UMVC3/Shuma-Gorath

Overview Combos Strategy/Counterstrategy Resources Data

Introduction

A godlike and possibly omnipotent being, Shuma-Gorath conquered and ruled over uncountable dimensions before deciding to take over Earth. In fact, Shuma succeeded back in prehistory, and ruled the Earth for ages before being banished. Since that time, Shuma has constantly tried to return to Earth. Each time, he has been foiled by powerful users of magic, but even his mildest incursions bring forth calamity.

In UMvC3, Shuma-Gorath is fairly unique due to being partially a charge character, requiring held directions for multiple important specials. Although several other characters have at least one charge motion, these moves tend to be fairly niche. Shuma has multiple charge moves that serve as important tools for both neutral and combos. While Shuma's movement tools are not the strongest, and are further limited by his need to store a charge whenever possible, he can also move around the screen using his Mystic Smash (236X) special. Shuma has historically been an unpopular character due to his technical requirements and awkward movement, but he brings many powerful mixup tools and an incredible assist to players who master him.

Strengths	Weaknesses
One of the Best Assist in the Game: Mystic Ray is one of the game's best assists, with massive screen coverage, great durability, short cooldown, and built-in OTG potential. Corner Damage & Pressure Difficult to hit/combo Unblockable Attack: Has an (expensive) unblockable attack in his Chaos Dimension Level 3 Hyper.	Lacks Mix-Ups Struggles Approaching Shuma's projectiles are ground-only Technical Requirements: As a charge character, Shuma needa to be maintaining Down and Back inputs in order to access his Mystic Stare and Mystic Ray specials, limiting his ability to move forward or input other specials.

Unique Mechanics

Shuma's backdash causes him to disappear off-screen for a short period. He is invulnerable from frames 12-31 of his backdash. Additionally, his forward dash has a very low-profile hurtbox for the majority of its duration.

Shuma-Gorath
Character Data
Health	950,000
Ground Magic Series	Zig-Zag
Air Chain Combo Limit	None
Forward Dash Duration	45 frames
Backdash Duration	54 frames
Jump Duration	46 frames
Superjump Duration	81 frames
Walljump?	No
Doublejump?	No
Airdash?	2-Way
X-Factor Damage Boost (1/2/3)	27.5% / 45% / 62.5%
X-Factor Speed Boost (1/2/3)	12.5% / 25% / 37.5%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Normals, Specials)	25%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Hypers)	35%
Minimum Damage Scaling (X-Factor)	35%

Move List

Assists

Mystic Ray H
Assist A

Assist or	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 x10	52	30	95, 65
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Mid	Priority: Low, Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 10 frames.
THC Hyper: Hyper Mystic Ray. Recommended assist. Shuma channels for a moment, then starts firing a full-screen beam. The beam is initially aimed directly down at the ground, but sweeps upwards towards the air, ultimately covering most of the stage. This assist is very powerful in neutral, as it is almost impossible to avoid except by passing behind Shuma, and will force the opponent to guard long enough for your point character to close the distance and start an offense. Its assist recovery is among the shortest in the game, making it very spammable. It can also be used as an OTG assist for characters whose solo OTG options are poor, although its long startup requires it be called fairly early to be used for this purpose. Mystic Ray's weakness is its extremely lengthy startup. Is is susceptible to being counter-called by an opponent's faster assists, or even by quick long-range attacks from the opponent's point character. Additionally, while it does have a good amount of durability, Mystic Ray's "sweeping" nature means it does not remain in one place long enough to negate other beams, and will usually lose to them.

Mystic Stare L
Assist B

Assist or	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 x6 + 20,000 x6	46	29	120, 90
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Mid	Priority: Low, Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 6 frames
THC Hyper: Hyper Mystic Smash. Shuma shoots a ring of six eyeballs directly forwards. The projectiles remain active for 29 frames, during which time they travel roughly 1/2 of fullscreen distance. Every one of the six eyeballs hits twice - once immediately on contact, and then again by exploding for additional damage. However, unlike the point version, the eyeballs do not stick to the opponent on contact for a delayed explosion, but instead explode immediately on contact. As a result, this assist can not be used for delayed hit shenanigans, or hit as an OTG, and its usefulness is very limited.

Mystic Smash L
Assist Y

Assist or	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 x8	37	32	110, 80
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Mid
THC Hyper: Hyper Mystic Smash. Shuma curls himself into a ball, and throws himself forward as a multi-hitting active hitbox. Compared to Mystic Ray, this attack starts up faster and can keep an opponent in blockstun slightly longer, but has much worse range.

Ground Normals

Stand Light
5L

L	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	33,000	4	3	11
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	0	0	Mid
-

Stand Medium
5M

M	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 + 40,000	5	2(2)3	19
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-3	-3	Mid	-
Hits twice.

Stand Heavy
5H

H	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 x6	9	12	10
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+12	+12	Mid	-
Hits six times (!!). Its primary use is to stall out a grounded confirm long enough for Shuma to build a back charge so he can use Mystic Stare. In practice, its high hitcount and lengthy duration cause too much hitstun deterioration and damage scaling to be worthwhile, so optimized combos avoid using it.

Crouching Light
2L

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	33,000	5	3	13
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-2	-2	Low
-

Crouching Medium
2M

M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	35,000 x2	6	3(1)4	15
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	0	Low	(second hit)
Hits twice. Has a suction effect, pulling the opponent closer to Shuma on hit or block.

Crouching Heavy
2H

H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	70,000	10	4	20
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+7	0	Mid	,
Shuma thrusts his tentacles upwards. Has a solid anti-air hitbox. 2H is jump-cancelable, doing so is a standard hit-confirm route. 2H also juggles opponents long enough to cancel into Mystic Stare, and thus it is the primary way to get eyeballs loaded onto the opponent for further extensions.

Launcher/Special
S

S	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	75,000	7	4	28
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	Launch	-8	Mid	,
-

Aerial Normals

Jumping Light
j.5L

L j.	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	38,000	4	3	16
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+8	+8	OH	-
-

Jumping Medium
j.5M

M j.	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 x2	6	7	18
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+17	+17	OH	-
Shuma flattens out into a horizontal disc and spins his tentacles, hitting all around himself. Can work as a cross-up. If Shuma chains j.5M into itself, the second attack will spin vertically rather than horizontally. This almost never has a noticeable effect.

Jumping Heavy
j.5H

H j.	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	75,000	11	4	21
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+19	+19	OH	-
Shuma shoots a short-range beam from his eye at a down-forward angle. Because it is aimed downwards, it has a tendency to whiff against opponents who are being juggled too high.

Jumping Special
j.5S

S j.	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	80,000	8	Until grounded	22
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-3	OH	, ,
Shuma turns his body to stone and plummets straight down towards the ground. Unlike most j.5S attacks, this will cause a Hard Knockdown even if used outside of a Launch combo. Besides its regular use as an Air Combo Finisher, it can be useful as an aerial movement tool in order to quickly escape to the ground. It also can be useful as a fast overhead attack. If you start holding a downward charge immediately after performing this move, Shuma usually can follow up with a Mystic Ray after landing. Alternatively, Hyper Mystic Ray also works and does not require holding a charge.

Command Normals

Strange Gaze
6H

H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	75,000	15	6	15
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	+3	Mid
Short-range eye laser similar to Shuma's j.5H, but aimed directly forwards and performed on the ground.

Air Strange Gaze
j.8H

H j. +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	75,000	11	4	21
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	+19	High
Short-range eye laser similar to j.5H, but aimed at an up-forward angle. It juggles higher than regular j.5H, which can be useful for canceling into Air Mystic Smash.

Special Moves

Mystic Smash
236X

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 per hit	13	32	18
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+2	+2	Mid
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 per hit	15	36	18
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+2	+2	Mid
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 per hit	18	40	18
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+2	+2	Mid
Shuma curls up into a small, spiked ball and launches himself forwards as an active, multi-hitting attack. Button strength determines the arc that the ball travels: L version is a short hop that travels roughly 1/3 of fullscreen distance. M version is a high jump that quickly reaches the same distance as the L version, then drops straight down towards the ground. H version is a large parabolic arc that travels fullscreen distance. In addition to being able to simply jump over opponents with this attack, Mystic Smash also passes through opponents while traveling. It can be used as a crossup, either by itself or paired with an assist call. Grounded Mystic Smash is largely rendered obsolete by the Air version, which has better recovery and frame advantage.

Air Mystic Smash
Tremble!
j.236X

L (in air) +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 per hit	12	Until grounded	13
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+7 ~ +10	+7 ~ +10	OH	-
M (in air) +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 per hit	15	Until grounded	13
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+7 ~ +10	+7 ~ +10	OH	-
H (in air) +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 per hit	18	Until grounded	13
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+7 ~ +10	+7 ~ +10	OH	-
Air version of Mystic Smash. Like with the grounded version, the arc Shuma travels in is determined by button strength: L version has hardly any forward momentum and mostly causes Shuma to fall straight down towards the ground. M version causes Shuma to shoot forward quickly while falling. H version causes Shuma to "hop" a small amount upwards before arcing back down towards the ground. It is a very strong movement and pressure tool for Shuma, and largely outclasses ground Mystic Smash due to having much better frame advantage and being an overhead. Even when Shuma is on the ground, he can access Air Mystic Smash using a tiger knee input (2369X) to use as a fast, evasive overhead.

Mystic Stare
[4]6X

Eyeballs which hit an opponent will stick to them.

After 3 seconds, eyeballs stuck to an opponent will explode.

L + or +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	10,000 x6 (initial hit) 25,000 x6 (explosions)	22	29	23
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+10	+10	Mid	(explosions only), Priority: Low, Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 6 frames
M + or +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	10,000 x6 (initial hit) 25,000 x6 (explosions)	22	29	18
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+5	+5	Mid	(explosions only), Priority: Low, Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 6 frames
H + or +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	10,000 x6 (initial hit) 25,000 x6 (explosions)	22	29	33
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	0	0	Mid	(explosions only), Priority: Low, Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 6 frames
Shuma fires a ring of projectiles that travel directly forwards, acting as a short-range beam attack. The beam remains active for 29 frames before disappearing. On hit, Mystic Stare deals minor damage and leaves "eyeballs" attached to the body of the struck character, equal to the number of times the projectile hit. The eyeballs are bombs that automatically detonate 180 frames (3 seconds) after attaching the the opponent. These explosions deal solid damage, cause a good amount of hitstun, and are OTG-capable. Shuma can use Mystic Stare for solo combo extensions, by timing his combos so that the explosions cover the recovery of his other attacks, or by scoring a Hard Knockdown and letting the explosions OTG for him. Button strength determines the speed of the initial projectile, and therefore the amount of distance covered during its 29 frame duration. L version only covers about 1/4 of the screen, while H version can reach fullscreen. Lighter versions have faster recovery, so it is recommended to use the lightest version that can actually reach in most situations. Shuma can dash forward while maintaining a back charge for Mystic Stare by utilizing the "Block Dash" glitch. To perform this glitch, input a two-button dash at the same time as switching from a standing block to a crouching block. The input would read as: "4,1+XX". Additionally, Shuma can store a back charge just long enough to perform a single forward dash if needed. To do this, release the stick to a neutral position and input a two-button dash, then immediately input forward followed by the button strength desired: [1] > 5+M+H > 6+L

Mystic Ray
[2]8X

L + or +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 x6	22	30	9
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-10	-10	Mid	, , Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 6 frames
M + or +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 x8	25	30	6
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+12	+9	Mid	, , Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 8 frames
H + or +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	20,000 x10	28	30	3
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+11	+9	Mid	, , Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 10 frames
Shuma fires a full-screen laser from his eye. It is initially pointed downwards toward the ground, but Shuma sweeps this upwards towards the sky. Button strength determines how far upward Shuma sweeps the laser: L version stops rising when it is aimed directly forwards. M version stops rising when it is aimed at an up-forward angle. H version keeps going until it is being aimed directly upwards. It has great coverage and can be used to snipe assists or stuff an opponent's projectiles, but is fairly slow, holds Shuma in place on the ground, and lacks combo potential outside of the corner.

Devitalization
63214X

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	130,000	5	22	23
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Throw	, (1 hit only)
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	160,000	3	1(2)21	23
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Throw	, (1 hit only)
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	190,000	1	2(3)21	23
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Throw	, (1 hit only)
Command grab special. Shuma grabs the opponent, knocked them up into the air them slamming them back down on the ground. Afterwards, it is possible to link an OTG Mystic Ray. During the active frames of this special, Shuma will "block" a single hit of any projectile attack. This is largely useless against beams or other multi-hitting projectiles, as the remaining hits will connect on Shuma normally. If Shuma successfully counters a projectile hit this way, he will gain 10% of a hyper meter bar.

Hyper Combos

Hyper Mystic Smash
623XX (1 bar)

+	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	15,000 per hit, up to ~60 hits	18+10	73	69
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-42	Mid	Invuln frames 16-41, , , mashable, Priority: High, Durability: 3 per ball,
Shuma unleashes a barrage of Shuma-shaped balls, similar to the ones he transforms into during Mystic Smash. However, these balls are projectiles rather than physical hits, and the real Shuma is not included among them. The balls bounce randomly while advancing forward, but cover most of the space in front of Shuma. Hyper Mystic Smash deals heavy damage if all hits connect, so it works as a combo ender. However, the damage is very inconsistent due to the random nature of the projectiles, making his other hypers valid choices as well.

Hyper Mystic Ray
214XX (1 bar)

+	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 x20	20+4	30(29)12	100
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-88	Mid	, , Priority: High, Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 20 frames per beam
Hyper version of Mystic Ray. Shuma fires two sweeping lasers in quick succession. After the attack, Shuma poses for a significant amount of time, making this hyper catastrophically unsafe on block. On hit, it causes a lengthy Hard Knockdown, covering Shuma's recovery. Invulnerability starts frame 1 ends on frame 19. Invincibility does not last long enough for the attack to become active, so it is not functional as a reversal. If Shuma cancels Mystic Stare directly into this hyper, the bombs will detonate just as Shuma recovers, allowing him to follow-up afterwards.

Chaos Dimension (bite)
236XX (3 bars)

+	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	50,000	10+1	5	20
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-1	Mid
Shuma transforms most of his body into a large mouth and bites the opponent. The attack knocks the opponent high into the air on hit, allowing Shuma to follow up with additional attacks. It is Shuma's only "real" reversal attack as the invulnerability ends on frame 15 well after the attack. After activation, regardless of whether the bite hits, Shuma enters the "Chaos Dimension" state for 300 frames (5 seconds). This state can be visually confirmed by Shuma having a yellowish hue over his entire body. In this state, Shuma's H attacks are replaced by Chaos Dimension (consume), detailed below.

Chaos Dimension (consume)
(During Chaos Dimension) H

H	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	350,000 - 445,000	4	3	11
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-		mashable, ,
While in Chaos Dimension mode, pressing H will perform a modified, Unblockable attack. These attacks have animations based on Shuma's L normals, so 2H or 5H will have similar hitboxes and frame data to 5L, and j.5H will have similar properties to j.5L. This attack is a true Unblockable, and not a grab. This means it can be comboed into, used against opponents in blockstun, and used in situations where the opponent is throw-immune, such as on incoming. In most cases, it is trivial to combo the Chaos Dimension Bite directly into this attack. Connecting the attack will begin a cinematic that deals heavy, unscaled damage and resulting in a Hard Knockdown.

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw
6H, 4H

H + or +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	40,000	1	1	-
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Throw	, steals health and meter
Shuma coils his tentacles around the opponent and absorbs their energy. A successful throw will steal 40,000 health from the opponent, and 24% of a hyper bar. The throw animation also lasts long enough for Shuma to fully charge a Mystic Ray, which he can use to OTG afterwards.

Air Throw
j.6H, j.4H

H j. + or j. +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	40,000	1	1	-
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	Airthrow	, steals health and meter
Largely identical to Shuma's grounded throw. Steals 40,000 health and 24% of a hyper meter bar on a successful airthrow.

Snap Back
236 236

Assist + +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	50,000	2	6	15
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	+3	Mid	Snapback
Animation and hitbox based on 6H.

Hard Tag
/

Assist Hold Hold	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	27,000	-	22	34
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-17	OH
-

Team Position

Shuma is typically chosen as an Anchor character. His Mystic Ray assist is among the game's best, so placing him in the third slot maximizes the amount of time that this assist will be available for the team. He also performs very well with X-Factor; the speed boost allows him to quickly sail around the screen with Mystic Smash, and his j.5S instant overhead becomes lightning fast, while also allowing him to convert it into big damage. Shuma has many solo relaunch options and combo extensions, so he is less dependent on assists for damage than other characters.

Notable Synergies

Wolverine: Shuma's Mystic Ray assist is among the best in the game, and in particular provides a lot of what Wolverine is looking for in an assist. It is a beam attack with massive coverage, hitting almost the entire screen for at least part of its duration. It connects OTG, can snipe opponents at superjump height, and punish the opponent's assists. On hit, it causes a significant amount of hitstun, more than enough for a prepared Wolverine player to convert into a combo. Lastly, although it has quite long startup, Mystic Ray has a very low assist cooldown period - one of the few assists in the game whose self-recovery period is less than 100 frames - making it very spammable.

Players to Watch: Angelic (Wolverine/Dorm/Shuma, sometimes Firebrand/Dorm/Shuma)

Hulk: Shuma's "Mystic Ray" is a fantastic all-in-one assist that covers just about all of Hulk's weaknesses. It hits OTG, which can help Hulk work around the more awkward parts of using his Gamma Wave as a solo OTG. It sweeps the entire stage, destroying projectiles along the way, so it can cover Hulk's approach very effectively (similar to Sentinel Drones). Although expensive, Hulk/Shuma can also perform an Unblockable setup by DHCing Gamma Quake (623XX) to Chaos Dimension (236XX) and then using Chaos Dimension's unblockable finisher while the opponent is stuck blocking rocks.

Players to Watch: Jan (Hulk/Shuma/Haggar), Bangr (Shuma/Hulk/Strider)

Other Players to Watch: Tonosama (Shuma/Raccoon/Ammy), SalutexMO (Shuma/Dorm/Raccoon),

Combos

Solo Combos

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X-Factor Combos

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Sample Team Combos

Hard tags from Shuma to Chris, Spencer, X-23, Dormammu, Frank West, Spider-Man, Nemesis, Firebrand, Ammy, Haggar, Hulk, Cap, Taskmaster
Hard tags from Jill, Rocket, Spencer, Nemesis, Firebrand, Strider, Wright, Nova, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye to Shuma
Hard tags from Magneto, Cap, Strange, Vergil, Frank West, Hsien-Ko, Doom, Arthur, Iron Man, Dorm, Ryu, Wesker, Iron Fist, Chris to Shuma
Shuma/Hsien-Ko

Alternate Colors

Videos and External Resources

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Anti-Phoenix tech using Level 3

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