Arcana Heart 3/AH3X/Dorothy Albright

Dorothy Albright

Profile

Honest, steadfast, and almost terrifyingly cheerful, Dorothy is the shining example of the prototypical honor student. However, she is a bit of a tomboy and will go out of her way to appear as an adorable young man. Her mother is a famous Las Vegas magician and her father is an acrobat, so her love of show business and stage performance is pretty much in her blood. She worked hard to learn magic, first performing with her mother and eventually becoming the headliner of her own show, where she is billed as “Dorothy the Wizard”.

Like her mother, Dorothy cooperates with the US branch of the Celestial Union. On the flip side, she is also a master thief like her father, and is currently being investigated by Interpol, though she is far too clever to ever be caught. She is currently in Japan to assist the Celestial Union in their effort to eliminate the Drexler Institute.

Overview

Dorothy is a setup character. Her normals all have very short range which makes her neutral game sub-par. However she is still a small character that is not easy to hit, and her wide variety of projectiles, while not made for zoning, still get the job done.

Once Dorothy lands a hit, her projectile based okizeme setups are second to none. She has excellent crossups, high-low game, throw tricks, and chip damage. Not only is she capable of all this, but there is depth to the way she sets things up - she has Poker Hands. All of her specials that set a card on the screen will count as a part of a hand, and when you complete different hands, you can get a variety of powerful attacks from them. If you're the type of person who likes to blow your opponents mind with crazy setups then Dorothy is for you, just remember that you also have to learn to deal with her weakness.

Normal Moves

5A

5A	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 500 All - 3 2 10 +2 A Dorothy pokes with her wand right in front of her, hits mid. Primarily used to to connect jump ins and used in pressure.

5B

5B	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 600*4 All - 8 2*4 17 -7 A A standing wand twirl near her feet, hits mid. This does make her move forward a little bit, so good for combos. Also hits up to 4 times and can reflect projectiles.

4B

4B	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 600*4 All - 7 2*4 15 -5 A A standing wand twirl overhead, hits mid. The main use of this move is an anti air... but this move is not air unblockable, and the hitbox is weak and doesn't work well against cross ups; you need to be careful and choosy as to when to use this.

5C

5C

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 2600 All - 11 8 23 -4 B Dorothy makes a card appear right in front of her with the wand, hits mid. This move has the best reach out of all of Dorothy's normals... but it counts and a projectile and you can't cancel it into something else or EFC it so if it clashes with something, you'll probably end up sad. On hit, it knocks the opponent down but they can tech afterward. If you are near the corner though, you can follow this move up before they can tech.

5E

5E

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level Normal 3000 Mid - 33 4 20 -1 D Charged 3500 Unb - 54 6 25 - E The Cowardly-Lion comes out of the silk hat horizontally, the hitbox extends all the way to your back... but just like in the movie he sucks. Slow start up, no reach, huge recovery. The ONLY use for this move is for one particular combo. Other than that don't use this move, you can't use it, GTFO lion.

2A

2A	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 400 Low/Air - 4 4 12 -4 A A crouching sweep. Somewhat slow but hits low and cancels into itself. Mostly used as a combo starter but sees many other uses due to it being a low and the fact that her posture is relatively low during this move.

2B

2B	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 600*4 All - 9 2*4 16 -1 A Dorothy squats and twirls the stick. This hits mid but it can hit up to 4 times. Mostly used as combo filler but can also reflect projectiles.

2C

2C	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 2600 Low/Air - 7 6 21 ±0 B Sends a card out to trip up the opponent, hits low and sweeps. This move has decent start up, about even on block and counts as a projectile. One downside of this move is that you cannot cancel it until Dorothy finishes her animation for putting the card out.

2E

2E	Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level Normal 2700 Mid - 25 6 19 -2 D Charged 3100 Unb - 42 4 34 - E The Tin-Man pops out from the silk hat affixed at Dorothy's nether region... when fully charged, the reach becomes longer. Used used for combos from 3C but you could also use it as an anti air. Don't forget that its uses as an anti air are very limited.

6A

6A	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 800 Mid - 7 4 20 -7 B Dorothy pokes straight up with the wand, this is air unblockable. Used for guard breaks and combos.

6B

6B

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 1200 High/Air - 21 3 17 -4 B Dorothy does a wide downward swing with the wand, this hits overhead. Not very fast at all so most of the time you need a set up to land this, but if you are in EF, it becomes fast enough to be dependable. Besides being an overhead, you can use this to combo into 5C, or if you are in EF, 2C. Also, this will ground slam and force down on air opponents.

j.A

j.A	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 500 High/Air - 4 10 13 - B A jump kick, looks just like 2A but in air. The reach is short but the start up is good and the duration is really good. This is a really good move as long as you don't use it weird.

j.B

j.B	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 500*6 All - 8 2*6 9 - A This is a multi-hit wand twirl just like her other B moves, hits up to 6 times. Once you get it out, you'll have a really strong hitbox diagonally below you. This will also reflect projectiles straight down. The only downside of this move is that it does not hit overhead.

j.C

j.C	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 1800 All - 25 2 11 - B Dorothy sets a card up that will shortly activate to attack the opponent. Due of its special property of having a delayed attack, you can use this for many things such as setting up unblocks or combos. One thing to beware of, is that if you get hit before the card can attack, it will completely disappear.

j.E

j.E	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 2600 High/Air - 12 2 36 - D Mr. Scarecrow appears horizontally from the silk hat... seeing the theme for these E moves now? On hit this will launch the opponent horizontally. Depending on how close you hit them with it, you could follow it up.

j.2B

j.1/2/3B	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 800 High/Air - 7 Till L - - B Pogo-stick looking move, on hit you will actually bounce back up. If you whiff... you'll still bounce up off the ground. You will get your air movement reset off the bounce either way. You will not bounce if you clash.

Throws

Neutral Throw

Throw	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 2500 Throw - 5 1 23 - - Leaves opponent airborne.

Lever Throw

Lever Throw	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 2500 Throw - 3 1 23 - - Sideswaps and knocks down the opponent

Air Throw

Air Throw	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 2000 Throw - 3 1 23 - - Blasts opponent away using j.E

Special Moves

• The rule for specials that lay down cards is: A sets down a Club, B sets down a Diamond, C sets down a heart, and Supers set down a Spade.

Jack Rabbit

Jack Rabbit, Queen Bee, & King Bird 236X (air OK), can press X two additional times

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level Jack Rabbit 1100 All - 20[14] Till Projectile Lands 54[45] Total -7 B Queen Bee 1300 All - 1 Till Projectile Lands 37 Total -6 B King Bird 1500 All - 4 Till Projectile Lands 44[62] Total -8 B Values in brackets are for air version Dorothy jumps up and fires a card diagonally downward at the opponent. You'll be using this move A LOT. As you can guess by the name, you will fire off a suit depending on the move, Jack Rabbit will shoot a Jack, Queen Bee a Queen and King Bird a King. You can use the follow ups to Jack Rabbit just by pressing another attack button after the move. Keep in mind that the button that you use will determine what suit that you will fire off. For example, you could do: 236A→B→C and you would get JACK of Clubs → QUEEN of Diamonds → KING of Hearts. The cards off of this move don't normally interfere with the hands that you may be trying to build so they hang around the ground for quite a while and they are easy to make simple hands off of. The recovery off the ground version of King Bird is short, the air version however is long. You can super cancel Queen Bee to Speculation to help erase that opening though. The cards come out pretty fast and you'll find plenty of uses for it.

Ground Ten

Ground Ten 214X

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level A - - - 42 301 37 Total - - B - - - 38 301 35 Total - - C - - - 34 301 33 Total - - Activate 300*10 All - 23 5*10(?) 33 Total - B Dorothy sets a card, a 10 on the ground. It will automatically attack the opponent if they step on it. Not only does the button change the suit that use, but how far from you the card is set - C is the farthest from you. Won’t set off on a downed opponent. The card doesn't last too long and the recovery of the move is long, so you might eat a combo for your trouble of even trying to set it out during neutral spacing. So in the end, this is mostly used for okizeme.

Flying Ace

Flying Ace j.214X

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 400*11 All - Varies 1*11 33 Total - B Sets an ACE in the air. It will automatically activate and attack the opponent up to 11 times after a set amount of time. However that amount of time is somewhat long so you can't use this move to directly attack your opponent. This is mostly used to complete a poker hand. The different versions not only change the suit of the card, but also how long it takes for the ACE to start its attack. This can also reflect projectiles.

Fold

Fold B+C	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level - - - - - 25 Total - - Know when to fold ‘em. This move will erase all cards on the screen for when you have a bad hand.

Shuffle

Shuffle 623X

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level A 300*11 All - 3 25 37 -5 C Dorothy spins and summons cards to spin around her for a multi-hit DP-like move. This move leaves no cards. You can EFC these moves on hit into a 6A for a combo depending on how you hit the opponent. A version is the fastest, but has no invincibility B 300*11 All - 6 25 37 -5 C B version has a bit slower startup, but has invincibility C 300*11 All - 8 25 37 -5 C C version has invincibility too, but has a slightly longer startup.

Super Moves

Triple Face

Triple Face 236A+B (air OK)

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 1100, 1200, 1300 All - 18[13] Till Projectiles Land 56[57] - E This is the super version of Jack Rabbit. Dorothy sends a spade of all 3 face cards diagonally downwards at once. On hit, this will ground bounce the opponent. The properties of this move are roughly like Jack, Rabbit and this is mostly used for combos. If you are pushed out too much in the corner, or the combo proration is very high this may not combo properly, but you will still be extending a lot of combos with this move. There is a gimmick where this move will cross up when done very close.

Ten of Spades

Ten of Spades 214A+B

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level Set - - - 13~92 301 22~101 - - Activate 500*11 All - 23 5*10(?) - - C Super Ground Ten, sets a 10 of spades. this works much like the normal version and you can choose how far this goes out by holding the buttons down, but of course, you are open during that period of time. You won't use this move for much besides setting up a Super Royal Straight Flush.

Speculation

Speculation j.214A+B

Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 600*11 All - 75 1*11 3 Total - C A super Flying Ace. The activation until the ACE actually attacks the opponent is MUCH shorter than the normal version and the recovery of the actual move is much better. You can actually rely on this move a certain amount for combos and zoning because of this. You can kara cancel this off of Queen Bee to drastically reduce your recovery.

Rifle Shuffle

Riffle Shuffle 623A+B	Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level (400, 300)×9 All - 5 39 37 - C A super Shuffle, this version is larger than your regular Shuffle. Riffle Shuffle is also fully invincible, making it more dependable than Shuffle in terms of being a reversal.

Misdirection

Misdirection 412364A+B or 463214A+B

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level 412364AB - - - 0 - 4 Total - - 463214AB - - - 1 - 5 Total - - A fake out. After this move you get a JOKER to use for your poker hand. You usually use this when you have one more card left to complete a hand. It must be used to make Five-of-a-Kind hands. You can use this fairly easily as there is almost no recovery after this move. As you noticed, there are two inputs for this move. 412364 creates a feint that makes it look like you are using a Super move (4F). 463214's feint (5F) looks like an Arcana Super. These feints are scary so it's easy to go for a throw or a low after these to catch your opponent doing (or not doing) something if you choose to use it that way instead of for hand completion.

Critical Heart

Magician’s Choice 222A+B Normal Normal EF EF

Version Damage Guard Cancel Startup Active Recovery Frame Adv Level Normal 0, 1600×3, 1800×3, 2200 Mid - 10 2 53 -35 A Extend Force 0, 1800×3, 1600, 1200×2, 1800, 200×8, 2200 Mid - 9 2(30)2 13 -27 A First, Dorothy sends a card out on the ground that will home on to the opponent for a low attack. This move has no invincibility so you will mostly hit with it by means of combo. However you could hit with it even from the other side of the screen if the opponent does something dumb, creating a large opening with them on the ground. On hit the opponent will be forced to choose from 4 different cards; only one card will spare them from damage. If they guess right, you and your opponent will recovery some meter and health. If they miss though, they will take damage. During EF, there are 8 cards; one "safe" card, and one "die" card. The other cards are regular "miss" cards. The die card will stack some pretty serious damage on the opponent. You can change where the safe card goes during this; A B C D with the normal version, or 2A 2B and etc for the bottom cards on the EFC version. By the way, the round timer STILL runs during this. So the opponent can choose to not pick a card if they have the life and time is short. If that happens... well, good games.