Melty Blood/MBTL/Saber

Story

Real name: Artoria Pendragon. A knight with braided blonde hair, shining blue and silver armor, and a somewhat cold attitude. She is well-known from the legends of King Arthur, wielder of the holy sword Excalibur who founded the Knights of the Round Table. Somehow, she has appeared in this world without the use of a summoning ritual. She now searches Souya for answers to this mystery.

Gameplay

Saber is a rushdown character centered around strike/throw mix-up and mobility-based whiff-punish game.

The original "Saberface" from Type-Moon's older work Fate/stay Night crossed over to Type Lumina for some reason, confounding both herself and the opponent. She sports great normal attacks for close to mid range both on the ground and in the air, but have no long range tools whatsoever. Instead, she relies on Elfin Dance (214X) dashes/backdashes to punish slow or whiffed moves, before blending the opponent with First Air (236X) rekka series, Wing Air (623X) multi-hit DP and Cross Air (236X) aerial sword dive. Smart usage of resources allows Saber to seamlessly play strike/stagger and ground/air mix-up between her special moves, leaving opponents confused.

Outside of her sword range however, Saber only has universal mechanics and her Avalon (214BC) parry that requires meter as her defensive option. Her easy mix-up tools being gated behind 236X means Saber must commit to risky strike/stagger/throw offense to get anything done.

All of these make Saber a character for intermediate-level player at least despite her simple looks. But once you gain experience and learned to make good reads on opponent's defense habit, this gender-bend king will leave your foe stupefied.

Playstyle
Coming soon

Strengths	Weaknesses
Well Rounded: With high health and fantastic mobility, Saber has no remarkable weaknesses to directly exploit outside of her lack of a meterless reversal Great Pokes: Saber has a diverse set of fast midrange pokes such as her rekka that can cover or maintain a lot of space, having great multi-purpose buttons during neutral and offense Resource Efficient: Equipped with great EX cancel options, strong arc drives, and unique benefits during heat, Saber has plenty of ways to uses meter efficiently alongside her high meter gain Diverse Routing: Saber's plethora of combo tools gives her consistent access to great routes everywhere on the screen alongside high damage and fantastic corner carry Powerful Air Presence: With an excellent divekick series combined with her top notch set of air normals, Saber has a lot of ways to threaten the opponent above or below once she's in the air Unique Arc Drive: Saber has access to Avalon, an expensive but powerful defensive counter that covers every offensive option, giving her a uniquely powerful anti-zoning/setplay tool	Resource Reliant: Saber is more meter reliant than most characters, often needing plenty of resources to enforce her presence on defense and offense properly Mediocre Mixup Potential: Saber's mixups relative to the entire cast aren't particularly stellar, having to rely on more universal options to open the opponent up, leaving her more vulnerable to the game's plethora of defensive options

Unique Traits

Mana Burst

During the duration of Heat/Blood Heat, Excalibur is revealed from Saber's invisible winds, and all of Saber's normals involving the use of Excalibur gain Chip Damage properties in addition to gaining 5% more damage than the rest of the cast. This provides her another threat during the already powerful heat state alongside her other powerful metered options.

Additional Resources

Saber Match Video Database Combo & Tech Document Saber Discord Saber Guide by GO1

Character Summary

Move list

Moon Skills

6B+C - First Air

3B+C - Wing Air

4B+C - Elfin Dance

j.6B+C - Cross Air

Special Attacks

236A/B/C (EX OK) - First Air: Advancing attack.

> A/B/C - Second Air - Hold: Follow-up attack.

> 4A/B/C - Second Air - Defeat: Low follow-up.

> A/B/C - Second Air - Ground: Ending attack.

> 4A/B/C - Second Air - Break: Overhead follow-up.

623A/B/C (EX OK) - Wing Air: Combo tool, anti-air.

214A/B/C (EX OK) - Elfin Dance: Evasive attack.

22C (EX-Only) - Strike Air: Pressure reset, anti-air.

j.236A/B/C (EX OK) - Cross Air: Diving attack.

Arc Drives

236B+C - The Sword of Promised Victory: High damage attack.

214B+C - Avalon: High damage counter attack.

Last Arc

A+B+C+D / D in Blood Heat - The Sword of Promised Victory - Sword Dance: Very high damage attack.

Unique Attacks

6C, 3C

Blowback Edge Moves

5[C], j.[C], 214[A], 214[B]

Stats & vitals

HP Value: 12,000 (High)

Backdash:

  - 1-19 Throw Invul
  - 1-13 Strike(Includes Projectiles) Invul
  - 14-18 Projectile and Aerial Invul
  - 31 Total

Dash startup: 6

Dash actionable: 5

Jump startup: 4

Jump airtime: 38

Quick combo reference

Coming soon.

Move Analysis

Normal Moves

Standing Normals

5A

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5A

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
160	HL	-SE-, -N-, -SP-, -EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
5	2	11	17	-1	-

Quick high hitting jab

Saber's fastest normal
Very short range. Ideal for rebeats and anti-airing IADs.
Core to her strike/throw and will be used often for tick throws
Whiff cancels available from frame 10 onwards

5B

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5B

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
480	HL	(N), (SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
8	3	19	29	-8	-

Fast and wide sword slash

A powerful normal poke with great startup and recovery, covers a shocking amount of space
Can be chained into 5C even at max range on hit and block making it an excellent way to start offense
The hitbox is tall enough to catch IAD approaches and fast enough to check greedy pressure resets
Against crouch shield, opponent enters a special guard state in which they suffer significant chip damage instead of shielding the move

5C

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5C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
610	HL	(N), (SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
10	4	27	40	-14	-

A large swordslam

Longest normal that isn't a charged or command normal.
Serves mainly as blockstring and combo filler.
High commitment poke that can incidentally anti-air IADs.
Pulls back during recovery and advances forwards if rebeated from.
Can be half charged to create frametraps from B normals
Against crouch shield, opponent enters a special guard state in which they suffer significant chip damage instead of shielding the move

/Data#5[C]

5[C]

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
990	HL	(N), (SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
21	5	26	51	-14	Clash 19-20

Even larger swordslam (now featuring clash frames)

Gains clash frames that can power through some of the opponent's attempts to retaliate
Launches the opponent on hit, meaning it will always trade favorably against most attempts to stuff it
Staple combo filler as well as your primary way to crush attempts to crouch shield
2C 5[C] beats normals active on frame 6 and trades or clashes with normals active on frame 5.

Crouching Normals

2A

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2A

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
180	L	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
6	2	11	18	-1	-

A quick, crouching low sword swipe

Slower than most 2A's making it less ideal as a defensive option in some scenarios
Has the longest horizontal reach of any normal with its speed, letting Saber punish things most characters can't
Pressure staple for her strike throw gameplan
Whiff cancels available from frame 10 onwards

2B

+

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2B

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
420	L	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
8	4	20	31	-9	-

Saber performs a quick defensive sword poke

A less committal low poke than 2C due to its lower startup and recovery
Slightly taller hitbox makes it a bit more forgiving in juggles and for catching fuzzy jump over 2A and 2C.
Hits low and makes for a strong combo starter, so you'll be throwing this out a fair amount

2C

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2C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
620	L	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
9	4	24	36	-11	-

Saber lunges forward with a massive sword sweep

Saber's longest low normal that's often used as a committal poke for catching opponents off guard
The large, disjointed hitbox makes it ideal for catching the landing recovery of whiffed jump normals and interrupting certain ground approaches
One of her best combo starters and can catch backdashes, making it a staple for all aspects of her offense

Jumping Normals

j.A

Aerial

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jA

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
140	HA	(SE), (N), (SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
6	4	-	-	-	-

A massive sword swipe in the air

Very high rising anti-air.
Excellent air-to-air option for opponents above Saber that can lead to easy guard break setups
Must be delayed slightly or be the second hit of a normal chain to hit crouching opponents after IAD
3rd and 4th active frames are smaller than the 1st and 2nd.
Whiff cancels starting on frame 21 onwards

j.B

Aerial

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jB

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
400	HA	(N), (SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
7	4	-	-	-	-

A quick poke towards the floor

Saber’s fastest hitting normal out of IAD against crouchers.
Can be used defensively as a faster way to cover opponents under Saber in air to air interactions
Must be chained out of into either j.A or j.C to keep frame advantage if done as fast as possible during the IAD.
Staple combo filler due to its use in rejump routes

j.C

Aerial

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jC

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
560	HA	(N), (SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
11	5	-	-	-	-

Saber performs another massive sword sweep towards the floor

Second fastest air button out of IAD.
Can chain into j.B for more frame advantage out of IAD and doing so allows Saber to jump cancel on block to extend pressure.
Saber's primary safejump option off airthrows due to its range

/Data#j[C]

j[C]

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
900	HA	(N), (SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
20	6	-	-	-	-

Infamous Jump-In

Massive hitbox that covers both sides making it excellent for defensive retreats and aggressive jump ins
Ground bounces on ground and air hit making it an important combo starter and combo filler
-6 on whiff so it can be vulnerable against more patient players
The primary reason why trying to directly contest Saber from below can be so daunting

Command Normals

3C

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/Data#3C

3C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
700	HL	(SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
10	3	25	37	-11	Head: 5-12

Saber swings to the skies

Dedicated launcher and anti-air
Launches the oppponent with a built in jump followup
Moves Saber forward slightly during the startup
A decent anti air tool due to head invul starting frame 5, but is liable to clash due to the lack of a proper low profile during startup
Being a command normal, ground-to-air clashes with it can net volatile results if you're not ready to jump cancel, as rebeating into 5A is not possible

6C

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6C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
700	HL	(SP), (EX)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
15	3	20	37	-6	-

Quick sword lunge

Wallbounces airborne opponents.
Does not chain into other normals
Moves Saber forward a large distance
Can be delayed to use as a frame trap, but not a particularly strong option
Primarily important combo filler due to its properties on hit

Universal Mechanics

Rapid Beat 2

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rapid2

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
120*4 (408)	HL	(SP), (EX),	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
-	-	-	-	-10	-

A flurry of quick sword strikes covering the screen

A strong rapid beat with a surprising amount of applications
Huge vacuum effect make it good for stabilizing weird hits into combos.
Hits about 3/4 in front of the screen. This move is huge AND air unblockable but highly unsafe on whiff.
Due to its erratic movement it can often run through some reversals and lead to some other odd interactions
Can only be special cancelled on block.

Rapid Beat 3

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rapid3

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
700	-	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
-	-	-	-	-11	-

Same animation and properties as 3C. Special cancel if blocked.

Ground Throw

throw

/

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/Data#4/6AD

4/6AD

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1500	-	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
4	-	-	-	+54	-

Saber throws you down delivering several blows to the chest

High advantage on hit.
Great corner carry
Can run all kinds of okizeme due to the long knockdown
The core of her offensive gameplan as a strike/throw character

Air Throw

airthrow

Aerial

/

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j.4/6AD

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1200	-	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
-	-	-	-	-	-

Saber grabs you by the neck and slashes you to the ground

Her primary combo ender as it leads to a consistently powerful safejump that works everywhere on screen
Universal air combo ender.

Special Moves

First Air

The signature rekka of the game's premiere rekka character, a strong move with broad applications. First air's deceptively fast movement makes it a strong advancing poke in neutral, and its variety of followups and cancel options once the opponent is blocking makes it Saber's most important offensive tool. The entire rekka, outside of dash cancels and overhead followup, can be a true blockstring

First Air

+

236A

236B

236X~X: Second Air-Hold

236X~4X: Second Air-Defeat

236X~X~X: Third Air-Ground

236X~X~4X: Third Air-Break

236C

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/Data#236A

236A

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1000	HL	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
10	2	21	32	-6	-

Saber steps forward and quickly slashes the space in front of her

Rekka starter.
Saber can dash cancel her rekka and all its followups, excluding the final hit.
Saber's most important special in regards to offense due to its branching options and difficult counterplay
Safe on block at most ranges and extremely difficult to contest when spaced
Can only be punished point blank by specific EX reversals and Saber's own 2A in the mirror match

/Data#236B

236B

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1000	HL	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
12	2	23	36	-8	-

Rekka starter.
Slightly slower and worse frame advantage than the A Version
Moves Saber a farther distance than the A version so it can start offense from even further away

/Data#236X~X

236X~X

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
700	-	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
13	3	23	38	-5	-

Rekka extender.
Hits mid.
Moves Saber further in and keeps her close on block and hit

/Data#236X~4X

236X~4X

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
700	L	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
13	3	24	39	-6	-

Rekka extender.
Hits low.
Spaces Saber farther away on block and pulls her hurtbox down.

/Data#236X~X~X

236X~X~X

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1100	HL	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
13	3	25	40	-9	-

Rekka ender.
Hits mid.
Often paired with 22C on block with its forward momentum to restart her offense

/Data#236X~X~4X

236X~X~4X

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
900	H	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
22	3	23	47	-9	-

Rekka ender.
Hits high.
A decent mixup tool enforced by dash cancels
Vulnerable to reversals as it cannot be made gapless from other followups
Can low crush due to its aerial startup
Unsafe on block but can easily be made safe with 22C

/Data#236C

236C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
530*4 (1870)	HL	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
11	-	21	78	-7	-

Saber launches a flurry of slashes then launches you to the skies

Rekka super.
Launches if 3C has not been used in the combo.

Wing Air

+

623A

623B (1)

623B (2)

623C (1)

623C (2)

623B (1)

623B (2)

623C (1)

623C (2)

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/Data#623A

623A

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1200	HL	-EX-, (J)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
11	3	21	34	-7	-

Saber quickly strikes the sky

One hit and jump cancelable on hit
An important combo tool for Saber's longer routes
Largely outclasses as a pressure tool by 623B

/Data#623B

623B

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
640*2 (1196)	HL	-EX-, (J)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
9	2 (8) 3	25	46	-11	-

Saber swings twice towards the sky

Two hits and jump cancelable on hit
Great combo starter due to its high hitstun
One of your main callout options for people attempting to jump out of Saber's corner offense

/Data#623C

623C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
370*6 (1841)	HL	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
4 + 4	3 (4) 8	30	52	-17	All: 1-16

Saber fires a barrage of sword strikes

Saber's primary invincible reversal
Forward movement and lack of vertical range gives it a lot of blindspots
Slower than average so its easier to cover on wakeup
Its forward movement lets it punish a lot of spaced pressure options however

Elfin Dance

+

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/Data#214A

214A

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1500	HL	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
27	2	23	51	+5	-

Saber backsteps and comes back full force

Launches the opponent upwards on hit
On block, lifts the opponent from the ground and blows them a bit away
Difficult to capitalize on its +5 advantage due to the air options the opponent is left with combined with a severe lack of moves that hit directly above Saber
Solid frametrap when spaced due to the backstep pulling her hurtbox back combined with its massive hitbox and forward movement

/Data#214[A]

214[A]

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
-	-	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
-	-	-	35	-	-

Saber backsteps and rushes forth to do nothing

214A fakeout with clash frames to get through potential attempts of disrespect
Leaves Saber in the same spacing she was before the backstep giving her an opportunity to avoid and observe attempts to disrespect her

/Data#214B

214B

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1400	L	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
22	2	19	42	-4	-

Saber rushes forward to slice the oppoent's feet

Advancing low that goes very far.
Launches the opponent on hit
Useful in some combos and safe on block.

/Data#214[B]

214[B]

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
-	-	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
-	-	-	35	-	-

Saber rushes forward to do nothing

214B fakeout with clash frames to get through potential attempts of disrespect
Gives you the same forward movement of 214B without the slash leaving you in range of throw
Much less safe to utilize than 214A's feint due to how close it leaves you to the opponent

/Data#214C

214C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
1900 [Min: 456]	HL	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
11	3	25	38	0	-

Saber dashes forward after the super flash and cuts at the opponent feet

Leaves the opponent in a launchable state on hit
Travels extremely far very fast, covering almost 3/4ths of the screen in terms of distance
Its safety on block means you can use it as a risky callout option from far away but its not recommended
An important combo tool and used in a majority of her corner combos

Strike Air

+

Pretend you're Wagner

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/Data#22C

22C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
430*5 (1602)	HL	(AD)	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
11	19	12	45	+8	-

Saber summons a great gust of wind

This is the move that ties Saber's kit together.
Projectile persists if Moon Drive Cancelled, allowing for safe mixups.
Excellent combo extension and pressure reset tool.
Great anti-air due to being air unblockable and having a giant hitbox.
If one of your unsafe special moves is blocked, cancel into this to keep your turn. It's also useful if any of them hit as it can be comboed out of fairly easily.

Cross Air

Aerial

+

Hits once

Hits twice

Hits thrice

175px

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/Data#j236A

j236A

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
340, 470*2 (1153)	HLA	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
11	-	-	-	-3 (TK)	-

Saber lunges downward with her sword

Saber's powerful divekick series
If it hits a quick cinematic will play
Grants a combo on hit
Can be EX cancelled on whiffed landings into options such as 22C to cover her quick descent
Used in guard break setups involving 22C due to its speed

/Data#j236B

j236B

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
340*4 (1216)	HLA	-EX-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
15	-	-	-	-1 (TK)	-

This version has longer startup however perform a longer cinematic and does more damage, also side switches.
Generally considered a weaker but higher reward option that's safer on block

/Data#j236[B]

j236[B]

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
-	H	EX	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
23	-	-	-	+4 (tk)	-

Saber delays her descent with a charge flash giving her divekick overhead properties
Lacks any legitimate use as a mixup tool
Can be up to +6 if the attack is as low to the ground as possible
Can be used to delay her landing however and still retains all the EX cancel properties the other divekicks have

/Data#j236C

j236C

Damage	Guard	Cancel	Property	Cost	Attribute
600, 500*5 (2590)	HLA	-	-	-	-
First Active	Active	Recovery	Overall	Advantage	Invul
4+6	-	-	-	0 (TK)	-

Saber lunges quickly to the ground, performs a even longer cinematic and does not side switch. Also give HKD. 0 on block when tk'ed.