Introduction
Elena is a nature lover from Kenya. She employs Capoeira, a martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music which matches her light-hearted personality. She first appears in Street Fighter III: New Generation.
Elena is a rushdown and middle range poking character specialized in EX Move Combos, her main gameplan is a keepaway footsie and anti aerial counter defensive to gain stock for an offensive EX Moves and meaty rush plan. She has some very tricky animations that can be hard to keep up with, allowing her to make opponents trip themselves up with incorrect reads that she can then exploit.
Super Arts
SA1: Spinning Beat
Having a super that stocks up to 3 times and has short bars is great for any character, especially one as EX-move dependent as Elena. It's a good combo ender and anti-air option, making it a solid choice versus the Twins. It also has enough i-frames to bypass any taunt setplay from Dudley, and punish him for it. Its major downside is how incredibly minus it is on block, and how it tends to fall out at longer ranges on her cancellable normals.
SA2: Brave Dance
Having 2 stocks and medium length bars ensure that its as viable as SA1 for EX-move usage, but where it really shines is how much more of a threat it adds to Elena's overall gameplan. It doesn't drop at longer ranges like SA1 does, allowing for it to be buffered after 2MP, and has post-super juggle options in corner, making it a terrifying finishing tool. Its also nearly as a good a reversal as SA1, though it does suffer a bit in this regard due to it having less i-frames and anti-air potential as the latter. Still the preferred super in most match-ups.
SA3: Healing
While its infamous for its USFIV iteration, Healing is much less notable as a super here, due in part to its lack of multiple stocks and lengthy bar. This means that once selected, Elena commits to a far more defensive playstyle, and has to choose between using it and EX moves. Due to its length, its best used after throw KDs or DP KDs. Its quite useful in matchups against slower characters who output quite a lot of damage, or stick to the air, specifically Hugo, Q, and Necro. Furthermore, it can be ended early by pressing any two punch buttons simultaneously, allowing one to avoid SA punishes from characters like Makoto or Chun-Li.
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