Street Fighter 6/Blanka/Strategy

Neutral

2MP/2MK, preferably 2MP are your go-to whiff punish/confirm buttons. Poke with 6HP, 2HP, 5MP: follow-up on counter-hit

  6HP crumples into a full drive rush combo on PC
  2HP Gives a large amount of space on PC

Chain lights with 5LK, pressure with 4MK

Hop into range and shimmy/strike/throw

Neutral drive rush 4MK, 2MK, 5LK, 6MP

Abuse EX moves over drive rush extensions when budgeting meter, Blanka has many tools to get in and his ex moves are especially strong

Slide, coward crouch or jump over projectiles

Use Blanka chan and activate to follow/get-in

Use air ball in neutral

Use blanka's strong cross-up j. MK

Bait with light blanka ball

Chip away at drive gauge with heavy/ex blanka ball

Offense

Frame Traps

Most of Blanka's kit has built in frame traps.

Space Traps

5MP, 5MP 2LP, 2LP On wakeup, DR 5HK, 5LP (whiff punish with 5LP) On wakeup, DR 6MK, 5LP (ex lightning is good option because continues plus frames)

Okizeme and Mixups

Forward Throw:

-Hop -Dash -DR 4MK -Dash, walk back shimmy

214P/214PP: -Hop +12 -Dash>Drive Rush, 4MK +6-7 -Light Blanka Ball

Safe Jumps:

Wild Lift DRC 2LK xx Coward Crouch, Safe Jump Wild Lift, EX Thunder (juggle), Safe Jump

In many cases, ending in Medium/Heavy Upball in the corner leads to a safe jump (+42 for Blanka)

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

Knockdown	KD Adv.	Oki/Notes
Forward Throw	+30	Walk for a manually timed throw loop that also allows shimmy Forward Dash leaves Blanka +11; can auto-time some meaty normals and still walk back out of opponent's reversal throw tech (except vs. Zangief) 6KKK Hop leaves Blanka +3 for an auto-timed strike/throw mixup, but cannot walk back out of throw range to bait reversal Also allows a meaty strike vs. midscreen Back Rise (but no throw oki)
Back Throw	+27	After throwing opponent into corner, Blanka can dash to become +8 and manually time a strike/throw mixup
Air Throw	+22	Too far for throw oki, but can Drive Rush and use the momentum for a tick throw
Drive Impact (No Crumple)	+35	?
Drive Reversal	+23	?
2HK	HKD +25 HKD +46 (CH/PC) +? (Juggle)	?
3HP	+29~38 HKD +29~38 (PC)	?
SA1 - 236236P (Shout of Earth)	+15	?
SA3 - 236236K (Ground Shave Cannonball)	HKD +50	?
CA - 236236K (Ground Shave Cannonball)	HKD +14	?

vs. Burnout

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
	5LK	5LP/2LK	2LP	5HK	5MK/2MK	2MP/6MK/4MK	5MP/5HP	2HK	3HP	2HP	6HP	6MP
5LP~DRC	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	14	15	18	20
5HP~DRC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	4	7	9
5LK~DRC	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	15	16	19	21
5MK~DRC	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	6	7	10	12
2LP~DRC	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	15	16	19	21
2MP~DRC	0	0	0	1	2	3	4	5	8	9	12	14
2MK~DRC	0	0	0	1	2	3	4	5	8	9	12	14
4MK~DRC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	5	8	10

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~DRC	+6	5LK, 4MK, 2MK > [2]8LK/[4]6MP [2]8LK gives better oki, but whiffs on crouching opponents; no damage difference 5LK, 6MK, 2LP > [2]8LK Slightly less damage, but gives good oki even vs. crouching
5LK~DRC
2LP~DRC
2MP~DRC	+10	5HK, 5HP > 2PP~P, [2]8MK [2]8HK works in the corner for slightly more damage Can also end juggle with SA1/SA3
5MK~DRC	+14
2MK~DRC	+14
4MK~DRC	+16
5HP~DRC	+17

Defense

Reversals

OD Vertical Roll ([2]8KK) - Fully invincible, but requires down charge; this limits its usefulness in some scenarios, like after blocking a safe jump setup.
SA1 (236236P) - Fairly fast and strike/throw invincible, making it Blanka's best reversal when in Burnout. The projectile hitbox is low to the ground, so some Low Crush moves can beat this clean.
SA3/CA (236236K) - Fully invincible, but slow enough that some characters can safely meaty with a light normal. It is also considered airborne during its active frames, allowing some anti-air moves to whiff through it (making it easier for the opponent to avoid a chip KO if they are pressuring Blanka while in Burnout).
Aerial Roll (j.[4]6P) - An excellent tool against throw loops or tick throw pressure. While jumping back, you can react to the throw whiff animation with the Aerial Roll, or simply reset to neutral if the opponent does nothing. The OD version is safe on block (and plus at some ranges), and gives great corner carry on hit; the threat of this can often make opponents shy away from repeated throw loops in the corner.

Anti-Airs

5HK - Has a great vertical hitbox on the later active frames, and can anti-air cross-ups unlike most normals. If the opponent hits a button in the air, the Counter-hit/Punish Counter causes the opponent to float high for an easy juggle follow-up, even if the attack trades.
4MK - Great disjointed hitbox on Blanka's foot, making it useful at close and mid-range. Allows a cancel into Hop, leaving Blanka point blank for follow-up pressure; depending on the spacing, this can create a very ambiguous left/right mixup.
Vertical Roll ([2]8KK) - All meterless versions have anti-air invincibility, though it starts quite late (frame 8). Each version has its own trajectory (LK far, MK mid, HK straight up). The LK version can be useful to punish the landing recovery of moves like Divekicks or Kimberly's Elbow Drop. Vertical Roll has a tendency to whiff underneath the opponent, making it harder to use than similar anti-air specials.
j.MP - A good air-to-air from a back jump, allowing a cancel into Aerial Roll for damage and corner carry. This cancel can be delayed significantly, letting Blanka build charge and ensure the opponent drops low enough for it to connect.
Air Throw - Good air-to-air option against close jumps, making it great against opponents going for cross-ups or trying to escape the corner.

Anti-Projectile

SA3/CA (236236K) - The range and invincibility make it Blanka's most reliable fireball punish in neutral, though it doesn't reach quite as far as some of the game's better anti-fireball Supers.
SA2 Activation + SA1 (236236P) - At long range, Blanka can activate his SA2 install on reaction to a fireball, then immediately SA1 for a punish. This is expensive for its damage, but is great for stealing a round if the opponent isn't expecting this strategy. At close range, Blanka may get hit with the opponent's projectile before his SA1 can connect.
- If you are already in your SA2 install state, you still use SA1 like this, but it's not generally a good use of your time to stand fullscreen and wait for a fireball.
3HP - A fast, long-range slide that can duck under fireballs and score a Hard Knockdown.
Coward Crouch (2PP) - Blanka can simply duck under most projectiles, then decide what to do based on the opponent's response. Not recommended against slow fireballs, as the opponent may be able to Drive Rush in for a punish while you're stuck crouching underneath it.
OD Wild Hunt (236KK) - Not very viable as a reaction punish, but Blanka can hop over fireballs from around 2/3 screen. Meterless versions will not avoid fireballs unless they are low to the ground like Juri 236LK or Terry 236LP