As a seasoned Aganos, I like to think I know most of what he can do, and while that’s probably true, there are still times where I surprise even myself and learn something new.
This is one of those times.
Some of you may have already known about this, and if so, good on you! However, I have never heard of this from anyone, and just today in fact, I accidentally figured it out on my own while practicing some new setups in the lab, so here I am. I wanted to share it with my fellow Aganos mains or those who may be picking him up that may not already know this… That’s you.
…and this thread is for you.
…and the answer is in the subject line, as to what I’m talking about.
You ever had a natural disaster roll just not go the way you wanted because an opponent decided to block it, or even worse, was smart enough to catch your jumping cross-up attempt and still managed to block appropriately?
Then I say again, this thread is for you!
You see, a lot of novice Aganos players will almost always use heavy natural disaster, because it reaches really far. Some of us know better though, and will intentionally bait the opponent with a light or medium natural disaster that falls short, allowing us to punish their attempt at blocking. Sometimes though, it still doesn’t work, probably because we misjudged the distance, or the opponent dashed in and still managed a block, for example.
Well, what I discovered does pretty much the same thing, but only better…
One of the many things every Aganos player learns is that you can press up during a natural disaster roll to either catch opponents in the air or attempt a jumping crossup, or even to reverse your direction if you miss.
Now, if you’ve managed to stick with me this long, then here’s the secret:
You don’t just have the ability to press up for the jump. You can also press up+forward or, even better, up+back in order to gain or reduce the momentum of your roll. The former gives you more distance while the latter causes you to end up just shy of where you’d normally land.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, and it’s probably along the lines of “so what!?”
…and I’m here to tell you that it’s actually a very big deal.
Why?
Because nobody will ever see it coming.
Just imagine…
Your opponent is full screen away. He knows you’re going to go after him with another heavy natural disaster, and he’s ready to block. What he doesn’t know is that you’re going to go in there looking like you’re going to give him everything you’ve got and turn him into a pancake.
BUT NO!
You use a medium instead, press up+back to reduce your momentum, and in that moment…
…in that moment…
You see that sudden and satisfactory look of confusion on your opponent’s eyes as it slowly dawns on him what you’ve done.
…but then it’s too late.
You hit him where it hurts.
Ladies and gentleman…
I give you…
SLOW YOUR ROLL!
Thank you for your time.
