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Shadowgeist
PlayStyle: Neutral, Patient, or Aggressive.
Similar to: Bison(SFV), Urien, Yun
Strengths: Great normals that beat out other normals, produces mix-ups with Beta Government on block, great range on Shadow Break. Excels on the offensive side. One of the best anti air to super combinations in the game. Incredible backdash and a great overhead and very versatile supers. Has a divekick and a Bison like headstomp to deal with zoning and can cancel into Beta Government for a mixup/pressure.
Weaknesses: Lacking a good wakeup option without meter and is dependent on meter to be strong. His anti normals are a bit on the slower side and don't cover as much horizontal range as most crouch heavy punches. Guard Cancel gougi can really force Shadowgiest's pressure to be more honest and makes the Giest player more cautious on doing certain setups.
Play if: + You like pressuring the opponent off of any 1 bar situation
+ You want a huge range of tools
+ You don't like dealing with projectiles
Avoid if: - You don't like having no true reversal
- You don't want to rely on meter for pressure
- You don't like not having a projectile
Recommended Gougi Decks: Aggro, Stealth Raptor, Shinobi, Berserker, Double Face, Infinity
Max Punish Combos
Meterless: dash cr.MP > st.MP > cr.HP > Heavy Shadow Aegis (54 Damage)
1 Bar: dash cr.MP > st.MP > cr.HP > Light SHADOW AEGIS cancel on 2nd hit> β・GOVERNMENT > dash st.MP > Heavy SHADOW AEGIS (75 Damage)
2 Bar: dash cr.MP > st.MP > cr.HP > SHADOW AEGIS cancel on 1st hit > β・GOVERNMENT > dash jp.HK > α・RISING (88 Damage)
3 Bar: dash cr.HP > SHADOW BREAK > α・RISING cancel on 3rd hit > β・GOVERNMENT > Ω・END (94 Damage)
Key Normals
Crouch Heavy Punch: Go to solid anti air and can easily combo into Beta Goverment or Rising super
Stand Light Kick: This is an excellent button to check dash in low with and to buffer into Shadow Aegis to whiff punish or counter poke an opponent. Shadow Aegis will always connect from any range.
Stand Heavy Kick: An excellent normal to go over dash in low attempts as the hitbox is very horizontal. It can counter poke, whiff punish very well, and be used as a meaty on wakeup or to end a chain to be safe
Shadow Heel: (Back + Medium Kick) Great overhead with good range. Add after a crouch heavy kick that's blocked to force the opponent to respect it. Can be used in any part of a chain to mixup the opponent's defense .
Key Moves
Shadow Break: This special is immune to air attacks so it is a very good anti air and way to stop people from throw baiting with neutral jumps. However this move has no lower body invincibility and the start up a a little bit on the slower side.
Shadow Aegis: Your main combo ender and special move that you will use to go into Beta Goverment super from. Good damage, has great range, and causes a knockdown. It does a decent amount of chip as well but be vary without meter as it is punishable on block.
Shadow Sword Kick: Excellent divekick with 3 different angles based on the button press. Can be spaced like other divekicks to be safe or plus (height dependent)and with Beta Government you are able to force your way in from the air.
Aerial Nightmare: This super has a variety of uses. On the surface it's a air grab super but it's also a combo extender if you get a hit from the air. It essentially gives you extra time to combo into other options that you wouldn't normally be able to. This requires incredibly high execution but it's worth the style and damage if you pull it off.
Combo Examples
Chain Combo
Cr.LK, St.MP, Cr HP xx Shadow Aegis
Link Combo
Cr.LK, Cr.MP, Cr.MP, Cr.MK xx Shadow Aegis xx Beta Goverment, dash, St.MP, St.HK
Tech
Cr.HP late, MK Shadow Press (Cross up)
*Opponent must be almost fully cornered
Berserker Beta Government Chip
Use 6 Chain, cancel into HP Shadow Aegis, Beta Government, Repeat then end in Cr.HK to stay safe after you run out of meter.
General Strategy
Shadowgiest is strongest as a bully character. His main game starts when he has meter and forcing the opponent to play around his power Beta Government super. While he does suffer a bit on wakeup, it is key to be patient on defense and to maintain strong screen presence using St.HK, and his Shadow Sword Kick. Shadow Press is excellent for punishing projectiles so make sure you take every opportunity to gain meter and capitalize on every bar you spend. Shadowgiest can suffer a bit from guard cancel decks but he can smartly play around it but you mustn't be reckless with your pressure.
Frame Data
Back to D.Dark or onto the homerun hero Jack
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