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CAPCOM - GAMBIT CHARACTER GUIDE Version 1.1, 14/10/98 ****************************************** By Min Sub Kim young@all.com.au *** CONTENTS *** [1] Introduction [2] Revision history [3] Normal Moves [4] Special Moves and Hyper Combos [5] Combos [6] General Strategy [7] Strategy Vs. specific characters [8] Credits and Thanks ** [1] INTRODUCTION ** It's almost the end of my final year at high school, and yet here I am writing a FAQ when I really should be doing some last minute cramming. Anyway, since his debut in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, Gambit has become one of my favourite characters. I guess he's kinda average in respects of strength, but he's fast, stylish, and has many weapons at his disposal. He hasn't really changed that much since X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, so people who played him then should feel right at home playing him now. Recently, I've noticed that Marvel Vs. Capcom is going down in popularity, as people are going to Street Fighter EX2. In fact, Street Fighter EX2 has suddenly emerged as the hot game here in western Sydney. So this is probably the last revision of this FAQ. The terms I use are : Jab - Light/Weak/Quick/Fast Punch Strong - Medium/Middle/Mid Punch Fierce - Heavy/Strong/Hard/Fierce Punch Short - Light/Weak/Quick/Fast Kick Forward - Medium/Middle/Mid Kick Roundhouse - Heavy/Strong/Hard/Fierce Kick S.Jab = Standing Jab C.Short = Crouching Short J.Strong = Jumping Strong SJ.Forward = Super Jumping Forward DS.S.Fierce = a dashing Standing Fierce OTG = Off the Ground - the hit preceding this notation actually hits an opponent off the ground whilst they are lying there, causing them to reel back, but still leaving them open for a juggle. QCF = Quarter circle forwards, otherwise known as a fireball motion. DP = Dragon Punch motion - forward, down, down forward quickly. QCB = Quarter circle backwards, otherwise known as a reverse fireball motion. P = any punch button. K = any kick button. PP = any 2 punch buttons. KK = any 2 kick buttons. ** [2] REVISION HISTORY ** Version 1.1 - Rewrote entire FAQ - I prefer to do real revisions instead of changing just a few lines here and there. - New ASCII art. I hope it looks decent to everyone else. Version 1.0 - First version of FAQ. ** [3] NORMAL MOVES ** Most of Gambit's normal moves have decent range and priority, with a few exceptions. The staff is only used to attack with Strong or Fierce, unlike Strider who attacks with his Cypher with any button except Jab or Short. Gambit's Jabs are not often used as they have little range. The standing Jab is a short ranged backhand, kinda like Dan's standing Jab. The crouching Jab is pretty much the same except lower, and the jumping Jab is a jumping equivalent. Try not to rely on these at all. Gambit's Short kicks have more range than his Jabs, and are more all round useful. The standing Short is a short ranged knee attack, and doesn't have that many uses. However, after jumping attacks at an opponent, the dashing standing Short is a great follow up attack as Gambit's long slide on his dash compensates for it's short range, and it hits crouching opponents also. The crouching Short is a relatively long ranged low kick, great for straight up dashing leads into combos. The jumping Short is the preferred jumping attack when you need speed and priority in the air. It looks exactly like the crouching Short, and it's range helps in taking out opponents quickly in the air from afar. Gambit's Strong punches produce a variety of relatively fast swings with his staff. The standing Strong makes Gambit take a downward swipe with his staff, and has relatively short range. The crouching Strong is a lower version of the standing Strong, but tends to have a pinning down effect on the opponent, making it decent for ticks (although the Short kicks are better for this). The jumping Strong is an upwards swing, and not that useful. I guess if an opponent super jumped at you, you could try using it as an anti air attack, but Gambit's crouching Fierce is much better for that anyway. The Forward kicks are decent ranged kicks that are fairly fast, but aren't major weapons in Gambit's arsenal. The standing Forward is a mid level roundhouse kick that hits crouchers, but isn't too useful. The crouching Forward is a typical low kick, not that useful either. The jumping Forward, like the jumping Strong, aims up at an angle and to be honest, I hardly ever use it except in air combos. Gambit's Fierce punches are characterised by good range, damage, and priority. The standing Fierce is a horizontal swing, covering about half the screen. It sends opponents flying when it connects, and has great priority. Even if blocked, it pushes back fairly far, so usually it's a safe ground attack, provided you can get around the split second delay on it. Also be wary using it against small characters, since some characters can crouch under it. The crouching Fierce is an uppercut with the staff, and has great priority against jumpers, and is Gambit's only launcher. It's got relatively short range, but then again, that's typical of launchers. In fact, Gambit's crouching Fierce actually has pretty good range compared to other launchers such as Ryu's crouching Fierce and Chun Li's standing Roundhouse. Finally, the jumping Fierce is a downwards swing with the staff, and has great priority against grounded opponents. Just do it slightly early when jumping in, as it also has a split second delay to it. The Roundhouse kicks are solid hits that provide good special move and super move buffers for Gambit. The standing Roundhouse is a high hook kick that stuns for a good split second, allowing various moves to combo off it. I think smaller characters can crouch under this as well, so be careful. The crouching Roundhouse is a long ranged sweep that sets up many of Gambit's deadly OTG combos. However, it does have some considerable recovery time to it, so try to cancel it into something safe most of the time. The jumping Roundhouse has deceptively good range, but should not be used as a stand alone jump in as it doesn't have that great priority. It is, however, a great follow up after the jumping Fierce. Note that all of Gambit's chains follow the ZigZag or Hunter chain. That is, Gambit can chain from Jab to Short to Strong to Forward to Fierce to Roundhouse. He can skip several buttons, for example, just doing Jab to Strong to Roundhouse, but he cannot go backwards in the series, such as Jab to Fierce to Short. His chain comboing ability allows great flexibility in combos, but I'll get to that later. In short, Gambit's normal moves are used as follows : -Jab : Hardly ever, if only in combos. -Short : S.Short and C.Short for dashing, J.Short for air to air priority. -Strong : Standard combo moves. -Forward : Standard combo moves. -Fierce : S.Fierce for range, C.Fierce for anti air defence, J.Fierce for priority jumping in - use these the most. -Roundhouse : S.Roundhouse to set up some buffers, C.Roundhouse to set up OTGs. Basically, Gambit should combo away repeatedly as not many of his moves stand up well by themselves. The Fierce and Roundhouse attacks are very useful since they have speed and priority, but you really need to combo them in after something else to compensate for their lag times. *UNIVERSAL MOVES* *Dashing Tap forward or backwards twice quickly, or hold forward or backward and tap 2 punch buttons, or just tap all 3 punch buttons. Gambit's forward dash is a long ranged hop that comes out quickly and allows him to slide forward far if he starts attacking during the dash. It's kinda like Ryu's dash, but unlike Ryu's dash, Gambit's dash comes out faster and allows him to attack earlier during the dash, and on top of that, it has longer range. The backward dash can be used from time to time to get out of trouble, but the super jump is better for that anyway. *Super Jumping Flick the joystick from crouch to any jumping position quickly, or tap all 3 kick buttons. The super jump should be used when trying to escape from ground assaults or to disrupt the positioning and set up of keep away games. The super jump has several important distinguishing differences from a normal jump, besides just being higher. Firstly, you can control yourself to an extent during the jump, but then again, this makes it difficult to move forwards whilst holding an air block since that causes you to go backwards. Secondly, the super jump allows you to do several air special moves whilst staying up there. More specifically, after an air special move during the super jump, with the exception of certain moves, you can block or attack afterwards. Thirdly, you can change the direction you are facing during a super jump. That is, you can super jump over your opponent, and come down from the other side. Kinda predictable and not terribly useful, but hey, not every character has a cross up neck kick. Note that to super jump after a launcher to continue into an air combo, you only have to tap in any upwards direction. In other words, just do your character's launcher, and hold up - it isn't necessary to do the super jump flick. *Advancing Guard Tap all 3 punches whilst blocking. Slightly toned down compared to other games in the Marvel series, but still very useful. This pushes away an opponent whilst blocking, giving it many uses. It also lessens the block damage on multi hit moves. Note, however, that it now has some recovery time, unless you repeatedly do it whilst blocking. Uses for this move include : [A] Stopping tick throw attempts - just push away the tick lead and they'd be stupid to try to walk up and throw from their new position. [B] Avoiding jump in chains - When Spiderman/Wolverine/any other jumping chain combo character gets deadly with their jump in chains, just push back the first hit and avoid the rest. That way, you don't have to guess how many times they are going to attack before landing. [C] Reducing super combo block damage - just keep on tapping all 3 punch buttons whilst blocking a multi hit super (mainly beam supers) to reduce the damage. It doesn't work well against Ryu's Super Hurricane Kick any more though - back in other games, this was suicide for Ryu since it could be pushed away, leading to a free Mega Optic Blast. [D] Pushing away ground assaults - at some time or other, you will just get plain tired of Wolverine/Strider/Spiderman staying close in your face and chaining away. Push them away and try to disrupt their trapping rhythm. *Recovery Rolls Roll the joystick from back to down and press any punch button when falling. This works in almost all cases after being knocked down, except after flying screen and other certain moves. This can save you plenty of energy if you do it at the right time. It's main use is avoiding OTG supers, usually combo'd off a crouching Roundhouse. However, you should not just do it all the time - for example, after your opponent has just thrown you. Doing this can be plain suicide since they can usually just throw you again as you roll into them - particularly Zangief, who can Final Atomic Buster anyone who tries this. *Team Counter Whilst blocking, roll the joystick from back to down and press Fierce and Roundhouse simultaneously. If Gambit is your current character, his partner will come in, perform an attack, and Gambit will jump out. If Gambit was not your current character, he will jump in and perform a Jab Cajun Slash, and your other character will jump out. This requires 1 level of your super meter. This is a safe way to switch when you really need to. Use it when your opponent is reading your switch attempts and getting free supers. *Team Up Super Quarter circle forwards plus Fierce and Roundhouse simultaneously. Gambit will throw out a Royal Flush whilst his partner performs their super, regardless of whether he was your current character or not, with the exception of Zangief and his Double Final Atomic Buster. This requires 2 levels of your super meter, and will also swap your characters. This switches characters out, but isn't always safe since Gambit has some recovery time on the Royal Flush. Try using it with Wolverine or any other character who can easily combo in the Dual Super for massive damage. *Helper Call Press Strong and Forward simultaneously. A selected helper will come in and perform an attack. But this is a Gambit FAQ, so I won't get into this now. *Double Team Super Quarter circle backwards (or was it half circle backwards?) plus Fierce and Roundhouse simultaneously. Both of your characters come on screen and have infinite supers for a limited time. Requires 2 levels of your super meter, but can also be done at level 3, in which case the double team period lasts longer. I really never use this since all it seems to me is a button mashing thing. People say they can get 99+ hits with this when Gambit is on their side, but seriously, I ask the question "why?" You'd probably have to be darn stupid to get hit by this. Note also that when most people use this move, they usually just go into button mashing mode and have no idea of exactly what they are doing. If all their supers seem to go low, you can try performing a Cajun Explosion over them to nail them both. *THROWS* Gambit has got pretty good throw range and priority, so you should by all means try to use them frequently. The Strong/Fierce throw is probably Gambit's most useful throw - Gambit holds his opponent, charging them with kinetic energy, causing them to pulsate in a purple-pink colour. He then kicks them off as they explode, and they hit the floor, unable to recovery roll. This easily leads to a free OTG combo into huge damage. Despite appearances, this is not a hold, and like normal throws, you can direct which way Gambit throws his opponent. The Forward/Roundhouse throw makes Gambit trip his opponent, and then step up on them and stab at their face with his staff. It's a hold, so quickly mash the buttons for easy and plentiful damage. This cannot be recovery rolled from either. Gambit's air throw is performed with Forward or Roundhouse. He catches them and then kicks them off with both feet, sending them quickly to the ground. I hardly ever go for Gambit's air throw, nor do I ever get it accidentally since I'm always jumping in with Fierce. ** [4] SPECIAL MOVES AND HYPER COMBOS ** *Kinetic Card - QCF + P Gambit draws a couple of cards, charges them with kinetic energy, and throws them forward. They fly across the screen instantly. If it connects, the cards explode on the opponent and they fall down, unable to recovery roll. The strength of the punch button pressed determines the lag time coming out and the stun time it causes. The Jab version comes out fairly quickly but doesn't stun for very long at all, whilst on the other hand, the Fierce version seems to take Gambit forever to charge up, but if it connects, the victim is helplessly stunned there for a good second. For this reason, the Jab version is almost always used over the other 2 versions, since the delay time makes them almost useless. Thankfully, the Jab version can be combo'd in, and can also be followed up with an OTG combo for a long and stylish combo that leaves opponents frustrated. What's worse for the opponent is that the OTG is not escapable, and is 100% guaranteed (provided you are fast enough with a follow up), even though Flying Screen hasn't been initiated. The aerial version of the Kinetic Card comes down at about 30 to 45 degrees. The resulting explosions cover some decent ground, so try super jumping and throwing it to try and catch opponents with their guard down. The angle is kinda steep, so for opponents a full screen away, you have to super jump about 2/3 of the whole way up before throwing, or about 1/2 a full super jump up for opponents just over 1/2 a screen away. Stick to the Jab version here as well. *Trick Card - QCB + P Gambit draws a couple of cards, pauses for a lengthy while, and throws them at a steep upwards angle. If it connects, the victim will get stunned, like the Kinetic Card, before falling to the ground, unable to recovery roll. The delay time on this move makes it almost useless. It's only use seem to be to catch people who feel safe super jumping all the time. You could also try using it as a fake out if people try to avoid Kinetic Cards from full screen range by super jumping - the Trick Card should catch them out of the air, and you should be setting up a nasty combo follow up. It's sometimes useful when Chun Li players super jump and mash on the kick buttons to tempt you into challenging the priority of her Lightning Kicks - just Trick Card her out of the air and follow up. Also good against Strider players who do the Wall Cling and don't know how to get back down. *Cajun Slash - DP + P The button pressed determines the type of attack Gambit performs with his staff. JAB - A single hit, quick counter strike with great range, almost no delay and recovery time. A great all round move in general. It's like the normal S.Fierce, but since it also nails all crouching opponents, it's more useful. It also knocks opponents down, but is also great to stick at the end of blocked combos for free block damage. If your opponent feels safe poking at you with long ranged pokes (eg. Chun Li's C.Forward, Spiderman's C.Short, etc.), nail them with this early to keep them back. STRONG - A 3 hit hopping attack, where Gambit firstly hops forward with a downward slash (which looks similar to the J.Fierce), and then follows up with an uppercut slash and a finishing downwards slamming slash. It also has pretty good recovery time, and is great used as an OTG follow up after the C.Roundhouse. The hop also allows Gambit to get over sweeps and cleanly nail opponents, so this also has many uses. FIERCE - A 3 hit dashing attack, where Gambit slides forward far with a horizontal slash, followed by an uppercut slash, and a push off type hit with the other end of his staff to finish. Like the Jab and Strong counterparts, this also has decent recovery time, but it seems to be retaliated against easier than the other 2 versions. It's basically a 3 hit ground combo finisher that combos in well when not using too many ground attacks. It can also OTG, but only for 2 hits. So overall, learn which Cajun Slash to use at specific times. In short : JAB - Retaliation after blocking, keep away. STRONG - OTGs, hopping over sweeps. FIERCE - Ground combo finisher. *Cajun Strike - charge down, then up + P, then P or K Gambit hops up to a side of the screen. When finishing the motion by going to up, you can go to either diagonal up and forward or diagonal up and backward to choose which side you wish to jump to first. You can then control him by moving him side to side, and come down and attack with a punch button for a staff attack or a kick button for a dive kick. Gambit can jump between sides multiple times when doing this move. Gambit can't block whilst doing this move, making it not so useful. The attack coming down tends to have pretty good priority, so try it against opponents who don't have solid anti airs (but watch out for helpers as well). Try jumping from side to side repeatedly to confuse them. *Cajun Escape - charge down, then up + K, then K Similar to the Cajun Strike, but Gambit jumps up a shorter height, and can only switch sides once. However, it is faster, so you can try to quickly surprise opponents with it by coming down with the kick as soon as you touch the side first. *HYPER COMBOS* *Royal Flush - QCF + PP Gambit throws his staff up into the air, draws many cards in both hands, [animation pause] and then he throws out a whole lot of Kinetic Cards straight, and then turns around, catches his staff, and says "See ya, chere." The delay time and recovery time on this has been greatly shortened since X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, but it's still a factor. It still does the same old ridiculous damage though, so try to find openings in which you can get it. It still OTGs, so try surprising opponents by comboing it after a C.Roundhouse - or otherwise set it up with a helper character. The other way to combo it is after a C.Fierce - after the uppercut sends them up, the staff of the Royal Flush can pick them off and send them flying back down into the cards. However, this doesn't get too many hits and not much damage either, and you have to hit with the C.Fierce from pretty close then since the staff doesn't have much horizontal range in the air. Try hitting opponents out of the air with the staff as they are just above you and unable to block. It might sound like a rare occasion, but believe me, it's not. Consider these examples - missed/blocked Dragon Punch or Dragon Punch variation, Ryu throwing a Shinkuu Hadouken above you (probably from a failed attempt at comboing it in an air combo), Strider player who accidentally done the Wall Cling and is frantically mashing on the buttons trying to get down, or Chun Li player who feels safe doing an Air Lightning Kick above you, trying to tempt you into sticking a limb into the barrage of kicks. One other note - mashing the buttons, contrary to popular belief, seems to do nothing for me. I get 37 hits when I've set it up correctly, regardless of whether I mash the buttons or not. Overall, I'd say it should be used the same as it always has been - very carefully, or only after blocking a character switch. I don't care if it looks cool or does 37 hits - it's not a safe super to use. In short, it's not a super you can throw out in desperation - like most Ryu players do with his Shinkuu Hadouken, which is rather predictable and stupid against Gambit because of his other Hyper combo, detailed below. *Cajun Explosion - QCF or QCB + KK Gambit jumps up to a side of the screen, designated by the direction of the quarter circle motion. He then draws several cards [animation pause], and then throws them to the ground, causing very high explosions, like Magneto's Magnetic Shockwave at a 30 to 45 degree angle up to the top of the stage. Gambit then hops straight down from whichever side he was at. A new super, and a great one. Firstly, most other guides on the net will probably say it's useless because of it's lag time coming out, and that it'll never connect. Well, I guess for the most part, that's correct. But consider the strengths of the super - great damage, and unlike the Royal Flush, pretty good recovery time. And it's also generally unavoidable, and causes pretty good block damage anyway. The trick to using this super effectively is to bait your opponent into throwing out moves with massive recovery time. And I mean massive recovery time, since this takes a fair while to come out. The best example is a ground super beam move. Consider this - it's come down to a match between Ryu and Gambit, and they are a full screen apart. When it comes down to these pressure moments, most people are probably going to turtle up - if they have sufficient energy to withstand the block damage of this, then it doesn't mean much. Or does it? Try throwing a couple of Kinetic Cards - or even taunting, to try to get your opponent to open up. Once you've thrown a couple of Kinetic Cards, your opponent will probably think that you've settled into a pattern, and try and nail you with a Shinkuu Hadouken in between. But there's the opening - after throwing a couple of Kinetic Cards, do this forwards. Ryu will uselessly throw his super into thin air, whilst you hop over it and behind him, and then annihilate him with a huge explosion of Kinetic energy that will do huge damage, and on top of that, he's also wasted a level of super energy there as well. Of course, so that it's not a total beam killer, Capcom had to make the jump of this move relatively low, so you have to time it pretty early to get over nasty beam supers. By the way, if you think that using this in a Double Team is a good idea, well, it's not really. The basic myth going around goes like this : you do a Double Team with Gambit, and say, Captain America. If you then do a QCF motion with 2 kicks, Captain America will perform a Hyper Charging Star whilst Gambit jumps behind them with a Cajun Explosion - this should equal free supers, since you can't block both sides at once, right? Well, no, it doesn't work that way. As soon as the defending player is holding guard, all that player needs to do is hold on to that direction, and they'll block everything, regardless of which side it comes from. Also try some fake outs with the Cajun Explosion - try the Cajun Escape and coming down with a kick quickly. If you're very fast with this, your opponent may do an anti air move in expectation of your assault (ie. a Captain Collider in most cases), leaving them wide open. One final note - there is a slight gap in the screen in which the opponent can avoid this super - it is basically where Gambit throws the super from. Although if they don't jump, they get taken with the wave, it is possible to jump from directly below Gambit to avoid the super and nail him with an air chain. ** [5] COMBOS ** As usual, Gambit has a variety of stylish combos at his disposal - some which are difficult to perform but nevertheless stylish, whilst some are long and allegedly "cheap". All of Gambit's chains are in the ZigZag or Hunter series. This allows for great flexibility, but rarely is he able to actually pull off all the hits. Gambit's air combo finishers are his SJ.Fierce and SJ.Roundhouse. Both of these will cause Flying Screen. A note on Gambit's air combos - Gambit's launcher sends opponents way up into the air. He basically has to super jump for a short while before you can actually start attacking. Start slightly earlier than in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, but still, wait just a little while. This matter is further complicated with the fact that when he uses the C.Fierce as an anti air defence (which it is pretty darn useful as), the extra height in the launch can make it impossible to land all 5 hits in the air. Take out hits as necessary - usually just SJ.Jab, SJ.Strong, SJ.Fierce should be fine. *Beginner Combos 1. C.Roundhouse [cancel] Royal Flush (OTG) Simple 38 hitter. Well, not always 38 hits. Sometimes it does 15 or so, sometimes it does 8 or so, sometimes it does the full 38. Since this combo can be escaped from with a recovery roll, you might not wish to rely upon it so much, since Gambit is left wide open if that occurs. Also, this combo doesn't work against an opponent right in the corner for some reason. 2. J.Fierce, S.Roundhouse [cancel] Fierce Cajun Slash 5 hits for easy and solid damage. 3. C.Short, C.Forward, C.Roundhouse [cancel] Strong Cajun Slash (OTG) A simple and effective combo used by beginners and experts alike. 6 solid hits. 4. DS.C.Short, C.Fierce, SJ.Jab, SJ.Strong, SJ.Fierce An easy air combo for 5 hits. Try to get the timing down on Gambit's air combos - they are slower than Wolverine's or Spiderman's, but still fairly fast. *Intermediate Combos 5. Strong/Fierce throw opponent into corner, then C.Short (OTG), C.Fierce, SJ.Jab, SJ.Strong, SJ.Fierce A simple yet very powerful 6 hitter in the corner. The OTG can't even be escaped here, making it safe as well (and also attracting allegations of being "cheap"). This combo is also possible outside the corner, but then you have to do a DS.C.Short instead of just a C.Short. 6. J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, S.Roundhouse [cancel] Jab Kinetic Card, Jab Cajun Slash The Jab Cajun Slash will catch the opponent before they even hit the floor after the Jab Kinetic Card. To get the Jab Kinetic Card to connect after the S.Roundhouse, you have to cancel it fast, and be right up next to your opponent. Remove the J.Roundhouse if necessary. 7. J.Fierce, C.Fierce, SJ.Jab, SJ.Short, SJ.Strong, SJ.Forward, SJ.Fierce Easy air combo for 7 hits. Kinda risky since the C.Fierce might miss after the J.Fierce due to it's short range. 8. Strong/Fierce throw, Royal Flush (OTG) First found in James Chen's X-Men Vs. Street Fighter combo FAQ, and still in Marvel Vs. Capcom. The OTG Royal Flush isn't even escapable - but the timing is decently hard (although James has it listed in his beginner's combo section... odd). 9. DS.C.Forward, S.Fierce [cancel] Jab Cajun Slash Thanks to E.J. for this combo from his Gambit FAQ. The S.Fierce sends them flying, and the Jab Cajun Slash follows it up for another hit that sends them flying. Stylish, but rather difficult. *Harder Combos 10. J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, DS.S.Short, C.Fierce [cancel] Royal Flush The staff will catch the opponent out of the air, but not for many hits. Stylish nevertheless. 11. J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, DS.S.Short, S.Strong, C.Fierce, SJ.Jab, SJ.Short, SJ.Strong, SJ.Forward, SJ.Fierce The bread and butter Gambit 10 hitter. You have to omit the S.Strong against smaller characters, but against larger characters, you can add a S.Jab at the start of the dashing sequence. 12. J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, DS.S.Jab, S.Short, S.Strong, S.Forward, S.Fierce A dashing 7 hit dialer type combo, but it looks odd seeing Gambit do it. The S.Fierce sends them flying at the end, making a pretty stylish combo finisher. Also try using a Jab Cajun Slash at the end. 13. J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, DS.S.Short, S.Roundhouse [cancel] Jab Kinetic Card, DS.C.Short (OTG), C.Fierce, SJ.Jab, SJ.Strong, SJ.Fierce A 10 hitter that's rather difficult to do, and long winded. Basically, get as close to your opponent as you can with the dash, and make sure you cancel the S.Roundhouse as quickly as possible. Then follow up with the DS.C.Short as quickly as possible - they don't lie on the ground for very long. Then finish off the combo with an air combo. This is actually a variation on a similar combo in James Chen's X-Men Vs. Street Fighter FAQ, which, for the record, goes like this : J.Fierce -> J.Roundhouse /\ DS.S.Short -> S.Roundhouse XX Jab Kinetic Card, DS.C.Short (OTG) -> S.Strong -> S.Forward -> C.Fierce \/ SJ.Jab -> SJ.Short -> SJ.Strong -> SJ.Fierce (FS). In other words, I've taken out a couple of hits, although I'll have to try the fuller combo with those 3 extra hits some day. *Other Combos 1. C.Roundhouse [cancel] Character Switch (OTG) Quite possibly the most useful and practical combo of all time. Thanks again to James Chen for this combo in his X-Men Vs. Street Fighter FAQ. For the most part, even if your opponent does escape the 2nd hit with a recovery roll, your character coming in will be safe anyway. You can also try leading with a longer combo to begin with, like : J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, DS.S.Short, C.Strong, C.Roundhouse [cancel] Character Switch (OTG) 2. Helper Call, follow up combo. It all comes down to the helper you have selected. I think the best helper would have to be Colossus - he comes down from above you, so he can be used as an anti air, plus he juggles so well and easily sets up free Royal Flushes, or if you dash after him, a simple juggle with a C.Fierce into an air combo. I guess you could also try going for the Fierce Kinetic Card to set up a follow up Royal Flush whilst Colossus is juggling the opponent. Other good helpers to set up the Royal Flush include Psylocke, U.S. Agent, Sentinel, and Juggernaut. Also try using other helpers to their full potential - for example, with Cyclops, follow up his optic blast with a DS.C.Short. The optic blast doesn't knock down, so if you're fast enough, you can lead it into a combo. King Arthur and Thor have attacks that can be crouched under - try following up with a jump in. I've also been told that Lou sets up a Cajun Explosion - haven't tried it yet though. 3. C.Roundhouse [cancel] Dual Super (OTG) Coupled with another beam super (Ryu, War Machine, etc.), this results in a huge beam that should easily get 50+ hits. More effective than this, however, is using a character with a super that's easily combo'd in, and having Gambit coming in. For example, with a Wolverine/Gambit team with Wolverine on screen, try this : J.Jab, J.Short, J.Strong, DS.C.Jab, C.Short, C.Forward [cancel] Dual Super. Basically, Wolverine will pummel them with 6 hits, before setting up the Dual Super. Since his Dual Super, the Berserker Barrage X, comes out instantly, the opponent will get hit by that for a while, before Gambit comes in and finishes off the combo in style with a Royal Flush. Stylish and very easy. However, Dual Supers that come off instantly are rare nowadays - Captain America and Ken seem to be the only other remaining instant Dual Super setups. Most importantly, however, is that this combo switches your characters, and is very useful when you need to switch and your opponent is turtling up, and waiting for you to switch so they can nail you with a super, since the jump in chain will almost certainly trick them. *Trick Combos These aren't real combos, but sequences you use to trick your opponent into getting hit. They are very useful when your opponent turtles up. 1. J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, DS.S.Short, Strong/Fierce throw, OTG combo Basically, the DS.S.Short will bring you close enough to your opponent to easily set up a throw. People call me "cheap" all the time for using this, but who cares? It is very effective and will get you free hits everywhere. Once your opponent wises up to this, try just jumping in blocking, or just jumping back with an air block after the DS.S.Short - your opponent probably either wants to nail you with a super or throw you back. 2. Corner opponent, then Jab Kinetic Card, Jab Cajun Slash The Jab Kinetic Card recovers fast enough to nail any counterattack attempts with a Jab Cajun Slash. Also try the Strong Cajun Slash against trip happy opponents - it will hop right over their sweep and nail them for 3 clean hits. 3. Jab Cajun Slash, Jab Cajun Slash Similar to the above sequence, and very effective. Hold block after the first Cajun Slash if you think your opponent thinks you've settled into a pattern. 4. J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse, DS.S.Jab, Strong/Fierce throw, OTG combo Against everyone but Hulk, Venom, and possibly Zangief, this is a free combo. It's a tick, but then it's not. Basically, the S.Jab is used because it whiffs crouching opponents. This means you can throw them faster than if you tick them with a S.Short. Then follow up with an OTG combo as usual. The S.Jab can be said to be used to basically just stop the dash, since you can't throw opponents whilst dashing. ** [6] General Strategy ** Gambit's main strengths are his speed and fast combos. You should go for them whenever you can, and keep up the pressure on your opponent. Gambit's best jump in chain is by far the J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse chain. The J.Fierce has great priority and range, and since it hits from so high, it easily chains into the J.Roundhouse. This chain tends to be very deceptive, since the lag time between the 2 hits is actually quite significant. Opponents will go into a crouch block after blocking the J.Fierce from fear of following low ground attacks - that's when the J.Roundhouse nails them, setting up a free combo. However, you shouldn't get too confident with the J.Fierce, since there are still many nasty anti airs that will take it out - the good old Dragon Punch, the Captain Collider, and of course the usual anti air supers. On that note, you really have to learn to be able to dash after jump ins. The J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse chain tends to push the opponent back a little bit, making it nearly impossible to land the C.Fierce afterwards. By being able to dash after the jump in, you make your combo longer, more damaging, and in the event that your opponent blocks it, safer, since you have more time to recognise that your opponent has blocked it, and then you can finish it off in something that recovers quickly, like a Jab Cajun Slash. Of course, that doesn't mean you should be jumping in all the time - any fast character can walk under Gambit's jump and throw him from behind as he lands. Against these guys, the DS.C.Short becomes very important. It has great range and priority over most grounded normal attacks, so dash in with it frequently, and keep up close and maintain the pressure. That doesn't necessarily mean that you never block though - there are the usual nasty supers waiting for you if you're careless - the Beserker Barrage X and Shoryureppa variations are particularly nasty and usually can set up major Dual Supers. So dash in, and then just block every now and then once you've got them frustrated from your dashing assaults. Remember to throw in the occasional tick in your ground assaults - it'll leave opponents more open as they grow weary of throws, and try to go for major counters (usually in the form of Hyper combos) that may leave them open for a free Royal Flush. This is true for any character, but especially true for Gambit, because it annoys opponents more when you not only get a throw, but if you used the Strong/Fierce throw, you also get a free follow up OTG combo that can't be avoided. On that topic, Gambit's throws should be used frequently to open up holes in your opponent's defence. The Strong/Fierce throw is probably your best throw since it sets up major combos, but the Forward/Roundhouse throw is your best friend when you want to cheese someone off. Just look at it - Gambit just mashes their face into a pulp with the staff. A neat little trap worth learning is the Kinetic Card trap. Basically, you just get a full screen between you and your opponent, and then start throwing out Jab Kinetic Cards. If your opponent jumps forward, you just use the range of your S.Fierce to hit them and send them flying back to where they came from - then cancel into a Jab Kinetic Card and repeat. Even if the S.Fierce is blocked, it pushes your opponent back far anyway, and the Kinetic Card block damage is unavoidable. If your opponent super jumps, either wait and C.Fierce them out of the air or just dash under them and set it up from the other side. Keeping out of reach with Gambit will probably frustrate most opponents and entice them into charging at you - this will leave a lot of openings in their defence, meaning a lot of free combos. However, during the trap, you should watch out for the usual beam super counters. Gambit now has the Cajun Explosion to get over these for easy damage from behind your opponent, so just watch carefully. Usually they'll try throwing a beam super after 2 blocked Jab Kinetic Cards - especially if they've been hit back by a S.Fierce when trying to jump over your Kinetic Cards. However, if their beam super cannot be countered with a Cajun Explosion, your only option then is to super jump. This is necessary against MegaMan and I think possibly War Machine as well. Also watch for other counters like Spider-man's Maximum Spider. Gambit's combos are largely reliant on OTGs. An opponent who is quick to react to his OTG combos would probably be able to avoid several nasty combos, or at least certainly the good old C.Short, C.Forward, C.Roundhouse [cancel] Strong Cajun Slash (OTG) combo. However, this does not mean Gambit's offense has fallen apart - his other OTG setups, the Strong/Fierce throw and Kinetic Card, are not escapable by rolling. Use these the most when you need guaranteed combos. Just play cool, calm, and stylish. That's the basic key to playing a solid Gambit - using pressure tactics, doing long combos, tricking your opponent, and doing it all in fine style. ** [7] Strategy Vs. Specific Characters ** OK, I'll be honest - there is a dire lack of variety in my local area. Almost everyone can be classified in one of these 3 groups : *Shotokan types - they pick Ryu and Captain Commando/Morrigan/MegaMan, and rely on their fireballs like crazy. Sometimes they also play Chun Li, probably because they only know those 2 characters' moves. *Exclusive throw players - the usual annoying opponents, usually playing Chun Li and some other character good with throws. *"Experts" - the guys who pick Wolverine/Spider-man/Strider and go button mashing like crazy. So basically, this section is not going to be very detailed. My apologies, but it's not really my fault either. Everyone picks out of this group of characters : -Ryu -Chun Li -Captain Commando -MegaMan -Strider -Spider-man -Wolverine And that doesn't necessarily mean they know how to play those characters effectively anyway. *Captain America Cap's main strengths are his Fierce punches and all round strength. Fortunately, in most cases, Gambit's Fierce punches outprioritise Captain America. Try jumping in with J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse frequently to outprioritise his C.Fierce and S.Strong. Once you've got him on that, just jump in and hold block from time to time for the Stars and Stripes, and try to follow up and attack him as he recovers. The ground battle against Cap is a little bit more balanced, since he has the S.Fierce to rely on. Try nailing him from just outside his range with a Jab Cajun Slash. The other main note against Captain America is that he's got some fairly all purpose Hyper combos. The Hyper Charging Star, despite being slow to come out, recovers quickly and does good block damage - not much you can really do against that one. The Hyper Stars and Stripes comes out instantly and goes well in ground combos. The Final Justice has a bit of delay time to come out, but it does some pretty good damage. Just watch for those and you should be fine. By the way, Cap's double jump makes the Kinetic Card trap almost useless against him. *Captain Commando Most Captain Commando players play keep away. If that's the case, you should either try to get in and pound him, or lure him out. To get through CapCom's barrage of long distance attacks, the best method is probably super jumping. In most cases, just come down blocking - he'll probably go for a Captain Collider, which then translates into an easy combo for you after you air block it. Another good way to get through is the dash and then jump forward quickly. This is pretty fast and gets across the screen quickly, so you'll probably surprise him. Try throwing out an appropriate helper if necessary to get through. If you have difficulty getting through, another great tactic is to lure Captain Commando out to you. Try the Kinetic Card trap from a full screen away - most CapCom players, upon seeing you settle into a Kinetic Card pattern, will probably try to get in close to you. Notice how easily the tables were turned - now you're keeping him away, and he's trying to get in through your defense. If they persist, well, try super jumping and quickly throwing a Jab Kinetic Card to hit from from out of screen, or maybe even taunting - the idea is to get CapCom out if you have difficulty against his keep away game. The other, much more uncommon type of Captain Commando is the aggressive combo crazy type. In this case, he's much more deadly, as he can combo in supers with ease, and has pretty powerful combos even without supers (DS.C.Short, C.Forward, C.Fierce, Captain Fire - nasty). Try keeping him out with S.Fierces, Jab Cajun Slashes, and C.Fierce any jumpers. Try not to engage in air to air battles with anything but the J.Short as a lead - usually, CapCom's superior air throw range will prevail. Use those helpers to set up combos when necessary - Colossus is probably the best here as he comes down from above you, taking out any jumping assaults. *Chun Li Most Chun Li players are throw happy types, so just keep your distance with Jab Cajun Slashes and S.Fierce punches. You have to be very careful in the ground battle as her Thousand Burst Kick combos in easily now. Recovery roll to avoid the usual C.Roundhouse, Lightning Kicks (OTG) combo. The DS.C.Short is probably going to be your best weapon here. It's fast and will usually take out most of Chun Li's ground based attacks. Try leading this into Gambit's Strong/Fierce throw, and following it up with an OTG. Then try this sequence - DS.C.Short, pause, Jab Cajun Slash - after being ticked a couple of times, most players will either try to sweep you or throw you back - that's when the Jab Cajun Slash will hammer them straight back. When jumping in at Chun Li, you either have to go for the J.Fierce from further away, or just block. Her S.Roundhouse still has insane priority and can now lead into her air super, and she also has the Ha San Tenshou Kyaku to nail jumpers. I've also been told that you should try walking under Chun Li's jump and launching her with a C.Fierce from behind. I don't know, it doesn't sound right to me - Gambit is a fairly tall character, making him an easy target for a Head Stomp. *Gambit Most Gambit players try playing keep away with the Kinetic Cards, so just jump in and combo away, but remember to jump in blocking from time to time in case he's going to set up a Royal Flush with a helper. From what I've seen, most Gambit players don't utilise his superior abilities in close combat. Just dash in at him and combo away. Throw in the occasional tick and nail anti counter attack attempts with the Jab Cajun Slash. And finally, recovery roll whenever possible - there are many nasty OTG's to watch out for. *Hulk I think the Kinetic Card trap works effectively against him for the most part - his slow speed should make it difficult for him to get in without at least taking some block damage, unless he just super jumps anyway. Try jumping in at Hulk with the J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse chain frequently. Be sure to start the J.Fierce early though - because of his size, some of Hulk's anti airs reach very high. However, when Hulk has his super meter charged, you have to jump in blocking from time to time, in case he goes for the Gamma Crush. Another good tactic is to lead combos against Hulk with the C.Roundhouse - they still knock him down, and you have a variety of OTG follow ups at your disposal, but this tactic kinda grows useless once he recovery rolls all the time. Dash in with a C.Short, then throw - that is another good way to get around his super armor. You should take advantage of any opportunities that arise with the recovery time of Hulk's moves - for example, if they keep on trying to launch you with the C.Fierce, just quickly dash in and attack after blocking it. *Jin A lot of Jin's moves, despite their lag time or recovery time, tend to have great priority - the Drill Kick, for instance, will otuprioritise your C.Fierce. You should rather try to rely on your speed to get around Jin's assault to find hits. Most Jin players like to follow up a C.Roundhouse with a Jin Dynamite - just block and follow up with a Jab Cajun Slash. Also try the keep away Kinetic Card trap against Jin. Finally, dealing with Jin's Hyper combos - the Great Cyclone reaches up to the top of the stage - watch for this, even when you're super jumping. The Blodia Fist is quite deadly from the right range, and combos in fairly easily as well. The Blodia Vulcan has a little bit of delay time to it, but does very good damage. For the Blodia supers, just watch for the opening animation, and try to super jump on reaction. *MegaMan MegaMan's main weapons are the Mega Buster and his Item weapons. The Mega Buster, being a one button fireball move, will probably be completely abused by your opponent. Most MegaMan players like to jump, fire a Mega Buster, land, and fire another one. This basically results in 2 Mega Busters (albeit small) coming at you, making it necessary to super jump to avoid them. Since Gambit is a fairly tall target, this doesn't make it much easier either. The solutions, however, are simple - since MegaMan players get VERY predictable with the Mega Buster, you can easily get a free Royal Flush. You can also just super jump and throw out a couple of Kinetic Cards to get him to stop his monotonous pattern. The other style of Mega Buster play tends to be to charge it for a long time, and use it in some nasty combos. You can't do much to stop him from charging it up, but you should just try to play keep away yourself, since most MegaMan players just turtle up when they are charging up the Mega Buster. Just throw out a couple of Kinetic Cards to lure him out, and super jump away when he comes at you - this should keep him away and make it harder for him to find a situation in which to effectively use the Mega Buster. Also, MegaMan's S.Roundhouse launches, has good anti air priority, and can combo into the Hyper MegaMan - so be careful jumping in, and watch the range you jump in from. Try dashing in with a C.Short instead - MegaMan has very little close combat priority, making him an easy target for dashing combos. Finally, dealing with MegaMan's supers - well, not very difficult at all, really. The Hyper MegaMan, despite appearing to be very deadly and all, will basically never connect unless he gets it in an air combo, since the delay time before it comes out is just way too long. It also has some recovery time to it, so try nailing him with a Royal Flush after you block it. The Drill super (I can't remember it's real name) also has recovery time, and isn't that deadly either - just super jump when you see him do it. The Beat Plane is also not that dangerous - when MegaMan finishes, he can't block as he falls down from wherever he finished the super - this equals free C.Fierces into air combos and Royal Flushes. Just super jump away from the Beat Plane, and see if he follows you up - if he doesn't, then he's just wasted a super; if he does, then he risks giving away a free combo due to the added landing recovery time. *Morrigan The Kinetic Card trap should work against Morrigan easily. Just watch for the Soul Razor, and Cajun Explosion behind her for when she's caught throwing the super fireball. Otherwise, just dash in and combo away. Don't forget to lead the DS.C.Short into ticks to annoy her. I'm not sure if jumping in is safe against Morrigan or not - the C.Fierce seems to have decent anti air priority, but then again, Gambit's J.Fierce outprioritises a lot of normal anti airs. *Ryu Ryu Mode Most Ryu players just play in Ryu mode and don't ever bother changing to the other modes. Ryu is now quite slow. This leaves him open to many fast combos and tricks that Gambit has. Dash in with the C.Short frequently, but be cautious in case he's going to try to nail you with the Super Hurricane Kick. In fact, you should just watch out from close range for his supers, since the Shinshoryuken also does very good damage. Personally, I miss the good old days when you could just push back Ryu's Super Hurricane Kick and toast him with a Mega Optic Blast. Try using the Kinetic Card trap against Ryu, and you should easily be able to pick his Shinkuu Hadouken and get a free Cajun Explosion. If Ryu throws fireballs off a normal jump, just dash in under it and C.Fierce him as he comes down, because he can't block then. If he has thrown it low to the ground, just super jump and throw a couple of Kinetic Cards. Ken Mode In Ken mode, Ryu is considerably faster than in Ryu mode, but now he has a lot of moves that are basically suicidal. In this mode, Ryu basically has no counters for the Kinetic Card trap - all he can do is super jump to avoid. In fact, the only dangers he poses in Ken mode are his instantly initiating, very-easy-to-combo supers. The Shoryureppa remains the great ground combo counter, having good range and doing considerable damage. The Shinryuken is an all purpose anti air - be sure to jump in blocking for that. The Shippu Jinrai Kyaku - well, I've never seen anyone use it, so I don't know. Hopefully it has the same massive recovery time it has in SF3. Just play keep away and you should beat him easily. It kinda annoys me that getting in close and comboing Ken just doesn't work as effectively since he's got those nasty Hyper combos. The Shinryuken will take out jumpers, and the Shoryureppa can nullify your dashing assaults since it can be done so instantly. Both of them leave him wide open, so just be sure to be cautious when in short range. Akuma Mode In Akuma mode, Ryu gains the speed and power of Akuma, but also has to put up with the damage handicap - use this to your full advantage, and punish him with combos whenever you can. Ryu is again susceptible to the Kinetic Card trap in Akuma mode, except that now he has a diagonal air fireball to counter from long range. Most Akuma players will throw it from just a standard jump, so it's possible to just super jump and throw a Jab Kinetic Card early during the super jump. If timed right, this should catch him. Once you've got him frustrated from long range, he's probably going to try to counter your ground Kinetic Cards with a Messatsu Gouhadou - free Cajun Explosion. Up close, Akuma has the same old Messatsu Goushoryuu to rely on to instantly counter ground assaults. Just watch for it when you dash in. Now, most of the time in Akuma mode, the big favourite move seems to be the Dive Kick. I'm not sure yet, but I think Gambit's C.Fierce, if timed right, should be able to beat it cleanly. Otherwise, just super jump back and throw a couple of aerial Kinetic Cards, or just block and push it back. *Spider-man It is best to play up close and combo away at Spider-man. If you play a defensive game, it is still possible to win, but then you are allowing him to control the pace of the match, and his constant barrage of attacks can become difficult to defend against. Spider-man's J.Roundhouse can outprioritise your C.Fierce - this makes for some major problems. You're basically going to have to keep up at him and keep him on the defensive, since Spider-man can find his way through defences easily. Jump in with the J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse chain, but be sure to start it early. You'll have to be ready to block backwards though, since some Spider-man players like to walk under Gambit's high jump, and set up an air combo from behind with a C.Forward into S.Roundhouse. Dashing is another good way to keep Spider-man pinned - keep on dashing and attacking with a short sequence like DS.C.Short, C.Strong, C.Forward, and repeat. Add in the throw here and there and counter any counter attack attempts with a Jab Cajun Slash, and it should be all over in a hurry. Basically, if Spider-man is keeping you blocking, he's got many weapons to get through your guard; but if you keep Spider-man on the defensive, you can easily take away his main strength - he's not going to be very agile when he's just sitting there blocking your attacks. Now then, dealing with the supers - the Maximum Spider is not at all useful to Spidey unless he can properly set it up with a good helper or Fierce Web Ball - you should never get hit by the latter, but be careful for the helper. The Crawler Assault often comes in an OTG combo, so be ready to roll from that one. The Hyper Web Throw is only deadly when you're doing a move with long lag time - that shouldn't occur, since you really shouldn't be throwing any Kinetic Cards when you're trying to constantly combo away. Of course, all this information is irrelevant if they play Spidey like another fireball character. I've seen many Spider-man players just sitting back and throwing Fierce Web Balls until one connects, and following up with a Maximum Spider. In this case, just jump over and hammer him with the combo of your choice. *Strider Strider will most likely keep up in your face with those usual 6 hit chains and nasty long combos. The key here, again, as with Spider-man, is to keep Strider on the defensive. Strider's C.Fierce provides almost impenetrable anti air defense, so you're probably going to have to rely on the DS.C.Short as your main combo lead. Besides, if you jump in too much, Strider can easily air throw you because of his great air throw priority. So anyway, as with Spider-man, keep dashing in and keeping him pinned. Mix in the occasional throw - this will get the message across that just sitting there and holding block does not translate into safety. This will then cause him to open up more holes in his defence - he may start trying to dial combo you as soon as he sees you pause and look like you're walking in for a throw. Try a Jab Cajun Slash here to hit him back, or a Strong Cajun Slash if you think he'll go for sweeps. Eventually, when he's tired of defending, he'll call up the Ourobolos. The best thing to do is probably to super jump away, and throw a couple of aerial Kinetic Cards. Also try using the Cajun Explosion into your own corner if you just need to keep him at bay. If all else fails, just sit there and block it - it doesn't do that much block damage anyway, and there's no danger of him throwing you at that time - all he can really do is just go through his 6 hit chain. His other supers shouldn't pose a threat at all. The Legion is just way too slow to come out, giving you ages to just super jump. A couple of birds will still hit you though, so just super jump back and hold air block. The Ragnarok similarly has great lag time to it, so you shouldn't ever really get hit by that either. Oh, and when Strider players accidentally do the Wall Cling, they tend to panic. They start mashing buttons like crazy to try to get down, and all that happens is that Strider hangs there slashing away. Just get him down with a Cajun Explosion or set up a Royal Flush with a Trick Card. Or you could even dash under him, and throw the Royal Flush such that the staff will hit him down, and he'll get hammered by the cards. *Venom Venom's main weapons are his Venom Fang, his air combo, and his Strong throw. Venom can defend against Gambit's J.Fierce with a S.Roundhouse - watch the range, and try to jump in from further out. This leaves dashing as your safest combo lead, but you should still be careful since if he sees it coming, he can hit you from half a screen away with the C.Fierce. Venom is most effective when he's on the offensive, so yet again, you should work to keep him on the defensive. The Venom Fang has very good recovery time and outprioritises most attacks, and you'll probably find yourself blocking that all the time. However, most Venom players will just hold block afterwards from fear of a counter attack, so just block it, and walk up and throw. Venom uses his air combo very frequently, but the S.Strong isn't going to be outprioritising Gambit's J.Fierce much, so don't worry about that. However, Venom can easily set it up with his Strong throw. This has got to be one of the best throws in the game, because it even sets up the Death Bite (Strong throw, C.Strong, C.Forward [cancel] Death Bite). You'll have to watch for his throw from in close since it is just so versatile in being able to set up so many nasty combos. Venom's supers are, for the most part, easy to avoid. The Venom Web covers the entire screen, but the flag of him flashing white makes it easy to see coming. Just don't get caught performing a move with long lag time. Try not to throw out Cajun Explosions either - the Venom Web can catch Gambit out just before the cards explode. Venom's other super, the Death Bite, is also deadly because of it's execution speed. Try and react to this one quickly so as to super jump and avoid it. *War Machine I think War Machine players can be classified into 2 different categories - the usual keep away Shoulder Cannon happy players, and the more unusual, aggressive War Machine. The former shouldn't pose many problems at all, but the latter probably will. Most War Machine players will just try to keep you away with Shoulder Cannons. Just jump over and go for your combos, but watch out for his anti airs. It is easy for him to set up a Proton Cannon with a good helper, so just be careful jumping in. Dashing in, on the other hand, is quite safe since Gambit's DS.C.Short is just so fast and easily outprioritises War Machine's ground attack game. Lead it into the combo of your choice. The other type, the aggressive combo crazy guys, are far more deadly. They'll probably go for the usual J.Fierce aimed downwards - just hit him out with a C.Fierce into an air combo. War Machine's Knee Dive is counterable with a C.Fierce, but the timing is crucial. Watch out carefully when he does it off a super jump - this can lead into a combo easily. You'll also have to be very quick in hitting War Machine out of flight - most good War Machine players will not just keep on flying and throwing out attacks when they can see you're going to get through and combo him insanely. Finally, War Machine's supers are very powerful and you have to be weary of them. The Proton Cannon, despite it's lag time, can be set up with a good helper. Watch for that, and punish him before he can recover. The War Destroyer is particularly deadly in it's easy set up of a S.Roundhouse - watch your jump in range. *Wolverine Another combo crazy type, and arguably the "cheapest" character in the game. Wolverine has many, many weapons you'll have to learn to counter and avoid. Firstly, Wolverine's dashing assaults are fast and can easily lead into supers. The most typical dashing lead tends to be the DS.C.Jab or DS.C.Short - both of these are very fast (near instant!) and should be watched for. Try an keep him back with an S.Fierce from out of range, or a Jab Cajun Slash. You can also try a Strong Cajun Slash to hop over his low level crouching attacks. But above all, be patient - when Wolverine dashes in with a combo, you don't want to get hit by any one of those hits, since it can easily combo into a Fatal Claw or Berserker Barrage X for easy damage. Couple that with Wolverine's rather long throw range and great throw priority, and well, you either have to patiently wait out his barrage and pick the moments to attack or just keep blocking altogether. Secondly, Wolverine's other main combo lead is the jump in. His J.Jab, J.Short, J.Strong chain, besides working on everybody, is very confusing. Just try and hit him out of it with a C.Fierce quickly. Try not to match him in the air - the J.Jab has supreme air to air priority, and can easily lead into a combo. Wolverine can also super jump and go into the Head Stomp, SJ.Roundhouse chain. You'll probably have to just block this for the most part, since if it's well positioned, it outprioritises your C.Fierce. If he gets predictable, hit him out of it with a Royal Flush - the staff should nail him during his Head Stomp and send him right into the cards. Finally, when you have Wolverine on the defensive, you have a variety of options available. Dashing in and comboing away is usually going to work, but you will have to watch for his defenses. His S.Roundhouse provides solid anti air defense, and if you outprioritise it with your J.Fierce, he may start trying to set up combos otherwise by walking under your jump and hitting you from behind with a C.Strong. This can lead to an air combo (C.Strong, S.Roundhouse, etc.), or even a Fatal Claw (C.Strong, S.Fierce [cancel] Fatal Claw). So be careful. And when going for combos on the ground, you basically have to try to leave no gap at all - any gap and it's an easy Berserker Barrage X for him. Well then, having covered his defensive game, he doesn't have many shortcomings, does he? Actually, Wolverine is quite susceptible to the Kinetic Card trap - use it whenever necessary. *Zangief Everyone knows Zangief is going to go for the Spinning Piledriver whenever possible, so try to play a solid keep away game with the Kinetic Card trap. Jump in and combo away leading with the J.Fierce, J.Roundhouse chain when possible. When (if) Zangief turns into Mega Zangief, just perform the Cajun Explosion into your own corner - it'll be easy damage. If you don't have any super meter, just keep him away with the Kinetic Card trap (as usual). *Onslaught First Form It's preferable to have a good, fast, multi hitting helper selected. I usually go with Colossus or Psylocke. Anyway, just block and back off, and corner yourself. Just block and push away the Magnetic Tempest, Shockwave, and Mega Optic Blast, and super jump to avoid the Hyper Grav. Once you're cornered, call up your helper - preferably when he's not about to attack. As the helper hits, start into your full 6 hit standing chain. Once you reach the end, allow for a short pause after the S.Roundhouse hits, before calling the helper again. The pause is there just to decrease the chances of him teleporting away during your combo. Go into the chain again, and keep on repeating. If you find yourself running out of helper calls, just go into the combo from scratch, but make sure first that he's not about to attack. From time to time, you can also just super jump and throw a couple of Kinetic Cards if you find it difficult to set up your chain combo, but just be careful in case he tries to catch you out of the air with a Hyper Grav. Onslaught may also call a helper. They have infinite Hyper combo energy, so be weary of that. Finally, try not to switch, and don't throw supers. Second Form If you beat the first form by repeatedly combing him with the 6 hit chain, by now you should have 3 levels. You're going to need them. Again, you'll probably have to just block for the beams - they do a lot of damage and he tends to fire a couple in succession, covering a lot of the screen. The most obvious opportunity to attack him is when he goes for the arm charge - super jump over this, and when he comes back on screen, jump and hit him with a full 6 hit jumping chain. Other chances arise when Onslaught comes on to the screen near the ground - if he's not close to the corner, throw a Cajun Explosion for massive damage. You want him on the screen when you throw it, but be careful since he might be about to fire a beam, and the delay time on the Cajun Explosion will get you killed. Onslaught also has the Hyper Grav in this form, so avoid that also. Finally, if he's just floating way up in the sky, don't worry about going after him - just be patient and wait for him to come down. ** [8] CREDITS AND THANKS ** Allen Kim - discussion about all Capcom games, and passing the Street Fighter Alpha FAQ on to me. GameFAQs - uploading this and my Street Fighter Alpha FAQ. NeoGrief - uploading my Street Fighter Alpha FAQ. James Chen - the great FAQs on Marvel Super Heroes (the original one, not MSH Vs. Street Fighter) and then on X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. All the guys I played at Galaxy World and Playland - they may not be terribly original in character selection, but hey, it's competition. Edmund Patdu and Miguel Raya - feedback on the first version on this FAQ. E.J. - fellow Gambit FAQ author and for a couple of combos. He has a great comprehensive Gambit FAQ, so go read it if you need the fine intricacies of playing Gambit. Finally, if you have any questions, comments, or additions, send them to : young@all.com.au This FAQ is copyright 1998 by Min Sub Kim. Gambit and all other Marvel characters mentioned in this guide are a trademark of Marvel Characters, INC. All Capcom characters mentioned throughout are property of Capcom, Co. LTD. The Gambit logo (ie. the ASCII art) is based on the official Gambit logo, which is a trademark of Marvel Characters, INC. This FAQ may be distributed freely but cannot be copied out of or altered in any way without the express written consent of the author. Or to put simply, you can't just stick your name on the top and say it's your work.