The King of Fighters XIII/Andy

Andy

In a nutshell

Fill this in with a general overview of the character.

Move List

Normal Moves

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Standing Light Punch

kof.lp

25

cancel

Standing Light Kick

kof.lk

30

cancel

Standing Heavy Punch

kof.sp

80

cancel

Close Heavy Punch

Close kof.sp

70

cancel

Standing Heavy Kick

kof.sk

80

Close Heavy Kick

Close kof.sk

70

cancel

Crouching Light Punch

d + kof.lp

25

chaincancel cancel

Crouching Light Kick

d + kof.lk

30

low chaincancel

Crouching Heavy Punch

d + kof.sp

70

cancel

Crouching Heavy Kick

d + kof.sk

80

low softknockdown

Blowback Attack

kof.sp + kof.sk

75

softknockdown specialcancel

Jumping Light Punch

Air kof.lp

Jump: 45
Hop: 40

high

Jumping Light Kick

Air kof.lk

Jump: 45
Hop: 40

high

Jumping Heavy Punch

Air kof.sp

Jump: 72
Hop: 70

high

Jumping Heavy Kick

Air kof.sk

Jump: 70
Hop: 68

high

Jumping Blowback Attack

Air kof.sp + kof.sk

Jump: 90
Hop: 80

softknockdown

Unique Attacks

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Hirate Uchi

f + kof.lp

55

specialcancel

Target Combo

kof.lk --- kof.sk

Throw

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Kakaekomi Nage

f or b + kof.sp or kof.sk (while close)

100

throw softknockdown

Special Moves

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Shouryuudan

dp + p

kof.lp : 40+20×2
kof.sp : 70+30×2
ex : 30×2+30 (60 at tip)+45×2

softknockdown startupinv drivecancel

Hishouken

qcb + p

p : 60
ex : 120

projectilenullify supercancel

Zan'eiken

db f + p

kof.lp : 70
kof.sp : 80
ex : 150

softknockdown drivecancel

Kuuhadan

hcf + k

kof.lk : 30 (45 at tip)+45×2
kof.sk : 30 (45 at tip)+45×4
ex : 40×5+50

softknockdown drivecancel
ex : startupinv

(breaking)

k Kuuhaden, then kof.lk + kof.sk

30

softknockdown

Desperation Moves

Name

Command

Damage

Special Properties (glossary)

Chou Reppadan

qcb hcf + k

k : 18×11
ex : 15×23

softknockdown startupinv maxcancel

Geki: Hishouken

qcf hcb + p

15×8+60

softknockdown maxcancel

Chou Shin Soku Zan'eiken

qcb hcf + kof.lp + kof.sp

450

airok softknockdown

Strategy

Move Analysis

Normal Moves

• Standing Light Punch () - A quick stop sign palm attack for anti-airing hops. Can also be used as a quick whiff to mess with the opponent's reaction or bait a sweep.

• Standing Light Kick () - Decent straight kick that hits mid and reaches competently forward. Useful as a quick check against the opponent although Andy has many other powerful normal attacks.
  • Can be chain canceled into Standing as a Target Combo. The main use of this is to easily hitconfirm into HD mode as the standard cl.C f.B BC starter pushes the player back to where connecting with another cl.C is difficult.

• Standing Heavy Punch () - Stong forward chop with a lot of reach that controls the short hop space and can be canceled on hit or whiff. Andy's Far has traditionally been a great grounded normal with huge reach though in this iteration the length has been shortened but is now capable of being cancelable.
  • Andy's strongest grounded attack for canceling into Hishouken ( + ) or Zan'eiken ( + ) to lock down the opponent.

• Close Heavy Punch (Close ) - Andy's main Heavy combo starter and fastest normal move. Close can't be canceled and so use this version for comboing and confirming when up close. Otherwise is fairly standard as a close normal.

• Standing Heavy Kick () - An anti-air roundhouse kick that should immediately be familiar to anyone who's used Ryu's st.RH in Street Fighter. Whiffs on crouching characters and is slow to start up but covers the space in front of and just above Andy. Anti-airs best against jump-ins if the tip of his foot tags the opponent though against hops this can be less relevant should Standing hit the opponent early on before the enemy's attack can come out.

• Close Heavy Kick (Close ) - A largely vertical upward kick used for anti-airing. Parallels Iori's Close in terms of anti-air setups such as running under the opponent, moving into close range before pressing , or throwing with to option select against jump-outs.
  • Cannot be canceled into anything. Use Close to create blockstrings and combos.

• Crouching Light Punch ( + ) - Low jab. Doesn't reach as far as Andy's cancelable Crouching and can be blocked standing. Leaves the player with a slightly better frame advantage on block, and that's about it.

• Crouching Light Kick ( + ) - Does everything a Crouching needs to do. Hits low, chain cancels into itself for a hitconfirm, and can be canceled into specials or more importantly into Hirate Uchi ( + ) which can further be canceled. Works as a tripguard meaty although Andy has his crazy Crouching for that.
  • Avoid holding when chaining this attack as moving from to + can sometimes trigger Zan'eiken.

• Crouching Heavy Punch ( + ) - A cancelable low palm strike with a nice hitbox and heavy hitstun. Think of this as a Low Strong attack from Street Fighter if it helps. The attack isn't as fast as Close but it can be used at further distances which greatly increases its use in grounded frametraps.

• Crouching Heavy Kick ( + ) - The best sweep in the game. Andy's sweep is angled upward off the ground and can easily anti-air jumping opponents without even needing to break their tripguard when landing. The horizontal reach is great for grounded footsies and is difficult to hop over and punish unlike most other sweeps. The only tool this sweeps lacks is cancelability.
  • Andy's vulnerable body shrinks and sits behind the large hitbox on his leg which contributes to the difficulty of jumping in on this attack.

• Blowback Attack ( + ) - A horizontal roundhouse kick with more reach than Standing . Cancels on hit and whiff and can be spaced to anti-air against further-spaced jump-ins. Carries good range and a wall of a hitbox as a grounded poke but is vulnerable to hops and whiffs and so knowing the proper spacing or setup is required when using this attack.

• Jumping Light Punch (Air ) - A fast, downward palm strike with a long window of active frames. Doesn't really have a deep vertical hitbox to function as a good air-to-ground attack so for the most part Jumping outclasses this move.

• Jumping Light Kick (Air ) - Andy quickly kicks forward and upward. Reaches far enough horizontally and slightly upward to function as a solid air-to-air attack against opponents just above or in front of the player's aerial position.

• Jumping Heavy Punch (Air ) - A slower downward palm attack with less active frames. This really doesn't hit much deeper than Jumping even and so Jumping remains as Andy's premier air-to-ground attack. A few specific close spacings could call for this move instead for the fact that Jumping can overextend Andy's leg which increases the player's vulnerable hitbox.

• Jumping Heavy Kick (Air ) - Andy's main air-to-ground attack since it has the most vertically steep hitbox of all his jumping attacks. The downward reach isn't too extreme and is vulnerable to anti-airs from below but it gets the job done most of the time. The long horizontal hitbox can make up for this downward lack by allowing this attack to connect from far ranges which can be difficult to counterattack.
  • This can cross up the opponent similarly to Benimaru's Jumping .
  • Also works as an air-to-air attack if the opponent is in front of or just below the player's position.

• Jumping Blowback Attack (Air + ) - Another upward kick like Jumping but with a larger and thus stronger hitbox. The startup time is slower although once active this attack is more likely to beat the opponent's aerial attack. If the air-to-air is a Counterhit the player can follow up with another attack on the juggable opponent.
  • The vertical reach is too short to safely be used as an air-to-ground approach as the opponent can always try to block the attack when crouching and even make the attack whiff. The opponent may want to mostly block high should Jumping be used instead but keep in mind that each low-to-ground Jumping Blowback Attack is a risk.

Unique Attacks

• Hirate Uchi ( + ) - Causes Andy to lean forward before attacking with a cancelable palm strike. A basic KOF command normal that is used primarily for extending hitconfirms and canceling into special moves. What makes Hirate Uchi especially good is that it can combo from Crouching while dealing heavy hitstun that allows for any special move to combo afterward.
  • While this is a powerful combo filler move it can be quite slow and vulnerable when used on its own. Instead the player could use Far as a lone poke which functions similarly but only faster.
• Target Combo (, ) - Andy can cancel Standing into Standing although the combo is then further uncancelable. The main use of this chain combo is to hitconfirm into Hyperdrive Mode. Andy's standard cl.C f.B BC cl.C HD hitconfirm can drop due to f.B pushing the player out. Using st.B st.D BC st.B st.D to start a HD combo is more consistent.

Throw

• Kakaekomi Nage ( or + or [while close]) - A strong throw that causes a hard knockdown.
  • This can be followed up with nearly any setup including an immediate superjump for a safejump setup, or by running forward for a Jumping crossup, or be used to get away from the opponent to start zoning with Hishouken ( + ).

Special Moves

• Shouryuudan ( + ) - A strong, solid example of the token Shoryuken/DP special move in which Andy moves diagonally upward while spinning his arms. Works as both invincible reversal attack and as a powerful anti-airing tool against jumps (though it's difficult to buffer the motion and then react to a short hop).
  • + has the quicker startup while moving into the air with little extra horizontal movement which increases its value in Andy's corner combos and when anti-airing 'late' against a jump-in.
  • + has more delay before becoming active during which Andy is invulnerable, and the attack moves horizontally forward on the ground before moving skyward. The added ground range and startup requires the player to react earlier to anti-air with this version, though these two properties also make this version more viable as a grounded reversal attack.
  • If the input isn't clean and triggers then Shouryuudan may automatically be Drive Canceled into Zan'eiken from the overlapping inputs.
  • Shouryuudan ( + + ) - EX Shouryuudan is an amalgamation of both normal versions. The startup is on par with + and so this attack is Andy's quickest metered-attack. The amount of invulnerability on this move is enough to beat out most grounded or incoming aerial attacks.
    • The attack starts off grounded with a forward-moving Shouryuudan then moves diagonally upward with a second spinning attack.
• Hishouken ( + ) - Andy's projects a blue fullscreen fireball that travels at mid-level height. This is a solid projectile for zoning especially in conjunction with Andy's great anti-air Shouryuudan and Crouching and is a safe tool to end blockstrings with if the opponent doesn't perform a Guard Cancel Roll.
  • Like all non-grounded projectiles certain characters have ways to move underneath the fireball to get closer. And although the projectile seems to be high in the air and somewhat big, the enemy can time a hop to pass over the projectile unharmed.
  • + starts up a fraction faster and travels the screen at a moderate pace which causes the projectile to hit the opponent later and thus leaves the player at a better frame advantage. + travels across the screen faster and works in fireball traps.
  • Hishouken ( + + ) - This is a tool for projectile wars, used for passing through normal projectiles and causing a knockdown on hit. Travels as fast as the Hishouken and will cancel out other EX projectiles, but still loses to DM projectiles.
• Zan'eiken ( + ) - This is not a charge move; just move from to and press a button. Zan'eiken is a dashing elbow attack with a good grounded hitbox that puts the opponent in a juggable state on hit and is frustratingly safe on block and can be used for trapping the opponent in the corner.
  • After a knockdown the player can use this special to dash in toward the opponent while also building meter. From certain air-to-air setups, the player may be able to land first and cross under with a Zan'eiken for a quick mixup as the opponent lands.
  • Can be Drive and Super Canceled.
  • The version is the more commonly-used of the two since it starts up much faster (enough to combo off of Light attacks) and can be used multiple times in corner combos while leaving Andy less vulnerable in general on block or whiff. The tackle moves further across the screen but starts up too slow to be used in many combos.
  • Zan'eiken ( + + ) - Inflicts more damage and is safer on block. Combos from Light attacks but travels a little further on the ground than the version.
• Kuuhadan ( + ) - a.k.a. 'Moon Cannon' this is Andy's arcing drillkick. This will combo from + though in most cases comboing into the 'braked' version will deal more damage. When active Andy flies through the air in a crescent motion all while having an enormous hitbox in front of him. This can beat many normal attacks and be difficult to crouch under the blind spot and punish, and the move is only punishable by instant command grabs. Great as an annoying move to control a huge portion of the screen while dealing heavy guard damage.
  • The version travels at a lower arc that is difficult to crouch and thus make whiff while the arc travels high and controls the air, but is more vulnerable to whiffing on grounded opponents.
  • Leaves the opponent in an uncomboable state after hitting.
  • (breaking) ( Kuuhadan, then + ) - Perform this version by pressing + immediately after inputting Kuuhaden (do so before the Kuuhaden can hit the opponent). Once done this causes Andy to roll forward slightly and attack with a launching kick that puts the opponent in a juggable state. Confirming into this leads into all of Andy's longer combos, especially if the opponent is cornered. The keyword is hitconfirm, as despite 'braking' making specials safer in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the shorter Kuuhaden is unsafe on block.
  • Kuuhadan ( + + ) - Invulnerable on startup and safe on block. Andy also travels at a lower arc which is extremely difficult to make whiff by crouching (it can even cross up the crouching opponent should most of it whiff). Overall this is safe reversal move that deals a large amount of guard damage while having the usual huge hitbox of Kuuhaden.
    • This version cannot be braked but instead it leaves the opponent in a juggable state on hit.

Desperation Moves

• Chou Reppadan ( + ) - A flaming Kuuhaden DM that travels at a mid-high arc. This will combo from heavier attacks but is hard to incorporate into Andy's longer corner combos and so isn't too popular of a choice as an ender.
  • Invulnerable on startup and can be used as a reversal, though for one meter using + + will provide the player with a safe on block reversal for about the same amount of damage.
  • Chou Reppadan ( + + ) - Hits more times for better damage while being more invulnerable. Has the same comboability issues although this version works better as an anti-air or for passing through attacks.
• Geki: Hishouken ( + ) - Andy creates a blue energy sphere that explodes forward. This DM is much faster and more damaging than Chou Reppadan and can be used after Zan'eiken ( + ) juggle combos instead of Shouryuudan ( + ). The large projectile hitbox can be spaced as an anti-air, though it's possible that not all hits may connect depending on how the opponent touches the DM.
• Chou Shin Soku Zan'eiken ( + + ) - Causes Andy to dash forward over 1/2 screen with an invincible elbow attack that slams the opponent into the corner on hit. This can be used for punishing whiffs and specials but not from fullscreen; one additional advantage though is that this move can be used in the air which will beat out just about whatever attack the opponent uses.
  • The startup speed is about the same as the standard Zan'eiken ( + ). This is pretty much an invincible, air-OK, Zan'eiken that does 450 damage.