The Guilty Gear online league continues this week with a new set of Daredevils. This time, the Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League has four new combatants once again. We’re going to see some zany techniques from Faust and smart countering from Leo Whitefang. Then, Potemkin will show the strength of patience against Dizzy’s onslaught of spells and critters.
Here’s a breakdown of the fighters this week, and a little on their background:
ElvenShadow
On the match: “Zidane and I have played in tournament only twice if I recall correctly. The first time was APEX 2015 Grand Finals where I won in a close set. The 2nd time was at NEC 2015 where I won in top 16. At APEX we also played two FT5 exhibition sets in which we went 1-1, and finally a FT5 at a Frosty Faustings IX after party, in which he beat me. I feel like if I am on point and apply my matchup knowledge well, I can take the set.”
On his opponent: “I think I first met Zidane during the Guilty Gear XX Slash era. He had one of the best Anjis in the U.S. along with KBnova, and since then has been regarded as one of the best U.S. players, though I don’t recall actually playing against him much in the XX series. He has been one of the most consistent U.S. players in Xrd, despite the fact that he doesn’t travel that much, and his performance at Evo 2015 was also, of course, great stuff. He’s a smart player, so it’s going to be a really tough match, but I look forward to the challenge!”
On his own playstyle: “I love zoning with long pokes and fighting from a distance, but once I am able to find an opening, I also really love rushing down! I always have a general gameplan when I play, but things can completely change at any moment depending on what items come out, so I am always ready to adapt on the fly. Because of that, I feel like I play using instinct and feeling a lot of the time. This can be either a good or bad thing at times. I could probably stand to be a little more mentally disciplined in some regards. I also feel like I play even harder when my back is to the wall, and I am on the verge of losing. The Chicago FGC refers to it as ‘EX Bozac.’ I need to learn how to play like that all of the time.”
Zidane
On the match: “It’s going to be an uphill battle since Leo vs. Faust is one of Leo’s harder matchups. It’s tough to approach Faust; his buttons out-range mine, Leo has very low mobility, and I always have to deal with Faust items like bombs, meteors, Mini Faust. If I get in, I have to worry about his options on wakeup. 5D being invulerable is another thing I have to look out for besides things like backdash/super/YRC. If I’m able to cover his options or guess right, the bright side is Leo deals massive damage and could win any around off a few stray hits.”
On his opponent: “ElvenShadow has been playing GG longer than I have, I came from #Reload. He’s always been an amazing player, he’s placed high in U.S. tournaments since I’ve been around the game. I feel he’s more aggressive than the average Faust player, but it works out for him. We played against each other throughout the years, but I’m not sure we played each other in tournament until Xrd. I haven’t actually beaten him in an Xrd tournament.”
On his own playstyle: “I think I’m an aggressive player. I want to go in, keep players locked down and generally make them play my game rather than playing theirs. I enjoy reacting to what they’re doing with the proper punish or hit confirm, it’s one of the most enjoyable things for me.
“Gameplay style is kinda funny. I enjoy well-rounded characters, characters that have almost every tool: Good buttons, reversals, mobility, etc. Even if I want to go in, I prefer having tools to disengage or play from a distance. The character I play in Xrd is not a well-rounded character. Leo’s sole strength is offense, so I’ve had to change how I play. A lot of Leo players I watch go 100% on offense even if the pressure is fake (which it mostly is).
“I’ve had to dial down aggression because I recognize what situations are smoke and mirrors, and I try to play a more… ‘honest?’ game. I think going crazy with the character from time to time is a good way to keep someone off-balance. Making players second-guess themselves is needed for a character like Leo who has very little options. So yeah, I have to be less aggressive playing a max-aggressive character.”
Octopimp
On the match: “I’m a little nervous! Potemkin vs. Dizzy is one of those matches where you can either completely stamp her into the ground, or she won’t even let you get started. Because of her low health, it doesn’t take that much to end a round, especially after a Pot Buster (command throw). However, if she starts to gain momentum, it takes a couple of good reads and a lot of patience to get your turn again. Using Slidehead against her 421S (homing ice spike) and all her summons is very important. Also keeping Flick in mind for 236S/H can stop her cold (no pun intended) if timed well.”
On his opponent: “I play tenpai!! a lot, and I would say we are about at equal skill. I’m at that point where I can do some reads based solely on ‘I know tenpai!! is looking for <x> so I’m gonna do <y>’ and it keeps our matches really interesting. tenpai!! is the type of Dizzy player who loves to run away and try and trip you up so that he can engage on his own terms. He’ll use things like 236S>YRC (Ice Spike) a lot to try and catch me using Hammerfall. He also likes to use the D fire fish to bait out Flick, since Flick is very strong against dizzy, but if you Flick the D fish it’s bad news. Hopefully, I won’t fall for that, though. tenpai!!’s corner mix-up game is REALLY strong, and I still have trouble blocking it effectively. Potemkin also doesn’t have a whole lot of ways to get out of the corner, as he lacks a true reversal against someone like Dizzy who can just instant-airdash all over the place and not worry about reversal Pot Buster or Trishula, unless he plays very aggressively.”
On his own playstyle: “First of all, I would like to describe myself as the U.S.A.’s top fraudulent Potemkin player. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I tend to fall back on gimmicky stuff when I’m really pressed into dire situations. Very dangerous, but sometimes it pays off! Every match I try to play very patiently and figure out their habits, then exploit them and attempt to do wacky stuff that they wouldn’t really expect. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes down to it, I’ll play the waiting game for an opening, but I try and play a balance of defensive and aggressive that frustrates and intimidates my opponent.”
tenpai!!
On the match: “I think Dizzy has a slight advantage over Potemkin just because she has so much freedom to dictate the pace of neutral, but it’s a much more complicated matchup than it might seem on the surface. Potemkin can Flick, Slide Head, or even Hammerfall through lazy zoning, and his normals can be hard to deal with head-to-head, so it’s a grinding, patient battle where we both try to trick each other into choosing the wrong option. I’m pretty confident in my ability to dictate the pace of the match against Pot, but any slip-up leads to extreme damage, so keeping cool for such a long set is a rewarding challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”
On his opponent: “Octopimp and I play each other a fair amount, so I have a decent grasp on his playstyle. He’s a very active player for a Potemkin main, with a particular fondness for Blitz Shield, raw Potemkin Buster on defense, and of course 5D. In general, this committal style can sometimes get him into trouble, but the reality is his character has twice as much health and does twice as much damage, so it’s a good fit for the matchup to take risks. It sounds like he’s been preparing for the matchup a lot from our conversations, so I look forward to seeing what tricks he has up his sleeve!”
On his own playstyle: “Oh jeez, I don’t really know – I think it’s really hard to describe one’s own playstyle accurately, especially as a weak player like myself. I generally like to play defensively and lame, running away from the opponent and frustrating them with zoning until they make a fatal mistake. I’ve been playing a lot with strong players like BjornSonOfBear and DEB to break myself of my many bad habits, though I’m still far away from making a breakthrough and end up taking a lot of steps back, because I don’t have a lot of confidence in my decision making. Hopefully, I can overcome this in the future and show the world what my Dizzy can really do!”
tenpai!! fights Octopimp first in a FT7 set. After that, it’s ElvenShadow’s Faust vs. Zidane. Catch the action tomorrow, Thursday, at 10:00 PM EST/9:00 PM CST/7:00 PM PST. As usual, it will be on silva_hime’s Twitch channel. NerdJosh and Rynge_ will commentate.
Last week’s Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League brought a showdown between Mynus’ I-no and doren2k’s Jam, as well as Gekioh’s Axl-Low and DaveO’s Sol Badguy. Catch up on that set here:
Sources: Mdesilva; interviews