| description =Blue Mary is a well-rounded character that leans more towards offense with her large bag of mixups. In neutral, she has access to some good pokes to keep the opponent from going in and some special moves that move her forward so she can get into mixup range. Once she is in mixup range, she can pressure the opponent with her good jump-ins and low chains or mix them up with her 1f command grab, overhead or jumping grab. Her main weakness is that a lot of her moves are punishable on block.}}
== Changes from Previous Versions ==
'''98 to 98UM'''
Normals:
* st.B now has less priority
* cl.C's recovery reduced by 6 frames
* st.C's recovery reduced by 10 frames
* st.D's startup reduced by 2 frames
* cr.D's startup reduced by 4 frames
* Raw f+A's recovery reduced by 15 frames
Specials:
* qcf+A's startup frames reduced by 2 and recovery frames increased by 2
* qcf+C's startup frames reduced by 4 and recovery frames increased by 4
* b~f+B's startup reduced by 3 frames, 2 more active frames and 3 frames more recovery, can now combo from lights
* b~f+D's recovery increased by 3 frames
'''98UM to 98UMFE'''
Specials:
* qcf+B's recovery reduced by 3 frames
* qcf+D's recovery reduced by 5 frames
== Normal Moves ==
== Normal Moves ==
''Format for Normals section. Be sure to add bullet points for multiple moves having a property (e.g. j. B/D cross-up; st/cr. A/B/C/D are whiff/cancelable). REMOVE AFTER WRITING IN''
'''Close'''
* cl.A: Fast startup and plus on block. Whiffs on short crouchers. Not chainable. Cancelable.
* cl.B: Short-ranged normal with good frame advantage. Can combo into cl.C with a 1f link. Chainable and cancelable.
* cl.C: Two-hitting close normal. Great combo filler since it deals good damage and both hits are cancelable. Safe on block.
* cl.D: Two-hitting close normal. Has a lot of startup and is less safe than cl.C, so this one doesn't have much use. Cancelable on both hits.
'''Standing'''
* st.A: Fairly short range, but it can be used to stop some hops. Whiffs on short crouchers. Chainable.
* st.B: Great poke with fast startup, good range, nice active frames, and good recovery. Whiffs on tiny crouchers.
* st.C: Long-ranged poke with a lot of startup and recovery, making it unsafe on whiff. Kinda hard to punish on block because of the pushback.
* st.D: Slow poke with a lot of recovery, but it has a lot of low invincibility.
'''Crouching'''
'''Close'''
* cr.A: A crouching jab with fairly short reach. Kinda bad on block at -3. Good combo tool after cr.B. Chainable and cancelable.
*cl. A: fast startup and + on block. whiffs on short crouchers. Not chainable. Cancelable.
*cl. B: short ranged normal with good frame advantage. Can combo into cl.C with a 1f link. Chainable. Cancelable.
* cr.B: Mary's main low combo starter. Has good reach and shrinks her hurtbox quite a lot. Chainable.
*cl. C: two hitting close normal. good to use in combos since it deals good damage and both hits are cancelable. Safe on block. Cancelable.
*cl. D: two hitting close normal. has a lot of startup and is less safe than cl.C so this one doesn't have much use. cancelable.
* cr.C: Moves her forward a little bit. Has a lot of recovery, making it very punishable. Can be used in combos at ranges where cl.C would whiff. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.
* cr.D: Long reach but has equally long recovery, making it unsafe on block and whiff (unsurprisingly for a sweep). Shrinks her hurtbox a lot, so she can go under some flying projectiles with it.
'''Jumping'''
'''Stand'''
* j.A: Decent jump-in attack with a lot of active frames.
*st. A: fairly short range but it can be used to stop some hops. whiffs on short crouchers. Chainable. Not cancelable.
*st. B: great poke with fast startup, good range, nice active frames and good recovery. Whiffs on tiny crouchers. Not chainable. Not cancelable.
*st. C: long ranged poke with a lot of startup and recovery making it unsafe on whiff. Kinda hard to punish on block because of the pushback. not cancelable.
*st. D: slow poke with a lot of recovery. but it has a lot of low invincibility. Not cancelable.
'''Crouch'''
* j.B: Has long reach downwards, making it another decent jump-in attack. It can also be used as an instant overhead.
*cr. A: a crouching jab with fairly short reach. Kinda bad on block at -3. good combo tool after cr.Bs. Chainable. Cancelable.
*cr. B: her main low combo starter. has good reach. Shrinks her hurtbox quite a lot. Chainable. Cancelable.
*cr. C: moves her forward a little bit. Has a lot of recovery making it very punishable. can be used in combos from ranges cl.C would whiff. Cancelable.
*cr. D: long reach but has kinda long recovery making it unsafe on block and whiff. Shrinks her hurtbox a lot so she can go under some flying projectiles with it. Not cancelable.
'''Jump'''
* j.C: Has a nice hitbox in front and slightly below Mary, so this move can function as both an air-to-air and jump-in. Comes out fairly slow though.
*j. A: decent jumpin attack with a lot of active frames.
*j. B: has long reach downwards making it another decent jumpin attack. It can also be used as an instant overhead.
*j. C: has a nice hitbox in front and slightly below Mary so this move can function as both an air to air and air to ground attack. Comes out fairly slow though.
* neutral j. C: great hitbox for air to airing as it has loads of priority in front of Mary.
* nj.C: Great hitbox for air-to-airing as it has loads of priority in front of Mary.
*j. D: Marys best jumpin normal due to it's good speed, reach and damage. Can crossup. can be used as a instant overhead when used during a hyper hop.
* j.D: Mary's best jump-in normal due to its good speed, reach, and damage. Can crossup, and also be used as a instant overhead when used during a hyper hop.
'''Blowback'''
'''CD Normals'''
*st. CD: good grounded poke that can be cancelled on whiff and on contact to make it safer or apply different mixups.
* st.CD: Good grounded poke that can be cancelled on whiff and on contact to make it safer or apply different mixups.
*j. CD: great air to air normal. Whiffs on low crouchers.
* j.CD: Great air-to-air normal. Whiffs on low crouchers.
== Throws ==
== Throws ==
Victor Heave: (close) b/f + C
'''Victor Heave:''' <code>b/f+C (close)</code>
* Regular throw, techable. Mary picks the opponent up and drops them behind her and then delivers a elbow strike. Sends the opponent half screen away behind Mary with a backturned hard knockdown.
* The fact that this switches sides means that Mary cannot normal-throw her opponent in the corner and keep them there—luckily, she has a command grab for that.
* regular throw, techable. Mary picks the opponent up and drops them behind her and then delivers a elbow strike. Sends the opponent half screen away behind Mary with a backturned hard knockdown.
'''Head Throw:''' <code>b/f+D (close)</code>
Head Throw: (close) b/f + D
* Regular throw, techable. Mary flings the opponent behind her full screen distance, causing a soft knockdown.
* regular throw, techable. Mary flings the opponent behind her full screen distance causing a soft knockdown.
== Command Moves ==
== Command Normals ==
'''Hammer Arch:''' <code>f+A</code>
Hammer Arch: f + A
* Overhead when done raw, loses the overhead property when cancelled into. Moves very far forward.
* overhead when done raw, loses the overhead property when cancelled into.
* One of Mary's primary mixup tools.
* one of Marys primary mixup tools.
* Punishable on block when done raw and when cancelled into.
* punishable on block when done raw and when cancelled into.
* A staple in her combos, as it combos after her heavy attacks and allows her to cancel into a special or DM. Forward movement also means it negates any pushback from what it was canceled from.
* a staple in her combos as it combos after her heavy attacks and allows her to cancel into a special or super.
* Causes a hard knockdown when hitting an airborne opponent.
* gives hard knockdown when hitting an airborne opponent.
* When late-canceled into, it maintains the overhead property, letting you surprise your opponent in pressure.
Climbing Arrow: df + B
'''Climbing Arrow:''' <code>df+B</code>
* good anti air that hits high up.
* Good anti-air that hits high up.
* can be cancelled into dp on hit for a combo.
* Can be canceled into dp+K on hit for a combo.
* shrinks her hurtbox so can low profile some jumpins.
* Shrinks her hurtbox, so it can low-profile some jump-ins.
* pops grounded opponents up for an aerial reset on hit.
* Pops grounded opponents up for an air reset on hit.
Double Rolling: f + B
'''Double Rolling:''' <code>f+B</code>
* a slow double kick. First hit has low invincibility but hits mid and second hit has no invincibility but hits low.
* A slow double kick. First hit has low invincibility but hits mid, and second hit has no invincibility but hits low.
* unsafe on block and not cancelable so bad in combos as well.
* Unsafe on block and not cancelable, so bad in combos.
* avoid using this move.
* Avoid using this move. Mary can simply do st.D or cr.B by themselves, instead of both at once.
== Special Moves ==
== Special Moves ==
Spin Fall: qcf + B/D
'''Spin Fall:''' <code>qcf+B/D</code>
* Forward-moving jumping kick. A version goes a shorter distance than the C version.
* Will go over a good amount of grounded attacks, so it's good to use as an approaching option.
* Safe on block.
* Susceptible to hop anti-airs.
* Best as a neutral option or blockstring ender, doesn't really have any benefit as a combo ender (and is hard to combo into).
'''M. Spider:''' <code>qcf+A/C</code>
* A jumping command grab. A version flies shorter and lower than the C version.
* Very reactable and punishable if done raw, and good players will usually still catch it and respond even if you do it as a surprise cancel.
* Use it as an occasional YOLO mixup option.
* Causes a backturned hard knockdown.
'''Straight Slicer:''' <code>b~f+B/D</code>
* A long-range sliding kick. B version goes about half screen and D version goes almost full screen.
* Can low-profile a lot of pokes and some projectiles.
* It can also low profile jump-in attacks, so it functions as a good long-range anti-air as well.
* B version can combo from lights, which gives her nice low confirms.
* Good to use as a mixup tool and as a combo ender.
* Also good as a fast punish tool against things that leave the opponent point blank.
M. Spider: qcf + A/C
* Very punishable on whiff.
Straight Slicer: b~f + B/D
* Causes soft knockdown.
Crab Crunch: During Straight Slice hit, qcf + B/D
* Damage isn't much more than a normal throw, but this has great utility.
Vertical Arrow: dp + B/D
'''M. Reverse Face Lock:''' <code>qcb+B</code>
M. Snatcher: During Vertical Arrow hit, dp + B/D
* Counters only high attacks.
Backdrop Real: (close) hcb, f + A/C
* The counter is active on the second frame, so this is excellent to use as a reaction anti-air.
M. Reverse Race Lock: qcb + B
* Unsafe on whiff.
*counters only high attacks
* Causes a backturned hard knockdown.
M. Headbuster: qcb + D
'''M. Headbuster:''' <code>qcb+D</code>
*counters mid/low attacks
* Counters mid/low attacks.
* Mary flings the opponent behind her, leaving them in a juggleable state that you can combo out of with her dp+K, qcf,hcb+P, or a normal of your choice for a reset.
* Unsafe on whiff.
== Desperation Moves ==
== Desperation Moves ==
M. Typhoon: (close) hcb, hcb + B/D
'''M. Typhoon:''' <code>hcbx2+B/D (close)</code>
* DM version of her hcb,f+P that does a lot more damage.
* Causes a hard knockdown, but sends the opponent far enough away that you usually get no oki.
* MAX version just does more damage.
'''M. Splash Rose:''' <code>qcf,hcb+A/C</code>
* Mary dashes forward and delivers a series of strikes on hit.
* Does less damage than her other DMs, and doesn't really do anything that they don't also do, so this DM isn't that useful outside of juggling out of qcb+D.
* Causes soft knockdown.
* MAX version does more hits and more damage.
'''M. Dynamite Swing:''' <code>qcfx2+B/D</code>
* An invincible DM that travels upwards like her DP. If it hits, Mary swings the opponent around and then throws them full screen.
* B version travels a shorter distance upwards, and the throw hitbox after the first hit is shorter than the D version, so using the D version is preferred.
* Good as an anti air as it hits quite high up and has invincibility, though if it hits too high up the second hit can fail to combo.
M. Splash Rose: qcf, hcb + A/C
* Good to use as a reversal due to the invincibility it has.
M. Dynamite Swing: qcf, qcf + B/D
* Mary's only DM that combos from lights.
* Causes soft knockdown.
* MAX version does more damage.
== Combos ==
== Combos ==
'''General Notes'''
* For grounded cancels to DM, qcfx2+K does less damage than hcbx2+K, but qcfx2+BD does more damage than hcbx2+BD.
===Meterless===
''Low''
: <code>cr.B, cr.B, cr.A, b~f+B > qcf+K</code>
: Good meterless low confirm into a hard knockdown.
''Mid/Jump-In''
: <code>(j.X), cl.C, f+A, hcb,f+P</code>
: Your main jump-in and heavy button combo.
: <code>(j.X), cl.C, f+A, dp+D > dp+K</code>
: Version of the above that does slightly more damage but is much less consistent.
: <code>cl.B, cl.C, f+A, hcb,f+P</code>
: A 1f link combo from a point blank cl.B. Not very useful, but it's there.
''Other''
: <code>qcb+D, dp+K > dp+K/qcf+K/j.D reset</code>
: Meterless combo options after qcb+D. Running forward between the counter and followup can help consistency.
===With Meter===
''Low''
: <code>cr.B, cr.A, qcfx2+D</code>
: Simple low combo into DM.
''Mid/Jump-In''
: <code>(j.X), cl.C, f+A, hcbx2+K</code>
: Full combo into DM from a jump-in.
: <code>cl.B, cl.C, f+A, hcbx2+K</code>
: Meter-burning combo from cl.B.
''Other''
: <code>qcb+D, qcf,hcb+P</code>
: Meter-using combo after qcb+D. Timing is tight because of the delay between when qcf,hcb+P is activated and when it starts moving.
===With Quick MAX===
== Strategy & Tips ==
== Strategy & Tips ==
== Videos ==
== Videos ==
{{#ev:youtube|CX2KQODIBho|||'''King of Fighters 98 UM FE: Blue Mary Guide''' by [https://twitter.com/MashItOut Mash It Out]|frame}}
Blue Mary is a well-rounded character that leans more towards offense with her large bag of mixups. In neutral, she has access to some good pokes to keep the opponent from going in and some special moves that move her forward so she can get into mixup range. Once she is in mixup range, she can pressure the opponent with her good jump-ins and low chains or mix them up with her 1f command grab, overhead or jumping grab. Her main weakness is that a lot of her moves are punishable on block.
Changes from Previous Versions
98 to 98UM
Normals:
st.B now has less priority
cl.C's recovery reduced by 6 frames
st.C's recovery reduced by 10 frames
st.D's startup reduced by 2 frames
cr.D's startup reduced by 4 frames
Raw f+A's recovery reduced by 15 frames
Specials:
qcf+A's startup frames reduced by 2 and recovery frames increased by 2
qcf+C's startup frames reduced by 4 and recovery frames increased by 4
b~f+B's startup reduced by 3 frames, 2 more active frames and 3 frames more recovery, can now combo from lights
b~f+D's recovery increased by 3 frames
98UM to 98UMFE
Specials:
qcf+B's recovery reduced by 3 frames
qcf+D's recovery reduced by 5 frames
Normal Moves
Close
cl.A: Fast startup and plus on block. Whiffs on short crouchers. Not chainable. Cancelable.
cl.B: Short-ranged normal with good frame advantage. Can combo into cl.C with a 1f link. Chainable and cancelable.
cl.C: Two-hitting close normal. Great combo filler since it deals good damage and both hits are cancelable. Safe on block.
cl.D: Two-hitting close normal. Has a lot of startup and is less safe than cl.C, so this one doesn't have much use. Cancelable on both hits.
Standing
st.A: Fairly short range, but it can be used to stop some hops. Whiffs on short crouchers. Chainable.
st.B: Great poke with fast startup, good range, nice active frames, and good recovery. Whiffs on tiny crouchers.
st.C: Long-ranged poke with a lot of startup and recovery, making it unsafe on whiff. Kinda hard to punish on block because of the pushback.
st.D: Slow poke with a lot of recovery, but it has a lot of low invincibility.
Crouching
cr.A: A crouching jab with fairly short reach. Kinda bad on block at -3. Good combo tool after cr.B. Chainable and cancelable.
cr.B: Mary's main low combo starter. Has good reach and shrinks her hurtbox quite a lot. Chainable.
cr.C: Moves her forward a little bit. Has a lot of recovery, making it very punishable. Can be used in combos at ranges where cl.C would whiff. Cancelable on hit, block, and whiff.
cr.D: Long reach but has equally long recovery, making it unsafe on block and whiff (unsurprisingly for a sweep). Shrinks her hurtbox a lot, so she can go under some flying projectiles with it.
Jumping
j.A: Decent jump-in attack with a lot of active frames.
j.B: Has long reach downwards, making it another decent jump-in attack. It can also be used as an instant overhead.
j.C: Has a nice hitbox in front and slightly below Mary, so this move can function as both an air-to-air and jump-in. Comes out fairly slow though.
nj.C: Great hitbox for air-to-airing as it has loads of priority in front of Mary.
j.D: Mary's best jump-in normal due to its good speed, reach, and damage. Can crossup, and also be used as a instant overhead when used during a hyper hop.
CD Normals
st.CD: Good grounded poke that can be cancelled on whiff and on contact to make it safer or apply different mixups.
j.CD: Great air-to-air normal. Whiffs on low crouchers.
Throws
Victor Heave:b/f+C (close)
Regular throw, techable. Mary picks the opponent up and drops them behind her and then delivers a elbow strike. Sends the opponent half screen away behind Mary with a backturned hard knockdown.
The fact that this switches sides means that Mary cannot normal-throw her opponent in the corner and keep them there—luckily, she has a command grab for that.
Head Throw:b/f+D (close)
Regular throw, techable. Mary flings the opponent behind her full screen distance, causing a soft knockdown.
Command Moves
Hammer Arch:f+A
Overhead when done raw, loses the overhead property when cancelled into. Moves very far forward.
One of Mary's primary mixup tools.
Punishable on block when done raw and when cancelled into.
A staple in her combos, as it combos after her heavy attacks and allows her to cancel into a special or DM. Forward movement also means it negates any pushback from what it was canceled from.
Causes a hard knockdown when hitting an airborne opponent.
When late-canceled into, it maintains the overhead property, letting you surprise your opponent in pressure.
Climbing Arrow:df+B
Good anti-air that hits high up.
Can be canceled into dp+K on hit for a combo.
Shrinks her hurtbox, so it can low-profile some jump-ins.
Pops grounded opponents up for an air reset on hit.
Double Rolling:f+B
A slow double kick. First hit has low invincibility but hits mid, and second hit has no invincibility but hits low.
Unsafe on block and not cancelable, so bad in combos.
Avoid using this move. Mary can simply do st.D or cr.B by themselves, instead of both at once.
Special Moves
Spin Fall:qcf+B/D
Forward-moving jumping kick. A version goes a shorter distance than the C version.
Will go over a good amount of grounded attacks, so it's good to use as an approaching option.
Safe on block.
Susceptible to hop anti-airs.
Best as a neutral option or blockstring ender, doesn't really have any benefit as a combo ender (and is hard to combo into).
M. Spider:qcf+A/C
A jumping command grab. A version flies shorter and lower than the C version.
Very reactable and punishable if done raw, and good players will usually still catch it and respond even if you do it as a surprise cancel.
Use it as an occasional YOLO mixup option.
Causes a backturned hard knockdown.
Straight Slicer:b~f+B/D
A long-range sliding kick. B version goes about half screen and D version goes almost full screen.
Can low-profile a lot of pokes and some projectiles.
It can also low profile jump-in attacks, so it functions as a good long-range anti-air as well.
B version can combo from lights, which gives her nice low confirms.
It has a lot of active frames.
Crab Crunch:qcf+B/D (during b~f+K)
A followup to b~f+K. Mary grabs the opponent and breaks their leg. Adds extra damage and a hard knockdown.
Always follow up with this, since it only comes out on hit and nothing extra happens on block or whiff.
Vertical Arrow:dp+B/D
An upwards travelling DP move. B version flies shorter than the D version, but is faster.
B version only has a bit of startup invincibility and D version has full startup invincibility that lasts until the 4th active frame.
B version can function as a fast anti air as it has a very good hitbox.
D version functions as a reversal and as a late anti air.
Very unsafe on block and whiff.
M. Snatcher:dp+B/D (during dp+K)
A followup to her DP. Adds extra damage and a backturned hard knockdown.
Always do this followup, as it only comes out on hit and nothing extra happens on block or whiff.
Backdrop Real:hcb,f+A/C (close)
A 1f command grab.
Good to use as a mixup tool and as a combo ender.
Also good as a fast punish tool against things that leave the opponent point blank.
Very punishable on whiff.
Causes soft knockdown.
Damage isn't much more than a normal throw, but this has great utility.
M. Reverse Face Lock:qcb+B
Counters only high attacks.
The counter is active on the second frame, so this is excellent to use as a reaction anti-air.
Unsafe on whiff.
Causes a backturned hard knockdown.
M. Headbuster:qcb+D
Counters mid/low attacks.
Mary flings the opponent behind her, leaving them in a juggleable state that you can combo out of with her dp+K, qcf,hcb+P, or a normal of your choice for a reset.
Unsafe on whiff.
Desperation Moves
M. Typhoon:hcbx2+B/D (close)
DM version of her hcb,f+P that does a lot more damage.
Causes a hard knockdown, but sends the opponent far enough away that you usually get no oki.
MAX version just does more damage.
M. Splash Rose:qcf,hcb+A/C
Mary dashes forward and delivers a series of strikes on hit.
Does less damage than her other DMs, and doesn't really do anything that they don't also do, so this DM isn't that useful outside of juggling out of qcb+D.
Causes soft knockdown.
MAX version does more hits and more damage.
M. Dynamite Swing:qcfx2+B/D
An invincible DM that travels upwards like her DP. If it hits, Mary swings the opponent around and then throws them full screen.
B version travels a shorter distance upwards, and the throw hitbox after the first hit is shorter than the D version, so using the D version is preferred.
Good as an anti air as it hits quite high up and has invincibility, though if it hits too high up the second hit can fail to combo.
Good to use as a reversal due to the invincibility it has.
Mary's only DM that combos from lights.
Causes soft knockdown.
MAX version does more damage.
Combos
General Notes
For grounded cancels to DM, qcfx2+K does less damage than hcbx2+K, but qcfx2+BD does more damage than hcbx2+BD.
Meterless
Low
cr.B, cr.B, cr.A, b~f+B > qcf+K
Good meterless low confirm into a hard knockdown.
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cl.C, f+A, hcb,f+P
Your main jump-in and heavy button combo.
(j.X), cl.C, f+A, dp+D > dp+K
Version of the above that does slightly more damage but is much less consistent.
cl.B, cl.C, f+A, hcb,f+P
A 1f link combo from a point blank cl.B. Not very useful, but it's there.
Other
qcb+D, dp+K > dp+K/qcf+K/j.D reset
Meterless combo options after qcb+D. Running forward between the counter and followup can help consistency.
With Meter
Low
cr.B, cr.A, qcfx2+D
Simple low combo into DM.
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cl.C, f+A, hcbx2+K
Full combo into DM from a jump-in.
cl.B, cl.C, f+A, hcbx2+K
Meter-burning combo from cl.B.
Other
qcb+D, qcf,hcb+P
Meter-using combo after qcb+D. Timing is tight because of the delay between when qcf,hcb+P is activated and when it starts moving.
