The King of Fighters XIII/King/Strategy

Spacing

Far Range

• Zone with ground and air Venom Strikes. Combat opponents projectiles with EX Venom Strike. Be careful that some opponents have invincible moves that can phase through your projectiles (ex. Shen's qcf+AC), or EX projectiles.

• Stand C has a start-up of 3 frames and is a great ground anti-air normal. Use it in between your Venom Strike zoning by dashing in mid-range to stop hops and hyper hops.

• Try not to abuse King's hcb+K at far range. Even though it can be hard to punish at this range, many characters can special move anti-air you on reaction. The hcb+K (and EX version) can be used as an anti-air against hops, only if its timed correctly.

Mid Range

• At this range you will need to use your ground normals a bit more to stop hyper hops and jumps. Stand C is good against hops, crouching C is good for jump-ins as well as using df+D as a trip guard anti-air against certain characters jump attacks (ex. Shen's j.CD, Vice's j.CD, Daimon's j.CD).

Close Range

• At this range take full advantage of her st.B which is safe on block, and can be canceled into her df+D on hit. Her st.A, st.C, and st.D can catch opponents trying to hop or jump closer to while they try to challenge your st.B which leaves her upper body vulnerable.

• King's fast walk speed, dash and backdash is useful for weaving in and out while you are applying pressure to avoid reversals. Learn how properly instant normal throw while running to increase the options of your offensive, especially since she lacks a command throw.

Cornered Opponent

• Use st.B and cr.B to apply pressure to your opponent while they are blocking for you can hit confirm into a combo incase they decide to mash a normal or lose grip of their defense. The frame advantage on block from the st.B and cr.B should be enough for a possible tick throw attempt or to bait a reversal.

• Blockstrings ending in df+D into qcf+D can be followed up with st.D as a frame trap to catch mashers or attemped jump escapes out of the corner.

Cornered

• This is where King needs to be careful, as with the majority of the other characters. Use normals to space yourself and get opponents off of you in the corner. Time your forward rolls or jumps carefully to safely get out of the corner, otherwise resort to GC Roll or GC Blow Back.
• King's Surprise Rose and EX Trap Shot are decent reversals but they are certainly not full proof. The player needs to use some discretion while trying get back on the offense. It is generally a good idea to utilize normals, hit confirm into a combo that will help King get out of the corner, or utilize meter for GC Roll/Blow back for safer options.

Tips

Frame Traps and Links

• (L) = Link, can be a frame trap as well.

• "(n) frame gap" = The amount of frames that opponent has to counter a frame trap. If n is 0 or -n, the particular frame trap is, initially, a block string.

1.) st. A > far C - 3 frame gap between st. A and far C. St. A and far C whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

2.) st. A > cr. C - 4 frame gap between st. A and cr. C. St. A whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

3.) cr. A > far C (L) - 1 frame gap between cr. A and far C. Far C whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

4.) cr. A > cr. C (L) - 2 frame gap between cr. A and cr. C.

5.) cr. B > far C - 3 frame gap between cr. B and far C. Far C whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

6.) cr. B > cr. C - 4 frame gap between cr. B and cr. C.

7.) (Corner CD, qcf+BD) > df+D - 3 to 4 frame gap between (corner CD, qcf+BD) and df+D.

8.) qcf+BD > st. A - -1 frame gap between qcf+BD and st. A. St. A whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

9.) qcf+BD > cr. A - -1 frame gap between qcf+BD and cr. A.

10.) qcf+BD > st. B - -2 frame gap between qcf+BD and st. B.

11.) qcf+BD > cr. B - -1 frame gap between qcf+BD and cr. B.

12.) qcf+BD > far C - -2 frame gap between qcf+BD and far C. Far C whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

13.) qcf+BD > cr. C - -1 frame gap between qcf+BD and cr. C.

14.) qcf+BD > far D - 2 frame gap between qcf+BD and far D.

15.) qcf+BD > cr. D - 3 frame gap between qcf+BD and cr. D.

16.) Corner qcf+BD > cl. C - 0 frame gap between corner qcf+BD and cl. C.

17.) Corner qcf+BD > cl. D - -1 frame gap between corner qcf+BD and cl. D.

18.) Instant/ lowest air qcf+BD > far D - 2 frame gap between instant/ lowest air qcf+BD and far D.

Best Team Position

Point

King has a bundle of combo starters. King BnB's are very strong in general and she can do a lot damage this way. Her zoning helps her out quite a bit. King can operate at her best in this position. Her j.D cross up after a throw is spectacular and King can get some easy BnB's in as she is able to zone her opponent with Vemon Strike. It is easy to build meter off of King for the second character. The thing is though... King actually NEEDS meter to be effective too and her EX moves are very powerful. Then again, 3 meters is enough to push the opponent over the edge. Her EX moves are very useful and her EX Trap Shot is a viable anti-air (and so is her Surprise Rose... and probably her EX Tornado kick if timed correctly as an anti-air - and the EX tornado kick DOES have invincibility start up). King can batter the opponent easily with just BnB's without utilizing too much meter and zoning the opponent carefully with her Venom Strike.

What needs to be understood is that King's mid-air Venom Strikes causes two different effects - the B version Venom Strikes causes her to land straight onto the ground after execution, while the D version pushes her back a distance to land on the ground. Her slide is useful and easily cancelled to special moves (unless the opponent guard cancels away from you, the players can get punished), and she can avoid most projectiles this way since her own hit box "shrinks" during the move. She can do a lot with just three meters and she might be one of the more better starters. Her mix-ups and rush down may take some time... her neutral game however is viable. King is the second character who can conduct cross up from a corner throw by rolling pass them. The thing is, King can rack up a serious amount of damage with just three gauges... The King player can go either way - save meter or conduct a damaging HD combo. She does have a lot of combo opportunities with three stocks and one gauges. Overall, King is one of the best starters in the game and she can easily fit into other team positions as well.

Second Position

Four meters and a full HD meter does not sound too bad... but there are other characters that can be placed in battery for a better chance of winning. King needs to watch out for rush down characters in this position and keep her space. Her air D Venom Strike cause her to propel backwards and the air B version makes her move down to the ground. These can both be advantageous for set ups and out zoning the opponent and her Tornado Kick is unsafe - if used up close, but if the opponent guards from a distance, the tip of the move, then she safe so she needs to use this sparingly to keep her distance.

Last... King can execute her HD combos here for some extra damage... in this position should save meter for the likes of Claw Iori anchors Shen and Leona might be good choices too. In this position, King would make a very powerful utility character because the player would still have plenty of access to her easier BnB combos. A very good choice for building meter and dishing out some good damage on the opponent. This is probably her second best team position because she can be played under a variety of situations, despite her obvious flaws. The first position is far more recommended than this one, however.

Anchor

King in the third character slot can work, and it is do-able, but her lack of good damage midscreen (from bnbs and HD combos) really hurts her in this position. In the corner her damage output is considerably higher, but good anchors need good combos both midscreen and in the corner. She can still be annoying with 3 to 5 gauges for her EX moves (like EX venom strike, EX tornado kick) etc.) but from the mediocre damage and lack of options from using those meters, its better off to just use those while she is in her 1st (or even 2nd) position to keep up momentum throughout the match. King can easily take out 1 or more characters from the opponent from just being annoying through zoning and her corner pressure, but once shes gone...shes gone. You would not have another character to pick up from what King left off in the entire match if you place her in the 3rd position. Overall, if King's damage was much better, and she didn't need as many meters to shell out that damage, she would be better suited as an anchor.

Character Matchups

Andy Bogard

• Punish Andy's db~f+A on block at any range with a small walk forward then a stand B.

• Evade Andy's light punch projectile (qcb+A) with King's df+D slide attack.

• Andy's hcf+B can be punished on block by King's Surprise Rose super (qcfx2+K). Or the super can beat out the kick clean once it is close to King.

• Use King's EX dp+K against Andy's EX hcf+K before it reaches you.

Ash Crimson

• Remember that you can slide underneath Ash's fierce projectile (charge b~f+C) and Ash's qcb+A/B/C/D projectile.

• Ash's charge b~f+K (both version) are unsafe on block and can be easily punished any of King's close normal attacks. The EX version can be punished by King's NeoMax (qcbx2+B+D).

Athena Asamiya

• Athena's f+B can be punished on the way down by King's hcb+D, hcb+BD, qcf+BD, qcfx2+K, and her Neomax (which is qcbx2+BD). If someone delays her air qcb+B or qcb+BD (to possibly bait someone running to punish her on the way down) a hcb+BD, qcf+BD, qcf+D or qcfx2+K can beat it clean. If you have meters, it is best to use one of those EX moves or the qcfx2+K to punish it safely and with a fair amount of damage.

Benimaru Nikaido

• Benimaru's qcf+K on block can be punished by any of her normals, but when placed at the end of a blockstring (ex. cr.Bx2, qcf+K or j.D, s.D, qcf+K) it can be punished by King's hcb+K, EX hcb+K, qcfx2+K, and her Neomax.

• His qcf+P can be negated by King's EX qcf+K, EX hcb+K, qcfx2+K and her Neomax. It can also be punished during it's whiff recovery by her hcb+D. She can also df+D slide under the electric ball when it is active.

• Benimaru's st.B and far C can be evaded and hit with King's df+D.

Billy Kane

Chin Gentsai

• King's hcb+K and qcf+K whiffs completely during hcf+K (and EX) roll attack.

• Chin's hcf+K roll attack can be punished at close range with King's stand B. At its maximum range, the push-back causes the stand B to whiff, but it can be punished with King's EX qcf+K. Chin's EX hcf+K can be punished only with King's NeoMax (qcbx2+BD).

• Chin's hcb+P can be punished on block when used alone with King's stand B or stand C. But when hcb+A is used after a few light standing normals, can be punished reliably with King's EX qcf+K. His EX hcb+P can only be punished with King's NeoMax.

Clark Still

Duo Lon

Elisabeth Branctorche

• Elisabeth's dp+C can be punished by King's st.B. Her EX dp+P can be punished by stand B also, but requires a small step forward because of push-back.

Goro Daimon

Hwa Jai

Iori Yagami (Claw)

Iori Yagami (Flame)

Joe Higashi

K'

• If you see someone whiffing his qcf+P~f+D at half or 3/4 full screen lengths away from you, King's hcb+D (or hcb+BD) can reach him and punish him while in recovery. The damage will be very small but it will at least cause a knockdown and make the player think about whiffing it. Her qcf+BD or qcfx2+K works great as well for punishing it at that distance too.

• K's EX qcf+P~K fireball can be evaded with an EX hcb+K when the fireball is a half-screen distance away from King.

Kim Kaphwan

• Kim's qcb+D can be whiff punished at mid-range by King's slide (df+D), qcf+BD, hcb+K, EX hcb+K, and NeoMax (qcb, qcb+BD). At far range, it's better to use hcb+K to hit Kim before he has finished recovering. His qcb+D on block can be punished by King's st. B if you walk forward slightly.

King

Kula Diamond

Kyo Kusanagi (XIII)

• Kyo's df+D on block, when not cancelled on the first hit, may be punished with King's hcb+D or EX hcb+D no matter how it was cancelled from. (ex. cr.B, cr.A, df+D or s.C, df+D)

• Kyo's qcf+P and EX qcf+P can be evaded using King's hcb+K or EX hcb+K.

• King's df+D can hit and evade Kyo's standing C (heavy punch) and D (heavy kick).

• King's st. D can hit Kyo outside of the max range of his st. B.

Kyo Kusanagi (NESTS)

• King's st.B can reach and hit NESTS Kyo after a blocked rdp+B near its maximum range.

• King's qcf+BD can override NESTS Kyo's qcf+A.

• NESTS Kyo's rdp+BD on block can be punished with a st. B or a far C in-case the push-back is outside of st. B's range.

• NESTS Kyo's hcb+BD on block can be punished by a dp+BD, st. B, far C, qcfx2+P, qcfx2+AC, and her qcbx2+BD NeoMax.

Leona Heidern

Mai Shiranui

Mature

• You can punish the blockstring of cl.C, qcb+B with King's qcfx2+AC before Mature recovers.

• King's EX hcb+K can go through Mature's qcf~hcb+P once the fireball is near half screen distance away.

• King can only punish Mature's first qcb+Px3 rekka string with her NeoMax (qcbx2+BD). The second string can be punished with her st.B, an immediately df+D, a quick run-up st.C, any of her hcb+K tornado kicks, EX qcf+K, qcfx2+K, and NeoMax. The 3rd rekka string is incredibly unsafe which can be punished with the same moves as the 2nd string but not as immediate. If the player places a cr.B, st.B (2) in-front of the full rekka strings, you may have to punish the recover much faster. King's Surprise Rose (qcfx2+P or qcfx2+AC) cannot reach Mature during the recovery of her 2nd and 3rd rekkas.

Maxima

Raiden

Ralf Jones

Robert Garcia

Ryo Sakazaki

Saiki

Shen Woo

Sie Kensou

Takuma Sakazaki

Mr. Karate

Terry Bogard

• Terry's blockstring of st.C into qcb+D can be countered by King's EX dp K. While crouching, King's df+D can even make his qcb+D whiff if performed during its start up.

• Terry's qcf+A (power wave) and EX qcf P can miss during King's hcb+K (tornado kick) at full screen. At mid-screen it is more suitable to use her EX hcb K because its start-up is faster.

• The blockstring cr.B, cr.A, df+C can be punished by King's hcb+D, and EX hcb+K.

Vice

Yuri Sakazaki