Vs. Jotaro
5:5, Neutral Advantage.
Quite a volatile matchup, you will find that you will have to be cautious of taking too many risks on pressure as buttons such as s.5A and s.5B as well as Star Breaker will blow you up.
Ideally you would start your vortex off a knockdown and back off as soon as your vortex ends. Overstaying can result in you getting blown up.
Although you can control ground space quite effectively with s.6B s.5C s.214X, getting too predictable or careless can result in a Star Breaker.
The key to the matchup is cycling your options efficiently and knowing when to back off. There is little Jot can do if you just turtle behind nets after securing a life lead. Knowing when you can punish his offense and capitalizing on it is incredibly helpful as well.
-Punish s.214aa with a well timed pushblock into 66c >214x 66c, 66b > 214x, 66c > Tandem, or s.66b. S~2a 66c > Tandem.
-Jotaro’s Stand Off crouch is quite small, making s.x> s.5c whiff, but s.6b and 66c work just fine. Use ABB/ABAB Tandems.
-Posterd
Vs. Old Joseph
7:3, Heavy Advantage.
Oldseph has to rely on his Stand On confirms and damage, so attempting to knock him down with s.2c in neutral is heavily advised against.
Besides that he doesn’t have many other defensive options, and his sluggish wakeup makes him very weak to oki. Try to GC his Custom Combo misses, punish his half-screen Hermit Web with 66B/C or Wrap, or (s.5B) s.2C, and don’t fall for his s.j.A mindgames.
NiadHGR
Vs. Avdol
5:5 Neutral Advantage. Very neutral and even matchup.
A big issue with this matchup is that neither player is incentivized to be proactive with neutral, as both Nkak and Avdol have the defensive tools to shut down the others’ approach options.
Over-extending on pressure is quite an issue due to strong up close buttons, so make sure to back off when needed.
Cycling is important as several of Avdol’s normals can cover several options.
Patience is incredibly important in this matchup and you will have to be content with sitting back and letting the opponent approach. A couple mistakes could lead to a decent string of pressure or a combo which will take a sizable chunk off of Avdol’s health, meaning he will have to approach or get camped out.
Not having meter for 20 meter Emerald Splash means that you cannot police a crossfire without meter.
-Stand off has a little bit more importance in this matchup as you can police Avdol’s airspace with j.C as well as call out unsafe actions with 66c.
-Avdol’s wakeup is quick so you typically won’t get safe oki on knockdowns such as stand on grab and s2c at farther ranges.
-Posterd
Vs. Kakyoin
3:7, Large Disadvantage.
Your worst matchup. You are outclassed in almost every regard. You are outmatched in movement, damage, oki, and defensive options.
But there is hope.
The key to this matchup is playing slowly and patiently and capitalizing on over extensions and mistakes the Kak makes. Examples include s.2c on block/stand on, reckless stand on pokes, and telegraphed approaches.
Even though it can’t confirm into as much damage as Kak’s does, your oki is still strong and can vortex kak into a large health deficit or even death. Difficult matchup, but doable compared to other characters vs Kak.
-Posterd
Vs. Polnareff
4:6, Slight Disadvantage.
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Vs. Devo
7:3 Sizable advantage.
This matchup is almost entirely reliant on shutting down Devo’s approaches. Throwing out normals to prevent doll from approaching and j.C to prevent Devo from approaching with j.C 236C.
Don’t get too predictable or reckless, or you could eat a 214AA or 236AA. Get used to releasing net on doll normals, it’s tricky because they can all break net but landing one grants sizable reward as s.236AA puts the opponent in an area where they can be easily juggled and tech chased. Placing a net down immediately after and watching how the Devo air-techs will give you the upper hand in neutral.
Any bits of damage matter as you’re not going to be doing as many combos.
-Posterd
-7+j.C or a spaced j.C in general beats Devo j.C quite consistently due to large disjoint.
-High defense value so unscaled net confirms aren’t worth it. Add the s.j.B.
-Up back s+j3X is quite effective if the opponent likes to 2C, 2A or s.2A out of pressure.
Vs. Iggy
7:3, Heavy Advantage.
Iggy suffers from not being able to approach New Kakyoin effectively. Circle camping is impossible for Iggy to keep up with New Kakyoin’s aerial mobility.
When it comes to what New Kakyoin can do to Iggy… 5C, all 5B variants, and all aerials whiff on Stand Off Iggy. Also goes for s.j.3C, on undetermined occasions.
The best confirms from a Net are raw 214x and s.665b > Demon. Because of Iggy’s tedious low stature on Stand Off doing any kind of combo on them is nigh unfeasible besides a Tandem Mash or 214X.
One of your best tools against IOH sandball s.j.C camping is s.6B to swat him out of the air.
Keep in mind that getting grabbed is not the end of the world, since Iggy IS UNABLE TO MEATY YOU ON GRAB OKI. This means you can do a free Tandem on wakeup, s.4Cin Tandem, go Stand On, and air-dash out.
New Kakyoin doesn’t have a lot of meters to spend in this match-up though, so consider if just guessing the 50/50/Unblockable is worth it.
Last thing to add is that s.5B hits Stand Off Iggy walking up to you for grabs and everything, so if you catch Iggy in a Tandem by chance, just go RAW s.5B’s.
Boring match-up, to be honest.
Vs. Midler
6:4, Slight Advantage.
This matchup becomes a lot easier with the lifelead, but can be quite weird to grasp at first.
Navigating a life lead deficit can be difficult, but becomes easier through proper stand off movement. Navigating her 236x and 214x “zoning” with dashes cancelled into Stand On as well as rolls will result in you approaching a comfortable s.6B distance. The threat of s.2B and s.665B is very real here, so Midler will often either jump or attempt to out-neutral you.
S.5C contests rising jump quite well so using this to your advantage to create a tech chase situation with net is ideal to shutting down Midler’s air game.
-Posterd
Vs. Alessi
6:4/7:3, Advantage
(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Vs. Chaka
5:5, Slight advantage. Approximately even matchup, slightly leaning towards Nkak.
Although Nkak retains ground dominance in this matchup despite s6B and s5C being ducked by crouching Stand Off Chaka, contesting arguably the most important movement tool in Chaka’s moveset, hyper hop j.C/s.j.C, becomes extremely difficult if you are not aware of the situation and/or are positioned poorly. Normals such as s.5B become more important as they are able to contest Chaka’s approaches after repositioning.
You will find that not spacing yourself and respecting Chaka’s potential area of influence will result in getting stuffed out and blown up. Backdash s+5B/6B/5C and 7 s.j.C are just some tools you can use to reposition while coming out on top in the exchange.
In the Chaka matchup in particular committing too hard to one area of influence will lead to you being quickly overwhelmed and opened up. Given this you must be willing to stop option cycling OR guess what zone Chaka will occupy next. The latter is a lot riskier than the prior, but either way it is important to understand these “zones”.
Blue: s.2A, s.2B, s.2C
Red: s.6B, s.5B, s.665B, s.4C when closer
Green: s.5C, s.6A, s.4C when closer
Yellow: 7+j.C, s.445B, s.446X
Conceding when you don’t know the next zone Chaka will occupy is the key to this matchup. Net is a better defense than preemptive buttons could ever be especially against Chaka.
Simply stopping your cycle to block then pushblock or attack back to neutral is far safer and consistent than trying to guess the next space Chaka will occupy.
Play around existing nets as opposed to being careless with your space control (THIS PRINCIPLE IS IMPORTANT REGARDLESS OF MATCHUP).
Match-ups where this concept is incredibly important are 'Rubber, Khan, Jotaro (relying on net instead of preemptive buttons. Zone control is not as risky as chaka and rubber), and S. Dio.
-s.2B and s.2C can punish and stuff out Chaka's who attempt to approach by ground with options such as 66B 236S or s66B.
-Stand on Chaka is rather large and a small stand gauge means he is quite susceptible to Stand On pressure, such as s66b, s2b and s.x s.5c after net cancel.
-Posterd
Vs. Vanilla Ice
4:6, Slight Disadvantage.
Another volatile, yet somewhat even matchup. Reliant on securing an easy life lead and aggressive, spaced pressure. One hit will usually mean death from Vice but holding a life lead is quite easy given how strong your defensive tools are. Vice still has potential to run the same gameplan if he fails to kill, as s.2B and s.6B can stuff IAD fairly well. Cycling to options like s.2B and chained s.5C unblockable after net cancel is very important as Vice lacks the tools to both invul through s.2B or s.5C AND approach while destroying net. Vice IAD can power through nets fairly well, however, proper pressure should make it fairly hard for Vice to find an opening.
-Posterd
5:5/4:6, Even/Slight Disadvantage.
Vanilla Ice will rock your world if you’re not prepared to deal with his relentless pressure. Learning to Guard Cancel his IAD s.j.6C will help tremendously since it's multiple hits will eat through nets.
Overall, you can keep Ice out quite well with your normals and nets. A good Vanilla Ice will use Stand On's absurd pokes and IAD's to swipe away at your nets and find openings in your smallest mistakes.
Don't focus on landing your BnB's, chipping away at him is a better core gameplay to stick to.
Vanilla Ice's s.6C CAN and WILL hit your attempts at approaching, so like many top tier match-ups, patience is highly recommended.
My best advice is that you keep your vigilance, and stay awake behind the wheel.
-NiadHGR
Vs. DIO
5:5, pretty equal matchup.
This matchup is centered around keeping DIO out while being active with your pressure and footsies. Due to a generally large hurtbox, DIO can be subject to heavy pressure and poking. For example, chained s.5C (which is unblockable if it hits at the tips of its hitbox) can rack up some damage and allows you to use the hitstun to continue pressure.
S.5C alone is a great normal against his Stand On moveset as well. Given how large DIO's hurtbox is, it’s incredibly hard to approach a normal that invalidates so much space. While you are able to cycle a large multitude of options given DIO's size and effective range, you are still prone to getting blown up for any mistake on offense or in neutral thanks to Nkak’s low defense value and DIO's high damage.
Playing a proper keep-out game is imperative in this matchup, and luckily you have access to all your tools thanks to DIO's large hurtbox.
-Posterd
6:4, Notable Advantage.
DIO will try his best to get his confirms on you while you keep him out with a variety of Stand On normals. In particular, s.5C is an extremely valuable tool because of DIO’s very big hurtbox, notably in width in Stand Off, and height in Stand On.
Unless the opponent can do single hit conforms off of stray hits, they will try to mix you with varieties of 663A > 214C and approaching j.B 2A (> 214A).
This battle forces you to read the opponents habits, and adjust accordingly since both parties can dish out clean damage with openings.
New Kakyoin is able to pressure DIO quite well, especially when he is Stand On, since 214X > j.X unblockable mixup becomes possible for you to go for. The same can be said for DIO though, since his stagger pressure is nigh unrivaled and his corner pressure is extremely difficult to get out of if DIO mixes up his 2A timings.
There's a favored distance New Kakyoin wants to keep against DIO which is around halfscreen / midscreen, while DIO himself will seek for options to close the gap.
Due to how DIO works, preemptive s.4C and s.6B (DIo is a fat fucker) work very well but you should watch out for DIO's 66C > 236S when you're both trying to occupy midscreen at the same time, since you will lose that interaction most of the time.
Most of his options have low recovery frames and rely on 214X to keep you locked down, so GC'ing is a good way to reset position into your favorable distance.
Getting touched means taking a lot of damage, but overall this matchup is in your favor. Also, s.X > s.5X’s unblockable property at the edge of its range is exactly where DIO plays most of his footsies, making it a medium reward/low risk option.
Some quick tips:
Guard Canceling his 214x strings is easy and high reward if DIO isn't mixing up his stagger pressure. When he starts to test your ability to GC, pushblock him away.
DIO has trouble removing nets risk-free, making circle-camping an effective strategy.
Landing a close ranged s.2C allows New Kakyoin to close in and oki DIO with a net up.
DIO's 623X "The World" (Teleport) Is a good way for DIO to get in. Although vulnerable to grabs, since it's invincibility is hard to deal with he can start some good pressure if you're not ready for it. A simple s.4C should force him to either block, or pull him out his time chamber.
-NiadHGR
Vs. Mariah
8:2 Extraordinary Advantage.
Normals such as s.6B and s.2C destroy wires and outlets and punish specials respectively.
You don’t want to approach recklessly, but staying too passive and not contesting Mariah’s tools will result in you getting overwhelmed by a slew of projectiles and free wires.
Stay grounded more often than not in this matchup as you will be able to contest specials and wire on reaction.
Additionally, s.236AA can be used to punish projectiles when in awkward positioning, meaning the threat of a punish is always present.
Throws will result in Mariah losing levels while giving you Oki, which is a major plus, meaning tick throws and throw pressure have an increased presence in the matchup.
She can't defend against tick-grabs well, except mashing 2a which doesn't even knock you down in Stand On.
Don't let her get past Level 4-5, then her neutral improves by a pretty big amount. Patience is key, use s.j.3c to remove them and don't get push-blocked into outlets.
-Posterd
Vs. Hol Horse
7:3, Sizable Advantage.
Moving around is a little different in this matchup as with others that involve frequent full screen projectiles.
IOH will not be your primary movement option, you will spend a majority of your time moving in Stand Off. However, being Stand Off is dangerous around Hol Horse, so using Stand Off movement when he is airborne or committing to 623X is ideal.
Winning is bent on knowing how to punish his offense: Be comfortable punishing j.623x, auto pilot frame traps on block, and throw. Punishing him and showing him that he faces a vortex if he over extends is important to controlling neutral and the game. Remain patient and play smart and the game is yours.
-Air Blocking 623x when you can’t punish it is ideal to avoid low bullet or a similar unblockable.
-Not really worth going for unscaled damage due to high defense.
-Punish throw with down tech j.B 66C.
-236AA is quite strong when dealing with repeated projectiles, allows you to close the distance.
-Posterd
Vs. Hol Horse & Boingo
7:3, Sizable Advantage. See Hol Horse for a majority of the info.
Hoingo's S-Bullet is an annoyance to deal with, but his defensive options are even worse than Hol's. He doesn't have loops nor does he have a solid game-plan aside from S-Bullet mazes.
Watch out for close quarter scrambles though, his 2B and 360 are both pretty good.
-NiadHGR
Vs. Petshop
4:6, Notable Disadvantage.
Volatile MU where getting touched means death against you, most of the time. This is remedied by the fact Bird can't break nets, your s.4C destroys his pressure if you spot any gaps, and you have a way to force him to block low.
Your low hitting moves are s.2C and 2C. Set up s.214A and wait for him to approach you and whatever you do, don't act careless around icicles.
Learn what moves are safe and which other one's are unsafe when Bird is crouching.
-Although low posture, Bird is vulnerable to s.5x unblockable oki.
-Bird's Homing Icicles are hard to deal with, but keep double jumping to Petshop. He has only a few moves which are air-unblockable, like his 214X.
-NiadHGR
Vs. Black Polnareff
8:2, Extraordinary Advantage.
A match-up that can be won very easily if you lifelead and camp, no ifs or buts.
Going on the offensive is also very rewarding, since most of Bpol's moves are either easily avoidable like his supers, or can be circumvented with playing safe.
There's not a lot to this match-up, really. Keep yourself safe with nets, but watch out for 663B > Loop, since 663B doesn't hit Nkak's nets.
Bpol's 214AA doesn't hit you if it hits net first. Besides that, a well timed pushblock makes you able to punish him with 2C > oki / s.2B > s.2C > oki for trying it.
His supers are also so slow that doing oki on him is very medium risk/high reward.
Vs. Shadow Dio
6:4, Slight Advantage.
Shadow Dio is reliant on proper spacing and understanding of how S. Dio’s pressure works.
Since you will be stand on quite often in the matchup, you must be cautious his of j.S pressure as it can set up tricky to block pressure. To avoid this, simply turning stand off and crouching can lead to a full punish with 2A 66C.
It is important to find and exploit these types of interactions to create and maintain a lifelead.
S. DIO has quite high committal options to destroy nets, so taking advantage of this is paramount in keeping S. DIO out.
-Avoid using 236aa in neutral in this matchup. Due to its slower start up it can be booked in reaction.
-Posterd
