[Match Up] Sophitia

CaliJared

[09] Warrior
I figured we can start making specific match up threads to help with Astaroth's tough match ups. Might as well start with his old nemesis Sophie!

I haven't really fought too many Sophies yet in this game so hopefully we can fill this out together.

One of the most basic things I know is stab will beat any armor Asta tries to do, so if the Sophie player is sharp (or just being a Sophie player and throwing out stab), don't expect to get too much mileage out of armor type moves.

AS B (normal stab) is -20 on block, so you can either go for guaranteed damage with a BB6 and be +10, or go for a command grab mix up.
TAS B (236236 B) is only -14, so the best punish is either 4A (the follow up A is unduckable and is +4 on block), or K, which is also +4 on NH.

AS AA Shouldn't be blocked, since you don't really get anything for blocking it. If you see your opponent go for this just 8A+G over the low and throw them.

My biggest problem in this match up is dealing with her TAS AA/AB mix up. Yes you can easily block the low and react to the mid if you see it, but both options are good on block because the mid is +4 and the low is -12, which is completely safe against Astaroth.

Edit 11/15/18: New tech for TAS AA/AB!

If your opponent is abusing this on you, and you're tired of getting your guard broken, or guessing wrong in the mix up, there is an option! If you SS as soon as you block TAS A, and then GI, you'll either GI the A, or the B break attack will whiff. Now a friend of mine who figured this out claims you can react to the A and only GI if you see it, but I find that hard to believe. However, make sure you do it fast or else you'll be at negative frames if you step the B. I suggest following up with either 4A if you think they're gonna AA in response, or 4B if they are gonna do something that will high crush. If you have trained them to block there you can go for a grab or a slower mid.

There's still risk here because she can just not do a follow up, but if they are relying on this tactic then it can be very useful and open up the match a little bit more.

Now there are ways around this, as the AB string is easily stepped, and when you do this you can put a big hurt on Sophie, but the problem is if you step and they do TAS AA, you're eating 85 damage if they get both the JF stab and pull, as opposed to the 55 you'd get if you stepped TAS B and got a 22_88B (I believe you can also get a free back throw which would be more damage).

Another option to deal with TAS AB is to interrupt with a 4A or a K. 4A is good because you can do 4AA and they can't step, and you'll be at +4, while if you just do the 4A, you'll be at 0 on both NH and CH, according to the frame data overlay tool. K would leave you at +4 also, but slightly closer. However, this also puts you in the same situation as a step would if they opt for the low. But if you're superman and have reactions like that you can wait for the blue spark and respond with 4A or K, but the window is extremely tight.

4B will trade and lose to the low as well.

Dealing with the low is a little more straight forward. Of course it is easily blocked, but as I stated before it is safe. You can go for a command grab mix up, but this can be ducked or high crushed so if your opponent is duck/button happy, be careful. If you anticipate they are going low, the best option is probably 8A+G, since it's unbreakable and will net you 55 damage. If you guess wrong and they do TAS AB, you'll eat 44 damage and be knocked down.

As you can see this string is quite the problem. I would be more than content to just block it over and over, but each TAS AB you block is 14% of your guard gauge, so you can't block this forever. Luckily TAS AA is only 3%, but the fact that it's completely safe really sucks.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to deal with this one move, but for now I guess you are just going to have to block for the most part, and then decide your defensive option when you get a read on your opponent.

If anyone else has any more situations or match up specifics to add please share, and I can add them to this post. I'll also be adding more when I get a chance.
 
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TAS B (236236 B) is only -14, so the best punish is either 4A (the follow up A is unduckable and is +4 on block), or K, which is also +4 on block.

Wait, what? Asta's K is +4 on block?

Wish I could contribute more to the matchup thread, what you've posted so far is very helpful and I'm keen to see what the more experienced Astas have to ad.
 
Wait, what? Asta's K is +4 on block?

Wish I could contribute more to the matchup thread, what you've posted so far is very helpful and I'm keen to see what the more experienced Astas have to ad.

Sorry! +4 on hit! Thanks for catching the mistake.
 
I feel like my main problem vs Sophie is her 22B.
Her 22B means 75% of the time when I RE successful I am losing life.
Because I can only RE rarely and it's not beneficial to keep her at a distance anymore (due to range nerfs on Asta's spacing tools), my gauge is often red.

Something I am mindful of is that I know she will break my guard gauge, so I make sure it's not broken at the ring edge or by a wall to minimize the amount of damage done to me.
 
Yeah that move is super annoying. It steps AND high crushes, so even if you get a read and do 6A, if you're too late she'll crush the high and launch you. I've been testing in the lab and if you do 4KA you'll punish her if she only does 22_88B, or if she does the whole thing and flies in the air. And since the 4K hits, they can't duck the follow up A, so you can do it and be at -1, which honestly doesn't mean a lot vs her.

Of course if you get a read and want to take a chance you can get much bigger damage. If she just does 22_88B with no follow up, you can punish with 3B, and if she finishes the string you can get 28A+G. Both of these net pretty big damage compared to the "punish both options" punish.

A lot of her stuff seems to high crush, which makes going for throws especially risky. Like you guys probably did, I also tried keeping her out, but that's really hard too, and seems sorta impossible. She wants to stay right next to you, and she does a good job of being able to do that relatively risk free too.
 
New tech for TAS AA/AB.

If your opponent is abusing this on you, and you're tired of getting your guard broken, or guessing wrong in the mix up, there is an option! If you SS as soon as you block TAS A, and then GI, you'll either GI the A, or the B break attack will whiff. Now a friend of mine who figured this out claims you can react to the A and only GI if you see it, but I find that hard to believe. However, make sure you do it fast or else you'll be at negative frames if you step the B. I suggest following up with either 4A if you think they're gonna AA in response, or 4B if they are gonna do something that will high crush. I'll add this to the original post so people new to the thread can see it. If you have trained them to block there you can go for a grab or a slower mid.

There's still risk here because she can just not do a follow up, but if they are relying on this tactic then it can be very useful and open up the match a little bit more.
 
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It is annoying that many of Sophi's attack aren't punishable on block, but using those + frames for your own stuff is the best way to go. Throw against Guard, 6A/whatever for step, 6B for counter.

Otherwise, like in most matchups, GI is vital.

Disclaimer: The following are probably (nah, definitely not) not the best options, but they're fun to land. Use this stuff only if you have a good read on your opponent and don't care if you lose.

If you're near a ring edge or wall, and the Sophi you're playing against like 22B bullshit, 44A+G will eat the first hit and do what Air 4A+G do (lol).

Of course as stated above, if they're doing the whole string and you block that shit, 28A+G is free.

Lastly, Sophi's hitbox beats highs like crazy, so if you've 1) got the life lead and 2) wanna go wild: random 8A+Gs is a stupid but fun way to beat her out of things and if you're hit with a launcher their combo is messed up already.

Beats both angel steps if done early enough, 6A, 6AA 3A, 2A, 1A (do regular throw and it turns into a backthrow), 4AA, 44A, 66A, 6B, 6BA, 6bA, 3B, 2K, 4K, 44kK Running K, all rising attacks before they come out (maybe not WRB+K), A+B, 66A+B, 4A+B/44A+B, 22A+B, 66B+K, and there might be a few I left out. The timing on each are different, but if you know you opponent's habits (i.e. most of Sophi's movelist) and you feel like playing stupid there isn't a better way to land 55 damage.

Oh lastly lastly, another Sophitia habit that your opponent who uses lots of 1K/1[K] for wake ups are screaming for a back throw (though during the animation you might land and get a side throw).
 
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Good idea. I think I need to think of situations where the armor throw is actually useful instead of writing it off as a gimmick. I know there are definitely uses for it.
 
So I've been labbing 44/66A+G and writing up an comprehensive guide to dealing with all of Mina's tools (hopefully will be finished soon) and spoiler: 44/66A+G (I'mma dub it Tank-Throw/Low Tank-Throw) is fucking amazing (at least in the Mina v Astaroth match-up). Will post my findings when finished in a separate thread.

Edit, maybe not? I really don't like this game nor do I think it's worth the time investment.
 
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Added a section for punishing her CE, and some bolded areas to find things a little easier. I keep meaning to make more match up threads but haven't had chance to do so yet. Any particular match ups you guys want to collectively break down?
 
Added a section for punishing her CE, and some bolded areas to find things a little easier. I keep meaning to make more match up threads but haven't had chance to do so yet. Any particular match ups you guys want to collectively break down?
Ivy and Siggy seem like the top dogs this time around, and are super frustrating to fight even if I win, for me at least.
 
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