Introduction
Gengar is a technical character with some of the game's best defensive and avoidance options that compliment his ghostly nature. Shadow stealth and permeate allow him to cancel out of attacks into invincibility, phase through airborne attacks and projectiles, and move away from a possible counter. Additionally, there are a number of attacks that utilize invincibility frames. He can also influence his direction mid jump by holding a direction, giving some limited airborne control. Additionally, Gengar has the ability to move freely in both high and low stances, both of which also have avoid properties. Gengar's field phase homing attack also avoids many projectiles, and he has a ghost dash.
Gengar also has the unique ability to steal directly from the opponent's synergy gauge using his grab, as well as being able to utilize Curse to build his own synergy gauge in duel phase. This compliments very well with his synergy burst which is one of, if not the, strongest burst modes in the entire game. Mega Gengar becomes almost an entirely different character, and mastering both modes is essential for success.
Despite these, Gengar is not without flaws and is widely considered the hardest character in the game to play. Gengar has a low health bar and a large synergy gauge, taking a long time to build without intentional synergy farming. His defensive options, while powerful, can be tricky to time and punished easily if not used correctly. Finally, Gengar's basic combo in the astonish loop requires fairly precise timing and optimal use requires different timing on each character. Once he gets going, however, Gengar is a force to be reckoned with.
Gengar has air control when jumping.
- Gengar can move forwards and backwards during a neutral jump.
- Gengar can increase the distance of a forward or backwards jump by holding the direction.
- Gengar can halt the distance of a forward or backwards jump by pressing the opposite direction.
Pressing R during 6Y, ]X[, 5A Shadow Ball, 6A Hypnosis, or j.A Astonish will cause Gengar to cancel whatever he's doing and sink into his own shadow. While hiding in his shadow, Gengar is Strike/Throw/Projectile invuln, and can move around freely. R can be held to continue hiding for an extended period, or until the input is released.
Shadow Stealth is a large part of what makes Gengar so incredibly dangerous. On offense, some of Gengar's best pressure enders can be freely cancelled, making a good challenge from the opponent nigh impossible with the right read. On defense, Gengar can use Shadow Sneak to slip through even the tiniest pressure gaps, forcing the opponent to run airtight offense or suffer the consequences.