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BlazBlue: Central Fiction rewards offense more than ever before, thanks to an array of dizzying mechanics like Active Flow and Exceed Axcels, and new moves. So when those top-tier characters get you locked down in the corner and take advantage of those techniques, defending from their assaults is more complicated than ever, especially if your character doesn’t have many reversals.

Dora is back at it with a new, English-voiced tutorial video covering another aspect of defensive BlazBlue gameplay. The lesson is about combining Barrier Blocking and Throw Breaking, an option select that many players already know about. When the opponent is pressuring up close, pressing back and A+B+C will either block attacks or execute a Throw Break if they decide to go for a throw. There’s more to it, though, and Dora is happy to point out a few caveats.

Throws come out seven frames, and the window to escape is 15 frames, while this option selects works for up to three frames. That’s why timing is important when using this technique, or else the opponent will incur a “Throw Reject Miss” status on you. Dora also points out some tips against Taokaka and a few “mindgame” explanations for throwing.

Watch his video over at Openrec.tv, and review his lesson on defending from Izanami. His channel also includes a recent lesson on defending from Izayoi.

Source: Openrec.tv

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Team Razer’s Kun Xian Ho never seems to take the road of least resistance. Notorious for his stellar use of unusual characters, Xian rode Gen–one of the most execution-heavy characters in the Street Fighter IV series–to glory at Evo 2013. While others would wear out their resolve in the battle of attrition required to play such difficult characters in the competitive environment, Xian is back at it again–this time taking up the mantle of the unusual newcomer F.A.N.G in competitive play.

To the surprise of many his pick has served him well, netting him 10th place on the SRK leaderboard and a global leaderboard entry into Capcom Cup. But can the Singaporean top the field in Anaheim with his poisonous play?

Two Minutes

Xian’s choice of F.A.N.G should come as no shock to anyone. His ability to thrive when facing an uphill battle is one of his best assets. It was what netted him the best year of his career in 2013 as his Gen barreled through the competition, leading up to a decisive victory at Evo against Tokido in Grand Finals.

While not inherently as execution-heavy as Gen was, Xian faces another uphill battle with F.A.N.G in Street Fighter V. The weaknesses of the character are well noted. Outside of poison, he has little in the way of damage potential. Without spending his critical art, he has no invincible reversal. He has one of the weaker V-Reversals of the entire cast.

Yet, Xian makes F.A.N.G work in his favor. There is a clear difference in his approach when you compare his play to other notable F.A.N.G players. Most F.A.N.Gs attempt to play with keep-away in mind. They will stay at neutral or further, and use poison traps to make their opponent’s approach difficult. The disadvantage of this style is that, should the opponent get in, they now have the advantage–anything that they attack with may as well be a counter. Once this happens, F.A.N.G is in a situation where it is hard for him to win. His weak reversal options mean that he cannot do anything on wake-up except for block. He is at the whim of whatever mix-up the opponent wants to do, and he must guess right to get a chance to get damage in.

Eventually F.A.N.G builds meter and has a chance to use wake-up critical art as a reversal option. But this isn’t reliable, nor does it guarantee that the opponent won’t block appropriately.

Xian does not rely playing lame. Rather, he is aggressive from the start. He doesn’t relinquish stage control, instead using smart, safe pokes, blockstrings, and frame traps to force his opponent to make defensive mistakes. He still uses poison, but within blockstrings, combos, and at safe ranges. This is the x-factor that Xian makes F.A.N.G work in, and is why, despite the low opinions of the character, F.A.N.G becomes a problem when he is in the hands of Xian.

The Danger of Being Number Two (or Number Ten)

The fact that Xian has made F.A.N.G work has not escaped attention. People started paying attention in Street Fighter IV when the world fell victim to his Gen. Xian made it no secret in 2013 that he was discouraged after his Evo win, because everyone started figuring out the Gen matchup.

This time, they won’t be making the mistake of losing to Xian before doing their homework. Just because Xian has not been winning large events does not mean he has escaped the attention of the pro circuit. Whatever advantages Xian has found in using F.A.N.G has been noted by everyone else. With more footage of him now than during his emergence as one of the best in the world, everyone sees what he’s doing. This gives ample time to find a way to counter it.

And the top level rose to the occasion. In his time playing, he has won a paltry three events out of 22, with no victories since August. People have had relative ease in figuring out F.A.N.G, even in the hands of a specialist like Xian. What’s worse is that F.A.N.G as a character has far more glaring flaws than Gen did in the Street Fighter IV series. With that kind of problem, it’s no wonder Xian has not been winning at the champion-caliber you would expect of him.

Pocket Character

It is also no secret that Xian has developed a pocket character in Ibuki. In the two tournaments that he used Ibuki in any shape or form, he finished second. How much that has to do with the secondary is arguable, but the point still stands.

Certainly Ibuki has less flaws than F.A.N.G, but she is by no means a leading character in the game. Xian has still found a way to make her work, and could likely use her again if pressed upon. However, we haven’t seen his Ibuki in competitive play since September, and there is no sign since that he still uses her at all.

Ibuki could cover some of F.A.N.G’s deficiencies, but if Xian has not kept up his practice with her, it will be a moot point in Anaheim.

Final Thoughts

Xian is always a fun player to root for, but I can’t in good conscience do so at Capcom Cup if I’m looking to pick winners. With a Season Two patch looming, we can hopefully expect some of F.A.N.G’s drawbacks to be fixed to make the character more competitive. That means nothing this season.

Due to the deficiencies of his character alone, and the questions about his pocket character, I pick Xian as going 1-2 in this event. If his character receives buffs in the update, I’d expect much more to be said of him in 2017.

An examination of what the Red Cyclone needs to do to take down the Sleeping Lion.

Zangief has a bit of an uphill battle in Street Fighter V’s environment, but the Red Cyclone isn’t without his loyal supporters. Zangief main and YouTuber Mr. Slay n man has put together this lengthy–over an hour-and-a-half!–examination of Zangief’s tools versus his fellow wrestler and DLC addition Alex. It’s an all-out analysis of this grappler matchup–including discussion from an Alex player’s side and example clips–that Zangief players will want to pay attention to.

It appears that Mr. Slay n man may continue this with other feature opponents, so this may only be the beginning of your Training Pilgrimage.

Source: Mr. Slay n man