DracoFighter/Cyrus

Cyrus
Health	100
Dash Time	30 Frames

Story

Cyrus was a mad scientist through and through, and a self-made cyborg to become the most powerful dragon on Earth. He believed in the advancement of science with no limits, no matter the consequences. As a result he invented time travel on his own, though the true purpose of his time machine is a mystery to most...

Gameplay Overview

Cyrus is a long range zoner, with a huge array of projectiles that can act as a wall between him and the opponent once he gets going. The opponent will often be forced to navigate around or push through his projectiles, depending on the character, and guessing wrong will mean constantly getting pushed out. He also has a projectile grab, which can prevent the opponent from ignoring his projectiles by just blocking. In return, he has the slowest walk and dash in the game, with no jumps and risky defensive options. However, he still has decent disjoints to keep opponents out.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Projectiles: Has multiple projectiles which are very hard to challenge directly Disjoints: Has decent disjoints which can push the opponent back out to long range	Close Range: Cyrus' close range options are generally risky Normals: Normals have awful frame data and are all punishable on block No Jumps: Cyrus has no jumps, greatly reducing his defensive and evasion options

Move List

Standing Normals

N-Attack 5A	Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 10 10 8 37 +0 -5 Cyrus' fastest move. Surprisingly good on whiff, but pretty minus at close range. Knocks back the opponent very far, giving you the space to set up projectiles again.

F-Attack 6A	Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 3, 3, 10 15, 20, 25 8, 8, 8 69 (nice) -7 -22 Cyrus moves forward as his tail shoots out for 3 hits, knocking back the opponent with the last one. Can be used as a decent whiff punish, also used as a combo ender.

B-Attack 4A

Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 3, 10 16, 25 5, 7 60 +2 (Launch) -32 (only first hit) Cyrus' wings force his legs to launch the opponent up, before his tail shoots them further into the air. Very disjointed anti-air, but very slow and difficult to land on the ground due to the launching hitbox being tiny. I wonder if anyone will ever notice that half of Cyrus' moves imply that his inventions move on their own, rather than being under his control? Wonder if that makes cooking difficult.

N-Special 5B projectiles are fun for the whole family projectiles are fun for the whole family

Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 7, 7 10, 15 180 65 ~-1 ~-30 Double laser! Both last for 3 seconds. Can be easily jumped over by, well, any character with a jump, but puts out a quick-moving double projectile out onto the field. This can be used for multiple things: forcing a response from the opponent, punishing the opponent for getting grabbed by F-Special from far away, or possibly even a whiff punish. Using it at close range is very punishable (see the frame data), and being too predictable with it can get you punished depending on the opponent, but it's very hard for most characters to directly challenge it without large disjoints since the first laser will cancel out single projectiles.

F-Special 6B

Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 0 12 180 52 ~+10 -- Cyrus launches Grab-Bot, which marches forward for 3 seconds before either getting destroyed or grabbing the opponent. Like all grabs, its weakness is attacks, but certain projectiles/attacks may go over it due to its low hurtbox. Once it grabs an opponent, they are stunned in place for 50 frames, which can guarantee an N-Attack at close range, or even more from far range, especially if you decide to dash in (though this is very risky). F-Special's main use will be to force the opponent to pick an option other than blocking at far range, and can combo into N-Special or B-Special from total safety. As a notable aside, it is possible to grab a grabbed opponent!

B-Special 4B

Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 10, 10 30, 40 180 45 ~+20 ~+5 Cyrus points at the sky, directing his wings to fire 2 falling projectiles. These projectiles will act as both an anti-air and a way to apply delayed pressure. They take longer to come out than your other projectiles, but the animation is essentially lagless. While your B-Special projectiles are in the air, you can use that time to pressure the opponent in other ways, like N-Special, F-Special, or even walking up with a normal/grab mixup. Despite what the frame data says, it is not advised to use this at close range -- they only hit at startup if the opponent is almost completely inside you, and the projectiles land at mid-long range.

N-Grab 5C	Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 4 20 8 45 -- -- Slightly disjointed grab! Cyrus knocks the opponent into the air on a successful grab, easily leading into combos. All of Cyrus' grabs have about the same range as his N-Attack.

F-Grab 6C	Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 5 20 8 45 -- -- Cyrus knocks the opponent up and away. Not incredibly useful unless you need time/space to set up projectiles, or possibly already have projectiles out and want to combo into them (but this doesn't seem to work amazingly, since B-Special knocks them down).

B-Grab 4C	Damage Startup Active FAF Adv on Hit Adv on Block 5 20 8 45 -- -- Cyrus grabs the opponent and kicks them overhead, sending them behind him. Has decent combos.

Combos

Cyrus may avoid max damage combos for either better frame data advantage or for consistency. Most of the time, he will be combo'ing with projectiles, which may have to be spur of the moment rather than planned -- dashing up for max damage combos is very risky if the projectiles don't land.

N-Grab

• N-Grab > B-Attack > F-Attack - MAX Damage (33)
• N-Grab > B-Attack > N-Special - Better Frames (31)
• N-Grab > B-Attack > N-Attack (27)

B-Attack

• B-Attack > F-Attack - MAX Damage (29)
• B-Attack > N-Special - Better Frames (27)
• B-Attack > N-Attack (23)

B-Special

• B-Special > (walk/dash forward) > F-Attack - MAX Damage (36)
• B-Special > N-Special (34)
• B-Special > (walk/dash up) > B-Attack (33)

N-Special

• (B-Special) > N-Special > B-Special hits - MAX Damage (36)

F-Special

• F-Special > N-Special (14)
• F-Special > (dash forward) > N-Grab > (Followups)
• F-Special > (dash forward) > B-Attack > (Followups)

B-Grab

• B-Grab > F-Attack - MAX Damage (21)
• B-Grab > N-Special (19)
• B-Grab > N-Attack (15)

Strategy

Cyrus is a zoner and wants the opponent as far away as possible from him. He will use his N-Special, F-Special, and B-Special to do this. N-Special is usually the safest to throw out since it puts the opponent in immediate danger, often forcing them to choose a defensive option or a risky approach, which can get stuffed out by your anti-airs (B-Special/B-Attack). Your goal is to make the opponent hesitate -- once they do, you can start cycling between N-Special, B-Special, and F-Special to constantly have projectiles on the map.

Always note how the opponent responds to your projectiles -- it's impossible to keep them out forever, but their defensive options will often be exploitable. If they jump, then anti-air them. If they're blocking a lot, use F-Special or consider a riskier approaching grab. If they're using attacks to destroy your projectiles, consider whiff punishing them with F-Attack or projectiles.

At mid range, it will be awkward to throw out projectiles, and most characters will be able to move more quickly than you if you back off, so you'll often have to box them out with N-Attacks and grabs. F-Attack can become a whiff punisher at this range, but don't rely on it.

If the opponent gets in at close range, you have to read the mix-ups. Your goal is to find an opening to land an N-Attack, to keep them out of range so you can continue zoning. On the off chance that you get a B-Attack or N-Grab, you'll be rewarded with good damage.

Also note that while slow, your dash is the longest in the game -- these can allow you to back off, or to create high risk close-range mix-ups. Be creative!