General
Tremor begins the match in his “Aftershock” variation; pressing (K) to transmute Up changes his variation to “Metallic,” while pressing D+K to transmute Down changes his variation to “Crystalline.” Tremor can swap freely up and down between these variations even when he has no Kameo Gauge available, although the player must press the proper corresponding Transmute Up or Down input to go in order (ascending from Aftershock to Crystalline, and vice versa). Calling out the Ambush will quickly pull Tremor out of the ground in front of the lead character, although certain movements or techniques may be able to alter where Tremor appears (i.e. right in front of the opponent at a distance). Tremor will perform a brief “flexing” animation when he springs up from the ground and will be vulnerable to attacks while onscreen before quickly disappearing; hitting Tremor out of this state will disable him and place him in cooldown for 3 seconds before he can be used or recharge gauge again. This can also make Tremor useful as a defensive “wall/shield” to quickly absorb a hit for the lead character, due to the Ambush not costing any resource and having a shorter cooldown penalty for being hit. While Tremor is still onscreen, he can cancel this animation into any of his Summon abilities from the variation he is shifting to, effectively allowing all of his Summon abilities to be used as an Ambush for the cost of a full Kameo Gauge. Performing this Ambush Cancel typically grants these abilities with additional benefits such as greatly increased block advantage or kombo potential; hitting Tremor out of any of these Ambush attacks will cause the normal cooldown penalty for having a Kameo disabled to occur. All of Tremor’s attacks cost half the Kameo Gauge when used as a Summon and have almost no cooldown before refilling the gauge at the same moderately fast rate, although the variations may still vary slightly in their cooldown timings; moves in the Aftershock variation will begin refilling the gauge once Tremor has thrown out the attack and quickly crumbles offscreen, while moves in the Metallic and Crystalline variations will begin recharging right after the moves come out just before Tremor crumbles offscreen.
Aftershock
“Aftershock” (indicated by a brownish-orange colored Kameo Gauge) is the default rushdown variation oriented around keeping the player safe/plus on block especially with Ambush pressure, as well as potential kombo extension.
Rock Punch
“Rock Punch” (F+K) is a Summon assist that calls Tremor to punch forward at the opponent, causing fullscreen knockback on hit as well as lots of pushback on block. This move is neutral (0) on block when hitting on the first active frame; it has 8 active frames, allowing it to hit meaty and be +7 on the last active frame. When used out of a “Transmute” Ambush, this attack can leave the player much more plus on block depending on the move that it connects after. This attack is a High that can be avoided by neutral ducking; using this as an Ambush allows players to jail into this High against a crouching opponent. Rock Punch is generally a good assist for establishing safety and/or distance from the opponent to reset neutral.
Rock Punch Uppercrust
“Rock Punch Uppercrust” (U+K) is a Summon assist that is identical to Rock Punch in startup and recovery but causes Tremor to punch the opponent upward instead of forward; it is a 20f Mid launcher with 19f recovery that can also be jump-cancelled on hit. This move is -16 on block (with only 4 active frames) and can be easily punished, but can also leave players safe or plus when used as an Ambush after certain attacks. This assist can provide all characters with a reliable Summon Cancel launcher up close that allows them to start or extend kombos and has enough hit advantage to allow for a follow-up jump attack; this also means all characters gain the ability to kara jump cancel into a grounded special move without having to spend any super meter to perform. Rock Punch Uppercut can also condition crouching opponents to respect the High Rock Punch by pressuring them to block and avoid behind hit by a Mid with the same startup speed.
Ground Pound
“Ground Pound” (B+K) is a Summon assist that calls Tremor out slam his fist into the ground; it is a Low with nearly midscreen distance that will trigger two additional ground pounds only on a successful hit, resulting in an automatic 3-hit kombo that ends in a knockdown. The full move animation will not trigger if the first hit whiffs but will continue if the second hit whiffs after the first hit lands. This assist is -12 on block with no pushback but likewise can become made safe or plus on block when used as an Ambush. Using the Ambush cancel will allow players to convert the airborne state caused by the third hit into a juggle kombo.The animation and/or hit reaction triggered by using this move as an Ambush may also allow for follow-up kombos when used after certain attacks that normally do not normally allow for any kombo potential (i.e. Ground Pound technically hitting “OTG” during a hit animation that leaves the opponent grounded and would otherwise be considered a knockdown).
Metallic
“Metallic” (indicated by a yellow Gauge color), is primarily a zoning variation that also dually specializes in pressure and mixups, and has quite a bit of its own kombo potential as well (i.e.corner kombos).
Lava Burst
“Lava Burst” (F+K) is a Summon assist that calls Tremor to blast a shorter beam of lava in front of the player; is a 29f Mid with midscreen range, that is also +4 on block (becoming additionally more plus when used as an Ambush), making it a good space control tool. The hit reaction of this move lifts the opponent slightly airborne before falling to the ground— using this attack as a Summon may allow certain characters to convert into a kombo in the corner with certain follow-ups (i.e. D1 into special cancel), while the Ambush version turns the attack into a short launcher that can be utilized by all characters at any point onscreen.
Eruption (anti-air)
“Eruption” (U+K) is a Summon assist that will change Tremor’s lava blast to a diagonal upward arc straight above the lead character’s head that only hits airborne opponents; this is an effective anti-air tool that can allow players to counter an airborne opponent attempting to jump in directly above them and convert the exchange into a juggle kombo. Using the Ambush cancel can also allow for kombos in the same ways as the horizontal version (depending on the angle it hits at), allowing players to launch or knock the opponent further into an airborne state and extend their kombo, as well as more quickly call out the anti-air on reaction in response to the opponent’s jump-in.
Rolling Rock/Rock Toss
“Rolling Rock” (B+K) is a Summon assist that calls Tremor to toss a metallic boulder across the ground towards the opponent; this move is a Low projectile that knocks down on hit and is also +4 on block at point-blank range, which is improved greatly when used as an Ambush. Using the Transmute Ambush version of this projectile will allow players to convert the slight airborne state inflicted on the opponent into a short launch for juggle kombos. Using the Summon version will lock the lead character in the Summon animation until after the rock has been tossed; holding the Kameo button will turn “Rock Toss” into an Overhead projectile and will allow the lead character to begin moving freely again just before the rock is tossed. This projectile has an upward arc that will cause it to only connect against a grounded opponent that is fullscreen, although it can still hit an airborne or jumping opponent at most angles; connecting on a grounded opponent will leave them standing, while hitting an airborne opponent will trigger a small “ground bounce” launcher allowing for juggle kombos. Although the Summon version is listed as having neutral (0) hit advantage, landing the projectile against a standing opponent will still allow the executing player to link a fast attack and convert into a full kombo if they are able to reach the opponent in time by quickly dashing up or jumping forward after exiting their Summon animation; this move is also listed as neutral on block but will leave the executing player at a very slight advantage against an opponent attempting to press an attack after blocking the rock toss, and/or keep them safe against their attempt to armor reversal (essentially granting a fullscreen safe jump option). Although this move is an overhead, it is immune to Up Block and will trigger a normal standing block animation when the opponent attempts to Up Block the move. Using the Transmute Ambush version of this move can allow the projectile to more easily connect against an aerial opponent in a kombo and convert from the ground bounce, as well as provide the executing player a faster way to cover themselves from fullscreen and move their way in towards the defending opponent.
Crystalline
”Crystalline” (indicated by a greenish-blue Gauge color) is a defensive variation that is equipped with tools to negate both melee and projectile attacks.
Crystal Wall Punch
“Crystall Wall Punch” (F+K) is a Summon assist that calls out Tremor to punch in front of the lead character, creating a vertical green crystal barrier in front of the player; it is a 25f High that causes fullscreen knockback on hit as well as midscreen pushback on block. This move is -8 on block but has 6 active frames, and can be made safer as a Summon by hitting meaty, or made additionally safer as an Ambush. The wall will also reflect or negate most projectiles, effectively granting the player projectile invulnerability if covered by this attack (although some projectile-type attacks may ignore this property or be able to attack Tremor and/or the opponent’s lead character from around the wall). This assist gains invulnerability on its first frame as both a Getup and Reversal, making it a “true invincible reversal,” although the attack may be easily stuffed by fast successive follow-up hits.
Crystal Armor
“Crystal Armor” (B+K) is a Summon assist that calls Tremor out behind the lead character to cover their torso with a green armor (reminiscent of his MKX “Krystallization”) that lasts 5 seconds or until it has absorbed 6 hits. This armor not only reduces damage received from incoming attacks by one-third of their initial value, but will also completely dampen all of their hit reactions; this prevents the “armored” character from being knocked down, launched, stunned/crumpled, thrown or affected by any moves with a locked hit animation while the armor is active. This can result in certain moves being punishable on hit such as moves with slower animations and/or heavier impacts (i.e. armor reversals), allowing players to steal their turn back against attacks that would normally knockdown or lead to a kombo by absorbing the hit(s) and punishing the opponent during their recovery frames. Hitting an aerial or jumping opponent who is covered in this armor will reset them to a grounded neutral state. In some rare cases, however, this can work against the armored player by slightly prolonging their airborne hitstun when anti-aired or hit by an air-to-air attack (and juggled with the help of certain kameos), which can lead to the armored player being juggled for longer than they would normally be juggled by the default hit reactions and consequent gravity scaling. The stifled hit reactions against a standing opponent who is affected by crystal armor will also allow players to create extended kombos by starting with hits that form a natural kombo against the affected opponent (i.e. string/special > Kameo > string), breaking the armor with follow-up hits that still connect in the kombo, and further extending the kombo against the “armor broken” opponent with launch/stun moves that once again behave as normal. Using the Transmute Ambush version of this assist will allow Tremor to quickly cover the executing player with the crystal armor, allowing players to save themselves from the hit reactions of incoming attacks while moving more freely (although the player’s character must be roughly within sweep/jump distance of Tremor for the armor to connect).
Crystal Crag
“Crystal Crag” (U+K) is a Summon assist that quickly calls Tremor to kneel down beside the player and cover himself with crystal armor; the player recovers quickly from the Summon animation and can use this assist by itself as a Summon Cancel after moves with higher hit/cancel advantage to create kombo routes that are not normally possible (esp. in the corner). While Tremor is nearby in this “crystal” state, the player can use Tremor as an interactable and either Heave (F+K) him as a projectile at the opponent or Vault (K) off of Tremor for a directable command jump, both of which automatically send Tremor offscreen without placing him in cooldown or depleting gauge. Crystal Crag costs half of the Kameo Gauge initially and will begin recharging the moment after the move becomes active; Tremor will remain onscreen for roughly 10 seconds or until the lead character uses one of his interactable options, and cannot be hit by opponent’s attacks while onscreen refilling the gauge.
Miscellaneous
Tremor also grants additional passive buffs other than the ability to freely switch between these variations, such as adding +100 HP to the lead character’s health value and not enduring any extra cooldown penalty for being hit during any of his Summon attacks.
