On TJ Combo -
Friendly reminder for playing against TJ combo - the last breath animation is an opportunity to chunk up if necessary. I mentioned this as I see lots of Aganos players that don’t. Of course if you don’t need/want the chunks then there’s no need. But if a game is close chunks can make a difference.
On Sadira -
She has quite the variations for her aerial attacks. Jump, double jump, some of her jumps include a flip back/forward, with/out follow up attack, her dash down followup, or the good ol cross up with HK. Many folks might just say use the upflick (b + LP).
Aganos certainly isn’t helpless. We have these options, but they’re quite situational … as in not guaranteed:
- the universal shadow counter - but this doesn’t work if the 2nd hit is delayed too much, which can happen
- upflick - while the flick is indeed very good, it only covers in front of him, not when she’s directly above
- natural disaster - possibly his best “above the head” anti crossup??? idk
- uppercut (d + HP) - for high peaks, typically into a wall crash if available
- block - and maybe try to SC on the ground where a SC might work more consistently.
I seem to have the most success simply stopping her air stuff from happening in the first place if possible (mostly using Aganos’ hammer fist (HP in air)) and then continually putting that mean Aganos ground pressure on her every knockdown, preferably with a wall behind them.
Aganos’ hammer fist is really good. They have to block high and you can link it into a risky-if-blocked or combo broken light Ruin (12% plus wall damage) or for safe damage plus a chunk, you can reliably link a standing LK (8%), LP (9%), or close HP (10%).
Aside from “the best defense is a better offense” (which I can definitely see being the case in this matchup), how do you all handle her defensively? Do you guys have any definitive punishes/advice for Sadira’s air webs? What do you all look for?
Thanks
Wait you can chunk up during last breath? Was that an update or something? I tried it before and it didn’t work.
Yes, I do it all the time.
I love it when last-breath TJ’s come charging in with their 1-hit armor punch thinking they’re going to nail me, only to be met by my far superior shadow ruin punch of doom. 
Against Sadira, shadow natural disaster is by far Aganos’ best option. It’s projectile invincible, which means it can ignore any form of widow’s bite pressure, and the fact that you can hold it allows Aganos to basically just sit there and wait for her to land on him. It will beat any button she comes down with, and combos into recapture in most (all?) situations.
As a Sadira main I generally don’t have any issues against Aganos. I tend to be very hard to hit, and I maintain a LOT of pressure and throw mix ups to prevent him from getting chunks, but I’ve found that the Aganos that do give me a run for the money use Flick, Natural Disaster and Shadow Natural Disaster and if they can, keep me in a corner. Sadira + Corner vs. Aganos, generally = Dead Sadira.
The key to defeating Sadira is to reduce her mobility. The less mobile she is, the better you are. I guarantee you, if I can get control of the arena, the match is over.
My only frustration with Aganos is that I sometimes encounter a rare glitch where he absorbs EVERY attack, leaving only throws and combos in throws to do damage. It’s odd, but at least its rare.
While you’re right about it being a go-to tool against Sadira, it does have 2 weaknesses. Holding it is limited - at some point, it automatically releases whether you want it to or not. This means that timing is absolutely critical. Even worse, timing is still everything even on hit - if the timing is off, the recapture may not work, drop her early, or even cause an unintended crossover. I love this move, but I find that even if you hit her with it, it doesn’st necessarily do what you want it to because the timing is so strict. It takes a lot of practice to nail that, so fighitng Sadira, even with this - is still very, very hard.
While @WebNRaGnArOk is right about cornering her being an effective strategy, it’s also hard to pull off because you need chunks and time to pull off. Both are hard to keep because of how easily Sadira can cross the stage with her mobility or pester you witih pokes or web-based attacks. even if you do corner her, it’s still rather easy for her to get above you and start removing chunks, assuming you still have them at that point of course. She may be a spider, but against Aganos, she’s that pesky fly that continuously hovers about your head that you can never seem to swat out of the air. Have you ever seen the Breaking Bad episode where Walter White nearly kills himself over a fly? Yeah, she’s THAT fly.