Street Fighter 6/A.K.I./Strategy

Neutral

TO-DO

Offense

Frame Traps

TO-DO

Okizeme and Mixups

TO-DO

Knockdown Advantage: All scenarios assume that opponent will Back Rise midscreen when possible, unless otherwise stated.

Knockdown	KD Adv.	Oki/Notes
Forward Throw	+19	Gives corner throw loops by walking forward with 16-17f manual timing Midscreen, oki is fairly weak even with Drive Rush (unless Punish HKD)
Back Throw	+27	After back throwing opponent into corner, walk/dash and manually time oki Midscreen, oki is fairly weak even with Drive Rush (unless Punish HKD)
Drive Impact (No Crumple)	+35	?
Drive Reversal	+23	?
2HP	HKD +27 HKD +49 (Punish)	On normal hit: +6 after Forward Dash for point blank oki On Punish Counter: +11 after Forward Dash x2, or +10 after 236MK for easy oki
5HP~HP	KD +34	?
214HP	KD +40	?
SA3	HKD +30	Can Drive Rush full screen for a ranged meaty strike, but risky to attempt real oki Gives enough time to bait a reversal out of Drive Rush
CA	HKD +21	CA leaves A.K.I. closer, allowing better Drive Rush meaties (but still no true throw oki) DR~6HK trades with 4f normals (approx. +14 for a combo conversion, or +6 if blocked)
... > 236HP	KD +44	Sets up a safe jump. Just hold up forward and meaty with j.HP or j.2HP. You'll have to react to the opponent's recovery direction midscreen. Works on a grounded opponent, no Toxic Blossom (TB).
... > 236MP	KD +44	Another safe jump setup. Only works near the corner on a grounded opponent, no Toxic Blossom (TB).
... > 236LP TB	KD +44	Safe jump near corner
... > 236HP TB, PDR 2MP > 236HP	KD +44	Safe jump setup for Toxic Blossom routes. As demonstrated with this example, 236HP can also setup a safe jump in a juggle if the opponent is at a specific height.
... > 236MP TB, PDR 5MP > 2PP~K, PDR 5MP > 236HP	KD +44	Safe jump setup for Toxic Blossom routes. You can end the combo early with PDR 5MP > 236HP instead of 2PP~K for a cheaper safe jump, but the extra damage and corner carry is usually worth one more bar of drive gauge.
... > 2PP~P TB > 5MP > 236HP	KD +44	Another safe jump setup. The 236MP TB route above can also work with 2PP~P TB.
... > 236PP TB > 5MP > 236HP	KD +44	Another safe jump setup. The 236MP TB route above can also work with 236PP TB.

236HP Setups

A.K.I.'s 236HP (Heavy Serpent Lash) is an extremely useful combo ender that gives A.K.I. a lot of setup options, especially in the corner. Midscreen, her setups will depend on the opponent's wake-up option. If her opponent is poisoned and the 236HP hit triggers Toxic Blossom, A.K.I. can DR 2MP > 236HP to gain access to the same setups as she would have without Toxic Blossom.

Midscreen & Corner

These are setups that work both midscreen and near the corner. Doing it in the corner may require some minor adjustments to the setup.

236HP , immediate (jump forward) j.HP/j.2HP

Safejump option. Allows A.K.I. to continue pressure without much risk. Requires reacting to the opponent's wakeup option. If the opponent normal rises, then A.K.I will have to do j.2HP. If the opponent back rises or is put in the corner, j.HP is used.

236HP , 236LK/236MK , 2LP/Throw/Walk back

Meaty/Shimmy option. Using 236MK will put A.K.I. right next to the opponent with +5 frames of advantage, allowing her to continue her offense with a meaty throw or a meaty normal. Keep in mind that A.K.I. will trade with the opponent's 4f button if she uses 5HK. If the opponent back rises, A.K.I. has time to walk back to shimmy, and punish the throw whiff with 5HK. However, if the opponent normal rises, then A.K.I. will not be able to shimmy after 236MK. If A.K.I expects a throw tech from the opponent, she should opt for a meaty 2LP instead in this case. It is also possible to shimmy by using 236LK instead of 236MK if the opponent normal rises, as 236LK has a similar animation to 236MK, but does not move A.K.I. forward. This spaces her well enough for the opponent to whiff their throw, allowing her to punish with 5HK. Near the corner, A.K.I. should also use 236LK to shimmy instead of 236MK.

Corner Only

Note that these options only work in the corner or near the corner. The options presented above for midscreen are also usable here.

236HP , 66 , 3MP , 5LP~LP > 236HP

Overhead option. Dashing forward framekills to allow for a meaty +5 on hit 3MP, allowing A.K.I. to link the hit into her standard BNB. Ending in 236H can allow A.K.I. to loop these setups in the corner.

236HP , (whiff) 5LP , 2PP~LPLK

Meaty command throw option. 5LP framekills. The opponent can only get out of this by jumping or using an invincible reversal. A.K.I. can mix up her options by going for a meaty button if the opponent expects a command throw and jumps.

SA1 into Meaty 214LP

A.K.I.'s Level 1 Super sends the opponent flying far away if used midscreen, and around 1/3 screen away if used on a cornered opponent. A common oki setup after SA1 is to lock down the opponent with Nightshade Pulse (214LP). This puts A.K.I. at around +12 on Block in the corner, and severely limits the opponents movements midscreen (though it gives plenty of time for them to reposition before the projectile connects). However, some characters can punish this projectile on reaction, especially near the corner.

A.K.I. can cancel the end of her 214LP into OD Snake Step (236KK), which is strike and projectile invincible. If the opponent tries to punish your meaty fireball with a Super, this will usually keep A.K.I. safe or even allow a punish, though not always. These are the moves to be aware of when applying 214LP pressure.

Moves that can beat SA1 > 214LP > 236KK in the corner
Character	Special/Super	Notes
A.K.I.	SA2 (LP)	OD Snake Step recovers directly into the LP Super active frames
Chun-Li	SA3	OD Snake Step will cause Chun to get hit by the fireball, but A.K.I. will be cornered and punishable at -9
Guile	[2]8KK	No Super freeze to react to; OD Snake Step as a hard read leaves A.K.I. only +4 with an awkward punish timing
Jamie	236KK (DL2)	No Super freeze to react to
Ken	623HP	No Super freeze to react to
Ken	623PP	No Super freeze to react to
Manon	SA2	Trades with projectile for 1 hit + knockdown; OD Snake Step leaves A.K.I. punishable in the corner
Rashid	236PP	No Super freeze to react to; trades with projectile for only 1 hit + knockdown

Fullscreen Punishes: OD Snake Step can escape

A.K.I. HP SA2
JP SA3

Corner Punishes: OD Snake Step can escape

A.K.I. SA3
- A defensive 236LK or 2PP can also avoid the meaty fireball, but are punishable if reacted to
Blanka SA3
Cammy SA3, SA2
- Both Supers escape and cannot be punished after OD Snake Step cancel
Chun-Li SA2
Dee Jay SA3, SA2
- SA2 escapes safely, and SA3 is only -8 after OD Snake Step
E. Honda SA3, SA2
- After OD Snake Step to avoid Honda's SA2, can only punish with A.K.I.'s own SA2
Kimberly SA3, SA2
- SA2 is safe on whiff vs. reaction OD Snake Step
Guile SA3
Jamie SA3
- Strict punish timing after reaction OD Snake Step
Juri SA3
Luke SA3
Marisa SA3
Rashid SA3
Zangief SA2

vs. Burnout

TO-DO

Drive Rush

When canceling a normal into Drive Rush on block and following it up with another normal, there may be an interruptible gap in the blockstring. The following table lists these blockstring gaps when performed at the fastest possible timing.

Gap Value	Meaning
0	True Blockstring (no gap) if input with fastest button timing; can still lose to Drive Reversal
1 to 4	Small blockstring gap; opponent can interrupt with an invincible reversal; a 4f gap can trade with 4f normal attack
5+	Large blockstring gap; opponent can interrupt without an invincible attack
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Drive Rush Cancel - Blockstring Gaps
	2LP	5LP/5LK/2LK	5MP	2MK	2MP	5MK/5HK	2HP/2HK	5HP	6HK	6HP	3MP
5LP~DR	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	14	16	18	26
5MP~DR	0	0	1	2	3	4	5	7	9	11	19
5LK~DR	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	13	15	17	25
5HK~DR	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	5	7	15
2LP~DR	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	12	14	16	24
2MP~DR	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	4	6	8	16
5LP~LP~DR	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	8	10	12	20

The following table lists the general BnB combo routes when canceling a button into Drive Rush on hit.

Drive Rush Cancel - Combo Routes
Starter	Hit Adv.	Combo Route
5LP~DR	+3	No combo without CH/PC
5LK~DR	+5	2LP/5LK, 2MP ...
2LP~DR
5LP~LP~DR
5MP~DR	+11	5HK > 2PP~P ... 5MK, 5HK ...
2MP~DR	+12
5HK~DR	+16

Defense

Reversals

Anti-Airs

A.K.I. has access to some decent anti-air tools. If the opponent jumps in at certain ranges (e.g. cross-up range), A.K.I. may find it difficult to anti-air them consistently due to her anti-air tools having a limited range/hitbox or slower air-invulnerable frames.

5HK - A.K.I.'s main anti-air option. It has disjointed upward and forward hitboxes with a good range, making it an all-around good option to deal with jump-ins. It is also special cancelable, allowing for combo extensions in certain situations, or to set up a meaty 214LP (Nightshade Pulse). The main downsides are that it has 9f of startup, meaning A.K.I. will have to react to the jump-in relatively early, and that it does not hit behind, so it will whiff if the opponent crosses up behind her.

2HK - 2HK A.K.I.'s crouching anti-air option. If A.K.I. is crouching, it may be worth using 2HK instead of having to stand before being able to use 2HK. It has air invulnerable frames on 10f-14f. Much like 5HK, it will whiff if the opponent crosses up behind her.

236HP - A.K.I's other main anti-air option, with air invulnerability from 6f - 16f. 236HP applies poison on hit or triggers Toxic Blossom, which makes it one of the more rewarding anti-air options. Additionally, it is able to anti-air more ambiguous jump-ins (ones that may cross-up), unlike her other anti-air options. The downside is 236HP's horizontal hitbox is quite small, which means that it requires good judgment in terms of spacing and timing to ensure that it will hit the opponent. It also takes a bit longer to input 236HP, as opposed to inputting 5HK.

236MP - This may be used as a situational anti-air for opponents jumping further away, or for neutral jumps and jump backs. The hitbox is quite narrow and specific, so it is easy to whiff this move.

j.LK/j.MP - These are good air-to-air options for A.K.I. j.LK has a longer range and is faster at 5f. j.MP is much more disjointed, but has a strange, upward hitbox, and is slower at 7f. They are good options for when A.K.I. wants to keep the opponent in the corner, or when the opponent performs an ambiguous jump-in.