GGST/Potemkin/Strategy

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Strategy

Matchups

Counterstrategy

Frame Data

Resources

This section is still being written. It may be wildly inaccurate or missing significant data.

Please feel free to make edits, but include edit summaries and sources where applicable.

Overview

Before reading this page-- you should be somewhat acquainted with Potemkins Moves. There is a lot of information there and this page should not repeat it.

General Tactics

Potemkin Strategy revolves around 3 aspects

• Bullying with Pot's hard hitting normals and specials at the midrange
• Slide Head, Hammer Fall Break, Heat Tackle to close the distance.
• c.S strike/throw mix, Garuda okizeme, and Kara Potemkin Buster once the gap is closed.

Always Be Charging (ABCs)

• While not as strong as prior entries in the Guilty Gear series, Hammer Fall is still an incredibly useful tool for closing distance. Without it, Potemkin is significantly weaker.
• Hold back while doing ANYTHING that does not require you to be holding forward, such as during a Potemkin Buster animation. During inputs in combos, hold back as well (so instead of doing 2P, do 1P) so you can keep Hammer Fall ready.
• This is important as it'll allow Potemkin to chase after a knockdown and keep pressure going, keeping his threat real and closing out rounds quickly.

• Opponents aren't going to allow themselves to be in Potemkin Buster range until forced to stop evading.
• When stuck in the corner -- 5P/6P, Mega Fist, jumping, and Faultless Defense are your best friends.
  • Potemkin Buster can be used as a hard call-out to tick throws, but is risky. It's much safer to fuzzy jump in general.

Kara Cancels with 6K

Potemkin's 6K Kara Cancels are an extremely useful tool that enhances all of his special moves and is important to just about everything Potemkin can do. There is already a tutorial in-game on how to learn how to do Kara Buster, as well as on Potemkin's overview pages, but you can click here if you haven't seen them.

Video Explanation:

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List of Kara Cancelled special moves and their differences

• All

Startup is increased by a couple of frames (usually 2), as you are cancelling into the special from the start-up of 6K. Added forward momentum.

• Kara Potemkin Buster (kPB, 632146K~P)

This is the one you should practice how to do first, and the aforementioned in-game tutorial will help you do this. Kara Buster makes it easier to catch opponents after certain gaps (such as after a Garuda Impact) thanks to the added startup, but most importantly it massively extends the range of Potemkin Buster, which is important for getting extremely high, meterless damage from punishes and for opening people as Potemkin.

• Kara Forward Mega Fist (kFMF, 236K~P OR 6K~236P)

Greatly extends the range of Forward Mega Fist allowing Potemkin to leap in from very far and close distance effectively. Still risky thanks to Mega Fist being unsafe on block, but push-back can still make it awkward for the opponent to punish you. Using kFMF in counter hit situations greatly extends the range of c.S combos.

• Kara Back Mega Fist (kBMF, 2146K~P OR 6K~214P)

Makes Mega Fist go about half the distance of a regular Mega Fist. Surrenders the frame advantage (-2 instead of +4) but carries heavy use in combos as it will ground bounce the opponent after every hit, allowing for extremely high damage juggles in the corner. You can also do it midscreen with a microwalk, giving you high damage anywhere on the screen as long as you have the execution! It is one of the more useful kara options Potemkin has.

You may have some difficulty with kBMF's input. For example, if you accidentally input a half circle with the first method (2146K~P), Kara Buster will come out instead. 6K~214P is harder to get used to, but it adds for consistency if you're worried about accidentally inputting Kara Buster. Click here for a video tutorial by Snap Grapple Pop if you need help.

In terms of "flubs" with execution, the following list shows some outcomes and associated reason:

1. 6K comes out: 214P was input too slow.
2. 214P comes out: input 6K too early.
3. 6P comes out: sloppy inputs, pressed P before K.
4. Potemkin Buster comes out: sloppy inputs, accidentally has a 6 in there somewhere.
5. Anything else, serious input errors! Clean it up.

For added weirdness, there is a 1 frame window just before the enemy hits the ground where it will apply an even higher bounce known as JFkBMF (Just Frame kBMF). This makes follow-ups notably easier, and makes certain combo routes possible on lightweights. Landing JFkBMF is also guaranteed to not wall stick if the wall damage threshold has not already been met, effectively allowing for one extra hit before a wall stick occurs.

• Kara Slide Head (kSH, 236K~S)

Moves Potemkin slightly forward while doing Slide Head, extending the range and making it easier to followup. Very useful in neutral for closing distance and applying a threat to your opponent.

• Kara Flick (kFlick, 632146K~S OR 6K~63214S)

Allows Potemkin to gain a bit of ground while reflecting projectiles, as well as allowing for certain combo pickups that aren't possible otherwise.

• Kara Hammer Fall (kHF, [4]6K~H)

Gives Potemkin an extra push forward, which allows him to catch opponents much easier after Potemkin Buster knockdowns and more. One of those moves that you could recommend doing instead of the normal input almost every time. Required in order to get a real meaty c.S after a Potemkin Buster knockdown, otherwise your opponent can reversal mash.

• Kara Heat Knuckle (kHK, 6236K~H OR 6K~623H)

Actually not a meme! Has niche usage in combos performed on lightweights, and is a strong tool in neutral for calling out advancing jumps. Heat Knuckle has a ridiculous disjoint and little whiff recovery so being able to advance with it is a powerful space control tool. It also catches round start up+back.

• Kara Garuda Impact (kGaruda, 2146K~H OR 6K~214H)

Another big money maker. Garuda is already one of Potemkin's most useful moves, but extending its range allows for specific and very powerful oki setups to force the opponent in a very bad position while chipping away at their health, and some combos.

• Kara Heat Tackle (kHT, 41236K~H OR 6K~41236H)

A way to extend the range of Heat Tackle, a niche combo ender, and most importantly a way to get a meaty c.S after mashing 5P. If used in neutral, be careful as Heat Tackle becomes less favorable for Potemkin the closer the opponent is to him, and a Kara can make a normally safe Heat Tackle punishable. A video guide explaining these uses of Kara Heat Tackle can be found here.

Do I have to learn how to kara?

No. However, the time investment is low and the gains are numerous. Understand many punishes and Potemkin Buster setups are unavailable sans kara specials. While you can win without them, it's advised you learn them when you can.

Neutral

In matchups where Potemkin is the aggressor

More "traditional" style grappler matchups will force Potemkin to work his way in. Primary tools in these matchups are ones that help Potemkin work his way into his threat range.

• Slide Head

Can almost always be used to apply pressure from any farther distances. When used to stuff out attacks on reaction like projectiles or moves with long startup, the award is especially great in the form of a long range Hammer Fall Break.

• F.D.B (flick)

As is its primary use, reflecting projectiles with F.D.B can help give Potemkin breathing room when being pressured from distances that aren't comfortable to him. The fireball can also provide protection for Potemkin while he makes his approach.

• Hammer Fall & Hammer Fall Break

Scoring any form of knockdown, F.D.B reflect, or even some hits on block can net Potemkin valuable distance, allowing him to close ground.

• 236P, 236K~P, and 2146K~P

While (usually) risky, an advancing Megafist can be an excellent approach tool. Calling out options that are low to the ground near the midrange can be a free ticket to Potemkin's ideal range, depending on which Megafist is used. Standard forward Megafist is the easiest to throw out on a dime, but is unsafe on block unless spaced properly. the same thing goes for Kara Forward Megafist, but the range allows you to approach from farther. On hit, Forward Megafists can allow Potemkin to enforce Garuda okizeme. Kara Back Megafist is both the most executionally difficult and safest of the forward-moving Megafists. It's very safe on block, allowing for a safe air approach, but it travels the least distance of every advancing Megafist.

• Heat Tackle

While extremely punishable if blocked on the ground, a blocked Heat Tackle can be advantageous for Potemkin if blocked in the air from far away, letting him enforce pressure in matchups where the opponent likes to stay airborne and fullscreen. Can allow Potemkin to close distance with Hammerfall Break on counter hit, but often leaves him too far for pressure on normal hit without the aid of the corner.

In matchups where Potemkin is not the aggressor

Characters whose sole focus is to close the gap and apply pressure oftentimes allow Potemkin to set the tempo of the round. Time in these matchups is mostly spent playing keepout with Potemkin's large normals and punishing intensely when the opponent overextends.

• f.S, 5H, 6H, 2D

Characters with short range or a focus on grounded approach can struggle against these buttons. Playing patiently to whittle down the opponent's mental fuse is key here.

• 5P, 2P

Being Potemkin's fastest buttons, they can stop pressure in its tracks when opponents try to approach recklessly.

• 214P

Back Megafist is one of Potemkin's strongest defensive tools. It allows him to retreat to a comfy distance (almost) safely, and is both plus on block and has considerable reward on counter hit. The ability to use back Megafist to punish an opponent who overextends is a strong tool that shouldn't be overlooked.

Frame advantage after Heat Tackle

Heat Tackle's unique trajectory results in variable frame advantage depending on when and how you hit the opponent. Frame advantage for common scenarios are listed below. Moves that can be kara cancelled out of can use kara Heat Tackle to situationally gain better oki.

When cancelling normals into Heat Tackle (grounded hit)

Move	Advantage	Kara cancellable
5P	21	+
5K	22~29	+
c.S	20	+
f.S	23~29	-
5H	19~26	-
2P	19~21	+
2K	19~21	+
2S	20~27	-
2H	26	-
2D	17	-
6P	17~18	-
6K	20	-

On air hit most moves, which can be confirmed into Heat Tackle from such a hit, on average gain from 6 to 11 additional frames of advantage, depending on how high Heat Tackle has landed, with the rule of thumb being the higher the better.

When blocked mid-air

There are 3 factors to consider when determining frame advantage on a mid-air block:

• how high up the move was blocked;
• how far Potemkin was from the opponent;
• whether the opponent is using Faultless Defense.

With this in mind, the following patterns can be deduced:

• The higher the opponent is from the ground, the more advantage Potemkin will have upon landing, and vice versa.
• The further away Potemkin is from the opponent, the more advantage he will have upon landing, and vice versa.
• Faultless defense nullifies frame advantage and will leave Potemkin either neutral or (more) negative on block in most circumstances.

The move is at its safest when performed far from the opponent and hits them at the highest point of the jump. That way you will be left either at an advantage or neutral to slightly negative once on the ground, even if the opponent utilizes Faultless Defense.

Conversely, the move is generally unsafe at mid and close range, with the result ranging from you losing your turn to getting punished with a full combo or a 5[D] air combo, if it was blocked on the ground.

At such ranges safer anti-air options ought to be used instead, such as 5PGuardAllStartup5Recovery6Advantage+1, 6PGuardAllStartup11Recovery25Advantage-15, f.SGuardAllStartup12Recovery18Advantage-8 and Heat KnuckleGuardAir Guard CrushStartup12Recovery18Advantage+10~+3, especially when the normals can be easily confirmed into Heat Tackle itself.

Pressure

Garuda

• Hammer Fall 66RRC~Garuda is gapless.
  • Can be delayed slightly to frametrap.
• Forwards Mega Fist 66RRC~j.P > c.S jails as well.
• c.S low height jc66brc can be used to enforce safe pressure.

Also see Garuda Oki.

Potbuster Setups

Garuda Impact and CH 2S stagger allow for a guaranteed Potemkin Buster in range, but it may have to be input as kPB. A blocked Garuda or c.S leads to a strike/throw mix between Potemkin Buster and delayed gatlings. e.g. a blocked c.S leads to delayed 2S / 2H or Potemkin Buster; a blocked Garuda can be mixed between 2D and Potemkin Buster, but other options are possible for the Garuda situation too. It is possible to Potemkin Buster an opponent's wakeup, but it should be sparingly used unless as a read to a reversal DP as wakeup throw-protection makes a "meaty" Potemkin Buster fuzzy-jumpable at best, and mash-punishable at worst.

Covering Escape Options

Potemkin Buster is not only useful in its raw properties as a command grab, but the fear of its presence is incredibly valuable in pressure. In many cases, it's easy to score knockdowns in oki situations from the simplest of setups, because the opponent is deathly afraid of getting grabbed. 5K and 2K can clip prejump frames easily. After patch 1.09, Making the opponent block Heat Knuckle is considerably more rewarding than it was before. It cranks RISC gauge, leaves Potemkin at heavy advantage, and drops the opponent in the perfect position to continue pressure. Buttons like f.S, 5H, and 6H are effective at catching an opponents backdash, as is Slide Head and 2D.

Baits and Safejumps

Baiting out an opponent's risky option like a reversal or burst is one of the greatest money makers for Potemkin, as 9 times out of 10, it leads to a direct punish with Kara Buster, followed by Garuda Oki.

Burst Baits

• Jump canceling c.S and blocking
• Roman Cancelling any move
• Sometimes just sitting still while the opponent is in the corner without resources is enough to scare a player into bursting.

Safejumps

A safejump is a technique that hits with a meaty aerial attack that also recovers fast enough to block an invincible reversal by the opponent. j.S is the preferred button to safejump with as it hits low enough to counterhit an opponent trying to 6P.

Starter	Setup	Position	Notes
Normal Throw	5P (whiff) > jump > j.S	Anywhere	Doesn't work on  Nago or  Faust
Potemkin Buster	5P (whiff) > jump > j.S	Corner	Doesn't work on  Faust
Potemkin Buster	RRC~2H > [4]6H->P > jump > j.S	Anywhere
2D	jump > j.S	Anywhere
2D	[4]6H->P > jump > j.S	Anywhere
CH Hammerfall	5P (whiff) > jump > j.S	Anywhere	Doesn't work on  Nago or  Faust
Garuda (tumble)	6K > 63214S > superjump > j.S	Corner	Works on most Garuda tumbles mid-combo as well.
c.S	2H > 236P > 5P (whiff) > superjump > j.S	Midscreen
Wall Slump	Grounded wall stick from a normal > [4]6H->P > 623H (whiff) > jump > j.S	Corner	Kara the HK to get a little closer.

Garuda Oki

Garuda Impact (214H) is one of Potemkin's best, and most useful special moves. After a knockdown, Garuda is an excellent way to force a very nasty situation on your opponent. Garuda okizeme's versatility is nearly boundless; there is no reason not to do it when possible. It deals a ton of chip damage, can even be meatied twice in a row, and it beats nearly every reversal option the opponent could use to escape it. Once blocked, Garuda okizeme allows for a simple strike/Potemkin Buster mixup for a ton of damage, or other silly things.

You can set up Garuda okizeme after most of Potemkin's knockdowns, such as CH 6P, air-hit Mega Fist, 2D, Throw, and Potemkin Buster if you're close enough to the corner. If you actually are in the corner, you can set up Garuda after combos easily by hitting the opponent with an OTG 5K/c.S and cancelling into Garuda, which will hit them meaty and reset the situation. Spacing Garuda is important, as if you are too close to the opponent you run the risk of reversals beating you. If spaced properly, the only thing an opponent can do is use a reversal super, and in many cases reversal supers will clash with Garuda. In this case, cancel into Faultless Defense and punish the opponent.

This is one of Potemkin's greatest strengths and it's recommended you do it as much as you can. Being able to force your opponent to block the already dangerous Garuda is phenomenal, and it lets Potemkin carry momentum very easily after a knockdown - a unique strength among most of the GGST cast.

Options after Garuda

WIP

On Hit

• Garuda > kPB

Very easy way to get a lot of extra damage, corner carry, and set up into another Garuda if you're close enough to the corner.

On Block

It's recommended you delay most options to make the timing ambiguous, as well as ensuring Potemkin Buster will hit.

• Potemkin Buster / kPB

Will open opponents who choose to block easily, as well as kPB closing the distance on a far blocked Garuda. Will lose to jumping.

• 2D

Will open opponents trying to block, jump, or backdash. Cancel into Hammer Fall Break immediately to loop Garuda oki if they got hit by this, which also means more chip damage to scare them.

• c.S

+4 on block and one of your best options. It will catch opponents attempting to jump or mash, and if this is blocked as well it sets up your c.S strike/throw mix with Potemkin Buster or delayed gatlings. On hit, you get a fat combo.

• Roman Cancel (BRC/PRC)

Sets up an even scarier mixup with 5K, 5D, and Potemkin Buster. A good way to close out rounds if you have the meter. If you want to make the high/low less reactable, you can use 2D as well, but if you already know your opponent is focused on reacting to the high/low then Potemkin Buster them instead.

Double Garuda

Yes, you can do Garuda twice in a row.
It's actually possible to make Garuda land so meaty that you can followup with a second kGaruda for twice the chip damage, closer range, and all of your regular On Block followups afterwards. The opponent cannot jump, mash, or throw out of the second Garuda if done right. Garuda needs to hit on effectively the last possible frame in order for this to be possible - this actually makes it so meaty your opponent can backdash it if they anticipate it. Use it after you've conditioned them to block Garuda and not backdash, which shouldn't be too hard to do on an experienced player. While it's very hard to realize you're going for a kGaruda on the first hit, opponents can still attempt to reversal super or DP out once they realize that's what you're doing. It's recommended you only use this on characters without DPs.

The reward for Double Garuda is as massive as it sounds. With proper conditioning, it will only make you even scarier.

Video Explanation:

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Wallbreak vs Keeping the Corner

The decision of whether or not to break the Wall can be a decisive factor in achieving victory. In some matchups and situations you'll want to lean towards breaking the wall for damage and Positive Bonus. Other times you'll want to opt to not break the wall and keep the corner for the superior oki and positioning it provides.

While it is highly situational, a good guideline would be to break the wall if it will kill, if you feel confident in neutral after considering the matchup and resources for both players, or if the opponent has strong reversal options that can negate your oki. Avoid breaking the wall in matchups or situations where the opponent has a strong neutral advantage. If there is no clear answer then it is up to your personal preference.

Breaking the Wall

Pros and Cons of Breaking the Wall

+ Damage - Pot's corner combos do a ton of damage. The opponent might outright die or live with a sliver of health.

+ Positive Bonus - Pot makes very good use of meter and extra damage and defense supplements his high base stats.

- Return to neutral - Pot's neutral is mediocre to bad in most matchups and one lost interaction can lead to a round loss.

- Super wallbreak is mediocre - After a super wallbreak Pot's best option for oki is a tip range kara garuda which can be backdashed.

Wallbreak Combos

Potemkin's meterless corner combos can do a ton of damage. More damage than a lot of character's metered combos.

An easy corner combo is c.S > 2H > 236P > 5K > 6H > [4]6H

From there you have your choice of ender:

6H - High damage, consistent. Gives the opponent the least amount of meter and burst.

Heat Knuckle - Generally slightly higher damage than 6H. Gives both you and the opponent more meter and burst. Does not always connect if the opponent is not stuck to the wall high enough.

Giganter - The most damage. Can be followed up with 6H > Flick for more damage and super wallbreak. 6H > Heat Knuckle can also be used for even more damage at the expense of the super wallbreak.

See Corner Combo Theory for more advanced combos.

Post-Wallbreak

After a wallbreak you will be back to neutral unless you used Giganter for a super wallbreak. You're at a distance slightly further than round start. If you have meter you can use it immediately to gain an advantage. Popular options are BRC drift forward, Megafist/Hammerfall RC and raw Giganter. You can also save the meter for converting off stray hits or for defense. Due to positive bonus negating the meter penalty of supers and RC, you can use those options and still gain meter. Because of the passive meter gain and the likelihood of having a health lead, you can afford to play patiently until a good opportunity arises, or go extra aggressive with the resources you have.

Super Wallbreak

After a Super Wallbreak you can do a tip-range kara garuda. The opponent can backdash, and even on block you are too far to enforce much of a mix. However this is still a better situation than immediately having to fight in neutral. Whether it's worth spending the meter is up to you. Negating the chance for the opponent to use certain neutral skips such as drift BRC or supers such as Zato's Amorphous is useful. However this does usually mean giving up on other uses of meter for a bit unless you had 100 meter when breaking the wall.

Keeping the Corner

Pros and cons of not breaking the wall

+ Oki - It's easy to utilise Garuda Oki or Safejumps.

+ Guess for Game Scenarios - With Pot's high damage it's very realistic to kill the opponent in two guesses.

+ Superior positioning - Keeping the opponent in the corner limits their escape options and ability to fight back.

- No guaranteed returns - If the opponent guesses right on the mix and escapes then you've lost out on the guaranteed damage and positive bonus.

- Dealing with Burst and Reversals - If the opponent has Burst or a strong reversal option then you'll need to weaken your mix to deal with it, negating some of the benefits of keeping the corner.

- Harder to set up - You need to use specific combo routes to keep the opponent in the corner and in some cases it may not be possible such as if they backdash.

How to Not Break the Wall

• Shorter Combos:

Not doing a full wall break combo will let you keep the wall and set up an oki situation of your choice. Flick does unusually low wall damage and can be used as an alternate ender to avoid breaking the wall at the expense of stronger oki.

Example Combo: c.S > 2H > 63214S

• Fast RC Garuda > PB

Pot Buster can be used to avoid breaking the wall while still getting high damage, good oki and meter gain. On a counterhit c.S you can combo into Garuda and then Pot Buster. A counterhit 2S can be directly comboed into Pot Buster.

With meter you can combo into Garuda with a fast RC. A good combo is c.S > 2S > 5H > 66RRC~Garuda > Pot Buster. This combo is also meter neutral as Pot Buster lasts long enough for the meter penalty of the RC to expire. If you started with 50 meter on the first hit, then you would end with 50 meter. You are then able to go into Garuda or a safejump and have 50 meter available for the next mix.

• Wallslumps

If you do only attacks that do not launch the opponent (such as cS, 2S, 5H and Garuda) then any wall stick will be a grounded wall stick or "wall slump". If you don't break the wall from that point then they are unable to tech away and are forced into a hard knockdown. This allows you plenty of time to use Garuda or any other oki setup you like. The Fast RC Garuda combo above also works to wall slump if there is preexisting wall damage. Either you will combo into Pot Buster which doesn't break the wall, or they will be forced into a wall slump and you can keep the wall that way.

• Sometimes you can't avoid breaking the wall

If the opponent gets hit airborne, such as if they backdash, then any wall stick will be a normal wall stick where they are able to tech away. Instead of trying to force a way to chase the tech, it's generally better to take the damage and Positive Bonus.

External Links/Videos

What Can Potemkin Flick?

• Missing a few moves, majority of options present

Potemkin Pressure Guide

• Quick, informative, entertaining - many of the discussed garuda 50/50s

Potemkin Replay Playlist

• Lots of FAB

Potemkin Discord

• Large, active, willing to help

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