Capcom vs SNK 2/Eagle/Strategy

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

Eagle is a character who constantly uses his buttons to deal damage, with some super confirms and throws in between. He rarely uses his specials for anything outside of combos. For an extremely button reliant character, his individual buttons are decent, but not at the level of power that the stronger characters have. Because of this, Eagle's neutral, anti air and pressure game have to be really well played and technically sound in order to pose a threat to a good player. Eagle poses more threats offensively in the CAP grooves as opposed to the SNK grooves, but both contain strong options and tools at Eagle's disposal.

Neutral

Eagle has a pretty decent neutral game. His buttons are okay compared to the more stronger characters but there are certain buttons that must be used with caution to prevent a huge punish. While Eagle tends to play it safe with his buttons there are times where he has to whip out a more unsafe option to get the job done, and that is where spacial awareness and just good footsies are needed to make him work against strong characters.

Pokes

st.MK: Though not necessarily a poke, it is a very good counterpoke due to it's speed and small but still good disjoint. Anticipated pokes and general attempts to open up in neutral will either trade or lose to this button.

cr.MP: A really strong poke due to it's very long range and being only -1, essentially unpunishable. The only weakness with this poke is its duration. Because of the long recovery, jumps and rolls punish it on whiff. Make sure that this poke actually connects when you use it.

cr.MK: A really good button overall. Fast with good priority, and safe to whiff in neutral. This is also a really good confirm into super as well. Generally one of Eagle's preferred pokes.

st.HP: Not necessarily a preferred option, but it makes for a really good whiff punish and something to check a bad approach with. However, with great range this button carries great risk. On block it will be punished, and even on hit some reversals like Gigaton Blow and Mega Psycho Crusher will punish. It's best to use sparingly but can make for a great, damaging blow if it lands.

cr.HK: Similar to st.HP. It has longer range and knocks down, so most times the opponent might not be able to see it before it's too late. Best to use at max range since most attempts to punish it from that far won't work. If it gets rolled past or jumped over, expect a punish. In any case, don't use it predictably.

st.HK: Has less range than st.HP and cr.HK but is far more safe and is pretty fast. Very good whiff punish and counterpoke that deals good damage and does not carry the risk of getting blown up in most scenarios.

Anti-Zone

st.HP/cr.HK: They are very unsafe, but can check zoners from their preferred distances. At max range, both are hard to punish on hit but might see punishes on block. Don't use too much but you might have to if the time is right.

RC HK Oxford Red: A very risky move but it will blow through fireballs and long ranged pokes. Do not anticipate a fireball and use it without 100% knowing it will connect, as it is very unsafe on block and you will get punished for it. Midscreen is the preferred range, make sure to stay away from fullscreen. Unfortunately, this option is only available to roll grooves.

Roll: Eagle's roll is fairly quick but doesn't travel far. You have to time it right when trying to approach with a roll. Like the above, this is only available in roll grooves.

Jump: Eagle's jump and super jump are average, but his aerial buttons are anything but average. A jump-in j.MK or j.HK can usually punish a lot of zoning attempts. j.MK in particular can beat out a lot of attempted anti airs.

Pressure

Eagle can be a pretty oppressive character when the space is closed in due to the safety of some of his normals. If he uses them right, he can definitely work the guard bar very well.

Up-Close Options

cr.LP: A standard jab that you can mash. Generally useful in a large variety of situations and this is one of them.

cr.MP: It's basically safe and puts you at a decent space, but unfortunately doesn't give you too much room to push pressure afterwards.

cr.MK: High priority means it beats bigger counterpokes, but mashing lights usually beats this normal up close so don't be too predictable with it.

st.LK: This one is more for surprise stagger pressure when cr.LP is slightly out of range.

Throw: It beats blocking. Eagle can tick into this from many of his safe normals. Once he lands it, he gets great positioning for more pressure.

Blockstrings

* x n means the move notated can be repeated as many times until it falls out of range.

Runstop cr.LP x n: Pretty effective, but can get mashed out of, or worse, can be killed by a reversal, but you can definitely abuse this if the opponent doesn't do either of those.

cr.LP, cr.LP, cr.MK: Safe and pretty good guard bar, sets up for an empty dash into potentially more pressure.

cr.MK, cr.MP/cr.MK: Same as above

cr.LP, cr.LP/cr.MK, cr.MP: The spacing is very far, so this is mostly a block string to get aggressive opponents at distances where you can easily react to their next attack, but if you want pressure afterwards, this is not the ideal blockstring, even if the guard damage is good.

cr.LP x 2, st.MK, cr.MP/cr.MK: Has a chance of getting reversal'd on but deals good guard damage to compensate.

Meaty cl.HK/cr.MK/st.LK, cr.LP, cr.MP/cr.MK: The usual route from a meaty. You can potentially either do 2 cr.LPs or replace cr.LP with cr.MK against fatter characters.

Using st.HP/cr.HK Post Blockstring

Generally all Eagle blockstrings that don't end in cr.MP can end in Eagle's st.HP/cr.HK, but it carries huge risk. If the opponent senses that you will use it, they can roll or jump past it and get a huge punish. Doing this is not advised if the opponent avoids the normal and kills you for trying.

Throw Setups

Empty Dash/Run: Eagle's dash is very quick, so doing an empty dash into throw is a very solid tool, and it can catch a lot of people off guard. Doing the same with a run is slightly more difficult but doable if you condition the opponent to block enough.

Meaty Normal: A meaty cl.HK, cr.MK or st.LK gives you enough time to throw the opponent, but be mindful of the plus frames some meaties give you, as you might try to throw them while they're still in block stun and instead get out close HP. You can also do a meaty normal into a cr.LP tick throw if you find yourself doing that a lot.

Light Normals: cr.LP and cr.LK get the job done as far as basic tick throws are concerned. They're quick and leave quicker, although cr.LK is slightly slower.

Defense

Unfortunately, Eagle's defensive options are limited. He has no true reversal outside of an RC, which makes his defense pretty bad without a roll. Eagle has to make very smart use of his anti airs and his general anti pressure options to avoid massive damage, however using them right is easier said than done, especially against heavy rushdown characters.

Anti Airs

st.MP: Good against both low and regular jumps, but must be timed so the second hit is the one that actually lands.

st.HP: Hard to use and will be death on whiff, but can be used to clip jumps that land in front of Eagle rather than on top of him.

cr.HP: Usually Eagle's anti-crossup option, but also good against jumps that land on top of Eagle. It can whiff due to poor horizontal range though.

close st.HP: Another anti-crossup, however due to the comically small hitbox it can either trade or completely whiff, but it is good damage.

j.MP: One of the best air to airs in the game. It can take out almost any air move that CvS2 has if done instantly. 3-frame startup with decent priority makes it almost a guaranteed anti air if used right and can consistently counter even the most tricky of jumps, like Claw and Mai.

j.HP: Has far more startup than j.MP but also has more range and more importantly more priority. If it does not win the interaction, a majority of the time it will trade.

j.MK: Has less range than j.MP but slightly more priority. It is mainly used to hit jumps that j.MP would whiff at due to its straight and high hitbox. It is really strong but loses more aerial interactions than Eagle would like. It is better suited as a jump-in.

RC Lariat: Can be used without roll cancel but it is a little difficult to do so. Using the light version is preferred since the MP and HP versions can get punished on hit by safe fall. Doesn't deal damage but is just as consistent as the others mentioned (with RC of course).

Anti-Pressure

2LP/2LK: A quick set of buttons that can potentially give Eagle some room to escape, but it's better to use 2LP due to Eagle having access to blockstring routes that put the opponent farther away from Eagle.

RC LP Lariat: This is only available in roll grooves, but up close this option can give Eagle a good amount of time to get his turn back. However, because Eagle is stationary, you have to make sure the opponent is close enough, otherwise Eagle has a lot of recovery and can be punished.

Roll: Eagle has an average roll, so this won't be super reliable when Eagle is getting hard pressured, especially when the opponent is sitting back for a slight moment waiting for an untimely move from Eagle.

Guard Cancel / Guard Cancel Roll: Eagle's GC has decent priority, but unfortunately can be baited, but can still get him out of tight situations. As stated earlier, Eagle's roll is average at best, so GCR is going to be useful only against super unsafe moves.

Okizeme

Eagle's okizeme game is only really effective after his punch throw, which is untechable and gives Eagle a lot of time to do something because it puts the opponent right next to him.

Here is generally what Eagle has access to on his okizeme:

• Corpse Hop: If you're in CAP grooves, you can do this with a simple dash. If you're in SNK grooves, you have to use a shorthop. It's far more efficient via dashing but because K-Groove can be decent with Eagle the shorthop method is something that should be mentioned.

• Basic Low: cr.LK and cr.MK work as good lows because they both can confirm into a combo of some kind. It's better if they hit meaty. This is mostly what you'll do on oki as Eagle. cr.LK also works as a great tick into his punch throw to put the opponent right back into the mix.

• IOH j.MK: Eagle's j.MK can hit all characters as an instant overhead. Unfortunately, it's super unrewarding because it's just one hit. However, in a scenario where one hit kills, this becomes an extremely dangerous option. It's still something good to use just to tilt the opponent a little and because it's basically unreactable.

• Throw: Sometimes the opponent won't expect another throw, especially considering the strike gains considerable reward. An experienced player will probably avoid this option a lot, so use it sparingly.

Advanced Strategy

Universal Systems

» Dash Eagle's dash is moderately fast and hops high enough to cross over downed opponents and ground fireballs (except Geese's Double Reppuken).

» Run Average run that's good enough for run c.LPs and c.MKs.

» Short Jump sj.FK xx super. Short jump creates more opportunities to land a cross up j.FK.

» Rolling and Roll Cancel Eagle's roll is slightly below average, but his roll cancels are very effective with RC lariat as anti air and RC sticks as a response to mid screen projectiles.

» Alpha Counter Uses the s.FK animation. It will trade with Sakura's custom. Note that the hitbox will not catch attacks that are very low to the ground (like Blanka's slide).

Groove Specific

» C-Groove Eagle's level 2 Union Jack Platinum is one of the better level 2s of the game with solid damage and effective cancels.

• All level 2 cancels are done on the last hit (12th) or hit before last (11th, the final fast stick pokes).

• 11th xx (QCFx2 + P) Level 2 to level 1.

• 11th xx (HCF + K) This does slightly less damage than the entire super but adds stun and helps build some meter back.

• 12th xx (DP + K) Corner only. This gets the full damage of the level 2 and then some. All strengths of the bat do the same damage, but the distance the opponent is launched in the air is different. Use the different timings for different meaty shenanigans.

» A-Groove Eagle has no problem using meter in A-Groove with ground, anti air and guard crush customs.

• s.HK x3 xx HCF + MK (1 hit) xx s.HK x3 xx HCF + MK x3 xx QCFx2 + P Ground custom. Alternatively, start with an Oxford Red (HCF + MK) to fly through a fireball with CC invincibility.

• c.MK xx s.HK x2 xx HCF + MK (1 hit)... Trip guard custom. Replace the first s.HK of the ground custom with c.MK and continue from there.

• [s.HK x3 xx HCF + MK]xN Guard crush custom. Be sure to end with a s.HK.

• QCB + FP (1 hit) xx c.FP x2 xx roll, [c.FP x3]xN, super Anti air custom. If the opponent is juggled to the corner: [j.MK x3, j.MP]xN until super.

• The Liverpool White (QCB + K) can be used as an overhead reset, but it is easily escapable.

» P-Groove Fish for parries to land Oxford Red (HCF + K) or Union Jack Platinum (QCFx2 + P) combos.

• HCF + K xx QCFx2 + P Only works in CvS2 EO.

• QCF + P xx QCFx2 + P Only works in CvS2 EO. Counter something and super cancel the counterattack.

» N-Groove

» K-Groove

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