Free Step Dodge

Helena doesn't have good neutral tho, Mai has better neutral than she does. Helena has great momentum and mix ups when she builds momentum but she cant just rush down at CQC since she's pretty slow or average in speed.

A: Good characters. Pretty well rounded. Can be utilized in multiple ways. However, there's a notable flaw than can be exploited. For example with Rig v. Bayman, if a Rig notices Bayman does a lot of tank roll he can 2h+k and that takes away that aspect. Also, some people can play on autopilot with these characters and it does not benefit them the same way as the SS's.

B: Alright characters. They're good but not great. There's some tools that work really well p+k for Bass & Nyo, 160+ damage throw (Alpha) but there's more lacking stuff to put them with A tier.

C: They're alright. Trust me, Just cause I put these characters on C tier does not mean they suck. Leon is damaging af in certain scenarios. And Raidou did make top 8. But there's some scenarios where should a person know these match-ups, it'd be difficult to win with them.

Pai's mix-up is more dangerous. Sarah's mix-up is dangerous but it can be exploited cause if she does a high then it could be either crushed or stopped with 2p. Pai's frame traps can lead to dangerous stun that you do not want to take part in. She has throws that although aren't damaging can lead to guarantees which is extremely crazy.

Helena's neutral to me's better than Mai's. Although Mai has 9 frames which gives her advantage, Helena's bokuho is really dangerous up close. 33p is a decent crush. She also has SS k which is pretty annoying to deal with. Plus Mai to me has to work a little more to open someone up in comparison to Helena.

@VAND1TA
Well she is the fastest character in the game... she may not have as many frame traps as Sarah but her pokes go much further than hers... Sarah does have better Damage output across all characters though.

I honestly don't know whos better.... but I like Sarah more... shes taller. ;)

I cant take this tierlist seriously when Pai is higher then Sarah.
Sarah has tons of tools, more damaging output, and juggling options then Pai, even Sarah;s flamingo stance gives her mind game options, and her kick cancel into flamingo is sick to.

Plus Sarah to me, has to be up close to really work. I feel she has to play a Pure rushdown way which can either work really well or really bad. Pai doesn't have to do that to the extreme Sarah does. Which is why I put Pai higher than Sarah.

When I think tournament tiers I have to consider how much easier can someone open an opposition up without taking such high risk. With Pai v. Sarah, being Rig, I'm not as afraid of Sarah as I am Pai. I have to literally wait for Pai to finish or hope she messes up. Sarah, if I see a scenario where she either does a high or something....

I feel like Ayane should be in the S tier instead of A

I know I can interrupt, I'm definitely taking that opportunity. Plus her execution's hard also to me. So having to play a pure rushdown way with a character where execution is of the essence, doesn't work all the way well to me in a tournament scenario.

Ayane was difficult to place. Her spacing is top tier. She has a couple good crushes. However, two big thing I considered is her execution and her average close game. Spacing is important but being able to hold your own up close is important as well. Plus some of her enter tools are really risky.

66kk4 is a good frame trap. However, I've seen scenario's where players duck that high and that's a bad backturn combo she doesn't want to deal with. She's not excellent with opening up opposition as well. Lastly, Ayane requires patience and execution. At times that doesn't work well.

Lol Ayane is solid up close and in the space game, 2P being 10 frames, having good crushes and quick launch capabilities is what makes her good upfront. Also those risky enter tools you're referring to are mostly used by the less experienced Aya players, she isnt the type of character that has to commit to go in. A good Ayane is very hard to read

66KK4 isnt the move you use to go in, nor to open up opponents. Its actually a bad move when ducked which is why its rarely used by good Ayanes. Also Ayane excels at pressuring with jabs in neutral which will open up the opponent at some point if they make a misstep

66KK4 is only really used in those Ayane combos I've seen. She's basically just a zoner like Naotora is but a much faster one who can control space and has deceptive range

2p's 10 frames which is good. However, with Ayane also there risks with those moves. Take for example if she does 4p+k which is a good crush should that be blocked, she has to hope the opposition does a high for her to truly have an other good shot of a crush.

Plus she doesn't want a character like Rig and such up close. She can easily get torn apart by characters like him. She to me has to play a style of going in, getting damage, space and hope the opposition is impatient and does something reckless. It's not impossible but it's not beneficial to me in the latter half of tournaments.

Well Ayane is very unsafe if played incorrectly, but 4p+k is the 2-in-1 launcher right? Why would someone use that as a crush?