGuardAllStartup11Recovery19Advantage-8	5K, 214K > 214H	2K, 6P	623H (Nago favored)	N/A
Walk Back 2HGuardLowStartup17Recovery26Advantage-13	2S, 623HHGuardHighStartup10Recovery29Advantage-16, 214K > 214H	6P	N/A	2K/5K > Backdash

Neutral

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At any blood level below 2, playing footsies against Baiken is not a wise decision because of her faster, longer range, and low-committal buttons such as f.S, j.SGuardHighStartup8Recovery19Advantage+1 (IAD), and 2S. Additionally, her 2H can low-profile your 5HGuardAllStartup16Recovery27Advantage-14 when done preemptively. You'll mostly be relying on CloneGuardAllStartup18~29RecoveryTotal 39Advantage+5 and 236K > 214H/623H to initiate pressure. At blood level 2, however, you have the advantage due to the extra distance Baiken must play at to avoid getting hit by 5H, which also makes many of her common approaches much easier to react to and punish; her prime poking tool, H KabariGuardAllStartup18Recovery19Advantage-3, also whiffs at this range, just barely. Additionally, if your opponent is playing passively and trying to whiff punish your S and H moves, 236K > throwGuardGround ThrowStartup2Recovery38AdvantageN/A is a solid option they likely won't expect in the neutral.

Baiken lacks anti-air options outside of 6P, which a well timed j.DGuardHighStartup15Recovery20AdvantageN/A done before landing will allow you to whiff punish with 5K.

After wall break, blood level 0 2SGuardLowStartup12Recovery21Advantage-11 loses to Baiken's own 2S, blood level 1 2SGuardLowStartup11Recovery21Advantage-11 trades, and blood level 2 2SGuardLowStartup10Recovery21Advantage-11 outright beats it.

Offense

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When pressuring Baiken, make sure to vary the timing of your strike to deter your opponent from using Hiiragi and stealing not only the turn, but your health and blood from the move she parried as well. On the other hand, try not to delay your offense so often that reversal 5PGuardAllStartup4Recovery10Advantage-2 becomes a common response to your pressure. Once you get a knockdown, using Clone as a meaty is a strong, albeit blood-intensive, option as it cannot be parried or backdashed and leads into another strikeGuardAllStartup7Recovery10Advantage+3/throwGuardGround ThrowStartup7Recovery48AdvantageNA scenario if blocked.

Defense

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Nagoriyuki cannot airdash, or double jump out of the corner, and his only invincible reversal is WasureyukiGuardAllStartup7+(173 Flash)+2Recovery54Advantage-39, meaning that you are going to want to pay extra attention to your opponents offense habits to exploit them to the maximum. One key example is noticing when your opponent likes to do the H Kabari followupGuardAllStartup11 [23]Recovery14 (23 on block)Advantage-7 so that you can 5K any pressure reset attempts and initiate your own pressure. Because of Nagoriyukis inability to jump out of the corner, Baiken players may be more inclined to structure their blockstrings to make Tatami GaeshiGuardAllStartup15Recovery5Advantage-3 plus-on-block, for these strings you can 6HGuardAll (Guard Crush)Startup17Recovery30Advantage-2 through the gap between the 1st and 2nd hit of the Tatami Gaeshi to score a massive counterhit. After combos where Baiken ends with Tatami Geashi, look to Instant Faultless Defense her j.HGuardHighStartup15Recovery3 after LandingAdvantage+7 (IAD) safejumps to create enough distance that she can't continue her pressure.

Bridget

Bridget

Slight Advantage

Short Summary Goes Here.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Bridget's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs

Neutral

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Offense

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Defense

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Chipp Zanuff

Chipp

Slight Advantage

Chipp's low health makes him especially afraid of Nago. Nago might have a bit of trouble escaping the corner once Chipp has jailed him there, but one wrong move on Chipp's part can quickly turn the tide in Nago's favor.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Chipp's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery25Advantage-16
f.SGuardAllStartup9Recovery20Advantage-8
2SGuardAllStartup10Recovery17Advantage-7
2DGuardLowStartup10Recovery19Advantage-7
IAD j.HGuardHighStartup8Recovery17Advantage+4~5 (IAD)

Neutral

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-Chipp is a character that might try to use his movement options to bait Nago into chasing him down. Chasing Chipp, or any character with strong mobility options, is not a good idea, as this can quickly fill Nago's Blood Gauge. Stand a solid mid-range away from Chipp and make him come to you. That way you’ll be able to react to his dashes in neutral. However, don’t put yourself in the corner doing this, as Chipp’s offense becomes a lot more volatile in the corner.

-Chipp will mainly be looking to whiff punish Nago's bigger normals, or get in range so that he can land either his 2K or 5K. Kicks into 2D are extremely valuable to him because he can convert into his BNBs easily, use the hard knockdown to push Nago into the corner where Chipp's mix is more potent, and with Tension, give him low into overhead mix off of command normals and specials.

-Midscreen, stop his grounded approach with 2K/5K, and stuff his aerial approaches with 5P/6P. These are going to be Nago's primary buttons in this matchup. Nago can’t afford to whiff bigger buttons because Chipp can easily whiff punish him.

-In general, the best way to fight Chipp is to anticipate his buttons and try to fight them head on. Don’t ever run away by backdashing. Chipp’s 2K recovers so fast that he can input 2D afterwards, even on whiff, and still catch Nago with it.

-If he tries to bulldoze his way in with 6P, 2K will stuff it.

Offense

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-Don’t use 236S against Chipp. He can’t really harass anyone from afar, and 236S is just way too harsh if it doesn’t work out because of the blood cost. Use it for okizeme when you land a successful Bite and it doesn’t cost anything.

-Remember to bait and punish Beta Blade. If this whiffs or is blocked, and Chipp is counter hit out of it, he is going to explode.

Defense

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-How to deal with the rekka:

• The low is -6. The overhead is -16.
• He’ll likely backdash after the low since it is minus. You can punish the backdash with f.S or 214H.
• The overhead has 20 frames of startup. So block low, and react high.
• It’s not recommended to mash during the rekka. It’s not consistent enough to be considered as a valid option. Nago could attempt to use a metered option like YRC or Wasureyuki after the low rekka, but he can block it.
• To counter delayed follow ups, wait for one, and then backdash out of the stagger pressure and create an RPS situation.

-It’s important to pay attention to what Chipp is canceling into his specials from. 2K > 2D has less block stun than 2S/fS > 2H. This allows Nago to challenge whatever special move he uses sooner.

• For the command grab, Nago can backdash, mash on reaction, or even airgrab. If he does 2S > 2H > Command Grab, Nago has to time the backdash.

• For horizontal Alpha Blade, mash 5P if he does it after 2K > 2D. Nago can mash 5P or throw if Chipp does horizontal Alpha Blade after 2S/f.S > 2H

• For diagonal Alpha Blade, after 2K > 2D, Nago can consistently punish it with air throw. Nago can also mash c.S or 5P, but the timing for following up these buttons can be awkward. Sometimes Chipp will be hit in front of Nago, sometimes he’ll wind up behind him. You just have to time it right and readjust depending on what side he appears on. After 2S > 5H, you can mash 5P during then as well.

-If Chipp uses Gamma Blade after a ground throw, Nago can actually mash backdash and punish his attempt to approach with 2K.

Faust

Faust

Medium Disadvantage

Faust has strong tools to keep Nago out, as well as control neutral and make it difficult for him to approach. The longer a match goes on, the more likely it is to snowball in Faust's favor. Nago has to do his best to keep Faust pinned down as fast and efficiently as possible.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Faust's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
2PGuardLowStartup7Recovery11Advantage-3
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery32Advantage-21
5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery8Advantage-2
f.SGuardAllStartup12Recovery20Advantage-8
2HGuardLowStartup14Recovery29Advantage-12
j.2KGuardAllStartup10Recovery9 after LandingAdvantage-

Like with all characters that are good at controlling space and keeping characters out, round start's going to play a major role in determining the rest of the match's momentum.

Neutral

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-Faust will mainly be trying to play keep away and zone Nago with his long range pokes while he pulls out as many items as he can outside of Nago's range.

-Faust’s low-profiling crouch walk allows him to duck under f.S. Avoid using it outside of combos during this match up.

-Much like Axl, Nago really shouldn't use blood for anything other than Fukyo outside of combos.

-Memorize Faust's items and the appropriate responses to them.

-Most of Faust's pokes can beaten with 6P, including f.S, 5H, and Thrust.

-Don't do a lot of careless jump-ins, as Faust can easily punish them with 2H.

-If Faust tries to use Love (the Bomb Bag) from the air, Nago can snipe him with j.D. Alternatively, if Nago is close enough, he can super jump and block, cause the bomb bag to be detonated mid air, and force Faust to either block it himself or cause him to get hit by it.

Offense

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-Nago really has to stick to Faust and have an air tight offense. He can’t afford to let him escape and start getting items out, as it’ll let him take control of neutral and leave Nago with little way to stop him.

Defense

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-Faust can condition his opponents to block low with his multi-hitting 2K. He can then follow this up with 2D or he can try and catch his opponents with 6H, which is an overhead. Block low, react to the 6H.

-From a distance, Faust may try to cancel a blocked 6H into Thrust. Remember, Thrust loses to 6P. From farther away, Nago can't really gatling the 6P into anything, but it's still a counter hit that gives him time to get in.

-Watch Faust when he's pulling numerous items out from a distance. He may try to use Scarecrow to appear behind Nago and mix him up. This is especially common if he pulls Meteors.

Giovanna

Giovanna

Slight Advantage

Giovanna is dealt with in a manner similar to Chipp. She's fast, but she's not nearly as fast as Chipp, and it's a lot easier for Nago to react to and stuff her approaches.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Giovanna's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-9
66 5KGuardAllStartup6Recovery12Advantage-2
f.SGuardAllStartup9Recovery16Advantage-4
2SGuardLowStartup9Recovery15Advantage-6
5HGuardAllStartup10Recovery19Advantage-5

Neutral

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-Nago needs to make Gio come to him. Her neutral is very straightforward, she'll be looking to whiff punish a button while trying to approach from either the ground or the air.

-Like the Chipp match up, Nago should play just outside of her range (specifically the range of her 2D) and stuff her approach with quick, low recovery buttons like 5K/2K and 6P her aerial approaches or Travao.

Offense

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-Depending on the distance, Nago can punish a whiffed 2D with 214H.

Defense

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-If Gio lands a 2D on block, the only thing she can do is cancel into her special moves, which are all dealt with by using 6P.

-Nago can interrupt Sol Poente with 5P since he’s tall

-When it comes to dealing with Sepultura, the first thing you have to do is assess the distance between you and her. It’s -4, and can be difficult to punish because she can either backdash, jump, or keep herself safe with Sol Nascente.

• If she's pushed out with Faultless Defense, Nago can punish Sepultura's start up with 2K. Alternatively, you could push her out altogether and whiff punish it with 2S.

• If you’re able to instant block Sepultura, it’s a free throw punish.

-Keep an eye out for the flames that appear on the ground when Gio dash cancels her normals. This will be key for dealing with her tick throws and frametraps. She’ll usually dash cancel off of either c.S or 5K.

• To deal with this, do a delayed grab option select. A delayed grab will block both frametraps for you and still break a grab that may come after the kick.

-Like any character, don’t mash between f.S and 5H. Use FD to push her out and create space or challenge directly with 6P.

-Also use FD on her safe jumps to push her out.

Goldlewis Dickinson

Goldlewis

Even

Both characters can struggle against each other when either of them are forced into the corner. It'll mainly be a battle for control of neutral, and chances are, whoever wins neutral wins the round.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Goldlewis's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery27Advantage-19
5KGuardLowStartup10Recovery12Advantage-7
f.SGuardAllStartup11Recovery23Advantage-12
684HGuardAll* (Guard Crush)Startup12Recovery21Advantage-5
j.DGuardHighStartup14Recovery14Advantage+13 (IAD)

Neutral

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-Nago generally needs to play outside of 684 Behemoth Typhoon range.

-It's very important to avoid getting knocked down by Goldlewis, as it will give him advantage and allow him to start running his Behemoth Typhoon pressure.

-It's also especially important to try and keep him from getting a Security Level 3 Thunderbird out. A Security Level 3 Thunderbird essentially grants him full control of neutral, as it allows him to control grounded space while Goldlewis covers the air with j.H. On start up, it can be taken out with a well timed 236S from a distance, and it's best to save Nago's blood for making sure Goldlewis can't get it out.

-Nago can also use 236S > 236K to get through Skyfish as well.

Offense

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-Goldlewis is particularly vulnerable to 6Ps. His strongest poke is f.S, which loses to it. j.D is one of his best approach options, and also loses to it.

Defense

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-Most of Goldlewis’ options midscreen can be back dashed. In fact, all of them can be back dashed from a blocked f.S or 2D at its max range. Furthermore, Goldlewis has ZERO options to punish for going for the backdash. NONE of the Behemoths can touch you.

-Up close, this still mostly works, but Goldlewis does have very specific options to punish the back dash. 486 Behemoth Typhoon beats it. 426 BT also works if Goldlewis has backed you up close to the corner since it causes a wallbounce. He can also go for a delay 268 BT but that’s something that not many Goldlewis players will go for. 5H can also catch a backdash, but he needs running momentum. Lastly, they can j.D to catch a backdash, which is a very hard read, because of that button’s weaknesses (6P).

-FD-ing in the corner is essential for getting him off of you. It causes a lot of his strings to whiff and forces him to run further if he tries to go for a tick throw, giving Nago more time to react.

-Goldlewis has a number of ways to run his pressure on us if he knocks us down.

• He could attempt to mix us up on knockdown by doing a crossup j.H. You’ll have to guess which direction he’ll be landing.

• He could also get Thunderbird out on us and use it to push us back. He can safely follow behind it if he does this, so we’re screwed if he’s successful here.

Behemtoh Typhoon Survival Guide

-It can be a bit of a pain unless you play the character, but you need to be familiar with the different Behemoth Typhoons. You need to know which one's safe, which one's a frame trap, and which one's fake. Any air Behemoths are slightly minus on block, so Nago can take a turn if he ends up blocking one.

• As mentioned before 684 BT is his farthest reaching one and the one we want to space ourselves around.

• Generally, use FD during his block strings to push him out. Up close, if you block either 684 or 624 BT, he's -5. Nago can't punish these with 5P because it won't reach, but he can still take his turn back with 5K.

• If Goldlewis is being transparent with his pressure and does multiple 268 BTs in a row, Nago can challenge them with 5P.

• 842 BT is plus. NEVER challenge it if blocked.

• Goldlewis will usually try to take advantage of the plus frames of 842 BT by dashing up and frame trapping with c.S into 842 BT again. Use Faultless Defense to push him back. If Goldlewis doesn’t have running momentum, this can sometimes whiff, but even if it doesn’t, it will still push him farther away, which makes the run up -> c.S no longer true. Instead he'll probably going to have to go for a dash > f.S, and at mid screen, you could backdash the f.S. You can also YRC the c.S. It’s important to do so because since all BTs have guard crush properties, you can’t YRC them, you can only YRC whatever combos into them. If you’re in an emergency situation and you need to get him off of you, this is a button to watch out for.

• Nago can also punish 842 BT with either Wasureyuki or input a delayed Burst. This will be a free Gold Burst almost all the time because of the start up of the BT.

• 248 BT will always whiff after FD if you FD the initial button Goldlewis tries to gatling into BT from. By FD-ing c.S you immediately get rid of this fast low option. If they whiff a move, often times they’ll attempt to run up and throw just so they can input the move during the lag, so jumping here would likely be a safe option. It’s also only slightly plus, you can backdash afterwards.

• 486 BT is an overhead and +15 on block. It has 12 frames of startup and can be interrupted with a fast normal.

Happy Chaos

Happy Chaos

Disadvantage

Happy Chaos can really take advantage of his ability to enforce strong pressure at just about any range and put Nago in situations where it’s borderline impossible to fight back. If Nago succeeds in an RPS interaction, he’ll either take a massive amount of Chaos’ life or get a chance to really pin Chaos down, but winning those interactions is very difficult.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Happy Chaos's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery25Advantage-16
5KGuardAllStartup6Recovery12Advantage-3
2KGuardLowStartup7Recovery12Advantage-4
f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery21Advantage-14
2SGuardLowStartup11Recovery18Advantage-7
6SGuardAllStartup12Recovery24Advantage-14
2DGuardLowStartup10Recovery19Advantage-8
236PGuard-Startup-Recovery29 totalAdvantage-

-The RPS at round start is going to be a major catalyst for determining how the rest of the match is going to go.

Neutral

---

-You need to play extremely patiently at all times. Proper blood management is critical in this matchup.

-Avoid wasting blood by excessively chasing him down, and try to make him come to you when/if you can. Chaos can comfortably and slowly zone you from afar if your Blood Gauge is high, and if he does this while both your blood is high and you're at a life deficit, the match is effectively over as Nago can't really approach him at all.

-If he’s zoning you out, you’ll have to wait until he replenishes his Concentration with Focus before you can Fukyo forward.

-Whether he’s zoning or if he’s hitting you with one of his strings, NEVER challenge or dash towards him after Super Focus. He’s EXTREMELY plus.

-Don’t jump at him while he's zoning. If you block in the air, the knockback from Steady Aim shots will send you back farther from where you jumped in at him.

-A well-timed Fukyo > Beyblade can be instrumental for getting in on him, but you’ll want to save this for after he’s used Burst, as he’s almost guaranteed to Burst here. You also can’t afford to do this frequently because this will drive your blood gauge up nearly halfway.

-If you land a hit on Scapegoat, remember that you can cancel it into another move, or use RRC to launch Chaos into the air if he’s close enough.

Offense

---

-You never. Ever. Want to reset to neutral with Chaos. This is NOT optional. This means you need to avoid breaking the wall if you do get in on him. This will require you to do shorter combos, which we should already be doing since again, we really need to be managing our blood well in this match up especially.

-The only time you can really afford to go for bigger combos is if you have low blood, Chaos is in the corner, he doesn’t have Burst, and you have Tension for Wasureyuki. This will lead to a wallbreak with a hard knockdown, giving you an opportunity to keep the pressure going in case it doesn’t kill.

-Try and intercept his attempts to jump out of the corner with an air throw if you can.

-Be offensive with your Burst. Use it to keep him in the corner in case he successfully mashes out of your pressure or tries to IAD out.

Defense

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-You have to FD Chaos during his up close strings. So that you don’t waste too much of your tension against him, FD during the hits of his strings, but not the shots themselves, since FD-ing the shots won’t push him back.

-If he has Bullets and Concentration, you’ll just have to use FD here until he runs out of one or the other. The gun makes his unsafe normals safe, even on whiff.

-Treat Roll like Leo’s 236H, and throw it.

I-No

I-No

Advantage

I-No's neutral isn't the best. It's very easy for Nago to shut down her methods of approach as well as brute force his way through her attempts to keep him out. Once she's cornered, it's also very difficult for her to fight back.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

I-No's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery18Advantage-9
f.SGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-13
2SGuardAllStartup10Recovery23Advantage-11
2HGuardAllStartup11Recovery14Advantage-5
236SGuardLowStartup16Recovery16Advantage-7
66 j.SGuardHighStartup8Recovery20Advantage- / j.HGuardHighStartup12Recovery21Advantage-

Neutral

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-As mentioned, I-No's neutral isn't the best in the game. She'll likely either try to get in with Stroke the Big Tree/Sultry Performance or keep Nago out with Antidepressant Scale and Chemical Love for most of the match.

-The longer Antidepressant Scale is active for, the more hits it has. If she manages to land it from a distance, she can use the hitstun/blockstun to lock Nago down and give her enough time to get in his face. Once the move is out though, I-No can’t move for more than half a second. Nago can either use Fukyo and intentionally get hit by it, or use f.S to hit it, and recover in time to punish her approach.

• You can also just do 236S > 236K to brute force your way through it, but if the I-No’s playing like a zoner, you may want to be a bit more cautious when doing that, especially if she has burst.

Offense

---

-With proper timing, Nago can hit I-No out of Sultry Performance with 5P at any angle. If she doesn’t charge it, he can also immediately toss out 6P to beat any follow up since all variations are minus.

-If Nago manages to bait out a grounded Ultimate Fortissimo, make sure to punish it before the second hit comes out. The second hit will guard crush, so even if you block it, she'll still have advantage and be able to run her offense.

Defense

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-It's not possible to react to I-No’s mix, that's the point of the character. In order to get out of her vortex pressure, fuzzy mash with 5P. Multiple hops are not real, and can be beaten with 6P.

-DON’T mash on a blocked j.S, as this button has natural frametraps on block. You’ll need to use FD to push her out of instant overhead range.

-If I-No goes from an empty hop to 2K, she can gatling into 6H to counter you if you try to punish her here.

-Blocking I-No’s grounded or aerial approaches generally leads to her taking additional risk for mix. The H version of Stroke the Big Tree is +2 on block but pushes you too far for her to threaten a strike/throw mix. Fuzzy mashing a 2P denies her access to an I-No hop or 5D. This leaves her with only lows to safely end her turn.

-If 2K > 6H is followed up with the S version of Stroke the Big Tree, it's punishable with 5K.

Jack-O

Jack-O

Medium Disadvantage

This matchup can be very rough for Nago. It's difficult for him to keep Jack-O' pinned down, and once her Servants are out, Jack-O' can very easily control the screen and prevent Nago's approach.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Jack-O's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
Backwalk 5HGuardAllStartup10Recovery23Advantage-6	2SGuardLowStartup12Recovery21Advantage-11, 623HHGuardHighStartup10Recovery29Advantage-16(CH) 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A>214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3 (fastest timing)(CH)	623HGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7 no followup, 6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6	214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A dl 214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3	Backdash, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A, 2KGuardLowStartup7Recovery8Advantage-1,5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2
f.SGuardAllStartup11Recovery17Advantage-9	6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A>214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3	2KGuardLowStartup7Recovery8Advantage-1,5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2, 2SGuardLowStartup12Recovery21Advantage-11 CH 214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3 CH	623HGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7(trades into a combo)	Backdash, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A
5HGuardAllStartup10Recovery23Advantage-6	214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A>214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3, 6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6, 5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2, 623HGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7	214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3, 2KGuardLowStartup7Recovery8Advantage-1	2SGuardLowStartup12Recovery21Advantage-11	Backdash, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A
2DGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-19	2KGuardLowStartup7Recovery8Advantage-1 , Backdash whiff punish with 5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A dl 214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3	623HGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7, 214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3, 5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2, 2SGuardLowStartup12Recovery21Advantage-11, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A>214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3 (fastest timing)		Backdash, 214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A

Neutral

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-There are two situations when fighting Jack-O' that need to be prevented at all costs: letting her position a Servant behind Nago, and letting her force Nago into the corner. Both of these situations are her win condition.

-Nago needs to prioritize getting in and staying in with this match up, and it's another one where he'll want to be especially conservative with his blood.

-236S, Nago's primary anti-zoning tool, isn't that effective on the Servants, and it won't work at all if the Servants have been launched with Servant Shoot. It's not recommended to rely on it much in this match up.

-Instead, Nago should try to use his low recovery normals (5P/5K) to swat the Servants away if they’re launched at him. Don’t rely on 6P. It’s a very committal button. Even if a Servant is successfully intercepted with 6P, the hitstun will add to that button’s recovery, and Jack-O’ has enough time to advance and run her offense from full screen. So use those other buttons instead, and continue to use them to stuff Jack-O’s approach.

-Jack-O’ may opt to keep Nago at bay by using the Attack Command while she’s got a servant out. Eventually, however, she has to move in at some point if she wants to maintain pressure, because of the Servant Gauge.

Offense

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-When applying pressure, remember to try and bait out Forever Elysion Driver. Bear in mind that it’s a command grab Overdrive that ignores guts and is very damaging. Nago can input Wasureyuki to beat it, but not if he was using Faultless Defense. He can also bait it with safe jumps as it doesn’t hit airborne opponents. If Nago happens to be in Faultless Defense and she uses this, she can actually be hit with a Gold Burst after the super flash. She can gatling into this from 5H so take care not to get hit by that normal when she has Tension.

-If Jack-O’ uses Summon Servant and tries to run away, don’t let her get away with this. Remember, whenever she’s holding a Servant in her hands, she cannot block. If she tries to run away on foot, chase her with 214H. If she tries to IAD back, Nago can catch her with 2H or 623H.

Defense

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Dealing with Sandwich Pressure

-If Nago fails to keep the Servants from getting behind him, he’ll be placed under Jack-O’s Sandwich Pressure. This is a difficult position to be in. Try to avoid getting thrown during Sandwich Pressure, because she has way too many Oki options with her Servants. Ultimately, the best thing to do in this scenario is use your Burst or YRC to get out of the situation entirely. There are ways to defend against Sandwich Pressure, but Jack-O’ has answers to those defensive options. Still, it’s worth going over them.

-Nago will have to hold down-back and watch for two things: a gap in her pressure (since this is where she’ll likely go for a throw) or her 5D since it’s an overhead. Here are a few scenarios that you need to keep an eye out for to keep from getting grabbed:

• She may go for a grab immediately using an Attack Command while the Servant is behind you

• She may go for it after a dash-in c.S. However, she can do a delay 2H to catch a backdash. If you notice a delay after the c.S, go for a throw. That way you’ll tech her throw if she goes for one, or you’ll interrupt the 2H and take back your advantage if she goes for it.

-Jack-O’ can also go for aerials during her Sandwich Pressure as well. This looks scarier than it actually is. When blocking, react to her jumping and stand up to block the aerials.

-Jack-O’ can also take advantage of hitting the Servants to extend the active frames of her attacks, turning normally fake interactions into ones that can't be mashed out of. For example, she could do c.S > 5D. The c.S’s active frames would be extended because of the Servant, and Nago won’t be able to mash on the 5D despite its start up, even if it’s charged. Nago can only block high in order to avoid getting hit by it. The 5D is still punishable if successfully blocked, however.

• She can also make it so that c.S > c.S, which would normally be a fake and mashable option, into one that leads to a counter hit if you try to mash in between both c.S’es.

-On a hard knockdown, Jack-O’ will often jump and release the Servant from above, and threaten her Sandwich pressure by jumping either to the left or right for a mix up. Nago will have to guess which way to block.

Dealing with Corner Pressure

-The other bad position Jack-O’ can place her opponents in is in the corner. This is where she can apply her most threatening and almost non-stop pressure.

-While in the corner, Jack-O’ will try to frame trap with Servant Shoot. This leads to massive reward, especially on counter hit. She’ll usually try to go into it from either 2H or 2D. Both of these buttons are very unsafe unless she cancels them into Servant Shoot. Nago can input Wasureyuki after blocking either 2H or 2D to get out of this situation.

-In the corner, Jack-O’ is capable of using H Cheer Servant On to apply massive amounts of pressure that quickly leads to a cranked RISC gauge and immense chip damage. If she doesn’t cancel into H Cheer Servant On off of 2H or Servant Shoot, Nago can just mash 5P and get out of that situation entirely. He can also input Wasureyuki during the super flash of Cheer Servant On as well. Note that this will work on both versions of Cheer Servant On.

-Otherwise, the only thing that can be done is relying on Faultless Defense to prevent the chip damage. Keep an eye out for her 5D or if she tries to do a dash > throw to reset pressure.

Ky Kiske

Ky

Even

At lower blood, Ky is able to slug with Nago in the midrange, and has a lot of good tools to compete with Nago for controlling space. Nago's able to brute force his way through those tools, however.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Ky's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery17Advantage-8
f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery16Advantage-5
2SGuardLowStartup11Recovery20Advantage-8
2DGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-10
236KGuardLow, AllStartup7Recovery30Advantage-19 [-14]

Neutral

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-Ky has a lot of good tools to compete with Nago when it comes to controlling space. He can also zone him out with Stun Edge.

-In addition to that, Ky has big aerial buttons that are hard to 6P. j.H in particular hit’s pretty deep when used close to the ground.

-Conserve your blood. If you manage to take his Burst, Ky can’t afford to zone us out if you have the blood to afford 236S > 236K, as this can gatling into the f.SSS rekka, allowing you to get your blood back and continue to run your offense. Use this especially if he goes for a Charged Stun Edge from a distance.

• -From full screen, Ky might try to bait Nago into approaching with 236S > 236K by doing Charged Stun Edge. From full screen, if you try to do 236S > 236K > f.SSS, you’ll be too far away. f.S will whiff, and you’ll have built up a lot of blood in the process. It’s best to keep Ky just outside of midrange. You don’t want to give Ky a chance to control the screen with this. Alternatively, you could wait for him to follow behind CSE and then do Clone > Fukyo, but he’s likely trying to bait you into doing this here as well by dash blocking and then stuffing your Fukyo with 2P. It’s just best to not let him get this out from a distance whatsoever.

-Try and make Ky come to you. He does have tools to zone you out, but if you have a life lead, he’ll be forced to approach you.

-f.S is his strongest poke, Otherwise, he’ll fish with 2S or 6P. Alternate your pokes between 6P, 5K and 2S respectively to beat these buttons

-6H has 20 frames of recovery. If he whiffs this, punish with Beyblade (or 2S if he’s in range of it).

-You’ll be forced onto the defensive whenever he has Tension because of the threat of Stun Dipper, which can be RC’d into a corner carrying combos.

-It’s worth fishing with 2K/2S on the ground. Especially if he’s very Stun Dipper happy, or likes to run up > throw a lot.

-Try to react and intercept Foudre Arc with 5K or 5P. Keep in mind that if you block it while in Shock State (or Ky is in Dragon Install), he will always be at advantage, even if stand blocked. Therefore, Ky players might be more tempted to go for it during the three seconds you're in Shock State (or when he is in Dragon Install). Try to predict the attack and interrupt it.

Offense

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-Bait out his DP/Ride the Lightning.

Defense

---

-Dire Eclat usually comes at the end of blockstrings, so you can try to predict it and go for an Instant Block. If you IB it, he’s wide open because of the massive endlag.

-If you block Stun Dipper and Ky doesn’t have Tension to RC, he’s -10 on block and can be punished with a 5K/2K starter.

-At close range, Ky relies on good strike/throw offense to open opponents up, with mixups only being available with Tension or in Hard Knockdown situations.

-When dealing with Charged Stun Edge oki after a hard knockdown in the corner, the only thing it’s vulnerable to is Wasureyuki, and it needs to be timed well.

-Ky has a number of common safe jumps/approach options after these specific situations:

• After Dire Eclat (air dash forward > j.S)
• After a wallbreak from an Overdrive (dash up > 5K)
• After a throw OTG (throw > dash up > 5K >dash up > 5K)

These are instances where Ky can’t really be challenged, so avoid mashing/inputting Wasureyuki here.

Dealing with 5K Setups

-Ky’s 5K is used for a majority of his strike/throw setups. His most ambiguous setup is dash > 5K > pause > throw. When weighing your options to beat strike/throw, keep in mind that if you’re trying to do buttons preemptively to beat them, Ky’s counter hit combos are his strongest ones. Not only do they do a healthy chunk of damage, but Ky’s combos are great for carrying you to the corner as well. You can jump during the pause in order to mitigate the throw, but you need to be careful if you press a button on your way down, as Ky can hit you with one of the best 6Ps in the game.

-When dealing with his strike/throw game, keep in mind that run up 5K/5P are difficult to react to, but if you block these normals with faultless defense, you’ll push Ky a bit further out, giving you more time to react.

-His options post 5K > dash > 5K include:

Layer 1: Dash up > crouch blocking (which baits out invincible reversals)

Dash up > throw

These options can be beaten by backdashing on wake up and punishing the crouch block/throw with a throw of your own.

Layer 2: 2D (which punishes backdash)

This leaves Ky vulnerable to DPs/invincible reversals.

• It is possible to option select both layers of offense. In GGST, you cannot be thrown 5 frames after you get up. The idea is to block on wakeup, then throw, backdash, or jump in that 5 frame window. You can input 4D after blocking the 5K, but if Ky goes for the 2D, you’ll still block it. Also remember to FD the 5K on wakeup to give yourself more space and keep from getting tick thrown.

-If you have meter, backdash +BRC also beats strike/throw. This is easy to mash in the corner, but harder midscreen.

-Finally, if Ky does 6K after the OTG 5K, it’s a frame kill that leads to an autotimed throw. Mash 5P here.

Leo Whitefang

Leo

Slight Advantage

Nago has strong answers to just about all of the tools Leo relies on to get his offense going. It can be a bit difficult when it comes to dealing with Backturn Stance pressure, but Nago can really blow Leo up if he guesses right. All it takes is one successfully baited flashkick to put Nago at a major advantage.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Leo's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup10Recovery17Advantage-5
66 5KGuardAllStartup9Recovery13Advantage-3
2KGuardLowStartup7Recovery11Advantage-5
f.SGuardAllStartup12Recovery21Advantage-13
2SGuardLowStartup10Recovery13Advantage-2
2DGuardLowStartup12Recovery19Advantage-8

Neutral

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-Leo’s a character we want to be especially careful with when it comes to our spacing. We generally want to keep him away from us so that he can’t get into a position to apply his Backturn Stance pressure on us.

-In general, Play the Leo matchup outside his slash range to minimize his reward while being ready to punish his HS projectile.

-Be wary of Leo’s flashkick since it’s so huge and leads to his win condition on hit. Many Leos love to abuse this, so be patient with your pressure, bait it out frequently, and punish when you can.

-As Leo closes the distance, you need to keep your eyes peeled for Zweites Kaltes Gestober (the long run that lets Leo dash through opponents). You need to throw punish it. Wait for him to be on top of you as he does the dash and then throw.

-Leo might try to force his way in with his Cross projectiles. You can beat this with Clone > Fukyo >f.SSS.

-Leo’s guardpoint stance only blocks high. You can score a fat counter hit with 2S if he’s using this while not spaced properly.

-When Leo’s in his Backturn Stance, he can’t block or use his projectile special moves or flashkick. His only defensive option is bt.D (Shield). This is a counter special move. It’s active for 18 frames with 34 frames of recovery, and it isn’t throw invulnerable, so if you bait it, you can get a free Fukyo > Bite.

Offense

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Defense

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-Use FD when defending against Leo’s kicks. His blockstrings from his kicks are pretty narrow, and they’ll usually range from 5K > 6K > special cancel or 2K > 2D > special cancel. Just keep an eye out for gaps in his pressure, because he may attempt to dash up and throw.

-Refer to the Leo Whitefang Counter Strategy Guide for detailed explanations on what to do when defending against Backturn Stance.

May

May

Slight Advantage

This matchup is, at worst, annoying for Nago. May likes to jump in the air constantly since it can be difficult for Nago to anti-air her. Once Nago is able to pin her down and run his offense, however, May really struggles, especially considering her lack of a meterless invincible reversal.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

May's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-7
5KGuardAllStartup8Recovery11Advantage-5
2SGuardAllStartup10Recovery18Advantage-7
IADB j.HGuardHighStartup12Recovery15Advantage+9 (IAD)
DolphinGuardAllStartup7Recovery20 (24 OH)Advantage-3

Neutral

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-May likes to jump a LOT since it can be difficult to contest her aerial buttons like j.H or j.2H. Nago can 6P them, but they have to be timed well.

-Try to hit the volleyball from Argisuwa Sparkle with 5P or 6P. Don’t just block it, it’ll give her time to advance. It's possible to gatling/special cancel off of the ball. Alternatively, you can also use 236S or 214H to punish it as well.

-Her neutral structure will heavily revolve around Dolphin. Nago needs to make May come to him. As long as she’s approaching, she’s not charging Dolphin, and Nago only has to worry about her normals and aerial approaches.

-Space Nago outside of the range of her f.S and 2S. If she uses these in neutral, whiff punish them, they have 19 and 18 frames of recovery respectively.

-Engaging her without Dolphin locked and loaded is only possible if Nago has space behind him to position himself. Having space behind Nago is key to responding to either stance. Prioritize positioning over pressure when possible.

-6P every H Dolphin on reaction, it has 25 frames of startup.

-Against low blood Nago, May will jump often so she doesn't get stuck blocking 236S > 236K. Cancelling 236K into 623H is a strong option that will mess with her spacing if she plays this way.

-Against high blood Nago, she cannot get in range to threaten f.S/2S because of Nago's 5H. She will more than likely either try to set up Arisugawa Sparkle just outside of Nago's max 5H range, or will threaten air dash j.S or 3K RC if she has meter.

• She can't do this vs high blood Nago when she is cornered. This is a very bad position for May to be in.

Offense

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-On defense, May's backdash has very few i-frames, so she gets clipped from everything. c.S staggers are very valuable because of this, but she can get strong returns off reading Bite.

-Bait out her reversal Overdrive like any other.

Defense

---

-If Nago's in the corner with no space, and May’s gotten a chance to charge Dolphin, 5P/2P can protect him in a lot of cases.

-Using 5P also gives Nago time to respond to Vertical Dolphin or other counter play. You can 6P if you see that she DOES do Vertical Dolphin.

-A fake block string you may see in the corner is c.S > 6H > H Vertical Dolphin. This is fake. Nago can hit the Dolphin with either 6P or a well timed c.S for a CH punish, or he can walk forward and cause it to whiff, which will side swap and put her in the corner. Nago can then get a punish from there.

-May doesn’t have much in terms of mix unless she has Tension.

-If she tries to bait you out on defense by charging 6H, hit her with Wasureyuki

-Mash 2K during a dash canceled 5K or c.S to prevent a tick throw.

-There are three primary options to cover after blocking S Dolphin: backdash, jumping back, and 6P.

• 2S beats 6P, and even though it won't hit May, it'll reset to Neutral, which is good for Nago. If May tries to punish a 2S with a jump in, Nago could try to 6P it, but it might lose to j.S.

• Up close, Shizuriyuki will cover all three options, though you won’t have advantage if she air blocks.

• From farther away, it becomes more of a matter of RPS. You could do Clone > Fukyo > 5K starter, which would beat backdash and 6P, but it would lose to jump. If you’re wrong, it could be a hefty blood cost.

-May gets a high/low mix off of 5H into Arisugawa Sparkle. Be ready for this setup. Jump to get out of the way and be ready to tech an air throw.

-Do not press buttons if H Dolphin is blocked, unless Nago has Tension for Wasureyuki, or a throw or reset attempt is read. 5K will counter hit all of Nago's buttons and convert for half his life or more.

Millia Rage

Millia

Slight Advantage

placeholder text

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Millia's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery16Advantage-11
5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery12Advantage-3
f.SGuardAllStartup9Recovery19Advantage-7
2SGuardLowStartup11Recovery18Advantage-6
2DGuardLowStartup12Recovery19Advantage-8

Neutral

---

-Millia is another character that’s extremely mobile. Don’t spend a lot of blood trying to chase her down. In fact, keep her away from Nago as best you can.

-She’ll rarely approach from the ground, but if she does, use Nago's low commitment buttons like 2K/5K to stuff her approach. Otherwise, block low. Try your best to prevent her from landing 2K > 2D, as that will lead to her win condition.

-Once she super jumps, she has several different ways to engage, but they’re ALL going to result in her coming towards Nago. It's just a matter of figuring out whether she'll approach from the left or the right.

-If she jumps back, air dashes forward, and Kapels, she’ll have committed to a specific direction. That’s how Kapel works in general. Once she is committed, she cannot move any further. She is committed to the jump arc no matter what, she can’t air dash after the Kapel. THAT’S when Nago should start using his anti-airs.

-Don't just swing, high commitment anti-airs on the floor (2H). TIME Nago's 5P, which is his fastest anti-air, and hit her after the Kapel. Do NOT just mash Nago's anti-airs either. She can find a gap and punish him for doing that. Just play patiently and time the 5P. Wait for her to start getting in on you and then press it. You want to time this very specifically, and if you get it right, you can counter hit her and blow her up.

-When she’s right above you, airdashing back and forth, the best thing to do is to use either 236K or 214K and get away from her.

-Nago can use j.D to snipe her from a distance, if timed well.

-Throw punish Mirazh.

-Try to react to Turbo Fall, it has 14 frames of start up. If she uses it right next to Nago, it's throw punishable.

Offense

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Defense

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-Watch for 2D. If blocked, it doesn’t have any no-gap cancels to make it safe. It’s -11, so punish it with a 5K/2K or 2S starter depending on the distance.

-S Tandem Top is -11. You have a lot of options to punish it if she doesn’t RC to make it safe.

-Don’t use Faultless Defense on Lust Shaker. It’s -9, so it's punishable with 2K, but if Faultless Defense is used, it’ll push her out too far.

-Iron Savior is -12, so punish it if you block it. If she has Tension, she’ll likely do a fast RC for a high/low mixup.

-If she goes for multiple j.Hs, after blocking the first one, 6P the second one even on cross up. 5P could also work, at worst, it’ll trade in Nago's favor.

• Alternatively, she can go from a j.H into 2K > 2D. Nago just has to react here.

-If she gets in and starts running her H Disc mix, Nago will have to use Burst/YRC. Because Millia does low damage and Nago has high health, he'll have opportunities to get his Burst back, so don’t be super hesitant with it (but still be smart about using it as well).

-If Millia ever lands and tries to bait Nago's burst, she has to go in and attempt to resume pressure or go for a throw. At that point, toss out a jab, go for a throw, or input Wasureyuki after the disc is gone.

-If she lands 2D from a far distance, she can’t side switch.

-Otherwise, you’ll have to do your best to follow Millia as she’s dashing around on your knockdown and guess.

Nagoriyuki

Nagoriyuki

Even

The matchup primarily boils down to which of the two Nago players is able to get their offense going first. Nago lacks methods of escaping his own brutal pressure, so he'll be engaging in constant RPS with himself.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Nagoriyuki's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery15Advantage-6
5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery14Advantage-2
2S
214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3
214KGuardN/AStartup-RecoveryTotal 16AdvantageN/A~6 214HGuardLowStartup14Recovery17Advantage-3
623HGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-7

Neutral

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-Both players will have to keep track of both of each other's Blood Gauge.

-Whichever Nago fails to get their offense going first will have to play on the defensive and force Nago to overextend with his special moves.

-Nago will mostly be using 2S, 5H and 2H a lot in this match up.

-236K has 25 frames of start-up. Stuff it with 5P. Be cautious challenging this at lower blood, since Nago can cancel 236K into his other special moves and frame trap his opponents that way (though bear in mind if he does this, he’ll fill the Blood Gauge up nearly halfway). Get good at stuffing this. Limit the use of Fukyo to force him to spend more Blood for safer approaches.

-If you see him toss out 236S from full screen, be wary of it and jump either backwards or forwards so that you avoid 236K and whatever Nago chooses to do next. 236S > 236K fills nearly half of the Blood Gauge, so baiting it can put him in a rough spot.

-When both Nagos are at high Blood, play patiently and try to make the other Nago approach. Nago will typically try to approach via the air unless he's attempting a Hail Mary 236K > 623P. Use either 6P, 2S, or 2H to punish Nago’s jump-ins.

-If you manage to create some distance, he’s high Blood, and you’re low Blood, you can force your way in with 236S > 236K as he doesn't really have much he can do to fight back.

-You can punish 5H with a well timed 214H.

-If the other Nago goes into Blood Rage, this is a pretty good time for a Bite > 88RRC combo.

Offense

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Defense

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-When it comes to defending against Nago’s RPS situations, you can’t do the same response every single time, otherwise you risk getting blown up.

-You can still punish 5H with 214H on block, especially if they try to do anything else after the 5H. If the opponent cancels into 214H from a blocked 5H however, whoever did 214H second will win that exchange. Not exactly a hard counter but it's a notable interaction.

-If 214H is blocked from ANY range that’s NOT max distance, the other Nago can either reclaim their turn with a 5P starter or throw punish. Nago HAS to special cancel into either 214K or 623H to make 214H safe from throws. That being said, it’s safer to go for this when Nago's at higher Blood. He can’t afford to do this frequently because it’ll drive up his Blood Gauge either nearly halfway or to nearly two full bars.

-Do NOT frequently mash after blocking the first hit of 623H. It's an option that can be represented occasionally, but getting frame trapped by the second hit will result in massive amounts of life lost, if not death. However, the other Nago is respected too much, he can just reset into a button and resume his pressure.

-It's also not advised to frequently mash a normal after f.SS, except for maybe at higher blood, when he’s much more likely to go for 623P.

-In general, when blocking Nago, use Faultless Defense and don’t consistently mash except when Nago does 236K. If Faultless Defense is used when blocking f.SS, Nago will be pushed out of range for a tick throw. Make him overextend on his pressure, and don't give him free opportunities to restore his Blood.

-Burst if Nago’s doing a long combo or has used a lot of special moves after applying his pressure. Be smart with it though. Don’t *always* burst after the first two hits of the f.S rekka. This is an extremely common point where people burst and most Nagos can bait it here with 214K.

-Blood Rage Activation is -12 with 70 frames of recovery. If blocked, especially in the corner, it absolutely should be punished.

• If the Blood Rage Activation hasn't been punished, or the other Nago has managed to combo into the Blood Rage activation, be aware of the high/low setup that comes from this. When Blood Rage is active, j.H becomes an instant overhead, and with Tension, Nago can use RRC to get a wall splat. This situation boils down to guessing if he’ll go for a high, low, or throw upon Blood Rage activation.

-One more thing to be aware of if Nago goes into Blood Rage is the deactivation of it as well. When Blood Rage deactivates, the screen will freeze as Nago does an animation of him putting his mask back on. This returns the situation to neutral, and Nago can act immediately afterwards. This is an important knowledge check to bear in mind.

• If Nago is being juggled in a combo, he will remain in the Blood Rage state, even if the Blood Gauge has fully drained (though his health will no longer drain). However, as SOON as he touches the ground again, the screen will freeze as Blood Rage deactivates.

-Get the most damaging combo possible in if Blood Rage is successfully punished, but if it doesn’t kill, do not attempt to greedily repressure him after the combo is finished and put yourself in a vulnerable position once Blood Rage deactivates. If Nago somehow isn’t dead after a full combo punish during Blood Rage, chances are he’s very close to death. Force him to approach you, and then punish his attempt to approach.

Potemkin

Potemkin

Advantage

Potemkin's large hurtbox and abysmal mobility makes it very easy for Nago to bully him, especially since Nago can special cancel his normals to get past Potemkin's armor.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Pot's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
2PGuardAllStartup8Recovery9Advantage-1
6PGuardAllStartup11Recovery25Advantage-15
f.SGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-8
2DGuardLowStartup13Recovery18Advantage-8

Neutral

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-Nago wants to keep Potemkin within mid-range distance. Not far enough away to give him a chance to use Slide Head/Hammer Fall to approach, but not close enough that Nago can get kara Pot Bustered. Thanks to the size of his normals, Nago can easily do this.

-Be wary when Potemkin has Tension, as he can PRC cancel Hammer Fall into a Potemkin Buster. You really need to keep an eye out for this if he has Tension. It’s very fast. Alternatively, he could also cancel into Giganter Kai out of Hammer Fall.

-Another way Potemkin closes the gap is by jumping a lot and using his aerial attacks, in particular, j.HS. This move will hit both sides of Potemkin. Counter this with a well-timed 5P. All of Pot's air buttons aside from j.D lose to 5P aside from a very deep later active frame j.s.

-Potemkin's pokes, namely 2S, f.S, and 5H, can ALL be beaten by 6P.

-Flick usually loses to 6P too. The hurt box is much much much larger than it appears right as he flicks, 6k-> flick pressure loses to 6P for example. He has ways to punish this, some HARD, so careful about autopiloting it as an option, but it's there!

-Be wary of Giganter Kai. Once Pot gets it out, it essentially grants him full control of neutral.

Offense

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-Pot absolutely falls apart on defense. He can’t mash out of pressure with his 5P because it loses to any low, or even just Fukyo > Crouch because it all gets low profiled. Fukyo forward 2P is a great option against him, and lets you do 2P-6P-special as a block or hit string.

-He’ll likely try to rely on backwards Mega Fist to try and get out of pressure. Bait this out with a 214K > 2H, and reap the reward. 623H also beats BMF on both startup and as a callout and can lead to big damage, though 2H is the more blood-efficent route.

Defense

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-If Pot gets in after a knockdown, Nago will be placed in a lot of RPS situations. He'll have to rely on backdashing, jumping, or mashing 5P to escape.

• During his blockstrings, Nago can try jumping during gaps to avoid a Pot Buster, but Pot could read this and hit you with Heat Knuckle or a Heavenly Pot Buster instead.

• Nago could try to backdash, but Pot could hit you with 5H or 6H instead.

• Nago could mash 5P, but he could also get frametrapped by a meaty c.S.

It’s going to be a matter of rotating Nago's defensive options and guessing. Don’t default to one singular option. Smart use of your Burst/YRC can get Nago out of this situation entirely.

-Another opportunity where it's strongly encouraged to Burst is when placed under Garuda Impact pressure. The only other option Nago has to deal with it using Wasureyuki on wakeup.

Ramlethal Valentine

Ramlethal

Even

A clash of titans. They both have great tools to control the midrange, they both do immense damage, and they both have really strong up close pressure. Once one of them starts running their pressure on the other, it's very difficult for either of them to deal with it.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Ramlethal's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery18Advantage-9
5KGuardAllStartup7Recovery11Advantage-2
2KGuardLowStartup6Recovery9Advantage-2
f.SGuardAllStartup11Recovery21Advantage-10 [-13]
2SGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-5 [-8]
IADB j.SGuardHighStartup12Recovery24Advantage+5 (IAD)

Neutral

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-Nago needs to avoid getting put in the corner at all costs.

-Generally, Nago wants to play just outside of the range of her f.S/5H if the situation is neutral, but if he successfully counter pokes or contests her approach, then he wants to get in and maintain up-close pressure. Nago can’t just recklessly approach though, as a single screw up can allow her to get her offense going.

-6P in general is Nago's best best friend in this match up. It’s pretty much the only thing that he has that can contest her disjoints aside from a well timed 2H or 5H.

-Contest her jump-ins/aerials whenever possible. The worst thing that Nago could do is block them, as that will let her start running her pressure and push him towards the corner.

-After wallbreaks, she might try and catch Nago with a quick Dauro. This is -10 on block and doesn’t lead to anything on the ground, so she needs to RC this to make it safe, or convert if it hits.

-Sabrobato becomes more of a threat when Ram has Tension. This move is massive, and the hitbox is all disjoint so unless you can hit Ram herself before it reaches you, you cannot contest it. So be careful about standing too far from her when she has Tension.

Offense

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-When running offense, always, always, always play it safe if she has Tension. It's very important to be wary of Mortobato, because of how damaging it is.

-Ram is weakest with her back to the wall or fighting at close range. Once Nago has boxed her into the corner, he should prioritize keeping her there over getting a hit. At some point, she will have to gamble to get out, effectively handing him her health bar.

• She might try to escape the corner by jumping > IAD forward > Slido Detruo. Try to intercept her if possible, but otherwise, don’t let her land this on Nago. At the very least, let her whiff it and attempt to repressure her after she lands.

Defense

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-Since Nago can’t jump or dash, it’s very difficult for him to escape the corner if Ram manages to get him there.

-236S can actually be used to nullify the explosion from Bajoneto (Sword Toss) in the corner. If Ram is further away, this is Nago's safest bet for escaping the corner. Save his blood for this. -Up close, be wary of her 2K > 2D. If it lands she is going to carry you to the corner with her rekka, and this will also give her a ton of meter.

-Contesting the rekka is difficult since it’s all a matter of RPS.

• The first hit of the rekka is -5 on block, so she can be thrown if she’s up close.
• The second hit is -10/-12 on block depending on charge. Nago can get a guaranteed Wasureyuki on block.
• The third hit is -25. She should never be going for it unless she has Tension to RC and make it safe.

Sin Kiske

Sin Kiske

Slight Advantage

Sin will mainly be keeping his distance and trying to whiff punish Nago. He'll also be looking to try to connect Elk Hunt from a distance, as that will let him start running his pressure. Nago needs to play patiently, counter poke him, and stuff his approach.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Sin's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs

Sin's round start options aren't great. He'll mainly try to create some safe distance by rotating his options between just walking back, backdashing since Sin’s backdash travels far, or an IAD backwards.

Neutral

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-Remember, Sin's primary goal is to whiff punish.

-You have to play neutral similarly to how you would play neutral with Giovanna. Keep him out and try to outpoke him. Sin has access to his most threatening pressure when he's up close. Play outside the range of Elk Hunt and Beak Driver and watch what Sin does.

-Avoid blocking his specials. He wants you to block them because he can use their follow-ups to initiate very potent RPS pressure from a far distance.

-Check for Elk Hunt with 2K or 2S. It has 24 frames of start up.

-Beak Driver has 22 frames of recovery. You can whiff punish it and get blood back with a well-timed 236S > 236K > f.SSS.

Offense

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-Sin has a very poor backdash. It’s really slow to recover, and leaves him very vulnerable, meaning he can’t use it as an option in the corner. He has to stick to universal mechanics, fuzzy jump, fuzzy mash 2P, or rely on Hawk Baker. These are the tools he’ll primarily be rotating on defense, in addition to Burst and YRC.

-When trying to bait and punish Hawk Baker, make sure you punish it between the first and second hits. Otherwise, he can just use the follow-up to keep himself safe.

Defense

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-You need to keep Sin off of you. If he gets up close, he'll be able to start running his very strong RPS pressure on you. He has many options, and while they are interactable, it's very difficult because he can delay his special move follow-ups and constantly threaten frametraps and throws.

-It's best to use Burst to get Sin off of you, just don't be predictable with it and get it baited.

-Otherwise, block low, and try to react to Hoof Stomp as well as pauses in his pressure where he might go for a throw.

-If you block the Hoof Stomp follow-up, it's -8. It's difficult to punish since it pushes him out so far, but you can still take your turn with 2S.

-Try to interrupt 6K during it's 21 frame start up.

-Keep an eye out for both Elk Hunt and Gazelle Step when blocking Sin's pressure up close, as both a throw punishable.

Understanding How Sin Uses His Resources on Offense

-Sin has no way to restore the Stamina Gauge outside of just waiting for it to replenish, which does take some time. Knowing this, you can come to an understanding of what options Sin will be likely to go for and when. Sin can use Tension as a substitute for Stamina in situations where he lacks it.

-For example, Sin will be a lot less likely to go for Hoof Stomp midscreen, because in order to get anything meaningful off of it, he’d have to use two bars of Stamina. In fact, it’s generally not worth it for him to go for Hoof Stomp unless he has the meter to RC since the ONLY thing he can convert into off of Hoof Stomp is either the follow-up or Gazelle Step.

-Sin’s specials by themselves are generally punishable. He needs to do the follow-ups to make himself safe depending on the distance between you and him. He should never be throwing out specials if he has no Stamina. If he’s out of Stamina in neutral or when he’s running his pressure, he’ll likely start to back off, make some distance, and play passively. He might IAD back j.S or use 2S to control space and buy himself time for the Stamina Gauge to replenish.

Sol Badguy

Sol

Advantage

A pretty easy match up for Nago. As long as there's an understanding of how to stuff and RPS with Sol's methods of approach, Nago generally has the advantage since he outclasses Sol in the midrange.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Sol's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup9Recovery20Advantage-11
f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery13Advantage+2
2SGuardAllStartup10Recovery15Advantage-7
6HGuardAllStartup9Recovery43Advantage-27
2DGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-4
Dash 623HGuardAllStartup13Recovery19+10 LandingAdvantage-26

Neutral

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-Sol’s best range is up close. As such, he’ll mainly be trying to get in on you with his strong mid-range tools and special moves that allow him to approach from a variety of angles. Try to fight Sol from a distance. You need to keep out of his best range as much as possible.

-Make him come to you, intercept his approaches, keep him at your max range, and whiff punish the tools he uses to control space: 6S and Gunflame.

• 6S is whiff punishable with f.S. Clone beats Gunflame.

• Sol will most commonly cancel into Gun Flame from a blocked 6S. Nago can’t mash in between here because it will trade unfavorably with Sol. If he's midscreen, it’s better to just use 214K and create space between him and Sol. Nago can counter hit Gunflame with Clone if he's at max distance, but only if he's at max distance.

-Otherwise, Sol will try to approach from the air with IAD j.S/j.H or Air Bandit Bringer.

• 6P his attempts to air dash in. Air Bandit Bringer can be difficult to punish/anti-air since Sol can delay the timing of it. Depending on your spacing, it’s probably best to use 236K to dash forward underneath it. You don’t wanna use 214K unless you’re midscreen, otherwise you’ll be backed up into the corner.

-Sol can dash up and poke with his 2D. Whiff punish it with 2S, it has 18 frames of recovery. Do the same with his 2S, which has 15 frames of recovery

-Ground Bandit Bringer is punishable with 2S. Sol can mash DP after Air Bandit Bringer to punish this or keep himself safe in general if blocked it. If they're doing this frequently, look to punish the DP instead.

-Counterpoke Fafnir with 6P or 2S.

-Intercept Night Raid Vortex with 2S if you can. If you block it and he doesn’t have Tension, it’s a free punish with just about anything. If he does have Tension, jump and be prepared to tech an air throw.

Offense

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Defense

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-When dealing with Sol's f.S RPS Pressure

• f.S into f.S is punishable with 5K, but don’t necessarily always mash, since he can frame trap with 5H.
• Use FD to push Sol out during f.S pressure.

-If you block Gun Flame up close, it’s -8, so punish with 5K.

-Both hits of Bandit Revolver are throw punishable (unless he uses meter to RC). Do a delay throw after blocking the first hit. Otherwise, you'll get frametrapped by the second.

-Sol will usually RC after Bandit Revolver to maintain pressure and try to hit you with a high/low mix up by pressing j.P or immediately landing and going for a low. You'll have to guess accordingly.

Testament

Testament

Medium Disadvantage

Testament can be a bit of a struggle for Nago to deal with. Their projectiles allow them to control the midrange and really prevent Nago's approach. When Nago is cornered, they can enforce very strong pressure on him from a safe distance, especially if he's at high blood levels. Careful blood management is very key in this match up, as Clone > Fukyo is going to be Nago's primary tool in breaking through Testament's onslaught.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Testament's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
6PGuardAllStartup11Recovery15Advantage-7
f.SGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-7
2SGuardLowStartup10Recovery18Advantage-7
236SGuardAllStartup16~22Recovery27Advantage-4
j.236HGuardAllStartup13~19Recovery21Advantage+2
Walk Back

Neutral

---

-Testament is a character Nago wants to get in and stay in on. They will constantly be throwing projectiles and making it difficult to approach. Watch how the Testament is structuring their pressure. If it's pretty straightforward and repetitive, it's very possible for Nago to break through their onslaught and punish accordingly.

-Testament’s neutral will mainly consist of zoning Nago out with Grave Reaper, applying the Stain State with Unholy Diver or Arbiter Sign and preventing Nago's jump-ins with 6P.

-As mentioned before, Nago needs to play especially safe and carefully with his blood.

-Get their burst as soon as possible. 236S > 236K >f.SSS is going to be Nago's main method of breaking through Testament’s onslaught, and Nago can't afford to have them burst before landing f.SSS.

-Play patiently and watch Testament, especially after Grave Reaper. From a distance, Testament may try to use Possession (teleport) to appear either in front or behind Nago and get them with a throw, but it's possible to throw punish them before this happens.

-Depending on the distance between between Nago and Testament, he could punish a blocked Arbiter Sign with Beyblade.

-If Nago's managed to accumulate 2 bars of Blood, the match is effectively over, as they can play safe from a distance and there’s no real way for him to safely approach. Nago can’t carelessly jump in because Testament can 6P on reaction with one of the best 6Ps in the game, so again, careful blood management cannot be stressed enough.

-Their 2K can low profile f.S, so be careful when poking with it.

Offense

---

-Like any other reversal, bait and punish Calamity One.

Defense

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-Once the stain state has been applied, they’ll likely try to fish for a hit with their 5K/2K because those are their fastest far hitting buttons, and the easiest buttons they can confirm from. They won’t get much from f.S even if it does hit. Don’t be too hasty to take your turn back once the Stain State has been applied to you. You’ll have to be patient and wait for the right moment/read to challenge them.

• There’s a gap in-between their 2K/5K >2D. It loses to reversals, throws and you can backdash and whiff punish the 2D.

Zato-1

Zato

Disadvantage

The majority of Zato’s tools naturally act as a hard counter to Nago. Zato is capable of easily harassing Nago constantly from afar, and even if Nago successfully manages to take out Eddie, Zato still has options that allows him to easily run away or prevent Nago from approaching even with Eddie gone. Nago is capable of vaporizing Zato in only one or two solid combos, but actually being able to land a hit on Zato is a major uphill battle.

Frame Data • Counterstrategy • Reverse Matchup • Videos

Round Start

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Common Round Start Interaction Table

Zato's Button	Loses To	Beats	Trades	Whiffs
2PGuardAllStartup6Recovery9Advantage-3 [-1]
6PGuardAllStartup12Recovery12Advantage-6
f.SGuardAllStartup10Recovery23Advantage-12
2SGuardAllStartup11Recovery20Advantage-10
2DGuardLowStartup10Recovery17Advantage-9
Walk Back 5HGuardAllStartup13Recovery19Advantage-9

-When rounds start, Zato doesn’t have Eddie summoned, so he begins in his weakest state. In order to safely summon Eddie, he needs to at least land a normal on block, so consult the round start table for how to beat interactions.

It’s also highly likely that Zato will immediately take to the skies with Flight and try to distance himself from Nago.

Neutral

---

-This is one of our most difficult match ups. You need to be especially careful with blood management. Zato will mainly be trying to zone us out, and it can be extremely difficult to approach him. Even if we get close, he can use Oppose to keep us from pressing buttons or Flight to get away from us.

-If we Blood Rage, all he has to do is dash up and use his command grab, and we’re basically dead.

-In order to win neutral, Zato must complete a three step process: 1. Get you within Eddie’s effective range.

2. Create enough blockstun to safely summon Eddie

3. Set up his high/low or strike/throw mix

-He has two ways to accomplish this process: he either has to create the blockstun using one of his own normals, or empty summon Eddie and use his attacks to set up the mix. It’s safer for him to use Eddie’s attacks to do so, so you’ll need to learn how they work and the proper counterplay for Eddie’s attacks.

-The number one thing we can’t do is let him position Eddie behind us, as that will lead to his win condition. Drunkard Shade is what Zato will mainly be using to send Eddie at us. Keep your eyes peeled for it, stuff Eddie while he’s on the ground with 2K, and then advance once Eddie’s dead.

-Never let Zato unsummon in your face. This has 32 frames of recovery. Punish or advance if he does this.

Dealing With Special Cancel Options

-Pierce will be his go to for setting up his mix. There’s a 7 frame gap between the two hits that can be contested with 5P. If Zato is not at close range and/or Eddie is not already summoned when Zato does Pierce, this gap can and should be contested every single time.

-Countering this will force Zato to either plug the gap with a normal or special cancel into other moves which could leave him vulnerable. Pierce can be canceled into Oppose, Leap, That’s a Lot, or Drunkard Shade. He can do these options to protect Eddie, but they all come at a cost to the Eddie Gauge, limiting his combo ability.

-If he closes the gap, he can’t use his high/low mix. All he can do is strike/throw. Being proactive once Pierce comes out is key. Zato has answers to all these options but for the most part they have to be done as a read and not on reaction.

-If Zato is using Leap in neutral, it takes half of the Eddie gauge no matter what, meaning if he locks you down properly, he won’t be able to both mix AND convert. Leap is vulnerable to 6Ps but even if you block it, depending on the distance, Zato’s gotta get the hit quick or he has to retreat and get some of the Eddie gauge back. Look to advance during this situation.

-That’s a Lot is rough for us to deal with. It loses to Clone and we can use Fukyo after to get in, but we have to be careful, since that’ll drive our blood up a lot. Since this move travels slowly with a fixed distance, outside of the corner, you can just get out of the way and be prepared to take out Eddie.

-Since Zato loses half of his gauge if the move completes, he will most likely cancel the move on whiff or on block as soon as he feels comfortable to start locking you down. You can use this to your advantage. If you’re not locked down quite yet and you see the approach of Drunkard Shade, you can Fukyo forward or Beyblade.

Dealing with Oppose

-Oppose is another move that can be difficult for us to deal with. We have to play around the second phase of Oppose (the snake heads). If Oppose fully completes, it will drain the Eddie gauge.

-If you’re not in position to threaten Zato immediately after Oppose comes out, you’re in the “Oppose Stance”. Think of it as a mini game where the underlying premise is that Zato must get some value before Oppose completes and he loses Eddie. Once this stance is in play, there are three primary ways Zato can get value out of Oppose:

1. Run up and grab you as fast as possible if you’re close by

2. Use Oppose as a meat shield to safely land a normal and then put Eddie behind you with Drunkard Shade

3. Go directly into Drunkard Shade and mix you from there

-Which option he’ll choose will depend on the range he’s at when Oppose Stance begins. In essence, the further away you are the more guesswork Zato has to do to get a reward.

1. For run up grab, it’s easy to spot. Jump, back dash, or use Fukyo to get out of the Oppose zone entirely. This is Zato’s low commitment option. Remember, even if the grab whiffs, Zato is protected by Oppose. If you think the grab is coming while in close quarters, focus on repositioning. Then look for an unsummon or Drunkard Shade. That’s when he’s vulnerable.

2. In the mid-range, he’ll opt to land a normal, then special cancel into Drunkard Shade. Whether the normal lands on hit or on block, he can send Eddie behind you and run his mix. Nago can’t really avoid the normal, so in this situation, the best thing you can do is keep your eyes peeled for Drunkard Shade.

3. At further ranges where he can’t lock you down with normals, he wants to save Eddie. He’ll almost be forced to either unsummon or send out a raw Drunkard Shade. If he sends out Drunkard Shade, remember, this is extremely risky because Zato himself is completely unprotected. He’s simply betting on you respecting the space where Oppose just was. If you notice you’re at a distance, look for the Drunkard Shade to punish.

-This might be a lot to remember. Just bear in mind, after Oppose, Zato must act by either giving Eddie a command before Oppose completes or attacking you directly. The worst thing that you can do is nothing.

-These are the guidelines for Oppose if you don’t have Tension. If you DO have Tension, you can actually hit Oppose with an attack and then RRC it to kill Eddie and initiate a combo, though bear in mind Zato can block this. You can also get through it with an Overdrive or Burst.

What to Do When Eddie’s Gone

-When Zato doesn’t have Eddie, he’ll likely retreat with Flight. You can try and snipe him out of the air with j.D. Otherwise, he might try and maintain his pressure with 5H. You need to 6P it.

-He can also keep you out with Invite Hell. Clone will beat it here. Make sure you use Clone > Fukyo > f.SSS because this is pretty much the only way you’ll get in on him if he’s using this, and this will drive your blood up about half way if you don’t reduce it with f.SSS.

-The best way to play against Zato is to play patiently, make him overextend with Eddie, take Eddie out as fast as possible, and then move in on Zato when he doesn’t have much of a way to stop you.

Offense

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-Zato has no reversals, a lackluster backdash, and low reward abare options. Do not be afraid to meaty Zato if you can time them well. He has the worst options in the game to contest this. One caveat is that in the corner wakeup throw can be very rewarding for Zato so keep your meaties tight.

Defense

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-Saving meter for YRC in general is a strong option vs Zato. While he has unique options to bait YRC, there are many points in Zato's offense that he has to commit to much weaker options to bait YRC or he outright cannot bait it. One such point is during Sun Void pressure resets, if Zato is in range you can YRC (or burst) to trade 50 meter and put yourself on the offense.

-If Zato’s managed to get Eddie behind you and has begun to run his offense, there is one thing that dictates your survival: The Eddie Gauge.

-If it’s near full at the beginning of his offensive sequence, in all honesty, you’re likely getting hit, so if you have the ability to YRC or Burst, use it here.

-If it’s around 30%, it’s okay to just block or recklessly contest because the punishment won’t be too hard. There’s not enough Eddie gauge left for him to do much damage.

-When the gauge is around 50%, Zato only has one or two spots to open you up. You’re gonna have to be a lot more proactive, analytical and look for an opening.

-Remember these three rules for his offense:

1. Eddie can’t mix you. He can only do mids. You have to block either high or low in relation to Zato’s attacks.

2. You have 5 frames of grab invulnerability after leaving blockstun. If Zato chooses to grab, there will be a gap in his pressure. Backdash and punish if he tries to go for it.

3. The only grounded overhead Zato can hit you with is his 5D. If he goes for this, there will always be a mashable gap, so just block low and watch out for it.

-Zato’s safest way to open you up is with frametraps to catch mashing. Simply blocking low and waiting will protect you from the first layer of the offense.

-If you don’t take the frametrap bait, he’ll have to start taking risk for overheads/grabs. It’s practical for Zato to go for a riskier overhead/low/grab mix after the second hit of Pierce. If you’re going to contest, do it here.

-Each time you contest correctly on defense, he needs more gauge to engage with so he can alter his pressure, which requires even more use of the Eddie gauge. Your goal by the time you get locked down is to force Zato to use at least half of his Eddie gauge.

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