MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls. Pick a tab. Character pages are deep dives; Start and System are the only tabs worth reading before playing.
You already know fighting games. What you lack is pattern recognition specific to THIS game, and that is built only in matches, fastest when every match carries one narrow question. You also know your own tendency: you optimize. Research feels productive; a lab session quietly becomes an hour chasing 10/10 on a combo that was ranked-ready at 8/10. Optimization is a lab skill. The game is learned in matches; the lab exists to fix what matches expose.
Short daily sessions beat weekend grinds: motor learning consolidates between sessions, not during them. One fix per day compounds; ten fixes per day burn out and none stick.
Redefine what "winning" a session means. When you sit down for step 2 of the Loop, don't measure the session by your win rate, measure it by whether you landed the ONE thing you were drilling that day. A loss where you correctly executed the technique is a win for that session; a win where you never touched it is not. This isn't a consolation prize, it's the actual metric, because rank follows execution with a delay, and judging today's session by today's win rate will make you feel like you're failing on days you're actually improving.
Rules for the optimizer in you: lab time never exceeds one third of play time · combos are done at 8/10 · research happens AFTER a loss exposes a gap · the character tabs are lookup material, not homework.
You like Storm, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Green Goblin, Star-Lord, Ghost Rider, Loki, and Deadpool. Every one is a zoner, trapper, resource-manager, or trickster. Your taste is coherent, so pick by attachment, not tiers. Loving how a character looks is the criterion that survives losing streaks.
Slot anchors (verified): Doom's assists are elite in every slot; his Shooter beam starts round one with you. Magneto's Vertical assist is rated among the game's best. Deadpool's Assault assist (Meat Shield) has counter startup. Loki is explicitly built as a tag enabler. Natural spine: Point = your favorite · Shooter = Doom · Vertical = Magneto · Assault = flex.
The one exception to "don't front-load": system knowledge. It's invisible in-game and expensive to discover by losing.
+25. Carry beats raw damage. Route for the wall.250% combo damage. Punish careless calls; protect your own.2H-family anti-air): as a starter triggers a high air combo with two enders, spike down (ground bounce, ends early) or blow back (toward the wall).M+H, teched with M+H. Light normals cancel into throw, the tick-throw engine. Command grabs can't be teched.Defence facts: no high/low blocking in the air; jumping escapes ground mix-ups but loses to anti-airs. Landing converts air blockstun to ground blockstun. A Perfect Reflect on your point → Disassembled: no assists, no tags until refill. Don't autopilot pressure into a patient defender.
The section above comes from Dustloop's written wiki. This section comes from a different kind of source: a breakdown by Lord Knight, an experienced fighting-game coach, who played the game with the in-game frame-data display turned on and pointed out exactly what the built-in tutorial never explains. Because he's reading real frame numbers off the screen as he talks, this is trustworthy, but it's one person's analysis, not a wiki database, so treat it the same way you'd treat a smart friend's advice: almost certainly right, worth testing yourself.
In most fighting games, and probably in every other fighting game you've played, a jumping attack is an "overhead," meaning it can only be blocked by standing up, not crouching. That is the whole basis of the classic mix-up: jump at someone, and if they guess "block low" they get hit.
In MTFS, this is only true for jump Medium and jump Heavy. Jump Light does NOT need to be blocked standing, it can be blocked crouching, just like a normal ground attack. So the classic beginner mix-up from other games, "jump in with your fastest, lightest button and see if they block the wrong way", simply does not exist here. Trying it will not surprise anyone who knows this rule.
What this means for you: when you want to open someone up from the air, you need jump Medium or jump Heavy, not jump Light. And it goes further, some characters' special air attacks vary too. Storm's j.6H is a mid (can be blocked either way), while Carnage's air-dash j.6H is a genuine overhead. There's no shortcut here: check each of your eight characters' air normals in training mode and note which ones are actually overheads. That list is the real mix-up menu for that character.
Every character has an "air dash," a burst of movement while airborne, and every air dash has a recovery time (how many frames before you can act again). Lord Knight checked the training-mode frame data and found that Black Panther and Spider-Man both have an 11-frame air dash AND an extremely fast 7-frame jump Medium. Put together, that means their air-to-ground overhead mix-up comes out faster than almost anyone else's in the game. That speed advantage is a real, mechanical reason both characters show up on so many tournament teams, it's not just that people like how they look.
What this means for you: Storm also has an 11-frame air dash, but her jump Medium is a slower 10 frames, so her overhead mix-up from the air is noticeably slower than Black Panther's or Spider-Man's. That's not a flaw you need to fix; it just means Storm has to open people up a different way (more on that on her own tab). The lesson to take from this: before you assume a character is bad at mix-ups, turn on frame data in training mode and actually check their air dash and jump Medium speed. That single check tells you whether "jump in and attack" is even a good plan for that character.
This one is a little technical, so here's the plain version. In a lot of fighting games, there's an advanced trick called a "fuzzy guard": if you block a big overhead attack and then quickly crouch, some games will still treat you as if you're standing for a moment, even though you're visibly crouching, which lets the attacker sneak a low hit through. Several newer fighting games (Dragon Ball FighterZ, Under Night In-Birth) deliberately removed this trick because it's frustrating to play against.
MTFS did not remove it, but in the other direction, good news for the defender. If you block a plus-advantage overhead and then correctly crouch, the game genuinely switches your character to a proper crouching state, meaning a following low attack gets blocked correctly and a following high attack does NOT connect. What this means for you: on offense, don't expect a "free" low hit just because you landed an overhead, a defender who crouches correctly after blocking your overhead is actually safe, so you need a real low/overhead mix-up, not just spamming overheads. On defense, this means you CAN safely crouch after blocking most overheads to guard against the low that's likely coming next, you're not being tricked the way you might expect from other games.
You might notice you sometimes can't call an assist even though the move you're doing "feels" finished. That's because most moves only let you call an assist right at the very start of the animation, not partway through or at the end. There isn't a way around this, it's just something to build into your timing by feel, per move, per character.
Separately: your generic Rush Assist (the one every character has, called with 5A, which brings out your other characters in a fixed order rather than letting you choose) and your Tag button both only work when your control stick or D-pad is in the neutral (centered) position. If you're still holding a direction left over from the previous input in your combo, pressing Rush Assist or Tag will simply do nothing, no error message, it just silently fails. If you've ever felt like "I definitely pressed tag and nothing happened," this is almost certainly why.
What this means for you: when practicing combos that end in a Rush Assist or a tag, deliberately return the stick to neutral for a beat before pressing the button. Also, Rush Assist is genuinely worth learning as your default combo-extender while you're still new to a character, because it comes out at roughly the same speed no matter which of your three real assists happens to be on cooldown, you can drill one combo that works regardless of your resource state, instead of memorizing a different combo for every possible assist situation.
The game lets you go light → medium → heavy, and you're allowed to skip medium if you want, and you can repeat the string into a launcher, but no matter how you sequence it, you cannot chain more than four normal attacks together before you're forced to cancel into something else (a special move, a jump, a launcher). Combined with the fact that block-stun and hit-stun are both fairly short in this game, that four-hit cap makes it genuinely hard to "feel out" whether a string is landing before you commit further.
What this means for you: lean on any normal that hits multiple times by itself, since those don't count extra against your four-string cap but still buy you more confirmation time. Storm's 5H hits three times in one button press; Loki's second auto-combo hit is actually two hits in one. Look for the equivalent multi-hit normal on each of your eight characters, it's a free way to get more "chances to see if this combo works" without breaking the four-attack rule.
The standard way to bring in an assist during a combo, cancelling directly from your attack into the assist call, spends a resource called Assemble Gauge, but in exchange it gives you bonus meter and fills your combo/corner-carry gauge faster (this is the gauge behind Rule 2, Corner Carry, from the section above). There is a second way that costs no Assemble Gauge at all: since every grounded normal that hits can be cancelled into a jump, you can jump-cancel off a hit and then simply call the assist as a separate action, rather than cancelling directly into it. Do it right and you'll notice the screen does not freeze the way it does on a normal assist cancel, that freeze is your visual confirmation of which method you used.
What this means for you: the jump-cancel method is essentially "free" assist calls that don't drain your Assemble Gauge, which matters if you're trying to hoard that gauge for something else later in the round. The trade-off is you lose the meter bonus and the faster corner-carry gauge fill you'd get from a proper assist cancel, and specifically, you lose the meter bonus tied to Rush Assist. There's no universally correct choice here; it's a real resource decision, and it's worth experimenting with both once you're past Stage 4 of the program below and comfortable calling assists at all.
A basic throw only leaves you +5, barely any advantage, and your opponent can act almost immediately, even attacking you back on wake-up. So throwing someone in the middle of the screen isn't a real win condition on its own.
Near the corner, throws become genuinely strong. If the throw carries your opponent into a wall, you get a wall splat (a long, highly advantageous knockdown) AND, if that wall triggers a Stage Transition, you unlock your next character and gain extra meter and Assemble Gauge on top of it, the same reward structure described in System Rule 2 above. This is one more concrete reason to route your combos toward the corner rather than chasing raw damage: even a "boring" throw becomes a real weapon once you're near the wall.
One small extra detail: the X-Mansion stage has no mid-screen Stage Transition wall, so throws there carry straight into the hard wall splat every time, without an intermediate transition softening the effect. If you get to pick the stage and want reliably strong throw setups, that's the one to choose.
Sometimes mid-air-combo, your character ends up too low to connect the next hit you planned, the combo just "doesn't reach." There's a fix borrowed from Dragon Ball FighterZ. Here is the exact example Lord Knight demonstrated, so you can copy it precisely rather than guess: in a Storm combo, right after her second jump-in 6H, she is too low to connect the next hit that's supposed to follow. The fix is to hold forward and press H again at that exact point, not a different button, the same Heavy she just used. Doing this makes her perform what looks like a third jump, repositioning her higher, and the combo continues from there.
He was clear that the trick generalizes beyond that one Storm example: the underlying rule is "hold the direction you're already holding, and press the same button you just pressed, at the point where the combo stalls." He said this works with buttons besides Light too, he did not give a full list of which characters or which exact points it works at beyond the Storm 6H case, so treat every other application as something to test yourself, not something confirmed.
What this means for you: if you're in the lab running Storm's combo and it drops right after the second jump-in 6H, try holding forward and pressing H again at that moment, that is a known, demonstrated fix, not a guess. For any other character where a combo "doesn't reach," the general principle to test is the same: hold your direction, repeat the button you just pressed, at the spot where it stalls.
Every character in the game has access to these. Learn them once here; each character's own tab then adds only what's extra for that specific character, so you're not re-reading the same baseline eight times.
Setplay character. Place a hazard, steer it with Tempest, convert off it. That loop IS the character. Dustloop's own comparison: Rachel Alucard.
Engine: Tempest (U + direction) is a gauge, not a toggle, it moves her projectiles, speeds her actions mid-move, and regenerates faster after Eye of the Storm hits. Everything advanced is a variation of: Tornado down → wind moves it → they deal with the hazard while you move in behind it.
| Input | Move | Use | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
5L | Jab | Fastest button, panic + punish | 6f, −3 |
2M | Low | Oki starter, knockdown | 10f, +29 KD |
2H | Anti-air | THE anti-air, launches | 12f, air-invuln 5–17 |
U+dir | Tempest | Steer projectiles, speed actions; usable during other moves | gauge-limited |
236X | Lightning Strike | Main projectile (air OK) | , |
22X | Tornado | Lingering hazard (NOT an anti-air) | , |
j.22X | Hailstone | Air icicle; steerable, persists longer after Tempest | , |
214X | Whirlwind | The lunge / combo ender (air OK) | , |
623M/H | Cold Embrace | Command throw, pressure break | 9f, +4 on hit |
236M+H | Hurricane | Combo ender ONLY | −98 on block |
632146M+H | Eye of the Storm | True reversal; boosts Tempest regen on hit | invuln 1–15, −56 |
2A | Vertical assist | When she's backup | 2000×3, 15f |
5M → 5H → 236L + 2H anti-air until automatic. Hit-confirm the BnB against random block.22L → U → 22L (hit) → 214H (her in-game combo challenge). Then freestyle: place Tornado, steer it different directions, no follow-up, build wind intuition.2M knockdown → Tornado on their wakeup. One setup, every time, until opponents start respecting it.623M to break pressure, Eye of the Storm as reversal (sparingly, it's −56 blocked). Hurricane never leaves combos.Never: Tornado as anti-air (it's a placement, 2H is the button) · Hurricane in neutral · contesting scrambles up close, being point-blank means you already lost neutral; leave and re-set.
6H combo drops, press H againThis is a real, demonstrated fix, not a general tip, see the System tab's "universal combo-fixing trick" box for the full explanation. The exact situation: you're running a jump-in combo and you use 6H a second time, and the next hit you meant to connect just whiffs because Storm is too low. At that exact moment, hold forward and press H again. She performs what looks like an extra jump, repositions higher, and the combo continues. If a combo you're drilling drops right after a second 6H, try this before assuming you mistimed the input.
Remember from the System tab: only jump Medium and jump Heavy are real overheads in this game, and how fast a character's air-to-ground overhead comes out depends on two numbers, air dash speed and jump Medium speed. Storm's air dash is a normal 11 frames, but her jump Medium is a slower 10 frames. Compare that to Black Panther or Spider-Man's 7-frame jump Medium, and you can see why her jump-in mix-up doesn't feel as sharp as theirs, it isn't in your head, it's a real speed gap.
The fix, per Lord Knight's own experimentation: use Tempest to stall her fall on the way down from a jump. Slowing her descent lets you adjust exactly when your jump Medium arrives, effectively manufacturing a better mix-up timing than her raw jump speed alone would give you. This is advanced, it belongs after step 4 of the ladder above, once U feels natural mid-air. Don't force it early; it's a tool for when the honest neutral game stops being enough on its own.
Against projectiles: nothing Storm-specific is documented beyond the universal toolkit (System tab), move around it, or Air Assemble Smash through it. Her flight helps her reposition out of a straight shot faster than most characters can.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (the universal fuzzy-guard fix). If you read it coming and have the meter, 632146M+H Eye of the Storm is genuinely invulnerable on frames 1–15, it beats an overhead outright. Save it for real reads; it's −56 if you whiff or they block it.
Against pressure and grabs: 623M Cold Embrace is a fast 9-frame command throw, press it when someone is mashing buttons in your face expecting you to keep blocking. It interrupts their turn and leaves you +4.
Snowballing zoner. Debris makes skills stronger; Magnetize makes them reach. Both at once is when he's frightening. The best-documented character on Dustloop, this page is mostly quoted fact.
Engine: Debris (max 3) floats until a Skill gathers it for power. Magnetize (purple static, applied by charged heavies / Unique / Gravity Bind / Ultimate) lasts until you hit them with a Skill or they hit you, and it makes Gravity Bind pull them in, Shrapnel projectiles track, and Magnetic Blast add a ground-bounce projectile.
| Input | Move | Use | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
5L | Jab | Fastest button; stuffs low air dashes; combo glue | 6f, −3 |
5LL | Pull-in kick | Pulls them in on hit AND block → tick throw | 9f, −10 |
5H / 5[H] | Lunge punch | The pressure engine (see ladder step 3) | 14f / 26f; charged magnetizes on block |
2M | Advancing low | Low + launch; tick-throw setup | 12f, −12 |
2H | Anti-air | Huge vertical range; Slam Launch starter | 12f, 9000 |
5U/2U | Metallic Meteor | Creates 1 debris; magnetizes on hit (air OK) | 25f, −4 |
236X | Magnetic Blast | Chargeable projectile; debris speeds charge | H: 15f, −7 (safe ender) |
623X | Gravity Bind | Command throw (M = air throw, 8f); magnetized pull-in | H: 9f, 18000 |
214X | Polarity Shift | Corner carry / ground bounce; debris boosts both | 18f, −7 |
22X | Shrapnel Spike | Setup/combo tool, NOT a neutral button | 34–36f startup |
236M+H | Magnetic Maelstrom | Combo ender; debris adds projectiles | 9f, −56 |
2A | Vertical assist | Rated among the best in the game | 8000, 15f |
5LL only follows L normals; strength can't repeat in a string; 2L self-cancel locks out 5LL. Learn them before they bite mid-combo.5U/2U everywhere, watch the counter, learn field lifetime. Match rule: never at zero in neutral.5[H] magnetizes on block → debris-Blast pressure reset; uncharged catches contesters with counter hits. Both options favor you, this is his engine.5L→5LL→623L (lands even from max range if unmagnetized). End blockstrings only on 236H or 5[H], everything else invites reversals.5HHH is the resource-free combo extender (links 5L, or 5H with debris). Avoid 5LLLL; tag out for a better finisher.Never: play him fast, slow movement and sluggish frames are documented cons; make them come to you · raw Shrapnel Spike in neutral · hoard 3 debris into an imminent wall break.
Against projectiles: no unique invulnerability documented, even his own Unique projectile can be destroyed by any attack, including a plain punch, so he's not immune to trades either. Lean on the universal toolkit: reposition with flight/multi-dash, or Air Assemble Smash through a wall of fire.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (universal fuzzy-guard fix). No invulnerable reversal is confirmed for him in what's been pulled from Dustloop so far, check his Ultimate's frame data yourself in training mode before relying on it as a reversal.
Against pressure and grabs: 2H doubles as an interrupt when they jump at you, and 623X Gravity Bind is a real command throw that, once they're Magnetized, pulls them in from further away than they'll expect, a strong answer to someone standing just outside your normal range and pressing buttons.
Long-range zoner with the best support kit in the game. Slow, deliberate, devastating with backup. Your recommended fourth pick and Shooter-slot anchor.
Engine: control screen space with 236X beams and Nullify Shield (blocks projectiles, you out-zone zoners by default). Once they respect the wall, the teleport dash turns respect into mix-ups. One hit → 22EX okizeme → snowball.
| Input | Move | Use |
|---|---|---|
236X | Ray/Plasma Beam | The wall. Pair with a beam assist and approaches die. |
5U / 6U | Nullify Shield | Eats projectiles. 5U buys assist-recovery time; 6U forces them closer. |
22X | Satellite laser | Second threat angle; zone layering. |
| Teleport dash | Step-Dash/Airdash | Crosses up air AND ground. The approach, once respect exists. |
214X | Command grab | The answer to conditioned blockers. |
22EX | EX satellite | Okizeme engine, "very hard to stop" per Dustloop. |
6A | Shooter assist | Beam, one of the best assists in the game. |
2A | Vertical assist | Mystic Gauge: midscreen coverage, high hitstun, keeps them grounded. |
4A | Assault assist | EX Merciful Smite: a free way in for any rushdown teammate. |
Frame numbers not yet published on Dustloop for most of his kit; move roles above are from the wiki's written overview.
236X + 5U/6U rhythm. Learn which beam covers which angle and how long Nullify holds.22X satellite so threats come from two angles at once. Watch what opponents do when both are live, that reaction is your data.214X on blockers.22EX oki → repeat. Budget meter for this; broke Doom is half a Doom.Never: forget he's slow, sluggish normals, slow walk, laggy airdash. Without assists or meter he gets run down, and he struggles hardest on the back foot. Don't be the Doom who teleports in with no plan and no backup.
Against projectiles: he has the best answer in your whole roster, 5U/6U Nullify Shield is literally built to eat incoming projectiles. This is the textbook example of an anti-zoning tool, not an inference; use it liberally against other zoners.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (universal fuzzy-guard fix). No invulnerable reversal is documented for him yet, don't assume one exists until you've confirmed it yourself.
Against pressure and grabs: nothing Doom-specific is documented beyond his teleport dash, which at least gives you an escape route out of the corner if your assists are on cooldown. His overall weakness on the back foot (noted above) means the real answer is usually not getting cornered in the first place.
UNVERIFIED, try it yourself before trusting it: a possible combo route. Heard secondhand from a coaching video, not confirmed against Dustloop frame data or a verified combo video. The shape matches a documented Doom combo archetype (normal string into 2H, jump-cancel, aerial heavies, assist extension), so it's plausible, but the exact string below is unconfirmed.
Starter: M into 2M (or 2M into M), then 2H. Follow with j.M, j.H, jump-cancel, H, 2H, then call an assist. Claim: you can repeat the same string again after the assist hits to extend the combo further.
Enders: claimed to work into a super for more damage plus a hard knockdown (they can't tech away), or into a "team assemble" hyper for a similar effect. Claimed total damage in the 61-70% range, which is in the range other documented Doom combos hit with a full super spent, but this exact number is not verified. Test this in training mode before relying on it; if it doesn't match what you see, trust your own execution over this note.
Dustloop calls him a mixup character with tricky neutral and trickier setplay. Keepaway until the hit lands, then Glider bomb loops that are genuinely hard to block.
Engine: Glider Stance (4U to mount) is a second character. Glider dashes (direction + H in stance) cancel into every glider option including another dash. The win condition: Break knockdown while on Glider → Pumpkin Bomb → looping mixups ("the blender").
| Input | Move | Use |
|---|---|---|
4U / U | Glider Summon / Retreat | Enter/exit the stance. Gauge-funded. |
dir + H (glider) | Glider Dash | 5 directions, all cancellable into more glider options. Side-switch pressure. |
g.1/2/3[H] | Held glider H | LOWS from the air stance, half the mixup. |
214M/H | Shock & Awe | Overheads, the other half. |
g.L | Glider Light | A fast overhead while mounted. Remember from the System tab: jump Light normally is NOT an overhead for anyone in this game, Goblin's Glider Light is a genuine exception, and it's fast. This is his real answer to the air-dash-overhead speed gap other characters have. |
623X | Pumpkin Bomb | Four types confirmed: Sticky, Explosive, Poison, Stun. They CYCLE, track what's loaded. |
236X | Razor Bats | Projectile with two follow-up stages (236X~X~X), screen fill. |
22X | Glider Raid | More projectile coverage (air OK). |
5U/6U/j.2U | Flyby Kick | Cancellable into glider moves, movement that hits. |
236M+H | Sky Scraper | Empties Glider Gauge. Tracks when used in stance. Round-closer only. |
632146M+H | Goblin Surprise | On hit: refills the gauge and recovers in Glider state. His reset button. |
Frame numbers not yet on the wiki; inputs and properties above are published.
623X in training and learn the four types on sight. Untracked bombs sabotage your own mixups, this mental stack is HIS burden that you make yours.[H] lows against 214M/H overheads with side-switches. This loops into itself.Never: trade buttons at midrange, easily counterpoked by design · burn Sky Scraper mid-match for damage · mixup with a bomb type you didn't choose. Off Glider he's at a massive disadvantage vs most of the cast: respect it.
Against projectiles: no unique invulnerability documented. Mount Glider and use its dash options to move around incoming fire rather than sitting still and blocking, he's a mobility-first character, so use the mobility defensively too, not just offensively.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (universal fuzzy-guard fix). No invulnerable reversal documented yet, check his Ultimate yourself before trusting it as one.
Against pressure and grabs: nothing Goblin-specific is documented. This is exactly why the "Off Glider he's at a massive disadvantage" warning above matters most: without gauge, he doesn't have a strong answer to being pressed, so managing your Glider meter IS a big part of your defense, not just your offense.
Half zoner, half mobility demon. Four gun elements, an 8-way airdash, Free Flight, and a command hop. The most mobile of your eight.
Engine: Groove Switch (8U Light · 6U Fire · 4U Ice · 2U Earth) re-arms Elemental Blast (5U), his Assault assist, and his Super. Each element is a different neutral tool; switching in downtime and having the right ammo loaded is the skill.
| Input | Move | Use |
|---|---|---|
dir + U | Groove Switch | 8U Light / 6U Fire / 4U Ice / 2U Earth. |
5U | Elemental Blast (air OK) | Light = fast fullscreen beam · Fire = slow orb that owns space · Earth = projectile-invulnerable shot · Ice = lab assignment (undocumented). |
236X | Blaster Shot | Core projectile; cancels into Elemental Blast. |
623X | Gravity Mine | Space trap; also cancels into Elemental Blast. |
214X | Ravager Rush | All versions hit LOW. Half the mixup. |
5[H] | Charged heavy | Overhead. The other half. |
22X | Rocket Step | Command hop, approach AND disengage. |
236M+H | Elemental Outlaw | Super; ender depends on stocked element. |
632146M+H | Dance Off | Ultimate; grants 3 Elemental Blast shots on hit. |
Frame numbers not yet on the wiki. Note: Dance Off "granting shots" suggests Elemental Blast is stock-limited, verify in training.
214X low vs 5[H] overhead, plus Ravager Rush tag mixups. Small buttons mean the mix comes from these, not from normals.Never: play footsies, his buttons are documented as small; if you're pressing normals at midrange you're playing him wrong · switch elements point-blank · forget which element is loaded (same mental-stack discipline as Goblin's bombs).
Against projectiles: switch to Earth (2U), his Elemental Blast in Earth is explicitly documented as projectile-invulnerable. If you know a zoning fight is coming, get into Earth during downtime so the tool is ready before you need it, per his own mastery ladder above.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (universal fuzzy-guard fix). No invulnerable reversal documented yet, verify his Ultimate's frames yourself before leaning on it.
Against pressure and grabs: Rocket Step (22X) is a command hop built for exactly this, use it to disengage from someone pressing buttons on you rather than trying to out-button them with his small normals.
Mid-to-long chains into close-range mixups. His Vengeance Gauge powers everything up and punishes greed, Dustloop's page is now rich with real numbers.
Engine: specials raise Vengeance (Zone 1 → 2 → Red). Each zone improves hits, frames, and routes. In Red Zone his meterless specials behave as EX moves (metered versions locked). Top it out and he's forced into a punishable recovery plus several seconds of NO specials. Venting (5U/2U/j.U) is the real skill.
| Input | Move | Use | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
5H | Chain poke | Near-fullscreen; guaranteed meaty after wallbreak; 214X converts | 13f, −15 |
5M | Mid poke | Far, fast-ish; picks up Assemble Rush combos | 11f, −8 |
2M | Low | 1/3-screen low for pressure | 8f, −17 |
2H | Anti-air | Absurd vertical reach; deadzone above/behind, bait it when fighting HIM | 13f, −19 |
j.2H | Rising overhead | Fast overhead, beats throws; obvious animation, so rotate it | 11f, High |
j.6H | Air chain | Halfscreen air poke; whiffs on crouchers; hurtbox risk | 6f, High |
5U/j.U | Revelator Chain | Vent (hold = more); long untech = combo glue into slow specials | 13f, −5 |
2U | Hell Throttle | The big vent (~half gauge), projectile-invul; levels: −6 / −3 / +3 | 12f |
236X | Hellfire | Safe pressure ender at every level | 14f, −4 to −2 |
623X | Penance Driver | Command grab: L reactable but long range; M/H fast; whiff = unwanted gauge | M/H 9f, +10 |
214X | Judgement Cradle | The mixup: canned low/overhead follow-ups + tick throw | , |
22X | Ground chain | Hits basically anywhere on the ground | , |
5H/5M/j.6H. Extended hurtboxes mean a clipped chain is a combo eaten, learn the whiff-punish distance from both sides.2U as the pressure-release valve and 5U as combo glue that vents while it works.623M/H grab · 214X low/overhead/tick · j.2H overhead. Rotate, never repeat, each one covers the others' answer.5H meaty after every wallbreak; Hellfire ends every string you're not sure about.Never: whiff Penance Driver (long recovery AND unwanted gauge) · autopilot j.6H at anti-air range, every 2H in the game vacuums you in · lean on 5U venting so hard you never reach Zone 2, the power zones are the point.
Against projectiles: 2U Hell Throttle is explicitly documented as projectile-invulnerable, AND it's your main Vengeance-gauge vent, it's genuinely dual-purpose, so pressing it against incoming fire isn't a compromise, it's just good.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (universal fuzzy-guard fix). No invulnerable reversal is confirmed for him, his Ultimate becomes a strong unjumpable command grab at range, but that's an offensive tool, not a defensive one, so don't mistake it for a reversal.
Against pressure and grabs: 623M/H Penance Driver interrupts someone pressing buttons on you, but it's slower than a normal throw and whiffing it is expensive, long recovery plus unwanted Vengeance Gauge. Use it on reads, not on reflex.
Trap character with genuinely great honest pokes, freeze setups, feints that parry, and the best tag-enabling kit of your eight. Weak solo mixups by design, he hands other characters the kill.
Engine: Norn Stones freeze the point character when they activate nearby. Held L specials are pure feints; held M specials are feints that PARRY and counter up close. And his 623M/236M exist to hand a teammate plus frames or a restand. He wins neutral honestly, then makes everything after neutral dishonest.
| Input | Move | Use | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
5M | Poke | Core neutral button | 10f, −7 |
5H | Big poke | 10000 damage, real range | 15f, −11 |
2M | Low | Pressure low | 11f, −11 |
2H | Anti-air | Launcher | 13f, −13 |
5U | Norn Stone (roaming) | Slow projectile; freezes on activation near point | , |
2U/3U/j.5U/j.6U | Norn Stone (traps) | Stationary; oki that's hard to disrespect; destroyable | , |
| hold L specials | Illusion | Jotun Mist / Serpent Spike / Fenris Fang become feints | , |
| hold M specials | Misdirection | Feints that parry and counter up close | , |
623M | , | Generates plus frames for a tag, teammate gets a free turn | , |
236M | , | Restand, teammate gets a standing victim mid-combo | , |
| Backdash | , | Fast: 10f duration | , |
5M/5H pokes and his projectiles, 5U (Norn Stone, slow-moving orb) plus his three specials, Jotun Mist, Serpent Spike, and Fenris Fang, on the standard 236X/623X/214X motions (Dustloop hasn't published which name maps to which motion yet, your in-game command list settles it in ten seconds). Zero tricks this step; earn the right to be tricky.2U/3U/j.U spots), then the oki pattern, knockdown → stone → their wakeup options all lose something.623M plus-frame tags and 236M restands into your point character's damage. Loki assists/tags are why he fits ANY four you pick.Never: try to solo-mixup, his kit documentedly lacks it; his plus frames are for handing turns to teammates · place stones under pressure (they're destroyable) · feint a player who isn't watching, conditioning requires an audience.
Against projectiles: nothing Loki-specific documented, his held-M "Misdirection" parry is described as working "when close," which reads as a melee-range answer, not a projectile-negating one. Treat that distinction as important: don't assume it stops a fireball just because it's called a parry. Use the universal toolkit for actual projectiles.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (universal fuzzy-guard fix). No invulnerable reversal documented, verify before relying on one.
Against pressure and grabs: this is where his held-M Misdirection genuinely shines, up close, it parries and counter-attacks, which is a real answer to someone pressing buttons on you. This is arguably his headline defensive tool, not just a gimmick.
Chaotic rushdown funded by his own health bar. The one non-zoner in your eight. KeenGamer tiers him C, but Dustloop's writeup is warmer: excellent corner carry, solo wall breaks, dependable point. Early tiers disagree, trust your matches.
Engine: with gray health on his bar, ALL his M specials become Fourth Wall Attacks (Lightning Tornado Upper, Burning Haymaker…) that spend gray health to be some of his deadliest tools. He creates gray health by hurting himself, 2U, Roman Cancel, the 6U parry, and a Faulty Grenade in hand upgrades some further. Spent gray health is real health gone.
| Input | Move | Use | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
2M | Quick low | The fast starter; knockdown on hit | 9f, +63 on hit |
5H | Advancing swipe | Huge advance, near-zero pushback, keeps him in your face; awful on whiff | 13f, −15 |
j.5H | Wide swing | Deep hitbox that hits behind him, his cross-up | 13f, High |
j.6H | Muzzle flash | Longest air reach, disjointed air-to-air | 12f, High |
2U | Meat Shield (low) | Best gray-health generator, fast, pops them up, doesn't cut the cap | 14f, +79 on hit |
5U / 5[U] | Meat Shield | Overhead; charged = unblockable (not in blockstun) but 60f and disastrous on whiff | 28f / 60f |
6U | Collateral Damage | Armor-parry: absorbed damage becomes gray health; tap U to keep absorbing, eats lows, projectiles, even supers | Parry |
4U | Faulty Grenade | Random type, timed, explodes on YOU if hit, upgrade + liability | , |
| M specials (w/ gray) | Fourth Wall Attacks | The payoff suite; costs gray health per use | , |
| Roman Cancel | , | Cancels attack/special recovery; also converts health to gray, routing freedom, ArcSys style | , |
4A | Assault assist | Meat Shield with counter startup, elite punish assist | , |
He also has five hidden skills that only appear in the command list after you input them, Dustloop keeps them spoilered. Finding them is your lab treat, not homework.
2M starters, 5H stay-in pressure (cancel it or call an assist on block, never let it sit), j.5H cross-ups.2U to create it on offense, 6U parry to create it on defense. Rule: know what the gray is FOR before you make it.4U when safe, plan around whichever type you drew, and NEVER hold one into obvious incoming damage.Never: whiff 5H or raw 5U, both are documented disasters · self-harm without a plan for the gray · forget his mixups are poor: he opens people with strike/throw, assists, and tags, not overheads. He punishes YOUR indecision harder than any of your eight.
Against projectiles: 6U Collateral Damage is explicitly documented as absorbing lows, projectiles, and even supers, as long as you keep tapping U in response to each hit. This is the strongest single defensive tool of your eight characters, and every hit you absorb converts to gray health, which fuels his Fourth Wall Attacks. Defense literally funds his offense here.
Against overheads: block standing, then crouch immediately after (universal fuzzy-guard fix). No invulnerable reversal is confirmed for him, don't assume one until you've checked.
Against pressure and grabs: the same 6U parry is your answer here too, it's described as absorbing hits broadly, not just projectiles, so it's worth trying against a blockstring you can't otherwise escape. Remember it requires you to keep pressing U for each hit, or it drops into a counter-hit state.
Tiers are KeenGamer's launch-window read; treat loosely. Beat them lines are community reads plus inference from documented weaknesses.
Fighting Avengers
Shoto, fundamentals-first
Shield projectiles, real reversal, charge attacks.
Beat them: nothing gimmicky, win neutral honestly, bait the wakeup reversal, punish hard.
Aerial specialist
8-way air dash + Free Flight, elite beam assist.
Beat them: he lives above you, hold ground and anti-air rather than chasing him up.
Armored brawler
Gamma armor, mid-range frame traps, huge damage. No air dash.
Beat them: armor doesn't stop throws. Multi-hit strings shred single-hit armor.
Conditional-mobility rushdown
Bask's Blessing grants 8-way dash cancels from any move. Also has an 11-frame air dash paired with a 7-frame jump Medium, the single fastest air-to-ground overhead speed measured in the cast. That's a real, mechanical reason he's everywhere on tournament teams, not just a looks thing.
Beat them: hit him out of Blessing; block the dash cross-ups patiently before pressing. Since his jump Medium overhead is fast, don't expect to react to it, pre-commit to blocking high when he's airborne and close.
Unbreakable X-Men
Yours, see her tab
Mirror: first to own center screen with hazards wins; her weakness is point-blank pressure.
Teleport rushdown
Excellent range, teleports, strong assists. Early tournament favorite.
Beat them: teleports have recovery, stop chasing, hold position, punish the arrival.
Armored rushdown
Berserk frame advantage, armor on specials.
Beat them: he must come to you, your whole team's dream matchup. Throw beats armor.
Technical trap zoner
Calibration Orbs + lasers; Synchro Beam scales with orbs.
Beat them: rush the setup phase; never give free time to place orbs.
Amazing Guardians
Mobility rushdown + counter
Web zips for angles, 623X counter. Shares Black Panther's fast 11-frame air dash / 7-frame jump Medium combo, same speed advantage, same reason he's on nearly every CEO team.
Beat them: stagger strings and throw to beat the counter; anti-air web approaches early. Same rule as Black Panther, his jump-in overhead is too fast to react to, so commit to your guard before he's in range.
Beginner footsies + command grab
Stretchy range. No air dash. Predictable offense.
Beat them: jump when you smell the grab; outpace her linear approach with projectiles.
Yours, see his tab
Mirror: pressure him before the right element is loaded; punish point-blank Groove switches.
Tank, random gadgets
Charging armor moves, wall climb.
Beat them: cross her up relentlessly; don't respect the random gadgets.
Samurai Outriders
Yours, see his tab
Mirror: whiffed chains are the whole matchup, clip the extended hurtboxes; press when his gauge nears Red.
Top all-rounder
Stakes, teleport entries, sword-empowerment scaling.
Beat them: few weaknesses, honest match; punish teleport recovery, deny free sword charge.
Yours, see his tab
Mirror: destroy the stones on sight; don't react to anything until you've seen it twice.
Yours, see his tab
Mirror: his gray health is pre-paid damage; play patient and make the gamble never pay.
Knights of Doom
Yours, see his tab
Mirror: Air Assemble Smash through the wall; he struggles hardest on the back foot, keep him there.
Yours, see his tab
Mirror: deny free debris time; a Wall Break resets both economies.
Yours, see his tab
Mirror: walk him down when the glider gauge runs dry; his grounded buttons lose to yours.
Necrosis rushdown
Unique applies Necrosis → specials plus-on-block.
Beat them: watch the state, with Necrosis his pressure is real; without it his recovery is punishable.
Champion
Own tier, barely documented
Sits above S in early lists. No air dash.
Beat them: unknown quantity, the loss IS the research. Note what worked; Dustloop fills in weekly.
Each stage has a gate: an observable skill in real matches, not a date. Week counts are typical pacing at one Loop session a day. Run the pick bracket (Start tab) during Stages 1–2; from Stage 2 on, "your characters" means the four the bracket kept, their ladders live in their tabs.
Mode note for this whole tab: every "matches" below means Casual Match (online, real opponents) unless a stage explicitly says VS CPU, Training Mode, or Ranked. See "Which mode, when" on the Start tab for the full breakdown.
2H-family anti-air with each until it's a reflex.Gate: you anti-air on reaction and land your BnB on touch, in Casual Match (online).
Gate: the character tab's own "clicked when" line, first half.
Gate: you can switch who starts without your win rate collapsing.
Gate: you trigger a Stage Transition most Casual Match (online) sets, and assist calls stop getting teammates blown up.
Gate: you can name why you lost each match, and it's a decision, not a dropped input.
Gate: none. This is what improvement looks like from here.