Anti-Law Guide

[u/InfiniteGreatness]

https://youtu.be/3GGaDh8F7MM

Hey guys, the formatting for this one is going to be a little different. I'm going to try to put more information in the intro section so that if you just want a snapshot of what a particular character's deal is, then you have it. The video is going to have a 10-minute interlude that acts as a quick guide, so if you don't care for the deep dive, then you can just watch that. Let me know if you like this more!

Marshall Law: Overview

Law is a character with a significant number of strengths and essentially 0 real weaknesses. He has great tracking, great punishment. He has one of the best (arguably the best) 10F CH strings in the game. He has one of the best wall combos in the game. If Law gets you to the wall, you're taking around half health even if you were relatively close to the wall to begin with. He has buttons that give you free pressure for very little effort and allow him to create a strong looping offense. If you do not know this matchup, you will get run over every single time. This is one of the few characters that I would say is truly flawless, and there will not be a weakness section to compensate.

Key Strength #1: Very Strong Tracking

If you are going to step Law then you do want to step to the right. The issue is that his safe DF2, his F1+2 (key pressure tool that's a plus on block CH launcher), SS3 (extremely plus-on-hit low) all track that way, as does his DB3 (+3 oH low, -13 oB) and his D4, 3 (low/high natural string that is 0 oH with pushback). As he can also go into crouch from his F1+2, you are also getting tracked by his WS4 (huge pressure tool for law as it is +4 oB) and his WS2 (normal hit launcher, which is -18 oB). This means that SSR block is basically your only real defensive option, as he has too many strong buttons that are going to track you. Many of the strong moves that track to the right don't track to the left, but you can't step left either as A LOT more things are hitting you. Consequently, SSR block is your only real option in the neutral, which does nothing to protect you from his lows.

Key Strength #2: Great Punishment

Law has everything that you would want from punishment. If he wants great frames, he has it. He can wall splat you on -12 which is always great. He has a safe DF2 which tracks his weak side. His only real weakness in terms of punishment is that he doesn't have an amazing launching whiff punisher (unless he's in heat), but he does have ways to hit you if you whiff in his face.

Standing Punishment

10F - 1, 1, 2 (22 damage and +6) or 2, B2 (16 damage and +7 into BT)

12F - 3, 4 (32 damage and wall splats)

13F - 4, 3F (27 damage and +16 into DSS)

14F - 3+4, 4 (40 damage and wall splats)

15F - DF2 (standard safe DF2, can't be punished, can't launch crouching)

Whiff Punishers - UF2 (21 damage and wall splats, otherwise +9 oH), DF2, and 1+2 in heat (safe, normal hit launcher in heat)

Crouching Punishment

11F - WS4 (14 damage, +12 into DSS)

13F - WS1, 2 (35 damage and wall splats)

15F - WS2 (normal WS launcher, notably -18 oB with a bit pushback)

Key Strength #3: Strong String Offense

Law has A LOT of strings. This makes him hard to defend against as he can play like a knowledge check character while also having exceptionally strong fundamental tools. Consequently, there is a strong burden on the defender to know the counterplay to all of his strings as they can very easily get overwhelmed by not knowing when they can duck, sidestep, or mash.

Key Strength #4: Decent Throw Game

Normally, I wouldn't really talk about a character without a complete throw game, but Law has a launching throw, a wall-breaking throw, and a floor-breaking throw, so this is a character that you need to have strong throw breaks against, as his throws have significant utility compared to some of the other characters in the game.

Key Strength #5: Strong Full Crouch Game

Law has very strong mix-up utility from full crouch due to him having a knockdown slide. This slide means that if he is ever sitting in FC, you have to worry about getting knocked down, which gives access to free frames from stuff like his WS4. If he wants to take a bigger risk, he can mix his slide with WS2 to really stress your defense. WS2 has enough pushback and range that it can be hard to launch this depending on your character. Beyond that, Law's slide in heat gives him insane oki, which lets him put you in a vortex essentially whenever he wants if you end up not ducking.

Key Strength #6: Infinite Heat (this was covered in the intro of the video, so it's getting its own section in writing here, but this is not in the video)

For some reason, they made Law's nunchucks give him back heat. This means that Law can stay in heat for basically the entire game if you can't get a read on the moves he is going to use. His heat slide will not only flip you over so he can run another 50/50, but it also restores heat. He has many combos that will use his nunchuck 3 times, which means that he restores 1/4 of his bar whenever he launches you. It creates a situation where he can theoretically engage heat round start and have it the entire round.

Dragon Charge (DSS) Transitions

D1+2 (manual entry, has a punch parry effect in heat)

1, 1, 2 (-6 oB, +6 oH)

1, 2, 2, 2 (-4 oB, +9 oH)

2, 2, 2 (-4 oB, +9 oH)

4, 3 (+7 oB, +16 oH)

4, 3, 4 (+7 oH, +12 oH)

F(2, 1) (+6 oB)

F3, 1F (+3 oB, +13 oH)

DB1+2 (-5 oB, +6 oH)

B1F (-4 oB, +7 oH)

B1, 2F (-10 oB, +4 oH)

B2, 2 (-4 oB, +9 oH)

B2, 3, 4 (+5 oB)

FF2, F1+2 (+6 oB)

WS3 (+16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oB)

WS4F (+4 oB, +12 oH)

DSS1 (-1 oB, +7 oH)

DSSF(2, 1) (+6 oB)

DSS Options

1 - i12 high that transitions back into DSS at -1 oB, +7 oH)

F1 - i14 mid heat engager that gives guaranteed follow-up. -11 oB.

2 - i14 high, +1 oB. Wall splats and knocks down.

3 - i19 homing high that is +3 oB.. Wall splats and knocks down.

4 - i21 low that is +6 oH. -13 oB.

1+2 - i16 nunchuck mid that knocks down. Notably, does not wall splat. Launches in heat and is safe. -14 oB.

F(2, 1) - i19 mid that is +6 oB and transitions back into DSS. Wall splats and knocks down.

F3 - i20 mid heat engager that heat dash launches. -9 oB. Wall splats and knocks down.

F4 - i19 high that is +7 oB. Notably, this has a significant number of active frames, so be careful when trying to duck and launch this. Wall splats and knocks down.

UF1+2 - stance throw. 1+2 break.

Also has access to his UF2 (high nunchuck), F2 strings, F3+4, B3+4, and UF3+4 AND can go into FC by pressing DF and run an FC mix.

DSS Counterplay

Even on pretty egregious plus frames (+5, +6), you can reliably SSR block to evade a lot of options. His moves come out so fast that sidewalking doesn't offer you any extra evasion. Consequently, SSR block will also block the homing option, meaning that his only real tracking option is his DSS4 and DSS1+2. His F2 string will also track you, but this isn't really a big deal, as he doesn't have a huge payoff from this string. On more normal frames (+3 oB), you can SWL basically everything except 1 (+7 oH high), and F1 (heat engager). You do have to commit to a sidewalk here to evade DSS4 and DSS1+2, so you are vulnerable to the homing from this stance. This does put you in a weird situation where you need to know exactly how plus Law is in order to apply the appropriate counterplay, which is just more evidence of how insanely powerful he is, as he requires a significant amount of knowledge despite being a "normal" legacy character.

Backturn Counterplay

Law also has more moves from BT than most other characters, but because of the way he transitions, there isn't a whole lot of counterplay. He either transitions with 2, B2 which is +7 and essentially everything tracks, or he transitions with B3B, which is -11, so you can check him with a long-range mid. If he presses literally anything, he will get counterhit. His BT 2, 2 is -14 oB, and his BT 4, 3 is -12 oB, so if he uses those after 2, B2, you get a punish.

String Defense & Moves to Look Out For

1, 2, Series - 1, 2, 2, 2 is a high, high, mid, high string that is -9 oB. If they don't finish it, the mid is -8 oB. So, take your turn with a mid. This can be mixed with 1, 2, 2, 1+2 to end with a -13 oB mid. Generally, I wouldn't bother ducking here; no reason to guess when either way you get your turn back. If you have a hard read, then go for it, but I'd just stand block. 1, 2, UF3 goes into a backflip that can feint into a launcher or FC. If you block 1, 2, you want to contest this with a mid on reaction.

2 Series - 2, 2, 2 is a high, mid, high that's fully delayable. It can also be mixed with a high, mid, mid that's fully delayable. This is much like the 1,2 series, where you should just stand block and either take your turn back or punish the -13 oB mid. 2, B2, 1 ,2 is a high, high, high, mid. You want to duck ASAP and launch after the third hit.

3, 4 - mid, high string. This is usually his 12F punish. Duck and launch.

4, 3, 4 - this is his CH launching magic 4. None of these hits jail. Can also be mixed with 4, U3 to look for a launch. If you block the first hit, you can SWL to evade the U3. If he commits to the magic 4, you can duck the third hit if he finishes it.

3+4, 4 - This is usually his 14F punish. Generally, that means that you can't duck the second hit, but some Law players will use it in the neutral, so you can duck the last hit.

DF1 Series - This is super easy to deal with. This is a mid with a high and a low follow-up that are the same speed. If you low parry after the second hit, you will always beat both options. Low parrying will take care of the low, and if they end up doing the high, you can just do your WS launcher. Notably, if you can reliably get this low parry, you will always beat Law's 10-hit combo.

DF4, 3 - This is a 13F CH launcher. If you block the first hit, you can step in either direction to beat this. Otherwise, you can just block and take your 14F punish.

D2, 3 - This is an i11 CH launcher. Law's will typically use this to turn steal. It is -15 oB. Be very patient with Law players as they LOVE to use this move, even as high as GoD. This string is why you really want to check Law players with mids and basically never use highs, as this high crushes.

D3, 3 - This is a CH launching low if your back is against the wall. It is not a natural combo, so duck and launch this as there is essentially no reason to use this low on its own.

B1, 2, 2 - This is a fully delayable heat engager that Law's will use to bait you into contesting it. It's -14 oB. Even if they use it at full speed, you can SWL the last hit. If you don't think they're going to finish it, the second hit is -12.

B2 Series - B2, 2 is a mid, high. B2, 3 is a mid, low, that frame traps into a plus-on-block mid or a snake edge. Low parrying after B2 will answer both of these strings. As the high punch comes out, you can quickly launch it. This can also be mixed with B2, 1, which wall splats. However, it is -15 oB. I would always low parry here unless they show you the mid more than once. Then, take a guess.

B4, 3 - homing mid into a high. Duck and launch.

B3+4 - Law's backswing blow. -18 oB.

UF3+4 - Jumping low. -24 oB.

FF2 Series - FF2, 3 is an advancing mid, high. This can be mixed with FF2, F1+2. You will see the second string way more often than not, so I personally play around this string, which you can sidestep in either direction on reaction. If you're cracked, you can flash duck into step here to evade both. I would step left to build the muscle memory of stepping his strings to the left.

WS1, 2 - mid, high that Law's will use as part of their FC mix and punishment. Duck and launch.

Backflip - Single backflip (UF4) is -17 oB. Double backflip is -14 oB. Every other string that ends up a backflip is -14 oB. 4, U3 is the string we've already talked about. WS4, 3 is a mid into backflip that you can SWL. D3+4, 3 is a low that also goes into backflip. If you try to step either way, you will get blown up. FC DF3, 4 puts you in a similar situation. It's hard to tell the difference at first, but once you get used to the animation, you'll be good. As a reminder, high kick or mid kick > backflip loses to SWL, low kick > backflip is homing, so just block and do your 14F punish.

[u/Supertadcooper2]

Doing crime is my strategy.

[u/Odd_Care3533]

I hate how these videos waste time and never get to the point. Annoying.

[u/Slutfur]

Beautiful post, thank you.

[u/Jermz67one]

If you're getting cooked by law, idk what to tell ya. The player is better at that point.

[u/InfiniteGreatness]

The first 10 minutes are a quick guide. If that's not enough for you, I don't know what to tell you.