How to Use Assists

ASSISTS

I lied about using Dazzle for this entry. I’m in a really boring class, so take what you can get.

WHEN TO CALL AN ASSIST

There are 3 main situations that you want to call an assist in.

1.)  On An Approach

2.)  Defensively

3.)  Footsies / Zoning

On An Approach

I play primarily a rush down team so this is when I am mostly calling my assists. Assists can be used to create amazing mix-ups and keep pressure going. Here are some more awesome pictures to help illustrate my point.

So right now I called my drones assist and I have a few different options I can do to mix my

opponent up.

1.)  Command dash behind him and force him to guess what will hit first.

2.) Command dash and do an overhead.

3.) Command dash and do a low.

Selecting option 2 and 3 are the best situation to do. It forces your opponent to guess

twice. They have to guess what will hit first the drones or you. They also have to guess if

you will hit high or low. Unfortunately this won’t work if your opponent isn’t bad and

jumps. Most of the time it comes down to should they block you or the sent drones.

JAY WHAT IF MY CHARACTER DOESN’T HAVE A COMMAND DASH???

You can still use them to cover your approach. For instance, She-Hulk can call a beam or projectile assist while she is moving in. This protects you and helps you get in. For instance, if you get hit on your approach, but you called an assist like Sent Drones or Taskmaster arrows and your opponent starts to combo you and doesn’t launch you fast enough they will have to block mid-combo or they’ll get hit. Most of the time they will block the projectile giving you time to get in.

1.)  They Block

This is good. It moves them back and resets the situation. It also gives time to think of a way to counter what is going on.

2.)  They Get Hit

This is also a good situation. If this happens I combo off the assist and do some decent damage. Practice combing of an assist hit, it’s really important. Also, if your opponent isn’t on auto pilot or not retarded then they are going to think twice about rushing down and possibly shift to a defensive role.

3.)  It Whiffs And They Don’t Punish

This is bad, but it could be worse. The only really bad things that happen are you can’t call an assist for a few seconds and you’re in the same situation.

4.)  They punish the assist.

This sucks, but you can turn it into a situation that benefits you. When I call an assist I generally know if it’s going to whiff or not right after I call it. I don’t know if this comes with time or what. But, if I know it’s going to whiff I generally assume a punish is coming. If they just try to straight up hit it with normals, I’ll punish with my normals.  If they super it then my assist either eats the super or I counter with my own super. Zero’s level 3 or Sentinel’s Hyper Sentinel force are generally my two ways to stop this. Research your characters and find your ways to counter supers.

Using Assists to Make Unsafe Moves Safe

Calling assists at the correct time can make certain unsafe moves safe. For instance, let’s say that I am pressuring with Zero and my opponent has a move fast enough to counter my 6C (Forward C). I can call the Tron assist to cover me and possibly get a combo if the opponent tries to counter it. Look at this picture. Assume I whiffed a 6C.

Footsies / Zoning

From full screen call a projectile assist to control space and be ready to protect it.  It’s that simple. Or when your close up call one and try to get a hit. It’s that simple.

WHEN NOT TO CALL YOUR ASSIST

1.)  If the character is good on point and you don’t want to lose them.

Zero is my best character. If he has half red life and a sliver of yellow life I won’t ever call him. If I already used X-Factor, Felecia has a ton of red life, and I need to call her, I generally will call her because she isn’t as important to me on point.

2.)  If it’s obvious they are going to get punished.

There are lots of situations like this. Take this one for example. Say I am fighting against a Storm and she is full screen or is tri jumping in my face. I don’t have 3 meters, but I decide to be an idiot and call drones. If the player is smart and close to me they’ll block drones, do a super basic combo on Sentinel and kill him. If they are full screen they’ll just hail storm and do a ton of damage to Sentinel.

Ok I’m done. This should help you know how to use your assists.

NEXT UP: WESKER, YOU ARE NOTHING TO HIM. NO REALLY… YOU ARE...