Kakyoin

## Introduction

**Noriaki Kakyoin** (花京院 典明 *Kakyōin Noriaki*) is a core ally in *Stardust Crusaders*. He is the Stand master of Hierophant Green.

Initially, a Japanese student visiting Egypt, he is manipulated by DIO and sent to kill Jotaro Kujo. After being freed from DIO's influence, he decides to join Jotaro on his quest to Egypt to save Jotaro's mother and find redemption.

Kakyoin is considered to be the best character in the game, right next to Pet Shop due to having excellent offense, defense, setups, mixups, high combo potential, and supers as well as long reaching normals and pokes.

### **Pros & Cons**

+ Fast Movement in Stand Off
+ Incredibly fluid and tricky Movement in Stand On
+ His Net Traps are one of the best setup tools in the game
+ Great normals and amazing pokes
+ High damage output and long combos
+ Easy mid-screen and corner 50/50 mixup game that can lead to combos
+ Infinite Airdashes
+ Unparalleled laming/runaway/circle camping ability

- Some useless supers and specials
- Gigantic toolkit means learning to properly utilize everything will take a long time
- Incredibly slow wake-up time
- Overbearing strength of some of his tools may lead to over-reliance on them or flowcharting
- People will call you uncool :(
- Banned from almost every tournament

## Movelist

### **Stand Off**

#### **Normals**

5A - Straight jab punch. Can combo into several other normals. Kakyoin's fastest Stand Off normal. Combo Filler.
5B (close) - Proximity normal. Kakyoin performs a straight high kick. While it does come out faster than the far version, its hitbox covers a very weird area, which makes this move ineffective against most crouching or short characters. This move can combo into most dashing normals and 5B.
5B (far) - Kakyoin performs a straight mid-level kick. Very bland move with not much use.
5C - Hierophant appears on top of Kakyoin to use his Drill, hitting the opponent twice. Strong normal with good priority. Powerful panic button. You can cancel into a roll during the startup of this move (before the first hit connects).

2A - Kakyoin does a quick low kick. Not the fastest normal in his arsenal but covers a long distance. Can combo into most normals. Hits low.
2B - Hierophant Green turns its arm into a drill and attacks the opponent's legs. Comes out very fast and has decent range. Good poke and counterpoke. Hits low.
2C - Hierophant Green attacks the opponent twice with its arms. Good move to end combos with as it knocks the opponent down. Don't overuse this. The first hit is low.

j.A - Quick jab pointing downwards. Comes out fast and deals high damage. Useful during combo extensions into Nets.
j.B - A far-reaching kick. Slower than j.A and does less damage, but covers more range and has more active frames. Best hitbox for jump-ins.
j.C - Hierophant turns its arm into a drill and hits the opponent twice. Has an insane disjoint and will beat most other air moves. Does high damage.

#### **Command Normals**

6C/4C (close) - Hierophant Green grabs the opponent and fires 8 emerald projectiles which knock them away for a hard knockdown. Weakest grab in the game damage wise, however, it allows you to set a basic 50/50 without net, due to Hierophant Green taking a long time to recover.

3B - Kakyoin performs his 2A low kick while moving towards the opponent. Absolutely useless.

#### *Guard Cancel* *(Stand OFF)* - **623 + A/B/C** (While Blocking)

Hierophant Green comes out and attacks the opponent with all of its limbs at the same time. Covers a solid area around Kakyoin and pushes the opponent away.

#### **Dashing Normals**

d.5B/d.5C - Kakyoin performs his kick attack while dashing. Used to confirm into his Tandem attack in Stand Off. It is advised that you cancel this move into a Special or Super move as it has a lot of recovery. It can also be cancelled into roll extremely early, allowing you to dodge some supers on reaction to superflash (ie: S.ON Knives.)

### **Stand On**

#### **Normals**

s.5A - Hierophant Green performs a quick jab. Can combo into its dashing version. Extremely quick anti-air, good for opponents directly above you. Will whiff against most crouching characters. Can be also used to build meter quickly.
s.5B - Hierophant Green swipes upwards with his tentacle, leaving a big W shaped tentacle in front of Kakyoin. This is Kakyoin's main anti-air, and possibly the best anti-air in the entire game.
s.5C - Hierophant Green strikes the opponent with his tentacles, hitting up to 3 times, dealing high damage. The first hit can be canceled into various Supers, but not if it whiffs. Comes out fast and covers a large area in front of Kakyoin. It's also a part of Kakyoin's corner Net loop combo.

s.2A - Hierophant Green forms a drill and attacks the opponent while pointing it down. Quick and fast poke that hits low.
s.2B - Hierophant Green attacks with a tentacle forming a Z shape. It comes fairly quick and covers a very long distance, not to mention it also hits low. It is a big part of his 50/50 mixups.
s.2C - Hierophant Green performs an incredibly long sweep with his tentacle. Longest reaching normal in Kakyoin's arsenal. Disjointed at the tip and can whiff punish things at almost fullscreen. Causes hard knockdown. Note that it cannot be canceled and the move takes a while to recover. Whiffing it might result in an easy punish.

s.8A (neutral jump) - Hierophant Green performs a quick jab in midair. Decent range, but generally outclassed by s.8c.
s.7/9A (horizontal jump) - Hierophant Green forms a drill and quickly strikes the opponent in midair.
j.s.B - A downwards pointing swipe from Hierophant Green. Great against opponents below Kakyoin. Best normal for his Net air juggles.
s.8C (neutral jump) - Hierophant Green quickly performs a striking punch attack in midair. Good horizontal range.
s.7/9C (horizontal jump) - A far-reaching downwards swipe from Hierophant Green. Covers a very good distance. Useful during IADs (Instant Air Dashes).

#### **Command Normals**

s.6C/4C (close) - Hierophant Green grabs the opponent and fires 8 emerald projectiles which knock them away for a hard knockdown. Weakest grab in the game damage wise, however, it allows you to set 50/50 mixups in most situations. The recovery is about the same as stand off, without having to wait for Hierophant Green, allowing for better frame advantage. Throwing the opponent into the corner gives enough time for a net 50/50 that can lead to Corner Loop

s.6A - Hierophant Green attacks with his tentacle aiming up in front of him. Its main use is for short/crouching characters during tandems.
s.6B - Hierophant Green attacks with a far-reaching tentacle. This move is extremely useful as a fast poke. It cannot be canceled into anything other than s.5C, which can be canceled into specials or supers during the first hit only. Unlike normal s.5C, it can be canceled even on whiff.
s.4C - Hierophant Green strikes the opponent with all of its limbs at the same time. While it's not the fastest move, it is disjointed horizontally to such a degree that it's funny.

j.s.3A/B/C - Hierophant Green forms a drill and descends quickly towards the opponent from midair. This dropkick style attack is useful as Kakyoin's main overhead during his 50/50s. The A version of this move does not move Kakyoin forward too much, while the C version makes him descend at nearly 45° angle.

#### *Guard Cancel* *(Stand ON)* - **s.623 + A/B/C** (While Blocking)

Hierophant Green comes out and attacks the opponent with all of its limbs at the same time. Covers a solid area around Kakyoin and pushes the opponent away.

#### **Dashing Normals**

s.66B - Kakyoin performs his s.6B while dashing. Decent punish tool. Just watch out as it can be punished on block. It cannot be canceled at all.
s.66C - Kakyoin performs his s.4C while dashing. Causes wall splat. If close enough, it can combo into Kakyoin's Nets. Is still cancellable.

s.662B - Same as his s.2B but while dashing. Is still cancellable.

### **Special Moves**

#### *Emerald Splash (Stand Off)* - **236 + A/B/C**

Hierophant Green appears and fires 4 emerald projectiles that disappear after flying a short distance.

This move has very little use as it's hard to combo after it and the projectiles travel a very short distance. It can be used in some situations to provide defense against an approach attempt from the opponent, but the projectiles themselves do not deal high damage.

#### *Emerald Splash (Stand On)* - **s.236 + A/B/C** (Air OK)

Hierophant Green fires a row of eight emerald projectiles that travel fullscreen.

Unlike the Stand Off variant, this move is a good harassment tool for basic zoning game since it travels fast and fullscreen. Just note that when spammed it becomes quite predictable. A low to the ground air version can help cover certain character's approaches better, or catch players off guard attempting to go over your projectiles. Considering that Kakyoin fires 8 projectiles at once, this move is unrivaled in projectile wars against other zoners, as long as you can get it out first.

#### *Tie Wrap Snake (Stand Off)* - **4 63214 + A/B/C** (Can be held)

Hierophant Green appears behind Kakyoin and stretches its upper body along the floor. If the move connects, Hierophant tangles around the opponent and will keep them in place for a while just to launch them into the wall for a wall splat.

Kakyoin can hit the opponent while they are tangled, and can follow up with nets after the launch. If the button is held, Kakyoin can move around before the button is released and the attack is launched. Highly punishable by supers or projectiles if held or if it whiffs, and it has its own lingering hurtbox. The opponent can also wiggle themselves out of the entanglement if Kakyoin does not immediately start hitting the opponent by pressing left and right fast enough.

#### *Tie Wrap Snake (Stand On)* - **s.4 63214 + A/B/C**(Can be held)

Hierophant Green stretches its upper body along the floor. If the move connects, Hierophant tangles around the opponent and will keep them in place for a while just to launch them into the wall for a wall splat.

Unlike the Stand Off version, Kakyoin cannot move during or after this attack. Instead, after the opponent becomes entangled, you can mash A, B, and C rapidly to fire projectiles at the opponent. Depending on the number of hits, the opponent might not be launched by this attack, and will instead fall to the ground instantly. This move is highly punishable on block. Strangely, you can cancel into this move from Stand On Emerald Splash if you input it quickly enough, and it can combo if the emeralds hit. Pretty much useless, but can be a stylish ender if you like that stuff.

#### *Hierophant's Field (Stand Off)* - **214 + A/B/C** (Air OK, can be held)

Kakyoin places an invisible net on the stage. Depending on the button pressed, nets will be positioned slightly differently, with the A version placing it slightly in front of Kakyoin, B version directly at his position, and the C version right behind him. After laying down a Net, hold down the button to keep the Net active, then release it to attack the opponent while they're in its range. You can have up to 3 nets active at the same time.

This is the single best move in the entire game. Hierophant's Field is an extremely useful special move that's both a great defensive and offensive tool. Once an opponent is hit by the Net, they will be stunned for roughly 2 seconds. Note that Kakyoin's nets will also always force a Stand Crash. All Nets will disappear if you grab the opponent, and automatically activate after Tandem attack activation. Nets can be cut down by opponent's Stand type attacks. However, as soon as you release the button, the hurtbox disappears. After successfully hitting a Net, they cannot be used again for a brief period of time. If the net is broken or simply misses, then the cooldown is MUCH shorter. Nets will disappear if they have been on the field for 29 seconds (lol.)

#### *Hierophant Field (Stand On)* - **s.214 + A/B/C**(Air OK, can be held)

Kakyoin places an invisible net on the stage. The move is literally the same as the Stand Off version.

Placing a net after an airdash attack allows you to jump or airdash again, leading to even trickier air movement than before.

### **Super Moves**

#### *Super Emerald Splash (Stand Off)* - **236 + AA**

Hierophant Green launches a barrage of emeralds forward that travel fullscreen and hit multiple times for high damage.

This attack starts with an initial knock back hit upon activation that does not combo with the rest of the super, meaning that if the opponent gets hit by the initial knock back hit, they can start blocking after and will block the rest of the super, so try to never use it up close. This super does high damage and high chip as well, however, it's quite ineffective against characters with Stand On, both when it connects or when is blocked. Your primary combo ender. Becomes very deadly with well placed Nets. Right after the startup, Kakyoin is free to move and attack the opponent.

#### *Super Emerald Splash (Stand On)* - **s.236 + AA** (Air OK)

Heirophant launches a barrage of emeralds forward that travel fullscreen and hit multiple times with high damage.

Technically it is the same move as the Stand Off version, only differences being that Kakyoin cannot move on his own after performing this Super, it can be performed midair, and the spread can be tightened (hold 6) or expanded (hold 4) Expanding the spread will often make the super do much less damage or even drop, but it can hit opponents outside of the normal vertical range.

#### *India's Arm* - **214 + AA or s.214 + AA**

Heirophant Green launches a single tentacle that moves slowly forward doing multiple hits and launching the opponent into a juggle state if it connects.

In Stand Off, the tentacle will move differently depending on the two attack buttons pressed. In addition, Kakyoin can also move during the super and perform his stand off normals.

A+B - Goes along the floor for a while and then keeps going up forward until it retracts.

A+C - Goes along the floor for a while, then goes up and back towards Kakyoin until it retracts.

B+C - Goes upwards to the height of Kakyoin's shoulders moving forward, then goes back down to waist level until it retracts.

A+B+C - Draws a star directly in front of itself.

In Stand On, the tentacle is fully controllable by the players movement inputs. While the move is activated Kakyoin will stay in place until the move has finished.

AVOID THE STAND OFF VERSION AT ALL COSTS. Bad patterns and a lingering hurtbox just like Taiwrap, using this move ever will leave you open for whatever high damage super the opponent likes. The Stand On version is marginally better, since you can control the pattern. With the right pattern you can do obscene damage and it can sometimes frame trap people, but if you're not careful it can be rolled past and you're completely vulnerable until the tentacle returns to you.

*Punishment Time (Stand On)* - **s.A, A, 6, B, C**

Hierophant launches itself forwards and moves slowly. If the move connects with the opponent, Hierophant will shrink itself and jump into the opponents head and do damage in a cutscene. This move is Kakyoins Raging Demon move. It's an unblockable command grab that does good damage upon hit. It cannot be linked into with nets or any other combo, but you can set up for it by doing an IAD and when the attack hits, doing the input of the super. Upon landing the move will connect instantly. If the move is avoided by the opponent, Hierophant will retract back to Kakyoin, leaving him vulnerable for a short while. After the move has hit, you get a shaky 50/50 mixup on the opponent. The time to meaty is incredibly tight, so be wary or go for a reversal bait after oki-ing unless you've sufficiently conditioned the opponent.

#### *Hierophant Finish (Stand On)* - **s.623 + AA**

Hierophant shoots out a downwards angled tentacle that launches the opponent into a barrage of tentacles with a finishing emerald splash that launches the opponent across the stage. Since the initial hit of the super is a downwards angled tentacle, it is fairly hard to connect. It recovers insanely fast and has decent iframes, so it can be used to dodge some things if you've got good reaction times. (Although you'd be better off using tandem for this anyways.)

#### *Tandem Attack* - 214S or s.214S

The screen will pause, and Kakyoin will pose. During this time, any buttons you press will be used by the stand as it rushes forward after the pause. This super is very quick, has a lot of iframes, and leads to huge damage. When using a tandem in a combo as Kakyoin, there is one thing. The average is 5, but 4 is acceptable and more is possible. Make sure to get clean reps without any missing buttons. After performing a tandem (usually as a confirm) you want to quickly jump or roll over to get to the other side of the opponent and keep mashing 5a to keep them close to Hierophant Green as he does his attacks (and do more damage). Keep track of how many reps Hierophant Green has done, so you can time your tandem ender (See combos below). Tandem also has uses as a reversal, with its speed and iframes allowing you to escape pressure or poorly timed oki.

## Combos

#### Kakyoin's Net Link

As his main (pretty much only) tandem ender, Kakyoin has to link a jumping normal into a net. This link is absolutely crucial to getting good at Kakyoin. The input is 8 j.A/B/C 214A 5A. The way you do it is by connecting the jumping attack as Kakyoin is falling, while still in the air, input 214A as soon as you land press 5A. 5a should hit before the net.

#### Anti Air Combo

Any time you land your opponent in an air net you have 3 options:

(Net hit) s.j.B s.214A/B s.236x - This is your basic meterless option. Deals less damage and builds less meter, but isn't height dependent. Launches the opponent fullscreen, giving you ample space. If they tech in, it's the easiest anti-air of your life. And if they don't tech the anti-air hit, they can end up falling into a hard knockdown for free oki. I recommend s.5A for this.

Note that you will need to horizontally orient yourself with the opponent for the Emerald Splash, do this by either double jumping or landing then jumping.

(Net hit) s.j.B s.214A/B S j.C - This meterless option does more damage and builds more meter than the other option, however the first hit of j.c can whiff against characters with smaller air hurtboxes if they're too high. It also leaves the opponent a lot closer to you which might be scary if you're struggling against their pressure.

(Net hit) s.j.B s.214A/B s.236aa - The same as the first meterless option, but with a super. A disgusting round stealer, this combo will often do at least 1/4th of the enemies health, if not 1/3rd. Huge reward off a simple anti-air.

While the first net can be any of them, the net mid-combo should always be A or B, since C will whiff. A is preferable if possible. Also don't hit the opponent before doing your Emerald Splash special or super, since they can tech out and you waste your damage.

#### Starters

Kakyoin's grounded combos will almost always go into tandem, so this will be split between starters and enders.

Stand Off

2A 2A d.5C 214S ABCxN

d.2A 5A 2A d.5C 214S ABCxN

d.2A 5A s.5A s.665A s.5A s.665A s.5A s.5C(1 hit) xx 214S ABCxN - s.5a s.665a loops can be difficult at first, so don't be discouraged if you can't do them.

j.C (landing) j.C SC! j.214A d.5C 214s ABCxN - Niche standcrash combo using a low landing j.C comboing into a second j.C. Only works vs Dio and standing Vanilla Ice, everyone else is too short. Can also go into an extended tandem (see below)

Stand On

s.5A s.665A s.5A s.665A s.5A s.5C(1 hit) xx 214S ABCxN

IAD s.5A s.665A s.5A s.665A s.5A s.5C(1 hit) xx 214S ABCxN - This will only work against tall hurtboxes, like people in stand on, or if they just don't block the overhead. You will need to get your IAD pretty low to combo after.

#### Enders

All of these enders will begin with j.A j.214A 5A

214B 214C (hold) 9 5B (close) 5B (far) (Release C) 214A 214B 44 236AA

S 214B 214C (hold) 9 s.j.66B (jump over, then airdash back into opponent) (Release C) s.214A s.214B 44 s.236AA

214B 214C (hold) 9 d.5B/d.2B (Release C) 214A 214B 463214A 665A 5AxN 44 (dash away from the wrapped opponent to fullscreen) 214A/B S - Wrap ender, leads 50/50 net oki. Cannot be done if you're comboing from a meaty hit, due to the taiwrap whiffing from command grab invulnerability that lasts through the whole combo because of a glitch. Make sure you aren't too close to the corner or they will hit the wall after being launched from the wrap and be able to tech, taking away your oki.

S s.214B s.214C (hold) 9 s.2A s.2B (Release C) s.4C s.214A - Gives pretty much the same oki as wrap with none of the downsides

214B 214C (hold) 9 463214A 665A 5AxN 44 (dash away from wrapped opponent to fullscreen) 236AA (Release C) 236AA - Meter dump wrap combo, more difficult than the previous wrap combo due to needing to land the Taiwrap as soon as you land on the other side of them. Has the same issues of not working after a meaty and screen positioning.

214B 214C (hold) 9 d.2A 5A 2A (Release C) S s.665A s.5A s.5C (1 hit) s.236AA - A personal favorite of mine, purely for style, and can even drop due to IPS.

In case you couldn't tell, Kakyoin's options are incredibly freeform. For the most part, you can switch around whatever you do before and after Releasing the C net as you please. All of these pale in comparison to tandem looping, which is incredibly easy and can even be done with an...

#### Extended Tandem

If you ever land a net on a grounded opponent, you can go into an extended tandem.

(A/B Net hit) s.214A/B s.214C (hold) 9 s.j.66B (Release C) s.214A/B s.214A/B 214S (Hold S) ABCxN

By using his nets, Kakyoin can set up a combo where he can hold S to extend his tandem, something no other character can do (...as easily.). Whenever it says A/B, do the one that's off cooldown, if the initial net was A, do B and then A and etc. If the initial net was C, then simply walk up and do s.214A/B s.214A/B 214S. This can bag absolutely HUGE damage for 1 meter and can easily be done after a tandem if you're willing to tandem loop. When going for extended tandems, 10 reps is a good number to go for, but do as many as you can!

#### The Corner Loop

s.214A/B s.214A/B (Hold) s.5C(3 hits) (Release A/B) 66 s.214A/B (Hold) s.5C(3 hits) (Release A/B) - Kakyoin's corner loop, IPS hates this combo so be careful going for multiple reps. Best done after oki from a stand on grab or a d.2c knockdown. Can end it with a super or s.664C>net loops into a super (can still get IPS'd sometimes).

#### Combos Without Tandem

Most of Kakyoin's combos will go to tandem, and anything else will usually be for style and be inoptimal.

IAD s.2A s.2B s.2C - The most useful tandemless combo, gives you a knockdown after an IAD, making your pressure much stronger from farther ranges. Won't knockdown against stand on opponents, so you can replace the s.2C with a net cancel and continue to mixup and pressure after that.

s.j3x s.2A s.2B s.2C - Same as above, but from his divekick move. Better at close range due to speed, and a lot easier to time

s.5A s.665A s.5A s.665A s.5A s.5C(1 hit) s.236AA - s.5C(1 hit) can also combo into Super Emerald Splash, if you feel like doing something different.

### Advanced Combo

214A S s.214B s.214C (hold) 9 s.j.66B S (stand off) 9 5b 214A repeat from S - Kakyoin's midscreen loop, builds good meter for tandem looping and 20 Meter Emerald splash purposes. However it is very prone to the infinite protection system.

## General Strategy

Kakyoin is a character that can dominate any range he chooses by utilizing his long pokes, strong hit confirms, and webs as tools for pressuring the opponent or keeping them away.

In neutral, Kakyoins most dominant pokes are s.5b and s.2b, both of which can be canceled into any web to obtain frame advantage, s.6b, which can be chained into s.5c and than canceled into web, s.2c, a full screen sweep, and s.4c, an incredibly strong counter-poke. As with all attacks, you can cancel these pokes into the webs on whiff, often keeping you safe from whiff punishes and giving you a second chance to attack with the webs. This is a necessary element in Kaks playstyle as it forces the opponent to consider the web every time they try to whiff punish Kaks long recovery pokes. In general, Kak will be controlling most of his screen space by utilizing the web.

By placing down A or C webs midscreen, B is often the less desired versionas you lose Kaks most powerful buttons when its out, you can force the opponent to break the web in order to get in, and to do so they will need to attack it with any stand on normal, allowing you to whiff punish them in neutral if they try to haphazardly break the web. In addition to this it also serves as an anti-air if someone gets close too quickly for Kak to retaliate with one ofhis large anti-air pokes, and is often more optimal as catching someone with an AA net leads to an air Emerald Splash super combo. Net utility doesn't end there, however.

Cancelling most of Kaks buttons into web on block will give you frame advantage regardless of range and allow you to use one of Kaks various mixup tools to open up the opponent or easily reset pressure. j.s.3, an instant overhead, is extremely effective and acts as his primary mixup, though unless you put a web down on the opponent for oki or during pressure your combo options are 90% of the time limited to simple knockddown auto-combo as j.s.3c will most likely hit the opponent crouching, limiting kaks stand on combo options. When out of range for j.s.3c, as you often will be, you can surprise the opponent with 324766j.s.c, an IAD overhead that, while a powerful tool, lacks any sort of priority and should be used sparingly as a result. Your options after a hit/blocked IAD are exactly the same as blocked instant overhead, meaning you will often chain into an autocombo for a reliable knockdown. Knockdowns are a powerful tool for Kak as they allow him to enforce the same powerful mixup game with the instant overhead and IAD overhead but also often allows you to first place down a web, assuming:

A. The opponent doesn't wake up too fast

B. You are close enough to them

After you place down a web you simply mixup the opponent and combo into the web from the mixup button, from which you can do any manner of whacky kakyoin combo you want.

Getting a knockdown with Kak unsuprisingly happens very often as Kaks longest poke, s.2c, gives a knockdown, however you will often be too far to put down a web or, on some characters, any sort of oki at all. If possible try to knockdown with Kaks stand-off 2.c as it gives a much better knockdown than s.2c and cancel into web on the second hit for immediate oki. This is where it becomes useful to memorize the type of oki you get depending on the range/character you're fighting.

 Matchup Strategy

#### Abdul

While still in your favor, this can be a tough matchup due to Avdol's strong normals, incredibly fast wakeup paired with a dangerous reversal super, and overall solid defense. You will need to space yourself very well in order to beat out Avdol's options, as at some ranges you will not be able to counterpoke certain moves at all. Remote mode can be annoying, however Kakyoin possesses good options to deal with it with a good GC, strong normals, and nets. (d.)2c>236aa is also a cheeky anti-remote option that can bag huge damage. You will have to condition the Avdol player VERY HARD with baiting reversals (as most Avdol's love to mash 236aa on wakeup) before you can safely oki, he gets up way faster than you'll expect and the risk of getting hit by 236aa is huge due to the initial hit stunning. If he uses ankh heavily, play an extreme runaway game and don't let him get lifelead AT ANY COST.

When Crouching use 6A 6B 6C in tandem

#### Black Polnareff

Black Polnareff may rely on whiff punishes, but you never have to give him the chance to strike. Proper blocking and spacing alone can wall him out completely with no hope. Just watch out for his 2B and its dashing variant, it can meaty your landing really easily and is a good low. Passive stand and 0 fullscreen game means even at life deficit you are winning through meterbuild and chip. Circle-camping turns this into practically a 10-0.

#### Devo

When Crouching you literally cant combo this man.

#### DIO

If you put down a web and he tries teleporting into you you can get a free combo. Otherwise this matchup is basic.

#### Iggy

Cant Combo at all, probably your hardest matchup if you like doing fancy things. Resort to S.2C because Iggy cant do anything about it. Iggy cannot catch you if you run away (smartly), fullstop.

#### Joseph

Old Joseph really struggles to deal with your pressure, or strong patient play. Most of his openings will come from you disrespecting in the midrange and getting caught by a Hermit Grab or some starter, so simply wait for the option and punish or approach from the air.

#### Jotaro

Jotaro is very dangerous and will prey on your impatience. He gets a fucking stupid amount of iframes from his roll if he doesn't cross you up with it, so don't even THINK about pressing anything, because he has a 1 frame normal to whiff punish you with. He also possesses a lightning fast, highly damaging reversal super to tag you for bad pokes or projectiles, gross damage with stand crash combos, and a dangerous 50/50 oki. The good things to note are he lacks options at full screen past the reach of star breaker, he usually has to get a read to punish your pokes (if you somehow can't tandem on reaction), and your crouching hurtbox ducks his S.5a. 2b will also duck it, and can counterpoke him which is useful. At the end of the day, Jotaro will usually be the one approaching you whether he likes it or not, so simply wait for your opportunity to safely punish him.

(Note: Kakyoin's crouching hurtbox is very short, and this makes him hard to IOH. Obviously you should not downback every oki, but it's worth testing the waters to see how well your opponent is at doing them.)

When Crouching use 6A 6B 6C in tandem

#### Kakyoin

Cant tandem while crouching, be careful about using s.d.6b and s.d.2c, 20 Meter Emerald Splash is good for punishing dashes.

#### Khan

Khan is a "strange" matchup. Some of your good moves will whiff on him even standing, but Khan sucks so it's just a minor annoyance. This can make up close "scramble" scenarios hard to poke out of, so just focus on blocking and returning to neutral where you dominate if he gets in your face. He lacks a good reversal and struggles to deal with your pressure, so the Khan player will usually have to play out of his mind to make back the life deficit. Also, unlike other low tiers literally every single move Khan has will break nets, so take note of that.

Always use 6A 6B 6C in tandem

#### Mariah

One of the meanest matchups in the game, Mariah can do next to nothing against Kakyoin. s.2c, s.6b, s.236x, s.236aa all catch her trying to set up from long ranges, and she has ZERO OPTIONS to break nets aside from hitting you directly. Unless she manages to hit you with 214aa any damage she gets on you will be pretty pitiful, but be careful giving her free levels or else it might turn into a headache. Small stages are even easier for you, giving her less breathing room. If she places the outlet on the floor, it's best to just go around it rather than try to break it.

When Crouching use 6A 6B 6C in tandem

#### Petshop

Cant tandem while crouching, play the range game in this matchup. Kill on your first confirm so he can't rob the round from you.

#### Polnareff

Polnareff is one of the more even matchups, as you both possess very oppressive normals, deadly mixups, and strong uses for meter. If the opponent likes to play in stand off, focus on not letting him pin you down. 2c and j.b are strong, but Pol is fairly linear in stand off so outmaneuvering and outpoking his approach is not that difficult. If he does get in however, I hope you're good at blocking. GC is generally your best bet out of SS since the mixups keep you in such heavy blockstun and Pol will usually be in your face, however this requires GC'ing while blocking correctly during one of the strongest mixes in the game. You can also just git gud and block the mixup with pushblocks to put him out of range for more pressure. C net can pre-emptively scare Pol from using SS outside of pressure. If you can find a gap, tandem is your best reversal if only to give yourself a second to breathe. With it, either use an empty one and jump/roll/counterpoke out of the pressure, or input a low chain if anything. 5c is still a good panic button here, but it requires Pol to stay close. If the opponent prefers stand on, BE WARY OF JUMPING NORMALS. They have incredible priority, and more range and hitstun then you think. Pol S.j.b is one of the few tools that can take on s.5b, with its disjointed range. s.j.a can also be difficult to stop reliably. And if either of these hit at just about any range, the Polnareff can convert into tandem and SS resets. s.665c and s.4b have HUGE horizontal disjoint, making them very difficult to contest. If the opponent gets too aggressive with them, you can low profile and counterpoke in s.off. These normals can eat up your approach, so if they're strangling you at mid-long range, try and stop them with s.236x (and a net for safety), conditioning the opponent to use them more sparingly.

#### Shadow Dio

S.5a hits while S.DIO is crouching if he's been hit in the combo before, but doesn't hit if its the first hit for some reason.

#### Rubber Soul

Cant tandem while crouching, super fast wakeup and counter makes your wakeup game mostly mindgames against him.

#### Vanilla Ice

When Crouching use 6A 6B 6C in tandem, uber fast wakeup makes wakeup game almost impossible other than IAD.

#### Young Joseph

Probably your easiest matchup in the entire game. Young Joseph is worse in basically every way and loses at any screen position. Slow wakeup, poor reversals, and awful GC make pressure strong in general. Meanwhile, slow projectile options, lack of stand, and no ways to break nets means he crumbles against your turtling. (He does actually do decent stand damage, compared to other bottom tiers). s.236x beats his clackers on reaction, unless they're already close to you which they shouldn't really ever be considering how you can dominate the playing field. (Even then s.2c probably works on reaction at that point)