Samurai Shodown 3/Genjuro Kibagami

牙神幻十郎, Kibagami Genjuro

Colors

Introduction

Genjuro was never able to surpass Haohmaru in b-ball while they were both under Nicotine's tutelage, so in true washed-up athlete fashion, he took to a life of drinking, gambling, and unblockables.

Genjuro is the strongest he’s ever been in SamSho 3, and that’s a high pedigree to live up to. He’s a technical all-rounder who excels at any given gameplan, and can get very far on basic, effective play. His normals are great when you space them well, his Oukazan is a top class projectile, and he will turn almost any touch into a hugely damaging combo. If you can name it, he can do it better than pretty much the entire cast. Though playing him optimally will take a lot of work, no matter which Technique you pick, you have all the tools necessary to strike the fear of god in your opponent and effortlessly dictate the pace of the match.

Slash Technique takes all of the above rock-solid gameplay and the usual Genjuro flavor, only turned up to 11. His rekka series is a left-right mixup that will lead to massive damage on hit, easily up to half a lifebar, and is more than usable for combos. But if you’re blocking him too well, he’ll just command grab you and start running his frankly unfair okizeme game. Genjuro with this set of options is arguably just as dangerous as Bust Haohmaru, but he comes with a lot more layers and wrinkles to his gameplan. Be prepared to exploit mechanical nuances you didn't even know existed if you want to use this Technique to its fullest.

Bust goes full anime and brings along a bottomless grab bag of gimmicks. He gains a much more combo-friendly rekka and cool blue Oukazan cards, but the real reason to pick Bust is because any blocked Oukazan can freely bounce up and come back down as a delayed overhead. This one addition opens up endless opportunities to set up unblockables and grimy pressure sequences, all of which will lead to huge damage if (when) he opens his opponent up. He’s less solid overall compared to Slash, but effectively becomes top tier with a card over his victim's head. Here's the pick for you if you like your mixups to be flashy as well as damaging.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Unmatched versatility in his tools Slash is literally just the best at everything Bust can easily win the round off of one Oukazan bounce	Blind spots on his close heavy slashes can limit otherwise round-ending punish opportunities Slash's strengths require great game knowledge and execution to truly harness Bust needs to scare his opponent into respecting Oukazan bounces

Stats

Damage taken	Rage rate	Rage duration	Throw startup	Deflect advantage	Deflect disadvantage modifier
95%	98.05%	4 sec	9f	+25	+8

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

5A (Properties) - Cancellable. Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Standard pretty good button. Solid startup and hitbox placement allow it use as a low-commitment anti-air at longer ranges, or as a guard break after the opponent air blocks an Oukazan. The cancel window lets it further set up offense for you, but not any combos. You'll most likely cancel into Oukazan, or Sanren Satsu if you're using Slash. Completing an optimal heavy Sanren Satsu sequence off of this cancel guarantees it will stun.

5B (Properties) - Cancellable. Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Longer range horizontal poke with a very awkward cancel window later into the attack than one would expect. An integral part of Genjuro's back throw combos, so get used to implementing this wherever you can.

5C (Properties) - Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Big damage heavy with okay reach. Good for combos off of various Oukazan setups.

2A (Properties) - Cancellable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Not really worth using in any respect, as any potential uses are covered by far better normals.

2B (Properties) - Cancellable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Funky hilt jab while crouching. Actually slightly more active than its n.5B counterpart and has no recoil on block, but the input limits its ease of use.

2C (Properties) - Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Slightly lower to the ground 5C. Recovers noticeably quicker for some reason, so if you're sure you don't need that extra reach.

Near Slashes

n.5A (Properties) - Cancellable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Like 2A, this is a niche move at best. It's still a serviceable guard break move. Slash in particular can blockstring into Shizukujin with this or cancel it into Gokouzan, which will combo on hit and leave him close enough to command throw them if they block.

n.5B (Properties) - Cancellable. Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - It's like 2B, but standing up. One of the meatiest buttons in the entire game, and half of what makes Slash Genjuro's command grab okizeme as terrifying as it is due to the very generous cancel window and lack of recoil animation on block. Hitting an opponent trying to jump out of your pressure with this often leaves you plus enough to meaty them with it after the air reset. Slash can further abuse this by cancelling it into Shizukujin to snatch them out of blockstun.

n.5C (Properties) - Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Huge damage combo move, but be very careful when using it raw if at all, because it has a nasty blind spot and will whiff if used too close.

n.2A (Properties) - Cancellable. Air unblockable. (Description) - If you really don't think a 2B will come out in time. Not really any good otherwise

n.2B (Properties) - Cancellable. Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - 2B but used closer.

n.2C (Properties) - Cancellable. Deflectable. Air unblockable. (Description) - Round-ending combo normal. Either Technique can convert this into their 236S series for a stun combo that will easily do 50% by itself. Has the same blind spot as n.5C. Also sees some use for Oukazan guard breaks to set up further offense.

Overheads

5BC (Properties) - Hits high. (Description) - A fairly niche move in general, but can be a very funny fake no-mixup mixup for Bust Genjuro off of an Oukazan bounce. Just use this if they're expecting a 2D pressure string and watch them get nailed.

u.5BC (Properties) - Hits high. (Description) - Unarmed overheads are bad. This one's only marginally more unsafe than armed 5BC, but you could be getting your sword back.

Kicks

5D (Properties) - Air unblockable. (Description) - We seriously can't think of a use for this one. It doesn't even combo properly or have a cancel window.

6D (Properties) - Hits low. Air unblockable. Knockdown. (Description) - Low-hitting step kick. Decent range, okay damage, a surprising amount of active frames. Low commitment low reward anti-approach tool. Somehow worse when unarmed. Bust can sometimes stuff attempts to run out from under a card bounce with this.

2D (Properties) - Hits low. Air unblockable. Cancellable. (Description) - Genjuro's only cancellable kick, and an incredibly good one at that. Rapid fire 2Ds can combo into a 623S, WFT, or 236S series. Slash Genjuro gets to blockstring into Shizukujin with this, as well as cancel into 236C for an unjumpable crossup that stuns if the 2D connected. Bust gets to pressure with this after an Oukazan bounce for a sequence that's nearly impossible to block. Do not ignore this move.

3D (Properties) - Knockdown. Air unblockable. (Description) - Awkwardly placed sweep that doesn't hit low. Super punishable. Not really worth using when 2D is right there.

Jumping Normals

j.A (Properties) - Hits high. (Properties) - Small diagonal downward hilt jab. At least it doesn't have a blind spot.

j.B (Properties) - Hits high. (Properties) - Covers a nice horizontal angle most of Genjuro's jumping normals simply don't cover, so it can be good after blocking an air-to-air.

nj.C (Properties) - Hits high. (Description) - The absolute button. Works better against grounded opponents, but can still beat out plenty of characters' air buttons as well. If you could jump in with this, it'd be busted.

j.C (Properties) - Hits high. (Description) - Big damage slice with a fairly small hitbox in diagonally below Genjuro's front and a blind spot if you're too close. Sees some use in flashier backhit combos.

j.D (Properties) - Hits high. (Properties) - Covers a very awkward angle diagonally above his front. Great after chicken blocking, in general air to air situations, and is a surprisingly consistent way to open up offense. Landing it deep enough will let Genjuro get a 2D string afterwards, and Slash further gets to abuse it by doing a Shizukujin if it's blocked. Very good normal overall.

Dashing Normals

66A (Properties) - Air unblockable. (Properties) - Doesn't look that good at first glance. No cancel window means he doesn't really get combos off of this. However, it's a wonderful cross under anti-air, because it leaves the opponent stuck in front of Genjuro as he has all the time in the world to set up whatever grimy unjumpable situation he can think of.

66B (Properties) - Hits low. Air unblockable. Knockdown. (Properties) - Clearly the attack destined for Oukazan bounce setups. It's fairly good in those situations, but if used from far enough away -- particularly on back hit -- the second strike can whiff and leave them standing. Also has a gaping blind spot if used too close. Be judicious with this move.

66C (Properties) - Unblockable. Knockdown. (Properties) - The usual universal unblockable with a lot of active frames. Genjuro doesn't use this much, but it isn't 66C's fault -- he's simply got countless better options.

66D (Properties) - Air unblockable. Knockdown. (Properties) - Dashing 3D that continues to not hit low. For whatever reason wallbounces the opponent and does more damage if you're unarmed.

Unarmed Normals

u.5S (Properties) - (Description) - Punchy.

u.2S (Properties) - (Description) - Lower punchy.

uj.S (Properties) - (Description) - Jumping punchy.

u.66S (Properties) - (Description) - Dash punch. Plus on block and hits twice for some reason.

Special Moves

Universal

- 「Touha Kouyoku Jin」 - 623S (Properties) - Knockdown. Air unblockable. (Description) - DP that's an okay anti air at best, but a great combo tool. It has no invincibility to speak of, ground recovery is pretty long, and particularly disjointed normals (e.g. Shizumaru j.C) can still beat it out. To properly anti-air with this, you want to use it early so the final hitbox near the top connects, because it deals its full damage in one hit. It thankfully reaches pretty far, so knowing your spacing will help you get the most out of this move. Just stick to the light version for anti-airing, because missing a medium or heavy is a death sentence. Bust gets further utility out of this move by guard breaking opponents who air block an Oukazan bounce.

- 「Oukazan」 - 214S (Properties) - Air blockable. (Description) - The card toss. It's your standard projectile special, except really good. Not only is it an excellent neutral tool owing to its large hitbox and solid frame data, it also deals a ton of hitstun on both front hit and back hit, often allowing a combo with either Technique's 236S (though Bust's works much more frequently), or even running up and converting with a 2D sequence. In the corner it’ll just loop into itself at point blank range on front hit -- back hit Oukazan opens up a midscreen stun loop. Heavier versions recover slower and send the card a farther distance.

- 「Kurenai」 - 632S (Properties) - Air unblockable. Knockdown. (Description) - Really odd delayed card attack where Genjuro kind of stands there posing with his sword and if the opponent comes near they'll get hit by a card. The card hitbox will come out as long as the move has been input, even if you get stuffed out of it super early. You can use this to set up some favorable trades if your opponent is particularly buttons-y in a given situation. Bust Genjuro gets extra utility out of this if they consistently try to mash out of Oukazan bounces or chicken block them. The medium version has the worst startup/active/recovery so stick to the light and heavy versions. Of note is that Slash and Bust actually have slightly different frame data for this move, but it hardly makes any difference in practice.

Slash

- 「Sanren Satsu」 - 236S[x3] (Properties) - Air blockable. Knockdown on third hit if all three connect. (Description) - Classic Genjuro left/right mixup rekka. Second and third steps can be done on whiff, and can be input as 214S. Deals huge damage when used properly, forms a mixup that the opponent has to preemptively avoid rather than react to, and frequently leads to stuns off of various pressure sequences. Its combo trees are very specific depending on spacing, proximity to the corner, and starter. Crossing up and having it blocked can additionally leave you open to a back hit punish if you don't follow up. Don't let these issues fool you, though. This move is godly. (Ino) - First step. Has an optional followup slash done by pressing any slash button. Light version is the only one that will reliably combo off of any special cancels. Medium crosses up at closer distances, heavy always crosses up. It can also be used as a gimmicky corpsehop. Crossups with this do not work when your opponent's back is in the corner. (Shika) - Second step. Has an optional followup slash done by pressing any slash button. Light goes no distance, medium can cross up at closer distances, heavy always crosses up. Doing the followup slash after a heavy Shika will result in the third step always whiffing. Like with Ino, this cannot cross up if your opponent's back is in the corner. (Cho) - Third step. Doesn't knock down if either Ino or Shika whiff/get blocked, though you're not punishable. Heavier versions are very slightly slower and deal more damage.

- 「Shizukujin」 - 421C (Properties) - Unblockable. Knockdown. (Description) - Command grab that calls upon Genjuro’s basketball career. It does huge damage and leaves him in a great position for okizeme. Has incredibly quick recovery on whiff, so even if the opponent jumps you can attempt to cross under their jump with 66A and try another grab. Like all command throws in SamSho 3, it's guaranteed on block if you cancel into it from a non-recoiling normal. Landing one grab lets the blender commence. Quickly run over your opponent before they tech roll, follow the tech roll if they do one, and stick out another n.5B to cancel into Shizukujin. If the n.5B hits meaty, this setup cannot be jumped, forcing the opponent to either take the hit or have a strong reversal option to escape. Nothing’s stopping you from trying to mix them up further with a Sanren Satsu setup if you think they won’t block, though. Likely the best command grab in the game.

- WFT「Gokouzan」 - 641236AB (Properties) - Air unblockable. Knockdown. (Description) - Autocombo WFT with decent reach, quick startup, and upper body invincibility. This is your only attack with any invincibility, so it's functional as a reversal in some situations though a proper meaty will still blow you up. Its recovery on whiff is very long and very punishable. Can combo off of numerous setups including 2D and n.5B. It's also plus on block for some reason. This naturally means a free command grab if you're at point blank. Actually a really good move if you understand how to set it up properly. See Okizeme for more info.

Bust

- 「Haneage」 - [S] when 214S is blocked (Properties) - Air blockable. Hits high. (Description) - Holding down the button used for Oukazan when the opponents blocks it will cause the card to bounce upwards, with the height of the bounce and where it lands depending on the strength of the initial Oukazan. It becomes an overhead on its way back down, which opens a whole mess of mixups and pressure opportunities. The card inflicts just as much hitstun on the way down as a proper Oukazan (read: a lot), meaning you get a combo and often a stun if you open them up with it. If your Oukazan bounces you need to wait for it to exit the bottom of the screen before you can throw another one. (A version) - The card barely gains any height, going slightly forward as it bounces up and immediately back down. If the opponent is cornered, this can sometimes bounce offscreen without actually hitting them. (B version) - Goes straight up and down, bouncing much higher. Gives both Genjuro and his opponent more time to think of what to do before it falls down. (C version) - Bounces just as high as a medium bounce, but will fall down about one backdash’s distance behind the opponent.

- 「Sankuu Satsu」 - 236S[x3] (Properties) - Air unblockable. Knockdown. (Description) - This series behaves very differently from Slash’s Sanren Satsu. Genjuro rushes forward very quickly and does three rising sword strikes when he gets close enough. Heavier versions will send Genjuro farther forward and deal more damage, so optimally stick to 236C for combos. The extra movement speed afforded from Sankuu Satsu combined with much faster startup makes it more consistent in combo situations, and lets it be used for quick burst movement in neutral behind an Oukazan as long as you know your spacing (the sword strikes do not come out if Genjuro does not make contact with the opponent’s hurtbox during the first 19f of forward movement). Pretty much every hit you get that isn’t a back hit will be converted into these for massive damage -- more than Sanren Satsu would deal in the same scenario. You can even combo into it off of stray Oukazans in the neutral if you’re looking for it. When blocked, Genjuro cannot continue past the first step and is severely punishable. But sometimes Genjuro can keep swinging, and the second and third steps are unblockable. The ultimate YOLO tool.

- 「Hyakki Satsu」 - 646S (Properties) - Air blockable. Knockdown. (Description) - You may be more familiar with this as 421S from later games. Genjuro swings his sword repeatedly while advancing forward, catching on hit. It’s not very useful despite the chip potential. It's air blockable, you can only combo into it on back hit, it doesn’t do much damage, whiffs at point blank range, and is very punishable on block. Loves to come out when you're trying to do a punish after circle stepping. An important thing to note is that if you must use this, never use the light version. It starts up slower, has very few active frames, and takes nearly a full second to recover afterwards. Both other versions are completely superior.

- WFT「Ura Gokou」 - 641236CD (Properties) - Air unblockable. Knockdown. (Description) - Functionally very similar to Gokouzan, just with a few minor differences. It has less blockstun (being -3 instead of +3 on stand block), 32f of complete invincibility on the latter half of its recovery, and a way cooler animation. The odd invincibility window leaves it essentially unpunishable on whiff if the opponent acts too late. Considering the worse frames on block and your lack of a command grab, forget about getting blocked and confirm into it after a card bounce for top level swag.

Strategy

Slash

Okizeme

Options afforded to Slash Genjuro make his oki possibilities horrifying, and if set up properly completely inescapable. Any number of knockdowns in his toolkit will allow him to implement oki even in the face of getup rolls. Note that unless you specifically go behind the opponent while they're knocked down, they can potentially jump out of these options. It's not like it's hard to go behind them after a knockdown with Genjuro's bag of tricks, so use these from behind on their wakeup as much as you can.

Landing a Shizukujin is by far the easiest way to force these situations. It's got a litany of setups, like as a punish, cancelled from a non-recoiling button on block, or even just doing the classic empty jump command throw. After you inevitably land the throw, walk behind them as they fall to the ground, chase their tech roll, and pull out your option of choice. Listed below are basic oki options, what you can do off of them, and how the opponent can respond.

Be very careful when doing any okizeme against Basara and Gaira that involves a blockstring, because they have guard cancels that can outright beat a good number of your options, even 421C. You'll need to be a lot more creative if you want to keep them in the blender.

Have fun blocking!

• n.5B - Your most universal option. Its hitbox lasts a long time and it's easy to use while following their tech roll. 2B is also an option, but it's a bit more difficult to pull off out of a walk without accidentally doing 632S.

• 421C - The catch-all followup. Due to how command grabs work in this game, it only works on block. Though you're actually slightly plus if you cancel the n.5B on hit.
• 236A - If you anticipate them not blocking to avoid the command grab. Getting blocked on this one allows you lets you keep swinging with further left/right mixups, though you lose the knockdown.
• 623S - Same general purpose as 236A (predicting them taking the hit in fear of the command grab) and somewhat easier to use. It knocks them down and deals good damage, but as you should expect from this move, you die if it's blocked.
• 236C - Works best when n.5B is blocked, putting it in competition with 421C. Use this if you really want the damage. You can try to further mix up on block and try to cross up again at the cost of no knockdown, but that's assuming they block. Be wary of jump mash.
• 641236AB - This option after n.5B is niche because if the opponent expects it, they can block the n.5B and freely jump out to avoid the WFT altogether. Outside of a few specific matchups and corner positioning, you also are not in range for a command throw followup if it's blocked. If you do this string, you want it to hit.

• 2D - Of course you can't let his super strong rapid fire 2D go unrepresented. It's not the most active thing in the world, but its great frames mean it's not hard to just spam on their wakeup. This comes with the usual set of options afterwards, and the usual warning when doing this against Basara or Gaira.

• 2D - Yeah. Do more 2Ds, confirm into a 236S series or 623C for the stun and kill them for it.
• 236A - Or just straight up do the 236S. Less likely to stun, but it'll keep them on their toes. If they block, you can threaten them with further potential mixups.
• 236C - Here's a funny one. If the 2D hits and you get the full 236C series afterwards, it'll stun. It's also unjumpable if the 2D hits. Just be careful against characters with awkward hurtboxes (Shizumaru, Amakusa, etc) because the 236C will often whiff.
• 421C - You can start the throw loop from here on block. Why not.
• 641236AB - Buffer it during a 2D, combo it off of rapid fire 2Ds, etc. Your opponent can still jump out between hits and make the WFT whiff. Doing this after one 2D leaves you closer to your opponent than n.5B would, so you're more likely to be within command throw distance if it's blocked. Note that against Shizumaru in specific, the command throw followup is corner only.

• 421C - Think you've got the timing down to snag that one unjumpable frame when they wake up with their back to you? Prove it. You can whiff cancel n.5B to help your timing. This is still good even if you don't nail the unjumpable, because you can attempt to punish a jump out or just grab them if they stay on the ground.

• 236C - It's not like they'll know which way to block in the face of Genjuro oki as is, so go nuts. Loses to jumps/chicken blocks unless you manage the impossible and do the frame-perfect meaty with this on the 1f turnaround animation.

• 214A/B - If they get hit by it, you can combo into the full 236C series so it stuns. Proceed to do stun punish of choice afterwards. The bonus is that you're plus on block as well, so throwing it out from a distance is an easy way to preserve momentum without putting yourself in harm's way.

• 641236AB - This one's just plain mean. It's annoying to consistently pull off, but very mean. If it's blocked, you're plus enough to command throw them, so do that. If it hits, you disarm them and get to run a train over their defense. Buffer the input or whiff cancel a button to prevent the deflect startup from occurring.

Shizukujin Crossovers

Despite walking over the opponent after 421C being such a fundamental part of Genjuro's oki, there are some characters who are harder to walk over afterwards, if not flat out impossible.

• Basara (impossible)
• Gaira (only possible after he lands)

Bust

Oukazan Bounce

The bouncing Oukazan can lead to extended pressure strings, gross mixups or even unblockables. Unless the opponent can correctly identify what bounce will occur by the card's speed or just guesses right, it will need to be reacted to. This usually leaves Genjuro with the advantage in the upcoming exchange. The primary hole in Oukazan bounce sequences is that there is almost always a way out thanks to it being a delayed overhead, but Genjuro in turn always has a response he can take to force respect from his opponent. Cancelling into Oukazan off of an attack also leaves a gap that can lose to mashing, especially if the attack is blocked. Once they're too scared to feasibly fight their way out, though, they're a sitting duck.

214A is the most smothering card option thanks to its incredibly low bounce, but its short travel speed limits the ranges it can be applied at and it can potentially bounce offscreen in the corner. 214B/214C effectively mix up between whether or not the opponent will backdash to avoid further pressure, as 214C will usually get them during their retreat and leave them vulnerable to further pressure if not a combo conversion. If the card hits and you are anywhere near them, you can just 236C on reaction and convert for huge damage.

One way to apply Oukazan bounces from close range (usually 214A) is to essentially treat the initial card projectile as an overhead. Thanks to the extra blockstun inflicted by special moves on crouching opponents, if the opponent crouch blocks Oukazan in the face of 2D pressure strings, Genjuro is left at a hefty amount of plus frames. It's also a powerful option to meaty their getup with, since you don't have Slash's command throw. Or you could meaty with it after a 66A cross-under to force an unjumpable segue into the bounce.

Simple Oukazan bounce possibilities include the following:

• Circle step - Easy peasy crossup. Switch up the timing to make it even harder to block properly. After a 2D unblockable, you can do this and still have time to combo them from behind.
• 623S - Will snipe attempts to jump out. This also guard breaks if they're unlucky enough to air block the card as it bounces down.
• 2D - This being a strong rapid fire low ensures they'll have a hard time blocking correctly. Connecting with this right at the same time the card bounce lands on their head is, of course, an unblockable. Combo into your followup of choice.
• Wait - If you read them throwing out a long range button or special to fight out, counterpoke with 5B or deflect-guard to keep them under the looming card.
• 66B - The classic unblockable. Be sure to time the 66B so it hits right as the card falls on them. Mostly useful for longer range card bounces.
• Throw - Why not? You've got option selects. You've ideally got them blocking in fear of your mixups. Just throw them and do your conversion of choice. Maybe even abuse the sticky fingers throw bug if you're slick enough.
• 5BC - Once they're conditioned to block low against 2D pressure this will usually lock them in enough hitstun for the card to hit them and allow further damage.
• 632S - Stuffs abare with its huge active frames and will also guard break similar to 623S, but deals less damage.
• 236S - Slightly lower guard break setup that complements 623S. They need to be lower to the ground, though, otherwise you'll just run underneath them without attacking.

Be sure to experiment and find your own pressure sequences and mixups. This is hardly everything Bust Genjuro can do with a well-placed Oukazan.

Combos

Universal

Back hit stun combo: n.5B xx 214A [walk] n.5B xx 214A 5C

Make sure to walk up after the first Oukazan. You have all the time in the world to do so.

Back hit ToD: n.5B xx 214A j.C [walk] n.5B xx 214A j.C 5C

Fancier version of the above. Arguably more optimal, but harder to hit consistently. Shizumaru requires you to time the j.C differently to all the other characters. In the cases of S.Hanzo and Galford, you should stick to the stun combo just so they can't burst out of j.C.

Back hit corner BnB loop: ...214SxN

This will work off of pretty much any starter. If you try to do the 2nd card too early you just get a normal; you have to wait until the card effect is mostly gone to input the second one. This takes longer to stun than other combos and leaves them with little health to work with even if they do mash out of the stun.

Back hit stun combo: n.2C xx 214C 5C

Situational. Mind the spacing on the n.2C, since it whiffs very easily if you’re too close. Like with the basic back hit loop, you can jump forward and j.C after Oukazan for even more damage.

Slash

Sanren Satsu crossup BnB: 236C~S 236B~S 236C

This is the most consistent way to get a complete series off of a 236C crossup, though some spacings will still result in the final hit whiffing. Get used to these inputs, because you're gonna use this sequence a lot.

Front hit stun combo: 2D 2D 2D xx 236A 236A~S 236A

If you can get this link down consistently, you can kill off of a single low opening. Up to player preference the slash followup can also be done after the first 236A instead of the second. Just do your choice of stun punish afterwards and hopefully take the round.

Front hit stun mixup: 2D xx 236C~S 236B~S 236C

This is not a true combo outside of the corner. The 2D needs to connect and needs to be cancelled into 236C in order to be unjumpable and guarantee a stun. Delaying does not work. Note that specific characters' hurtboxes (e.g. Shizumaru/Amakusa) can cause this option to whiff at certain spacings even when done correctly.

Alternate front hit stun combo: 214S 236C~S 236B~S 236C

You want to use different versions of card depending on the distance of the opponent, A into 236C series works from point blank, B works from 1 backdash away, C works from 2. Card being safe on block makes this somewhat worth going for, especially as oki.

Cross under anti air throw setup: 66A 421C

Assuming you hit the opponent while they’re in the air, this forces a situation where the opponent cannot jump to avoid the command grab. If you’re not confident in your timing, meaty their landing recovery with n.5B and mix between command grab and Rekkas. Yeah.

Front hit stun combo: n.2C xx 236A 236A 236A

Due to how far Genjuro’s opponent is pushed out, using the followup slashes to the first two 236A reps will cause the rest of the combo to whiff. In the corner you can use the extra slash after the second Rekka. Go to your stun punish of choice to kill.

Back throw midscreen stun combo: b.throw 5B xx 236B 236A~S 236C

Comboing from 5B into Sanren Satsu is awkward but you get your choice of stun punish for the kill.

Front hit stun punish combo: 214A n.2C xx 236A 236A 236A

You could do a more reliable loop or a back hit combo, but they're probably dead after this if you stunned them anyways. You can add more 214A in the corner if you're feeling fancy.

Bust

Midscreen stun ToD: n.2C xx 236C 236C [stun] n.2C xx 236C 236C 236C

Not a lot to explain here. You can even do this off of an Oukazan bounce. Some characters -- chiefly Galford -- have hurtboxes that prevent the combo from working properly at specific midscreen spacings, though.

Front hit stun ToD: 2D 2D 2D 2D xx 623C [stun] 214A [run forward] 2D 2D xx 236S 236S 236S

Very potent stun combo that works in both Techniques, though Bust uses it more. The stun followup is listed because it will kill even characters with high defense modifiers from full health off of this starter from midscreen.

Front hit stun punish combo: 214A n.2C xx 236C 236C 236C

Essentially the easy mode version of Slash's corner stun punish listed above.

Character specific 2D ToD: 2Dx5 xx 236C 236C [stun] 2Dx5 xx 236C 236C 236C

Any fewer 2D reps in the beginning and the combo will not stun.

External Links

• Genjuro Frame Data