M.Bison — Counter-Guide

Recommended Counter

• If you end up blocking
  • 4HK acts as an anti-mash option, so guarding lets him keep chipping your gauge
  • Use Drive Reversal

• If you read his raw follow-up
  • Drive Impact (DI) is confirmed, so you can press DI when you read the commit

Recommended Counter

• On 214MP and 214LP hit
  • Hit advantage: ~20–21F
  • In-place recovery
    • 4HK overlaps
    • Throw does not overlap
  • Back-roll recovery
    • Neither throw nor strike overlaps
    • Even trying to overlap MP leaves more than 8F of gap

Take in-place recovery and mash with a medium attack with good range.

• On 214HP hit
  • Hit advantage: 31F
  • In-place recovery
    • Walking shimmy is not possible when Bison uses rush
  • Back-roll recovery
    • Both throw and 4HK overlap

Recommended Counter

• In neutral
  • Mix in neutral jumps at appropriate intervals
  • In particular, after a throw tech, Double Knee Press often hits at tip range, so many Bison players will place it — stay alert
• After guarding
  • The punish combo differs by strength, so memorize the frame data for each
  • 236LK and 236MK are -5F — make sure to take the 5F punish

Recommended Counter

• Avoid using an invincible anti-air special — it is simply too difficult

• Intercepting with a jump attack is recommended

  • Even if the jump attack loses, the downside is minimal

• [2]8K → K → P (Somersault Skull Diver)

  • After blocking, a crossup back-jump attack scores a low-risk knockdown
    • Characters with air throw can use that instead
  • Even without a follow-up, Bison has no way to punish a back-jump

Recommended Counter

The normal version without Psycho Mine is -20 to -23F — land a max punish combo. OD version (-3F) has no punish combo, so watching and waiting is safe. Guarding while the mine is attached gives Bison +5 to +10F — if the mine is on you, use Drive Reversal to interrupt.

Recommended Counter

• On [4]6LP and [4]6MP hit
  • Bison is +24F
  • Forward step: +5F
    • Recovery direction does not matter — strong oki (wakeup pressure) begins regardless, so take in-place recovery to avoid giving up corner position
  • Walking shimmy possible
    • Walking shimmy is not possible against large characters

• On [4]6HP hit

  • Bison is +14F
  • Back-roll recovery removes his oki (wakeup pressure)
  • Using rush confirms an invincible reversal

• On [4]6PP hit

  • Bison is +35F
  • Walking throw overlaps

Recommended Counter

• Back jump
  • 2MP and 2LK → LP will hit but the damage is minimal
  • MP and Evil Knee (4HK) can be escaped by eating the hit mid-air

The following are recorded in the video below:

• Rush → 2LP → 4HK
• Rush → 2LP → MP

• For some characters, fastest mash (4F standing light) is effective
  • Rashid, Kimberly, Akuma, Blanka, etc.
  • Even on trade, it does not convert into a combo
    • Look up your 4F light move's performance

The following video records 4HK and MP:

• Rush → 2LP → 4HK
• Rush → 2LP → MP
• Rush → 2LP → 2MP

Recommended Counter

• On block, start with a heavy attack for maximum return damage

Recommended Counter

• After blocking
  • Do not take high-risk reversal options
    • +1F is not a particularly strong advantage
    • Using a throw or invincible here makes the risk vs reward unfavorable
    • If you want to press a button, try a light attack mash instead
• After rush → 4HK on block
  • Delayed parry
    • 4HK sometimes acts as an anti-mash move, so pressing parry at the timing you would guard the follow-up 4HK lets you dodge panic counter throws while also setting up perfect parry

The following are recorded in the video below:

• Throw → rush 4HK → 4HK
• Throw → rush 4HK → throw

Very difficult, but you can afford to be slow at first.

Recommended Counter

After guarding, Bison is -3F and outside throw range. Organize your options after guarding.

• Walking throw
  • If choosing a walking throw, you need to walk for a relatively long time (about 10F of walking before throwing feels right)
  • Walking short → throw whiff → panic counter is easy to get caught in, so walk far enough
• 2MK
  • Wins if Bison is watching for the walking throw
• Heavy attack
  • If Bison is wary of the walking throw and fuzzy-jabs backward, going for a confident heavy attack can also work

Recommended Counter

• In-place recovery
  • Throw overlaps when rush is used
  • Shimmy is not possible when rush is used

• Back-roll recovery
  • Throw no longer overlaps
  • 4HK overlaps when rush is used

Recommended counter:

• Back-roll recovery → fuzzy parry → buffer Drive Reversal
  • Throw does not overlap, so many Bison players habitually use 4HK overlay
  • Back-roll recovery prevents 4HK from hitting via active frames, then parry → Drive Reversal is the response
    • If you use in-place recovery and get hit by the active frames, Drive Reversal will be guarded
  • Ideally, confirm on a standing hitbox before choosing Drive Reversal.

The following video shows fuzzy parry into 4HK confirmation then Drive Reversal:

Recommended Counter

• In the midscreen, in-place recovery is stable.

  • Distance increases so there is no oki

• On in-place recovery, if you see a rush, an 8F-or-less invincible is confirmed.