Unblockables and resets

a.k.a tournament tech

Labrys doesn't really have anything you'd consider consistent when it comes to unblockable setups or resets - most of the time there's a solid answer to let an opponent avoid things. Therefore, it's best to avoid most of these until you absolutely need them, for both your own sake and for the sake of all Labrys players so we still have things we can pull in tournaments.

Basic resets

Your absolute simplest reset occurs after a 2B, where you sj.A > airdash and grab, which will catch people if they tech upwards in any direction and fail to tech the grab. Best used in the corner where you can confirm with j.C > j.214B. This is extremely obvious and a lot of people will figure this out on reaction, but may still work on newer players or when tensions are running high.

If you ever get a 2A hit (or technically, any hit, but this works better if your opponent changes their input to a low block, which they are likely to do after getting hit low), you can usually gatling into an AoA if you're close enough, and unless you're in red axe, this will reset pretty much no matter what if they block low.

After a charge 5B, dashing in and pressing 2A will pop the opponent up slightly, allowing for possible 2B/[2B]/air grab resets - slightly more unexpected than the others - save for a rainy day if you can.

Similarly, if you get an opponent to the corner with 5AAA, you can cancel into 236C > dc 2B for a nasty unblockable that will hit most of the cast if they tech away from you, and is hard to punish even if they don't (and combos if they don't tech).

Any combos that keep the opponent grounded can also be reset by dropping and going into a high, low or grab, as long as they leave hitstun for long enough to be able to be grabbed again if that's the option you're going for. Consider 5B dash cancel or chain knuckle into empty winch dash for moves that get you close and able to grab in an unexpected way.

Also remember that spike restands the opponent, allowing for a good opportunity to grab reset. For example - doing the normal SB axe gain combo, but one they're trapped going for:

• Green - 5B > dc grab

• Yellow - 5A > 5B > dc grab

• Red - 5AA > 5B > dc grab

The above differs due to the difference in hitstun of the axe levels - if you do the wrong one, the enemy may either still have grab invuln, or be able to block one of the hits if you do too little or too much respectively. Also consider 5AA > md grab, which has a bigger gap but is sneakier.

Unblockable setups

Fun fact - if you hold 5B, 2B or DP long enough, it becomes unblockable! You may not know this, because it takes so long that it will never help you against an opponent that's awake. One exception is charge DP being held as a way of baiting some DPs, and you happen to hold it long enough to reach unblockable status. In the corner, you may get lucky and have this hit against an opponent who panics.

One thing to note is that the proration on the unblockable moves is now lower than it used to be (although still high), so you can actually get knockdown into super from them. Therefore, note the following possibility:

(On block) X > 214214C > OMC > 6 > full charge 5B/2B > ...

Where X is any blockstring (pretty much any axe normal or special will do, most will be gapless if close enough), and you can do short(ish) combos. You'll be starting with 1000 proration (same as throw), so you're looking for a simple route into knockdown/kill. Takes 100 meter so you're unlikely to be able to super. Can be guard rolled or guard cancelled depending on range - there are options to deal with this, but given how rarely you will do this, not one you need to spend a great deal of time labbing.

Also consider the following:

(On hit) X > 214AB > 22A/B > 5AA > full charge DP > ...

• Only a few frames between opponent being released from spike and the unblockable hitting

• Will work about once a session, pretty obvious even the first time as it's not the normal route, but worth trying

• Won't confirm at absolute max range, gets easier the closer you are

• On hit, confirms are:

  • Green and below: 5A > 2B > sj.B > j.C > j.214B

  • Yellow: 5AA > 236A > winch dash > j.A > j.B > j.B > j.C > j.214B

  • Red (fatal): (dl if close) 2A > dl 2B > 8 dl j.2B > 5D > md 2AB > ~D > [5B] > (66) 236A > winch dash > j.A > j.BB > j.BB > j.C > j.214B

Other routes that can work are:

(Red, On hit) X > 214AB > 22A/B > 5A > full charge 5B/2B > ...

• Around a 4 frame gap, but hard to tell it's coming

• Do need to reach the corner during this for the full charge moves to reach

(On hit, corner) X > j.BB > j.2B > [5B] > 22B > dl. 5A > full charge 5B/2B > ...

• Requires low proration yellow, red, or fatal to work. Spike grabs them offscreen, then reset with the unblockable into 5D > md 5B > 2AB > ~D