Skullgirls/Umbrella/Strategy

Overview

Combos

Mixups

Team Building & Assist Combos

Strategy

Links

#SG_UMB

Strategy

Goals

• Play defensively, patiently and use your bubbles and huge normals to control space and keep your opponent away until reaching ravenous.
• In ravenous, rush your opponent down and use your huge disjointed buttons like 2MP and jMP to force them to block and mix them from a distance, and use Slurp to hitconfirm and continue your pressure.

Offense

• At close range, mix your opponents using moves like 2LK, 5HK and jMP in ravenous. Use Slurp after getting pushblocked to continue your pressure (be mindful of PBGC) or Tongue Twister to catch your opponent after it.
• At midrange, you can use ravenous 2MP and Tongue Twister to keep your opponent guessing, and even 5HK opens people up due to its extreme range.

Neutral

• Use L Bubble and M Bubble to stuff air approaches. M Bubble will win you almost every trade. H Bubble stops ground approaches and is specially useful against characters with armor or extended hurtboxes.
• Burn as much hunger as possible doing things like M Bobble 5LP and other bubbles until you reach ravenous.
• Use 2MP and Tongue Twister to catch your opponent off guard.
• Staying safe until reaching ravenous and then approaching your opponent can be hard, and your plan varies a lot depending on the matchup and assists you have.

Defense

• Your only reliable reversal is Contact Lens, don't use Hungern Rush unless you're 110% sure it's going to hit.
• Utilize Umbrella's ridiculous mash options such as ravenous 2LP, 2LK and 2MK to dodge your opponent's hurtboxes and stuff their attacks. These options all carry risks, but the reward is massive.

Hunger Management

• Ideally, unless you're hitting your opponent you will always be in ravenous. Entering Stuffed or Starving can be a death sentence, so do your best to never get there outside of a combo.
• You can enter Stuffed to guarantee a kill as long as you don't have to worry about the next character stopping you from going back to ravenous.
• Don't fully chomp Salt Grinder or Tongue Twister unless you can guarantee a kill.

How to use this character's moves

2LP

• The fastest normal in the game while in ravenous. This move is very solid for mashing out of pressure, and can be used alongside 2mp to hit confirm

2LK

• This move has an insane amount low-profile that keeps your dash momentum. Very useful to use in neutral as it goes under a lot of fireballs (like Parasoul's napalm shots). It also has applications an anti-air to go under almost anything

2MP

• The sniper button, can be cancelled into SnS for conversions off of a disgustingly disjointed low poke. Has enough hitstun that allows it to be confirmed off of by itself if your reactions are fast enough. Think of it like this game's version of Chun's c.MK from street fighter 3

2MK

• This button has 17 frames of throw invulnerability, alongside going over a lot of this game's low buttons. Use it as a reversal at your own risk, as this button is high risk, high reward. The splash function of this button allows the SQRT setup and combos into 6HP for lots of damage

2HK

• One of two sweeps that can be combo'd off of natrually. Combined with the large disjoint on it's hitbox and the armor breaking properties all sweeps share, this move is very scary when used in Umbrella's pressure sequences.

jLK

• Can be used to help escape from fake air resets, in addition to help navigate Peacock's minefield of projectiles

jMP

• Probably your best move. This button does it all. Solid air-to-air, instant overhead in ravenous, does lots of damage when starting a combo with it, get used to using this move a lot

jHK

• a very reliable restand whenever your brain fogs up mid combo and you forget how to continue the routing

SnS

• A plus on block lariat that is very easy for the opponent to PBGC punish. Confirm into it instead of using it mindlessly in pressure against a savvy opponent. Most of your high damage ravenous combos will start with 5HP SnS + assist

Rush

• Do not use this move as a reversal. It has no throw invulnerability and has a very bad hitbox that whiffs way too often. The main use for this move is on your <1 pip combo starter, which is rush into 662lk 6hp for lots of damage

Ptooie

• The sqrt move. Hold LK to prevent the hunger increasing (useful if you want to stay in ravenous). Sets up her most dangerous mixup and has decent neutral application by setting the projectile and following it. Can be used as a combo breaker in specific scenarios. This is also your only way to get out of starving in neutral, make sure to call an assist before using it in neutral

Bobble

• the fastest way to drain hunger without spending bar or taunting is bobble 5lp repeat. Otherwise it is good at stopping air approaches by popping the bubble with 2lp

Wish Maker

• mainly used as combo filler or as a way to set up a mix. Not so useful in neutral since the bubble goes away if umbrella is hit. The stuffed version of this move is a very strong assist

Matchups

NOTE: this is not a comprehensive overview of each matchup, just some tidbits to keep in mind when playing against different characters

General Advice

• Umbrella is really good at out-scrambling most characters
• super jump and jLK can help against zoners but good luck navigating otherwise
• Eliza, Black Dahlia, and Band can be hit with rising jMP in satiated

Annie

• Annie can on reaction meteor strike your Reflector but is only unpunishable if they're right in front of you
• Her 2LP can avoid rising jMP sometimes
• reflector beats star power, camp it out until she runs out of meter
• reflector pbgc/alpha counter vs lvl 3 dhc wins but is also really hard

Beowulf

• 2MK is immune to grabs, and will beat moves like wulf shoot cleanly
• 214LK is useful to throw out in neutral to prevent wulf blitzer and jHP
• Whatever you do, do not get hit. His oki and reset game is incredibly difficult for Umbrella to deal with

Big Band

• Don't overextend into cymbals
• You can 2MK over giant step
• 2LP 2HK is frame zero reset so it heavy counterhits ssj mash
• max range 2MP can be canceled into rush if band ssj's
• use rush to beat ssj as a read

Black Dahlia

• reflect dahlia bullets unless they're electric
• 5hp whiff cancel gets rid of trap

Cerebella

• 2MK beats bella's existence until she starts only doing elbow
• use rush on dynamo/diamonds or 5hk if you read a mash

Double

• L bubble beats L luger

Eliza

• Wish maker and hungern rush hard beat sekhmet
• Tongue twister is a true punish against h khat

Filia

• 2LK will low profile a lot of filia's air buttons
• If she starts spamming jHK you are screwed (use DP assists to cover yourself since jHK makes Rush whiff extremely often)

Fukua

• you cant reflect grounded M fireball, but you can stall for ravenous by using Reflector into m bubble spam
• be very mindful of M shadow

Ms. Fortune

• 5hp fortunes head away if they are trying to pester you with it in neutral

Painwheel

• Camp her out with bobbles when you have the life lead and be ready to reaction rush/sweep to armor

Parasoul

• You can low profile tears and clip paras toes from a mile away
• Airthrow para during sqrt to demand respect and close up rising jMP can avoid pillar

Peacock

• Mix up L and H reflectors against peacock to either stall her or buy yourself time, mind her meter as lenny can eat through your reflector

Robo-Fortune

• God help you

Squigly

• She cannot contest your grounded buttons, but jLK will still beat a lot of your options
• 6LP checks an airhappy squigly if they are trying to spam jLK

Umbrella (Mirror)

• Umbrella mirrors are a race to ravenous into tongue twister punish if you see bubbles
• expect rush vs all your mixups

Valentine

• 6HP is useful against valentine's air shenanigans
• You can reflect fullscreen dead cross

Counterplay

How to beat this character

• Don't give her space; rush her down, poke her constantly, make getting to ravenous impossible.
• Mash on her pressure! While she is plus, it's still very much an RPS situation. At most ranges, 2MP SnS isn't even a true blockstring and you can call her out on it. PBGCing is extremely encouraged.
• Reset her in the air. She has 0 air options and is at your complete mercy in the air.

Counters to common techniques

• Hungern Rush is NOT throw invulnerable, if she is getting very happy catching you with it, grab her