Samurai Shodown VI/Poppy

Introduction

Poppy makes her triumphant return from Samurai Shodown V as a standalone fighter who was actually quite strong, with fast movement and good mixup tools. Being bound to VII Spirit means she still can't block, but she can delay her wakeup and chain her normals into each other for a good punish up close. Outside of that she has gained a few new tricks, including more high/low mixups, gimmicky crossups and the ability to call her pups to cover her approach.

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 111%
• Rage retention: 64
• Rage duration: 10 seconds

Gameplan

Poppy's objective is to zip in and inflict constant mixups on her opponent, sporting overheads, lows, crossups and a command grab which all knock down, looping nicely into even more okizeme. In addition to having a low profile, fast walkspeeds and a good run, Poppy's kick normals are all vanishes which give her some invincibility as she can stay in place, roll backwards or forwards, pass through the opponent or make her jumps safe against anti-airs. You have to rely on these movements and Mikiri dodges to wade through an opponent's offense, as Poppy herself is unable to block. Additionally, 5C is a great punish tool which moves Poppy forward and causes a wallbounce and a soft knockdown, similar to Sogetsu's own 5C, and can give Poppy the momentum necessary to start her offense. As far as mixups go, Rush Dog (236S) has high (~S) and low (~D) followups, while Machine Gun Dog (214S) is a self-contained mixup of a high (A), low (B) or a fakeout (C). If Poppy calls her puppies (214D) then one will charge forward as Poppy initiates Machine Gun Dog, shielding Poppy from being poked out of the startup. Poppy has a left/right teleport mixup in Replica Dog (6464642AD or 6464642CE), but if this misses Poppy can use Rolling Dog (22C) which bounces her forward for a potential crossup. After a knockdown one may use Replica Dog to intentionally whiff, then Rolling Dog for a meaty left/right mixup. While running Poppy can punish with a 66A combo or 66C, go for an overhead/crossup with 66B, dash through the opponent with 66D or mix it up even further with her command grab (623D). Finally, all of her jumping slashes are capable of crossing up the opponent. Skip neutral properly and don't let them escape once you get in because if she gets hit then Poppy is screwed.

Normal Moves

Slashes

• 5A - A forward bark.
• 5B - Poppy sits up to bark.
• 5C - A forward pounce. Travels a decent distance and causes a wall bounce into a soft knockdown on hit. Goes over some lows.
• 2A - A lower bark.
• 2B - A lower bark but slower and it does more damage.
• 2C - Two lower barks with about the same initial startup as 2B. The second hit causes a soft knockdown and pushes the opponent far away.

Kicks

• 5D - Poppy disappears then reappears in place. Like all of her other vanishes this has some invincibility.
• 6D - Same as 5D.
• 2D - Poppy disappears then rolls backwards.
• 3D - Poppy disappears then rolls forwards.

Dash Normals

• 66A - A running roll. This can chain into your light slashes, making it a decent combo starter.
• 66B - A rainbow leap as Poppy spins. This is an overhead which can also crossup.
• 66C - A running pounce which carries Poppy's momentum nicely. Soft knockdown on hit. Goes over some lows.
• 66D - Poppy disappears as she crosses through the opponent.

Air Normals

• jA - Poppy spins in place for a light hit. This can cross up.
• jB - jA but a medium hit and slightly more damage.
• jC - jA but a heavy hit and even more damage. Use this version most of the time.
• jD - Poppy disappears until she hits the ground. This leaves Poppy fully invincible during the rest of her jump. There is no landing recovery on this move.

Command Moves

Triangle Jump - j9 near wall

• Galford has this move so Poppy has it too. An extra boost to your mobility is always nice.

Triangle Get Off - j3 near wall

• Galford has this move as well so Poppy also has it too.

6B

• A leaping overhead making its return from Samurai Shodown V.

Special Moves

Rush Dog - 236S

• Poppy charges forward for a headbutt. Strength determines the distance travelled.
• Rush Dog (Rolling) - S during 236S
  • An overhead in case Rush Dog gets blocked.
• Rush Dog (Rush) - D during 236S
  • A low in case Rush Dog gets blocked. This will also combo naturally from it.

Machine Gun Dog - 214S

• This move is a hitgrab with three different versions. All versions share the same brief startup of Poppy getting ready to pounce. 214A is an overhead leap while 214B is a low charge. 214C is a fakeout.

Replica Dog - 6464642AD or 6464642CE

• Poppy vanishes then teleports above the opponent spinning around as she falls. AD will hit in front while CE will hit behind for a crossup.
• Rolling Dog - 22C if Replica Dog whiffed
  • If Replica Dog misses completely and Poppy hits the ground then she will bounce forward while spinning. One application of this move is to perform Replica Dog while the opponent is downed after 5C, then activate 22C for a crossup. Whether you use AD or CE will make this more ambiguous.

Strike Dog - 623D

• A command grab which imitates Galford's Strike Heads. Poppy's run is fast and goes under plenty of attacks, so this is a strong mixup option for her.

Child Dog - 214D

• Poppy barks twice as one of her pups falls from the screen to follow her. She can only have up to three pups following her, as if she calls another one she will simply whimper. Upon performing Machine Gun Dog again one of the pups will charge at the opponent while Poppy braces herself, making the mixup much safer. These pups will disappear by the next round if you don't use them.

Supers

Mega Strike Dog - 236AB

• Rush super. Deals pretty good damage considering you are playing as a dog. The startup is a D-button fakeout.

Combos

S.C.S Samurai Combination System (VII)

• 66A 5A 2A 2B 5C - Basic punish from close range. 5C ender gives you a Rolling Dog setup.

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki