While Blanka is generally considered among the weaker end of the cast, he does have a few good matchups, most notably against grapplers.
That being said, prepare to suffer.
Matchup placements are based off of Goukipedia's JP Average Matchup chart. Most old characters aren't played at a high enough level to warrant tier list placements, so with the exception of Old Ryu, Ken, T.Hawk, and Sagat, they'll be listed alongside their New counterparts.
| Serious Advantage (10-7) |
 
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|---|---|
| Advantage (6.5-6) |  
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| Even (5.5-4.5) |   
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| Disadvantage (4-3.5) |     
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| Serious Disadvantage (3-0) |
    
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Serious Advantage Matchups
Zangief (7-3)
This matchup is a game of paddle ball, and you're the racket.
Gief can barely do ANYTHING to Blanka. Blanka's crouching HP out-zones Gief's usually-dominating crouching HK. Gief can't do random lariats because Blanka's slide goes right under them and trips him. And Blanka's c.HK beats pretty much all of Gief's normals on the ground, and is safe if blocked.
The best part, Gief can NEVER, EVER, under ANY circumstance jump on Blanka. Blanka has two standing normals that negate all aerial attacks: stand MP and stand RH. Depending on the height and distance, either one will cleanly beat anything the grappler can throw at you from midair.
This leaves Gief's options pretty much shot....he can't play footsies with you, he can't try to advance with lariats, and he can't even jump. All he can try to do is maybe time a Banishing Flat to make you block and then go for an SPD. Besides this, Gief should not be able to attack in any fashion at all.
As an added bonus, you can purposely taunt Gief by just doing repeated FP balls. All Gief can do is either block (he can't punish you afterwards, and if he tries you can do another FP ball and smack him in the face) or crouching jab. If the jab hits, big deal, Gief did pretty much no damage to you. But most people won't figure this out until they block a few HP balls and are extremely frustrated, trying to discover what the hell they can do to your repetitive strategy. Pretty cheap, and pretty one-sided.
St.Roundhouse tends to be pretty ineffective vs. Gief, but players such as Khiempossible have had amazing luck with s.fierce for anti air. Neutral jumping fierce also works great, and basically nothing beats st.strong for anti air.
T. Hawk (7-3)
Hawk has a huge hurtbox and short distance on his normals compared to Blanka. Start the match with a Roll and wait to see if he tries to Condor Dive you or poke with standing normals. Crouching Roundhouse is your best medium distance poke, along with crouching Fierce if he tries to jump. Rising Hawk happens to be easily punishable if he ever tries it.
Your objective is to corner T.Hawk for Electricity traps and Rolling Attack Mixups. Backstep Rolling its a decent idea for Hawk's Jumping Forward, or you can use Vertical Rolling for a Condor Dive trade. The main problem will be if you try to get close after a knockdown because he can grab you with a Mexican Typhoon pseudo-reversal or in the worst case, a Double Typhoon.
Blanka has better meter building specials, and you can create a Super mixup after a knockdown if you don't want to use a Hold setup. Release the Super as soon as possible for some cheap damage.
Advantage Matchups
Old T. Hawk (6.5-4.5)
Needs more info! For now, refer to the T. Hawk section.
M. Bison (Dictator) (6-4)
Needs more info!
Even Matchups
Ken (5-5)
Needs more info!
Guile (5-5)
Against most Guiles, Blanka can win easily. Most Guiles end up throwing repeated sonic booms, and Blanka's slide goes cleanly under them when timed correctly. The key is to stay within range to slide under any booms and sweep Guile....from there, the world is your oyster, with a free opportunity to crossup with j.LK and dominate the match.
Just be CAREFUL, because good Guiles won't throw booms out all day. Instead, they'll use crouch MK/hop MK or other footsies to try to control the match, then use flash kick when you try to jump over it. In this case, try to zone with c.mk/c.fp/jab ball/leap buffers. J.LK actually does cross up the flash kick and goes clean through it as long as you are high/deep enough, so once you're in, you're golden.
Blanka (Mirror Match)
Good strategies to use:
If you ever block a horizontal ball, you can immediately reply with your own HP ball for a free hit.
Since Blanka players tend to jump a lot, don't be afraid to use a few vertical balls to knock them out of the air.
Remember, you're hard to cross up because of your wakeup LK vertical ball, but if another Blanka is crossing you up deep enough with his jumping LK your ball will get snuffed, so be careful.
The name of the game here is wait for your opponent to make mistakes....wait for them to do a ball, block, and retaliate. Wait for them to start jumping stupidly, and whack him out of the air. Most importantly, DON'T PLAY SLOPPY! For some reason, a lot of people play sloppy in mirror-matches and end up choking....just be patient and you will win the match.
Khiempossible says:
- Watch out when trying to counter hit Blanka balls with your own Blanka ball, since unless you do a reversal or near reversal (there's a small window) you will not counterhit Blanka in the air. This means if you botch your reversal the opposing Blanka can reversal Blanka ball and hit you with a knockdown. Then you're stuck dealing with Blanka's stupid wakeup games. NB: you can punish horizontal ball on hit with your own Blanka ball.
- Snti air electricity is a good idea, anti air ball is probably going to trade with most of Blanka's jump ins, but so will anti air electricity, and electricity happens to give you the godliest knockdown ever.
- Spamming a lot of s.jabs and s.forwards and s.shorts in this matchup should be considered, these moves will all beat Blanka balls, dashes, and jumpins if the angle is right. s.jab doubles as an electricity buffer.
- If you see the opposing Blanka try to electricty to counter your stuff, sweep and slide will both beat it clean from the right range.
- Jump back short is a pretty safe turtle strategy.
- Try and stay just outside of max range slide range. from here you can mash short and wait, if your opponent jumps you can straight jump fierce (bitch slap them) and win by waiting.
Disadvantage Matchups
Cammy (4-6)
This is a tough match for Blanka, and was considered one of the original "counters" for Blanka in ST.
Why? Because Cannon Spike (or Thrust Kick, whatever you want to call it depending on the version of ST you're playing) beats, oh, about 99% of the jump attacks you'll throw at her. She can also hit you after a blocked ball (walk forward stand RH or crouch RH) and her Cannon Drill is unpunishable if she does it at a certain range, even if you block.
The name of the game here is BE CAREFUL. Be sure you don't accidentally let her block a Blanka ball. If you can knock her down, stay on top of her with the crossup LK and keep attacking. Your best bet is to be very patient, and then when you get that random throw, or knockdown, to keep attacking until she's done.
DO NOT let Cammy control the match!
Vega (Claw) (4-6)
Claw doesn't have to do anything in this match. All he has to do is crouch. If you walk forward, he will do c.MP. If you do Blanka ball, he will do c.MP (it beats it!). If you jump, he will do flip kick anti-air. If you make him block a fast FP ball, he can walk forward and hit you with stand HP for free. Although Claw is played primarily in an offensive manner, this is one of his only matchups where just sitting still and hitting one button, can give him an almost free victory.
The key to winning here is crossing him up and controlling the match, like usual. The problem is, his cr.MP has SO much range that you can only cross him up if you jump WITHIN THE RANGE OF HIS cr.MP. So, if you are playing a competent player, you will NEVER cross up Claw.
The only real advantage Blanka has on Claw, is that Blanka's vertical ball will beat Claw's wall fives 8 times out of 10. The problem is, any competent Claw player won't be doing wall dives, they'll just be doing c.MP.
Good luck with this one!
Khiempossible says:
- At max range you can trade Blanka's low fierce with Claw's crouching strong
- Blanka's low strong will counter hit Claw's low strong clean.
- You can also counter someone who's mashing low strong with Blanka ball. Takes timing.
- You can Blanka ball both Claw's roll and sweep.
Old Ken (4-6)
Needs more info!
Chun-Li (3.5-6.5)
Ouch. This is one of Blanka's less favorable matches, just because Chun's jumping LK and MK beat ALL of his jumping attacks clean.....including vertical ball.
Chun's fireball can neutralize any attempts to advance with a ball, and a blocked ball means you'll be eating a stand FP or crouching RH.
Also, Chun can pretty easily keep walking forward and doing stand MP, and once she gets started, there's very little Blanka can do to interrupt her.
You can't even stop Chun from crossing you up, since her jump LK (what she'll probably use to cross you up) beats your vertical ball clean!
Some advice is to try to get on top of her BEFORE she has the chance to either start jumping at you, or start walking forward spamming standing MP. Once you get on top of her, it can be hard to get Blanka off. However, you'll be fighting an uphill battle.
Khiempossible says:
- Repeated j.lk abuse is your safest best once you're on top, make sure if you land one you land it deep, cause Chun's grab range is pretty long, and you don't want to be reversaled. Then when you do go to tick, you want it to be as close to max range as possible since you only have 11 pixel advantage over Chun's grab.
- If you can get Chun to block/hit a j.heavy attack, this is the ideal grab setup. Walk forward and grab as soon as blockstun ends.
- HK vertical ball is surprisingly effective. Since j.short doesn't cross up, Chun will need to cross up with j.forward, and since forward has a shorter active hit box, she'll need to do it deep and late. This means if she jumps predictably, HK vertical ball will take her out clean.
- J.jab for air to air is unbelievably effective. It's also good for cleanly beating her standard anti air options. This includes her low roundhouse and upkicks. Experiment, there's timing and spacing involved, but some combination of j.jab and j.fierce and occasionally j.roundhouse will beat most of Chun's anti air's.
Dhalsim (3.5-6.5)
It can get repetitive hearing this over and over, but this can be really bad for Blanka.
The good thing about this match is, if you are about 1/2 screen away from Sim, you can control the match. You're too close for him to do a Yoga Fire - you can jump over and hit him - and he really has nothing he can effectively do against you besides try one of his drill cancels. Control the match by waiting for a Yoga Fire/Flame and jumping right over it with RH. If he's being patient, try to advance with a jab Blanka ball, or else just walk right up to him (careful to block anything he throws out) and use a few c.MKs or c.FPs.
One thing it's really difficult to do to Sim is jjump. Sim has about 10 different ways to knock you out of the air...whether it be a slide if you're far away, a jump back HP if you're mid-range, or a stand MP if you're directly overhead...he has an answer for almost every jump attack.
The best strategy here is to, again, be patient. Don't EVER let yourself get pushed back to fullscreen range, or you are fucked....he can completely zone you with Yoga Flames/stretchy limbs and make it so you will never get close to him. Try to stay at least 1/2 screen distance from him, waiting for the moment to capitalize...which will either be a Yoga Fire/Flame you can jump over, or an opportunity to buffer into a leap and get close for a throw. If you happen to knock him down (not likely) you can go for a crossup string, but BE CAREFUL because Sim's crouching jab actually beats out most of the throw/leap strings that Blanka has.
And, of course, don't let Sim block a ball or you will be eating stretchy feet.
Khiempossible says:
- If you ever see Sim going for a drill, electricity beats them all clean.
- J.fierce, j.roundhouse and j.jab are your best friend for beating predictable anti air options. some combination of those will work vs. Sim.
-J.fierce will beat Sim's s.MP and anti air slide j.roundhouse will beat or trade Sim's s.MK j.jab will beat almost everything he does in the air, as well as early limbs
Sim's anti air low jab is difficult to beat though.
Fei Long (3.5-6.5)
Needs more info!
Sagat (3.5-6.5)
Needs more info!
Serious Disadvantage Matchups
Ryu (3-7)
Against Ryu, Blanka desperately wants to get a knockdown that he can, in turn, convert into a dizzy combo (standing strong -> headbutt or low forward x2 -> horizontal ball) or a tick. It's simple to break things down into four different ranges:
Range A is the BEST range for Blanka. It's about half a step outside to just barely within his low RH range. We're looking to catch Ryu flinching and tag him with that low RH or a slide punch. Also standing short (beats low kicks), standing rh (makes low kicks whiff), regular low fierce and the hail mary jump in (->dizzy.)
Range B is the WORST range. One more step outside range A. Jump in and get DP'ed. Fucking nightmare. You'll likely spend most of the match here if you're losing. At the back end of this one you have jab ball -> bite but good luck getting the charge for that.
From range C (3/4 screen) Ryu can't hit you with a DP on the jump in but he has other stuff. That other stuff can be beaten:
Ryu air defense / Blanka option Low rh / jump fierce Standing fierce straight punch [1] / jump rh Climbing jump RH / jump jab [1] = most Ryu players don't know how good this is, which is nice. Otherwise, keep on walking/hopping/balling forward.
Range D is full screen. Jump over a fierce fireball relatively safely and then see what happens. Also strong ball -> bite or jab ball -> low rh. Oh, heh, if you're in the corner back hop through fierce fireballs.
--Nohoho
Old Ryu (3-7)
Needs more info! For now, see Ryu for more information.
E. Honda (3-7)
It can be argued that this is one of Blanka's hardest matchups.
Honda does not ever have to advance. All he has to do is sit still. If he sees you try to jump, he can do a headbutt. If he sees you walk forward, he can do a headbutt. If he sees you jump back, he can try to time a headbutt to hit you on the way down. The worst part is, if you block a headbutt you can't hit Honda, but if Honda blocks a ball, he CAN hit you with a HEADBUTT. HEADBUTT HEADBUTT HEADBUTT!
It's pretty damned annoying, and if Honda ends up getting a lead in health, you are pretty much done. The only way to really win the match is one of two ways:
1. You jump backwards, Honda does a headbutt but doesn't time it correctly, so you do a j.LK and knock him out of it. Now, you have the advantage: you have the leeway to walk forward, jump at Honda, and cross him up with LK, since he has to recover from the headbutt you just knocked him out of.
2. You walk forward at the beginning of the match and jump at Honda, and are able to cross him up with j.LK.
Once Honda is crossed up, he is SCREWED. He can't do anything, you can literally be free to do crossup strings, leap traps (be careful he isn't predicting it or he can do things to escape), throw traps, and more crossups. Blanka can literally jump back and forth doing jumping LKs for the rest of the match, and if you time it right, Honda can't do anything to escape...pretty funny.
The problem is, you need to have that initial 1 or 2 to get you in that lead position. If Honda hits you first, or makes you block first, he absolutely has no reason to move at all. He can just sit blocking down-back and he is completely safe...if you try to walk forward and cross him up, he will just do a FP headbutt to escape.
It's not that Blanka can't win, but that Blanka has to get lucky and get the first hit in...THEN he can control the match.
Khiempossible says:
- Jumping straight up and down right outside of Honda's jab headbutt range is pretty effective for baiting stuff.
- S.short beats headbutt clean
- J.jab beats Honda anti time he's in the air
- Just watch Honda, any time he loses his charge you can j.short him. Don't try and tick trap too much, cause reversal Oicho creams you (no whiff animation, greater grab range than yours) and even if you land a grab, Honda will get his charge back for jab headbutt, and put you back to turtling waiting for a mistake.
- Mix up between anti air j.jab and crossup j.short and crossup j.short comboed into s.strong. You might not want to do much more than those 3 things against a good Honda.
Dee Jay (3-7)
Another tough match. Blanka can't slide under Max Out cleanly, unless he is close enough to actually trip Dee Jay in the process. So undoubtedly it will be tough to get through the barrage of Max Outs.
One thing you can do is wait for a Max Out, jump over it and use jumping RH. Jump RH has great range and you will probably surprise Dee Jay, because he won't expect that you can hit him from that far away.
Be careful of too many jump-ins, Dee Jay's crouching RH will sweep you out of most of them. However, once you cross up with j.LK it will be hard for Dee Jay to escape your mixups. You will have to be sure that either Dee Jay doesn't have charge, or that you are deep enough that his Sobat Kick won't be able to anti-air you.
Like most other characters, if Dee Jay blocks your ball, you are screwed (stand RH hits you). It iwll also be hard to advance since the Max Out will stop you from doing most balls. The key is getting close enough to either jump over the Max Out and hit him, or to cross him up.
Khiempossible says:
- Sliding under Max Out isn't really all that useful, you can't do it preemptive or early, the timing for the slide under max out is basically right before the max out hits you. At this point, DJ is almost always fully recovered by the time your slide gets to him, and he has probably jumped and will punish you on the way down.
- A better technique is to run away, j.jab straight up over max outs and then dash back to full screen. Your opponent must now actually do something like move forward or not throw Max Outs, either way this gives you the opportunity to see what's going on and bait and punish dj.
- You're trying to make Dee Jay lose his charge so you can jump at him. watch if he's standing or moving forward, these are opportunities where it's safer to jump.
- You can counter hit Dee Jay's whiff low strong with your low forward, and you can counter hit Dee Jay's low roundhouse startup with low strong or horizontal ball.
Balrog (Boxer) (2.5-7.5)
Tough! Blanka has a tough time here because he has trouble moving around.
First, if Boxer EVER blocks your ball, he can stand FP or do a low dash attack for big damage.
If you try to use jab balls for spacing, and Boxer eats the ball, HE CAN STILL DO STAND HP AND HIT YOU!
The only low attacks Blanka can really use against Boxer are c.MK and c.FP. Using a lot of c.MKs to interrupt Boxer's dashes can be a good strategy, until he catches on and stops dashing, and instead uses his super-fast crouching FK. It not only beats your c.MK at many ranges, but does massive damage as well.
Jumping on Boxer? Not likely. He's extremely hard to cross up since his headbutt hits backwards, plus he has TWO anti-air normals that hit you pretty high in the air: stand MP and crouching FP.
In the end, Boxer ends up neutralizing most of your game. You can't ever jump as long as Boxer has charge, and even when he doesn't, he still might knock you out of the air with normals. You really can't ever use balls to advance due to the high risk, and your normals are also greatly limited. Boxer-Blanka matches can literally turn into Blanka spamming c.MK since it is one of the few moves he can do safely, and even then, Boxer comes out on top.
Khiempossible's says:
- S.Roundhouse while completely punishable on whiff is great vs. Boxer, it will stuff the later frames of Balrog's headbutt, while going over most of his low moves like Boxer's low roundhouse and low dash punch. Consider spamming low forward and bait reactions from you opponent, and press st.HK once you get a read in.
- Slide is also very effective. don't do it from too close or too predictably since Boxer can counter hit it (and basically all your other moves) with low forward, but if you see Boxer use super, high dash punch, kick dash, or s.fierce you can slide and punish it.
- Be careful with grab tricks, since Boxer's grab is basically just as long as yours.
Grab through Electricity:
- Since Blanka has a wide throwable box, Boxer's strong throw reaches far enough to grab Blanka right out of his Electricity attack.
It's recommended to scarcely use Electricity against Boxer since grab loops can end rounds quickly.
--Og PartyMarty (2019)
Old Sagat (2-8)
This is an almost lost match. Hope he tries something stupid, such as jumping at you, or allow you to simply jump forward over Tigers until you can combo him after another mistimed Tiger or go for a cross-up. His standing punches, sweeps and Tiger Uppercut can deal with jump-ins, so he really has nothing to fear unless he makes 3 mistakes in a row and you get in.
Akuma (1.5-8.5)
Call a tournament organizer. Ah hell, you're probably not insane enough to play Blanka in tournament anyway.
