Gemini Knight
Astaroth needs Fatalities
Kano - How to deal with him
Kano is/has been a pretty hot topic since the hotfix. So instead of saying how OP his is, let's talk about how to deal with him. His strengths: Kano has a fast projectile with fast recovery, a very good anti air attack, and an unblockable x-ray that take 41% of life. He can zone well, keep his opponent grounded and can make a comeback, Zangief style. Apparently everyone is using him, so what do you do? Let's find out….
Up ball spam: Up ball is not safe on block. Up ball IS NOT SAFE ON BLOCK. First off, everyone gets d+1 after it, and that is enough to get mind games going. Second, throw is not guaranteed, as Kano can duck or jump in after a blocked up ball. Third, some characters can punish blocked up ball with more than d+1, but I won't go into detail until after the patch that will make Kano's upball even more unsafe than it already is. Scout for the times where you might see someone trying to check you with upball, like after blocking Kano's b+112 or other attack stings. If the Kano player wants to upball spam(especially after the patch), then let them dig their own grave. Simple as that.
Projectile Spam: Don't try to jump over the knives; you'll get up ball everytime. Dash block in and fight him up close. His attack strings aren't that fast, and dash block will also give a small window of vulnerability to bait out random upballs. If you have a life lead, head to the other side of the screen and just duck. Knives won't hit you unless he does ex knives, and you can react to Kano going for ball from across the screen. Kano must play close and unsafe at that point.
Wake up: Kano's ex up ball and horizontal ball has invincibility on wake up, but those are big risks for Kano to take after knockdown since it's life or meter if blocked.
Kano Kornered: Not many people realized it, but the reason upball was "safer" was because prior to the hotfix, if Kano plays his zone game and gets cornered, he was going to have to take risks to get out of the corner, and more than likely lose alot of life or meter. The "safer" upball meant that Kano wouldn't die so quickly in the corner. Air ball to escape needs the right height to make it work, and even if it works, it has animation when he lands, so he still gets hurt for leaving the corner. Instant jump kick to air throw could also work, but still risky nonetheless.
Dealing with x-ray: You can hit Kano out of his x-ray, like right as his hands moves forward in front of his head he has no more armor. Timing sweeps to stop his x-ray works quite well. Other than that, just jump it.
Air Kontrol: Kano owns the skies, so don't jump at all against Kano, because while you're trying to cross him over with jumping punch, he can meet you air to air with instant jump kick into air throw/ex air ball, or just use up ball before you land.
High/Low mixups: F+3 now hits low, for those who aren't aware. Yes, he has a mid overhead, but as long as you see his back arm curl up like scorpion's old stance, you can fuzzy guard both the low and the mid overhead. Just watch out for throws and the jump in.
Hopefully this helps. If you already knew this, cool. If not, than hopefully this helps you deal with the influx of kano players, and at least give you an idea of how this matchup can go when using your main character.
Kano is/has been a pretty hot topic since the hotfix. So instead of saying how OP his is, let's talk about how to deal with him. His strengths: Kano has a fast projectile with fast recovery, a very good anti air attack, and an unblockable x-ray that take 41% of life. He can zone well, keep his opponent grounded and can make a comeback, Zangief style. Apparently everyone is using him, so what do you do? Let's find out….
Up ball spam: Up ball is not safe on block. Up ball IS NOT SAFE ON BLOCK. First off, everyone gets d+1 after it, and that is enough to get mind games going. Second, throw is not guaranteed, as Kano can duck or jump in after a blocked up ball. Third, some characters can punish blocked up ball with more than d+1, but I won't go into detail until after the patch that will make Kano's upball even more unsafe than it already is. Scout for the times where you might see someone trying to check you with upball, like after blocking Kano's b+112 or other attack stings. If the Kano player wants to upball spam(especially after the patch), then let them dig their own grave. Simple as that.
Projectile Spam: Don't try to jump over the knives; you'll get up ball everytime. Dash block in and fight him up close. His attack strings aren't that fast, and dash block will also give a small window of vulnerability to bait out random upballs. If you have a life lead, head to the other side of the screen and just duck. Knives won't hit you unless he does ex knives, and you can react to Kano going for ball from across the screen. Kano must play close and unsafe at that point.
Wake up: Kano's ex up ball and horizontal ball has invincibility on wake up, but those are big risks for Kano to take after knockdown since it's life or meter if blocked.
Kano Kornered: Not many people realized it, but the reason upball was "safer" was because prior to the hotfix, if Kano plays his zone game and gets cornered, he was going to have to take risks to get out of the corner, and more than likely lose alot of life or meter. The "safer" upball meant that Kano wouldn't die so quickly in the corner. Air ball to escape needs the right height to make it work, and even if it works, it has animation when he lands, so he still gets hurt for leaving the corner. Instant jump kick to air throw could also work, but still risky nonetheless.
Dealing with x-ray: You can hit Kano out of his x-ray, like right as his hands moves forward in front of his head he has no more armor. Timing sweeps to stop his x-ray works quite well. Other than that, just jump it.
Air Kontrol: Kano owns the skies, so don't jump at all against Kano, because while you're trying to cross him over with jumping punch, he can meet you air to air with instant jump kick into air throw/ex air ball, or just use up ball before you land.
High/Low mixups: F+3 now hits low, for those who aren't aware. Yes, he has a mid overhead, but as long as you see his back arm curl up like scorpion's old stance, you can fuzzy guard both the low and the mid overhead. Just watch out for throws and the jump in.
Hopefully this helps. If you already knew this, cool. If not, than hopefully this helps you deal with the influx of kano players, and at least give you an idea of how this matchup can go when using your main character.
Lol.