SvC Chaos: SNK Vs Capcom/Demitri Maximoff

Overview

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

Misc.

デミトリ・マキシモフ, Demitri Maximoff
Difficulty	Mostly Easy
Max Mode Needed?	Up To You
Tier Placement	Demigod Tier (S+)
Standing Hitbox	Tall
Crouching Hitbox	Tall
Defense Modifier	239 (Player) / 223 (CPU)
Wall Jump	No

Introduction

"Come on, baby!" Demitri Maximoff, a vampire character from the Darkstalkers series, is a shoto-type character who primarily focuses on zoning and defensive play. Not only that, but he managed to do the impossible: be a Darkstalkers guest character in a game without Morrigan. Thank you SNK for saving players from Capcom's wrath of recycling Morrigan's old sprite yet again. But jokes aside, while he certainly plays like a shoto, he's fairly different from a typical shoto in how he plays. His flexibility and fantastic tools available to him make him a borderline god tier capable of all sorts of creative ways to play the game, solidifying his spot as a top 5 character capable of handling just about every matchup.

Unique Side Note Regarding Demitri - Demitri's backwards walk is almost completely invulnerable due to his hurtboxes being completely disabled except for a few frames, whereas the pushbox remains. This ultimately means nothing because proximity blocking will trigger whenever he's being attacked, but it is pretty amusing nonetheless and adds to how unfinished his hitboxes are.

How to Select Demitri (Outside of Super Plus)

• You wish to play as Demitri? Press these directions while you're on the Character Select screen before the timer reaches 10 seconds:

• (Hold Start) Right(3x), Left, Up, Right, Down, Up

• Numpad Notation: 66648628

• Console Method: Hold R1/RT above Chun-Li.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Great Mobility: Demitri's walk speed is naturally fast, and his array of mobility options gives him the upper hand in neutral. ES Projectile: Unfortunately Demitri only had one ES move transferred over from Darkstalkers, but ES Chaos Flare remains one of the best projectiles in the game both for priority and damage. It costs the same as his other supers at 1 bar of meter, but this is hardly a deal breaker. Magic Series Combos and Pursuits: Demitri has a unique advantage over everyone else in that he has access to both Magic Series chains and Pursuits from his game of origin. Magic Series chains make for both easy damage and pressure that's difficult to Front Step through, and Pursuits give him free damage and oki after almost every knockdown. The Magic Series makes Demitri's neutral even more threatening as any poke can convert into a combo. Keep in mind that because of the way it's setup, it makes using Demitri's regular normals like cr.B awkward as they can only be done with neutral directionals. Unique Teleport Dash: Demitri's special forward dash functions as an invisible teleport where he runs forward until the player stops or he is hit. Because it doesn't travel a set distance but instead relies on the player when to stop, judging how far to travel takes practice, let alone getting used to its unorthodox input. When used right however, it gives Demitri setup potential, allows him to cross-up with the opponent, and gives him access to a unique DP that further opens up his combo variety. Unblockable Supers: Both of his regular supers are unblockable attacks that also dash forward to give them extra range. Their only big downside is their awkward inputs, but they otherwise do high damage for the meter cost and result in a knockdown. Great Meterless Damage: Demitri's regular BnBs do a ton of damage, enough to take off half of one life bar with just a Magic Series combo alone. It varies by combo and character health, but generally Demitri's combos hurt a lot, and he doesn't have to spend meter for the damage he deals. Powerful Max Mode Utility: With Max Mode active, Demitri gains access to more ES Chaos Flares and effective corner loops with his DPs, which under the right circumstances elevates his already high damage even higher. Incredibly Powerful Exceed: Demitri's Exceed is nothing special on the surface, as it's just a giant fireball. That said, the hitbox is huge and fast, and it destroys every other projectile in the game with no exceptions. Demitri's already amazing zoning makes his Exceed all the more rewarding and easier to use. Furthermore, it does roughly 10% of one life bar in chip damage on block, which is a lot more than most Exceeds in the game. Because it's functionally a big fireball, he can force the opponent into blocking it from further away while remaining safe, and even up close the chip damage can lead to a checkmate scenario on an opponent's wakeup if their life is low enough. Approach Has No Limits: Demitri is bar-none the best shoto in the game. With amazing fireballs for zoning, a great DP, a Tatsu that's hard to counter, solid defense, chains for both offense and defense, and scary rushdown, Demitri is free to do what he wants. In more polarizing or extreme matchups such as Red Arremer, Demitri doesn't have as much luxury but he probably still has the advantage. Playing neutral is hardly an issue for him. Unfinished Character: Demitri is the embodiment of SVC's rushed development to meet contractual obligations. Though he looks like one of the game's most polished characters, in reality he has several quirks that make him both much more broken than he should be and worse in other aspects. For example, Demitri's hurtboxes are so janky that some combos either change how they work specifically against him or straight up don't work at all. In another example, several of Demitri's attacks either have near zero recovery, disjointed hitboxes, or other properties that make interrupting anything he does its own challenge.

Pretty Tall: Both crouching and standing, Demitri is one of the tallest characters in the game and thus has some fairly big hurtboxes. It depends on the matchup how much of an issue this is, but it's still a net negative for him as he gets hit easier. This also indirectly affects his normals too, where in some cases he's too tall for his own good and can't hit characters with certain normals. Uniquely Questionable Hitboxes: Questionable is putting it lightly. There are too many examples to bring up, but in general Demitri's active hitboxes and hurtboxes are all over the place. In many cases this is a huge boon for him, but in other cases it severely hurts his gameplay. Try as hard as you can, but Demitri cannot reliably attack a standing Orochi Iori. (Mostly) No Invulnerable DPs: Demitri's DPs are strong and recover fast, but he's not invulnerable during any of them and thus he can be punished more easily for it. While the startup technically has invulnerability, it's so short it becomes unreliable. The somewhat stubby vertical reach of his DP can also lead it to being more easily punishable by attacks like Mai's jumping command normals. No Quick Overhead Options: Demitri lacks overheads in his move list, which hinders his mixup potential and makes it harder to open opponents up if his other approaches or Magic Series chains don't work out. Lacks Easy Super Confirms: While Demitri can set up for or combo into his regular supers, doing so is locked behind poor hit confirms and restrictive setups. Exceed Doesn't Knock Down: Demitri's Exceed does not result in any kind of knockdown unless the opponent was already being juggled. In nearly all cases this doesn't matter, as his Exceed is still arguably one of the best in the game, but every once in a while, if you're not careful, this can backfire on Demitri. Awkward Exceed Input: The bigger problem with Demitri's Exceed is that the input reader has issues detecting it. You have to be deliberate with the input in order for it to come out, which takes getting used to. In the heat of the moment this can be hard to remember, but additionally it becomes harder if the game is suffering from slowdown. Unfortunately, Demitri can sometimes trigger slowdown himself. Weak Max Mode Loops Midscreen: Demitri's Max Mode loops, though strong, don't work nearly as well midscreen. This doesn't diminish the utility of Max Mode at midscreen, since Demitri can still rely on multiple ES Chaos Flares for example, but he requires the corner to stabilize his Max Mode potential. Overlapping Inputs: When accounting for special moves, Demitri's inputs are for the most part typical fighting game inputs. But because the Magic Series inputs are command normals, and as such not only have their own properties and cancel rules over the default normals but also overlap with his special move motions, you'll end up getting attacks you didn't intend to do if you're not used to it. More importantly, in the event you are crossed up, this makes such errors more likely to happen since Demitri cannot default to holding down-back; in one such example, trying to anti-air with his cr.C as he holds down-back instead of just back results in df.C instead if done late, which can kill him. Unfinished Character: If Demitri were finished, there's a chance he'd have even more broken tools like an ES Demon Cradle or ES Bat Spin. His questionable hitboxes can also make fighting characters like Orochi Iori, Zero, and Choi far more obnoxious than they have any business being otherwise.

SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Frame Data Glossary
Damage	How much damage the attack does. This takes into account no defense modifiers, so the damage assumes a 0% damage modifier, or in other words the average defense modifier of 223 against characters like Kyo and Ryu. Note: Damage is a little inconsistent. Example: Geese cl.A deals 5 damage. Against Zero, sometimes it does 5 pixels of damage to his life bar, other times it does 4 pixels. Against Ryu, cl.A does 4 pixels of damage, other times it does 3 pixels of damage. This info comes from the Enterbrain Mook, but most likely this is the cause of damage modifiers skewing the damage slightly, thus making it a bit inconsistent. Damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma. It is listed because it's an official source for this info, just keep in mind damage is not 1-to-1 due to varying health values and screwy ways the game calculates damage anyways. There will be a question mark next to the four mentioned characters because it's only a guess as to what the actual damage values are (until health and damage are better understood), since they were never gathered in the Mook. Unfortunately, when doing attacks, the numbers dealt in damage do not match up with the mook. As an example, Geese's cl.C does 16 damage according to the mook, but against characters like Zero, it only does 14-15 damage, and very rarely it does 16 damage. Against Ryu, it does 12-13 damage at most. But against Orochi Iori, it also does 14-15 damage, and very rarely it does 16 damage. The mook does not explain how the numbers are obtained either, or against who they're tested against, if anyone. In other words, how these numbers were obtained if not through data mining is a mystery in itself, but it can be best assumed it was against 255 defense modifier characters, and at the max damage possible. Lastly, moves like Geese cl.D, though it says 10x2 for the damage, which is true, damage scaling reduces total damage on the second hit. Max Mode also reduces damage dealt by roughly half at most.
Counter Damage	How much damage the attack does on a counter hit, or when it connects with an opponent while they're performing an attack. Counter damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma.
Guard	Where the attack hits, and thus where it must be blocked. Mids can be blocked standing and crouching Overheads must be blocked standing Lows must be blocked crouching Unblockable cannot be blocked Throws break through block up-close
Guard Crush	How much guard meter damage the attack does to the green Guard Gauge.
Stun	How many points of stun the attack adds to the opponent's invisible Stun Gauge.
Meter	How much meter is gained for performing/landing the attack. Special moves earn meter both when activated and when they connect with the opponent, whether it hits them or they block it.
Cancel	The type of cancel the attack can perform. Any - All cancel types work Ch - Chain cancel; it can chain into other attacks (mostly just lights) Self - Can chain only into itself Cmd - Command cancel; can cancel into command normals Sp - Special cancel; can cancel into special moves, and almost always this means super cancels are possible too Su - Super cancel; can cancel into super moves Free - Free cancel; can be cancelled in Max Mode by other special moves or super moves Written only for special moves as all normals can be Free Cancelled, so writing it in for every move would be redundant X - Cannot be cancelled, either outside of Max Mode or that it cannot be cancelled at all
Startup	How many frames it takes before the move becomes 'active' or has a hitbox. The SVC Chaos wiki uses classic startup notation, which does not include the first active frame. A move with 3 startup becomes active on frame 4. Super and Exceed startup will calculate both the frames before and after the super flash animation as such: X+Y, with X being the startup frames before the flash animation and Y being the startup frames after the flash animation. The startup will not take into account the frames of the flash animation itself where time freezes and the opponent player cannot act. Super flashes last 28 frames, whereas Exceed flashes last 27 frames. Because there is currently no way to view throw boxes, it is assumed that throws/command grabs are at most 0-1 frames of startup. Truthfully, we don't actually know though.
Active	How many frames a move remains active (can hurt opponents) for. Consecutive sets of active frames on a multi-hit move are separated by a comma. (Example: 3, 4 - The attack has its first hitbox for 3 frames, then the second hitbox for 4 frames) If there is a gap between sets of active frames, the gap is denoted by a number in parentheses. (Example: 3, (2), 4 - The attack is active for 3 frames, then is not active for the next two frames, followed by being active again for 4 frames.) Throw boxes are not visible either through dipswitches or the hitbox viewer so it's only a guess how active throws and command grabs are, but it's probably one active frame at most. This also applies to hitbox images - they will still show the push and hurtboxes of characters but outside of that, unfortunately there is no way to depict the throw boxes at the moment.
Recovery	How many frames it takes for a move to finish after it's been active.
Total	The total number of frames the attack lasts on screen for. This adds up the startup, active, and recovery frames into one number.
Hit/Block Adv	These are frame advantage values when the attack hits or is blocked. If the number is positive, then the move will end before the defender can act again. If the number is negative, the defender will be able to act before the attacker and maybe even punish. SKD refers to a soft knockdown, or a knockdown you can tech roll out of. HKD refers to a hard knockdown, one that you cannot tech roll out of. All frame advantages assume Ryu as the opponent. If there are variable wakeup times, it is currently unknown info. Also assume that on soft knockdowns, the frame advantage is when the opponent does not tech roll. If needed, a second frame advantage will be added next to it for when they do tech roll. Frame advantages of projectiles assumes the opponent is point blank range. Any farther and this obviously changes and/or doesn't matter. Block advantage assumes no use of Guard Cancel Front Step. For one, it obviously decreases the attacker's frame advantage significantly. When the defender uses GCFS is also a variable factor so you cannot provide a hard answer as to what the frame advantage is after GCFS, as well as how soon they cancel GCFS into an attack. Generally speaking, just assume the block advantage minus the active frames of GCFS (18 frames), and that's a rough estimate of the frame advantage when GCFS is performed. Do keep in mind that GCFS technically has a slight delay when the dash is performed even if you register the input as early as possible. This doesn't really matter in most cases, since the attacker will automatically be quite minus after most attacks. It would only matter in situations where the attacker can punish GCFS attempts like with throws or multi-hit attacks, but even then, that's because the attacker canceled the blocked attack into another attack that the frame advantage of the blocked attack after GCFS no longer matters in that situation. All that matters, then, is the attack is cancelable at all.
Invulnerability	Indicates whether there's any frames of invulnerability during the attack.

Move List

Normal Moves

Close Normals

Note: All of Demitri's close normals except for cl.B whiff against Orochi Iori and Choi.

cl.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3	4	4	11	+4	+2	-
Very fast move that can be canceled easily and chain into itself, but it whiffs against low crouching characters and some standing characters too. Good to use in light starter combos.

cl.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Low	-	-	-	-	4	4	6	14	+2	+0	-
Same as cl.A, but doesn't whiff against low crouching characters. Good to use as a light combo starter.

cl.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	8	7	19	+5	+3	-
Good in combos. Demitri does a punch that whiffs against low crouching characters. The damage is nice, but watch out when you use it. Can be cancelled.

cl.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	5	8	14	27	-2	-4	-
Basically the same as cl.C in function.

Far Normals

st.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3	4	4	11	+4	+2	-
Same as cl.A with better reach, but it cannot be cancelled outside of Max Mode.

st.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	8	4	16	+0	-2	-
Great poke. Fast and can link with ease after any light attack, but it cannot be cancelled outside of Max Mode.

st.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	9	9	13	31	-2	-4	-
Fast poke that whiffs against low crouching characters. Good to use as a damaging poke.

st.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	9	11	8	28	+1	-1	-
Damaging poke that whiffs against low crouching characters. Demitri will move forward a little when he uses this move.

Crouch Normals

cr.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	5	4	5	14	+3	+1	-
Light normal to extend or start light starter chains. Very good to cancel, chain into itself, or link with other light attacks. Can be used as a poke too. Combos tend to reward Demitri more when it ends with him standing.

cr.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Low	-	-	-	-	3	2	5	10	+5	+3	-
This is your helper for light starter combos. Can be used as a low poke too, and it will help you in his Hunter/Savior combos.

cr.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	5	2, 2, 4, 5	19	37	-12	-14	-
This move is a great cancelable fast anti-air in the event you don't need/want to use DP.

cr.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	8	8	18	34	SKD	-8	-
This move is a great low poke due to its reach. Possibly the largest sweep in the game. This is your best ender for Hunter combos for a forced knockdown and some oki.

Jumping Normals

nj.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	5	7	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack A great defensive air-to-air.

j.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	2	3, 6	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Bad move. Demitri has better air moves to use.

nj.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	5	11	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack This is Demitri's best neutral jump-in. It's fast, easy to combo after, and useful against characters with smaller jumps such as Hugo.

j.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	5	10	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Good to use as a jump-in. Possible to use as a crossup, albeit difficult to do.

nj.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	7	4	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack Similar to j.C.

j.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	10	6	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Damaging air-to-air and jump-in move. You can use this as your main jump-in.

nj.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	6	16	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack Kick that aims up. Avoid this move as Demitri has better options for anti-airs.

j.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	10	4	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Very fast in startup and recovery, good attack if you want to use this as your main jump-in.

Magic Series Normals

Note: The frame data calculated is when the attack is used by itself as a command normal, then followed by when used in the Magic Series (to the best ability possible, at least).

• It's hard to accurately gauge Magic Series chain frame data since the only way to get these normals is by hitting the opponent, whether it connects or is blocked.
• Generally speaking though, when performed in a Magic Series, the startup is significantly faster than normal.

Standing MS Normals

Standing Light Punch
f.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3	4	4	11	+4	+10	-
The beginning of Demitri's Hunter Combos system, otherwise known as the Magic Series. This move is one of the weak starters and has the same animation as st.A, but it is part of a chain. You must press forward in order to start the Magic Series and function as Light Punch; using st.A by itself will not begin the combo and instead function as st.A. Demitri doesn't have a Far/Close version of this move, hence it is not labelled as close or far compared to his basic normals. Magic Series combos are better when they are done from a very close range so as to ensure all hits connect. For the "Standing" and "Crouching" moves, you cannot cancel normal moves into them. You can use them as command normals, but Demitri cannot combo with them using his basic normals. They can, however, be cancelled in Max Mode.

Standing Medium Punch
b.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4 ; ?	8 ; ?	7 ; ?	19 ; ?	-3 ; +1	+3 ; +7	-
This move is used in the middle of a Magic Series combo. It looks like a faster cl.C with most of the same properties, but it cannot be cancelled outside of Max Mode.

Standing Heavy Punch
f.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	9 ; ?	9 ; ?	13 ; ?	31 ; ?	-2 ; +5	-4 ; +3	-
Use it near the end of a combo. The animation in the same as Demitri's st.C, but faster in the Magic Series. Zero reason to use this by itself since it's identical to st.C; only use it for the Magic Series.

Standing Light Kick
f.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Low	-	-	-	-	4 ; ?	4 ; ?	6 ; ?	14 ; ?	+2 ; +4	+8 ; +10	-
Same animation as Demitri's cl.B, and it's perhaps the best Magic Series starter since it hits low. Cannot be normal cancelled.

Standing Medium Kick
b.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4 ; ?	6 ; ?	11 ; ?	21 ; ?	-5 ; -1	+1 ; +5	-
Can be used as an anti-air as the only version of this attack. Very fast, but cannot be normal cancelled.

Standing Heavy Kick
st.D after any Standing Magic Series normal

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	?	?	?	?	-3	-5	-
Same animation as st.D, but faster. You can only use this version of st.D while you're doing a Hunter Combo. You cannot whiff Magic Series combos to use this attack either.

Crouching MS Normals

Crouching Light Punch
df.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3	4	5	12	+3	+9	-
Same animation as Demitri's cr.A, but cannot be normal cancelled. It's a great starter for crouching Magic Series combos.

Crouching Medium Punch
db.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3 ; ?	4 ; ?	5 ; ?	12 ; ?	+3 ; +2	+9 ; +8	-
Same animation as cr.A/LP but used in the middle of a Magic Series combo. Crouching Light Punch and Crouching Medium Punch are identical to each other, only Crouching Medium Punch deals a pinch more damage and otherwise has different frame data due to being in the middle of the Magic Series.

Crouching Heavy Punch
df.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3 ; ?	2, 2 ; ?	33 ; ?	40 ; ?	-25 ; -17	-19 ; -19	-
This move, if used alone, is almost a great low poke. The reach is almost the same as Demitri's cr.D. One massive glaring issue when used by itself is that it's -25 on hit and -19 on block. You must follow up with Heavy Kick in the Magic Series in order to make this attack safer to use.

Crouching Light Kick
df.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Low	-	-	-	-	3 ; ?	3 ; ?	5 ; ?	11 ; ?	+4 ; +6	+10 ; +12	-
Same animation as the cr.LK but serves as the LK part of the Magic Series combos.

Crouching Medium Kick
db.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Low	-	-	-	-	12 ; ?	4 ; ?	11 ; ?	27 ; ?	-3 ; +1	+3 ; +7	-
cr.MK isn't that good when cancelled in Max Mode. Only use it in Magic Series combos.

Crouching Heavy Kick
cr.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	8 ; ?	8 ; ?	18 ; ?	34 ; ?	SKD	-8	-
Same notes from cr.D apply here. It's a crouching HK and the best ender for basically any Magic Series since you can follow up with Pursuit. Time well when you're going to follow it up.

Pursuit

Hell Ride Pursuit
u.K (When Opponent is Knocked Down)

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	OTG	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
For those who don't know Demitri yet, this is a Pursuit, a feature from the Darkstalkers games. It hits as an OTG move that can be used as a follow-up for almost any knockdown move in Demitri's arsenal. Even if you miss, which can sometimes happen, it's very fast and has almost no recovery. Whether it's safe to use will depend on your timing, but the earlier the better. Demitri does not have an ES version of this move unlike the Darkstalkers games. If you stun the opponent, doing a pursuit will not negate the stun. They will still wake up stunned regardless.

Throws

Throw

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
24	24	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Throw

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
24	24	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Guard Cancel Blowback
on Block

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
0	0	Mid	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Special Moves

Chaos Flare
(Jump) qcf P

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Good projectile to abuse in Demitri's zoning game. Mix the A version with the C version on the ground and in the air to confuse your opponent. Some characters can duck under this projectile (and some projectiles can pass under it too). It doesn't knock down.

Demon Cradle
dp P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
dp A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
dp C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Very good as an anti-air, and a good part of Demitri's zoning game. It beats almost all jumping attacks (like a normal DP). The A version is better for anti-airs, and the C version is better in combos (especially on Max Mode, where the hits can be canceled, leading to his better combos). This move doesn't have an ES version.

Bat Spin
(Jump) qcb K/BD

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Demitri's classic teleport move, and the properties of this move are almost the same as in Darkstalkers (you can follow it up depending on how you hit the opponent). Very good to control Demitri's air game. The button determines the distance and the angle of this move. You can use it to punish some projectiles too.

Tokushu Idou
Hold BC, Tap b~f or f~b

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
Either Dash	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tapping b~f lets Demitri dash forward, whereas tapping f~b lets Demitri dash backward. This is Demitri's dash from the Darkstalkers games. Very good to use because he will be invincible while he disappears in the dash (like in his game). You can cancel it into any move except for regular/command normals and throws. Good to use if you want to make the opponent use his Exceed IN VAIN.
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
Angled Demon Cradle dp P (After Dash)	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Demitri will stop dashing and do a different DP. It's a good surprise move (more so if you do it while he disappears, but you'll need to know where he is to do that). Like in his normal DP, this move can be canceled in Max Mode (and you can cancel the dashing DP into the normal DP, which is one of Demitri's corner loops). There is no ES version of this move.

Super Moves

ES Chaos Flare
(Jump)

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
29x3	34	Mid	2x3	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Technically not a super, but it costs meter to use and so will be treated as such. Demitri got the ES version of his projectile here (with 3 hits), which is very good in his zoning game. This move doesn't knock down (like the normal version), but the startup is longer than the normal projectile and you'll need to spend 1 level of meter to use it. You can use this move (along with the normal version) in the air to control his air game. This move is like a super projectile, so it can almost destroy some normal projectiles. This version is bigger than the version above, so characters who can duck under the normal version cannot duck under this move. Particularly effective as a meter dump option in neutral during Max Mode.

Midnight Bliss

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
7x11	7	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
One of Demitri's unblockable supers. The input can look easy to do, but SVC's input reader makes it tricky. There are some shortcuts to do it (like Geese's Raging/Raising Storm), the main one being dp, df+PP. One of SVC's more infamous supers due to the unique transformation animations against each character in the cast. This super can be performed out of Demitri's teleport dash (which was one of his setups from Darkstalkers).

Midnight Pleasure

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
7x12	7	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Another unblockable super. Demitri will bite the opponent before doing a flurry of attacks against the opponent that sends them flying. Used more than Midnight Bliss since it deals more damage and can be comboed from cl.B during the input. It can be used from the teleport dash. The rules regarding the super input are strange, but if you try to do AA,f,BD by itself, the super will never come out. As quoted by a GameFAQs guide by user Kao_Megura who explains it best: You may have noticed that "button press" supers, in previous games, could be canceled into from any attack, even cancelable ones. In this game however, they are only cancelable from specific animations. What's so odd about this is that Demitri's far standing B is not one of them. So if you perform this move from afar, pressing D after the standing B comes out won't work unless you do it late (as the kick ends). Or you can just enter (A,A,f,B,D,D) since the 2nd D will occur after the far standing B has finished. This in turn affects what combos into the super Demitri can do because of these cancel rules, which seemingly follow their own logic. If you're having trouble with the command, use the super above instead.

Exceed

Demon Flare
(delay)

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
63x8	68	Mid	4x8	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
If you're having trouble with this Exceed and are getting misinputs, usually you just need to wait a moment before pressing the 4 buttons. How you perform the input also affects whether Exceed registers or not. If you do two very fast qcf motions, or as fast as the game can register them, then you have to wait approximately 10 frames before pressing ABCD for Exceed to register. If instead you do the qcf motions very slowly (such as about 4 frames for each direction held), then you can do the ABCD input almost immediately and the Exceed will register. The timing of the super is also affected by slowdown, such as if you're doing corner combos with qcf AC, meaning the ES Chaos Flare's multiple hits slow the game down and thus make the input harder to perform. This move is a great Exceed for Demitri. It can destroy most super projectiles in the game, deals very nice damage (with 8 hits), and can be used as a finisher for his corner loops. Can be used as a follow-up to any of Demitri's projectiles too.

Strategy

Basic Strategy

Demitri's Gameplan

Demitri is a great zoning character (likely even better than Sagat). He can abuse the air/ground versions of his fireball against most characters in the cast, and when he needs to he can use his very fast DP to shut down any attempts to navigate around his zoning. If the opponent is playing more defensively, his unblockable supers can force them to act. He can do some damaging combos outside of Max Mode thanks to his unique combo system in this game: the Hunter Combos. In Max Mode, Demitri is a beast if he traps the opponent in the corner. He has access to relatively easy loops if the opponent gives him a chance.

Introduction to the SNK Magic System (You'll need to read this, so don't jump this intro.)

Magic Series combos are a core part of Demitri's game. If you've played any Marvel vs Capcom or Darkstalkers games, you'll probably know about the Magic Series. SNK tried to implement this system with only 4 attack buttons, and the end result was surprisingly good. If you don't know about the Magic Series, it's simply the ability to chain all of the character's attack buttons together. The strength rule for the Magic Series is:

LP - LK - MP - MK - HP - HK, where:

• The Standing/Crouching LP can link into st./cr. LK and Medium/Heavy attacks (in this game light attacks cannot link into themselves, sadly);
• The Standing/Crouching LK can link into any st./cr. Medium/Heavy attack;
• The Standing/Crouching MP can link into st./cr. MK and Heavy attacks;
• The Standing/Crouching MK can link into any st./cr. Heavy attack;
• The Standing/Crouching HP can link into st./cr. HK only;
• The Standing/Crouching HK is the only move that cannot link (but cr.HK can be followed up with a Pursuit).

Notes: You can alternate between the standing and crouching versions of attacks while doing the combo, such as f+LP, df+LK. If you want, you can skip attack buttons as well, such as df+LP, df+LK, d+HK. This can be helpful if you're having problems with full Magic Series chains. If you begin with a light attack like f+LP, you just need to hold forward while pressing the buttons. With crouching attacks it's the same thing. The best Hunter Combo will be in Demitri's Combo section.

Quick Air Fireball

An important part of Demitri's zoning game. Some characters have air special moves, but some characters have trouble on using them effectively. For Demitri, you can perform fast air fireballs by doing the classic Tiger Knee motion (qcf,uf+P). This technique also works with ES Chaos Flare and Bat Spin.

Advanced Strategy

Zoning in Max Mode

In Max Mode it's possible for Demitri to have both an air fireball and a ground fireball on the screen at the same time. After performing the air fireball first, you can Free Cancel into the ground fireball upon landing. The ES version can be used for the air version but not the ground version. This can be used to completely shut down your opponent's approach options.

Some Resets

Despite Demitri having access to unblockable supers, their lack of range makes them harder to use outside of close-range setup situations or potentially even some resets. Here are some examples using Midnight Bliss:

(Corner Only, Opponent In Air) qcf+PP, any normal, (While Opponent is Landing) d,f,df+PP (Midnight Bliss)

Not as likely to occur due to the positioning required, but if the opponent is cornered and you tag them out of the air with an ES Chaos Flare, this setup is guaranteed and doesn't require Max Mode.

(Corner Only, Opponent Standing) cl.C/D, dp+C(2), (C)qcf+PP/Exceed, any normal, d,f,df+PP (Midnight Bliss)

A more reliable setup that requires Max Mode. Free Cancelling the 2nd hit of C Demon Cradle allows you to even hit-confirm into Exceed if you're able, then reset into a guaranteed Midnight Bliss.

Combos

SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Quick Combo Notation Guide

cl. = close normal st. = standing/far normal cr. = crouching normal f.; etc. = forward direction (NOT far) X = any button CH = counter hit , = Used to separate attacks in the combo / = Separates different options for the combo (mainly different starters or enders that are possible) Unless otherwise stated (such as it's a link or you need to delay the attack), assume this is a chain/cancel. Example: cr.B, cr.A, dp A ; cr.B chains into cr.A, then cr.A cancels into dp A [b]~f = Indicates to charge back (or downback), then press forwards for the given special move ( ) = Parentheses used to indicate the attack(s) within the parentheses are optional to add to the combo (C) = Indicates a free cancel, aka a cancel only possible in Max Mode (SC) = Indicates a super cancel via free canceling in Max Mode (1) = Used to indicate how many hits of the attack should connect (or less than) before continuing with the combo Example: cl.C(1), hcb P means that only one hit of cl.C should be performed before moving on to do hcb P, not more than one hit [ ] = Used to distinguish combo loops or combo starters/etc. in case a certain attack is only possible after specific options xN = Repeat the given loop for as many times as either possible or as many times as you wish May change to numpad notation much later down the road.

BnB Combos

BnB Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
(j.X,) df.A ~ Magic Series ~ d.D, Pursuit	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Demitri's best combo outside of Max Mode and a key example of what makes Hunter Combos so important. The opponent can escape the Pursuit with a recovery roll, but this combo is a good way to practice Pursuit timing and leads to further guaranteed damage if they don't.
cr.B/A, cl.B, dp+P, Pursuit	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Very easy combo with a low starter to use everywhere. Solid damage if you don't like Magic Series combos.
(j.X,) cl.C/D, dp+P, Pursuit	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	A more damaging version of the combo above.
df.C, d.D, Pursuit	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	A short Hunter Combo from a surprisingly long-range low poke.
(j.X,) cl.A x2, cl.B, AA~f~BD	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Demitri's staple hit-confirm into Midnight Pleasure. Cancelling cl.B is required here to stabilize the confirm.
(From Fullscreen) qcf+P/AC, Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	A legit fullscreen hit-confirm into Exceed from a fireball during zoning wars. Difficult to land but still technically possible. This is also possible and slightly easier to do if you anti-air an opponent with ES Chaos Flare first, and from a juggle into Exceed you can add a Pursuit.

Max Mode Combos

Max Mode Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
(j.X,) Magic Series ~ MS HP, (C)qcf+C	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Very simple if you're used to Hunter Combos. You don't need to do the full Hunter Combo, you just need to cancel the C/D's animation.
(j.X,) cl.C/D, dp+C(2), (SC) Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	A great combo for high damage punishes. In the corner you can juggle your opponent after the Exceed hits, allowing for Pursuits or other potential oki.
(Corner Only) (j.X,) cl.C/D, dp+C(2), qcf+AC, qcf+AC, Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Extended version of the combo above. This is the easier of Demitri's kill combos. Do NOT do this too deep into the corner as qcf+AC whiffs at point blank. You can use only one ES Chaos Flare to save meter if needed. Use the button hold buffer for the Exceed input if needed, as it can be awkward to perform mid-combo.
(Corner Only) (j.X,) cl.C/D, dp+C(1), [(C)[BC]b~f~dp+C(1), (C)dp+C(1),]xN (Stun), any follow-up	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Demitri's difficult but highly rewarding stun combo. You don't need cl.C/D to do the combo, you just need to land a DP and cancel it on the first hit. This video reference can help with learning the combo. Most importantly, you do not need to do dp+C twice in a row, just use the button hold buffer after the first dp+C(1) and the second DP will automatically come out by itself. This gives you more time to cancel into the teleport dash.
(Corner Only) (j.X,) cl.C/D, [(C)[BC]b~f~dp+C(1),]xN (Stun), any follow-up	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Variation of the above combo where you only do the teleport DP, since it can cancel back into itself.