Hol Horse

## Introduction

**Hol Horse** (ホル・ホース *Horu Hōsu*) is one of the assassins hired by DIO, a recurring character in the *Stardust Crusaders*. He wields *The Emperor*, a Stand that has an appearance of a gun and can fire guided bullets. Paired together with his partner **J. Geil** (J・ガイル *Jei Gairu*) and his stand *The Hanged Man*, the two make an unstoppable duo.

Hol Horse is a zoning oriented character, with several projectile attacks at his disposal. Although he is quite limited up close, his gameplan relies heavily on creating hard to block or unblockable mixups and chipping down the opponent's health with his multi-hit attacks.

### **Pros & Cons**

+ Very strong mixups and okizeme
+ Extremely powerful super moves, one of them being unblockable
+ Great zoning tools
+ Simple yet effective combos and frame traps
+ Can run instead of dashing
+ Fastest roll in the game
+ Tied highest Defense in the game

- Passive Stand character
- Relies heavily on super meter
- Limited at close range
- Can become predictable, needs adapting to the opponent
- Has one of the worst grabs in the game

## Movelist

### **Normals**

5A - Low kick. Doesn't hit low, though. Decent, fast poke.
5B - Balls kick. A couple of frames slower than 5A, but is still fairly fast, has fairly good range, and can combo into 236 provided the opponent is standing. Also, doesn't hit low.
5C - Fabulous yakuza kick. Nice range but some characters can duck under it. Causes unrecoverable knockdown and wall bounce if the opponent is close enough to the wall. It won't cause a wallbounce knockdown against opponents in Stand Mode as they only get pushed a bit. Not a bad anti air, but the hitbox is shorter than it appears, so using it as one can be risky. Very strong move but highly punishable if you throw it out too much.

2A - Hol throws pocket sand at the opponent. Pretty quick and can combo into itself, 5A and 5B. Causes small amounts of chip damage and Stand Gauge damage. Can also block projectiles. Hits low.
2B - Slams opponent with a brick. Don't ask where he found it. Decent range but somewhat slow. Not very useful.
2C - Sliding kick with long range. Causes knockdown. Can't be canceled. Easily punished on block, therefore, don't abuse it too much.

j.A - Jumping knee kick. Good air-to-air. Can cancel into air glass special.
j.B - Exactly the same as j.A.
j.C - Generic jumping kick downwards. Best air attack. Like j.A can cancel into air glass special

### **Dash Normals**

d.5B - A slower version of 5B with a slightly different animation. Not very useful.
d.5C - A much slower version of 5C that launches instead of causing a knockdown. Avoid it.
662C - A cancellable version of 2C that goes a long distance. It has a minimally longer startup, but in exchange it can be canceled into specials and supers.
442C - Same as above, but goes a very short distance instead.

### **Command Normals**

6C/4C (close) - Hol grabs the opponent by the nose and shoots them in the face. The opponent can recover right after getting hit by this grab, which can result in a fast punish. It only works well in a few matchups. Oddly enough, Hol's grab becomes one of the strongest grabs in the game when Boingo falls down from the ceiling after a successful Glass Shower. Its damage becomes doubled and it's much harder to recover from as long as Boingo's on the screen.

4A - Puffs cigarette smoke at the opponent. This move is rather slow, has a long recovery and does small damage. It can be used as an anti-air. Not a bad way to check someone who is jumping a ton due to its disjointed hitbox. Can block incoming projectiles.
4B - An enziguri style kick. A decent anti-air move. Misses most crouching characters, though. It can evade some low attacks.
4C - Fires 3 bullets on the ground. All bullets hit low. Good move during mixups, but can be punished even on hit when not canceled into a special or super.

### **Unique Moves**​​​​​​

*The Emperor* - **S** (Air OK)
Fires a single, delayed bullet from The Emperor which can have its path determined by pressing directions while the bullet is still. A single S bullet can hit the opponent up to 10 times.

A direction + S simultaneously will give the shot a different starting angle (only on the ground). This attack has a very long startup time which really limits its usefulness.

5S - Hol fires forward.

4S - Hol fires directly behind himself.

2S/8S - Hol fires directly upward.

9S/3S -Hol fires diagonally in front of himself.

7S/1S - Hol fires diagonally behind himself.

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

Hol performs a fast version of his Yakuza kick, kicking the opponent away without a wall rush. It also has a better hitbox that can hit most crouching characters. Very mediocre overall.

### **Special Moves**

#### *Mighty Gun!*- **236 + A**

Hol fires a single shot from the Emperor.
Holding 8 or 2 will change the vertical trajectory of the bullet. The A and B versions have Hol shoot while standing, with the A version's bullet being slower and inferior to the B version. The C version of this attack has Hol shoot while crouching, lowering his hitbox and making the bullet hit low. Can be punished while blocked up close, and it's not too safe even on hit, so watch out whenever you use it.

#### *Glass Shower* - **623 + A** (Air OK)

Hol fires a single shot upwards at the ceiling, if the shot connects with the ceiling, glass shards will fall from down, dealing multiple hits to the opponent.
Does good damage overall and chip damage when opponent blocks. Builds decent meter on hit and has to be blocked standing. Excellent mix-up and pressure tool. Good as anti-air. The number of hits depends on the height of opponent and his stance, and whether they were hit in midair. A version makes the glass fall right over Hol Horse. B version makes it fall slightly in front of him. C version makes the glass drop around 3/4th of the screen away from Hol. All jumping versions are the same and have Hol fire the bullet at roughly 45° angle. The lower he is, the longer distance the bullet will travel.

#### *The Hanged Man* - **214 + A**

Hol taunts and gives the signal for his partner, J.Geil, to attack the opponent with his stand hidden in a rain puddle. This is Hols only special that is air unblockable. If the Hanged Man manages to hit the opponent, they will be temporarily stunned.
Depending on the button pressed, The Hanged Man will appear at a different range, A version being the closest to Hol, while C being the furthest. If blocked, Hanged Man still causes a lot of block stun which can be only escaped via quickly pushblocking.

### **Super Moves**

#### *Rapid Fire!* - **236 + AA** (Air OK)

Hol fires 10 shots rapidly. Hol will fire the gun while standing while the A+B is pressed. This version has a slightly faster startup and can be used in some combos.

The A+C and B+C versions of the super will have Hol fire while crouching, lowering his hitbox and making the bullets hit low.
When done in mid-air, Hol will fire 12 bullets instead of the regular 10 with the bullet spread being much larger than usual. Damage scales really badly when performed in a combo, so the super works better when performed raw. One of the bullets will always cause a knockdown, but it might randomly miss, meaning the opponent won't drop to the floor sometimes as they normally should. Due to a bug, only the standing version of the super will be used when it is done as a Reversal.

#### *The Strongest Combination "Hanged Man"* -**214 + AA**

Hol decides it is a good time to break the 4th wall and shoots 3 bullets into the foreground, causing holes in the arcade machine's screen. If the opponent is touching the bullet holes the screen goes a little darker, time stops and The Hanged Man attacks the opponent.

Good damage, looks awesome, grants you great okizeme opportunity, can combo into itself at a specific range or from 214+A Hanged Man! DO NOT USE IT AT RANDOM. Make sure it will connect as Hol takes a lot of time to recover afterward and the super itself doesn't have too many invincibility frames! After being hit by this super, the opponent flies away, unable to recover. If they hit a wall, they will wall bounce. You can attempt to combo another 214+AA after it or use 214+A (214+C at long range) with proper timing and loop your opponent.

#### *Trace of Bullets* - **421 + AA, AA...**

One of the best supers in the game, Hol fires a remote controlled bullet from The Emperor while the game becomes slowed down. The bullet itself is unblockable and can be used in a variety of situations like finishing a combo or as a powerful anti-air!

Taping 2 attack buttons during this super will fire another bullet if you still have enough Super meter to do so, however, you will lose the control of the currently fired bullet. This move also has a tendency to mess up opponent's inputs during the slow motion, making it insanely hard to punish properly.

## Combos

A lot of Hol's combos can start from j.C, The Hanged Man and even after the Glass Shower attack.

### **Basic Combos**

You can start many of these combos from j.A/j.B/j.C, 623+A's falling glass or 214+A.
Note that 214+A/B/C is range dependent during the following combos, and might require specific button pressed in different situations.

5A 5A 5A - Three light kicks. Nothing spectacular.
2A 2A 2A - Do you like sand? It hits up to 3 times.
2A 2A 5B - Double sand into a kick. You can attempt to set Hanged Man after it for a frame trap.
5A 5A 5B 236+A/B or 236+AA - Two weak kicks into a kick to the balls into a bullet to the head. Note that the C version of Mighty Gun! does not combo this way. Can finish with a super instead of the single bullet.
2A 5B 236+A/B or 236+AA - Sand into a kick to the balls into bullet.
5A/2A 4B 236+A/B/C or 236+AA - Kick/sand into hopping kick into a bullet to the head. It does slightly less damage than the combo above plus 4B misses crouching characters, but you can combo with C version of Mighty Gun!
5B 236+A/B or 236+AA - The balls kick can combo into stuff on its own if you feel like it.
4B 236A/B/C or 236AA - Same for the enziguri kick.
2B 236+A/B or 236+AA - Brick may work too, 236+C will only work when the opponent is close to the wall.
4C 236+A/B/C or 236+AA - The timing is weird but it works. Better functionality near a wall as it won't push the opponent as far.
5A/2A 4C 236+A/B or 236+AA - Quite tight link into the 3 hitting low bullets. Not all bullets might hit this way so you should cancel them at specific time into a special attack.
d.5C 623+C - Running yakuza kick version into 623 bullet.
4A 623B - Stellar jump in punish where applicable. The glass can be repeated until the opponent techs back or forward, in which you can catch them in 214A/B if you time it well. Use it when you can.

j.A/j.B/j.C j.623+A/B/C - Requires the opponent to be hit in midair.

214+AA (wall bounce) 214+AA 662C (whiff) 421+AA\*2 - If the opponent is hit with 214+AA super about mid-screen, you'll have enough time to do another 214+AA super just as the first one ends. Slide closer to the opponent and perform the two unblockable bullets.
214+AA (wall bounce) 214+A/B/C 214+AA (wall bounce) ... - If you hit opponent rather close to the wall with 214+AA, there is a possibility that you will manage to hit them with a well-timed 214+A/B/C after the wall bounce. Repeat as long as you have the meter.

You can use the slow-mo bullet in order to make some of your combos longer or even reset them completely, instead of going for a double slow-mo bullet combo. Remember about that.

### **5C Wall Bounce Combos**

5C causes a wall bounce if it hits opponent close enough to the wall, as long as they are not in the Stand Mode. This gives you a lot of possibilities for deadly combos.
In order to combo a wall bounce from 214+AA super into 214+A/B/C, there has to be a tiny delay in some cases. You'll want to use 214+A/B/C at the same moment opponent hits the wall, although that may vary. It's hard to learn the proper timing as it is a very inconsistent thing.

* 5C (wall bounce) 236+A/B - Fabulous yakuza kick into a bullet.
* 5C (wall bounce) 236+AA - Fabulous yakuza kick into a bullet spam super. Standing version is more likely to hit instantly.
* 5C (wall bounce) 214+AA (wall bounce) 214+A/B/C 214+AA ... - Requires a specific distance for 214+AA to connect on its own. You can attempt to catch an opponent with 214+A/B/C after the super for a possible infinite or at the very least, a stronger combo.
* 5C (wall bounce) 214+A/B/C 5C (wall bounce) 236+A/B/C - An example of a meterless combo after you stun an opponent with The Hanged Man after a wall bounce.
* 5C (wall bounce) 214+A/B/C d.5C 623+C - Another example.
* 5C (wall bounce) 214+A/B/C 214+AA (wall bounce) 662C (whiff) 421+AA\*2 - Hanged Man stun into Hanged Man super into a whiffed slide (use it to quickly approach the opponent) into two unblockable bullets.
* 5C (wall bounce) 214+A/B/C 214+AA (wall bounce) ... - Hanged man infinites again!

There are a lot of possibilities here and even a practical touch of death!

## General Strategy

A very important thing to note is Hol Horse IS NOT a combo heavy character. While yes he does have some short combos, you will be relying a lot on things such as frame traps, setplay, and punishing your opponent's mistakes. Hol's tools are generally outmatched by higher tier characters at first glance, but if you learn to read your opponent's habits and know your options, you can still pull off some very devastating plays with your limited arsenal. That being said it's difficult to define a concrete strategy for Hol, so just learn your fundamentals well and don't be afraid to experiment with new things.

Hol will generally have to try and strike a balance between sticking to low risk, low reward damage options such as his standard 5a 5a 5b combo string and taking bigger risks when opponents are expecting said safer plays. Adaptability will be very important and you'll have to keep a close watch on both you and your opponent's health and meter so you can know what options are going to be available to you when needed. Always try to plan ahead while keeping some tricks up your sleeve, and never be afraid to play as obnoxious and underhanded as possible.

### **Blockstrings/Frametraps**

If you are trying to open up your opponent while close to him, you will be utilizing various blockstrings with frametraps that allow you to begin your setplay or do damage. Here are some classics to get you started:

**5A 5A 5B 214+B**: Pretty ok frametrap. Most beginner hols use this one. It has one big weakness though...Jumps. The opponent is free to jump before the puddle connects leading to you possibly getting punished. Be careful and stop using this if the opponent jumps a lot.

**5A 5C 214+A/B/C (distance dependent but usually 214C is what you will use):** Really solid frametrap because it solves the problem with the last one. It catches anyone jumping with the 5C and it leads to some really solid damaging combos. Use it!

**2A 4C 214+B:** A different spin on the classic. I recommend using this one as it does a bit more chip as well as weakens the opponent's stand meter if they have the stand on.

If the opponent blocks 214+A/B/C after any of your frametraps you are free to be a dimble bimble to the opponent.

Here are some ideas of what you can do if the opponent is in blockstun:

* Walk forward to the opponent and either grab them as soon as they pushblock or hit them with 5C if you expect them not to pushblock and to mash buttons. If you aren't confident in 5C connecting then follow up with 236+C instead to make it safe. You can also use 623+B after the 5C but be careful as it isn't safe.
* Try and set up a Glass Shower and a low hitting move.
* Set up an S bullet pattern
* Set up another frame trap
* Run away. Hol's pretty good at that too.

It is important to note that when in blockstun from the Hanged Man, the opponent can pushblock to get out of it nearly instantly and is free to press any attack button. They can also guard cancel against it as well. Keep that in mind when you try and approach.

### **Okizeme**

Hol is a threat when he can score a knockdown and is against a character who has to respect his okizeme shenanigans. Here are some classic knockdowns:

#### **Glass Shower Setups**

Glass hits overhead, so if you smack your opponent around with a low at the same time the overhead hits and you get unblockable.

* 623+B/C 2C - Glass Shower into Hol's slide move. Requires proper timing and can be repeated until you make a mistake. You want the 2C to connect after the very last hit of the glass. Requires a wallbounce + knockdown against characters with faster wakeup speeds, meaning you can't loop it into itself against some characters.
* 623+B/C 2A 5C 214+(depends on character + distance) - Unblockable + frametrap.
* 623+B/C 2A 5B 214+B: Unblockable + frametrap.
* 623+B/C 4C 214+A/B -In some matchups, it's possible to combo his unblockable into the Hanged Man puddle. causing a knockdown at the end will make this a loop!
* 623+B/C 4C 236+A/B/C or 236+AA - Not really good unless you are going for the kill. If you land a knockdown you should use trace of bullets over this if you have meter.
* 623+B/C 4C 214+A/B 5S (Wait, 9,1) 2C - the meter build version of the oki loop. this builds great bar. around 1 per rep. use it to your advantage when possible.

#### **Trace of Bullets (Slow Bullets) Setups**

   After knockdown you can use his slow bullets to net a ton of damage in most matchups.

* After Slow bullet: In some matchups (aka being Dio/Sdio/Oldseph/Midler/Mariah/Youngseph/Kakyoin/New Kakyoin) you have the ability to extend a normal slow bullet combo meaning that if you can get a knockdown from 2c (or any knockdown from hol horse depends on the timing and what caused the knockdown itself) then slow bullet after. The opponent will be stunned for a small amount of time giving you enough time to input 5B 236B which is great. You can also go for a frame trap but that only works in the corner because of 5A pushing the opponent too far however if done in a corner the opponent will be pushed into the corner meaning that you can still keep the combo going. you can also do 236AA super but the damage will disappointing however if you input 4C then 236AA it wont scale or at least wont scale as badly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37sdA-o9mYI
* After 2C: In most matchups a knockdown from 2c will allow you to set up 1 or 2 slow bullets. Does a great amount of damage. The pattern you want the slow bullet to follow will generally be in the shape of an 'n' but the height of the bullet arc(s) and when you want to activate the super will vary from character to character. Usually you want the first bullet to be at or near the opponent's feet by the time they wakeup.

* After a 5c that leads to a wallbounce knockdown: In general, the first hit of the slow bullet has a TON of hitstun. Because of this and the additional time you have to set up slow bullet, you can set up the first slow bullet in a way that allows hol to do one of two VERY powerful things
	+ You can cause three slow bullets to combo against most matchups. Very powerful and does around 75+% of damage!
	+ In some matchups, you can time the first slow bullet to connect while Hol recovers from the slow bullet animation. This and the great hitstun from the bullet allow you to combo the bullet into 5c. This allows another wallbounce knockdown setup. For Example: Oldseph, Youngseph, SDio, and DIO. Example right here: ☀https://streamable.com/5tl8x

### **The Emperor**

Hol Horse S bullet's startup is quite slow. Because of this, you'll be in danger if you try to do it at close range or can't foresee your opponent moves, but if you do it at max/medium range and feel confident that it's going to make your opponent either block or eat a bullet, it can be an amazing zoning tool to help you control the field. That said, you still need to understand how your enemy character works so you can think if it's an actual good idea to zone him with The Emperor.

Be aware that stand bullets from **The Emperor** will not chip Stand meter from your opponent if they block with it. If that's the case, mix it up with some 236+A/B/C and 623+A/B/C for harassment.

    Here are some examples of patterns from Hol Horse to help you start.

* **Red lines 1: S, 7, 6.**
* **Red lines 2: S, (Wait), 7, 6.**
* **Green lines 1: S, 1, 6.**
* **Green lines 2: S, (Wait), 1, 6.**
* **Blue line: S, (Wait), 9, 3, 1, 4.**
* **Yellow line: 9S, 2, 4, 6, 4, 6.**

You can try to catch your opponent from the back. It's not unblockable, but it will be a surprise to be sure, and a welcome one.

* **Red line: S, (Wait), 9, 7, 1.**
* **Green line: S, (Wait), 9, 4.**
* **Blue line: S, (Wait), 9, 1.**

## Matchup Strategy

#### Abdul

A zoning match. Every move Abdul does is faster than yours. Best option is to keep your distance, zone with glass/236+a/214+a and guard cancel/pushblock properly. By doing so, be wary of Abdul 663+c attacks that he will do whenever you try to glass or run. However, one thing

#### Alessi

Alessi will try to rush you down with Tandems, heavy attack hops and sneaky Sethan dashing low moves. Being stuck in mid/close range against Alessi it's no fun. Your best options up close are 2a, 2b, 4c and get a sneaky 214+a to lock him down so you can WALK away or get some breathing space. If you get the chance to zone him with glass, stand/normal bullets, do it, but be wary of tandem attacks. As usual, try to snipe his jumping with a slow bullet or Sethan hand if you like to gamble. Another important thing to remember in this matchup is that 236a/b can whiff from close-mid range on Alessi unless he is dashing.

#### Black Polnareff

Fighting at close quarters with Black Polnareff is risky but doable, but if he manages to counter some of your attacks you have to bail, but keep in mind that 4c can NOT be countered by any character except Shadow DIO, so use that to your advantage. This match will depend on how good is your opponent, some people will be very easy to punish with your repertory of moves, and some will rush you really hard. Try to run, gun, then plan on what to do.

#### Chaka

Fairly infuriating matchup for Hol for a variety of reasons, but the key here is generally being very cautious not to mash or get predictable. Ideally, you'll want to try and hold a life lead as much as possible and keep him coming to you, otherwise he can just stall you out for force you into unsafe situations to get in. His air normals are great, but it's possible to use this to your advantage if you learn to read your opponent. Slow bullet is especially useful as an anti air here, but in this matchup specifically, Chaka seems to be prone to landing in the "sweet spot" of the glass in the 4A 623B anti air combo where you can essentially loop him until he techs forward or back. Both of these options are great damage in this matchup, so make sure to utilize them as best you can.

While on the ground, stick to your safe combo string of 5A 5A 5B (add 236A if you're close enough) or just 5A 5B 236A. If Chaka has meter, especially try to abstain from finishing with 214B because Chaka can utilize his iframes to hit you with either a super or a full bnb. At full screen, feel free to otherwise throw out some 236A/C to sometimes catch him in a dash, but be careful again at midscreen for his sweep. If he has meter, he can still punish 236C even if the sweep whiffs. If you predict the opponent is going to this however, you can just block and slap them with 5C 236A if they end up close or just do another basic combo string. In short, be smart and play patient.

#### Devo

Another rush character, but now you have to get away from the doll instead of Devo. Glass is your best friend in this matchup, do it to hit a jumping Devo, zone the doll movement or make Devo roll to get closer and separate him from the doll. Always think twice with your special/super moves, because if Devo doll is in the floor, you will probably eat a well timed super. 4C is your best friend in this matchup, and it also combos into 236AC

#### DIO

Roll freely in this matchup, if DIO decides to grab you then just do a recovery and 236+AA super him (sometimes even 214+AA if the DIO grabs you while you are cornered). Glass is good, but a well timed super knives or teleport might get you in trouble. if its a DIO that loves to teleport into your face, try to bait him into teleporting and then hit him with a well times slow bullet. Play safe and try to punish his teleports with a grab, 4c, or a slow bullet super.

#### Hol Horse

Will you zone or fight up close? Whichever you pick, remember that a knockdown can end up in a slow bullet and a grab into a 236+aa super. Be calm and play carefully.

#### Hol & Boingo

Boingo bullets tend to be faster than yours, so you will have to rush or play carefully if you dont want to eat Boingo stand bullets chip damage. Your best friends in this matchup will be a, 2a, b, 4c, glass breaking and slow bullets after a knockdown. If you're forced to fight at close quarters be aware of the super grabs, but also try to bait them.

#### Joseph

Just zone him and punish everything he does with whatever you want. The only thing you have to do is be aware of his super grabs and Hermit Purple grabs, because if they're good it will end in a long combo.

#### Jotaro

If you get caught by Jotaro you will live a life of pain. If he manages to get a single hit on you, it might become a devastating combo that will take at least 1/4th (in the best case) of your life. Always walk/run away from him while trying to hit him with a bullet or any other move.

#### Kakyoin

Equally or more anoying as Jotaro. He will most of the times start the match with a heavy stand attack, so either block or super it if you feel lucky. Whenever he stays at max range, he will spam Emerald splash and s.663c, so try to jump or low bullet. Whenever he jumps with his stand on, he will move really fast and high in the air, so dont try to slow bullet him and maybe snipe him with a glass shot. If he manages to get close, he will do mixups into a net that will trap you, and if you try to roll he might just grab you and do it all again. So try your hardest to stop this from happening.

#### Khan

Just zone him and slow bullet any air move he does. Nothing really can happen here unless you're new to the game.

#### Mariah

Zoner vs Zoner? Maybe. If her magnetism is really high you might be the one getting zoned, specially because you can't cut the power line cables and the knives become faster. Try to not touch the outlets and just zone her. If she gets close, you might struggle a little because its kind of hard to grab her with her spammable 2a.

#### Midler

There are two important moves you have to be very careful with. Grabs and Cars. Her grab has a really long range and its really anoying in the okizeme, so try to keep your distance. The cars have a really big hitbox that will knock you down of the air, so try to play on the ground. You can slow bullet her jump attacks or counter her harpoons with a well timed 236+bc super, but it can be risky. Also, always be aware of "Dinner time", it can get you with your guard down if you're zoning.

#### New Kakyoin

Easier than Kakyoin, a skinny Khan with sunglasses and red hair. Though it should be noted that 20-Meter Emerald Splash (s.on 236AA) can punish some of your moves like S Bullet and 623a/b/c more easily then you think.

#### Petshop

Hell. Theoretically you should be able to outzone some of his moves and shot him out of the air, but dont get confident because good Petshops will try to rush you down. Try to guard cancel whenever he tries to get close and punish his charge attack with a super. If you REALLY, i mean REALLY lucky, try to guess when he's going to teleport behind you and do a 214+aa super. Hanged man will catch him and you'll be able to combo it into another Hanged man super.

#### Polnareff

He can jingle your dingles all day. The best way to play this matchup is to punish him for things he's about to do. I know it doesn't make much sense, but basically you have to make some hard ass reads against him and make him scared. One thing you have that can help prevent him from fucking your day up with shooting star is A glass when timed right will stop chariot from lurking over you. Slow bullet super also can hit chariot when hes on the wall. Really you gotta zone and commit to some ballsy reads.

#### Shadow Dio

This matchup is something that can end very quickly for either side. S.Dio players tend to be rather jump happy which opens them up to potentially getting hit by your wall bounce TOD, but keep in mind that his j.S can punish this if you get too careless and predictable. Keep your distance and be careful with rolling unless you want to get grabbed and crossed up into oblivion. Best to keep your distance and either chip him down or nail him with 236. If you can bait his book, you can punish with 236aa for some big damage too.

#### Rubber Soul

Rubber can be dangerous up close, but if you bait his 236aa and leave him meterless, he becomes a lot more limited. Since he lacks a passive stand, he's vulnerable to chip and to being zoned out. Stick to your bullets and play a patient game, and mind that he's one of the only characters that Hol can actually safely grab so utilize the fact that you can grab him or tech out of his fairly brutal grab. Otherwise you can also punish his jump ins with the 4A 623B for some pretty big damage. All in all, keep away and don't let him catch you mashing if he gets in.

#### Vanilla Ice

From the top down, this matchup looks horrific but actually isn't as bad as a lot of Hol's other matchups with S tier characters as long as you have your fundamentals solid. However, this still isn't easy as you have to be extremely cautious against Ice since the vast majority of your damage against him is going to have to come from safe sources. You'll be denied a lot of your oki due to Ice's bizarre hitboxes and extremely quick wakeup time, not to mention going for a knockdown against him is seldom worth it due to how much easier it is for him to snuff out anything careless with 2c. However, your saving graces in this matchup include things such as Ice being unable to punish your grab if he doesn't have meter, and him generally lacking ranged tools. Additionally, if Ice attempts to use ball to approach, you can catch it in 214aa if you're fast enough.
In summary, utilize your chip damage and don't throw out too many buttons. Avoid moves like 2c and 5c especially and just stick to your pokes up close, and try to whittle him down over time. It's grueling, but definitely winnable.

   Vanilla ice can be troublesome for Hol if he gets in, so as usual, try your best to keep him out. If its an Ice that loves to use 236a/b/c you get a free super if he whiffs but keep in mind that 236AA is the least reliable as Ice can escape sometimes, which is why its best to go for 214AA or 421AA. (Note: there is a Ice version of the Hol TOD which is way easier to perform on him. https://twitter.com/tex\_western/status/1020212258222329857