General Strategy

ShenYu

[11] Champion
Just X-Copying a couple of my posts from CF.com. Will probably rewrite these soon.


Okay. I just got through a decent play session with Mina. Long story short, if you want to play her the way you did in SC3, you should change characters. She's become pretty much the ranged/spacing character. And a great chunk of her moves are dedicated to creating space between her and the opponent.

Here's a list of moves that I find are extremely important to her.

1BB
It's her 1B. But with her old 4B tacked on to it. Best part is that the second B will cause her to hop back even on block. The second hit also seems to track fairly well. So not only can you use this move to create mixups, it's also an excellent spacing tool. NCC.

BBB/BB/B4B
The B series is now extremely useful thanks to the threat of the last B for creating space. The BB is NCC and the second B when hit at tip will cause a DOS that if the opponent fails to struggle out of you can launch with 3B or just tack on 6BB. B4B is awesome as well. It's similar to 1BB except it's NC. With the threat of the second B you shouldn't have to worry about it being ducked even if blocked.

A+B
Double horizontal high swipe. First hit is fairly short range. Use to discourage the opponent from stepping your 1B or B.

6A/3K/2K/3bK/4A/8A+B
Because she's lost her ability to use 2A from standing, it's become very difficult for her to deal with the opponent up close. But you probably already knew that. 6A is your fastest short range mid. Seems like it gained a little bit of range compared to SC3. 3K is also a decently fast mid. And 2K is a decent enough interrupter. 3bK is a "get out of my face" kind of move. Basically a fast mid kick that sends the opponent flying. It is unsafe, so try use it when you know it's going to hit. 4A is the same retreating low as it was in SC3. Extremely useful. 8A+B is the same as in SC3. Meaning it's a pretty decent tech crouch that creates some space.

Now here is the meat of her game.

FC 1B
This is a fast long range low. Very hard to see and even when blocked at close range it causes enough pushout that it's not punisheable. You should be basing a good chunk of you game on this. Amazing. If rather linear. Which is where the next couple of moves come in.

2A+B
Long range low sweep. This move actually has quite a bit more range than it would appear at first. Experiment and you should figure it out. If you use this correctly it should never get punished. It will only trip at the tip.

1A
Medium range sweep. Will trip on CH at any range but you should try to use it at tip since it always trips at tip and is safe. You can combo with 3B if it hits. Mixup with 3B at this range.

11A
Same as above. However you can use it somewhat closer to the opponent since she will retreat a bit after she does it.

33AA
Long range horizontal mid. SC3 players should be familiar with this move. Useful for creating mixups using the second A.

3A
Long range horizontal mid. Tracks left. CH at tip causes a stun which you can combo into 3B. Unsafe at close range. But you shouldn't be using this at close range anyway.

22_88A
Her old bA. Good range. Fast. and knockdown. Tracks very well.

AAB
You probably already know this one. Second hit can still be ducked and it doesn't knock down anymore but it is still very useful. NCC.

7A
A jumping retreating horizontal mid. What else do you want?

Most of these options aren't too hard to block. But if there's one thing you don't want to do in SC4 it's block too much. Use this to your advantage.

2A+B G
This is pretty awesome. Brings her into crouch and at the right range, you can threaten the opponent with an FC1B/FC1KK/WSB mixup. WSB is safe and at this distance will launch on both normal and counter hit. You do need to check which you get first though to know what to combo with. If CH, combo with 66B FC1B. It normal hit, A+B.

That should be enough to get you started. Do note though that this is essentially Day 2 stuff. Haha.
 
Does Mina have any JF's at all? I haven't found any yet?

I've found B+K useful against Astaroth's, and 8A+B useful against short ranged chars, I try to use it like a psychic shoryuken.
 
against really smart players, you need to mix in the 1BK as well, as they know how to punish the 6BA, which seems to be only half-circular.

6B+K is useful if people start GI'ing.
 
Against Taki I don't try to do damage as much as keep her away. 1B series, 6B series, AAB help with that
 
if you arent doing 4A like 20 times a match against agro people you're probably doing it wrong
 
ok, so recently ive been getting in a lot of offline play and decided to do an outline of how i play her to get feedback, improve, and help new players. some of this stuff has been mentioned already in shen yu's initial write up and throughout the mina forum.

i broke it down into where, what, why, and talked a little about basic mixups. the moves arent ordered in terms of importance and the useability depends on the opponent. hopefully i didnt miss too much, haha.

'basic' game plan is...
stay away as long as you can. use the distance to make up for your speed. the tip is where its at. work the soul gauge. up close, it can be real tough depending on who you're fighting.


anyway, at range FC1B, 11_77A, 2A+B, 2A+B~G, 4A, 66B, 44B, 66A+B, 44A+B. i dont use 33_99AA because i dont have success with it. it recovers very slow and i get hit trying to use it more than it lands.

-FC1B is great after you block a move that puts you in crouch (at any range really) as well as a long range low poke with ridiculous range.
-11_77A is useful once in a while to catch steppers.
-2A+B is good to catch steppers, but is slow and will be jumped by good players or blocked. catches rollers on wakes.
-2A+B~G is good at long range to bait attacks. on wakes mix it up with FC1B, WRB, 22_88A, 44B(if they whiff)
-4A retreats, catches chasers
-66B on CH, slams down. FC1B is guranteed. decent SG damage at tip range.
-44B is good when they whiff an attack and are in front of you. on hit at range, 66B, FC1B. on hit up close, 22_88A. on block, good SG damage.
-66A+B good on wakes or when the opponent isnt very aggressive. can RO. very good SG damage.
-44A+B good on wakes also. mix up with 66A+B to discourage GI. very good SG damage.


midrange, 3B, 22_88A, 1_3A+B, 4A, 22_88B, 11_77K, AAB, 66A, 7_8_9B, 4B+K, 4KB, 1Bseries, B series, 6B series

-3B is good after 2A hits and sometimes on wakes. i dont really use it any other times because of safety.
-22_88A is your step killer.
-1_3A+B puts you at the perfect distance for 2A+B/2A+B~G shenanigans.
-4A retreats, catches chasers
-22_88B trips on CH, tip, or both (i forget), but pretty linear.
-11_77K forces opponent into crouch on block. cant remember if anything is guranteed on hit.
-AAB good for step killing, but good players TC and punish. start with a single A and go from there based on what they do.
-66A good TC step killer to minas left thats mid.
-7_8_9B TJ and gives 3B on hit.
-4B+K auto-gi for verticals, pulls the opponent closer on hit.
-4KB horizontal auto-gi. B is delayable and can be mixed up with throw or 2K. the B also tracks suprisingly well. if B hits, 3KK 33KB (2K is guranteed, BUT... if you dont do it and they tech, mix up 1_3A+B, 3B, throw, and 66_44A+B)
-1B series is not so crappy, but shouldnt be abused. 1BB to get away, 1BA to catch steppers, 1BK to catch people that block 1BA.
-B series is also not so crappy and also shouldnt be abused. the last B tracks very well and will CH people that think theyre safe to attack.
-6B series... 6B is good after a 44B guard crush. 6BB is good SG damage. 6BA catches steppers sometimes.


up close, 4B, 6AK, 2K, 4A, 6B+K, WSK, 3KK, K, FC2A, FC1KK 1_3A+B, WSB, 4B+K, 4KB, A+B, 7_8_9K, throws

-4B is fast and gives space on CH
-6AK is a natural combo that is fairly fast and starts with a mid
-2K is a good low poke that can break up their rhythm.
-4A retreats and catches chasers.
-6B+K is your main punisher.
-WSK is your punisher from full crouch.
-3KK actually i only use it in the 4KB stun combo, haha.
-K is her fastest move and one of the few moves that give advantage on hit up close.
-FC2A is good after 2K hits
-FC1KK is good on wakes and can catch steppers. very unsafe if blocked. if youre not sure it will land you can do 1K and if it lands, get your space back!
-1_3A+B puts you at the perfect distance for 2A+B/2A+B~G shenanigans.
-WSB has good pushback on block and can combo on hit. not as fast as WSK.
-4B+K auto-gi for verticals, pulls the opponent closer on hit.
-4KB horizontal auto-gi. B is delayable and can be mixed up with throw or 2K. if B hits, 3KK 33KB (2K is guranteed, BUT... if you dont do it and they tech, mix up 1_3A+B, 3B, throw, and 66_44A+B)
-A+B is good push back on block. if they block the first hit, they cannot duck the second. knock down on hit. step killer
-7_8_9K is a good TJ.


extra notes
-moves on wakes
-lows (1_3A+B, 2A, FC1KK) mids (66_44A+B, 3B, 8A+B, 44B), throws
-round starters (not necessarily to be done right out of the gate. some are good after a second or 2)
-8A+B (TC, covers step to minas left), 3A (stuns, covers step to minas left), 66B (will knock down backdashers), 44B (to catch whiffed openers), 11_77A (covers step to minas right), 66A (TC, seems to have more range than 8A+B), 6B (will usually nail the people who run at you)
-'main' interruptors
-close range... 2K, 4B, 6A, K, FC2A

thoughts? ideas? haha, am i doing it wrong?
 
Good stuff. I think you've got most of it down.

One thing, FC1KK doesn't seem to be easy to discern if you are going to continue with the string. I've had a lot of success just doing FC1K->throw or similiar.
 
B+K to me is ultra-range punishment on ultra-slow moves. It's a marginally useful move, but it has a place in the moveset, to be used when 44B isn't practical. I also use it as a round opener on linear players.
 
B+K to me is ultra-range punishment on ultra-slow moves. It's a marginally useful move, but it has a place in the moveset, to be used when 44B isn't practical. I also use it as a round opener on linear players.

I dunno, I haven't really found much use for it. I don't believe it's safe, and it has slow start up so it's pretty easy to see coming. The only time I could see myself using it is as a Tech Jump against a ranged low (why hallo thar Astaroth) and even then, I would think 9B+K would be a more reliable, and safer option (Or am I overestimating the safety of 9B+K?)
 
I am personally just a fan of FC A. I haven't seen it mentioned, but it is basically a fast character's 2A. I find that doing this move can very easily help set up her ducking and WS game for me when I play her.

My main use for 9B+K is actually to try and jump over people when I hit a wall or the edge of the ring. It is cool for some combos, but I don't reliably land the stuns since I don't land FC 1KK CH, or use 4KB too much anymore.

Can someone tell me how to get that move to Auto GI? What is the timing? I just don't see it happen in this game.
 
I actually use B+K as a panic button when cornered. Haha. Usually, you'll be able to swap places. 4KB auto-gi should be roughly 5/6 frames from startup. It's generally most useful in defending from frame traps.
 
I use 8B+K after a knockdown to swap places, mixup 2nd 8B+K or 2K after.

4KB I've found to be somewhat useful as an oki tool if they're expecting a throw. I think it point-blank range it may be NC. Unsure though.
 
Has anybody else had trouble with 66B wiffing. Maybe it's because I use it as an occasional wiff punisher, but it often seems to go right through peoples heads while they're finishing certain moves. It might just be me, but it seems like a lot of crap goes under it that shouldn't, even considering that it's a high. The most notable I can remember is when I sidestepped Cervy's Geo da Ray. As soon as he flew past me, I ran towards him and performed 66B, which went right through his fucking head! Maybe I shoulda used 1B or 66A+B...
 
A few things that haven't been mentioned yet:

22_88A - I love this move up close. It's fast, hard to see coming, and reasonably safe on block. It even tracks to both sides and knocks down! Love it, love it, love it.

2A+K/4A+K - If I can tell the opponent's planning on running up to me, I'll throw one of these in there every once in a while. Assuming you give yourself ample time to get them out, they both serve as fast, effective mix-ups that keep the opponent at a staff's length.

Anyway, it's not much, but I figured I'd contribute.
 
Just some of my observations:

I find 33AA very useful in some situations, I even use it as an opening move sometimes as most players do not expect the second A, or underestimate the range of the move. 44AA is a decent advancing move that I've only started using recently that seems very effective against turtling players, and finishing the 4KB 3KK combo with 44A+B (rather then 66A+B or 7B+K etc.).
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Can anyone convince me that 6A+B isn't the worst move possible? Godamn, I wish I could just take it out of the movelist.
 
Can anyone convince me that 6A+B isn't the worst move possible? Godamn, I wish I could just take it out of the movelist.

CFs in 7 blocks.

On second thought. It's totally useless. Last hit can be GI'd on reflex. And there's no cancel so there's no point.
 
After killing someone with the first hit of 1BA, that second low hit may come out all strange-looking.

Has anyone else seen this? Might this be controllable or is this just some type of online/KO thing?
 
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