Yomi 2/Strategy

Beginner Strategy Overview

So, you just played through the tutorial and understand the basic concepts. You know that attacks beat throws, throws beat blocks and dodges, and blocks and dodges beat attacks. You know how to do combos when you win combat. You know how to exchange and power up for super moves.

You then jump into your first game, and you find yourself playing rock-paper-scissors and essentially picking a random option. Where's all the strategy? If each option is equally likely, aren't you just rolling dice every time? When you should you attack, throw or block?

This guide is meant to answer that question. I will present some key points about the game that you need to keep in mind when making decisions. It's mostly meant for beginners who already get the mechanics but don't know how to strategize yet; if you are an advanced player, you will not find much of use here. Also, remember that these are not universal facts, they are general guidelines that you can and should break once you understand them.

Attack is the Most Damaging Option

It sounds obvious, but it's worth remembering: the main way that you will deal damage to your opponent is with a combo, so you want to watch how many CP (combo points) your combat option uses. Generally speaking, normal attacks only consume 1 CP, while normal throws consume HALF of your CP. Therefore, if you win with an attack you will have more CP left for your combo, so you can deal more damage.

This doesn't apply to ALL attacks, though, only normal attacks. For specials and supers, it depends on the character. Some special and super attacks let you perform combos if you win with them, while others don't. You'll have to pay attention to a move's combo properties: if it's Ender or Can't Combo, it's not good for dealing damage.

So remember, when it comes to dealing damage, (normal) attacks are better than throws, and throws are better than blocks and dodges.

Fast Attack is the Safest Option

This is a little counter-intuitive, but it makes some sense if you think about it: the only thing that beats a really fast attack is a block or dodge, which is the least damage-dealing option. Therefore, if you want to avoid taking damage, your fastest attack is your best bet.

Throw is the Riskiest Option

By the same token, the most damage you can possibly take is by getting hit with a slow, powerful attack. Throws (and sometimes blocks, depending on high/low) will lose to that. Therefore, if you open with a throw, you have to be prepared for the fact that you may take a lot of damage this turn.

Speed Matters more than Damage

If you look at your normal attacks, you may notice that, for example, your A is fast and deals low damage, while your E is slow and deals high damage. This may seem like a fair trade-off that makes them both worth playing, but in reality, this is not the case: you only deal damage if you actually win combat, and a fast attack is much more likely to win than a slow attack. Plus, you can play a high damage move in a combo, so you don't need to win combat with it.

So, when you want to win combat (and you probably want to), generally favor faster attacks over slower attacks.

You Shouldn't Always Combo

Fast, low damage attacks are really valuable because of their speed. This means that, even if you have the opportunity to combo into them, most of the time it makes more sense to keep them in your hand instead. After all, the ability to win combat again next turn and potentially do another combo is way more valuable than dealing 3 more damage to the opponent right now.

Just like the others, this isn't a cut-and-dry rule: knowing when to combo and when not to combo is a very important skill to learn.

Additionally, if you played a throw, not doing a combo will leave the opponent knocked down, which is also extremely valuable. Knockdown is very powerful in Yomi 2.

If You Knock the Opponent Down, Attack High/Low or Block

When the opponent is knocked down, your attacks are speed 10. If you think back to the previous points, this means you get the best of both worlds: you get to do normal attacks (damaging) that are very fast (safe). The opponent can't even dodge, so your attacks are even safer. The opponent's normal attacks will always lose to yours, so their best option is to block. However, they have to guess right: if you attack high and they block low, you'll hit them.

Plus, pay attention to the opponent's discard pile: it's possible that, if your throw landed on one of their blocks, they don't have that block anymore. This means that, for example, if they are knocked down with their low block in discard, they have no way to defend from your low attacks.

So your best option is to attack, but sometimes, you also want to block or dodge, because...

If You are Knocked Down, Block High/Low or Reversal

If you find yourself in the opposite situation, you can try to guess the high/low correctly, but there is one escape from this: a reversal, meaning a move with speed 11 or higher. This will beat the opponent's low AND high normal attacks, getting you out of the guessing game.

The caveat to this is that many reversals are "unsafe on block", meaning that, if the opponent sees it coming, they can block it, draw a card, AND punish you with a move of their own. This is a worst-case scenario for you, because you just lost one of your reversals (which are rare and expensive), and you may be knocked down again.

Reversals are Valuable

Because knockdown is so strong, being knocked down without a reversal can be devastating. This means you shouldn't use your moves of speed 11 or greater without very careful consideration; use them (that's what they're for), but be mindful. Every character starts with a gem burst of speed 14, so you're guaranteed to have at least one reversal every game, and a lot of characters have reversal super moves, so be sure to power up for them if you spent your burst.

Blocks and Recurring Attacks Give You Future Damamge

A bigger hand translates to more possibilities for combos. If you are at a low hand, you will not be able to combo; therefore, you want more cards before you can deal damage. The main way to do this is to block: blocks return to your hand if you didn't get hit, and they draw a card if you block an attack, so they're excellent ways of getting a bigger hand. However, a clever opponent will see this and try to throw you if they see you have few cards. To protect yourself from this, you can use recurring moves, such as Grave's Lightning Cloud or Red Gem's Fireball, which also return to your hand.

Because fast attacks are generally stronger, your "default" block should be whatever can block your opponent's fastest normal. This is usually Low Block, but against Argagarg for example, you want to High Block instead.

Additionally, powering up always reduces your hand size. This means that you will be able to afford more super moves if you block often. How valuable the super move is will heavily depend on the character!

Use Exchanges to Keep Varied Options

Looking at the opponent's discard pile can give you a lot of information. For example, if they have all their throws in the discard, you can dodge and be 100% sure you will not be taking damage this turn. Similarly, if both of their dodges are discarded, your fast attacks become very safe. Or, if both of their blocks are discarded, they will not be able to increase their hand size. To avoid being in a situation like this, it's generally a good idea to keep at least one of each option in your hand: one attack, one throw, and one block/dodge. Use your exchanges wisely and don't get caught out of options!

Of course, if you're especially clever, you might use this to your advantage, leaving your blocks in your discard to bait the opponent into attacking you just to hit them with a reversal.

Avoid Spending Too Many Cards at Once

Being at low hand means it's difficult for you to do combos and deal damage, but it also means that your defensive options are very limited. You have fewer exchangeable cards, meaning you will find it harder to get your safe options back, and each time you guess wrong and lose one of those options, you'll find it even harder to recover.

That's why, even if a combo would normally deal good damage, if it will bring you down to 5 or 4 cards, it's usually not worth doing. (Unless you are playing as Setsuki.) Being stuck with a low hand can very easily lose you the game, so consider your handsize very carefully when doing combos or powering up.