The King of Fighters XV/Athena Asamiya/Strategy
General Gameplan
Athena is a zoner who has it all. An extremely good fireball, an invincible anti air reversal, teleports, and a very strong reflector allow her to deal with just about anything the opponent can throw at her. Athena’s 214A fireball is highly advantageous on block at all ranges besides point blank, making it an excellent tool for starting, maintaining, and resetting pressure. Once you’ve pushed your opponent to the corner, Athena’s pressure becomes even stronger and she gains access to extremely high damage combo routes courtesy of her EX moves.
Neutral
In neutral Athena can easily play keepaway with her projectiles and movement options until she finds an opening to begin her pressure. Use 5D and 2C to check your opponent on the ground, and use retreating and advancing hop CD to put up a wall and prevent approaches. Your goal in neutral should be making your opponent block a 214A fireball as the plus frames will allow you close in and begin your pressure game.
623A/C/AC can be used to dissuade jump ins, though these specials are very prone to being crossed up and the results are obviously disastrous if this occurs.
A more general purpose anti air can be found in Athena's 214B/D/BD reflector series due to their extremely long active frames. However, do know that these specials are prone to trading with deeper hitting jump in attacks. Other solid anti airs include far D and far A, both of which can interrupt your opponent's hop pressure.
