Tusk help; finally hit the skill wall

So up until recently the quality of my average opponent has been such I rarely needed shenanigans to open ppl up.

However now ppl I typically fight now do nutty things like block.

My first problem is simple defense. That’s practice.

My second problem is much more complex.

I have a hard time getting in and applying proper pressure and punishing ppl particularly against very fast characters like orchid and aria or against glacius who is never without options.

So I need advice and tips on how to get in and just as importantly stay in.

I just finished my road to Killer rank using only Tusk, so I guess I’ll try and discuss this. I’m definitely not a Tusk prodigy though, as I struggled a fair bit moving up through Gold.

I think the main takeaway is that Tusk can afford to do riskier things that you might not feel comfortable doing with other characters because Tusk needs less openings to win due to his damage. Some of my favorite moves are the jumping medium punch and standing heavy punch. I’m sure you already know but you can beat most people ranked silver and lower with just these two moves alone used intelligently.

As for opening up people with an actual defense who know not to jump around at mid screen, I think the best options come from immortal spirit mix-ups. The overhead appears to be safe on block if you can hit the opponent with the tail-end of the sword; I haven’t been punished yet doing that against Killers. If your opponent gets conditioned to thinking your long-ranged dashes are overheads, you can sometimes run just a bit further and sneak in the slide. Also, look for your opponent to know when it’s their turn to block. This won’t work against people who hit buttons like crazy because they always think it’s their turn, but if your opponent understands frame data then don’t be afraid to mix the overhead into your blockstring. People don’t expect the overhead in close quarters. You can also open people up by doing immortal spirit and then not performing a move off of it, but instead going for a throw or a low light/medium kick.

Don’t forget to use Tusk’s forward medium punch cross-up to steal some extra damage in a round. When used sparingly no one will be ready to block this thing, and it can give you a knockdown set-up or two for additional damage.

I have nothing to input on this topic, But this is the single greatest line of text i have ever read on these forums.

As hilarious as it is it’s rather true.

Most underrated and unsexy skill to learn ever. But super important.

Most of the time if Tusk is trashing you and it’s not like Rico, or Guttermagic, or any other high level player it’s because you’re not blocking.