Plasma Sword/Byakko

From SuperCombo Wiki

Introduction

Story

Overview

(Insert brief description about character and how they play, other details)

Strengths Weaknesses
  • Fast: i7 5K/5A and i5 2K are among the fastest buttons in the game.
  • Among the best supers in the game: Byakko has both a dash-in super (which is invincible) and a Raging Storm type super which both come out almost instantly. He can not only reliably combo into both but his Raging Storm super is active for several frames and can reliably anti-air without any dropped damage.
  • Blockstring Infinite: Byakko, like Rai-On, has a block string infinite with has 5A. This isn't totally game-breaking due to the overall power level of all the top tiers (and it also still loses to guard cancel reversals and whiffs versus a few characters at specific ranges) but it is a potential checkmate scenario only he and Rai-On have in certain situations.
  • Air Mobility: Double Jump, Air dash, Dive Kick.
  • Ground Mobility: In addition to just having a nice, fast box step, Byakko has two evasive stances on the ground that he can special cancel into: a large jumping backdash, and a cartwheel sidestep.
  • High Damage Crouch Grab: Byakko, like Rai-On, has a launcher off of his crouch grab that he can easily convert into big damage.
  • Cat Crouch: Byakko, like Rai-On, has a smaller than normal crouching hitbox, making moves whiff on him that would not whiff on other characters. Most notably, he and Rai-On are the only characters completely immune to each other's blockstring infinites.
  • Polarized Range: Byakko really only has one range: point blank. If he's anywhere else on the screen, he's just thinking about how to get in.
  • Low->Super inconsistency: Byakko cannot rely on 2KK or Slide for consistent combo conversions, as the former string tends to not combo at certain ranges (and also won't combo versus specific characters,) and the later combo state is dependent upon how the slide hits. In general, he has to take bigger risks to break ankles, which might compel his opponents to walk away from him more. Because so much of his value comes from getting opponents to sit still long enough to land a mixup on them, and because his conversions tend to break in off-axis/odd ground-to-air hits, Byakko actually can struggle to enforce his gameplan despite having all the plus frames in the world.
  • Low Health: Both of the cats take more damage than the rest of the cast.
  • Needs meter: Byakko has no special moves that combo from his primary tools, and has to use his meter exclusively for confirms. This is a character that you can play around the meter of with reasonable consistency.
  • Bad Tech Roll Cancels: This is a symptom of his kit being entirely centered around the strength of his normals and supers. Basically, when Byakko gets knocked down, the only really scary tech roll cancel he has are his supers, which are both expensive and unsafe if he's wrong. Dash/Sword supers might still prove useful if you have the reactions to punish mistakes by your opponents when they knock you down, but in general Byakko doesn't have much he can do with this system mechanic.
  • Horizontal Tracking: It might sound strange to say for a character with unusually good frame data, but Byakko has a genuinely difficult time stopping side step abuse. 3B and 2B both can be stepped with perfect (and sometimes not-so-perfect) timing, and the 4B string un-combos if it hits on counterhit. In short, Byakko has be extremely well practiced in when he fishes for anti-step options, or be content with low risk-low reward options like 2B.

Default VS Mirror

Move List

Vertical Normals

A
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 7 - - - +4 +21 - Ground

Byakko's busted cat jab. Does not hit other cats crouching, or Gantetsu/Gamof crouching when at specific ranges.

5AA

5AA
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - -4 +14 - Ground

Byakko loses frame advantage on hit, and without a fast special move to combo into, that's a rather large weakness, all things considered.

5AAA

5AAA
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - +12 - Ground

Because Byakko loses frame advantage on 5AA, his 5AAA is completely inferior to Rai-On's, as it does not combo. Considering it also has the same pushout on block, it also isn't the best of pressure tools to go for, either. There is something he can do here, though, that separates him from Rai-On a bit in a positive way...

5AAAK

5AAAK
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - +3 +1 - Ground

...and that's this. This simple little low kick puts Byakko back in 2K/5A range at frame advantage. Since it's a kick, it cannot be parried. The damage off of this is basically nothing unless you're willing to risk it all on 236A+B cancels, which -will- combo, but because none of the hits in the string combo to this point, is a pretty wild guess/read to make

5AAAA

5AAAA
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - -15 - Ground

"Blue Palm." It pushes out really far on block so it is probably safe versus most characters. But... it also pushes out really far on block, and you want to be in close. You probably shouldn't use this

2A

2A
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 9 - - - +0 +14 - Ground

Good range and speed, incredibly busted frame data on block. It's a really good thing he doesn't have any sort of reward for this on hit. Enough frame advantage on block that slide afterwards catches jumpers. Pushes out pretty far on block/hit, so its difficult to do much aside from slide afterwards that doesn't lose to sidestep/jump.

3A

3A
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 19 - - - - -15 - Ground

Byakko's primary launcher into damage, and one of his most important moves. You could, in theory, cancel this into your back hop and get a smaller confirm from it, but -15 is pretty hard to punish at the range it puts you at and, more importantly, landing this move into a juggle super confirm is the single reason to play this character. This frame traps after all hits his of 5AAA on block.

While Running A or B

While Running A or B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- Overhead 10 - - - -13 at close range, -2 at tip -13 at close range, -2 at tip - Jumping

Byakko's running overhead is a two part move. Even at tip range this is at disadvantage, so be careful. This part of the move tends to whiff smaller opponents when crouching, so its also a matchup dependent move.

While Running A or B, A/B

While Running A or B, A/B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- Overhead 10 - - - X -7 - Jumping

The second part of Byakko's running overhead. Knocks down on hit. Combos with the first part, making it a fairly good mixup/approach tool.

Horizontal Normals

5B

5B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 10 - - - -12 +6 - Ground

An extremely fast horizontal with somewhat limited range. With huge frame advantage on block, this is a great tool for containment, but the hit disadvantage means you may get accidently wrecked by someone mashing step->button during your block strings.

5BB

5BB
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - -1 +2 - Ground

A two hit horizontal string that's plus on block would be incredible money for this character if only it comboed. The second hit does combo into specials/supers, but the bigger issue is getting this move to hit at all.

5BAB or 5KAB

5BAB
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- Low - - - - +7 +4 - Low

Creates a little space with slight frame advantage, will frame trap into its own string ender or slide at the range it creates, and it is one of the few special cancelable moves he has that combos into 236B. Unfourtantely, the string itself does not combo, but the final B has enough hitstun that comboing into super on reaction is more than doable. Would be a lot better if the move had full circle coverage, but, despite being a horziontal, it often loses to step.

2B

2B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 11 - - - +12 +10 - Ground

2Bs tend to be important for most of the cast in Plasma Sword, and Byakko's is no exception. Decent range, fast speed, low cat crouch... all of this combined makes for a frustrating poke that, while it may not do much damage or score you big combo extensions, nonetheless shuts down many approach options and allows you to check your opponents easily safely. The push out on both block and hit makes it somewhat difficult to followup on, but make no mistake: the ball's in your court.

4B

4B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 26 - - - +1, -9 on white flash (counterhit, sidestep) +1 - Ground

4B has the unfortunate distinction of almost being one of Byakko's best tools. If it hits, it leads to a massive string that combos into swords super. Unfortunately, if it hits stepping opponents or hits on counterhit, the hit advantage disappears in a white flash. Instead, this is mostly just useful as a anti-step frame trap from big tools like 5A, 5KA, etc. It is special cancelable, but due to the fact you can no longer combo super from it on white flash, it has limited usefulness thanks to Byakko's bad special moves.

4BB

4BB
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 26 - - - - -8 - Ground

One could forgive 4B's lack of frame advantage on counterhit if this follow-up did something other than put you at disadvantage.

4BBB

4BBB
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 26 - - - - -4 - Ground

This string really only exists to mess you up if you don't do 4BB3B correctly. But hey, it's safe! Unless its parried.

4BB3B

4BB3B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 26 - - - - -10 - Ground

If this hits, it combos into swords super for massive damage. Combos naturally from 4BB, but by this point you've presumably read why that's easier said than done.

Kick Normals

5K

5K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 7 - - - -7 -7 - Ground

One of Byakko's main buttons and fastest attacks. Hits a bit faster up close than the animation might make it seem. Mostly a good move because of the strings attached to it.

5KK

5KK
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 7 - - - -18 -18 - Ground

This two kick hit cannot be parried, combos into supers, and has some very good strings attached to it. However, it is linear and, perhaps more importantly, this hit tends to whiff crouchers in some matchups, such as the cat mirror. As a confirm, it is generally out performed by 5KA

5KA or 5BA

5KA or 5BA
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 7 - - - +7 +23 - Ground

This is a premium hit confirm into super thanks to its consistency on opponents regardless of hitbox size and the fact that it is plus on block. The giant frame advantage makes a few of his strings afterwards unjumpable/steppable, which is great for locking down squirrelly opponents that don't like to block.


2K

2K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 5 - - - +8 +7 - Low

Byakko's main low string starter. The hit advantage might make you think he can link off of it, but due to push out + a weird buffer lock on the move, nothing connects afterwards aside from the occasional perfectly timed 5A. The combo counter will also lie about this comboing in training, sometimes. Cool! Despite these problems, 2K is still your primary pressure tool outside of 5A (which this pairs nicely with)

2KK

2KK
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - i5 - - - -3 - - Low

Byakko's main low string. It has a tendency to not combo properly depending upon range/axis/character, so careful attention to the situation is required to hit confirm this into the third hit. If it does hit, it does cancel into dash super, and serves Byakko's main low confirm into it. It almost never combos on crouching opponents regardless of axis, and most consistently works as a combo on far range standing opponents. This means that you can also technically link this consistently off of a 5KA if the 5KA hits a standing opponent.

2KKK

2KKK
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - i5 - - - - -13 - Low

Byakko's main low string ender without meter. All things considered, probably safer than it should be, considering what it does, and the advantage is variable with spacing.

3K

3K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 8 - - - -6 at close range, +10 at tip -7 at close range, +8 at tip - Low

The slide. Byakko's main low poke. Plus enough on hit that it is relatively easy to confirm into swords super with enough practice. Far more reliable than 2KK in that regard. It is technically possibile to do 3K(tip), 2K->Dash super, if you're feeling saucy about your neutral.

4K

4K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 29 - - - +3 on standing, +4 on crouching, +2 on crouching counterhit, -2 on standing counterhit +2 - Low

Byakko's overhead kick. Unlike Rai-On, he does not get links from this and, weirdly, he loses a lot of frame advantage on counterhit. A far less important move for this cat, but it is still a pressure OH that jumps lows/throws.

While Running K

While Running K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 7 - - - X -6 at close range - Low

It's Byakko's slide again, but its a frame faster and knocks down. The knockdown does not stop sword super from comboing afterwards.


Divekick

Divekick
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - ~10 - - - +6 +20 - Ground

Byakko divekick. Hit/Block advantage is an estimate--data used is for the earliest frame 2K can be entered (frame 11 after jump starts) blocked/hit at the top of a 2p Byakko's head. Becomes more or less plus depending upon how its blocked. Byakko's divekick is far worse than his cat counterpart, as he rarely gets meaningful confirms off of his. However, the block data is quite good still, and is one of his most oppressively tools. Still, Byakko has some tools that have the same function, such as airdash K, so its not like he's hurting for similar tools.

Jumping Normals

While Jumping A
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

While Falling A
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Special Moves

236 B Shippu Zan

Shippu Zan
236B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- Low 31 - - - - -11 - Low

An extremely long range knock down horizontal low. At -11, and especially with spacing, this can be difficult if not impossible for some characters to punish. It is very slow despite the somewhat subtle startup animation, though, and can be jump punished.

Kessou Jin 214B

Kessou Jin
214B
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 18 - - - - -27 (both hits blocked) - Ground

Byakko stabs his hands into the ground and swords come out around him. This move only hits in a very small circle around Byakko, making it very difficult to ever actually hit someone with. If it whiffs, he's vulnerable for any punish his opponents want, and if its blocked, it's not much better. It does have a tendency to beat anything above Byakko clean, though... but you'd probably just want the super version of this to do anti-airs, anyways. In contention for one of the worst special moves in the game, but Byakko still has some niche uses for it.

Byakko Hou
214+M
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Byakko Hou~Manji
236+M
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

623A/B
Guren
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Ashura
222
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Gauge Moves

Gloom Whirlwind
236AB
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

An invincible ground dash super. If it hits, Byakko slashes several times and knocks the opponent down. This matchup single handedly blows up anyone's projectile on reaction, and is one of the best grounded whiff punishes in the game. The only real weakness it has is its worthlessness versus grounded opponents, as the followup animation does not trigger. Worth noting: For some reason, it glitches out when used as a whiff punish versus June/Ele's Plasma Field startup, and Byakko will perform the slash animation without hitting her.

Bloody Petal Claw Dance

Bloody Petal Claw Dance
214AB
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - 7 (2 pre flash, 5 post) - - - - - - Ground

Byakko's sword super is probably the reason you should play him. Fast, great on-reaction anti-air, good damage, this is the glue that holds the rest of his movelist together. The short horziontal range means it has some limited usefulness against grounded opponents but its speed more than makes up for it.

Plasma Revenge
AM
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Plasma Reflect
BM
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Plasma Field - Plasma Sword
BK
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Miscellaneous

Throw
5AB
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Meter Gain Property
- - - - - - - - - Ground

Strategy

General Gameplan

Byakko has a few defining traits that make up his archtype and gameplan:

  • Options control what the opponent should/shouldn't do based on your reactions
  • Tons of frame advantage
  • Tons of Pushback
  • No health

These are all things you should keep in mind when playing as Byakko. You are, almost always, in the driver's seat due to the fact that you have two supers that cut off the horizontal and vertical space on reaction. You are the S-tier character in the game that says "I have labbed your moveset and I know I can do this super on reaction to completely neutralize it." If you aren't willing to study every character in the game to learn when you should do these supers, you're not really playing Byakko--you're just playing a worse version of Rai-On.

That being said, you still have access to the cat qualities that make both characters annoying to fight against. You have a -ton- of moves that are so plus on block that it narrows opponents possible methods of defense to only a handful of options, and you should leverage these to the full extent of your movelist (even if your options are worse than Rai-On's.)

5A Frame Traps and the Concept of Layering

5A is +21 on block, but pushes out: a feature you'll run into a lot with this character. 5A->microwalk->5A is a true blockstring infinite on everyone except the following characters whose crouching hurtboxes shrink enough to make 5A whiff:

  • Rai-On / Byakko
  • Gantetsu / Gamof (whiffs crouching if too close)
  • Saturn / Prince (whiffs crouching if too close)
  • Gore / Luca (whiffs crouching if too close)

You might think Byakko's plan is as simple as "get a life lead, 5A on block, call it a day." Against a completely new player that might be the case, but savvy opponents will know that +21 is so much that it's almost too much advantage to force a real mid/low mixup. For example: a player can hold down-back and mash sidestep. If you try to mixup divekick or 4K, Byakko will whiff. If you try to 5A->5A or 5A->2K, you'll just get blocked because of the massive frame advantage--or worse, if you mistime 5A,5A, they might take the hit, then sidestep your follow-ups anyways since Byakko gets basically nothing off of 5A, not even enough frame advantage to keep them still. Try to walk up throw? Sorry, sidestep wins unless you frame perfect time the throw as block stun ends, -and- it whiffs if they walk backwards. Worse than all of this, if your opponent -does- have meter, you have to consider that any 5A->microwalk->5A attempts could cause you to get parried into a full combo. And none of this even starts to talk about reversals with invincibility!

It is with sidestep in mind that you have to rethink what a mixup is for the cats, because the mixup is not "will my opponent block high or low?" but rather "will my opponent block? jump? sidestep? mash reversal?

These charts attempt to give you a basic framework to build on versus common options in the game. Take it as a starting point to build from, and remember that different characters smaller crouch blocks might limit some of these, such as 5A->5A. For situations where the blockstun is so high that the enemy blocks, you might be able to hit them if you delay the option until just as the block stun ends. This is easier with options that are extremely active, such as 3K, than it is with faster/shorter options like 4A/2K.

5A Post Block Options
After 5A is blocked... Enemy Low Block Enemy High Block Enemy Parry Enemy Sidestep Enemy Jump Reversal
...5A/5BA Blockstun Block Blockstun Block Parry Wins Blockstun Block Blockstun Block (testing)
...3K Blockstun Block 3K hits 3K hits Blockstun Block* 3K hits (testing)
...2K Blockstun Block 2K hits 2K hits Blockstun Block 2K hits (testing)
...2B Blockstun Block 2B hits 2B hits Blockstun Block 2B hits (testing)
...4B Blockstun Block Blockstun Block Parry Wins 4B hits 4B hits jump back, whiffs otherwise (testing)
...Divekick Hits, no combo Blockstun Block Hits, no combo Whiffs, Off Axis** Hits, knocks down (testing)
  • 3K will hit sidestep attempts if slightly delayed or if the 5A is blocked at tip versus most sidestep/block OSs.
    • Divekick whiff may put Byakko off axis depending upon the sidestep. If this happens, he cannot block due to being forced into a turn-around animation, but can still quickly act with things like 2K.

As you can see from the above chart, what is most likely to happen is you'll either just have an opponent mashing down-back sidestep, block normally, or in very certain cases, mash reversals. You might think looking at this chart that 4B is a solid answer to this, but now we have to talk about...

The 4B problem

In the developer's infinite wisdom, 4BB does not combo on counterhit or when the first hit hits a sidestepping opponent. You'll know when this happens due to a white flash occurring on the screen. Because of this, the reward for Byakko guessing right against an opponent that tries to sidestep OS is around 8% damage at best. To make matters worse, 4B puts Byakko off axis and minus in these situations, and even if the opponent blocks 4B, he's left so far away that he's effectively reset back to neutral. So, when using 4B, even though its one of your best options, you effectively have the following choices: stop at 4B and hope your opponent doesn't know the situation, use 214/236 stances, or try to out gimmick them with the rest of the 4B string options.

Matchups

Vs. Zelkin (5.5:4.5)-- Byakko is one of the few characters that can dance evenly with Zelkin in the sky thanks to his double jump/divekicks, and he completely outclasses Zelkin on the ground thanks to his swords super. However, Byakko is also made of paper, and if there's anything Zelkin is particularly good at doing, it's stealing rounds out of nowhere with bucket loads of unearned damage. Zelkin not having any grounded super means he's particularly susceptible to Byakko's particular brand of jab-infinite BS and divekicks, so it's almost always optimal for Zelkin to save his meter for parry attempts.

Vs. Saturn/Prince (6:4)-- Both characters have interesting counterplay to each others tools. Byakko dash super punishes PF/whiffed long range normals/specials fairly hard, and Saturn's missile gimmick is almost completely shut down by swords super. However, the power of sidestep->PF, which Byakko naturally has difficultly contending with and is a technique that Saturn always scores giant damage off of, dictates a lot of the pacing of the match. Saturn's ability to fake jumps with mid-air control can also potentially bait out sword super, but Byakko can cancel whiffed slides on reaction into swords super if he sees Saturn jump. This might generally be worse for Saturn than this but the damage from one PF is just that high on the paper tiger. One other small but important note is that Saturn's ducking hitbox makes 5A and some other tools whiff if Byakko is too close, so Byakko has to be mindful of his spacing, lest he accidently get PF'd randomly.

Vs. Rain (6:4) -- Rain straight up can't use half of her movelist once Byakko has a bar, because Dash super very simply beats it all or punishes it all. Her jump back A/B is a nuisance like in any matchup but it is not unreasonable for Byakko to slide/run in, see the jump back, and swords super it. If Rain didn't melt Byakko with one lucky PF, this matchup might be closer to an 8:2--she's really, really lucky Byakko has low health.

Combos

Plasma Combos

Normal Combos

Game Navigation

General
FAQ
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System
Default/Mirror Characters
Blood
Gamof
Gerelt
Ghost Bilstein
Gore
Hayato
June
Saturn
Vector
Zelkin
Unique Characters
Byakko
Rai-On
Rain
Kaede