NeoGeo Battle Coliseum/Kaede

Normals

Close Standing

• 5A: Jab, cancelable.
• 5B: Looks identical to far B but is much faster, chains into itself once and into cr.B, cancelable, OTG.
• 5C: 2 hit upward slash. Both hits cancelable, the second puts the opponent in the air, not knocking down.
• 5D: Quick knee as Kaede's primary heavy button for combos.

Far Standing

• 5A: Somewhat spammable horizontal slice for poking and to some degree anti-airing.
• 5B: Stomp kick with some start-up, cancelable, OTG.
• 5C: One-handed downward motion that briefly covers above and in front of Kaede.
• 5D: Slightly faster but shorter and less mashable poke than far A. But is cancelable.

Crouching

• 2A: Jab that's cancelable, chains from itself, cl.A, cl.B and cr.B. i.e. his best light confirm.
• 2B: Fast but short low, cancelable. Often used to chain into cr.A.
• 2C: Upward 45° slash, committing anti-air, cancelable.
• 2D: Very standard sweep, cancelable.

Jumping

• j.A: Can't decide if it wants to be a jump-in or an air-to-air. Ends up sucking at both. Cross-up exists and is the most awkward of 3.
• j.B: Nice kick angle for jump-in, can cross-up.
• j.C: Good committal jump-in swing with some start-up.
• j.D: Alright jump-in, best option for air-to-air. Difficult cross-up that you can't land on short characters and a number of crouchers.

Blowback Attack Pressing the E button while blocking will allow Kaede to counter with the 2nd hit of his qcb+A, and he will then tag out.

Throw

Ittou Rai Tei: b/f+CD (also in air)

• Can be broken on ground. Kaede jumps with the opponent and rolls over them as they hit the ground, Kaede recovering first and in position to cross-up j.B with a normal forward jump.
• Air throw prompts a lightning bolt to strike as Kaede and his opponent land, doing a bit more damage and leaving Kaede in the same okizeme position as ground throw.
  • Cannot be combo'd into after command grab like in The Last Blade 2.
  • Regardless of what direction you held beforehand, Kaede will do the throw in the opposite direction he was facing (e.g. Kaede faces right, air throw has him roll left over the opponent, is still facing right).

Command Moves

Pounce Attack: 3C | df+C on downed opponent

• An OTG that Kaede has a few routes to guarantee use of after hard knockdown. Primarily qcb+C, and qcfx2+p on airborne opponents.

Setsuna Shunrai: 6+BD | f+BD | Setsuna Shunretsu: 4+BD | b+BD

• High and low deflects. Window to counter is not generous and pretty brief.
• For high deflect, if you anti-air the opponent they'll be sent straight up.
• A successful deflect can be super-canceled or canceled into regular, but not Special, Dual Assault. qcb,hcf+C is ill-advised, as you'll do less damage with 4/5 bolts there than A version with 5/5.

Itsutou Kagura Nobari: BD after successful ground repel

• If you've done an anti-air deflect, you might to have to wait briefly before pressing BD or you'll miss.
• Use this instead of qcb,hcf+A if deflection was point-blank or in the corner. Missing just one lightning bolt will lead to less damage than this follow-up.

Setsuna Shundan: in air, 4+BD | b+BD

• Functions only against other aerial moves. If successful, the opponent will freeze, allowing Kaede to land first and take advantage of a juggle opportunity. Does soft knockdown if not followed through.
• If nothing is deflected, Kaede suffers almost a second of landing lag.

Special Moves

Shinmei Hayate: 236+A/C | qcf+A/C

• A lightning ball that travels across the ground. A version has more start-up and travels slower than the C version. Damage is the same.
• Capable of nullifying flying "mid" fireballs like Akari's.

Shinmei Oite: 236+A/C | qcf+A/C in air

• Same technique as Shinmei Hayate, where the lightning ball is fired at a down-forward direction. Damage is the same between A and C.
• A version doesn't interrupt Kaede's jump arc while C halts his momentum, getting pushed up (which also causes the lightning ball to come out of Kaede from a higher height than A) and back a small distance. This can mix up his position on landing.
• Has almost a full second of landing lag.

Shinmei Kuga: 623+A/C | dp+A/C

• Standard DP that can combo from lights. Hard knockdown.
• A version has invuln only until the hit and travels up less, while C rises further and has invincibility suited for risky reversal.
• Has a 2nd hit in the lightning bolt that comes after the slash. This won't hit on its own or if the opponent was on the ground when hit by the 1st hit, but rather as a reward for successful anti-air with the first half of this move. Ends up nearly doubling the damage.
• Getting both hits of dp is possible after command grab. Both DPs deal the same damage if both hits connect (for one hit, C does slightly more), so waiting for the opponent to reach the peak before their fall before doing dp+C is the most consistent method.

Shinmei Renjin Zan: 214+A/C | qcb+A/C

• Two different autorun 3-slash combos depending on the button. Either of the first 2 hits of both versions can be super-canceled. Both versions hard knockdown on their last hit; soft if only the first 2 of either connect.
• A version does 3 attacks in quick succession. Can combo from lights, is slightly negative on block, and deals notable guard damage; about 1/6 if all hits are guarded.
• C version gives a bit of start-up before the run that does have some invincibility, though none for the run itself. The 2nd and 3rd hit has a small gap where the opponent must block high or be hit be a deceptively down-reaching overhead. This overhead is a jump attack that is actually safer on block than the last hit of qcb+A. It also leads to a sliding hard knockdown where Kaede can use df+C after, even midscreen where he has a fairly generous window to run into range.
  • Does not combo from normals except cr.C but can be used after Kaede's command grab where the 3rd hit will miss, but you can then do dp+A (1 hit) with the right timing.
  • 3rd hit has Counter Wire property.
• If you intend to use this move after command grab, know that the timing for qcb+A is later than qcb+C. A good indicator of when to do qcb+C is right after Kaede's "Kurae na" voice line. qcb+A will require you to eyeball the opponent for right before they land, almost when next to standing Kaede. Mistiming for either version could lead to either a full whiff, or only landing the 1st hit. That latter note can be a problem for out-of-corner qcb+C (2) into qcb,hcf+A, where you need the 2nd hit for how it positions the opponent for the juggle.
• A super-cancel done on the 2nd hit of either version will enable Kaede's Special Dual Assault with Moriya, regardless of if qcb+p was blocked or if the desperation move gets blocked or whiffs.

Shinmei Tabakaze: 214+B/D | qcb+B/D

• A command roll with very minimal application. May low-profile some things, but not reliable for that purpose.
• B version quickly moves Kaede roughly a character and a half forward. D version takes a bit longer to finish, almost making it halfway across a fully zoomed-out screen.
• Last Blade 2 players may recall Power mode Kaede using this to get to the opponent and follow up after a strong kick put the opponent to a wall. The closest thing to that here is after getting both hits of cl.C, where the roll can get Kaede right in the opponent's face by the time they land, which could lead to a command grab either raw or from cr.B. Use D version when out of the corner, otherwise B version for the shorter animation.

Shinmei Arashi Uchi: [close] 41236+B/D | hcf+B/D

• A whiff-able command grab that serves as one of Kaede's greatest combo openers.
• B has a bit less start-up than D and allows it combo from cl.C(1) and any light normal consistently.
• D doesn't have any strike-/throw-/projectile invuln to compensate for its slightly slower start-up, but said start-up does allow it to be buffered after cl.C, qcb+B to catch anyone who blocks or tries to mash out upon landing.
• Gives a juggle opportunity with a sizeable selection of follow-ups, see combo section.

Desperation Moves

Kasshin Fukuryu: 214,41236+A/C | qcb,hcf+A/C

• Kaede strikes the ground and causes 5 lightning bolts to fire down one after the other. Costs 1 bar. Soft knockdown.
• A version has nearly unreliable invuln but is the one you want to use for combos, since the bolts stay closer together allowing all the hits to connect unless in the corner.
• C version serves as the defensive variation; Kaede is invincible from the prolonged start-up of this super until he summons the first bolt. There is more damage attached, but the bolts spread out further.

Kasshin Seiryu: 236x2+A/C | qcfx2+A/C

• Kaede doubles the length of his katana, before slamming the electrified blade/baton in a downward motion. Costs 2 bar. Hard knockdown.
• A version is like the training wheels version of this move. It's faster than C and thus can combo from the 2nd hit of qcb+A, invulnerable only during the super flash, but does almost 1/3 damage less than the C version.
• C version possesses invincibility until Kaede starts his swing. Can connect after a super-canceled qcb+p on a midair opponent from hcf+k; either hit 1/2 of qcb+A and only the 1st of qcb+C. It can also combo after the first hit of qcb+A on grounded opponents. If you don't have confidence in timing a qcb+p correctly, you can immediately buffer qcfx2+C and still get heavy damage.
• If this move hits an airborne opponent, their received knockdown is sliding across the ground instead of bouncing off. This gives Kaede the opportunity to (run if midscreen and) use df+C.

Special Dual Assault (w/ Moriya)

2,2+AE | d,d+AE

• The activation hit is the animation of Kaede's normal standing heavy slash within Last Blade. From there, Kaede attempts his qcfx2+B Kasshin Souryu SDM also from The Last Blade duology, thrusting his sword sideways into the opponent. He's interrupted by Moriya, who suddenly appears and unleashes his Kassatsu Izayoi Gekka DM. Kaede uses the opponent as a human shield, and finds a window to deflect Moriya's attack and happens to launch the opponent up at the same time. Kaede resorts to his Kasshin Seiryu DM as Moriya appears vulnerable. As he brings down his sword, Moriya warps behind Kaede and leaves as the opponent to be the only one hit, to Kaede's frustration.
• Condition: Super cancel the 2nd hit of either version of Shinmei Renjin Zan (qcb+p). The super itself doesn't have to connect or hit and neither does qcb+p.
• Can be confirmed by either timing it after a hcf+k CG, cancel from two cancelable lights, or from a heavy jump-in into a light.

General Strategy

• Block strings to use are:

Combos

If finishing in the corner, Kaede can use cl.B when in the corner for OTG damage. This is not applicable for combos ending with qcb,hcf+p, regular or Special Dual Assault.

As mentioned, hcf+k can be combo'd into from cl.C (1) or a cr./cl. light normal. This does become impossible if there is a jump-in, in which you should either back down or walk-in-to-raw command grab.

Combos that end with qcfx2+p on airborne opponents (i.e. after hcf+k) will lead to a hard knockdown where df+C can be used if at the corner.

0 bar

• (j.X) > cr.B > cr.A > qcb+A

Your primary "hit" combo that can lead to a super cancel if you have the meter. Unless you're in a scenario where you can break the guard meter and not be countered by a Guard Cancel dash/blowback, replace qcb+A with far A to be safer on block and possibly get a frame trap out of it, u

• qcb+C > (run if out of corner >) df+C

For punishing very telegraphed attacks by using qcb+C's startup invuln.

• hcf+k > (wait) qcb+C (2 hits) > dp+A

The most meterless damage Kaede can get out of command grab. If not wanting to risk the timing of qcb+C, get 2 hits from dp+p by itself for a minimal decrease.

• cr.B > cr.A > qcf+E/d,d+AE

Confirm into normal/Special Dual Assault that won't work if a jump-in's used beforehand.

• hcf+k > qcf+E/d,d+AE

Command grab serves a much larger window to eyeball a confirm into either version of Dual Aassault.

1 bar

• (j.X) > cr.B > cr.A > qcb+A (1) > qcb,hcf+A

Not worth the very slight increase over full qcb+A when in the corner, so be sure to be away from it for all bolts to connect.

• hcf+k > (wait) qcb+C (2) > qcb,hcf+A

1 bar ender after command grab opening. Like the combo above, be out of corner to make the damage worth the resource versus dp+A.

• (j.X) > cl.D > AB > cr.A > qcf+E

How you would confirm into Dual Assault from a jump-in. Cr.B has too little range to reach even after Tactical Step, and trying cl.B will give you either the slower st.B or you'd be too late to combo from cl.D; cr.A simply is the fastest compared to Kaede's other light normals.

Near Corner Only

• hcf+k > (wait) qcb+C (2) > qcb,hcf+C

Must be close but not in the corner. Since you won't be getting all the bolts from the A version in this position, it makes the C version stronger as an ender.

2 bar

• (j.X) > cr.B > cr.A > qcb+A (2) > qcfx2+A

• (j.X) > cr.B > cr.A > qcb+A (1) > qcfx2+C

Deals a noticeably larger chunk of damage than the combo above due to the damage difference in the A and C versions of qcfx2+p. Will require you to be faster in your execution since you'll SC on the 1st hit instead of the 2nd for qcfx2+C to combo.

• hcf+k > (wait) qcb+A (2) > qcfx2+C

Can alternatively go for only one hit and still get respectable damage out of this combo.

Color Palettes

• Note: The "S" button is the start button.