ZWEI top 10 moves

New List of ZWEIs top 10 moves late 2015 edition!

66B - This move should be used just as much if not more than 66A+B. Its your get in tool with good range, TC and decent tracking which leads into a KND. Effective tool vs backstep or opponents going for immediate option select JG/GI. It's good on block too breaking in 10 and having a reverse mix up of the high follow up making people twitch duck giving you less disadvantage than the -12. There is no move in the game (apart from JFT) that will punish 66B and duck the high follow up.

66A+B - Here it is again, ZWEIs power mid dealing great guard damage, gaining good amount of meter (block and hit) potentially doing a lot of damage and a move they have to GI unless they wanna be at -5. ZWEI has options around the GI for example slightly holding the Ein charge/taunt cancel/CE cancel. This move is great at the wall/post GI option/ force block after certain knockdowns and easy to abuse when they haven'tgot the meter or isn't dealing with it correctly.

B+K - This is another under mentioned move, I remember this move pre patch it had no range now its got really good range its a effective post backstep option having good TC and being safe on block you can easily mess people up who are trying to run in on you with this. Decent on hit as leads into combo also has 2 extra benefits of being unable to be hit for CH during this move messing up certain characters backstep catches what need CH to get the full damage like Leixia 66BB or Yoshi 66B and you can also B+K BE straight away before or after this move, overall solid move.

B) - This move is first of all spammable if the opponent doesn't know to deal with this which is quite common. i15 mid and the Ein is +2 on block and +12 on hit with good range on that second hit combination with the pushback makes another good spacing and keeping honest tool. Its only -9 on JG and is very good at tracking making it harder to step the second hit. its easy to bait if they try step/GI/JG B) by doing BB/ single B into 6A/backstep/wait.

WRB - when looking at ZWEI as a whole people need to look at this move more, wrB is a i25 mid FC which breaks in 10 and is -8 on block. What really makes this move stand out is the damage potential on a TC/ducked grab read this move can do a easy meterless 81 damage and by adding 1 BE you can bring the damage up to 117 with the wrb - bt b+k - g - 1k be - 66BA, very rewarding and being safe pretty good to throw out a iwrB every so often the reward definitely in your favour.

B+K BE - This move is the shit, you can do so much with this space, attack, defend, get in, pressure, rack up the guard guage. on a successful read it does a load of damage and its in general can be used when your having trouble getting started, GI's and immediate attack from the opponent can be baited.

214B - this attack is good for opponents blocking a lot and you don't wanna use 66A+B because they have meter and dealing with mix up more often than you like, this moves breaks in 9 and gives you +4 on block which may be not a lot for ZWEI but you have a decent force respect/punish respect mix up inbetween 2A/AA/B)/Grabs/6A/66a+b/214B/2K. some experienced players can JG this move on reaction you do have a few options to go around that with delayed 214B/214A and empty 214.

2a - It's a generic 2A so lets be greatful he has one, yeah it is one frame slower than the average 2a for some reason but it still works, run up 2a/ interrupt pressure/ disrespect with and being safe and rewarding should definitely be considered as a main move in your arsenal.

Grabs - Grabs with any charcter are OP use them till your opponent ducks everytime!against ZWEI there isn't much reason to duck so take advantage of that his B throw has great Oki and a+g has good damage with meter and can lead into vortex, use these to open them up/catch step. Then after a while start the 66B train.

6A - presenting the step catcher you need to use, outside of AA/2A/grabs/Ein and 66B tracking ZWEIs optionsare either slow or unsafe. 6A compared to other characters step killers looks fairly bad on paper i20 high -14 and only rewarding on CH but its the best we have and the optimal move out of his moves list to do the job. Its got decent range and will CH if they try and step for 66B/ B hold or B+K leading to some decent post follow ups like 66a+b/ 4B BE/1K BE loops. its also got some quick blockstun making it hard to block punish, if this gets punished consistently then you know the opponent is on point and your more specific mix ups are likely to be more effective like B - 6A, empty 214 and no hold versions of your attacks.


ZWEI does have other viable tools like A+B/AA/6B/2K/1K Be and Ein spacing with 1B Hold but for a competeive ZWEI you have to be using the above correctly.

Quick edit: I also nocticed I posted a top 10 back in 2012 boy has it changed lol
 
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A really nice breakdown of some of the most important moves for ZWEI, great job. Let it be known that ZWEI definitely is not "unviable", I mean look how OP his WR B is! You are quite fortunate with that being safe considering the mental reward on it. Now allow me to apply the :sc5nat1: angle on this:

WR :B:
I think you should've mentioned how WR B makes Natsu's PO twice as unsafe as before because you can duck after being hit by 6A+B, and if Nat drops her PO A:6 you get a free 80+ damage punish. Off of other PO transition moves that give less advantage so 4A on hit and 6A+B4 on block, a backstep iWR B will escape PO A and will duck-punish my PO A6/A:6. Outside of PO, this also works on my BBK, as well as 6KA and 2BA where the A is long-delayed and ZWEI does a clean instant, so it is definitely worth upping your WR B usage in the Natsu MU. It raises the risk on my step-kill highs by quite a large factor, whereas other characters are only looking at a decent punish on these sort of moves once they get meter.

Another really nice use of WR B against Natsu is to beat her 66A when you think she is going to run in with it. It's one of her best get-in moves so trying an iWR B when you see her running in (which she should be doing a lot) is smart. You will eat a 66B here and there but look at the risk v reward - 48/60 for Natsu + KND v 81/120 damage for ZWEI plus major swag. Do the maths.

BT :B+K:
If you predict Natsu is going into her Hover stance, you can run under her then get a BT B+K combo which will beat both A and B options, and possibly her A+B (divebomb) option if you wait for it to whiff.

:3::A:
I think 3A could've deserved a mention, perhaps replacing 2A, as it is his only option against TC+TS abuse. If Nat does 22A on block 22A, ZWEI's only move to stop it is 3A. When he has meter, he can see a decent punish on it when it is read. Of course he has backstep, but that's putting him at risk of a backstep read. It's still very risky as Natsu's 66B is a beat-all here; it will punish 3A and duck under 3AA, but on the BE version she has to wait and JG, which could catch her out if she isn't patient.

:2::1::4::B:
Ah, 214B, or as I call it, ZWEI's PO B! ;) Yeah this move is great, even if it is a bottom-tier version of my PO B. I think the fact that it's only +4 compared with Nat's +8 shouldn't be seen as a big deal; it's still plenty of frames for ZWEI to force respect. Indeed as you mentioned, if someone is attempting to JG it, you could simply do an empty 214 then grab, giving you a free mixup. I personally think +8 is rather excessive for Nat - I would be happy with seeing that nerfed down to a +6 or a +4, with maybe some actual oki as the return *cough* Project Soul *cough*.

:(6)::B:
Nat's 66B really shines in this MU and is probably the key focus when trying to put a score on it. It really does strike fear into ZWEI with his lack of punishment on it, however he does still have some options. ZWEI's own 66B has a really nice use here because it prevents Nat from going TxA mode and doing 66B on block 66B. The post-66B-block situation is a mix-up for ZWEI between replying with 66B to stop another of Nat's own, stepping to evade it but also risking eating a stepkiller, backstepping or GI/JG. Backstep basically tells Nat that her 66B is essentially 0 on block and free to spam - which isn't something ZWEI wants to be doing. So all in all, 66B for ZWEI is a nice, safe way to keep Nat somewhat in check. Andy I remember you used to use A+B after I did 66B, but then that gave me a free 6A+B which isn't great. At least with 66B, I have to commit to the AA/A:6 punish or wait for the high, which I would say is still in ZWEI's favour simply because of the control he can apply over the MU with it. Saving up that 66BA for an RO attempt is a strong tool which ZWEI players shouldn't be forgetting about.

:6::A:
Regarding 6A, it is indeed nothing to write home about on paper (except when you compare it to my 6A, which makes yours look God tier), but I think that considering how most players think ZWEI is one of those characters who you are free to spam and abuse evasion against, 6A is going to come out on top much more than you might think. I would keep chucking this out as ZWEI until it was consistently being punished or ducked under, then switch to something like 3A or backstep to get out of whatever they are doing to beat your 6A.

:B+K:
B+K is a fantastic move for ZWEI, definitely something I look for in a ZWEI player when I'm trying to judge if they are any good or not. Backstep B+K is such a smart option that it really should be abused to the point that it is getting very predictable, then just switch to something else like B hold! To apply it to the Natsu MU, because 22A is already an amazing move for her but even more godly against ZWEI, he can predict it is coming and do backstep B+K as a decent punish. Places where 22A is commonly seen include 3KK on block, 66B on block (in MUs where 66B is safe) and 6B on block. Trying a backstep B+K here is definitely worth it as you are basically making Nat take a lot of damage for trying to use one of her best moves.

:6::A+B:
I would've given an honourable mention to 6A+B because although it's small damage, it is still an effective aGI in situations such as 2A on block or 2K on hit. It can put a fair bit of psychological pressure on the opponent if they keep attacking into the aGI, potentially giving you a free 2A on block or 2K on hit until they figure out a counter to it.

Hey, at least your character actually has an aGI... :(

ZWEI powerrr! :sc5zwe1:

- TxA
 
Thanks for feedback, Mr Ros....er TxA ^^
I picked my 10 moves based on overall viability and his core moves what should be considered.

It should be said that the use of other moves should be changed based on the MU.

33b - certainly becomes more of a effective tool in some MUs having a TC combined while stepping is more effective vs certain characters like Raph, Xiba, ivy, seig, NM and zwei combined with the fact it's -14 and those characters don't get a as high punish, it can lead into good damage and stage carry with the BE.

3a BE - it's okay, it's easy to get the idea of it it's a beat all step and TC which is great it's important for a character to have a option select like that ofc it's not safe that makes sense because of the risk reward as it can lead to decent damage.
The thing is it's slow and I would have put 3a on the list had it of been like i19 then it would force more respect, the sad thing is ZWEI has to still use it to stop getting step TC'd but it doesn't beat fast attack aswell like Nat 22a on block - a:6/3kk or omega 3a+b on block - aa/2a.
Which zwei has to then use something not 3A to stop it.
In short it shuts down movement but not frame disrespect so ZWEI has to make a whole separate read for it.

6a+b - yeah it's a good tool best in those MUs where alot of things are mid like pat/pyrrha/hlide/Leixia or you can use it to bait highs what you can read with wrB and 6a+b does about as much damage as a a+b (40).
wish it had some crazy JF/glitch where you could get more stun into a CE combo lol

A+b - good soild move as people know, go to whiff punisher, guard damage and decent range and speed (for ZWEI) it's better in the MUs who can't punish it so well on block (which I did a whole post about at one point) Yeah Natsu gets easy punish on it and switching to 66b was the way forward.

And finally his jump attacks 9b/9K
9B is the mid jump poke to punish those 2a/2K it's also -4 on block which is literally zweis best disadvantage on block setting up for 6a+b, 2a, another 9b, 3K etc.

And 9K I like to in some respects it's better than 3a, it's i19 and tracks step while being -7 and TJ, it's +8 on hit too annnd wall combos on hit, it's just the range and being high are the only downfalls but defo a strong tool for zwei


quick edit: ZWEI 66B+K i think i mentioned this move and how useful it can be in this very thread but its another tool very useful for MUs and vs players to get out of situations he couldnt normally and escape pressure like vs characters such as Pat/pyrrha/Leixia/cervantes/Maxi/Astaroth. This move forces respect more than 3A BE in regards to stopping mashing.
 
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Do you mean 33B BE? It's the launcher that can be hit-confirmed with BE.

It's not a bad move; it is good damage on hit with the BE, but it's not exactly fast and it is unsafe at -14. It's something that ZWEI shouldn't really be doing often unless he is going for a set-up or evade attempt as the move has step in it (it's an 8WR move) and it has some TC frames.

It would be nice if 33B on it's own without the BE had a decent combo off of it like an A+B, but it doesn't. This low meterless damage is another primary con to it. I believe the maximum ZWEI gets is an A hold.

FYI - hit-confirming the BE means you only input BE once you have reacted to and 'confirmed' that you have hit the opponent, so you see them go into the air and you have a brief window to press for the BE which will connect.
 
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