The Rashid match has always been thought of as a somewhat difficult matchup, but after doing a lot of research I’ve begun to feel that it’s even.
There’s a lot of reasons why it’s considered to be a hard MU, but Rashid has things that make it hard for him too. He has to take a certain degree of risk, and even in doing so his damage output is not always high. By keeping an eye out for small but important things, we can take advantage and win. I actually find it to be kind of a fun matchup now.
Rashid things to look out for
cr.lk -> cr.hp
A common string. Try to interrupt it with a medium punch (disco’s note: use cr.mp). If you let him get away with this he’s never gonna stop.
cr.hp (hit or guard doesn’t matter) -> fwd jump into attack
A specialty of platinum-to-diamond level grasshopper Rashids. I’m not sure if my reactions are really good against his jump or if Rashids tend to be predictable with this sequence, but at any rate let’s make sure to punish him for doing so. Hell Attack on reaction.
cr.hp or st.hp xx hk whirlwind
If you let him get away with this things will be difficult. Interrupt with st.hp. It’ll lose to lk and mk whirlwind but he gets nothing off those even on counterhit (disco’s note: he can super cancel tho), so it’s worth the risk. Just keep an eye on his meter, because if you get tagged by ex whirlwind you’re really gonna regret it.
medium attack xx whirlwind
Similar to the previous section, if he goes into hp whirlwind you can interrupt with st.mp. Just remember that his mediums aren’t especially disadvantageous on block, so he can just not cancel and frametrap you for attempting this. Take your opponent’s skill into account.
(dash) spinning mixer mash
Between the dash version, the regular light version, the different mashed versions (lvl 1 to 3), this move can be pretty annoying to deal with, but on block you can always contest with cr.lk. There are guys who like to bait your button with ex mixer afterward, so mix in the option of just blocking or holding up. Don’t do the latter vs a strong opponent though since you can eat a lot of damage for getting anti-aired here.
punishing v-reversal
This is super important. There’s not enough Dictators who actually do this. It’s hard to punish his v-reversal with a throw, but st.hp will get you an easy punish if he v-reversals the following normals: meaty axe, st.mp, cr.mp, st.hk (!). It’s pretty hard to do this off a v-reversaled jump in, but if you really look out for it you can get the timing down.
(disco’s note: you can do this if he v-reversals almost any normal, but Maoh is specifically referring to situations where it’s not just practical but downright easy to punish w/st.hp)
ysaar (v-trigger)
Against a weak opponent you can get away with doing inferno to break the tornado, but a good one will just eagle spike you for this, or worse get a jumpin combo. Hitting it with ex blast will halve the distance it travels and slow it down slightly (disco’s note: really?). In v-trigger you can dash through it easily and use ex stomp to just teleport to where Rashid is to get around it. There’s a lot of options for Bison here. If for some reason he activates too close you can punish the startup with ex scissors.
eagle spike/air dive
There’s many versions of this move, but you can punish all of them except for EX on block with st.hp.
(disco’s note: psycho axe works for all of them too but I suppose st.hp leads to better damage)
absorbing whirlwind with Dictator’s reflector
Normally trying to reflect or absorb a two-hit projectile results in Dictator getting hit. However, there is a distance where you can absorb/reflect a single hit of whirlwind. However this distance tends to be one where Dictator doesn’t really wanna play neutral. Other ranges where you might want to absorb a fireball don’t really factor into the Rashid matchup.
things Dictator wants to do
should we be a bit careful with our st.hp use?
Rashid’s cr.hp and forward jump can be problematic if you’re not careful with st.hp. Be mindful of whether or not your opponent is a grasshopper and see how often you can throw the move out.
(disco’s note: think of st.hp like a fireball and this idea is much easier to understand)
when you have a meaty situation in the corner, dash up meaty throw and hold up is an OS to beat Rashids who like to wall jump out. Hell Attack for full punish.
neutral jump is an option vs his pressure (not his oki)
It’s especially useful vs Rashids who like to shimmy with st.hp without reacting to what’s happening on screen. You’ll punish them on the way down.
you don’t wanna use stomp or devil too much, even ex.
Outside of situations where you can punish him for whirlwind or canceling from close up, don’t bother with these moves. He can AA with hp mixer too easily. If they’re the type to not do this AA then go nuts.
Rashid is a good character against which to spend your v-gauge on v-reversal
His pressure is pretty intense so I always want to use this when I get pushed to the corner. Just as Dictator struggles to punish Rashid v-reversal against a jumpin, Rashid struggles to punish Dictator for doing the same, especially if you do it late into the jumpin’s blockstun. If you’re able to v-reversal him four times in one round, doesn’t that feel like you’re already on the road to victory?
(disco’s note: mfker if I’m in the corner 4 times in one round I’m probably not winning lol)
hell attack vs wall jump
if you let him get away with this things will get difficult so make sure you hell attack. refer to the OS from before. you can also use ex stomp here. if you don’t want to risk or spend resources jump back hk is fine too. at any rate, make sure you punish this. even if you block him as he’s coming down it’s not much different than getting hit.
scam his ex mixer with cr.lp
kinda like Urien’s ex headbutt, Rashid’s ex mixer startup is slow so if you meaty with cr.lp you can still block in time. this includes after blocking light mixer. against scrubs who can’t hold back this is incredibly useful.
put out an ex blast and try to read his eagle spike or v-skill
this is true for other matchups, but against Rashids who like to just sit there and wait for you to hang yourself, you absolutely have to play patient. just wait a moment before going in and let your opponent start to get antsy before attacking them.
lp blast axis shift
this works well against Rashid when he tries to go for his st.mp (ch) st.hp link. in season 2 it’s now harder for Rashid to hunt for crush counters with st.hk (due to it being -4 on block now), so many try to meaty with st.mp instead.
post throw-tech options
many Rashids like to jump forward after teching a throw. some will do lp mixer, st.mk, st.hp, etc. good news is all of these lose to st.mk. kind of a low risk/low return option but getting them to stop doing things after throw tech is nice so throw it out there. it’ll lose to his sweep so be careful. if you manage to block that though, you get a nice punish.
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in summary, you want to fight most of the game on the ground and make a point of shutting down his air game. don’t let him get away with v-reversals. try to interrupt hk whirlwind strings. pay attention to the other small things and you can probably win.