A rambunctious boy who lives in Shannoa Village, which is located deep
within the woodlands of Altago. He was chosen to receive the power of
the Earth Dragon so that he could fight alongside Adol in his
grandmother's stead.
Elk can be summed up as Dogi's antithesis. While his defensive stats are very low, and his attacks lacks impact, Elk compensates by being extremely fast. On top of being the second fastest character in the game, his attacks are also the quickest in the cast, having some attacks coming out on frame 1. This lets him easily frustrate his opponents with a succession of quick strikes. His Skills are also some of the cheapest in the game, making resource management more forgiving for beginners. Moreover, he's the most customizable character in the game, due to having the highest AP value in the cast (32). While this makes Elk a great character on paper, most of that is ruined in practice by a single, seemingly minor detail: his awful stats. The most impactful one is his STR stat, which is the lowest in the game. In fact, it is so low that all of his non-launching attacks will more often than not put their opponents in no hitstun, making him quite easy to punish on hit. On top of ruining Elk's ground game, this also heavily impacts his combo game, as he only has one viable combo starter at his disposal. Due to his short reach on his normals, he has to take risks in order to do damage, which he can't afford due to his low defensive stats. While this can be compensated by having a good air game, Elk's aerial toolkit is unfortunately nothing to write home about.
Elk is recommended for players who likes staying in the air for as long as possible, while being as annoying as possible. Similar to: Nakoruru (Samurai Shodown)
Playstyle
Elk is a speedster who can easily weave in and out of his opponent's range while annoying them to death.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Fast: Elk's attacks are the fastest in the game, allowing him to easily win scrambles at close range. He's also the second fastest character in the game.
Cheap Skills: Elk's Skills are extremely cheap. This makes SP management quite easy for him, especially given his excellent Charge Attack.
Great Frustration Potential: Elk's raw speed allows him to easily play with his opponent's nerves, slowly pushing them towards committing more and more mistakes.
High AP: Elk has the highest AP value in the game, making him incredibly customizable.
Short Range: Elk's twinblades have very little reach, requiring Elk to be almost next to his opponent in order to hit most of his attacks.
Poor Stats: Elk has low HP and DEF stats, making mistakes more punishing on him. On top of that, he has the lowest STR stat in the game.
Inconsistent Hitstun: Elk's STR is so low that his attacks will sometimes cause no hitstun at all. This makes his ground game the worst in the game, forcing him to stay in the air.
Abysmal Damage: The aforementioned lack of hitstun force Elk to always go for air combos, drastically limiting his damage output.
Assist Dependent: On his own, Elk is one of the weakest characters in the game. He only becomes a threat once Olha is active.
Easy to Counterbuild: Elk's opponents can easily negate his one gimmick by equipping a very cheap accessory.
All damage values below were tested on Estelle (841 DEF). No stats-altering accessory was equipped. Also the values are averaged (see System page)
Movelist
Normal attacks
Ground Normal Link ABCDEF
A
A
B
B
C
C
D
D
E
E
F
F
Version
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
A
62
3
-
-
-
B
62
6+3
-
-
-
C
62
12+3
-
-
-
D
62
19+3
-
-
-
E
62
29+2
-
-
-
F
62
39+5
-
-
-
A:
Total: 14
B:
Total: 15
C:
Total: 12
D:
Total: 15
E:
Total: 14
F:
Total: 15
The fastest normal link in the game. Unfortunately, it's also one of the worst, due to its short range and sometimes nonexistent hitstun. This makes it very bad for close range scrambles, since Elk will lose most of the time.
Charge Attack [A]
Version
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
Ground/Air [A], j.[A]
75
8
-
-
Soft Armor, Projectile
Dash d.[A]
75
6
-
-
Soft Armor, Projectile
Ground:
Total: 27
Air:
Total: 31
Dash:
Total: 21
A decent Charge Attack. Despite its long range, throwing it is risky due to Elk's general lack of hitstun which unfortunately also plagues this move. However, it grants tons of SP on hit, making it valuable in Elk's arsenal.
Frame data assumes point blank
Gives 29 SP on contact
Air Normal Link j.ABCD
j.A
j.A
j.B
j.B
j.C
j.C
j.D
j.D
Version
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
A
62
3
-
-
-
B
62
7+1
-
-
-
C
62
14+1
-
-
-
D
62
21+1
-
-
-
j.A:
Total: 16
j.B:
Total: 18
j.C:
Total: 19
j.D:
Total: 16
The fastest air string in the game. Very important for Elk since this is one of his only combo starters. Its short range makes it hard to use as an air-to-air, though.
j.C can be cancelled into j.D at any point while Elk is falling. Frame data lists the moment Elk is able to move again
Falling Attack j.E
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
62
8
-
-
Projectile
Total: 17
Sends a fast projectile downwards. Surprisingly underwhelming, due to it sometimes not having any hitstun, but it can still be used to stall in the air.
Impact frames obtained while as low to the ground as possible
Rising Attack Attack while dodging
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
62
8
1 AP
-
Hard Armor 1-10
Total: 25
"Universal" Rising Attack. Basic, armored launcher that can be jump cancelled in order to start or continue a combo. Depending on the character, it can also be used as combo filler.
Skills
Rock Fang S1
Behold, Elk's ground game!
Behold, Elk's ground game!
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
160
5
8 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 6
24
Soft Armor, Projectile
Total: 18
While not a projectile, the move remains active even when Elk's animation is done. For simplicity's sake, only the first active frame will be displayed
Elk's best move. It's a fast, long-ranged launcher than can be dash/jump/block cancelled extremely early into the animation (frame 7!). Similarly to Estelle's Hard Break, it makes for an outstanding poke that can't be punished due to its quick startup and early block cancel window. On top of that, it has a chance of inflicting Petrify, making it also useful as a combo ender.
Can't be walk cancelled since Elk is airborne during the animation
Wheelspin S2
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
65x2
6
8 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 6
28
Soft Armor
Ground:
Total: 29
Air:
Total: 22
Placeholder
Rising Wheel S3
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
380
13
15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 12
43
Hard Armor 1-4, Soft Armor
Total: 36
Elk's go-to anti-air. While it hits really high, Elk struggles to combo off of it. However, it still maintains some combo utility thanks to its high amount of hits, allowing Elk to fish for status effects.
Can't be walk cancelled since Elk is airborne during the animation
Aerial Charge S4
Rise
Rise
Dive
Dive
Version
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
Rise
35
10
15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 12
Varies (50 minimum)
Hard Armor 1-4, Soft Armor
Dive
0
25
-
-
Soft Armor
Explosion
105x4
30
-
-
Soft Armor
Ascent:
Total: 37
Landing:
Total: 37
A diving attack, which can be used as a surprise attack. Doesn't work well in combos, as the opponent has enough time to tech before Elk touches the ground.
Frame data assumes ground version. Elk starts falling to the ground on frame 25.
Rumble Brawl S5
Initial hits
Initial hits
Finisher
Finisher
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
1045
8+3
30 / 27 / 26 / 24 / 23
71
Hard Armor
Total: 59
Elk's reversal. Does a lot of damage for his standards. Unfortunately, it tends to drop on airborne opponents, making it ill-suited as a combo ender.
8 frames of freeze upon use. The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze
Can't be walk cancelled since Elk is airborne during the animation
Terran Vortex S6
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
1075
8+10
35 / 32 / 30 / 28 / 27
57
Hard Armor
Total: 43
Elk rolls forward, summoning rock pillars on his way. Mostly useful as combo filler in order to get some additional damage while trying to proc Petrify. However, it can be somewhat inconsistent against airborne opponents, as Elk will sometimes send the opponent backwards and only hit them once.
8 frames of freeze upon use. The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze
Geo Cluster EXTRA Skill
Cast
Cast
Barrier
Barrier
Damage
Impact
SP Cost
Cooldown
Properties
1480
1, 45
100 EXTRA
-
Invincible, Draw-In
Total: 66
Last active frame corresponds to the moment the barrier is summoned
Very unique EXTRA Skill that creates a protective barrier around Elk for 5 seconds. This allows Elk to become much more agressive, as the barrier will also suck opponents in while also launching them, letting Elk score some extra damage. To compensate, it has the shortest animation among all EXTRA Skills, making it guaranteed to lose EX trades (when two players casts their EXTRA Skill at the same time).
Casting another EXTRA Skill while the barrier is still active will reset its timer
The barrier's timer will only start once Elk is able to move
The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze
Damage assumes the opponent takes all hits
Builds
Note: These builds are mostly here in order to guide new players into how to exploit Elk's potential to its fullest. Don't be afraid to experiment!
Recommended accessories
Medusa Blade IV - Allows Elk to proc Petrify without having to land specific attacks
Mastery Scroll IV - Elk can't exactly go wrong with extra damage
Support Tome - Makes assist calls more lenient for Elk
Recommended Skills
Rock Fang - If an Elk doesn't use this Skill, then that Elk is trolling
S2
S3
S4
Recommended Support
Josette - Very useful for Elk due to his low defensive stats.
Olha - Elk synergizes almost perfectly with Olha, since his combos can ignore her extra knockback. Plus, exploiting Petrify becomes much easier when Olha is active.
General Strategy
Neutral
Explain how Elk approaches neutral, ideally at close, mid and long range
Offense
Explain how Elk's offense works
Defense
Explain how Elk can defend himself from incoming attacks. Don't forget to mention how he can recover once he's on the back foot
General Counterplay
List some general Elk counterplay. This includes, but isn't limited to, knowledge checks or gimmicks
Combos
Combo Terminology Table
Symbol
Meaning
>
Cancel from the previous move to the following move.
,
Link from the previous move to the following move.
dl./delay
Delay before using the following move.
X(w)/whiff
Whiff the following move (do not hit).
jc
Jump Cancel.
wc
Walk Cancel.
d./dash
Dash air attacks. Done by pressing the dodge button while standing still.
(X)
Optional input.
{X}*N
Repeat (sequence) N number of times.
Solo
S1 > d.ABC > j.S3 (600 damage)
Conversion off of Rock Fang. Poor damage, but it's still better than no damage at all.
d.A > S6 > S3 (1.5k damage)
Punish combo that costs half SP. Excellent way to fish for Petrify.
Rock Fang
