Itachi (SCON4)

Itachi
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HP	210
Guard Gauge	1680
Jab Speed	14
Jab Height	High
Backdash Type	Normal

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Summary

Itachi is a strong defensive character with multiple full screen tracking moves, a super counter and a meter drain super. While he excels at punishing opponents for committing to options, he also relies on jumping to really open up his gameplan. While thought of as one of the more powerful characters in the game, Itachi requires good movement, knowledge of the opponent's options, and selective use of ranged options to be played at a high level.

Costumes

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  Press at Character Select.

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  Press at Character Select.

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  Press at Character Select.

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  Press at Character Select.

Gameplay

Moveset

Basic Moves	Notes
	Short range jab
	Field goal kick. Spinning launch.
	Spinning sweep kick. High crush that sweeps opponent and leads into high damage combos.
	Spinning jump kick guard frame attack. Absolute trash, pretend it doesn't exist.
	Back handed fist to the face. Hits mid. Combos on grounded opponents easily, has a teleport follow up.
	Think it's supposed to be a butterfly kick. Surprisingly consistent OTG after knockdowns. Can be hard to tech.
	Spinning drill downwards. Drop it like it's haaaaaah. Spinning launch. Useful after throw in corner, catching people directly below you pressing a button and for style points.
Special Moves
	Throws some kunai. Charged throws the stockpile. Can be used as a chip-out option on oki for opponents with low health.
	Summons a clone that appears above the opponents head with an axe kick downward. Always appears going the same direction that Itachi is facing. Can do the follow up strings on whiff.
	Kunai slash at their ankles. Fast high crush with good follow up options.
	Teleports behind the opponent. Vanishes f16, reappears f36, actionable f15 after reappearance. Reappearance can be delayed by holding at the cost of chakra. Holding after inputting reverses the side that Itachi will appear on. Orokana.
	Summons a clone that lunges forward with a kunai slash. Great ranged check, good follow ups. Always summons from Itachi, going forward. Can perform follow up strings on whiff.
	Appears in the air above the opponent and slashes downward with a kunai. Always tracks to the opponent in the same direction Itachi is facing.
	Summons a clone that appears above the opponents head that drills downward. Always appears facing the same direction as Itachi. The other haaaaah.
Super Moves
	Tsukuyomi. A nightmare dreamworld where the opponent is crucified and stabbed. Drains 50% of the opponents meter.
	Itachi enters a counter state. If hit during this state he appears behind the opponent and his original position becomes an exploding bunshin. Great damage and can score an on-the-ground (OTG) hit afterwards depending on positioning. If the counter is not activated, costs 25% chakra.

Strategy

Strengths

• Three full screen tracking moves, all of which are unblockable while backturned (, and ).
• Two high crushes with unique uses. functions as a combo starter while can be a reliable callout allowing you to teleport away with if they block instead of committing to a button.
• Great damage with built in sub baits that require proper step timing to avoid.
• Incredible oki given good reaction speed. if they techroll to deal a large amount of damage and steal 50% of their meter. on reaction to wake up kick if they fear the incoming wake-up-super (WUS).
• Unblockable on backturned oki that can only be avoided with perfect step timing (which means if your time varies, your opponent must vary their timing as well).
• Several options that beat wake up kick, some leading into full combos (, and ).
• Has the freedom to spend meter since has such a high value return for its cost.
• lasts a long time.

Weaknesses

• is an extremely important part of your toolkit, requiring you to commit to jump often. Air throws, long active frames on oki, properly staggered strings, and throw on oki will all stop you from being able to use this tool.
• You must pick your spots to jump and must make crucial decisions about when to and when to simply empty land.
• Many of your far range moves leave you open to punish for a lengthy amount of time.
• Blockstrings have some stagger points, but these are gimmicky and can be punished.
• A lack of solid defensive options means you have to hold a lot of pressure (especially if it doesn’t consist of many high moves).
• Optimal play means campy play (not necessarily a weakness, but some players may not prefer this style of play).

General Gameplan

• Put space between you and your opponent. Mastering movement is vital to achieving this.
• Use when your opponent commits to a button or approach.
• to catch opponents trying to dash straight in. to follow up for a combo if they have low or no meter, to tack on extra damage if they have meter or keep them in blockstun if they’re blocking.
• when blocked gives Itachi a 50/50 on the opponent. Run up and choose throw, , or /. Throw beats defending, the other options punish the opponent for trying to mash and your choice of move will depend on the current game state. is easiest and safest option.
• is your bread-and-butter sub bait. is the same move done during a string/combo and so it has the same application. If your opponent subs to avoid the , follow up with to appear behind them and start a combo.
• has less utility as a sub bait but can still be a reliable way to punish other options such as opponent’s running moves or commitment to other high recovery options. Is unblockable when backturned.
• is a great high crush. Use it to force your opponent to use mids/lows on oki, or to commit less to jabs in neutral.
• and are great movement tools. Knowing when to teleport and run with your life lead is important to good Itachi play, as well as recognizing opportunities to use and land a punish.
• a lot. and reacting to tech roll with WUS is very strong. Closing out a round with either in combo or WUS is extremely good as it will leave them with 50% less meter going into the next round.
• Focus on defensive play in general. Your strings are mediocre, and you lack solid answers to good pressure. works in some situations, so be sure to knowledge check your opponent, same with . Overall though, because of this, you will need to have solid defensive play at all times to avoid being put in situations where you are guard broken or baited into using your which is really bad in most scenarios.

Combos

Combos	Notes
> >	The bread-and-butter classic super confirm.
> > > …	For when your opponent just refuses to sub. Take the damage and force them to burn the meter.
>	canceling the end allows you to set up with the space you gain. Performing immediately after the will allow you to take wall which can be useful for unblockable shenanigans.
> > >	combo with an starter on the bread-and-butter super confirm.
> > >	A just frame is required to land the super. This is an incredibly potent conversion from . Hard to master due to the and the just frame, but definitely worth the effort.

Changes from Vanilla

Note: List may be outdated

• Health: decreased from 230 to 210
• Guard: decreased from 1840 to 1680
• RA, 6A(B), 8A(B), 6AA(A), 5BBBBA(A), 6BBA(A): 3 grabbable frames added before teleporting
• 5B: elbow hitbox doesn't appear on the first active frame; given slightly more stun and blockstun
• 5B(B): first active frame is a high, elbow hitbox is slightly bigger, hand hitbox is slightly smaller, hitbox disappears one frame sooner; animation moves forward slightly more
• 5BB(B): ends four frames earlier
• 6B: ends 3 frames earlier
• 4B: animation replaced with 5BBBBB(B) and added more block stun.
• JB: hitbox improved
• 6A(B): has more lift on hit and has had its hitbox improved
• 8A: hitbox disappears one frame sooner
• JA: has changed momentum; clone appears higher
• 5X; damage reduced from 85 to 70 and starts moving 2 frames sooner in super freeze; damage is applied on the stab and meter drain still applied at the end
• 2X: defends back; missed 2X drains just over 12.5% meter at the end of the move; requires 75%; can be grabbed
• GRKnJ: appears further back
• ARKnJ: has 12 frames less endlag to match the others; lift reduced on hit.

Resources

Guides and Info

• Boocock's Vanilla GNT4 Itachi counterplay guide

Gameplay footage

• Dark Tournament 2: Kandle vs Dope and Hebrew vs Skeet