Melty Blood/MBAACC/Akiha Tohno (Seifuku)/Crescent Moon
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Additional Resources
Older C-seifuku guide
Match Video Database
Players to watch/ask
JP:
NA:
- Cadenza/Index - found in Main melty discord server
Overview
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Introducing C-seifuku Akiha, One of the top tiers to exist in MBAACC. The character by nature can be played however you would like, but rewards those who gravitate towards a defensive zoning style. One of the main reasons is that she has the incredible tool at her fingertips(literally) Called "Soko De". a move that materializes a flame pillar that is AUB and what's more is that it can be jump cancelled on Whiff, Hit, and block. Its a move that minimizes and sort of risk on C-seifuku's part to great lengths. With that in mind, it means that she can fish for a hit with j214A/B and then can corner carry off of any stray hit at any point in time. She quickly turns from a zoning, defensive styled character to an oki setplay in the corner. She has a total of 4 lows that all have to be correctly shielded and one of the lows is +1. Her normals overall are great as 2C is a decent poke against hyper aggressive players that dash in mindlessly, j.A is a multipurpose tool for dealing with foes that are in A2A and overall just an excellent rising normal option, j.B is an excellent move to use if someone is clearly above you where your specials won't reach and is also good as a rising button to fish for counter hits if you feel the opponent is trying to approach you from the air.
Sadly(or thankfully depending on what side you're on) her main weakness is that while j214A/B is powerful if the opponent knows the vectors in how she will apply the special it becomes more of a detriment if you use it too liberally without paying attention to the screen. SO while your particular special is that powerful that it can quickly turns the tables in your favor, blade as any, is better when its in its sheath. if you can get over the quirk of the char's lack of repeatable A normals, the character is a robust, strong top tier that has very little problems with answering to the issues that the cast throws at her.
General Gameplan
Her gameplan is very straight forward. She bides her time being defensive in neutral and poking with her special move j214B and otherwise obstructing the opponent's path to get to her. That's not to say she doesn't have up close to fight either. j.A is a very good button for using an A2A and as a rising button in general for CH fishing. It can also set up air tick throws and on Non counter hit goes into her combo sequence. It is important to learn to TKj214X, when to do it and when to not use j214 but j236B as those two specials combined in your gameplan really makes fighting Csei a nightmare for a lot of characters.
Neutral
In neutral, you have plenty of tools at your disposal. Lets go over the important ones that C-seifuku will use a lot.
j214A/B
Soko de, a versatile special that allows for incredible + frames to start your offense. It is also AUB and jump cancellable on whiff, block, hit. In neutral though you will primarily use j214B and think of it like its fishing. if j214B catches you can reel in your reward, a combo from halfscreen! This is all without actually having to interact with opponent up close a very strong special.
j214A is generally used whenever you need to cover your landing after a double jump use or to get more + frames in your pressure. one thing to note is the one important thing to note
If you used up your two jumps then j214X, you are in helpless state until you land
Generally the logic behind using j214B is using it as the opponent either committed to a special that is grounded, for example ciel's 214X or when the opponent is approaching from fullscreen to halfscreen range. Times you can also use j214B is when the opponent is retreating via backdash or air backdash. When using j214B its important to know when to TK it or not. TK214B allows for a safer poke in neutral and you are not as prone to predictable placements as much. Of course when you land a hit you can then confirm and corner carry into setplay!
As powerful as that move is you may want to alternate your choices in the air. such as using j236B, a horizontal ribbon that is perfect to balance out using j214B. Think of it like this in a lot of match ups where characters thrive off of playing the ground game, use j214B, but there are characters with privileged air options that's where your j236B comes into play. its essential that you learn the importance of j236B that while it doesn't grant a combo like j214X, it does make it harder to approach C-seifuku from the air and is safer to throw out if you noticed your opponent's approaches are becoming aggressive. If they are a bit too close for j236B to use safely, you can also use rising j.A and overall use it whenever you scouting in the air other than using j214B whenever someone is approaching predictably. Converting from j.A counterhit is a common thing as well for C.Seifuku and also corner carries.
Now that isn't to say that she doesn't have good ground game either! She is incredibly fast given the nature of her dash and if you feel as though the opponent is hesitant or even in some match ups like nero or c roa you can then quickly switch from a defensive play style into an aggressive one using dash 5A into combo or dash jump j.A CH or dash jump j.AAAAAAA for an air tick throw set up. If someone is also approaching from the air you can attempt to do a dash under 2C.
Play according by the match up or player, these are just a few common rule of thumb to play by.
Pressure
For the basics, C-seifuku's pressure isn't like your typical melty blood character in that you can utilize whiffs to enforce frame traps or throw off the offense pattern, however what you do have at your disposal is j214A, 214A, 2A,6B and 63214C when used properly is really really strong. starting with this basic string here.
- 5A 5B 5C 2C 2A
2A is +1 and if you let it fully recover it frame traps into either 2B or 6B and you can loop it by doing 6B/2B 5C 2C 2A X N this is just one of the basic formats that teaches you that 2A is really really valuable so don't start your pressure with 2A. When doing this basic string on a non ex guard scenario you may find that people will either mash normals after 2A into 6B/2B which is a counter hit and you get to do your combo, however there are people that will jump to make conversions harder there are two ways to deter this. People usually jump because they don't want to deal with 63214C, her command grab. here's one idea you can do
- 5A 5B 6B 2A 214A
214A is an easy check for catching jumpouts and you can convert by doing 6B after to go into the same air combo sequences listed in Normal combos. Its -1 and frametraps to counter hit mashing as well. you can continue pressure generally by hitting 6B on block since command normals have a buffer or you can jump j214A if you think their mash is committed and faster than your 6B for continued pressure. Very important special in her arsenal to use along with the following two below. Another idea if that if you know they are eager to jump you can do delay jump if you are doing 6B after your 2A fully recovers in your pressure. the idea is to delay jumping to visually confirm if they are airborne or on the ground. Not the easiest thing to do, but if you can do this it becomes just another opportunity to get damage when the opponent gets hasty to escape
j214A This special is really good when you established the fear of catching jump outs and getting hit by frame traps and staggers. so say you do this as your blockstring
- 5A (slight delay) 5B (slight delay) 2A
This is a chance to do TK214A. its AUB and on block you are really plus that you can do the following (note: you want to dj airdash like dj IAD to make it tighter)
- j214A dj airdash j.A, 63214C
- j214A dj airdash j.C, 5A
- j214A dj airdash j.[C]j.B slight delay j.A (fuzzy overhead mix up)
- j214A dj, delay j214A
- j214A dj, empty jump command grab
- j214A dj, j.C j214A
If you think the opponent is respectful of your pressure you can try to fit in command grab either have the last bullet point(just have to wait a bit) or after a 2A. Its important to note that her pressure pushes her out of command grab range easily by any B normal so practically you will command grab with having having them block j214A or 2A or during okizeme which will be covered shortly. The idea in her pressure is to abuse her 2A being +1 and once that is established you can then use j214A for mix up opportunities. 63214C makes people try to fuzzy jump and 214A and 6B beats fuzzy jump.
While Csei's pressure is a bit strange from the cast and a bit linear in terms of variety its important to stagger your B normals, its also ok to stop at 5B since its -1 and has a long special/normal cancel window. since people are looking for Csei go to into C normals you can sneak in a TK214A if you let it fully recover or you can go into 2A, let it fully recover and then continue with either 2B or 6B depending on what you think is fit for the course. here's some blockstrings to look at and try out. Be sure to lab out some others as in melty its always good to do something new, you can also incorporate 5[C] if you think the opponent is really content with downback but do so sparingly since it can be blocked on reaction, shield on reaction or dodged. there is also 236C which makes you +9, very rarely is it used for pressure extensions since 5C moves her forward that it goes into 2A a majority of the time even against ex guard but it is an option. Other ways to add onto your pressure is not immediately igniting pit and activating it during your blockstrings for a meterless way and more efficient way to remain plus to do more pressure on the opponent, that will be covered more thoroughly in the okizeme portion.
- 5A (delay) 5B (delay) 5C, 2A, 6B delay 5C 2C 2A
- 5A 5B (delay) 2A, 2C (delay) 5C 214A
- 5A 5B, (TK 214A into airdash options above)
- 5A 5B (slight delay) 2B, (slight delay) 6B, 5C 2C 2A, (TK j214A or dash 63214C)
- 5A/2A, (delay) 63214C (have to be up close for this to work)
- 5A (slight delay) 5B, 5C 2A, 214A, 6B/2B or j214A
- 5A/2A 5B 2A 2C (delay) 5C 236C, dash 5A
Its very important to establish your command throw threat as listed in bolded because if you do then the opponent will have more incentive to mash or jump out which is where 6B will come into play as will 214A.
Okizeme
So after j.[C] ender j22A/B/C is set you have quite a bit of options but the most common option that people immediately pick is to ignite it as a meaty. Its a safe way to do your oki since the opponent cannot do much except for either character specific tactics or a specific moon tactic (ex shield jump, ex shield, double jump). Here are your options for oki. j22A/B uncharged ignite is only one pillar while charged is two. Usually you want to have it charged.
J22[A/B] charged ignite
- empty sj 5A
- dash 5[C] 2C 6C 214A
- dash 5{C} 2A 2C 6C 214A
- sj delay airdash j.C
- sj j.C airdash j.C
- sj j.C j.B
- sj j.[C] j.B slight delay j.A(careful doing this on smaller characters and Pciel's hitboxes, do the above for more stable results)
- SJ j.C, 5A
- dash empty jump command grab.
these are the list of oki options you have at your disposal for j22A/B. You can quickly inspect how your opponent not only deal with pit but also with these mixups listed. if they are good at blocking high/lows then mix in command grabs. if you delay the empty jump command grab with empty jump 5A it becomes harder for the opponent to fuzzy jump it nor can they mash out of it as easily.
j22C Ex pit when ignited non charged gives two pillar ticks while charged gives 3. in situations you want to recover health and keep pressure or do a 5[C] mix up you end a combo in j22C then charge ignite it by doing j22[A/B/C] then immediately input the command for heat when you land and you can either 5[C] immediately or dash 5A into either command grab or staggers. There is one more mix up that you can do
- sj, double jump drift airdash j.C or land 5A or j.A airdash j.C
If you know people get hit by pit on wake up you do this
- Super jump, Neutral dj or super double jump forward j.[C]
- neutral dj: j.[C], j.A(whiff) j214A, TK j214A dj j.C, j.B j.C dj j.[C] j22A/C
- Super double jump: j.[C] otg 214A, 6B, j.B j.C dj j.[C] j22A/C or j214C(usually on small characters) j.B j.C dj j.[C] j22A/B/C
Now these are examples to use whenever you ignite pit, however you don't always have to ignite pit. you can use it to remain plus in blockstrings and enforce the threat of Command grab, 5A into command grab, or 5A into staggers. In order to keep the pit set and remain advantageous you can do the following after j22X is set
- j22X(sets pit), airdash j214A Air throw(whiff)
- j.[C], slight delay j22x(pit set), airdash j.[C] j.B slight delay j.A
- j.[C], slight delay j22x(pit set), airdash j.C(safejumps), 5A
- j22X, j214B, TK j214B, dj airdash j.A command grab or 5A
- j22X, j214B, dash 5A into command grab or stagger
- j22X, 5[C] 2C 6C (corner combo route)
- j22x 5{C} 2C 6C (corner combo route)
- j22x dash 5A into command grab or stagger 5B
- j22x dash j214A(to beat mashing heat or normals)
The benefit of not igniting pit immediately is that if you open up someone and have pit set up then you can use corner combo routes listed that use pit ignition in your combos. So not only does it throw off the opponent by not immediately igniting the pit but you get a reward for more damage for opening up people and using the pit ignition during your combo route.
Additional Notes'
the following ignites pit, 22X and j22X, Shield, and command throw. The first two are straight forward to understand, the other two are a bit more specific.
Shield
Activates any of pits set. the reason you would use this is after a j22A/B/C is set and you chose to not ignite, and the opponent successfully mashed out and air throw back into the corner with the pit underneath you. You can wake up crouch shield to ignite the pit and if the opponent pressed a button its a counter hit and also is your combo although its more likely for the combo to happen if you crouch shield A or B pit set since its a one tick while j22C will be two tick.
Command grab
when the opponent is directly under the pit and is command thrown, it ignites the pit and allows for a side switch combo to keep the corner, refer to corner combos for that route. The thing is, unless its directly below them then it will never ignite which is why j22C will guarantee ignition of the pit on even wara and all of the casts except ryougi which never activates the pit when you command throw her with any pit, even j22C. In short its by the location of the opponent and the pit when they get command grab. J22A/B works on the cast if they are directly in the corner except for ryougi and wara. For wara specifically you need to use j22C which generally is preferred in a lot of cases anyways for this little info down below.
Pit ignition notes
Pit ignition other than granting stable, safe oki also has additional benefits. One of them covered earlier is that you get more damage meterlessly tacked on to your combo with the correct routing. The second most important thing is that she gains meter for having you block the pit ignition whether its EX, or A/B set. This means C-sei is never really starved for meter since she gains it from making you block pit ignition among other things. That's why most of the time if you are at 200% and you spent 100% for ex pit, chances are you will end up at 200% again. There's very few reasons why you would go for j22A/B unless you wanted the optimal combo involving it. Other times you are forced to do j22A/B because you used heat to escape pressure. Otherwise feel free to use j22C whenever you can, especially if you're in max.
With that in mind, experiment with the knowledge here and apply your own logic!
Defense
Defense wise like many melty characters you're better off blocking, ex guarding and jumping but let's list the following options you have
- dodge
- heat
- Ex shield
- Backdash
- 623C
- Mash
Going from bottom to top, mashing can be done if enough space is allowed, beware that her 2A is active on the 6th frame and is not repeatable. This basically means you're more prone to getting IAD reset because you have to chain into a B normal instead of other characters being able to 2AA before going into a B normal where they can do this and recover in time from an IAD reset, Csei cannot. 623C is a common option among Csei players that just started melty and want out the reason why 623C isn't particularly good is that it loses to throws since its strike invuln and post flash its so slow that allows all of the cast to meaty 2A and then 5[D] on reaction. On block its punishable and after shielding its punishable. Backdash is fairly decent midscreen but can be OS'D while backdashing in the corner is very specific to the situation. Ex shield does give the most reward and can be good to use if someone is predictably doing 2A meaties or likes doing safe jumps as C moon characters ruin safe jumps that characters have, but don't get used to it too often. Heat is a very good defensive maneuver, but is highly expensive. While csei can operate without meter it never hurts to have some so you can end combos in j22C whenever possible. Dodge is very specific but generally used to dodge B or C normals. Block and jumping when the opportunity arises is really strong. if they are looking to Air throw you cause you're jumping you can stay on the ground and dash out or rising j.A to CH them if need be. As long as you ex guard and jump accordingly you will be fine as Csei since she doesn't have any particularly good reversals except for heat
Combos
Starters
Enders
OTG Pick ups
Normal Combos
In parenthesis for the dj. you dj(8) whenever you're at the corner when you do dj j.[C] for more consistency, sometimes the j214A won't hit as consistently for the rest of the combo to work