[SF6] Luke Countermeasures Guide [Win Just by Reading]
Categories:
Basic Info
- Sustained Overhead does not lead to combo
- 6MP
- During wakeup, watch out for (During OD Avenger) > K
- Can follow up with 214214P on Hit, so be careful at low HP
- Defensive Options
- 6F Startup OD invincible move: 623PP
- If you play Luke or Kimberly, avoid using Rush after throws
- 5F Startup anti-air invincible 623LP available
- 236236P has 6F Startup, not Projectile invincible
- 214214P has 5F Startup, Projectile invincible
- 236236K has 10F Startup
- 6F Startup OD invincible move: 623PP
- Moves that are plus on Block
- 2MP
- 214HP (Hold)
Neutral (Awareness Priority)
- Drive Gauge management
- Luke is a character who relies heavily on Cancel Rush since he has few confirm-into-knockdown combos
- His Drive Gauge recovery options are limited, making him prone to Burnout
- 236P can be used for Drive Gauge recovery, but since he can’t create safe fireballs, the risk is higher than other characters
- Therefore, use more strikes during Oki to drain his Drive Gauge
- Don’t force yourself to stop Rush
- Luke’s Rush has excellent range and speed. Always create time to look for Rush
- When watching for it, keep a distance where you won’t get caught by Suppressor
- Use anti-air invincible moves
- Trying to anti-air Luke’s (jumping) HP with normals tends to get beaten — use anti-air invincible moves instead Also, (jumping) HK has absurd hitbox, so research how your character’s anti-air performs against it
- Accept midscreen LPLK
- When you Block opening 2MK cancel and get put at point-blank Disadvantage, accepting the throw is the correct answer
- Luke’s situation after LPLK is bad, so accept it unless you’re in the corner
- A very common losing pattern is teching carelessly and eating the 4HP tech bait
- Use more reversals during grappling pressure
- Luke’s grappling pressure has very low strike return — forward jump and backdash are very effective when cornered
- Even if he meaties 2MP, the damage doesn’t reach 1200, so the return is low
- Even if he meaties the high-return Outlaw Kick, once Blocked Luke is -3F and can’t continue offense
- HK sustained meaty can increase return, but sustained meaty from throw is difficult so you don’t need to consider it
- Choose safe jump routes more often
- Luke’s LP has 7F Startup, so he can’t Fuzzy punish safe jump empty jumps
- Using more empty throw and empty low from safe jumps makes him very easy to open up
623P
Luke’s anti-air special move Startup and range change based on strength
- 623LP
- 5F Startup
- 623MP
- 6F Startup
- 623HP
- 9F Startup
- 623PP
- 6F Startup invincible move
- Very good Oki situation
Recommended Counter
Both strengths have excellent utility. Don’t jump carelessly.
- 623PP
- Luke is +25F on Hit
- One of the few characters who gets Oki after invincible Hit
- Rush can be used for Oki, but Quick Rise makes walk Shimmy impossible
- If you get hit, use Quick Rise
236K
Luke’s rush-down move Mainly used in Oki setplays
Branches into the following two:
- (During Avenger) > P
- Luke is -16F on Block
- (During Avenger) > K
- Luke is -22F on Block
- (During OD Avenger) > P
- Luke is -6F on Block
- (During OD Avenger) > K
- Luke is -3F on Block
Recommended Counter
Used as a setplay on opponent’s knockdown, so it’s not commonly used in Neutral, but if you Block it outside of knockdown situations, everything except (During OD Avenger) > K has a Punish, so remember this.214LP
Luke is +32F on Hit Used as a combo ender
When you get hit, understand that there’s a mixup between Back Rise and Quick Rise.
- Quick Rise
- Shimmy becomes impossible when Rush is used
- Back Rise
- No Oki if Rush is not used
Recommended Counter
At midscreen, from Luke’s perspective he won’t want to give up key Oki, so he’ll use Rush for Oki. At this point, you want to deny Luke’s walk Shimmy option, so Quick Rise is fine.
When choosing Quick Rise:
- OD invincible and delayed tech have higher expected value when Rush is used When choosing Back Rise:
- No Oki if Rush is not used
214MP
Used as a just-frame combo from 2HP. It’s difficult for Luke to consistently land this just-frame combo. If the just-frame is missed, Drive Impact is guaranteed, so develop the habit of pressing Drive Impact when you see the 214MP motion.
Recommended Counter
It’s hard to buffer Drive Impact by reacting to 214MP every time. Buffer it when you see the 2HP motion instead. 2HP without special cancel is Punishable, so Luke will always cancel into something.
Caution
The losing option against 2HP confirm Impact is 236PP, but since it costs a lot of gauge, it rarely happens — just ignore it.214HP
A special move that can be cancelled from various normals. Blocking the Hold version puts Luke at +4F (throw range at the corner). Non-hold version is -4F: light attack Punish is guaranteed, so land a big combo.
- LP > MP > HP > Heavy Flash Knuckle
- If you do nothing, you’ll Block the Heavy Flash Knuckle Hold version and give up Advantage
- If you see Triple Impact, counter with a Projectile invincible SA
- HP > Heavy Flash Knuckle
- Against Luke without 236236K, mashing DI on HP react is likely to work
- HP cancel tends to be true Block string, and Drive Impact is unlikely to leak. Buffering Drive Impact on any cancel is very effective
- The only thing that clearly beats Drive Impact is 236PP, and the Drive Gauge cost makes it hard for the opponent to choose
Recommended Counter
Basically if you’re watching, Impact is possible, but if 236236K is stocked, countering with Impact can lead to 236236K cancel into huge damage. In that case, Fuzzy back jump is recommended.
- Fuzzy back jump
- 214HP: 23F Hit / 214HP (Hold): 33F Hit
- By inputting back jump in the 23F-33F gap, you Block 214HP and back jump attack (depending on timing) is guaranteed against 214HP (Hold)
- Luke also has the option of slightly delayed Heavy Flash Knuckle to beat Fuzzy back jump
- In that case, Impact expected value increases, so keep the mixup going
- If you manage to Block it, Punish with a 4F starter
Caution
If you can do the above counter with perfect timing, it covers everything, but it’s very difficult in a real match and the opponent may choose slightly delayed 214HP.
In that case, recognize that fastest back jump is also fine. Luke gets 1000 damage from 214HP Hit. You get 3000 damage from back jump attack.
If 236236K is available, cancel could lead to big damage, but confirming the jump itself is very difficult so don’t worry about it.
236P
Luke’s fast projectile
- 236LP
- Fast Startup, short range
- 236MP
- Performance between 236LP and 236HP
- 236HP
- Slow Startup, long range
- 236PP
- Can follow up with (During OD Sand Blast) > PP
Long recovery means limited safe situations, so it’s mainly used cancelled from normals.
- HP > 236P
- Luke’s stable option (Drive Gauge Advantage building). Tip HP has no Punish.
- So when you see HP, buffer a long-range invincible move — if that’s too hard, Parry is fine
- When cornered by this string, holding forward jump can cause HP > Sand Blast cancel to whiff, giving you a Punish, so hold forward jump
Recommended Counter
- When cornered by normal cancel > 236P
- Forward jump is effective
- HP etc. can air Hit, allowing you to Punish in many cases
- When Sand Blast is frequent at midscreen
- Forward jump
- It’s difficult for him to do safe fireballs, so jump forward aggressively
- Just Parry
- When Parrying up close, properly buffer a step or heavy attack
- Forward jump
6HP
There’s a 5F gap between 6HP and 6HP > 6HP, so you can interrupt with a 4F move.
Recommended Counter
- Fastest jab
- Beats 6HP > 6HP follow-up
- In that case, aim for maximum return with jab > MP
Caution
More Lukes are starting to Just Parry the fastest jab.
Include throw as an option too. If you input throw at the fastest timing, you’ll lose to the second hit follow-up, so use Fuzzy throw.
- Fuzzy throw
- Beats opponents who Parry
- Throw at the timing you would Block 6HP > 6HP follow-up
The video below has the following recorded:
- 6HP > 6HP > 236MP
- 6HP > Parry
MP > MP > MP > MP
Luke’s MP starter Snap Back combo — after Blocking, every hit after the first is 8F+ Punishable.
Recommended Counter
- When you see the second hit of the Snap Back combo motion, mash an 8F or faster move
- It’s a true Block string so the move won’t leak
LP > MP > HP
Luke’s target combo From here he can cancel into various special moves. 236P is fine if you just Block, but watch out for 214HP gimmicks and prepare a counter.
236HP Crouch Block Disadvantage +1
- 236LP
- Crouch Block -8F
- Stand Block -7F
- 236MP
- Crouch Block -5F
- Stand Block -4F
- 236HP
- Crouch Block -2F
- Stand Block -1F
Recommended Counter
- Impact is effective, but note that 236PP or Heavy Flash Knuckle > 236236K can counter it.
- When you see LP > MP > HP, buffer a Projectile invincible SA or a long-range OD invincible move.
- If the buffer succeeded but SA didn’t come out, the opponent chose 236LP — Punish with an 8F move.
- When choosing an invincible move, note that using one without projectile invincibility will get hit by 236P
- Depending on the character, if it was Heavy Flash Knuckle, the backward movement of 214HP may cause OD invincible to whiff, so be careful
2MP
A normal that is +1 on Block. The strings from 2MP are as follows:
- 2MP > 2LP > 2MP > 236P
- 2MP > 2MP > 2MK > 236P
- 2MP > 2LP > 236P
Recommended Counter
For those who don’t know when to mash — a quick counter:
- After Blocking two normals, mash with a light attack
- When Luke does any of the above 3 strings, placing a long 4F-5F normal will Counter Hit into a combo
- Make sure to buffer a proper combo from this
The following strings are recorded below:
- 2MP > 2LP > 2MP > 236P
- 2MP > 2MP > 2MK > 236P
- 2MP > 2LP > 236P
HK
Long active frames — meatying with the last active frames gives +1F. When the last active frames connect, the screen shakes. If the screen didn’t shake, it’s at best +/-0F, so mash.
It’s mainly used often in Oki setplays, so learn the HK setplays and try for Just Parry.
Recommended Counter
- Outside of setplays, it’s impossible to land the last active frames
- When the last active frames hit and he gets plus, the screen shakes — if it didn’t shake, mash at fastest speed
Rush
- Hard to stop if you’re not watching. If you’re not watching, don’t force it.
- When not watching, committing to Parry is safe.
- If you decide to stop it, do so at close range with jab etc.
- Trying to stop long-range Rush will get you beaten by Suppressor, so it’s better to stay quiet.
Recommended Counter
- Keep a position where you won’t get caught by Suppressor or Heavy Flash Knuckle
- Maintain a distance closer than opening distance
LPLK
Luke has +19F Advantage, but at midscreen you can gain a favorable mixup by applying the counter.
- If you choose Quick Rise, Luke can Oki with micro walk
- LPLK is also meatied
- However, if Luke used Rush, OD invincible is guaranteed
- If you choose Back Rise, Rush Oki becomes possible
- Even if you react to Rush, Heavy Flash Knuckle or LPLK can emergency stop, so it’s tricky
- SA reversal has a risk of super flash reaction, so for stability, fast OD invincible is better
Recommended Counter
- Be aware that it’s a mixup and don’t habitually take Back Rise
- Start by prioritizing screen position with Quick Rise, and if you see Rush, counter with OD invincible
- Invincible moves with 7F or faster Startup will be guaranteed unless super flash is reacted to
- Even with Back Rise, long-range SAs will still connect, so just holding Back Rise > SA with Luke’s SA1 or Manon’s SA2 can win almost every time
Luke’s SA1
Manon’s SA2
Caution
- If you took Back Rise, OD invincible is not guaranteed
- Invincible moves with 8F or more Startup are not guaranteed
4LPLK
Luke has +14F Advantage The situation after 4LPLK is not very strong.
- Back Rise is standard at midscreen.
- Even without recovery, only HP is meatied.
- If you choose no recovery, OD invincible is guaranteed if you see Rush.
Recommended Counter
- Back Rise is standard.
- Distance is too far for Oki
- Quick Rise is also fine
- Strikes are meatied but throw is not — think of it as trading Drive Gauge for screen position
- In that case, react to Rush and use OD invincible
- At the corner, HK connects with sustained active frames, +1F on Block
- It’s easy to Just Parry, so try it
When Applying Oki
Luke’s defensively important LP is 7F. Fuzzy from stand Block is difficult.
- Kimberly can use forward HK
- Dhalsim can use Float > Yoga Teleport Use moves that require standing 4F to counter as your offense starters.
Among moves that require standing 4F to counter, the universal option available to all characters is safe jumps, so actively use them in your Oki.
Recommended Counter
- Actively go for safe jumps when you have the opportunity during Oki