Axl Low

== Overview ==
Axl has very long reach, and very good anti-air moves. He also has good offense and high damage. With the right set up or resources, dealing 200 damage plus knock down in a single combo is easy. Axl's weakness is that he has very few options when he's forced on the defensive at close range. Therefore, Axl players strive to keep the momentum in their favor, and to escape pressure as safely as possible. When defending, Axl prefers long range; when attacking, Axl thrives at most any distance, but has the best options when up close.
== Movelist ==
Input 	Attack 	Quick Notes
Specials 	Specials 	Specials
Hold 4 for 30F, 6 S 	Rensengeki 	A green three-hit projectile. If your opponent jumps or IADs over this, prepare for pain. Has an FRC that is basically required for any mid-to-high-level Axl play, and two followups for anti-air and anti-running/combo-ending respectively.
623 P 	Housoubako 	A counter move. It's pretty risky, but occasional use will stop your opponent being predictable, and get you out of situations you wouldn't otherwise have an answer for. It wall bounces the opponent if it's a counter hit.
623 S/H 	Bentengari 	An uppercut that doesn't leave the ground. Very fast and throw-invincible, but neither version is fully strike-invincible. The S version is faster than any of Axl's normals, FRCable, and upper-body invincible. The H version is slower and lower-body invincible, reaches into the air (can be used against IADs), and can be followed up for knockdown.
Hold 4 for 30F, 6 H 	Rashousen 	
An unblockable but slow projectile. Like Rensengeki, if it's jumped over, you're going to get hurt. Can be canceled, effectively making a fake version for mixup purposes.
Force Breaks 	Force Breaks 	Force Breaks
421 D (After 623 P catches a move)	Shinarami No Homura 	A damaging followup to the 623 P counter that launches the opponent pretty high. Can be comboed after for pretty big damage.
Overdrive 	Overdrive 	Overdrive
2363214 H 	Some Crappy Move 	This overdrive, like most, has nice invulnerability, but it's overall pretty crappy. Axl has far better uses of tension. Axl's only fully-invulnerable move.
Instant Kill 	Instant Kill 	Instant Kill
236236 H 	Rensen Ougi: Midaregami	
Input 	Attack 	Quick Notes
== Combos ==
* 5K, c.S, 5H, 2D, Rensengeki (Truncate moves as needed depending on spacing. This combo is achieved by holding back during the gatling string to charge for Rensengeki. If your opponent is in the corner and you're close after the Rensengeki hits, tap 2 for additional damage.)
* c.S, 5H, 623 H, 623 H (This combo does not require charging for Rensengeki, and also deals more damage than c.S, 5H, Rensengeki. You may need to dash into this combo for shorter characters, and it won't work at all on the shortest ones.)
Bomber loops: Axl's most damaging combos revolve around causing groundbounce with 623H. While the simplest and most universal loop uses repetitions of 2S, j.D, j.623H, character-specific variants can yield much higher damage output. Most of these start with:
Launch --> c.S, j.D, Bomber.
In order to start this loop, you need a launcher. Launchers include: j.623 H, j.623 D (Do j.623 H right after to carry your opponent to the ground), 623 S FRC, Rensengeki FRC, j.D (Land) 5K, corner throw, etc. The timing varies by character; you have to know how much delay you need to put in at what places, and that just takes practice. To end a Bomber loop, you'll want to do Rensengeki plus its 2 followup. This will knock down and pull the opponent slightly from the corner. Making the loop techable can be a fairly reliable airthrow setup.
== Advanced Analysis ==
Axl has quite varied pressure strings; keep in mind that 2K, 3P, and 2D are low, 5D and 6H are overheads, Rashousen is unblockable, and 63214 S can cross over the opponent's head (or not) and also is an overhead and FRCable. By varying which of these you use, and at which point you cancel into them, you can have a pretty scary mixup game. Remember to turn a hit into a knockdown and repeat the guessing game. It is possible to have multiple lows/overheads in block strings; it's good to have enough moves to hit confirm between them. You can reset pressure with a Rensengeki FRC (Which is +33 on block). Axl Bomber is frame advantage on block, and an overhead. Using this low to the ground can be an important part of Axl's pressure game.
Some examples:
2K, c.S, 5H, 6H This string starts with a low and ends with an overhead.
2K, c.S, 5H, 2D This string both starts and ends with a low.
2K, c.S, 5H, Rashousen This string ends with an unblockable.
2K, c.S, 5H, 2D, Rashousen this has both a low and an unblockable at the end!
j.D, j.623H, 2K, c.S, 5H, 2D, 632146S This string has two lows and three overheads, one of which is a crossup. Axl is a tricky bastard, I tell you!
Category:Characters
Category:Guilty Gear