The King of Fighters XIII/Terry Bogard/Strategy

Spacing

Far Range

At Far Range, Terry can play the "shoto-game". In this sense, you use your fireballs to keep them out. If they hop at you, use st.A or far D to poke them out of the air. If they roll, you can run up and poke them on their recovery with d.C's superior far range or your sweep. Remember, you can always cancel your sweep into fireball. From long range, there's a number of things you can do when your opponent full jumps. If they full jump, you can easily charge Rising Tackle and hit them out of the air. If they're running in from far range and you expect them to jump, you can also throw out A or C Burn Knuckle. C Burn Knuckle is a lot easier to react to, but has longer range which means you can cover the full length of the floor. The top choice to cover the full length of the ground is EX Burn Knuckle or Buster Wolf. EX Burn Knuckle has a better hit box, but Buster Wolf is a lot faster.

When playing the fireball war, Terry's EX Power wave will eat atleast 3 normal fireballs. The best part is even if it ate a few fireballs, if your opponent lands on the fireball or rolls into it, it'll still hit the full 3 times. The fact that it moves so slow is a bonus because it's a longer threat on the field as well as gives you a chance to respond to it if they try to jump or roll it. For the most part, use specials to poke people out of the air until they come to you.

If you're trying to get in, your best option is to jump in. You could use D crackshoot to cover the air space and its recovery isn't so bad on whiff. If you know your opponent, exercise caution and approach grounded opponent's with your longer range st.B or poke them out of the air with other normals as you get closer.

Mid Range

Mid range with Terry can be a make or break area. This is the range where throwing fireballs is not a good idea because someone can easily hop in on you for damage. However, you're far enough that you can still use your far normals. This is where you get the most bang for your buck with Terry's great and fast normals. You can poke people pretty easy with st.C. Remember that you can super cancel st.C on hit. It's a very good thing to know and to use because any extra damage can mean you winning or you losing if you don't. St.D is a great normal for anti-air and it hits low enough that it'll hit standing opponents. People can duck far D so be careful of that.

Make use of some normals that are special cancellable as well. St.A and d.A is cancellable at any range, even whiff cancellable. St.B is whiff cancellable only for crackshoot, but that works out very well because st.B is pretty far range. Some might walk or run into its range and get poked, allowing you to crackshoot for free. Terry's sweep is whiff cancellable as well as his st.CD. You can use Terry's long sweep to kind of poke at people or make them trigger happy, then cancel into a far moving special like crackshoot.

For people that are not respecting Terry's proximity and throw fireballs, I would suggest using C version power wave. Those people that are confident in their fireball game even from close range will be surprised because C version power wave goes through other fireballs and causes a soft knockdown. If they're not ready to tech, you can run in and get a cross up situation or just get in close range where you can shine. If you cancel into crackshoot, you usually can usually catch them and it puts you in close range. Against grapplers, I'd suggest neutral jumping up to avoid being thrown if you attempted this, but if someone is blocking low and you hit them with crackshoot (D version), a well timed st.C will stuff them because Terry is +2 on block in that situation.

From this range as well, you can go on the offensive in the air. Jump D is pretty long range and sets you up for a cross up if you super jump over them. Air to air, I'd suggest jump CD or jump B as they have horizontal hitboxes.

Close Range

This is where Terry is the most dangerous. Close range, Terry can do a lot of serious damage. His st.C and st.D are all very fast and can lead into full combos. You can keep poking someone with d.B, d.A and run in right after to keep the pressure on your opponent. You can mix up your attack strings, but keep at it with light attacks for the most part.

List of light strings: d.B, d.A...Run up

d.B, d.A, d.B, st.B...Run up

d.B, d.B, st.B...Run up

In any of those light strings, you can end with st.B into st.CD. There's very little room for people to respond, especially if you're really close to them! Since st.CD is cancellable on block, you can keep up the pressure and push them with specials. Powerwave is a good ender to pressure with and leave you pretty safe. However, crackshoot is -2 for the B version and -1 if the opponent is standing for the D version. Terry is at +2 frame advantage if someone blocks crackshoot low. You can set this up on block with low B strings into st.B D crackshoot. You can throw out a sweep and cancel it into df+C into D crackshoot. You can even cancel the sweep straight into the crackshoot. It allows you to keep the pressure on especially if they're not sure how to respond. You can hop straight up and press D to catch people who want to hit you with a throw or do a meaty st.C to stuff any attempt to counter attack you. It's a strong move, but with a big weakness. Most people can lower their hitbox by doing low Bs or sweeps so don't abuse it, catch them off guard.

In midscreen, on hit with st.C or D, the best thing you can do is hit them with df+C and burn knuckle. On block, hitting with powerwave or crackshoot are the best options.

Cornered Opponent

When you have someone cornered, you're usually at an advantage and disadvantage with Terry. One advantage is you can do a no stock combo in the corner. This is good when you want to finish off people and keep them guessing. In the corner, you can also get aggressive. You can hop in and go for the high-low mix ups, maybe even empty hop throw or jump-in into his EX crackshoot if you know they're trying to block for lows. Another clear advantage is the ability to guardbreak. Terry has strong normals and pressuring tools in his D Crackshoot, his EX Power wave, and more. If you hop in on someone, you can go for your jump D but land and do a sweep. From there, you cancel it into df+C and D Crackshoot. Unless they react fast, they won't block standing. If they weren't blocking low at all, they get hit! You immediately press C and throw out an EX power wave for more pressure. From this position, you can jump in and do any string for a guard break. Terry can really run you down.

Another advantage to cornering your opponent, but still maintaining pressure, is your anti-air options. Cornering your opponent with Terry gives you 3 moves, not including specials that give you the opportunity to snag people trying to move out. You throw in a block string or get a knockdown, back up, and throw a far st.D or a far st.C. Both have really long range and can hit people as they try to jump. Not only that, they hurt a lot for 80, 70 damage respectively. df+C is a great anti-air and even more so in the corner with hop happy people. You keep pressuring them and they try to jump, your df+C will be ready for them every time even if they super jump.

The disadvantages are abound though. If you run someone to the corner, your power output is garbage. Terry does not get much out of HD mode in the corner. He can cancel easily, but the combo won't do any real damage. Also, EX DMs like EX Power Geyser and EX Buster Wolf won't do the full hits off a corner only HD combo. Means you're being jipped out of some serious damage. The most irritating disadvantage is cornering your opponent means your Neomax is useless. It'll hit once, maybe twice, but not the full 3 hits you want.

Cornered

When YOU are cornered, you also have an advantage as well as a disadvantage surprisingly! Your disadvantage is your lack of movement. To make some of Terry's specials safe, you need to give yourself some room to space them out. In the corner, that's not possible. Unless you see someone jump, I'd go for pressuring them with low B's to get out of the corner or walk up to tick throw them. If you see someone jump, bust an EX Rising Tackle for their troubles. It's 4 frames start up and one meter, but it's completely invincible. However, DPs can be safe jumped (People jump at you and land before your active frames of your move come out), so it's possible some characters can out pace you.

The clear advantage to putting Terry in the corner is like backing a rabid wolf into a corner. They're gonna come out strong and fast. All of Terry's DMs, EX DMs, even his Neomax will hit for full damage. This also means something simple like a simple st.D, f+A, [HDA], st.D, f+A, qcb+A, [HDC] qcb, hcf+AC, [MC[ qcfx2+AC will net you 935 damage. Even for two bars, he can go into an HD combo and still destroy a lot of life. If you catch someone slipping, you can go into a d.B, d.A, d.BC activation for Terry to get an HD combo off a low. You can also catch them off an unsafe move and let'em have it.

Meter options

With No Meter/No Drive

With no meter, Terry is still a pretty beasty person. Position yourself either in far screen with fireballs or midscreen at first. Once you score a knockdown or you see they're respecting your space, you go in on them hard. Don't let them off easy. Use d.B, st.B, st.CD into a whiff cancelled crackshoot or power wave to keep them pressured. Keep on them with high lows, rushing in with low Bs. Once you get your first stock, you're still not out of the woods yet so keep digging for hits or forcing them to block till you have some drive. Stick to normals for anti-air, but if they're not respecting your space or jumping full on at you, hit them with a rising tackle. A is faster, but C has full body invicibility on start up. People who want to pressure you after they knock you down will eat it.

With 1+ Meter/No Drive

With 1 meter and no drive, you're still pretty good. 1 bar can be used defensively for an EX rising tackle or a Power Geyser for those that want to jump in and you want to make them pay for it. If you feel like you're having problems getting in, you can get back and throw a fireball. From there, you can do a buster wolf or EX Burn Knuckle to catch them if they jumped or rolled. You can get even more offensive by throwing in an EX Power wave. It moves slow, but eats up projectiles. Opponents that don't jump it will eat 3 hits and be pinned down. Opponents that block it are still pinned down long enough for you to get in on them.

On counter hit, you can get an EX Power Geyser to combo into a Buster Wolf. That's some big meter, but you're still going to be limited no matter what you do. A few bars of stock are still good for Terry for poking and getting in, but as JuiceboxAbel says "You need both butter and bread to make some toast!".

With No Meter/50%-100% Drive

With 50% to 100% drive, you're still half in there. For 50% drive, you can get in your B crackshoot in mid screen, but you won't be able to follow it up with anything other than normals. My suggestion is use st.B and cancel that into A power wave. You'll hit them on the way down and the power wave will be properly timed to make them block it or take the hit on the way down. This is a pretty nice reset as well because when they land, they recover standing. Means you can rush in before they can react or get a chance to recollect themselves from being hit with a combo. Resets aren't bad, utilize them for that extra damage and mixup potential!

With full drive, you can go into an HD combo. The midscreen combo is fairly complicated. Timing is a serious issue with that combo. However, in the corner, you can get upwards of 600 damage for no meter. That's not bad at all! Push them to the corner and get in with that HD combo. If you had meter previously and find you only have 1, but need to use it to get in, use it to go for a guard break situation. If you are pressuring them with crackshoot and they're just blocking, hit a st.C into EX power wave and get the jump-in into HD activation. You'll still get the 600 damage without having to trick your opponent into not blocking. So far, no stock drive cancel combos don't do a lot of damage and are a pretty big waste.

With 1+ Meter/50%-100% Drive

With meter and drive, your BnB combos are all open to you. With 3+ bars, you can get in for some HD combos from midscreen and make them eat a lot of damage for just a few hits. For 1-2 bars, I'd go for an HD combo in the corner. It's easier to hit and definitely more damaging. In midscreen with 50% bar, you can still do some nasty damage. If you're worried about timing or want to do more damage, instead of finishing your => qcb+A, [DC] qcb+B, d~u+AC with the EX Rising Tackle, you can do Buster Wolf or EX Buster wolf. Both will do a lot of damage and hurt even more so if you got the meter to use. Remember, with Terry, you don't play with your food. If you have the meter, use it! He's able to build it back, but it's never good to leave someone out long enough to do more damage to you. Get the max damage you can get in a situation with Terry.

In terms of neutral game, drive and meter are fairly the same as the above sections. Just try to get in the damage now that you've got the tools to use it.

Meter Building

Terry is able to build meter by whiffing Burn Knuckle, Rising Tackle, and Crack Shot. Rising Tackle builds the most meter on hit and on whiff.

One Drive:

• j.D, s.C (2 hits), df.C, qcb+A [DC] qcb+B, d charge u+A = 386 dmg = Approx. 70% meter

• j.D, s.C (2 hits), df.C, qcb+A [DC] d charge u+A = 309 dmg = Approx. 48% meter

Two Drive:

• j.D, s.C (2 hits), df.C, qcb+A [DC] qcb+B, d charge u+A [DC] qcb+B = 396 dmg = 80% meter

• j.D, s.C (2 hits), df.C, qcb+A [DC] d charge u+A [DC] qcb+B = Approx. 60% meter

Frame Traps and Links

• (L) = Is a frametrap on block but can link and combo on hit.

• "n frame gap" = The opponent has n frames to counter the frame trap after blocking the first move.

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

2.) 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.

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

4.) cr. A > cl. D - 4 frame gap between cr. A and cl. D.

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

6.) st. B > cr. A - 3 frame gap between st. B and cr. A.

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

8.) st. B > cl. C (L) - 2 frame gap between st. B and cl. C.

9.) st. B > df+C (L) - 2 frame gap between st. B and df. C.

10.) st. B > cl. D - 3 frame gap between st. A and cl. D.

11.) st. B > st. B - 4 frame gap between st. B and st. B.

12.) qcb+B (blocked in crouch position) > st. A - 4 frame gap between qcb+B (blocked on crouch position) and st. A. St. A whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

13.) qcb+B (blocked in crouch position) > cr. B - 4 frame gap between qcb+B (blocked on crouch position) and cr. B.

14.) qcb+B (blocked in crouch position) > cl. C - 4 frame gap between qcb+B (blocked on crouch position) and cl. C.

15.) qcb+B (blocked in crouch position) > df+C - 4 frame gap between qcb+B (blocked on crouch position) and df+C.

16.) qcb+D (blocked in crouch position) > st. A - 2 frame gap between qcb+D (blocked on crouch position) and st. A. St. A whiffs on crouching opponents, except on Daimon, Raiden, and Maxima.

17.) qcb+D (blocked in crouch position) > cr. A - 3 frame gap between qcb+D (blocked on crouch position) and cr. A.

18.) qcb+D (blocked in crouch position) > st. B - 4 frame gap between qcb+D (blocked on crouch position) and st. B.

19.) qcb+D (blocked in crouch position) > cr. B - 2 frame gap between qcb+D (blocked on crouch position) and cr. B.

20.) qcb+D (blocked in crouch position) > cl. C - 2 frame gap between qcb+D (blocked on crouch position) and cl. C.

21.) qcb+D (blocked in crouch position) > df+C - 2 frame gap between qcb+D (blocked on crouch position) and df+C.

22.) qcb+D (blocked in crouch position) > cl. D - 3 frame gap between qcb+D (blocked on crouch position) and cl. D.

Best Team Position?

Terry is a very, very versatile character albeit a bit situational. For beginners, most players would choose for Terry to put Terry as a point guard middle character. Even if you're advanced, Terry is still a good middle road character because he needs drive in order to do combos and that's not easy for him to build if you're not used to the game or him in general. As you understand Terry, he can take on the first or last position. Terry can be very defensive and as well as bust open people with his specials. As long as you know the options you have and what's the best way to get in on your opponent, you don't need meter to deal damage to a person.

That's why if you feel like you know Terry, can use his normals, and have a strong idea of how to get into HD mode, you can play him first or last at best.

Character Matchups

Andy Bogard

• Andy is generally a fireball/shoto character. If you notice an opponent is commiting to a fireball game, use C version power wave or EX Power wave to crack them open. If they jump it, use df+C to knock them in the air and get in. Once you crack him open, use your normals to poke him until he makes a mistake or go for a cross up.

Ash Crimson

• Ash is a fireball turtle. It's not advised to be far away from him. Keep a look out for his meter and approach close enough to get into C power wave range. You can use EX power wave as well to counter his fireballs and score a good combo. On a knockdown, don't try for meaty wake ups unless you're trying to bait him. You'll get beaten out by his light Pluviose. Just play patient and pressure when you get in.

Athena Asamiya

• Athena is generally a fireball/shoto character. You want to get around her fireball tactics and cause a hard knockdown. Apply C version power wave or EX power wave at a close distance to counter and beat her fireball as well as cause a soft knockdown. Once she's down, get in and apply mixups and frame traps. You can use a meaty low B to beat out her A version DP.

Benimaru Nikaido

• Benimaru is a wild type of character. His jump D is really hard to deal with. However, he's floaty and your C Rising tackle is invincible on start up. Wait for him to jump in on you or try to cross you up as late as you can. Once he crosses up, hit him with C rising tackle or EX Rising tackle. Get that knockdown and apply some pressure with cross ups or frame traps. You can punish his Raijinken and Benimaru Lancer with your C power wave as well.

Billy Kane

• Billy is a rush down and zoning type of character depending on the preference of a player. Be very careful of his DP. It's punishable on block with low B at the earliest frame, but you need to time it right. His EX DP is not punishable on block, run forward to make it whiff and get in on him when he lands. Don't get trapped in his d.B x3, f+A blockstring. Don't swing at it as Terry doesn't have any thing fast enough to punish it. Jump straight up on the second f+A and snag him on the way down with j.D.

Chin Gentsai

• Chin is a counter type as well as an anti-fireball character. His roll into backfist isn't safe, you can punish it with Far C. If you jump and you notice him do a diagonal shuffle, he's countering. Empty jump on him and get a throw for a hard knockdown. On wake up, he doesn't have a lot of options without meter so you can use your meaty low B immediately as he wakes up to poke him out of a reversal.

Clark Still

• Clark is a grappler and should be respected. His 1 frame command grab can punish your D crackshoot. Instead of trying to guess, jump after hitting him with crackshoot and make him whiff a grab if he tries. Otherwise, space your crackshoots and play patient. His gatling attack (b~f+P) is punishable with d.B on the earliest frame. Use it to punish him. If you're not confident in your ability to d.B, jump afterwards. It's not the safest option as he can just instant jump air grab. His guardpoint grab is useful when you jump or when he's getting you on wake up. However, Terry's C Rising Tackle on reaction will punish him for doing it on wake up. Charge down and when you see it happen, let'er rip. Otherwise, use light attacks to poke and be ready to hop at a moment's notice to avoid being grabbed.

Duo Lon

• Duolon is a mixup heavy character with a lot of specific setups. Do not let him control you with his pressure or get you confused. Play solid and attack him from the air. Cover the ground space with fireballs as well to keep him in the air or jumping. He doesn't have a lot of options at midrange that deal with anti-air. If you get in the high low and force him to block your approach, you'll be set to apply pressure with your light normals like d.B x2, st.B, st.CD into more pressure. Keep going at him and don't let Duolon escape!

Elisabeth Branctorche

• Elisabeth is a tough cookie. She uses her fireball to zone and getting a random hit with her DP is a full combo. What you want to do is the same strategy, score yourself a knockdown to stop her momentum and get in. If she's not respecting you and expects to jump, she'll throw fireballs to counter jump ins. Her normals aren't the best for keeping you out. Use this to your advantage at neutral to use C power wave to get around her fireball game. Once that's done, get in her face and time your approach.

• She doesn't have a one frame command grab or a lower body invulnerable DP that's super fast so poke her right when she wakes up or scare her with how close you are. With EX meter though, exercise caution and bait out reversals. She's not safe if you block a DP.

Goro Daimon

• Goro is a very solid grappler and should be respected. At 3 meter, you want to keep him from getting comfortable pressuring you. Anti-air him with your normals like df+C and or Rising tackle so you can reset his pressure. Try to cross him up. His big body makes him a big target and his st.D won't work if you cross him up from a knock down. Space him out with far normals and watch out for his st.B. Don't get in grab range, especially when he has meter.

Hwa Jai

• Hwa Jai is a pressure and rushdown type of character. You have to give him no quarter. When he has meter, try to stay away from him to avoid his command grab and use light moves so your recovery will be light and ready to jump to avoid it. His strong DP is not safe to your light normals, but his light version is. Try not to pressure him on wake up, just give him enough space to make mistakes and rush in when he makes a guess.

• If he's spamming st.D, use your sweep to go under and hit him. Even if it trades, it's still in your favor. His heel kick isn't safe, but the air version causes a lot of blockstun. Be carefully to and anti-air at the earliest opportunity with your normals or Rising tackle.

Iori Yagami (Claw)

• Iori is a very aggressive character that focuses on rushdown and up-down hop mixups. Jumping in on him is hard because his st.C is really high up and can anti-air right over his head. What you want to do is make your ground game strong. Anti-air his approaches with df+C, st.A, and the like. Approach cautiously and make sure to get in close. Once you're in, mess him up with your pressure strings or frame traps. Get in meaty low Bs on wake up as his DP doesn't have lower body invincibility and his command grab isn't 1 frame.

Iori Yagami (Flame)

Neutral

• Long range never lasts long in this matchup due to Iori's optimal range being closer to you. In either case, the only options you both have are your fireballs. If he uses his A fireball, he is likely trying to create space to get close, so be wary of reacting with your own power wave in that situation, making sure he doesn't close in to hop range by the time you would launch it. The C version has significantly more recovery despite its speed being much higher, and you can keep pace with him thanks to power wave's faster recovery. As mentioned, Iori wants to get close and his fast hops and run speed guarantee this phase doesn't last long at all.

• At mid range, as usual, is where the matchup is the most crucial. At the max length of his hop/normal jump, you need to be VERY careful of poking with standing C. Although you will anti-air his hops at that range, if Iori guesses the standing C correctly and full jumps instead, he will come down in time to hit you during recovery and nail a full combo, hard knockdown included. At this range you are going to want to close in just a bit with maximum range A burn knuckle and B crackshoot to stay out of close C range upon landing and try to go into your poke range. Additionally, it is advisable not to try to bait him into landing at EX power wave. It is doable, but the reward for him getting his jump right generally outweighs yours for hitting him. Don't rule it our altogether, but try to be absolutely sure you have the range right.

Once at your ideal pokerange, your normals are slightly faster than his, and he can struggle to keep up. If he tries to protect his space with his heavier normals (particularly standing D), your standing CD can come into play as a fakeout. Standing CD is also useful for weaving backwards if he hops at maximum hop range and (at least) forcing him to block upon landing, taking away his attempt to gain momentum.

The idea here is to keep him grounded as much as possible. Iori is a hop-happy character by nature due to the sheer speed of his hop and how well he combos after it, so your standing A and df. C will see a lot of work here. If you hit him with df.C, always cancel into B crackshoot in case of a counter hit. Even if it doesn't, you keep the advantage and build some meter.

If you manage to establish this ground control, you can then try to run in with a down B, down A string to try to switch to the offensive. It is not recommended to run in with close C too often because Iori's close C is faster than yours and he will not hesitate to defend himself with it. Also, he has his EX command grab for the situations where he correctly predicts your ground offense, and that gives him a full combo and knockdown.

It is undavisable to try to take on Iori in the air-to-air game. His jumping B outranges yours, and his jumping D is a good catch-all tool he can harass you with. Quickfire jump A and B from your end can work, but that presents the threat of Iori staying grounded and low profiling you.

Of course, a primary threat for Iori to eclipse your strong poke range is to try to counter-poke with Aoi Hana. Success for him means a knockdown and the time for him to establish his strong offense. Its hitbox is very good and can even anti-air you if you try to hop in. The key with Aoi Hana is to recognize its weakness on block and how it essentially turns the situation into a guessing game for Iori where you have guaranteed ways out, and he doesn't. Refer to the Key Punishes section for some more details on this.

Offense

Once you've at least made Iori start blocking, you can keep harassing him with quick blockstrings off your crouching target combo, mixing in hops outside the range of his close C to give him something else to think about. If you hop, though, make sure to hit your jump-in late because Iori's crouching B makes his hitbox very low to the ground. Add in a few jump-checking measures (standing C for example) to prevent him from trying to hop his way out if there's a lull in your attack. Your close C will mostly be reserved for if you make him block a jump-in, but as usual be careful of what you cancel into to avoid potential guard cancel rolls. If you go to EX crackshoot as a mixup, be sure not to do it too close as he can punish it with close C. He can punish at all ranges with his EX Oniyaki as well.

Your standing B can help you maintin pressure if you get out of close range thanks to its advantage on block and good reach. Standing CD, as it did in neutral, can also help here as a fakeout against Iori's attempts to counter, and on block it can go into several options to aid your pressure.

The most important thing to be careful of when pressuring Iori is to watch for his primary defensive tools. His close C being 3 frames and having high vertical reach means you need to watch your hop and jump distance. His EX command grab can blow through frame trap attempts and meaties, and his invincible Oniyaki (both heavy and EX) can be drive cancelled into command grab to net him that all-important hard knockdown. Keep your pressure on the safe side as much as you can, maybe letting an EX power wave or two loose to make him worry about his guard gauge. With that threat established, you give him more reason to try to reversal his way out, and you can capitalize by baiting him.

If you knock him down, the main thing to worry about when setting him up is, again, EX command grab. It does a good job of dealing with safe jumps, so mix it up by empty jumping then hopping to bait it. Oniyaki still presents a threat (thought not against correct safejumps, more so as a guess against your pressure afterwards). Oniyaki does have the weakness of not covering above Iori's head too well at all. It is baitable by jumping forward to clear it completely.

As you can see, Iori can play a lot of guessing games with you even on your own offense, but the advantage can be kept thanks to the variety present in your blockstrings (delays, cancellable options, baits, guard crushes, etc.) and you have options to prevent Iori from getting out too easily. Keep it steady, and don't rush.

Defense

This is where things can get REALLY tough. Iori has long been perhaps the definitive offensive KOF character and that has not changed. Iori can pressure with his dual low combination of close B and crouching B, as well as the good frame advantage of his close A. Combined with his 3-frame close C it makes for a very lethal combination of normals. His basic low/ command grab/ hop mixup once he's in is very dangerous, and your options against it once it's fully established are limited. Blocking and looking for gaps may seem like a decent idea, but then he can command grab you and, provided meter, carry you all the way to the opposite corner. His EX command grab in particular will light up any attempts to interrupt his offense, granting him that all important knockdown. If you are going to try to hit quick buttons (crouching B or A) to get out, be sure he is not in command grab range. Granted that condition, you will be able to stop run-ins and Aoi Hana, but his hop game will then come into play by trying to hop over and hit you in recovery. Mix in standing A for this scenario.

Although you do have an invincible reversal in rising tackle, even your EX version can be safejumped by Iori. This relegates it to you making educated guesses on his offense in terms of his frame traps and command grab attempts in order to stuff them and regain parity, which is a risky maneuver considering he can use his extended backdash (backdash back B) to bait it and get a clean punish.

The goal on defense is to find the right time to interrupt/ reverse and regain the right distance from which you can start anti-airing him and poking him again. Try not to respect his mixups too much because that is the sort of thing Iori players prey on to make his tools work. Take your punishes where you can, especially if he uses Aoi Hana. This is difficult, but at least you do have options and success puts the match back at your best range in it (midrange).

Key Punishes

• A Aoi Hana: Standing C, Buster Wolf, EX Buster Wolf (if he delays a second A Aoi hana, you can stuff him with df.C or standing A if he delays too long. In general, EX Buster Wolf is guaranteed in all situations thanks to its invincibility beating the second rekka at all possible timings)
• C Aoi Hana: Same as A Aoi Hana. The block stun on C version is higher so keep that in mind if trying to reversal against delayed second and third hits.
• C Yami Barai (up to just outside your sweep distance): Buster Wolf, EX Buster wolf
• All Desperation moves: close C/ crouching B,A,C > Combo
• A Oniyaki (max range): run in close C > Combo. (Just listed this one because its recovery looks fast, but it isn't)

Thanks: ReikiKito (general matchup write up in the matchup thread), Jacquez Mitchell and NB Mexiken (Punishing Aoi Hana)

Joe Higashi

• Joe is a character abundant with frame traps and fireball traps. You want to not respect his spacing whatsoever. When he's away from you and launching fireballs, use C version at the right distance to score that knockdown.

• You CAN hop Joe's fireball, albeit it doesn't look like you can. Don't respect his fireball with a full jump or he's going to anti-air you.

• Pay attention to the spacing of his moves. If he throws a thrust kick randomly, it's probably spaced to make it safe. Move forward a little and it'll make it unsafe.

K'

Kim Kaphwan

• Neutral:
• At long range:

Use A power wave to zone. Although Kim can use ff+A (Yopuchagi) to hop over the projectile, Terry is considered crouching when he does power wave, which will make Kim whiff. The advantage depends on when Kim does the attack. (The closer his timing to when you launched the projectile, the better for him, and vice versa). Kim can guess jump to get over and punish, so try to keep your opponent guessing your projectile pattern and anti-air him if he jumps at the wrong time. Power wave's animation is long enough to store a rising tackle in case you need one. You can also use EX power wave if he guesses a regular one to try to make him land on top of it and give you a free combo opportunity. Kim can resort to hopping at safe distances (i.e.where you can't use close-range anti-airs) to close in on you. If he hops late enough, and if you have the meter, you can nail him with EX buster wolf. The match will never stay at long range for much time due to Kims always trying closing in to at least mid-range, and Terry’s projectile game not being strong enough to prevent that.

• Mid-range

This range makes or breaks this matchup. This is the range starting from the maximum range of your A burn knuckle (and also Kim' EX Hangetsuzan), and reaching poke distance, with the focus being on Kim' far standing D. Your crouching A is your primary tool against standing D. You will duck underneath the first hit and can confirm into crouching C for a full combo. Smarter Kims will shy away from this attack and go for his other buttons (B and C) to discourage you by whiff punishing your crouching A. This is where the rest of your pokes come in (standing B for quick poking and frame advantage, standing C for whiffs, and standing CD for fakeouts). However, be wary that going to that poking game can open you up to standing D again. It's essentially a guessing game against that attack but you have the tools necessary to handle it. Both of his other poking options (standing B, standing C) are -6 on block making the poking game much easier to handle with D out of the picture. It also allows more room to utilize standing CD to weave out of poke range and potentially land a counter hit into a combo. Kim can also use his own standing CD, which has good range but slow startup. Watch out for his sweep, as it can reach you from very long range. Max distance burn knuckles and light crack shoots can also come in handy, especially if you control the ground well enough to force Kim to jump into them. Make sure to convert these into combos when the height is right. Outside standing D's range, if Kim has meter, ALWAYS be careful of EX hangetsuzan! It can whiff punish any errant poke, and grant Kim a hard knockdown for one of his many setups to which Terry has no reliable answer. If he doesn’t, you can play a little looser but be wary of trying to throw power waves. A quick hop over and Kim is right in your face with advantage. For the air-to-air game (should you choose to go this route), early jump B and jump A will be your best bets against Kim’s ever-present jump CD, which is slower than both of those. However, if Kim decides to stay on the ground, he can crouch clean underneath both of those buttons and punish you. Jump C can be a happy medium ground, but its slower speed can leave you on the losing end.

• Offense

Kim can be very tough to establish offense against, especially when it comes to closing distance. Between the long range of his crouching B and having a 3-frame close D you need to take care in your approach. Choose your times to run in carefully, best done after getting frame advantage with crouching A or standing B, or if he whiffs a poke. Stagger your block strings and make him panic for his guard gauge. If you do crouching B in your pressure, make sure to rapid-fire into crouching A quickly to stop any attempts to go over with standing D. If you push him back a ways with your pressure, you can go to standing CD to bait his button presses. Late cancels from your crouching C can also be used to bait impatient Kims, using B crackshoot to catch them trying to jump out and power wave to stop him from advancing. However, be careful of using power wave and EX power wave in delayed blockstrings. Kim can standing D over it to punish you. When you knock Kim down, DO NOT TRY TO SAFEJUMP HIM IF HE HAS METER! You can only do so off an EX crackshoot or corner throw, and every other setup will see him swat you out of the air with his 3-frame EX Hienzan. You can try to fake him out, however, by empty- jumping early at him to bait it. It also prevents you from crossing him up after throws, and he can even land a meterless flash kick on you depending on how unsafe your crossup attempt was. Your hop game can struggle against Kim thanks to his standing B and D covering great anti-hop angles. However, both moves have a decent amount of whiff recovery, which allows you to get in by normal jumping if you read for them correctly (and assuming he didn’t charge a Hienzan), at least forcing him to block. Keep that to a minimum until you can get that read, though, because a successful Kim anti-air with Hienzan gives him a hard knockdown and flips the momentum right back to him. Kim’s other meter-based reversal, qcfx2+B, is one to watch out for as an anti-air mostly. As a reversal, you want to make it whiff more than anything, because while it is relatively safe on block, it is awful on whiff.

• Defense

This is the hardest phase of the matchup by far, especially when Kim knocks you down. Terry has no legitimate answer to any of Kim’s safe jumps, so you are forced to respect his pressure a lot. However, learning to recognize the setups yourself is key, as you CAN rising tackle unsafe crossup attempts, especially if you use the EX version and delay it for the crossup. If Kim decides to go for an ambiguous roll, nothing you can do. Just block as best as you can or bet the farm on a rising tackle if you feel you have the right read. Blocking against Kim is primarily about watching how he spaces out his crouching B strings, and whether he chooses to throw standing D into the mix instead of standing B. Try not to let yourself get frame trapped by delayed crouching Bs, and learn to recognize the distance at which the next crouching B will whiff. If you try to interrupt with crouching B, remember to rapid fire into crouching A to stop standing D if he goes to it, and you can regain momentum by comboing him. Also, watch for delayed cancels off standing B into the safe EX Hangetsuzan. That will stuff any button you try to throw. Kims who play their pressure safely (use jump CD for safe jumps, don’t end blockstrings in standing B too often, limit use of standing D, etc.) will be a pain, and you will have to be very patient in your attempts to get out. However, be wary of when Kims go crazy as well. His air D hangetsuzan instant overhead is safe and gets him that all –important knockdown, and he also has air EX hangetsuzan to bait your reversals with thanks to its invincibility. With HD, Kim is even more dangerous because he has a standing overhead (f+b) that he can combo into HD from in addition to his low starter. His throw game is also potent due to multiple setups he can do from it.

Moral of the story: Once on the defensive, look for your escapes very carefully. It is never simple to get out against Kim, but watch for the openings (bad use of standing D, reacting to an overhead by stuffing it, etc.) and regain your momentum.

• Notable Punishes:

Standing B: Standing B or EX rising tackle (distance dependent, not always guaranteed) B Hienzan: crouching A/crouching C > combo D Hienzan: Run-up close C/D > Combo Ff+A: A burn knuckle, buster wolf (Either) (Assuming he doesn’t do an air hangetsuzan or hishoukyaku) Regular Hishoukyaku: A burn knuckle Hou’ou Kyaku (both versions)/ Neomax: Close C > combo Air B hangetsuzan (close):Close C > Combo Close D (no cancel): crouching B, EX Rising Tackle (Distance dependent)

Thanks to: Wild Wallace (Importance of crouching A), Reiki Kito (General matchup info, punishes)

King

Kula Diamond

Kyo Kusanagi (XIII)

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 (mirror match)

'Vice

Yuri Sakazaki