Fighter's History Dynamite/Matlok Jade

Introduction

Not Glen Matlock, but Guile's British punker cousin, who has pretty similar moves and a few of his own.

Matlok was always considered a low tier in FHD for a reason. With mostly trashy normals, a poor reversal, and barebones combos, Matlok plays similar to classic SF2 Guile. Overhead Kick (Charge , +) is a strong tool to mix up his pressure, and the excellent Spinning Wave, his Sonic Boom-type fireball, allows him to do a simple (and lame) zoning and keepaway game. But not much else...

Weak Spot

Frame count	-	2	2	-

Matlok's headphones and sunglasses easily avoid many grounded attacks and special moves while standing, so use stance shift to your advantage. But they're still susceptible to some higher attacks and especially jump-ins. The fact that his cr.HP, aka intended anti-air normal, more puts weakpoint at big risk rather than doing it's job doesn't help. Matlok's weak spot is also pretty safe mid-air with most of his air normals (except when he does a somersault while performing empty diagonal jumps). All in all, better just don't crouch when being comboed and you'll be ok.

Color Options

Punch	Kick

Moves List

Quick Reference

Special move name	Input	Nickname	Note
Spinning Wave	Charge , +		fireball
Overhead Kick	Charge , +		overhead
Road Hurricane	Charge , +	hurricane, flash kick	anti-air, reversal
Loop Hurricane	Charge , + Tap simultaneously		hidden move

Normal Moves

Light Punch

• Standing LP (Close): activation range = 39

Damage	6	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	yes
Special cancel	yes
On hit	+6
On block	+7
Frame count		2	3	3

Hits middle weak spots much better than far version and also can't be crouched. Unfortunately it's proximity activation is poor, you can get only two of these at best.

• Standing LP (Far):

Damage	6	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	yes
Special cancel	yes
On hit	+6
On block	+7
Frame count		2	3	3

Has less range than it might look, but good as an early jump stopper. In som cases works better as anti-air than intended normals though. Can be crouched.

• Crouching LP:

Damage	6	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	yes
Special cancel	yes
On hit	+6
On block	+7
Frame count		2	3	3

Longest light normal Matlok has, slightly longer range than cr.LK (on 2px to be exact). So you can use it instead of cr.LK for longer chain strings.

• Jumping LP (Diagonal):

Damage	12	Startup
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	∞

Matlok jumps with his head first, stays out until he lands, has pretty good priority. Can be used as crossup, but it puts your weak spot in danger. Better use j.LK instead.

• Jumping LP (Neutral):

Damage	12	Startup
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	∞

Awesome air-to-air, not many normals can beat this one. Unfortunately with how poor Matlok's anti-airs are you might have to rely on this button more than you would want sometimes.

Heavy Punch

• Standing HP (Close): activation range = 55

Damage	28	Startup				Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	yes
On hit	-3
On block	-8
Frame count		4 (1)		3	3	18

Headbutt, can be linked from lights, hits once. Could be used against crossups with some effort. It's only real benefit is that first part hits pretty high, good for scoring some hits on head weak spots. But for combos better use cl.HK instead.

• Standing HP (Far):

Damage	28	Startup			Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	yes
On hit	-1
On block	-6
Frame count		12	4	(6) 18

Matlok throws a fierce backfist. Good range, but very slow, it leaves your stretched weakpoint for any jump-in to hit. So not much use for as a general poke, but good during block strings or when your opponent blocked a fireball and such.

• Crouching HP:

Damage	28	Startup					Landing
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	yes
On hit	-8
On block	-13
Frame count		3	1	3	8	11	6

Matlok does a weird lunge up into the air, so it can avoid some lows. It is intended to be an anti-air, but it doesn't always gets that job done. It trades alot (or even gets beaten by a jump-in) and usually your weakpoint gets damaged. But the 1st active frame of it is actually good, so with practice you can do actual anti-airing with it. But you gotta be precise and throw it out late enough to land it. Also, similarly to Clown's cr.HP, you can sometimes anti-air unexpecting opponents early with late active frames, but that can be risky for your weak spot.
Cancelable during the first part, but not once Matlok is off the ground. Interestingly, the startup for this button is lower than usual for heavies. So it also has a good use for punishing opponents who ended up minus right in front of you. You can cancel it into LK Hurricane or LK Overhead Kick into a sweep, either way much better damage than a light string into a sweep.
This attack has a glitch technically similar to Karnov's teleport, so-called Kara-hop. By inputing Charge , ~ + Matlok will do cr.HP without mid-air part and move himself forward a bit. The move will have only first 4 frames of active part.

• Jumping HP (Diagonal):

Damage	28	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	6	∞

An elbow drop, pretty standart for jumping heavy normal. Does a better job hitting weak spots with deep jump-ins than j.HK. Landing it can convert into 1-hit cl.HK xx LK Overhead kick combo, but only if jump-in was close enough. Also better don't hit deep with j.HP for this combo, landing air normals higher helps to fight pushback.

• Jumping HP (Neutral):

Damage	32	Startup			Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	3	3	∞

A weird upward swing. Not bad priority, can easily hit opponents jumping over your head and has a big damage to boot. But nothing more than that.

Light Kick

• Standing LK (Close): activation range = 39

Damage	6	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	yes
Special cancel	yes
On hit	+5
On block	+6
Frame count		2	3	4

Good against some weak spots, for example it hits both Ray's and Jean's weakpoints in either stances. Although activation range isn't great, you can get only two hits of it at best.

• Standing LK (Far):

Damage	6	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	yes
Special cancel	yes
On hit	+6
On block	+7
Frame count		2	3	3

Helps with hitting specific weak spots (particularly Lee's), but nothing else.

• Crouching LK:

Damage	6	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	yes
Special cancel	yes
On hit	+6
On block	+7
Frame count		2	3	3

Very good range, fast, chains into itself, cancelable, use it. His main combo tool.

• Jumping LK (Diagonal):

Damage	12	Startup
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	∞

Knee drop, another crossup. Unlike diagonal j.LP it doesn't puts weak spot at risk. So better use this instead.

• Jumping LK (Neutral):

Damage	12	Startup
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	∞

Heavy Kick

• Standing HK (Close): activation range = 47

Damage	28 total	Startup					Recovery
Chain cancel	no/no
Special cancel	yes/yes
On hit	-/0
On block	-/-5
Frame count		4	2	1	3	(6) 18

Two-hit kick, first hit doesn't has good range so with pushback after chain link it can whiff, fortunately this is not a problem for second hit. Good news anyway when it comes to hitting weak spots, both hits covers different but big middle heights. Both hits are cancelable. A good heavy button to use in combos, especially for P2 who gets less pushback after both hits.

• Standing HK (Far):

Damage	28	Startup				Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	yes
On hit	-2*
On block	-7*
Frame count		5 (3)		3	4	16

*Frame advantage is measured relatively from the first hitbox

This one really lacks range, but can be used as anti-air in specific situations, particularly against Mars. Still bad overall.

• Crouching HK:

Damage	28	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	yes
On hit	kd
On block	-8
Frame count		4	6	18

Mediocre sweep with the 2nd worst range in the game. Though it hits weak spots well. One of your main tools. Yeah, it's shitty, but you gonna use it alot.

• Jumping HK (Diagonal):

Damage	28	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	6	∞

Good ol' drop kick. In contrast with j.HP it has better horisontal reach and priority. Great for punishing opponents' fireballs and meeting them in air.

• Jumping HK (Neutral):

Damage	28	Startup			Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count		3	1	6	∞

Command Normals

• Dancing Head Press: (in air) / +

Damage	Light 12 Heavy 16	Startup		Recovery
Chain cancel	no
Special cancel	no
Frame count	Light	2	∞	-
	Heavy	2	6	∞

DANCER! Matlok does a weird dance maneuver in mid-air and stomps the opponent and then jumps again. Think of a Chun-Li's +MK from SF2. LK version stays out until he lands but does less damage, HK version only hits during the start but does more damage. Has a quick startup, so you can do this very close to the ground and it'll still hit. Matlok can act before landing on the ground after the move hits or is blocked, so you can do some wonky combos like deep LK Press into j.HP. You can also steer Matlok a little in the air after he jumps again by holding the joystick either forward or back. Head Press can be a good corner escape tool, but after landing it the game pushes Matlok backwards and you can't really fight that, so you gotta land it as a crossup to "get the right wind".

Throws

Damage	32
Range (From pushbox)	34

• Overhead Throw: / +

Matlok tosses the opponent back to the other end of the screen with a traditional judo throw. Who says punks don't know martial arts? Anyway, useful if you want the opponent off you so you can start spamming projectiles at them.

Special Moves

• Spinning Wave: Charge , +

Damage	16	Startup		Recovery
On hit	+17
On block	+12
Frame count		15	1	16

SPIT IN WAY! Matlok throws a Sonic Boom. Button determines how fast the projectile flies. Has a pretty small charge time, think SvC Guile. Pretty fast start-up and recovery too, your main zoning tool that compensates for your shitty normals, so throw a lot of these. Becomes very deadly in the corner because of the small charge time when used in conjunction with normals like c.lp, c.lk or s.hp to keep the pressure on.

• Overhead Kick: Charge , +

Damage	32	Startup, grounded	Startup, in air		Recovery	Landing
On hit	Light/Heavy +6
On block	Light/Heavy +1
Frame count	Light	2	16	2	3	10
	Heavy	2	22	3	2	10

OVERHEAD KICK! Matlok jumps into the air and does an upside-down Flash Kick. As it's name implies, it's an overhead. LK version is pretty fast but goes a shorter distance, HK version is slower but goes a longer distance. Neither version knocks down. The LK version can be comboed off close heavy normals, so use that instead. Can also be used to close the gap between your opponent, like after a hit sweep.

• Road Hurricane: Charge , +

Damage	Light 24 Heavy 48 total								Recovery	Landing
On hit	Light kd Heavy -27/-23/kd
On block	Light -23/-19/-15 Heavy -32/-28/-24
Frame count	Light	2	1	3	1	1	2	1	24	6
	Heavy	2	1	3	1	1	2	1	33	6

HURRICANE! Matlok starts spinning on his head legs a-flailing like a break dancer. LK version is one hit and always knocks down, HK version is three hits of which only the last hit knocks down and has trouble getting all of the three hits to actually hit, so stick with the LK version. Both are pretty punishable on block, HK version even on hit if the last hit whiffs, so make it count. LK version is good as an anti-air, if you have the charge, and pretty much your only good reversal, alhtough it can trade with stuff. You could also try to use it to escape the corner and such as the move throws you quite a bit forward at the end.

Hidden Move

• Loop Hurricane: Charge , + Tap simultaneously (/ to steer)

Input note: after inputting CD you can tap one of the kick buttons instead of both.

Startup:

Damage (first two hits)	36 total
Frame count		2	1	3	1	1	2

Main part:

Damage	24 per hit								Recovery
On hit	-
On block	-
Frame count		1	3	1	3	1	3	1	3
Loop cycle		16

Recovery:

	Recovery	Landing
Frame count	27	6

Hands down the worst special move in the entire game. Startup is identical to normal Road Hurricane, but instead of the 3rd hit Matlok begins to spin while swinging with his legs. Due to huge puchback, pretty much nothing connects in this move. 1st and 2nd hits at startup and that's it. If you'll land both startup hits at point-blank range the next intended hitbox will never connect. And even if you'll manage to hit opponent with one of loop's attacks, enemy can easily block the next. This move is always punishable with ease. Just NEVER use it.

The Basics

Matlok is a charge character, so your main idea is to sit on your ass and throw Spinning Waves 'till your opponent jumps, that's when you peg them off the air with c.hp or lk hurricane, or they get pushed to the corner and you can start pressuring. His weak point is on his head, the sunglasses and the headphones, so watch your head!

Combos

• cr.LK x3~5, cr.HK

Most basic one. Jump-in with light normal is optional, replace with cr.LP's if you need a bit more range. Cancel cr.HK into a special for shenanigans and such.

• Overhead Kick, cr.LP, cr.HK

After well landed Overhead Kick while pressuring opponent you can link it into a crouching light and sweep. Works better in corner.

• cl.HK (2 hits) xx LK Overhead Kick, cr.HK

Your go-to combo on dizzied opponent, it's the most damaging one you have. cr.HK is a 1-frame link on P1 side, 2-frame link on P2 side, though sometimes it might not connect due to poor range. Also cl.HK can be replaced with cr.HP if you prefer it that way.

• (Corner only) Spinning Wave, cl.HK (2 hits) x LK Overhead Kick, cr.HK

Same as above, but you can add Sonic Boom at the start if opponent is cornered.

• deep j.LK, cl.HK (1 hit) xx LK Overhead Kick, cr.HK

Variation of a bnb from a jump-in.

• j.HP, cl.HK (1 hit) xx LK Overhead Kick

Conversion from j.HP, unfortunately without knockdown. Jump-in should be done close enough and landing j.HP higher in air will help against pushback.

• (Corner only) Spinning Wave, Spinning Wave, Spinning Wave, ...

Matlok's infinite with Sonic Booms. You've got only 2(?) frame window to nail it. Trick requires to use input leniency frames (11 frame window) before throwing first Sonic Boom to pull it off.

Advanced Strategy

Couple of old match videos of Jap Matlok players, this is probably how you should be playing him: [1] [2] [3]

(Why is the Matlok player throwing out rapid fire s.lp and s.lk in the second match? I don't know, promixity blocking shenanigans maybe?)

Match-ups

Ray

Lee

Zaz

Kar

Jea

Miz

Sam

Yun

Mat

Clo

Fei

Mar

Ryo

Matlok

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Vs. Jean:

Chargie matchup, you had a bit disadvangate but better normal, Rondato its the equivalent of your Overhead Kick, if he use it will be your opportunity to punish

Vs. Lee:

Keep this stinker away from yourself with sonic booms and stop his lunge punches with rapid cr.lp's, all as usual. In this matchup you've got an edge with your cr.hk (aka one of your main tools) that hits Lee's weak spot with ease, so you have decent chances to dizzy him. Also stance shifting comes very handy: most of the Lee's moves hits to the chest, while Matlok's weakpoint is on the head. Always shift to the standing position while being comboed to defend your weak spot and avoid extra damage.

Vs. Marstorius:

You want to keep this mofo out, and lucky for you his ass doesn't leave the ground too far when he jumps, he walks slow and generally has no way to approach your barrage of LP Waves without taking risks, so throw that 'till he's either dead or starts using Rising Knee to go over them, that's when you smack him out of the air with LK Hurricane and turtle it up again. If you fuck up and he gets close, you're dead.

Vs. Matlok (self):

Grab your popcorn cause it's an all around turtle fest that echoes a Guile mirror match from ST.

Vs. Mizoguchi:

"Get hit = Die" matchup. Both Mizo's DP and HK Tatsus obliterates your weakspot, stance shift is useless there. Play ultra safe, otherwise any failed block will lead you to dizzy. And then Mizo gonna rob your remaining health with tatsu loops. Chances of survival after that are minimal...

Vs. Ray:

Be careful against Ray. Don't throw sonic booms at mid-range, or you'll recieve a Wheel Kick in your face. Use stance shift to save weakpoint from Ray's combos and multi-hit tackle. The rest of the gameplan is the same.

Vs. Zazie:

Sucks. Zazie can Duck through your Spinning Waves and then retaliate with Hellfire, plus his normals are far better than yours, so you can't play your normal zoning game, or he can just lock you down in the corner with Hellfire and you can't do shit about it because none of your specials are invincible or your normals good enough to stop him. Just ragequit if you get matched against Zazie.