Theoryfighter time:
How much is it worth to have no mix-ups on your next incoming character?
I've been thinking about it, and we all know that when you lose one character, against a good player, using a good team, there's a very good chance that you're about to lose another. It's not often that you lose the third one just because you can X-Factor and get a "breathing moment" as that character comes in. The value of having that guaranteed second character is enormous. I realized how valuable this is to me when I previously posted about armored Hsien-ko, and how great it is to not worry about her dying right away. She also tends to kill a lot of characters because people aren't careful enough - they're too used to having the advantage on an incoming character.
I'm absolutely certain that having no mix-ups on my next incoming character is worth at least 3 bars to me. I know this because if I'm getting stomped, I'll often use Morrigan's Darkness Illusion, which has decent invulnerability, simply to guarantee Morrigan a safe "in". Sometimes I'll XF3 cancel it, sometimes I won't. It's just good to not have to deal with the insanity that often is mix-ups in this game.
Is it worth dedicating an entire character to this benefit? Maybe. Hsien-ko is just so-so, but it sure it nice knowing for a fact that I get to use both of my characters in the match. Sometimes I feel it's worth including her just so I can be guaranteed to at least use two good characters.
To my knowledge, only three characters can be guaranteed safe while coming in:
Morrigan
Hsien-ko
Sentinel
I think one of the great things about Knives' team is the order:
Spencer
Sentinel
Akuma
What a great team order! If Sentinel were anchoring, Akuma would get mixed up half the time and die, leaving only the outsourced machine to fight alone. Sentinel guarantees Knives gets to play his whole team, and Hyper Sentinel Force x Messatsu Gohado Ungyo is a pretty delicious bonus.
As I think about this, I wonder whether the following team is worth considering:
Sentinel (Sentinel Force)
Dormammu (Dark Hole)
Morrigan (Dark Harmonizer)
As we all know, it is worth a lot to get Morrigan and Dormammu on the screen safely. Both ChrisG and FChamp are willing to burn two bars of meter just to ensure that the slate is clean for their characters, and this is obviously more than just a preference, it's an intermediary goal for them. So one thought I have is this: put Sentinel on point, and dance around while calling Dark Harmonizer. As soon as I get two bars, DHC into Dormammu. Every Sentinel to Dormammu DHC is viciously strong, and Morrigan even gets Soul Drains off of Hyper Sentinel Force x Astral Vision. With Dark Harmonizer, I'll certainly have the meter necessary to do these things and be safe, and of course Sentinel Force is a great assist for anyone.
What do you all think?
