This is transcribtion of the full document with pictures, here's the link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GSDKM2ZKrfodJhmUMF89JJsblLVTLqRJYfe9rMLBR-4/edit?usp=sharing

This document describes and analyzes the best strategies and the meta of the current build of Mega Knockdown made by dhamster, published by Counter Hit Studios and Mega Memecast, with the best moves one can do in a common situation.

Notation used in this document for an easy referral to moves:

b --- back
f --- forward
n --- neutral
j --- jumping

A --- A attack or jab
B --- B attack or kick
C --- C attack or sweep (in case of a special confusion)
T --- Throw
G Guard - usually referred to as Blocking, but G removes the confusion with B the kick button.


Ranges in the game do not have standardized names, but for referral’s sake we count the total amount of squares between the opponents including the ones they’re in:
Range 2 or 0, a.k.a throw range or Hell
Range 3, a.k.a the donkey space
Range 4, a.k.a roundstart
etc.

First let’s talk about the universal meta that works for any character in most ways.

At roundstart range 4 there are a lot of good options

nG is good as testing what the opponent is expecting from you. While you stay very much safe yourself, no move can hit you from over there, the problem is that you aren’t doing anything while letting the opponent set themselves up. Opponent’s first move might also be jB which makes them plus in the throw range.

nB is good as it prevents them from safely going in, it’s only beaten by fG and it’s not a huge loss anyway. But it does still let them set up.

fG is an alternative to nG that at least develops your pressure. But it loses hard to nC, still makes for a minus situation when confronted with jB, they can fT and nB.

nA is also an alternative to nG. While it doesn’t prevent walk-ins, it doesn’t lose against much. Just the really hard read options like fC sweep or fB.


Then if you want something more rewarding even though less safe:

nC beats all walk-ins like crazy, only loses to jump ins and can whiff for -10. Incredibly good option.

jB very quickly sets up your pressure, if they guard you’re +10 with range 2 or 3, if they sweep you get the full combo, trades with itself. But loses to all normal attacks


Now absolutely unsafe options that can still yield great reward

fB is going in hard, it beats nA, but it’s punishable if the opponent did a fG and it’s interrupted by nB. Also beats jump ins, but negatively trades with nC

fT is a hard read on fG but loses to pretty much everything

fA is very similar, it’s not punishable on block and it’s still interruptible by nB, but it can be really good
jA and jT are a hard read on jB and are kinda safe vs guard/throw/sweep, but that’s getting into the throw range at neutral or disadvantage.


For certain characters some specific options are also okay or are different but we’ll talk about them at length later:

Paul: fC, bG and nA, in that order
Nick: bG, nB is stronger
Flatskin: fC, fB, charged is more advantageous
Billy: jB and nB are different
Lewis: bC, fC
Marv: nB, nA



Now what happens at range 3:

This is very much the donkey space where it’s kinda awkward for both players to do anything

nA is the default option as the stay away from me button, loses to nC and nB, but wins every other interaction

nB beats nA, keeps the pressure going, but loses hard to fG. It’s the main option at range 3 as it really only loses to fG

fG is also good for establishing pressure, beats nB, but loses to all throws and sweeps

bB with the same logic as range 4 nB, just keeps the neutral and makes their approach unsafe.



fA trades with nB, beats throws, sweeps, and jumps, but loses to nA, nT, and bB. Still, an acceptable pressure option.

nC is pretty good as it hits if they walk in, nA, Throw, but it loses to jB, nG, fA, nB. So it’s pretty risky.

nT beats the walk-ins, but loses to nC, nB and jump-ins.

nG just beats the sweep, and stays relatively safe from everything else.



jC sideswitches now but is extremely risky as all normals are pretty good.

Character specific:

Nick: bT, nB is strong
Flatskin: charged fC
Billy: nC is better
Lewis: bC, bA, fC
Marv: jA, jC

Overall nB is the main option here to keep pressure, but definitely have to play the Yomi game to read the fG, and read the counters to fG. Jump-ins are pretty scary to attempt because of that.



Range HELL:


This is the throw range that is pure guessing.

nT beats normals and nG for a knockdown, techs with Throws for range 4, loses to jumps and bB

bB beats Throws, jumps and nA, net negatively trades with nC, loses to nB, and gives up space.

jB beats Throws and sweeps but loses to bB, nB, nA

jG just gets you away, still loses to jumps at this range



nA loses to throws and bB, but it’s very good against jumps and blocking

nG loses to throws, but doesn’t do terrible against any attacks

jT and jA as hard reads for jB or jG, still evade the throw which is good

nC beats walking away, but loses to pretty much everything else, valuable when your character is better at range 2.



fA, fT, fG on hard read them being scared of you can be effective, but they mostly lose unless you’re Billy or Paul or against Lewis.

Character specific:

Paul: nA, nB, fG
Nick: bT
Flatskin: charged b+attack
Billy: nT, nC
Lewis: bA
Marv: jA, jC



in range 5 and more there is no notable interaction, except that specifically at range 5 jB still hits for a range 3 with advantage result.

Frame advantage changes how certain things interact, thus some options beat others that they didn’t before.

Here are the cases when you get into advantage or disadvantage:

• All non special T, A, B, C on whiff give the opponent a 10f advantage
  
• Normal B on range 3 block gives the opponent a 20f advantage
  
• nC on knockdowned blocking opponents gives the opponent a 20f advantage
  Can happen on range 2 or range 3 (like after jT)
  
• nB on knockdowned gives the opponent a 20f advantage at range 2, 10f at range 3
  
• nA and jB on block give you a 10f advantage. jB can make a +10 with range 3 when done at range 5.
  
• jC on block gives the opponent a 10f advantage, can happen with resulting range 3 if done at range 5.

Character specific:

Billy nC is +10 on block

Lewis bA is -20 on block

Marv nA is -10 on block, nB varies -20 up close, -10, +10, +10; jA is +10

Paul fC varies punishable up close, -10, +10, nA is ALWAYS punishable

Flatskin fB -20 at range 4 resulting in range 3, vine on connect gives +10

Knockdown makes punishable moves -20, -20 moves -10.


So, with whiff we can have +-10 at any range. We can easily be +-10 on range 2, and rarely we get +-10 at range 3 or +-20 at range 2. And extremely rarely we have -20 on range 3.


10f advantage means just a few things for the opponent:

• nA trades with nB and loses to nA
  
• nB trades with nC and loses to nB
  
• nC loses to nC and trades with movement + C
  
• movement + A trades with nC, movement + B, and loses to nB
  
• movement + B trades with movement + C, and loses to nC
  
• movement + B trades with jB

Which usually doesn’t mean too much. But let’s take a look at the ranges:

Range 2
For the attacking side:

nT beats all but nT and bB as before, but it still very much is the main option

fA doesn’t beat the throw, but beats bB and jumps, can loop back into +10 on block or hit for a big combo


jB beats their throw break attempt and trades with bB, loses to jA, jT and bB. Important as they are way more likely to try to beat the throw

bB beats jumps and throws as before, but gives up the advantage, doesn’t beat bB

jA or jT on hard read jump only.

bC can be valuable as range 3 knockdown is for certain characters



Being on the defensive side you have to be more concerned, as any offensive option that isn’t nT is going to lose the interaction.

nT is the main option as it beats all neutral attacks and breaks their throw.

bB is the second main option that beats their throw attempt, but now it trades with jB

nG can be valuable, even losing to throws, it doesn’t do terribly against attacks


jB just avoids the throw for good damage, but loses to all attacks including their jB which is one of the main options

jT to beat their jB, it avoids the throw, and removes the disadvantage, but loses to all attacks and doesn’t yield much damage.

Character specific:

Billy: nT, jT, nC
Lewis: bC, fC
Marv: jA
Paul: nA
Nick: bT



Range 3


Range 3 stays mostly the same with 10f advantages, but still, as the one with +10:

fA beats nG, fG, and nB, if they were for some reason to do it, doesn’t really win, but also doesn’t lose.

nB beats every possible attack, but loses to fG and is disadvantaged when they do nG.

nC beats all grounded attacks and all forward + button, but it loses to nG and jump-ins.

fT beats their block, but loses to every possible attack.
jB, jA or jT on hard read jump, loses to grounded attacks.

fG for advancing in.


On the defense it’s still the donkey space for you:

bB is important, it doesn’t win much, but doesn’t really lose

nG blocks everything but the fT

fG beats their nB hard, but loses to the sweep and fT

jB or jC beat the sweep, the throw, but lose to fA, nB and their jump.


nT for a hard read them walking in, loses to sweep, nB and jump-ins

jT to beat their jump and avoid throw/sweep, loses to nB



Character specific:

Billy: nC
Lewis: bC, fC
Marv: nB, nA
Paul: nA, fC
Flatskin: fC, charged attacks



Range 4 and beyond has no significant difference from neutral except that jB wins against a jB



-20 is not a much more significant disadvantage than -10, but basically it does so:

• nA trades with nC
  
• nT loses to nA
  
• nB and movement + A trade with jB

At range 2 you are in trouble if you’re at -20. Now nT won’t beat all their attacks, but it’s still very much the main option, everything else stays very similar, just way more risky. Best advice is just bG or bB

As the one with advantage you definitely should push in with jB, nT, nA, fA or fT, if they play adequately you shouldn’t lose this interaction unless they do go for bB while you do nT or nA.


At range 3 it’s also a bit grim. The attacker’s nB beats all you could do except forward block or back + action, sweep beats you walking forward, and jumping completely loses. The hardest read you can do is bB to beat their fA and jump ins, or nT to beat just fA. But normally just choose a block direction

As the attacker you have a pretty free choice between a jump in, fA, fT, nB, fB, nC or even fC.

Knockdown is a very special state. You can’t walk, your opponent's unsafe moves become safe,and you’re also at -10 usually point blank.



As the standing player your best options are:

nT as they can’t even bB you now, it will only lose to jumps and the throw break

jB as their jump is delayed, it will lose if they decide to attack on wake up instead, or jump with a faster button

bB to beat their wake up buttons that aren’t block, trades with their B, loses advantage to their block


jT on read them jumping

nA if you think they won’t throw, keeps advantage

bC can be preferred over bB for a repeated safe knockdown at range 3



On the defense side:

nT breaks the throw and beats nA, but loses to everything else

jB also beats throw for good damage, but loses to attacks and jumps

nG if you read them reading you throw breaking, also hard beats sweep.



nA if you read them jumping and specifically jT, because otherwise…

jT to beat jump in and evade throw
Knockdown can very much happen at range 3 as well.


On the offensive side first of all set up characters can pretty safely set up for their things, but universally:

nB is safe and can’t lose

fT beats them blocking

jB continues pressure, but loses to all ground attacks.



nC is good to repeat the situation, but it loses to jumps and nG

fA continues pressure even on block, but loses to nT which depending on your character might be the preferred opponent's option.


On the defense:

nG doesn’t lose to anything but fT

nT beats any walk in attempt

nB beats jump-ins, the throw, and trades with nC



jT or jB to evade the situation with different ranks of success, can be very valuable.

And weirdly enough you can also be knockdown at range 4

This happens after Flatskin fB at range 4 or on a trade, normal B with nC, which can happen after the range 3 knockdown described above.

This one is actually not too terrible, the knockdowned person can just nB, and that would beat the opponent’s approach most of the time. Except that this mostly happens with Flatskin and other characters that benefit from being ranged.



That concludes the general neutral strategy, and now we can go exploring specific matchups.

• Nick.

Nick is the most default character in the game but he still does have a few notable gimmicks:

His bT beats grounded attacks
His moves all deal chip damage
His damage, particularly at the wall is mad

Because of that Nick wants the opponent to get cornered hard, as without specials it’s a bit hard to outneutral other characters. That doesn’t mean he has to push forward, an absolutely valid strategy is to allow himself to get cornered and then hope for a successful bT or jC. That does open him up for a read as both options are beaten by bB at range 2, nB at range 3, and by jB at any range. B is hard countered by fG and jB is beaten by nB or bB while still safe from the other B.

Vs him it’s incredibly important to understand which wall is closer, as Nick just wants to hug it no matter who’s back it is, one good guess lets him put you in the corner so you should be avoiding walls like a plague. Also remember when I said it’s sometimes preferable to just leave the donkey space, doubly so against Nick, and in no way for Nick, Nick has nothing long range except for jB which is just option-selected. That puts you in the corner, so do be careful, but remember that Nick does not want you to get away.

At range 4 it’s important for him to push for the wall and not allow gimmicks to happen. nB is incredibly strong as it beats basically any approach, but it lets certain gimmicks happen. Going rushing in with fB jB and fG is the alternative to not allow the gimmicks. That is beaten by the opponent’s nB, nC or fG, but fG is pretty risky considering the base options of Nick.

Subsequently at range 3 bB becomes an option to develop the wall while having the same B pressure as in range 4. nB is effective as it’s only beaten by fG and builds up chip. jC is important, as it’s one of the two ways to sideswitch. nB being strong makes the opponent either walk back for bB or bA, but that’s obviously disadvantageous, but if you cornered Nick it might be the best option. fG and fA beat nB and bB in a way, but because of that Nick should also go for the throws nT and bT, and that is only beaten by doing nB which gets countered by nB the base Nick option.

And in Hell Nick doesn’t really change compared to the base except that when cornered he prioritizes side switch options, so weights on the countering options are skewed.

• Paul.

Paul is very similar to the shoto archetype as:

He has a fireball-firepaul.
He has an invulnerable punishable dp

But it’s important to note that:

The fireball deals a lot of chip damage
You can dash block it
The dp has no range

Paul capitalizes hard on you not being at the donkey space but being either up close or far away, him having an invulnerable option at range 2 skews the risk reward in his favor, you can’t do a jump in attack, nor you can just do a throw to be safe. You have to heavily utilize bB to punish his attempts to dp you. You can read it and block it, but Paul knows how risky the dp is, bB is the safest bet. It loses to Paul’s nB, but you can mitigate that with blocking, but then you won’t get to punish the throw attempt, you could stay in and block both nA and nB, but then you get thrown. That’s why the Paul zone is such a bad zone.

At range it’s all about reading walk in vs jump in, if Paul thinks walk in - firepaul, if jump - nB. Seems like too much of a guessing game, but this one is absolutely net negative for Paul, he can only get a few chip shots in before you get to the donkey space where you have an even upperer hand, as the basic options are really good for you at range 3-4.

At range 4 Paul’s heavy option is his fC, on hit it knockdowns, which guarantees a wake up mix up between fC and fB, on block it heavily chips, it’s only -10 if they fG, and it’s 40f which means it will lose to fB if it’s all neutral, but if you have +10 over them it’s gonna trade for a heavy Paul advantage. It still hard loses to jB, so Paul does have to switch up options. nA is really bad, as if they fG, a good option against the firepaul, or fB, they get a full punish, thus nB is a bit more optimal. On the other side you want to get in, fG, fB are great at that, jB if you hard read the firepaul. It’s not really worth it for either side to get greedy or deeper on the Yomi levels f.e to fT. But it is worth it for both parties to do fG, thus fT may still be valuable.

And once in the donkey space it’s finicky to do anything, at range 3 Paul doesn’t have a safe nA, nor he can walk in and dp, throwing does nothing, and the opponent is pretty free to do neutral B all day long unless you forward block, which is usually an acceptable risk.

At knockdowns Paul is pretty strong, range 4 is a pure 50/50 between firepaul and fB as mentioned, and at range 3 (after nA) it’s a bit weaker as nB beats firepaul.

• Flatskin.

Flatskin takes a bit of inspiration from Chun Li, but she also has the vines that make her a unique character.

fC now charges up Vines which are spent every time A B or C is used in turn, including another fC. The Vines appear at her range 3 and if they connect with the opponent she becomes +10 on block, and knocks down on stray hit. The Charge is also lost when she gets hit, and isn’t gained if she is hit out of the charging
Anti-air combos knock the opponents down
fB is lightning feet which is an unsafe at range 2-3 slow move that hits a huge area and anti-airs which compromises Flatskin not having normal fB and fC. it also knocks down on hit.
Bonus damage on counter hit

All in all she’s a pretty standard character, she’s the best at ranges 3-5. She gets a lot done when the vines are charged, but it’s really hard to keep them charged, you have to do them over and over again to keep up the wall. But the wall is jumpable unless you are at range 5 (or range 4 with Billy), and it does nothing if you are already inside. But it does do some good work.

While not charged at range 4 it’s a good option to charge it only loses to jump ins, but whatever they do otherwise is only good for her (unless it’s a mirror). fB Lightning feet are also extremely good at the roundstart – safe and they beat every other option, only lose to fG. But that paints a huge target on her back as the opponent’s primary options against her at range 4 are the jB and fG, a safe counterplay for Flatskin would be nA or fA – getting aggressive herself, but she does need to set up the vines to be overall on par with other characters. Her doing a nC is good to prevent people from walking in before they are allowed to, but it still loses to jump. You have to rush her so she cannot do her strong moves, and in range 2 she’s just average

If she is charged at range 4 it’s a chicken game, she can just fB for a +10 lightning feet with huge chip if you fG, anti air knockdown if you jump, you can only back up, but that means she’s safe to recharge the vine, so you can jump, but she also can decide not to spend the vine yet, it’s all good outcomes for Flatskin. Backing out may seem like a good option, but she can also jump in for that and deal chip.

At range 3 it’s the standard donkey space game if there is no vine charge, it’s good for her to get a range 3 knockdown for an easier vine set up, so doing nA or nT is not as important for her opponent than just keeping with fA nB and jB, nG is good to punish the sweep, but it just lets her do her thing for free.

While charged Flatskin can charge again for continued pressure, which is beaten by just walking forward and doing anything, that can be countered by nT that wouldn’t cause vine, nA that will waste one of the things, nB that would lose to fG, bB reading them walking in, and if you think not rushing her down and backing out is an option, it kinda is, but it just again lets Flatskin do her thing, fB is also still an option for her.

• Lewis.

Lewis is a DeGrey/Slayer kind of character with the backstep for his specials which turns a lot of ranges in his favor, but it’s scary to use his stuff as it’s punishable.

bA is basically an evading nA, it’s safe unless the opponent fG at range 0, which shouldn’t happen without a read
bC is an always blockable sweep with evasion, very punishable. Should be used to avoid normals on a read
fC is an extended sweep that always puts you in range 0 on connect, often the better normal call out than bC as this one is only punishable onG.
Receives additional chip damage.

Lewis excels at ranges 2-3 where his back steps deal significant headaches. At range 4 he threatens his sweep but also not much else, the sweep is beaten by jumping and nG. Counterplaying that Lewis might fA or jB himself, but jA and jT are good options as well as Lewis just wants to get into the range 2-3. So the opponent should prioritize neutral blocking (as range 2 is still a space of Hell), bB, or fB to interrupt the sweep and jump, he might fG to counter that though, it’s a good option for him.

At range 3 bC is strong as it beats nA, fA, nB, nT, fT, the basic donkey space stuff. But it loses hard to blocking, jumping and fB, to mitigate that he can do the safer bA, but this one doesn’t actually hit standing in place, but it’s so much safer from everything else, the opponent can only fG to prevent Lewis from looping the move. that puts the opponent into +20, and while +20 at range 2 is terrible, Lewis still has the backstep, it’s just bA and bC now lose to nB and nC which are scary to use at range 2. Can also fG to make both steps punishable, but that’s even scarier at range 2.

And you can do pretty much nothing about that. He’s going to be very scary to guess against at range no matter what. Except… if you push him to the wall, then his backstep doesn’t happen, so pushing with fG is very important.

• Billy.

Billy is the grappler of the game with his tool set built to be crazy good at range 2.

nT is unbreakable, beats other throws and deals combo damage
nC is a safe +10 sweep
Billy wins trades
Moves are slow, nA is as slow as standard nC and jumps are short

Billy breaks neutral as we know it as he really just wants hugs.

Range 2 is mad skewed unless it’s Billy vs Paul. nT beats throws, but results in range 3 knockdown. The only two ways for the opponent to deal with it are bB and jB. As Billy’s normals aren’t very fast it’s hard to deal with either, for bB Billy must do fG, against jB nA beats it, but it loses to bB, bA trades and wins but gives up the precious space. Because of that Billy is weirdly open to throws. nT is a hard read, and you can’t walk back and throw, but you have to throw when they read you doing bB or jB

At range 3 Billy struggles. nB against him is extra strong as billy can’t win the interaction except with fG. Because of that, the opponent's nT becomes strong, but also just backing out with bG or bB, although Billy does want to corner you. These options also open up Billy to do the nC, and the advantage gained from that is enough for you not to be able to B or T anymore, you can only back out from Billy’s nB or walk into Hell.

And at range 4 the only real thing Billy can do is fG to push in, loses to sweeps and hard read fT, so alternatively jumping is good, but that is beaten by the default option of nB.

• Marv.

Marv breaks neutral even further with his super long normals that while feel like Dhalsim, do not have the long hurtbox. He’s strong at keeping opponent’s out, but he’s extra vulnerable to hard head jump ins

nA is an anti-air long strike that knocks down
nB is a 4 square long poke that pushes the opponents on hit and chips on block
jA is a backwards jump with ground hitting hitbox
jC evades nB

Range 4 starts with the immediate mix up between nB and nA and the opponent simply must comply. Best they can is fG and it’s a good option to develop pressure, but the chip does build up over time. jB is a good hard read for nB, and Marv is going to go for nB way more than nA, but that’s definitely risky. Marv in order to counter the walking in (nB is at disadvantage if you fG) just do nC to get a very valuable knockdown at range 3, but jB beats that as well.

Range 3 has interesting play. Marv can’t really do the long arms as you can interrupt with nB. So for Marv the options are either walk out or walk in. Walking out with bG, bA or jA is good when the corner is not close, but when it is you have to engage with Hell. fG beats nB, fT beats their throw attempt, jC beats nB and side switches. The opponent can nT on hard read you walking in, or bB to beat the jump in or walk in attempt, but that obviously gives up space. Walking in with fG, fA or even jB is also extremely good as it again develops the corner and doesn’t let Marv do his thing

And in Range 2 Marv has no extra tools to deal with you, moreover his nB and nA are much slower and give much less reward. He only has jA and jC to deal with your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. So try hard reading jumps more than throwing.





That concludes the basic character strategies and now the juicy part where gimmicks meet gimmicks.

Everything further is subject to change as the meta actually progresses, for the current revision of the document it’s all from just the few existing matches and mainly from the deep analysis of available options.

Nick being the most standard character is the most appropriate to start the match up specific talk.

Nick vs Nick.

This matchup is the purest form of Mega knockdown neutral. Literally all the strategies described in non character specific sections apply. The only difference is that all B moves are stronger, and because of that fG is stronger.

Nick vs Flatskin.

Nick’s main goal here is to pressure Flatskin into the corner and not let her do the vines. In the corner she has no choice but to block your B, and that’s what it is all about. But it’s important to distinguish between her having the charge or having not.

At roundstart Nick has to prioritize getting in. fB is a great option as it beats Flatskin’s fB hard and she wants to use her fB at range 4 because it’s safe from that distance. It also beats jumps and her fC charge, it loses to her fG which she generally should avoid there, and to nC which she is likely to use. Because of that jB is a strong priority as well, it beats fC, nC and Blocks, and loses to fB and nB.

Flatskin might choose to be more aggressive though anticipating Nick’s aggression. nC, nB, fG all work as great responses to Nick’s fB and jB, and at center stage she is just as good at footsies as Nick is, and it does turn into a Nick vs Nick match up. If anything she’s stronger as her anti airs knock down which setups for her checkmate. For Nick in that case it’s good to still engage, but now instead of fB he should use fG or fT.

If she does have the charge while at range 4 it’s very good for her to use fB to beat literally anything Nick could do, he can only bG or nG at best. But for Flatskin it’s losing the charge, so she’s also inclined to just repeat fC, which would beat any grounded approach, except for jB. And that’s the mix up, if Nick doesn’t want to risk with jB but still wants to get a better situation, fG is the preferred option, even though you get chipped and -10, you still get into Nick's territory, and -10 at range 3 is not that bad.

At range 3 and 2 without charge Flatskin acts just with basics, she does prioritize the knockdown options, like bC, her goal is to not let Nick into range 2 and corner her. If she does feel that she’s being cornered instead of donkey spaced, jC is good, and with the +10 advantage from the vine nC is good as it trades with nB, and if not, fG is great to beat nB. For Nick it’s good to either advance to the corner or spam nB (bB at range 2) as she can’t do much about it except fG. Advancing with fG, fA, jB is alright, but it’s important to remember that all of that is ON TOP of the basic neutral described in the first chapters

If Flatskin is charged at range 3 it’s not as good for her as you might think. Advancing forward completely avoids any vine, so you can fT if she spams fC, fA if she spams fC or wants to catch you with nB, or jumps, jB works well too. She might get aggressive and for that you want to stay Blocking, or even nT, but that’s a read. For Flatskin it is an advantageous position as she knows the opponent should do something to advance, to force that will to advance Flatskin should repeat the fC which builds up chip, if they do advance nT is great at stopping them walking, but it loses to jumps and nB if they really read you doing that, nA would also beat jumps which is a huge bonus. bC is extra good, nB or fB is a bit of a read, but great for chip and jumps. With the +10 vine advantage you can also get aggressive with fA or fT.

Charged range 2 is pretty useless except for one key detail that Nick can’t bB without risk, and Flatskin doesn’t have to fG to beat it, but you only have one charge, and once that’s gone it’s all standard throw range shenanigans.

Very important to remember not to jump at charged Flatskin from range 5, just don’t..

With knockdowns Flatskin is scary, fB is now safe, and from ranges 3 and 4 you can do nothing about it, you just have to block it or use nB (range 3), and she can use that against you with a jump in, walk in throw if knd is range 3, nC, fC, fA. You just have to accept that and guess with nA or nB, any other option is either just too risky or doesn’t yield more reward than nA or just blocking. And with charge you just have to block and Flatskin has to fC. In range 2 Flatskin is no stronger than usual. And she gets no special options out of her knockdown.

Pushing her to the wall is rewarding as her only real option is fG or jC against your nB.

Nick vs Paul.

This matchup is troublesome for Paul as Nick’s bB is incredibly strong against him.

At range 4 Nick is highly prioritized to fB as it beats all the special Paul options, but Paul can absolutely beat that with fG, nC, nB. fG is actually one of the main Paul tools in the matchup, as he just gotta beat the B spam. Nick can also go for jB to beat the block and the sweep, and Paul’s fC which he can also potentially use in range 4. fG is alright, bG is good in the strategy to do a jB after that, as Paul in inclined to do the fireball at range 5.

And at ranges 2-3 it’s all about landing those B’s on Paul, bB at close range, nB at range 3, put some bC or nC to stop them from block punishing you. Paul can pray they are doing the throw mix up and attempt nA, but it’s ultimately futile, you have to make them engage with the mix up by punishing the B’s with fG, nB and nG (in case they sweep)

At further ranges Paul freely chooses between fC and nA, he doesn’t have to go in while Nick absolutely does.

Nick vs Lewis.

Nick acts very turtly in this matchup, he pretty much always goes for fG. That makes Lewis’s sweeps very strong, but also acting with more risk, fT, nT, nG, nA are incredibly important to play especially on wake up. And Nick does want that wall extra hard to prevent backstepping

At range 4 it’s anyone’s game, pretty much standard Mega Knockdown, no reason for any of the players to heavily push in nor out.

At range 3 though we get into a tough spot for Nick, his attacks just don’t reach Lewis backstep, and Lewis can just bA all day, Nick just has to fG for which Lewis answers with sweeps and throws, and Nick just kinda has to accept that, jumping is risky, not progressing is bad, nB is a response that beats sweeps and throws, but doesn’t get you any closer, and is beaten by a risky but rewarding bC.

And at range 2 though Nick gets back, fG now punishes all backsteps, nB as well, nT as the standard mixup and it’s great, Lewis must use his backsteps or punish the fG and nB with nT and nA. And Nick can read that with the classic bB. And once at the wall, nobody can save you, Lewis.

Lewis doesn’t get too much advantage in this match up, just lucky shots, he will get a knockdown once in a while, but bC is always punishable, so he can’t capitalize extra on the knockdowns.

Nick vs Billy.

Nick gets to dunk on Billy a lot. nB chips, so getting advantage with it and just staying out of range is a legitimate strategy.

At range 4 Billy can literally only fG against Nick’s nB, and only blocked B being +20 at range 3 he can contest Nick with a sweep or a kick, or jB. Nick can contest that by using nB (nA actually doesn’t hit far enough). But Billy can just continue pressuring with fG. A significant guess for Nick can also be to jC to sideswitch. Billy only needs 3 good guesses to kill.

At range 3 without advantage fG is really the main thing Billy wants to use, that or nA/nB in case of a jump in or a sneaky throw attempt. Nick wants either to bB or jC, no need for anything else. In case of a knockdown it is pretty scary, nB should be prioritized with nT or jB on back up, surprisingly that works for either player in knockdown at range 3.

And at range 2 jG works just fine for anyone to jump out of Billy’s mix up. But on knockdown it’s a pure guessing game described in the Billy breakdown.

Billy is not completely useless, he has the health and damage to outperform, but it’s hard.

Nick vs Marv.

At ranges 4 Marv absolutely just chooses between nA or nB, and Nick either jB, fG or fB. Buut Marv can choose to be aggressive and try to play more standard with fG or fA as they beat fB hard, but he really doesn’t have to do that unless already close to the corner.

At ranges 3 and 2 Marv has to play in a more standard way, except he doesn’t have access to a fast nA or a fast nB, but he has significant tools to escape the situation with jA being just a better jG, and jC evading nB, but that’s on top of the standard strategies, Marv just has ways to escape doing that, but he does have to engage with close combat either way. Nick just has to keep the pressure up, no bB at range 3, and deprioritize nB at range 3 in the corner. At range 2 - go ham, but don’t forget the throw still beats attacks.

At range 5 and onwards Marv can pretty much freely choose nA vs nB and win no matter what Nick chooses, well, Nick can jB at range 5, but it’s going to leave Nick at range 4; and from range 6 jB just doesn’t combo.

Paul vs Paul.

Actually the most advised pick for the Paul zone achievement.

The chicken game is hard here. Firepaul cancels itself, and nA doesn’t trade.

At range 4 it’s all about picking between firepaul, jB, and fB, as getting advantage early on usually means advantage for the whole game. fG, nB are absolutely not worth it, only maybe fG if you really really read the fB. But fC should be the first priority, you should play around that move as it really is the strongest.

At range 3 it’s standard anti-paul but double sided, both want to get that nA punish. nB is not as valuable now, as both players want to land it, and it will put them at range 5, horrible guessing game, fG is extremely valuable as it punishes nB and nA, because of that nT and nC are good, and because of that jB becomes alright, and that wraps around making nA or nB okay. Risky though, but if you nA while they nT it becomes safe. Only use nA on a hard read, its threat is important, but overusing it leads to losing.

At range 2 it’s a chicken game again, lasting for a few turns until one of the parties either does a successful nA, or fails at it spectacularly. Getting thrown is also common, bB is still really good. The knockdown at range 2 is only different from standard in that nA exists, but otherwise everything from the first chapters applies.

At knockdown range 3, the common one, fC is not a strong oki, you can and should use it, but it will lose to jB and nB. You should rather fG, fA or nB instead. The one getting up, you should nB, jB or nT. Maybe just nG is enough as the opponent is also likely to back out with the advantage, but do be careful against fC and be extremely confident if you want to do a nA.

Paul vs Flatskin.

Flatskin can’t just fC at round start now, and it’s risky for her to charge at any stage except when already charged, so Paul better not let her.

At range 4 Flatskin should prioritize jB and fG over fC, also fB trades with firepaul for a double knockdown which is a soft reset with pushback, but now Flatskin can’t move (no fB nor jB) while firepaul still very much reaches. So it’s very much fC vs nB vs fB for Paul, and jB vs fG vs fC for Flatskin. Paul might also add a nC on a fG read.

If Flatskin managed to charge she can just continue as the vines block firepauls, and Paul can either take it with fG, or jB to punish. fC is pretty much useless now, you have to do something. Flatskin should stay charged for as long as Paul doesn’t get in, you only have one safe read with nB, nA or especially fB, make it count.

At range 3 it’s all back to the donkey space and should be played pretty much normally with the weights adjusted for Paul’s nA. With charge Flatskin can afford to do riskier strats like bC, fB, nT, fT. For Paul the answers are blocking in either of the three directions, maybe fA, jB, on a huge read nA.

And point blank it’s standard procedures with anti-Paul, Flatskin doesn’t have special tools there. Buut if she’s charged smh she can do the hardest unrewarding read ever utilizing the least used action in the entire game - jG, if Paul moves forward, the vines connect, and that’s it. jG evades nA which is a plus, but that read is better spent on a nT or bA.

With knockdowns it’s very much Paul’s game, at range 2 he always has the nA, no matter the party on the ground. At range 3, to avoid Fightning Feet or Firepaul the one waking up can use nB to beat it consistently, but they might read that and fG, but the specials are the first option. Flatskin can also jump the firepaul with jB which doesn’t exactly win against fG either. Important to remember that Flatskin charged with range 3 knockdown can safely do fB with no issues for huge chip at the very worst.

Paul vs Lewis.

Does not really change much compared to Nick vs Lewis, Lewis dominates the range 2 just as much as Paul does, and they both have to do their thing. fC is surprisingly effective. Being 40f fast it beats Lewis bA when at 20f advantage, and bC when at neutral (trades at range 2 though).

And at range 4 onwards Lewis can’t do his thing with safely doing bA, he has to do the Nick thing and get in.

Paul vs Billy.

Paul’s nA nullifies Billy’s nT advantage completely, and being so slow makes it incredibly hard for Billy to do anything, jB now only works to beat firepaul at range 4 and closer, fB doesn’t beat firepaul either at range 4. Incredibly grim for Billy.

Paul vs Marv.

Important match up to remember the intricacies of. The key is to remember Marv nB is 30f fast which is 10f faster than firepaul. So doing those for Paul is straight up only on read at ranges closer than 6 without advantage, with advantage it becomes a trade though that knocks down only Marv. Thus empty jumps with jG can be really valuable to gain that advantage. But standard anti-Marv with jB and fG still applies. bG is okay too, as at range 6 Paul can do the fireballs safely.

At range 3 it’s tempting for Paul to do nB, but no, for Marv it’s better to back out or try to cross up with jC which evades nB. It’s actually really weird as a lot of moves are half effective, the standard Paul game applies, but Marv nA beats a ton of stuff (fA, fT, jumps, fB), but Paul nA beats Marv’s nA. Marv nB, while not as damaging, still punishes Paul’s nA and it’s actually safe now. Because of that Paul fG is not that strong now, but still important to get into range 2. fC is now okay too if Marv is going to punish you for walking in or nA, it does lose to nB, but it’s a good reward. Almost all moves are pretty good options, even jG, for Paul, and Marv plays at slight disadvantage, has to guess way more, and the rewards are not very good, even though he’s safer with nB.

And in range 2 it’s the absolute standard Paul game with significant Marv’s disadvantage.

With knockdown it’s basically just +10 for the winning party. Standard anti paul and Marv gameplay if Marv does the knockdown, and if Marv is down at range 2 jC does evade a nB which is not likely to happen anyway, and in range 3 it doesn’t, otherwise all the same as normal.

Flatskin vs Flatskin.

Range 5 and further – choose fC or jB, no reason not to.

Range 4. fC is weakened due to fB being strong, but that is hard beaten by fG, which is beaten by nC, on which you can compromise with nG, on read can also just fC again, fB, or even jB, which does lose to fB. If one of the Flatskins is knockdowned it’s the standard choice again between fC and fB, but the knockdowned Flatskin has the choice to fB to call out the charge. To beat that hard and develop more pressure the standing player can also jB instead of fB, but fB is very good.

If you gain advantage you might be tempted to fB, but that’s not good, as blocking just works, instead you should pressure with jB (20f advantage only or nC call out), fT, fG or use the advantage to fC. As the opponent you should be trying to save face and either go in with fG, fT or stay back and refuse their advances with nC, nA or nB. If you are only at a 10f disadvantage fB is also an option.

Charge does not make much difference compared to say Nick, but still, charging allows the opponent to charge too, and in addition fB beats charged attacks at range 4.

At ranges 3 and 2 the mirror match is not much different from any other without charge. Maybe you can get away with an occasional fB or fC, but the basic footsies game with nB, nG, fG persists. No huge reason to do a bB at range 3 though, nC or bC is usually better. bG is alright but makes fB safe at range 3 and lets them charge. Important to remember that you can’t forward sweep nor forward kick. Range 2 is straight up basic even with charge.

With charge at range 3 if only one Flatskin has charge it’s the basic Nick vs Flatskin dynamic except you are okay with them coming to range 2. If both have it it’s optimal for the one with life lead to back out which works well as the other Flatskin can do nothing to hard beat that except to chip with fB. If you do think they will do that you can go in and fG, nC or fA. Advantage doesn’t make much difference as fB is slow (35f), at 10f advantage it beats nC, at 20f it also beats nB and fA.

Flatskin vs Lewis.

A bit of a tough match up, the vines work best with stationary opponents that try to go in, while Lewis constantly backsteps. At range 4 Lewis is allowed to do a bC as it beats fB, but not high priority, Flatskin wants to get the charge before Lewis gets in, so fC is high priority, and Lewis does want to get in before Flatskin can xone him out, so fG, fB, jB, standard Nick stuff, but also fC is big.

With charge it’s also standard Nick stuff for Lewis, but Lewis can really afford to take his time and plan for time out, eventually the charge is going to run out or Flatskin is going to be predictable for a jump in.

At range 3 Flatskin must take the role of Nick and just get in, do the fG, fA, jB, etc. If she has charge, fB, fA work alright, fB still loses to Lewis bA but with an acceptable loss. Lewis can pretty much party though, no matter the charge, can backstep, can fG, can nT, nG, jB – everything is okay.

And at range 2 Flatskin is again just weaker Nick, so Lewis gets all the hits he needs with the only downside that the specials don’t deal huge damage while being punishable. If Flatskin does have the charge just backstepping wouldn’t work, but then the standard range 2 is great.

Also Lewis is prone to getting cornered in the match up, and Flatskin should capitalize on that.

Flatskin vs Billy.

Billy still struggles to get in, he has to read hard when Flatskin is going to charge, as she really wants to do that, but also Billy’s normals are extremely slow, his fB is 50f compared to range 4 Flatskin fB. Once she gets the charge, it’s even harder for Billy to get in, his jump is not good enough at range 4 against the vines, and Billy can only really block if he’s knockdowned.

At range 3 it’s a bit scarier for Flatskin as it starts working as Nick vs Billy, with charge you still have the vines to protect, bB is good, and jC to switch sides, but it’s okay. And at range 2 it is just Nick vs Billy.

Flatskin vs Marv.

Flatskin just must play Nick and get in before she gets punished for setting things up, no notable interactions, Fightning Feet loses to nB unless Flatskin has a 10 or better frame advantage.

You may have noticed the sections are becoming short, the reason for that is that most of the strategy is described before, and not to repeat myself I am just mentioning the new stuff unique to the matchup.

Billy vs Billy.

All the negatives and positives cancel each other, and this becomes pretty much as standard as it goes. The command throw breaks with the command throw, jumps are still only 1 tile long, and jB trades with nB because the normal penalty is only applied on the ground.

Lewis vs Lewis.

Also a matchup that is fairly close to standard, with the exception that bA is a sort of replacement for bB. Both players really want to corner each other, but also both have the struggle to hit each other’s backsteps. At range 3 bC beats bA, but it’s beaten by blocking, at range 2 bA wins, so no good reason to prefer bC over it.

Marv vs Marv.

This is a weird one. Normally hitting the hand of nB doesn’t work, but in this match up it very much does, and nB trades with itself at range 8!

This matchup is about one Marv deciding they are not playing Marv and go in with a hard read jB and then do the close range stuff hoping to outsmart. Important not to forget that neither nB kick attack nor nA jab are available, but also nA does knockdown and hits grounded at range 1 and thus wins the trade with fA.

Billy vs Lewis.

Billy’s signature command throw - useless. Just like with Paul, Lewis can just evade it even on knockdown with the backsteps, and Billy has to incorporate fG at range 2 heavily because of that. Cornering is extra important and not made harder by anything, Lewis has nothing to gain extra advantage for a jC.

Billy vs Marv.

Billy has to get in and for Marv it’s no easy task to keep Billy out. Billy has the hp to power through blocking nB, and the threat of range 2 to scare Marv away from going in. It’s not useless for Marv, he can build up the damage, and nC is important. jA prevents Billy from attempting an anti-air attempt too often, and thus jC to switch sides is good. Billy also can’t effectively jump over, which is a big plus for keeping at nB.

Lewis vs Marv.

Marv nB beats the backstep so Lewis has to play the Nick in the match up, none of his gimmicks give him an edge at a far range, but in close combat Lewis can do the back steps because doing nB for Marv is risky. Marv jA is incredibly important as it beats the steps and builds range.