Karnov (FHD)

Karnov

Overview

As one of the "4 Gods" of the game, Karnov is a character of extremes, excelling at both rushing down and mixing up opponents as well as zoning and running away from the fight effectively. He has great damage in combos, unrelenting pressure, a myriad of 50/50s and one of the best moves in the game in Balloon. This doesn't mean that Karnov is invincible by any means, but he is quite a force to be reckoned with!

Pros

• 100 Kicks combos do big damage and lead to knockdowns, which set up various deadly mixups on the opponent's wakeup.
• Has an infinite combo on every character.
• Balloon is an extremely versatile move, being very hard to anti air, having TONS of invulnerability and leading to combos if you're in range.
• Great ability to escape bad situations and reposition himself with Teleport.

Cons

• Average to below average neutral game, especially without charge.
• Weakspot that can be hit by many mid attacks.
• No Dragon Punch type reversal.
• His Crouching Light Kick is not chainable, which means you have to link it to get combos starting from a low attack (the timing is strict).

Moves

Normal Moves

Note: I'm only going to list normals that I find useful for at least 1 purpose, even if it is niche.

• Light Punch

• Strong Punch

• Light Kick

• Strong Kick

Special Moves

• Fireball (Quarter Circle Forward + Punch): A fireball that bounces along the ground. Because it sets the opponent on fire, it always causes a knockdown if it connects. It has relatively slow startup but decent recovery, and can be relatively useful for zoning and fireball wars. After a throw, you can use the fireball in conjunction with your Teleport to create a very annoying 50/50, where your opponent will have to guess between switching block direction or not.

• Fire Breath (Forward, Forward + Punch): A flame that knocks the opponent down and can combo from heavy normals. It is completely safe on block, and can be an ok tool in the rare case that you don't have charge but still need a combo into knockdown. Other than that, not much use for this move.

• Low Fire Breath (Forward, Forward + Kick): Same as above but lower to the ground. I have no idea what the differences between this and the punch version are otherwise.

• Balloon (Can be done in mid-air) (Half Circle Back, Up-back + Punch): the one and only. This now legendary move, where Karnov inflates and hovers in the air for a little bit, has struck fear in the hearts of many opponents for years. The heavy version stays out longer than the light version, and alternating between the two makes anti airing this move even harder than it already is (and it is very hard to anti air, as it's completely invincible during its startup frames). You can also combo out of Balloon with any normal, and also cancel it into any normal you want. Its applications are endless: You can mix people up after a knockdown, making them guess between left or right; you can use it to make fireballs miss you; you can approach your opponent with it, making their anti air miss and punishing them with a combo afterwards. All that said, the move has a few drawbacks. It's air throwable during its startup frames, so characters like Ray, Jean and Ryoko can throw you out of it; people can also just backdash midscreen to avoid dealing with the move at all, though this does admittedly mean that they're giving up ground. All in all, this move is an integral part of Karnov's gameplan. USE IT!

• 100 Kicks (Charge Back, Forward + Kick):

• Teleport (Charge Back, cLP then immediatly Down-forward + HK): Karnov teleports to the other side of the screen. Technically a glitch, it has become accepted as part of Karnov's toolset in competitive play and tournaments.

Combos

• cLP (x2), sHP xx HK 100 Kicks (your bread and butter combo and the one you'll most likely use to punish unsafe attacks from up close).
• cLK, cLP, sHP xx HK 100 Kicks (linking cLK into cLP is your only way to combo from a low, so if you want to enhance your mixups even further, practice the timing of this link).
• jHK, sHP xx HK 100 Kicks (your jump in combo).
• Balloon, jLP (x2), cLP, sHP xx HK 100 Kicks (your most consistent combo from Balloon in front).

100 Kicks Infinite

The LK 100 Kicks infinite is dependent on the spacing of the move. You're supposed to hit the opponent with only the middle hit of the move, that way you can link cLP out of it and continue the sequence. Here are some consistent starters (the semicolon indicates the point after which the looping part begins):

• njHK, stHP xx LK 100 Kicks; cLP, stHP xx LK 100 Kicks (repeat)
• cLP (x3), stHP xx LK 100 Kicks; cLP, stHP xx LK 100 Kicks (repeat)
• cLK, cLP, stHP xx LK 100 Kicks; cLP, stHP xx LK 100 Kicks (repeat)

Matchups

• Vs. Karnov (Mirror):

• Vs. Clown:

• Vs. Feilin:

• Vs. Jean:

• Vs. Lee:

• Vs. Marstorius:

• Vs. Matlok:

• Vs. Mizoguchi:

• Vs. Ray:

• Vs. Ryoko:

• Vs. Samchay:

• Vs. Yungmie:

• Vs. Zazie: