Anti-Cammy Tactics

[Bookie]

This is my first post here, so if the thread's topic is too narrow, I apologize. I've tried searching the boards, but I have yet to come across anything that really helps out against Cammy. I saw where other people had asked in the Akuma's match-up threads, but there weren't really any tactics forthcoming.

I've been with the SF series since SFII, and I was a Ken scrub in Alpha + SF3:3S. When I saw a fairly well-balanced Akuma here in IV, I thought I'd give it a shot, and I turned out to have a knack for it (mostly due to an ability to land counter-Demons and FADC combos for some burst down). But -Cammy- -kicks- -my- -ASS-. HARD.

It's pretty much always the same thing that busts my chops: Cannon Drill + Cannon Spike. If you block, the Spike pushes her back to the point where a quick kick is about the best you can land on her; at that point, her chip damage is very close to the damage you caused to her. A standing MK can snuff the Drill, but the timing is very strict; even if you know exactly when the enemy is going to drill, I don't really think it is worth the risk. If you take any normal hits, you are suddenly behind the game, and she wears you down with chip damage.

Keep away tactics of mixed strength air and ground fireballs are met with Spin Knuckles and Ex Drills, and she covers ground quickly enough that the teleport is only marginally useful.

Pressure tactics have pretty much failed so far, too, as the Spike has (seemingly) ridiculous priority. Successful pressure may damn well be the key, but I haven't managed to advance without losing chunks and chunks of health. And I'm sure I don't have to mention this, but I will- hit trades are straight losses. Cannon Strike vs DP, CS wins.

My only wins so far have come from dash fakes and FAs to bait and punish Drills, but the range in which this is effective is also the range where the Cammy player is tempted to Spin Knuckle, and that breaks armor. I would kill for the ability to parry. FADCs have had moderate success. Generally, if I win a round on (a good) Cammy, it comes down to landing both Super and Ultra in the same round by countering missed Supers / Ultras / Cannon Strikes / Spikes, etc.

The only other somewhat useful tactic I have found is jumping straight up when she jumps in for a Cannon Strike, and landing on her with a big combo. This usually works about once per Cammy user (but to good effect on that one occasion).

So how about it? Is this really just a crap shoot gamble, or does someone have some brilliant anti-hot-buns strategy? Her ass is nice, and I'd really like to spank it for a change if possible. I'm fairly new to playing Akuma, but I am not unfamiliar with him; I feel like I've tried everything and run into a brick wall made of British buttcheek. Please HALP.

Bookie

[Shin_Akuma_]

All I can say is that her canon drill and spike are punishable on block with Ultra. I would refrain from using his Super unless it would kill her and end the match. 3 stocks from your Super meter is all you need to do a decent amount of damage against anyone. His combos do alot more damage then his Super does so keep this in mind when facing everyone.

[Bookie]

Yeah, I would rather land big combos than the super, but the point is that Cammy's speed, priority, and the safety of a lot of her moves prevent me from getting big combo opportunities. What I'm looking for are ideas on combo setups v. Cammy so that I don't end up relying on the Super like a tool : /

Later, I'm going to see if any of Akuma's regulars will trump the Spike from directly above if thrown early; if they will, that would allow up jump Drill dodges followed by a stuffed spike, and maybe a combo. I doubt it's going to work, but I'm going to try that next.

Do you have any good tactics to land solid combos on her, or is it going to come down to pure mind games to make her whiff Spikes?

[BenD the Truth]

Sadly, Cammy is one of the reasons why I question Akuma's all-around ability in the game. I honestly don't have an answer for her either on top of what Shin said because her Canon Spike rocks me every time (I can deal with the drill ok). My only guess would be to try and mix it up with Demon Flip and try to catch her off-guard to get combo's in while using it as a starter.

[IceTrap]

I have had zero trouble with cammy. My roomie plays here quite a bit and he may not be the best at the game but he can play her decent.

Cannon Drill - if you can bait it, just throw right after the second hit if it is the long version and first for the short, or FA through the short version into big combo. Fireball > FADC also works but blows meter if you don't bait it.

Cannon Spike - dash throw seems to work for me when i block it, or Demon.

Overall I play a lockdown game with cammy, there is a sweetspot that I like to get in, just outside her spike range, and lead in with air LP fireballs from there. With that you have something to trade with the spike and then it is all about mixups and pressure.

[Vandal_Hearts]

Dash throw eh? That sounds perfect. I'll have to give it a shot. Other than that, I haven't found a true blue way to fully punish except with an Ultra, or like, a sweep. If on the occasion you block a cannon drill spaced too close, you must stand up (provided you crouched block) and then you can hit her with a BnB HP -> LK Tatsu -> HP Shoryu.

Do you guys think a Fierce DP would at least smack Cammy out the air after a blocked Cannon spike? I gotta give this a try.

[Bookie]

You can throw a blocked drill without getting spiked? I'll try that out; if it works, I won't have any more trouble out of her either. Everytime I've tried to punish a drill on block to this point, I've eaten spikes. I'll try it out later, thanks.

As for the Fierce DP after a blocked spike, she'll probably hit the ground before you do, but it's worth a shot anyway.

[Bookie]

I tested the throw following drill tactic; you get spiked out of your throw, so that's a bust.

The best I have come up with is mixing up FBs, Red FBs, and Air FBs to limit her drill and knuckle attempts. Looks like the drill -> spike combo is better avoided than blocked. Flip Kicks are another way I've found to avoid it while positioning to punish, although you have to be mindful of spacing.

Against a good Cammy, it seems like the key is keep away / get ahead on health to make her push the issue. It's good to mix her up where you can, but the priority has to be on not eating spikes. Once you have Ultra, it's fine to block a spike just to land the demon, of course... which will probably make them shy off the spikes. If it does, it's better to hold the demon in reserve just to take that away from her.

As a side note, Demon Flip throw < than Hooligan as far as I can tell. I tested it out about ten times, and I ate the Hooligan every time.

I'm still working on comboing her following a blocked drill / spike combo. Since Gouki's kick steps into her, it should be possible. If that can be pulled off, the match is cake.

[BenD the Truth]

I think we'll have a MUCH better idea of what to use once there is some frame data for her released somewhere. I haven't been able to find much yet :( I just want to know the data for cannon drill frame adv on block and the start up for cannon spike.

[ridedc]

Cammy is still a hard matchup for me but here are some things that I've found to help out:

Punish blocked deep cannon drills with c.lp, hurricane + lk, dp + hp.

Punish whiffed cannon spikes, and blocked super and ultras with demon.

Don't throw air fireballs at the peak of your jump without her knocked down. She'll dash in and punish you. If you need to throw air fireballs, only throw them close to the ground.

Learn your links. Otherwise, she'll keep the pressure on you and you have nothing to respond with. Gotta make her a little scared to get up in your face.

She doesn't have a lot of stam. Make sure you don't miss a punishment, and keep her somewhat defensive and you can take her.

Hope this helps!

[IceTrap]

Hmm, I guess my roomie just has trouble hitting the spike after the drill. I have tried it in training and I can get the throw off. But with out frame data can't know for sure.

I actually think it is the total opposite, I find a sweet spot vs. cammy. Once you score a knockdown this is the time to bring pressure. I like to be just outside of spike range with a fire ball coming in to hit exactly on wakeup, air or ground ( red ). Then move in for a mix attempt, either cross up or throw. Then reset back to fullscreen and work to score the knockdown again.

[Jrix]

You can focus counter her cannon drill. However, you must release it very quickly after the first hit, after a few times it should become second nature. Obviously from that, you can punish her with all sorts of things, and make her overall less aggressive. At least in my matches.

[Eshelon]

Seriously, why would you want to beat cammy? Her ass is worth the beating you receive. Just take it like a man and lick the screen when the round's over.

[Minora]

For some reason, Cammy players like to spam SRKs and Ultras a lot, since it seems safe on block.
I hadn't try this yet, but I think you can land a far RH into fat combo after both.
What I know for sure, it's that you can reversal demon both.

Also, what's up with the special where she launches towards you for a sweep (cannon drill or something? I don't know the name of most moves yet)?
I predicted one today at the beginning of the round, I focused (lv.2), and when I dashed to land my combo the guy was on the air. :wonder:


Seriously, why would you want to beat cammy? Her ass is worth the beating you receive. Just take it like a man and lick the screen when the round's over.

WTF?

This forum's not the same since the game was released on console. =$

[Jrix]

If you dash fast enough you can get at least a DP

[Bookie]

Ok, I played for quite a bit against a good Cammy player in training mode today, and we checked out several things.

First of all, when dealing with the Cannon Drill, positioning is vital. If you block a drill and she is in a deep position, you can counter with lk -> lk tatsu -> dp, no problem. If, on the other hand, she drills from mid-range and is not deep, she will recover quickly enough to spike your lk. On the other hand, if she spikes from long range and whiffs, you can get an easy sweep, or maybe a combo depending on your position. If you feel like she is about to drill, you can FA, but it may not be worth the risk. And if you just really want to annoy the piss out of her, standing MK snuffs the drill if timed correctly.

Cannon spikes and ultras can be punished via demon as many have noted, but you can also punish a deep drill with demon. If you don't have it ready, a sweep is the safest punishment otherwise (against blocked spikes / ultras, not drills), but I have yet to practice f. HK combos on it... it should be possible.

Crouching HP is the solution to Ex Hooligans- it works pretty much everytime. Normal hooligans are pretty vunerable to a variety of attacks.

Air throws are pretty dangerous, and the Cannon Strike (angled kick from the air) is as well. The C. Strike has fast recovery, so if you block it deep, it is a guessing game to determine whether to tech the throw or block the spike. It's better to avoid that situation if you can. I'm going to try porting out next time.

Jittery movement and occasional forward dashes mess with Cammy players. If you dash forward as they attempt to drill from distance and then block it, they may end up deep enough for you to punish with lk -> whatever combo. And of course, anytime you have Ultra you should be ready to punish any drills / spikes / ultras... just having the demon ready greatly alters a good Cammy's game.

Uh, there's probably more, but I can't remember right now. I hope this helps some people. The number one thing to watch for is the zoning game vs the drill. Long range = good, close range = good, mid range = not so good.

Off-topic@Minora: Real or Athletico? :D

[el_diablo]

I hadn't try this yet, but I think you can land a far RH into fat combo after both.

Just tried, far hk into combo of choice works on a guarded cannon spike. You even have to delay it a bit so you don't hit her while she's still airborne.

So, one guarded spike equals 33% of cammy's lifebar. Should make things easier.

[Bookie]

Sweet, good work. After I've pulled it off a few times I'll edit it into the first post, and no gouki will ever suffer at the cheeks of cammy again!