Under Night In-Birth/UNI2/Waldstein/Strategy

Overview

Strategy

Starter Guide

Combos

Matchups

Frame Data

Data

#UNI2_WD

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

Waldstein is a big-body grappler type that has secondary characteristics of a zoner. Because of this, each matchup will vary pretty widely in how he approaches his opponent. Against a dedicated zoner's neutral, Waldstein will need to play at whatever pace his opponent dictates, but he gets significant advantage once he manages to find a way in by keeping his turn with 360A pressure, all of the plus frames that he can throw out, and his explosive damage. He will have a good time keeping rushdown characters out of his personal space with his long range normals and his ability to delete projectiles with certain attacks, but once they find a way in, it will be your turn to struggle due to their superior frame data that you will be forced to call out with some sort of risky option. Against Shoto-type characters, your playstyle will ebb and flow, depending on the situation and your opponent. You will mix zoning and approaching depending on the situation.

Waldstein depends heavily on resources to be effective. By playing Wald, you will eventually learn how to effectively manage GRD, vorpal, and meter effortlessly.

Neutral

Wald's Neutral depends heavily on who his opponent is. Against zoners, you will be heavily playing the cycle through shielding, concentration, and the occasional Creeping Edge. You also need to be on point in your whiff-punish game. Against the other archtypes, you will have more freedom to different forms of approach.

Approach

Waldstein's approach tools are limited due to his poor move speed. Your openings will come from your ability to instill fear in your opponent using your large hitboxes from 2B, 5B, 5C, 236X, 22X, assaults, j.2C's, and lastly, dashing. You will need to have good GRD and Vorpal control so you can use these tools safely and more often. It is worth mentioning that while dashing, you cannot activate shield or low-profile certain moves. You can still crouch block, but you will be forced to block moves that would otherwise whiff on you crouching. Low profiling certain moves is vital in certain matchups.

Against zoners, you will need to play the patient game by calling out their gaps with predictions and well-timed assaults. GRD will be unbelievably important for these matchups, so good shields, concentrating at key times, and well-timed Creeping Edge are all equally as important as the offensive approach. Now would be a good time to mention or remind readers that shielding while you are not in Vorpal gives much more GRD than when you are in Vorpal. While not ideal, it may be beneficial to "throw away" your vorpal in specific situations so that you can generate more GRD for the purpose of winning next cycle. Threatening to win the vorpal cycle will create small openings that you can abuse to approach and/or start your offense. If your opponent is keeping you out with projectiles, keep in mind that the fast startup of Rock has projectile-destroying properties and can wall-bounce into a full combo if you are in Vorpal or use a charged Rock if you are not. You will also want to lean heavily into whiff punishes. This is the best way to discourage the use of their zoning tools, which gives you some more room to function. Raw 236C is great for this purpose because it's "fast" (17f) and absolutely huge. Some moves to look for that you can whiff punish with 236C is Yuzu's long Saki slashes, Gordeau's FF/Rusty Nail, or Hilda's 236A/214X.

Against non-zoners, you will generally be playing keep-away while you continue closing the gap with dashes and assaults until you can start threatening 360A. There is definitely a sweet spot that you want to maintain, and it's usually outside the opponent's A button range. While approaching, you want to destroy slow-flying projectiles with either 5C, 214A, 22X, or j.C, and either shield or Creeping Edge the fast-flying ones depending on range (shield for close range, CE for full screen). If you block, shield, or CE through a slow-flying projectile, your turn ends.

Keep Away

2B, 5B, 5C , are your best friends for keep-away. Their long range will keep shorter ranged characters at bay. 4B, 214A, 214B, and 214[B] are all excellent choices as well since they all leave you with plus frames, in exchange for longer startup. 6C's punch has its uses, however it should be noted that the 45 frame startup leaves people with ample time to prepare their response. Characters with a parry will love you for spamming 6C if you use it mindlessly. Finally, j.5C and j.5[C] are also good options because they still delete projectiles, have huge hitboxes, and are easy to convert from. Once your opponent stops pressing, you can threaten to win cycle through concentration or continue to close the gap.

Offense

Keeping the offense going midscreen can be tricky. Your moves push you out on block very quickly, but you also generally want to stay within 360A so you can threaten tickthrows. If you are in a position to 720 instead of 360, be sure to put in the extra input because 720 keeps you closer to your opponent upon completion. Situations where you can easily buffer a 720 are:

• After using 4B, during your combo.
• During CS.
• In neutral, Assault > j.6C. This moves whiffs on grounded opponents (allowing the 720) and also catches jumpers. very good coverage.
• In neutral, Assault > j.5[C]. The move will not come out and will give you a decent window. Leaves you defenseless in the air, but a good way to switch up your approaches.
• During any no-cancel, though doing it for A moves is tougher because of their fast recovery and risk for gold throw.
• Technically can be performed while in blockstun without CS as a punish, though I've never done it. I usually just stick to a regular 360 due to its difficulty.

Midscreen and from a 720, you can "safe-jump" by doing assault > j.B and still catch back-techs while keeping yourself safe from DP's. However with a 360, you are put back into neutral because they are too far for an assault to reach. Depending on who you are fighting, this can be either a minor inconvenience or a death sentence.

In matchups that are not unfavorable, you have multiple approaches to strike fear into your opponent. Winning the GRD war is paramount to both your threat level and your damage. 236B is Waldstein's best starter, however you need to activate Chain Shift in order to really make it shine.

236B is a long range, forward-movement overhead. Reactable from a distance, but under the right pressure, can be your biggest can-opener and can win games by itself with the amount of damage you can do. In the corner, expect to get 5000 damage. 236 series is made safe by using CS after the initial hit. 236X4A does not net you more damage and is even more unsafe on block (-14 and vacuums), but you can delay the second hit. More on this in "gimmicks". 236B can combo in the corner without CS, however you are -16 on block and you can expect to be punished if you nocancel it and your opponent blocks successfully. It is definitely a hard read.

Assault in Offense

Assault is Waldstein's primary gap closer due to his poor movespeed. Most opponents will be looking for you to assault, so it is up to you to make your assaults count. Any time you are very far away and intend to close the gap, Always attempt to input a dash before the assault. The dash before the assault gives Waldstein an incredible boost to the distance he travels and can almost make you forget about your poor mobility. Once you press 6D, you have a handful of options and they each have their own uses.

• Assault j.A
• Assault j.B
• Assault j.C
• Assault j.[C]
• Assault j.6C
• Assault j.2C
• Empty Assault

Assault j.A and j.B

Assault j.A/B are excellent poking tools. Both moves have incredibly long range and and very difficult to anti-air due to the speed that which they come out and because of how disjointed the hitbox is. The differences between the two come into play at which ranges you decide to use them. j.A has great range and will pressure from afar, which may keep your opponent from either dash blocking mindlessly or from throwing out zoning moves without thinking. But if used up close, j.A has an additional use. j.A will whiff on close opponents if used from assault, but the recovery of j.A whiffing is fast enough that you can input a 720A while landing and get a clean entry point.

j.B has less nuance to it. It's a big hitbox and will hit grounded opponents. It only misses grounded opponents who are already hugging you and if you input j.B at the earliest timing, so save a close range assault j.B for when you are trying to call out either a low attack or a backstep. Assault j.B can lead to a combo with CS, but you have to land pretty close to them in order to pull it off. Personally, I prefer to do a 360A after it because the "mental stun" (I call this when you hit the opponent, and the player controlling them takes a moment to process that they have been hit) from getting hit is usually enough time to stop people from reacting with either a jump or a reversal. As you fight better and better players, you may need to call out those other options, but against your friends, go crazy. I say this even when there is only 2-3 frames of PC delay (+0~+1 compared to offline PS4)

Assault j.C

j.C is a great button. This attack will always collide with the opponent provided they are not under some sort of invuln. It catches both jumpers and crouchers, and will always hit the opponent no matter how close they are. Even on shield, it is safe enough (though you will lose your turn) to only have to worry about quick, easy buttons (such as Akatsuki, Linne, Londrekia Force Functions) or someone who is specifically waiting for your assault. If your assault > j.C connects, you can always combo from with with either 2A or 5A. On counter-hit, you can use some heavier j.normals instead of the usual j.A > j.B > j.6C and can use some heavier enders.

Assault j.[5C] and j.6C

Assault > j.[C] compared to regular j.C on the other hand has a completely different use. No matter how early in the assault you try to increase, the move will never come out. Waldstein will always land before the move becomes active. This is not a bad thing however, as you can immediately (4f landing recovery) cancel into another move upon landing. The most common followup from this approach is 720A because it is the fastest, but you can also do 1A if you want to go for a full combo (more damage than a raw 720A), or even 5A if you expect them to jump. Assault > j.[C] is a pretty big commitment though because you have no active hitboxes at this time. However...

Assault > j.6C functions very similarly to assault > j.[C] in the way that it can whiff against opponents allowing you to get a solid 720A followup. The difference here is that since this is an attack that will come out, there is a long horizontal aerial hitbox that you can utilize against anyone unfortunate enough to be jumping at this time. My preference most of the time is assault j.6C because you can buffer the 720 since that is the original plan, but if you can visually confirm that they are in the air about to get hit by j.6C, you can simply convert into a different combo upon hit.

Assault j.2C

This approach has limited use, but when you can utilize it correctly, it can really turn the tide of the battle. The special features about j.2C is that it changes your aerial trajectory, gets its active hitbox out fast, retracts your hurtbox, and is huge since Waldstein becomes the entire hitbox. The caveat is that it is incredibly unsafe on block; you will get punished if it gets blocked and you don't cancel it with CS.

This move is the main fear that will deter your opponents from trying to anti-air the assault j.5C, because it changes your trajectory enough to usually avoid the anti-air completely, and get a free counter hit. This feature especially comes into play with the next assault approach.

Empty Assault

The best part about empty assault is that if your opponent sees you assaulting and activates their CS while you're airborne, you still have option of using j.2C to change your aerial trajectory. When a player assaults and the other player activates CS, the assaulting player gets a red hue around them to signify that they are unable to block. Most people here would choose to anti-air someone assaulting at them like this, but with j.2C, you can usually avoid the anti-air, get a counter hit, and even convert into a full combo from counter hit too. The risk here is that if they don't attempt to anti-air you and continue to block, you will be forced to 214C cancel to stop yourself from taking a huge punish.

Pressure

When you are successfully have your opponent defending, how well you can keep the momentum will define when you will win against knowledgeable players. Personally, I define pressure as when your opponent is too scared to mash, but you're still in range of their buttons. You're too close for it to still be considered neutral.

When trying to open up your opponent, you want to be as unpredictable as you can manage. Stagger your normals as best you can so that you can threaten to no-cancel into 360A or 360C. Use all of your A moves in quick succession and follow it up with an overhead or staggered 2B. Create frametraps at your mid-range so that you can catch opponents mashing with 360B for a red throw (this will dissuade them from mashing 2A/5A during gaps and force them to either not act or to jump, both favorable outcomes if you are prepared). Your B and C normals all have pretty decently large stagger windows so the better you can get at staggering, the better your pressure will become because at the end of the day with good enough staggers, you can just no-cancel > dash > 360A.

Try to hold onto 2B during a blockstring so that you can threaten either 2B or 236B later. Using staggers "successfully" into 2B (doesn't need to hit, just need to get the opponent to have a mental note as to the timing that you use it) will grant you the freedom to attempt 236B at around the same frame-timing as a staggered 2B). 236B is a slow move, but you need to create an environment that stops someone from mashing before the active hitbox occurs, and staggering your moves will help with that. Try not to use 236B for pressure outside of 2B range because 2B is your longest range low move, meaning the opponent knows they only need to block high outside 2B's range.

If you are too far out, consider not ending your blockstring with 214X. This series of moves is a very clear signal to the opponent that your blockstring is over and you plan on returning to neutral (if even for a short time). You can create frame traps with this, such as following up with 5C or 66B, but in general, you want to cause doubt in your opponent's mind instead of staying safe 100% of the time. Against an opponent that is focusing on defending everything, you have to have enough faith in their gameplan to be able to dash > 360A and you lose that threat when you use 214X from afar. The advice I normally give to intermediate players is "Just because you know you are ending your turn on -5 doesn't mean your opponent does". But if you use 214X, both players should be generally aware that Waldstein is plus and can plan accordingly, which is not what you want. You want to create uncertainty.

And of course, don't forget your tick throws! There isn't much to say other than combine all of the tools in your offense to use your 360 as just another mixup. However, there are a few things worth noting:

• 2A is -8 on no-cancel. Risky to use for tick throws, but can also be very strong due to the long cancel window for 2A > 2C. Condition your opponent with 2C, then start using 360A.
• 5A is -2 so you will need to leave a small delay before you finish the 360A input. Good players will fuzzy mash after 5A, so consider 5A > no cancel > 360C.
• You can do 5A > 720A, but you have to start inputting the 720 before you can see if your opponent blocked it or not. Requires trusting/conditioning your opponent to hold [1] or [4].
• 5C no-cancel is -5. With 360A's 3f startup, you can immediately 720A without having to delay and you will still avoid the gold throw (reminder that opponents can tech gold throws). You can also delay cancel from this to create frame traps.
• Don't forget about 4AAA, which will always give you 5A's, which can muddy your opponent's perception of what moves and timing you have planned.

Frame Traps

The frame traps listed below will naturally create spaces without having to do any weird delays. You can generally create frame traps from anything once you understand how to stagger your attacks. 1A or 5B or 5C > 214B 2A > 5C 2A or 2C > 214A 5A > 5C

Tick Throws

The example below describes how to proceed when you get into tick throw range. A tick throw is when you attack your opponent and remain in a range that still allows you to threaten throw. This is a very simple example and is very RPS oriented, there is no way for your opponent to know which you plan on doing based on your animations as it all happens so quickly. The tick throw is simply either A-Normal > 720A (360A works as well) or A-Normal > dl.X (frame trap).

• 5A > 720A is your standard tick throw. It is very strong in the corner but is not weak midscreen either. This attack loses if the opponent jumps, or mashes before your 720A.
• 5A > dl.2C is your counter to this, as the frame trap will be very small and also beats jumpers. Be sure to learn how to convert from 2C so you can capitalize on your opening.
• 5A can be a little obvious so you may consider using 2A instead. 2A has a longer cancel window as well allowing better frame traps.

Frequent RPS Points

1A

1A is a unique move in his kit that has more power than simply being his fastest low. At point blank, this move is an announcement for RPS. Although the move is +2 on block when you no-cancel it, your opponent can still mash a 5f move and beat you before any other of your normals come out, so that means your turn is over. However, you do have some great options.

• 1A > 214B is an automatic frame trap. This will catch both mashers and jumpers. On a trade (opponent's 5f moves), you can follow up with 720B or 2A. Thankfully, 214B has quite a bit of hitstun, so as you're the one expecting to trade, you can react faster.
• 1A > 236A/B if you want an easy way to start the 236 RPS but the B version loses to mashing.
• Starting at point blank, doing 5A > 2A > 1A leaves you far enough that the opponent will be too far to mash a fast button if you want to no-cancel. They will have to commit to something larger if they want to take their turn, which opens up canceling 1A into 236B.
• Once you've established RPS, you can now utilize your +2 by simply not canceling it into anything. Jump, maybe 2B, or even dash 360A. The world belongs to you again.

236X

236A/B also has very powerful RPS. As shown in the moves/overview section, Waldstein has a 236X follow up, which is 4X. Both of the A and B versions have this follow up, and 236X has a very long stagger window. You can:

• Delay the followup long enough to punish mashers. Air Unblockable. Grants a full combo on counter hit. You can trade and still get the full combo.
• 236X > dl.720C, and you can delay the 720C long enough that it won't be a gold throw. Practice the timing because this is a very strong option against people expecting the 4X follow-up.
• 236X > dl.214C will beat anybody attempting to jump on reaction to your superflash above. Confirms into full combo with CS and is +9 on block. Least risky option.
• If you don't have vorpal, you can hit-confirm the first hit with 4X(follow-up) > 236C or block-confirm with 4X(follow-up) > 214C.
  • It's my opinion that it's too difficult to hit-confirm or block-confirm the followup hit only without the CH.
• CS on either non-EX attack, granting a full combo on hit or makes the attack safe on block.
• No-cancel the 236X. Useful especially if the opponent is expecting you to CS or is waiting for the EX Flash and doesn't take their turn. You may lose your turn, but you still have vorpal and all of your meter, and can use it elsewhere.

6C and 5[C]

Lastly, and this will also be referenced in the gimmicks section, but Waldstein has two not-useless setups where you can go for a raw [4]6X godpress. The higher the skill/knowledge of your opponent, the more risky this attempt becomes because the opponent will use any starter they want on your whiff, but you can get upwards of 4.2K if you have CS and this attack can be very unexpected depending on the circumstance. In fact, the damage is very poor without CS so I would say the risk is not worth the reward without it. The moves you can use that have a long enough window where you can charge the [4] and also cancel into godpress are 6C and 5[C]. With more experience, you can even charge this move with 2B and 2C (as 1B and 1C)!

• 6C is very easy to charge it from but also has the longest startup, so someone may shield the 6C punch and just watch you attempt this while waiting for the huge punish. You can also cancel into 236B, 214B, or 360B (for those pesky green-shielders)
• The startup of 6C causes you to step back so it has limited use in baiting mashes or even VO.
• 5[C] offers more options to you because you can do it from much closer while leaving a less obvious gap (the gap that is created from the increase). You can hold [4] while also pressing [C] to make it easier, but if you're in a block string, you need to make sure you don't accidentally use 4B.
• When going for 5[C] (blocked) > godpress, it is more beneficial to be closer to your opponent because of the pressure you create by being close since you can always threaten 360A.
• You need to condition your opponent to want to stay on the ground after 5C and 5[C] without giving them a reason to mash. Use 5C > 2B if your opponent likes to stand, 5[C] > 214A/B if they like to jump, or 5C/5[C] > 236B if they like to crouch. After you've laid the framework, you might be able to land this attack.
• A Godpress will whiff on opponents who let themselves get hit with 5[C] unless you have them in the corner already.
• B Godpress is not advised to attempt this starter because it has 3 extra frames of startup (30 vs 27). With the distance needed to travel adding even more frames before it connects, the extra speed is generally not worth it.

Okizeme

Waldstein's options for Oki are somewhat limiting midscreen due to the opponent's ability to back-tech. Below are some details about each of the standard enders.

Enders and the Oki they provide:

• 4B > [4]6A/B allows your opponent to airtech out of the corner unless you walk backwards, which sacrifices the number of moves you use as a meaty. If you walk too much, you won't be able to meaty but if you don't walk enough, you will be attacking the wrong way.
• 4B > 360X grants no oki. 4B > 720X midscreen allows you to assault j.B as a safejump (meaty while also protecting you from invincible reversals assuming you keep holding downback). In the corner, it is amazing oki since you can finally use whatever you want.
• 4B > 236A4A or 4B > X > j.214B in midscreen do not allow oki on back-techs but are fine for the corner.
• 4B > 236A4A > [4]6C will forces the opponent to keep the corner as long as your meaty does not move your hitbox forward. Standing still makes them keep the corner, moves like 5B or 5C will allow them to air-tech behind you and make you whiff.
• 623C > 3C enders are good damage in the corner but the opponent can usually tech early, which limits your meaty options.

What moves to use as Oki and why:

Good moves to use to meaty in situations where you have a choice are 1A, 2B, 5B, 2C, 5C, 4B, 236B

• 1A is an amazing callout for someone's VO. If you are expecting a VO and you use 1A to meaty, you will recover your whiffed 1A before the VO hits you, and you will be rewarded with a full punish. Additionally, 1A > 214B is VO safe as well. So if they block the 1A and try to VO during the 5 frame gap, you will still block it while creating a frame trap. Awesome.
• 2B is a long range low that also doubles as an RPS starter due to being -5. -5 is perfect because it allows you to buffer a 720A after it without having to delay it to avoid a gold-throw. You can 2B > frametrap or 2B > 720.
• 5B is a solid, long range mid. Great combo starter and can pressure from far away. Depending on the distance or timing, you might be able to catch jumpers too.
• 2C is great for the corner, especially after ending with a 360X, j.214B, or 623C > 3C. This move actually starts up faster than 5B, catches jumpers who are worried about command grabs, can confirm in the corner easily, and has good damage routes.
• 5C is even better than 2C because of the greater reach and damage, but starts up slower so you might only be able to do this after a corner 720X. When using 5C as oki, use 5C > 214A if you're close (airtight block string) or 5C > 214B if you're a little further (or even if you're close if you want to attempt to frame trap).
• 236B is a no brainer since it's you're best starter and hits overhead. Use 2B or 1A as your oki often so you can try to catch them off guard with this. As an added bonus, this move can be whiff-cancelled with CS. Because you generally want to CS this move on hit or block anyway, you really cannot lose using this as a meaty. Even if your opponent wakes up with a DP and forces 236B to miss, the CS will allow you to block the DP anyway. Very strong option but don't overuse it.
• Although not listed above, j.[C] is not a bad option since it does good damage and beats any not-anti-air mashes.
• You can use other moves if you like, but they generally reduce your damage reward at the same risk cost.

Resets

As a final note, you can use 4B as a restand/reset. For example, if you do 2C > 4B > 214B > j.B > j.C > j.6C > 4B, your combo will end at the last 4B no matter what because of the game's 3 OTG (Off The Ground) limit. You can use this to your advantage though. 4B is special cancelable, and what moves you perform after it are of no concern to the game. With this knowledge, we can force a minor RPS situation.

• 4B > dl.236B will meaty and give you a strong 236B starter. This works even without the 4B reset.
• 4B > 214[B] will always meaty, or you can delay it briefly to catch backdashes.
• 4B > j.[C] will not meaty, but will allow you to side switch against opponents that respect your other meaties. Use sparingly if at all.

With all of these options, be aware that the opponent can still DP to defeat all of your meaty options. To defeat a DP, you must block and get a full punish. However if you expect a DP and your opponent does a regular wakeup mash, you have lost your turn. This is a basic RPS situation and there are many more like it.

Gimmicks

• Not very useful, but if you do 5C > 214A > 6C somewhat near the corner, the 6C punch will meaty against instant air-techers. 6C is +5 on block so even if it doesn't work, you have a large advantage.
• You can special cancel from 6C so you can do either a double overhead with 236B, a large frame trap with 214[B], or disrespect by going for one of your [4]6 godpresses.
• If you input 5[C] instead as 4[C], you can buffer godpress while you increase the 5C. If done close, this can be very disorienting for the opponent.
• During your BNB combo, when you do 4B and decide what ender you want to use, you can delay A-godpress long enough that the opponent will restand themselves just in time to get hit with it. Use when you have vorpal for best results.
• In the corner, you can end a combo with 4B > 236A~4A > dl.623C > CS > dash > 4B for a side-switch restand.

In regards to the last point regarding 623C > 4B, this one may take some practice because it depends on how high you can get your opponent to get with 623C and a few other factors that I am unsure of. Basically, what happens is that if you are deep enough in the corner (deeper than if you have the opponent cornered) when you use 4B, the game will actually put your opponent on the opposite side. This can be very disorienting because someone may try do DP on your restand, but since the game is side switching them, the game reads a 421 instead. Depending on who your opponent is and what their 214 is, this may be a good thing or a bad thing. The caveat to doing a meaty however, is that if you try to meaty with 236B or 214[B], the side switch will not occur even if you get the setup perfectly. You must choose between performing a reset that side switches but allows the opponent to mash, or to go for a reset without a sideswitch. An interesting interaction is that you can do 4B no-cancel > 720B and the side switch will still occur. Further still, it will connect because the opponent does not have full throw protection. If you catch your opponent mashing anything that does not make them airborne (or Gord 214X/command grabs lol), 720B will beat it. 720B will beat any 5f normal (tested with Linne 5A) and it will also beat any grounded super even with their 1-3 throw invuln (tested with Linne 214C). From my testing, characters with 214X moves that might try to DP on your restand, that you beat with 720B are Linne, Waldstein, Orie, Merkava, Chaos, Phonon, Wagner, Enkidu, and Eltnum. Of course you can also grab Hilda, Chaos, and Londrekia but the either don't have a DP input or in Hilda's case, don't have a reversal. Any character not listed can either doesn't have a DP input (so the side switch doesn't matter for their reversal), or they can attempt to input a DP, get 214 instead because of the side switch, and beat your 720B attempt anyway due to them being airborne. So that's Hyde, Carmine (EX only), Gord (his command grab will beat yours), Vatista ([2]8X), Seth (needs testing to confirm when he's airbone), Yuzuriha, Nanase, Byakuya, Mika, and Akatsuki (22X). Quite the list! But I suppose you only need to remember who it's safe to use the side switch on and not who it's dangerous against.

So to summarize the corner side switch restand RPS:

• Neutral Jump will keep your opponent side switched and will beat opponents trying to input a DP but getting 214 instead (due to long startup), but loses to 5A mash.
• "Forward" jump out of the corner will do a double-side-switch, useful if you can get your opponent in the situation multiple times and condition them. Still loses to 5A mash.
• 236B and 214[B] will beat anybody mashing, jumping, or trying to defend expecting the side switch, but loses to people either not expecting the side switch in the first place and doing a DP in their "original" direction, or if they guess the side correctly and DP.
• no-cancel 720B beats grounded mashes, but loses to anybody not mashing (gold throw). 720A will also gold throw but you won't be able to catch supers with it.
• Blocking beats anybody that VO's or successfully guesses the side switch correctly for DP, but loses to mashing because now you lost your turn after a reset and you put yourself in the corner.
• Don't expect the left/right mixup to work on Akatsuki or Vatista
• Certain characters still have buttons on their 214C that will beat your options.

Refer to this video for an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZjPqswbvbk

The Wald Shuffle

A strategy that has not been talked about very often is the "Wald Shuffle". Due to the way Wald's walk speed is coded, he has a higher walk acceleration than walk speed. This means that the start of his walk animation moves him forward faster than his overall walk speed, but after the acceleration is finished, he will slow down slightly to normal speed. In order to use this to our advantage, we can perform the Wald Shuffle. Simply hold 6 to move forward, 3 to crouch (and stop your walk animation from completing) and return to 6. The shorter you hold 3, the better, and there is a sweet spot for how long you hold 6. I believe it is about 9 frames.
This technique is most useful after you get a 360 (not a 720) into the corner. After your 360, simply do 1 leisurely, forgiving "cycle" of the Wald Shuffle and you will be close enough to get another dash 360A closer to their wakeup. Simply walking does technically work but you are giving your opponent those couple of extra frames to mash on you.
You can use this any time, not just after a 360, but having to worry about efficient inputs while potentially having to block something may prove difficult.

Defense

Escaping pressure is one of Waldstein's major weaknesses. His buttons are slow, so mashing is risky. 360A only works on opponents attempting to enforce a strike/throw mixup, and 360B is a techable gold throw more often than not. But all hope is not lost! As you may experience, Waldstein's buttons are not very good for escaping pressure. Moves with a 5f startup tend to be -2 on block when they no-cancel it, and you still do not have a normal that's fast enough to escape assuming they do 2A > no-cancel > 2A. You do still have a couple of options in this scary situation.

• Continue blocking until they get pushed out far enough where they would have to dash back in or do something else. Characters will have to use their slower, longer startup moves to continue pressure, which you can contest. Loses if you can't keep the mental stack in check.
• Buffer a 360B so that you catch them during their startup for a redthrow (untechable). Loses if the opponent predicts this and jumps or does a move in their blockstring that makes them airborne. You can also use 360A if they are close enough.
• Reversal out with 360C or 623C if you are unsure they will resume their pressure or not. Loses to the opponent baiting these options.
• Shield > 66B has great range and usually beats out your opponent's similarly ranged attacks. Loses to strong strike/throw mix and tight block strings that have lows (since you have to stand in order to 66). This is an extremely valuable option and I urge everyone to practice this one.
• Shield >j.[C] tends to work often as well. Loses to good strike/throw mix, and to multiple lows in a block string (trying to jump while in block stun causes you to stand). Longer startup but forces opponent to whiff which can be disorienting for them.
• j.2C. Very strong with resources such as CS or 214C because it is faster than the above. You can get this move to come out very quickly with enough practice. Beats throws, lows, and some situational mids (since j.2C makes you rise) but loses to anti-airs and poor resource management on your part.
• Shield > 236A is a situational response that is great against zoners such as Phonon or Hilda. Depending on the situation, you may not even need to shield first. Even if they block it, this puts them right into your 236X mindgame.
• Guard Thrust can be situationally used, but try to have vorpal before using it. And don't let it get baited. Can be used to steal the cycle occasionally if you're already in vorpal but down on GRD.

Reversal Tools

Waldstein has 2 invincible reversals at his disposal. 360C will catch anybody on the ground, and 623C will catch anybody in the air.

• 360C can be jumped on reaction to the super flash so if someone is waiting for it, you will miss. It has invulnerability to all attacks until after your first active frame. If the grab connects, you remain invulnerable until after the grab completes. Very strong against moves with lingering hitboxes (Seth C orbs and the like.).
• 623C all-invuln wears off before the first active frame so it may trade if you are using it against a grounded attack. However it has good head/dive invuln until after the first hitbox so it's great for jumpers.

Depending on the situation, you may have a couple options that are still safe enough. If your opponent is far away:

• Back-tech > 2A, because it has great horizonal reach for the startup and can cancel into other moves on block, and 623A covers the entire screen and is only -2 plus gives head/dive invuln early on. You can cancel it on block into 214C if you want to make it your turn.
• Back-tech > 623A, because it covers the entire screen for a very long time. It gives head and dive invulnerability early on in the attack, and is only -2 on block. If you want to take your turn on block, you can spend 100 meter on 214C to be +7.

And of course, you can always wake up with 720A if your opponent starts respecting your 720C/623C. Remember that if they are meatying you, they likely cannot also defend against your C reversal options but if they wait, you can mash either an A button or 720A.

Do note that if you find yourself in the corner, your opponent can empty jump towards the corner and cause wakeup 623C to miss.

Option Selects

Waldstein has a number of useful option selects at his disposal.

• 1A~D
• 2AD (or 3AD)
• 1C~AD
• 1C~3AD
• 2CAD
• 360AD~C
• 360CAD

If you are unaware of what an option select is, they are primarily used to cover two types of approaches to throws, typically when the opponent is directly in range to throw you during their turn. If your opponent does a delayed throw, you will do an attack, but if they do the throw early, you will tech the throw instead. If you have ever had an opponent sprint onto of you during your wakeup, knowing how to option select properly will protect you from getting thrown or from accidental shield breaks. To perform an OS, you must press your attack button and within 2 frames, input the throw command. This is commonly called "pianoing" and I like to notate it with this symbol: ~. So for example, 1A~D means you will press and hold 1A, and within 2 frames press D, and that should give you 1A if you are not in blockstun, a shield if you are in blockstun, or a throw tech if you are thrown.

• 1A~D is a decent option because you never have to let go of your defending position. It combos easily enough into 2A and then into your bread and butter combo. It loses to someone airborne or to tick throws, because this OS will put out a shield if 1A doesn't come out
• 2AD is a little stronger than 1A because it has a longer and slightly taller hitbox, and starts up 1 frame faster. Plus, a shield won't pop out during advanced throw timings. Someone backing off will still be forced to defend against this so shimmying outside of your grab range will be ineffective against this OS. However, it still loses to jumping and well-timed assaults.
• 1C~AD will carry you for a very long time, and is only punishable at a high level where opponents fully understand how OS'ing works. This move can be performed while holding down-back, is a tall hitbox that covers everything in front of him, and converts into a high damage combo on counter hit. The downsides are that because you are still holding [1], the opponent can bait out a shield and punish you harshly, and that it has a long startup so a delayed A button will beat it very often.
• 1C~3AD is a slightly safer version of the above OS, in the way that a shield won't come out. 2A is still pretty good but if the opponent is performing a frame trap, you will get punished.
• 2CAD is the ideal OS of the three "C" option selects because no "residual" action can be baited out. However, I think it the hardest OS because if you're not careful, you'll get 3C which loses to anybody not in the air.
• 360AD~C and 360CAD is a tough one to execute but is incredibly strong against throws due to 360's throw invulnerability and fast startup. In order to execute this, it is easier to go from [1] to a forwards 360, and ending at 4 before inputting the AD, then returning to [1]. It should be all one fluid motion. If you're getting frame trapped, 360C will come out instead and win you that interaction. If you get 236A, you pressed too early. j.A means you pressed too late. 360CAD is similar but it will always use 360C instead.

Counter Strategies

Waldstein is a very RPS oriented character. When fighting, you are fighting a mental battle as well as the one on the screen. There are exception to the following list, but it is the general flow of his gameplan/decision making:

• Waldstein's command grabs are beaten by jumping, but jumping loses to Waldstein mashing because of his large hitboxes.
• Waldstein mashing loses to you mashing because of the long startup on his moves, but you mashing loses to 360C (invincible command grab).
• Waldstein's reversals are beaten by baiting them out, but baiting loses to wakeup 720A and/or mashing.

Other general tips:

• If your character has them, abuse moves that cause you to go airborne. Mike 3B, Enkidu 66B/66C, Orie 3C are all examples of moves that Waldstein has to keep in mind every time he wants to attempt to grab you.
• Do not jump in at Waldstein in neutral. He has 2 normals, 3 command normals, and 2 specials that will net him great combos against jump-ins, and they all cover a huge amount of screen space. Jump or assault for a mixup when you're already on top of him, not only just to get in.
• Waldstein's 360's are all throw invuln. Even if he inputs a 360 after the startup of your throw, 360 will win. You must predict that Waldstein is not inputting a 360 when you go for a throw.
• If you are not a zoner, you will have to dashblock to get in. Waldstein's 2B, 5B, 5C, 4B, and 214X (claps) are very strong tools to keep you out but they will only work for so long against good dash blocks, and shielding.
• In regards to shielding, do not be afraid to shield, especially after you are outside of 360B range, even moreso if you think he will clap for plus frames. Waldstein bleeds GRD against shields and it is very hard for him to recover that lost GRD. He will be more prone to look at your shielding habits so stay unpredictable when you're closer.
• Play for vorpal. Waldstein has a tough enough time when he doesn't have vorpal but then he has to worry about you having a time-stop as well. Use CS to get out of frame traps.
• On wakeup, 623C has some major weaknesses. You can almost always meaty with an A button and recover fast enough to block and punish. Don't forget to shield the 4th hit! You can always forward jump at point blank and make him whiff completely.

Utilize frame traps. Waldstein is incredibly weak to frame traps, especially lows, due to the long startup on his moves. He has to really call out the end of your turn in order to take it back.

Videos

Quick look at some interesting interactions between Wald and Hilda

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Wald/Hilda things by [Mr. Noodles]

External Links

Anti-Hilda Document By discord user Argenrost#1868

Overview

Strategy

Combos