Beginner Mistakes
The most common beginner mistake is overusing his special moves and underusing his normals, especially when playing neutral. A lot of his special moves are situational (Olympus Over, Active Tupon, Hercules Throw) and should not be used much or thrown out in neutral. Poseidon Wave, while it has its uses, is not a substitute for playing neutral and should not be thrown out in neutral much either as it is fairly risky. Focus on using your normals and playing a solid neutral game with pokes/footsies, air-to-airs, etc. Since Tizoc is somewhat lacking in combos, your normals are essentially your bread and butter!
Command Grab Setups
Commonly used command grab setups with Tizoc's Justice Hurricane (360) and Big Fall Griffon (720).
- Empty jump: useful when mixed with jump normals and for evading and punishing moves likes fireballs or whiffed ground normals.
- Tick throw: typically done after normals like cl.A/5A/2A, cl.D, or hop/j.C when near the opponent.
- Forward dash: a good way to quickly approach the opponent and land a command from mid-range. Tizoc's forward dash has the property of being airborne and able to evade lows mid-dash, making it useful against other characters' pokes or checks with low normals.
- Forward feint: Tizoc's forward feint has the unique property of moving him forward and giving him upper body invincibility, allowing him to evade various attacks and whiff punish them with a command grab or throw. It serves as an effective anti-air against a lot of jump and hop normals.
- Feint cancel: Tizoc is able to feint cancel from a cl.A, 5A, 2A, 5B, or 5C (on block) to move him closer in range for a command grab after one his pokes. Similar to a regular tick throw, but can be performed from farther away due to the feint moving him forward.
- Hop A: an option select if you perform the hop A at the apex of Tizoc's hop and input the 360/720 on whiff timing as he touches the ground. The hop A will whiff on a standing opponent. If the opponent tries to jump out and the hop A hits them, the command grab won't come out due to the hitstop. Also prevents the opponent from walking backwards out of range due to the forced proximity block.
- Backdash: useful for evading moves such as jump-ins, especially in the corner.
- Poseidon Wave A: an easy option select where you can input a 360/720 at the end of a Poseidon Wave A if you expect to be in range of a command grab. If the opponent crouches the Poseidon Wave, it will whiff and command grab will come out. This is more of a gimmicky setup as the Poseidon Wave is somewhat risky to throw out and the opponent can still jump, backdash, or reversal in response to the Poseidon Wave to avoid the command grab.
- Throw tech (720): If Tizoc techs a throw in the corner or if the opponent techs your throw in the corner (a less likely situation), Tizoc is able to land an inescapable 720 (can't be jumped or backdashed) after the throw tech, if done quickly enough.
Okizeme
Common okizeme setups.
- Justice Hurricane A (corner): forward feint 360/720, forward dash 360/720, meaty 5C, forward hop/j.C, any light normal will reach too.
- Justice Hurricane A (midscreen): forward dash 360/720, forward dash j.C (air-to-air).
- D throw (corner): a common follow-up is Poseidon Wave A (to get close to the opponent) then 360/720, meaty cl.D (combo starter), neutral hop/j.C, back hop D, Poseidon Wave C break (to potentially bait a reversal) into forward dash 360/720 or an air-to-air.
- D throw (midscreen): you can follow-up with triple forward dash into 360/720, meaty cl.D (combo starter), neutral j.C, forward j.C (air-to air). The triple forward dash is generally more reactable, risky, and easier to avoid, so it's not always advised to use this setup (you may opt for a double forward dash to be safe and try react to what the opponent does on wake-up instead).
- Justice Hurricane C (corner): you can follow-up with forward dash into another forward dash 360/720, Poseidon Wave A (you can potentially land a counter hit against a jumping opponent and also buffer a 360/720 against a crouching opponent or one who jumps over and lands behind you), or air-to-air. These are all riskier options and not as strong compared to Tizoc's okizeme off of his Justice Hurricane A, which is why the latter is preferred in the corner.
Throw Bug
An important bug to be aware of as Tizoc is the throw bug. By inputting a TOP attack (in TOP mode) or super (if the meter is available) near the end of the recovery of an attack, the opponent can make it so that their attack becomes throw and command grab invincible for a short period of time, even when the move would otherwise be unsafe and punishable by a throw or command grab on block. When the opponent is in TOP mode and you have P-Power, it is generally advisable to punish with 5A/2A xx Daedalus Attack D instead of attempting to punish with Big Fall Griffon as his most optimal punish. If you attempt to punish with D throw, a cl.D or far 5D will come out instead, which may still be serviceable as a punish.
Notable Players to Watch
