Iori Yagami (Claws) (Arcade Version)

[Gimnbo]

So I've been playing with Iori for the past couple of days and goddamn, I cannot figure this guy out.

I know I'm supposed to get in close and kick ass, but getting in is the part I can't seem to do. Right now I've playing against my brother and his Maxima just guard points everything.

I really like this guy and I don't want to drop him, but he's just not been working. Does anyone have strategy advice?

[Reiki.Kito]

Mhhh...Well, I'm not SUPPOSED to do this because I play Maxima and I don't want Maxima to lose, but I wouldn't want you to quit someone you like.

Lemme cut you some slack here.

If you're matched up, Iori vs. Maxima, and your brother continues to throw out Vapor Cannon (C version), or far C or far D (if he does far D, immediately do what I say). Get in range of the move. Just close enough for Maxima to hit you. This time, wait for him to do something. If he does anything of the above, roll through it as slowly as possible. Maxima has a huge cooldown when he does those moves. If you roll through them, you're going to get in for a full combo.

Also, Maxima only has one move that guardpoints lows, d.C. He is extremely vulnerable to lows. He can DP+BD (EX), but if he misses that, you get a full combo. Your st.B is a low. Mix that in with d.B's and make him commit to blocking low. Once you do that, if he's committed to d.C, he'll try to do it to guard point. If you empty jump to scare him into doing it or just do it late so he mistimes his d.C, you get in.

You should also empty hop against Maxima. From close range, jumping in and attacking means he's going to guardpoint you. If you always attack, he'll always guard point. So don't let him by just landing. Iori has a 1f command grab. Grab him the moment you land and punish him lots with some follow ups.

You can also cheat guard point. You can grab Maxima in the middle of guard point if you did an A move. That has very little recovery so it allows you to grab him or do another move. Aside from st.C close and far D, all his other moves only guard point once. So you can poke him with A's or poke then regular/command grab him out of it.

Maxima also has very little ways to deal with people who are crossing him up. His st.A is awesome, but it's one of the slowest in the game. Iori has a j. back+B crossup that can even hit crouching people. Jump over your brother's Maxima and do the command crossup!

Try it out. I think if you wait for Maxima to do something not safe, Iori can get in big damage so don't quit just because of a bad match-up!

[Sharnt]

Don't forget d.C is whiff cancelable by df.C, which is a good anti air.

[darkTown2]

thanks reiki i'll keep this in mind when playing

[Kane317]

Nitpick: Iori's grab isn't 1frame, not EVEN close.  The Ex grab is the faster version and that's already 5frames, I think the normal one is closer to 9frames.

Also if you try to empty hop on Maxima who is expecting to GP you (let's say close C), just coz you don't attack doesn't mean you won't get hit. 

Best bet is to attack him low or go for the Iori crossup.

[tastylumpia]

So anyone have footage of really good Ioris in tourney/casual play? I was trying to learn 98 Iori but I'm feeling Claw is going to be the stronger pick. I know stateside Ash is really strong, any players/vids I should take a look at?

Also re: cmd grab, I'm trying to figure out how to utilize it, when/where. Granted I only spent about 15 minutes learning this character before I played him last Friday, but it seemed like the regular grab seemed a bit on the slow side with 9f startup and a big whiff animation but was alright with tick setups since they leave blockstun in time to get grabbed. EX is much faster and leads to better combos, I know a local player (CharRex) and all he does is save his meter for random EX grabs and it works.. but I dunno if it's worth the bar.

[Gimnbo]

The only time I've been able to get the normal command grab off is rolling in on a slow move or drive cancelling from the qcb + k slash.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. The Iori crossup seems to be working wonders.

I think my problem is mostly nerves. I usually forget my combos when I do get a hit so I'm losing about 90% of my damage potential. That sounds like something I just need  practice for though.

[darkTown2]

The only time I've been able to get the normal command grab off is rolling in on a slow move or drive cancelling from the qcb + k slash.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. The Iori crossup seems to be working wonders.

I think my problem is mostly nerves. I usually forget my combos when I do get a hit so I'm losing about 90% of my damage potential. That sounds like something I just need  practice for though.

yeah if you just practice more you'll start to gain confidence, because you won't have to worry about messing up if you've done it consistently before.

[Raynex]

Yeah, I'm also having problems landing the command grab. Is anyone having issues with his BnB -> DC command grab whiffing? I'll do cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb+K, DC grab and at times the grab portion just completely misses. I think it's because I started the cr.B from a bit too far away. My question is, what are my alternatives if I'm not at point blank when I start the combo?

Also, what should I be doing with him at neutral game? I have no idea how to utilize his normals aside from EX DP as an unbeatable AA. Are any of them safe on block/good for pressure/anti fireball/good for poking?

[Gimnbo]

Yeah, I'm also having problems landing the command grab. Is anyone having issues with his BnB -> DC command grab whiffing? I'll do cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb+K, DC grab and at times the grab portion just completely misses. I think it's because I started the cr.B from a bit too far away. My question is, what are my alternatives if I'm not at point blank when I start the combo?

You can DC qcb+K into qcb + C (scoops claw) and juggle the maiden masher afterwards for 363 dmg compared to  397 from your version.

[TYRANNICAL]

Yeah, I'm also having problems landing the command grab. Is anyone having issues with his BnB -> DC command grab whiffing? I'll do cr.B, cr.A, f+A, qcb+K, DC grab and at times the grab portion just completely misses. I think it's because I started the cr.B from a bit too far away. My question is, what are my alternatives if I'm not at point blank when I start the combo?

That BNB is pretty easy.  What I've found(sure others have too) you can just do qcb+LK>hcf+P. Like one motion. It's easy as hell to DC in this game.  You could mash it if you want.  And yeah that BNB requires you to be pretty close.  If you're too far away to land a full low hit BNB, meaning you're at the tip of a max range cr.B, your only option is cr.B>far st.B>DM or Neomax. 

At neutral, I favor his far D but I'm not decent enough with Iori yet.  I may mix in some hop B/C/D.  If I'm close and they're blocking I do a string into qcb+LK.  Also you don't have to attack you can move foward and backward a bit by walking or hopping to try to bait an attack out to punish.

[Raynex]

Thanks for the responses. I'm trying to run him as my anchor on my King/Maxima/Iori team. Off to the training room!

[hiltzy85]

I've been wondering...are qcb+B and qcb+D interchangeable in combos?  Like if I do [cl.C, f+A,A, qcb+D], is it the same as doing [cl.C, f+A,A, qcb+B]?  Does one start faster than the other? 
I read the earlier post that claims that qcb+D "can't be punished by normal moves".  Does this mean that it can't be punished by A,B,C,D (crouching or standing, close or far) normals, or does it mean that it can't be punished by anything aside from EX specials or DMs?  Is the D version actually more safe on block than B?  Is the EX version totally safe on block? 
Are the two normal versions (B and D) the same on hit?  is EX version better on hit?

I guess I actually have a lot of questions about qcb+K...

[Mr. X]

Corner, 1 Drive Bar

2B 2A 6A xx 623C 214A 623A xx 214D 214A 623A

crLK crLP fLP xx dp+HP qcb+LP dp+LP xx qcb+HK qcb+LP dp+LP

Replace last dp+LP/623A with a DM

[Gimnbo]

I've been wondering...are qcb+B and qcb+D interchangeable in combos?  Like if I do [cl.C, f+A,A, qcb+D], is it the same as doing [cl.C, f+A,A, qcb+B]?  Does one start faster than the other? 
I read the earlier post that claims that qcb+D "can't be punished by normal moves".  Does this mean that it can't be punished by A,B,C,D (crouching or standing, close or far) normals, or does it mean that it can't be punished by anything aside from EX specials or DMs?  Is the D version actually more safe on block than B?  Is the EX version totally safe on block? 
Are the two normal versions (B and D) the same on hit?  is EX version better on hit?

I guess I actually have a lot of questions about qcb+K...

I don't think anyone actually has frame data and, judging from the fact that EX Iori, who isn't even released yet, has more pages in his thread than this guy, not very many people play him. So it's hard to get info that detailed unless we decided to go labbing (and I just might tomorrow).

I can say for certain that the D version is slower and can't be comboed into normally. I've only seen it comboed into when drive cancelled off a DP.

The whole "can't be punished by normals" thing seems kind of irrelevant since you can't combo into it and neither version, in my experience, is a good way to approach the opponent.