The Basics
New Kakyoin excels when it comes to controlling the midrange, with normals such as s.6B > s.5C, s.5B, s.2B, s.665B, and s.5C to cover several approach methods. While N. Kak thrives in the middle range, he also has quite a devastating presence up close or after a knockdown. Although playing a lifelead and holding down the mid range is more stable and where N. Kak feels the safest, strong pressure and okizeme vortex can turn games around incredibly quickly. However, N. Kak can struggle to deal with quick and punishing jump-ins, such as Chaka’s hyperhop s+j.C, as N. Kak has a difficult time anti-airing these kinds of jump-ins due to s.5C being quite slow and s.6A having a relatively bad horizontal hurtbox. Additionally, N. Kak can have a difficult time approaching in some matchups, and his approach tools vary in effectiveness depending on the enemies toolset. For example, approaching with s.665B is impractical versus projectile characters, with movement options such as 66 stand on being far more effective. In lower tier matchups or against characters with poor anti-airs double jumping can be quite useful. All in all, N. Kak really shines when he secures the lifelead and holds down the midrange with an iron fist. How exactly do you get lifelead?
The answer to this question is once again quite matchup dependent, however, you will usually be getting your hits from 1) poking/stuffing your opponents out in the midrange 2) Securing a knockdown and succeeding on okizeme 3) Low profiling an attack in stand off and 4) Hitting a net. While capitalizing on hits will always be ideal, as long as N. Kak can score a knockdown or get damage and run away, he is in a good spot. One clean hit can turn the game on your favor, so capitalizing on mistakes and punishing whenever possible is desired.
Proper utilization of nets is incredibly important to your stand on and even stand off gameplan. Nets are an incredibly strong defensive tool and can be used to patch blind spots up such as right above you in difficult to anti air places. N. Kak gets stable confirms off of net hits that can help secure lifelead, so having them up adds to N. Kak’s defensive presence. While you can set nets raw, an incredibly useful way of setting them in neutral is by net cancelling. All stand on normals except for s.6B (can be chained into s.5C which can be instant cancelled, effectively making s.6B net cancellable) and s.2C (only cancellable in first couple of frames) can be cancelled into s.214X on whiff. This makes the normal incredibly safe on whiff, block, and hit, and allows you to back off, wait, or apply pressure afterwards all while you set another net. Strong net cancelling is incredibly useful to N. Kak to maintain a strong defensive game and score damaging hits.
Stand On & Stand Off
While there are a lot of allures of playing in stand OFF, namely massive damage, better oki from combos, more typical movement etc. in a majority of match-ups you will want to be controlling the midrange with N. Kak's powerful stand ON zoning tools (more below in the neutral/footsies section). Being in stand ON enables you to poke with strong normals while setting one of the greatest defensive tools in the game in place: nets. Stand ON can feel as if it has some blind spots, namely right above your head and up close just outside of s.4C(1) range. Nets are incredibly vital to patch these flaws as effectively as possible, and through strong repositioning and usage of nets, you can completely wall your opponent from starting anything meaningful and keep them right where you want them, at s.6B range.
Stand ON sounds great! Why do I need stand OFF? At a lower level, it's surprisingly easy to go far simply with strong use and understanding of stand ON. However, stand OFF can provide large benefits when transitioned into and out of correctly. One of the biggest advantages is the overall safer movement. This differences becomes incredibly obvious against projectile opponents, where it becomes quite difficult to approach with just s.665B. Turning stand off allows you to use your fast, grounded dash, and can be cancelled into stand on normals, stand ON, roll, or jump, not to mention all of your dashing normals. Transitioning into stand off after a net cancel can help reposition where stand ON wouldn't have the same finesse or precision. You can also go in following the net cancel to apply brief stand OFF pressure, usually leading to IOHs such as s+j.C and s+j.3C that help open the opponent up, especially when you have already exhausted your stand on options. (Note: net cancel -> stand OFF -> dash up -> stand ON (slight delay) s.4C is quite a cheap strike/throw setup and can lead to vortex.) Another advantage of stand OFF is the incredibly low hurtbox, tied with the original Kak for the 4th lowest crouching hurtbox in the game. Through properly timed stand OFFs, you can open up whiff punish opportunities that would not be possible with stand ON. To name a few examples, S. Dio's j.S pressure, Rubber Soul j.A, and the Joseph's 236B. This combined with the massive damage N. Kak is able to dish out in stand OFF makes proper transitions into stand OFF an incredibly important skill for every intermediate N. Kak. (There are even more advantages such as unique approach and anti air opportunities for certain moves that s.5C and s.6A struggle to deal with, but this is slightly more matchup specific.
Okizeme
s.2C Oki
The most basic okizeme to familiarize yourself with is post s.2C knockdown. By walking forward a little bit into s.665B range, where you will now be able to 50/50 between s.665B and s.2B. Additionally as an extra threat you can do s.665C (whiff) into grab, a gimmick option that also adds another layer and vortexes into more oki. Having a strong handle on this oki is vital. It might be quite difficult to meaty some characters, especially with s.665B, so whenever in doubt, meatying with s.2C or simply staying in place and placing a net are your safest options. Note that raw/unchained s.2C leaves you with more time than chained.
Throw Oki
Post grab oki is also vital and is an easy way to capitalize on such a strong game mechanic. You can normally find yourself getting throws from s.4C OS (more on this later sounds smarter than it is), tick throws, and normal roll punishes. Your oki game is different depending where you are on the screen and what mode you are in. Beginning in midscreen, in stand off simply run up and 50/50 with s+2B (or s.2A) and s+j.3C. Note that turning stand on while you are jumping completely negates the rest of your prejump, so the input should look like 66 9+S s.j.3C. In stand on, s.665B once and on a majority of wakeups you get the same 50/50 as stand on s.2C. In the corner, stand off doesn’t change much, as Hierophant is still recovering from the throw. In stand on, however, you simply place and hold s.214[A] then 50/50 between s.j.3C and s.2B/s.2A then release. You will be able to get a full combo after, making it quite a strong and valuable oki. Do note that you CANNOT COMBO INTO WRAP ON A MEATY HIT. Another note; for some bizarre reason you will not be able to get oki midscreen against Chaka if you throw him to the left.
Post-Tie Wrap Snake Oki
Now for the strongest oki of the basic options: Post wrap oki. Midscreen stand off combos that aren’t done from meatying someone’s wakeup or landing, or catching someone’s prejump will end in a wrapped opponent. (Don’t worry you don’t need to sweat about all these instances at first, as you don’t need to full combo from oki as a new player, just another knockdown like s.2C). Once wrapped, hit them a couple times then run to the other side of the screen. To get oki, you must prevent their wallbounce. Jumping between the edge of the screen and the opponent helps a lot in preventing wallbounce. From here, turn your stand on and place s.214[A]. Then 50/50 with s.j.3C or s.2B/s.2A and release. This will allow you to get a full combo on hit. This oki is consistent on all wakeups, and gives you incredible frame advantage to use other options.
Advanced Okizeme
The prior 3 okizeme options are vital to learn, whereas these range from superfluous yet applicable to rather impractical. There is something to be said for intimidating the opponent by showing them that there are more layers than just high/low.
s.665B Cross-up
This oki revolves around a.665Bing over knocked down (or iggy) opponents. There are two primary ways to set this oki up. When attempting this after wrap, turn stand on and net (s+214[A]) as soon as possible. From here you can either stay on the same side or crossover with s.665B. What’s nice is that you still get the high/low either way and it simply serves to add more factors to overwhelm your opponent. On slower wakeups you can even crossover twice. This method is quite risky on faster wakeups, further testing soon. The other method is opened up by using a specific netloop combo to create an incredibly advantageous knockdown even on a meaty hit. s.214[A] s.j.3C/s.2A/s.2B ]A[ s.214[C] s.214B jump over s.j.665B ]C[ s.665B s.214[A]. Now you are incredibly plus and have a net set up point blank. From here, do the same cross up oki. On faster wakeups, you can omit the s.214[A] and cross over with no net, but this is inferior to just taking the normal 50/50 which has higher reward and works well on fast wakeups.
s.j.3B/C cross up
Set up in the same ways prior but with one major difference: the cross up is near unreactable. This is because s.j.3B and s.j.3C are indistinguishable from this close to the ground, and s.j.3C crosses up while s.j.3B doesn’t. To stay same side, jump back (7) and do s.j,3B and you are free to high/low on the original side. To cross up, jump forward (9) and do s.j.3C. However, the specifics of this oki aren’t set in stone, and true 25/25/25/25 oki is not needed just yet as s.665B cross up oki is still quite new and much more straightforward. Keep an eye on this though. Note: This is primarily for somewhat average wakeups, in the realm of Jotaro. Additionally, due to the Kak's weird collision boxes on wakeup, the crossup will either not crossover or be incredibly reactable, so stick to the others until this has been labbed further.
Unblockable Oki
Probably the most unconventional unblockable oki in the game aside from Alessi gun. It is preformed by chaining into s.5C and hitting the opponent at its tip. While this is incredibly alluring, chained s.5C unfortunately does not hit many characters crouching, meaning the oki can be avoided by simply crouching for some characters. The most susceptible characters to UB oki are DIO and the Josephs, however, a new interaction with Avdol, Petshop, and Alessi shown off by WJ shows that even when crouching, if you meaty then with a move that doesn’t trigger preblock, they will have their standing hurtbox, leaving them susceptible to chained s.5C. https://twitter.com/wj_hd/status/1318584326758412288?s=21
Ok, that’s all fine and dandy but it’s only a small poke of damage, right? On it’s own it is only good for a small bit of free damage, but coupled with a net or in remote it can result in incredibly large damage due to chained s.5C being unscaled. Starting with net, it’s not often you’re able to set a net and get into position to meaty with s.5C chained, but the simplest way is to grab DIO or the Joseph’s in the corner while in stand on, walk forward slightly and place a net, walk back and do s.6B whiff, s.5C meaty ]A[. You will be able to confirm into 66C 236AA 66C for large damage. Meatying as such can be finicky, so if the opponent isn’t a inclined to pushblock (although most are) meatying with s.5B then delaying s.5C to hit them as they exit block stun can achieve the same effect. This is just an example of ways to setup net for ub oki, and there are several other methods to try, namely mid combo s.214[A]. The remote method is much more akin to a combo extension and looks incredibly strange yet stylish. While the opponent is flying towards you after wrap, turn stand on and quickly s.6AA to quick activate remote. This will crossunder DIO and the Joseph’s, but is generally varied among the cast. Hold forwards and prepare to meaty with s.2A > s.5C. On both hit and whiff, cancel into 214S (this should be done from the view of HG/remote) for safety on whiff and confirm on hit. Confirm the hit with 66C 236AA 66C. Roundabout to the simplest way, sometimes occasionally doing s.2A > s.5C is enough to mess with the opponent a little, so keep it in mind and try it in real games.
Remote Mode 50/50 -> Extended Tandem Oki
Incredibly niche and incredibly risky. On average wakeups, s.6AA similarly to the unblockable oki. You will generally have remote in front of the opponent, in which case you should s.214[A] and immediately crossover with s.665B. From here; simply high low with s.j.3C s.4C or s.2B then cancel into tandem. Depending on if they are standing or crouching either do as many reps as possible while holding S, or just mash after 1-2 starting reps. This oki is unsafe and gimmicky because of how s.6AA position can vary and the nature of remote oki being very risky.
Stand On Dashing Normals And The Airstate
Consider this part as extra bonuses New Kakyoin has access to but does not need, if you want to learn these things, learn it after everything else.
Video explanation of the airstate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2TaYy9Z8MU&t=7s
You might have noticed the dashing stand on normals at the bottom of the move list page, these are meant to be used on the one frame N. Kak is grounded during his stand on dash, but these moves can be extremely hard to pull off, and are also very unsafe. Instead, you can make use of the airstate install, jump in the air stand on (or stand on dash), place a net, and on the last frame before landing, dash. If done correctly, N. Kak will yell his airdash “Hah!” while touching the ground. It will go the same distance as an airdash, and any normal done during this dash will be N. Kak’s dashing stand on normal. This gives you a much larger time frame to enter any dashing move N. Kak has, and makes them go farther than normal. You can even do a dashing unblockable with s665c, it only does 5 damage and you have to aim the end of the arm around the opponent’s head, but its range can catch someone off guard.
These moves will have the special property of being semi-safe on hit, block, or even whiff. When you do an airstate-dashing normal, N. Kak is considered to be in the air until you stop moving/crouching (You can attack or grab as long as you crouch by the end of the animation to stay in it, but no specials or supers). This means if you are hit while airwalking, you will be sent into the air, or if the knockback is weak you can start to instantly block after being hit. Even if you whiff a s663c, the most the opponent will usually be able to do is a single attack expecting to get a full combo. Keep in mind you cannot block any opponent’s grounded normals, as grounded normals are all anti-airs. Also, most of N. Kak’s dashing stand on normals are negative on hit and can be punished, and if you are using the airstate dashing normals, you can’t cancel into tandem since N. Kak is technically in the air.
Grabs And Nets
Normally nets will disappear when N. Kak grabs or techs, but while airwalking, Hierophant will lose the emeralds in his grab, and nets will also stay out. On its own, the no emerald grab is nothing much, as even though the opponent is dropped directly in front of you, they hit the ground faster, so you basically get the same amount of time to follow up as if they were launched across the screen. However, if you set up a net and then hold it before entering the airstate, you are able to set up a grab into the net, which can go straight into an unscaled 20-meter. The best move for this is s663a, as it gets you close enough to grab straight after hitting, usually used on someone's wakeup. This move is negative on hit, but even just faking the hit and going straight for the grab could work, the opponent is not able to tech this grab since the net will still be active.
Using Airstate To Stand Separate
VERY RISKY AND VERY BAD, but funny and stylish. While airwalking, if you are able to time getting hit and turning your stand off at the same time, you will go into stand separation. If you go into the airstate on the right side of the battle, while walking backward turn your stand off, Hierophant will begin to get smaller as you walk backwards, if you are hit or enter pre-block you are now stand separated. If you stop moving backward or reach the end of the screen before you are hit/pre-block, you have to try again. Your best bet in stand separation is to either connect 665b loops or use 20 meter after side switching, blocking it becomes a bit confusing since N. Kak only faces one way in stand separation. You can also stall by doing a double jump into the air straight up, turn your stand off the moment you start to fall, and N. Kak will get stuck. This will lead to a stall which you can't get out of till the round ends or you are hit. This also means characters that can't reach you instantly lose if you have the lifelead. These characters include Young and Old Joseph, B.POL, Rubber, Chaka, and Khan.
Getting hit or blocking can make stand separation very unsafe. If Hierophant starts whiffing attacks and is unable to block, turn your stand off immediately, then you are back to safe basic N. Kak. If you decide to go into remote mode while this is happening, Hierophant will lose all collision, hurtbox included, and normals will not be able to hit. Grabbing while this is happening will not grab the opponent, but put a timer on them to be sent flying shortly, like the no emerald grab. (Don’t use this) However, Hierophant losing collision is also the moment nkak can strike, as he can now freely connect 665b reps easily and infinitely, a very very very high risk high reward tech.
