Mai post-nerf (spoiler alert: she's fine)

[Ben Reed]

Hey guys,

Since this forum hasn't been quite as active since the demo, and Mai's seen some big changes, I just wanted to cover the major ones I noticed and talk briefly about where I think the character stands now. So here's what I observed when they nerfed Mai in the day 1 patch:

st.CD: Took the biggest hit due both to specific nerfs and universal nerfs to CD attacks. It's no longer positive on block at close range; it must be blocked either meaty or at absolute maximum range to be positive on block. Its damage has also been highly reduced, making many near-corner combos with it less damaging than combos involving "conventional" starters and fillers like cl. D. And on top of that, the universal nerf to wall stick (narrower window to get a grounded hit) has basically killed off her obscene corner st.CD routes; st.CD > cr.C ground hit is no longer possible. However, st.CD > qcf+A corner combos still work just as they did previously, only with lowered damage. (I'm updating the wiki to reflect the new values.)

Verdict: Despite the nerfs this is still a really good and important move due to its range, speed, and the ability to get a very advantageous hard knockdown, plus the fact that you can still do st.CD > qcf+A in the corner. The only changes Mai players will need to make in using this move are to be more mindful of spacing, to favor whiff punishing with it over pressing it for the hell of it (which you should have been doing anyway), and to avoid special-cancelling it on block to qcf+A unless you know the opponent will sit still.

Ukihane (j. d+B): Blockstun significantly decreased; this move is no longer positive on block. Unsafe (close C/D punishable) if blocked at head level, minus but safer if blocked lower on the body.

Verdict: A much-needed nerf on a move that was quite frankly too much. It's much more comparable to XIII Ukihane now. And despite the added risk associated, it is still a really good move if you use it the way it was intended to be used: occasionally, with good conditioning, and not hammering people senselessly with it. (Granted, good players could frequently evade the pre-nerf version, but now it's considerably fairer to people less experienced with dealing with the Mai matchup.)

Kachousen (A/C/EX): Hitbox on all fans (flying straight) narrowed horizontally.

Verdict: A very survivable nerf. It doesn't hurt her neutral much at all, it's mostly just intended to further limit the power of st.CD > qcf+A on block and especially to kill Mai's unreactable st.CD > raw MAX > qcf+AC > crossup charge d,u+AC, which was an unreactable meaty crossup (you had to just hold f and know/guess it was coming). Fans are still fine for their intended purpose of locking off some ground space so Mai can move more freely.

j.A: No longer cancellable to air command normals and specials.

Verdict: A sensible nerf to this move to help kill what's left of fuzzy guard IOH setups, as well as to reduce Mai's potential frame advantage/ability to change her air trajectory from early jump A. Still just fine for air-to-air, just not as overwhelming against grounded opponents anymore since now you have to account for the landing recovery.

cl.A: Advantage on hit and block lowered (+0 on block) so that you can no longer link cl.C.

Verdict: A strange nerf, but mostly ineffectual. Despite less advantage on block, the chain routes to other A/B normals from this move will help you create good strings from it, and +0 isn't bad for trapping many characters with her 4f cl.C (didn't notice a nerf to that move).

Overall verdict on post-nerf Mai

I think these nerfs barely hurt her and I think she'll still be one of the stronger characters in the game. (As of the time of this writing, Xiaohai certainly thinks so, going by that tier list of his making the rounds.) She's less overwhelming now, but she still has a REALLY strong neutral game. All her key pokes are the same except st.CD, her Climax Art is still really good, her supers still do the same amount of damage. She still has an excellent time setting the pace of the match with easy and reasonably damaging confirms from any starter. She's still quite worthy of the anchor slot and I look forward to see a healthy amount of sodium generated by this character.

If any of you guys noticed nerfs with Mai that I did not, please feel free to post in this thread or let me know on Twitter (@internetbenreed) and I can update this post. Long may the fans fly!

[Coliflowerz]

Here's a combo video post nerf:
https://youtu.be/YD8v93sqEgU

[Great_Dark_Hero]

Minor video: Post-Patch Mai 2 Bar 500 damae combo.
https://youtu.be/V9uyBx4DSck