* cr.A: A standard crouching jab. Good to use in blockstrings since it's +0 on block. Chainable and cancelable.
* cr.A: A standard crouching jab. Good to use in blockstrings since it's +0 on block. Chainable and cancelable.
* cr.B: Your main low combo option. Comes out fast and is cancelable so it's a great normal. Chainable and cancelable.
* cr.B: Your main low combo option. Comes out fast and is cancelable so it's a great normal. Also has nice low profiled hurtbox. Chainable and cancelable.
* cr.C: A decent poke with a bit shorter range. Good to use in combos on low characters where the full cl.C might whiff. Cancelable on whiff and contact.
* cr.C: A decent poke with a bit shorter range. Good to use in combos on low characters where the full cl.C might whiff. Cancelable on whiff and contact.
* cr.D: long range sweep with average startup. Good as a long range low poke. Fairly safe when spaced out to hit at the tip, but punishable when closer up.
* cr.D: long range sweep with average startup. Good as a long range low poke. Fairly safe when spaced out to hit at the tip, but punishable when closer up. Has nice low profiled hurtbox
Andy is mostly a rushdown character wtih plenty of mixups and movement tools. In neutral Andy has some adequate pokes to control his space with, but in general his goal is to get in with universal movement options as well as his grounded dashing attack and divekick move, which let him approach pretty easily. Up close Andy has access to low confirms, a nice crossup, an overhead, and most importantly a proximity unblockable that launches the opponent for setups or combos. When played in Ultimate mode with the roll and Extra mode meter selected, he also gains access to some very damaging combos. Andy's main weakness is a lack of long range tools to fight with.
Changes from Previous Versions
98 to 98um
Normals:
cl.D has 5 frames less recovery
st.D has 1 less frame startup and 3 frames less recovery
cr.D has 1 less frame startup
f+B has 6 frames less recovery
df+A's first hit can now be special- or super-cancelled
Special moves:
qcb+C was added as a new move
hcf+P has 1 frame more startup
j.qcf+K's K followup now knocks down
qcf+D now has less recovery
98um to 98umfe
Normals:
cl.C's hitbox changed so that it doesn't whiff against short characters
Specials:
db,f+C got increased startup but less recovery
Normal Moves
Close
cl.A: Hits very high up, so it whiffs on low crouchers. Chainable and cancelable.
cl.B: Hits a bit lower than cl.A so it will hit low crouchers. Cancelable but not chainable.
cl.C: One of Andy's fastest attacks at 3f and one of his best combo tools. Hits twice, the second hit will whiff on low crouchers but hit on tiny crouchers. Cancelable.
cl.D: Hits high up, so it can be useful as a close range anti-air.
Standing
st.A: Far-ranged st.A that hits very high up. Good for stopping hops. Whiffs on most crouchers (except large ones).
st.B: Good neutral poke, excellent at stopping hops. Whiffs on regular and smaller crouchers.
st.C: Long-ranged poke with a lot of recovery. Important tool for Andy's game as it is his furthest-reaching poke that will hit crouchers.
st.D: Very slow kick that hits high up. Hits twice, once above Andy and once in front of him. Because it has slow startup and recovery this move is best avoided.
Crouching
cr.A: A standard crouching jab. Good to use in blockstrings since it's +0 on block. Chainable and cancelable.
cr.B: Your main low combo option. Comes out fast and is cancelable so it's a great normal. Also has nice low profiled hurtbox. Chainable and cancelable.
cr.C: A decent poke with a bit shorter range. Good to use in combos on low characters where the full cl.C might whiff. Cancelable on whiff and contact.
cr.D: long range sweep with average startup. Good as a long range low poke. Fairly safe when spaced out to hit at the tip, but punishable when closer up. Has nice low profiled hurtbox
Jumping
j.A: Fast startup and a good downwards hitbox. Can crossup standing characters and tall crouchers.
j.B: A kick that hits high up. Good air-to-air since it has long range and a lot of active frames. Whiffs on regular and smaller crouchers.
nj.B: Similar to j.B but the hitbox extends further down, so it will hit every croucher except the tiny ones.
j.C: Excellent priority straight in front of him. Good for air-to-airs and also works as a jump-in normal.
j.D: Andy's main jump-in normal. Long range and has good priority in front of him and a little bit below him, so it works both as a air-to-air and jump-in.
nj.D: Almost exactly the same as j.D but with slightly less forward priority.
CD Normals
st.CD: Slow startup and recovery. Good to use for whiff cancelling and occasionally as a poke or meaty. Whiffs on tiny crouchers.
j.CD: Has longer startup than all his other jumping attacks and hits high up similar to his j.B, but with less range so it's not a great normal; however, it can be used for the extra blockstun during pressure against regular and tall crouchers. Whiffs on low crouchers.
Throws
Original Iron Press:b/f+C (close)
Regular throw, techable. Andy picks the opponent up and jumps in the air, he then slams them down to the ground and kicks them away. Sends them 80% of the screen and deals a hard knockdown.
Wrap-around Slam:b/f+D (close)
Regular throw, techable. Andy throws the opponent behind him, sending them fullscreen and dealing a soft knockdown.
Command Moves
Chin Raiser:f+B
An overhead move when done raw, but it loses that property when cancelled into.
Hits above him and then in front of him, so it can both anti air and hit grounded opponent.
Leaves the opponent standing on hit.
Can be combo-ed out of with a Quick MAX cancel.
The raw version is safe on block against everything but 1f command grabs when point blank. The cancelled-into version is more punishable though.
Facelift Smash:df+A
A two-hit move that hits in front and diagonally above Andy.
Good to use in combos and blockstrings, as you can special cancel out of it.
The second hit can whiff at further ranges and when pushed out too much in combos. It always whiffs on low crouchers.
The second hit has a good anti-airing hitbox and you can cancel it into fireball for a juggle if it hits.
Special Move
Hishou Ken:qcb+A
An energy blast that hits about a halfscreen distance.
Good as a poke and blockstring ender, also good as a combo ender.
Pretty punishable on whiff.
Geki Hishou Ken:qcb+C
A large energy ball that stays active for a long time.
Good to deal some pretty safe chip damage, since it has long range and the pushback it has makes it fairly safe on block.
It is very easy to punish it with guard cancel roll though, so if the opponent has meter use it carefully.
Very hard to jump over, but can be easily rolled through on whiff.
Dam Breaker Punch:hcf+A/C (close)
Andy's proximity unblockable that launches the opponent for juggle followups.
Key move for both his mixup and combo game, with good reward on landing it.
Has no invincibility and fairly long start up, so it has to be timed well when used as a mixup tool.
Sonic Split:hcf+B/D
A multi-hitting attack where Andy does goes through the air in an arc. A version starts up faster and travels shorter than the C version.
Has fairly slow startup and is punishable on block in most situations.
Has good air-to-air hitboxes while flying in the air.
Not a very reliable move, and is best avoided most of the time unless you're throwing it out to be unpredictable.
Can go over fireballs while in the air.
Syo Ryu Dan:dp+A/C
Andy's dragon punch move.
A version has startup invincibility but none on the active frames.
C version has invincibility on startup and the first active frame, so it can be used as a reversal.
C version starts up 1 frame slower than A version, but it has better anti-airing hitboxes on top of the invincibility, so it is the one to use most of the time.
A version has less recovery than the C version so it's a bit safer on block and whiff.
On trade the A version launches the opponent up into the air, allowing Andy to do a followup attack.
Zen Ei Ken:db,f+A/C
A forward-travelling elbow attack. A version goes about half screen and C version goes almost full screen.
His most damaging and reliable combo ender, as it will combo from pretty much all of his cancelable attacks.
Punishable both when using the ender and when not using it, so this is a move that's not advisable to use outside of combos.
A version can be used as a decent mobility option to travel forwards quickly.
Ga Dan Kou:qcf+A/C (during db,f+A/C hit)
Causes soft knockdown and adds extra damage.
Makes the move slightly more safe on block, but it's still easily punishable.
Shiranui Shadow:qcf+B/D (in air)
Andy does a diving move in the air.
The initial dive hits mid, and he can then choose to do either of his two followups or do nothing.
Useful for changing your aerial trajectory.
Can be used as a tricky move to block by jumping over the opponent so you switch sides and then doing the dive.
This move is key to a few of Andy's more advanced combos.
Can also be done as close to the ground as possible. This is good for sneaking in a long reaching overhead with the K followup.
Downward Jab:A/C (during qcf+K)
Andy does a mid-hitting palm strike after the dive.
Combos from the dive and creates a true blockstring on block if done right away.
Fairly safe when properly spaced.
Uppercut Crush:B/D (during qcf+K)
Andy does a downwards arching kick from the dive.
Hits overhead.
Hot a true blockstring from the dive, so it leaves you open to reversals.
The big problem with this followup is that it's less safe than the other one and since that one hits mid, there's actually no mixup from this. The opponent can always block the whole thing standing regardless of followup.
Desperation Moves
Flying Comet Punch:qcfx2+A/C
Andy does a series of punches
Kinda hard to combo into, since it very easily whiffs after a bit of pushback; most reliable combo starters for it are two lights or cr.C.
A and MAX versions don't have much invincibility, but the C version has more and can be used as a reversal.
MAX version does more damage but doesn't combo any easier.
Super Sonic Swirl:qcb,db,f+B/D
A DM version of his hcf+K move. Andy travels at an arc in the air but he now has flames engulfing him. B version travels shorter than the D version.
Doesn't have invincibility, so it can't be used as a reversal.
Can be combo-ed into if done after attacks with very little pushback, or after his proximity unblockable.
Can be a decent anti air, as it has good hitboxes for it.
MAX version has some invincibility on the active frames and deals more hits and damage, so it's a better reversal and anti air.
Combos
General Notes
In any meter combo, if you have the resources, you can replace qcfx2+A with qcfx2+AC, or qcb,db,f+K with qcb,db,f+BD.
In any Ultimate Mode-specific combo, if you have the resources, you can replace the df+A, j.D/j.CD ender with df+A(1), qcb,db,f+K.
Meterless
Low
cr.B, df+A, qcb+A
cr.B, cr.A/cl.B/cl.A, dp+C
cr.B, df+A, db,f+A, qcf+P
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cl.C, qcb+A
(j.X), cl.C, db,f+A, qcf+P
(j.X), cl.C(1), hcf+A, df+A, j.CD
The j.CD ender must be done off of a superjump.
Corner
(j.X), cl.C(1), hcf+A, j.qcf+K > P, dp+A
With Meter
Low
cr.B, cr.A/cl.A, qcfx2+A
You can do this as cr.B, qcf+A, qcf+A for an easier cancel.
Mid/Jump-In
(j.X), cl.C(1), qcfx2+A
You can do this as (j.X), qcf+C, qcf+A for an easier cancel.
