Raphael General Discussion / Q&A

Party Wolf said:
So Raphael can 8A+B Maxi 6A+B BE but not normal 6A+B lol. His 8A+B seems to be the only horizontal GI that works vs 6A+B BE.
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Also note that his B+K will evade maxi's LI A but not LI A BE (which turns the move from a horizontal to a vertical??)

Weird indeed!

8A+B will aGI both LI A and LI A BE, but I haven't found a on-block setup that is reliable.
 
If anyone is interested by the way, Raphael's needle attacks are mostly string based in my opinion. They also deserve more investment by most players, even if you think you've gotten use from it already.

Some uses include;

Sidestep 2/8B+K
Raw 2/8B+K on opponent's step or attack (Lexia WS B is a good example, or nearly half of Xiba's moves if used right)
On attack - NH 1K (makes 1K a good punish due to the mix-up) / 4A, fair few actually
Catches tech (CH 2+3rd hit A+BA / CH 33B)
After the opposing needle wiffs. A sort of twitch cancel attack / taunt cancel attack variation. Try out 2B+K 8B+K and you will get a surprising amount of CH catches.

6B+K is just a golden STFU tool in my opinion. I use it a lot vs 6B+K happy Violas.

The best way to use 2/8 variations raw is to remember that they don't build a 180 degree cone around Raph, as might be intuitive to think, but rather a 90-120 degree cone - between them. This narrow range is actually weaker due to its deceptive size rather than lack-there-of. If you get my drift...

I promise not to sound like a dick in any following discourse by the way. I think there's been an abundance of dick in my posts recently. Almost a bag-full...
 
Speaking of those moves you can 8B+K the second part of Astaroth's bull rush BE if you JG the 1st part and get it on CH and get a combo afterwards cause of the hitbox of the move. I noted this in the punishment thread for Astaroth a while back in my notes.
 
Talking of combos:

2/8B+K 3A WS 3A WS 3B Prep BB BE - Highest guaranteed wall combo
2/8B+K 3A WS 3A WS 3B Prep BBB - Leaves them standing in a brilliant mix-up situation + position.
2/8B+K A+BA 66A+B - Highest guaranteed meterless combo - 1A follows well, and you can try and swap 66A+B for iPrep.
2/8B+K 3B Prep BB BE - NOT WORTH IT OUTSIDE A KILL
2/8B+K 3B Prep BBB
2/8B+K 3A+B:5 - Bit iffy, but can lead to some good range if you need to start something new. More than anything, this gets your opponent more tech happy, and traps follow.

Good needle use, kinda like 33B and others, can make you a tech trap monster. Once they want to stop doing that, you move onto other parts of your game.

Also, Needle shares a stun with CH 3rd hit 6BBB, so you can't have both in one combo or tech trap string - Just FYI - No CE, 2B, A+BA follow-ups.
 
Never do SE B Prep BBB CE, it's not worth it. It does 115 guaranteed dmg and doesn't allow for much oki pressure aside of 1A, which has crappy dmg. Instead try SE B 33K BE Prep BB for 108 guaranteed dmg and lots of options for extra pressure like SE K and Prep A+B, it's significantly more potential dmg for less meter.
 
Speaking of "Majors" - are any of you guys going to EVO? I'll be there, but wasn't planning on actually attending since it is so expensive now, especially just to play a side tournament in a game I haven't played in so long (living in your car makes it hard to practice) - do we have any representation there?
 
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