Here is what I would say... matches out of 10... this is how I feel Talim stands up...
( a 5 out of 10, would imply that she would win half the matches... 50% if it were )
- 0 - Algol... This is just an impossible matchup, and we all know it...
- 1 - Kilik... This is all dependant on how the Kilik is played. The way most people are playing Kilik, is at close range with Asura Spamming. Talim actually has a GOOD chance against this. However, if the Kilik player learns how to abuse more of his ranged attacks and forgets about Asura completely, then Talim no longer stands a chance. I find it easier to play against SC4 Kilik players who started with SC4, than playing against SC4 Kilik players who play using SC2 tactics.
- 2.5 - Voldo... Voldo is just broke, he is who I would put as #1 in the tier lists. He has punish game, speed, damage, range, priority, is extremely safe, and an amazing BT A+B that auto-GIs everything. Talim just doesn't stance a chance against a Voldo player who knows what they are doing. His attacks knock Talim out of EVERYTHING, wind leap, wind sault, wind charmer, Voldo stops it all with little to no risk.
- 3 - Ivy... Just like Kilik, an Ivy player can pretty much throw out 90% of their moves and stick to core spacing game.
- 3 - Sophitia... This sister isn't as good as the other this time around, but there is one thing she has over Cassandra that still provides enough push against Talim... range. She's got the speed with her range, as well as decent enough tracking to stop Talim's so called "evasive" properties.
- 3.5 - Lizardman... He's top tier... end of story.
- 3.5 - Mitsurugi... Against Mitsurugi, all a Talim player can really do is guess. Thats all most characters can do, his nitaku game is just that good. The problem of course, is once Talim guesses right, where does she go from there? She doesn't have the ability to punish that which most people find launchable.
- 3.5 - Cassandra... Cassie has speed, damage, priority, spacing and nitaku... everything Talim doesn't.
- 3.5 - Xianghua... Even though what gives Xianghua her advantage over Talim is the same as Raphael's 44B, her 44B is just that much better. Its an instant back-step evade-punish attack that avoids almost all of Talim's options, even in those rare cases where Talim is actually at advantage. She also has a whole slew of other moves that work on Talim as well, so she doesn't have to resort to only 44B... thats just the icing on the cake.
- 4 - Hilde... Hilde suffers from the same problems against Talim as Astaroth. Even though she clearly has the range advantage, the speed of her ranged attacks nullify many of her options against a Talim player who knows how to abuse Wind Charmer stance. The redeeming factor in all this is simple enough that Hilde's short ranged attacks still have more range than Talim... And if Talim (or any character) eats a single hit, its a free ring out.
- 4 - Setsuka... She's faster and has more damage. Even though she may be within Talim's range, she simply out-paces her in every aspect.
- 4 - Taki... Same thing as Setsuka.
- 4 - Yoshimitsu... Yoshimitsu may be good, but there is nothing Talim-specific that he has to kill her... What he's got works on everybody, not just Talim.
- 4.5 - Astaroth... Although Astaroth has the same range game as Kilik, he suffers because its simply not as fast. His lack of speed gives Talim a 50% chance to get in. Sure, if the Talim player guesses wrong, then she's fucked... but at least its not a lost cause.
- 4 .5- Cervantes... Another more even balanced match... maybe its because I haven't really played against any top tier Cervy players. I don't see Cervy having much that trumps Talim; but the simple range advantage puts him over the top. A good think to know, as a Talim player, 6K stops GDR dead in its tracks, with counterhit.
- 4.5 - Raphael... Raph's 44B is enough to stop almost all of Talim's options. The problem is that Raph doesn't have much more than that; but its enough to give him a slight edge.
- 4.5 - Siegfried... Siegfried, like Mitsurugi has an amazing Nitaku game, he also has a moderately paced range game. He can't use his range game the same way as Kilik or Ivy, but its enough to give him an extremely slight advantage.
- 4.5 - Yun-seong... Post 1.03, Yun-seong has dropped down from being potentially broke, to just being your average mid-tier character. Without the stuff he had before the big patch, he really doesn't have anything to provide a significant advantage over Talim. The one thing he does have, is an EXCELLENT punish game, and Talim is very punishable. You'll have an easier time with Talim in this matchup, if you throw out all of your high damage setups from the start... they are all punishable... Even her Wind Leap options can be interrupted with a single B.
- 5 - Amy... I dont really think Amy has anything on Talim. She's not to fast, although she is very safe; her range is almost as bad as Talim's, so she gets into Talim's optimum range by her own whims.
- 5 - Maxi... As you guys already hinted at, Talim has a decent time against Maxi. Its no clear advantage, but its not a clear disadvantage either; unlike her other matchups. Just like Amy, Maxi brings himself into Talim's optimum range in order to attack. Without the ability to play true spacing game, Maxi can't come out on top.
I dont know: Nightmare, Rock, Mi-Na, Darth Vader, Yoda, Tira, Zasalamel.
I think you can clearly see what I see as the problem with Talim... range and spacing. There is never a moment were Talim is at her optimal spacing, and the opponent is not. If Talim is at her optimal position, at best, so is the opponent. More often then not, Talim is not at her optimal position, and the opponent is comfortable keeping it that way. Sure, the moves they use to keep her spaced out are unsafe... but Talim doesnt have the range, nor the damage to punish it properly. There are no characters where Talim has a practical advantage over... there are no characters where Talim even has a theoretical advantage over.
And Talim is NOT a fast character... Its just that she doesn't have many moves that are "slow". Almost all her moves rest around that area of "just not fast enough".
