Idol Showdown/Sora Tokino/Strategy

Overview

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Strategy

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Strategy

Sora employs a simple but effective strategy of pushing her opponents into the corner where her damage and setups become deadliest. Sora has a great amount of corner carry from any point on the stage and can cleanly convert into a full combo confirm from commonly used moves. She can force sideswaps under easily replicable situations, and always has the option of ending her combos with hard knockdown, leading to setplay situations that Sora is infamously known for. Sora gains an immense amount of resource through her lengthy combos, which grant her the ability to confirm off of stray hits with 22S, to continue pressure or make situations safe using 22H, or to boost combo damage to an explosive degree with 236S.

Sora has many tools that seize control of the neutral game, such as far-reaching disjointed normals, high durability projectiles, one of the best anti-air options in the game, and even a projectile reflector of her own. When used in the hands of a good player, Sora will feel like a wall that slowly pushes her opponent towards the corner, with space only able to be contested by whiff punishing her high-recovery normals and making hard reads with potentially risky jump-ins. 22M reflector and the properties of her projectiles make Sora a strong zoner, and her best effective neutral range is playing around the tip of her 5M where it is safest and most difficult to deal with. She is to be played responsively and not by overextending, as her moves are very powerful but comparatively slow, requiring time and space to set up. Play patiently and work to capitalize on your opponent's mistakes while minimizing your own, as Sora's pressure simply through space control will eventually force actions from your opponent.

Sora suffers from a lack of robust defensive options, with her fastest normal being 6 frames and her only reversal option being very slow with 13 frames of startup on top of costing two meter. When on the defensive, it is important to watch your opponent's blockstrings and offensive routing for potential gaps. Instant block to gain more frame advantage during key moments if you decide to poke out. You can also choose to bolster your defensive capabilities with various collab assists such as Miko or Amelia.

Oki

These are some of the different options you can use 214X to open up your opponent if you manage to lay a mine atop of them, either from hard knockdown after 3H or from corner pressure strings.

Combo	Difficulty	Damage	Cost	Meter Gain	Location
j.L > j.214X (detonate)
Instant overhead. Jumping forward with j.L can be used to sideswap. Mine detonation makes blocked j.L plus, and leads to full combo conversion on hit.
2L > 2M (1) > 8jc/9jc j.L > j.214X (detonate)
Low strike into instant overhead. Used if your opponent guesses stand block against regular instant overhead. Jump cancelling forward with j.L can be used to sideswap. Mine detonation makes blocked j.L plus, and leads to full combo conversion on hit.
2L > 2M (1) > dl 3H > 214X (detonate)
Low strike into fake overhead low. Used if your opponent guesses instant overhead after 2M. Mine detonation after blocked 3H allows you to continue pressure, and leads to full combo conversion on hit.

Blockstrings

Combo	Difficulty	Damage	Cost	Meter Gain	Location
5M > 6M
-10 on block. Very unsafe if not cancelled. Can be cancelled into whiff 22M to make it -8 instead of -10.
2H/5H/6M > 22M
0 on block. Used at close ranges to keep blocked normals safe.
6M > 236M
Surprisingly difficult to deal with and to punish. The speed of 236M restricts opponent's standing options. Loses to crouching options such as 3H.
6M > 214X (detonate)
+6 on block. Extremely safe, but requires a prior note setup. 5H can be used instead of 6M for frame advantage of +11. (!!)
6M > 22H
0 on block for the cost of one meter. Can also be used midscreen in a pinch when no other options are safe. Used in corner pressure strings to set up notes for mixup, but not as powerful as 5H > 22H
5H > 22H
+5 on block for the cost of one meter. Your main corner pressure string that allows you to run 50/50 mixups.

Overview

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

Resources

日本語

ENG