Aigis

For when you need to take out your own upgrade

Combo notes

• Small hurtbox, but generally combos normally

Unique responses and punishes

Move	Response/notes
2B	Roll or SB chain knuckle
j.C	Pre-emptive 2B SB air guillotine if being approached while in the air (and against air pressure/strings in general)
Megido fire	C version is -5 on block, so must IB then grab to punish, although this can still be tech'd Upback/IABD j.C will give you a short punish if done early enough/from far enough away Megido fire startup is one of the only burst points in an orgia combo.
Pandora Missile Launcher	SB chain knuckle if not full screen If Aigis is close enough to corner, can chase her down with super jump air dash j.B/j.214B
Goddess Shield	If spike is out, block for an auto punish If no spike, block > 2B for a fatal punish If Aigis has meter to OMC, roll and 236B for a weak punish (stronger with SB follow-up)
Orion (air command grab super)	Stay crouched to not get grabbed, if she angles low to try and grab you, punish with 2B, if she flies off, either 236B or dash up to punish
Heavenly Spear	C version is +4 on block, just hold block after if you get tagged, but can be jumped over sometimes Can be rolled on reaction to the superflash for a 5A punish Can be backdashed for a fatal 5A punish if you're insane - high risk high reward if you're in corner, otherwise don't bother and just roll it.

Overview and tips

Dustloop page here

This matchup is very much won and lost in neutral - fail to adapt and you'll get crushed by her insane normals, ranged options and orgia pressure. However if you manage to win neutral and score a hit or lock her down, things suddenly swing heavily in your favour.

There are generally two phases to fighting Aigis. The first is when she's not in orgia, either because she's recharging it, or she is looking for a way to mode change. At this point, IAD j.B is your friend as Aigis doesn't have a true anti-air. She can pre-emptively 2B or j.A, but these are hard callouts, so as long as you're not too predictable you'll be fine. Once you get in, there's very little Aigis can do to contest your pressure, so stay at range and poke away with pressure resets and mixups. Her DP is strong, but will get her killed if you bait it (barring if she has meter to super, at which point it's a guessing game), so stay consistent but patient.

That being said, Aigis does still have access to j.C - arguably the strongest air normal in the game at 8 frames, with longer horizontal range and greater upwards range than j.B. Similarly, she still has strong projectiles that you cannot do much about. Gatling will shut down any attempt at using orbs (that and she can also 5D it as it approaches her for a free neutral win), so orb isn't really an option in this MU. Her 2B will also shut down slower air approaches and give her a free mode change, so be wary of staying in the air for too long. However, if you stay on the ground and roll 2B, it's a free crouch punish, so stay vigilant and roll those 2Bs.

Her pressure outside of orgia, while not amazing, is still solid in the right hands, with pretty strong stagger and reset options, especially given Labrys' weaker dp, which she can either block due to general low recovery on her moves, or DP in return. You can hold DP to try and bait her DP, but remember that you're playing with your life if you do this, and will likely eat a fatal for making the wrong call.

Once she enters orgia, things get a lot worse - her movement becomes ridiculous, aiding her approaches with j.C and making practically any move you use punishable from half-screen or further. There is natural tendency to want to play defensively here, but this will not work. She can and will chase you down with that extra movement, giving you no time to set up persona moves or specials - j.C will go straight through any orbs you throw out and completely ignore j.D, so don't even try it. Instead, play a passive game with calculated counter-pokes. A careless Aigis player who just flies at you and presses j.C can still be countered with a well-timed 2B on your part. Equally, taking to the air and pressing j.B can keep you safe against attempts to get behind or above you, and even catch Aigis air-rolling.

There are specific answers to missiles (SB chain if close enough, chase down if she's very close or near corner, C beast if done on ground level) and megido fire (j.C, spaced j.B/2B) in neutral, although these can get tricky to execute in a match, so be wary. Also once she gets you in blockstun, you have no way out (SB roll may work sparingly, DP and counter assault will not work), so avoid it at all costs. Also be aware that if you do manage to hit her or get her in blockstun, orgia backdash is completely invulnerable in startup, so you'll need to adjust accordingly by using delayed dash 5As, j.Bs, or 2Bs to catch it. Overall, not a fun experience, but keeping your cool is your best way to survive it, and even turn it around.

As a final note - use the fact that Aigis' orgia is public information to your advantage. If she's low on orgia meter, she is likely looking for a mode change. In neutral, this means rushing her down if she isn't on you already to prevent a mode change, or looking to roll a 2B. If you have her in pressure, this means preparing to bait a DP. Also remember that with not much orgia, her damage is much lower, so there's not as much need to burst.

Some final quirks that you'll notice in Aigis players that you can exploit:

• As her DP also functions as a mode change, an Aigis player is very likely to use it either when it is about to run out, or if it has just become full. Good times to consider baiting.

• If they start using gatling every time you orb/5D/5C, you can orb then IAD to punish

• If they have lots of meter, they will likely shield on wakeup. If you put a spike out and block, you will first block the shield, then spike will punish them (and even on OMC, they will either get hit or be forced to block)

• Heavenly spear can be jumped over, rolled on reaction, and even backdashed (dangerous, but very fancy and technically optimal), all of these options will give you a punish in some form, so be patient against an Aigis waking up in awakening and choose one of the above options, and you'll likely be able to close out the round

Main adjustments to make

• Use orb less due to the many answers Aigis has

• Safejump freely - only SB spear is fast enough to hit the C Beast safejump, which they will rarely use, just make sure to keep your safejump timing tight, otherwise C spear will hit you

• DPs are risky - use them sparingly against non-orgia Aigis and almost never against orgia Aigis

• You can bait Aigis DP using range and jumps, and the large amount of recovery almost always allows for a full 2B punish, just be aware that she can super during any part of the recovery.

• SB spike will work decently to stop her throwing out projectiles when she's not in orgia. When she's in orgia, she will usually be moving too fast for it to track correctly, and missiles are projectile invulnerable. However, it may lock her down, or even punish her if she attempts to j.C you and you block in time. Use with caution, but do use it

• SB chain knuckle will beat out 2B, gatling (if done early enough) and missiles (need to dash in a bit first), just be aware that if you miss, you're probably going to get hit

• Aigis has multiple answers to gears, including D shield on reaction - use very sparingly

• j.D will rarely achieve what you want it to as j.C will hit you through it, and Aigis can use projectiles in response to take a persona card, some of your health, and an orgia change for free. Do not use unless you have a specific read (e.g. Aigis is in orgia and hovering high in the air)