Aegis placement guide: vs Urien

1) Introduction

The visual cues discussed in this guide translate perfectly to CPS3, 30th Anniversary and Fightcade. In OE, they will be slightly off.

Since this is the first episode of the Aegis placement guide, I will begin by quickly explaining some basics.

1.1) What makes an Aegis placement strong?

A combination of the following:

1. Restriction:
   
   Aegis should be placed strategically to restrict what the opponent can do.
   
   For example, an Aegis that is placed close enough that the opponent can't jump forward without getting hit by it on the way up.
   
   That is what I mean by restriction.
   
   
2. Duration:
   
   The longer Aegis lasts, the better. You get more turns to try to open up your opponent, and you will re-build meter with each attack.
   
   
3. Mix-up:
   
   Overheads can be defended on reaction, grabs can't. So ideally there should always be a grab element in your offense. 
   
   
4. Combo conversion:
   
   If you can turn your offense into a combo, the reward will be amazing.

1.2) Learning the positions

The Aegis placements I will be discussing in this guide are precise, and you will have to learn to move into a specific position (often just a few pixels wide) before deploying Aegis.

The easiest way to check what pixel you are on is to look at the background details around the edge of your shadow.

It's a non-animated dark circle and it's right below Urien, so it's the perfect reference point to know his position. 

 

          Every time I show you a pixel area, I will use two photos, like this:
          

          

          

          The first photo represents the first pixel inside the area.
          The second photo represents the last.
          The position is those two points along with the space between them.

 

1.3) Short steps
 

 

  

The positions are precise, so you have to learn to move in short steps.

           One way to do short steps is to do 6 > 3 or 4 > 1

           This way you can interrupt the walk immediately by crouching

           And you can take consecutive short steps without accidentally dashing               

1.4) Metallic Sphere > Aegis          

         

 When finally at the position, make sure to not accidentally walk before Sphere

 Do 23 > 6 + LP (press + release) to avoid walking:

• If you mistime and press LP 1 frame too early, the 2LP will kara into Sphere.
  
  
• Since it takes +1 frame to start walking from crouching, pressing 1F late is also ok.

2) Aegis placement vs Urien

With all that out of the way, let's begin the vs Urien tutorial.

The main reasons I picked this Aegis over others are:

1. The mix-up is High/Low/Grab, and you can get damaging combos out of all 3.
   
   
2. The combos are lenient. Neutral grab gives two bounces, so you have time to react with an early tackle even if they mash out of it.
   
   
3. When you neutral grab, they bounce to the corner. So you can go straight for another Aegis after your combo.

Before we go more into detail, let's show the positions.

2.1) Positions

The positions to place this Aegis from are 6 pixels wide.

For now, I advise to just learn "LP Aegis" and downscroll straight to 2.2) to keep reading this tutorial.

After you have finished the tutorial and are comfortable placing that one, you can start learning the rest.

Practice it by walking into position, then deploy Aegis and go for neutral grab:

• If opponent bounces forward once, you did it from too far away.
• If opponent bounces backwards twice, you did it from too close.
• If opponent bounces forward twice, you did it right!

Right corner:

1. LP Aegis:
   
   
   
   To place this one, I check the right edge of my shadow.
   
   First pixel (It's touching the vine):
   
   

   
   
   Last pixel (It sticks out a little bit): 
   
   

   
   
   
   
2. MP Aegis:
   
   
   
   
   Again, check the right edge of your shadow.
   
   First pixel (It's at the center of the vine)
   
   

   
   
   Last pixel (It sticks out like this)
   
   

   
   
   
   
3. HP Aegis: 
   
   
   
   
   This one is a little bit harder.
   
   First pixel (There is this distance between the shadow and the vine)
   
   

   
   
   Last pixel (It's close to the vine, but not touching it)
   
   

   

Left corner:

1. LP Aegis:
   
   
   
   Check left edge of shadow.
   
   First pixel (It's almost touching that green crease on the ground
   
   
   
   
   Last pixel (It's aligned with the green crease on the ground)
   
   

   
   
   
2. MP Aegis:
   
   
   
   
   This time I check right edge of my shadow.
   
   First pixel (The shadow sticks out like this)
   

   
   
   
   Last pixel (The shadow's edge aligns with the vine)
   
   

   
   
   
3. HP Aegis:
   
   
   
   
   This one is a little bit harder, since all you can do is visually measure how much the shadow sticks out
   
   First pixel (Shadow sticks out like this)
   
   

   
   
   Last pixel (Shadow sticks out more)
   
   

   
   

2.2) Restriction

Now let's explain how this Aegis restricts the opponent's options. For simplicity's sake, all the examples will be with LP Aegis.

1. If opponent jumps forward, he gets hit by LP Aegis on the way up. However, if he super jumps he can go over it without getting hit.
   
   
   
   For this reason, you should always aim to do this Aegis from Metallic Sphere.
   
   Forcing the opponent to guard the Sphere will give Aegis time to get close enough that Super Jump will not fly over it.
   
   

   
   
   However, if you do it from the very farthest pixel, him guarding Sphere will not buy Aegis enough time.
   
   So you would have to either hit him with an extra attack to gain more time, or use MP Sphere (which hits later than LP Sphere would, thus gaining a little extra time)
   
   

   
   
   
   
2. Opponent can jump back or neutral jump and he won't get hit.
   
   

   
   
   At first glance, that doesn't look restrictive... But let's take a closer look.
   
   Even though he can jump, if he does any air attack other than j LK or j MK, he will get hit by Aegis.
   
   

   
   
   And if you are slightly more far away, j LK won't reach you, so only j MK.
   
   

   
   It looks more restrictive now, doesn't it?

   
   
3. After Aegis gets close enough, if Urien air parries your attack at a low enough height, he will be locked in the air. Forced to parry the remaining 5 hits of Aegis:
   
   

   
   
   But why? I said he can jump without getting hit by Aegis, so why is it different here?
   
   To answer that, let's take a look at air parry's hurtboxes:

   
   

   
   
   In the last stages of Urien's jump, his hurtboxes are thin. But if he air parries our attack, he changes stance and now his hurtboxes extend forward.
   
   Take a look:
   
   

   
   

   
   
   His hurtboxes moved forward on Frame 1 of air parry!
   
   Then, after the air parry, it starts the jump animation again:
   
   

   
   

   
   
   They moved forward even more.
   

   
   However, since it's the jump animation, it will eventually reach the point where the boxes will become thin.
   
   That's why you should not hit him way too high in the air. So that he's low enough for Aegis to lock him before that happens:

   
   

   
   
4. Opponent can use crouching attacks such as 2MK or 2HK from behind Aegis.
   
   

   
   
   However, After Aegis moved close enough, it will hit if Urien is crouched and miss if he is standing:

   
   

   
   
   This is great because at that point, Urien can't use any crouching attacks, as crouching will force him to guard.
   
   Once he lost access to his crouching attacks, all he can do is poke you with standing LP.
   
   Let's move on to combos. 

2.3) Combos

The three main combo routes are from Neutral Grab, Leap and 2HK. The rest of the combos will be specific to each situation.

Neutral grab: 

HK Tackle > HK Tackle > MK Tackle > MP Headbutt:

Works from all 6 pixels within this position. Even if they mash out of grab, it's easy to react with the first tackle because the two Aegis bounces give you plenty of time.

Execution tip: Make the first HK Tackle as early as it can possibly hit, to get more time to charge the second one. After that, the combo is almost trivial.

By the way, if you placed Aegis from 1 pixel too far away, Aegis will only cause a single bounce.

If you recognize you misplaced it, either:

1. Go for a forward grab instead:
   
   
   
   
   Good damage, but you will lose the corner.
   
   
2. Go for a neutral grab and be ready to do MK Tackle as soon as possible:
   
   

   
   If you land the earliest tackle, you can still get a big meterless combo. But you are vulnerable to opponent mashing out of grab to make you miss.
   

Leap: 

If Aegis is close enough, Leap can link into Urien's heavy attack on crouching hit:

On standing hit, Aegis will not connect after the Leap, so you can't combo:

But why does it connect on crouching hit?

When Urien gets hit by an overhead, his hurtboxes temporarily move backwards:

See? Even though Aegis was hitting continuously on guard, Leap caused Urien to move out of it. Eventually, the hurtboxes move into reach again, and that's when Aegis connects with a delay.

And since:

1. Aegis stands up the opponent on hit.
   
2. This Aegis doesn't hit Urien when he is standing.
   

It will only be one hit of Aegis. And because it connects with a delay, you have extra time to link it into other attacks:

Now, these are the combos:

1. 2HP > HP Headbutt > HK Tackle > HK Tackle:
   
   

   
   
   Execution tips:
   
   

   1. Input "Leap" and then "Down+Back" right after, almost at the same time.

   
   

   2. Then,  after you press 2HP, try to delay the cancelation into HP Headbutt. This will make the Headbutt charge more lenient.

   3. Releasing the Headbutt with "Up+Back", this way you keep your Tackle charge and can tackle the very moment your Headbutt ends. This will make the second Tackle very easy. 

   With this method, the execution should be lenient.

   It will work from the 4 farthest pixels within the position.

   In fact, even if you misplace Aegis up to 3 pixels too far away from the position taught in this tutorial, this combo will still work:
   
   

   
   
   For all these reasons, I think this combo is the greatest. 
   
   
2. 2HP > HK Tackle > 2LK > LK Tackle > 2HK > HK Tackle > HK Tackle > MP Headbutt:
   
   

   
   
   I believe this is optimal.
   
   It will only work in the 2 closest pixels within the position.

Any time you deploy Aegis from the position, check around the edge of your shadow to confirm what pixel you are on.

1. If you are on the farthest 4 pixels, go for the Headbutt route.
2. If you are on the closest 2, go for the Tackle route.
   

Because the headbutt route works in a longer area within the position, and even slightly outside of the position, that's the one you will be using most of the time.

2HK:

This will only launch once Aegis is close enough.

HK Tackle > HK Tackle > MK Tackle:

If you placed Aegis from the 2 closest pixels within the position, the third tackle will not connect:

2.4) Offense & Defense

Urien's 6HP and Leap overheads (14F and 15F start-up respectively) can be guarded on reaction.

Grabs (2F start-up + 5F window for teching the grab) are NOT techable on reaction.

After placing Aegis, you can position yourself just out of throw range and wait. Then do "short step forward > grab".

Unreactable. ^o^

Even if the opponent knows a grab is coming and intends to tech, he doesn't know * when * it's coming. Even a small variance in timing will throw him off.

For these reasons, all offense revolves around the grab. But attacking like this creates a lot of obstacles.

Countermeasures against grab:

Since reaction is not possible, all that's left is anticipation. What can the defender do?

1. Parry the fireball.
   
   If he does something like "parry > grab" or "parry > normal attack" he will get hit once by Aegis, causing your grab to whiff.
   
   
   
   Parry > grab is really strong, because he can punish your whiff with a back grab and now you wasted your Aegis and are in the corner :'D.
   
   
2. Jump.
   
   He can avoid the grab with back jump. If you delay your grab too much, you won't have enough time to walk back after he lands.
   
   
   
   
   Besides, if he jumps forward, he can air parry Aegis on the way up and escape.
   
   
3. Headbutt.
   
   It's annoying to get hit by this one, because you will waste precious Aegis time.
   
   
   
   
4. HK Knee Drop (with or without guard).
   
   
   
   
5. Pressing buttons from behind Aegis. 2HK is the most annoying one, because you will get knocked down and waste time.
   
   

   
   
   
6. Crouching guard to avoid grab.
   
   

   
   

   This is only later on, after Aegis has moved in close enough.

So before you have a "free road" to force your unreactable grab, these are the 6 things that you have to worry about.

As for how to deal with these:

Stance:

When you do Aegis, check the opponent's stance:

Is he standing or crouched? Has he been holding down for a while, or was he standing just a moment ago?

Things like this are hints about whether the opponent has a down charge available or not. Use them to decide whether to worry about Headbutt.

Jump:

If they parry Sphere and press 2MK/2HK, jump will cause their attack to whiff and they will get hit by Aegis on recovery:

Technically, if you place Aegis from the 3 farthest pixels, this will not work:

Practically, parry is done with a "forward" input which is also used to walk. And as long as opponent walks forward for a minimum of 2 frames before parrying the Sphere, it will work at any distance:

Since Aegis stands the opponent on hit, you can get a full combo:

1. From the farthest pixel, do j HK (close to the ground) > 2HP > LP Headbutt > HK Tackle > HK Tackle:
   
   
   
   
2. From any closer pixel, you can do it with 2LP > LP Headbutt instead.
   
   

   
   This is better, because from the closer pixels you have to do j HK higher in the air, which causes 2HP to not combo.
   
   Just wait and parry the jump,
   
   
3. If they wait for the jump and try to parry the j HK, the parry will make you stay in the air for a little longer, so your 2LP/2HP won't come out:
   
   

   
   
   If they parry the j HK, they can grab you.
   
   But it should be noted that if they grab too early, it will whiff and they will get hit by Aegis. And if they grab too late, your back walk would make it whiff. So it's not "free".
   
   

   
   
   
4. However, if you are concerned about parry, you can go for Empty jump > Grab:
   
   

   
   Since it's not possible to tech a grab that connects while a parry window is active, as long as they hold the parry, they will not be able to tech.
   
   
   
5. Naturally, it's possible to time your parry for j HK and then cancel the parry window by inputting another direction:
   

   
   

   
   But since Urien's j HK extends his air time by 2 frames, the timing is rather strict:

   
   

   
   Check the framecounter on the top right. Counting from the frame you start your jump:
   
   Latest j HK connects on frame 39:
   
   

   

   
   Empty jump > grab connects on frame 41:
   
   

   
   
   Hence, the defender only has that tiny window of 2 frames to cancel the parry window in time to be able to tech the grab.
   
   It's rather precise ^o^.
   

6. After j HK is guarded, they lost their headbutt charge. Walk out of throw range and then go for a mix-up. Of course, you could do more things... But these are the main ones.
   
   A) Unless you placed Aegis from the 2 closest pixels, he can't crouch guard it yet, so you can go for a grab:
   
   

   
   
   However, he can mash grab to get himself hit by Aegis and cause your grab to whiff. Then back grab you:
   
   

   
   

   
   

   B) If you expect him to mash grab (or go for a throw tech), go for 2HK and combo:
   
   

   
   
   If you placed Aegis from the farther pixels, 2HK will sadly only give one bounce.
   
   So if you want, you can go for 2MK instead. If the opponent jumps, it will whiff and you can lock him in the air with a LP:
   
   

   
   C) If you expect crouch guard, go for a Leap:
   
   

   
   
   This is the most conservative option, as you can go for multiple in a row.
   
   If they jump, your Leap will whiff, but just like with a whiffed grab, you can lock them in the air with a standing LP:
   
   

   
   

6HP:

As it's an overhead, you can use it to encourage the opponent to guard high. This is great because by guarding high he will lose his Headbutt/Kneedrop charge.

This attack is also used to push yourself back.

After Metallic Sphere > LP Aegis, walk in and press 6HP as soon as you enter the max range, like this:

With something as simple as that:

1. If they parry Sphere and press 2MK/2HK (or grab), you will hit them on start-up. You would also hit something like "Parry > Jump"
   
   
   
   
   
2. If he parries both Sphere and 6HP, he can't punish you. This is because the parries moved him forward, so Aegis will hit him before he can attack you:
   
   

   
   

After max range 6HP:

1. On hit/guard, you push yourself way back out of 2MK/2HK range. If opponent presses either of these buttons right away, they will miss even if you are walking forward:
   
   
   
   
   
2. Therefore, if opponent wants to intercept your walk, he will have to delay his poke:
   
   

   
   
   
3. After 6HP is guarded, you can go for a jump-in:
   
   

   
   
   
4. If you expect the opponent to jump back, walk forward and go for 6MP:
   
   

   
   After the reset, you can go for a Grab/Leap/2HK mix-up.
   
   
5. Due to that 6MP, some people will wait until they see you walking and then react with jump (or headbutt/knee).
   
   You can bait these with walking MP Sphere (23 > hold 6 > Delay MP button press):
   
   

   
   
   

   The step baits the reaction, and then they get hit on the way up.
   
   By this point you should already have a strong feel for how to attack.

2MK:

The low counterpart. I tend to prefer this over 2HK this early on because it doesn't burn a lot of Aegis time. 2HK is more of a "finisher" move.

I use it almost identically to 6HP. (All 5 points of 6HP on hit/guard apply to 2MK)

In comparison to 6HP, I would note that:

1. You push yourself back less, so you keep more proximity while attacking. 
   
   
2. If you space it like this and you jump in, you will fall right of throw range:
   
   
   
   
   Which is strong ^o^.
   

2HK:

Similar to both 6HP and 2MK, you can use it to push yourself back and force a turn.

I try to be conservative with this attack, because it lasts so long that if you hit the opponent with it while he's crouch guarding Aegis, your Aegis will essentially be over: 

For that reason, I feel it's better to use it as a finishing move, at the end of pressure.

Leap: 

Once you finally have your proximity, you can go for multiple leaps in a row. 

Like we established, if opponent is crouch guarding Aegis, he can make it disappear faster:

But if he stands up to guard Leap, Aegis will stop hitting, which buys you time to go for another one.

You usually will get 2-3 turns, each of which results in a big combo from any of the 3 (Grab/Leap/2HK). Because of this, Leap pressure can be really oppressive:

2.5) Final comments

Some variables (such as defender using EX Aegis as a shield to prevent you from attacking) are not included in the tutorial.

In order to speak about EX Aegis, I would have to explain a lot of other stuff first, so I felt it's better to postpone it for now.

If you have any question related to this tutorial, feel free to leave a comment.