Thrill Kill/Cleetus

Cleetus Overview Strategy Combo Strings

Overview

Cleetus, thanks to a developer oversight, is the most broken character in the game. Thanks to his Front Snap Kick being +5 on hit, is an infinite combo if you buffer it over and over again. This means your opponent cannot make any mistakes with their attacks, lest they be put in the Cleetus blender. The only defense against it is crouching, as the string consists of only high attacks.

If that wasn't enough, Cleetus also has access to some great special moves you can abuse for fun and profit - Over The Barb has some invulnerability making it a great move to attack through pressure, Dashing Elbow has great range and active frames to reward good spacing, and Backwoods Beating has a crazy amount of invulnerability. If his moves don't give him invulnerability, they probably give him frame advantage as a lot of his moves are extremely plus on hit.

At a glance:
Pros	Cons
Infinite Combo: Landing his 5^f jab is an instant round win most of the time. Your opponents will have to spend nearly the whole match in crouch in order to play against this. Frame advantage: Moves like Low Outhouse and Middle Outhouse are very plus on hit, allowing you to continue pressuring your opponents with low/mid mixups up close. Powerful specials: Cleetus has a variety of special moves that offer good range, invulnerability, and juggle conversions. Amazing wake-up attacks: Cleetus's high launcher and low sweep recovery moves both lead to juggles and great damage. Hard to juggle: Cleetus's vertical hitbox while he's being juggled is quite small. For example, Tormentor is completely unable to do any wall combos against Cleetus after a Charged Punch.	People will hate you: Hitting someone with the Cleetus combo will surely cause them to leave and not play with you anymore.

Cleetus

Hitbox Diameter	4.7^u⌀ (Large)
Movement Speed	6.8^u/s (2^nd fastest)
Dash Distance	10.0^u (4^th best)

Move List

Front Punch

Stump Stab

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	5^f	1^f	8^f	-2 / +3	3	3.2^u	-	-
The jab of death. Excellent frame advantage. Cancels: - Turning Stump Stab

Force Feed
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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	10^f	3^f	20^f	-16 / +23	10	4.1^u		-
The lesser of the two charge attacks. Can be mashed out of.

Turning Stump Stab

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	10^f	1^f	10^f	-4 / +3	3	3.9^u	-	Switch
Combo filler. Bad startup, but great advantage. Cancels: - Dashing Elbow - Middle Outhouse

Skipping Elbow

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	7^f	1^f	13^f	-7 / +40	8	4.4^u		-
A move you'll often forget about, but can be extremely useful. Has frame 0 partial invulnerability until the first active frame of the attack.

Dashing Elbow

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	9^f	7^f	7^f	-7 / +24	5	7.4^u		-
One of Cleetus's best moves. Great range, tons of active frames, and juggles the opponent quite high into the air for good follow-up juggles. Only downside is that it has no invulnerability frames.

Stump Jab From Crouch

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	6^f	2^f	9^f	-4 / +5	3	3.9^u	-	-
Your best "get off me" poke from crouch. Fair range, and very good advantage. Cancels: - Turning Stump Stab

Back Punch

Hickory Hook

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	7^f	1^f	10^f	-4 / +3	4	3.8^u	-	Switch
Another combo filler move. Cancels: - Southern Swing

Choppin Wood
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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	11^f	1^f	23^f	-17 / +63	13	5.9^u		Switch
Done by holding for 20 frames, then releasing. Great range, and you cannot mash out of the stun animation. Knocks down crouching opponents instead of stunning them.

Southern Swing

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	10^f	1^f	17^f	-11 / -4	7	3.1^u	-	-
Another combo-filler attack, but with bad advantage and startup.

Down The Stream

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	11^f	2^f	11^f	-5 / -1	4/hit	3.3^u, 8.7^u	-	-
An odd double swing attack with only one attached combo. This move would make more sense if there was a way to cancel into it, but it's apparently supposed to be a starter. First hit has deceptively short range.

Stump Squirt

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	13^f	22^f	6^f	N/A	3	7.9^u	-	-
Comedy move. Deals damage, but does not cause a hit animation.

Moonshine

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	7^f	5^f	13^f	-11 / +25	7	3.7^u		Switch
Cleetus's best juggle. Integral to his corner damage. Has partial invulnerability while Cleetus is airborne.

Crouching Moonshine

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	7^f	3^f	10^f	-6 / +23	3	2.1^u		Switch
A mid-hitting crouching launcher with pitiful range. You won't be using this much. Cancels: / - Running Shoulder

Backwoods Beating

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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	7^f	8^f	28^f	-23 / -18	9/hit	1.9^f - 6.5^u		-
Your go-to invulnerability move and juggle ender of choice. Has frame 0 full invulnerability up until the first swing, which downgrades to partial invulnerability until after the third swing. Often beats out other moves with invulnerability.

Running Shoulder

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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	9^f	11^f	8^f	-9 / +30	10	-		-
Short range, but good startup and crazy advantage for a mid-hitting dash attack. Has frame 0 partial invulnerability that lasts for the duration of the charge.

Front Kick

Rattle Snap Kick

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	7^f	1^f	12^f	-6 / +1	4	6.3^u	-	Switch
Excellent range, but doesn't really lead to anything substantial that another button can't do better.

Over The Barb

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	6^f	1^f	22^f	-16 / +13	5	2.1^u	-	Switch
A very useful knee to attack crouching players and even beat out some moves thanks to its partial invulnerability while Cleetus is off the ground. Cancels: - Moonshine - Sweep From Crouch

Hickory Heel

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	16^f	1^f	9^f	-3 / +5	20	3.2^u		-
Extremely similar to Oddball's axe kick. For how much damage it does, it has

Round The Barn

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	10^f	2^f	19^f	-14 / +22	6	5.8^u		-
Another useful move that's easy to forget about. It hits mid and has frame 0 full invulnerability until the first active frame, so you can punish pretty much anything with it. Sadly, it doesn't lead to anything much of substance since it has no combos, and it launches your opponent fairly far away.

Low Kick From Crouch

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	7^f	2^f	8^f	-2 / +4	3	4.1^u	-	-
Slow startup for a poke, but excellent advantage and can combo into a launching sweep that has invincible startup, or a Low Outhouse with .

Back Kick

Front Snap Kick

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	9^f	1^f	8^f	-2 / +5	3	2.7^u	-	-
The most broken move in the game. It's so plus on hit that you can buffer a jab afterwards that begins a combo that ends with this kick, leading to an infinite combo. Cancels: - Low Outhouse - Round Outhouse

Middle Outhouse

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	18^f	2^f	11^f	-6 / +1	6	5.8^u	-	Switch
Laughably terrible startup. Avoid using by itself, but it's not bad to end combo strings with as its cancel damage is very good. Cancels: - Round Outhouse

Low Outhouse

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	18^f	2^f	9^f	-4 / +3	4	4.6^u	-	Switch
Laughable startup used by itself, but it is very plus on hit for a low if you combo into it. Cancels: - Middle Outhouse

Round Outhouse

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	14^f	2^f	13^f	-7 / +28	5	2.9^u		-
Only seen as a combo ender. Has no invulnerability at all, unlike Round The Barn. Cancels: - Crouching Moonshine

Sweep From Crouch

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	10^f	3^f	9^f	-5 / +2	4	5.6^u	-	-
Description needed. Cancels: - Low Outhouse / - Runnin Round The Barn

Runnin Round The Barn

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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	14^f	11^f	8^f	+32	8	14.5^u		Switch
A high hitting dash attack with partial invulnerability. It's fine.

Grabs / Misc Moves

Cleetus's whiffed grab animation is 18^f long.

Arm On The Cob

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	0^f	-	100^f	+17	17	0.8^u		-
An okay grab. Sends your opponent quite far away and might as well be a hard knockdown.

Filet O Calf

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	0^f	-	136^f	0	18	0.8^u		Switch
One more damage than Arm on the Cob, but allows your opponent to 50/50 you with their wakeup attack. Avoid using.

Lip Lunch

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	0^f	-	149^f	+27	19	0.8^u		-
Always try to use this grab when you can. Your opponent writhes on the ground for a considerably long time after you throw them, allowing you to buffer a 20 damage axe kick for a total of 39 damage.