Samurai Shodown/Shiki

Shiki
色, Shiki

Introduction

Shiki is a relentless rushdown specialist, who can keep her opponents on their toes constantly between her great mobility options and simple, yet effective mixups from close range. She’s the most extreme of the rushdown characters in that she has almost no options from farther ranges, which means she has to constantly force her way in to apply her mixup game.

To achieve this, Shiki has access to some of the more unique tools among the cast. She is one of the few characters with a far special-cancelable button in 5B, which helps her neutral game immensely. Her teleports are fast and can be used as an alternate way of moving around the screen. Her SSM is also insane. It tracks anywhere on the screen, essentially giving her a free 65% punish on stuff most characters couldn’t even punish in the first place.

Playing the neutral with Shiki can be awkward, since she lacks range on her buttons and Shiki’s heavy slashes are very situational. While she is quite fast, she has no “get-in-free-card” she can abuse, so she is forced to bet the farm on a lucky jump-in or a reversal DP sometimes

Strengths	Weaknesses
Strong mixup game Great mobility Arguably the best SSM in the game	Has to get in to deal damage Awkward normals with short range Needs to take big risks constantly

Data

Damage taken: 110%
Rage duration: 8 seconds

Gameplan

Neutral

• n.5C, 5C, and a well-spaced 2C can all be recoil cancelled into 22A on block to remain relatively safe. This rarely allows you to punish your opponent's punish attempts due to the long recovery on the teleport, however.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

5A

5A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 6 - - - -2 -5 - Yes - Yes No Short range cancelable light. Good for stuffing approaches or pressuring up close. Combos into 623A at point blank.

5B

5B

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 89 Mid 9 - - - 0 -12(-6 vs unarmed) - Yes - Yes No Your main punish and neutral tool. Can be whiff cancelled into specials. Combos into 236A and 236B from basically any range and 236C while in rage. Also a very strong confirm tool for WFT. It's relatively safe on block when spaced and can be recoil cancelled into 22A for further safety.

5C

5C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 220 Mid 21 - - - 2 -16(-2 vs unarmed) - No - Yes No Shiki's longest ranged standing normal. Recoil canceling into 22A allows this normal to be kept relatively safe, so using it in footsies occasionally is not bad. Keep in mind many characters have normals with similar range that are faster, so you may trade with or lose to these normals often. This also combos from back throw midscreen.

2A

2A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 5 - - - -5 -5(-8 vs unarmed) - Yes - Yes No Crouching, cancelable light. Combos into 623A at point blank.

2B

2B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 90 Mid 12 - - - -4 -12(-8 vs unarmed) - Yes - Yes No Crouching alternative to 5B that does slightly more damage at the cost of some range and slower startup. Can be whiff cancelled into specials. This button also has some niche anti-air potential.

2C

2C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 150/150 Low 15 - - - KD -28(-16 vs unarmed) - No - No No A 2-hit sweep in which both hits knock down. Excellent for catching people walking back in neutral due to the great range, but very unsafe on block. If the second hit is blocked, it can be recoil cancelled into 22A for relative safety but this is easier to punish than recoil cancels from n.5C or 5C. Curiously, this normal isn't deflectable due to how low it hits, so it can be useful if your opponent likes to abuse recoil cancels into deflect.

Near Slashes

n.5C

n.5C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 200 Mid 15 - - - -3 -16(-7 vs unarmed) - No - Yes No Good close range heavy punish tool if you don't want to commit to rekka. Can be recoil cancelled into 22A on block for safety, but some characters may be able to punish this.

* All of Shiki's other normals are identical regardless of proximity.

Kicks

5D

5D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 9 - - - -8 -13 - Yes - No Yes Low commit anti-air normal. Unsafe on hit, but cancelable, and can combo into 623S or 623K up close, so this is your best punish option if you find yourself disarmed. Otherwise, stick to 5B.

6D

6D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 40 Mid 9 - - - KD -15 - No - No Yes Kick that knocks down on hit. Can be used mainly as an anti-air.

2D

2D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 20 Low 6 - - - 1 -2 - No - No Yes Quick kick that is plus on hit. Can be used to check opponent movement and apply pressure up close.

3D

3D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 70 Low 13 - - - KD -28 - No - No Yes Sweep that is slightly faster than 2C but still just as unsafe and not recoil cancelable. Use 2C unless you're disarmed.

Dash Normals

66A

66A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 5 - - - -4 -42(-7 vs unarmed) - Yes - Yes No Animation is identical to 2A. Extremely unsafe on block. Combos into 623A up close.

66B

66B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 80 Mid 10 - - - -6 -35(-10 vs unarmed) - Yes - Yes No Animation is similar (but not identical) to 2B. Also extremely unsafe on block, like 66A. Your best combo tool after throw if you don't want to risk comboing into rekka.

66C

66C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 140 (50, 50, 40) Mid 8, 16, 26 - - - KD -11 - No - Yes⁺ No This is actually a very good normal in neutral. It's hard to punish on block (but not safe), and can catch far jumps and movement from quite far. It's also an excellent ranged punish due to the 3 hits. ⁺The last hit is not deflectable, due to it being a kick.

66D

66D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 60 Low 7 - - - KD -12 - No - No No Sliding kick. Decent for catching people standing from a distance, but since Shiki has no dashing overhead the mixup potential with this normal is very low. Much safer on block than 2C or 3D, though.

Air Normals

j.A

j.A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 High 7 - - - - - - - - No No Quick jumping light. This normal has the distinction of being Shiki's most downward angled jump normal, but stick to j.B or j.C.

j.B

j.B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 100 High 10 - - - - - - - - No No Forward hitting jump normal. This is faster than j.C, so if you react late it's a slightly better air to air option. Very poor for jump-ins.

j.C

j.C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 140 High 14 - - - - - - - - No No Shiki's best jump normal, by far. Great for jump-ins and air-to-airing, given it's very large horizontal hitbox. This normal is also relatively easy (by SamSho standards) to combo from on a grounded connect, and leads to excellent damage when doing so. This normal is rather slow, however, so if you're losing air to air exchanges switch to j.B.

j.D

j.D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 High 11 - - - - - - - - No Yes Despite how this normal might look, it cannot cross-up at all. Relatively useless, unless disarmed.

Unarmed Normals

u.5S

u.5S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 5 - - - +1 -4 - No - No Yes Fast slap to the face. Not cancelable in any shape or form. Stick to 2D and 5D, or try to get your swords back.

u.2S

u.2S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 6 - - - +2 -3 - - - No Yes Fast slap to the groin. Like u.5S, also not cancelable in any shape or form. Stick to 2D or try to get your swords back.

ju.S

ju.S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 High 5 - - - - - - No - No Yes Really awful jump normal besides speed. Use j.D if disarmed instead.

u.66S

u.66S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 5 - - - KD -13 - No - No Yes Identical animation to u.2S, but knocks down. This is not a low however, so 66D is still preferable if trying to get a knock down for safe weapon retrieval. (66D also does more damage, for some reason and safer)

Universal Mechanics

Guard Break

Guard Break (Throw) 4/5/6C+D Neutral/Forward Throw Neutral/Forward Throw Back Throw Back Throw	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Neutral/Forward - - - - - - - - - - - - - Universal throw. Best followed up with by 5B or 66B midscreen. (See below for combos.) Back - - - - - - - - - - - - - Universal throw. Best followed up with by 5C, 5B or 66B midscreen. (See below for combos.)

Surprise Attack

Surprise Attack (Overhead) 5B+C Armed Armed Unarmed Unarmed

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Armed 60 High 15 - - - -3 -16 - No - No No Universal overhead. Shiki's only true grounded overhead. This is minus on hit but is a necessary tool in order to condition people who are content to crouch block her offense, especially due to it being 15 frames, which is nigh-unreactable. Unarmed 60 High 18 - - - -3 -16 - No - No Yes Universal overhead. Unarmed version has far better range and can be spaced.

Dodge

Dodge 5A+B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - - - Universal dodge.

Counter / Blade Catch

Counter / Blade Catch 236A+B Counter Counter Blade Catch Blade Catch

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Armed - - - - - - - - - - - - - Universal counter. Allows you to follow up with a guaranteed attack of your own. The follow up depends on the strength of the attack you counter. If you counter a heavy slash or a dashing slash, your opponent will be disarmed. Disarmed - - - - - - - - - - - - - Universal counter. While disarmed, your counter will disarm and knock away your opponent regardless of slash level used.

Rage Explosion

Rage Explosion 5A+B+C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - Unblockable pushback attack.

Lightning Blade

Lightning Blade (Issen) 5A+B+C during Rage Explosion	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - - - Has projectile invulnerability and anti-airs. Damage scales up beased on reamaining health.

Special Moves

Exodus Stream

Exodus Stream 236S Exodus Stream Exodus Stream

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed A 40 Low 16 - - - -20 -25 - No - No No B 50 Low 19 - - - -20 -25 - No - No No C 60 Low 19 - - - -20 -25 - No - No No Shiki's rekka. This is her main distance confirm and combo tool, and can also be used as an (unsafe) low threat in neutral. This is unsafe on hit unless you perform the followup, but doing this also has its misgivings, as noted below. C (Rage) 108 Low - - - - -20 -25 - No - No No In rage, the C version of Shiki's rekka becomes multi-hit, fast enough to combo from 5B or 66B, and does significantly more damage. It remains unsafe on hit, however.

Cloudburst

Cloudburst 236S after Exodus Stream Cloudburst Cloudburst

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Normal 80 Mid - - - - KD -63~-65 - No - No No The followup to Shiki's rekka. Performs the same move regardless of the button used. While it is necessary to perform this to keep yourself safe on hit, if your opponent rage explodes the first hit of your rekka and you commit to this, you can be punished immediately with Issen as Shiki's airborne state causes her to not get hit by the automatic knockback of the rage explosion. Be very wary about how you use rekka, especially in the final rounds of games. Galford and Hanzo can also escape your rekka for free without needing to use rage explosion. If your opponent is very happy about punishing this with rage explosion, you can try to use this to get them to waste their rage meter early (by dropping the combo early after the first hit on a read), allowing you to play the rest of the game without worrying about this threat. Rage (from 236C) 72 Mid - - - - - -63 - No - No No When comboed into from 236C in rage, the rekka followup also becomes multihit, but it curiously does less damage than normal (the damage being frontloaded on the first hit of the rekka instead). The version from 236A and 236B remains the same, only gaining the universal damage boost from your rage state.

Elysium Halo

Elysium Halo 623S Elysium Halo Elysium Halo

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed A 100 Mid - - - - KD -39 - No - No No B 120 (80, 40) Mid - - - - KD -56 - No - No No C 140 (80, 30, 30) Mid - - - - KD -62 - No - No No Shiki's DP. This DP is actually quite useful as it has a decent amount of invulnerability and is a very consistent anti-air. It can also be used as an invincible reversal. Each version of her DP does an additional hit and travels higher based on strength. The C version is also her highest damage combo ender outside of rage, but you must be very close to combo into DP.

Tartarus Drop

Tartarus Drop 623K Tartarus Drop Tartarus Drop

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 130 (20, 80, 30) Low - - - - KD -37 - No - No Yes This is a hitgrab that hits low, and not a command grab. Very unsafe on block. You must be extremely close to combo into this, but it can be useful in certain punish situations if you want to sideswitch your opponent towards the corner. You can also use this while unarmed as a punish in order to try and retrieve your weapon.

Setsuna

Setsuna 22S Setsuna Setsuna

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - - - - - - - - Yes Shiki's teleport. The A version teleports her backwards, the B version leaves her in-place, and the C version teleports her forward and can go behind the opponent. This teleport is only invincible while Shiki is invisible, leaving her very vunerable during the startup and recovery. Recoil cancel into 22A can be used to keep some normals safe, and doing teleport on your opponents wakeup can be used to bait out reversals or mixup what side you'll be on, as all 3 teleports look identical. Use sparingly, as it is very easy to punish if used improperly.

Lotus Dance of Sublimation

Lotus Dance of Sublimation 214S Lotus Dance of Sublimation Lotus Dance of Sublimation

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 140 Throw 27 - - - KD - - No - No No The grab version of Shiki's backflip. This grab is a bit finicky and has very niche uses, to say the least. The opponent can jump or crouch to avoid it, and it has no tracking ability and cannot be steered. When using it you want to aim for Shiki to hit the opponent a bit before she is fully inverted in the air, unlike how it might appear. Since the grab can be avoided simply by crouching, you'll have to do some serious conditioning if you want to land this as a mixup. This grab also side switches on hit (like most command grabs in the game), so it can be unfavorable to use if it will throw your opponent out of the corner. It is very unsafe on whiff and can be easily punished on reaction with heavy slashes, in the case that it does whiff. It does have some application for punishing distant jumps or going over specific normals or projectiles, but jumping or using 421S is more consistent for these tasks.

Lotus Dance of Oblivion

Lotus Dance of Oblivion 421S Lotus Dance of Oblivion Lotus Dance of Oblivion

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed A 100 Mid 27 - - - KD -33 - No - No No B 140⁺ Mid 27 - - - KD -28 - No - No No C 140⁺ Mid 27 - - - KD -32 - No - No No The hit version of Shiki's backflip. This move is more useful in general than the grab version, but remains very unsafe on whiff and on block. Despite this, you can use 421S to call out distant jumps, committal normals that do not anti-air, or projectiles, resulting in a knockdown. Up close, you can create a left/right mixup between 421A and 421B, as 421A will cross-up on (most) crouching opponents and hit in front on (most) standing opponents, and 421B will cross-up on (most) standing opponents (but whiff on crouchers). These mixups are dangerous as 421S is very unsafe on block, but can allow you to condition your opponent for other options on offense. ⁺421B and 421C will do less damage if the first 3 hits connect (about 120, instead of 140), since the third hit knocks down before the final hit can connect. This is mainly applicable against tall characters like Earthquake.

Supers

Weapon Flipping Technique

Tenma Wave Cyclone 236B+C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 348 Mid 14 - - - KD -40 - No - No No Shiki's WFT. Can be confirmed into from 5B and 66B for an easy disarming of your opponent. Despite having the same animation as her rekka, this is a mid, and not a low. You can be thrown out of this on reaction if performed raw, so be careful about doing such.

Super Special Move

Skandha Avidya 641236C+D

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 620 Mid 10+19 - - - KD -45 - No - No No Shiki's SSM, which is available once per match. This super is incredible. Upon use Shiki summons 2 chains that will hit a grounded opponent from anywhere on the screen, starting an animation where she teleports to them and slices their chest open. The applications of this are endless. Anything that you can react to (or read) can be punished at any time for 70-80% damage. Careful use of this super will allow Shiki to always have a dangerous presence anywhere on screen, given that you haven't used the super already. It is also very safe on block if blocked from a distance. The one weakness of this super is its long startup; like other SSMs it is difficult to use as a punish on block to anything that is not absurdly unsafe. Additionally, you need to do this somewhat early if attempting to punish a projectile, as the projectile can hit you out of the super if it is too close when you perform it.

Combos

Midscreen

• (5A/2A/66A) xx 623A
  Your fastest punish. Have to be very close for DP to combo.

• (6CD/j.C)...
  • 2C
    Low damage but reliable.
  • 5B xx 236B xx 236S
    Basic combo from 5B and forward throw. Keep in mind this can be Issen punished on hit.
  • 5B xx 236C xx 236S
    Rage only. Max damage from forward throw/5B when in rage (without using WFT). Note that you're a bit too far for this to combo after back throw midscreen.
  • 5B xx 236BC
    Easy combo or confirm into WFT.
  • 66B xx 623C
    Safer but slightly more difficult combo from forward throw that also does more damage than rekka outside of rage.
  • 66B xx 623D
    Sideswitch combo, if you want to switch sides and didn't just back throw to begin with.

Corner

• (6CD/j.C)...
  • 5B xx 623C
  • 5B xx 623D
    After forward throw in the corner you're close enough for DP and your hit grab to combo without dashing.

Videos

• Shiki gameplay trailer by SNK (2019)
• Various punish concepts using Shiki's SSM

Colors

External Links

• Punishment guide
• Shiki frame data
• #SS_SH on Twitter