Fantasy Strike/Midori

Overview

Lore

Master Ando Midori trained siblings Grave and Jaina in martial arts and honorable conduct. He can transform into a green dragon during battle.

Ando Midori is from a lineage of extremely powerful martial artists who have tapped into the ability to take on forms of the Dragon. His master taught him and his brother Menelker a wide variety of techniques, including some of deadly force. Midori believed that some of these dark arts were too dangerous to be practiced and should not be passed on to other students. Menelker disagreed, saying there is no right and wrong in a technique and that passing up ultimate power for reasons of honor is foolish. Midori is a man of honor though. He eschewed the dark arts and taught only the respectable forms of martial arts to Grave and Jaina. Midori delights in teaching and nurturing, feeling vicarious happiness and satisfaction from seeing his pupils flourish. In fact, Master Midori believes in honor above all else, and instills respect and ethics in his students, as well as physical training. His master before him taught techniques too deadly to be used, and Midori saw first-hand how that power warped his now-exiled brother. Midori protects his students from such taboo knowledge. The blood of green dragons flows through Midori's body, and he can take the physical form of a dragon for short times when his focus is strongest. His personal fighting style is defensive and solid, but his dragon form allows for powerful offense as well.

Character stats

Health	Character Type	Super Meter charge time	Dragon Form duration
7	Grappler	18.5 Seconds	14 Seconds

Gameplay

Midori is a slow-moving high health character who wins most matchups by threatening super activation while mixing up the opponent with a high range Command Throw and good close-range s, which is backed up by his ability to parry attacks in human form.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Turns into a Dragon 2 Damage Throw and Yomi Counter Parry in Human form gains meter and unlocks Empowered Stance Command Grabs with Empowered Stance and Dragon Form Turns into a Dragon Extra health	Human Midori struggles against most zoning, making him reliant on meter Longest Super Bar in the game Transforming back into Human from Dragon Form leaves him totally vulnerable Turns into a scrubby human

Human Moves

Ground

Chop Chop Chop	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 9 8 10 +5 +3 +11 - Strike Cancellable into Flurry Punches on whiff, hit, or block. Cancellable into B or C on hit or block. Midori's go-to anti-air. Provides some advantage, making tick setups an option for mixing with Flurry Punch.

Two-hit Strike +	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 ~ 2 11 7(7)8 11 +4 +2 +10 - Strike Midori does a 2 hit combo while advancing. Each hit does one damage. Leaves Midori advantaged, opening up mixup opportunities. Cancellable on first hit into Flurry Punches on whiff, hit, or block.

Flurry Punches

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute First 1 6 2(5)3(3)3 14 -3 -5 +1 - Strike Unique Special attack that can be done from Midori's first and +. This attack will deal chip damage. Will repeat forever if continually cancelled into itself, only requires one button press. Can cancel recovery frame 13 into Second Flurry on whiff, hit or block. While the attack does chip damage, it also leaves Midori at a disadvantage. Niche move, can be useful if you happen to build up chip on the opponent. Second 1 7 3(5)3(3)3 14 -3 -5 +1 - Strike Can cancel back into First Flurry Punches on whiff, hit, or block. Slightly different frame data then the first version but essentially the same attack.

Sweep +	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 11 4 18 KD -1 KD - Strike, Knockdown Quick, safe sweep attack. Excellent way to score a knock down with oki without losing significant advantage.

Flying Kick

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 14 29 21 KD -13 KD - Strike, Knockdown Midori's flies forward horizontally, going almost full screen. This can get Midori closer and score a knock down with good frame advantage but rarely close enough for good oki. The priority is poor, however because Midori is airborne he can beat low hitting moves or throws. Midori bounces back on block, leaving the opponent far away and making it difficult to punish. If Midori scores an air to air, he can close the gap with Flying Kick to get oki and stay close.

Parry Parry Parry Empowered Stance Empowered Stance

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute Parry - 1 13 23 - - - - Parry Counters Strike Attacks. First frame is vulnerable, on frame 2 the parry counters Strike type attacks. If an attack connects Midori will automatically do the counter attack in the direction he did Parry. Counter Attack 1 9 7 18 KD -7 KD - Strike, Knockdown Midori does a 2 handed attack that knocks the opponent down. Invincible on frames 1 - 16. On hit Midori enters Empowered Stance, building 20% super meter towards his enormous Dragon Form super bar. On block, the pushback is typically far enough to keep it safe but opponents can use invincibility or armor to blow through the counter attack. During Empowered Stance Midori gains a command grab with the following properties: 0F startup, deals 1 damage Triggers automatically whenever Midori is actionable, in range, and the opponent is vulnerable to special throw. Slightly less range than his normal throw. No whiff animation due to automatic activation, opponents can jump to avoid but this still leaves Midori actionable Midori leaves Empowered Stance after he performs the throw, enters Dragon Form, or is hit. If you have meter for Dragon Form, the Empowered Stance is especially strong because you can cover almost any option an opponent would have. Though it can be risky to parry attacks, the rewards are well worth it.

Throw Throw Throw Yomi Counter Yomi Counter

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute Forward 2 3 4 16 - - - - Throw Forward Throw. Midori gives the opponent a big hug and is nice enough to let them land on their feet. Midori's throw gives barely any advantage at all at +5. Throw is still quite strong despite the lack of oki because he deals 2 damage and continues to gain meter. In the corner or during Empowered Stance, the post throw situation is very scary for opponents. Universal Throw; all throws have the same frame data and can be beaten with a Yomi Counter Back 2 3 4 16 - - - - Throw Side switches, only +3 advantage. Universal Throw; all throws have the same frame data and can be beaten with a Yomi Counter Yomi 2 - - - KD - - Knockdown Parry Extremely strong Yomi Counter. Not only does it deal 2 damage but it gives access to one of the strongest supers and also gives knockdown unlike his throw. +47 advantage but the oki is weak due to knockback. Universal counter for Throws. In a neutral state, the opponent's throws will be automatically countered by Yomi Counter.

Dragon Form

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute - 0+1 - 1 - - - Invincible - Midori enters Dragon Form, which lasts 14 seconds. Dragon Form itself is extremely strong, full of powerful moves and capable of devastating combos but one of the biggest strengths is the super freeze. Midori can peek at what the opponent is doing and act accordingly. Useful responses include: Dragon Buster to armor through a move Yomi Counter if they are starting a throw Knockdown with sweep, usually to trade with a projectile Anti air with into a knockdown or big combo It is very important to have situational awareness between the positioning relative to the stage and what the opponent is doing. Dragon Form is best done as a reaction to a favorable game state because once Midori loses Dragon Form he may not get it back for a while, making the transformation the most important move for players to master. Note: The game advances one frame halfway through the cinematic, revealing any move the other player committed to by pressing a button immediately after the cinematic started.

Air

Floating Axe Kick Floating Axe Kick Jump Kick Jump Kick	Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 11 9 9 +8 +7 +13 Ground Bounce Strike Can steer midori forwards or backwards during startup and active frames + 1 11 6 2 +15 +13 +20 - Strike Big aerial attack with good range and priority, combined with Midori's jump arc this is his bread and butter in the air and is difficult to deal with.

Flying Air Kick	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 10 15 13 KD -25 / -42 KD Knockdown Strike If done from lowest possible height it is roughly -6 on block. On whiff the opponent has forever to punish. Beats opponents trying to meet Midori in the air but usually not worth doing.

Butt Slam

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 23 27 9 KD +6 KD Knockdown Strike Hops forward in a big arc and lands butt first. Allows Midori to change arc to avoid anti airs or projectiles and position himself closer to the opponent. Either a block or the knockdown is a huge success because Midori is in his threatening range but the slow startup allows him to be hit out of it and or let opponents walk under and punish. Used sparingly to add variety to his approach, the Butt Slam can be a powerful tool.

Dragon Form	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute - 0 - 3 - - - - - Turns Midori into dragon for 14s, but in the air. Can be followed up with any aerial move after super activation ends. Often less threatening than the grounded version but it has it's uses by opening up + or +

Dragon Moves

Ground

Bow Bow Bow Take Flight Take Flight

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute Chop 1 12 6 13 +2 +1 +8 Ground Bounce Strike Cancellable into Take Flight on whiff, hit, or block. Cancellable into B or C on hit or block only. Dragon Midori politely bows down and claps his wings, creating a giant hitbox. If the opponent is unfortunate enough to be in the air they are left in a Ground Bounce state. As an added bonus, Midori is still plus afterwards to continue pressure. Take Flight 1 11 19 0 KD +2 KD Ground Bounce Strike Puts Midori airborne, can be followed up with any aerial moves after active frames end. If done close, can cross over to opponent's other side. If the opponent was already airborne, can be followed up with +.

Bite + Bite Bite Acid Spit Acid Spit

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute Bite 1 10 8 15 0 -2 +6 - Strike Cancellable into Acid Spit, this is hit confirmable. Dragon's mouth gets about a third of the screen, useful for pokes and combo extensions from further out. Acid Spit 1 9 P 27 P P P - Projectile Acid Spit counts as a projectile and deals chip damage. If done from point blank, Midori is +6 on block and +7 on hit, at further ranges even on block acid can leave Midori very advantaged.

Tail Sweep +	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 10 11 18 KD -8 KD - Strike Half screen sweep. Even though it loses initiative, this is still an amazing move. Trades with projectiles on reaction, punishes typically unpunishable moves, low profiles moves, and leaves opponents knocked down where Dragon can continue attacking.

Dragon Torpedo

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 12 27 0 +6 +4 +11 - Strike Airborne frame 9. Midori recovers in the air on hit or block, can be followed up with any aerial move after recovery frames end. Great priority. Goes full screen and is a good way to build up some chip damage and being actionable afterwards allows punishes or chasing opponents down with Swoop or Torpedo.

Dragon Buster

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 2 22 27 32 KD - KD - Command Throw Has infinite hits of armor from frame 1 - 49, 2 damage command grab. Very strong oki at +61 advantage. The infinite armor is extremely useful post super freeze during transformation. The infinite armor is also a disadvantage because opponents can keep hitting you during it, be careful doing this move right before transforming back because of the strong punishes

Throw Throw Throw Yomi Counter Yomi Counter

Version Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute Forward 2 3 4 16 KD - KD - Throw Dragon is the only character in the game with a disadvantaged throw. He is -5 here, so you will lose if you press buttons afterwards. Depending on the speed of the opponent, you may be able to Throw their buttons. Universal Throw; all throws have the same frame data and can be beaten with a Yomi Counter Back 2 3 4 16 KD - KD - Throw Back Throw. Side switches but is otherwise identical to Forward Throw. Universal Throw; all throws have the same frame data and can be beaten with a Yomi Counter Yomi 2 - - - KD - - Knockdown Parry Dragon Form timer restarts and leaves Dragon at +20 advantage. Universal counter for Throws. In a neutral state, the opponent's throws will be automatically countered by Yomi Counter.

Human Form	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute - 0+1 - 10 - - - - - When Dragon meter runs out, Midori is forced transform to Human Form. If he is knocked down when meter runs out he will transform when he gets up.

Air

Claw Swipe Fair and balanced Fair and balanced	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 + 1 6 5(6)9 [2] +19 +17 +25 - Strike Massive range, huge damage potential, extremely good priority. Opponents see this move in their nightmares. Hits twice, each hit does 1 damage. The hitstun on this move will keep Dragon in the air to do the second hit.

Air Dragon Torpedo	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 1 8 20 0 -3 -5 +3 - Strike Mysteriously has no recovery on landing after a whiff. 14 frame landing recovery on hit/block. Dragon travels almost full screen, good for when claws are out of range or chasing opponents down.

Talon Swoop

Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute 2 24 45 0 KD - KD - Command Throw If done too low to the ground, in a special recovery pose for 28f. Dragon flies downward and does a grab. Very punishable and opponents can often react to it. However, it is very good at beating out moves because Dragon's hurtbox seems to almost disappear. Also a good niche punish tool. Gives excellent oki, +58 advantage.

Human Form	Damage Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Counter Adv Properties Attribute - 0+1 - 12 - - - - - When Dragon meter runs out, Midori is forced transform to Human Form. Midori will still have 2 frames of recovery upon landing.

Combos

Human

A A (2 damage)
fjA fA (3 damage)
njA, fA (corner,airborne opponent) (3 damage)

Dragon

A A (2 damage, KD)
fA A (2 damage)
jA A A if close (4 damage, KD)
jA fA A (4 damage)
jA bA (3 damage, KD)
against airborne opponent, nAA, jA, with a followup of B or bA depending on the distance and height of opponent On oki, you have B (crossup), jA, and followup with fAA for damage or bA for knockdown jAA B AA B

Strategy

General

Your basic strategy without is to walk forward until you are in grab range. At that point, you can threaten a mixup of , , or x. During your approach you can ward off jump ins, reversals or other attempts to keep you out with neutral (which has a very good anti-air hitbox) or (parry). It's important to remember, however, that is not a true reversal and can be meatied, beaten or even blocked if timed wrong.

If you do land a successful you gain an empowered stance which is quite powerful, giving Midori the ability to automatically beat any vulnerable move when close. How best to utilize it is dependent on the matchup but often you will want to pressure with frame advantaged in order to fool your opponent into blocking unnecessarily which you can then punish with .

If you have available your options increase significantly, especially against zoners, who may decide that the best strategy is just to run away from you forever (get used to it because they're gonna keep it up). Specifically, gives you a 0-frame cinematic pause to examine the screen, just like Argagarg's . During this pause you can assess the game state and then buffer a move. This is best used in two situations: To punish a zoner's projectile with Dragon or on wakeup/during defense to figure out what kind of attack your opponent is doing.

As you may understand by now playing Midori requires patience and careful assessment of the fight. Your basic moves do not have outrageous hitboxes, extreme frame advantage or lots of k/d. Much of your time will be spent walking forward, pursuing an opponent and preventing them from escaping your mixup pressure.

Dragon Form

While in Dragon form, Midori has a more complicated and powerful toolkit but a much larger hitbox and the downside of nearly inevitable reversion to human form, which does have recovery frames. One of the most useful tools is actually the cinematic pause during , which allows you to peek at what an opponent is doing. Using this at a time when it allows you to punish an opponent who thought they were safe is typically the best case scenario. Using it far from an opponent who you cannot meaningfully threaten is generally a waste.

You will want to take the most advantage of Dragon form that you can so acting aggressively but safely is key. Punish zoners (or whiffed attacks) with either or (if close enough), in order to knock them down and set up oki. Once you have achieved this, you take advantage of the same mixup combination available to Rook and Setsuki: //Command Grab. Dragon Midori will usually want to land x as it counters jump outs and does a two hit two damage combo which k/ds again, but opponents will be aware of this and block. So be sure to occasionally use (also great for preventing jump outs) or (when you think they will yomi counter).

Empowered State

Corner Meaty

Method: No buttons (or at most, grounded movement buttons) for 1f, followed by nA Explanation: If you can nA there, then the empowered throw didn't happen, which means they're airborne or throw immune - most characters have no unreactable f1 throw immune options, so they're 100% airborne and will be hit by nA, landing back in the setup Exceptions: Grave, Jaina, Geiger, Rook, dragon Midori, all of whom should just take the throw regardless unless a) it would win the round, or b) Midori tries to do things other than this setup in this position

• Grave: gS is reactable, gC comes out late enough that Midori can block it after nA - no outs
• Jaina: gS is reactable, gC beats nA - her out is a mixup between gC and forward jumping out, with fjA or empty jump post-jump (to avoid being parried or antiaired for free) (post-jump theorised, untested) - this is an extremely disfavoured pair of mixups for Jaina, so unless the 1 damage would kill she should just take the command throw
• Geiger: gS is reactable, gC beats nA - his out is the same as Jaina's, with a different post-jump mixup of late fjA, empty jump, or njC (post-jump theorised, untested) - similar "just take the throw" rules apply
• Rook: gC will trade with nA, so confirmed 1 damage taken regardless - if that won't win, then Midori fjA to beat gC will lose to all of Rook's air buttons except njA, which it trades with, so rook has a mixup between gC and jC, which is extremely risky so Rook should just take the throw
• Dragon Midori: Similar to Rook, except Midori has time to do nAA to deal 2 damage instead, and the mixup is between gC and jA

Corner Meter Meaty

Similar to the corner meaty setup above, only swap out nA for gS and react to what they did to avoid getting thrown. This is only useful vs Jaina, Geiger, Rook, and dragon Midori, against whom it takes away their outs.

Matchups

Name	Type	Matchup Strategy
Argagarg	Zoner	Human Form will struggle against Argagarg thanks to all the fish. You can attempt to parry his limbs if he is sticking them out. Using Butt Slam to get in for positioning can be useful as Arg bA will still leave you close. Midori's main goal is to get Dragon and score a knockdown. Keep in mind when Arg has Bubble Shield as that can turn the tide back against you.
DeGrey	Wild Card	* Beware of Final Arbiter when you are in Dragon Form
Geiger	Zoner	Just like every other zoner in the game, Midori does have a hard time as to getting in on his opponent. Butt Bomb would be good in zoning situation, but Geiger's Flash Gear does an excellent job at punishing whiffed moves and anti-airing: probably because it's a DP. And trust me, Midori jC is gonna whiff. A lot. Not to mention, Geiger absolutely demolishes Midori in terms of close combat. Midori can't even try to take his turn back because of Geiger's DP, and if Geiger throws you, there's not a lot you can do other than block. Dragon Form somewhat changes the perspective. While you'll still have to deal with the annoyance that is Geiger's gears, you don't have to worry about getting in, since he has armored moves and +. However, Geiger can still give Dragon Midori some work. Since Dragon Midori is not only slow, but huge, you're probably going to get hit by gears a lot. Not to mention, his two strongest offensive situations: anti-air and air-to-airs, won't work that efficiently on Geiger. He has Phase Out, which can bait out a move from Midori, plus Geiger doesn't need to jump at all, especially in this matchup.
Grave	Zoner	Butt Slam is weak in this matchup and the big cloud is difficult to get past as Human Midori. Grave's fireballs become very punishable in Dragon Form. Biggest concern is getting stuck in a cinematic that drains your Dragon meter.
Jaina	Zoner	Notes: To get past a Jaina's jC spam, jump over an arrow then use fA to sneak under the next.
Lum	Wild Card	Stay as close as possible for 2 reasons. The first is you don't want Lum to build up items. The second is Cake. Cake is delicious and you should position yourself to steal all of Lum's cake, especially if you are in Dragon Form.
Midori	Grappler	If you Dragon Form first make sure it is a good one because Midori has all the right tools to stop a Dragon between Parry and their own Dragon Transform. Whoever Dragon Busters last will get the grab
Onimaru	Wild Card	With the right lead, Midori can do some mighty good work against Onimaru, considering if Oni has no tools at his disposal. However, the exact same can be said for if Oni gets a good lead. Onimaru is the king at dealing massive amounts of damage, and one good counter hit + depletes half of your health bar. Good thing is that Oni doesn't fare well on defense. So, it's your job to be aggressive until you get super. Once Midori has his super ready, sit on back, and let the game play itself. Onimaru struggles terribly on getting in on characters with long normals or projectiles. Lucky for you, you have all of that to your disposal. His massive hitboxes and armored moves make it a struggle for Oni to do good against. Letting Oni in is the last thing you wanna do, considering he can break armored moves with practically one or two moves. Dragon Form Midori also does well against armored moves, with his multi-hitting ones. Just keep Oni out long enough for you to nip at his health, until you revert back to human form.
Quince	Wild Card	Thanks to Dragon Form, Midori can afford to be more patient with Quince. Be careful not get caught transforming back during Two Truths and don't forget that Quince can break Armor with his C special.
Rook	Grappler	Rook is one of the few characters that can actually beat a defensive Midori. While the neutral game is easy enough for Midori, keeping Rook out with his long and multi-hitting normals, once Rook applies pressure, there's not a lot Midori can do in human form. While waking up counter is risky in the first place, Rook can just beat that with or . Midori will have no choice but to block the coming mix against Rook, and depending which moves he uses, he can set you up in a situation that's hard to get out of. It's when in Dragon Form Midori has a lot less to worry about. Midori's already long normals are now multiplied by three, making it hard for Rook to get in. Rook's Earthquake is one of the only ways he can get in, and Dragon Midori can disrupt that pretty easily. With his jA, being multi-hitting, Midori is gonna be jumping a lot, and Rook does not have any genuine anti-airs. Once Rook is in the defensive seat, it's now your turn to go on the offense, which Dragon Form does well with.
Setsuki	Rushdown	Defensively, there's not a lot that Midori can do against Setsuki in human form. In order for him to go in, he has to use his jumping flying kick and Butt Bomb, which could be really hard for Setsuki to punish with her . However, once Setsuki gets in, it's hard for Midori to escape unless Setsuki messes up her block string, or goes for the grab a lot. Since her , isn't true, he can parry. And being the flimsy piece of paper Setsuki is, once Midori gets a good start, you can take the round rather easily. Dragon Form is basically that, but entirely in Midori's favor. Being as weak as she is, and only have one projectile, she can't do a lot against his . Setsuki has to constantly jump to avoid his jumping grab, but jumping a lot has it's consequences. Dragon Midori not only can air-to-air her with jA, but can anti air her with his , . This is the opposite situation, where Setsuki has a lot to risk when she has to go in, and Dragon Midori can come to her rather easily in Dragon Form.
Valerie	Rushdown	Human form struggles with Valerie. Avoid using Flying Kick because Valerie can punish for 2. Only use Parry against 3 Colors (definitely Parry in response to Chromatic Orb), her fA poke should be out of range and get you punished. Her jAA is a wall. Dragon Form is your best plan for winning but beware of Rainbow Disc, it can really ruin your day as an air to air. Especially don't get caught in Rainbow Disc during Dragon Buster because you are probably dead.