Samurai Shodown VI/Sieger

Introduction

The name means "Nonstop Winner". Do you have what it takes?

Sieger is a bruiser with big buttons, a hard-hitting rekka sequence, a beastly suite of aerial attacks, and strong chipping potential from anywhere on the screen. His main weakness is how sluggish the bulk of his attacks are, in which case good spacing is imperative.

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 99% (4th Tankiest)
• Rage retention: 105
• Rage duration: 14 seconds (5th Longest)

Gameplan

Over a decade later, Sieger returns to the series with a vengeance. Equipped with a fireball reflector, armored moves, solid mixup options and the best chipping tool in the game, Sieger rounds off his kit with gigantic damage befitting of a bruiser, rewarding him nicely for using his tools properly to get in. That many of his tools at various ranges hit multiple times means Sieger has no problems busting through armor, further helping him to both get in and stay in.

Although Sieger's grounded buttons are slow, they have solid attributes to them. In addition to having great range, his medium and heavy slashes will also explode on contact, giving them a second hit. This means they can effortlessly break through Hyper Slashes and other armored moves, meaning the opponent has to respect Sieger's button when he's in range. On recoil, Sieger can safely chip with Vulcan Weinen (236A), which can also be used as a disjointed poke on its own. However, the startup is too slow for Sieger to jail into this, so the opponent can leap out. Sieger can use Blitz Jaeger (63214S) to catch jumps, or he can use Tigerkopf (236D), a fast, low-hitting slide which leads to his rekka, to mix things up up. Alternatively, although Fire Sturm (421S) doesn't lead to much, it's safe and extremely fast, making it ideal at closer ranges. At those ranges, Sieger can poke with 5A and 2A, which are non-deflectable punches, his two-hitting 5D and his sweep. Sieger's buttons are strong, but their sluggish recovery leaves much to be desired in footsies. Ideally, Sieger just wants to get in.

When Sieger is far, he can approach with his excellent air normals, fish for a knockdown with spaced 66C or use Fire Sturm for its true purpose: to reflect fireballs. Vulcan Weinen is also an option, but a risky one; the move can be mashed for even more hits and better range, but doing so will increase the recovery considerably. Regarding his air mobility, Sieger can not only use Blitz Jaeger in the air for a makeshift double jump, but also cancel jB into it for pressure and for potential crossups. jC, however, is his best air normal by far for the sheer amount of space it contests. In addition to Fire Sturm, Sieger can also use Blitz Jaeger to heave over them.

Up close, 5D is great for Sieger's pressure, and can be cancelled into any of his specials. This is great for hit confirms, mixups and setting up Vulcan Weinen if the opponent sits still. It will whiff on tiny crouchers, however, in which case Sieger may choose to use n5B instead, which is slightly faster. When running, Sieger has 66B for an overhead, which can be kara cancelled. At 25f, 66B is reactable, but Sieger can easily mix it up with Tigerkopf for a low, Blitz Jaeger for potential crossups or Vulcan Weinen for chip damage.

Sieger has a win condition where, if the opponent has around a tenth of their health left and they're knocked down, then meaty Vulcan Weinen can guarantee him the round. In Samurai Shodown VI, after recovering from a knockdown, there is a single frame where the player is completely inactionable besides being able to block, meaning there is almost no escape from this after getting up. However, there are some caveats. While tech rolling can escape blocking all hits of mashed Vulcan Weinen, short rolling means you get hit by it anyway, while long rolling set you far away from him. Additionally, characters running IV and V Spirit can use Rage Explosion to escape blockstun and make the rest of the move miss, while the former Spirit enables them to punish with Fatal Flash instantly. VI Spirit can spend meter on Hyper Guard to negate chip and blockstun after the first hit, jump out, and get a counterhit jump-in punish.

Spirits

• I Spirit puts Sieger fully on the offensive. He trades in his WFT for one of the highest damage Hyper Slashes in the game, with good range as well. His long Rage duration gives him ample time to capitalize on I Spirit's massive Rage damage bonus. I has no system defensive options to speak of, so he must make good use of his core tools if forced to block.
• II Spirit adds a weapon break effect to WFT, but Sieger can't combo into his without a counterhit or a counter/crouching hit jump-in. He can also leverage the one hit of armor on WFT for high risk recoil cancel mindgames. Likewise his one time use Secret Move only combos from the aforementioned jump-ins. Duck, hop, and rolls are good defensive options, and invincibility on enrage gives Sieger some extra breathing room.
• III Spirit cycles Rage more quickly with manual Rage charge, but still struggles to land Sieger's WFT. Dodge and circle step are good all-purpose defensive options.
• Sieger's Continuous Slash is on the slow side, but like most of his buttons it's huge. It opens up some punishes at spacings he otherwise struggles to maximize damage on, and also gives him a proper confirm into WFT with CS2. CS4 also gives him a solid Rage boost, but better yet is his ability to special cancel the first C hit of CS4. This opens up even higher damage combos into rekka and makes Sieger's full damage output a threat anywhere near his space. IV also gives Sieger dodge and circle step on defense, along with Rage Explosion and Issen.
• V avoids the issue of landing WFT by focusing on meditation. Sieger's State of Nothingness game is however pretty basic, with no comboable overhead or launcher to speak of. He gets the same defensive options as in II Spirit, along with a forward hop, and has the option to Rage Explode at the expense of State of Nothingness and Issen.
• VI lets Sieger hold on to Rage indefinitely until he uses his WFT, or he can just spend the meter on Hyper Guard. Mikiri dodges are also very strong defensive tools, and at low health Sieger gains access to his Secret Move.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

• 5A - Far-reaching backfist for checking movement. Be aware that it can be low profiled.
• 5B - Two-hit punch with decent range. Be mindful of its slow startup.
• 5C - Heavier 5B. Slow startup, but has the longest range of your normals. The second hit is activated if the move connects and it will cause a knockdown. Can function both as a punish and as a spaced antiair. Like his other far standing normals, this can be low profiled.
• 2A - Low punch with similar range to 5A.
• 2B - Anti-air hook. Its slow startup and crouching state make it a very risky choice for an anti-air. If the opponent is close you may get n2B instead which is also an anti-air, and luckily for you a better one.
• 2C - Low two-hit punch. As with 5C, it activates a second hit if it connects. Doesn't cause a knockdown but starts a little faster than 5C.

Near Slashes

• n5A - Quick downward flick. Very active for a light normal and the hitbox moves downwards in the later frames. Hits f8 against most crouching opponents, making it +2 on block and +1 on hit.
• n5B - Two-hit punch. Both hits are special cancellable making it easy to hit confirm with.
• n5C - Uppercut. Your highest-damaging normal. Slow but very potent as a close anti-air or single hit punish against opponents looking to use Rage Explosion against a more damaging combo.
• n2A - Crouching chop similar to n5A but lower.
• n2B - Sieger swings his gauntlet up from his back to the opponent's feet. The first hit of two has a sizeable anti-air hitbox, ideal for contesting jumping pressure on defense as well as jump-out attempts during your own offense. Only the first hit is special cancellable.
• n2C - Slower version of 2C which knocks down.

Kicks

• 5D - Excellent meaty and pressure tool. Two hits for breaking armor, low pushback, special cancellable and leads into a mixup between Vulcan Weinen for chip, Blitz Jaeger as a high and Tigerkopf as a low. However, this misses against tiny crouchers.
• 6D - Long range sobat, a great approaching poke. Cannot be cancelled into j63214S despite appearances, but will go over lows and grounded fireballs. It can be plus on block if you connect late, which happens naturally against most crouching opponents.
• 2D - Quick low attack. Special cancellable.
• 3D - Sluggish sweep with impressive range, reaching well over halfscreen.

Dash Normals

• 66A - Running 5A, fast and reaches high. Decent for applying pressure while running in.
• 66B - Slow overhead which causes a soft knockdown on hit. This can also be kara cancelled early into its animation, notably into 236D which hits low. 236A is also an option if you're sure they will keep blocking, but don't overextend your mashing if the opponent's character can punish you and won't die from the chip.
• 66C - Looks like a single-hit 5C. Impressive range and fast startup make this a reliable tool for punishes.
• 66D - Running 6D sans the upward or forward movement. Has a very early cancel window. It's very fast, so it can make a good run-under anti-air.

Air Normals

• njA - High air-to-air backfist with great reach.
• jA - Aerial n5A chop, similarly active frames and coverage.
• jB - Beefy air-to-air with better startup and priority than jC. Hits in a downward arc starting well above Sieger, stuffing high jump arcs and then hitting slightly below him. Special cancellable.
• jC - Even beefier uppercut that hits above and in front of Sieger. Lengthy startup, but big damage. Small characters can low profile it on a jump-in if they're brave enough.
• jD - Reliable crossup, very active, hits lower than his other air normals. Will link into 5D or 2D if it hits late enough.

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 - The exploding portion of his 2C. Very high damage and good range for a Hyper Slash. This anti airs, whiff punishes, trades, has ridiculous range, is a strong recoil cancel against mashing opponents, and can cleave off huge chunks of health during Rage.

Special Moves

Vulcan Weinen - 236A (Samurai Drive)

• Sieger's revered chipping tool. After a brief moment of startup, Sieger starts firing a large blast from his gauntlet. Without mashing you get three hits and a knockdown, and you recover quickly. Given its slow startup this cannot usually be combo'd into.
• Vulcan Trukken - mash A during Vulcan Weinen
  • The fire reaches midscreen. Has more recovery afterwards. Relatively safe at a distance, but characters with long reaching slashes can punish it.
  • Vulcan Explosion - mash A during Vulcan Trukken
    • The fire reaches fullscreen. By the time you're done you will have reached up to 11% worth of chip damage (!!), but Sieger is held in a lengthy recovery animation afterwards, allowing for a punish from almost anyone with a run. Even if the opponent cannot effectively punish it, Sieger does not want to give free time and spacing to anyone.
• If this move hits an aerial opponent they will simply be air reset, falling straight on their feet and able to block the rest.
• If the opponent recovers with a short roll and you are in range then this move can easily catch them.

Blitz Jaeger - 63214S (air OK)

• Sieger poses then belly flops across the screen. Visually similar to jD, and much like that normal it is very good at crossing up the opponent and for air-to-air purposes. Strength determines the startup and range. After hitting the opponent in any way Sieger will bounce backwards, which means that if they blocked the crossup you'll land in their face. Use sparingly.
• The air versions of this move are interesting options for air mobility. The light version starts near-instantly as Sieger immediately starts to belly flop, making no changes to your trajectory - effectively it is your jD with higher risk/reward, and you can convert this from jB. The medium and heavy versions, however, are like their grounded counterparts, starting with a pose which halts your momentum. This effectively gives Sieger a double jump, but not a flexible one. A neat option for air movement if it doesn't get you killed.

Tigerkopf - 236D, can be done unarmed

• The precursor to the Enja rekka. Does not give advantage on hit as Sieger recovers roughly around the same time as his opponent even when spaced well, but as this rekka is actually feasible to land consistently, you're better off trying for the whole thing. Unsafe on block, but it's quick, so it can be used as a ballsy recoil cancel option. Hits low.
• Falkennagel - 236B during Tigerkopf, can be done unarmed (Samurai Drive)
  • Second hit, an uppercut. Will only come out if Tigerkopf touched the opponent. Even less safe on block.
  • Elephantglied - 63214C during Falkennagel, can be done unarmed
    • Third hit, a backbreaker. The window is much more lenient than the Enja rekka but you still have to time it, otherwise Sieger falls into a vulnerable slump. Results in a hard knockdown on hit.
    • You can input 41236C as an alternative.
    • This move has significantly less recovery when landed unarmed.

Fire Sturm - 421S (Samurai Drive)

• A quick flick with decent range, but pitiful damage. Fast enough to combo off close lights; pushes the opponent far away on hit but also leaves Sieger plus after. Its main function is to reflect fireballs, but you must be mindful with how far it stretches out from him. May also be used to frame trap on recoil cancels, especially when spaced well for safety on block.

Toy Transformation - 6321464E (II)

Supers

Dragoner Faust - 236AB

• Sieger charges forward for an armored hitgrab. On hit, he will clothesline the opponent. Given its slow startup, the only way to reliably combo into this on the ground is if you pick IV Spirit and juggle from Continuous Slash II. Otherwise useful as a punish but is outclassed in speed, damage, and utility by Hyper Slash.

Operation Tiger - 632146BC (II), 236BC (VI)

• Sieger's old WFT from II. An invincible reversal where Sieger quickly leaps to the skies, then drops down at your opponent's position. No conventional way to combo into this.

Combos

Standard Combos

• n5A/n2A 421S - Light combos. Doesn't add much damage, but Sieger is plus after 421S hit. Leaves you at a nice spacing in the corner.
• n5B/n2D/5D/2D/66D 236D~236B~63214C - What combos into rekka. 5D and 2D can be linked from jD without a deephit state.
• jB 63214A - Air-to-air conversion for big damage.
• jC, 236A/236AB - A deephit jC is the only normal way to combo into these moves given their lengthy startups. 236AB can also be linked from deephit jB.

Continuous Slash (IV)

• A+B AABBC 236D~236B~63214C - Dial-a-combo into rekka.
• A+B BBC 236A/63214A/236AB - BBC juggles. Use 63214A for knockdown without rage. Easy damage with 236AB but be sure to cancel early or it will miss.

Frame Data - Provided by Tekitogate

Attack	Startup	On Hit	On Standing Block	On Crouching Block	Notes
n5A	5	-2	-6	-1	Active for 5 frames
n2A	5	-2	-6	-1
5A	10	+2	-2	+3
2A	10	+2	-2	+3
66A	11	+7	-5	0
jA	8	N/A	N/A	N/A
n5B	8	-13	-8	-3
n2B	12	-1	-8	-3
5B	14	-4	-8	-3
2B	17	-11	-8	-3
66B	25	KD	-13	N/A
jB	10	N/A	N/A	N/A
n5C	19	-3~-2	-20	-15
n2C	20	KD	-24	-19
5C	21	KD	-28	-23
2C	18	-4	-24	-19
66C	9	KD	-16	-11
jC	14	N/A	N/A	N/A
5D	9	-4	-16	-11
6D	11	-3	-15	-10	Active for 12 frames
2D	8	-1	N/A	-8
3D	18	KD	N/A	-17
66D	5	+4	-8	-3
jD	6	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hyper Slash	31	KD	-54	-44
Continuous Slash	11	N/A	-20	-15

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki