Using B2 in your ground game

KowtowRobinson

[10] Knight
Suggested to me by a local NJ player, I started messing around with b2 as a standing poke, and I gotta say it's pretty boss.

Pros
- fast, i15 mid.
- good on hit, +3 is good for Cervy now that mids like 6k give less advantage. Not sure about frames on CH.
- safe on block, at -7.
- considering the total frames of the moves, it LOOKS like it recovers much faster, more on that in a bit.
- tech crouches, I've had more luck TCing with this than 2a in some cases.
- when someone tries a TJ move and you do this, you feel like a fucking MAN.
- Concerning the last point, the crowd also goes OHHHHHH!!!!!! and can psyche out your opponent.

Cons
- short range
- poor step coverage
- low damage on it's own, even catching someone out of the air is only 20 something damage.

On paper, it's a pretty decent move in it's own right. But even better, is that you can use this move beyond just what the frames suggest. Try starting people out with b2, 2a+b. Don't even worry if it hits or gets blocked, I've gotten a ton of people with a blocked b2, 2a+b. The actual move executes pretty quickly start to finish, so they don't always attack as early as they can. Not an airtight strategy, just give them something to think about and mix up from there.

Similar to how you can bK, and then bK again if you anticipate a 2a (as contributed by Nori) you can also b2, and b2 under a high retaliation on block if you think they'll go for their fastest move. Which a lot of people will do if they eat a b2, 2a+b "frame trap." On hit you're at +3 and they're backed up slightly, so a 2a+b will CH pretty much anything except a fast A. Eventually when they block after being hit, work whatever mixup you'd normally work with +3.

Side note, against Maxi 3b on block, I'm pretty sure you can beat all of his attacks cleanly. It'll TC under 3b,a, it'll hit 3b,b in between, and it'll catch 3b,k and you'll feel like a man. Did this to someone playing Maxi in NJ, and they were able to loop backwards and avoid it, though.

In close I'm using this move more and more now, I'll try it out this weekend in Buffalo when I'm not playing like a total retard, like I was this past weekend.
 
I've never used b2 as a standard move since soulcalibur 1 (back then it was teh shit, godlike properties) and I wish to bring back the old b2 in every soul that comes out....

I'll do some testing according to your saggestions to see what comes up and maybe Ill give this move a second chance, thanks for the info.
 
I've never used b2 as a standard move since soulcalibur 1 (back then it was teh shit, godlike properties) and I wish to bring back the old b2 in every soul that comes out....

I'll do some testing according to your saggestions to see what comes up and maybe Ill give this move a second chance, thanks for the info.

Haha yeah I messed around with that some when I DLd the old SC on XBLA, didn't it combo into itself on sidehit, and THEN guarantee iGDR? I could never get the timing down for it, though. His old scoops low/mid launcher was hella fast, too.
 
4 - 5 Side B2 as a combo and then iGDR x2 I think it was KO...
Not only that, back then it was attack throw on CH and you always hit that in CH :P
 
Yeah it did ridiculous damage in juggles too, haha. Then again damage came pretty fast in general for SC1. Different game now, different uses for it. I'm glad Toronto figured the gimmick end of it out so fast (b2 block, 2a+b) since I've started mixing up more effectively after it now. Now I just use it as a good close range tech crouching mid.
 
While my Cervy game is retired (due to my large amount of 1Bs that were thrown out mysteriously:P) one other awesome thing I might recommend is b2 2G,323B+G you could buffer in the command throw during the block animation of b2. I had some pretty decent success with it, just something to try our for you pirate masters.
 
I tried the above trick yesterday with no luck, I get to eat a lot of attacks before I can land the command throw.

I succeded only once and I tried a ton...
One good side, I did manage to land a lot of normal throws though :P
 
I think the main problem with landing throws after this, is when people DO start to attack you on block. On hit remember, it pushes them out of grab range just barely, so your mixup will be a low/mid, or dash forward for a throw/mid. Depends on the opponent. If you can make them keep guarding after they block the uppercut, then shit you can do a ton of stuff.
 
In case anyone was curious about how much this can make people freeze up close, I won a match in the team tourney with b2 blocked, b2 blocked, b2 blocked, b2 CH ftw against a very solid player. So the application of this move definitely extends beyond what the frames suggest.
 
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