Capcom vs SNK 2/Vega

Introduction

Moves List

Normal Moves

Name	State	Spc	Sup	Hit	Blk	Sta	Act	Rec	Dmg
Jab	Standing	y	y	+5	+5	3	4	6	400(300)
	Crouch	y	y	+5	+5	4	4	6	400(300)
	Jump	-	-	-	-	3	22	-	500(400)
Strong	Standing	n	n	-3	-3	8	4	19	800(600)
	Crouch	y/n	y/y	-9	-9	4	8	21	700,600 (700,600)
	Jump	-	-	-	-	4	10	-	700(600)
Fierce	Standing	n/n	n/n	-8	-8	9	11	21	1100,1200 (900,1000)
	Crouch	n/n	y/n	-15	-15	5	12	27	1100,1200 (900,1000)
	Jump	-	-	-	-	4	8	-	1100(800)
Short	Standing	y	y	+4	+4	3	4	7	400
	Crouch	y	y	+5	+5	4	4	6	300
	Jump Neutral	-	-	-	-	4	22	-	500
	Jump Diagonal	-	-	-	-	4	20	-	400
Forward	Standing	n	y	-4	-4	6	9	15	800
	Crouch	y	y	+1	+1	5	6	13	700
	Jump	-	-	-	-	5	11	-	800
Roundhouse	Standing	y/n	y/n	-3	-3	4	10	23	1100,1000?
	Crouch	n	n	DWN	-14	8	9	29	1000
	Jump	-	-	-	-	6	8	-	1000
Command Normals
f+Forward		n	n	-6	-6	24	6	20	900,700
f+Roundhouse		n	n	DWN	-5	15	8?	21	1200,1100

Special Moves

Charge , // + , - Flying Barcelona Attack.

Charge , // + , when near / + - Izuna Drop.

Charge , // + - Sky High Claw.

Charge , + - Scarlet Terror.

Charge , + - Rolling Crystal Flash.

/- Backslash/Short Backslash.

Super Moves

Charge , - , // + , - Flying Barccelona Special.

Charge , - , // + , when close / + - Rolling Izuna Drop.

Charge , - - + - Scarlet Mirage.

Charge , - - + - Red Impact.

Match-ups

- Blanka

Sagat

Sagat's not easy. Mainly because at mid range every form of offense that you can start up requires a small mistake from him to get started. Up close your games are pretty much equal with Geese having a slight advantage due to his more damaging combos, but at mid range Sagat is still top tier whereas midrange/longrange Geese has no move that you can really challenge Sagat with. Just like all of the top tier matchups except Cammy, Geese has to be very aggressive to win. Use his fierces against him whenever you can and once you get him to hesitate on fiercing you in the grill you have to run right at him and put yourself in your sweet spot.

You really dont have any move that cleanly beats stand short, but that doesnt hurt badly and a little known fact about Sagat's short is it actually leaves him at -1 on hit or block. So if you can actually run into it so that after the hit you are in your attack range, you can counterhit anything he does after with the proper timing. If you JD stand short it is even possible, although difficult, to get a free jab, the move is alot laggier than it looks. The reason people think Sagat has frame advantage after it is because it usually pushes the opponent back into the range where sagat's fierces or 2nd short will stuff whatever you do anyway. Your own fierce will trade with his short too pretty often if you are in your fierce range. If he really just spams the short kick then remember that if you can take the hit from it up close you get frame advantage, if you can JD it then you get huge advantage, and your own fierce can trade with it if you can get it out there in time. Also if sagat has no super, dont be afraid to mid counter from time to time just to keep him thinking. Risk/reward isnt so bad if he doesnt have meter, youll probably eat a fierce if you miss but if you hit youll do the damage of a fierce and put him on the floor next to you.

By use his fierce against him I mean you just have to be strong on the ground and a strong JDer. If you JD stand forward or fierce then thats free sweep every time or low fwd -> super if you are in range, if you JD a low fierce or a low jump roundhouse then you can get frame advantage even though you get no free hits. Be aware that although it requires nuts of steel you can run directly through his standing fierce and get a free combo. If you can get him to stop using stand fierce recklessly then its a pretty fair fight, low fierce isnt so bad cause you can punish whiffed ones alot easier with your fierce or sweep and low fierce isnt that long of a range compared to your attacks, and up close sagat can die to geese just like anyone else. Your standing fierce and low roundhouse are both longer range than his low fierce so if he whiffs one be quick about it and knock him down. Your standing strong(far) will also cleanly beat the low fierce if you are at the tip of his fierce range. You can do this buffered into a jab fireball for more pressure. Be aware though that if he presses standing fierce instead when you do this youll get punched in the face.

Only other things are never ever hang out at the range where a jump roundhouse will hit you with the tip, move up closer so that if he jumps you can actually antiair him. At tip of his foot range you have no antiair except a balls out high counter which you will find yourself getting supered for doing half the time. If you can predict it or are fast enough your standing fierce will stop his low jump, but just take care cause if you are too slow reacting you will get kicked then supered.

• Low roundhouse xx Reppuken: safe at max range vs. non roll sagat without meter. Vulnerable to low jumpins or tiger knee if too close and punishable by roll or super at any range.

• Moves that if just defended yield free jaienken combo, sweep, or low fwd-> super if in range: standing or close fierce, standing forward, standing strong, low or standing roundhouse.

• low fierce can be just defended giving you frame advantage, is outranged by both standing fierce and low roundhouse to easily punish whiffs, and can be stuffed by an well ranged standing strong which can then be buffered into a fireball for more pressure.

• low jump roundhouse can be just defended for free hits or frame advantage depending on depth of kick. Low jumps can be stuffed with standing fierce if done quickly.

Cammy

Cammy is the easiest top tier matchup that Geese has, but it is still Cammy so you must use caution and be on point. The main reason you have an easier time with this fight is that unlike Sagat and Blanka, you can pressure Cammy at any range. Her roll is very slow and her jump attacks are not overpowering, which gives you the upperhand in this fight with your projectile. Unlike many other characters a blocked sweep into a medium reppuken is safe against cammy generally unless she has a level 3 ready. If she jumps forward over the fireball in this case you will have time to antiair her attack easily.

The basic gameplan here is going to be to use your fireball very liberally. Reppukens control the ground very effectively against Cammy and force her to jump, and Geese's attacks can easily anti air her at any angle. If cammy jumps, then you can standing fierce her if she is in front of you and low fierce her when she is above you. These moves will stop her low jump, normal jumpins, and dive kick as long as you time them properly. Hold her back using these tactics and rush her only on your terms. If you are close to Cammy you have to make sure you have the initiative, because a Cammy standing over you as you are getting up or running at you in fierce range is a very scary character.

If the Cammy player gets within her standing roundhouse range, then you can stop this move several ways. You can stuff it with your low forward, Just Defend it and hit her with a sweep or low forward xx super combo, or punish a whiffed roundhouse with your own sweep.

If Cammy does get the initiative on you then you are going to be in trouble for a little while, as her rushdown with her incredibly fast fierces is probably the best in the game. If any fierce hits she has plenty of time to confirm the hit and link a super, and if you whiff a move on her in an attempt to stop her from advancing stand roundhouse xx super is an easy and powerful whiff punisher. It is important that you dont get flustered by her and maintain control of the match, you do have the advantage here but you can lose it quickly if you let her get in on you on her terms. Make sure that any time you are in close range, that you are in control. Cammy's close fierce is so fast, that even if you JD it, she can simply press it again and you can do nothing but block or JD again. Her far fierce is very nearly just as fast. Don't try to retaliate after JDing these moves, especially if her super is charged. It only takes one mistake to lose a lot of life. JD when you can to build some meter, and be on the lookout for throw attempts. If you predict a throw then quickly use your close short and start a combo. Close short is your fastest move and is the most reliable in stopping throw attempts. The best counter to Cammy's fierces is just to never put yourself in that position by using your projectiles to set up your own rushdown opportunities and keeping control.

The way that a Cammy will beat you in this fight is if she can score a random knockdown, or if she forces you to block a jump in, usually a dive kick. This will give her the initiative that she needs to start her rush on you and once Cammy has initiative up close every character in the game fears her. Be on the lookout for these things. Avoiding the dive kick will require you to think fast, but it isnt terribly difficult. You have to anti air Cammy early in her jump, as once the dive kick is fully extended it can beat your anti airs. Just press low fierce if she dives above your head and standing fierce if she dives out in front of you(if she is aiming at your feet) and you will always at least trade, as long as you are fast enough. Be alert.

Cammy's fast walking speed can sometimes catch you napping and allow her to perform walk up throws on you to score her knockdown, so keep her under control and don't let her advance on you too easily. DO NOT jump at Cammy unless you are prepared to Just Defend her uppercut. There is no move in Cammy's arsenal that is laggy enough that you can jump over it and get an advantage, she will always recover in time to uppercut you, and to make it worse her uppercut has huge horizontal range so if you jump anywhere near her she can usually tag you. If you are hit by Cammy's uppercut or her throws, it is usually ok to safe fall as long as you arent near the corner. Her level 3 super can punish it, but it wont be for full damage and very hard to do on reaction. It is recommended that you safe fall if you arent cornered since giving her a knockdown is very dangerous. If you are hit with a Spiral Arrow or a punch air throw away from the corner then you still may want to safe fall unless she has a level 3 charged. If she has a level 3 then she can roundhouse xx super your safe fall, so dont risk it, but she has no meter, I personally would rather eat the roundhouse in some cases than to let her knock me down and walk on top of me, depending on how the fight is going. You can see from this that it is important not to let yourself get cornered, as this takes away your option to safe fall and makes her job alot easier.

If you just defend Cammy's uppercut in the air, then you have 2 options. You can either immediately press roundhouse, or immediately hit her with an air fireball. If Cammy is in a safe fall groove(which is usually the case as she is preferred in K) then take the roundhouse, but if not, or if she is near the corner, then sometimes the air fireball is better as that will knock her down, but do a little less damage. Dont jump in with JD's too often, because Cammy does have an air throw and she can vary the timing of her uppercut quite a bit.

Spiral Arrow is a tricky move since at the perfect range, even if it is JD'ed it is safe. However at the wrong ranges you can easily punish it. Learn when you can and when you cannot punish this move. You can also stop it cold with your fireball and standing forward kick.

Punish blocked Cannon Spikes by running forward and low fierce xx Jaienken or your sweep, depending on range. Or of course if you have super ready, low fwd xx super. Due to the bounceback of this move when blocked you have to run forward a bit to get a full combo on Cammy after you block it.

• Be patient and keep Cammy out using your projectiles and anti airs, and attacking when you get clear opportunities

• Safe fall is generally safe to use when not cornered or facing her level 3 super

• After air Just Defending a Cannon Spike you can score a knockdown by using your air fireball or connect a jump roundhouse

• React quickly to dive kick attempts and jumpins with standing or crouching fierce depending on range

• If being pressured with fierces, Just Defend as much as you can and keep an eye out for throw attempts to punish with your stand short combos. If her super is ready then don't use your short unless you are absolutely sure

• Moves that can be punished if Just Defended: Stand roundhouse, low roundhouse. She keeps frame advantage even if you Just Defend her close or far fierce, so do not try to retaliate after Just Defending these in most cases

• Your low forward can stuff Cammy's standing roundhouse if they are done at the same time

Vega(claw)

A lot of people have problems with this match, but it really isnt that bad for K-Geese. I feel like Geese is a counter character for defensive Vega and that he just has way more options than an offensive Vega does. Looking at Vega's game plan, he wants to keep you out with long range pokes, jumping up and down, and rc claw rolls. His damage comes from nickel and dime hits like strongs, slides, and anti air roundhouses. He can combo his super off of low short and he has an okay custom but its nothing compared to the hurt Geese can cause off of one jab. The big difference, though, is that the Vega player has less execution required of him, and therefore if you don't execute properly you can lose. But Vega is weak to K-Groove in general(can't match the damage output and almost none of his attacks are safe when JD'ed), and Geese especially can give him a hard time.

One thing you don't want to do is throw fireballs too much or do low roundhouse xx fireball. Vega jumps fast, and those are all free jump kicks for him. You really dont need your projectile in this fight. Any wall flying nonsense he does loses to jump strong or roundhouse, but a good Vega will barely use this move.

The first thing to deal with is Vega's pokes. Common attacks youll see are low strong, stand strong, low roundhouse, and low forward. All of those yield a free sweep or low forward xx super when JDed except low forward, and low forward gives frame advantage to you when JDed, not to mention that it is similar in range to many of your own pokes so it shouldnt be too abusable at all. If you can't/dont want to JD then these will give you a harder time, but you can still fight with them. His standing and crouching strong are both fast but if Geese is poking with him then you can beat them clean with like every button on the cabinet if the moves are done simultaneously. Both those attacks are completely stuffed by your standing fierce, strong, low forward, and standing forward. You can also trade with them with your sweep for a knockdown in your favor. As for his crouching roundhouse, it is a laggy move but it does beat most of your common pokes. It loses to pokes that Geese doesnt usually use, for example you can stuff it with low strong or more safely/usefully with your stand short. Stand short stuffs the slide every time easily. It will also usually trade with your standing roundhouse heavily in your favor. You could also jump over it and land free combos or JD it as said before. His low forward is the only move that is safe if JDed but you can outrange that with your standing roundhouse and sweep pretty easily, and this move is stuffed completely by stand short also. The reason people get out poked by Vega is because they whiff moves out in front of him and he reacts with his attacks. The moral of the story here is "don't kill yourself, make him kill you". Just attack him. Take a few hits, but get inside and work your counterhits and throws on him. Feel him out, see how he reacts when you just walk up to him or run at him and dont be afraid to eat a couple hits here and there. You know how to beat his pokes, and if he doesnt poke and instead walks back and forth trying to make you whiff him, dont fall for it, run right up to him and force him to poke with you. If you can get him to trade hits with you and stop dancing around, you will win the ground game.

The next tactic that you'll have to deal with are his jumps. Vega jumps very fast, and they like to jump up and down to waste time and force you to make more mistakes. Luckily Geese doesnt care about that because you can stop every move that he has in the air with your jumping strong, so if the Vega is jumping up you have to react quickly with this move. Low jump strong usually works best as it puts you in a better position afterwards. Also you can jump in on him as he jumps up and time your crossup to force him to block it when he lands. If he has air block, do the jumping strong anyway, even though he may air block it you will take off a good bit of guard bar damage that way since airblocks take more guard damage. If you are sure he will airblock then use jumping fierce for 2 hits and tons of guard bar damage. A raged Geese does 33% guard damage if the opponent airblocks a fierce.

As for his offensive jumps, this is probably actually the hardest thing you'll have to deal with. At the right ranges Vega's jump roundhouse will stop your antiair fierce and his low jump is very fast. If he jumps over your head your fierce will work wonders but if he jumps out in front of you, it will be often stuffed or at best trade. The best tactic is, dont be at that range. You have to be pretty far from Vega for him to get a clean jump in like this on you using a normal jump, so don't be so far out. You should be in his grill at virtually all times. His low jump is a different story, that is really the hardest thing for Geese to deal with in the matchup. Low jump roundhouse mixed up with empty low jump low short -> combo to super is very very hard to block. Fortunately most people don't play Vega in a low jump groove, but if they do, you'll have to be crafty to counter it effectively. Your low fierce wont work, it gets hammered by his low jump attacks, so dont try it, you are just kicking yourself in the face. The best answer is to JD and then retaliate with your standing close short, if he pressed his roundhouse too early then that is a free hit and if he didnt then you'll still probably counterhit whatever he does afterwards. Make sure and do something nasty if it hits him. Another way to deal with this low jump is to jump up and down yourself from time to time, if you jump up as he does it then you can come down on him and make him block or get hit by your jumpin. If Vega cancels his low jump recovery into a backflip, thats a free hit for you, take it. But really the only easy way to deal with his low jumps is with JD, other than that it will require some guessing. If he has a super ready be aware of the threat of empty jump low short. Most importantly rush him hard enough that he doesnt have opportunities to jump towards you.

The next thing to be aware of are Vega's anti airs. Usually Vega players like to press Roundhouse which works like a charm against most opponents. Geese however can beat or trade with this move almost every time with an early jumping forward kick. So Vega can't rely on this move to antiair you. Also, if you JD this move close to him, you get a free roundhouse kick to his face. Be aware of Vega anti airing you with his air throw, and make sure to kick a little early if you think he will try this. Vega's low fierce doesnt work any better than his standing roundhouse. If he is charged, he may go for a flipkick, and this is the only thing that will really work well. However this isnt SF2 and this kick doesnt have invincibility frames, so if he doesnt do it fast enough it will lose also. If he does do this quickly it will anti air you, so be wary of jumping too predictably when he has a charge. If you JD both hits of this, then you can force him to block your jumpin afterwards. The only thing he has left to try on you is his RC roll claw. JD this and you can do a whole combo on him when you come down, not to mention getting hit by this out of the air barely even moves your life bar, so don't worry about it too much. Basically the only way Vega can stop your jumpins reliably is by jumping up and down himself and air to airing you, if you can make him stay grounded then you can jump at him pretty liberally with Geese. His Red Impact can be JD'ed pretty easily also if you can bait it on a jump, and his flipkick super does weak damage as an antiair.

The thorn in a lot of players' sides in this matchup is Vega's RC roll claw, and it is somewhat annoying to deal with but it can be handled and punished very severely if you predict it. Your counter depends on the situation. Wake up RC roll claws are very easy to seriously hurt with Geese, just hover around the opponent while he is down and jump vertically at the last moment. If he does the RC, he will either recover right under you and get hit by a whole crossup combo if he does the Jab version, or if he does any other version he will be totally vulnerable to any run up combo you want to do to him from behind. This is the most damaging and easiest way to counter this. You can also use your HCB+Jab to counter it at close range or throw it during startup.

Roll claws from around low forward range can be handled the same way, the last upward hit of the roll claw totally fails to anti air Geese's jumping up forward kick. It is also easier to react with a HCB+Jab at this range. The only difference is you can't throw it from this far.

Roll claws from around the tip of Vega's low strong range are even easier to deal with, all of the above tactics work and also the invincibility of the move will have actually run out before it reaches you in this case. The invinciblity of a RC rolling claw lasts until he finishes his first "bounce" on the floor. After that, he is hittable, and Geese's stand fierce punches the rolling claw cleanly. No matter what version he does, if you are at a long enough range that the first bounce of the rolling claw does not reach you, just press a well timed fierce for a free counterhit.

If Vega loses his mask, he becomes the weakest character in the game defensively. To put in in perspective, an equal ratio Vega with no mask takes 100% damage from Geese's crossup 60 stun combo and dizzy followup. Not many characters can say they have a touch of death in CVS2. So if he loses his mask, that's even more reason to get in there and trade hits with him. If you are raged, then fierce punch counterhits against him when he has no mask take off over 20% of his health.

Basically in this match, you have much better offense and you have the tools to penetrate all of Vega's best defense. If you play his game and fear him, letting him dance out of your range and punish your mistakes, then you will lose, but if you get in there and trade hits with him, forcing him to press buttons without waiting for you to press them first, you can beat any similarly skilled Vega with Geese very handily. Vega just can't take off 80% off of one jab the way that Geese can and he can't compete with your ability to guard crush and counterhit.

• your fierce, low forward, and stand forward all stuff Vega's strong punches, but be careful not to whiff moves in front of him recklessly

• you can stuff his slides with stand short or jump them and do a combo

• all his medium and heavy ranged normals except low forward are punishable when JD'ed

• if the opponent dances in and out of range, don't play along, walk or run up to him and make him fight you and don't fear eating a few pokes in the process, especially when raged

• Geese can stuff cleanly all of Vega's normal move anti-airs with jumping forward

• punish RC roll claws by countering, jumping vertically and landing with a combo, or pressing standing fierce after the first "bounce"

• if Vega jumps vertically react with your jumping strong, unless you know he will airblock in which case use jumping fierce

• low fierce will only antiair Vega if you are under him in a normal jump, if he is out in front you should JD or move out of the way. Don't hang out this far from Vega often

• JD then press close short to counter low jumps, or try to jump to avoid them and retake momentum

Sakura

This match is hard, probably the hardest one in the game for me at least if it is A-Sakura(which it usually is). K-Groove already has problems with A-Sakura and Geese has an even harder time than most because even without meter Sakura has the tools to keep Geese out better than even some of the top tier characters. Her stamina and damage output are low compared to yours, but you are going to have to rush her down mercilessly when her meter is empty and then be very careful not to get caught blocking her custom.

The first thing you'll run into fighting her is her roundhouse. Geese does not have an easy answer for this. All the moves you have that can counter it require you to whiff the move in front of her and try to hit her limbs, because her range is much longer than yours, and even if she whiffs this kick right in front of you punishing it with anything is pretty difficult. It is also totally safe if Just Defended. The one thing that helps though is that this move does the same damage as one of your mediums...but it is her roundhouse. So it is recommended that you rush her and force her to react to you with this move, then you will get chances to trade with her using one of your knockdown moves and take control. There are 2 moves that you'll use often in order to punish her standing roundhouse, and that will be low forward and towards+fierce. Your low forward beats this move cold, but you have to press it at a range where the low forward wont actually contact Sakura's body(i.e. hitting her limbs). So if you guess wrong and she doesn't press the button when you think, then you may get kicked in your recovery. Use this from time to time to get her thinking about punishing whiffs, and then you can run in closer since they wont just be pressing roundhouse every time you walk towards them. Your low fierce and standing strong and forward will also stuff her roundhouse if you put the hitting frames right in front of her sprite, and there is nothing that will get in her head more than hitting her limb with low fierce from a character width away and cancelling to super. Don't be afraid to put those moves out there, it is ok to eat a few roundhouses because you whiff but just don't get dizzy and keep the pressure on. As long as you mix up the timing of the attacks on your approach, she will have to think about when to press her button as every trade is in your favor, even when you trade a medium for her roundhouse because of your higher base damage. You really have to kill her or wound her severely before she gets her meter, that is priority #1.

Another good move for this is towards and fierce. Against top tier characters who can all poke -> super you and who all do comparable damage to you, this move really isn't that good to abuse except to crush guard, but against weaker damage characters like Sakura it is very helpful because even if you get poked for it a couple times, all you gotta do is trade with it once and you can make all that damage back and get a knockdown. As long as the hitting frames of this move are out(14 frame startup) it will at least trade with anything that Sakura does. It is also very meaty and will sometimes stay out so long it'll still hit the person after they think it has already whiffed. If you trade with her using this move, it is heavily in your favor as this is one of the most damaging normal moves in the game, and it will knock her down. Throwing this move out at just outside her roundhouse range and trading with her a couple times will also make her think about just sticking it out whenever you get close, and once you have her hesitating to press the button then you will get more chances to move in for the kill.

Properly ranged standing roundhouses will beat or trade in your favor with her roundhouse pretty convincingly, but be careful spamming this as her roll is very fast and you could eat a combo.

And the final approach is the most obvious but must be done sparingly or else you will really hurt yourself, jump. If you jump right when she throws out this move, she won't have time to get her normal move anti airs out and she will be forced to block it, and then you are in your good zone.

Whatever you do don't let A-Sakura sit and throw roundhouses and dive kicks while you watch, always pressure her when she has no meter. If you let Sakura charge her custom without challenging her, then you are giving the match away completely.

You cannot do low roundhouse xx Reppuken safely on Sakura unless she blocks it from the very tip. She can always RC medium hurricane you in the face every time you do this any closer. However since she knows this you may be able to do a blocked low roundhouse to bait her into the kick and then use your counter, as long as you do it sparingly.

Jumping in on Sakura is difficult at almost any angle. Her low fierce and close fierce stop pretty much all of Geese's jumpins cold, her close fierce even hits behind her head and hits crossups. Add that to her very short character sprite giving her plenty of time to react to jumps, and it makes jumping on her without a knockdown setup very difficult. So unless you are jumping over a roundhouse or a RC fireball, jumping toward her is generally not advised. Note you can often punish her anti airs after you air Just Defend, but be aware of her airthrow. Her RC Jab uppercut can also be a problem, the only way to beat that antiair is to Just Defend, but this will only work if you jump out in front of her. If the opponent doesn't use rc jab uppercut, then it is somewhat safe to jump out in front of Sakura as long as it is far enough away that low fierce won't reach you. You may be able to get her to whiff a low fierce and take some free hits.

The next thing to be aware of are her RC's. She has a good set of RCable moves, like her fireball and her hurricane kick. The fireball will have to be contended with by jumping or throwing the startup, but if you guess right and jump as she does this move you can get a free combo.

Her RC hurricane can really give Geese a headache. The roundhouse one connects on a crouching Geese for all the hits, and it is safe even if fully Just Defended. In order to punish this move you are going to have to anticipate it a bit, but there are several ways to punish it depending on range.

If she uses it at point blank(as a wake up, to break out of your pressure strings)then you have 2 things you can do. The most obvious is a high counter, but that will be total guesswork. The other more rewarding thing to do is to randomly jump straight up during your pressure. If you jump up when she does it, then you can come down and punish her with a combo, and if she does not do it when you think, then just come down with your forward kick and keep attacking.

If she uses it from roundhouse range as a poke, then both the above options work and also you can hit her out of it at long range. Her invincibility runs out after her first kick, so if you are far enough away that that whiffs you you can just press low fierce and hit her out of the 2nd kick. It is alot easier to reactively counter this move at poking range, also.

Her dive kick can make her somewhat hard to antiair. If she dive kicks quickly, it is very hard to get your low fierce out there in time. If you Just Defend a divekick from anywhere other than right at your feet, you can get a free punch throw or you can counterhit anything she might do after with your close short. However be aware that this is a common setup for a custom combo.

Sakura's roll is very fast. Be careful overusing fireballs or your laggier normals like standing roundhouse or low roundhouse from too close, and always be ready to punish her roll.

Sakura's custom combo is going to be what kills you in this fight. If you even get caught blocking it, then you will take 60-70% damage, so in order to fight her custom you are going to have to totally avoid it.

Once Sakura gets her custom you will have to go into defensive mode. Rushing and looking for counterhits is very dangerous when this custom is there, you can rush but then after one or two blocked hits jump away and try to bait the custom. If you can make her waste her meter, then you can finish her off usually before she can get another. The safest way to avoid a custom that you think is coming is to jump back, as she can't do anything to you if you do this. Another riskier but more rewarding thing to do is to jump up, and try to hit her with a jumpin while she cannot block, but be aware that she can just switch to her anti air custom if she sees you do this. Her anti air custom is alot less damaging, though, so this may be wise. You can also HCB counter the first hit of the custom by inputting the HCB motion when you think she will do it, then if you see the flash just press your button immediately after it and you should counter her move(she usually starts her custom with her standing roundhouse, but some Sakuras start it low). This same thing can be done with either of your supers, also. Finally if you Just Defend the first hit of her custom, you will be able to HCB counter the 2nd hit or use a super before the 2nd hit, so if you must block then at least try to JD and give yourself a chance. Don't anti air her with low fierce predictably, because she can jump in and activate through it. Use jump back roundhouse to anti air more. If you block/Just Defend a dive kick, be ready for a custom activation right afterwards. It is best to jump away or up after blocking the dive kick so after she activates you are safely in the air, but you can also super or counter her if you are sure.

Be especially ready for the custom if you are raged, Sakura players will often wait till you are raged to use it as it wastes all your rage time. Try to counter the custom with your super if you predict it.

• Don't let her charge meter, be very aggressive against a meterless Sakura

• Poke with her limbs occasionally with your towards+fierce, low forward, stand roundhouse, and low fierce, trading hits with her is in your favor and will help you get in closer by making her hesitant

• Jump over her standing roundhouse and RC fireball in order to get inside easily. Jump vertically or counter in order to stop her RC hurricane, or low fierce it after the first kick misses

• Be aware of her fast roll and be on the lookout for it, especially if her meter is charged

• Antiairing dive kicks can be difficult with your low fierce depending on the range, try jumping back with roundhouse or Just Defending then throwing with punch or pressing close short for a counterhit

• When Sakura has meter, play defensively and bait her custom whenever you think it is likely. Be on the lookout for common custom setup gimmicks, like roll, empty jump, dash, or blocked dive kick/hurricane kick followed by activation

• Be especially ready for a custom activation when your rage meter is active, as many A Groove players prefer to activate then so as to waste your raged time

• Customs can be countered most easily by jumping back or up right before they activate, or for more risk but greater reward you can super or HCB counter the first hit of the custom by inputting the motion before the custom flash, then just pressing the button afterwards

• Be aware of jump in customs, don't always antiair with low fierce when custom is charged

• If absolutely necessary it is possible to JD the first hit of the custom the counter or super her out of the 2nd hit

-M. Bison(dictator)

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