Chaos Breaker/Curse Head

Curse Head's victory screen

Introduction

Curse Head is the "grappler" of the game and has highly damaging and frightening command throws. On top of his hefty base damage, he can also buff his damage output with the Earth Hammer and receive the biggest boost out of all the characters. Definitely one of the more challenging characters to play as, but highly dangerous in the right hands.

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The Basics

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Combos

Mid-screen

5A xx 720X

• Quick A normal to super throw. Not for beginners.

5D xx 360X or 720X

• Overhead to command throw or super throw. After the command throw hits you can follow up with 236A or reset with 5A.

j.C, land, 236Cx3

• Heavy jump-in to rekka. As Curse Head has next to no cancellable moves, using the hitstun off of j.C is one of the only ways to combo into his rekka.

j.C, land, 360C

• Heavy jump-in to command throw. Follow-up with 236A if your heart so desires.

63214X, 236Cx3

• Position swap to rekka. Pretty standard stuff.

63214X, 720X or 360X, 236A

• Position swap to command throw or super throw.

Corner

Requirements: Earth Hammer + Zon Assist

j.C, 2C > Zon Assist, Earth Hammer SA, 2C > 214214X, 2C > Zon Assist, Earth Hammer SA, 2C > 236C

• Basic kill combo for Curse Head with the Earth Hammer and Zon Assist. Even without Zon Assist, 2C and Earth Hammer SA can deliver some heavy damage by taking advantage of the fact that 2C launches and is cancellable. Performing 214214X during this time eliminates any and all recovery, allowing you to hit your opponent with 2C immediately after.

Requirements: Earth Hammer + Nagar Assist

j.C, (2C > Nagar Assist)xN > 2C > 236C

• A simple loop that relies on a launcher and Nagar's assist. Works the same as it does for every other character with a decent heavy launcher but the added damage bonus from Earth Hammer is a nice touch. Just remember to delay Nagar Assist by a little bit in order to connect with it.

j.C, land, 2C, 2C > [4]6D, 5A

• The double 2C only works on Nsidor and Goblin, but it is possible to omit the second 2C and perform a similar combo on the rest of the cast. The difference being that 5A will air reset them while it won't reset the mounted characters.

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Strategy

Item Compatibility

Earth Hammer

• The obvious choice for Curse Head, really. It will make every single command throw hurt much more and even poking with 5A/2A will do decent damage or net you chip. The Earth Hammer SA is also useful for corner loops and as the occasional anti-air since Curse Head has limited options in that department.

Character Chemistry

Zon

• Zon's assist is pretty much only useful for Curse Head's 100% corner combo with the Earth Hammer SA. It's also the one of the few times it's really worth using the meter to summon an assist, rather than using his own supers.

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Matchups

Serious Advantage Matchups

• Fina

Advantage Matchups

• Sandra

Fair Matchups

• Troll
• Mara
• Nsidor
• Dorgan

Disadvantage Matchups

• Zon
• Bernhard
• GerhardsenII
• Goblin

Serious Disadvantage Matchups

• Vritra
• Nagar
• Vargan
• Elion
• Orc
• Ramda
• Evetta
  • Not unlike Troll, one of the things that make Curse Head scariest (his super armor) can be shut down with relative ease by Evetta's attack throw.

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Move Analysis

Normals and Command Normals

Standing

5A

• Tiny poke with the haft of the hammer that's used quite frequently along with 2A to apply pressure. Hardly impressive range, but a very important tool for Curse Head.

5B

• Sideways hammer swing with more range than Curse Head's A normals, but too slow and not damaging enough to really be of much use for actual footsies. Best used as more damaging air reset option after landing a command throw.

5C

• Overhead hammer swing with decent horizontal and vertical range that can be used as a surprisingly effective anti-air at the right range. This move will stuff a lot of jump attempts and will go unpunished if blocked at max range.

5D

• Leaping knee strike that hits overhead and can be used to buffer Curse Head's 720. It is actually possible to hit the opponent with this move and combo into the 720 due to its insanely fast startup.

Crouching

2A

• Little poke that has slightly more range than 5A and has the benefit of comboing into itself on combo hit, something 5A does not. The choice between the two normals depends partly on range and what you're currently trying to accomplish.

2B

• Lower hammer bash that hits low and knocks down. Has slightly less range than 2A. Not something you'll use terribly often.

2C

• Curse Head's anti-air/launcher that just happens to be his only cancellable move. It has great vertical range but less-than-amazing horizontal range that's slightly shorter than 5B. It is used primarily for highly damaging corner loops and his 100% combo.

2D

• A short-ranged kick attack that actually knocks the opponent's feet out from under them, unlike the majority of other 2Ds of this type. It has the interesting property of being a pursuit attack as well, meaning that it is possible to knock the opponent down with 2D, then hit them on the ground by pressing it again after. The downside is that it has range similar to 5A, but this highly abuseable move is great when used in the corner.

Command

6A

• Lean-in haft poke that's incredibly similar to 5A, the difference being that Curse Head moves slightly forward to perform it, giving it more range than his other A normals. 5A is better for ticks, but 6A can be used if you need to close the distance.

6B

• Hammer push with the apical spike and Curse Head's longest poke. It's a little bit on the slow side, like a lot of Curse Head's moves, but it has the best range in his moveset and is highly effective if spaced correctly.

6C

• Wild hammer swing that serves as a blowback attack. Strangely enough, it has less range than 5C and it cannot be comboed from on wall-bounce. It does more damage than 6D, however, and it is still possible to tag your opponent with a pursuit after a wall-bounce.

6D

• Blowback kick that can be comboed from after a wall-bounce. You'll get more damage off of a successful command throw, so there isn't much point to using it.

Jumping

j.A

• Haft poke going down that comes out pretty quick and is good for clashing. It's mainly used as an air reset after Curse Head's command throw because of the short window while the opponent is airborne. Also works as a way to work in a jump-in command throw and like all of Curse Head's air normals, can be used as a laughable cross-up.

j.B

• Sideways hammer swing that's similar to 5B in animation and lack of overall range. Used as a jump-in and air-to-air when you're too close for j.C and can also be used as a reset in certain situations. Can be used as an awkward cross-up, but you're better off just not trying that.

j.C

• Overhead hammer swing that's good for applying pressure and doing damage. It's one of the few ways that you can actually combo into special moves and a decent air-to-air at the right ranges. It can cross-up in a very strange way, but it's not worth the effort to set up.

j.D

• Flying knee attack that's the same animation as 5D. Believe it or not, this attack can cross-up but you won't get many opportunities to do so as your opponent will probably be trying to keep his distance from you.

Normal Throws

Front Throw: 6D (in close)

• Curse Head lifts his opponent with his hammer, then slams them into the ground in front of him. You should never see this move in a match. Cannot be pursued on knockdown.

Back Throw: 4D (in close)

• Curse Head lifts his opponent with his hammer and tosses them behind him. Seriously, don't use this. Can be pursued on knockdown.

Mana-Counter

A mighty boot that looks the same as Curse Head's 6D animation, that wall-bounces in the corner and can be linked into 236A or 2C. Opponents hit out of the air can be nailed with Curse Head's 2D pursuit, while those hit at mid-screen can be subjected to a choice between 2D and 5D. Not exactly terrifying stuff, but it's something to do on oki.

Specials

Brandish: 236X>236X>236X

• Fiery hammer rekkas.
• Button strength controls how far forward you move as you swing.
• Button strengths can be mixed.
• Burst cancellable.

Hammer Counter: 421X

• Catch-counter that clashes with a move then retaliates with rekka
• Button strength determines duration of counter frames and number of rekka hits. A is shortest with 1 hit, B is longer with 2 hits, and C is longest with three hits.
• Puts you counter-hit state immediately after the catch frames end.
• Has the same properties as dash-clashes in that it will only stop clashable moves that hit above the knees.
• Can be whiffed to gain meter or discourage jump-ins. The A version works best for this.

Hook Turn: 63214X

• Command throw.
• Position swap.
• No damage.
• Combo followups possible.

Hammer Swing: 360+X

• Command throw.
• Launches.
• Combo followups possible.
• Hold 2 to throw against wall.
• Will grab Bernhard out of his barrier.

Horn Throw: [4]6D

• Blockable.
• Throws opponent behind you and will wall bounce.

Mana Bursts

Berserker Fury: 214214X

• Super armor power-up that lasts 5 seconds.
• Unlike super armor in other games, taking hits from supers will not end the armor. It is also unaffected by the number of hits and is purely based on duration.

Super Hammer Swing: 720+X

• Super throw that does 15 hits.
• Comes out in 2F, invincible on startup, and will even grab Bernhard out of his barrier.
• 214214X takes precedence over this command which can lead to using the wrong super.
• Has longer reach than his regular command throw, making it excellent for counter attacks.

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Frame Data

Attack	Cancel	State	Total	Start-up	Active	Hit	Guard
5A	No	Mid	18	6		+3	-1
6A	No	Mid	19	7		+3	-1
2A	No	Mid	17	6		+4	-1
j.A	No	Overhead		6
5B	No	Mid	34	13		-2	-4
6B	No	Mid	38	15		-4	-4
2B	No	Mid	36	15		Knockdown	-8
j.B	No	Overhead		10
5C	No	Mid	46	18		-3	-16
6C	No	Mid	54	18		Blowback	-16
2C	Yes	Mid	43	17		Float	-16
j.C	No	Overhead		15
5D	No	Overhead	37	22		+4	-5
6D	No	Mid	42	16		Blowback	-11
2D	No	Low	31	10		Knockdown	-11
j.D	No	Overhead		8

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Chaos Breaker