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How to Snake Lady

AKI is both simpler than she seems but also kinda fussy. She doesn't have far reaching cancelable normals and a lot of her better combos require standing confirms or counterhit confirms. Her safe jumps require quickly IDing back rolls vs ground. But she has a lot of great options, a fast drive rush, and a really annoying fireball!

This one is going to be harder than the Cammy one but it's hard to help. AKI has very uneven power and a 2 step process to getting her best combos.

For more detailed info, check Broski's Guide

Move Summary

Normals

The Important ones

Stuff that you should focus on when starting.

• 2LP is what you'd expect. It's not a particularly good 2LP, but you still need it. 4F but the range isn't great.

• 5LP Stubby, but barely negative on block.

  • [-> 5LP] Target Combo makes for good max range confirms. -3 on block, so negative but still safe. Frame traps (though I haven't used it a lot for that)

• 5MP is a super fast 6F medium that lunges AKI forward.

  • Less range than you'd think, but great at intercepting stuff.
  • Combos onto itself on punish counter, and into 2P on normal CH. You probably just wanna do 5MP 2LP -> whatever and be safe most of the time
  • Good Drive Rush Normal. Also combos into itself on driverush
  • Whiffing this is bad (I whiff it a lot).

• 5MK Uncancelable but still amazing. Great hitbox, hugely plus on hit. Combos into 5MP if you're close enough.

  • Combos into itself on punish counter, leading to things like 5MK 5MK 5MP -> whatever
  • Your best footsie normal.

• 6HK Advancing multihit +2 on block normal that carries any CH state from the first hit into the second hit.

  • Good drive rush normal, unsurprisingly.
  • Buuut you can get DIed pretty hard for using this too much.

5HK and 2HK are also your anti airs so they're technically important, but their utility otherwise is FUSSY.

The Trickier Ones

Most of her other moves. Important but also fussy or with caveats. General trend: AKI has less range and options off her normals than you'd think.

• 5LK Allows for comboing into 236MP off of light chains and that's super good but also requires you to confirm that they're standing.

• 2MK Uncancalable low with great range and fast startup. +1 on block, which is good but hard to take advantage of in a clear, easy to describe way. Can combo into lights if it hits up close.

  • Great for drive rushes due to being +5 on block.
  • If you wanna get into footsie theory, it also stops people from walking back.

• 6MP Slow overhead, just be meatie or after a drive rush to combo after.

• 5HK Strong and important and cancelable and gets one of those big punish counters that you get neat combos off of.

  • HER MAIN ANTI AIR, but low reward off of most hits.
  • Not as much range as you wish it had.
  • Not as fast as you wish it was
  • Feels bad to whiff
  • Forces stand though which makes some routes not require Standing Confirms.

• 5HP [-> 5HP] The whole point is hit confirming the target it combo on hit and doing nothing on block

  • another "it has less range than it feels like it has" move.
  • Second hit poisons on hit! Or gets the special poison followup.

• 2HK isn't actually a low or cancelable but it's a super reasonable hit confirm into super so it makes for a fun poke if you have meter.

  • SECOND BEST ANTI AIR
  • Cool popup on PC, making it a great whiff punish normal.

She has like a sweep and like 2LK is good to throw in there but whatever. 2MP is a real button with uses but just like don't press it.

Air Ones

AKI has bad crossup normals, which makes bad jumps punishing. When you're in the right range, her jump-ins have ridiculous hitboxes. Again, fussy.

• j.HK and j.HP are both great like whatever mostly use those.
• j.LK can cross up and is a good light jump attack.
• j.2HP Great crossup hitbox until you misread their tech roll or fuck up your distance or anything.
  • Kinda a curse that she needs this move
  • You never have ambiguous crossups, instead it's kinda a tax on your okizeme.
  • The upside is that since it hits so deep, you're turbo-plus on hit.

Her other air buttons are fine, j.MP has the most worthless juggle in the game probably like you can jump back with j.MK I guess?

Specials

AKI has a lot of specials on a lot of different directions, with sometimes different buttons basically being different moves. Some moves inflict poison and if they're already poisoned, you trigger a "toxic blossom" effect that launches.

236[X]P

The lashes. All inflict poison/trigger toxic blossom on hit.

• 236LP, the horizontal lash, is a good poke, though has risky recovery.

  • The toxic blossom is pretty weak and low reward.
  • An okay move to cancel into when you're not sure if you hit, but not exactly safe either.

• 236HP is the vertical one. Great anti air.

  • Gives great oki on ground hit.
  • Does not help you with crossups. Neither does her other AA. Good luck.
  • Toxic blossom hits give DR combos. Kind hard and fussy off of air hits.

• 236MP Diagonal lash. Important for combos, but not useful otherwise.

  • Too slow to control the space you think it would
  • Also less big of a hitbox.
  • Has it's uses outside of combos but generally just don't.
  • Ground hit toxic blossom gives a slow crumple, which rules.

• 236PP The EX version is cool and gives cool cool combos with with or without toxic blossom but it's a weird move, utility wise, don't really use it much.

  • Or maybe do it as a long range whiff punish.

214[X]P

The ""Projectiles"", even though only one is. They all apply poison but have no toxic blossom effects.

• 214LP Her super slow fireball. Totally rules

  • Slow startup so be careful!
  • You can do EX Snake Step out of the recovery of this(we'll get to that)
  • Drive rush behind this, obviously.
  • [-> 6LP] "Nightshade Chaser" followup. Don't worry about it. It's good for some knockdown routes in safe strings and max damage combos but again... fussy.

• 214MP The puddle. it puddles. if they stand in it they get poisoned. Great! Just throw it out when you're zoning them!

  • Can be part of her strongest OKI and stun combos.

• 214HP The doublebubble. A safe special cancel that is mostly combo filler otherwise.

• 214PP EX fireball. It's a good EX fireball! Very advantageous on block!

214[X]K

Flippy daggers. Button changes range. HP version is the only version you can combo after on normal hit. EX is +1 and steerable. Don't worry about this move, besides messing around.

236[X]K

Snake step/slide.

• 236LK goes barely anywhere but has no recovery frames. You can dodge a projectile in place and still block if you mistimed it.
• 236MK Medium slide. Sometimes used after knockdowns for oki.
• 236HK Big slide. Passes through the opponent. Risky corner escape.
• 236KK Invulnerable but throwable big slide. Only non super reversal.

2PP

Coward crouch. Has 3.. or well, 4 followups. Goes understand. Low profiles lots of stuff.

• K followup is the double kicks. You can combo 2LP after them on hit. -3 on block so you just gotta hold that.
• P That fucked up full screen dive. Punishable as fuck but rewarding if you read a fireball.
• LP+LK Throw, Slow as hell. Not a real mixup, though you can frametrap sometimes by mixing between it and delayed K.
• 8 You stand up. Sometimes a good option, especially if you're trying to catch them throwing fireballs. Sometimes you just gotta stand up!

Supers

Her supers are pretty cool but not crazy.

Level 1 - 236236K

Reversal, though slow. Poisons. Does a lot of extra damage if they're already poisoned. No special effect or anything, the poison damage just keeps ticking.

Level 2 - 214214K

I almost never use this but it's cool. she shoots like missile things??? Button choice changes whether its in front of you, the middle of the stage, or max range. Punishes some shit, but hard to use.

Level 3 - 236236P

Fast reversal. Does a lot of damage. Typical level 3.

How to actually play this Bitch

Obnoxiously zone before rushing that shit down. Throw her slow ass fireball and anti air them and then when they sit still or start parrying, DR in to either throw them or do DR 6HK into mix.

• Play footsies with 5MK and 5MP. 5MK is kinda your wall. You throw this out when you're dancing out of range. Press 5MP when you're approaching in and are looking to commit. You wanna use to to intercept the buttons they want to intercept you with.

  • A lot of times you won't get a combo off of 5MK but that's fine, it's free real estate

• If you're feeling frisky, whiff punish at surprising range with 2HK.

• Throw down poison and annoy them and let their life drain away.

• Flippy daggers, or crazy crouch dive or EX Lash are all big moves that can transition from "I'm being annoying" to "It's go time". also random DRs and jumps too, obviously.

Your moves don't have great range a lot of the time, so stay a good bit away and rely on your specials, using your normals to stop approaches and jump-ins. This also helps deal with her bad crossup defense.

Basic combos and OKI

So you hit with a real hit, what now? You won't be doing a lot of DRC combos, so don't worry about those. Most if your goal will be, especially if their unpolished, to combo into 236HP/uplash.

2LP 2LP 2LP 236HP or 2LP 2LP 5LK 236HP or 5LP->5LP 236HP or 5MK 5MP 236HP or DR 5MP 5MP 236HP, ect ect ect.

Now you have "The good knockdown" for AKI, the +44, AND they're poisoned.

The Hard OKI / Safe Jump

You jump forward and read their techroll, doing either a normal jump in or j.2HP, depending on what they do. There is no easy way to do this besides reacting. Sometimes you can exploit people doing the same thing every time to autopilot it, but it's hard and if you're wrong you'll get thrown or worse.

If you're right, you're hella plus and can shimmy them, to do 6HK as a frame trap into another, weaker shimmy, or do 2MK to catch them standing, or 5HK and go for her good combo.

For the sake of combo theory, lets go with her "good combo"

j.HP 5HK 2PP->K 2LP 5LK 236MP DR 5HK 2PP->K DR 2MP 236HP

with a non driverush version of...

j.HP 5HK 2PP->K 2LP 5LK 236MP 66 5LK 236HP

This knockdown knocks into itself. Also the driverush version tends to space things out, making you sure you won't need a crossup. This and the corner let you do safejump OKI without having to react.

Note on Safejumps Honda and Marisa can kinda use armor to ignore this. Be warned!

The Easier OKI

Easier, but still good. Even if you do the hard OKI, you should do both.

Option 1 You do 236MP and then either throw or 5MP as a strike throw. Mix in a low sometimes~

• Double dashing is technically better, but inputting it is tricky and you have to manually delay the throw a bit.

• People get thrown here like 80% of the time.

Option 2 You Driverush and mix between 6MP and 2MK. timing 6MP is tricky.

• I try and DR right when they hit the ground.
• Both lead to good combos and you can also throw when they start trying to parry.
• You can't really shimmy, and you need to block manually to call out reversals.

Combo for 6MP is 6MP 2LP 236HP [DR 2MP 236 HP], with the optional part being for if they were poisoned. for DR 2MK, go into 5HK and do the combos The Hard Oki, or keep it simple and do DR 2MK 5MK 5MP 236HP. If they're poisoned it can be worth it to try and standing confirm so you can do 236MP instead, doing the various followups like in the Hard Oki section.

Throw and Corner OKI

Midscreen throw doesn't get you much. You can do DR 5MK and if it hits, do 5HP->5HP. If they start parrying you can throw. If you backthrow you're more plus and can do DR 6HK and then do a shimmy attempt.

In the corner she can throw loop, but you gotta manually time it.

She has a whole bunch of other cool corner OKI but that's in the Broski guide and is pretty advanced, requiring some long corner combos to get to.

A more Clear Cut Basic Combo List

2LP 2LP 2LP 236HP + whatever light variations.

Bread and butter light chains. Your abare mash combo. On block either stop before 236HP or do a different safe special.

2LP 2LP 5LK 236MP toxic blossom pop

It's only worth trying to confirm standing if they're already poisoned. Remember, 5LK is the only light that combos into 236MP. Off this you can do a few followups we've already seen.

... 66 5LK 236HP is meterless and repoisons them and gives a good knockdown.

... DR 5HK 2PP->K DR 2MP 236HP Much more damaging and only 2 bars. Gives a good knockdown AND you don't have to worry about crossups. j.HK or j.HP will almost always work off this route.

This conversion can be used anywhere a grounded 236HP can bit hit so I'll keep the following combos simple.

5MK 5MP 236HP Requires you to be a little closer than you'd like.

PC 5MK 5MK A whiff punish combo on punish counter. Gives you a little bit more reward. If you're super close at the start you can add a 5MP 236HP at the end.

CH 5MP 2LP 236HP Not that hard with some practice. Since 5MP is impossible to confirm on its own, you should either autopilot the 2LPs, or DRC it for pressure/a longer combo.

5MP DRC 5MK 5MP 236HP Not meter efficient, but if you're doing 5MP DRC this works

PC 2HK DR 5LK 236HP Gets the good knockdown! Normal extension theory doesn't work here because this is an air hit. If they're poisoned you can instead do...

PC 2HK DR 5LK 236MP DR 5HK 2PP->P which does 30% on it's own.

Comboing into Super

any ground hitting 236HP can be canceled into level 3. Doesn't work on hair hit. Instead of doing DR 2MP 236HP 236236P, just go right from 2MP into super. I find these routes way easier and you have the benefit of it working for Level 1 too.

If you anti air with 236HP when they're already poisoned, you can sometimes just add a level 1 after. I don't do this much but maybe I should?

Other Random Notes

Burnout String

2LP 2LP 5MP is a cool burnout string. You can do 5MP 2PP->K 2LP for some variation. You can also cancel 5MP into Light or Medium Daggers for MORE variation but this has a much bigger gap

If they're in burnout, 5MP->DI is tight but throwable. 5HK->DI is air tight.

... Don't worry about her optimal shit just do a jump-in combo.

Her Other Normals

2LK You can do like 2LK 2LP 2LP or w/e it's good but just don't wanna make things more confusing

6HP has good range and is a decent option after a throwbreak. You can confirm it into super but that's... hard. Doable, though. No special cancel. Kinda just a specific, if good, move.

2HP No real reason to sweep when 2HK(they have the same startup) does the crush counter popup. Has some use in some combo routes. It's an actual low though so you can use it to call out walking backward.... not really worth it, though.

j.MP It has a juggle that is super hard to do ANYTHING with. I have never gotten meaningful use out of it in a match.

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