Match Up Discussion: Hayate vs Momiji

[Madian]

Hello Everyone,

I started this thread so that we could discuss one of our most dreaded match ups: Momiji. Here we can discuss the challenges one faces in this match up as well as strategies to help alleviate the curve. Feel free to post any questions, comments or useful information. I will update this thread as new information comes available.

For those of you who don't know this is quite possibly Hayate's worst match. Here's a breakdown of what you have to look forward to.

Close Range: Momiji's 2P, 6P, 7K, 5K and H+K are i12. That beats out most of what Hayate can put on screen. His 6P will beat Momiji's 6P as well as her 2P however he needs 7K to beat the other three which is risky. In addition her standing jab is i10 which means she either ties with Hayate's jab or beats out 6P/7K. Hayate can high crush 5P, 5K and H+K with a crouching move however doing so puts him at risk of eating a fast mid or low. Her 4P, PP4P, 1P and H+K will shut down all of Hayate's sidestepping shenanigans. And should the Hayate player block something Momiji is almost always safe. Most of her favorite tools are -5 or -7.

Long Range: Hayate's favorite range... is still dominated by Momiji. Her 66P is i15, covers as much space as his own 66P, is -5 and cancels into a tracking launcher. This move alone prevents us from hitting buttons outside of full screen. If you happen to block the tracking launcher you can get a 33T punish but you have to be quick as it recovers fast. In addition to this move we have to deal with her 1P and command jumps as she can cover a great deal of space with them.

Lack of Punishment Opportunity: As a Hayate player, your natural tendency is to try and solve every situation by finding the proper punishment and then capitalizing it as much as possible. The problem here again is that Momiji's risk/reward ratio is drastically staggered in her favor. You find yourself obligated to counter her by going on the offense which is just as traditionally risky as ever. Although Momiji's throws aren't the strongest in the game you will eat a lot of them should you get blocked or if you block too much yourself. To get any kind of opportunity to punish Momiji you have to commit with perfect execution due to how fast she recovers.

Guaranteed Damage versus Potential Damage: In the end, although Hayate has more opportunities to continue pressure and a better corner game, Momiji in general is getting more damage in the situations that matter. You can make two correct reads and then lose all the progress you made with one mistake. That's just the crux of the match up.

Basic advice:

Don't Hit Buttons: In other words don't be caught whiffing. Momiji can punish you almost full screen with 66P. Not to mention her pokes up close beat out almost everything you have. Meanwhile, even though Momiji is safe on most of her strikes, she can't just keep throwing out strikes (unless you are online). This gives you the opportunity to get your own offense going. Meanwhile, when you DO commit to an attack, it may catch your opponent off guard. Patience is its own reward.

Keep the Pressure On: When you do get in on your opponent, it's always better to keep your momentum going even if it means doing less damage. That extra damage may seem significant at first but once Momiji is off the hook, you are once again at a tactical disadvantage. Meanwhile, Momiji doesn't have too many ways to deal with vortex pressure so save the big damage for finishing her off.

Beat the Player Not the Character: While on paper Momiji may have everything she needs to solve this match up, in the end, you are playing against a human and not Momiji. Opponents have patterns and set strategies they associate with power which they will fall on when under duress. If you figure out your opponent's strategies you won't have to worry about what tools he or she uses since you counter anything they do. Not as easy as said but the ultimate goal to aspire to in any match.

 

[Madian]

Punishment

66PP and 236P: Both of these strikes put Momiji at -11 but watch out! The recovery on this move is insane. If you want to 33T her you will need to anticipate the attack otherwise you are probably better off using an i7 grab.


8K: I see a few players use this move as a part of their neutral game. Although this move is -12 on block she is airborne for all 12 frames. That means you can't throw punish this move. That also means she can defend herself as soon as she lands. The only thing we get here is PP6PK. Best to use the -12 as advantage in my opinion.


6PKK, 6KK, 9K: This is honestly not as scary as it looks. Some players have regulated this string to her stun game but some still use it as a part of her offense. All the overheads after the bounce can be seen and heard. Tech crouch by tapping 33 to avoid the potential grab and watch for the flames. If she does an overhead, sidestep and punish or hold mid punch.


PK, H+K: This tracking mid is -7 however you need to be up close in order to reach her. consider using the frame advantage here rather than the free throw attempt. You can Tenshin (8/2P+K) at your own risk.


1P: One of the most annoying factors in this match up is Momijis 50/50 off of her 1P. Fuzzy guarding the mix up or reacting to the low isn't very reliable. On the plus side, Momiji only gets frame advantage and a little chip damage while we can get a little more. The goal here is to predict if your opponent is going to go low, mid or stop with 1P. You can hold the low or mid just fine but be aware that should the Momiji player not cancel the 1P you will be at a deficit. Otherwise you can very easily react to a free canceled 1P since the delay window is so short.


1PP: If you anticipate 1PP, she is at -13. Something worth noting is that your i11 grabs won't reach her because she leans back after performing this move. You can, however, perform a raijin due to its range and Momiji being stuck at -13. Otherwise, if you aren't brave enough to try to go for Raijin, you can still punish 1PP with the i7 grab of your choosing.


[1]PK: If you anticipate [1]PK you have a few options here too. Momiji will be stuck at -15 in a crouched state. You can low throw her with 2T or 1T but you may also punish this low with a strike. 7K grants you 56 damage while 6P will cause a critical stun. I think the premere option here is 6P as you can easily get a sequence going from here.


3KP8, PP8, 9P: Momiji's hop isn't anything to worry about. Tenshin-Sen will cause a backturned stun if she performs the kick and it will knock her out of the air if she throws out a punch.

 

[Madian]

Good Tools for the match Up

Close Range
Momiji dominates this range with her wide array of i12 pokes. In order to hit any kind of buttons at this range, Hayate must put himself at a big risk.

6P: Beats Momiji's 4P, 3P, 1P, 6P and 2P. Loses to H+K, K, 7K and P. Obviously 6P will be very helpful in this match up. At long range you can use it to stuff 66P or to bait your opponent into trying to whiff punish with it or 1P.

7K: Beats 4P, 3P, 1P, 6P, 2P, H+K, K and 7K. Loses to P. Hayate's dragon punch. This is a fall back tool up close but be careful not to over use it. If you can force your opponent to start blocking or to throw out more jabs then you have made significant progress.

P: Beats 4P, 6P, H+K, K, 7K. Loses to 3P, 2P, 1P. Ties with P. Your standing punch is going to be very crucial in this match up. Be careful with it, however, as it can be crushed by Momiji's 3P which is a very dangerous tool she possesses.

2P/1K/1P: Beats H+K, K, P, 1P. Loses to 3P, 2P, 7K, 6P, 4P, 3P. Occasionally you might want to crush high against Momiji. Tech crouching her only works reliably on her jabs so you will have to properly enter a crouched state in order to crush her other highs. Keep in mind that when you commit to a high crush you are putting yourself at risk.

Tenshin-Sen: Although Momiji shuts down tracking fairly well, your opponent has no reason to use her tracking tools if you never sidestep. Although she can safely and efficiently beat out tracking it does often leave her at a disadvantage to do so.

Long Range
Any tool you use at this range should have faster start up than Momo's 66P and a fast recovery in case your opponent tries to whiff punish with the same tool. Because 66PP refloats, you can't even get away with going airborne to escape a critical stun state.

Fujin (236P): This is about the only thing at long range you can get away with. It keeps momiji on the ground and it beats 66P. The one downside to Fujin is that Momiji's 1P can duck under the hit box at long range. Since it gives you a mix up it will make the Momiji think twice about whiffing normals at long range. Don't throw this out blindly as it can be easily punished on block or whiff.

9P: Another i14, 9P also has a follow up that can be delayed meaning this is a pretty safe bet. The teleport can be used to get out of the corner once the Momiji has learned to respect the second hit.

6P: As mentioned earlier, the speed of this tool and the potential follow ups make it a decent ranged tool. In practice I find it to be slightly more vulnerable than 9P so use it carefully.