Have you ever wondered what you'd get if you threw Dhalsim and Zangief in some vile blender? That's right! You get an obscenity, but on good days, you get Chrome Dome! Calling Chrome a strange character would be an understatement. He's a ranged-based grappler who can really do it all. The interesting thing about him, is that he isn't held back by any specific archetype weaknesses. He's held back by Chrome Dome specific weaknesses. He's capable of zoning, but he has a mediocre fireball and struggles getting in against other fireballers. He has awesome jumping normals, but has a somewhat slow and floaty jump arc. He has great buttons; possibly the best array of normals in the game, but can have a hard time keeping opponents out of the air and has a slow walk speed. These "Cause and Effect" relationships are what make the character so interesting, and he has his fair share of strengths to make up for said weaknesses. He may have a mediocre fireball, but he can work around it with his great long-ranged grounded pokes and Chrome Spark's invincibility. He's slow and has a floaty jump arc, but he has a quick dive kick that can move him around the stage safely. He can have a hard time keeping opponents out of the air, but has a ton of things he can do with his specials that can help with that. Like many other characters, knowing Chrome Dome's quirks and oddities are mandatory if you want to really get good with this strange character. He can redizzy the turtles and War off of one grab, but there's a lot more to him than that. For one, he probably has the most gimmicky arsenal of special moves in the game. Chrome Spark is secretly a reversal and setup-up tool first and a fireball second; contrary to what is common with most projectiles. EPD is a dangerous command grab that can sneak Chrome Dome out of many bad situations and create a lot of cheap scenarios for any poor cretin who happens to fall in Chrome's deadly corner traps. All that has been mentioned doesn't even scratch the surface when it comes to all of Chrome Dome's odd traits, so the question becomes "What are you waiting for"? Get out there and get creative. His options are almost limitless.
Quirks & Tech
Electric Pile Driver tricks
Electric Pile Driver being an instant grab that requires no diagonal inputs makes it a fantastic option as a punish and instant reversal. There are hundreds of ways to experiment with it, but here are a few important tricks you can do with it to really make your Chrome Dome threatening.
Anti-air EPD
Chrome Dome lacking "The perfect anti-air" is a minor, but very real weakness for Chrome. Electric Pile Driver's awesome range can (kinda sorta) make up for it! The key is to watch where the opponent lands. Many times, players will make risky full screen jumps that will cause any jump-in normal to whiff. Use this to your advantage and throw them as soon as they land.
Power Drill EPD Punish
Power Drill is super plus, and most of the time you will get thrown for free, but don't worry! With immaculate timing (and a bit of luck) you can time an Electric Pile Driver after Raph recovers. Whether this is a true punish or not is up for debate, but it's almost unanimously agreed that it's worth trying just in case the Raph doesn't time the throw correctly.
EPD Fireball Trap Escape
Like the Powerdrill setup mentioned before, doing this trick successfully mostly relies on the opponent messing up. In this case, you have to either hope the opponent throws too late if you block the fireball, or; if you don't block and take the fireball, hope the opponent still attempts to throw after you get hit by it. In the gif, you can see that Raph attempts to throw after Chrome took the fireball. The Raph ended up getting a close heavy punch, and the Chrome Dome was able to throw him before the normal connected.
EPD Corner Trap
One of the deadliest things you can do with EPD is make the opponent to block and then immediately throw them out of blockstun. This is especially viable in the corner; where you can knock the opponent over, throw a Chrome Spark, then either throw them with EPD regularly, or make them block a normal, and throw after that. The example below showcases the latter. Since the properties of Chrome's close normals vary depending on the character, you can do other setups like a far light kick or heavy kick into EPD if the character you're fighting allows it.
Chrome Spark Tricks
Chrome Spark allows for a magnitude of eccentric techniques that will definitely catch your opponents off guard. As mentioned below, Chrome Spark works as a fantastic reversal and anti-air because of its invincibility. Use these tricks to really take advantage of it.
Chrome Spark Anti-Air
Chrome Spark can make up for Chrome Dome's mostly average anti-air game just like EPD. In fact, it may be an even better one, as it's much better for countering actual air normals rather than the opponent's landing.
Buffered Chrome Spark Anti-Air
Chrome Spark can still be buffered after a whiffed normal. Use this to your advantage!
Chrome Spark Fireball Trap Escape
Chrome Dome's best option against fireball traps. There's no exact timing for this, so try and get a feel for which methods work best in these situations
Chrome Spark Aska UA Dodge
A neat (and the only) way to avoid Aska's super with Chrome Dome. It's possible with both light and heavy Chrome Spark, and it must be done very late.
A risky poke that's best used to cancel into EPD. It does an insane amount of stun for a light normal, but standing heavy kick should be favored over it. This is also a two part move. It only hits once, but the initial kick is a hit as well as the extension. Both have different damages. This is a recurring theme with Chrome Dome's extended limbs.
One of Chrome Dome's main far anti-airs. In certain situations, it can be used as a poke to call out button presses and push the opponent away. This is a very important normal for CD, make sure to use it. Be mindful of its picky hitbox and the fact that CD's whole arm is venerable.
Chrome Dome's best anti-air. It has awesome priority, and its hitbox has quite a bit of range, making it double as an anti-cross up. Make sure to abuse this against jumpy opponents.
A surprisingly fast kick. Overall, this is a better poke than standing light kick. It is capable of calling out certain moves, but be mindful of its below average priority.
One of the highest damaging moves in the game stun-wise if both hits connect. Perhaps the most infamous part about this normal is that it sets up the grab loop combo against the turtles and War. Even when you're facing characters who aren't venerable to the loop, use this during jump-in combos to get a quick dizzy. This builds an above-average amount of meter; six points instead of the usual four for heavy normals. Be mindful that it can setup a really specific unblocakble against Shredder in the corner if canceled into light Chrome Spark, but it's not very consistent. This normal can change the outcome of matches quickly, don't sleep on it!
VERY similar to crouching light kick, but it's slightly slower and has less range. It also can't setup any knock-down CPS chain combos, but keep in mind that it is possible to redizzy the turtles and War by CPS chaining this move three times into crouching heavy punch after a light punch grab, so use it when you want to get creative.
A very quick low kick. This is a great normal that is mostly used in CPS chain combos into crouching heavy kick. It is also a decent close poke, and it is relatively safe to set up EPD grabs with it.
Similar to crouching light punch in a sense that it's very similar to its kick counter part. Although crouching heavy kick is mostly the better normal, this can be great for whiff punishes and interrupting fake block strings.
An awesome sweep that has a startup speed that's almost unfair. It works great as a cancel into EPD, to call out special and regular moves, and for ending CPS chains. This is not only one of Chrome Dome's best normals, but arguably one of the best in the game. Use this a lot to solidify Chrome Dome's ground game.
An odd pogo jump that is almost useless. It can be used during mind games to confuse the opponent, but you're better off ignoring it completely in neutral. Its usage comes when jumping in on the opponent. Its above-average priority can be used to beat many anti airs and special moves.
An okay normal in general that can call out certain moves. Most of its usage comes from it being the lowest instant overhead Chrome Dome has. This is really important, as it allows the overhead to work against low crouchers like Armaggon.
This normal's long range and awesome startup make it a fantastic air-to-air. Said long range makes matchups like Wingnut far more bearable as Chrome Dome can beat out moves while in the air and control a good amount of space. It gives Chrome Dome the opportunity to combo from a relatively far distance into cr.hk. Keep this in mind against opponents who are predictable with fireballs. Be mindful when throwing this move out though. Since it does not have infinite active frames, experienced opponents will be able to punish it off of a good read.
A quick dive. When used right, this normal can be a huge threat. It's incredibly fast, mostly safe, and perhaps the deadliest part: it must be blocked high. Avid Chrome Domes should always establish their gameplan with this move and know when and when not to use it. Dive should be used often, but it only should be abused when the opponent is in the corner. In neutral, it should mostly be used as a gap closer and mixup option. It's also a great option for getting over fireballs quickly. When the opponent is cornered, mix this up with instant overheads and EPDs to really solidify damage.
Possibly the most interesting fireball in the game. It has some bit of invincibility on startup, making it double as a reversal and anti-air. Being a good Chrome Dome player requires utilizing this as more than a fireball. In fact, some might say it's better as a reversal than a fireball. Yes, it can help Chrome Dome control space and play keep away, but it's fairly slow on recovery, and it's completely grounded, allowing fireballs like Dragon Breath to pass right over it. Seasoned Chromes will mostly use this moves as a "get off me" attack. It can help Chrome Dome wiggle out of fireball traps, counter okis, and call out special moves. Against cornered opponents, Chrome Spark mostly becomes a setup for EPD. The process is usually knock down, into canceled Chrome Spark, into EPD.
Similar to the light version animation wise, but speed and recovery frames are different stories. This move, unlike the light chrome spark, has slower startup and recovery in exchange for faster speed. In reference to the light chrome spark, heavy Chrome Spark also has invincibility frames. This allows it to be used to get out of of certain fireball loop setups and as a sneaky reversal. Be sure to use this move at safe distances because you can take a bit of damage if this move is thrown out at a bad time.
The only command grab possessed by a tournament-legal character. This is one of Chrome's most important moves. It is an instant grab that cannot be jumped out of or blocked, there is no whiff animation, and it has a decent amount of range. These three traits in particular help Electric Pile Driver's general viability a lot. It allows it to be used as an unorthodox anti-air, fake block string interrupter, and most importantly, an instant reversal. EPD allows for a lot of creativity, and there is no specific way to use it. Don't be afraid to be expressive with it. Always remember that you can buffer the "down" input indefinitely, and EPD will still come out. Since you can throw out of blockstun in TMNT, it allows you to cancel almost all of his normals into it, including close st.hk and cr.hk.
Unfortunately, Chrome Bomb doesn't have a lot to offer as it's one of the worst Ultimate Attacks in the game. It can be used as an anti-air, but it's terrible as one, as the opponent is rendered airborne after one hit, effectively saving them from the entire super. It is also punishable on recovery; making it's usage somewhat risky in general. Because of these drawbacks, you really have to rely on getting good reads to force the opponent to get hit by it without blocking. It's mostly effective against characters with rush specials like Shredder and his Aura Crusher. This makes it a fairly setup-heavy super that can't just be thrown out as soon as you gain full meter. Be patient with Chrome Bomb, and take make sure to watch for mistakes from the opponent. It is mostly a bad super, but it does a good amount of damage on hit. Remember that Chrome Bomb is a cancelable super. Canceling into it from a normal is a great option if you know it will chip kill.
Combos
Matchups
Serious Advantage Match-ups
VS War
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MU Rating=[8/2]
This is the rare matchup where Chrome Dome can start zoning immediately. The game plan is to play lame, zone War out, and force force him to approach. If War ever gets close, the game becomes "Who can beat who and get the game-changing read first". Most Wars will opt to try and use his standing heavy punch and heavy kick to poke you out when they get close. The best thing to do against this is to trade back with your couching heavy kick. It will lead to both of you being knocked over, but don't worry. War's options when he's in this situation are limited. If you ever knock War down, try your best to suffocate him and punish any and all of his attempts to play the game. When he's knocked over, he HAS to take damage no matter what. If he takes the hit, it will lead to a combo, if he reversal DFA's, he'll take damage from whatever jumping normal you used, if he blocks, free EPD. Remember that almost everything War can do in neutral is either punishable or easily countered by Chrome. Heavy and light turning uppercuts can be punished with Electric Pile Driver on block when done close enough. And even if the War does it far to make it safer, there's almost nothing he can do to capitalize on it. When you're zoning, It's your main opening to knock War down, and once you do, the match flips almost entirely in Chrome Dome's favor. War will get safe jumped on for the entirety of the match, and even if he does a reversal DFA to counter throw attempts, you can still just jump in on him again to start the process all over. Never give War any chances to play an annoying game with his pokes. Establish a life lead, play lame, and the match is over. Remember that if he's dizzied once, you can grab loop him to death.
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VS Leo
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MU Rating=[7/3]
The main game plan in this matchup is to make Leo mess up and get unnecessarily aggressive. Try to establish a life lead before he can so you can make Leo come to you, not the other way around. There is almost no reason to get aggressive immediately at round start. Back up and try to analyze whether the Leo plays offensive or defensive. An offensive Leo is what you want. His awesome jumping heavy punch is indeed a threat for Chrome Dome, but if the Leo is just mindlessly jumping in with it, it becomes an opening. Anti-air with a late Chrome Spark and slowly build up his dizzy. If the Leo is dizzied once, the game is over. Grab loop him until death. Take advantage of Leo's somewhat mediocre DP by purposefully jumping outside of its range and baiting it when he's in the corner. On the topic of the corner, this is the main place Leo does not want to be. If you're playing against a defensive Leo, focus on pushing him there and baiting Roto Cutter as mentioned before. "Baiting" it involves safe jumping, and shimmying around. One blocked Cutter can be the round. This match seems easy at a very basic level, but good Leos will definitely be a challenge. Don't give him any chances.
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VS Don
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MU Rating=[6.8/3.2]
Very similar to the Leo matchup in terms of the general game plan, but you want a defensive Don instead of an offensive one. This is mostly because of Ground Claw and its slow startup which makes it much easier for Chrome to get a good read and push Don into the corner. Against an offensive Don, you want to watch for jump-ins. Most Dons will opt to use j.hp and Belly Flop as their go-to jumping normals. For those, you want to anti-air with b.hp or block so you won't risk trading. Dance Attack (Headspin) is a threat, and it is the main thing that makes this match slightly better for Don than Leo. Since Chrome's jump is slow, most of your attempts to pressure Don by jumping in will be punished with a well-timed Headspin. It's the main reason why you want to avoid jumping in on Don without purpose. Instead, try to figure out how and when the Don is using Headpsin and start baiting them out. With Bo Thrust, make sure to watch out for Don's overextending it, as it is only punishable when mashed longer than needed. When Don is in the corner, do the same as you would with Leo. Poke him with your buttons and Dive Kick to stop Headpsin attempts, and keep him in block strings with Chrome Spark to fish for a dizzy. Don has no good reversals to escape the corner safely.
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Advantage Match-ups
VS Aska
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MU Rating=[6.5/3.5]
The main thing to note about this matchup is Aska's great Kochou No Mai (DP). Because of its fantastic priority and invincibility, you have to play around it and be patient. You want to do this while also not allowing her to get too close and start her shenanigans. If you do get a knock-down, try not to pressure her too much. Try and analyze how the Aska uses their DP. If they're greedy with them, bait it and go for a punish. If they respect your advances and let you jump in, take advantage of that and proceed to pressure her. Chrome Dome excels in the middle screen in this matchup because of his good pokes. Keep Aska there and don't let her get too close. If the Aska gets in and does a close Hyabusa, remember that it can be punished with a well-timed EPD.
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VS Raph
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MU Rating=[6/4]
Like a lot of Chrome's other matches, at round start, you want to try to back up and analyze the Raph. What you want is a defensive Raph who jumps back a lot so you can push him in the corner; a place where he doesn't want to be. Dealing with a defensive Raph can be fairly difficult, though. You can be somewhat aggresive, but make sure not to be so aggresive that you essentially kill yourself. Jumping heavy punch is a good normal for calling out some of his far anti-airs, and jumping light punch is a good normal for trading with Chest Buster if you make an incorrect jump-in. Never jump-in when you're close to Raph, his amazing cr.hp will beat almost everything you throw out. When you're that close, the goal is to pressure him into making a mistake. A small one being Power Drill, and a big one being Chest Buster. Since those two moves are an essential part of Raph's tool kit, a lot of the match involves working around these moves and baiting them to get the advantage. For Power Drill, the safest way to work around it is to neutral jump with a normal like j.lp. but you can also try jump back and try to get a punish which is slightly riskier. If you get a punish on Drill, try your best to close the gap on Raph to increase your chances of putting him in the corner. As mentioned above, blocked Power Drills can be punished with an EPD, but the timing is strict. For Chest Buster, in most scenarios you can simply punish it with a lp throw. This leads into the redizzy, which is the match. If the Raph is ever pushed to the corner, this is your chance to take the round. The plan is to continuously harass Raph and take advantage of his lack of safe reversal options. This involves doing jump back lp or nj.hks to call out Power Drill, cr.hp into Chrome Spark to keep him in block strings, and b.hp to punish his attempts to jump out. Remember that you need to be correctly spaced so Chest Buster will either be blocked, or whiff completely. Keep in mind that if Raph dizzies you from midscreen, he can punish you from the left side with his redizzy, so avoid that at all costs.
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Fair Match-ups
VS Chrome Dome (self)
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MU Rating=[5/5]
This matchup is basically just a big game of "who wins neutral". Play patient and let the Chrome Dome come to you. Anti-air him every time and build up small damage this way. Capitalizing on the opponents mistakes is huge in this matchup; a big one is bad Chrome Sparks that allow you to jump in for a quick knock-down combo. Don't be afraid to utilize some of Chrome's grounded pokes to punish bad moves. A funny thing to note is that this is the only matchup where EDP can really be challenged, obviously because your opponent has access to the same move. When you go in for okis, make sure to poke around outside of its range with your longer normals. Keep this knowledge in mind for when you're in disadvantaged states, too. If the opponent ever tries to do EPD setups, you can steal their turn and counter with you own. The match becomes a mess when both Chrome Domes are fighting for EPD, so always change it up a little by taking advantage of Chrome Sparks invincibility, and fighting for the life lead so you can start zoning safely again.
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VS Shredder
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MU Rating=[5/5]
Shredder's amazing normals and special moves can be a huge problem for Chrome Dome, so this matchup mostly revolves around working around and punishing them. Chrome Dome rarely gets the chance to jump in safely on Shredder because of Knee Crush, so this forces him to play a somewhat defensive game. The crazy thing about this though, is that a defensive Chrome Dome can be very problematic for Shredder. In neutral, you should utilize lp Chrome Sparks, as the slow movement makes it hard for Shredder to properly Aura Crusher through them on reaction. From there, it's just another one of those matches that involve making the opponent make mistakes and punishing said mistakes. As mentioned before, Chrome Spark in general is very important in this match. It can works as an anti- Aura Crusher move, but be prepared for Shredders to go through it with its invincibility frames. When you have this in mind, you will find out that you can sweep him out of the Crusher and put him back where he doesn't want to be. Against defensive Shredders who like to reflect your Sparks, remember that every time he does it and you read it, you can jump in for free damage. Despite this, unless you are really in need of extra damage, it is recommended that you stay where you are and throw another Spark to counter the reflection. Make sure to switch between light and heavy Chrome Spark to keep the Shredder guessing, but remember that he can do the same mind games on you. For instance, if you throw out a Chrome Spark, the Shredder reflects it, and then you throw out another one to nullify the first, Shredder can hit you with Aura Crusher during its recovery and start bullying you. This "Rock, Paper, Scissors" aspect of the matchup is what evens it out. Play the smarter game, watch the Shredder's habits, and play around them.
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Disadvantage Match-ups
VS Wing Nut
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MU Rating=[4/6]
Funny matchup because in theory, it’s bad for BOTH Wingnut and Chrome Dome depending on who has the advantage. At its simplest, the matchup involves WN zoning. Chrome Dome struggles until he gets in, then he can end the round. Your game plan should be to bully your way in and STAY THERE. There are a couple of things Chrome Dome can do to make getting in a lot less miserable. The safest and most common option is to take to the skies and kick him in the face with a jump-forward heavy kick. This is a good option because it does two jobs at once. It moves you forward, and hits WN, granting damage. The problem with this option is that if you are read whatsoever and punished with a trade air-to-air, air-to-air, or anti-air, you have to start all over again. Use it when you’re confident. Dive kicking, jumping over off of a read, Chrome Sparking through, and walking under Moon Busters are important options for patient Chrome Dome players who want to capitalize on sloppy MBs. You get no damage, but you get closer to Wing Nut, which can be round-ending. Be sure to always watch where, and which MBs are being thrown. You can catch many habits and get good positioning whenever you do advance. Never try to forward jump a Moon Buster on reaction. You’ll get hit every time. When you are advantaged, continuously jump in on WN and prevent him from playing the game. There are some pretty nasty option selects you can use on him in this situation, but the best one is probably jumping hp into cr.hp XX EPD. If Wing nut blocks the string, you’ll get EPD for an unavoidable sequence. If he doesn’t block, you get the knockdown and will keep your turn.
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VS Mike
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MU Rating=[4/6]
Mike's standing hp, Dragon Breath, slide (when spaced properly), and well-timed Dynamite Bombers make this a really annoying matchup for Chrome Dome. A lot of times, it will feel like you're locked down with nothing to do. Contrary to what is normal when up against a zoner, NEVER jump at Mike unless you are 100% confident with a read, standing hp is far too polarizing to do otherwise. Forcing mistakes and capitalizing on them is an extremely important aspect of this match. Whiffed Rising Thunders are the biggest, as they can be round-ending. Most Mike players will opt to use light RT in neutral as it is far less punishable. The good thing about this is that Chrome's long limbs (namely cr.hk) make it easy to punish from most ranges. If a light RT is whiffed up close, you will have enough time to grab him and take the match, but don't get greedy. Crafty Mike players will notice this and have enough time to go into another RT, knowing you down and making you start all over again. For Dynamite Bomber (P2), you will need to anticipate them and have fast enough reaction times to see it coming. You can poke him out of it with far lp, and even EPD them on landing if you're feeling lucky. Far-standing heavy punch and Dragon Breath will definitely be where most of your problems come from. You can take advantage of greedy Mikes who like to throw it a lot by whiff punishing and closing the gap. Another smart thing you can do in this situation is shimmy by making the Mike think you're in range, walking back to make the button miss, then sweeping. With Dragon Breath, you have to be patient, as CD's jump is too slow to make any moves on reaction. You can neutral jump the fireballs to make them last longer on screen, and spark back. Keep in mind that sloppy Sparks will be "punished" with the Dragon Breath, as they fly right over, so always make sure to throw them early in order to force a reaction from Mike. Never get overwhelmed. This is a pretty hard match, but one or two good plays can end it quickly.
