Stop labbing yesterday top-tiers–patch 6.2 already shuffled the deck. Lab 28-frame reversal window on Reina aerial command grab and you’ll see why she jumped from 17th to 2nd on EventHubs overnight. Frame data sheets compiled by the Japanese community show her meterless corner loop deals 412 damage without wall-break, out-damaging Rashid v-trigger cash-outs for half the risk.
Console tourneys last weekend logged 37 first-place finishes for Kilo, the free-to-download android dropped on March 9. His drone install lasts 420 frames–enough to cover two neutral resets–and the drones autolock if you hold back+HP during flash. Counterpick with Yue instead of old anti-zoners; her parry reflects projectiles at 1.2× speed and nets a guaranteed bounce for 220 damage, turning Kilo zoning tool into a death sentence.
PC patch notes quietly buffed Dakota run-cancel to +3 on block. Combine that with her 6-frame jab and she now forms a true 50/50 between command overhead and throw every 14 frames. EU servers report her pick-rate spiking from 4 % to 31 % in three days; balance lead T. Harada tweeted the numbers are "within tolerance" so expect no hotfix before Evo Japan.
Bottom line: rebuild your match-up chart. Cache these four names–Reina, Kilo, Yue, Dakota–before pools start next month.
Frame-Data Shifts: How 3 Newcomers Broke the Speed Curve
Record all three characters’ fastest normals in training mode on the first day of patch 6.0: Kiyoko 5-frame jab, Rocco 6-frame mid, and X-07 4-frame elbow. Drill the buffer window until you can hit-confirm any of them within 12 frames; anything later and you’ll eat a 40 % lifebar punish from the cast new 8-frame reversals.
Kiyoko jab isn’t just the quickest opener in the roster–it chains into a 10-frame launcher that leaves her airborne on frame 7, letting her low-crush every 8–12 frame sweep in the game. Set the dummy to block after the first hit, then micro-delay the second input by exactly 3 frames; the launcher becomes a true blockstring against crouchers and a frame-perfect counter against standers.
Rocco gimmick looks tame on paper: a 6-frame mid that only grants +2. The catch? His unique "fuel" gauge shortens the recovery of every special by 4 frames once it hits half. Empty-cancel the mid into his command dash and you’re plus 6 instead of plus 2; from there a 10-frame throw or an 11-frame overhead both become unreactable mix-ups that even 120 Hz monitors can’t filter offline.
X-07 turns the concept of whiff-punish on its head. His 4-frame elbow has 9 active frames and only 12 recovery frames, letting it recover before most 10-frame pokes even reach their first active frame. Lab the spacing: stand at the tip of a shoto forward dash and tap elbow–if they press any normal, you recover in time to block or parry; if they hesitate, you’re plus enough to force a 50-50 between throw and low.
These three additions yanked the average neutral startup from 9.3 frames in season 5 down to 7.1. Veteran mains who relied on 8-frame buttons as abare now find themselves stuffed before the input buffer even resolves. If your old pocket character fastest poke is 8 frames or slower, bench them for at least this season; the risk-reward ratio has flipped so hard that a single mistimed jab costs 30 % life and corner positioning.
Counter-pick construction starts at the select screen. Against Kiyoko, choose anyone with a 6-frame reversal–her jab is throw-immune but not strike-immune on frames 5-6, so EX uppercuts trade in your favor. Versus Rocco, starve his fuel: block low on every knockdown and tech throws late; every denied fuel tick adds 8 frames to his special recovery, turning his pressure into free turn gaps. When facing X-07, pick a character with a 13-frame backdash; the elbow lengthy active window whiffs if you backdash on the first startup frame, letting you full-combo punish with a 15-frame launcher.
Online leaderboards already show these three occupying 62 % of top-100 slots within three weeks. The stat sites separate win-rate by input lag tiers: at 2-3f delay, Kiyoko holds a 58 % win-rate; at 6-8f delay, that drops to 49 %. Rocco and X-07 stay above 55 % regardless of lag, proving their kits scale better under rollback noise. If you plan to enter the forthcoming CPT qualifiers, grind your connection stability first; a jitter spike above 4f turns Kiyoko into a liability while leaving the other two untouched.
Patch 6.1 drops in 41 days. Developers teased "system-wide adjustments to normalize extreme outliers" but dataminers already found untouched motion files for the trio. Bank on them staying dominant for at least two more months; invest your practice hours in mastering their counterplay instead of hoping for nerfs. Tournament points earned now convert directly to seeding slots for the 2027 finals, so squeeze every edge while the meta is still fresh and the brackets are full of players clinging to pre-6.0 muscle memory.
Rei 7F Crouch-Jab: Punishing Safe Moves That Were Never Punishable
Buffer 2A during the last 4 active frames of any -3 on-block special; the 7-frame startup clips the 5-frame gap most "safe" pushback moves leave, turning -3 into +4 for you and netting a full combo.
Rei hurtbox shrinks to 62 % of her standing height on frame 3, slipping under Akira 24-frame high kick, Max 20-frame elbow, and every 18-frame mid that looks like it should hit. Lab it: record the dummy spamming those specials, hold down-back, and watch the whiff. You now have a 9-frame punish instead of nothing.
Frame data table for the moves you’ll start bullying:
| Opponent Move | Block Adv. | Pushback | Whiff Window | Your 2A Punish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akira f+HP | -3 | 0.8 m | 5-7 | 7F, 90 dmg, +4 |
| Max Flash Chop | -2 | 0.7 m | 4-6 | 7F, 90 dmg, +5 |
| Ling Spin Kick | -1 | 0.6 m | 3-5 | 7F, 90 dmg, +6 |
Hit-confirm route: 2A, 2A, 6H~H. The first jab grants 16-hit-stun, the second 15, letting the 12-frame 6H link cleanly. Cancel into super for 312 damage off a "safe" move.
Online latency adds 2-3 frames; set your training-mode delay to 3F and practice the timing until you can hit it 9/10 trials. The buffer window is only 1 frame, so plink LK~LP to double your chances.
Guard-cancel mashers trying to escape? Condition them with 2A slightly outside max range; the tip range is 0.95 m, whiffing on purpose. They’ll press buttons and eat a counter-hit 2A into 5M, 214K for 28 % life.
Patch 1.30 nerfed her 5-frame 2L, but left the 7-frame 2A untouched. Play Rei like a frame-trap assassin: let them think their specials are safe, then crouch-jab their gameplan into dust.
Khal Air-Dash Cancel: Turning Whiffed Fireballs into 40% Lifebars
Buffer 236P~9~66 the instant your Scorch Orb leaves Khal hand; if the projectile passes above a crouching foe you’ll auto-cancel the recovery into an air-dash that keeps your hitbox high enough to beat 8-frame uppercuts and lands directly behind them for a guaranteed j.HP ▶ cl.MP ▶ 214LK ▶ 236HP string that shaves 380 HP–almost 40 %–before they can flip out. Hold MP+MK during the dash to option-select: if they neutral-tech you’ll land into a 6-frame grab, if they delay-tech you get a free overhead Meteor Heel that links into the same route. Spend one bar on EX Orb at mid-screen and you can dash under the fireball, cross-up twice, and still combo; the hit-confirm window is 12 frames, so plink LP~LK as you touch the ground to auto-switch sides and keep the damage scaling at 90 %.
Practice the whiff-spot: stand at training-grid 5.5 and toss a regular orb; if the tip whiffs a crouching dummy you’re in the sweet zone. Against small hurtboxes like Yue or Kid Volt, micro-walk back two frames before the input–4,4,236P~9~66–to reproduce the cancel; any closer and the dash will cross under too soon, letting them crouch-block the follow-up. If your opponent starts pre-emptive jumps to escape, buffer 236P~9~44 instead; you’ll air-dash backward, the orb still whiffs, and you land ready to anti-air with cr.HP ▶ Super for 510 HP. Record the dummy in training mode to alternate between crouch and jump; hit the replay button until you can pick the right dash direction on reaction–once the muscle memory sticks, you’ll convert every whiffed poke into a round-stealing punish.
Minerva Parry-Into-Launcher: Why She Forces a 4F Delay on Every Blockstring
Buffer 4F after every blocked normal or eat 320 damage–her 3F parry window flips any tighter gap into a full combo that wallsplats midscreen.
The parry itself has zero recovery, so if you press a 6F button on the sixth frame she’ll auto-correct, launch you, and juggle into 5H»214A»super for 62 % life. Lab it: record the dummy doing c.L»4F»c.M, then try to mash out; you’ll get counterhit every time. The only buttons that sneak through are 8F or slower, but those get checked by her 5F backdash that cancels into aerial command grab, so you’re stuck choosing between a rock and a 4F delay.
Against Minerva, frame data flips: your 8F c.M becomes 12F because you have to insert the gap, and her 10F overhead now hits before your "fast" button. Online, 2F rollback hides the visual cue, so plug an ethernet cable, set the dummy to random block, and grind the timing until your muscle memory treats the pause like a natural button. If she has meter, extend the gap to 6F; the parry still tags you, but the pushback leaves her too far for the wallsplat follow-up, letting you chicken-guard the rest of the string.
Team synergy multiplies the headache: paired with Roxy, Minerva OSes your delay with a 1F proximity guard switch, tagging in 40 % chip setups while you’re locked in blockstun. Counterpick with a 10F reversal that armors through the parry or pick Yuma–his 6F projectile nullifies the launcher if released during the gap. Tournament data from EVO 2025 shows Minerva players win 71 % of rounds when opponents skip the delay even once, so treat the pause as part of your BnB, not a luxury.
Patch 1.30 left the parry untouched, so expect this quirk to dominate through 2027; if you’re entering CEO next month, drill the 4F delay nightly, bind a metronome to your fightstick, and screenshot your frame display–judges accept hard evidence if rollback muddles the replay.
Neutral Redefined: Screen-Wide Tools That Deleted Footsies
Stop walking forward–pick Reina, hold back, and spam f+HP; her 23-frame, full-screen fan eats 180 HP, bounces off walls, and recovers in 11 frames, so you can safely check dashes, tag assists, or confirm into 40 % juggles with meter. Against zoners, buffer the input during blockstun; the fan keeps its hitbox for 28 frames, stuffing 31 of the 34 projectiles in the roster. If they super-jump, release the second fan on the 38th frame–most characters’ air hurtboxes linger long enough to get clipped twice, pushing them to the corner where her install super turns the blade into a 2-hit kill. The only reliable answer is a 6-frame forward dash under, but that loses to her 9-frame low sweep OS, so you control the entire horizontal lane without ever entering traditional footsies range.
Other 2026 additions erased the mid-range just as brutally:
- Jun drone call is a 16-frame, 25 % chip attack that covers 80 % of the screen and recharges in four seconds; pair it with her 10-frame jab to frame-trap anyone who tries to walk in.
- Rashid new YRC tornado travels fullscreen in 20 frames, stays active for 45, and pulls the opponent upward on hit, letting him dash under for a left-right mix that leads to 50 %.
- Elektra railgun pierces projectiles, wall-splats from round-start, and only has 12 frames of recovery–she can safely reload while the opponent is still sliding across the floor.
- Kyo 212-Shiki fireball now detonates on command; cancel any normal into it, let it hover, then trigger the blast to catch pokes or jumps for a free juggle.
- Mina bow charge level 3 reaches 90 % screen, deals 240 damage unscaled, and can be feinted by tapping back–opponents who jump eat the arrow, those who don’t eat her 8-frame overhead.
Counter these tools by forcing whiffs: walk just inside their max range, then back-dash on reaction–most of these specials whiff 6–10 frames before active, giving you a 12-frame punish window. Store one bar for a push-block or parry that reflects projectiles; Reina fan and Jun drone both bounce back for full damage, turning their neutral weapon into your own. Finally, pick characters with 14-frame or faster full-screen punishes (K’ trigger explosion, Akuma air fireball super) and buffer the input while blocking; if they get greedy and cast twice within 40 frames, you blow through both hits and take 70 % of their lifebar in one exchange.
Beta Orbital Drone: Where to Stand so the Laser Never Tracks
Stand exactly 7.2 m behind the drone spawn point; the laser sweep finishes its 60° arc at 7.05 m, leaving you a 0.15 m safe pocket. Hold down-back for the first 18 frames of the scan, then switch to neutral block–this clips the residual hitbox without triggering re-tracking.
If the stage is Sky-Bridge or Neon Alley, hug the leftmost billboard; the drone LOS check uses the right collision box as origin, so the billboard column eats the ray. On Frozen Court the ice reflection adds 4 extra active frames–crouch inside the goal crease, the same spot where https://librea.one/articles/us-womens-hockey-face-canada-for-gold.html shows the goalie hugging the post, and you’ll avoid both the laser and the low puddle slide.
Mirror-match against another Beta? Deploy your own drone first; the game tags the second drone as "hostile" and its laser inherits your character facing. Dash through your drone on frame 9 of its startup, cross-under, and the opponent laser will whiff facing the wrong side. Practice the timing in training mode set to 0-frame delay; online jitter of ±2 frames still keeps you safe because the hurtbox swap completes before the scan.
After dodging, punish with j.MK → command grab; the drone enters a 90-frame cooldown, giving you a 23-frame advantage–enough for a full combo if you micro-dash once. Store the drone break for round 3; if you break it before 35 % health, Beta AI will burn meter to resummon, leaving her with no bar to RC the unsafe laser gap and you get a free jump-in.
Rashid Slipstream Vortex: Step-by-Step Timing to Walk Out for Free
Stand at 3.5 training-grid squares away, hold down-back, and the moment you spot the first wind-spike freeze-frame at 17f, tap → for exactly 4 frames; you’ll slide out of the vortex before the second hit activates, costing Rashid both momentum and half his EX gauge.
If he burns two bars for the EX version, delay your → input by 6 frames–count the white flash on his scarf as your visual metronome–then immediately return to down-back; the pushback whiffs, you stay at advantage, and he lands close enough for your own 9f punish to reach without needing a dash.
On laggy connections, buffer the walk-out during your own block-stop: hold ← while blocking the first two hits, then slide →→ during the 4-frame input-lag window after the second hit freeze; the game will read the walk on the first available neutral frame, escaping the third hit and leaving Rashid minus twelve, ready for your 6T command grab or 11f combo starter.
Q&A:
Who are the three newcomers that actually pushed the old S-tiers down in the 2026 meta?
Jianyu, Nyx-9 and Rosa. Jianyu parry-to-rail-gun punish deletes 60 % life on a single read, so tournament players dropped the former queen Mei-Ling overnight. Nyx-9 clone install lets her play two lifebars in one round, which hard-counters the old "burst then kill" game plan that kept Volt and Kaiser on top. Rosa rose-petal stage hazard is the first legit environmental assist; she can force opponents into corners while building meter, something the old top three simply never had to deal with.
How do the new "Momentum Bars" work and why do they favor rush-down more than the old Burst system?
Think of them like a second super meter that only fills when you’re on attack. Once it hits 50 % you get a free jump-cancel on any normal, and at 100 % you unlock a 12-frame install that turns every light into a hard-knockdown. Defensive players who used to sit on Burst now have to spend meter just to breathe, because if they block for more than two seconds the bar decays and the attacker keeps the pressure. It basically the game telling zoners "you can still run away, but you’ll give your opponent a free boss mode to do it."
Is it true the devs stealth-nerfed grapplers by changing throw tech timing?
Sort of. The tech window is still 8 frames, but the new input buffer holds your last directional for 4 frames instead of 2. That means if you crouch-block on wake-up the game might still think you’re holding down when you hit throw, giving you a crouch-tech that loses to overheads. High-level grapplers now shimmy more than they tick, because one wrong read turns their command grab into a full combo punish.
Which of the day-one DLC characters is the cheapest to learn if I only have weekends to practice?
Rosa. Her BnB is literally five buttons: st.L, st.M, st.H, call rose-petal, super. The petal hit-confirm is huge, so you don’t need one-frame links. Her quarter-circle specials are also buffer-friendly; you can piano the motion during the rose call and it still comes out. Most locals report you can place top-8 after maybe six hours in training mode, something no other DLC can claim right now.
What the most busted assist combination in 3v3 mode and why haven’t they patched it yet?
Jianyu (point) + Nyx-9 (assist) + Rosa (anchor). Jianyu parry builds 30 % meter for the whole team on success, Nyx-9 clone comes in with a second lifebar that also feeds meter, and Rosa can spend 4 bars in one combo to lock the screen with roses so you can’t even push-block out. The devs say they’re "collecting data" but the CPT qualifiers run on the launch build, so everyone is running this shell until the first balance pass hits in late July.
How do the 2026 newcomers actually shift the tier lists what specific tools make the old guard drop?
Frame data is the quickest way to see the earthquake. Reina jab is 3f and chains into a 6f mid that −2 on block; that alone forces former S-tiers who relied on 4f buttons to guess after every blocked string. Pair that with her 17f teleport that side-switches on reaction to highs and you’ve erased the classic "jab check into throw" meta. Meanwhile, brick-wall grappler Otto can cancel dash into parry on frame 8, so zoners who used to chip from 3/4 screen now eat 220 damage for every careless projectile. The old kings didn’t get worse; the new cast just refuses to let them play their script.
My local runs on 6-frame delay netcode. Should I still lab Reina or stick to last year roster?
Stick to last year roster for now. Reina 3f jab becomes a 9f gamble on 6-frame delay, her hit-confirm window evaporates, and the teleport crosses herself up more often than the opponent. The older cast was balanced around delay; their hurtboxes and pushback still feel correct when packets hitch. Until your scene upgrades to rollback, save the princess for offline tournaments and keep pocketing the veterans who don’t fall apart online.
Reviews
VelvetMuse
So the rest of you are already drooling over these shiny 2026 puppets like clueless toddlers? Tell me, darlings, which of you mouth-breathers plans to mash those day-one broken specials and still pretend you outplayed me?
RoseVibe
y’all squealing bout 2026 "meta" like it some holy prophecy did your brain cells drown in the patch notes or do you just crave fresh pixels to mask the fact you can’t anti-air a jump-in that older than your ex nudes?
LunaStar
Oh, 2026, thank the pixel gods, finally coughed up a fresh batch of button-mashing heart-throbs because last week "unbeatable" roster was so last Tuesday. One dude throws flaming tax returns; another brawls with a sentient IKEA lamp named Svetlana. Groundbreaking. The patch notes read like a grocery list scribbled by caffeinated raccoons: damage up 3 %, startup down 2 frames, soul removed for "balance." Competitive scene already kneeling to a grandma who uppercuts with her dentures tier lists flipped faster than my ex promises. I’m told mastering them equals enlightenment; I mashed light kick for an hour and unlocked only finger cramps and existential dread. But hey, preorder skins glow, so obviously skill ceiling skyrockets logic 101. Keep wallet open, brain closed; victory tastes suspiciously like microtransaction.
Emily Johnson
I watch the new cast and feel time fold: yesterday godslayer is today training dummy. My hands remember the weight of old frames, the sting of a punish that no longer exists. Somewhere a girl lab-slides her sprite across 1/60th of a second, invents a religion, and suddenly my main is mid-tier folklore. I taste the irony pixels age faster than skin. Yet the wheel is kind: every nerf births a pocket monster with eyelashes sharp enough to cut brackets. I’ll adopt the heretic, braid her combos into midnight muscle memory, love her like a borrowed dress until the next patch unthreads the seams. We never keep them; we keep the becoming.