The King of Fighters XIII/Leona Heidern/Strategy

Spacing

Far Range

• At further ranges, Leona can use her Ear Ring to set up an offense and possibly zone around. Upon throwing the Ear Ring, the Leona player can either chose to close the gap between themselves and the opponent or stay at the range until they can get another form of offense started.
• When Leona has meter available, be prepared to use her V-Slasher. This is another useful method of controlling the air and what the opponent does next. She can do this nigh instanteously if the player is quick with the input. Leona can also go for this if the opponent tries to super jump over her ear ring projectile (V-Slasher can also catch badly timed rolls as well).
• Leona can draw herself forward as long as the player showcases some discretion. Back~charge~Forward+D is zero frames on block but its start is a bit noticeable.
• Leona can advert a lot of projectile usage with her Baltic Launcher, well timed movement, ear ring (especially the EX version), etc.

Mid Range

• Have Baltic Launcher prepared if the opponent likes to hop/hyper hop/super jump a lot. Leona also has extremely good air normals and a very good air DM to counteract such movement in mid air.
• Refrain from using ear rings at this range because this is the distance where the opponent can actually punish Leona for doing so. Focus on the neutral game a bit more.
• Be sure to always threaten the opponent with her V-Slasher should they start whiffing too many obvious/laggy moves at the mid range or if they start jumping too much.
• Forward hopping normals in general are decent for closing the gap between yourself and the opponent.
• Leona's far stand C can draw herself gradually towards the opponent as well.
• What needs to be understand is that Leona has a rather large variety of anti-airs from the ground, mainly her Moon Slasher (d~charge~u+P, C and EX version has the least start up)

Close Range

• Leona's far stand C is very good for closing the gap and even confirming into HD.
• Leona has arguably the fastest instant overhead in the game, which stems from hop jumping A. Go for the cr.Bx2 to either visually confirm into a full combo or perform a hop jumping A. Jumping A is also cancellable into her V-Slasher but this is going to require some discretion.
• Standing B hits low. Remember this.
• Be sure to utilize tick throws/running throws with some discretion (beware of alternate guard).
• Leona can combo easily after her EX Grand Saber and it will combo from her normals as well once you confirm into them. Leona's damage output become similar to Shen Woo's, IF she has meter available. Until she gains at least a bar you can conserve it for a later time, or go for a combo for decent damage... or utilize it for a different cause such as zoning around with EX qcb+K ear ring. EX qcb+K ear ring sets a juggle state too.

Cornered Opponent

• Against a cornered opponent, a good meterless combo to utilize is close st.D (both hits), f+B, air qcb+C and then d~charge~u+P. That's adds up to 222 damage from a relatively easy BnB combo.
• Try to lock the opponent down and prevent them from jumping with Baltic Launcher (either version). Try to space yourself in such a way where you can punish rolls and super jump attempts against a cornered opponent.
• Leona has plenty of good mix ups to offer from up close, especially in this situation and beyond the games fundamentals. Be sure to go for the occasional tick throw/running throw periodically. Be sure to end your block strings with light normals, because Leona is still going to be the one with the advantage anyway.
• Remember the b~charge~f+D is zero frames on block. This can lead to potential frame traps and set ups.
• Far stand C is a very good tool for keeping the opponent honest because of it's relatively faster start up and the fact that it draws Leona closer to the opponent.
• Be sure to go for instant overhead jumping A when applicable against the crouching opponents who are otherwise trying to defend against Leona's lows.
• Air EX qcb+P couple with Leona's other moves can be obnoxious when the opponent is on the defensive. You can use this for a number of set ups for further offense.

Cornered

• Leona DOES have reversals but... again, all of them are rather risky to perform. Pay attention to what the opponent is doing up close so that you can get out of the corner safely.
• Don't ever forget about GC Roll. Ever.
• Leona a wide series of anti-airs which stem from her st.A, far D, crouching C, some hop normals, preemptive use of Baltic Launcher, and Moon Slasher.
• Leona can actually use her V-Slasher (Preferably the EX version) FROM HER BACK DASH.
• One thing to notice about Leona's regular neutral jump D is that it has a different animation... Leona's regular neutral jump D comes out very quickly and will knock opponents away who are trying to mix up from the air.
• Standing A is good for stopping hops after the opponent ends their block strings.

Tips

• To Drive Cancel Leona's Moon Slasher into Grand Sabre, you can input charge down/back, up/back+P, forward+K.

• To do Leona's short hop V-Slasher input qcf,uf,hcb + A/C.

Notes

Moon Slasher: Probably the most notable and user friendly specials in Leona's arsenal. While quick to come out and decent priority, on block this move suffers from terrible recovery. Not to be used for pressure, as a whiffed or blocked Moon Slasher is punishable with disastrous results. This move is often used as a defensive measure, typically on wakeup to counter pressure. However, an experienced opponent will often try to bait a Moon Slasher knowing Leona's vulnerability afterwards. Although Moon Slasher can also be used as an anti-air, the timing can be rather strict and, being a charge move, it cannot be performed on impulse. Moon Slasher is best used to end combos after quick pokes if there is not enough meter for a super.

Earring Bomb: At first glance, you would think that Leona's Earring Bomb has too much startup time to be useful enough for gameplay. Fortunately, on an opponent's wakeup, this weakness is removed. After knocking down the opponent, an immediately thrown Earring Bomb forces the opponent to make a decision: block low, jump, or roll. While blocking low, Leona can run up to the opponent and Strike Arc for a knockdown, one of the most favorable positions for a Leona player. On jump, Leona gets a free V-slasher. On a roll, Leona can either throw the rolling opponent, or wait for the vulnerability frames at the end of the roll to combo into a super. In the rare case that the Earring Bomb does connect, it may be followed by a well timed V-Slasher or Slash Sabre. NEVER attempt to use this on a close or standing opponent. With such a long startup, it is easily avoided (possibly ducked) and even a slow reacting opponent can and will punish you. Predictability is a key factor. As a projectile with long startup, it is prone to being countered by EX moves/supers which bypass traditional projectiles.

Baltic Launcher: The A version will most likely be the version of choice as, it has faster startup than its C counterpart Baltic Launcher not only does notable chip damage, but also gives Leona slight advantage on block. On hit, its stunning properties make it easy to set up Leona's supers. Baltic Launcher is best used on opponents with meter below 1 stock in order to best nullify retaliation in the form of a guard evasion. Although it may be tempting to use Baltic Launcher to nullify projectiles, much like Earring Bomb, it suffers from being susceptible to projectile bypassing punishes. The EX version is amazing as it does huge damage on hit and a lot of chip damage on block...

X-Caliber: This move is exclusively meant for combos; however, the EX version is great to use in pressure strings as it forces block stun and can allow Leona to mix-up a low/overhead. Any other use will likely result in getting punished due to its recovery properties. While miscreen, only the A version will combo. In the corner, both will combo, but the C version allows them to be further juggled or reset.

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.

1.) st. A > cl. C - 2 frame gap between st. A and st. B. St. A whiffs on crouching opponents.

2.) st. A > cr. C (L) - 1 frame gap between st. A and cr. C. St. A whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

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

4.) cr. A > cr. C - 3 frame gap between cr. A and cr. C.

5.) st. B > cr. B - 4 frame gap between st. B and cr. B.

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

7.) cr. B > cr. C (L) - 2 frame gap between st. B and cr. C.

8.) b~f+BD > cr. C - 1 frame gap between b~f+BD and cr. C.

Best Team Position

Position One: Leona can be relatively versatile as she has the ability to zone around, rush down heavily, play passive-aggressively/defensively, and anti-air the opponents accordingly. However, the general consensus of Leona's special moves is that they are rather high risk/high reward. In this position, the player needs to focus on having very good air control, making very good use of normals and being able to threaten the opponent from any range. In a way, Leona's qcb+K ear rings can act a lot like Mature's projectile. She can zone around and start an offense in this way if she is at the further range. It is best to focus on meter less combos sense Leona can easily get over 200+ damage per combo, even off a hit confirm from crouching B, should the opponent convert into the said combo. NOTE: cr.B x2, st.B, f+B, air qcb+C, d~charge~u+P provides 220 damage. Leona can kill an opponent with roughly five of these BnB combos as every character in the game has only 1001 health point calculated within their own health bar (it takes one more damage from 1000 to kill an opponent).

Position Two: Leona can do well in this situation and this may arguably be her best position. Leona can get up to 700+ damage easily from an HD combo for 1 bar, thus making her extremely dangerous. The first character should make sure to provide Leona with at least a full drive and/or one or two bars so that Leona can capitalize later in the match. Always keep the number of play styles in mind because Leona will advocate many of them based on how her move set is constructed. Leona's EX qcb+K is pretty trustworthy at the mid and further ranges. Leona's EX moves in general are relatively useful as they either have very faster start up or they are good for setting the opponent up for failure.

Third Team Position Leona also does well in this situation too because in this scenario, she'd probably have a lot of meter available anyway, assuming the opponent had already managed their meter in such a way where Leona can benefit later on in the match. Her role is more or less the same as it would be in the second position and Leona has a very decent comeback factor. Take note of the subjects mentioned in the second position.

Character Matchups

Andy Bogard

Ash Crimson

Athena Asamiya

Benimaru Nikaido

Billy Kane

Chin Gentsai

Clark Still

Duo Lon

Elisabeth Branctorche

Goro Daimon

Hwa Jai

Iori Yagami (Claw)

Iori Yagami (Flame)

Joe Higashi

K'

Kim Kaphwan

King

Kula Diamond

Kyo Kusanagi (XIII) (mirror match)

Kyo Kusanagi (NESTS)

Leona Heidern

Mai Shiranui

Mature

Maxima

Raiden

Ralf Jones

Robert Garcia

Ryo Sakazaki

Saiki

Shen Woo

Sie Kensou

Takuma Sakazaki

Mr. Karate

Terry Bogard

Vice

Yuri Sakazaki