UMVC3/Wolverine/Strategy

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Movement and Neutral Options

Wolverine's main goal in neutral is to look for an opening to attack with 214X. 5H -> Call Assist -> 214X can be used to bully his way in from a distance. Although all versions of 214X are unsafe on block, Wolverine can either cover his recovery with a lockdown assist, or by canceling the Slash into Berserker Charge, which leaves him at roughly +7 on block and starts a combo on hit. Both 5H and 214X hit high enough to catch opponents at regular jump height, jailing them and keeping them low enough to the ground for Wolverine to make use of his Cross-up and High/Low options.

Mixup Theory

5L Resets

Wolverine can take advantage of the quick untech time and short recovery of his 5L to force a dangerous reset situation against airborne opponents. This is useful if Wolverine secures a combo, but may have trouble converting to a kill due to factors like a lack of meter, or excessive Damage Scaling due to a throw or assist starter. Wolverine can most commonly set up a 5L reset off the following situations that leave an opponent at roughly jump height:

  • After the Ground Bounce from j2H Divekick
  • After Jump Loops, instead of launching with 5S
  • Catching an opponent as they fall after an Air Fatal Claw (j.214XX)

After a 5L Reset, Wolverine has the following basic options to mix up the opponent:

  • Airthrow (j.3H/j.1H) - Most basic choice. Will catch people sleeping who are just holding back/up-back and not prepared for the reset. Requires Wolverine to guess whether the opponent Forward airtechs or not, but Neutral and Back tech can be airthrown with identical timing.
  • Divekick (j.2H) - Convenient because it beats just about any option that would be useful against airthrow. Will punish mashed throw tech (or most other air buttons), as well as catch airdashes. With proper timing, the same divekick sequence will connect against all three tech options: 5L -> Short dash forward -> Neutral superjump -> j.2H
  • 214L - Very fast crossup against neutral air tech. Will always whiff against forward tech. Will whiff against back tech unless delayed, in which case it hits same-side.
    • Alternatively, consider 5L, dash up, 5H > 214L
  • 214M - Must be delayed slightly (do not cancel immediately from 5L). Hits cross-up against neutral air tech. Will always whiff against forward tech. Against back air tech, hits cross-up and lets Wolverine convert to full combo without assists/X-Factor/Berserker Charge.

In any situation where Wolverine can go for a 5L Reset, he can instead connect a Snapback to attempt an Oncoming mixup against another character instead.

Instant Overheads

j.L AKA "The Ricki Ortiz" is a lightning-fast Instant Overhead that works against all large and normal-sized characters without any need to set up Fuzzy Guard. It can be thrown out when the opponent is locked down by an assist, or generically any time that Wolverine is very close.

j.L Instant Overhead can universally be converted into a full combo as j.L > X-Factor Activation > j.M, land, short dash, 5L 5M etc. This essentially trades Wolverine's one X-Factor activation for a kill. Wolverine can also situationally convert from a j.L Instant Overhead if certain assists are called in tandem, such as Tatsu or Doom Rocks.

Additionally, if Wolverine has both Berserker Charge and any level of X-Factor currently active, he is fast enough that j.L > j.3XS, j.2H will combo off the Instant Overhead, allowing him to convert into a combo that way.

If Wolverine has Berserker Charge or X-Factor (Level 2 or 3) active, but not both, then j.L > j.3XS, j.2H will combo only if the j.L is a counter-hit. This is possible if the opponent mashes pushblock against an expected 2L, or mashes throw tech against an expected ground throw. You do not need to hit-confirm the counterhit, just mash the sequence out. Worse-case scenario, you reset back into more pressure with j.2H Divekick.

j.5S can also be used as an Instant Overhead. It is significantly slower than j.L (but still fairly fast), and it does not work nautrally as an IOH against most characters the way that j.L does. However, j.5S has some advantages over its counterpart. It hits much deeper as a cross-up, adding to its mixup potential besides the High/Low element. It also causes much more hitstun, meaning that j.5S > j.3XS, j.2H will combo consistently even if Wolverine has no speed boosts active. This gives Wolverine access to a relatively quick Overhead that confirms into a full combo with no additional resources required. j.5S works as an Instant Overhead naturally against the following characters:
Captain America, Doctor Doom, Haggar, Hulk, Sentinel, She-Hulk, Nemesis, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange

The conversion timing can be tight against some of the smaller characters on this list, but it does work on all of them when done perfectly.

Oncoming Mixups

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Counterplay

Wolverine's j.2H Divekick can be very oppressive, and is fairly advantageous when spaced properly. However, its frame advantage is dependent on the height at which the divekick connects, and it can actually be minus on block if it hits too high. Although it can be scary, stand-blocking or chicken-blocking an expected divekick can cause Wolverine to connect higher up than expected, leading him to be throw-punishable on block. Wolverine will basically never be punishable if Divekick is blocked crouching. In a real match situation, attempting this throw punish can be risky. If you misjudge how disadvantageous Wolverine is, a follow-up Divekick will heavily punish almost every character's Throw OS. As an alternative, reversal Snapback (236A) can be used on response to blocking Divekick. Snapback can punish divekicks which are blocked high enough, and even in situations where Wolverine is safe, it will stuff or trade with most of his follow-up options due to its 2f startup.