Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha/Zangief

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving, two-man Street Fighter EX1 scene, Zangief might be just the hero we need.

"Competitive" (hahaha) SFEX is quickly becoming a setplay arms race. It was (re?)discovered earlier this year (2024) that any Super Move that caused a sideswitch could set up unblockable meaties. Early setups were so strong and counterplay so inconsistent-- EXA could've been the first Street Fighter game in history where it's players soft banned much of the roster.

Now it's been a few months. Within EXA's small scene, most of the roster can consistently set up utterly inane two touch sequences. With a little lab time, the top tiers can take a round with one. Even with the game set to best of five rounds, EXA is becoming more explosive by the day. Unless you're 'Gief.

By pressing three buttons, Zangief shoves that setplay nerd into a locker and drags SFEX back to reality. Despite having zero invulnerability, Lariat is easily a frontrunning anti-air in EXA, and makes him uniquely strong in this metagame.

Normals

Standing

Standing Light Punch
5LP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Sp/Su

Standing Medium Punch
5MP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Sp/Su

Standing Heavy Punch
5HP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Su

Standing Light Kick
5LK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Sp/Su

Standing Medium Kick
5MK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Sp/Su

Standing Heavy Kick
5HK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Su

Crouching

Crouching Light Punch
2LP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Ch/Sp/Su

Crouching Medium Punch
2MP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Sp/Su

Crouching Heavy Punch
2HP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H/L	Sp/Su

Crouching Light Kick
2LK

'Da Three Amigos

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	Sp/Su

Crouching Medium Kick
2MK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	L	Sp/Su

Crouching Heavy Kick
2HK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	KD	-	L	-
Like Street Fighter II, Zangief's low kicks reuse the same animation at different speeds.

Jumping

Jumping Light Punch
j.LP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H	-

Jumping Medium Punch
j.MP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H	-

Jumping Heavy Punch
j.HP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H	-

Jumping Light Kick
j.LK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H	-

Jumping Medium Kick
j.MK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H	-

Jumping Heavy Kick
j.HK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	H	-

Moves List

Throws

Punch Throw
4/6+MP/HP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Kick Throw
4/6+MK/HK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Backturn Kick Throw
(From Behind) 4/6+MK/HK

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
"Stomach Block" is a neat one. This is a throw almost exclusive to punishes. Leaves the opponent point blank and off axis. To guarantee an SB outside of a punish: Guard Break the opponent, cross them up, and throw them before they leave stun.

Command Normals

Flying Body Attack
j.2HP

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Among Zangief's best crossup tools, "Splash" leads to a full combo and ticks for SPD on block. Faster startup than you'd think. Can be done frighteningly close to the ground.

Special Moves

Spinning Piledriver
360P

SPD's First Frame

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Don't sweat the technique. Command Throws in EXA work just like Street Fighter II: They're all instant and have zero recovery. SPD has just one strength, meaning Zangief can piano his 360s for free. Blockstun, hitstun, knockdowns-- EXA Gief was born to churn.

Running Bear Grab
360K

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Except this one, actually. This Command Throw has recovery. :( RBG, or "Russian Suplex", is a gimmick. I've never landed this. Zangief has far better options to contest space on the ground; Avoid.

Lariat
PPP

Lariat's First Frame

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Both of Zangief's Lariats are amazing for their own reasons. Neither are unbeatable, but they solve lots of problems for the big man in EX1. Kara 2LK~Lariat is stupid good. It let's Zangief cancel a low profile normal into a massive anti-air. Lariat is a stunningly strong reversal when Zangief is off axis. While Shotos can be routed so their DPs and Supers autocorrect BACKWARDS, 'Gief's main anti-air is big enough to hit in practically any oki context. Even if it trades, 'Gief still can push a mixup.

Quick Lariat
KKK

Quick Lariat's First Frame

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Speedy Lariat is an easy way to buffer 720 on the ground. Like Alpha 2, it enables Zangief to crush lows. One of Zangief's Combo Trials is a microwalk into K Lariat. I have no idea how practical this is. Maybe the Execution Gods at ARIKA know something I don't. Both Lariats are apt meter builders.

Super Moves

Guard Break
LP+LK

Well this is annoying.

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Unblockable	-
Zangief's Guard Break is stupid. This thing auto-shimmies, has a deceptively large hitbox, and I've somehow beaten a Flash Kick with it in bracket. Zangief has few uses for meter, so expect to see this a ton.

Super Stomping
236236K

214K to Cancel

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This move rocks. One of Zangief's only execution barriers in EX1, "Stomping" is a Ranbu Super that loops into itself. 5MK xx Stomping is a disgusting neutral sequence. Why they gave Zangief one of the best whiff punishes in the game? I'll never know. SS can be manually canceled before it's final hit, and ticks into 720. This cancel is key to a Stomp Loop.

Final Atomic Buster
720P

"Gottem."

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
720 is a tough one. I can't say for sure if Zangief's meter is better used on Stomping and Guard Breaks. Feels great to land regardless.

Final Atomic Buster Level 3
720PPP

"GOTTEM!"

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Cancel
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
The most damaging move in the game, bar none. Not every character has a Level 3 "Meteor Combo" in this game. Zangief does. Serotonin Factory. Kills your opponent practically instantly.

The Basics

Street Fighter EX's coinflip character might be among the most balanced and honest there is. In what has seemingly become a real 3D game overnight, Zangief's Lariat beats many setups clean. Even when 'Gief wakes up BACKWARDS, Kara 2LK~PPP Option Selects a low profile normal and one of the fattest anti-airs in the game. Consistent with other quirks of his kit, AA Lariat is an infamous party starter.

• SPD has no whiff animation.
• "Cosmic Buster" is the most damaging move in the game.
• Super Stomping is Zangief's only other meter dump: A looping ranbu that can tick into 720 on block or be repped for gargantuan damage.

Advanced Strategy

Life, is death, is life.

Zangief is pretty good! He's huge, slow, and eats a bunch of instant overheads-- But his neutral, confirms, and the ever present threat of Piano SPD make 'Gief a great pocket character in a double-elimination bracket. Sometimes you can just guess correctly (Or your opponent can guess wrong) to steal rounds.

But to win those long sets, you might need to learn every other character in the game first. Zangief dispenses with setplay and gimmicks in favor of raw reads and reactions-- Something almost unheard of in a lab dominated series like Street Fighter EX.

In fact, Zangief is Bottom 1 in the sequel, EX2+. Grappler specialists could argue he's a fundamentally different character by that point in the series, and inherits a whiff animation on his grabs, but those are the stakes. Regardless, 'Gief needs to earn it in Street Fighter EX.

• Keep it simple. Make them guess. Don't waste time pressing anything but Zangief's best normals. Route your offense to clear "forks" and coinflip the opponent to death.
• Don't be afraid to play "Stupid". Frustrated opponents are predictable.
• Have fun!

Match-Ups

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha