Fantasy Strike/Geiger

Overview

Lore

Max Geiger is a watchmaker, scientist, and logical thinker. His particular interest lies in the study of time, and whether it can be altered, or even controlled.

Character stats

Health	Character Type	Super Meter charge time	Gear charge time
6	Zoner	16.5 Seconds	53 Frames

Gameplay

Geiger is a pure Zoner. He has a slow moving projectile with low recovery and a fast, invincible anti-air. His Supers are excellent at punishing opponents for playing at a range and he has very strong pokes that he can use to keep opponents away. His Time Stop Super in particular is devastating with it's ability to punish attacks from a distance.

Geiger's Combo damage tends to be low and the more damaging Combos require some setup so he requires patient and deliberate play, much like Geiger's own personality.

Geiger is Fantasy Strike's version of a charge character. All of his Special attacks require use of a Gear which he gets from his Gear Meter. Gear Meter builds constantly but will be depleted as soon as Geiger presses forward. When playing Geiger, you have to figure out when pushing forwards is worth losing access to those powerful moves.

A Beginner Geiger learns not to push forwards.
An Intermediate Geiger learns not to push backwards.
An Expert Geiger knows when to push forwards.

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Strengths	Weaknesses
Very fast startup and recovery on fireball Flash Gear is a fast, invincible attack that hits twice Almost every move can anti-air Time Stop is a powerful counter zoning tool Drop Gear is plus on block and chips	Very few mix ups available Struggles in matchups that he can't win with zoning Slow Super meter gain

Moves

Ground

Low Punch

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute 1 10 7 13 0 -2 +5 Cancellable Strike Geiger goes to one knee and delivers a punch. Cancellable into or on hit or block. Low profiles and has decent priority. Staple move for combos, but must be cancelled out of close to the opponent or the follow up may not combo. Good for anti-air that will also retain your Gear meter, and especially against early jump-buttons, or for walk-under anti-airs.

Backhand +

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute 1 10 6 20 -3 -5 +3 - Strike Geiger pivots and takes a big step, then delivers a quick thrust with his hands then returns to his original position. Far reaching and fast attack that has strong priority but will remove any Gear Meter. Geiger at a disadvantage afterwards but the move has a large amount of pushback. Avoid using it when the opponent is near because without Gear Meter charged, Geiger will have limited options. Backhand is Geiger's primary tool for disrupting opponent's attempts to get past his Time Spirals. Excellent at keeping opponents from walking in or catching the startup of their jump. An excellent far anti-air.

Step Kick +

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute 1 27 7 6 +10 +8 +16 - Strike Moves forward while being able to gain Gear Meter. Puts Geiger at very strong frame-advantage on hit or block, even allows a combo on Counter-hit. Allows for a or mixup as well as building up chip damage. Be aware that the move is very slow, if not covered by a Time Spiral or a knockdown other characters can react and hit you out of Step Kick. Outside of pressuring and mixups, this move is useful as a mobility tool to gain better position on the stage while still building Gear meter. Has great priority when used at it's max range.

Time Spiral Normal version Normal version Charge version Charge version

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute Normal 1 10 P 29 P P P - Projectile Costs Gear Meter. If is held for 10 frames, it will become the Charge version. Has enough startup and recovery for many characters to react and beat it with projectile-invincible moves or apply pressure at close/mid range. Does not recharge Gear meter in time to use it (for anti-air) as soon as you recover, so be careful about the spacing you use it if you expect a jump or projectile-invincible move. If this catches an opponent in the air, they will flip-out. If this happens close to Geiger, he may actually end up in a disadvantaged situation despite hitting the opponent. Charge 1 40 P 13 P P P - Projectile Costs Gear Meter. Geiger phases out a Time Spiral and it reappears later. Significantly shorter Recovery at the cost of very high Startup. The Startup means it can lose to pokes or be punished but since the animation is the same, mixing up this with the normal version will add a challenge of when to poke. Gear meter recharges just in time from this move to immediately anti-air with , just take care not to use this when they will land on the gear first. Geiger can walk behind the charged Time Spiral and even outpace it, allowing him to mix in throws or combo into the Time Spiral. If opponent's are challenging with their own fireball, Geiger can often punish them with Backhand. Using the Step Kick with the charge version is a great way to win build up zoning pressure. Geiger even has time to do a jump-in afterward. Excellent move for whenever Geiger is given the time and space.

Flash Gear

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute 1 9 4(1)9 35 KD -23 KD Ground Bounce, Knockdown, Fully Invincible Strike Costs Gear Meter. Hits twice. Invincible on frames 1-14, only the first hit is invincible. Excellent anti-air, perform Flash Gear as late as possible to avoid trading or losing due to the brief invincibility. It's useful to charge Gear Meter for this move with neutral to avoid losing charge to cross-ups. Due to invincibility and hitting twice, this will beat moves with one hit of armor. Causes a Ground Bounce on an airborne opponent.

Throw Throw Throw Yomi Counter Yomi Counter

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute Forward 1 3 4 16 KD - KD Knockdown Throw Leaves Geiger at +47 (+38 against Rook). Sets up a safejump with Drop Gear. Or to setup a throw trap with immediate Held into walkup throw (before the Time Spiral hits) or . Note: If the back direction is held during forward throw Gear Meter charge will be lost due to the animation. Staying at neutral during the animation will prevent charge being lost. Universal Throw; all throws have the same frame data and can be beaten with a Yomi Counter Back 1 3 4 16 KD - KD Knockdown Throw Switches sides with opponent and leaves Geiger at +38 (+42 against Rook). Gives J safejump as well. Universal Throw; all throws have the same frame data and can be beaten with a Yomi Counter Yomi 1 - - - KD - - Knockdown Parry +58 Frame Advantage. Universal counter for Throws. In a neutral state, the opponent's throws will be automatically countered by Yomi Counter.

Time Stop

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute - 0 - 7 - - - - - Triggers a cinematic during which Geiger will walk a fixed distance forward and then do a Flash Gear. This is an effective punish for throwing fireballs. Geiger is fully vulnerable for the 7 frames after he is exiting the Time Stop. While this is generally considered an anti-Zoner tool, it can also be used to creating zoning traps by punishing jumping.

Air

Aerial Kick	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute 1 12 8 2 +12 ~ +17 +10 ~ +15 +17 ~ +22 - Strike A slow but high priority air-to-air (performed early) and air-to-ground (performed late). Hits very far out, with it's best priority at the tip.

Phase Out

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute - 42 - 2 - - - - - Fully Invincible during the startup. Geiger can still perform air actions afterwards. Recovery only applies to Landing Recovery. Gear meter will charge during the move, allowing for a Drop Gear after. Most useful for avoiding projectiles and attacks on reaction. Leaves Geiger very vulnerable afterwards, use with caution.

Drop Gear

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute 1 16 12 2 +13 ~ +19 +10 ~ +16 +18 ~ +26 - Strike Costs Gear Meter. Decent priority, can crossup very easily. Massive frame advantage for mixups or combos. While it has little recovery, you won't charge the Gear Meter in time to prevent taking pressure yourself if you whiff. Great in combos, but the amount of pushback requires a very deep hit. Characters with tall hurtboxes like Rook or Dragon can cause combos to drop.

Cycloid Revolution

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Advantage Block Advantage Counter Advantage Properties Attribute 1 0+14 P 45 - - - - Projectile Slow moving projectile that homes in on the opponent. Level 4 Projectile that hits 4 times. Although it travels full screen, it has a finite distance so the opponent can avoid it by moving so it doesn't move in a straight line. Note that if Geiger moves forward, he will give the opponent more space by scrolling the screen. This makes Cycloid Revolution much stronger if your opponent is near the corner. Any move Geiger does during the Cycloid Revolution will cause the opponent to fall out, so combos must be done as Cycloid Revolution is ending. Only the last hit of the gears does damage, so there is no advantage to hitting too early. If Cycloid Revolution is blocked, throw as many gears as possible to build up Chip. The super itself does 1 Chip, so 2 Time Spirals will cause 1 full hit of damage. If Geiger is too far away he will not be able to throw fireballs fast enough, Step Kick is really important here to get the right spacing.

Combos

• Combos ending in or are very sensitive to spacing and and may not combo, leaving Geiger punishable
• + is a good substitute ender when hitting further out
• is the preferable ender because it ends in a knockdown

Basic

> (2 damage)
> (2 damage, Knockdown)
+, (2 damage, Knockdown)
+, + (2 damage)
+, + (2 damage)

Counter Hit

+, + (2 damage, on far hit)
+, > (3 damage, Knockdown, on deep hit)

Situational

, + (2 damage)
+, > (3 damage, Knockdown, on deep hit)
+, > (3 damage, Knockdown, on deep hit)
On Airborne Opponent, Corner Only , (2 damage, Knockdown)
Hold , +, > (4 damage, Knockdown, impractical)

Super Meter

+, (2 damage)
+, (2 damage, Knockdown)
On Airborne Opponent , (2 damage, Knockdown, less practical than double Flash Gear because it needs a higher airborne opponent)
+, , +, > , (+ hits), (6 damage, Knockdown, impractical)

Strategy

General

Geiger generally wants to stay around the range of his Backhand, the specific range may vary slightly depending on the opponent, especially how long their jump arc is. If the opponent is beyond a range where Backhand or anti-air Flash Gear are a threat Geiger should look to take that screen space, if able to safely. In matches where Time Stop is less useful, pushing the opponent to the corner is even more important in order to make Cycloid Revolution more dangerous of a threat.

Whenever possible, Geiger wants to build up Gear Meter and put out Time Spirals to control the space in front of him. Use Backhand as an unreactable tool to prevent opponents walking into the space in front of Geiger. Use Low Punch, Flash Gear, and his Aerial Kick to protect against jumping.

In matches where Time Stop can reliably punish a projectile, Geiger can effectively prevent the opponent from being able to zone at all and win through attrition. Otherwise, look to use Cycloid Revolution when safe to gain space or force chip damage in the corner.

To make zoning less predictable, mixing in jump ins or Drop Gears is important to keep opponents guessing.

Matchups

Name	Type	Matchup Strategy
Argagarg	Zoner	This matchup is largely about which Zoner is able to keep their preferred area. Arg can punch under gears and if he's more than half screen away he can cancel into Blue Fish before the gear hits him. Geiger will need to avoid this range and full screen and move in closer to where his projectiles can have a bigger impact. At half screen Geiger has a couple of ways of getting in, he can either predict a forward limb or fish and jump in or he can use Time Stop to force his way in by punishing a fish. Be careful not to Time Stop into a fish, ideally you want to end up behind Arg. Push Arg to the corner, once there gears and air super can really control the matchup. Cycloid Revolution has more levels than Big Fish and will go through it, making it a decent counter super.
DeGrey	Wild Card	Ghost is a nightmare. DeGrey can use it to stuff your fA/Time Spirals/jumpins. You can use a hold Time Spiral and then intentionally fA yourself into the ghost to allow the Time Spiral to pass, but this can be exploited so should only be used rarely. Even though launching the ghost has a lot of recovery frames, it is really hard to use gS to stop it, since the ghost has a nasty habit of grabbing you out of it anyways. Ghost issues aside, you are trying to control space with Time Spiral and fA, but have to be aware of DeGrey's excellent fjA, which will nail you for three if they predict you or force you to block and play the 'will I flash gear' mixup game. Additionally DeGrey's jS allows them to punish your Spirals from Fullscreen and also completely shuts you down in the air (since if you pause to dodge it, DeGrey has enough time to land, and rejump to hit you with njA). It also stops you from using jS unless you have already knocked down DeGrey. All that being said, DeGrey can't really get in safely without commiting to a ghost or risking a jump. If you are ready with fA/Flash Gear respectively you can really shut down his approach. Do your best to fight for space and avoid being cornered.
Geiger	Zoner	Patience will win out, but the key to this fight is well timed aggression. Screen advantage is huge here, having more control of the stage means you can retreat when needed and your Cycloid revolution will be more powerful if they are pushed into the corner. Some great ways to steal some screen real estate are empty jumping over a gear to get in their face, doing Drop Gear over a gear, getting a Delayed Gear out, or just reading a gear and doing Aerial Kick at them. Using Low Punch is the preferred anti air as it will retain Gear Charge, it will trade or lose against a close Drop Gear or well spaced Aerial Kick. In those cases it is necessary to use Flash Gear. Phase Out can be used to bait out Flash Gears but is very risky. It is possible to use Time Stop against gears on reaction but it is difficult, however, don't let them get away with Delayed Gears.
Grave	Zoner	You win the fireball wars with gS. If close enough, you can also trade fireballs and have enough time to fA Grave's recovery frames. Grave's jumpins can be challenging to flash gear, so don't get predictable with your Time Spirals. Once Grave has super, your Time Spirals get much harder to throw, since Grave can burn the meter to power through them and knock you down. Using your gS to stop the wind summon is also very important, since wind is what allows Grave to actually throw fireballs against you, or allows him to close the distance and start running some offense. Before Grave builds meter, you want to be at about max fA distance to really punish fireballs. Once Grave has meters you can only throw Time Spirals at further than 1/2 screen safely.
Jaina	Zoner	Again, you win the fireball wars with gS. Just be careful of Jaina getting close enough to dragonheart through your time spiral. Other than that, your flash gear can put hard stops on her dive kick pressure, and fA is also hard for her to deal with. Be patient and let your stronger anti-zoner tools win the day. To time sprial without fear of dragonheart you generally want to be around 3/4 screen, which is a great space to occupy as it also gives you enough time to react to Jaina's jumps.
Lum	Wild Card	Lum is tough. You can't outzone Lum, since eventually they will summon an army of mini-lums to end you, or build enough meter to get dice to beat out your fireballs. Lum also has a pretty easy time dodging your spiral with Roll or jumping and tossing a melon. However, proper fireball usage is needed to help you fight for the space where you can pressure Lum with fA to stop the item tosses. You can beat the melon with jfA, and can beat the Roll with a well timed throw (spacing dependent). Once you get on top of Lum, mix them up with your throw strike 50-50's and don't let up. The goal is to never wind up fullscreen from Lum, since that'll lead to an item cascade and your lost round. gS can be used to stop a melon toss or the dice on reaction and is very useful. However, the item toss is fast enough that you can't react to the toss to beat it like a zoner's fireball.
Midori	Grappler	Mixing up regular Time Spirals and hold Spirals will allow you to challenge human Midori attempting to stall out for dragon form. The common challenges are to do nothing and Flash Gear their jump, or to meet time air to air with jA. Once Midori has meter, you can't throw Time Spirals from most places on the screen since you'll get knocked down for it. Save your super to summon a big gear to help stall out the dragon. Drop Gear is also fairly strong against the human, since you typically have time to block the hit if they parry it.
Onimaru	Wild Card	You can only throw Time Spirals at fullscreen, since Oni trades 4-1 or 2+KD-1 against them. So this is another matchup where you can't really rely on your fireball to do the heavy lifting. gS can be used to stuff fA/B pokes on reaction, you can gC the fAxxB blockstring ONLY when Oni is a close-ish (the Flash Gear whiffs at 3/4 to max range). Luckily since Oni is weak to grabs, you can get a lot of value off of the 50/50 throw strike mix after they block a gC or jfA. Just watch out for predictive gC from Oni which will trade with your jumping buttons and knock you down.
Quince	Wild Card	You won't outzone Quince. Hold Super to stop Quince from gS or jC in neutral, which will let you use Time Spiral more freely. The name of the game is fighting for the space where you can start to threaten Quince with fA, or back jump Drop Gears to beat out his pokes. Mostly it is a game of patience, and you cannot throw Time Spirals without having a super stocked.
Rook	Grappler	Use a mix of Time Spirals and fA to keep the scary rock man far away where you won't get grabbed. Be careful of the late splash/Earthquake mix, you anti-air splash with fA but need Flash Gear to stop Earthquake. Rook can't stop your fA without some very commital reads, so forcing the situation where Rook has to start taking those commitments (which you can then punish) is very favorable. If you do get caught, Flash Gear turns Rook's Oki into 50/50's (after you correctly block the safejump) which is nice.
Setsuki	Rushdown	Your Time Spirals are off-limits, as Setsuki can punish with NinjaPort or Ground Super. Instead you have to keep her at bay with fA and Drop Gear. Since you aren't using Time Spiral, you can Flash Gear pretty much all of her approach options. While her meter is down, you can force some pressure with jfA or Drop Gears to force some 50/50 throw/strike mix where if the Setsuki guesses wrong, she gets knocked down and you can run the mix again.
Valerie	Rushdown	Using Gears to control horizontal space is Geiger's main tool. Backhand gets beaten by Valerie's Low Stroke but outranges Cyan, so it will beat her walking in or using Cyan but is also good at stopping jump attempts. Due to Low Stroke beating Backhand clean it should be used sparingly. If Valerie is trying to jump or Rainbow through gears anti air with Flash Gear, a pre-emptive Low Punch is strong against Rainbow. When Valerie has meter she becomes more dangerous with jump in Disc or using Orb on reaction to Gears.