How to beat Vajra assist.

Karsticles

Here is an attempt at a comprehensive list of moves that beat Vajra assist (and Vajra, but the list is intended for the assist). I only care about moves that work reactively, not predictively (thus, a move like Frank’s qcf.M is not on here). If I could beat Vajra with a move within 3 tries after seeing him appear on the screen and teleport, I put it on this list. Everything on here is realistic. If there was a clear way to lead to a combo from the hit, or if I took the time to figure out a realistic kill combo (or close to), I listed that. Otherwise, I just listed the move as an option so people could be aware of what’s out there – maybe others will find things I missed, or have ideas I didn’t.

“High Air” is not what normals work at high altitudes, since that would be the same list as “Low Air”. It’s a list of conversions that work particularly well at high altitudes and moves that hit because you superjump on reaction to Vajra, and the momentum from your jump makes certain moves able to hit that can’t during a normal jump. Anything at low altitude works at high altitude in terms of hitbox priority, so I won’t list it in both sections. So, if “High Air” is an empty section, that means I didn’t find anything that works only at “High Air”.

Assists do not benefit from hitstun or damage decay and fall into hard knockdown. That means many combos work on assists that do not work on point characters, such as s.M, Dark Matter with Dormammu, or s.S, Fire Bottle with Arthur. Be creative, and hopefully we’ll see people superjumping to block this assist less often.

SlasherMcGirk on GAF is working on a video demonstration for all of this.

UPDATE:
SlasherMcGirk finished the video. It has some additional stuff my list doesn't have, which I'll add at some time in the future:


Jill:
High Air:
j.M, qcf.M…

Low Air:
j.MHS, j.MMHS…
j.H

Ground:
s.S, sj.MMHS
qcf.L
qcf.M

Nemesis:
High Air:

Low Air:
j.LS
j.MS
j.HS
j.S

Ground:
s.L
s.M
s.H
qcf.L
dp.M

Firebrand:
High Air:
j.H, j,d+H (during ascent)

Low Air:
j.S

Ground:
s.S

Strider:
High Air:
j.M

Low Air:
j.HS, s.M
j.S
qcf.L
qcf.M
qcf.H

Ground:
s.S
s.H
qcb.M
qcf.L

Phoenix Wright:
High Air:
j.MMHS

Low Air:
j.L
j.M
j.H

Ground:
s.LMHS
s.MHS
s.HS

Chris:
High Air:
j.MMH, qcf.H

Low Air:
j.H
j.S

Ground:
f.H
s.S

Arthur:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:

Ground:
s.S
dp.M
dp.H

Frank West:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:
j.M
j.H
j.S
qcf.S

Ground:
qcf.S
s.H
s.S

Vergil:
High Air:

Low Air:
j.d+H
j.L
j.M
j.H

Ground:
s.H
s.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H (seriously)

Wesker:
High Air:
j.L
j.H

Low Air:
j.M, s.MHS,
j.S, Phantom Dance

Ground:
s.S

Zero:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:
j.H
j.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Ground:
s.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Ryu:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:
j.M, qcb.L, s.LMHS
j.H

Ground:
s.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Dante:
High Air:
j.LS

Low Air:
j.HS
j.MS

Ground:
qcb.L (earlier is better)
dp.H
s.H
s.S
s.M
s.L

Morrigan:
High Air:
j.L
j.M
j.H, qcf.S, qcb.S, ADD, j.H, qcf.H, qcb.S, dp.AA

Low Air:
j.HS, c.MHS

Ground:
dp.M
dp.H

Tron Bonne:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:
j.HS
j.S

Ground:
dp.M
dp.H
f.H

Trish:
High Air:
j.MH, d.H, qcf.L, qcf.AA

Low Air:
j.M
j.S
j.H

Ground:
s.S
s.H

Chun-li:
High Air:
j.M
j.H

Low Air:
j.S
j.L

Ground:
s.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Felicia:
High Air:
j.MMH, dp.H

Low Air:
j.S, dp.H
j.H, dp.H
j.L, dp.H

Ground:
b.H
s.S
dp.M
dp.H

Spencer:
High Air:
j.MMHS
j.LMHS

Low Air:
j.H
j.S

Ground:
c.M
s.S

Akuma:
High Air:
j.LH, rdp.L~L
j.M, rdp.L~L

Low Air:
j.H

Ground:
s.M
dp.L, qcf.AA
dp.M, qcf.AA
dp.H, qcf.AA

Viewtiful Joe:
High Air:

Low Air:
j.H
j.S, qcb.M, qcb.M, AD, mash A

Ground:
dp.L, mash A
dp.M

Hsien-ko:
High Air:
j.M
j.L
j.H
j.S

Low Air:

Ground:
qcf.H, s.LMHS

Haggar:
High Air:
j.LMH, j.d+H
j.M

Low Air:
j.d+H
j.S

Ground:
A+S
f.H
qcf.L
s.H

C. Viper:
High Air:
j.M

Low Air:
j.H
j.S

Ground:
qcf.H
dp.L
A (hold), release
dp.S
qcb.S

Amaterasu:
High Air:
j.HHH, qcf.H (Disk)

Low Air:
j.H (Glaive)
qcf.L
qcf.M
j.H (Beads)

Ground:
s.H (Disk)
f.H (Glaive)
qcf.M (Glaive)
qcf.H (Glaive)
s.S

Shuma-Gorath:
High Air:
j.LS

Low Air:
j.M
j.H

Ground:
c.H
qcf.M
qcf.H

Nova:
High Air:
j.MMHS

Low Air:
j.H
j.M

Ground:
s.S
qcf.M

Ghost Rider:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:
j.H
j.M

Ground:
s.S

Hawkeye:
High Air:
j.M

Low Air:
j.H
j.S

Ground:
s.S
s.M

Dr. Strange:
High Air:
j.S

Low Air:
j.L
j.M
j.H

Ground:
s.M
c.M
s.S

Dormammu:
High Air:
j.M, qcb.S, j.LH, qcf.H, j.H, qcf.H
j.M, qcb.S, j.LH, qcf.H, qcb.H, qcf.AA
j.MMS, qcb.H, qcf.AA

Low Air:
j.MHS, s.MS

Ground:
3D0C, qcf.H, qcf.AA
s.M, f.M, qcf.H, qcf.AA
s.H
2D1C

Captain America:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:
j.u+H, qcf.L
j.M
j.S

Ground:
s.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Rocket Raccoon:
High Air:

Low Air:
j.H

Ground:
dp.H

Iron Fist:
High Air:

Low Air:
j.H

Ground:
f.H

Deadpool:
High Air:
j.L
j.MMH, qcf.AA
j.H
j.S

Low Air:

Ground:
s.S
f.M
qcf.H

Wolverine:
High Air:
j.S

Low Air:
A+S (up)
j.M
j.H

Ground:
A+S (up), j.H, j.d+H
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H
c.M
s.S

Iron Man:
High Air:
j.M

Low Air:
j.S
j.H
j.u+H

Ground:
s.H
qcb.L~H
qcb.M~H

Dr. Doom:
High Air:
j.LMS
j.MS

Low Air:

Ground:
s.H
s.S
f.H
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H
qcb.L
qcb.M
qcb.H
b.H

X-23:
High Air:
j.L

Low Air:
j.H
j.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Ground:
s.S
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Storm:
High Air:
j.MMH, A+S, A+S, A+S, qcf.AA

Low Air:
j.M
A+S
dp.H

Ground:
s.S
A+S (up), A+S (df), s.MHS

Thor:
High Air:
j.M

Low Air:
j.L
j.S, rdp.M, qcf.AA
qcf.L

Ground:
c.M
s.S
rdp.H
rdp.M
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H
qcf.L, s.M

MODOK:
High Air:
j.M

Low Air:
A+S (up)

Ground:
s.L
s.H
df.H
qcf.L
A+S (up)

Spider-man:
High Air:
j.L
j.H

Low Air:
j.M

Ground:
s.S
s.M
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H
hcb.H

Sentinel:
High Air:
j.H

Low Air:
j.L
j.M
j.S

Ground:
s.M
s.S

Hulk:
High Air:
j.LHS, s.M
j.S

Low Air:
j.H
j.M

Ground:
s.L
s.M
s.H
s.S

Super-Skrull:
High Air:
j.HS, qcb.AA

Low Air:
j.M

Ground:
s.H
s.S
c.M
qcf.L, qcb.H
qcf.M, qcb.H
qcf.H, qcb.H

Phoenix:
High Air:
j.MMH, f.H, d.H
j.S
j.H, fly, j.MH, f.H, qcf.M, qcf.AA

Low Air:
j.L
j.H, f.H, d.H

Ground:
s.L
s.S

Dark Phoenix:
High Air:
j.M
j.S

Low Air:
j.L
j.H

Ground:
qcb.M
qcb.L
s.L
s.S
s.H

Magneto:
High Air:
j.S

Low Air:
j.M
j.H

Ground:
s.S
s.M
s.H
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

She-Hulk:
High Air:
j.M
j.S

Low Air:
j.L
j.H, c.L

Ground:
dp.L
dp.M
dp.H

Taskmaster:
High Air:
j.L
j.H

Low Air:
j.M
j.S

Ground:
qcf.H
s.M
s.S

MetaSkipper

For Phoenix Wright, Paperwork Low (qcb.) works too. In my experience, anyway. Also works in Turnabout.

discovigilante

Nova's qcf.AA super beats Vajra before and after he teleports, worth noting. Awesome work here.

Spider-Dan

For Low Air, Hawkeye can do j.H (delay) j.S, land, [qcb+L~L]*N or dp+AA. dp+AA ender will deal ~90% damage to Strider assist (you can kill him if you can time a qcf+H on his way down).

leafcolonel

Universal tech(Almost any character can do this):
Chicken block Strider Vajra, punish with jL coming down to get a full combo.

Armored characters blow it up on reaction with their armored moves(Hulk H, Nem H, Sent stM etc)

As for my characters:
Magneto:
-Best options, jS in the air, jH/jM work too but are inconsistent, jS will always stuff Strider Vajra. Having good air mobility is the best option though.
-stM/stS work but are iffy on the timing. stH is the best grounded anti air(period), confirm with stH+ assist into L disruptor, any assist like Jam Session would work.
-Best option and safest option on the ground is Forcefield, active for 19frames so no timing required, eats everything that's not a hyper, cancels into Shockwave for around 600kish damage on Strider. Shockwave works too but Forcefield is safer and is invincible to non hyper projectiles.

Taskmaster:
-jM works well, the rest of his air buttons are slightly iffy but work somewhat, jM is his fastest air to air and has the best angle vs Vajra.
-stM,stS anti air Vajra, Shield Skills will dodge Vajra but won't hit it.
-Up Arrows super for Strider to eat arrows up his arse

Dante:
-stL works, you can chain into MS since hitstun values are irrelevant vs assists, thats your best option. stM, stS all work great too.
-Twister xx DT/Million Carats xx DT , too impractical due to startup. stL is best period
-Forget to test air to airs, but I assume jM/H/S will have no problems stuffing Vajra.

Hawkeye:
-jH blows Vajra up really well and has a nice hitbox against it.
-stS works well on the ground and has a nice anti Vajra hitbox.

Strider:
-jH,jS,stH,stS all work to anti air Vajra.

All in all most of tech is really hard to apply in the real match since Vajra assist alone isn't the problem, it's the opponent covering it with rushdown/projectiles/teleports. Most of the time outmaneuvering it is the best option like moving fast in flight with Magneto. Forcefield is really nice because of this, since it ignores the point character unless they are doing a hyper and it's very invincible and very quick.

guiarroyos

I must say this is great info and work. I can't deal with Vajra assist at all. Specially when combined with Wesker, as he can teleport and continue a combo if Vajra hits. Also I didn't think that Magneto's Forcefield had some use. Great tech.

BMsirhc1313

Cool thread..I actually made this video the other day because I got blown up by Vergil+Vajra and wanted to learn how to beat it.



And if they call it from full screen and does nothing, you can combo the falling strider.

KiLLaKeLLy

nice thread, for Cap you can also punish vajra with charging star. when strider reappears and is coming down with the kick you do the move and you will nail him clean and you can follow up since the move pops strider pretty high. I only use the L.charging star, but i suppose the others would work as well you just wouldnt have the same followup options as L. charging star.

Dont Jump

I know how to beat Strider assist:

Pressure them so they can't sit back and call it.

Striders assist is either a defensive assist or it is used in combos. In some cases it can be used with characters like Wesker and Vergil but the assist DOES NOT place you in a whole lot of block stun. Block the assist and pressure and then after their string go and do your mix up and hit them. It's not Doom missiles, sent drones, RR log trap, or dante jam session.

I've never had a problem with the assist because I know the block stun is literally nothing.

Punishing assist calls in this game (when necessary) is actually pretty easy. The most annoying assists in the game (doom and sent) actually have A LOT of start up so they need space to call them. Even if you hit doom quickly and he manages to get 1-2 missiles out its still hard for them to hit you if you keep moving. Having a battery or mid character with a nice full screen punish (hail storm, beams, mag shockwave,vishanti) punishes assists to easily. Some team supers are VERY good at it too. (Dante, strange, storm, mags, dorm, hawkeye)

if you're having difficulty punishing strider, or ANY assist for that matter, construct a team that fucks strider/them up.

supernovajm

for spiderman, thor, and arthur

Karsticles

Thanks for the posts, gents. I'll likely do an update sometime in the future. I added a video made by SlasherMcGirk so everyone can get a visual. It also has some stuff that I didn't find or test for, like hypers.

xero15

I was meaning to post something about this. Spidey can also use his c:m: and spider sting to beat out Strider. Storm can do Lightning attacks up then down much like how Thor did in the above video. I was messing with some of this a while ago but didn't think to record it while deployed. Oh well.

theDUKE

Gooood stuff! Now all we need is a vid that shows how to punish Zero's j. H and Lightning.

xero15

theDUKE, post: 7943814, member: 10384 wrote:

Gooood stuff! Now all we need is a vid that shows how to punish Zero's j. H and Lightning.

There is a video demonstrating how to beat Zero's lightning

shua

With dante, you will be throwing out a lot of crystal in the neutral game, If you see/hear a strider call just time the million carats follow up and cancel to DT etc. or just go straight to million dollars (providing the point character doesn't have an easy punish) and DHC.
Dante has a lot of tools to beat out the assist, you just have to play vajra teams and get used to the neutral game.

BPCadet

If you're using nova, and really want that strider assist dead, what you can do is 263AA -> Xfactor -> 263AA; there is virtually nothing the opponent can do about it, and strider will die pretty much regardless of your timing, as long as you don't miss altogether. (You are punishable at the end of it if you're not smart about it, though)