KOF XIII 10th General Thread: America on Top (@EVO2013), Everyone Back to Work!

[Great_Dark_Hero]

I'm leaning towards Reynald on this one but there is no way in hell to count Tokido out. Things are about to get real on KOF...

[KLSADAKO]

Great set between Reynald and Tokido but in the end it was rather easy i would say for Reynald..
10-6 including 3 OCVs with Dou Lon and many games where his 3rd fighter was never needed..
nevertheless Tokido is a great player and could still win NWM..

[Coffeeling]

Tokido looked so lost with Duo Lon. How do you schedule a big match with Reynald and not train vs. Duo Lon I don't understand though. I mean, lack of high level practice in Japan may be a thing, but he should've checked at least basic stuff about it. Not doing the homework is like going to Korea and then watching Madkof and Verna use you as a floor mop.

[PureYeti]

I believe he is aware what Duo Lon can do but wasn't able to adjust to how Reynald played him

[Running Wild]

Ohohoho in the end my prediction came true.

:3

[The Fluke]

lol, did Tokido beat Reynald in the tournament?

[Coffeeling]

lol, did Tokido beat Reynald in the tournament?

He did, denied the reset too.

[Great_Dark_Hero]

GG's!! Kudos to Tokido!

[The Fluke]

He did, denied the reset too.

Nice, gotta find whatever archive that is on.

[Killey]

Seriously? No discussion on top 8 for Japonawa 2014?

http://www.twitch.tv/teamlago/b/532154077

The level of play in top 8 was insane and it sounded like the pools were stacked. Does anybody know if there was a challonge bracket for this event? I heard Koopa was in attendance and he didn't make top 8 so just interested in who peaced him out. My thoughts on top 8.

So we all know that the best team in KoFXIII is EX Iori, Mr. Karate, and Kim. There were also a lot of debates on which of these characters is the best in the game and it was usually a back and forth between Karate and Kim. After watching Japonawa top 8, I've got no doubt in my mind that EX Iori is the best character in the game but only if the player is capable of doing consistent rekka loops. EX Iori is a top tier character without them but the majority of the players in top 8 could do a few reps of the rekka loops with Violent Kain being the most consistent at doing the actual infinite. Being able to turn stray hits from CH j.CD, anti-air rekkas, or anti-air DPs into the rekka loops is insane and gives huge damage output, corner carry, meter and drive gain. Its also one of the most execution demanding infinite I've seen. I've seen some people complain about the infinite and while I can understand why, I can also respect the skill it takes to perform it.

I was really impressed with Violent Kain's play regardless of his execution consistency. His fundamental play and his hit confirms off of stray hits was ridiculous. He was making short work of strong players like Huevo who's a consistently amazing player in Mexico. I was shocked to see Violent Kain OCV Huevo multiple times.

To top this off the grand finals match between Violent Kain and Luis Char was a treat. Luis Cha is one of my favorite players since he's a fundamentals type of player. He's not an execution monster like Kain or Ren, he doesn't make over the top reads like Bala, he's just a solid fundamentals player and to see him win a tournament is really encouraging. He's a player that proves that you can win against other beasts with fundamentals. I've always questioned his team order since the optimal order should be EX Iori, Shen, and Kim but he definitely made this order work out for the best.

I think the only disappointing thing was that BALA wasn't in attendance since he won last years Japonawa beating Koopa in an extremely close set. I like watching BALA play because he's probably got the best reads but he also uses a ton of characters at such a high level. He's similar to Luis Cha in that he doesn't always use top tier but if he does it's usually in an order that you don't expect.

In any case, Violent Kain is looking like a contender to winning Evo this year if he can keep this level of play up. I'd also like to see more of the stronger Mexican players show up for Evo this year. Koopa and Huevo couldn't attend last year and I always thought they could have made top 8. Seriously, my dream top 8 for KoFXIII would be Koopa, Bala, MadKOF, Tokido, Violent Kain, Toshi, Reynald, Luis Cha, and a toss up between M'/Romance/Lacid/Pako/Javier.

[Coffeeling]

I think a lot of why people tend to rate Kim and Karate over Flame Iori and underrate Benimaru is that Kim and Karate are able to very straightforwardly bully people. Iori and Benimaru are a bit more negative style oriented, where they play a low-risk, noncommittal neutral game to goad the opponent into committing suicide. It's just a whole lot less obviously good than blowing through stuff with j.CD or bullying people with a neverending stream of buttons with high-low mixups thrown in.

Apart from the infinite, I think the big thing that makes Iori such a monster is his meterless game. Anything ever leads into rekkas (=good corner carry, high damage, useful knockdown for an okizeme monster) => oki => rekkas => oki => rekkas... basically, he's a vortex character who's kind of a mix between SF4 Akuma and Cammy in that like Akuma the oki options are all very discrete and distinct, but there's a ton of them, and like Cammy in that there's one option that has all the payoffs in one package. No choosing between damage and knockdowns or positioning. It's all just there, built in. It's what makes Iori explosive and gives him that scary "OCVs teams" feel, and why he's the best point in the game. The meterless game is just absurd.

[Killey]

EX/Iori's normals are amazing as well and I feel he embodies KoF fundamentals because all of his normals have a specific range and purpose that they should be in.

He's just as much as a bully as the other two, imo, and has similar mix up games. His oki is definitely better than the other two and rekkas lead into safe jump set ups or other kof related options.

[KLSADAKO]

i think I heard somewhere that Koopa came to late to enter the tournament..

but yes the grand finals were insane..

but as good as Kain is at doing the infinite his current playing style still needs a few
tweaks if he is to be evo champ.. I saw a load of games with kain vs Kula and Kula
looked the stronger player his winning rate against kain was like 2 to 1..

This years Evo could be the most stacked if all top players attend..
we know bala cant make it and I think Toshi can't as well can anyone confirm?

we know Reynald will be there, so will Tokido and madkof, Kain will be there i think so will ET and Ren
and Xiaohai..
I think Misterio will be there as well, and i wont be surprised if he took the title..

[yamazaky96]

Kim is the strongest character because any one can use him

[The Fluke]

Kim is the strongest character because any one can use him

That's like saying that noodles are the best kind of food because everyone can afford them.

Kim is strong, one of the strongest. But most of the top tiers have far higher damage with little meter and when compared to ex iori who is also based around similar mixups with hard knockdowns he has both less damage and less tools even without ex iori's infinite. Kim is incredibly reliable and that is his strength, not his ease of use.