Voldo Guide
Thanks to Enkindu, ZombieBear, Manta, SPQR, Sporko, and many others who's posts are a huge part of this guide and my learning Voldo.
Voldo Specific Terminology:
FF - facing forward, vanilla stance
BS - blind stance
CR - crawl stance, same as 236
BCR - blind crawl stance, same moves as BS WS, same as BS 236
MC - mantis crawl: permanent FC state, see below
LF - land fish: permanent STC state, see below
HT/FT - head towards/feet towards, applies to above two stances
STC - super tech crouch, not unique to Voldo but very rare state in the game that Voldo can get into more than any character in the game. Basically, evades all highs, almost all horizontal mids, many "thrust" mids. Rule of thumb: moves that hit grounded will hit STC. It gets hit by verticals that do not hit grounded like BB, but significantly reduces their range: B tends to whiff at far to even sometimes medium range.
Pros:
- one of the best gauge pressure in the game
- very safe in general and can play almost 100% safe easily
- punishment on block good, on whiff excellent
- great combo enders mean dangerous mixups at the end of combos
- highly evasive moves: many TC moves makes enemy use of highs/grabs dangerous, access to super TC
- long range grabs/lows allow long range mixups
- can play well at different spacings
- very different movestyles FF/BS so you can approach enemies in two different ways
- FF:
- very strong, very safe mids
- good moves for pressure, i.e. opponent can't attack confidently after
- superb forward ring-out mixup
- good oki with threat of 2A+B
- BS:
- very aggressive game
- fantastic reverse mix-up
- some very fast moves
- REALLY good step, 8_2(A+K) evades very deadly
- great grabs: great damage/oki on command grab, great sidestep/damage on regular
- good transitions between stances mean they can all be applied aggressively to mix-up
Cons:
- can be hard to stay in BS, esp vs longer ranger characters
- really REALLY weak to step to his left, especially in FF
- in FF, poor step
- lack of good fast moves with really good reward on CH (like Asta's knee, or Mitsu 3A)
- average or worse grab damage and range in FF on normal grabs, very hard to ever grab Sieg/Night
Quick Guide:
interrupts:
- in both stances: 2A, 3K (awesome in BS, i15 TC mid), K, BB, AA (awesome in BS, i11)
- 6BB, BS 6AAB, 66:B_66B, 4(K)
mixup, normal stance:
- closer: A+B with grab, 2K
- farther: 1(K)_1K, FC 3B, 2A+B with CR grabs, 236B
mixup, blind stance:
- closer: BS 3B,BS 22B,BCR B with 2K, grab
- farther: 66B, 1K with BS 1A, CR grabs
frame traps
- 4A (0 to BS), 22B (-2 to BS), 66A+BK (K is high), MCHT/LFFT K (about -3 to BS), CR A+B (-3 to +1)
block strings (these are moves with uninterruptable follow-ups on block, not part of the string)
- 2A+B, 44(B), BS 2B+K
step catch
- FF: AA (only one that's 100% reliable), sometimes 3A (not reliable, mostly Voldo's right), 66(A) (if brave, insanely punishable on block), 2A+B tracks right ONLY, 236B tracks left ONLY, 4A meh not reliable but it's awesome otherwise, WR A (sort of)
- BS: AA (short range but very fast), BS 66A (-16 but good damage, 100% catch, and KND/RO), BS 1A (better catch at farther ranges, -16 also but hard to punish), BS 44A (safe, high, huge damage on hit), BCR A (safe, good frames, not 100% catch though)
- there are some random others, you can play around with some of the 8wr A_K moves, some of them esp in BS aren't bad, but they're not great either, there's a complete list on the forums, I rarely use anything not on the list above
- to be honest if my opponent is doing step G constantly I will do a shitload of 6~grab
reverse mixup
- FF: 4A+K (back), 4(K) (STC), 236B (STC)
- BS: grab (yes, seriously), BS A+B, BS 1A, 2A+K, step (really good step in BS)
- note if you successfully step to your opponent's LEFT and grab, you have a good chance for backgrab
punishment:
- on block or medium range whiff (e.g. due to side step) while FF: 66:B
- long range whiff (e.g. due to back step) and backstep punish, CR A+B/BS 44A
post GI:
- FF: 66:B fast, delayed 66:B or (B+K) for slow, on JI you can 2A+B for 100 damage plus mixup
- BS: 1(K)_K fast, BCR B or BS 22B slow. On JI you can BS B+K for 100 damage plus mixup
body attack: (i.e. anti-Asura and similar crap, including your own BS A+B)
- any K attack works fine, I don't know that any of Voldo's A or B work for this
Ring out:
- FF: 1K/236B mixup for forward ringouts, CH 2A+B, CH 236B+K (usually after blocked 2A+B)
- BS: 4KA/22K(K) (22K is a really slow low but if you don't use it often...), BS 66A, BS 3B, CH BS B+K
- MC: Anything that launches and leaves you in MC can be followed up with 6A+K, 66... VOLDOZER!
Gauge break:
- I could just put Voldo's entire move list here, almost everything breaks in 10 or less
- Notable even for Voldo: 2A+B236A+B, 3BB (break in < 5)
- Rule of thumb: K attacks generally attack the gauge less
- Keep in mind: when your opponent is flashing, be ready to crit at any time, even Voldo's pokes do good gauge damage and can easily break
Spacing (moves with crazy pushback, use as pokes, vs short range characters or to fish for whiffs after):
- FC 3B, BS 66B, BS A+B
Notable Stance Shifts from FF:
- BS: 4A, FC 3B, WR(K), 6BB, 1(K), CR: 2A+B236, MCHT: 44(B), 44(K) LFHT: 4(A), 66(A),
From BS:
- FF: BS 4A, BS 22B, MCHT: BS 2B+K, BS 2(A+K)
Other stance shifts:
- 236A+B spaced correctly, esp near walls will put you into BS. This is terrific.
- 236K will have you in BS after you stand
- anytime you are down you can B+K to go into MC
- BCR B+K will backstep and put you into MCHT for a potential quick 66
Notes on stance shifts:
- all the stance shifts have some kind of purpose, which you can figure out based on where I listed the move - e.g 4A is listed under frame traps, as it gets you to BS at neutral
- e.g. BS 2_(A+K) is listed under reverse mixup because it side steps
- applied appropriately the idea is to always reach stance in ADVANTAGE, not cheesy advantage like Yoshi running up to someone and going into DGF and them hesitating, but real frame advantage where your fastest option is uninterruptable
Important combos (Note: different starters lead into strings which recur over and over, I try to structure the combos in a way that brings this out. Also note damage numbers are approximate to give you an idea what's going on, do not quote for accuracy. I alway quote damage assuming max damage combo ender):
CH 66:B, FF combo ender (50)
CH 66B, leads to CH 66:B
A+B leads to CH 66B (60)
NH 66:B leads to CH 66B (65)
CH 2A+B leads to CH 66B (CH hit confirmable if no instant CR move input after 2A+B, 80)
2A+B236, CR B_K (45)
2A+B236, CR A+B guaranteed near walls and is awesome (60)
1K, 66:(B), (45)
1(K)_BS 1K, BS combo ender (45)
BCR B, leads to BS 1K (around 75)
CH 2A+B236A+K leads to BCR B (not CH confirmable after the 2A+B236, i.e. requires instant A+K input, 100)
WR(B), 6A+K, 66 (ringout)
CH 2A+B236, B+K, 6A+K, 66 (ringout)
CH WS A, 6BB (50)
BS 22B, 2A+B236A+B (not always 100% reliable, can do B_K for less damage, 75)
BS 22B, 2A+B236G 66:(B) (reliable, ringout, not the easiest to pull off though)
BS 3B, 66 K, fairly precise timing so if you are lazy or surprised do BS 3B, BS 3B (60?)
CH BS 3B, BS 3B, BS 22B this is what most people do, cause its easy, but can be JUked (80)
CH BS 3B, (delay), 66K, BS 22B requires good timing, can't be JUked, last hit is a combo & tech trap (80, 100 on T!)
Ch BS 3B, BS A+B, 2A+B236B only at certain spacing (farther. guaranteed after BS 3A stun if they don't shake or guess wrong). good for ringouts mostly.
BS 1A 2K (just under 40)
Notable:
BS 1A tech traps into BS 1A if you do it instantly
BS 1A down traps into 22B if you do it instantly.
Combo enders FF:
- 1B for lowest damage, but +10 frames standing with A+B/grab mixup (sometimes back grab)
- 2A+B236B_K for highest damage, worst pressure.
- 2A+B236G for decent damage (higher than 1B) and decent FF oki
- 44(B), 2B+K, K for very good combo damage, does more (a lot more) if they tech
- 44(B), 2B+K into MCHT pressure, 66 is hard to avoid in particular.
- 44(B), 2B+K, 2_8 into LFHT pressure
- 11BBB... I don't use this much, poor damage and decent oki if they don't tech, good damage but poorer oki if they do, I believe.
Combo enders BS:
- 1B as above
- after 2B+K, same options as 44(B) above, in particular 2B+K K is highest guaranteed damage
Choosing combo ender:
- Important idea: damage scaling, the more damage the combo already did, the less subsequent hits do
- so the longer combos should usually opt for mixups, shorter ones for damage
- E.g. I will always do 2A+B236B_K after CH 66:B, but never after A+B
- Also: 1B and 44(B) are not always reliable near edges
- don't use 1B if the person's body isn't lying parallel to the line that connects P1 and P2, it won't pick up
- 44(B)'s innacuracy can be somewhat mitigated if you step to Voldo's left before you do it
- personally: I never use 44(B) if I'm anywhere near an edge or if either character looks off-axis at all
- Consistently hitting the A+B/NH 66:B combos and following up with 1B is terrific
Selected Moves Explanations:
AA,BB,2A,grabs, K, 3K: Voldo's versions of these moves are solid to good. He really needs all of them though for step catching and interrupting as he doesn't have other moves that do these things extremely well.
Above, in BS: BS AA is really really fast. grabs are boosted with side step and range, and command. 3K has excellent frames in BS. BB improved too. Just buffed all around really.
A+B: I really whore this out. really safe, really good TC, really good damage, really good gauge damage. Tiny bit slow for a launcher but all the other pros make it well worthwhile. Hits twice, which helps win clashes and catch step slightly.
1(K)/BS 1K: competes with A+B, slightly worse in every way except longer range, and leaves you in BS for reverse mixups. 1(K) (block) BS A+B is a pretty standard setup. In BS, you don't have A+B and 1K is 3 frames faster, making it attractive if you want a safe launcher that leaves you in BS.
1K/236B: great ringout mixup. Beware though, if they have reverse ringout then if 236B is blocked you're eating it. 1K is pretty amazing on maps with ringouts, can give you scary ring position very quickly. Some of the top Voldo players like Goofus and Enkindu in particular put this move to amazing work.
4A: puts you in BS at neutral. Very whorable in certain matchups and vs certain players.
236A+B: long range, hurts gauge, small disadvantage. Good damage and oki on hit. Great whiff punisher, great for closing distance quickly. At correct spacing/near wall leaves you BS. If you overuse, your opponent will start twitch ducking and punishing.
66K/66A+B: when they start twitch ducking the former at long range use one of these. They both hit mids. The first is safe but does less damage (although it gives you a mixup), the second is unsafe but has a gimmick that helps you avoid getting punished too hard if you use it in moderation, and it's more damage, especially on CH.
4(K): ballsy, very fast high with STC, so it's good for reverse mixup but if they block it, it's bad, even on NH it's not great. On CH though gives nice pressure into LFHT.
4A+K: Very character dependent, vs the long range characters it's a bit pointless but vs shorter range characters like Taki this really makes them change tactics as you can get whiffs with this move and prevent them mixing up.
236B: can be used for RO, for reverse mix up (STC), chip damage... good move, but can be punished really badly and it's a mixup on hit so don't overuse it. Great way to finish matches due to range and speed.
236A+G_B+G: handy, catch back-tech and many players don't break these as well as they don't expect it. Moves Voldo a lot, doesn't whiff that horribly (like normal grab). In some cases when your opponent steps it into an attack, you and your opponent miss and there are bizarre alignment issues you can exploit.
BS 3B: BS launcher, chip punishable vs very fast characters. So-so range, medium speed, TC... however, it's crazy damage on CH.
BS 22B: BS launcher, slower and safer, better NH damage, but puts you FF.
BCR B: BS launcher, chip punishable vs many characters. Great NH damage and leaves you BS.
BS 66B: I use this a lot. Doesn't lead to a big combo on hit, and even on CH it just knocks down and you don't get anything free. But it has amazing range and spacing, forces crouch, and is only -6. Vs many characters even when you land this on block, your reverse mixups are so threatening that the initiative is still yours.
BS 1A: amazing move. Ducks (STC) an amazing amount of stuff for reverse mixup, catches step, and fast enough to be used as mixup vs most people. Most characters get nothing free on block if it is used at maximum range.
BS 66A: really good step catch, decent damage and it KND and RO and can wall splat too. However it is quite punishable so careful.
BS 44A: amazing range, has weird properties if used up close. Used to whiff punish, catch opponent backstep or even sidestep. Leads to huge damage on hit.
2A+B pressure: One of his most important moves, I could write a book here (I guess I already have). Basically, 2A+B is pretty bad by itself but you can cancel its recovery into CR. 2A+B236 is + a lot on block, to the point where CR B_K_A+B can't be interrupted (although CR K_A+B can be GI'ed). Once you have trained people not to attack after 2A+B236, you have a few options. You can use 2A+B236A+B for insane gauge damage and a semi-frame trap. You can mixup CR K with CR B/A+G_B+G for damage. Or you can cancel CR. After 2A+B236, G will cancel into FC at -3, and A+B+K will do a taunt animation, which itself can be cancelled with a move or guard into standing at -7. While you're at -ve, most people (including many very good players) can't react in time to this, and you can usually take initiative safely.
Experiment a lot with this moves, people's ability to defend against it varies hugely in terms of how they do it and how well they do it. It's up to you to come up with what works. It's also worth noting that this move is very slow, doesn't have hardly any evasive properties, has very long range, tracks Voldo's right. The big CH damage should heavily discourage step to Voldo's right and backstep (in general). When you use it, to make CR options uninterruptable they basically need to be entered before you see whether 2A+B lands. You also need to enter the CR A+K before seeing if 2A+B lands to get the huge 100 damage CH combo. If you delay entering the CR option until you see the outcome of 2A+B (block, NH, or CH), you can be interrupted on block (although it's quite hard if you do CR B), CR B_K will still combo on NH, and you can combo into 66B for very nice damage (over 70 + mixup) on CH.
MC/LF Pressure:
Basic mixups are: in MCHT you have 66 which is unseeable knockdown low and very fast, you have A+B for speed and chip damage (not great on block though), and 6A+K as your launcher. In LFHT you have the A/B mixup, and B+K for a very speedy and safe option. LF B also does crazy gauge damage. In addition, LFHT K backsteps, but perhaps can be better utilized by first doing LFHT A+K, which is a chip low that reverses your direction and sets up LFFT K on their face. Although you have shenanigans these stances are much stronger HT in general.
Mileage varies a lot vs different characters. Asta can crouch grab you out of anything and his crouch grab is i13, so you basically never want to bother with this vs Asta, it ends poorly. Vs many characters though they have a tough choice; they can try to interrupt your pressure with a weenie movie like 2K which is almost zero reward for them, or try a launcher which is risky and might get beat out by you.
Mileage also varies vs players, some people are very aggressive and will utilize jumping, stepping, etc everything and make it hard to pay off the stances. Other people will not.
Key point is to get to stance at advantage, use the transitions noted above. Some are evasive, or need to hit so that you don't immediately get whacked out of stance. However 44(B) and BS 2B+K get you there with good advantage even on block.
Between MC and LF you can switch easily with 2_8, which is also evasive. I recommend using this; it's almost impossible to hit LF with anything reasonable speed that covers step, so usually when you are in LF they are trying verticals. So if you aren't getting good mileage with the LF B/A mixup because they interrupt, trying just doing LF B a couple times on block and then stepping instead into an immediate MC 66. If you want to step your opponent it works better LF -> MC then vice versa, LF attacks are slower but have better frames afterwards so it makes more sense to go that way, if you get an MC attack blocked and try 2_8 you'll just get hit out of it even by verticals much of the time.
The possibilities are endless and really limited only by your creativity, I suggest you play around a lot in casual matches. In serious matches you should do what you always do: if it works, whore it out, and if it doesn't, avoid it like the plague.
Summary:
A really good character with a lot of options, there's definitely a variety of ways to play him so experiment with his move list, try to really know every move as you'd be quite surprised when a move that's poor in general can be good.
Thanks to Enkindu, ZombieBear, Manta, SPQR, Sporko, and many others who's posts are a huge part of this guide and my learning Voldo.
Voldo Specific Terminology:
FF - facing forward, vanilla stance
BS - blind stance
CR - crawl stance, same as 236
BCR - blind crawl stance, same moves as BS WS, same as BS 236
MC - mantis crawl: permanent FC state, see below
LF - land fish: permanent STC state, see below
HT/FT - head towards/feet towards, applies to above two stances
STC - super tech crouch, not unique to Voldo but very rare state in the game that Voldo can get into more than any character in the game. Basically, evades all highs, almost all horizontal mids, many "thrust" mids. Rule of thumb: moves that hit grounded will hit STC. It gets hit by verticals that do not hit grounded like BB, but significantly reduces their range: B tends to whiff at far to even sometimes medium range.
Pros:
- one of the best gauge pressure in the game
- very safe in general and can play almost 100% safe easily
- punishment on block good, on whiff excellent
- great combo enders mean dangerous mixups at the end of combos
- highly evasive moves: many TC moves makes enemy use of highs/grabs dangerous, access to super TC
- long range grabs/lows allow long range mixups
- can play well at different spacings
- very different movestyles FF/BS so you can approach enemies in two different ways
- FF:
- very strong, very safe mids
- good moves for pressure, i.e. opponent can't attack confidently after
- superb forward ring-out mixup
- good oki with threat of 2A+B
- BS:
- very aggressive game
- fantastic reverse mix-up
- some very fast moves
- REALLY good step, 8_2(A+K) evades very deadly
- great grabs: great damage/oki on command grab, great sidestep/damage on regular
- good transitions between stances mean they can all be applied aggressively to mix-up
Cons:
- can be hard to stay in BS, esp vs longer ranger characters
- really REALLY weak to step to his left, especially in FF
- in FF, poor step
- lack of good fast moves with really good reward on CH (like Asta's knee, or Mitsu 3A)
- average or worse grab damage and range in FF on normal grabs, very hard to ever grab Sieg/Night
Quick Guide:
interrupts:
- in both stances: 2A, 3K (awesome in BS, i15 TC mid), K, BB, AA (awesome in BS, i11)
- 6BB, BS 6AAB, 66:B_66B, 4(K)
mixup, normal stance:
- closer: A+B with grab, 2K
- farther: 1(K)_1K, FC 3B, 2A+B with CR grabs, 236B
mixup, blind stance:
- closer: BS 3B,BS 22B,BCR B with 2K, grab
- farther: 66B, 1K with BS 1A, CR grabs
frame traps
- 4A (0 to BS), 22B (-2 to BS), 66A+BK (K is high), MCHT/LFFT K (about -3 to BS), CR A+B (-3 to +1)
block strings (these are moves with uninterruptable follow-ups on block, not part of the string)
- 2A+B, 44(B), BS 2B+K
step catch
- FF: AA (only one that's 100% reliable), sometimes 3A (not reliable, mostly Voldo's right), 66(A) (if brave, insanely punishable on block), 2A+B tracks right ONLY, 236B tracks left ONLY, 4A meh not reliable but it's awesome otherwise, WR A (sort of)
- BS: AA (short range but very fast), BS 66A (-16 but good damage, 100% catch, and KND/RO), BS 1A (better catch at farther ranges, -16 also but hard to punish), BS 44A (safe, high, huge damage on hit), BCR A (safe, good frames, not 100% catch though)
- there are some random others, you can play around with some of the 8wr A_K moves, some of them esp in BS aren't bad, but they're not great either, there's a complete list on the forums, I rarely use anything not on the list above
- to be honest if my opponent is doing step G constantly I will do a shitload of 6~grab
reverse mixup
- FF: 4A+K (back), 4(K) (STC), 236B (STC)
- BS: grab (yes, seriously), BS A+B, BS 1A, 2A+K, step (really good step in BS)
- note if you successfully step to your opponent's LEFT and grab, you have a good chance for backgrab
punishment:
- on block or medium range whiff (e.g. due to side step) while FF: 66:B
- long range whiff (e.g. due to back step) and backstep punish, CR A+B/BS 44A
post GI:
- FF: 66:B fast, delayed 66:B or (B+K) for slow, on JI you can 2A+B for 100 damage plus mixup
- BS: 1(K)_K fast, BCR B or BS 22B slow. On JI you can BS B+K for 100 damage plus mixup
body attack: (i.e. anti-Asura and similar crap, including your own BS A+B)
- any K attack works fine, I don't know that any of Voldo's A or B work for this
Ring out:
- FF: 1K/236B mixup for forward ringouts, CH 2A+B, CH 236B+K (usually after blocked 2A+B)
- BS: 4KA/22K(K) (22K is a really slow low but if you don't use it often...), BS 66A, BS 3B, CH BS B+K
- MC: Anything that launches and leaves you in MC can be followed up with 6A+K, 66... VOLDOZER!
Gauge break:
- I could just put Voldo's entire move list here, almost everything breaks in 10 or less
- Notable even for Voldo: 2A+B236A+B, 3BB (break in < 5)
- Rule of thumb: K attacks generally attack the gauge less
- Keep in mind: when your opponent is flashing, be ready to crit at any time, even Voldo's pokes do good gauge damage and can easily break
Spacing (moves with crazy pushback, use as pokes, vs short range characters or to fish for whiffs after):
- FC 3B, BS 66B, BS A+B
Notable Stance Shifts from FF:
- BS: 4A, FC 3B, WR(K), 6BB, 1(K), CR: 2A+B236, MCHT: 44(B), 44(K) LFHT: 4(A), 66(A),
From BS:
- FF: BS 4A, BS 22B, MCHT: BS 2B+K, BS 2(A+K)
Other stance shifts:
- 236A+B spaced correctly, esp near walls will put you into BS. This is terrific.
- 236K will have you in BS after you stand
- anytime you are down you can B+K to go into MC
- BCR B+K will backstep and put you into MCHT for a potential quick 66
Notes on stance shifts:
- all the stance shifts have some kind of purpose, which you can figure out based on where I listed the move - e.g 4A is listed under frame traps, as it gets you to BS at neutral
- e.g. BS 2_(A+K) is listed under reverse mixup because it side steps
- applied appropriately the idea is to always reach stance in ADVANTAGE, not cheesy advantage like Yoshi running up to someone and going into DGF and them hesitating, but real frame advantage where your fastest option is uninterruptable
Important combos (Note: different starters lead into strings which recur over and over, I try to structure the combos in a way that brings this out. Also note damage numbers are approximate to give you an idea what's going on, do not quote for accuracy. I alway quote damage assuming max damage combo ender):
CH 66:B, FF combo ender (50)
CH 66B, leads to CH 66:B
A+B leads to CH 66B (60)
NH 66:B leads to CH 66B (65)
CH 2A+B leads to CH 66B (CH hit confirmable if no instant CR move input after 2A+B, 80)
2A+B236, CR B_K (45)
2A+B236, CR A+B guaranteed near walls and is awesome (60)
1K, 66:(B), (45)
1(K)_BS 1K, BS combo ender (45)
BCR B, leads to BS 1K (around 75)
CH 2A+B236A+K leads to BCR B (not CH confirmable after the 2A+B236, i.e. requires instant A+K input, 100)
WR(B), 6A+K, 66 (ringout)
CH 2A+B236, B+K, 6A+K, 66 (ringout)
CH WS A, 6BB (50)
BS 22B, 2A+B236A+B (not always 100% reliable, can do B_K for less damage, 75)
BS 22B, 2A+B236G 66:(B) (reliable, ringout, not the easiest to pull off though)
BS 3B, 66 K, fairly precise timing so if you are lazy or surprised do BS 3B, BS 3B (60?)
CH BS 3B, BS 3B, BS 22B this is what most people do, cause its easy, but can be JUked (80)
CH BS 3B, (delay), 66K, BS 22B requires good timing, can't be JUked, last hit is a combo & tech trap (80, 100 on T!)
Ch BS 3B, BS A+B, 2A+B236B only at certain spacing (farther. guaranteed after BS 3A stun if they don't shake or guess wrong). good for ringouts mostly.
BS 1A 2K (just under 40)
Notable:
BS 1A tech traps into BS 1A if you do it instantly
BS 1A down traps into 22B if you do it instantly.
Combo enders FF:
- 1B for lowest damage, but +10 frames standing with A+B/grab mixup (sometimes back grab)
- 2A+B236B_K for highest damage, worst pressure.
- 2A+B236G for decent damage (higher than 1B) and decent FF oki
- 44(B), 2B+K, K for very good combo damage, does more (a lot more) if they tech
- 44(B), 2B+K into MCHT pressure, 66 is hard to avoid in particular.
- 44(B), 2B+K, 2_8 into LFHT pressure
- 11BBB... I don't use this much, poor damage and decent oki if they don't tech, good damage but poorer oki if they do, I believe.
Combo enders BS:
- 1B as above
- after 2B+K, same options as 44(B) above, in particular 2B+K K is highest guaranteed damage
Choosing combo ender:
- Important idea: damage scaling, the more damage the combo already did, the less subsequent hits do
- so the longer combos should usually opt for mixups, shorter ones for damage
- E.g. I will always do 2A+B236B_K after CH 66:B, but never after A+B
- Also: 1B and 44(B) are not always reliable near edges
- don't use 1B if the person's body isn't lying parallel to the line that connects P1 and P2, it won't pick up
- 44(B)'s innacuracy can be somewhat mitigated if you step to Voldo's left before you do it
- personally: I never use 44(B) if I'm anywhere near an edge or if either character looks off-axis at all
- Consistently hitting the A+B/NH 66:B combos and following up with 1B is terrific
Selected Moves Explanations:
AA,BB,2A,grabs, K, 3K: Voldo's versions of these moves are solid to good. He really needs all of them though for step catching and interrupting as he doesn't have other moves that do these things extremely well.
Above, in BS: BS AA is really really fast. grabs are boosted with side step and range, and command. 3K has excellent frames in BS. BB improved too. Just buffed all around really.
A+B: I really whore this out. really safe, really good TC, really good damage, really good gauge damage. Tiny bit slow for a launcher but all the other pros make it well worthwhile. Hits twice, which helps win clashes and catch step slightly.
1(K)/BS 1K: competes with A+B, slightly worse in every way except longer range, and leaves you in BS for reverse mixups. 1(K) (block) BS A+B is a pretty standard setup. In BS, you don't have A+B and 1K is 3 frames faster, making it attractive if you want a safe launcher that leaves you in BS.
1K/236B: great ringout mixup. Beware though, if they have reverse ringout then if 236B is blocked you're eating it. 1K is pretty amazing on maps with ringouts, can give you scary ring position very quickly. Some of the top Voldo players like Goofus and Enkindu in particular put this move to amazing work.
4A: puts you in BS at neutral. Very whorable in certain matchups and vs certain players.
236A+B: long range, hurts gauge, small disadvantage. Good damage and oki on hit. Great whiff punisher, great for closing distance quickly. At correct spacing/near wall leaves you BS. If you overuse, your opponent will start twitch ducking and punishing.
66K/66A+B: when they start twitch ducking the former at long range use one of these. They both hit mids. The first is safe but does less damage (although it gives you a mixup), the second is unsafe but has a gimmick that helps you avoid getting punished too hard if you use it in moderation, and it's more damage, especially on CH.
4(K): ballsy, very fast high with STC, so it's good for reverse mixup but if they block it, it's bad, even on NH it's not great. On CH though gives nice pressure into LFHT.
4A+K: Very character dependent, vs the long range characters it's a bit pointless but vs shorter range characters like Taki this really makes them change tactics as you can get whiffs with this move and prevent them mixing up.
236B: can be used for RO, for reverse mix up (STC), chip damage... good move, but can be punished really badly and it's a mixup on hit so don't overuse it. Great way to finish matches due to range and speed.
236A+G_B+G: handy, catch back-tech and many players don't break these as well as they don't expect it. Moves Voldo a lot, doesn't whiff that horribly (like normal grab). In some cases when your opponent steps it into an attack, you and your opponent miss and there are bizarre alignment issues you can exploit.
BS 3B: BS launcher, chip punishable vs very fast characters. So-so range, medium speed, TC... however, it's crazy damage on CH.
BS 22B: BS launcher, slower and safer, better NH damage, but puts you FF.
BCR B: BS launcher, chip punishable vs many characters. Great NH damage and leaves you BS.
BS 66B: I use this a lot. Doesn't lead to a big combo on hit, and even on CH it just knocks down and you don't get anything free. But it has amazing range and spacing, forces crouch, and is only -6. Vs many characters even when you land this on block, your reverse mixups are so threatening that the initiative is still yours.
BS 1A: amazing move. Ducks (STC) an amazing amount of stuff for reverse mixup, catches step, and fast enough to be used as mixup vs most people. Most characters get nothing free on block if it is used at maximum range.
BS 66A: really good step catch, decent damage and it KND and RO and can wall splat too. However it is quite punishable so careful.
BS 44A: amazing range, has weird properties if used up close. Used to whiff punish, catch opponent backstep or even sidestep. Leads to huge damage on hit.
2A+B pressure: One of his most important moves, I could write a book here (I guess I already have). Basically, 2A+B is pretty bad by itself but you can cancel its recovery into CR. 2A+B236 is + a lot on block, to the point where CR B_K_A+B can't be interrupted (although CR K_A+B can be GI'ed). Once you have trained people not to attack after 2A+B236, you have a few options. You can use 2A+B236A+B for insane gauge damage and a semi-frame trap. You can mixup CR K with CR B/A+G_B+G for damage. Or you can cancel CR. After 2A+B236, G will cancel into FC at -3, and A+B+K will do a taunt animation, which itself can be cancelled with a move or guard into standing at -7. While you're at -ve, most people (including many very good players) can't react in time to this, and you can usually take initiative safely.
Experiment a lot with this moves, people's ability to defend against it varies hugely in terms of how they do it and how well they do it. It's up to you to come up with what works. It's also worth noting that this move is very slow, doesn't have hardly any evasive properties, has very long range, tracks Voldo's right. The big CH damage should heavily discourage step to Voldo's right and backstep (in general). When you use it, to make CR options uninterruptable they basically need to be entered before you see whether 2A+B lands. You also need to enter the CR A+K before seeing if 2A+B lands to get the huge 100 damage CH combo. If you delay entering the CR option until you see the outcome of 2A+B (block, NH, or CH), you can be interrupted on block (although it's quite hard if you do CR B), CR B_K will still combo on NH, and you can combo into 66B for very nice damage (over 70 + mixup) on CH.
MC/LF Pressure:
Basic mixups are: in MCHT you have 66 which is unseeable knockdown low and very fast, you have A+B for speed and chip damage (not great on block though), and 6A+K as your launcher. In LFHT you have the A/B mixup, and B+K for a very speedy and safe option. LF B also does crazy gauge damage. In addition, LFHT K backsteps, but perhaps can be better utilized by first doing LFHT A+K, which is a chip low that reverses your direction and sets up LFFT K on their face. Although you have shenanigans these stances are much stronger HT in general.
Mileage varies a lot vs different characters. Asta can crouch grab you out of anything and his crouch grab is i13, so you basically never want to bother with this vs Asta, it ends poorly. Vs many characters though they have a tough choice; they can try to interrupt your pressure with a weenie movie like 2K which is almost zero reward for them, or try a launcher which is risky and might get beat out by you.
Mileage also varies vs players, some people are very aggressive and will utilize jumping, stepping, etc everything and make it hard to pay off the stances. Other people will not.
Key point is to get to stance at advantage, use the transitions noted above. Some are evasive, or need to hit so that you don't immediately get whacked out of stance. However 44(B) and BS 2B+K get you there with good advantage even on block.
Between MC and LF you can switch easily with 2_8, which is also evasive. I recommend using this; it's almost impossible to hit LF with anything reasonable speed that covers step, so usually when you are in LF they are trying verticals. So if you aren't getting good mileage with the LF B/A mixup because they interrupt, trying just doing LF B a couple times on block and then stepping instead into an immediate MC 66. If you want to step your opponent it works better LF -> MC then vice versa, LF attacks are slower but have better frames afterwards so it makes more sense to go that way, if you get an MC attack blocked and try 2_8 you'll just get hit out of it even by verticals much of the time.
The possibilities are endless and really limited only by your creativity, I suggest you play around a lot in casual matches. In serious matches you should do what you always do: if it works, whore it out, and if it doesn't, avoid it like the plague.
Summary:
A really good character with a lot of options, there's definitely a variety of ways to play him so experiment with his move list, try to really know every move as you'd be quite surprised when a move that's poor in general can be good.
