Of course the meme cat is just as viable as they are funny.
You're playing a joke character. So, your point is to be annoying. Keepaway and timerscams are the only viable way to play NAC, just make sure that the opponent doesn't have the lifelead. If you have to burn meter, try doing it with 22C or 421C, which are decent for it's cost.
is a joke character who aims to annoy the opponent, run out the timer, play evasively, and look cool doing it.
Pros
Cons
Tiny: NAC has a Small hurtbox meaning that many optimized combos won't work on him. This has other ramifications in matchups such as C-Roa.
Stalling: NAC's unique air dash which is especially useful for stalling out the clock and non-interaction. This pairs well with his good back dash and back dash cancels.
Pop Quiz!: Most players have very limited knowledge and matchup experience against this character due to how rare he is.
Glass Bones and Paper Skin: NAC has health so low that it is rivaled only by C-VAkiha, but he might as well be worse off than her because of his absolutely atrocious damage modifier. He is afforded very few mistakes.
Awful Defense: C-NAC's reversal options are virtually non-existent. His heat activation is woefully small, and his true reversal, 63214C, is slow and easy to punish. To compound this issue, C-NAC has buttons that are some combination of pitifully tiny, painfully slow, and that have massive hurtboxes.
Extended Hurtboxes: The moves borrowed from Nero, such as j.C and 3C, have enormous hurtboxes which make them easy to counter-poke or clip with projectiles.
One-Dimensional Neutral: C-NAC's good button in neutral is j.C, and by being limited to such a liner option, savvy opponents can avoid and abuse NAC's neutral.
Limited Mobility: Because his air dash is designed for stalling, it cannot be used to cover space quickly like a traditional air dash. Furthermore, NAC's grounded dash falls into the category of slow runs at 6f of startup.
What Mixups?: Opening up opponents is incredibly hard as C-NAC, not just because his actual options for mixups are weak, but also because it is very hard to get an opponent to respect his offense. Expect opposing players to play aggressively on defense and to disrespect your options.
Poor Conversions: C-NAC has very limited combo starters, and he Struggles to do meaningful damage without his best starters or meter.
Joke Moves: Being a joke character, C-NAC obviously has moves that are intentionally flawed. Moves such as 623C, and 22B exist for few reasons other than to be funny.
Light gray = Collision Box (A move lacking one means it can go through the opponent's own collision box). Green: Hurt Boxes. Red: Hit(/Grab) Boxes. Yellow: Clash Boxes (When an active hitbox strikes a clash box, the active hitbox stops being active. Multi-hit attacks can beat clash since they will still progress to the next hitbox.) Magenta: Projectile-reflecting boxes OR Non-hit attack trigger boxes (usually). Blue: Reflectable Projectile Boxes.
Damage
Base damage done by this attack.
(X) denotes combined and scaled damage tested against standing V. Sion.
Red Damage
Damage done to the recoverable red health bar by this attack. The values are inherently scaled and tested against standing V. Sion.
(X) denotes combined damage.
Proration
The correction value set by this attack and the way it modifies the scaling during a string. See this page for more details.
X% (O) means X% Overrides the previous correction value in a combo if X is of a lower percentage.
X% (M) means the current correction value in a combo will be Multiplied by X%. This can also be referred to as relative proration.
Circuit
Meter gained by this attack on hit.
(X%) denotes combined meter gain.
-X% denotes a meter cost.
Cancel
Actions this move can be cancelled into.
SE = Self cancelable.
N = Normal cancelable.
SP = Special cancelable.
CH = Cancelable into the next part of the same attack (Chain in case of specials).
EX = EX cancelable.
J = Jump cancelable.
(X) = Cancelable only on hit.
-X- = Cancelable on whiff.
Guard
The way this move must be blocked.
L = Can block crouching
H = Can block standing.
A = Can block in the air.
U = Unblockable.
Startup
Amount of frames that must pass prior to reaching the active frames. Also referred to as "True Startup".
Active
The amount of frames that this move will have a hitbox.
(x) denotes frame gaps where there are no hitboxes is present. Due to varied blockstuns, (x) frames are difficult to use to determine punish windows. Generally the larger the numbers, the more time you have to punish.
X denotes active frames with a duration separate from its origin move's frame data, such as projectile attacks. In this case, the total length of the move is startup+recovery only.
Recovery
Frames that this move has after the active frames if not canceled. The character goes into one frame where they can block but not act afterwards, which is not counted here.
Advantage
The difference in frames where you can act before your opponent when this move is blocked (assuming the move isn't canceled and the first active frame is blocked).
If the opponent uses a move with startup that is at least 2 frames less than this move's negative advantage, it will result in the opponent hitting that move.
±x~±y denotes a range of possible advantages.
Invul
Lists any defensive properties this move has.
X y~z denotes X property happening between the y to z frames of the animations. If no frames are noted, it means the invincibility lasts through the entire move.
Invicibility:
Strike = Strike invincible.
Throw = Throw invincible.
Hurtbox-Based Properties:
Full = No hurtboxes are present.
High = Upper body lacks a hurtbox.
Low = Lower body lacks a hurtbox.
Miscellaneous Properties
Clash = Frames in which clash boxes are active.
Reflect = Frames in which projectile-reflecting boxes are active.
Super Armor = Frames in which the character can take hits without going into hit stun.
Moves you a bit forward, a bit moreso when half-charged, so has some applications in pressure, but not a good move to start a combo with, since most of your damage is going to come from your ground string.
5[B]
Damage
Red Damage
Proration
Cancel
Guard
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Impact
Active
Recovery
Frame Adv
Circuit
Invuln
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Useful in pressure because the first hit is jump cancellable on hit, shield, and block.
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