Under Night In-Birth/UNI2/Chaos/Strategy
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Disclaimer: This is a community written page and may contain opinions that not all players may agree with. Use at your own discretion.
General Gameplan
As mentioned in the character overview, Chaos relies on getting opponents to respect his neutral game, which is fortunately something that is very easy for Chaos to do thanks to his pet lizard. Azhi gives generally risk free pokes such as 236A and 214B, and can make himself hard for the opponent to hit by either hiding underground or going behind them with 22X and 236B. At midrange, Chaos also gets the ability to poke at the opponent himself with his 2C and 6C, both of which start combos on hit. Any approaches the opponent tries to make can be shut down by either Azhi or 6C, or evaded all together with his force function Snake Around. This can oppress characters like Hyde and Akatsuki who lack good long range tools, and even characters who can challenge Chaos's neutral have to pick when to act lest they eat an Azhi combo starter.
In general, Chaos does not want to be under pressure himself, or in close range without Azhi backing him up. His solo pokes tend to be too risky or not strong enough to challenge other moves designed for space control (Hyde 6B, Gordeau 5C, etc.) and his mixup game is heavily reliant on Azhi moves for many reasons. Know what your opponent's character is bad at, and use Chaos and Azhi in tandem to attack that weakness as best as you can, and if your opponent is taking control of the match, use system mechanics to the best of your abilities to get your game started again.
Neutral
So long as you can keep Azhi on the field, the neutral game shouldn't be much of an issue for you. Holding down an attack button will cause Azhi to crawl his way over to the opponent and park himself right in their face (Chaos players tend to use the C button for this, as it allows you use Azhi's other specials while still keeping himself glued to the opponents position). 236A reaches very far, starts a lot of pressure opportunities and combos, and can be canceled into other moves so Azhi doesn't get hit and de-summoned. 214B/[B] are slow moving fireballs that cover good ground angles and can harass other zoners, and 22B hides Azhi underground and moves him forward, and can be canceled into other Azhi moves if an opponent tries to act. 236B covers the anti-air angle and can give good damage conversion into Prepare oki. If Azhi is off the field and needs to be resummoned, 22D is a good noncommittal way to get your game started back up again. If an opponent has a reactable fireball they like to use in neutral, 6C can reflect it and trigger a wallbounce which can lead into a full combo.
Other zoners like Vatista and Yuzuriha can give Chaos a hard time maintaining his strong neutral presence as they can punish otherwise safe Azhi commands with fast projectiles or long reaching strikes. At times, you will have to refrain from abusing your specials and rely more on the threat of Azhi to keep their heads down as you try and approach. If you do land an attack, 236[B] and 623X will send them over to Chaos like a tennis ball and leads into a combo that ends with any oki setup. As with all zoners, keep an eye on the GRD gauge, as it can be easy for opponents to Shield all your zoning to get free Vorpal.
Approach
If you have the opponent locked down with Azhi, Chaos can often dash in for free while the opponent is too wary to act, though attentive or braver players may try to counterpoke. Assault j.B reaches surprisingly far and can be covered by a 236A to help test if the opponent is shielding, which can be reacted to with a whiffed j.A into a low or a throw. Against projectile spammers, Snake Around has near full projectile invulnerability, and can be a strong evasive approach tool or the cost of some GRD. With the addition of Prepare, you can give Azhi some collision to stop people trying to backdash, or use 236A/B to keep the opponent in blockstun while you close distance. If you have vorpal, 6C into Chain Shift can give advantage and a free Assault in.
Keep Away
Characters like Linne and Enkidu will spend their time in neutral trying to force their way in. Dashblock tends to be a common tool, though their can be character specific gimmicks to watch for. In general, keep them out with Azhi specials and make Chaos as hard to hit as possible. Any fireballs often be reflected with 6C, which can lead into a combo that puts them back at the far edge of the screen. 214X spews out a fireball that dashers have to immediately deal with and gives you some space control. 22X can give a false sense of security and can lead into strong far screen combos if they get hit by it. 236B can catch jumpers and discourages careless Assaults. Any aerial approaches and some committal pokes can be rolled under thanks to Snake Around, which can make the opponent frustrated as they try to land a hit on your slippery bookworm ass. If all else fails, 5B and 2C can act as servicable conterpokes to stuff approaches and send the opponent back out.
Offense
Chaos generally has to work to open up the opponent due to a lack of easy mixup options, and tend to involve mind-games and knowledge checks. His ability to reverse beat his specials back into his normals is your friend, with strings like 236A > 5A/2A giving you solid frame advantage that can be used to keep them under your blockstrings. 214A and 623A also give advantage, and can be used to punish people trying to jab their way out. 22X serves as an excellent frametrap tool that can be used to bait the opponent into trying to jab an poke their way out. Snake Around can be used to crossup the opponent in tandem with certain Azhi moves, while Assault j.2C serves as your main overhead option. 2A is pretty fantastic here, giving you a fast low with advantage when used in conjunction with specials, and can be canceled into throw to punish Shields. In the corner, using Azhi specials will suspend Chaos in the air and can lead into ambiguous High/Low mixups.
Okizeme
214[A] is a staple oki tool that gives huge advantage and a free combo if they get hit by it. The Prepare version of 236X can have a similar function and lead into 22A for strong combos, but generally those actions will be used up already and will be unavailable. 623X can be a serviceable alternative and gives you a month to start a combo on counter hit. Assault j.2C on wake up works as a safejump and can still give frame advantage on Shield if done late enough. For typical meaty normals, 2B is your best option with it's long range and small hurtbox, while 2A can be used as okay reversal bait.
Defense
Chaos doesn't have good defense tools of his own, so you'll have to rely on good blocking for the majority of the time you're spent under pressure. 2A is a fast low that can be used to jab your way out. On predictable block strings, Shielding will give you frame advantage and space back, and can give you room to use 236A and start working your way out. Opponents trying to use Assaults to open you up can be beaten on reaction with Snake Around, which helps you run away and get Azhi back out if he was disabled. If you're lucky and Azhi is still out while you're weathering your opponents strings, you can setup a Prepare during blockstun, and when the time is right, use a prepare special to win the exchange and start a meaty sideswap combo. With good blocking, you can win Vorpal which gives you the option to use Guard Thrust (but if you really can't wait, you can still use it at the cost of 100 meter and GRD Break). If literally all else fails, Veil-Off can be used as a quick reversal option that GRD Breaks the opponent, but smart players may try to bait you to use it and start a fat combo.
Counter Strategies
Your biggest threat when facing Chaos is his overgrown pet salamander, so the sooner and longer you can keep yourself in his face the better. At round start, Chaos players typically use 236A or 236B to cover the angles they think you will approach, so keeping this in mind you can condition them to leaving themselves wide open. If you find yourself needing to move in, look for a good opportunity to attack him with a viable de-summon move (read: any attack that isn't an A normal). 623X and 214X have some sizable end lag, and are guaranteed de-summons if you can catch them as their blockstring enders. Even if you can't find a good moment to de-summon, Chaos needs to stop pressuring you at some point to refresh Azhi's moves, so you can take those moments to start dashblcoking. 6C can be baited with empty jumps and gives you some more room to move in on block. When under pressure, Chaos might try to roll out and away, which can be punished with either a 2A or a throw on reaction.
If you're a zoner character, neutral becomes a hellzone where you and your opponent try to catch you during either the startup of your other moves or taking the opportunity to land hits during your recovery and win space for your own ends. Remember that Azhi's claw swipe specials have projectile invulnerability on them for him, and that Chaos will happily use that fact to try and bait you out and bring you all the way over to him and start his oki.
When under pressure by Chaos, there are some general ideas to keep in mind. Firstly, Chaos has no standing overhead, so high/low mixup attempts will always be announced with Assaults or jumps. If you're blocking Azhi's assault and he suddenly vanishes, it means Chaos just used 22X to try to either frametrap/bait you, go for a crossup, or go for a throw. 22B is generally used for crossup attempts and has significantly more recovery than 22A, so if you can tell which is which on reaction, you can know when it's safe to punish. Chaos can give himself a lot of advantage during pressure, so winning Vorpal can be a massive swing in your favor.
