X-Men: Children of the Atom/Storm

Overview Combos Matchups Strategy

Introduction/Summary

Storm is generally a fast and versatile character with unlimited potential due to the many movement options she offer, both on ground and air. While takes time to get used to her at first and some of her tools being ok-ish, at near full potential no matchup is unwinnable for her.

Attack Chain

Ground Chain: Punch to Kick (any)
Normal Jump Chain: Zig Zag 1 Rules with NJ limits
Super Jump Chain: Zig Zag 1

Strengths

Weaknesses

Best movement in the game: Storm has access to 8 way airdash and floating, allowing her to maneuver freely in the air and create pressure from air to ground. Not only that, lightning attack into typhoon allows her to stall indefinitely in the air, making certain characters have difficult time chasing her and running the clock down. Solid pressure on the ground: Dash c.mp allows her to threaten ground infinite into stun. Air Control: j.Hp amazing hitbox creates the infamous floating j.Hp spam, making it scary to contest. Air typhoon can be annoying for larger size characters to approach. At near corner, j.Mk into lightning attack serves for a surprise air to air stun combo. Near instant escape from stun: Due to a certain glitch with lightning attack, Storm can very quickly escape from stun. Versatile and damaging super: Lighting Storm serves as a great combo starter to be follow up, even when hitting opponent on air. Hail storm while having slow startup and doesn't hit consistently, it does a good amount of chip damage on block. Invincible frames on ground dash: On startup, Storm have a few frames where she is invulnerable upon dashing, allowing her to threaten careless pressure and throw them. (Details are explain below)

Somewhat glass cannon: Storm has one of the worst stamina rates along with Akuma, meaning she gets punish heavily for her mistakes and trading hits can be unfavorable for her. Okay meter building: While she can build meter using the aforementioned stall tactic on air, characters who can chase her down will make it difficult to do so. Her meter building speed is average when hitting on block. Typhoon can be punishable due to the recovery being slow-ish so not the easiest thing to throw out freely. Few good normals: A lot of her normals are lacking in hitbox, making moves like c.hp/hk risky as ground anti air and most of her air normals being nothing more than combo tool. Not really a mixup character: Despite having airdash, during this time it has yet to allow recovery cancel on whiffing jump normals. This and due to her air normal lacking hitbox on the way down, her air to ground speed is reactable for the most part with only j.Hp being the good air to ground normal.

Storm
Character Data
Tech Type	Safe Faller
Weight Class	Feather-Weight

Moves List

Normal Moves

LP: Very quick but poor range and causes a ton of pushback (moreso when dashing), but has great juggle properties. Lighter characters get bounced pretty high but it's pretty easy to infinite heavier characters in the corner with this.
Start: 2f

MP: Deceptively short range. Knocks downwardish after juggling. Sorta OK as a poke but c.MP actually has better range.
Start: 4f

HP: Another one that looks larger than it is. s.HP xx c.LK (whiff) can be useful with the right spacing (combos).
Start: 5f

LK: This must actually be blocked low. While most self-chainable moves can be crouched during the rapid-fire to chain onto their crouching versions, this move cannot be. It may also be her only normal not affected (or at least not really usable) by her hitstop bug.
Start: 5f

MK: Not particularly useful as a poke, c.MK has more range, is faster and hits low. Cool points if you use it a combo in real gameplay, as it knocks downward and they need to be pretty low for it to hit. Only real plus is it's a bit disjointed
Start: 6f

HK: Deceptively high hitbox makes it miss shorter characters. Launcher.
Start: 10f

c.LP: So quick but so small and pretty nasty pushback in a ground to ground combo. If you manage to catch someone low off a bounce in the corner you can mash it for a bunch of hits. When mashed it will hold them fairly steady, then they will fall after. If you can chain it back to standing, the standing one will pop them up.
Start: 1f

c.MP: Has juggle properties if it hits them in the air close to the ground. Otherwise a good quick poke with respectable stun and range. Can also link onto itself but the pushback is harsh. Repeated dashing c.MPs are a common tactic.
Start: 3f

c.HP: Launcher. Hitbox is pretty high so it will miss crouching characters. Pretty quick and whiff canceling with c.LK into another c.HP is good for launching heavy characters higher.
Start: 4f

c.LK: has a quirk when self-chained. If timed right, you can "stand cancel" one of them, so that the hit comes out but you have zero recovery (it'll almost look like Storm hit them with nothing, bug-chain described below). Extremely fast, better range than c.LP and hits low.
Start: 4f

c.MK: Pretty quick low poke with better range than c.LK
Start: 6f

c.HK: Unlike later games, this is only a sweep, not a launcher. Actually not a great idea to cancel into Typhoon, since they will recover before you do!
Start: 8f

j.LP: In combos, it will hold them then they will fall (much like c.LP). Very fast and with float, extremely mashable.
Startup: 2f

j.MP: Aimable projectile ball. UF, F (neutral) and DF. Quite slow.
Start: 15f

j.HP: Spammable, especially when floating down. Knocks downward in air combos but if you're floating you can very likely catch them with j.LK to keep them close. Pretty much no one is going to anti-air this clean unless they have invincibility on the attack or they dash under you.
Start: 6f

j.LK: Similar to j.LP except opposite in juggle properties, as it will trend them upward.
Start: 2f

j.MK: Can launch grounded opponents (provided it can hit them) and great for air juggles. This is your go-to attack when people are above you.
Start: 4f

j.HK: Has uses in combos and space control but j.MK and j.HK are typically more useful.
Start: 6f

Notes: Recovery on most of Storm's light/medium normals is very fast.

Bug-chain - All of Storm's normals are sort of considered projectiles (when looking at recent emulator hitbox scripts). They also have bugs where if you have just-frame timing, you can cancel out to avoid hitstop (via chain, self-chain, special or SJ cancel), which makes for combos that wouldn't normally work. c.LK xx Lightning Attack normally would not combo, but c.LK x2 (when canceled properly to avoid the hitstop) will. Oddities can occur like this in the air as well during chains or hitting right before landing, then the landing cancels the hitstop effect on her. While many of the combos exploiting this in video are humanly impossible, a few are quite useful in real-match situations. Notably c.LK mashing (as said before into Lighting Attack), and c.MP xx c.LK as fast as possible, but not so fast that c.MP doesn't come out.

Storm's ground dash has frames of invincibility at the beginning (16 frames). If you can transition to down (crouch to wavedash) within about one or two frames before the invulnerability runs out, then you can wavedash invulnerable.

Floating Descent (float) - Hold up while descending during a normal or super jump. Speed of normal attacks is increased while floating.

Air Dash - Direction + 2p or 2k (no direction = straight dash). An air dash in normal jump mode will give you a full chain, but doesn't extend the one special per jump limit.
You can air dash on negative edge (release). While this makes for easy tri-jumps (hold down-forward, press 3K, slight wait, release) it can also make for accidental lightning attacks if you dashed with 3K then do a punch. This is part of what makes Storm quirky to control.

Throws -
Whether you hold towards or backwards, Storm will always throw in the direction she's facing.
MP throw: Mashable throw that shocks the opponent, then they fall.
HP throw: Throws up and away. In the corner if you HP throw, SJ then HP throw again for a combo, the second one will toss them really high.
Neither the air nor ground version of HP throw build any meter.

Tech-hit Notes -
When immediately Escaping throw damage (initial tech), Storm is invulnerable until she spins and faces the opponent. Her hitboxes/throw boxes return when her hair goes up as she starts falling. In this state, you cannot do regular specials or normals. You regain action if you air-dash (you still can't special afterward) or you do an X-special that requires meter. If you push/pull with wind, you still won't be able to do specials until you land, but if you Fly, you will be able to. You are able to block on the way down, but there are frames where you can't block and are still vulnerable after the transition.

When Safe Fall teching (second tech), Storm is immediately vulnerable and cannot block/move/attack for the duration of her flip, and similar rules apply (no regular specials) on the way down after the flip as above. If you must delay your Safe Fall, ensure it is not right next to an attacking opponent!

Special Moves

Typhoon: QCF + P (ground/air)
Startup: 6f
Meter Gain: +5 execute | +5 on block | +10 on hit
A quick starting, controllable projectile with a bit of recovery. Punch strength determines relative speed, plus toward or back make it faster or slower. While startup is quick, recovery is not (compared to v2.x).

Lightning Attack: Same Strength P+K+direction (if no direction, goes straight. ground/air)
Startup: 14f
2 hits (if in range) + can go into one other Lightning Attack. Storm can combo a ground to ground throw after this. Strength determines distance and speed traveled.
Meter Gain: +10 execute (another +10 for the second) | +5 on block per hit | +10 per hit
- Lightning Attacks done in normal jump mode cannot do anything except X-Specials/Supers on the way down. If an opponent attacks and Storm attempts to block, she can do normals, but still no specials. - Lighting Attacks in SJ mode can do specials on the way down (and from there, do normal attacks), and everything else. If Storm does nothing and the opponent attack/Storm goes into block mode, she regains all her actions save air dash if it was already used.

Wind Barrier Stand QCF + Kick (after being knocked down)
Gives you some invulnerability on wakeup. If you do this while a character is OTG lifting you (Sent in particular), strange things happen.

X-Specials

Flight: QCB + 3P (ground/air, "spin up" has some invincibility frames)
You can block while flying, and have a fill zig-zag chain. Lightning Attack will cause you to land (unless the fall is cancelled by something), as will a downward air dash with an attack. You can attack while on the ground, but once you try to move, you'll be flying again. Flight does have some bugs in situations where you cross over the opponent with down-forward (you end up crouching in the air multiple times, but you can attack), as well as a bug if you fly "crossed up" when there's a threat on screen. You can get "stuck" and unable to block. Storm is also vulnerable to being blockstun infinite'd if she is at her lowest point in flight in the corner. She is smaller than Sentinel so it's less common, but someone like Colossus can do it to her.

Wind Push/Pull (ground/air)
QCF + 3K: pushes opponent away from you
QCB + 3K: pulls opponent towards you
Both have uses in combos, although push would be used in the corner (typically). During the push/pull, you are vulnerable to attack, hence pull should be used with caution unless it's in a combo.

Super Attacks

Lightning Storm: QCF + 2P (ground/air)
Startup: 45f | Invul: 20f
Has frames of invincibility on startup like all supers, but they run out before the super starts, so you could end up getting smacked out of it if not careful. HP Throw -> super works on most (light-middle) characters to combo into it. Storm can combo a ground to ground throw after this.

If you dash as the last sparks are flying off the screen (causing them to reappear), they will guardbreak airborne opponents.

Hail Storm: QCF + Start (ground only)
Start: 109f | Invul: 28f
Some invincibility during the spinup, but it's still over a second until the super actually comes out. Does alot of chip and can be mashed for more, should it actually hit, it may leave the opponent frozen. If it actually hits, you and your opponent need to have a talk.

The Basics

Storm lacks basic, high damage combos (floating j.HP mashing the exception) and easy dizzies that most other characters enjoy. This means Storm has far higher execution requirements, needing consistent repeated dashing, instant air dashing/tri-jump, and understanding how floating affects her air attacks. While a lot of her bug-chain combos require inhuman precision, some can be quickly mashed and rather useful.

Storm can combo a ground-to-ground throw after a Lighting Attack and Lighting Storm.

Storm can SJ and dash up to the top of the screen and stay up there with:
-Lighting Attack (once or twice), Typhoon, repeat.
Varying the direction, strength, timing and amount should keep you from getting whacked so long as you don't get predictable. Great way to build meter. Mix it up with Wind Push (costs meter) to really keep them off you.

- If you're on a stage where the floor breaks, you can easily stay up and out of reach of certain opponents. Without using stage select codes, this is really only a threat to Colossus.

- When Storm is dizzy, you may note she stands up into a few frames of her regular stance. From here (and any point in her dizzy) she can Lightning Attack. Because it's not invincible it's not exactly a "get out of jail free" card.

Basic Combos

Easy, Anywhere, Up to Middleweight

• hold toward [st.MP xx Hard Lightning Attack] xN. For Wolverine, substitute c.MP. c.MP will work on most until you get into the middleweights. st.MP xx LA will work somewhat on heavies but does not seem to be as reliable. st.MP will miss a dizzy Omega Red, so start that combo with the LA instead. If you are holding toward, and mistime the punch, you may get a comboed throw.

Advanced Strategy

Matchups

• vs Sentinel
  

You can rush him like hell but if you're not tight with your strings or in control of her movement, you run a huge risk of taking big damage. Storm can make movement tough for Sentinel and make it hard for him to gain meter by having Typhoons in his face (while she stays across the screen) but guess wrong means getting Rocket Punched, or worse, launched into a dizzy combo. Once you have him though, his large size and heavy weight make him a combo dummy.
-Once dizzy, start flight and you can do a semi infinite consisting of only j.MK in the corner. First guide it straight to launch him, then guide up forward until he's at the top and offscreen, then hold forward, hitting him with j.MK the entire way. After you have him going up from the initial ground popups, you can add in j.LP, j.LK in front of j.MK as well. Once flight runs out, if you're still at the top of the screen, float down with j.LP x2, j.MK. Should be easy enough to transition down to s.LP, s.HK juggles once near the ground.

• vs Colossus
  

Another big heavy combo dummy if you can get the hits, but he has this nasty habit of ignoring your attacks via the Shoulder Charge armor and hitting you through it. Typhoon spamming (especially near the ground) and flowcharting with Colossus is usually a bad idea, you have to watch what he is doing carefully. He's still a big slow character with no air mobility though, just watch out for high shoulder charges and GC super if he has full meter. If you are on a breakable stage and manage to stay up around the broken area, you can do Lighting Attack x2 and Typhoon forever, and he can never get high enough to catch you with any move.

• vs Psylocke
  

Typhoon and Psy-blast cancel each other out if they clash in the right place.
Psy-blast spam is going to make it tough to move around in the air, but on the ground your dash has some invincibility frames to get through.
Psylockes also like to dash around on the ground leading with s.HK in to big damage and dizzy if they can loop it.

• vs Iceman
  

Watch out for giant iceballs and s.HK into big damage. Don't get predictable. He's pretty small so keep in mind which normals you can't use because they will miss him.

• vs Wolverine
  

Another pixie you need to be careful of whiffing attacks on. s.HK will go right over a standing Wolverine's head.

Misc.

Storm's stage has multiple color palettes. Dusk, sunrise and sunset (slightly different colors).

Version 2.X Differences:
All LKs have faster recovery.
Can't air dash at the lowest point in flight.
Air typhoons have less recovery.
j.HK juggles in the air instead of knocking downward.
If a round ends with Hail Storm, Storm might keep flight between rounds.