Loadout Overview
The Default (132):
If you are a beginner just looking for the best loadout to pick up and learn, this is the one. Dire sting ensures you will be able to convert from most hits, and riposte offers you some semblance of a defensive option. Sting is crucial in matchups where Crow relies on his jabs as a defensive tool: punishing jab unsafe moves (e.g. Vlad’s bolshoi bash) or walling out approaches from fast walk speed characters. Being able to convert from your jabs is invaluable to Crow.
The Neutral (112):
Core puncture gives Crow something he is desperate for: a rewarding, low commitment button to hit in mid range. Puncture is the only special 2 that is even remotely useful in neutral. Unfortunately Crow has to sacrifice a lot to pick this loadout. Without sting, Crow has no way to reliably convert his jabs, and you don’t make up the damage with explosiveness like cleaver can. This loadout is for a certain kind of player that can extract the maximum value out of a strong neutral tool, to make up for what they lose.
The Damage (122):
Soul cleaver sacrifices all utility and reliability in favour of damage. If you land a big hit and have bar, cleaver will frequently win you the round off the back of huge damage and dizzy. I think this loadout is best selected in matchups where neutral is a forgone conclusion, and you just want to kill the opponent if you get a chance to hit them.
Do note: This loadout requires the most specific knowledge to play, spend some time learning and practising combo routes on different characters if you are going to try it.
When to pick Fog of War?
The short answer is probably never. The grounded version does have frame 1 invincibility, but its almost impossible to practically use because the move takes too long. Being invisible is cool, but the move has a 15 second cooldown. Your best mixups are already pretty pure 50/50s so it doesn't really help when opening people up.
The one use Fog has, is as a very long air stall. When doing air fog over someone it can be hard to tell what side you will land on.
Ultimately the move is more fun than functional.
Neutral
Gameplan
Crow has the tools of a zoner, but his gameplan in neutral is not keep you full screen. Instead he wants to keep you at a mid range, force you to block projectiles and big normals, until he can safely jump at you and make the round a guess for game. The two most important tools Crow has for implementing this gameplan are:
Far Heavy
You can see the range, as well as the forward movement in the image. (Crow on the left is the before and after, right is during)
Disk
Disk is a chargeable projectile that can be thrown at three angles: close, neutral, and far. An uncharged disk hits once, while a charged disk hits 3 times. Far disk travels just under a fullscreen distance, which means that you can get outzoned by characters with traditional fireballs. Close disk is a great defensive tool creating an active hitbox to cover vertical space in front of you, while far and neutral disks can cover your opponents jump arcs.
