Yeah, alright, I'll field this one. As some of you probably suspected wink
Ah...Angel. My favorite character. If you plan on being effective with Angel, be prepared to put in a lot of work! I have spent more time with this character in the last 2 years than any other character, except for maybe Terry b/c he is a sentimental favorite wink So anyway, here we go!
First off, if you are the type of player that relies on DM's to gain an advantage in matches, change your mind set. Angels DM's are great to watch and fun to do, but they take a back seat to the rest of her arsenal. Unlike many other characters, Angels DM's are actually not really that useful in real combat situations shame Her true strength lies in her ability to pressure opponents and make them turtle long enough for you to take control of the match! Always keep in mind that Angel is a pressure oriented, offensive character.
If you are forced to play in a defensive posture with her remember that her only reliable anti-airs are, standing D, and of course The Unidentified Victim Consciousness (b,dp->B/D). Both of those moves are good counters to an air pressure game in close. If the opponent is ranging you and you see a jump coming use Red Sky of Japanezia (hcb->B/D) to escape and re-position yourself for a counter strike or even just overall better position. If you are forced into playing a defensive game with Angel, this should never last longer than a couple of seconds at most. If it does you are in a good position to lose the match. Keep in mind that Angel MUST control the pace and flow of the match or you will probably get waxed! She is first and foremost an offensive character!!
The previous 2 paragraphs were general advice on the manner in which Angel should be played. The following will be specific strategies in specific situations that should be used.
IN THE AIR
Angel does not accel in the air shame Her jump is quick and her D has decent priority when the opponent is on the ground, BUT, when in an air to air situation, she is vulnerable. To counter the possibility of being air thrown and generally dominated in the air, remember to use her At The Wasteland (d+D). This move has decent enough priority to at least trade hits with most other moves in the game and it has a very decently sized hitbox! This is important b/c it cuts down on how accurate you must be with it. Basically it is a very forgiving move and will serve you well when off the ground.
THROWING
Angels throws have excellent priority for a charater of her type. Unless up against some of the stronger grapplers (Goro, Shermi, Maxima, etc.), you should almost always have an advantage when in close! This does not include her Mad Murder Roulette (rdp+B/D) command throw, which suffers from a smaller pixel grab range
Some of the characters that I have had trouble against when trying to play a throw based offense b/c of priority are; Mai, 'K, Mary, and Leona.
PRESSURING
This is the
BREAD AND BUTTER of your offense. Learn it well. Angel does not range well at all. She lacks a projectile or even a long range standing attack that can compensate for one. She is however quick and tricky, a deadly combination! Always try to be within 2 character lengths or less of your opponent. This is where you will find that Angel excels to the fullest. Any opponent will eventually learn how her moves hit and how they must block or counter them. But at first you have a considerable advantage b/c of the high/low games that she plays wink Make sure to mix it up often so that your opponent can not catch on as quickly to your strategy, be creative!
The best way to describe how to stay in close is probably to list some combos that will help you confuse and pressure.
standing A, crouching B, df+D, d+A, f,f->A/C
qcb+A, d+A/C, f,f->B/D
f->B, df->B, f->B/D, qcf->C
same as above, finish with qcf->A
Jump in D, standing C, b,f->B/D, d->B/D, qcf->A
There are many more that you will discover with practice!
WHEN FORCED TO PLAY FULL SCREEN
Not ideal, but possible. The main objective of the match here would be to bait your opponent in, to knock them down, and give yourself time to get back in close and resume pressure! The best way to do this is with delayed moves such as A Full Moon Evening (chain circle finisher f,f->C) and Cosmic Futen Swing (chain circle finisher qcf->A). To do this you must first make it appear as if you are in the middle of a combination of moves that you can not get out of, thus making it look as if you are commited. Then, BAM, clock 'em with the finisher! Examples would be as follows. Done at more than 1/2 a screens distance from opponent.
qcb->A, f->B/D, f,f->C
b,f->B/D, d->B/D, qcf->A
CROSSING UP
Surprisingly Angels cross-up strength is NOT in her jump in cross-up's like most other characters
The best cross-up that she posseses is actually her ground move Beyond The Flames (hcf+B/D)
This move is best used when in close (surprise, surprise) and immediatly following a short combo that has the opponent somewhat hesitant to move. The way that this works is that after the last hit of your combo connects, you do a hcf->B/D, when you are next to the opponent hit either f->A,B,C,D. The best use of this that I have discovered is the following combo...
hcf->B, f->A/C (crosses up), Loyalty Test For The Liberalists (b,dp->A/C)
This combo is one of the few times that I belive it is safe to use a DM with Angel and not possibly get punished for it.
I believe that these cover most of the basics with Angel. Just remember that she takes a ton of patience and practice (I believe more than any other character), to become effective with. Stick with it and you will be pleased with the result.
Feel free to ask any other questions if you have them
Q-
Edit: Make sure that Angel DOES NOT anchor your team. When in a close match or down by a character you do not want Angel at the plate. Not b/c she is not a good character but b/c she is not particularly strong and her DM's are not reliable enough to play catch up with. I usually put her first as a battery b/c she builds meter extremely quickly if you can work in a lot of chain circle combos!
<small>[ June 09, 2003, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: qube ]</small>
, but you know? I'm feeling lucky getting here.
glee drool
