Samurai Shodown VI/Mizuki

Introduction

Mizuki has been buffed considerably, with better pokes, more opportunities for damage, plenty of hard knockdowns and her DP from V Special being modified into an air fireball. However, Mizuki's most notable buff is that her existing bag of tricks happens to work well with the new system mechanics, in particular having strong answers to all three wakeup options which allow her to tech chase effectively. If you enjoy kicking opponents while they're down then Mizuki is the character for you.

Speaking of which, Mizuki's pursuit leads to infinites.

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 105%
• Rage retention: 150
• Rage duration: 10 seconds

Gameplan

Mizuki has decent enough control of the ground game, sporting decent pokes with her medium slashes and a strong punish tool in her 5C, which reaches over half the stage and comes out quickly. Mizuki still has her low-hitting ground portal (214S) which skims the ground quickly and can be used for punishes, but it leaves her open for big punish if it doesn't hit. In this game, however, she now has a better option for fullscreen harassment with her air-to-ground fireball. Mizuki can summon Maju (j236S), who will fall diagonally forward before hitting the ground and running offscreen. In addition to being used for air control, Mizuki may also buffer this move with a tiger knee input or during a backdash to use it strictly for ground control. Maju travels quite fast, will destroy other projectiles and causes a soft knockdown if it hits. Additionally Mizuki's jD, though her shortest air normal, is special cancellable, a quality which can be used to keep the opponent locked in place after landing the air-to-air. It should be noted that Mizuki, though she sports decent air-to-airs, only wants to jump defensively if at all, as her jump is not suited for offense.

Mizuki has some mixup potential with her command grab (623D), which, along with her ground portal and WFT, will result in a hard knockdown. This makes it difficult for the opponent to escape her position-tracking unblockable seal (214D), which when timed correctly on an opponent's wakeup can be difficult to stop if they can't at least low profile it from frame one. However, this seal results in a soft knockdown, meaning Mizuki won't be able to loop it forever (though she may still catch failed tech roll attempts). To counter short rolls Mizuki can use her ground portal or WFT, while to counter long rolls she can simply run up and command grab. Because both lead to hard knockdowns, they'll end up getting caught by the unblockable seal anyway. These are just some options Mizuki can use for her vortex, but anything you use will still require some commitment. The unblockable seal has a lengthy period of startup, so it's not something that can be done on reaction against soft knockdowns. Meanwhile if Mizuki ends up committing to something else and the opponent stays lying down then she has squandered her momentum and will have to play honest to get it back. Regardless, the ability for Mizuki to cover all three options safely and rewardingly is what makes her tech chase scary.

Mizuki gets decent mileage from her Secret Move, which can either extend combos or lock the opponent in place, so II Spirit is a solid pick because it not only lets her perform it once per match but she also gains access to roll-cancelled command grabs. VI Spirit is another viable choice because it allows Mizuki to hold onto her WFT for as long as possible. In lieu of roll cancels, Mikiri dodges can be used instead to secure highly-damaging punishes while also letting her use her Secret Move earlier in the round.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

• 5A - A quick forward stab with nearly as much range as 5B. Can be used as a quick poke.
• 5B - Has better range than 5A despite its similar appearance. Mizuki's main poke for general recoil cancel games.
• 5C - Mizuki steps a character length forward for a giant swing. Reaches over half the stage with decent vertical reach to boot and deals high damage for a heavy slash.
• 2A - 5A but lower.
• 2B - 5B but lower.
• 2C - A low-hitting sweep. Has pretty good reach and it recoils on block, but you would have to space this cleanly to make it even remotely safe.

Near Slashes

• n5A - Standing slap.
• n5B - Two-hit combo starter.
• n5C - Two-hit punish tool. Deals less damage than her other heavies but comes out way faster.
• n2A - Crouching slap.
• n2B - n5B but lower. Not cancellable for some reason.
• n2C - Same as far version.

Kicks

• 5D - Maju claws up from Mizuki's dress. Special cancellable.
• 6D - Her universal overhead from V Special. Goes over lows and beats throws while moving her forward a bit.
• 2D - Maju whips its hair. This hits low.
• 3D - A low-hitting sweep which, uh, doesn't knock down like it did in V Special. Instead, it is special cancellable so you can get your knockdown anyway.

Dash Normals

• 66A - Running slap.
• 66B - Running n5B. Also a combo starter.
• 66C - Running n5C, but it deals one hit and knocks down. Reaches further than your other punish options and is an effective crossunder anti-air.
• 66D - Mizuki's old 6D from V Special. This hits low and is special cancellable.

Air Normals

• jA - Aerial slap.
• jB - Aerial 5B. Air-to-air which reachers further than jC.
• jC - A jump-in swipe with decent horizontal reach and high hitstun for combos.
• jD - Maju kicks out from Mizuki's dress. Can be used as a jump-in if done deep enough. Special cancellable.

Unarmed Normals

• u5S - Same as n5A.
• u2S - Same as n2A.
• u66S - Same as 66A but it knocks down.
• juS - Same as jA.

Hyper Slash (I)

• A+B - Essentially her 5C.

Special Moves

Satanic Transmigration - 421S, can be done unarmed (Samurai Drive)

• Mizuki laughs, then teleports around the opponent. 421A and 421B place her in front of the opponent, while 421C places her behind them.
• If the opponent is in the air then this move will match their vertical position as Mizuki begins to fall slowly. Mizuki can attack as she falls, but for 421C this is useless because she will be facing the wrong way.

Hell's Circle - 214S

• Mizuki sends a portal to travel quickly across the ground. This hits low and results in decent damage and a hard knockdown. If timed correctly it is decent at catching short rolls, as Mizuki can realistically react to them and time 214S correctly. Otherwise, it is mainly used as a combo tool, although it now deals less damage than Mizuki's claw swipes. There is no difference between strengths. Extremely unsafe if it doesn't hit.

Destroy Demon - 623D

• A command grab where Mizuki transforms the opponent into a pig, then slams them into the ground. Has about the same range as her throw but deals more damage and results in a hard knockdown. This is Mizuki's answer to long rolls, which otherwise evade both her Hell's Circle for short rolls and Evil Chorus for knockdowns, as long rolls are susceptible to throws and Mizuki's run is fast enough to catch them.
• Mizuki is guaranteed a pursuit after this move. In the corner this is easy, but at midscreen it requires a microrun. This is important because Mizuki is one of three characters who, in the arcade version, can command grab an opponent as they recover from an OTG attack. By looping this move and her pursuit, Mizuki effectively has an infinite which starts from either of these moves. This was fixed in the console versions but can be re-enabled by setting the game mode to Arcade.

Bloody Nail - 236S, can be done unarmed (Samurai Drive)

• Mizuki swipes with her claws while moving forward. Strength determines the startup, how many times she swipes and how far forward she moves. This is mainly used as a combo tool and notably can be done unarmed and combo from certain kicks she has. All strengths will result in a soft knockdown on the final hit.
• 236A swings once. This is the fastest strength and can be made safe if spaced correctly.
• 236B swings twice. The damage has been fixed in that this now deals more damage than 236A, making it a stronger combo ender.
• 236C is too slow to combo, but deals six hits of damage and leaves Mizuki way safer on block than the other versions. She can still be thrown as a punish if spaced incorrectly.
• Only the medium and heavy versions can activate Samurai Drive.

Evil Chorus - 214D, can be done unarmed

• Mizuki conjures up a rainbow-coloured seal. This has very slow startup, but it's unblockable and will track the opponent's position. This move has received a stealth buff in the removal of delayed wakeup, which had previously made it easy to avoid. Against an opponent who doesn't know how to tech roll or wake up with something invincible you can time this on every wakeup and farm wins. Even if the opponent does know how to tech roll, the strict timing which tech rolls demand means opponents may still cop an unblockable seal on pure accident. Regardless, this move is very strong at forcing your opponent to tech roll, in which Mizuki can then take advantage of her fullscreen options to catch the opponent. This move no longer beats throws.
• On hit, a grim reaper will spawn above the opponent. This indicates that their directions have been flipped, an effect which lasts for four seconds before disappearing. If the opponent is hit by this move again then the four seconds will be reset. Against an opponent who can adjust quickly to the flipped inputs the trickery of this move will mainly come from where their directions are at once four seconds has passed.

Wail Of Our Creator - j236S (Samurai Drive)

• Modified version of her 623S from V Special. Maju leaps out from Mizuki's dress at a diagonal angle, then starts running a little after it hits the ground. Both hits will combo into each other but neither will deal any chip damage. When tiger knee'd or performed from a backdash this is effectively a ground fireball, but the first part is useful for locking down a diagonal portion of the screen. Both moves are mid attacks, meaning no instant overhead for you, but Maju will eat fireballs for you making it solid for fireball wars.
• This attack will halt Mizuki's air momentum, then she will leap back or forward depending on which button you press. j236A will make her leap backward a bit, j236B forward a bit and j236C further forward. There is extra landing recovery for Mizuki once she hits the ground, which Maju is meant to cover. By cancelling jD into j236S, this makes a difference as to where Mizuki can land while the opponent is forced to deal with Maju.

Toy Transformation - 321421E (II)

Supers

Imprison Sphere - 236AB

• Mizuki sends a seal out from her, then it returns to her after reaching about half the stage. This is a hitgrab which will eat up other fireballs. Important to note is that this move is no longer safe on block, as the seal does not disappear upon hitting the opponent, but it comes out instantly after the flash making it ideal for combos.

Phantom's Grudge Soul - 2363214BC (II), 236BC (VI), can be done unarmed

• Mizuki sends an image of herself to scratch the opponent three times, dealing seven hits across three swipes. Mizuki is free to move after the first scratch, taking advantage of the image scratching the opponent for a mixup or a free hit. This move results in low damage and a soft knockdown because it's mainly there to extend combos and doesn't have much utility outside of this purpose besides basic setplay. Interestingly, if Mizuki activates her WFT while this move is still active the image will continue to attack the opponent without pausing, meaning if you intend to combo this into WFT then the latter must be done early.
• The image will go off-screen if performed in the corner, so make sure your spacing is right for it.

Combos

Standard Combos

• n5B/66B/5D/3D/66D 214S/236B/236AB - Standard combos. Notably, some of these can be performed entirely unarmed.
• jD j236S - Yes, this will work on airborne opponents. The second hit of j236S isn't guaranteed, however.
• 623D, 3C, 623D, 3C ... - Arcade-only glitch. Mizuki can follow up from her pursuit attack with Destroy Demon. This can be re-enabled in console versions by switching the game mode to Arcade.

Secret Move (II/VI)

• SM, 236AB - Worth noting this particular ender because you must perform the WFT early into this move given the super flash doesn't pause it, and after the seventh hit you are not allowed to juggle.

Continuous Slash (IV)

• A+B BBC 236AB - Only unique combo she has in IV Spirit.

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki