Schröder is back, and this time he's Cyber. At its simplest, Shredder is THE rushdown Balrog (Boxer) of this game. He’s a very solid high-tier character who excels at offense. In Tournament Fighters, most characters can either stun good or do big damage. Shredder does both easily. He has devastating strings, fantastic air normals, prioritized ground normals, and great combo potential. What he lacks in defense, he makes up for in… countering defense. Being a character with basically three ways around fireballs (Aura Crusher, timed Knee Crush, and Reflector), he’s almost impossible to zone properly. This nets him even more opportunities to get in, harass, and make the opponent wish they picked Shredder too. Being a strong character and not a “broken” one, he isn’t without his weaknesses. His ground normals are fairly stubby, and none are your orthodox anti-airs. He has no truly invincible reversals, which can lead to some extremely unfair situations when he’s disadvantaged. And because he’s a part of the “Three Stooges” with Aska and Armaggon, he’s vulnerable to character-specific crouch unblockables that affect no other legal character. Although commonly regarded as an “easy” character, decent knowledge about how and when to use his powerful buttons, Aura Crusher, and reflector are detrimental in order to give people trouble. He can be very annoying as a read-based character and is arguably at his strongest when played as such. Because of his accessible play style and relatively low skill level, Shredder is one of the healthiest characters in the game, and he’s very prevalent in the meta. If you don’t main him, he’ll definitely make for a strong pocket character. Also, heh, being a part of the Stooges means he has the ability to be airborne frame one upon jumping. Use this to your advantage!
Fast light normal. This will be your go-to unorthodox anti-air to get jumpers off of you when you don't have charge. This normal is rarely used in combos.
This normal has a decent speed, but is still on the slow side. It is great in combos and can stop a lot moves when spaced out properly (Namely Chrome Dome's crouching hp/crouching hk) This normal is also a good tool for whiff punishing if you want to use lights instead of heavy buttons for less risk. The best thing about this normal is it's priority. Shredder retains his neutral hurtboxes while his leg has no hurtbox.
One of Shredder's best normals. Slow startup but has high potential when used properly. Has far reach and is one of the go-to moves for whiff punishing. This normal is best used for whiff punishing, as you can buffer it into both aura crusher and knee crush. Be careful when throwing this move out, though. Although this move is great for nabbing whiff punishes, its slow startup makes it vulnerable to whiff punishes as well.
One of Shredder's go-to combo starters from a jump in. Has slow startup, being a heavy move, but leads to heavy combo damage. HoopsTheWaffleBurner: For those with violent forward reversals, you can stand outside of its range, bait said reversal, punish it on recovery with this normal, then cancel into Aura or Knee Crusher. This is especially good when pressuring a cornered Raph. I got this from XFORCE!
Slow on startup but can lead to a bit of damage. This normal is good for whiff punishing, but is rarely used in combos. Use this normal safely, as you can get whiff punished for using this normal incorrectly.
Another really good normal that shredder has. Fast on startup, but low on damage being a light normal. This normal is one of Shredder's the go-to pokes due to it's speed. It has surprisingly good range, and is great for combos. Amazing normal overall.
Somewhat fast on startup, and an okay move to poke with. This normal has far range for a crouching move. The biggest downside to this move is that it is slow in general, but you can get some mileage out of max-range Aura and Knee Crusher cancels
Another one of shredder really good normals. Slow on recovery, but has far reach for a crouching normal and can lead to a lot of damage potential. Can be buffered into Knee Crush or Aura Crusher and is an amazing whiff punish tool.
Slow on startup and recovery, but can be used as a niche whiff punish tool. This normal has the most range out of all of shredders normal, but is rarely used in combos. An interesting thing to note is that this is the strongest button in the game, dealing 18 damage.
Does less damage than the heavy version but when spaced out properly, can beat out certain normals and special moves. This move is one of the go-to normals for jump in combos. Good air-to-air as well.
Both versions have the same range but the light one does less damage. This normal is rarely used because the heavy version is overall better. HoopsTheWaffleBurrner: As a Blanka main, I can't help but compare this to his neutral jumping heavy punch in the various Street Fighter 2s. Overall, it has the same purpose, a snazzy read-air-to-air that you can use to catch jumpers.
Has far reach and can beat out a lot of jump in attacks when spaced properly. Both versions can be used as combo starters, but are less commonly used for that. This serves the same purpose as neutral jumping light punch: a snazzy read-air-to-air. This one is stronger, but doesn't have infinite active frames, making it slightly more read-based.
The go-to normal for jump in attacks. Has great combo potential and can beat out moves when spaced out properly. Oddly enough, this does LESS stun than jumping light kick. Whether or not it's the better normal is up for debate.
This move is very similar to balrogs dash straight in Street Fighter. This is one of shredders best tools if not his best tool for getting in on the opponent. The fast speed and fast startup of this move makes up for the fact that you can't really get much off of this move. Aura crusher is best used in neutral when you want to get offensive, and can even get you out of some tight situations on defense. The light version has faster startup, but has shorter range. The heavy version has slightly slower startup, but has farther range.
Essentially a worse version of Heavy Knee Crush. Light knee crush launches shredder higher into the air making it easier for the opponent to punish this move. Light knee crush is best used as an anti-air only. There are other situations where this move can be used but the heavy knee crush is way better to use. This move is punishable on recovery.
Another one of shredders best special moves. This move works as a mix-up option, a anti-air, and a combo ender. Every single Knee Crush hit awards a knockdown which can lead to more shenanigans. Heavy Knee Crush is the go-to move for mix-ups and often goes unpunished because of the specific timing needed. Not to be confused with the light Knee Crush, Heavy Knee launches Shredder further towards the opponent. Heavy Knee Crush is also completely invincible on landing, which means that it is virtually UNPUNISHABLE. The only threat Shredder faces after whiffing one is a timed throw, or a meaty normal. This move is vulnerable on startup, which is its weakness. This means that it isn't a true reversal. Despite this, it is great for wiggling out of tight situations.
The perfect move for Shredder's archetype since he doesn't have a fireball, and it compliments him well. His Aura Reflector allows him to reflect fireballs back towards the opponent. Shredder's Aura Reflector is one of his best tools against fireball characters. Utilizing it helps when fighting against the onslaught of fireballs coming towards you if you are not in the corner. Aura Reflector's startup is on the slower side but it's still an amazing tool to use against fireball characters.
This super is pretty good, and deals quite a bit of chip. The lightning that travels on the ground after Shredder activates his super deals the most damage and chip damage, and needs to be avoided at all cost. This super is amazing because Shredders whole body is covered in lightning which automatically tells the opponent to back up. When this super is activated, your best options are to either jump back away from the super, or jump into the super to land around Shredders waist and above area. Blocking this super on the ground with the lightning bolt that travels on the ground, leads to alot of chip damage and alot of regular damage if you choose not to block the super.
Combos/Punishes
Frame Data Quick List
Shredder
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv
sLP
3
1
8
-1/+2
sLK
5
2
5
+1/+4
sHP
6
4
10
+1/+4
clHP
8
5
14
-4/-1
sHK
4
5
14
-4/-1
clHK
12
4
8
+3/+6
crLP
3
1
7
0/+3
crLK
6
1
6
+1/+4
crHP
6
5
11
-1/+2
crHK
9
3
15
KD/0
jLP
3
infinite
N/A
N/A
djLP
3
infinite
N/A
N/A
jLK
3
infinite
N/A
N/A
jHP
5
10
N/A
N/A
djHP
5
10
N/A
N/A
jHK
7
10
N/A
N/A
lAC
6-13
3+8
10
-7/-4 -4/-1
hAC
6-45
3+8
10
-7/-4 -4/-1
Aura
12
24
1
N/A
lKN
5
9
18
KD/-5
hKN
5
9
16
KD/-3
CA
16
58
N/A
KD/-15
Aura Crusher's second hit may whiff. Use second set if both hits connect.
The lightning bolt itself is not a separate attack
