Beginner Mistakes
The most common beginner mistake with Tizoc 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!
Neutral Game
An important part of Tizoc's gameplan is establishing a strong neutral game. A common misconception about Tizoc is that he is strongest at close range, which would be typical for a grappler in most fighting games as they want to be close to the opponent to land a command grab. However, Tizoc has practically no grounded blockstrings, has limited combos, and lacks good reversals (his 720 can be used, but it requires meter, only works on grounded opponents in close range, is not the easiest motion to input on reaction, and can be throw bugged). On the other hand, he has a bit more mobility than traditional grapplers, which let him better approach for a command grab from mid range (forward dash, forward feint, hop). For this reason, coupled with the long range of his normals, Tizoc is strongest at mid range, NOT close range. Ideally, Tizoc wants to maintain a mid-range distance from the opponent, and only get close to go in for a command grab or to lightly pressure the opponent. This "mid-range" distance is near the max range of his pokes with his light normals, where he can play a footsies game, and just outside of that range, where he can react to the opponent's approaches with air-to-airs and anti-airs. Tizoc lacks reliable options at far range (outside of GC TOP attack against fireballs), so you would need to patiently move your way in if you are at that range.
Tizoc's main pokes on the ground are his 5A, 2A, 5B, and the occasional 2B. These are all decently to moderately fast, have good range, and are safe on block. 5A and 5B are good as checks in neutral to stop forward dashes and runs, with 5A also being useful for hitting the opponent out of their jump startup. Hop C and hop D are good as pokes if you want to go into the air and apply overhead pressure that is harder to react to than a regular jump. They can also be used as counter-pokes against the opponent’s pokes and checks with light normals, such as 5A and 2B, as they can go above them if they are well-spaced. In addition, 2AB and far 5C can be used as counter-pokes, the former is good against higher-hitting pokes such as 5A, while the latter is good against whiffed pokes/checks in neutral and as a far-ranged meaty after a hard knockdown (from a command grab or throw) or after an air-to-air upon landing. Tizoc’s main jump-in normals are his j.C and j.D, the former is better suited for closer jump-ins and the latter for farther jump-ins. Spacing and timing your pokes well and harassing the opponent with a strong footsies game is the first step to successfully conditioning the opponent to stay still and block, allowing Tizoc to better land his command grabs.
Tizoc's anti-air options and options for dealing with jumping opponents are a bit unconventional and may be somewhat unintuitive for a beginner. Tizoc has strong air-to-air options such as neutral or back j.D and j.A, which can be used to effectively stop an opponent approaching from the air. On the ground, he can use 2C if it is well-spaced, forward feint 360/D throw, or GC Hercules Throw. Instant air (TK) Icarus Crash can be used as a preemptive anti-air after one of Tizoc's grounded pokes with his light normals, near max range, to deter the opponent from jumping forward after his pokes. Hops are harder for Tizoc to deal with, but they usually only afford the opponent with little frame advantage, so an opportunity to reset to neutral can present itself afterwards. Simply blocking against a hop attack is a decent option in a lot of scenarios. Tizoc can also JD against hops and potentially punish with a 360/720 or D throw, neutral jump to avoid them and punish on the way down, backdash, or forward feint 360/D throw depending on the normal. If the opponent likes to reset with another jump-in attack after their hop, Tizoc can go for a back j.A into Icarus Crash. IAJD (instant air just defend) is a strong defensive option that can help bolster Tizoc's defense from his lack of traditional reversal/anti-air options.
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 like fireballs or whiffed ground moves.
- 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 grab 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.
- 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 on reaction to the Poseidon Wave to avoid the command grab.
- Taunt: somewhat gimmicky but a good choice if you want to style on/disrespect your opponent. It moves Tizoc forward very slightly and has lower-body invincibility.
Other, more "defensive", ways of landing command grabs.
- Backdash: useful for evading moves such as jump normals, mainly in the corner.
- Guard cancel: can be strong against an opponent with predictable offense. More reliable if you can "confirm" into the 360/720 by landing successive JDs before going for the guard cancel.
- 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 a 720 that cannot be avoided by jumping (if done quickly enough after the throw tech). However, it is possible for the opponent to backdash before the super flash or after-cancel with a super move (throw bug) on reaction to the super flash.
Okizeme
Common okizeme setups with listed mixup options afterwards.
- Justice Hurricane A (corner): forward feint 360/720, forward dash 360/720, micro-walk 360, meaty 5C, forward hop/j.C, or any light normal.
- Justice Hurricane A (midscreen): forward dash into either 360/720, forward j.C (air-to-air against jump), or another forward dash 360/720 (against backdash).
- D throw (corner): a common follow-up is Poseidon Wave A (to get close to the opponent) into either 360/720, meaty cl.D (combo starter), neutral hop/j.C, back hop D, or Poseidon Wave C break (to potentially bait a reversal) into forward dash 360/720, an air-to-air, or jump-in.
- D throw (midscreen): you can follow-up with triple forward dash into either 360/720, meaty cl.D (combo starter), neutral j.C, forward j.C (air-to-air against jump), or another forward dash 360/720 (against backdash). 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 to react to what the opponent does on wakeup instead).
- Justice Hurricane C (corner): you can follow-up with forward dash into either 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), an air-to-air, or jump-in. 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.
Anti-Jump and Anti-Backdash Strategies
Options to deal with opponents who try to jump or backdash out of Tizoc's command grab setups. The examples listed below all use 5A as a starter, but can be applied to any of Tizoc's cancellable light normals (2A and 5B). Forward feint cancel (denoted as xx 6AC) is used to move Tizoc closer to the opponent, but you can potentially avoid using it if you are already close enough to the opponent or otherwise are not yet comfortable with the execution required to do so.
Anti-Jump
- 5A xx 421A: an anti-jump frame trap, can be somewhat risky to use but has a higher reward in terms of damage.
- 5A xx 6AC > 5A: another anti-jump frame trap, less damage than the option above but much safer overall and allows you to continue your pressure. Can beat JD (into GC) and IAJD attempts.
- 5A xx 6AC > forward j.C (air-to-air): a solid air-to-air option that can also beat IAJD attempts.
- 5A xx 6AC > delayed forward dash 360/720: works as an option if the opponent likes to jump backwards and go for an air-to-air, punishes their landing on the way down.
- j.D or j.A xx j.236A: works best against an opponent who likes to neutral or forward jump.
Anti-Backdash
- 5A xx 6AC > forward hop D: works best against characters with short backdashes (Marco, Kevin, Gato, Kain).
- 5A xx 6AC > forward j.C/j.D: similar to the option listed above for jumps, except the j.C (or j.D) is performed a bit later (as a jump-in as opposed to an air-to-air). Depending on the timing, the opponent may still be able to block after their backdash, but it still helps Tizoc close the distance and applies pressure on the opponent.
- 5A > forward dash: if you read a backdash from the opponent, you can use a forward dash to chase them down and follow up with either a forward hop C/hop D or perform another forward dash into 360/720.
- hop C and j.C: have a lot of active frames to catch backdash recovery, useful against an opponent who likes to backdash a lot in the corner.
Meter Management
One of Tizoc's weaknesses is his slow meter build. The two primary methods for building meter are using Poseidon Wave C break and whiffing an instant air (TK) Icarus Crash. Both methods are still relatively slow and can leave Tizoc somewhat vulnerable to an attack, so it's important to be mindful of spacing and to use them with caution. Poseidon Wave C break can sacrifice spacing in neutral, which is of utmost importance in Tizoc's neutral game, so it's not advised to frequently use it. Moreover, repeatedly breaking his Poseidon Wave C is a way to quickly corner yourself and leave yourself at a positional disadvantage. Thankfully, Tizoc isn't extremely dependent on meter for damage and can accumulate meter without having to rely on his aforementioned meter-building moves too much, although he appreciates having meter like any other character. It can be strategic to save meter for round-ending scenarios, wherein you can potentially close out a round with his Big Fall Griffon (720), especially if you choose TOP placement at the end for the boost in damage. Saving meter until you have P-Power is also a good consideration, as it will give Tizoc access to Daedalus Attack D, which is a reliable 4f punish from his 5A/2A and a way to combo into ~50% or more damage.
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. When the opponent is in TOP mode, it is generally advisable to use D throw as a close-range punish instead of a command grab, as a cl.D or far 5D will come out if the opponent attempts the throw bug and can still be serviceable as a punish. Similarly, if the opponent is in TOP mode and you have P-Power, it is advisable to punish with 5A/2A xx Daedalus Attack D instead of attempting to punish with Big Fall Griffon as your most optimal punish. It is possible for the opponent to throw bug when they have super meter as well, but it is harder to successfully perform execution-wise, so adjust your punish according to whether they are able to do so or not.
Notable Players to Watch
