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Samurai Shodown V Special/Galford
Introduction
The American ninja from San Fransisco, who roams Japan as a superhero of "Justice". (You can roll your eyes now.)
Galford is fast, has good mobility, tons of projectile options, and lots of gimmicks, but unfortunately is littered with special moves that aren't very useful. Galford's goal is to team up on you using his dog (Poppy), which he uses for moving in on his opponent and applying pressure. Poppy is also the key to most Galford's mixups. Problem is Galford can't do much by himself, and has a tough time under pressure. However, if you like the idea of double teaming the enemy with your trusty ninja pet beside you, Galford's the character for you.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
---|---|
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Data
- Damage taken: 110%
- Rage duration: 10 seconds
- Amount to rage: 16
- Walk speed: 896 (Tam Tam can't even dash that fast)
- Backwalk speed: 640
- Dash speed: 1800
- Jump duration: 50 frames
- Width: 28
- Throw range: 16
- Throw recovery: 42 frames
- Tier placing: A
Normals
Far Slashes
5A:
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5B:
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5AB:
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2A:
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2B:
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2AB:
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Near Slashes
n.5A:
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n.5B:
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n.5AB:
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n.2A:
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n.2B:
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n.2AB:
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Overheads
5BC:
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u.5BC:
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Kicks
5C:
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6C:
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2C:
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3C:
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Jumping
j.A:
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j.B:
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j.AB:
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j.C:
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Dashing
66A:
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66B:
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66AB:
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66C:
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Unarmed
u.5S:
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u.2S:
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ju.S:
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u.66S:
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System
Deflect - 216D:
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Weapon Pickup - 5A:
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Taunt Disarm - Start Start Start:
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Sankaku Tobi - j.9 or j.3 near wall:
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Backdash - 44:
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Specials
Plasma Blade - 236S: (can be used unarmed)
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Replica Attack - 63214AC / 63214BC: (can be used unarmed)
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Imitate Replicate - 6464642AC / 6464642BC: (can be used unarmed)
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Strike Heads - 623S: (can be used unarmed)
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Dog specials - 214x: (can be used unarmed) "Let's go, Poppy!"
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Stardust Drop - j.[1/2/3/4/6]C: (can be used unarmed)
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Double Mega Strike Heads - 236CD / 236BC:
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Plasma Factor - 1st input: 21463214214AD (unarmed), 2nd input: 214214623AD:
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Combos
Normal
- n.5B/n.2B/2B xx 236S ...
- ... 2BC (corner only)
- ... 8BC (after A/B versions,corner only)
- 214A dash xx 8BC
- 214B ...
- ... whatever
- ... dash xx 8BC
- 5C xx 236S 2BC
- Tall characters only.
- 214AB(antiair hit) 8BC
- Use 2BC if they weren't very high in the air when getting hit by poppy.
- 214214623AD 2BC (corner only)
- 66B 2BC
- 66C 2BC
- 6C 2BC
- 3C 2BC
- u.66S 8BC
Backhit
- Backhit (n.5B or 2B or n.2B) xx 214A dash xx 8BC
- Easy to execute, but only gets you slightly more damage than a typical plasma blade combo.
- Backhit (n.5AB) 2B xx 236S (Can also 2BC or 8BC pursuit in corner)
- The two frame link between 5AB and 2B makes this combo very hard to do reliably.
- Backhit (n.5AB) 66C 8BC
- All things considered, this is probably your best choice as it's not too hard to execute and gets you good damage.
Unblockable Rage Explode
- 214B ABC 8BC
- If timed properly, Rage explode makes poppy unblockable, even without the Rage explode stunning the opponent. This allows you to do this combo from a distance.
- 214B ABC 2B xx 236S
- Requires very precise spacing and timing. Don't try this in a real match.
- 214AB ABC
- Easier to execute in the corner.
Tips and Tricks
214B/214AB Low and Overhead
- Poppy basically copies Galford's hit box properties. If Galford throws out a low attack, than poppy will hit low. If Galford throws out a overhead attack, poppy will hit overhead. Even if Galford is on the other side of the screen and won't hit anything with his attacks.
- Low hit: 2C/3C
- Over head hit: 8C (7,9)
- In order for this trick to work the kick must be in it's active frames as poppy hits. So it must be timed, especially 2C since it only has a few active frames. 3C also works and it does make it easier to time, but because it has such a slow startup it will only work around max range of the dog when using 214B.
Plasma Factor input trick
- Obviously, 214214623AD takes an awfully long time input and is sometimes hard to input correctly. It doesn't help that the move itself has a very long startup making it way too damn difficult to get someone to stand in place long enough for it to hit. Luckily, thanks to the input reader being so lenient, you can use a shortcut by executing this move after using either 213B or 214AB.
- Like this: 214_, 214623AD
- By doing so, you can use Plasma Factor on the first frame Galford recovers from his dog special. This not only is a great trick cause it lets you get by the hassle of inputting this slow ass move. But Poppy even works as a great trap so you can land it.
- 214B, 214623AD: With this you can bait a neutral jump with Poppy, and that's when this move's slow startup actually works in your favor. Many of the cast's jumps will come down just in time for them to get whacked by this move. If you input this fast enough Plasma Factor will actually combo off the 214B, meaning there is no risk of wasting an opportunity to hit them.
- 214AB, 214623AD: Getting people to turtle up blocking is what you want here. If you do this trick right, and they block Poppy, they're screwed. You'll hit them while they're in blockstun!
Strategies
- Its important to note, that there is no one general strategy any character can play. Samurai Shodown is incredibly match-up dependent. Learning how to deal with each one of those individual match-ups is key in developing a strong strategy. However, I'm going to do my best to outline the key elements to Galford's game.
Offense
- Gimmicks, pokes, and more gimmicks. Galford has a hard time dealing big damage. Most of his offense relies on ambiguous, but low damage mixups. Although Galford has many projectiles to choose from, they all leave him open for a period of time, whether it be at the start up, or the recovery. Meaning in order to play any sort of offense you're gonna have to be a bit reckless. But don't be shy, playing Galford is about taking one for the team!
- Let's be honest, without Poppy, Galford kinda fails. So use that dog like nobodies business. The best part about all the dog specials is Poppy will still attack, even if Galford gets hit during the startup. While most of Galford's other moves are risky and match-up dependent, the dog almost never loses it's usefulness. Here's why...
214B:
- This special is your friend... literally! I don't think there is a single match-up where this move isn't useful. 214B is a wonderful tool no matter what range you're at, be it long, mid, or short. It can bait jumps, play a gross high low game, and Poppy holds the opponent so long you can hit confirm a 5AB or 2AB, making this low damage character actually scary.
214AB:
- This special is also your friend. This move compliments 214B incredibly well. People often try to jump out of 214B on reaction to the startup... too bad this move's startup is almost identical leading them to just get knocked right back into the ground. This move makes your opponent want to stay on the ground.
- Combine the two, and you got a real stupid annoying combination, great for frustrating your opponent into taking risks. These two moves pretty much define Galford's universal offensive game.
Defense
- Pokes, gimmicks, and more pokes. So you got a lot of projectiles, Yay... Now where's my dragonfist? Well, Galford doesn't have one. Galford's defensive game is pretty iffy to be sure, particularly his anti-air which I'm going to spend the most time talking about.
- Galford is an interesting character indeed that takes awhile to get used to. You gotta think like a ninja! Galford may not be able to do a flaming uppercut, but he's still really damn fast. Using his speed and mobility is the key to dealing with people trying to rush you down. It might sound silly, but walking forward, dashing forward, and back dash cancels, are probably you're safest options. You must learn how to "dodge" their attacks, or out speed them with your lightning quick kicks and sword strikes. This is indeed the way of the ninja.
The art of walking:
- Galford has the fastest walk in the entire game. So a lot of times you can easily just walk under someone currently in a jump and punish them on/before landing. There is a 2 frame landing recovery where they are completely open to attack. If you have enough time to do so, then use 2AB. It has a surprisingly high hitbox so it can hit them before they reach the ground, so you won't have to perfectly hit that ambiguous 2 frame timing.
The art of running:
- Galford's dash is also one of the quickest in the game, allowing you to go under jumps and do surprise attacks interrupting your opponent. His dash attacks lack power but most are very fast. The best 2 for anti-air are 66A, and 66AB. Use 66A for speed, and 66AB for damage, both can hit the opponent before they reach the ground. One of Galford's other defensive options is 66C. This is an annoying little Vega slide which comes out in 3 frames and causes knockdown. Use it to catch your opponent off guard and stop whatever their doing.
The art of backflipping:
- Galford's backdash is not only a very important escape tool, but can also be used for anti-air. The idea is to get your opponent to jump after you, you then backdash to get out of range of their jumping attacks, and throw out a Plasma blade for them to land on. You may also notice people can tend to dash after Galford when he back dashes, so they'll just run into your projectiles. So yeah, this is a pretty gimmicky way of landing a hit while maintaining minimum risk.
The art of jumping:
- Galford's got a pretty laggy jump, and it doesn't cover a large vertical distance, so don't try to use it for escaping. However, he has a lot of lightning quick jump attacks good for air to air. j.C and j.A both come out in 3 frames, so these are basically your version of using a DP.
The art of hopping forward:
- Taking note of Galford's gimmicky "movement" style of defense, you can probably figure out on your own, without even playing the character, that Galford hates being in the corner. Not having use of his great mobility is a huge issue. It becomes more of a problem due to Galford's slow jump. Luckily you're playing Samurai Shodown and they have a wonderful little tool known as 6D, or Forward Hop. This allows you to cross your opponent up, and get yourself out of this situation, whenever you get a safe chance.
Time slow
- These are generally your best options when using Galford's Time Slow.
- 214B then issen. You can't rage explode while Poppy's got you, and even though Galford doesn't have enough time to follow up with a slash when he uses overhead Machine Gun Dog, he can however hit them with an issen in time. This forces your opponent to play a high/low guessing game, but if it fails, it's a waste of a time slow.
- This won't work against certain characters with low hitboxes. 8C or 9C are instant overheads if done at the beginning of jump and will combo into issen during time slow. While it is difficult to do this trick while opponent is crouching, you can still do it pretty reliably with enough practice. If you feel like doing extra damage Galford can combo the kick into a 5AB or anything else really. The down side of this trick is your opponent can rage explode out.
- If you actually managed to unlock Galford's Plasma Factor move, it's a great move to use during Time Slow being that it is unblockable. You won't be able to use an issen afterwards but it does great damage by itself.
Countering opponent's Time Slow
- Galford is one of cast who got some good options to deal with opponent time slow.
j.9C(7,8) instant overhead:
- Even with slow time j.9C will be lightning fast and potentially interrupt an opponent.
214C:
- If you think that opponent will do some normals before using issen you can try this. Just do it right before opponent hits you. Even if Galford get hit during start up, Poppy will be launched and trade hits with opponent.
63214AC/BC:
- Because of invincible start up and pretty long time in the air, this move eat up to 3-4 precious seconds of slow time before Galford can be punished.
6464642AC/BC:
- Same as 63214AC/BC but you can mash that even before time slow, if you sure that you can't avoid opponent attack.
Avoiding death by chip damage
- 63214BC has a fully invinicble start up and Galford is relatively safe while falling from the air. Because of this, it's a great move to avoid a very obvious chip damage kill attempt. If you have rage you can also use Galford's WFT to do this and get a nasty punish out of it. Sometimes this trick won't allow you to get any sort of punish, like when avoiding Kyoshiro's WFT, but at least it gets you out of the situation to try and make a comeback.
- Examples of chip attacks: Yoshitora's 214S; Shizumaru's 214S; Rasetsumaru's 236C; Kyoshiro's 421S ect. Some of them have a slow enough start up that you can actually react to them, rather than just reading it.
Match-ups
VS. Jubei
- Feel free to use Plasma blade to trade with Jubei's ground projectile all day, you'll be doing a lot more damage. Eventually you'll make Jubei want to jump over your plasma blades, and this is where you can really mess with him. Jubei's jump is so damn floaty Galford can just walk or dash under him and hit'em with a 2.AB before he lands.
- Playing oki against Jubei is a lot less risky for Galford than it is other characters. Jubei has a fully invincible start up DP. So a lot of times its good to use 214B or 214AB and simply block to wait and see if he throws it out. If you managed to block it you can dash behind him before he lands, guaranteeing yourself a back-hit combo punish.
- If you jump in use j.C. Not only will it stuff Jubei's catch counters, but it has a very low hitbox and comes out incredibly fast, so it will stuff Jubei's anti-air 5AB a lot of the time.
- When Jubei gets raged, watch for his WFT. If he goes for it just use 63214BC and go behind him, punishing it for free. If your raged you can use your 236BC WFT, and make him very sorry.
VS. Kusaregedo
- Don't let him in. Period. Don't let him roll in grab you, and especially don't let him play his close range rps. Run away, and throw out projectiles.
- Sick Poppy on him like you're life depended on it... because it does! After you sick Poppy on him and he thinks about trying to move in, try throwing a plasma blade next for him to run into. You want to make this Gedo very cautious about trying to get closer.
- Back dash cancels play a big part in this match-up when Galford isn't cornered. You can make Gedo misjudge distances for his roll and jump making him roll/land right into your projectile.
- When Galford is in a corner it starts to get more tricky. Continue your dog pressure, and react to his rolls with a 5BC. See if you can bait him to jump, and when he does, dash under him. Keep dashing until you're on the other side of the screen, where you can continue to throw projectiles at him... and that's pretty much the goal of this entire fight. Just keep him out, forever!
VS. Rera
- ...I hate this match-up. Okay so pretty much everything you learned from the Strategy section can be thrown out the window now. Rera is a huge pain for Galford. He just has so few options to use against her, everything else is completely negated by the wolf.
- However there are some mildly effective strategies you can use to combat Rera. If you want any chance of winning this match-up you're gonna wanna play patiently, and not take any risks. Ergo, you should be getting a lot of time-outs if you hope to win.
On Wolf
- All of Galford's projectiles are nullified by the wolf's forward jump and instant dash stop. This is a good time to be doing nothing but trying to get her OFF the wolf.
- Galford has two particular advantages in this match-up. Use them well, cause they're all you got. Rera can't use her D button while she's on the wolf. That means no hopping/ducking out of grabs, and no deflecting slashes. The other advantage is Galford's character sprite is fat... this will be explained later.
- Galford's 5A and 5B are your go-to for spamming. Rera can't punish them easily. She has no long range pokes, so as long as you have spacing you're good to just throw them out as much as you like. The goal isn't to do lots of damage, but just knock her off that wolf as safely as possible.
- Clearly you're other option is to go for dash in grabs, or 623S (command grab), since Rera lacks a way to dodge them outside of jump. Galford's fast dash really helps him out with this.
- Using the standard grab is also where his second advantage comes into play. Rera's ability to dash through you with the wolf takes more time versus Galford than it does other characters, due to the width of his character sprite. This gives you a lot of time to react to her dash and grab her while she's attempting to use her crossup trick.
- Another good way to knock her off the wolf is using j.C. It's the only jumping move Galford can use, since he jumps so high, and her wolf jumps so low. The 3 frame start up, awesome hitbox from above, and large active frames makes this a good tool to knock her ass out of the air, and off that wolf.
Off Wolf
- Now you're probably going, "Yes! I knocked her off the wolf!... Now what?" ...Not much. You're still gimped with a lack of options. And that's because now you gotta figure out how to KEEP her off the wolf. To do that, Galford can't use any of his mid-long range defensive gimmicks. You're gonna have to stay pretty close to her, and stop her from getting on the wolf again. Easier said then done...
- Now that she has access to the D button you can no longer pressure her with pokes or grabs safely. In fact, now you have to worry about Rera's own grab, since you'll wanna stay close to her.
- You're options have improved in some ways. At least now you have access to your 214B/214AB dog tricks, thank god. Just run you're mid-close range dog mixups until she finds a way back on the wolf. Also you can finally use something other than j.C to fight air to air... That's about it, but it's better than having no offensive game at all.
- Yep, you guessed it! This match-up still sucks.
Frame Data
Move | Damage | Startup | Active | Total | Cancel | Weapon Clash |
Hit Adv. |
Backhit Adv. |
Block Adv. |
Guard | Notes |
5A | 5 | 10 | 2 | 21 | 3~4(2) / 20~25(5) | 8~9(2) / 12~14(3) | -1 | -1 | -3 | Mid | Weak attack, Deflectable(weak) |
5B | 11 | 11 | 2 | 38 | 1~4(4) | 9~10(2) | -9 | -1 | -9 | Mid | Medium attack, Deflectable(med) |
5AB | 29 | 19 | 2 | 57 | 1~6(6) | 16~18(3) / 21~23(3) | -1 | +9 | -21 | Mid | Heavy attack, Deflectable(heavy) |
2A | 5 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 1~2(2) / 7~11(5) | - | -2 | -2 | -3 | Mid | Weak attack, Deflectable(weak) |
2B | 9 | 10 | 2 | 30 | 10~23(14) | - | -2 | +6 | -9 | Mid | Medium attack, Deflectable(med) |
2AB | 28 | 14 | 2 | 66 | 1~7(7) | - | KD | KD | -21 | Low | Knockdown attack |
n.5A | 4 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 1~2(2) / 8~19(12) | 3~7(5) | -1 | -1 | -3 | Mid | Weak attack, Deflectable(weak) |
n.5B | 8 | 11 | 3 | 28 | 11~24(10) | 7~10(4) | +1 | +9 | -9 | Mid | Medium attack, Deflectable(med) |
n.5AB | 29 | 19 | 2 | 54 | 1~3(3) | 15~18(4) / 21~22(2) | +2 | +12 | -21 | Mid | Heavy attack, Deflectable(heavy) |
n.2A | 5 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 1~2(2) / 7~11(5) | - | -2 | -2 | -3 | Mid | Weak attack, Deflectable(weak) |
n.2B | 9 | 10 | 2 | 30 | 10~23(14) | - | -2 | +6 | -9 | Mid | Medium attack, Deflectable(med) |
n.2AB | 28 | 14 | 2 | 66 | 1~7(7) | - | KD | KD | -21 | Low | Knockdown attack |
5C | 6 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 1~34(34) | - | -8 | +0 | -21 | Mid | Medium attack |
6C | 6 | 11 | 8 | 35 | 1~6(6) | - | KD | KD | -19 | Low | Knockdown attack |
2C | 2 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 1~2(2) | - | -4 | -4 | -9 | Low | Weak attack |
3C | 7 | 9 | 10 | 34 | 1~4(4) | - | KD | KD | -20 | Low | Knockdown attack |
j.A | 6 | 3 | 5 | 15 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | High | Weak attack, Deflectable(weak) |
j.B | 9 | 9 | 3 | 32 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | High | Medium attack, Deflectable(med) |
j.AB | 26 | 12 | 5 | 32 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | High | Heavy attack, Deflectable(heavy) |
j.C | 4 | 3 | 11 | 25 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | High | Medium attack |
ju.C | 4 | 3 | 11 | 25 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | High | Medium attack |
5BC | 16 | 20 | 4 | 41 | x | - | KD | KD | -15 | High | Medium attack Knockdown attack |
u.5BC | 8 | 20 | 6 | 56 | x | - | KD | KD | -30 | High | Medium attack Knockdown attack |
66A | 6 | 9 | 2 | 29 | 1~3(3) | - | -2 | +6 | -21 | Mid | Medium attack, Deflectable(heavy) |
66B | 8 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 1~3(3) | - | KD | KD | -21 | Low | Knockdown attack |
66AB | 15 | 20 | 3 | 38 | 13~14(2) | - | KD | KD | -13 | High | Medium attack Knockdown attack |
66C | 4 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 1~2(2) / 25~28(4) | - | KD | KD | -20 | Low | Knockdown attack |
u.5S | 4 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 1~5(5) | - | -1 | -1 | -6 | Mid | Weak attack |
u.2S | 4 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 1~5(5) | - | +3 | +3 | -2 | Mid | Weak attack |
ju.S | 4 | 5 | 10 | 20 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | High | Medium attack |
u.66S | 4 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 1~2(2) | - | KD | KD | -6 | Mid | Knockdown attack |
u.66C | 4 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 1~2(2) / 25~28(4) | - | KD | KD | -20 | Low | Knockdown attack |
2BC | 5 | 18 | 2 | 39 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | Mid | |
u.2BC | 4 | 9 | 8 | 33 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | Mid | |
8BC | 12 | 39 | 20 | 92 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | Mid | |
u.8BC | 8 | 21 | 20 | 75 | x | - | -- | -- | -- | Mid | |
Plasma Blade - 236A | 14 | 13 | x | 58 | x | - | KD | KD | -32 | Mid | Knockdown attack |
Plasma Blade - 236B | 15 | 13 | x | 61 | x | - | KD | KD | -35 | Mid | Knockdown attack |
Plasma Blade - 236AB | 16 | 13 | x | 66 | x | - | KD | KD | -39 | Mid | Knockdown attack |
Replica Attack - 63214AC / BC | 14 | ? | ? | ? | x | - | KD | KD | -52 | High | Knockdown attack 1-12f fully invincible |
Replica Attack - u.63214AC / BC | 10 | ? | ? | ? | x | - | -56 | -13 | -54 | High | Knockdown attack 1-12f fully invincible |
Imitate Replica - 6464642AC / BC | 14 | ? | ? | ? | x | - | KD | KD | -52 | High | Knockdown attack 1-12f fully invincible |
Imitate Replica - u.6464642AC / BC | 14 | ? | ? | ? | x | - | -56 | -13 | -54 | High | Knockdown attack 1-12f fully invincible |
Strike Heads - 623S | 12 | 3 | 1 | 43 | x | - | KD | KD | KD | Mid | |
Rush Dog - 214A | 16 | 19 | x | 53 | x | - | KD | KD | -19 | Mid | Knockdown attack |
Machine Gun Dog - 214B | 3 | 31 | x | 35 | x | - | +46 | +46 | +8 | Mid | |
Replica Dog - 214AB | 11 | 51 | x | 38 | x | - | KD | KD | ?? | Mid | Knockdown attack |
Overhead Crash - 214C | 15 | 33 | x | 94 | x | - | KD | KD | ?? | Mid | Knockdown attack |
Plasma Factor - 214214623AD | 43 | 41 | ? | 90 | x | - | KD | KD | ?? | Mid | Knockdown attack Unblockable |
Double Mega Strike Heads - 236CD / 236BC | 58 | ? | 8 | ? | x | - | KD | KD | ?? | Mid | Knockdown attack Start ~ 21f after appearing fully invincible Fixed damage |