Plasma Sword/Zelkin

Introduction

Overview

(Insert brief description about character and how they play, other details)

Strengths

Weaknesses

Air Maneuverability: Zelkin can air stall, air dash, and has strong air-to-air normals in the form of an extremely active j.K and a strong late j.A hitbox. Attack Before The Round: Because Zelkin's flight has a hitbox, he's allowed to hit the enemy before the round starts if they aren't blocking. Flight cancel pressure: Every normal that can be special canceled is a flight cancel setup. Because kicks cannot be parried, this means that Zelkin has ways to constantly cancel into unparryable pressure off of 2K and any string with his 6K overhead animation. Opponents can try to step this if they want to risk it, but 5BB/2B/3B will tag attempted steps. 5BB leads to full combo, 2B is safe and virtually riskless, and 3B's range and cancel options allow him to flight cancel again even in situations where he might get pushed out. In general, Zelkin can stick to opponents and frustrate/overwhelm them easily. High damage: Sub-optimal Zelkin combos off of 2K and 5BB still lead to roughly 50%, setup up which-way mixups, and in general always keep Zelkin one or two hits away from winning at all times. 3A PF-Cancel Bug: Zelkin has by far the most useful PF-Cancel bug in the game, allowing him to cancel his 3A overhead into Plasma Field. Theoretical Infinite: Zelkin (console version) has an infinite loop off his 2KKK in the form of 2KKKx(Flight Forward, Cancel) j.K. This is extremely difficult if not completely impractical, but it does exist and, if nothing else, illustrates just how bonkers both 2K and j.K are. In the arcade version, he has several infinites.

High Execution: Even sub-optimal Zelkin combos require flight cancelling to be effective, and messing up any angle on air dashes can leave Zelkin open for a combo. Polarized Range: Zelkin is best at close range, and though getting in isn't the hardest thing in the world for a character with an air dash at his disposal, it does mean that characters that do a decent job of keeping him out or simply out-footsieing him can give him a bit of trouble. Sub-Par Anti-airs: Zelkin's best anti-air is to either air-to-air or step and whiff punish. This is far, far worse than what many other characters get in the game, even those that are below him on the tier list. Bad Alt Character: Eagle's super options cannot combo the way Zelkin's does, nor do they offer additional utility in neutral or in some other aspect of the game. Therefore, Eagle really doesn't do anything to help a Zelkin player's matchup spread, making him little more than a joke character with extremely good normals.