Zasalamel General Discussion

How do you guys generally play Zas? I figured i'd try him out after hearing Artilust say how hard he is to win with, and now i'm kind of hooked. (scythed?) It seems like i have to turtle pretty hard in order to win consistently. I can't watch the vids right now as i'm at work. But what seems to be the general strategy out there?
 
-Spam 4B+K for space
-Spam BB from max range, hit-confirm BB4
-Hunt for CH 4A/44A and 4B
-Use AA, 2A, or 3AB for steppers
-Use quick mix-ups after successful pulls (3K/1K/2A/2K/4B/BB/Throw)
-Use lots of WSK and punish stuff like Mitsu 1A with it. (side-throw/3B4 mix-up on hit)
-Use lots of 6kB
-Use lots of WSB against slower characters, especially Astaroth. (also Seig, NM, Mina, Rock, etc.)
-Throw, Throw, and then Throw some more
-Occasional 2B+K (point-blank range) and 1A (max range)
-Use 6B+K to catch people on wake-up
-Mix up pull strings (6A, 3A, 66B)
-Don't fight Sophie, Raph, or Kilik

That's how I play anyway. Zas doesn't have to turtle he just has to be smart and patient.
 
^ Thanks for all that, most of what i read in some of the guides then.
Freaky-Styley said:
-Don't fight Sophie, Raph, or Kilik
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Ok... This may have been part of my problem. My roommate uses Raph(hate him) and Kilik. I still whoop him once in awhile, but are they just too fast/hard to space for Zas to consistently win?
 
Zas is simple in concept, but to actually make him work I think that you really need a lot of experience with his moves.

Raphael is very good at punishing your moves into prep mixups. Stuff that is tip-range safe against most characters is not safe against Raph, and his 6BB-> prep mixups are pretty good. Playing a relatively safe SG-attrition game against him becomes more important, and that is probably your biggest edge. You need to be able to recognize and block his lows on reaction. Try to anticipate highs with 6BA. And, as always, step the hell out of his setups on block.

Also, I'd recommend adding 66B_66BB and 6B_6BA into your rotation. Both of these moves are very useful, in the right situations.
 
Raph's spacing is better at mid range and he has lots of fast pokes and evasive moves. Zas can win against Raph but he is really annoying to fight. Sophie can punish lots of Zas' moves badly (including BB and BB4) and Kilik's Asura really hurts Zas because he doesn't have many good non-weapon-based mids.
 
Sophie can't punish BB4 with deathfist... It's only -13 on block, and 236B is i14. But she can punish the regular BB (-15 on block) with it. The regular BB is kind of shitty because of its horrible frames... It's only worthwhile to screw with your opponent if they're punishing BB4 with short-range moves and you've spaced them perfectly.

I don't think the sophitia matchup is that bad really, but it is kind of boring. She makes half your movelist very risky, but the stuff that you've got left is still workable.
 
BB4 and b:K are both -14.

I used to think BB was shitty... it isn't. The frames are bad, but it's pretty good for spacing. I use it all the time. I don't do BB4 unless the first B hits, or its guaranteed; EXCEPT versus characters with fast long-range punishers. (Raph, Sophie) If they're punishing BB/BB4 a lot, I'll stick with 2B4 and 6kB. I love BB/BB4 however because of the tracking.

EDIT: Don't underestimate 2B for spacing either. It's got phat range for an i16.
 
Boy, i wish i could hit 33B4/44B4/44K more often.. they're so linear and slow i just don't know how to apply them into my gameplan. Although i do love 44K's push on block. On hit 66A+B usually works after. Not sure if it's techable though..
 
not sure on 33B4, what seems to work is if you step and throw, you can condition them to duck and use it there.

the others are good when you and your opponent are standing there blocking, start walking back and they tend to let their guard down. That's the time to strike.
 
Alright, went quite a few rounds with Zas again last night. Raph is getting easier now, I just have to step and GI him a lot more than anyone else. I mean, step has always killed Raph, but i find it harder with Zas for some reason. The one thing that really surprised me, is his ability to work the SG.
 
Psylocide said:
Alright, went quite a few rounds with Zas again last night. Raph is getting easier now, I just have to step and GI him a lot more than anyone else. I mean, step has always killed Raph, but i find it harder with Zas for some reason. The one thing that really surprised me, is his ability to work the SG.
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Zas doesn't have nearly as many moves with built-in evasion as most other characters. And his step is VERY SLOOOOOOOW. I know I get hit by some moves I should have successfully stepped but Zas is like "Oh hell no bitch, I can take this shit like a man." And then I die.

;_;
 
zyeoo said:
Zas doesn't have nearly as many moves with built-in evasion as most other characters. And his step is VERY SLOOOOOOOW. I know I get hit by some moves I should have successfully stepped but Zas is like "Oh hell no bitch, I can take this shit like a man." And then I die.

;_;
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Sig'd for win.
 
Sieg, Mina, Asta, Cervy, Talim, Kilik, Ivy (some stances), Mitsu; they all have slower step than Zas. Vader's step is one of the fastest, faster than X I believe. Of course, a lot of these characters have good evasive moves....
 
Zass's step is pretty good actually. I know last time I played Freaky-Styley I was whiffing a lot because of his back-step. He can step kilik's second B in the BB string, if he blocks the first B...so that's something.
 
Vader's step is def one of the best in the game. I did play about 10 more matches with Zas yesterday, and noticed a pretty big improvement. His step i would put at slightly above average because there is something goofy about his hit boxes. I made a CAS Zas and he seems to fare better while stepping, so i guess... *shrugs* He has def replaced Hilde as my second char. (too boring, land C3B... see ya) I'll just keep messing with him and see what happens.
 
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