Melty Blood/MBTL/Defense
Blocking
Ground Blocking
Holding [4] will block all High (H) and Mid (LH) attacks. Holding [1] will block all Low (L) and Mid (LH) attacks. Blocking is always vulnerable to Throws or Unblockable attacks. Having your attack clash with another gives the same cancel options as if the attack were blocked. There are no infinite blockstrings in Type Lumina thanks to blockstun decay.
Air Blocking
Holding any back direction in the air ([1], [4], or [7]) will make your character Air Block. Air Blocking will succeed against every air button in the game and almost every projectile, but it comes with a major weakness. You cannot block grounded normals while in the air, and you cannot block Air Throws. If your character gets stuck blocking a highly plus projectile in the air, your opponent is free to run up and unblockable you with a grounded normal.
Landing after Air Blocking reduces blockstun from A normals by 5f and from all other attacks by 6f. If this results in 0f remaining blockstun, the defender can act immediately without any landing recovery time.
Crossup Protection
If you and your opponent (or the opponent's projectile) are facing the same direction, you can block the attack by holding forwards or backwards. This means if, for example, a character jumps over you with an attack and that attack connects with you after they have crossed up, you will be able to block it as long as you are either holding forwards or backwards, because in that situation you and your opponent are both facing the same direction. Do note that backwards walking still has you facing forwards. So as long as you continue to hold backwards, even if your opponent jumps over you and waits for 20 seconds, the moment they attack you from that side, you will be able to block it by continuing to hold the initial direction.
Shield
Shield is a frame 1 universal defensive option that is available to all characters. Shield can be used while crouching (2D), standing (5D), or airborne (j.D), and each type of Shield will work against different types of attacks. Except for grabs, it's possible to Shield any attack: even ones which are impossible to block. Although Shield is a powerful tool, being hit while shielding results in a Fatal Counter, so be careful!
Crouching Shield (1D/2D) beats all lows, but is countered by all highs. Charged standing normals (i.e. 5[B] and 5[C]) also counter low shield, even if they hit mid. Uncharged standing normals (5B and 5C) result in a 'failed' Crouching Shield, which leaves the defender in blockstun, deals significant chip damage, and removes 20% of the Moon Gauge. Aside from that, low shield beats all other mids. Some unblockable moves, like PCiel 2[C], can only be shielded crouching.
Standing Shield (4D/5D) beats all highs, but is countered by all lows. Similarly to Crouch Shield, mid-hitting 2B and 2C attacks cause a 'failed' Standing Shield, which leaves you in blockstun, does chip damage, and removes 20% Moon Gauge. All other mids are susceptible to Standing Shield. Some unblockable moves, like Shiki 5[C], can only be shielded standing.
Aerial Shield (j.D) beats all strikes whatsoever, and is the only possible way to 'block' most grounded attacks while in the air. The only catch is that, if it whiffs, you can easily be punished on landing.
On a successful Shield, one hit of an incoming attack is nullified and a small amount of health is restored for the defender. When the first hit of rapidly-hitting multi-hit attacks is shielded, all subsequent hits are automatically shielded also (known as auto-shielding), but health is only restored once.
Shields interact with the Moon System, giving 1 Moon Icon on success and losing 1 if the Shield recovers without catching anything. Additionally, holding Shield will gradually drain Moon Gauge over time. The recovery frames of Shield also varies based on your Moon Icons, becoming worse with fewer remaining.
Shield Counters
Successful Shields enable three different follow-ups: Shield Counter A, Shield Counter B, and Shield Counter B+C.
Shield Counter A performs an attack. On the ground, it uses your 3C animation and launches into a combo. In the air, it uses the j.C animation and floats instead. This Shield Counter can also be performed using the C button.
Shield Counter B performs a slow side-swapping teleport into a jumping attack. On counterhit, it ground bounces for a combo.
Shield Counter B+C performs a rising diagonal lunge. It costs 5 Moon Icons. But in exchange, it crosses through opponents, recovers while airborne, is plus on block, and launches high enough on hit for a combo. It is also possible to cancel a shielded attack directly into B+C counter.
| Shield Counter Type | First Active | Active | Recovery | Total | Adv. on Block | On Hit | On Counterhit | Damage | Invincibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/C | 11 | 6 | 18 | 34 | -8 | Launch | Launch | 1000 | 1-15 |
| A/C (air) | 6 | 6 | 12L | -6 (min height) | Float | Float | 1000 | ||
| B | 24~29* | 2 | 6* + 12L | 43 | -2 | 0 | Ground Bounce (Fatal) | 1000 | Startup |
| B (air) | 19~24* | 2 | 6* + 12L | 43 | -2 | 0 | Ground Bounce (Fatal) | 1000 | Startup |
| B+C | 6 | 10 | 0 | 15 | +16 | Float | Float | 1200 | 1-15* |
- Shield Counter B has longer startup depending on the distance to the opponent, up to a maximum of 5 additional frames at full screen.
- Shield Counter B takes longer to land depending on how high the opponent is. The given recovery and advantage values are against a grounded opponent.
- Shield Counter B+C loses its invincibility after making contact with the opponent (on hit, block, clash or shield).
Shield RPS (Rock, Paper, Scissors)
Most attacks that are shielded can be cancelled into Shield themselves, which results in a Rock Paper Scissors-esque mind game. At a basic level, Shield Counter A will beat any attack that isn't Shield. Shield Counter B has a slower enough startup to punish people immediately trying to shield your Shield Counter A. Shield Counter B+C can be whiff cancelled into, giving you a safe out unless your opponent manages to shield it.
However, if a Moon Skill, Arc Drive, Last Arc, Forced Release, or invincible special is shielded, it cannot be cancelled into Shield.
Shield Frame Data
| Moon Icons during Shield | Minimum Active (all) | Whiff Recovery (stand) | Whiff Recovery (crouch) | Minimum Whiff total (stand) | Minimum Whiff total (crouch) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 19 | 7 + 5 | 9 + 5 | 26 (31) | 28 (33) |
| 5-9 | 19 | 11 + 3 | 13 + 3 | 30 (33) | 32 (35) |
| 1-4 | 21 | 13 + 2 | 15 + 2 | 34 (36) | 37 (38) |
| 0 | 22 | 14 + 2 | 16 + 2 | 36 (38) | 38 (40) |
- It is possible to block and tech throws that hit during the end of recovery, indicated by the second value in each field.
- Successful shields with no Shield Counter remain in shield for 25f and have 0f recovery.
- Air shields are in recovery until landing. They have an additional 12f landing recovery on whiff, but no landing recovery after shielding an attack.
- Shield behaves as if the Moon Gauge is full for the duration of Moon Drive.
Throw Teching
The throw tech window in Type Lumina is 8 frames. This includes the beginning of the catch animation. The player who actually techs the throw (typically the defender) ends the throw tech at +3. Techs will also occur from throw inputs during the attacker's throw startup.
Ground and Air Recovery
Ground Recovery
| Direction | Invulnerability | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral | 1-21 Full | 21 |
| Backward | 1-26 Full | 26 |
| Forward | 1-26 Full | 28 |
Neutral and back techs still get the 8 frames of wakeup throw invuln, but forward tech doesn't.
Air Recovery
All airtechs have the same framedata.
| Invulnerability | Recovery |
|---|---|
| 1-21 Full, 22-24 Strike | 20 |
If any aerial action is taken, such as airthrowing, double jumping, using an air normal, etc; all remaining invulnerability is forfeit (e.g. neutral tech > jump's invuln only lasts from f1-20)
Wakeup
Every character's wakeup animation from a hard knockdown is universally 22f.
Magic Circuit
Check the Magic Circuit page on the Resources tab.
Defensive Option Selects
If you don't know what an option select is, check the Glossary page for it before reading on.
An equivalent page for Offensive Option Selects can be found here.
See also:
- Demystifying Melty Blood's Option Selects by ScrawtVermillion
- The MBTL Defensive OS Essentials by AlexTheMaestro
Throw Tech Option Selects
You can input a throw tech behind essentially any action in the game: simply press A+D slightly after your other input. These are some of the most useful ones:
Antiair + Throw Tech
Input: 1 > 3C~AD > 1 (or 1B~AD, depending on character)
Explanation: Either block an immediate strike, tech a throw, or antiair them if they jump to try to bait you into whiffing throw.
How to beat it: Delay to frame trap it (or for 3C, hit them while they're not holding downback).
Heat + Throw Tech
Input: 1ABCD
Explanation: Either activates Heat or techs a throw. Be careful if you have 4 bars, because you'll get Last Arc instead.
How to beat it: Shield the Heat activation.
Moon Skill + Throw Tech
Input: 1BC~AD (or 1 > 3BC~AD > 1, etc.)
Explanation: Block an immediate strike, use a delayed Moon Skill, or tech a throw.
How to beat it: Frame trap it if they're not in Moon Drive. If they are, all the usual countermeasures (e.g. Moon Drive cancel, jump cancel shield, etc.) apply.
Backdash + Throw Tech
Input: 1 > 4AB~D > 1
Explanation: Block an immediate strike, delay backdash, or tech a throw.
How to beat it: Hit them low or chase the backdash.
Miscellaneous Option Selects
Double-Sided 623X
Input: 624 321 X or 64 231 X (note that front and back are interchangeable here)
- 624 321 X - Can be input as double halfcircle, with the second halfcircle ending on the diagonal instead of going all the way. Simple input for stick/pad players. Akiha cannot use this method, because she has a halfcircle input - she has to use the one below.
- 64 231 X - On hitbox/keyboard, can be input with: tap 6, hold 4, hold 2+6, release 4, release 6, tap 4. Simple input for hitbox/keyboard players. Also possible for stick/pad, where it can be input in a manner similar to a DP motion.
Note for both input methods that which direction you consider to be 'back (4/1)' or 'forward(6/3)' is inherently irrelevant - doing it either way works.
Explanation: Gives a 623X input, regardless of which side you're facing. Used for characters with invincible 623 DPs to beat left/right mixups.
How to beat it: Standard DP countermeasures, i.e. safejump, Anti-Heat OS, block, or make it whiff somehow.
