Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki: Alternative Saga/Geis

“

A mercenary who wields a black pole axe, utilizes Iskan sealing arts, and travels with three fairies: Sera, Jue and Xisa. He how focuses on his mercenary work, but he is still struggling to come to terms regarding the brother he lost on the Canaan Islands.

”

Geis
Playstyle	All-rounder Defensive
Preferred Range	Close Mid
Tankiness Rating	Above average (0.96%)
Learning Difficulty	Easy
Stats
HP	11423
AP	24
STR	972
DEF	891
BRK	587
DUR	2824
SPD	89
AGL	91
SP Gain	209

Introduction

Geis is a well-rounded character with an emphasis on defensive play. Due to his slow movement speed, Geis relies on letting the opponent come to him in order to be effective. Thankfully for him, his pokes and anti-airs lets him easily punish reckless approaches. Paradoxically, Geis performs best once he gets to be on the offensive, thanks to his uniquely good okizeme. After a combo, he can use Antlion and force the opponent to deplete some of their stamina. This is especially effective if they choose to block, as Geis can easily stun them and potentially loop the situation. Despite that, Geis remains a great character on defense, thanks to his lunging reversal Wolf Fang. However, Geis' greatest tool is by far his EXTRA Skill, Fairy Annihilation. It's one of the best neutral skips in the entire game, due to creating a barrier of hitboxes around Geis, letting him win neutral for free. If it lands, he can start his okizeme game with Antlion and eventually snowball his way to victory. All of this makes Geis one of the best defensive characters in the game, although he still has some drawbacks. While he excels at playing a defensive neutral, he immediately starts to struggle a lot more once he's forced to chase his opponents, due to his slow movement speed and a lack of safe approach option. His Charge Attack is also quite poor due to its slow startup, short-ish range and low SP gain on hit. This makes generating SP quite hard for him during neutral.

Geis is recommended for players who like no-nonsense characters. He is also the best fit for players who enjoy looping okizeme.
Similar to:

Playstyle

Geis is a well-rounded character with an emphasis on defensive play, while still keeping a good offense

Strengths

Weaknesses

Well-Rounded: Geis' toolkit is very versatile and can deal with most situations. Good Neutral: Geis has access to a lot of good pokes and anti-airs that lets him catch most approaches in neutral. Looping Offense: Geis is surprisingly good in offense once he gets to deploy Antlion. Outstanding X-Factor: Geis has one of the best comeback potentials in the game, thanks to his amazing EXTRA Skill. He is also one of the 3 characters with the ability to perform a Petrify glitch.

Poor SP Gain: Geis has a hard time landing his Charge attack outside of combos. On top of that, it doesn't give that much SP on hit. Slow Movement: Geis' movement stats are quite low, making him struggle if he ever finds himself forced to chase his opponents down.

All damage values below were tested on Estelle (841 DEF). No stats-altering accessory was equipped. Also the values are averaged (see System page)

Movelist

Normal attacks

Ground Normal Link ABCD A A B B C C D D	Version Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties A 106 4 - - - B 106 10+5 - - - C 106 21+4 - - - D 106 30+6 - - - A: Total: 16 B: Total: 17 C: Total: 19 D: Total: 24 Somewhat average normal link. While it doesn't combo into itself, it still works great as a poke due to the enormous pushback on hit. However, said pushback is inconsistent since it also sometimes sends the opponent nowhere.

Charge Attack [A]

Version Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties Ground [A] 138 10 - - Soft Armor Air j.[A] 138 9 - - Soft Armor Dash d.[A] 138 8 - - Soft Armor Ground: Total: 29 Air: Total: 28 Dash: Total: 22 Not a great Charge Attack. Despite what the animation may imply, its hitbox is actually surprisingly thin, and will have trouble hitting opponents, especially at close range. That said, it remains an important move for Geis, due to its high SP gain on hit. It also works as a combo starter since, unlike everyone else, the air version will cancel into j.A instead of the character's Falling Attack. Gives 23 SP on contact

Air Normal Link j.AB j.A j.A j.B j.B	Version Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties j.A 106 5 - - - j.B 106 14+5 - - - j.A: Total: 16 j.B: Total: 25 Key combo moves. On top of connecting into each other pretty well, Geis can easily combo into j.A via his regular pokes. Its great range also makes it useful in neutral as a quick "anti-air", as well as a surprise option at range.

Falling Attack j.C	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 106 5 - - Projectile Total: 16 A very unique Falling Attack that sends a projectile straight down. Once it touches the ground, it will stay around until an opponent steps on it (in which case they'll get launched) or after 3 seconds passes. Frame data obtained while as low to the ground as possible

Rising Attack Attack while dodging	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 106 8 1 AP - Hard Armor 1-10 Total: 25 "Universal" Rising Attack. Basic, armored launcher that can be jump cancelled in order to start or continue a combo. Depending on the character, it can also be used as combo filler.

Skills

Reaper S1 Yes, it did hit Yes, it did hit	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 280 4 10 / 9 / 9 / 8 / 8 31 Soft Armor Ground: Total: 31 Air: Total: 23 A simple forward-advancing sweep that knocks down on hit. Excellent defensive tool in neutral thanks to its quick startup and comically long active frames. Geis can also walk cancel it in order to make it almost impossible to punish.

Helm Splitter S2 Windup Windup Shockwave More like Health Splitter Shockwave More like Health Splitter

Version Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties Windup 70 5 12 / 11 / 11 / 10 / 9 31 Soft Armor Shockwave 100 18 - 31 Soft Armor, Stagger Projectile 80x2 19 - 31 Soft Armor, Projectile Strike: Total: 31 Projectile: Total: 31 Shockwave: Total: 31 Mostly useful as combo filler, although it also has its uses in neutral. While it can technically loop into itself, due to its stagger properties, this is very inconsistent since the projectile will knock opponents away on hit, allowing them to escape the loop. However, those same stagger properties allows Geis to perform Petrify glitches, for devastating damage. This technique is banned in tournament play, but it's still good to know for single player stuff. Air version is only active upon landing Frame data assumes point blank

Wolf Fang S3 Ground version Ground version Air version Air version	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 715 5 25 / 23 / 22 / 20 / 19 33 Hard Armor 1-4, Soft Armor Ground: Total: 35 Air: Total: 26 Very good reversal that puts Geis far away from his opponents, letting him reset neutral on hit or whiff. Also makes for a good combo ender. Air version makes him travel upward

Sorcery: Antlion S4 Cast Cast Lingering vortex Lingering vortex

Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 62x9 18 20 / 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 84 Hard Armor 1-4, Soft Armor, Projectile Total: 31 Vortex automatically appears on frame 22 Generally referred to as "Antlion". The backbone of Geis' offense. While slow to activate, it stays active for a very long time, allowing him to easily land otherwise hard to land moves, such as his Charge attack. This also makes it terrifying in pressure, as it can result in lots of guard damage. However, its strongest point is its sheer amount of hits. This makes it very easy for Geis to inflict status effects, such as Petrify for example. Can't be walk cancelled since Geis recovers in the air

Spiral Slash S5	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 370, 290, 550 8+5 40 / 36 / 34 / 32 / 30 60 Hard Armor Ground: Total: 45 Air: Total: 46 Expensive combo ender that does more damage than Wolf Fang. It also makes for a huge anti-air. 8 frames of freeze upon use. The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze Can't be walk cancelled since Geis recovers in the air

Axe Arts: Ravage S6	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 80x2, 120x5, 175x2, 300 8+2 45 / 41 / 39 / 36 / 34 88 Hard Armor Ground: Total: 75 Air: Total: 64 Pretty standard "barrage" Skill. Also works as a reversal due to its fast startup and long animation. 8 frames of freeze upon use. The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze

Fairy Annihilation EXTRA Skill First hit First hit Lingering hits When in doubt, press this Lingering hits When in doubt, press this

Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 10x5, 375x9 7 100 EXTRA - Invincible Total: 69 The best EXTRA Skill in the game, thanks to its incredible versatility. It creates a huge hitbox around Geis that moves alongside him, letting him win neutral for free. Using it in combos is also an excellent idea, as it'll greatly increase his damage output. Similarly to Antlion, it can be used offensively to break the opponent's guard. As a bonus, its sheer number of hits makes it excellent at applying status effects, particularly Petrify. In most situations, it's usually an excellent idea to throw out an EXTRA Skill. However, its extremely short total duration makes it one of the worst EXTRA Skills in the game during EX trades (when two characters, casts their EXTRA Skill at roughly the same time). The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze

Builds

Note: These builds are mostly here in order to guide new players into how to exploit Geis's potential to its fullest. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Recommended accessories

• Good accessories for Geis goes here. Explain why this build is good for him

Recommended Skills

• S1
• S2
• S3
• S4

Recommended Support

• Jurio & Chris - Geis can easily confirm into Antlion, allowing him to easily stun his opponent from a BnB
• Campanella - Gives Geis a chance of legally inflicting Petrify
• Feena & Reah - Can't go wrong with a free EXTRA Skill, especially Geis's

General Strategy

Neutral

• Explain how Geis approaches neutral, ideally at close, mid and long range

Offense

• Explain how Geis's offense works

Defense

• Explain how Geis can defend himself from incoming attacks. Don't forget to mention how he can recover once he's on the back foot

General Counterplay

• List some general Geis counterplay. This includes, but isn't limited to, knowledge checks or gimmicks

Combos

Combo Terminology Table

Symbol	Meaning
>	Cancel from the previous move to the following move.
,	Link from the previous move to the following move.
dl./delay	Delay before using the following move.
X(w)/whiff	Whiff the following move (do not hit).
jc	Jump Cancel.
wc	Walk Cancel.
d./dash	Dash air attacks. Done by pressing the dodge button while standing still.
(X)	Optional input.
{X}*N	Repeat (sequence) N number of times.

Solo

• A > d.AB > S2, S4, [A] > S1/S3 (1.3k/1.6k damage)

Ground BnB. Any Skill can be used as combo finishers, but Reaper and Wolf Fang are the most SP-efficient ones.

• A > d.AB > S2, S4, [A] > EX, [A] > S4, [A] > S1.S3 (3.7k/4k damage)

Sample EX combo.

With accessories

Note: Geis + Medusa Blade is a banned combination in tournament play, due to Antlion being an outstanding tool for proccing status effects.

• Combo (damage)

Specify which accessories are required for this combo to work

Combo description

With assists

• A > {S2 > S4, [A]}*2 > S3 > S6 (1.9k/2.4k damage)

Scherazard

Only works with Schera because S2 normally doesn't fully connect on ground hit. Requires almost full SP

With accessories and assists

• Combo (damage)

Specify which equippable items are required for this combo to work

Combo description

Colors

Color 1

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Default color

Color 2

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Reference (if there's one)

Color 3

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Elk (Ys SEVEN)

Color 4

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Reference (if there's one)