General Strategy
Summary
Rubber Soul doesn't have too many tools at his disposal but can be great at zoning in the middle of the field with his projectiles or stand attacks.
Keep your distance and find the right moment for a jump in or approach with a dashing low jab. Rubber's projectile move comes out really fast to guarantee a safe approach or follow up. You need to be patient and do his basic 50/50s over and over. Rubber's quick roll can be really helpful to keep you safe from being punished too. Don't be reckless and keep your distance until your opponent makes a mistake.
In case you launch the opponent into the air and they recover in your direction, you can counter with 4S or use projectile super + 5A to set up an unblockable super with decent damage. You can use Rubber's 236+AA super to set up his command grab by jumping/rolling behind them. You can also attempt to juggle opponents in the air using 5A or 5B into 5S/4S. Rubber Soul's powerful anti-airs have a lot of potential.
Always keep a stock of meter at your disposal in order to be able to punish an opponent with your projectile super from afar or to save yourself from a tight spot with his command grab super.
Don't forget about your powerful counter move, although mistiming it can be fatal and the opponent can still grab you through it.
His jumping stand attack is one of the strongest attacks in the games and causes hard knockdown if the opponent was airborne. Just make sure it connects with your opponent as whiffing this move will most likely result in a punish.
Low damage output makes Rubber Soul a poor character. However, his tricky rushdown usage and combination of stand attacks can turn even the worst matchup in your favor.
Okizeme/Resets
Rubber Soul has a huge variety of moves that cause hard knockdown and which also make a big chunk of his combo enders, most importantly his j.S which you will be using a lot and his regular grab. During resets, you'll want to go for his j.s/2a 50/50, either his d.2A or j.A will work, however, there is a way to make these moves much safer to use in this situation. Use Rubber Soul's 236+A/B/C projectile attack right before the opponent is about to stand up, if done correctly opponent will be forced to block no matter what, letting you approach them safely. While Rubber's Oki isn't the best, using the projectile move there will cause a small bit of Chip damage at the very least.
As an alternative, after using the projectile attack and timing your d.2A or j.A properly, you may attempt to go for a tick grab (d.2A is more likely to work, you can add a bonus jab and walk forward a bit as well). This is still a bit risky to do because if you attack the opponent before Yellow Temperance disappeared, Rubber won't be able to use his grab. Still, it's a decent strategy if you want to chip down opponent's health and gain meter from his grabs.
