Samurai Shodown VI/Jubei

Introduction

Jubei hasn't changed much from V Special. His overhead has been nerfed but his WFT is safe on block and his guard crush from IV has returned. Other than that he still plays a standard fare poking game with a few extra tricks.

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 101%
• Rage retention: 98
• Rage duration: 15 seconds

Gameplan

Jubei has the ground game well and truly covered. 5A is a quick-enough poke for stuffing things easily, but like all poking characters 5B and 2B are where it's at. What makes Jubei's mediums special is that they are cancellable into, well, specials. If he is close enough he can single hit-confirm into his rush special (623S) for high reward, but otherwise it is safest for him to cancel into his fireball (236S). His light fireball has extremely fast startup and recovers quickly enough, making it a low-committal option for Jubei to poke and control space with. At farther ranges are where his other fireballs start to shine, with his medium fireball exchanging a bit of startup for higher speed and his heavy fireball dealing multiple hits and being able to stuff other fireballs. Jubei's overhead (3B) has been nerfed in that it doesn't knock down and its horizontal range has been compromised because he now hops back a bit, but this backward movement is potentially useful for buying him space.

The air game, on the other hand, is quite unstable. Jubei has good air-to-airs in jB, jC and jD, but these are offset as easy anti-airs by his dismal jump speed. As such, it is best to stay on the ground for anti-air approaches, but Jubei's options for this are quite limited. There's 5C, which is a decent enough punish tool on its own, but that is ineffective against close jump-ins given how far Jubei extends. 66C is a running variant which doesn't have this problem nearly as hard and can be effective as a close anti-air, particularly as a crossunder, but it requires Jubei to be running and it will still maintain his forward momentum for a bit. Of course, 5A may stuff a few approaches with its priority but it only reaches so high. Instead, for close jump-ins, Jubei often has to rely on his catch counters (2146S), particularly the heavy version which targets aerial attacks. These deal an insane amount of damage on hit but leave him extremely vulnerable if they miss. As such, you will tend to see opponents empty jumping to bait the counter, as they are guaranteed more reliable damage against failed counter attempts than they are by simply jumping in. But Jubei can play with this. If his opponent is constantly empty jumping then he can use that to press an advantage easily with meaty pokes or a free mixup. However, the opponent may simply jump-in instead with a kick or something else which can't be caught by these counters, which will only detect weapon attacks. Most characters won't get much out of this besides a tick throw attempt, in which your best answer is to backdash instead of jump. It's not a guarantee by any means, but deleting a fraction of their health for just one jump-in is a pretty big deal.

Jubei's WFT is safe now, but although it can anti-air it's slow and is still not too integral to his gameplan. As such, Jubei can get away with running V Spirit, which still gives him access to it while also allowing him to meditate safely in the space he often buys for himself. During State Of Nothingness he has an easy enough mixup between the overhead 3B and the low-hitting 2D, both of which have decent enough range, and furthermore he doesn't need to waste much time reaching the opponent given his pokes already reach far enough. II Spirit, which also gives him access to the advanced movement system for spacing, is your best choice if you want to run his Secret Move, a counter which can potentially one-shot his opponents if it catches something big.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

• 5A - A quick swipe in front of Jubei. Has very good range and can stuff aerial approaches well enough but will whiff on crouching opponents.
• 5B - A forward stab. A bit slower than you would expect but still does its job as a poke well. Special cancellable.
• 5C - An upward hook where Jubei extends himself very far from where he's standing. Far-reaching punish tool and very far anti-air, but is rather sluggish. Will hit at round start.
• 2A - A downward stab. Hits low and is special cancellable.
• 2B - 5B but lower. It's faster but travels a bit less far in exchange. Special cancellable as well. Use either interchangeably.
• 2C - The startup looks like 2A, and it's indeed just as fast, but it's a heavy hit which then leads to another heavy hit for the knockdown. The second part hits mid and won't knock down on its own so it's just a really slow poke. Otherwise this move is a fast, effective punish tool. Maybe not so much of a mixup tool, as Jubei's overhead has been nerfed and his jump is still slow. Both hits will recoil on block.

Near Slashes

• n5A - A quick elbow attack. Special cancellable.
• n5B - Standard combo starter. Comes out a bit slower than 2B and furthermore it deals less damage. Stick to 2B for combos.
• n5C - A powerful slash in front of Jubei's chest. This will deal less damage than your best n5B combos but will instead push the opponent back to neutral.
• n2A - Same as far version.
• n2B - Same as far version.
• n2C - Same as far version.

Kicks

• 5D - A flying roundhouse. Jubei moves forward a little. This move high profiles and beats throws but in exchange for staying active for a while the recovery is quite poor.
• 6D - A standing low. Deals the same amount of damage as his sweep and also knocks down but starts up a bit slower and he doesn't duck.
• 2D - Has pretty good range for a low kick. Ideal for tick throws.
• 3D - A two-hit sweep. Both hits connect low but only the second hit knocks down. The first hit is special cancellable but it deals the same damage as 2D, which is fitting because, like 2C with 2A, it looks identical.

Dash Normals

• 66A - Running n5A. Not cancellable.
• 66B - Running 2A. Hits low, deals a bit more damage than 66A and isn't cancellable either.
• 66C - Running 5C. Effective anti-air especially on crossunder. This move is deflectable now.
• 66D - Running 2D. Hits low and knocks down, but obviously doesn't have the range that 66B has.

Air Normals

• jA - Jubei stabs forward angled slightly downward. Inferior to jB which is just as active.
• jB - jA, with the same reach and priority, but it deals more damage. A very strong air-to-air but probably not the best reactive anti-air given Jubei's floaty jump.
• jC - Aerial n5C, hitting straight in front of him for very good damage. A more-rewarding air-to-air than jB if you are in range. May be used as a jump-in as well.
• jD - Jubei kicks straight a little above his waist. This has plenty of active frames and very little hitstop, making it ideal for tick throws.

Unarmed Normals

• u5S - Standing shove.
• u2S - Crouching shove.
• u66S - Running crouching shove. Knocks down.
• juS - Aerial shove.

Hyper Slash (I)

• A+B - Essentially his 5C.

Command Moves

3B

• Jubei's universal overhead from V Special, but he leaps backwards. This goes over plenty of low attacks but leads to low damage and no knockdown while the range is hampered by Jubei leaping back. Useful during State Of Nothingess.

Special Moves

Geyser Thrust - 236S (Samurai Drive)

• Jubei's ground-skimming fireball. 236A comes out extremely fast but travels slowly, while 236 comes out a bit slower but travels faster. Both are pretty safe recoil cancel options and give Jubei a threat from fullscreen.
• If the previous versions are like Geese's Reppuken then 236C is his Double Reppuken. After some startup Jubei charges one hit in front of him then sends forth a four-hit fireball which travels at about the same speed as 236B. This first hit will absorb single-hit fireballs approaching him. The startup means you can't really use this in recoil cancels but at fullscreen it's a pretty effective way to get the opponent to approach you..

Tsunami Sabre - 623S (Samurai Drive)

• Rush special. The startup has some strike invulnerability. Strength determines the startup, how far Jubei runs and the total damage output. If Jubei makes contact with the opponent while he's running he will rise vertically upward with a slash, which causes a soft knockdown on hit but is lights out for him when it's blocked. The run itself can be used as a Blanka Ball feint of sorts if spaced correctly, but that is gimmicky as hell just like that trick. Really you are best off saving this move for combos most of the time, where its ability to combo from far medium slashes starts to shine.
• The running portion won't deal any chip damage but the upward slash will.
• The upward slash will no longer activate if Jubei hits the wall. Instead, he will keep on running for however long he was intended to run for before stopping.

Sabre Thrash - 6SSS

• The input above is accurate in this game, don't worry. Jubei rapidly slashes in front of him. Strength determines for how long. It's pretty hard to tell when this move ends and it's a safe enough chipping tool, but you don't get much out of it so it's not really worth going for most of the time. This is particularly effective in State Of Nothingness where the opponent's pushback is slowed down and they will have to take all that chip damage.
• This move can be deflected.

Mind's Eye Sabre - 2146S

• Jubei's series of catch counters. These each detect where a weapon attack has hit Jubei rather than whether it was low, mid or high. These are active starting from the very first frame and last for a short while, but they are extremely punishable after the active period. All three counters deal high amounts of damage and you will find opponents playing carefully around them even if you have yet to land a single one.
• Reflecting Mind's Eye Sabre - 2146A
  • Lower-body catch counter. Deals the most damage. Can catch specials.
• Mind's Eye Sabre Of Mutual Destruction - 2146B
  • Middle-body catch counter. Can not catch specials.
• Raging Heavens' Mind's Eye Sabre - 2146C
  • High-body catch counter. Deals the least damage. Can catch specials. This one is often used in place of a real anti-air, which Jubei is sorely lacking in, but be very careful of opponents using empty jump to bait this.

Dual Moon Formation 1 - 421A (Samurai Drive)

• Similar to a move Bust-Jubei had in Samurai Shodown IV. The first part is a move which does zero damage and only light hitstun, meaning on hit the opponent can simply poke you out of the followup with something like a heavy slash. On block it has the unique property of causing a guard crush, where the opponent is fully immobilised for the next hit. If it didn't guard crush then don't go for the followup.
• Dual Moon Formation 2 - 421B
  • After charging for a bit Jubei delivers a powerful strike. This hits mid but it boasts decent damage, a wall bounce and a hard knockdown if it hits. Jubei does not recover in time to pursuit, however.

Toy Transformation - 6321464E (II)

Supers

Moonbeam Slicer - 236AB

• Buffed version of his old WFT, a giant pillar which covers a massive portion of the screen. As it reaches the whole way up it may also be used as a slow anti-air with barely any repercussions if it misses. This move deals a very good amount of damage and results in a hard knockdown on hit while dealing eight hits of chip damage on block. It's still too slow to combo from most things, but the wave pushes you so far back and Jubei recovers quickly enough in time that he is completely safe at the end of this. You will have to be on point with stuffing Jubei out of the startup.

Secret Of Yagyu - Tiger Slayer - 4632BC (II), 236BC (VI)

• An all-purpose catch counter which will work against any weapon attack, but Jubei sustains the damage he would've taken otherwise. In return, he instantly deals about 250% of the damage he had taken back to the opponent, additionally ending the sequence with a wall bounce and a hard knockdown. Against characters with highly-damaging Hyper Slashes in I Spirit such as Haohmaru this can instantly kill them.
• If the hit Jubei parries is damaging enough to take him out then the move will not activate and Jubei will instead lose the round. As such, it is probably better to use this in II Spirit.

Combos

Standard Combos

• 5A 236A - Light punish from any range 5A will connect. Everything will combo into 236A at any range if nothing else will work, which given the pushback actually works in your favour.
• n5A/2A 623A - Point blank light punishes.
• 5B/n5B/2B/3D 623S - Be mindful of the 623S strength you are using depending on distance. It is best to end far combos with 623B, assuming you are not hitting at the exact tip of them, and to end near combos with 623C. 3D is the most reliable starter after a jump-in as it is way faster than the other ones which just barely link from a well-timed jC.
• 5B/n5B/2B/3D 236C - Counter hit only. This ender will deal more damage than 623A and will push them further away than any version of 623S.

Continuous Slash (IV)

• A+B BBC 236AB - A combo into WFT. When meterless, Jubei can instead end in 236C which isn't a true combo but leaves them blocking, giving you a free turn.

State Of Nothingness (V)

• 3B/2D, ... ABC - Jubei's overhead is still quick and combines well with his 2D seeing as how neither knock the opponent down, leading into Issen. A good reason to use System 5 with Jubei.

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki