If Manon punishes you with a maxed out command grab it instantly lops off an incredible 42%, (slightly less for the more durable Zangief or Marisa) which very well may be the single most powerful non-Super command grab in Street Fighter history.
Lily’s OD Condor Spire may be the best “skip neutral” move in the game as it goes through fireballs, beats Drive Impact, doles out decent damage, and leaves her plus in your face as a grappler on block. Both of these characters, however, are still easily regarded as two of the worst characters in all of Street Fighter 6. In a recent video MCMuraFGC explores with more depth why these grapplers have such a hard time despite having such obviously powerful tools.
It may be helpful to first take a look at why the strongest characters in the game tend to be so much more consistent. Luke, for instances, has tons of great tools from many ranges as he boasts amazing neutral, damage output, jump ins, corner carry, and okizeme.
All of those help him out a ton, but it’s that last one that really ties everything together. For those who don’t know “okizeme” (oki) refers to the potential pressure a character can put on an opponent as they stand to their feet after being knocked down.
To have strong oki means that not only are you able to hit your opponent to the ground, you’re able to take advantage of them when they’re in one of the most vulnerable (predictable) defensive situations.
Oki pressure means you can time an attack so that your opponent has very few options to deal with it. They cannot maneuver away from it, nor can they retort with an attack of their own as the incoming hit will land before they’re able to get through the start up of any move.
Sure they can go for an invincible reversal (if they have one… unlike any of the grapplers in this game) but that’s a costly gamble to make on both the Drive Gauge and health bar fronts.
In other words, to have oki means you can string together your most powerful tools and garner a ton of momentum as a result.
Those who’ve spent even just a few minutes in Street Fighter 6 quickly learn how important momentum can be as the action tends to come in bursts thanks to the Drive Rush mechanic.
With all that in mind, take a look and a listen to MC Mura’s presentation below as he explains why grapplers tend to ride the struggle bus in SF6:
