Mai Shiranui Matchup Thread

[FreeRunner]

So I think it's about time we look at a few match ups.

So which match ups would Mai have problems in and how can we combat them?

Let's discuss this .

[Kirah]

I've faced a few enemies with Mai which are as follows: Ash , Saiki, Leona

Ash
This battle, in mid-range is in Mai's favor her pokes help keep Ash honest and under wraps though predictability will be punished by 28B by Ash. Though despite that she really gives him a tough time, being able to use j214A to punish poorly timed projectiles and to stay in a comfortable distance to just out poke and annoy. Take care to watch for Ash's EX projectile, in the projectile war Mai can certainly hold her own. Her fast recovery allows her to be able to maintain her standing and keep her positioning. Also her EX Kachousen can really put Ash in his place and get Mai in there and ready to be annoying.

Outside of midrange, you have to play patient and smart and look for your in. Since her limbs are so long I find myself baiting looking to make the Ash flinch and get itchy with  his somersault so always be on the look out for that.

Leona
This battle is bit easier for Mai, since you both can build a wall of normals though I believe Mai's limbs are better. Though Leona has access to a reversal and one hell of an air to air the "Vslasher", it'll punish you for what ever limb you stick out so when facing a Leona with meter pay close attention. Besides that I prefer to stay just inside st.D range. That normal checks Leona at the door and forces her to use moonslasher or EX moonslasher, Leona's normals are monstrous but nothing Mai can't handle. Also you have a WAY better projectile this way it'll force the Leona to make a tough decision and you can swoop in to put her in a real tight spot, on wake up her reversal (EX moonslasher) is all that great and being able to safe jump in the corner after a comboed Air throw lessens her chances even further.

Just play carefully with Mai's limbs, force the Leona to become impatient and poke at her until she dies and watch out for her meter don't get caught by a Vslasher by surprise.

Saiki
This is an easier Ash matchup since he doesn't have an EX projectile, but he does have some tools at his disposal I personally don't think he's anything out of the ordinary. His projectile is slow on startup and can be reacted to with EX Kachousen and his limbs are just Ash's. Even though he has J6B and J4B to bait dps, Mai zones with normals so those are worthless with nothing to bait. Saiki has to do additional work to actually get in or do any of his dirty work. Up close he can be a bit of pain, mixing up his strings into his projectile or being able to summon his super orb can put a damper on Mai, since she's pretty much stuck.

Though she has triangle jump and other things to escape, just play your game and this win can be clinched. Also watch for his EX Supper command throw and Neo Max. The command throw EX has ridiculous range and his Neo Max fullscreen punishes though not as fast as Kyo's in my opinion. When on offense bare in mind his H and EX Dp they trade places so if you're not aware you can find yourself hard knockdown in the corner with Saiki at the ready.

[sibarraz]

had problems against raiden when he starts jumping with cd while I'm on the ground, or even air to air (sometimes here I won with CD)

[Ryujin]

Hey there gang, came here to ask how Mai fares against some other characters. I do agree with the above and have a lot of trouble against Mai as Ash and Leona - I want to keep her locked down but I find that hard to do with those two normal-for-normal. I was thinking of leveling up some other characters - how do you guys feel about Mai versus Kyo, EX Kyo, and Mature?

[t3h mAsTarOth...!]

Mai has high jumps... This is usually bad for pressuring but it comes in handy for avoiding FBs... Mai can "HOP" over any FBs in the game... Even Ash/Saiki/Takuma/Andy/Robert's FBs...

Mai's particular bad match-ups are characters with strong j.C+Ds... She'll either trade if she tries to air-air with them or just eat a counter-hit if she tries to anti-air them...

[Sharnt]

Hey there gang, came here to ask how Mai fares against some other characters. I do agree with the above and have a lot of trouble against Mai as Ash and Leona -

You can win, but you must exploit her weakness, as a leona and ash player you may be use to a very calm and zoning game, but to beat Mai you must press and rush her down. Be patient though, to be too reckless will only led you to a rapid death, but once you can press her don't let her escape, press press press press until she dies. It's quite easy with Leona since her d.B is too good, plus your CD cancel b~f.D you can go forward, she has a lot of trouble against hop pressure, hopefully Ash and Leona have very good ones, plus with leona you have your instant overhead mixup. With Ash it may be more tough, if you are far try to do as few as possible projectile, use you qcb.P/K to lock her down and keep her from jumping at long range and then run. Once she is lock into the corner don't let her escape, with both of your character you can anti air her pretty easily while you are pressing with d.B. Just react fast enough and you will catch her.

[Great_Dark_Hero]

Mai seems to do pretty well against a lot of none projectile characters as well, because of her good priority in her normals as well her keep away game. It is also imperative not to forget that she can corner cross up from her throw as well giving her a little more edge on her opponents.

Robert match ups seems pretty even, and Robert is also the second only character with a wall jump. Again, Mai can simple hop over Robert projectile and it is quiet easy for Mai to dominate in the air as well. Mai's jumping arcs may leave her vulnerable to basic anti-airs (in this case, Robert's DP), but she still falls down quickly no matter how high she jumps so safe jumping plays a key roll her too. It is best to be careful in getting close to Robert because he has a command throw as well.  Mai can whiff cancel her d.D as well, sense it is a good low poke and the Kanchousen can cause a lot of knockback on guard. Mai has one of the best C/D attacks which can be whiff cancelled and even combo'd after should it be a counter attack.

Andy: This match up does not seem to be in Mai favor but even then, this is still manageable. Andy's pressure is very safe but his DM usage is not that impressive. Mai can easily out zone him using the ground Musasabi to switch positions and her Kanchousen. EX Kanchousen is VERY quick and can easily catch people off guard during a fireball war. Andy's Neo Max has the best priority - if Mai plays defensively in this situation, Andy will not have much of a good chance of winning and Mai can punish quite a few of his attacks easily.

Takuma: This match up is in Mai's favor. Takuma lacks an actual anti-air though he does have that option with his normal attack - he is likely to trade or get out prioritized by Mai's j.C, J.D, or air d.B, or her air Musasabi. I good trick to use on opponent from the air is j.D, then air d.B - Mai's air d.B can be cancelled into her Musasabi or her EX Musasabi (and the regular Musasabi can be drive cancelled into EX Musasabi as well to make it safe on guard and to put the opponent into a juggle state). The Mai player needs to be careful of Takuma's ranbu DM however, because it normally has invincibility start-up. Takuma has a command throw as well, but it is far easier for Mai to put more pressure on Takuma and play mind games with him.