Minazuki

Sleeper agent top tier

Combo notes

• None

Unique responses and punishes

Move	Response/notes
2B/sweep	IB the first hit to create a gap that you can attempt stuff in, just be aware he can cancel too, so DP is very unlikely to work.
5C	Do not try to contest by approaching, use Lab 5C to outrange it
j.B	Don't contest with your own, run under and 2B or take the time to set up
Teleport	2B for either direction, gives FC if done early enough, which allows you to always do the yellow axe route. If slightly too late, won't give counterhit
DP (ground)	If very close on block, can run under 2B, otherwise can either stay same side (but risk wings) or run under 5A.
DP (air)	Non-CH once he lands, so 5A punish only, also needs to be earlier than you'd expect as very low recover
Wings of Purgatory	If not in blockstun, roll then 2B punish, otherwise block then dash under 2B punish if low. He can OMC if he has meter so be aware.
Moon smasher	A and B can be rolled after superflash, but SB cannot, can also be OMC'd. Careful of getting crossed up (both B and SB cross up if the first hit touches you) On block, md 2B for FC 2B starter
Dream fog (counter super)	Works on everything except projectiles, so while the safejump won't work, you can call it out with j.C. If you see him try it and whiff, safest punish is 5A, although if you have very fast reactions, 2B CH is possible.

Overview and tips

Dustloop page here

Minazuki is a less common sight than he used to be, but he remains just as much of a threat, if not more so. While he lost a lot of his burst potential and air to ground j.B isn't as good, his persona moves and confirms have receieved an upgrade in general. Your main task will be to navigate neutral safely, which will provide you an opening to get in and start your attack. This isn't easy, but his moves do have a lot of recovery to make up for their size, so just a single read is usually enough to get you in as long as you're patient and ready to take advantage of a whiff.

The main thing you're looking to do is move in a way to make a C or D move whiff. His C moves are stronger than before due to the persona invuln changes, but still have enough recovery that if they whiff, you'll be advantaged. His D buttons remain roughly as they were, and can actually be dealt with by constantly attacking as you're moving, although this does risk getting CH, so don't do it too much. Remember that his persona can body block you, but rolling is still an option given just how much recovery his D buttons have.

His j.B also rivals yours in a lot of ways, meaning you don't really want to go air to air with it given how fast it is (12F). However, the fact that it's double hit locks him into it, making it slighltly riskier for him to whiff, as you'll be able to either move in for a 2B, or at least move safely for the duration of it if you see it whiff. Also, while is 5A is slightly longer than yours, it is 2 frames slower and chest attribute, so you can mash safely at certain ranges, or attempt sweeps if you think a 5A is coming. He also has a decent 2B to deal with Lab j.B, but it does have a lot of recovery to punish if you can bait it out (through double jumps, not IAD'ing etc.).

Minazuki's pressure isn't the most threatening of the cast, the main move of interest being his command grab, but give its low range and lower payoff, it doesn't present as much threat as the other command grabs in the game. It also requires him to be in your face, which isn't great for him as his normals are generally long and slow, even more so than yours. The main issue is that with meter, he can keep you locked down and guessing for an extremely long time, and can DP you back during most of the points you'd want to DP. The key is to be patient, downback, and wait for a pressure reset, and either backdash out or try your luck with an attack once it happens.

Minazuki's defence isn't the greatest - his DP is fine as it's fast, but doesn't cover above him, and can be safely punished on block by running underneath him. In awakening, his counter super does mean you can no longer safejump him (although now you can fake a safejump to bait this out), and strikes in pressure are riskier. Remember though, Lab 5C is a projectile, so works well against it, and just waiting it out is a good idea sometimes. Moon smasher also isn't the threat it used to be, although do be careful of it if trying to upback into an attack, as it covers a large area.

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

• Teleports are reactable for the most part, and players usually have their tells for when they're going for it, including throwing knives to cover it (luckily Lab 2B stays crouched so chest level knives don't actually help him here).

• Roundstart 5C is common when they want to gain momentum, try to get a feel for if you'd want to go for it, then roll it yourself.

• Counter super is pretty common on or after the 2nd pressure reset you try, so either reset with 5C or just wait for it and punish with 5A once you're done one pressure reset.

• They often don't try too hard to protect their persona, so take cards when they're given to you

Main adjustments to make

Orb is risky to use due to the threat of 2D (27F startup to Lab's 35F recovery), but can be used if you see whiffed j.Bs or j.Cs from Minazuki. Also be aware that low knife goes under D orb, and is fast enough to hit you during the startup if you're not careful.

Safejump works very well against his DP, but not against the counter super (dream fog). SB moonsmasher is 6f, so will also beat the C beast safejump, but A moonsmasher is too slow at 7f. Remember to run under him during his DP to make it safe to punish.

Labrys DP is ok due to the slower single hit attacks that Minazuki has, but isn't great once he hits rekkas as there either won't be a gap or he'll be too high. Use with caution.

While his DP does move him, if you're blocking him, he will get caught by spikes and orbs as normal (and spike also beast the counter super as it's a projectile). Basically, your oki works well as it usually does.

j.B is fine to use here, but be careful of Mina j.B or 2B as they are both good options to deal with it. They both also carry risk for Minazuki though, so as long as you're not obvious and punish his normals too, you will be ok.

Chain knuckle can work here, especially if you think knives are coming, so if your opponent is playing grounded a lot, try it out, just be aware that the persona might block you sometimes (but this isn't too bad given how much recovery his moves have). Spike can also work in neutral given how slow Minazuki himself tends to move.

Gears midscreen is risky given how easily he can teleport behind you, but if your back is to the wall, he struggles to punish meterless. He does have metered options, but they are somewhat tricky to think of or do (requires low wave super or specific dream fog).

j.D can be used to wall him out, but doesn't trade particularly well against his 2D/j.2D most of the time (will usually get you hit, although you'll take a card if your j.D came out). Also his forward movement and attacks are usually fast enough to hit you out of it if he's already coming in. Use sparingly.