Overview
Lore
Garus Rook was not always made of stone, though the circumstances of his transformation are little-known. What is known is that his stone form seems to have slowed his aging and provide incredible armor. He governs the Morningstar Sanctuary, a haven for free thinking, artistic endeavors, and scientific research that is immune to the tyrannical laws of Flagstone. He is kind, thoughtful, and wise. Rook, and his long-time friend DeGrey, are old enough to remember the last time a government stole its citizens' personal freedoms, and DeGrey urged Rook to create an event that would unite the disparate peoples and remind them they are not so different from one another. That event is the Fantasy Strike tournament.
Character Stats
Health |
Character Type |
Maximum Combo Points |
Unique Trait
|
100 |
Grappling |
3 |
Rock Armor. Your normal attacks beat faster A, B, and C normals, but they damage you first. Their (beaten) attacks can't knock down or gain the edge and you can't combo.
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Overview
Strengths |
Weaknesses
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- THE Grappler. Rook's throws are monstrous and demand the opponent play around them carefully. His normal throw is extremely efficient, allowing him to deal a chunk of damage AND score a knockdown instead of having to choose between the two. His special throw is able to run over A, B, and C normals allowing him to force the opponent into slower more committal options. His signature super throw - Checkmate Buster - is the highest damage super in the game.
- Knockdown Vortex. The opponent cannot avoid being knocked down against Rook; his ability Earthquake, forces the issue. Once the opponent is knocked down, Rook's already solid neutral game plan evolves into a terrifying low risk, high reward mix-up. Worst of all, unlike most characters, Rook can knock an opponent down using both throws AND attacks - this means the opponent cannot guarantee a return to neutral by playing an attack.
- Rock Solid Defense. Unlike many grappler characters, Rook has excellent defense options both in neutral and when he is knocked down. His armored pseudo-reversal Y is safe and can only be contested by a super or dodge. His normals and Z special throw have armor against A, B, and C normals meaning that they can often replace his normal low block, with higher reward on a good read. He has a safe on block, super reversal with S1 and his 15 speed S2 super throw can act as the ultimate call-out against an opponent's throw. Instead of a dodge he has a unique block move that guards high and low, in addition to allowing him to punish strikes with his normal throw - best of all, unlike a dodge, it can be used while knocked down! The cherry on top of all this is that he also has the highest health total in the game.
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- Moss Grows On You. Rook has glacially slow attacks and will often need to rely on armored strikes or his Entangling Vines counter to deter the opponent from attacking. Fireballs in particular are an attack that beats almost all of his moves - he will have to snipe these out of play using a well placed A, Y, or S1. This aspect of his gameplay can also sometimes lead to Rook having to muscle through poor opening hands as he attempts to dig into his deck for answers.
- High Gas Prices. Rook's most pressing weakness is resource management. Rook struggles to build meter with chain combos, and powering up for his expensive supers drains his hand. Employing his unique block costs extra cards, and exchanging for it back costs him more momentum. Rook's only way to naturally build his hand size is by blocking, which will allow other characters to run their offense on him.
- Big Reads Required. The only strong confirm Rook has is using X to link into A for the knockdown. While it is possible to combo into Y, it is often better used a pseudo-reversal or a way to beat a fireball. Both of his supers cannot combo and he has no dodge to confirm into either of them. Much of Rook's high health total will need to be spent making big reads and losing combat when things don't work out.
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Moves
Normal Moves
A. Quick Low Sweep
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Attack
|
5
|
0
|
7
|
Chain Combo
|
1
|
Low, Knockdown. Rock Armor against A, B, and C normals.
|
|
|
C. Light Low Attack
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Attack
|
6
|
0
|
5
|
Chain Combo
|
1
|
Low. Rock Armor against A, B, and C normals.
|
|
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D. Medium Attack
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Attack
|
7
|
0
|
4
|
Chain Combo
|
1
|
Rock Armor against A, B, and C normals.
|
|
|
E. Heavy High Attack
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Attack
|
8
|
0
|
3
|
Chain Combo
|
1
|
High. Rock Armor against A, B, and C normals.
|
|
|
F. Power High Attack
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Attack
|
9
|
0
|
2
|
-
|
1
|
High. Rock Armor against A, B, and C normals.
|
|
|
Low Block
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Block
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
On block: Draw a card. Recurring
|
|
|
High Block
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Block
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
On block: Draw a card. Recurring
|
|
|
Entangling Vines
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Block
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Avoids block damage. Strikes are unsafe against this, but you may only punish with a normal throw.
|
|
|
Throw
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Normal Throw
|
12
|
-
|
8
|
Can't Combo
|
-
|
Knockdown
|
|
|
Special Moves
X. Thunderclap
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Special Attack
|
6
|
2
|
6
|
Linker
|
1
|
-
|
|
|
Y. Landslide
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Special Attack
|
9
|
1
|
5
|
Ender
|
2
|
Armored, Pump Any 1 Card: +5 Damage
|
|
|
Z. Windmill Crusher
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Special Throw
|
16
|
-
|
9
|
Can't Combo
|
-
|
Light Armor
|
|
|
Super Moves
S1. Headcrush
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Super Attack
|
10
|
3
|
12
|
Can't Combo
|
-
|
Costs 2 Super Meter. Pump 1 Super: +10 Damage
|
|
|
S2. Checkmate Buster
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Super Throw
|
50
|
-
|
15
|
Can't Combo
|
-
|
Costs 3 Super Meter.
|
|
|
Ability Card
Earthquake
|
Move Type
|
Damage
|
Block Damage
|
Speed
|
Combo Type
|
Combo Points
|
Attributes
|
Ability
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
If you're not knocked down and this is your first main phase action, knock down the opponent and end your main phase.
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|
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Combos
Basic
Knockdown Confirm. F > X > A = 20 Damage + Knockdown. (Works well with any non-A normal opener).
Super "Confirm". Normal Block an Unsafe Move > S2 = 50 Damage + Emotional Damage.
During Knockdown
Low Mix-Up Chain. C > D > E = 21 Damage + 2 Meter.
High Mix-Up Chain. E > F = 17 Damage + 1 Meter.
Strategy
Basic Game Plan
Rook's most basic goal at the start of a match is to begin building a hand, and by extension, meter. His base move set has no way to draw cards outside of blocking, so you will spend most of the early game trying to land successful blocks. Your core mix-up in the early game is block / throw - the important weakness of this mix-up, is that both options will lose to fireballs. Rook, like other grapplers, struggles against fireballs and will need to attempt to snipe them out of play either using his armored Landslide special (Y) or attacking with his A normal on his own turn. You shouldn't worry too much about losing life at this point in the game, Rook's bulky 100 health total is intended to give him extra mileage to survive the early game while he builds up his supplies. Rook has many great offensive and defensive options, but he has to worry about running himself out of gas in the early game since many of them are quite resource hungry.
Rook's first few power-ups lead him into the next stage of his game plan, where he can begin cashing out his built up resources for damage. Rook has fantastic defensive options with the right resources available - Headcrush (S1) is a powerful, safe on block reversal and his Entangling Vines block forms a complete mix-up against all non-projectiles moves when paired with a throw. Entangling Vines is also great because it avoids the high/low mix-up on knockdown. Rook's two supers form the ultimate high risk, high reward mix-up - and if the opponent does not have a reversal faster than 12 speed available, it is true mix-up! If the opponent attacks, his Headcrush (S1) deals a chunky 20 damage on pump, and if they do anything else they eat the life bar annihilating Checkmate Buster (S2, referred to as CMB from here on) for 50 damage!
The next half of Rook's offense is exploiting his ability to reliably inflict knockdown. Rook's slow attack speed can be ignored while the opponent is knocked down, making his bulky high damage normal attacks a big threat! Since his A normal knocks down, he can also loop this situation even when attacking (something most non-grapplers can't do), by comboing into it with Thunderclap (X). If Rook can make his opponent lose a block on their turn, such as by throwing them or hitting them high/low, it makes for a great opportunity to use his ability Earthquake. Earthquake forces a knock down - you can exploit this even better since you know the opponent is missing of one of their blocks. As long as Rook has resources to spend, he should be
Matchups
Geiger
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Something about gears.
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