Manon

マノン

Manon — 대책

Key Info

  • Overhead options
    • 214HK
    • 214KK (OD) — combos on hit
    • 4MK→MK — second hit is overhead
  • Command grab
    • 63214P — range and startup vary by strength; damage scales with Medal level (up to 3700 damage at Lv5)
  • Projectile-invincible move
    • 236P→K / 236PP→K
  • Defence
    • No OD invincible reversal
    • OD Rond-point (236KK): 8F startup, anti-air invincible
    • SA1 Arabesque (236236K): 10F startup, no projectile invincibility
    • SA2 Etoile (214214K): 7F startup, projectile invincible
    • SA3 (236236P close range): 7F startup
  • Advantage on block
    • 4HP: +1F
  • Weaknesses
    • No projectile
    • No OD invincible reversal
    • Low damage before Medals stack up

Neutral Game (Focus Points)

  • Keep Medal level low
    • Manon's command grab damage skyrockets as Medal level rises
    • Medals only increase when 63214P or 236P connects
    • Not eating the command grab is the top priority — do not default to passive blocking; mix in back dashes and vertical jumps
    • When Medals are low her damage is modest — go on offence and close out rounds early
  • Dealing with MP
    • Manon's main poke with excellent range and priority
    • The hitbox is very strong and she walks forward as she attacks, so the effective range is longer than it looks
    • Do not exchange pokes at MP range
    • Once she enters MP range she can Cancel Drive Rush and force a mix-up
    • If spacing control breaks down and she gets into MP range, consciously allocate attention to Drive Reversal — this is critical
  • Reacting to 63214P
    • If you read command grab, use back dash rather than vertical jump
    • Vertical jump gives her return if she was doing a normal throw or just waiting
  • No projectile
    • Fireball characters can shoot from long range to force Manon to move
    • Her answer is 236P→K but it is -5F on block — always punish
    • Keep her at distance and make her approach on your terms
  • Dealing with jump-ins
    • Jumping HK has very strong priority and stuffs most standing normals
    • Use special move anti-airs instead of normals

Rond-point (236K)

Damage and startup vary by strength. Mostly used as a combo ender.

  • 236LK: -15F on block
  • 236MK: -14F on block
  • 236HK: -11F on block
  • 236KK (OD): -19F on block

Recommended Counter

  • On block: all versions are punishable — use a heavy-starter punish every time
  • After 236HK hits you: forward dash → raw Drive Rush allows OD reversal to land — do not let her steal this for free

Dégagé (214K)

  • 214LK — low rush attack — -24F on block
  • 214MK — used as combo ender — -24F on block
  • 214HK — overhead rush attack — -8F on block
  • 214KK (OD) — overhead with no guaranteed punish — -3F on block; play throw vs. strike

Recommended Counter

Everything except 214KK is punishable on block — use a heavy-starter punish every time.

Renversé (236P)

Damage and startup vary by strength. Mostly used as a combo ender.

  • 236LP
  • 236MP
  • 236HP
  • 236PP (OD)

On hit Manon is +15F. The situation after a Renversé combo ender is not particularly strong — she can only apply okizeme with Drive Rush. If she uses Drive Rush, an invincible move with 12F startup or faster and a wide horizontal hitbox is guaranteed. Even if she Drive Rushes, only a strike is meaty — no throw. Forward dash after the hit also leaves Manon at -6F, so always punish.

At 3+ Medals the spacing pushes out further on hit — keep this in mind as a counter.

Recommended Counter

  • Forward dash on hit: Manon is -6F — punish cleanly
  • Raw Drive Rush on hit: OD reversal punishes for several characters
    • Juri, Rashid, Sagat — react to the Drive Rush flash and fire OD reversal
  • Raw Drive Rush on hit: 12F-or-faster wide-hitbox SA also punishes
    • Examples: Blanka SA1, DJ SA2 — watch out for super flash counter
  • Drive Rush okizeme at 3+ Medals
    • The spacing pushes out further, so holding back makes Drive Rush 2MK whiff — concede the low and hold back
    • SA2 combo is still possible, so factor in her meter
  • Without an OD reversal
    • Fuzzy jump is very difficult but shuts things down if you can do it

The clip records:

  • Drive Rush → 2MK
  • Drive Rush → 63214LP

Grand Fouetté (236P→K)

Manon's projectile-invincible move derived from Renversé.

  • 236P→K: -5F on block
  • 236PP→K (OD): -12F on block

Recommended Counter

Both versions are punishable on block — use a 5F button for the normal version and apply the punish consistently.

Manège Doré (63214P)

Manon's command grab. Damage scales with Medal level. On hit: +19F for Manon.

  • 63214LP — long range, slow startup
  • 63214MP — middle ground
  • 63214HP — fast startup, short range
  • 63214PP (OD) — LP range at MP startup — rarely used

After the hit, Manon is +19F. Let us clarify the situation when you eat this. First, even if you see Drive Rush, OD reversal is not guaranteed. Furthermore, she has better frame advantage than after Renversé, so she can safe-jump certain SAs. If she uses Drive Rush, only strikes land meaty — her options are limited. At 3+ Medals the spacing pushes out further on hit — keep this in mind as a counter.

Recommended Counter

Wakeup defence after Manège Doré:

  • Forward dash: Manon is -2F — press a 4F button at the earliest possible frame
  • Drive Rush okizeme (2 medals or fewer): walk back — Drive Rush 2MK whiffs at this spacing; concede the low and walk back; even if it hits there is no combo follow-up; 214LK first hit also whiffs so you can react and guard; walking back also makes command grab whiff
  • Drive Rush okizeme (3+ medals): same back-walk principle — Drive Rush 2MK whiffs; 214LK first hit also whiffs; command grab whiffs; the spacing is even greater than at lower medal counts, making it extremely difficult for her to land any strike option other than Drive Rush → HP; mashing on wakeup has higher expected value than at lower medal counts
  • Drive Rush okizeme → HP on block: Manon is +1F — always press a 4F button after blocking HP; if you lose the trade she has to confirm into a cancel Drive Rush combo spending 3 Drive bars; if they spend 3 bars on that, losing the trade is acceptable
  • Characters with 8F-or-faster wide-hitbox invincible reversal: confirm the Drive Rush flash and fire — punishes cleanly (e.g., Blanka SA1, Manon SA2)

Warning

A 9F invincible reversal does NOT punish cleanly — be careful.

MP → Cancel Drive Rush → 2MP

Manon's staple pressure sequence — consecutive guard, leaving her at +3 after 2MP.

The standard counter is Drive Reversal or OD reversal the moment you see Cancel Drive Rush off MP, but doing it every time is unrealistic.

The key mindset: whenever you are put at minus frames, stay conscious of Drive Reversal. Never zone out during a Manon match.

After blocking Drive Rush 2MP, Manon's follow-ups:

  • 4HP → 236P: hits vertical jump and back jump, leading to a combo; fastest reversal attempt beats it; however, many Manon players buffer 236P on autopilot without confirming 4HP hit; if she buffers 236P when 4HP missed, some players cancel to 63214P — when you read the 236P buffer, jump out

Recommended Counter

Drive Reversal on Cancel Drive Rush.

Difficult, but once you can do this consistently you no longer have to play the entire guessing game.

After blocking:

  • 4HP→236P→cancel→63214P (command grab bait): if you block 4HP, press a light button at the timing you would block the follow-up — covers both options
  • Command grab: fastest reversal attempt and staying still both lose; use vertical jump or back dash for maximum return
  • 2LK→LP→214LK (Dégagé LK): fastest reversal attempt and jump both beat this; after blocking LP a command grab is possible — one-guard-then-jump is recommended

Manon frequently either builds consecutive guard with 2MP or goes straight for command grab — do not forget to keep jump in your toolkit.

HK (Standing Heavy Kick)

Manon's neutral poke.

  • On block: -6F
  • On normal hit: +1F

Recommended Counter

If you block at close range, punish with a 6F medium or a 5F light kick.

À Terre (MP→MK)

Manon's target combo.

  • On block: -5F
  • On hit: +2F

Recommended Counter

Many players instinctively back jump when suddenly pulled in — resist that urge. On block Manon is -5F; calmly take the punish every time.

Temps Lié (HP→HP)

Manon's target combo.

  • On block: -8F
  • On hit: +3F

Recommended Counter

Many players instinctively back jump when suddenly pulled in — resist that urge. On block Manon is -8F; take the guaranteed punish every time.

En Haut first hit (4MK)

A normal that branches into the En Haut target combo.

On block you face a command grab vs. 4MK→MK guessing game. If she does not extend, invincible reversals get blocked; mashing loses to the second hit; standing still invites command grab — it is a forced guessing game.

Recommended Counter

Optimise your options — OD reversal is generally not the right tool here regardless of gauge.

  • After blocking the first hit: medium reversal attempt — after 63214HP input there is a 9F gap where a medium button wins; it loses to the second hit but treat that as an acceptable gamble
  • After blocking the second hit: -19F means she almost always Cancel Drive Rushes — interrupt with an invincible move; using an SA here is especially rewarding

The second hit can be delayed so fuzzy-guarding is impossible. Commit to the guessing game cleanly. Mashing a light against command grab gives low return — use medium or heavier attacks for efficient exchanges as shown in the video.

If your reversal attempt gets counter-hit, confirming the counter is difficult so Manon will usually Cancel Drive Rush and spend 3 bars anyway.

OD Rond-point (236KK) — anti-air offset counter

8F startup with anti-air invincibility — more forgiving on timing than a normal anti-air. On hit, Renversé follow-up also grants a Medal, making her return extremely high.

  • 236LK: -15F on block
  • 236MK: -14F on block
  • 236HK: -11F on block
  • 236KK (OD): -19F on block, anti-air invincible

Recommended Counter

  • Stay grounded: making her aware of OD Rond-point leaves her ground game neglected; if her anti-airs feel oppressive, stop jumping and play footsies; fireball characters can shoot from range and control the ground game
  • On block: all versions are heavily minus — use a heavy-starter punish every time

SA1 Arabesque (236236K)

10F startup, no projectile invincibility. On hit, Manon swaps sides and gains strong wakeup pressure.

Recommended Counter

When you have Manon cornered, there is no acceptable situation where you eat SA1 — stay alert at all times.

If you can react to the super flash with a Parry, do so. However, this is a low attack — you must at minimum be crouching to guard it.

The startup is slow enough that a meaty jump-in or a move with low-evade property (e.g., Rashid's Tephadora Moon, Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick) can beat it on wakeup.

SA2 Étoile (214214K)

7F startup, projectile invincible. Wide hitbox in both horizontal and vertical directions — catches back dashes and vertical jumps.

Warning

SA2 is Manon's most powerful reversal. Its 7F startup means it can land even when you back dash on reading a command grab or when you jump vertically. When attacking, always check her SA2 gauge — if she has meter, choose pressure sequences with few gaps. Be especially careful not to give her free SA2 responses to mid-range pokes or jump-ins.

Respecting the command grab — but not too much

The most important mindset in the Manon matchup is not to over-fear the command grab.

If you have internalised the wakeup defence covered above, the okizeme after a raw command grab is actually manageable.

The more dangerous scenarios to watch are these combo enders, where okizeme is genuinely strong:

  • 214LP — Drive Rush from midscreen starts strong strike pressure
  • 214MP — corner forward dash creates meaty 4HP loops

Recommended Counter

Memorise the situations after Manège Doré (63214P) connects and drill the correct responses.