Street Fighter 6/Zangief/Strategy

Neutral

Offense

Frame Traps

Light Chains - 2LP (+1) and 5LP (+2) are plus on block, leading to easy frame trap setups.

2LP/2LK > 5LP - 1f gap, auto-timed by chaining, blows up everything except invincible reversals, leaves Gief plus and in range for another strike/throw mix.
5LP/2LP, 2LK > 2LP. mashed chain to 2LK is a true blockstring, but a delayed chain or link leaves a frame trap opening.
2LK > 2LK. Delay chain 2LK to leave a 3f gap

6HP - Headbutt is +4 on block.

6HP, 2LK is a true blockstring
6HP, 5LK/5LP/2LP will frame trap with a 3/3/2f gap, respectively.
6HP, 2MP will trade with 4f lights. Depending on the normal and range, Zangief may be able to trade-combo 2LP afterward.
6HP, 360P will throw opponents out of the gap. MP SPD will always be in range after blocked headbutt.

Okizeme and Mixups

TO-DO

Knockdown Advantage: all scenarios assume that opponent will Back Rise midscreen when possible, unless otherwise stated

Knockdown	KD Adv.	Oki/Notes
6LPLK (Forward Throw)	+10	Leaves Gief too far away to meaningfully pressure anything
5LPLK	+22	+0 after forward dash, can drive rush into meaty 5LK or SPD range
5[LPLK]	+0	Holding neutral throw does a follow-up which trades KD advantage for extra damage.
4LPLK	+8	Alternative to 3LPLK if Gief is cornered to side-switch, otherwise sends opponent too far away.
3LPLK	+33	Best oki of normal throws by far. +11 after forward dash.
1LPLK	+9	No oki possible due to distance
2LPLK	+14	No oki possible due to distance
2HK	HKD +32 HKD +45 (Punish)
360P	HKD +30 (LP) HKD +28 (all other versions)	After LP SPD, 1f window to meaty drive rush 5LK.
63214K (far)	HKD +29	Keeps same side, gives Drive Rush oki
63214K (close)	HKD +26	Side-switches, gives Drive Rush oki
PP	HKD +25 ~ 57	+25 is for hitting 1st active frame against a grounded opponent. Later hits and airborne juggles give better frame advantage.
PPP	HKD +38 ~ 57

vs. Burnout

Drive Rush

When cancelling a normal into Drive Rush on block and following it up with another normal, there may be an interruptible gap in the blockstring. The following table lists these blockstring gaps when performed at the fastest possible timing.

Gap Value	Meaning
0	True Blockstring (no gap) if input with fastest button timing; can still lose to Drive Reversal
1 to 4	Small blockstring gap; opponent can interrupt with an invincible reversal; a 4f gap can trade with 4f normal attack
5+	Large blockstring gap; opponent can interrupt without an invincible attack
Load video YouTube YouTube might collect personal data. Privacy Policy

Drive Rush Cancel - Blockstring Gaps
	5LP	5MP	5HP	5LK	5MK	5HK	2LP	2MP	2HP	2LK	2MK	2HK
5LP~DR	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?

The following table lists the general BnB combo routes when cancelling a button into Drive Rush on hit.

Drive Rush Cancel - Combo Routes
Starter	Hit Adv.	Combo Route
5LP	+?	?

Defense

Reversals

Zangief has no strike-invincible or throw-invincible moves with the exception of his supers.
- SA1 is an anti-air command grab with 11f startup and limited range and is unlikely to work as a reversal even against very sloppy jump-in pressure.
- SA2 has 18f startup and can fail to punish many meaty normals.
- SA3 is Zangief's only real reversal in the practical sense. Will blow through any oki that is not airborne, will catch opponents trying to shimmy against normal throw tech as a bonus.

Zangief can use Jump-cancel SPD in order to call out meaty throw or shimmy attempts, although this does not offer any protection against strikes.

Anti-Airs

PP (Lariat) and PPP (OD Lariat) are Zangief's main anti-airs. All versions have air invincibility and a large number of active frames which make them trivial to time.
- Despite what the animation suggests, Lariat does not hit behind Zangief. It will not work as an anti-air against cross-up jumps.
  - It is possible to beat a cross-up jump with OD Lariat by delaying the input enough for Zangief to auto-correct to the opposite side before spinning.
- OD Lariat starts up faster, making it useful in situations where Zangief can not anti-air as early as he would like (for example, the opponent jumped over a whiffed 2MP).
- If OD Lariat anti-airs early, it will only hit once, and will deal less damage than regular Lariat. A late anti-air OD Lariat will hit twice and deal more damage than normal, while also juggling higher.
  - Two-hit anti-air OD Lariat can be followed up with TK j.360KK if near the corner.

2HP is Zangief's main normal anti-air. It is aimed in front of Gief, and also moves him forward slightly, so it tends to miss against close jump-ins and cross-ups.
- Can get additional combo opportunities if it trades with a jump-in, but is otherwise outclassed by Lariat.

5MP and 5HK are alternative anti-airs against jumps from ranges where Lariat will not reach.

Jump-back j.LP as an air-to-air is Zangief's main way of dealing with cross-up jumps, as his traditional anti-airs will whiff. j.HP is a riskier option due to slower startup, but scores some extra damage and a knockdown.

j.360K is an air-to-air grab that is quite fast and has very long horizontal and vertical reach. Like j.LP, jump-back Borscht can work as an answer to cross-up jumps, although doing this on reaction can be difficult.

SA1 is an anti-air command grab. It has startup comparable to OD Lariat, but the motion input makes it harder to use reactively. Has underwhelming range and may miss even against a correctly-read jump-in attempt, especially when close. Also has the opportunity cost of using Zangief's precious super meter.
- However, deals heavy emotional damage if it works.

Anti-Projectile

SA2 can be used on reaction to most projectiles from midscreen to punish.
5[HP]'s armor can be used to punch through single-hit fireballs or other pokes. This is similar to using Drive Impact, but is faster and carries less risk.
PP (Lariat) is projectile-invincible for the duration and can punish projectiles at footsies range. However, using Lariat to pass through fireballs when it will not counterhit the opponent is dangerous due to lengthy recovery.