Any Tips for a Seong Mi-Na?

Cambosa

Cambosa

[01] Neophyte
Hey there, this is my fight time getting into a Soul Calibur game and right now I'm thinking about maining Mi-Na cause she seems to have some fun stuff. Anyone got some tips/advice for when it comes to playing Mi-Na, like maybe things I should keep in mind while in a match?
 
I'm not the most analytical person and I've done next to none labbing... I'm pretty clueless about most of the blockframes so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. The moves I mention could be very punishable on block but the people I've ended up playing with just haven't known how to punish them.

From the few hundred matches I played in the weekend I've learned that she seems to be the most comfortable at longer ranges. 1B and 6A are the go-to long range pokes that kind of supplement each other. 1B has huge range and it actually does a decent chunk of damage whenever your opponent does step backwards and gets caught by it. I've also been eating them whenever I play Mina and it is soulcrushing whenever you eat it and get knocked down by it. Keep in mind that 1B seems to be very punishable on block so don't use it at mid/close ranges.

1B is also very linear so once the opponents start stepping more it is the time to start punishing them with 6A. If it lethal hits you get a free 1B as a combo. It is high though so people will likely figure out ways to get past it. 22AA is a mid and can also be used but has lower range, is very slow and is only NCC. If the first hit lands though it is usually a run counter so you get both of the hits then.

22_88B is also great until your opponent starts stepping. You don't get huge damage out of it but whenever you sidestep something linear it is a decent whiffpunisher as it comes out fast and has a long reach. Against stepping opponents you'll have to be very careful with it as it has long recovery on whiff.

If you end up at midrange 6B+K can do some stuff if you predict the movement of your opponent properly. It is NCC so against more careful opponents it loses a lot of value. If they do ballsy things like a Taki rolling in or Voldo trying to charge with that mantis-bridge-whatever-it-is-called you could stop them on their tracks with it.

AAB is decent string against sidestepping at close/mid range. It is NCC as well and even if it gets blocked it is probably not punishable by most of the cast due to the pushback. (Maybe the last hit is steppable..) It is likely very negative on block though so if your opponents have long range punishes you'll definitely want to hit confirm the last hit.

44A is a combo starter at the right distance. It is tricky to land though but maybe there is setups for it.

3B is a basic launcher with the twist of regular hit and tip range hits. Tip range gives bigger combo but requires different combo from the regular hit. So far I'm not good enough to judge it so basically whenever I get the tip range I fail with the follow-up. It is a bread and butter move in her kit though so in the long run any Mina player should be able to see when it is going to hit at the tip-range.

1[A] does not give a guaranteed combo but there might be some cool things one can do with it. If the opponent does not do ukemi 66[B+K] is a huge follow-up combo. If there is some sort of tech trap against ukemis then 1[A] would become insanely good move. (Escapable though so I guess 1A would become free damage because they would "have to" escape the 1[A] option.

66B/66[B ] and 3AA have bit of crouch in their animations. 3AA is only NCC so the low in the end can be blocked and punished if you throw it out without a thought. They're bit slow but I could see them becoming viable if you have hard reads on your opponent doing highs next. (Although then you probably would just want to duck and do WS B+K.) 66[B ] should give free 1B as a follow-up combo.

I'm not sure yet what is the best jumping attack against lows when you want to be flashy. 8A+B has bit slow startup and it takes a while until you actually are off the ground, 9A is a low that knocks down and 9B is a linear mid that launches but does not track.

Mina really struggles at the close range. Most of her moves are on the slower side so it can be hard to find spots where to interrupt aggressive pressure. I've gotten most success by saving meter and spending it only to do soul charges as it has very fast startup and it pushes your opponent back a bit. This comes with a caveat that at least the moves I've mentioned don't seem to generate much meter. I generally don't have meter to spend until like 3rd round in a match (If I lose the first two rounds then I usually have like 1.5-1.8ish bars of meter on the third round.) Sometimes I use revelsal edge once just because I want to have access to soul charge sooner.

During soul charge 66AAA is a really fast and tracking high that jails on block. It does some chip-damage too but it leaves you right at their face in the end and I think it is slightly negative on block at best. If you land SC 66AAA 1B could be guaranteed after it. So far nobody has avoided it but maybe they just haven't known how to react to it. If it is an actual combo it does massive damage.

SC 22AAAA is a slow tracking mid mid mid mid that does a bit of chip damage. It is at least NCC (could even be NC, I haven't tested) and can do nice damage if you land it. I have no idea what it is in block. If you do the whole string it takes a long time so it kind of feels like wasting the soul charge a bit if it just gets blocked. SC 1B gains guard crush properties and it's damage increases so it becomes even sweeter. It will still be very linear so watch out. SC 6A has guard crush and increased damage as well. It could come out faster than regular 6A too but that might be just my imagination. (It probably is. Hard to tell with all those effects on the soul charge moves... :D)

Besides soul charge 3b:K is decently fast mid kick that knocks the opponent down on their ass with a CH. I'm not sure if regular CH is enough to give some sort of mini combo but if your opponent was airborne you should be able to get full 66[B+K] as a follow-up (I once had an opportunity to do it but I didn't capitalize on it). It has shorter range than it first looks though so against some characters it could be useless. Nevertheless it is my go-to move against people who just spam moves right at my face once I block something that is at least a bit negative on block. Learn to do the JF version as it is definitely much better than the regular one.

Mina's throwgame is pretty basic. Very short range and the damage is nothing to write home about.

I think Mina's lows are actually pretty good. Definitely better than some characters in SC6 at least. Once your opponent gives you some respect (as in they don't just press buttons endlessly right on your face) 1A and 1[A] are a solid threat. With a little bit air between you and your opponent 44A seems promising. 2K is average fast low. It is not impressive but it is there and it is good at ending rounds.

2A+B is a slow low but with the guard crush properties it is great. It also tracks and has pretty long range. It is reactable but can catch steppers, beats all revelsal edges, knocks them down, does ok damage and is at least safe on block. Being a guard crush it likely is positive so you can build up your offense with it a bit even if it gets blocked. It also hits grounded opponents so it is great move to use on oki.

A+B is a guard crushing linear mid launcher that can lead to big damage. I don't know the exact frames but I don't think that it is too abusable on block.
 
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Moonstone3 said:
I'm not the most analytical person and I've done next to none labbing... I'm pretty clueless about most of the blockframes so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. The moves I mention could be very punishable on block but the people I've ended up playing with just haven't known how to punish them.
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Oh wow wasn't expecting so much info from one post lol. Thanks a lot, it's gonna take some time for me to digest it all but I'm sure it's gonna help a ton.
 
On the topic of getting help,

Azwel and Ivy.

What do you do against a decent Ivy? Specifically against the spiraly attack, which LE's when you're doing 8WR. I tried crouching, can't be done. Guarding doesn't let me get any closer or punish. GI didn't work, stepping obiviously is a no-no. Walking forward gets me hit too. And staying close to her doesn't seem to be an option, as she has more options at close range.

Azwel is just...I don't understand anything he does. He has a projectile that tracks , I think. And another that when it hits you it transforms into a grab and chunks you for like 1/4 of your life bar. When he has SC, he has a thing that teleports above you, then crashes down leaving like an...area of effect. I don't know. I can block it, but I can't punish it. I've fought a guy who only spammed that, and I couldn't step it either.

What the hell is there to do?
 
The only thing that worked for me against Ivy's 66[A] is B+K, since it lets you also avoid that awful low grab. The problem is that it is super unsafe on block and you get stuck in the close range.
 
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B+K does work. I found it a good option, albeit one to use sparingly, because if they see it coming they can really punish you.
Another thing that worked for me is blocking and moving forward. That way she can't spam it as much, and once you're in mid range you can interrupt it, GI the first part of the attack (which is easier for me to time), and I'm not sure if you can even crouch at that point.
The thing about this, is that once you're in mid range, she has this 'magic' grab. The one where she casts a magic circle on the ground, lifts you up by your feet then sends you flying. So if you move forward, it's a consideration to do it diagonally. I think it can be blocked, and I need to practice my jump reaction to it.

About the video, that's a very conservative Ivy, she doesn't spam the zoning moves. It's still nice to see her lose to Mina. Also the custom characters are very cool. It gave me some ideas! :)
 
So, I figured out the Ivy thing. What you do is block her 66A (the swirly thing). The attack has two parts, a close-range one and a long range one. The long range part is the problem. It hits mid, and if it's a counter (it doesn't specify it on the movelist, but it triggers for sure while sidestepping), it transforms into a Lethal Hit, and allows for a somewhat nasty combo. So if you're at the range in which this thing can hit you, the best thing to do is block, then move forward, at least for me. B+K also works, but while it can avoid the attack, It can land Mina in a dangerous spot.
Also I think it can be punished with 1B, but I'm not 100% sure.

If you moved forward. then you're in range of the magic circle grab, which is Ivy's 2_3A+G (she can also do it in full crouch). She can cast the circle in two positions, one at mid range and another at a mid-long range, just outside of Mina's 6A, more or less. This is easy to step, but it's also easy to forget she can do it, and Ithe move's animation is very similar to other attacks of hers. Here the options are better, you can use any jump attack, sidestep, or block low.
It's difficult not to fall for it a couple of times in the heat of the match, but now at least I know the options.

Also another noteworthy thing, Ivy's AA (like, her basic A combo), can LH if the first hit whiffs. Since the first hit uses the sword and the second one the whip, it's not hard to do.

If I feel pissed off enough, I'll try to figure out Azwel's things. These two have been my hardest matchups so far. I hope this is helpful to someone. =)
 
1B outranges all of Ivy's main horizontal attacks. Just stay out of her ideal range and whiff punish with 1B. Also if you want tips on how to play Mi-Na then I'd recommend watching PartyWolf's streams.
 
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I'm pretty sure her kick autoGIs are for horizontal mid/highs. Doubt they'll connect on the furthest hit (Ivy's 66A)
 
Cambosa said:
Hey there, this is my fight time getting into a Soul Calibur game and right now I'm thinking about maining Mi-Na cause she seems to have some fun stuff. Anyone got some tips/advice for when it comes to playing Mi-Na, like maybe things I should keep in mind while in a match?
Click to expand...

The key to Mina this go around imo is range optimization. She’s not too great frame wise outside of GBs and a few moves, but almost everything she has pushes back. I tend to try to keep the opponent at 44A/3B tip range. I’ve also been compiling an auto Gi and 44K LH list for the entire cast, as I find knowing how and when to interrupt strings goes a long way with her. Also, I advise getting good with iFC1KK/iFC3AK. FC1KK needs no explanation, just use it. While not ideal, iFC3AK gives you some kind of close range horizontal outside of 2A/8A+B. I particularly use it against Sophie/Talim. I’ll post the 44K LH list if you guys are interested.
 
Trilliant said:
Also, I advise getting good with iFC1KK/iFC3AK. FC1KK needs no explanation, just use it.
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What does iFC stand for? I'm new to SC (and I'm new to 3D fighters in general) so I'm still learning these annotations/acronyms.
 
Cambosa said:
What does iFC stand for? I'm new to SC (and I'm new to 3D fighters in general) so I'm still learning these annotations/acronyms.
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Ah. iFC stands for “ instant full crouch”. It’s a way of doing a move that must be done out of a full crouch to where it almost looks like it’s done from standing. Basically, you tap 2G, and once Mina’s head begins to dip you slide into whatever direction needed. Notation wise it’s something like 2G~1KK. You do the 2G, then when she begins to crouch you just slide from 2 to 1 and hit KK. Apologies if that’s confusing to you. I can make a quick vid later if need be.
 
Trilliant said:
Ah. iFC stands for “ instant full crouch”. It’s a way of doing a move that must be done out of a full crouch to where it almost looks like it’s done from standing. Basically, you tap 2G, and once Mina’s head begins to dip you slide into whatever direction needed. Notation wise it’s something like 2G~1KK. You do the 2G, then when she begins to crouch you just slide from 2 to 1 and hit KK. Apologies if that’s confusing to you. I can make a quick vid later if need be.
Click to expand...

Oh okay, I've actually already been doing that, but I didn't know the name for it. Now I can sound a little be smarter when I'm talking with people at my locals lol.
 
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