I guess I'll throw in my two-cents about the moves I've been using that have been paying good dividends. This is a great idea for a thread, and a good mental excercise to go from knowing your character to knowing you character. I'd recently been trying really hard to expand my repertoire of moves while playing online. In order of usefulness, here's what I found that stuck:
Gentle Wave
Well, 6A definitely get's a +1 from me, I've already talked about it in the General Q+A/Discussion thread, but the gist is that any move that leaves you +8 on hit, along with stopping your opponent from being able to sidestep (due to leaving him/her in a BT state on hit) deserves a spot in your arsenal. It's only -2 on block, allowing you to snag a followup aB counterhit when you think you've got a read on you opponent, and at i15 startup it clearly becomes a phenomenal poke as far as High-hitting moves are concerned (so, not in the Pyrrha matchup).
Killer X Crawler (also Galleon Sinker)
Another move I've found myself getting a ton of mileage from online recently is 9B+K. It's safe-ish, puts you in a great Oki situation on hit (it also looks badass as hell on hit). It basically a giant, jumping 2A+B. You know how you use a normal 2A+B to stop you opponent rolling all over the play once you've knocked them down? You can use 9B+K in a similar way, after grounding your opponent with attacks that leave him/her at a distance, such as your back throw (although gimmicking with a fully charged 2B+K often works in these situations as well). It can also act as a great long-range whiff punisher when the super-high tech-jump comes in handy (it'll jump over straight-thrusting Mids and horizontal Mids, whereas iGDR will run right into them). I sometimes use it when I'm lazy and just want get straight from far-range to close-range (like if I'm fighting Nightmare) but in such situations 44K is definitely a much better choice due to it being way safer (although not as step-track-y). The fact that it bursts guard as fast as Riot Storm (33_99B) bursts guard is just icing on the cake.
Surprise Wave
It's a bit out-of-order, since I don't actually find it that useful, but this is where bA fits in the discussion. Hitting with bA gives you a guaranteed 3B (or iGDR) on hit. 48 damage is nothing to scoff at, but I find that the situation you'd use a i18 High attack with such short range in (when you and your opponent are in close and taking turns throwing attacks at each other) is one where opponents are just as likely to toss out a fast AA or 2A as they are to throw a vertical at you, so the GI never really does it's job as far as I'm concerned. I still use it when I've figured out my opponent some, but I'd still rather be poking with 6A or 3K in that situation (or just not playing the poking game at all). All the kids with quick super-great punishes, like Pyrrha or Alpha, probably won't be using those punishes after blocking a single, quick high attack anyways (unless they're just throwing those punishes after every single block, in which case you should punish the shit out of them for not knowing their opponent's frame data).
Anchor Side Kick, Dishonest Wave
The aGI moves that I do get good mileage from are 22_88K, and 33_99A. The 'Anchor Side Kick' comes in pretty handy, but only in certain matchups, in the neutral game. Specifically when you and your opponent are both stepping around away from each other, each looking to get into close range but only with what you/your opponent feel is an advantageous situation. Your opponent is very likely to use a horizontal attack in this situation, and after you've played him/her a few times, you'll get a really good feel for when to use Anchor Side Kick to either be a safe poke after closing the distance, or be your ticket to being in close with your opponent flat on his or her ass.
The aGI in 'Dishonest Wave' is one I similarly use in the approaching-each-other neutral game, but instead of using quick-step so much that I know my opponent is going horizontal, it's for when I haven't been stepping at all and I'm pretty sure my opponent and are are going going to run at each other and press a button. When I'm sure that button is B, it's time to hop forward with a quick 669A to slap their sword out of the air and knock them flat on their ass. Of course, if the attack never comes, you still get a step-catching High with great range, essentially a 66A that bursts guard a bit faster while being just as safe on block.
Genocidal Culverin
40 frames is a slow startup, except when your attack reaches all the way across the level! Initially, I only used 6B+K to punish people for being idiots and mashing buttons while accross the level (and comboing two CEs after this is pretty great) but the real strength of this move is in the neutral game when you've got tons of distance. Shooting the pistol at your opponent and missing (from a safe distance) can really make him/her feel like it's time to take the initiative and run in recklessly. This move recovers pretty darn fast though, and you'll be ablto to start controlling the space right in from of you just before your opponent gets there, allowing you to start pressuring or even get a surprisingly reliable counterhit/aGI if you've downloaded your opponent properly. It's a gimmick, and one that won't last you more than once, but it's still rather rewarding to see how drastically a defensive opponent's brain will change gears once you've given them an "opening".
Gale Slash
What's that? You've got your opponent standing up with his back to the edge of the ring? That's great! You're probably about to try and mix him/her up on wakeup between your A throw, your 3B launcher, and maybe even something loopy that probably won't work like the low-hitting 11_77K. Well did you know that launcher is -13 on block? Why not give yourself one whole extra frame by using 1BB instead of 3B? It breaks guard faster, and will even give you a wall-splat if that hole I was describing is actually a wall. Mixing up 1BB with 1B.1AB is actually pretty clever, and I think I'll start doing it myself, it's sounds pretty dope!
Tornado Slice
Ringing your opponent out because their back is to the edge is great. You know what else is great? Ringing your opponent out because edge was to your left! Or to your opponent's right. Whatever, they're the same. I consider Cervates's 11_44_77A to be, spiritually, the horizontal version of his 33_99B, in that it's just as slow and just as safe (okay, so it's i28 instead of i27 and -6 instead of -3, but you get the picture). Both attacks go a long way towards bursting your opponent's guard, and both look badass as hell. This move comes out slower, but it has the same range as Cervates's 66A (minus the forward movement from the 66) and controls the space in front of you for longer because the two swings are slightly staggered one after the other. Sure, 4A will knock your opponent just as far in the same direction, and even has slightly better range, but it doesn't hit Mid now does it? I've gotten a surprising number or ringouts with the ring edge to my left using this move (I throw on wakeup too much, so my opponents duck on wakeup rather often, especially when they feel safer because the ring edge isn't to their backs). I've even successfully used it in the neutral game while we're quick-stepping around each other, as the Mid hit on this move works wonders against characters that have good tech-crouching options on approach (I'm looking at you, Pyrrha and Natsu).
Submerged Harpoon
The f*ck!?!? Cervantes's 11_77B is probably his worst move! Slow startup, super-punishable, completely linear, etc. Why would I ever use this? Because sometimes you're at the every end of a round, you've got your opponent on the ground in front of you, and you know that he/she is going to wake up holding G. This move is supposedly special because it's a low which gives you advantage on hit (+4, if you're wondering), which is technically a pretty rare property, but the real meat-and-potatoes comes from the fact that it can close out a round because it's a low that does more than 20 damage. That's right, it won't get scaled down by the guts system (the thing that makes your 20-damage-or-less attacks do half their damage when your opponent is low in life). Okay, fine, so 1K also does more than 20 damage, but it's super-telegraphed, while this attack is slow, but just doesn't look like a low during it's animation (and nobody ever uses it, so your opponent probably won't react to it). It's really not good for much, but I've closed out a few rounds with it, so I figured it was worth including in this list.
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So... thoughts? Other moves I'm looking at are 4B+K, 11_77K, 4BK, and 4aB, so I'd appreciate any research anybody has done on those guys. I'm trying to add 6A+B, 3K, and 9(B+K) in as well, but I think we already know why those moves are kinda great :-P
