Arcana Heart 3/AH3/Fiona Mayfield

Fiona Mayfield

Health Modifier	+4%
Guts Threshold	~55%
Maximum Guts	~25%
Guts Factor	~5.63%
Base EHP	~26448

Fiona's Move List

Introduction

The giant sword and boots aren't for nothing. Fiona may be on the slower side, but she hits like a tank. Players that are interesting in Fiona like spacing dependent characters with big normals and damage.

Starting Out

1 - Homing Approach
JC is great for homing towards a grounded opponent. It's huge and you can make it cross up at will. Try to have it come out over your opponents head for ambiguous left/right mix ups on almost every homing approach. It is also easy to combo off of. However because of its speed you need to throw it out somewhat early. In exchange, it has a great hitbox and clash frames to help get in on your opponent. When your opponent is trying to home towards you, JB is good when the are a bit further out. It comes out much faster than JC and has great horizontal range. Any Fiona worth his salt will use all of these moves and mix it up with JE on occasionally.

2 - Neutral Spacing
Not only are most of Fiona's moves slow, they also put her at a disadvantage on block. You need to be careful when spacing with Fiona. Luckily she has 5B and 2B. 5B is good for your ground spacing and pressure and 2B's hitbox makes for a decent anti air. The best part is that both of these are jump cancellable on hit or block. You can use this to erase your frame disadvantage and stay on your man. These two moves are important towards Fiona's spacing, but make sure you do not whiff. They still have a large amount of recovery if you only hit air.

3 - Hit Confirms
It's very easy to confirm from from a homing JC. JC floats grounded opponents and can be picked up without meter with a rejump JB (then the rest of your combo). On the ground, confirm B and C hits to Ronco Miniato or Gae Bulg if you have the meter.

4 - Defense
2B will be your main tool for poking out. It has clash in its start up and good range. Unfortunately its weak against lows and moves coming from straight above. Fiona has no true reversals, but she has moves with armor properties. Excalibur and 5[C] could help you against unsuspecting opponents. Kolb Land could also help you; it works well against opponents above you and it is unclashable. It is important to take a well assessed gamble when using these. They have huge amounts of recovery and could put you in more trouble than it's worth. 4GC into Heavens fall is good when trying to escape air unblockables. 6GCs on the ground into 5A or throw is the best she has. A saver tactic would be to try to HJGuard after 6GCs and try to reestablish neutral.

Arcana Selection

To be honest, picking an arcana for Fiona is hard. You don't get many chances to incorporate Arcana's into combos and shes rather slow to bring zoning tools alive. Many choices in arcana for Fiona prioritize increasing meter quickly, fast force gauge recovery and an overall buff of her defense. In other words, maintaining the status quo.

Love
Love has decent health and good force gauge recovery. Unfortunately, Love's specials don't come too much in handy for Fiona. Choose this when you are unfamiliar with the other arcanas.

Thunder
Thunder step and charge E attacks can help you to play more aggressively and negate attacks from Fiona bad angles. If you have the meter you could use clash to confirm into Wineb.

Time
Time does not do good things with Fiona's health. Also, do not burst with this arcana unless you absolutely must. Nevertheless she does get a couple of set ups with Time and you can use the increased time to cheese out Fiona's overhead 6B. Time's backdash can also help Fiona deal with pressure.

Fire
Gouten Shou can be a good reversal for Fiona and will help you tag extra damage on your opponents. Unfortunately, the explosion from the EF effects make fire hard to use for EF combos.

Wind
The wind arcana greatly helps Fiona with her spacing. It gives her extra movement options to really put the hurt on with JC. 6GC will also help you get out of bad situations so you don't have to depend on Fiona risky "reversals." You'll end up loosing some health, but you can focus your force gauge on bursts and gain more options to help keep you out of trouble.

Sacred
You use a lot of life but JB to Holy Voice is a super easy confirm for Sacred Fiona. You can also use Phanlax as okizeme after a Heaven's fall.

Ice
Like the fire arcana, you get a great reversal move, Sprengi for tough situations. Ice step can also help move you around the stage quickly like the Wind. With that you can take advantage of 2B to space your opponent. After a JE or Heaven's fall ender, you can use Kurdi for okizeme.

Sin
Sin's defense is good and you get meter for the self damage moves. This works out rather well for Fiona as she already has high defense. Super sin-balls after Heaven's fall is also great for okizeme and low-maintenance zoning against your opponent

Halo
It's hard to quickly increase your arcana gauge with Halo since you'll be using Celestial Gate for everything (reversals, combo enders, etc). Photon and Imperial Division are great moves for pressure during EF... so do not burst with this arcana either.

Tone
Ef combos with Tone can lead to huge damage for Fiona. Just like with Fire and Ice, Tone's Vivo can be used for reversals, but it and Accentus are only really good with extra canon's around.

Flower
Remember how you're not supposed to burst with most of the other arcana's above? Forget that for Flower. Make sure to take advantage of Flowers super quick burst recharge speed to get you out of a Jam. The fact that Flower also nullifies counter hits for you takes a huge amount of risk out of Fiona's neutral spacing. Multilayered Crimson Nirvana is also great for post knockdown mixup or forcing your onto your opponent. Flower definitely helps Fiona maintain her status quo and is a great choice of arcana for her.

Strategy

...

Combos

Target Combos

• 2A 5B 2C 6D 2B JB JB JC J214X

Simple homing cancel combo.

• 2A 5B 2C [EFC] [step] 5B 2B JB JB JC J214X

You can use JE instead of Heaven's Fall at the end of the combo. In fact, you should on some characters.

• 2A 5B 2C [EFC] 5B 2B 623A 236AB

Good combo for taking okizeme after. You cannot do this with the earth arcana. For okizeme, cross up JC or meaty 2X is good.

• 2A 5B 2C 421A [EFC] [5D] JA JB JB JE

• 2A 5B 2C 421A [EFC] [5D] JB JC J214X

• 5B 2C 421A [EFC] [5D] JB JB JC J214X

Kolb Land combos. If you don't have your Force gauge, you could homing cancel instead.

• 6B [6HC] 2A～

Overhead into a combo. Best to go into 2C after the 2A.

• 6B 63214A 214AB

Another overhead combo. You can use specific Arcana supers instead of Gae Bulg.

• 2A 5B 5C [EFC] ([step] 5C) 236A 236B 236C X

Sacred Bringer combo. You can use Sacred Punish instead of it Bringer. The [step] 5C is for father confirms.

• 2A 5B 5C [EFC] 236A 5B 2B （JA） JB [jc] JB JC 214C

Link Grand Divide into 5B. Cut out the JA depending on your distance from the opponent.

• ～236A 6236B~A

Misty chain kara canceled into Excalibur. A good safe way to add damage off random Karetovs.

• ～236A 6236 421C

Misty chain linked into Kolb Land C. You can only do this with your back right up against the wall

• ～2C 63214A [EFC] 2C 623B 236AB

Good for far confirms.

Arcana combos

Love

• ～2C [EFC] [step] 2B 623A 236E JA JB [jc] JA JB

Joke combo for the most part, a combo into and out of love ball. You can use Ronco instead of Karetov for long confirms.

Time

• ～2C [EFC] 5B 2B JC JB [jc]JB JC J214X

Wind

• ～2E [jc] [5D] JA JB [jc] JB [jc] JB JE

• ～2C 421A [EFC] [5D] JB JA JB [jc] JB JA JB [jc] JA JB 236236E

Move list

Normal Moves

2A A little kick with her unusually huge boots, hits low. You get some decent frames off of it, but its on the slow side from an A move. Not fitting at all to mash out of blockstrings etc.

5A Fiona uses the butt of her unusually huge sword to poke the opponent, hits mid. Cancels into itself and doesn't put you in a Counter Hittable state. Due to Fiona's height and the speed of this move, if you are going to try to interrupt what your opponent is doing with a normal, this is much better than 2A. If you hit, then combo into 2A. If you see that you've clash, there are several moves that you could cancel into to respond for a favorable outcome. It takes a while to get used to, so you probably shouldn't try mashing anything out with it until you get the hang of it.

2B Fiona jabs her sword diagonally upward a little bit. This won't happen much, but if you are a bit off then you might not hit some characters crouch animations. So to be safe, use 5B for combos instead. However, on hit this floats the opponent up quite high, this is important because JB got a bit weaker. Comparatively, if you have played AH2, the release of the offensive and clash hitboxes are faster and the recovery is shorter.

5B Fiona slashes horizontally as if to bisect the opponent. This move has decent reach and some start up clash frames, making it good for spacing on the ground, but do not overestimate this move too much.

6B Fiona jumps forward a little bit, and smacks the opponent's head with both hands for a quick overhead. If you hit an airborne opponent with this, it will groundslam them. It's not instant but she is airborne for a brief moment for the attack, so you potentially use this as an anti-throw move. You cannot cancel this move until you land though so its also possible to find yourself on the bad end of a good sweep from your opponent. This move is already a good overhead, but becomes ridiculous during EF, so go ahead and abuse it to your hearts content.

2C A low slash, barely touching the ground at the opponents feet, of course, it hits low and forces down on the opponent. This move has some start up clash, but the time between the clash and the actual attack is really big, so it's usually better if you don't make it clash in the first place. Many combos have you using this move into a EF or homing cancel.

5C A really wide slash from over Fiona's head to the ground, hits mid. You can follow this up with an immediate cancel to 2C. Because of this one move, you can turn a bunch of random hits in to high damage combos without even trying. This move's hitbox is quite big, and there is clash on the start up, so you could you this as an anti air quite effectively. Two rules though: DO NOT whiff this move and if the opponent blocks it, special or homing cancel it to keep yourself safe. You can charge the move to make it an overhead, however this is really slow. On hit 5[C] will ground bounce the opponent and you can special cancel immediately, so you can follow that up with almost any special move or a 6D.

2E Fiona does a broad out-and-upward slash to about the same height as her head, hits mid and is air unblockable. Its hitbox is wide out in front but the recovery is bad and it doesn't extend to far up to be a very effective anti-air.

5E Hip-bomber, hits mid. Interestingly enough her head has a hitbox too, so you could use this as an anti cross up for sorts... rather, you don't have other move to use in response to people coming down right over you. In the end, this is mostly used to punish highjump-chicken blocks and raw 4Ds.

JA A little poke in the air, just like an airborne 5A, no CHable frames on this move. This move has a decent start up but you can't really mash it, and the hitbox is pretty narrow, so you don't you this much outside of combos. If you do manage to land a JA close to the opponent, you can easily follow it up with a JB for random confirms; this move is still vital for controlling your height for combos.

JB Like a 5B in the air, a wide horizontal slash. The hitbox is a bit thinner than it looks, but it is still pretty strong. The start up is good and has clash frames attached to it. This makes a much better air-to-air move than JA.

JC Fiona turns in air and does a very wide crescent clash from behind her, forward and up. Floats the opponent upward and does more damage than JE for some reason. The hitbox on this is huge, it extends from below and behind her, then up in in front. Its a little slow but its so huge that it almost doesn't matter. The move also has clash frames in its start up. They are much to early to be effective, so most of the time it's better if you don't clash.

JE A broad slash from top down, groundslams on hit. You will probably end up using JC more instead of this for spacing and anti-ground attempts, but this move has the most reach out of all of Fiona's moves. Unfortunately, the hitbox of this move does not extend directly below Fiona so be careful.

Special Moves

Caletvwlch 「カレトヴルッフ」 - 623ABC (Description) - Fiona starts off with a 5C-like motion then brings the sword down for a big heavy slash. This move has a very wide hitbox out in front of Fiona and ignores clash. This move also has one hit of super armor attached to hit, meaning that she can withstand any move (except lock moves) one time before the actually attack comes out. The different versions change how fast the move comes out and how much damage they do. If you miss, Fiona will faceplant the ground and you'll be in an OTG state... never whiff this move. You should also definitely cancel this into something if the opponent blocks it. You mostly use this move to mash out of stuff with super armor to air you or to blow up 6D guard cancels. (A version) - Fastest start up; Least damage (B version) - Slowest start up; Moderate damage (C version) - Slowest start up; High damage

Ronco Miniato 「ロンゴミニアト」 - 63214ABC (Description) - For some reason the sword can spin like a drill and Fiona charges into the opponent. The different version change the start up speed, number of hits and forward movement. You get plus frames off this when blocked, so the C version can be a good tool for staggers at the end of it. This can also reflect projectiles, the fly behind you though. (A version) - Fastest start up; Slight forward movement; 5 hits (B version) - Slowest start up; Moderate forward movement; 7 hits (C version) - Slowest start up; Large forward movement; 11 hits

Collbrand 「コルブランド」 - 421ABC (Description) - Fiona swings the sword straight up, like a reverse Karetov Roof. The different versions of this move change the start up, how high the move extends and the damage. There is no super armor on this move though, and it doesn't extend completely over your head. All of them ignore clash, so you could use it as an antiair, especially the C version as it is air unblockable. But just like Karetov Roof, this move should also not be whiffed under any circumstance. Best not to use it until you are used to it. (A version) - Fastest start up; Slight upward movement (B version) - Slowest start up; Moderate upward movement (C version) - Slowest start up; Large upward movement

Heaven's Fall 「ヘブンズフォール」 - J214ABC (Description) - Fiona goes up and forward little bit, then comes down with the sword in a dive like motion. The first locks the opponent and you hit the opponent multiple times until you hit the ground. Even though you'll land more hits if you connect with this from a high place, the damage will not change that much. The different versions change the start up and initial forward movement. If you whiff this move, when you hit the ground you'll bounce back a little bit then have air movement after that. This move is mostly used for combo enders and to punish 4D guard cancels. One thing to beware of, is on hit you'll end up at a large frame disadvantage against some characters including Nazuna and Kira. (A version) - Fastest start up; Slight forward movement (B version) - Slowest start up; Moderate forward movement (C version) - Slowest start up; Large forward movement

Grand Divide 「グランディバイド」 - 236A (Description) - A slash at the opponents feet for a low attack, you cannot cancel this move into anything else besides the follow. Good for punishing mash attempts after 5C and for combos. You are at a noticeable disadvantage if this is blocked though. This move initiates a series of rekka. It is much like Enja's Rikudou Rekka from SS5 as end result is big damage for the last hit, or failure and a long period of recovery afterward. There are other practical these rekkas depending on your play style and arcana.

Misty Chain 「ミスティチェイン」 - 236B [After Grand Divide] (Description) - Follow up to Grand Divide. Scoops the opponent up and sends them flying to the corner to have them bounce back at you. Notes You cannot normally cancel Misty Chain or or Angel Wing into anything but there are some tricks that you can use. To be exact, you can Kara cancel into Excalibur or Gae Bulg. For example: doing 6236B~A after Grand Divide will give you Excalibur after it. Or, you could do 236214C~AB after Misty Chain to get Gae Bulg. Grand Divide → Excalibur is often used in combos.

Angel Wing 「エンジェルウィング」 - 236C [After Misty Chain] (Description) - Follow up to Misty Chain, makes Fiona jump to pursue the opponent.

Sacred Bringer 「セイクリッドブリンガー」 [Any button after Angel Wing] (Description) - Fiona bisect the opponent, whom as no choose but to fly towards you, into two. You have one (1) frame to time this right. If you hit, you get big damage, if you miss, Fiona orz's and is very easy to make her pay for trying to do this. If you trust yourself, go for this move, if you have the slightest doubt about hitting this perfectly... don't try it.

Super Moves

Excalibur 「エクスカリバー」 - 623A+B (Description) - Excalibur, the super version of Karetov Roof. This move covers a large area, is air unblockable, reflects projectiles and does big damage. The start up is fairly long so opponents can dodge it easily with a 4D if they see it coming, or stop it entirely if they are gutsy. (The move has 1 hit hyper armor) After the superflash it is difficult to move out of the way in time. Excalibur will give you an untechable down on hit, so you can move in for okizeme. The ground version, as described is like a super powered Karetov Roof but this doesn't reach up and behind you as far. It can still be used as a long range punisher. After the move, Fiona falls on the ground and is in a down state. She can be OTG'd but she won't take a combo; the opponent will still be able to take okizeme though. The air version of this move has her fall straight down with the powered sword, you could use this as a long range air-to-air move. Unlike the ground version, she will ground bounce and can take a combo if you were you whiff this move, so be careful before you use this.

Gae Bulg 「ゲイボルグ」 - 214A+B (Description) - Gae Bulg, the super version of Ronco Miniato. This has even more reach than the C version of 63214C. Hard to use for spacing like Excalibur, but its good for random confirms (BC SUPER).

Sacred Punish 「セイクリッドパニッシュ」 - 360A+B (Description) - Sacred Punish, the super version of Sacred Bringer, does a lot of damage. You use it just like you would Sacred Bringer (after Angel Wing), but its harder to hit with. Of course, if you whiff it, you'll be wide open.

Critical Heart

Wineb・Grusveil 「ウィネブ・グルスヴッヘル」 - 632146A+B →　Angel Arrow 「エンジェルアロー」　236X → Sacred Slayer 「セイクリッドスレイヤー」 360A+B (Description) - This is a command grab that leads into follows just like the ones after Grand Divide. The normal version can be evade with a jump after superflash though. Wineb・Grusveil grabs the opponent and throws them upwards, Angel Arrow has Fiona go after them and Sacred Slayer send them into the next world... if you can time the hit just right. This is a bit easier to hit with than Sacred Punish because of a generous slow-mo effect, but it does less damage. The proper timing may be when Fiona's wings disappear... it's still under research if if that was true then it would make this even easier to hit with. You have 2F to get the clean hit (that's right, a whole 2 frames). The EF version cannot be jumped out of, and if you can hit with it the opponent will probably die because it does ridiculous damage. You still have two frames to hit with it but, Fiona moves up a bit faster, making it harder to hit with. You should practice hit with a Wineb・Grusveil after an EFC during blockstrings, sure to make any opponent uneasy when fighting you

Palettes

7. Alice (Touhou Mystic Square PC98)
8. May (Guilty Gear)