The King of Fighters XIII/Elisabeth Branctorche/Strategy

Spacing

Far Range

At the beginning of a round if you want to see what kind of player your opponent is you can sit back and build meter with Etincelle's; alternating between the A and C version based on your opponent's movements to catch poorly spaced approaches. Against fireball characters this is the preferred strategy while you slowly approach them; however, against the rest of the cast, Elisabeth needs to be up close to run her offense. If you're looking for ways to quickly approach your opponent you can Kara-cancel her s.CD into her command dashes (Reverie-Souhaiter/Prier) but you need to observe your opponent before you do this as you don't want to command dash into a jump in. Command dashes cancelled into Etincelles are also good ways to screw up your opponents spacing and score hits to swing offensive momentum in your favor or create huge damage from anti-airs or counter hits. Alternatively, you can go for more risky maneuvers by cancelling the command dash into her counter (Reverie-Prier) and potentially score a damaging combo from that.

Mid Range

From mid range, you're going to be playing more of a neutral game and it's about jockeying for position to start your offense. Neutral jumping with j.D is good at controlling the aerial space when the opponent is trying an air-to-ground approach. It's also not bad in air-to-air situations but less applicable for this. You can start using s.A during your ground approaches to check hops to start the offensive pressure. Etincelles still have their use for catching jumps but this is also the range where throwing them out becomes dangers, as they can become anticipated and punished.

This is the range where hops, hyper hops, and jumps become more applicable so when you're spacing yourself out, use stand A and far stand D to keep those jumps in check. Depending on the opponent's jump arcs (usually a super jump from far screen or a non-meaty jump in) you can use Reverie-Prier cancelled into an Etincelle to anti-air them and then transition into a juggle combo. This can cause your opponent to really second guess there jump ins and allow you to mix up your neutral game.

Far stand D can see some use at this range, as it controls a lot of horizontal space and goes over low attacks. It anti-airs opponent's jumps during their pre-jump frames or if they poorly spaced a jump, hop, or hyper hop. This being said, you have to be really careful with its use, as it's slow on start up and recovery and negative on block. If anticipated you can be punished at higher jump arcs.

In terms of your approaches against your opponent, j.CD, j.B and j.D are your best air-to-ground approaches. In the aerial footsie game you are looking to preempt your opponent with early j.A's or j.D's but remember that you have to commit to these moves and if you read your opponent wrong you'll be eating a crouching normal anti-air punish.

Kara-cancelling her s.CD into Reverie-Souhaiter/Prier and/or Etincelles are good ways to get Elisabeth in close range. Cancelling the s.CD or Reverie-Souhaiter's into Etincelle's allows you to approach methodically while controlling space. If your opponent starts to play defensively you may be able to sneak in a Reverie-Souhaiter xx Mistral when they least expect it.

Random A Coupe De Vent's can get a lot of mileage at this range, as it starts her juggles and mix-up games.

Close Range

This is Elisabeth's ideal range, as this is the range where she can deal the brunt of her damage. When loaded with meter and drive any solid hit immediately becomes a 430-500+ damage corner carry combo into a plethora of option selected mix ups, or a 4 frame safe jump. This is also the range where she can start applying her command grab game in addition to her regular offensive tools so you're opponent is going to get antsy once you apply a few mix ups on them. You want to vary your offensive pressure with high/lows, frame traps, throws/command grabs, and baits to keep your opponent antsy at escaping your pressure. Being able to read your opponents escape patterns will reward you with huge damage if you can entice them into counter hit setups with A Etincelle or jump CD.

Cross Up Setups

Elisabeth has a multitude of cross up set ups thanks to her small jump arcs, juggle capabilities, and easy ability to get back turn combos.

1) cr.Bx3, hyper hop j.B/j.D (crouching)

2) cr.Bx2, j.B/C/D (crouching/standing)

3) hop j.CD, hop j.B (crouching)

4) dp+A, dp+A, hyper hop j.A, hop deep j.B (crouching/standing)

5) dp+C, dash s/cr.A, super jump j.B

6) dp+C, dash s.B, super jump j.C/j.D

7) dp+C, dash s.A, dash hyper hop j.C (standing)

8) EX/Reverie-Prier, back turn combo into dp+A, jump back j.A/C, jump forward j.B/C/D (crouching/standing)

9) EX/Reverie-Prier, back turn combo into dp+A, hyper hop j.A, delayed neutral hop j.B (corner, crouching/standing, character specific)

10) Mistral, small step back, j.B (crouching/standing)

11) Mistral, qcf+A, j.B (crouching/standing)

12) Mistral, qcb+p, hyper hop j.CD (crouching/standing)

13) Mistral, qcf+K, delayed hop j.CD (crouching/standing)

Safe Jump Setups

Elisabeth can create safe jump setups off of her Mistral command throw, Grand Rafale DM, EX Noble Blanche DM, and resets from A Coup De Vent.

1) A/C Mistral:

a) hop, hop j.B/D

3 frame safe jump. Only 1-2 frame counters, 2 frame Neo Maxes, and Kyo's 2 frame EX Orochinagi are beating this safe jump.

b) qcf+K, hop j.B/D

4 frame safe jump. You need to be aware of character specific reversal options.

2) Corner combo into dp+A, hyper hop j.A, delayed neutral hop j.B

3 frame safe jump off of a corner reset. There's enough time to block 3 frame reversals, hit confirm, and react to rolls.

3) Juggle into Grand Rafale, slightly delayed neutral j.B (corner only), or super jump j.B

3 frame safe jump but the j.B needs to be timed meaty. There is a slight delay on the neutral j.B and the timing is tricky. Again, only 1-2 frame counters, 2 frame Neo Maxes, and Kyo's 2 frame EX Orochinagi are beating this safe jump.

4) Corner combo, dp+A, EX Noble Blanche, qcf+K, slightly delayed j.D

3 frame safe jump but the j.D needs to be timed meaty. Again, only 1-2 frame counters, 2 frame Neo Maxes, and Kyo's 2 frame EX Orochinagi are beating this safe jump.

Tips

Frame Traps

1) s.A, close s.C - 3 frame gap between s.A and close s.C. Be aware that s.A whiffs on crouching characters, except on Raiden when he's in guard position.

2) cr.A, close s.C - 4 frame gap between cr.A and close s.C.

3) s.B, s.A - 3 frame gap between s.B and s.A. Again, be aware that s.A whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Raiden when he's in guard position.

4) s.B, cr.A - 4 frame gap between s.B and cr.A.

5) s.B, close s.C - 4 frame gap between s.B and close s.C.

6) cr.B, s.B - 2 frame gap between s.B and cr.B. Need to be really close to the opponent.

7) cr.B, close s.C - 3 frame gap between cr.B and close s.C.

Command Grab Mind Games

As mentioned earlier, Elisabeth's command grab (Mistral) isn't central to her game like a grappler character such as Daimon, but it compliments her offensive game. She can play similar mind games that a grappler has but her overall tool sets adds a different layer to the command grab mind game.

Since the command grab is not central to her game, an opponent is typically not looking out for it. Since the opponent is not looking out for the command grab they also won't be carrying out the typical counter measures, such as alternate guarding. While this allows you to land unorthodox command grab set ups more easily, it doesn't allow that aspect of the mind game where you can try to go low in between their alternate guarding.

Her command grab doesn't have a 1 frame start up nor does it have the range that a grappler character has, thus her ability to tick into it or threaten with it is not the same. That being said, she can still play similar mind games, such as buffering the command grab during her run or run up close stand C or D to anti-air opponents when they try to jump out. With additional meter she can convert those anti-air hits into Grand Rafale for a hard knockdown into a mix-up or safe jump setup.

Once you've established the threat of the command grab, that's when you can utilize Elisabeth's other tools in the mind game. For example, instead of running/command dash into the command grab, you could run into Etincelle or Coup De Vent. If the opponent tried to jump out they'll get anti-aired by either of those moves and you can transition into her high damage juggle combos that lead into her mix up game.

This gets particularly nasty once you have the opponent cornered. You can transition into counter hit setups with jump CD or Etincelles and get massive damage off of the subsequent juggle combo. Think of this as being something similar to the mind games that Takuma has between the command grab or fishing for the counter hit jump CD into his Zanretsuken drive cancel combos.

By putting all of this together with her general mix ups the goal is to cause sudden shifts in her offensive play style to disorient your opponent into landing a huge combo.

Mix-Ups

Midscreen

1) cr.B, cr.B, cr.A (whiff), whiff cancel into EX/Reverie-Souhaiter:

• EX/Mistral:

- Take a step forward and roll, you'll be behind your opponent

- Wait briefly and roll, you'll be in front of your opponent

- Take a step back and do a normal jump B for a cross up

- If it's EX Mistral you can transition into a combo ending in an aerial reset state or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

• A Etincelle:

- If it hits grounded and is a not a counter hit, nothing can be done after wards

- If it hits the opponent out of a jump or is a counter hit, you can transition into a A Coup De Vent juggle combo, and end in an aerial reset state or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

- If it's blocked, you're at neutral positioning

• C Etincelle:

- If at least the 2nd hit of C Etincelle hits, you can transition into a A Coup De Vent juggle combo, and end in an aerial reset state or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

- If it's blocked, you're safe but are at slight frame disadvantage

• EX Etincelle:

- If at least the 3rd hit of EX Etincelle hits, you can transition into a A Coup De Vent juggle combo, and end in an aerial reset state or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

- If it's blocked, you're at +12 and can transition into more pressure

• A/C/EX Coup De Vent:

- If it hits, juggle combo into an aerial reset or Grand Rafale

- If C or EX Coup De Vent is blocked, you're punishable

• A/C/EX Reverie-Geler:

- If it's the A or C version, you may be able to get a close stand C combo starter depending on what you countered

- If it’s the EX version, C Coup De Vent into a juggle combo ending in an aerial reset state or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

Notes:

• This set up works by utilizing the whiff cancel properties of Elisabeth's cr.A to make it look like cr.B is being special cancelled. If you do the sequence fast enough cr.A won't even be visible, and Elisabeth will just immediately do Reverie-Souhaiter. This allows you to cancel into Mistral quicker than if you did cr.B, cr.A xx Reverie-Souhaiter xx Mistral. Using A Etincelle in this set up is also good for catching people trying jump out of Mistral or are pushing buttons.

• You can also use EX Reverie-Souhaiter and take advantage of its invincibility frames when doing the above set up. Keep in mind that any special move used during EX Reverie-Souhaiter will automatically be an EX move at 0 meter cost. You can use this for more damaging options should they hit or push the offense by utilizing the frame advantage of EX Etincelle.

2) Combo starter -> dp+A, dp+A, normal j.C, normal j.B

- The normal j.B will cross up

3) Combo starter -> dp+A, dp+A, hyper hop j.A, land:

- Back dash, neutral hop j.B/C/D

- Back dash, throw or Mistral

- Hop j.B for an ambiguous cross up/non-cross up

- Walk forward, meaty cr.B or close s.C

- Empty Hop, delayed Mistral or EX Mistral

- Do nothing and bait a reversal or a roll

Notes

• This set up creates Elisabeth's most ambiguous cross ups & cross unders because when you land from the hyper hop A you will be behind your opponent for a brief moment.

• Doing a run upon landing will cause Elisabeth to do a back dash and she'll end up behind the opponent just as they land.

• Doing a hop upon landing creates the ambiguous cross up. Depending on how you delay the hop, Elisabeth can look like she's landing on the opponent in the same direction they are facing.

• Walking forward creates the ambiguous cross under or non-cross under mix-up. If you land the meaty cr.B, you can link into close s.C.

4) Combo starter -> dp+A, dp+A, sj.C, land:

- Reverie-Souhaiter/Prier xx Coup De Vent

- EX Reverie-Souhaiter/Prier xx EX Etincelle

Note

• When Elisabeth lands, she'll be briefly behind your opponent and depending on how quickly you input QCF+K you'll get Reverie-Prier. In either case with EX/QCF+K, Elisabeth will cross under the opponent. You're then cancelling Reverie-Souhaiter/Prier into Coup De Vent/EX Etincelle as quickly as possible to capitalize on the cross under.

• Unfortunately, this mix-up doesn't set up the perfect timing for Mistral because the opponent will land just as Elisabeth crosses under so they still have throw invulnerability.

5) Combo starter -> dp+C, run close s.C xx C Coup De Vent (whiff) or EX Etincelle, run up close s.C xx C Coup De Vent (whiff)

- cr.B or close s.C

- neutral hop j.B

- EX/Mistral

- EX/Reverie-Prier

Note

• When Elisabeth whiffs C Coup De Vent it appears that she ends up behind the opponent causing confusion on how to block upon landing. However, when the opponent lands she'll remain in front of them. This is a gimmick that will probably work only once, as the opponent should recognize the setup and be able to block/counter accordingly.

6) Combo starter -> dp+C, run s.B, sj.C

• This is a cross up setup but it'll bait out anti-air normals and some DP's, such as Claw Iori's.

7) Counter Hit j.CD, hyper hop j.D, land:

- Run and cross under your opponent, meaty close s.C or cr.B.

- Run and stop in front of your opponent, meaty close s.C or cr.B.

Note

• Time the hyper hop j.D as late as possible to make the cross under possible.

Corner

The brunt of Elisabeth's damage comes from the corner, as she is capable of running a multitude of high/low/throw games in rapid succession. She also gains additional mind games with the opponent's limited movement options and the threat of Mistral.

1) Guard String -> EX/Reverie-Souhaiter xx EX/Etincelle

• If A Etincelle hits:

- Stand A/C to place the opponent in an aerial reset:

i. Hop j.C whiff, land, Mistral or EX Mistral (buffer Mistral during the whiffed hop jump C)

ii. Hop j.B, confirm into a combo or a block string

• If A Etincelle Counter Hits:

- C Etincelle into a juggle combo ending in j.C/D or hop j.A aerial reset or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

• If C/EX Etincelle hit or A Etincelle Anti-Airs:

- Delayed A Coup De Vent into a juggle combo ending in j.C/D or hop j.A aerial reset or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

2) Combo Starter xx dp+C, dp+A, dp+A, jump back A, land, EX Reverie Souhaiter xx EX Mistral/Coup De Vent

Notes:

• This mix up works by placing the opponent in a 50/50 situation between command grab if they stay still or DP if they try to jump out

3) Combo Starter xx dp+C, dp+A, whiff dp+A

• Stand CD (whiff), whiff cancel:

- Mistral or EX Mistral if the opponent does a tech roll they will get grabbed

- Reverie-Souhaiter xx C Etincelle (Meaty)

• If C Etincelle hits:

- Delayed A Coup De Vent into a juggle combo ending in j.C/D or hop j.A aerial reset or a hard knockdown with Grand Rafale

Notes:

• The above mix up will only work if your opponent does a tech roll after the first dp+A. Normally, recovering from a knockdown gives you a few frames of throw invulnerability; however, a tech roll reduces the throw invulnerability frames greatly allowing for a command grab setup. An opponent can escape this command grab setup by either jumping on wake up or doing a reversal with some frames of invincibility. Using Etincelle's can catch them out of their jumps allowing you to capitalize with a juggle combo but using Etincelle's on an opponents wake up can leave you susceptible to reversals.

• Stand CD can only be whiff cancelled during the first few start up frames and not at the end. This setup is only applicable when the opponent is either knockdown or is doing a tech roll, making it difficult for an opponent to detect the command grab.

• You can't use the s.CD whiff cancel as a means to Kara-Mistral as the game will detect the opponent's hurt boxes before you can whiff cancel s.CD in time.

• You can only cancel s.CD during the attack and not at the end, so you can't do Hwa Jai-esque s.CD command grab set ups even on a hard knockdown.

Best Team Position

With the console changes, Elisabeth is a meter intensive character so she's most optimal in 2nd position where she should have some meter to work with. She can work in starting position but it's not really optimal, as she has no meter for damage or defense. If you do place her at front it'll be because of your team composition or to counter certain match ups. While she has ToD combos with 4-5 meters you should avoid placing Elisabeth in anchor position. She requires a lot of meter to be effective, which doesn't make her suited for reverse OCV situations. In an anchor vs anchor scenario, you'll have to consider that the most common anchor characters in the meta, at the moment, are bad match ups for Elisabeth.

1st Position

As a starting character, she can build good meter with Etincelle's and juggle combos. In the early-to-mid game of round one, Elisabeth won't be able to deal optimal damage so you'll have to rely on her mix up game until you have meter to work with. This also means that you won't have her reversal options available to you so you'll be in trouble if you get put on the defensive early on. On the flip side, your opponent also doesn't have meter for reversal options, allowing Elisabeth to play a more aggressive game at the beginning. Since Elisabeth is meter dependent to deal high damage, create openings, or have reversal options, you'll need to meter manage her early on depending on the rest of the team line-up.

2nd Position

As a second position character, Elisabeth gains full access to all of her offensive and defensive tools. If your anchor character is not meter intensive, you can be more liberal with your meter usage. That being said, you should not be afraid to use meter to create offensive momentum, as Elisabeth doesn't get many opportunities to pressure the opponent. You really want to capitalize off of all the counter hits you gain because she can convert those into 45-50% damage with reset options.

3rd Position

It's not ideal to have Elisabeth in the anchor positions; however, her options doesn't change much from being a 2nd position character besides not having to meter manage for other characters. The only meter management concern she has, is to either spend meter to create openings, escape pressure, or to save it for the one chance ToD HD combo.

Character Matchups

Andy Bogard

1) Blocked Zaneiken can be punished with Grand Rafale but the timing is tight.

Ash Crimson

1) Elisabeth needs to be focused on getting in on Ash. It is important to stay at the mid range against this character so that Elisabeth can punish reckless projectile use.

2) Build meter gradually at longer ranges with qcf+A. Elisabeth's qcf+A and qcf+C will also stop projectiles and prevent reckless rush down to a degree if Ash is on the offensive.

3)When Ash has two bars, be careful. Because, he can get a lot of damage from Sans-Culotte which is also used as anti-air and for setting up juggle states on hit. Don't get too jumpy and don't let Ash get any confirms if he two bars available. Don't ever forget about Elisabeth's counters.

4)Elisabeth can easily bait out flash kick attempts and punish/whiff punish accordingly. Also, if the Ash player is getting too defensive, Elisabeth can catch Ash off guard with her command throw.

5) Elisabeth's EX qcf (or qcb)+K will go through projectiles. The following special used after the fact will also count as a EX move but Elisabeth is still only spending one bar of super meter. This is part of the reason why Elisabeth should simply retain the mid range distance against Ash. Elisabeth meter is generally dangerous in a lot of situations.

Athena Asamiya

1) Retain distance at the mid range until Elisabeth is able to close in on Athena. Be prepared to punish projectiles while at this range.

2) Athena has a rather floaty jump. Use this to your advantage and maintain Elisabeth's mix ups and offense.

3) Punish Athena' f+B with qcfhcb+P or EX qcfx2+P.

4) When Athena is going for something obvious from up close, Elisabeth's counters will discourage reckless use of normals, forcing the player to have some discretion while trying to rush down. Due to Athena's floaty jump, it is a little easier to see what is coming next but be careful. Athena also has a command grab that which also has invincibility start up.

5) Carefully use Elisabeth's counters when making a read or EX qcf (or qcb)+K to blow up Athena's options from short distance and cover space.

Benimaru Nikaido

Benimaru's normals and specials have really good hit boxes on them, which allows him to control the space in front of him. On top of this, he has a really good DP, and 2 supers that are exceptional at anti-airing people. This makes approaching him head on difficult and you'll find that a lot of his attacks will out prioritize Elisabeth's unless you space and time your attacks properly. To fight Benimaru you really have to understand his best tool sets and the ways around them.

1) Stand B - This is an exceptional normal for his footsie game that acts as a good poke and a means to check hops. It has a fast start up and recovers quickly making it difficult to whiff punish Benimaru. During the neutral game, you'll have to position yourself just outside of stand B's range and use crouch D to trip him out of it. You can also use far stand D as a means to whiff punish his stand B; however, the timing is tricky but if far stand D connects you can transition into a HD combo if you have the meter. You can also fish for the counter hit with Etincelles at the same range. The other approach is to time a Coupe De Veine or hyper hop during the tail end of the active frames to either whiff punish him or force offensive momentum in your favor. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done as the recovery of stand B is fast and if you mistime your attack you'll get hit by stand B instead. You can also use Reverie-Prier to cause it to whiff than cancel into Coupe De Veine to whiff punish him. During the up close game, if you find the opponent is using stand B to check your hops then you can start using jumps and super jumps to throw their anti-air timing and spacing off.

2) Far Stand D - This carries a larger horizontal hit box than his stand B and has way more active frames but the start up and recovery is significantly slower than stand B. On block, he's completely safe from Elisabeth but he's at slight frame disadvantage, which basically resets things back to neutral. However, if spaced at max range he still out ranges you so you can't directly approach him after wards.

It goes over low attacks so this will beat out your crouch D's if they anticipate on you trying to trip their stand B's. It'll also beat out your Coup De Veine's with it's long active frames; however, readjusting the timing of your Coup De Veine can whiff punish his Far Stand D. Again, in the up close range, if they are throwing this move out as a means to preempt a hop, you can jump or super jump instead to cause it to whiff and either punish or force momentum back if your favor.

If you make the read on far stand D you can use Reverie-Geler to counter it, then do a full back turn combo while he's in the middle of the whiff animation.

3) Raijinken and Air Raijniken - Both of these control the space in front of him so if you mistime a jump in or a Coupe De Veine you'll end up getting hit by this. The recovery of the grounded Raijinken is pretty bad and he can actually be tripped (crouch D) out of it. You can also time a Coup De Veine to whiff punish him but the timing is pretty tight unless you're using the EX version to blow through it utilizing it's invincibility frames. The air Raijinken also has bad recovery as he has to wait until he touches the ground before he can block. If the opponent is throwing these out to control jump ins you can dash in and Coup De Veine them before they land. If an opponent starts doing block strings into Raijinken, you can actually EX Coup De Veine in between the last normal and Raijinken to punishim into a full combo.

4) Iado Kick - It has a fast start up and a good horizontal hit box on it. It has a follow up attack (d, u+K) that can be delayed to act as a frame trap. A lot of the top players will use Iado Kick as a means to check hops or catch people pushing buttons after certain attack strings so be aware of this. On block, you can punish with Grand Rafale and swing momentum into your favor.

5) Benimaru Lancer - The normal version is a vertical lightning strike on Benimaru while the EX version will home in on you briefly. The normal version is used to check jump ins but is something that's done proactively rather in reaction to your jump. The EX version takes some time before the lightning strike comes out but it's quick enough to catch people off guard. If you don't react quickly enough its better to just block it. Otherwise, the most optimal way to punish this is to run towards Benimaru and then roll forwards at the last minute. The lightning will whiff and you'll be able to land a punish on Benimaru depending on the spacing. You could also use EX Coup De Veine to avoid the lightning strike and hit Benimaru.

6) Jump D - One of the best jumping normals in the game, it carries a ridiculous horizontal hit box on it that will out prioritize a lot of Elisabeth's jumping normals. It's also his best jumping normal to cross up with and it crosses up incredibly easily, so be aware of this. You can try to avoid the cross up with a roll, anti-airing it with close s.C/D (mixed results depending on timing and spacing), or jumping out with a preemptive j.C/D/CD (mixed results depending on timing and spacing). In air-to-air battles, you can do an early jump C at closer ranges to beat his jump D before it comes out. Otherwise, you'll need to position yourself higher than Benimaru in order to beat out his jump D with Elisabeth's jumping normals. This is difficult to do as Benimaru's jump arc is higher than Elisabeths.

During the neutral game, you'll want to remain within a character space away from Benimaru, and utilize neutral hop/jump D to control his air approaches. If the Benimaru player starts using jump D at higher altitudes to beat your air-to-air approaches, you can use Etincelle or crouch B to anti-air him. Also, EX Reverie-Geler comes into play if the Benimaru player is being overly aggressive with jump D's, as this counter his jump D and net you a back turn combo into a safe jump reset.

Billy Kane

Billy has some of the best normals in the game that can create a wall of hit boxes, making it difficult for Elisabeth to approach and pressure him. That being said, some of Billy's long range pokes and pressuring tools have lengthy recovery time though he's completely safe on block with a lot of these moves; however, if he whiffs these moves he's susceptible to punishment. This requires you to make good reads on the Billy player's attack patterns to create offense but doing this is easier said than done.

Billy's best pokes from mid-range is his hcf+P, cr.A, b+A, f+A, j.C, and j.CD. There's not a lot you can do to maneuver around these pokes and jumping on Billy is very difficult with Elisabeth, as her normals don't have the range and angles to compete with Billy's. Billy's cr.B has good recovery on it so he can go transition to his cr.C quickly to anti-air hop attempts on reaction. He can also cancel his cr.C into f+A, creating a very effective wall of hit boxes to prevent you from pressuring him. Billy's hcf+P is a pretty quick and long range poke that can catch you out of your typical approaches. The A version is meant for poking, while the C+EX versions are usually meant for combos. The A version is safe on block but has limited range so it's a bit easier to space yourself outside of its range. If the opponent opts to poke with the C or EX versions you should wait briefly to see if they will follow up with qcf+P. If they do the qcf+P follow up, guard cancel roll forwards and you'll be able to punish Billy with a full combo.

During the neutral game you're looking to space yourself just outside of Billy's hcf+A/C, j.C, and j.CD range and throw out A/C Etincelles. A Etincelles will beat these poke at max range causing a soft knockdown and allows you to close the distance instantly. This is a preemptive approach against Billy but if the Billy player catches on he can adjust the timing of his pokes and catch you in between Etincelles. This is when Reverie-Geler becomes, surprisingly, a really good tool in this match up. If it counters his hcf+P or f+A, Billy is committed to the move, which nets you a back turned combo into a cross up/safe jump setup.

You'll want to avoid getting stuck in the corner against Billy because his f+A, cr.B, cr.C, j.C, and j.CD are really good tools at just keeping you in the corner. Billy's f+A will keep you locked down and if they read a jump to escape the corner his j.C or j.CD will beat most anything you throw out. It's extremely bad if you get Counter Hit by his j.CD in the corner, as it allows him to transition into a full combo. At this point, you're really just looking to guard cancel roll or guard cancel blow back out. Alternatively, you can use Reverie-Geler to try and turn things around but there's a significant amount of risk/reward with this move.

Elisabeth's safe jump set ups work really against Billy's DP but punishing his DP's is much different than other characters. Billy briefly tracks you before he leaves the screen. To get the most optimal punish you have to wait until Billy leaves the screen then walk forward slightly. If you space this correctly, Billy will come back down landing behind you and you'll get a full back turn combo punish.

Chin Gentsai

Clark Still Clark's overall game plan is to utilize his long range normals to create offensive momentum in order to score a knockdown of any type that leads directly into his oki game. This is a very momentum based match up because both characters have weak reversal options against each other after being knocked down. Clark can put you in perpetual mix ups if he lands a command grab but his over all damage output from a successful mix up is low. It's just that the damage adds up very quickly if he lands consecutive mix ups, which often happens. The plus side for Elisabeth is that if she lands one mix up and has 1 bar, 1 drive she can even out the damage immediately. The neutral game is really key in this match up because it dictates who gains offensive momentum. Unfortunately, the neutral game is in Clark's favor, as his normals have longer range than yours.

During the neutral game, Clark will primarily use far s.C, far s.D, s.CD, j.D, and j.CD in his approaches. Far s.C is good at preempting hops but it has a bit of a recovery to it so if he whiffs far s.C outside of your range you can actually whiff punish with A Coup De Vent and start Elisabeth's mix up game. If Clark is taking to the air, you'll need to space yourself outside of his range and either neutral j.D/j.CD to control your space or use A/C Etincelle's to try an anti-air him but this is a risky option as the opponent can time their attacks between Etincelles or during the recovery.

You want to stay in the air in this match up, as Elisabeth has limited ground tools that can compete with Clark's ground tools. In order to win the air-to-air game you'll need to either preempt Clark's jumps or stay above Clark and come down with j.D or j.CD. If the Clark player starts adapting to your jump angles they can use a preemptive j.A, j.B or OS j.C/air throw to beat out your jumps. If you notice this trend, you can start using j.A/j.B to try and win the air-to-air confrontations or stay grounded and have them commit to the jump, allowing you to anti-air them with cr.B.

As you get closer to Clark, his far s.D, and s.CD will see more play than his far s.C. His s.CD has fast start up and goes over low attacks since it lifts him in the air momentarily. He can then cancel into his Step command normal, which is a sort of like a command dash and from there he can apply pressure. Again, s.CD has recovery off of it so if he whiffs it you can punish with Coup De Vent if you react quickly enough. Otherwise, you want to avoid being in this range unless you're on the offensive.

As you start applying pressure to Clark, he can use Gatling Attack (back (charge), forward+P) as a semi-reversal option to stop hops or catch a mistimed normal. Depending on how far you are when you block Gatling Attack it may or may not be punishable. If you manage to block the C version point blank you can get a full punish from it. The A version is mostly safe and you'll need to be aware of this, as the opponent can try a gimmick and do B SAB to auto guard through your punish attempt. The EX version has faster start up and contains brief start up invincibility but it's extremely punishable on block.

When on the offensive against Clark in close range, he's weak to jump ins, as his anti-air options against normal and super jumps are mediocre. His s.A and EX Gatling Attack is good against hops but bad against normal and super jump heights. He has to rely on cr.C to anti-air at those heights but the recovery is pretty bad. If you bait and space yourself outside of that range you can whiff punish him for it. His other option is to do a preemptive j.A or OS j.C/air throw, which isn't bad but can leave him susceptible to a cr.B anti-air. The worst option he has to counter your pressure is to use the auto guard properties of B SAB to go through attacks. If you see the auto guard you can immediately hop again and punish him for it. In most cases, the Clark player needs to make reads and commit to them in order to return to neutral or claim offensive momentum.

Once you're caught in Clark's oki game, it's incredibly difficult to get out of and you pretty much have to make the right reads to escape. All of Elisabeth's reversal options lose to B SAB but the opponent needs to make those reads in order to stop them. At midscreen, if you get caught by B SAB he has a ton of oki options after wards. He can run forward and roll to do an ambiguous left/right cross over set up that allows him to combo into D SAB to repeat the process. If he reads that you'll hold up in fear of a raw B SAB he can j.CD or OS j.C/air throw to catch you out of the air. He can do meaty attacks to prevent the jump outs as well and again combo into D SAB to repeat the process. You need to understand his options in order to properly defend against them and then look for an opportunity to escape. If you fear the B SAB you can use alternate guarding to punish it but again the opponent can adapt and start using cr.B to catch you in between. Your options to escape are back dashes, alternate guarding, rolls, jumps, EX reversals, guard cancel roll/block back. None of these are fool proof but one of these options will cover one of Clark's mix up options but this is just a guessing game between the two of you. Some of Clark's advance options requires reads and commitments from him but if he reads wrong, he'll lose the offensive momentum. While the damage output of Clark's oki game is low he's able to create successive opportunities to continue the mix up, which can quickly become disorienting. In most cases it's just best to look for an opportunity to Guard Cancel Roll or Blow Back to reset to neutral.

When in Clark's oki game in the corner, he loses the ambiguous roll setups but since you have no movement options out of the corner his pressure become especially deadly. Jumping out becomes dangerous with his j.CD or OS j.C/air throw options. EX reversals are definitely not advised in the corner and it's best to just save the meter for an opportunity to Guard Cancel Roll/Blow Back.

Duo Lon

Duo Lon's overall game plan is to utilize his quick movement and ranged pokes to force a reaction from you so he can create offensive momentum by punishing rash play. What really dictates this match up is the neutral game and who can create offensive momentum.

In the neutral game, Duo Lon has a slight advantage, as he's faster than Elisabeth and has more range on his attacks; however, he doesn't hit very hard but the damage adds up if he lands a few successful mix ups. Duo Lon gets the brunt of the damage by annoying you and capitalizing off of your mistakes if you get flustered. As long as you understand his tool sets and remain calm you can usually turn the match in your favor once you contain him.

His j.CD carries a really good horizontal hit box so you can't really challenge him with Elisabeth aerial normals unless you make the read and go for a preemptive j.A or j.D. Jump CD doesn't carry as good of a lower hit box on it and most Duo Lon players will use j.CD preemptively to win air-to-air battles. This means you should be on the look out for cr.B anti-airs into Coup De Vent combos to start your offensive momentum or space neutral j.D to control the aerial space. Once you've demonstrated that you can anti-air their j.CD's you'll need to be on the look out for j.f+B or j.D. When they start using these aerial normals, you'll be able to play the air-to-air game with j.D as it carries better horizontal hit boxes than Duo Lon's j.f+B and j.D.

Duo Lon doesn't have any good reversal or anti-air options and is susceptible to extended pressure. His best normals for anti-airs are s.A, s.D, and cr.C but the majority of them have slow start up and can be stuffed with correct timing and spacing. His cr.C is probably his best anti-air against normal and super jumps but it's slow on start up and has lengthy recovery time; baiting this out can net a good whiff punish. Otherwise, the Duo Lon player will need to make certain gambles such as a preemptive super jump CD or an EX command dash.

Duo Lon's rekkas carry a pretty good hit box on them and can be used to preemptively anti-air hops, similar to how EX Iori uses his Rekkas as a poking/pressure tool.

All of his rekkas are unsafe on block but he can mitigate this by using his qcf+K command dash after the 3rd rekka. The thing you need to understand is that he can't really frame trap between the first and second rekka like other characters can because the period at which he can cancel into his second rekka is pretty tight and still creates a true block string when delayed. After the first Rekka, the most optimal punish is cr.B into HD activation but without any HD meter you're only looking at interrupting him to create offensive momentum. You can mash on cr.B when you block the first rekka and not worry about getting frame trapped until after you block the second rekka. Very rarely will someone stop after the second rekka, as it's heavily punishable on block so they'll either immediately do the third rekka into command dash or delay the third rekka to try and frame trap you. It's best to just wait for the third rekka to gauge how the opponent plays. In any case the command dashes are punishable so it's usually just best to wait and react to it.

Punishing Command Dash (QCF+K) after blocked rekkas:

1) B Version - You can punish the recovery of the B version of the command dash with EX Coup De Vent or Grand Rafale. The most optimal punish is the EX Coup De Vent, as you can transition into a full combo from there.

2) D Version - You can throw Duo Lon out of the start up of the D version of the command dash, as it has a longer start up than the B version but travels outside the range of Coup De Vent and Grand Rafale. It's difficult to visually confirm whether the opponent is doing the B or D version of the command dash; however, you can mash on throw after the third rekka and then react with EX Coup De Vent if the throw didn't come out.

3) EX Version - Much like the D version of the command dash you can throw Duo Lon out of the start up. The EX Version of the command dash is very punishable during it's recovery and depending on the range you can get a close s.C combo starter. Any version of Coup De Vent or Grand Rafale will punish the EX command dash that is outside of s.C range. The only thing that makes EX command dash tricky to punish is that it's fast on start up and not something you expect.

Elisabeth Branctorche

Blocked A Coup De Vent can be punished with Grand Rafale. Blocked C or EX Coup De Vent can be punished with far stand C xx C Coup De Vent or far stand C into HD activation.

Goro Daimon

Hwa Jai

Iori Yagami (Claw)

Iori Yagami (Flame)

Joe Higashi

K'

Kim Kaphwan

Kim's qcb+B (Hangetsuzan) when spaced at max range is safe on block; however, if the opponent does it too close you can punish with Grand Rafale DM, cr.A xx DP+A, or cr.A, HD activation. Be weary of frame trap/gimmicks of Kim's doing max spaced qcb+B into d, u+K when you try to punish. The D version of Hangetsuzan, on block, can be punished with DP+A or EX DP into a full combo. Understand the ranges and punish accordingly.

There's a few ways to stuff a Hangetsuzan if you anticipate on it. First way is to time a late DP+C or EX DP to utilize the start up invincibility. Second way is to utilize the invincibility frames of EX QCF+K then cancel into into Mistral and then transition into a full combo. Third way is to counter it with QCB+P, which will net you a huge punish. Final way is to do a Reverie-Prier (qcb+K) and then cancel into Etincelle (qcf+P) to stuff the Hangetsuzan, you can transition into a full juggle combo from this, as it'll be a counter hit.

Kim has several 3+ frame safe jumps after his Air QCB+B, Air QCB+D, d~u+D~d+D, d~u+BD, Throw and Neomax. He also has a 2 frame safe jump off of a corner throw as well. Never try a reversal EX Coup De Vent (DP+AC) on wake up after getting knocked down by any of the above otherwise you'll get punished for it. You can try a EX Reverie-Souhaiter xx EX Mistral but remember that Elisabeth can be hit during the slide animation. What will beat all of his safe jump setups, though, is EX Reverie-Geler and EX Mistral. EX Reverie-Gelere is 1 frame start up counter so it'll beat the safe jump but you run the risk of the opponent empty jumping into a full punish HD combo. EX Mistral is a more reliable reversal against the safe jump/empty jump as it has a few frames of start up invincibility which will beat the safe jump and the empty jump low. You can buffer the motion and utilize the button hold trick to make it more of a reactionary response to the hop vs being a guess. The opponent can adapt to EX mistral with a double hop, delaying an air Hangetsuzan, or option selecting a hangetsuzan on the jump in.

Kim's far stand D is a two kick attack and is one of his best overall normals that cover a variety of situations. The first kick whiffs on crouching but goes under low attacks; the second kick hits mid and leaves him at +3 on block. You want to avoid getting hit by this normal grounded, as he can link cr.B/s.C after wards into an HD combo or a hard knockdown that will start his safe jump game. Far s.D is a good frame trap tool for Kim but it also anti-airs small hops, normal jumps, or comes out as a close s.D option select that can anti-air normal and super jumps. For these reasons, you'll see beginner Kim players abuse this normal and even mash it when on the defensive.

If you know the properties of Kim's far s.D you can start to play around it and beat it altogether. The key thing to remember is that the first hit of Kim's far s.D whiffs on crouching opponents and goes over low attacks. This means he's susceptible to crouching mid attacks so the easiest way to deal with far stand D pressure is to use cr.A or cr.C to hit him during the whiffed first kick. You want to play within Kim's far stand D range and start fishing with primarily cr.A, as cr.C is too slow on start up, and then buffer A Coup De Vent/Etincelle for the easier hit confirm. The other ways to deal with far stand D is to time an EX Coup De Vent, EX Reverie-Souhaiter xx EX Mistral, or EX Reverie-Geler in between the first and second kick. It's tricky to time but remember to use the button hold technique to make the timing easier. It's easiest to punish this if you block the first kick standing. While on the offensive and you know your opponent is mashing on D you can do a true block string that leaves you at Kim's far s.D range then leave a gap while poking with cr.A/C or use A Reverie-Geler to counter the second kick than punish with far s.C xx C Coup De Veine if you counter the first kick you can get a close s.C, f+B combo.

King

King is a very frustrating match up for Elisabeth, as you want to rush her down but her zoning game is hard to get around without any meter. Elisabeth does have the tools to fight King but the key thing to remember during the match up is not to fall into Kings pacing.

To deal with Venom Strike zoning from full screen, slowly approach King and use Etincelles to nullify the projectiles. King can either sit back and start alternating the timing of her fireballs to throw you off or follow her fireball and try to read/react to your actions. If King continues to throw fireballs alternate between A and C Etincelles while moving forward, and don't get too worried if you get hit by several fireballs. If you get hasty after getting hit by a few fireballs you'll fall into her pacing.

Once you are closer to King you can start using C or EX Coup De Vent to go through and punish the fireballs. A useful but tricky method to punish normally safe Venom Strikes is to use the forward momentum and kara-cancel properties of her stand CD to extend the range of C/EX Coup De Vent. Another way to punish Venom Strikes to is to use EX Reverie-Souhaiter to phase through the fireball and then cancel into a EX Coup De Vent. Combining this with the stand CD Kara-cancelling technique will greatly extend your punishment range against King.

If King starts following her fireballs you'll have to worry about max spaced D Tornado Kicks, s.C/D, df.D, j.CD, j.D, or air Venom Strikes. If you nullify the Venom Strike, you should be able to block anything she does after wards. If King does a max spaced D Tornado Kick you can punish with Grand Rafale but you should be able to react in time with A/EX Reverie Geler or A Etincelle. If they spaced their D Tornado Kick properly you should be countering the 2nd hit of the kick, in which you can punish after wards with A Coup De Vent into a back turn combo. If they didn't space it properly and you counter the 1st hit, you can punish with C Coup De Vent into a back turn combo. However, if you end up blocking the full 2 hits of Tornado Kick you get a full combo punish after wards.

King will use s.C/D, j.D/CD, or Air Venom Strikes to counter any jump attempts you do against the incoming Venom Strike. It's best to Etincelle the Venom Strike and depending on their position you may have an opportunity to punish their incorrect read.

Against Air Venom Strikes, you have to check the spacing between you and King. In some cases you can actually punish the Air Venom Strike before or after with C or EX Coup De Vent. If they are outside of this range you can usually crouch underneath the Air Venom Strikes unless they are done low to the ground. After crouching underneath the Air Venom Strike you can start closing the gap against King, as there's a significant amount of recovery after wards. King has a couple of options at this point but it's mostly going to be a guessing game between the two of you. A preemptive j.CD, j.D, jump back air venom strike, or tornado kick are some probable actions as these will beat most jump in attempts from you. It doesn't hurt to sit back and wait for them to act first, as it could open a momentum shift if they guess wrong.

A Typical block string for King is cr.B, cr.B, s.B, df+D xx Venom Strike. The universal punish is to do a late guard cancel roll on the df+D so that you give enough time for your opponent to cancel and commit to a Venom Strike. If they cancel into Venom Strike you'll roll through the Venom Strike and be able to punish their recovery. Alternatively, you can wait until you see the Venom Strike come out and then do a reversal EX Coup De Vent to punish King. The df+D is punishable on block if they don't cancel into a special after wards; however, that's part of the mind game. This block string is particularly tricky to deal with when they are on the offensive, as her s.B hits low and they can stagger the string to frame trap you or catch you blocking high if you anticipate on a jump in.

When King is on the defensive, her far s.C and far s.D are really good at controlling space and can preemptively anti-air hops but they have a lot of recovery on whiff. Once you get within that jump range you can try and bait out these normals, then whiff punish with A Coup De Vent. Normal jumps at this range are also viable, as both normals will not reach you at this height. King has other options like reacting to your jumps with cr.C, which is good against most jump ins. They can also try a jump back normal or air venom strike, which will also beat your jump in options but pushes her close to the corner. Sitting back and waiting could lead into offensive momentum or a punish depending on what they go for at that specific range.

Kula Diamond

Kyo Kusanagi (XIII)

One of Kyo's risky block strings is cr.A, cr.B, df+D (1st hit) xx Kai (QCF+K). Kai can be punished between the first and second kick with EX Coup De Vent, EX Reverie-Geler, EX/Noble Blac, and Neo Max. You can also delay a guard cancel roll on the df+D before they cancel into Kai, then run up and punish him during the recovery of Kai. You'll also get the added benefit of landing the combo with their back turned and go for a cross up setup after wards.

The best option depends on how much meter and drive Elisabeth has at the time; however, EX Reverie-Geler and EX Coup De Vent are more ideal if you have less meter plus both options gives you a free cross up setup.

Kyo Kusanagi (NESTS)

Leona Heidern

Mai Shiranui

Mature

Maxima

Mr.Karate

Raiden

Ralf Jones

Robert Garcia

Ryo Sakazaki

This is a match up that can be difficult if you're not familiar with Ryo's tool set. Overall, Ryo is a simple character with very straight forward but effective tools. Knowing the spacing game is very important in the match up, as it's key to knowing how to effectively defend and punish him.

During the neutral game, Ryo has the advantage with his long ranged pokes that have long active frames. He can also create a wall of hit boxes in front of him with normal whiff cancels into fireballs, which prevents Elisabeth from getting in easily. Poorly spaced/timed jumps will get you hit by his fireball or his DP so don't recklessly rush in. The best thing to do in the neutral game is to build meter with Etincelles and slowly approach Ryo. The ideal range you want to be at is just outside of his fireball range (factor in the increase range he gets from whiff cancelling into his fireballs) and just wait for him to whiff a fireball. Once he whiffs a fireball you can punish with Coup De Vent and then take the offensive momentum. If you block a max ranged s.D xx C Fireball you can EX Coup De Vent in between. Normally, they'll have to do C Fireball at that range as A Fireball will whiff leaving them expose to a Coup De Vent punish. If they do s.D xx C Fireball at point blank range you can punish with close s.C into your combo of choice. Elisabeth's safe jump setups are really helpful during this match up, as it prevents Ryo from trying to reversal out of your mix ups, allowing for sustained offense.

When Ryo is on the offensive be careful with your pokes as he might just run up parry xx DP or do a random EX Hienshippukyaku to blow through them. Slightly pausing in ideal poke situations will let you bait out the parry or the Hienshippukyaku, allowing for big punishes. His jump CD has a really good horizontal and diagonal hit box on it. It's extremely good in air-to-air situations, as well as a means for him to approach. If the opponent is abusing j.CD to control the air-to-air game than it's best to play defensive and look for an opportunity to anti-air cr.B. Alternatively, you can try to counter with any of Elisabeth's EX reversal options.

In the corner, Ryo can apply a lot of pressure and create guard break strings utilizing s.C/D xx Fireball. If you find that the Ryo player is going for a guard break with this, you can back dash after the fireball. If they decide to throw another s.C/D xx Fireball you'll get hit by the s.C/D during the back dash causing the fireball to whiff, and leaving Ryo open for punishment. Alternatively, you can EX Reverie-Souhaiter after the blocked fireball and if they throw out another s.C/D you'll phase through the attack, allowing you to punish with EX Mistral.

Saiki

Shen Woo

Sie Kensou

You have to be very careful of Kensou's fireball zoning game and not fall into the traps. At certain ranges, Kensou can recover from his fireball and follow behind it to try to force you to make a bad decision against this wall of hit boxes. If you attempt to jump after Kensou throws the fireball, he'll be able to DP you for free. You can use Etincelle's to nullify the projectile and put up a wall against Kensou's approaches. If Kensou tries to follow up the fireball with a normal xx fireball block string, you can EX Coup De Veine in between to punish him severely for being predictable.

Kensou's rekka string is not safe at all but he can create the frame trap game by adding delays between the rekkas. After the first rekka, you can crouch B into an HD combo, otherwise the crouch B is just a means to interrupt Kensou. If they do the second rekka, you get a free close stand C combo starter. At this point the Kensou player is committed to the rekka string and will try to add delays in between the 2nd and 3rd rekka, which causes a hard knockdown. However, the 3rd rekka has a bit of a start up on it, as he takes to the air. You can use close stand C as a means to anti-air him out of the 3rd Rekka. If you mistime the stand C you can either lose or trade with the 3rd rekka. If you block the 3rd rekka you can dash in do a close stand C combo starter.

His Ryusogeki can be used to check jump ins and is pretty useful with his fireball zoning/lockdown game. The C version is completely unsafe and lets you get a free combo after wards but the A version is completely safe and it's hard to tell the difference between the two versions. In most cases, it's better off to not try and punish it because if it's the A version, the opponent could go for a gimmick DP/EX DP to beat out any button you throw out.

Takuma Sakazaki

Terry Bogard

Vice

Yuri Sakazaki

This is a match up where you need to control the neutral game to prevent Yuri from establishing her mix up game, as well as understanding how her pressure game works in order to counter and/or avoid it.

Yuri's game plan is to get in close and start her pressure game but her standing and crouching normals don't have good range on them so she can have issues getting in if you can space her out. From full screen, the only thing she can really do is try to build meter with Saiha's. She'll actually build more meter than you with whiffed Saihas than whiffed Etincelles. From mid range, Yuri still can't do a whole lot as she's still not within poking range with her s.B or cr.D. She might whiff Saiha's at this range to try and catch your jump ins but if she starts doing this you can actually whiff punish with Elisabeth's Coup De Veine (DP+P). Yuri's C Fireball actually travels pretty far and is useable within this range to throw up a wall of hit boxes. You can time your approach and punish the fireball with a jump in or you can time C Coup De Veine to go through the fireball and punish Yuri. Most Yuri's won't use the fireball for too long as it's not particularly safe in this range and it's not designed to operate as a keep away tool. You might see whiff s.CD's as it carries a large hit box and is actually really good at anti-airing opponents. The whiff s.CD can be whiff cancelled into her specials as well so you'll have to keep an eye on Yuri to see if they go for the dive kick. This mid range is where Yuri wants to start her jumping game as her j.B and j.CD carry amazing hit boxes on them and her jump height and arc accommodate these normals well. You'll want to avoid going air-to-air against these normals but if the opponent starts abusing these normals you can spot a change to crouching normal anti-air them.

When Yuri is on the offensive she'll want to establish the ambiguous dive kick cross ups by cancelling her normals into her 'demon flip' (dp+K) and then delaying the dive kick to cross up. This is the nature of Yuri's design as her hops travel pretty far so her block strings into a hop actually cause her to travel over crouching characters. Her dive kick pressure is what allows her to establish any sort of offensive momentum.

Yuri players will mostly cancel into this demon flip off of her s.B or close s.C so you should try to identify these normals so you can react to the possible mix up easier. The dive kick puts Yuri at frame advantage regardless of the height you blocked it so she can maintain the dive kick pressure if you just sit back and block. None of her normals cancelled into the demon flip ~ dive kick is a true block string or a true combo string so if you can react to the normal used to cancel into the demon flip you can either escape or counter the dive kick.

There's a couple of general escape options against the dive kick pressure.

1) You can jump after blocking/getting hit by the s.B or close s.C and then counter with j.D or j.CD if they commit to the dive kick mix up. That being said, the Yuri player can instead do j.C during the demon flip to try and hit you out of the air. They can also stagger their attack string and use a second s.B or a run into a close s.C to catch your jump and then cancel into a demon flip ~ air grab that causes a hard knockdown into her oki game.

2) You can roll during the demon flip animation to avoid the dive kick but this needs to be done during the demon flip animation so reactions are important in this otherwise the opponent will recover before you do and just continue to pressure.

3) Delayed guard cancel roll on the s.B or close s.C so the opponent commits to the demon flip, which will allow you to reset to neutral.

4) An immediate guard cancel blow back on the s.B or close s.C to reset to neutral. If you're slow on the blow back the demon flip will cause the blow back to whiff and you'll get punished instead.

Elisabeth's specific counters to the dive kick are:

1) EX Etincelle after blocking/getting hit by the s.B or close s.C. This is a trained response to the s.B or close s.C and you can buffer the motion during the attack and then use the button hold trick to ensure EX Etincelle comes out on the first available frame. This will counter hit Yuri out of the air leading into a big damage juggle combo. If they try to stagger the string with a s.B you'll trade but you can continue to the combo after the trade.

2) EX Reverie-Geler will counter the dive kick but you must manually correct the inputs if you want to counter the cross up. If she doesn't cross up you'll get EX Etincelle instead, which may or may not beat the front hitting dive kick. It depends on when you timed it.

Be aware that they Yuri player may try to go for a few of these dive kick cross ups even the subsequent combo starter hits. This is what makes Yuri very explosive as she can do several resets in succession to deal a lot damage in a short amount of time. These resets can even occur during her HD combos so be aware. It's really important that you keep an eye on Yuri during her dive kick pressure to prevent getting reset multiple times.