[Litchi]
Average damage S: Litchi combos hurt, except when they start with an A attack… but there’s virtually no reason to use her 5A or 2A so it doesn’t matter; pretty much any hit will lead to a 4k to 5k combo
Max damage S: Her usual combos do 4-5k already, but FC 2C combos or comboing into super can break 6k or more
Pokes S: So long as Litchi has her staff, she has a wide array of pokes that can lead into nasty damage; only weakness is that they’re a bit on the slow side
Breaking out of pressure C: Litchi’s DP got nerfed, so the return for landing one isn’t very good
Mix up A: While Litchi’s overhead is decent, it’s not the primary source of mix up for her; her mix up game is based around catching the opponent when they try to get out of her pressure; should they not take a risk and decide to block, they’re back to square one of her pressure game
Pressure S: With her being able to “mist cancel” (or stance cancel I guess) as a legitimate form of pressure, Litchi can continue pressure for a very long time; 6D is also stupidly good at doing this too because it’s safe, puts Litchi right next to the opponent, and is stance cancelable
Okizeme S: All of Litchi’s combos end with knockdown and give her not only a push to the corner, but they also give her a lot of meter; one combo gives her enough meter to super, and ending a combo with Dai Sharin gives her guaranteed oki; pretty much any combo she does forces you to neutral tech or you’re going to eat another combo
Against ground A: j.B is still godly
Against air B: Litchi still lacks a reliable anti-air, but 2C and sometimes DP work; j.C is also great air to air and leads to big damage on CH; her stance~A move can also catch people out of the air (which leads to a combo)
Defense C: Average life, average amount of primers, tall hit box
In general situations A: With a good array of pokes, placing the staff and using it for zoning, and the overall changes to other characters, Litchi is great in neutral situations
Overall S: Litchi is just absolutely absurd in CS; her damage output from practically any hit is very high, and her oki is comparable to CT Rachel’s
Good matchups: Tager and Rachel are the most notable; they can’t really do anything about her superior reach with her normals and zoning
Bad matchups: None
[Noel]
Average damage C: Damage from random hits is poor, so Noel has to rely on landing ideal set ups (6B, 3C, or a drive attack) in order to get bigger damage
Max damage A+: Noel can get between 4.5k and 5.5k depending on the set up used and if she has meter to super; fortunately her drive combos give her a ton of meter
Pokes C: 5C is pretty good, and on CH it can lead to 3C combos; 5B is decent at the right range
Breaking out of pressure C: She can reversal super out of pressure if desired, but it’s probably better and safer to use her really good counter-assault
Mix up B: It’s hard to rank her mix up because she relies on playing very dangerously to mix up, but if your “yomi” is strong, her mix up can catch people off guard
Pressure C+: 5A is still decent but not as great as before, and drive spam is less threatening now; Noel’s pressure doesn’t last for very long
Okizeme C: Noel can force okizeme in the corner, but she can’t get much damage, if any, off of tech roll punishes
Against ground D: j.B’s hit box got nerfed so it’s not a reliable jump in anymore, and although j.C’s hit box is fairly wide, it does not offer much vertically
Against air C: 6A only works at certain angles, although j.A and j.B work decently as air to air moves
Defense C: Average life, although she only has four guard primers; tall hit box
In general situations B: Although she lacks any solid pokes or full screen presence, her good run speed and mobility help her in neutral situations
Overall B: Noel might seem bad to a lot of players, but she is both the same and different compared to her CT counter part; her play style heavily relies on being able to read the opponent and conditioning them
Good matchups: None really; slight advantage against Rachel but that is it
Bad matchups: Top three; Bang, Litchi, and Ragna’s pokes, damage, and space control all give Noel a tough time
[Rachel]
Average damage D: Her bread and butter is between 2k and 2.4k; landing 5B to land 2.4k is difficult
Max damage C: With George now heavily prorating and Baden Baden Lily’s damage nerfed, Rachel has a hard time getting big damage; again, landing 5B to get maximum damage is hard
Pokes D: 5B has a good hit box but has poor range and recovery; 6B is slow and offers no return anymore
Breaking out of pressure D: 2C was buffed and is now faster, but it’s still very risky to do; her counter-assault is mediocre at best
Mix up C: With level 1 j.2C nerfed into oblivion, Rachel’s mix up is very limited and heavily dependent on George, pumpkin, and lightning poles; she can force a high/low mix up if the opponent is sitting on a pole, but they need to be in the corner for that to be effective
Pressure D: What pressure? Rachel has a very hard time keeping up pressure without pumpkin being out.
Okizeme C: A shell of its former self; getting okizeme from mid-screen is pretty much impossible, but okizeme in the corner setting up from 5CC loop can be decent (manages to get both George and pumpkin out in that situation)
Against ground D: j.A has an okay hit box, but any character with a strong anti-air will beat Rachel out; pumpkin is the only safe way to approach from the air
Against air C: 6A is nerfed but still a decent anti-air and j.C can be a situational anti-air; Lobelias can also make approach from the air difficult, but they don’t offer much return
Defense C: Average amount of life, low guard primers, large OTG hit box
In general situations B: Zoning with Lobelias can be strong, but they’re not without their holes and weaknesses; pumpkin is less of a threat and George requires wind and protection from Lobelias to be effectively used
Overall C: Rachel is a shell of her former self; obviously over nerfed; everything about her is average or below average
Good matchups: None. A good matchup for her is an even one. Isn’t it sad, hime-sama? ;_;
Bad matchups: Bang, Litchi, and Ragna are especially tough for her, and practically everyone else has a favorable match up against her
[Ragna]
Average damage A: Average damage increased since last game; many combos lead to 3.5k to 4k+, but require Ragna to be close enough to do them; at max range, Ragna’s damage isn’t that great
Max damage S: Fatal counter combos hurt, but most of the time Ragna’s max damage output cannot be reached without a fatal counter
Pokes S: 5B, 2B, 5C, j.C, and in some cases 2D and 2C are all great pokes; Ragna’s pokes are among the best in the game
Breaking out of pressure A: Inferno Divider is the staple here, but Blood Kain can have its uses as well
Mix up B+: It’s more of the same from CT, except Gauntlet Hades got faster; usually having meter to RC anything unsafe helps
Pressure A: Ragna has always been no slouch in pressuring people, and with 2C’s buff, it’s even better
Okizeme A: All combos leave him in a good position except double BE combos; he can end a BE combo with 3C, JC it, and force a high/low mix up that is difficult to see or get out of; Mada Owari Ja Ne Zo (22C) does less damage but has more untechable frames, allowing for even stronger okizeme
Against ground A: j.C is still really good, and j.D can sometimes be useful as well; Beliel Edge has a weird hit box too, but generally isn’t that useful
Against air S: His 6A is probably the best AA in the game now that it has a better hit box and leads to some strong combos; Inferno Divider, j.A, j.B, j.D, and sometimes Gauntlet Hades are all good too
Defense C/B: Below average life, tall standing hit box, and average guard primers; if Ragna is landing combos, his average life is about 11k to 12k
In general situations A: Ragna’s pokes allow him to play very patiently and without much risk involved (in most situations); he can be comfortable playing patiently before waiting to start his pressure and mix up
Overall S-: While not as strong as Litchi or Bang, Ragna’s small buffs and lack of nerfs have made him a very strong character overall; his only weaknesses are his below average life and inability to do good damage at max range
Good matchups: Rachel, Noel, Tsubaki, and Jin; all of these characters have problems with Ragna’s pokes and superior damage output
Bad matchups: Bang, but only slightly; Carl is arguably a slightly bad match up, but is more than likely even
[Tager]
Average damage B+: Tager’s usual combos do a respectable and consistent 3k to 3.5k, but they do require some set ups
Max damage S: 720 still hurts
Pokes D: 5C and 4D can be used as pokes, but they don’t offer much return and are slow/have too much recovery
Breaking out of pressure C: 360A and 720 can be used to get out of pressure, but it can be risky; backdash can be used as well but it can be punished
Mix up B: Typical grappler mix up, but Gadget Finger creates a good three way mix up and keeps them magnetized
Pressure C: Tager pressure doesn’t last long and does tend to have a lot of holes, but magnetism helps keep it going
Okizeme B: Ending combos with Gadget Finger creates a good three way mix up and prevents tech rolls
Against ground B: With j.2C buffed, Tager can bait AAs by hitting them during their recovery with j.2C; j.B is still decent
Against air C: Atomic Collider has head attribute invulnerability but it doesn’t last long and the move lacks a good hit box, 2C got buffed but isn’t reliable
Defense A+: Highest HP in the game by a good margin, and has ten guard primers; fails to get S rank because of his huge hit box
In general situations D: Unless they’re magnetized, Tager will need to work at safely getting in against a lot of characters; Spark Bolt does charge at a faster rate now, but it’s still unlikely you’ll get more than one per round
Overall B: Tager got a few buffs to help him out (Gadget Finger is awesome!), but he still runs into the usual grappler stigma of having no mobility; any character with good pokes or zoning ability gives him a hard time… which is a lot of the cast
Good matchups: Rachel; my how things have changed; Sledge is now a lot less risky to do against Rachel, and his high HP make him difficult for Rachel to end things quickly
Bad matchups: Most notable ones are Bang and Litchi, but pretty much any character with strong pokes and zoning give Tager a hard time
[Taokaka]
Average damage B+: Her ability to do damage greatly depends on being able to do taunt loop, but on average, Taokaka can do 3.5k or more easily
Max damage S: Tao can do close to 7k damage with the right set ups
Pokes B: 5C and j.C are the staples here, but the return is low
Breaking out of pressure B: Super works as a reversal and she has one of the best counter-assaults in the game
Mix up B: Taokaka’s mix up mainly consists of jumping around, occasionally crossing up, and forcing a mistake to land a hit
Pressure B: Taokaka’s pressure doesn’t last that long, per say, but she has the mobility and tools to reset it
Okizeme D: Practically nonexistent now that her air combos no longer knock down
Against ground C: j.C can be used but it doesn’t hit below her that much
Against air B: 6A is kind of weak but not completely useless, and j.C is good air to air
Defense D: Tied for lowest health in the game and only has four primers
In general situations B: Tao’s mobility gives her some flexibility in neutral situations, but her presence is more annoying than threatening
Overall B: Taokaka is pretty much more of the same compared to her CT counter part, except now taunt loop is dumb; she lost knockdown from her air combos, but the damage from taunt loop makes up for it
Good matchups: Rachel; our poor princess can’t do much to control Taokaka’s mobility
Bad matchups: None that are notable
[Tsubaki]
Average damage C: Without one charge stock, Tsubaki’s damage isn’t much better than Rachel’s; with one charge stock, she can get over 3k, which is standard for CS
Max damage A: With “Tsubaki Install” (forgive me, I don’t know the move name or motion for it), she can reach more than 4k, although it heavily depends on how much charge stock she has; using meter for combos otherwise doesn’t really yield that much more damage
Pokes C: 5B is a good poke, but that’s about it; her other normals have poor range
Breaking out of pressure C: She has a DP, but it’s not invulnerable all the way through it’s active frames, meaning it will trade (often unfavorably for you, since her DP doesn’t do much damage)
Mix up B: Charge cancel can be deceptive, and her throw game isn’t that bad; 22D unblockable is gimmicky but can work; overall not too bad or too good
Pressure B: Charge cancel can allow her to reset strings, but she cannot do it without risk; barrier blocking really hurts her too
Okizeme C: She can force oki in the corner, but her ability to get anything off of it seems weak
Against ground B: j.C is a strong jump in, but that’s all she really has
Against air B: 2C is a great, all purpose anti-air move, but she lacks any kind of air to air
Defense B: Above average life, average primers
In general situations C: Tsubaki is a pure rushdown character, which hurts because she needs to be far away in order to charge her drive meter; being on the offensive is where she wants to be at all times
Overall B: Despite her weaknesses, Tsubaki is a solid rush down character
Good matchups: Nothing notable
Bad matchups: Top three, Carl; characters that can easily zone her with good normals or tools can give her trouble
