

Paul Phoenix
Ideal Team Position: Anchor
The uncrowned champion of the 3rd King of Iron Fist Tournament enters the search for Pandora bringing all of the absurd damage he’s known for. If he can land a full combo, he can easily peel off half an opponent’s lifebar with no meter thanks to a plethora of combo starters and extenders. In the corner, he has a number of overheads and low attacks he can use to open up opponents for damage, and proper spacing can ensure that he can utilize certain boost combos to confirm into damage with almost no risk. In order for that to happen, however, he needs to be very close to the opponent, and he does not have many ways he can do that. His Mountain Raze will dodge most projectiles but it is very unsafe on block, and his walkspeed and dashes are very bad. The Mortar Punch is safe on block but even the heavy version does not go very far and is vulnerable to whiff punishing. While he gained some anti-air capabilities with buffs to his Shredder Kicks, it is not very good as a reversal, and the rest of his buttons aren’t very useful in neutral or in footsies. If you want to rock with the self-proclaimed best in the universe, make sure that you pair him with someone that can clear the gaps of distance he needs to be in the opponent’s face and bring the pain.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
---|---|
+Very high tag-in and solo damage +Dangerous high/low mixup game, particularly in the corner +Boost combo cl.MP is 0 on block +Boost combo st.HK has high pushback, making it hard to punish |
-Mediocre neutral, lacks great normals -Requires counterhit to get the most out of his mixups -Requires meter or sacrificing damage to set up optimal okizeme -Needs to be very close for safe low hit-confirm -Deathfist is unsafe on block |
Video Walkthrough
High quality tutorial covering basics.
Moves
Normal Attacks































































crossup







Unique Attacks


















1st and 2nd only combo on







Bone Breaker on hit or block)




Throws









Special Moves













dodge and


















Super Combo


Move Analysis
Normal Moves































































crossup







Unique Attacks



















1st and 2nd only combo on counterhit. Another basic mixup that should be used sparingly since it can interupted. You have to be careful when trying to mixup with Paul since his bag of tricks is very limited.







Bone Breaker on hit or block)




Normal Throws










Special Moves













LP dodges back farther than his backdash so use this to end blockstrings if you really want a safe ender.
MP dodges, avoids lows, and hits overhead. You can link a cr. MP afterwards as well for a combo.
HP dodge and knockdown. Unsafe no real practical use. Flashy spin animation on






















Super Combos



Frame Data (Updated for v2013)
Move | Command | Hit | Damage | Startup | Active | Recovery | Hit Adv | Block Adv | Cancel | JP | JC | JS | "Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
" | |||||||||||||
Far\Close LP | H | 30 | 5 | 3 | 5 | +9 | +2 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Far MP | H | 60 | 6 | 5 | 13 | +3 | -1 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Far HP | H | 90 | 12 | 6 | 16 | +3 | -7 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | 1 | Crumple on standing counter hit | |
Far LK | H | 30 | 8 | 5 | 9 | +3 | -1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Far MK | H | 60 | 10 | 4 | 15 | +2 | -2 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Far HK | H | 90 | 15 | 3 | 27 | -5 | -10 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Close MP | H | 60 | 6 | 4 | 8 | +9 | +5 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Close HP | H | 90(60) | 7 | 5 | 16 | +5 | -1 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | 1 | Forces standing | |
Close LK | H | 30 | 5 | 2 | 8 | +7 | +2 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Close MK | H | 60 | 7 | 3 | 14 | +4 | 0 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Close HK | H | 90 | 13 | 5 | 16 | +4 | -1 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Crouch LP | H | 30 | 4 | 4 | 6 | +7 | +3 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Crouch MP | H | 60 | 5 | 4 | 11 | +6 | +2 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Crouch HP | H | 80 | 6 | 4 | 20 | +2 | -13 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | 1 | Forces standing, Attacking hand crushes airborne attacks frames 6-11 | |
Crouch LK | L | 30 | 5 | 5 | 10 | +2 | -2 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Crouch MK | L | 60 | 7 | 3 | 16 | +2 | -2 | SM,EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Crouch HK | L | 90 | 10 | 4 | 23 | hard knockdown | -7 | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | |
Jump LP | M | 40 | 6 | 5 | until ground+4 | +12 | +4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Jump MP | M | 70 | 9 | 5 | until ground+4 | +16 | +5 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Jump Up HP | M | 100 | 9 | 7 | until ground+4 | +20 | +8 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Jump Diagonal HP | M | 100 | 10 | 6 | until ground+4 | +20 | +8 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
Jump LK | M | 40 | 5 | 9 | until ground+4 | +12 | +4 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Jump MK | M | 70 | 9 | 7 | until ground+4 | +16 | +5 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Jump Up HK | M | 100 | 8 | 6 | until ground+4 | +20 | +8 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | |
Jump Diagonal HK | M | 100 | 13 | 8 | until ground+4 | +20 | +8 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
Launcher **LC | HP+HK | H | 100 | 12 | 2 | 54 | switch | -34 | - | 3 | - | - | Crushes crouching attacks frames 1-14, Launches opponent while switching characters |
Cross Cancel | f+HP+HK (during blockstun) | H | 120 | 12 | 7 | 30 | hard knockdown | -15 | - | - | - | - | Invulnerability frames 1-12, Resembles Phoenix Smasher |
Push Away | LP+LK | throw | 130 | 5 | 2 | 20 | hard knockdown | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Foot Launch | b+LP+LK | throw | 130 | 5 | 2 | 20 | hard knockdown | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Hammer of the Gods | f+MP | M | 60 | 15 | 3 | 19 | +2 | -6 | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | Ground bounce on counter hit and on airborne opponent, On hit: +1 on crouching opponent |
Hammer Punch **LC | f+HP | M | 50 | 19 | 3 | 28 | -4 | -7 | Phoenix Smasher,SA | 3 | 1 | 0 | - |
- | f+HP > df+HK | L | 50 | 14 | 2 | 21 | +4 | -1 | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | Doesn't combo |
Hang Over | f+HP > df+HK > P | H | 50 | 16 | 4 | 15 | +3 | -6 | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | - |
- | df+HK | L | 50 | 14 | 2 | 21 | knockdown | -5 | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | - |
Bone Breaker | df+HK > P | H | 50 | 16 | 4 | 15 | +3 | -6 | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | Knockdown on airborne opponent |
Demolition Man | P after Hang Over or Bone Breaker | H | 100 | 20 | 3 | 22 | knockdown | -3 | SA | 3 | 1 | 0 | - |
Mountain Raze | hcf+K | H | 90 | 19 | 9 | 22 | float | -9 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 | Projectile invulnerability frames 5-18, Airborne frames 19-38 |
Mountain Raze EX | hcf+KK | H | 110 | 14 | 9 | 22 | float | -9 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 | Invulnerability frames 1-16, Airborne frames 15-34 |
Shredder LK | f,d,df+LK | H | 30,20x2 | 6 | 5(9)4 | 21 | float | -3 | - | 3,3,3 | 1,0,2 | 0 | Crushes airborne attacks frames 1-10, Airborne frames 6-33, Whiffs on crouching opponent |
Shredder MK | f,d,df+MK | H | 30,20x2 | 6 | 5(9)4 | 22 | float | -16 | - | 3,3,3 | 1,0,2 | 0 | Crushes ground attacks frames 1-10, Airborne frames 6-34, Whiffs on crouching opponent |
Shredder HK | f,d,df+HK | H | 50,30x2 | 6 | 5(9)4 | 23 | float | -17 | - | 3,3,3 | 1,0,2 | 0 | Airborne frames 6-35, Whiffs on crouching opponent |
Shredder EX | f,d,df+KK | H | 20,30,60 | 6 | 5(9)4 | 22 | float | -16 | - | 4,4,4 | 1,1,2 | 0 | Invulnerability frames 1-8, Airborne frames 8-36 |
Sway LP | qcb+LP | - | - | - | - | 24 | - | - | 15F+: SM (not Sway),EX,SA,CA | - | - | - | Strike invulnerability frames 1-5, Throw invulnerability frames 1-20 |
Sway MP | qcb+MP | H | 90 | 37 | 3 | 24 | +6 | -7 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 | Strike invulnerability frames 1-5, Throw invulnerability frames 1-15, Crushes crouching attacks frames 16-36 |
Swap HP | qcb+HP | H | 150 | 30 | 4 | 34 | knockdown | -8 | - | 3 | 3 | 0 | Strike invulnerability frames 1-5, Throw invulnerability frames 1-15 |
Sway EX | qcb+PP | H | 50,70 | 30 | 4(26)3 | 17 | wall bounce | +2 | - | 3,3 | 3,3 | 0 | Strike invulnerability frames 1-3, Lower body and throw invulnerability frames 1-15, Invulnerability frames 16-33 |
Mortar Punch | f,d,df+P | M | 130 | 27 | 6 | 27 | hard knockdown | +3 | - | 3 | 2 | - | Ground bounce on counterhit and on airborne opponent, Airborne frames 1-32 |
Mortar Punch EX | f,d,df+PP | M | 130 | 23 | 6 | 31 | ground bounce | -5 | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | Holding left/right alters distance, Airborne frames 1-28 |
Phoenix Smasher | qcf+P | H | 120 | 18 | 7 | 30 | hard knockdown | -10 | - | 5 | 5 | 0 | Chargeable: 51F for EX Version and 100F for Super Art, 230 damage on counterhit, Button strength determines distance |
Phoenix Smasher EX | qcf+PP | H | 120 | 11 | 7 | 31 | wall bounce | -16 | - | 5 | 3 | 0 | Chargeable: 51F for Super Art, 200 damage on counterhit |
Burning Fist **LC | qcf+PPP | H | 320 | 8 | 2 | 41 | hard knockdown | -21 | - | 5 | - | - | 68 frames cinematic freeze before attack begins, Invulnerability frames 1-8 |
Cross Art **LC | qcf+MP+MK | H | 150+ | 10 | 2 | 51 | switch | -31 | - | 3 | - | - | 66 frames cinematic freeze before attack begins, Invulnerability frames 1-11 |
Boost Chain Frame Data
Move | Hit | Damage | Startup | Active | Recovery | Hit Adv | Block Adv | Cancel | JP | JC | "Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
" | |||||||||||
Far MP | H | 42 | 6 | 5 | 18 | -2 | -6 | EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | - |
Far HP | H | 63 | 12 | 6 | 23 | -4 | -14 | EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | Crumple on standing counter hit |
Far MK **LC | H | 42 | 10 | 4 | 27 | -10 | -14 | - | 2 | 1 | - |
Far HK **LC | H | 63 | 15 | 3 | 37 | -15 | -20 | - | 3 | 1 | - |
Close MP | H | 42 | 6 | 4 | 13 | +4 | 0 | EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | - |
Close HP | H | 63(42) | 7 | 5 | 25 | -4 | -10 | EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | Forces standing |
Close MK **LC | H | 42 | 7 | 3 | 21 | -3 | -7 | - | 2 | 1 | - |
Close HK **LC | H | 63 | 13 | 5 | 27 | -7 | -12 | EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | - |
Crouch MP | H | 42 | 5 | 4 | 22 | -5 | -9 | EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | - |
Crouch HP | H | 56 | 8 | 4 | 27 | -5 | -20 | EX,SA,CA | 3 | 1 | Forces standing, Attacking hand crushes airborne attacks frames 6-11 |
Crouch MK **LC | L | 42 | 7 | 3 | 22 | -4 | -8 | EX,SA,CA | 2 | 1 | - |
Crouch HK **LC | L | 63 | 10 | 4 | 34 | hard knockdown | -18 | - | 3 | 1 | - |
The Basics
Paul is best saved as an anchor or secondary character. He is not good on point and you will struggle with closing in the opponent, especially against more mobile characters.
Movement
Paul's movement is limited to sub-par walkspeed and okay special moves that can close the gap. Mountain Raze and Mortar Punch are your only specials to get closer to your opponent. Save Mountain Raze for combo filler or when you read that your opponent will try to do a fireball. Mountain Raze will immediately get you in close and lead to a high damage combo. Mortar Punch is best used sparingly since you can get hit out of it very easily. You can get really good damage if you get counterhit st.HP but otherwise save it for when you think you can catch your opponent off-guard. They can block the move and you be will fine since it will leave you at advantage. Phoenix Smasher and other specials are unsafe and you will get punished. LP Sway can keep Paul safe but sacrifices distance. Paul's best option is to be tagged in. Having a character with good mobility will allow Paul to dish out the damage safely and surely. Characters like Yoshimitsu with stronger movement and ways to setup tag combos can greatly help allow Paul to do what he does best.
Damage
Paul is a simple high damage character. His combos are basic and easy to perform while dishing out aforementioned high damage. Basic combo goes as such, normal xx(canceled into) Mountain Raze followed by HK Shredder Kicks then cl.HP/HK xx Phoenix Smasher (Death Fist). One of the best things about Paul is that he is consistent. Meaning in most situations Paul will be able to pull off this combo and even better, with little to no meter used. Paul does not have a plethora of cancelable moves like other characters. But all of them allow Paul to cripple the character and push towards the corner and limit their options. Phoenix Smasher is your go to combo ender. It does the most damage scaled and unscaled and smashes the opponent to the corner. This move by itself does good damage and is pretty flashy, but unsafe. This move is the reason why Paul can tack on so much damage on the end of his combos. And again HK Shredder to cl HP/HK xx Phoenix Smasher will the latter portion of most if not all the combos you need.
Spacing
Some would say this goes with movement but until they edit this guide and make it better... Yeah. Paul needs to be in close range to do damage plain and simple. He does not have good normals to keep the opponent in check. cr.MK is his only long range low that is relatively safe and cancelable. st.MP and HP are of note as well but MP has poor range while HP is somewhat unsafe. Paul has poor range in general so again it is important to find a tag character for him that can get in close. Sway can help by keeping Paul safe with LP Sway and fakeout the opponent with MP Sway. Close the gap characters can run away from you with Phoenix Smasher (Death Fist). By ending with Death Fist the opponent is thrown towards the corner and should you tag cancel your partner character will be right beside the opponent as they get up. This allows you to build more meter to repeat the process with Paul for damage and safety.
Normals
Paul's normals are pretty crappy. His good normals include his light punches, medium punches, cr.mk, st.hp, st.mk, and past that depends on preference. Everything else is combo filler at best. cr.mk serves like a shoto low crouching middle kick. It is special cancelable and good for hit confirms. His launcher is pretty bad, other than the low crush properties, the range is very short. But the upside is that his normals do lead to his damage easily. lk Raze is very easy to combo into from most of his cancelable normals which then leads to his high damage combos which leads to setups provided you have meter. st.hp is notable for causing crumple on counterhit which leads to huge combos. Use mp and mk for spacing as hp is slow and risky. lp is good to pester the opponent and setup for tick throws.
Meter
Meter is not super important to Paul. It is better saved for tag mechanics explained in the advanced section. But Paul builds it well and can use it. EX Mountain Raze is a waste of meter, the added range and invincibility is okay but it still does not travel far and you waste a bar where you were probably better off just switching to your partner. EX Sway is also a waste of meter, the only time you would use it would be to catch a sleeping opponent since it does allow for big combos. EX Shredder is a waste but it is Paul's only real threat as a reversal move since it does not whiff on crouchers. EX Shredder also does not allow for the combo followups normal shredder does so be wary. EX Mortar gives you the ground bounces instantly and combos more easily off of Paul's heavy normals which will be expanded on later but mainly it is not a complete waste of meter but still not something to abuse. EX Phoenix Smasher is awesome since it gives a wall bounce which leads to a combo, this is arguably the best place to spend meter if necessary. The reason being you can get this move off of many normals and Hammer Punch/Paul's slower overhead. Paul's super is okay but should only be used when it would kill an opponent or if you desperately need the space to switch characters, it looks hella cool though.
Partner Choice
Paul's mobility sucks, during the update his offense skyrockted and his defense got a little better but Paul still needs help. He has ways around fireballs but can still get spaced out by them. Find a character that cover's his weaknesses, Yoshimitsu, Guy, etc. are mobile characters who can help Paul get in are switch out with him when needed. Dudley also gets a mention for his fantastic walk speed and ability to close the gap on an opponent. Choose one who can help Paul but that you also have fun using.
Advanced Strategy
Meter/Chain System
The reason we mention meter again is to use meter as a way to boost Paul's normals. Paul's normals cannot link to much but you are still able to chain cancel all of his normals. So that weird st.lk he has can lead to decent damage and a safe switch out with Partner's. Using the chain system boosts pokes or normals you use in the neutral game to attack/test your opponent. Paul's normals really lend themselves to the chain system and his st.hp and hk have far reach on top of easily chaining into his sub-par launcher. Use this system to safely switch to your partner and tack on damage if you have meter. Poking your opponent with st.mk might not do much at first but should you get a hit you have immediate access to 2 options. 1 option allows you to spend meter for a big combo while the other option is to go through the chain which then allows for a safe tag in. Spending meter is not always advised because combos scale more using the chain system but the option is there.
Spacing
Combos
Great video covering basic to advanced combos. Has notation and general requirements like meter and corner specific. Refer to this for most if not all the Paul combos you need. I think it lacks combos from tag but that will be covered later.
Bread and Butters
- cl.MP, cr.HP xx hcf+K, dp+HK, cl.HK xx qcf+P (403)
(0bar, easy)
- df+HK>P>P, cr.MP, cr.HP xx qcf+P (330)
(0bar, corner, easy)
Hit Confirm Combos
- cr.LP, cr.LP, cr.HP xx hcf+K, dp+HK, cl.HK xx qcf+P (346)
(0bar, close, easy)
- cl.MP, cr.MP xx hcf+K, dp+HK, cl.HK xx qcf+P (383)
(0bar, easy)
Post-launch Combos
- dp+HK, cl.HK xx qcf+P
(0bar, easy)
- cr.HP xx dp+MP, st.HP xx qcf+P
Change first hit to st.MP if too far (0bar, medium)
Advanced Combos
- cr.LK~cl.MP~cl.HP xx hcf+KK, dp+HK, cl.HK xx qcf+P (358)
(1bar, close, easy)
- df+HK>P>P, dp+HK, cl.HK xx qcf+P (383)
(0bar, counterhit, corner, medium)
- f+HP>df+HK>P>P, dp+HK, cl.HK xx qcf+P (381)
(0bar, counterhit, overhead, corner, medium)
- dp+LK, cr.HP xx dp+MP (254)
EX charge setup (0bar, anti-air, easy)
Combos Into Supers
- N/A