CH 7P P+K is no longer a sit-down stun. This kills her CH 7P loop.
SS tackle is SIGNIFICANTLY slower. You MIGHT be able to use it with really, really good timing, but any loops are out of the question.
SS Punch is unsafe. Couple this with the SS Tackle nerf and her SS game is now one of the weakest of the entire cast.
Basically, if you remember how I play Mila... EVERYTHING I used with her is now useless except 3H+K. EVERYTHING.
Helena is only good once you're stunned, and the only way for her to open you up is with one of her lows that stun on normal hit. Against someone with decent defense, those aren't going to hit much. Just ask Mamba when he played against me at SCR. He didn't win because he used Helena or attempted the PFT. He won because he was a good player. Any other Helena player would've been rocked. She has nothing now...
I can beat Alpha online with relative ease. Offline it's not even a challenge. Sure there might be one or two really good Alpha players, but she wasn't better than Jann Lee, Leifang or any of the actual good characters. Now she's far weaker.
Tell me then, what does Mila have now that makes her at least a solid mid tier?
I don't care about the buffs. I didn't think they were necessary, but good for those characters. Buffs for everyone! It's the nerfs that make no sense!
Few things (just going by the sound of it, not tryin to make you angry)
1) Loops aren't really a concern. Those were just a bonus to begin with. At least if you mean what I think you mean by "loops".
2) Slower Sidestep tackle is still a sidestep tackle, so it SHOULD still work for the main use of it, ducking under an attack and punishing it with the tackle, since its ducking under then armor, or did they remove one of those two features?
3) SS punch being unsafe should only be an issue if you are just...doing it. I don't really see how unsafe would be an issue if say, you sidestep an attack and punish with the punch. Aka, the point of a sidestep. It's like when people complain that Helena's moves are "unsafe". Something being "unsafe" doesn't really matter when the opponent is being knocked around, lol.
4) I've always known Helena as one of the hardest characters to read (along with brad wong) due to the erratic moveset, so mixup and mindgames always seemed like their best bet. True that defense is her bane, though you can still bait and feint much better than most characters due to her stance.
5) Beating Alpha isn't an issue. She's still capable of flying around the arena, and still has (or had, depending on this patch) those insane combos that go on FOREVER with very little effort. Playable boss, which is always a bad idea.
6) You are a good Mila, so I don't see why losing a few loops should be screwing you over this badly. Just take a step back, re-examine her adjusted moveset, and adopt a new strategy.
From what you are saying, it sounds like the only issue is you can't combo into certain things anymore. Now granted, that was never my playstyle to begin with so it doesn't affect me as much, but my point is that Mila seems to be still perfectly playable, all her moves are still there, just a few of them have slightly different properties. Don't throw in the towel just because a character got slightly tweaked!