Street Fighter EX2 PLUS/Sagat

Introduction

Sagat is a Flexible Mid-Tier Character in Street Fighter EX2+. He has solid meterless damage, beefy anti airs, and great pokes.

Gameplan

Fireball Zoning in SFEX2+ is nerfed from Street Fighter II and the Alpha Series. Projectile speeds are generally slower than SFII, and high damage jump-ins often put defensive players at a disadvantage. With that in mind, characters like Guile and Sagat are still solid choices.

While not strictly defensive, Sagat can certainly be played that way. Use 2LK, 5MK, and low Tiger Shots to take control on the ground. If they jump, answer with 5HK or Tiger Blow. On offense, Sagat has a very low jump arc and great Okizeme thanks to Tiger Crush.

Play the Fireball Game until you come into range for 5MK and 2HP. Buffer Tiger Crush with your longest pokes to convert into a knockdown. Even in neutral, the threat of a "random" Tiger Crush might make your opponent press less buttons up close. This synergizes with Sagat's better than average throw game- Walk up to that Turtle and toss them with close 6HK!

j. MK is an incredible cross up.

Notes

• Tiger Crush is a dangerously mobile special move. After an anti-air (Or any situation where your opponent is knocked down and out of range), you can do multiple Tiger Crushes and still maintain frame advantage. You'll build meter doing it too!

• Sagat's Light Attacks give him access to some potent hit confirms. You can chain up to three 2LKs and cancel into HP Tiger Blow. Keep in mind that this only really has use up close as Abare (Riskier Offense, Stealing your "Turn" back). The game's Combo Scaling system kicks in hard- You'll do identical damage to a raw HP Tiger Blow with this technique.

• SFEX2+ lacks close normals. Many of Sagat's grounded buttons will outright whiff on crouching opponents. There are some anomalies with Tiger Crush too. If it doesn't outright miss, sometimes you wont get the second hit that knocks down.

Particularly Nasty Offensive Sequence

Sagat is a good character in SFEX2+. But to be the best, we have to be mean. Here's what I've cooked up.

HK Throw, Framekill 5LK/5LP, Crossup j.MK, 2MP, 2MK xx 623HP, 623K(Optional)

Throws are a Street Fighter institution, but the EX series puts a unique spin on them. Many normal grabs in SFEX2+, regardless of the direction pressed, throw your opponent backwards. This is a real bummer, and it makes the classic Strike/Throw mix up notably weaker when your opponent is cornered: The exact place where you'd want to use it.

Weirder still, there's not much evidence to suggest that this is for game balance. Area, one of the strongest characters in the roster, has two throws that send her opponent full screen! Rosso, another top tier, only has one- And it leaves him right on top of his opponent. Every throw in this example deals 35 Damage.

Claw? Bottom Tier, Great Throw, 35 Damage. Ken? Upper Mid, Back Throws, 35 Damage.

And then we come to Sagat. Sagat's Kick Throw not only does less damage for some reason, but breaks all the other rules. You're left right on top of your opponent with nearly 40 frames of advantage. From here we can Meaty our opponent with just about anything, time a safe jump, or bully our opponent into another knockdown with the combo above. After the throw, framekill with 5LK, 5LP, or both for a Left/Right Mixup. This throw actually moves your opponent forward slightly: You can throw them in the corner, perform this setup, and still cross them up!