Samurai Shodown/Shiki

Shiki 色, Shiki

Damage Taken: 105% Rage Factor: 0.16 Rage Duration: 12 seconds Jump: 46 frames (Average) Forward Walk Speed: 0.3 (Average) Back Walk Speed: 0.25 (Above Average) Dash Speed: 1.4 (Extremely Fast) Back Dash: 27 frames Weapon Pickup / Drop: 40 / 80 frames

Introduction

Shiki is a relentless rushdown specialist, who can keep her opponents on their toes constantly between her great mobility options and simple, yet effective mixups from close range. She’s the most extreme of the rushdown characters in that she has almost no options from farther ranges, which means she has to constantly force her way in to apply her mixup game.

To achieve this, Shiki has access to some of the more unique tools among the cast. She is one of the few characters with a far special-cancelable button in 5B, which helps her neutral game immensely. Her teleports are fast and can be used as an alternate way of moving around the screen. Her SSM is also insane. It tracks anywhere on the screen, essentially giving her a free 65% punish on stuff most characters couldn’t even punish in the first place.

Playing the neutral with Shiki can be awkward, since she lacks range on her buttons and Shiki’s heavy slashes are very situational. While she is quite fast, she has no “get-in-free-card” she can abuse, so she is forced to bet the farm on a lucky jump-in or a reversal DP sometimes

Playstyle

Shiki is a fast rushdown character who suffocates the opponent with her close-range pressure and mixups.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Great pressure: Shiki has excellent mobility due to her fast run speed and excellent backdash. Good short-range neutral: Shiki has numerous fast and low-commitment normals that work well for abusing opponents up close and whiff punishing defensive pokes. Good anti-air: With numerous anti-air options including 5D, 6D and 623S, Shiki's anti-airs force opponents to stay out of the sky and play against her ground game. Strong mixup tools: Shiki's various mixup specials allow her to set up a threatening oki game that forces opponents to guess at blocking both left or right and standing or crouching. Her enormous crossup j.C also allows her to safe jump against wakeup rolls and keep the pressure going. One of the best SSM: Fantastic full-screen tracking SSM that easily punishes fireballs. If you have it available, the opponent has to be careful and respect you at all times!

Poor jump normals: Shiki has a floaty jump and shallow jump normals, reducing the effectiveness of her jumping offense. Needs to get in: Shiki lacks long range tools and needs to get close to make the most of her game, making her susceptible to zoning and long-ranged pokes. Unsafe specials: Shiki's numerous specials are all enormously unsafe. This makes her most rewarding oki tools and her recoil reversal game quite risky.

Gameplan

Neutral

Shiki's primary gameplan is to get up close to her opponent with her fast movement and apply pressure with fast normals and a variety of high/low/throw options. Taking gambles is natural as a Shiki player since she lacks regular access to big range or safe full screen options. Learning when to take a risk with her mixup options or jump ins and when to play safe are important to being successful.

Approach/Movement

Her dash speed is among the fastest in the game so making use of dash stop (664) is a good way to approach your opponent. Dash stop normals like 6645B are good options for getting in. Spaced 66D is also a very safe on block option when spaced properly. Teleports can also be used sparingly to teleport you past certain moves such as some projectile WFTs or large fireballs (ex. Yoshi sword wave).

Jumping in is risky of course, but finding opportunities to jump at your opponent with j.C (her biggest air button) can immediately start her mixup game if you're successful. Watch your opponent and see how they respond to anti-air situations to find an angle to jump when they're not expecting it.

Poking/Footsies

Shiki does not have the biggest buttons in the game so it's important you get as close as you can to make use of her normals. 5B, 2A are strong options for poking given their speed/range. 5C and 2C make good whiff punish tools when used correctly.

Anti-air

She has a variety of anti-airs that can cover most jump in options. 623B/C are the most obvious for being head-invincible. 5D, 6D, 5A, and 2B also have usage as reactionary anti-airs. She doesn't have very strong options for anti-airing cross ups since most of her anti-air hitboxes are above or directly in front of her. Instead considering dashing out/run under your opponent and then using 66C to auto correct to the opposite side to beat cross-up attempts.

Her air-to-air options are not as strong as other characters considering how j.A/B are fast but very short normals and j.C is too slow to air-to-air faster normals.

Recoil

n.5C, 5C, and a well-spaced 2C can all be recoil cancelled into 22A on block to remain relatively safe. This rarely allows you to punish your opponent's punish attempts due to the long recovery on the teleport, however.

Recoil cancelling into 421X is a good way to catch your opponent off guard with an overhead. Mixing in her low options and her command grab 214X to condition your opponent is important to her mixup game. Note that any mixup attempt can be punished on block and also interrupted with a fast normal before the special comes out.

Recoil Option Selects:

• 5B xx 236B~22A~236B: Will give rekka on hit and teleport on recoil cancel.
• 5B xx 236B~421A~236B: Will give rekka on hit and overhead on recoil cancel.

SSM

Her only option from full screen which can track a grounded opponent anywhere on screen. At all times you should be looking for your opponent to whiff a long recovery normal or fireball to punish them with her SSM. Using backdash to bait a move and then whiff punishing with a buffered SSM can be a very effective strategy. A well timed SSM punish can easily win you an entire round. Holding onto SSM can also sometimes be very useful and may force opponents to limit their usage off certain options from full screen (Ex. Keeping SSM can scare opponents to avoid using fireballs until you actually spend it).

Remember you only get ONE use of this. Make sure it lands!

Okizeme

Most of her okizeme consists of landing safejumps or cross ups with j.C. She can also effectively chase techs with her teleports and dash speed. Mixing in 421X as an okizeme tool can create ambiguous left/right scenarios as well.

For a full list of mixup options refer to the mixup document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sIXXHN3Rabmb5kdp0EQ4BYrSpRv1AJGJjym_ukODoiA/

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

5A

5A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 6 - - 20 -2 -5 5 Yes Yes Yes No Short range cancelable light. Good for stuffing approaches or pressuring up close. Combos into 623B at point blank. I will whiff on some small characters who are crouching.

5B

5B

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 90 Mid 9 - - 31 0 -12 [-6] 10 Yes Yes Yes No Your main punish and neutral tool. Can be whiff cancelled into specials. Combos into 236A and 236B from basically any range and 236C while in rage. Also a very strong confirm tool for WFT. It's relatively safe on block when spaced and can be recoil cancelled into 22A for further safety. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

5C

5C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 240 (160, 80) Mid 21 - - 61 +2 -16 [-2] 25 No Yes Yes No Shiki's longest ranged standing normal. Recoil canceling into 22A allows this normal to be kept relatively safe and during the startup when she leans back her hurtbox does so too, so using it in footsies occasionally is not bad. Keep in mind many characters have normals with similar range that are faster, so you may trade with or lose to these normals often. This also combos from back throw midscreen. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

2A

2A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 5 - - 22 -5 -5 [-8] 5 Yes Yes Yes No Crouching, cancelable light. Combos into 623B at point blank. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

2B

2B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 100 Mid 12 - - 36 -4 -12 [-8] 10 Yes Yes Yes No Crouching alternative to 5B that does slightly more damage at the cost of some range and slower startup. Can be whiff cancelled into specials. This button also has some niche anti-air potential. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

2C

2C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 150/150 Low 15 - - 60 KD (+79) -28 [-16] 25 No Yes No No A 2-hit sweep in which both hits knock down. Excellent for catching people walking back in neutral due to the great range, but very unsafe on block. If the second hit is blocked, it can be recoil cancelled into 22A for relative safety but this is easier to punish than recoil cancels from n.5C or 5C. Curiously, this normal isn't deflectable due to how low it hits, so it can be useful if your opponent likes to abuse recoil cancels into deflect. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

Near Slashes

n.5C

n.5C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 200 (140, 60) Mid 13 - - 58 -3 -16 [-7] 25 No Yes Yes No Good close range punish tool and meaty option for recoil setups. Can be recoil cancelled into 22A on block for safety, but some characters may be able to punish this. Additionally, recoil canceling this into 236A will trade with most A normals from other characters, allowing Shiki to pick up a very damaging trade combo. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

* All of Shiki's other normals are identical regardless of proximity.

Kicks

5D

5D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 9 - - 31 -8 -13 5 Yes No No Yes Low commit anti-air normal. Unsafe on hit, but cancelable, and can combo into 623S or 623K up close, so this is your best punish option if you find yourself disarmed.

6D

6D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 40 Mid 9~11 3 22~20 33 KD (+99) -15~-11 5 No No No Yes Kick that knocks down on hit. Can be used mainly as an anti-air.

2D

2D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 20 Low 6 - - 17 +1 -2 5 No No No Yes Quick kick that is plus on hit. Can be used to check opponent movement and apply pressure up close.

3D

3D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 70 Low 13~16 4 30~27 46 KD (+91) -14~-11 5 No No No Yes Sweep that is slightly faster than 2C. Now far safer than 2C as well at only -14 on block. Still punishable up close.

Dash Normals

66A

66A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 Mid 5 - - 21 -4 -19 [-7] 5 Yes Yes Yes No Animation is identical to 2A. Unsafe on block. Combos into 623B up close. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

66B

66B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 80 Mid 10 - - 36 -6 -35 [-10] 10 Yes Yes Yes No Animation is similar (but not identical) to 2B. Also extremely unsafe on block, like 66A. Good dash normal for punishes since it can combo into rekka and DP easily. [Advantage vs disarmed opponents.]

66C

66C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 140 (50, 50, 40) Mid 8, 16, 26 - - 52 KD -11 20 No No Yes⁺ No This is actually a very good normal in neutral. It's hard to punish on block (but not safe), and can catch far jumps and movement from quite far. It's also an excellent ranged punish due to the 3 hits. ⁺The last hit is not deflectable, due to it being a kick.

66D

66D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 60 Low 7 9 20 35 -5~+3 -12~-4 5 No No No No Sliding kick. Also quite safe when spaced properly, unlike her other low options. Can be made up to -3 on block if spaced/meatied properly. No longer knocks down opponent since version 2.10.

Air Normals

j.A

j.A	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 High 7 - - - - - 5 - - No No Quick jumping light. This normal has the distinction of being Shiki's most downward angled jump normal, but stick to j.B or j.C.

j.B

j.B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 100 High 10 - - - - - 10 - - No No Forward hitting jump normal. This is faster than j.C, so if you react late it's a slightly better air to air option. Very poor for jump-ins.

j.C

j.C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 140 High 14 - - - - - 20 - - No No Shiki's best jump normal, by far. Great for jump-ins and air-to-airing, given it's very large horizontal hitbox. This normal is also relatively easy (by SamSho standards) to combo from on a grounded connect, and leads to excellent damage when doing so. This normal is rather slow, however, so if you're losing air to air exchanges switch to j.B. As of version 1.11, this normal can now also crossup, though the range and timing of the crossup is rather specific. It will lead to the same combos on crossup hit as a normal deep hit. Its rather vertically small hitbox couples with shiki's high jump height makes j.C easy to antiair with normals.

j.D

j.D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 30 High 11 - - - - - 5 - - No Yes Despite how this normal might look, it cannot cross-up at all. Relatively useless, unless disarmed.

Unarmed Normals

u.5S

u.5S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 5 - - 24 +1 -4 5 No No No Only Fast slap to the face. Not cancelable in any shape or form. Stick to 2D and 5D, or try to get your swords back.

u.2S

u.2S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 6 - - 24 +2 -3 5 - - No Only Fast slap to the groin. Like u.5S, also not cancelable in any shape or form. Stick to 2D or try to get your swords back.

ju.S

ju.S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 High 5 - - - - - 5 No No No Only Really awful jump normal besides speed. Use j.D if disarmed instead.

u.66S

u.66S	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 50 Mid 5 - - 32 KD -12 5 No No No Only Identical animation to u.2S, but knocks down. This is not a low however, so 66D is still preferable if trying to get a knock down for safe weapon retrieval. (66D also does more damage, for some reason and safer)

Universal Mechanics

Guard Break

Guard Break (Throw) 4/5/6C+D Neutral/Forward Throw Neutral/Forward Throw Back Throw Back Throw	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Neutral / Forward 0 Throw 3 - 71 74 +20 N/A - No No No Yes Universal throw. Best followed up with by 5B or 66B midscreen. (See below for combos.) Back 0 Throw 5 - 69 74 +25 N/A - No No No Yes Universal throw. Best followed up with by 5C, 5B or 66B midscreen. (See below for combos.)

Surprise Attack

Surprise Attack (Overhead) 5B+C Armed Armed Unarmed Unarmed

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Armed 60 High 15 2 - 43 +2~+3 -16~-15 10 No No No No Universal overhead. Practically unreactable at 15 frame startup and can now be spaced to be + on hit, as of version 1.11. Decent tool to condition your opponent to stand along with 421S. Unarmed 60 High 18 - - 46 0 -16 10 No No No Only Universal overhead. Unarmed version has far better range and can be spaced, but sadly it wont cause a knockdown.

Dodge

Dodge 5A+B	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - 1 16 22 38 - - - - - - Yes Universal dodge. Complete invincibility from frames 1 to 10. Strike invincibility from frames 11 to 16.

Stance Break

Stance Break A+B during Just Defense	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 0 Mid 5 - - 52 KD -24 - No - - Yes Universal Stance Break.

Counter / Blade Catch

Counter / Blade Catch 236A+B Counter Counter Blade Catch Blade Catch

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Armed 0 - 2 11 34 46 +35~+59 N/A - N/A N/A N/A No Universal counter. Allows you to follow up with a guaranteed attack of your own. The amount of time you have to followup depends on the strength of the attack you counter, with heavy attacks staggering the opponent for the longest amount of time. Additionally, if you counter a heavy slash or a running slash, your opponent will be disarmed. Disarmed 0 N/A 2 12 9 22 KD N/A - N/A N/A N/A Only Universal counter. While disarmed, your counter will disarm and knock away your opponent regardless of slash level countered.

Rage Explosion

Rage Explosion 5A+B+C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 0 Unblockable 21 1 - 58 0 - - - - - No Unblockable pushback attack.

Lightning Blade

Lightning Blade (Issen) 5A+B+C during Rage Explosion	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 300~709 Mid 9 - - - KD -44 - No No No No Has full invulnerability all the way through. Can be used as an anti-air. Damage scales based on remaining Rage Explosion Gauge.

Special Moves

Exodus Stream

Exodus Stream 236S

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed A 60 Low 16 - - 46~57 -2 -15 15 No No No No B 100 Low 19 - - 54~69 -7 -20 15 No No No No C 120 Low 31 - - 71 -12 -25 15 No No No No Shiki's rekka. This is her main distance confirm and combo tool, and can also be used as an (unsafe) low threat in neutral. The A and B versions are no longer unsafe on hit as of version 1.11, though they are still negative on hit. C (Rage) 108 [126] (18[21]*6) Low 19 - - 57 -5 -18 10*3 No No No No In rage, the C version of Shiki's rekka becomes multi-hit, fast enough to combo from 5B or 66B, and does significantly more damage. Bracketed is Rage Explosion.

Cloudburst

Cloudburst 236S after Exodus Stream

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed Normal 60 Mid - - - - KD -65 8 No No No No The followup to Shiki's rekka. Performs the same move regardless of the button used. As of version 1.11, you cannot be punished with an Issen if your opponent rage explodes after being hit by Exodus Stream! Thanks SNK. Rage (from 236C) 120 [140] (24 [28], 24 [28], 72 [84]) Mid - - - - KD -65 10 No No No No When comboed into from 236C in rage, the rekka followup also becomes hits multiple times and has increased damage. The version from 236A and 236B remains the same, only gaining the universal damage boost from your rage state. Bracketed is Rage Explosion damage.

Elysium Halo

Elysium Halo 623S

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed A 100 Mid 9 - - 65 KD -39 12 No No No No B 120 (80, 40) Mid 11 - - 82 KD -56 12 No No No No C 140 (80, 30, 30) Mid 13 - - 90 KD -62 16 No No No No Shiki's DP. The light version has no invulnerability whatsoever, the medium version is invulnerable to air attacks, and the heavy version has complete invulnerability on startup. Shiki's best anti-air and an alternative combo ender to her rekka. As of version 1.11, the medium version now combos from lights, buffing her confirm damage from her light normals. B version has anti-air invincibility from frames 1 to 12. C version has complete invincibility from frames 1 to 14.

Tartarus Drop

Tartarus Drop 623D

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 130 (20, 80, 30) Low 10 - - 42 KD (+20) -20 10 No No No Yes This is a hitgrab that hits low, and not a command grab. Very unsafe on block. You must be extremely close to combo into this, but it can be useful in certain punish situations if you want to sideswitch your opponent towards the corner. You can also use this while unarmed as a punish in order to try and retrieve your weapon.

Setsuna

Setsuna 22S

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed - - - - - 42 - - - - - - Yes Shiki's teleport. The A version teleports her backwards, the B version leaves her in-place, and the C version teleports her forward and can go behind the opponent. This teleport is only invincible while Shiki is invisible, leaving her very vunerable during the startup and recovery. Recoil cancel into 22A can be used to keep some normals safe, and doing teleport on your opponents wakeup can be used to bait out reversals or mixup what side you'll be on, as all 3 teleports look identical. Use sparingly, as it is very easy to punish if used improperly.

Lotus Dance of Sublimation

Lotus Dance of Sublimation 214S

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed A 140 Throw 23 - - 56 KD (+73) - - No No No No B 140 Throw 24 - - 58 KD (+73) - - No No No No C 140 Throw 26 - - 63 KD (+73) - - No No No No The grab version of Shiki's backflip. The stronger the button, the longer Shiki will travel during her backflip. The opponent can jump or crouch to avoid it, and it has no tracking ability and cannot be steered. Since the grab can be avoided simply by crouching, you'll have to condition your opponent to stand with her overhead tools first if you're trying to land this. This grab also side switches on hit (like most command grabs in the game), so it can be unfavorable to use if it will throw your opponent out of the corner. It is very unsafe on whiff and can be easily punished on reaction with heavy slashes, in the case that it does whiff. As of version 1.11, the hitbox on the grab is expanded forward, so it is less difficult to space and land.

Lotus Dance of Oblivion

Lotus Dance of Oblivion 421S

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed A 100 High 24 - - 59 KD -14 6*n No No No No B 120 High 27~37 11 38~28 74 KD -17 12 / 8 No No No No C 140 High 27~47 21 43~23 89 KD -18 6*n No No No No The hit version of Shiki's backflip. As of version 1.11, this move is now an overhead, and all versions are a single hit, meaning that you will always get the full damage out of the move regardless of when it connects with your opponent. Since your opponent is now forced to stand to even block this move, this makes left-right mixups using it far more potent, and will condition your opponents to stand more frequently on wakeup, opening them up to other options. The damage done to the guard meter depends on how the hits are blocked, the damage listed here are damage of single hits.

Supers

Weapon Flipping Technique

Tenma Wave Cyclone 236B+C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 348(406) Mid 1+13 - - - KD -39 - No No No No Shiki's WFT. Can be confirmed into from 5B and 66B for an easy disarming of your opponent. Despite having the same animation as her rekka, this is a mid, and not a low. You can be thrown out of this on reaction if performed raw, so be careful about doing such. [Damage with full rage meter.]

Super Special Move

Skandha Avidya 641236C+D

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Guard Dmg Cancel Recoil Deflectable Unarmed 620 Mid 10+20 - - - KD -46 - No No No No Shiki's SSM, which is available once per match. This super is incredible. Upon use Shiki summons 2 chains that will hit a grounded opponent from anywhere on the screen, starting an animation where she teleports to them and slices their chest open. The applications of this are endless. Anything that you can react to (or read) can be punished at any time for 60-70% damage. Careful use of this super will allow Shiki to always have a dangerous presence anywhere on screen, given that you haven't used the super already. It is also relatively safe on block if blocked from a distance, depending on the matchup. The one weakness of this super is its long startup; like other SSMs it is difficult to use as a punish on block to anything that is not absurdly unsafe. Additionally, you need to do this somewhat early if attempting to punish a projectile, as the projectile can hit you out of the super if it is too close when you perform it. Complete invincibility from frames 1 to 10.

Combos

Midscreen

• (5A/2A/66A) xx 623B
  Your fastest punish. Have to be very close for DP to combo.

• (5CD/4CD/j.C)...
  • 2C
    Low damage but reliable.
  • 5B xx 236B xx 236S
    Basic combo from 5B and forward throw. Now optimal damage without rage as of version 1.11.
  • 5B xx 236C xx 236S
    Rage only. Max damage from forward throw/5B when in rage (without using WFT). Note that you're a bit too far for this to combo after back throw midscreen.
  • 5B xx 236BC
    Easy combo or confirm into WFT.
  • 66B xx 623C
    Slightly more difficult combo from forward throw.
  • 66B xx 623D
    Sideswitch combo, if you want to switch sides and didn't just back throw to begin with.

Note: 2B does more damage than 5B but a microwalk is needed on most characters that aren't Tam Tam or Earthquake making it more difficult. It is however very easy in the corner.

Corner

• (5CD/4CD/j.C)...
  • 2B xx 236B 236S
    Optimal corner damage outside of rage.
  • 2B xx 236C 236S
    Optimal corner damage in rage without using WFT.
  • 2B xx 623C
  • 2B xx 623D
    After forward throw in the corner you're close enough for DP and your hit grab to combo without dashing.

Guard Crush

• n.5C / 5C...
  Combo second hit...
  • Lighting Blade
    Universal Issen combo, combo from second hit.

• n.5C / 5C...
  Cancel second hit...
  • 22S...
    Choose the version (B or C) that can get you to your opponent's face.
    • 2B xx 236B xx 236S
      Max damage without rage,
    • 2B xx (236C xx 236S) / WFT
      Rage only. Heavy rekka or WFT.

Videos

• Shiki tutorial and combos by LegendaryWolf Shirou
• Various punish concepts using Shiki's SSM by Misimaruk Mark
• Gamera vs Mjima at Evo Japan 2020

Colors

Default

3D Retro Costume

Puzzle & Dragons Costume (Japan Only)

External Links

• Twitter hashtag: #SS_SH
• Shiki Mixup/Setup Document by Rikir (2019)
• Punishment guide