Manon Strategy, Combos, and Tech Thread for SF6 (Season 3)

Vhozite · May 13, 2023

Author’s Note (08/09/2025): Thread is updated to the current game version.

Welcome to the Street Fighter 6 Manon Combo, Strategy, and Tech Thread

Game Version: Season 3 (3.0?)

Change log:

Spoiler

*08/09/2025: Updated list of characters who can meaty jab Manon SA1. Added some Luke match-up notes, added oki breakdown for Drive Reversal

*08/08/2025: Updated Corner combos, added a non-burnout variants of the cash out combo. Combo section complete for S3

*08/06/2025: Finished revising SA combo section. Small edits to "Fighting Manon". Moved a couple combos from "Other" into 'SA"

*08/03/2025: Added "Other Combos", updated Drive Gauge BnB, and started updating SA combo section. Added MX to notation

* 08/01/2025: Finished updated Strategy section. Started working on updating combo section.

* 07/28/2025: Finished Offense. Added "Other Notes" (Strategy). Began updating oki section. Added RIP to notation. Changed notation to be semi-alphabetical order

* 07/24/2025 week: Thread revival, began updating strategy section. Trimmed text. Added command grab frame traps

* 01/27/2024: Added notes under "Fighting Manon" that I already had but never added to the thread. Added some text edits/spelling fixes

* 07/19/2023: Small reorganization of the "Tech" section under Strategy, Added anti-jp tech, added link to Manon discord

* 06/18/2023: Added "Fighting Manon" section. Guide is "complete" for the time being

* 06/17/2023: Added okizeme under Strategy.

* 06/11/2023: Added another link, expanded neutral section and added offense section under Strategy

* 06/10/2023: Added some combos involving EX overhead and spin>K

* 06/08/2023: Added some corner combos, started "Neutral" section under strategy

* 06/06/2023: Started a modest tech section under Strategy. Added many more combos, added more version explanations for specials

* 06/05/2023: More notation added, finished move list breakdown section under Strategy.

* 06/02/2023: Thread changed to be Manon specific with relevant edits to the OP. Added some BnB's and a couple move breakdowns

* 05/13/2023: Thread created (template)

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Useful Links

Spoiler

Official Movelist

Official Character Introduction

Footsie Handbook

Frame Data Explained

SF6 List of FGC Pros & Streamers, and their Socials (reddit.com) (thanks to user @-PVL93-)

Manon SuperCombo Overview

Manon Discord

The ideal Manon round

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Notation/Abbreviation Guide

Spoiler

L - light

M - medium

H - heavy

OD - Overdrive

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lp - light punch/jab

mp - medium punch/strong

hp - heavy punch/fierce

lk - light kick/short

mk - medium kick/forward

hk - heavy kick/roundhouse

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s - standing

cr - crouching

f - forward

b - back

j - jumping

df - down forward

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AA - anti-air

a2a - air to air

CH - counter-hit

DI - Drive Impact

DR - Drive Rush

DRC - Drive Rush Cancel

KD - Knockdown

HKD - Hard Knockdown

kda - knockdown advantage

PC - Punish counter

RIP - Recover in place

SA1 - Super Art 1

SA2 - Super Art 2

SA3 - Super Art 3

xx - cancel

> - denotes a follow-up, such as from a chain or target combo (ex: Manon s.hp>hp target combo)

, - denotes a link (ex: cr.mp, s.lk xx L.Wheel)

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MX - Medal level (i.e. M2 = Medal level 2)

CG - Command Grab (Manège Doré)

Dègagè - quarter circle back kick specials

Spin - Spin special with followups (Renversè)

HG - Hit grab followup
K - kick followup (Grand Fouettè)

Wheel - Wheel kick special (Rond-point)

Edited August 9 by Vhozite

Vhozite · May 13, 2023

STRATEGY (updated for S3)

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Move List Breakdown

Spoiler

Normals/Target Combos

Spoiler

* st.lp: Chainable, cancelable 4f button with good hit advantage. Good for defense, frame traps, and combo fodder. This button combined with drive rush gives you hit grab combos from lights.

* cr.lp: See st.lp; less advantage, more range

* st.mp: Safe, advancing, cancelable button w/ good active frames. Probably your best Drive Rush button. First hit of the st.mp>mk target combo. No longer a gimmick loop when the opp. is burned out.

* cr.mp: Safe, cancelable. Very plus on hit

* st.hp: Safe, long range, and easy one-hit confirm into target combo for a mixup. SA cancelable

* cr.hp: AA w/ target combo followup

* b.hp: Cancelable heavy and primary gateway into hit-grabs. Poor range, but high active frames and our only naturally plus oB button.

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* st.lk: cancelable, safe. Faster and a pixel longer than cr.mp, but less damage potential

* cr.lk: Fastest low. Chains into itself or jabs, but otherwise unsafe on block

* st.mk: Longest cancelable button, slower and more recovery than medium punches, but good against lows. Unsafe if blocked close

* cr.mk: Decent low poke. No cancel, but safe on block and pretty active for a low. Situational meaty

* b.mk: anti air; first hit of b.mk>mk target combo

* s.hk: Longest poke used to keep the opponent honest at range. Safe on block if spaced, but slow startup and minus on hit without PC. Good but don't spam it

* cr.hk: Pretty typical sweep. Good range, low, knocks down, but very unsafe on block.

* df.hk: Strange AA that side switches on air hit. Very active but very unsafe on block

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* st.mp>mk: vacuum target combo that leads to a mixup on hit. Unsafe on block.

* st.hp>hp: vacuum target combo that leads to a mixup. Slower than the st.mp version, but easier to confirm into, has more advantage on hit, and more range.

* cr.hp>hp: AA target combo that slams the opponent on the ground or a mix-up.

* b.mk>mk: target combo that ends in a cancelable but unsafe overhead.

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* j.lp: highly active low hit/block stun jump-in and decent a2a

* j.lk: low hit/block stun cross-up. Minus on block if hit too high

* j.mp: a2a; knocks down on air hit

* j.mk: cross-up 2. Longest horizontal range of her jumping normals, making it also a good a2a and nj poke.

* j.hp: Heavy jump in. Less range than j.hk, but faster startup and knocks down on air hit

*j.hk: Standard heavy jump-in. Good range

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Specials

Spoiler

* Command Grab (Manège Doré/63214P): Grab special used for mixups and punishes. Does more damage the higher your medal level, and raises medal level upon successful grab. Take care to condition the opponent when going for this in a mixup. Extremely unsafe on whiff. Damage and kda is uniform across all versions.

L: Farthest meterless range, longest startup
M: Middle ground between light and heavy
H: Shortest range, fastest startup
OD: Longest range, medium version startup

* Wheel (Rond-point/236K): Kick special used for AA and sometimes combos. Forward movement increase w/ version (not OD).

L: Fastest meterless startup, middle damage, highest recovery. Leaves the opponent standing on hit. Best xx into SA3
M: Middle startup, highest damage, middle recovery.
H: Slowest startup, lowest damage, fastest recovery. Higher kda than medium. Situational combo tool
OD: Fastest startup and juggles for combos.

* Dègagè (214K): Kick specials with different uses depending on the version used

Light: Fast, long range, double hitting low that knocks down. Best combo ender for oki, and sometimes used to clip opponents not blocking low in neutral Very unsafe on block.
Medium: Long range, forward moving kick. Mostly used in combos, however the speed and range makes it useful as an occasional punish tool. Unsafe on block
Heavy: Long range overhead. First active frame can't hit grounded opponents. Unsafe at -9 on block, but can be safe depending on the match-up/optimal spacing.
Overdrive/OD: Safe but slightly slower version of heavy Degage. Enough advantage on hit to combo. The first active frame cannot hit a crouching opponent.

* Spin (Renversè/236P): Spin w/ 2 potential follow-ups (or none). The spin itself is projectile invincible. Spin duration, fb I-frames, and damage all go up with version. Mostly used to build medals

No additional input (hit grab): Manon will strike the opponent with a fancy grapple. Similar to the CG, this move gains a medal on hit and also does additional damage the higher your level. Despite what the animation implies this move is a strike...it an be comboed into but it can also be blocked.
Hold punch: Holding the punch button used to initiate the special will have Manon spin with no follow-up attack. Useful for going through projectiles without committing to an attack.
Kick: Long reaching kick that comes out instead of the hit-grab. Situational poke to tag the opponents recovery after you spin past their fireball. High active frames and range make this typically safe on block (except OD) though it can be punished if done extremely close. Damage, hit advantage, and startup is uniform for all meterless versions. OD juggles the opponent higher for better combo routes, but is very unsafe on block.

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Super Arts

Spoiler

* SA1 (Arabesque/236236K): Strike and Throw invincible reversal with side switch. Slower startup for a reversal at 10f, but travels roughly half-screen pretty fast. NOT PROJECTILE INVINCIBLE.

* SA2 (Étoile/214214k): Fully invincible reversal. Faster startup than SA1, great AA, and can be canceled into from some OD moves.

* SA3 (Pas de Deux/236236P): High damage, full invincible grab super. Unfortunately can be jumped post super-flash, but also can be comboed into. Damage increases with medal level.

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Neutral tools

Spoiler

Anti-airs:

cr.hp(>hp)
df.hk - side switch
Wheel Kicks - invincible against air attacks. Heavy can juggle into combos if hit high enough
OD Wheel - invincible against air attacks and juggles for a combo
j.mp - a2a, knocks down

Pokes: cr.lk, cr.mk, st.hp, st.hk

Whiff punishes:

Special/SA Cancel: st.lk, st.mp, cr.mp, st.mk, st.hp (SA only)
Target Combo: st.mp(>mk), st.hp(>hp)
No Cancel: cr.mk, st.hk, cr.hk

Anti-projectile tools: Spin (either alone or with k followup), Parry

Single Hit-confirms: st.mp, st.hp, b.hp

st.mp and st.hp can both be single hit-confirmed into their target combos. st.mp is difficult but hp is easy
b.hp can be single hit confirmed into L.HG, but canceling into something faster (Rond) is much easier.

Drive Rush

st.lk: fast and good range with a couple plus frames
cr.mk: low, s.lk link combo if hit deep enough
st.mp: very plus ob, forward movement of st.mp gives extra range
cr.mp: very plus ob, extremely plus (+10) on hit
b.mk: +1 oB w/ very low push-back; target combo becomes a true block-string
b.hp: Most plus frames on block, but short range and high push-back

Other Neutral Stuff

Light Degage is unsafe but hits fast and far enough to clip people who never block low in neutral
With the exception of cr.lk all the buttons listed as pokes are very susceptible to DI if spammed.
OD.Spin is upper body invincible. Very useful to go through some attacks on reaction or as a hard read. Very unsafe on block if followups are used.
st.hk gives an extra spin effect on hit which gives enough advantage to combo
Both overhead versions of Degage can be thrown out occasionally, but don't over use them. Both are slow perfect parry bait if you are too predictable.

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Offense

Note: Due to the nature of Drive Rush this section will not be comprehensive. This is mostly for the main stuff

Spoiler

Tools overview:

jabs: used to put a hitbox on screen quickly and frame trap/convert with light chains
cr.lk: similar to jabs + fast low check
st.mp: Decently quick, range, and cancel makes this a BnB drive rush tool.
cr.mk: longer reaching and safe low. Poor reward on hit but also can be plus oB if meaty
b.hp: Your only plus oB (+1) normal. Good meaty.
st.mp>mk: 1st of 2 vacuum effect target combos that starts her mix. +2 on hit
st.hp>hp: 2nd of 2 vacuum effect target combos that starts her mix. +3 on hit, easily confirmed into
Command Grab: Win condition; un-techable w/ high damage when leveled
Normal Throw: Less potent but much safer alternative to command grab.
L.Degage: quick-but-unsafe low special. Best combo ender for oki.
H/OD Degage: Overhead special moves.

Frame Traps

st.lp > jab
cr.lk > jab
b.mk>mk (-11 ob, but cancelable)
DR st.lk>any light
DR st/cr.mp, any light
DR st./cr.mp, H.CG
DR cr.mk > st.lk
DR b.hp > either mp/cr.mk
DR.b.hp > M.CG
st.mp DRC > cr.mk/b.hp
st.mp DRC > L.CG

True Blockstring:

cr.lp > st.lp (-1 on block)
DR st.lp > cr.lp > st.lp (-1, first jab as to be hit deep)
DR cr.lk > st.lp (-1 oB)
DR b.mk > mk (-11 oB, but cancelable)
DR b.hp, st.lk (-2 oB)
DR b.hp xx OD.Degage (-3 oB, overhead)
St.mp DRC > st.mp (+3 oB) or cr.mp (+2 oB)
b.hp DRC > any normal besides st.hk

Basic mix-ups

st.mp>mk: +2 on hit with Manon right in their face for strike/throw mix
st.hp>hp: +3 on hit with Manon right in their face for strike/throw mix

Basic okizeme

Sweep: fwd dash = +8 (L.CG, meaty cr.mp, cr.mk, b.hp)
cr.hp>hp AA: ~+19-20; walk up meaty (st.mp, b.hp)
H.Wheel: dash (+16), walk up meaty/throw
L.Degage: walk up strike/throw or DR into meaty

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Game Plan

Manon's goal is to gain medals to land high damage grabs OR punish attempts to escape her command grab.

Vacuum Target Combos (st.mp>mk and st.hp/hp): On hit these are slightly plus and leave the opponent right next to you for mix-ups that are a cornerstone of her offense. Your options:

cr.lk string:Beats jab, reversal throw, back dash, jump, and walk out. Loses to block/delay tech and reversal. On hit easily confirms into a L.Degage knockdown for another mix-up (or a medal if you want to burn 3 blocks). Low risk, medium reward.
Normal Throw: Beats jab and block. Whiffs against jumps but recovers fast enough to punish. Loses to delay tech, reversal and back dash (escape). Low risk, low reward on hit, but high reward if they forward or vertical jump out trying to dodge and punish a CG.
H.CG: Beats jabs, block, throw, delay tech. Loses to jumps, back dash, and reversals. Easy to avoid but can eat over 1/3rd of a life bar. High risk, high reward.
Do nothing/block: Beats/baits reversals. Loses to jab and reversal throw. Medium risk due to mashers being able to steal a turn or escape for free, high reward if you do bait the DP.

Command Grab: Manège Doré is Manon's signature move that every opponent will be looking to avoid at all times. As such you must condition them to block so they take the grab and punish attempts to escape/retaliate against it. CG is a whopping -60 on whiff so you'll die quickly trying to use it too often without proper setup. Use frame traps, surprise setups, and be sure to mix up your choices when going for mix-ups.

Punishing attempts to escape the command grab: The most important part of playing a grappler. You will not be able to grab someone who doesn't respect your ability to punish escape attempts. You must prove that your mix-ups are tight and you have combos that can punish mistakes. Practice anti-airing someone jumping out to avoid a CG, counter hitting someone mashing, etc.

Drive Rush: Drive Rush: Manon's drive rush travels pretty slow, so typically you'll be canceling into or using it for oki. You have to be fairly close already or combine it with a fast and/or far advancing normal if you are going to do it raw. DRC gives the strongest pressure but also cost lots of meter so you need to maximize your uses...practice hit-confirming the DRC so you can convert it into a medal/good combo or run an effective pressure sequence.

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Okizeme/knockdown pressure

Spoiler

TLDR this section: Sweep, L.Degage, and H.Wheel are your best knockdowns for real pressure alongside cr.hp>hp anti-air. In the corner pretty much anything but HG, CG, SA1, and SA3 gives great oki. DR can help in several situations but often it can be reversal'd for free. St.mp, cr.mk, and b.hp are you primary meaties due to their high active frames and advantage when hit meaty.

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Throw (+16): TLDR – If they back rise there is no real pressure. You can meaty st.hk to force them to block but other than draining some drive (and risking a PP) you don’t get anything off it. Even with DR there is no reason for them not to block as you cannot get close enough to force a guess without being unsafe, and any character with a reversal 10f >= can tag you for free. Real oki needs the hard knockdown from punish counter or the corner.

RIP/PC/Corner: Walk up meaty (st.mp, cr.mk, b.hp) or throw

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B.Throw (+18): Back rise mid-screen = no pressure, and they can DP (8f >=) a DR for free. Basically the same as reg throw.

RIP/PC/corner: walk up meaty/throw;

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Sweep (+29): dash>meaty cr.mp (+1 ob/+8 oH) or dash>L.CG (beats wakeup button). You can also meaty w/ b.hp (+2/+4)

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Cr.hp>hp anti-air (~+18-20): walk up manual meaty/throw mix

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Command Grab (+19 HKD): no real oki. You can drive rush to get close enough to counter hit a wakeup jab but really they can safely block whatever you throw out.

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L.Degage (+21): Great oki. Drive Rush here lets you meaty with cr.mk (+5 oB/10 oH) or b.hp (+8/+10) while giving you enough time to block to bait a DP. A CG can easily buttons but you have to manually delay it a few frames or else every version will whiff before they are fully up. If you don't want to burn meter you can also just walk up and manually time reg strike/throw.

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M.Ballet (+33): no oki if they back rise mid-screen due to distance. In the corner, you are +12 after a forward dash, which makes b.hp auto-timed to be +6 ob. Alternatively, you can whiff a st.mp to frame kill and close a bit of distance…this will leave you +8.

Corner: dash>meaty b.hp (+6 ob/+8 oH)
Corner 2: whiff st.mp (+8), meaty cr.mp (+1 ob/+8 oH) or L.CG (beats buttons)

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Wheel (M/H = +34/+37): The heavy version leaves you the closest and also has the most KD advantage. After a dash you are +16 enough time for good ole walk up strike/throw. In the corner you can use the medium version for the extra damage, at the expense of 3 less frames advantage

Heavy: dash>manual meaty/throw mix

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Spin>HG (+15 HKD): See oki notes under “Throw” i.e basically nothing here. Meaty st.hk, drive rushing gets DP’ed for free. Corner doesn’t change the situation.

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Drive Reversal (+23): none mid-screen. In the corner on hit fwd dash leaves you +2 point blank. Lights will beat attempts to jump or back dash. Lights, throw, and H.CG will beat mashing.

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SA1 (+7): plus frames but too far for oki

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SA2 (+32): weak mid-screen oki on back rise…dash (+11) into meaty st.hp is about all you’re getting here due to distance. In the corner you can dash into auto-timed meaty b.hp or regular strike/throw. Or you can whiff something to frame kill and still be plus enough for a mix-up of your choice

RIP/corner: dash>meaty b.hp (+5ob/+7oH)
RIP/corner 2: st.mp frame kill (+7), strike/throw mix

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SA3 (+16 HKD): See “Spin>HG” oki section. Not much here

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Tech/Match up Notes - I'm not good at this stuff so this section is sparse. Mostly stuff from other people.

Spoiler

General

Spoiler

Using lows to punish jumps

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Blanka

Spoiler

Perfect Parry punish against H.Blanka Ball

Using EX Wheel to counter Blanka Ball

Drive Impact vs Blanka Ball

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Honda

Spoiler

Use OD Spin’s upper body invincibility to counter headbutts

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JP

Spoiler

Passing through JP’s ghosts

Luke

Spoiler

Plus buttons:

cr.mp (+1, exactly what it looks like)
knee hop only when hit on the last active frame (+1)

Sandblast: Recovery and range go up with version.

Light is never plus but comes out fast. Short range
Med. is only +1 with tip spacing
Heavy is usually plus but slower startup. Recovers fast don't jump it.
OD is plus everywhere but point blank. 1f faster than medium, fullscreen

LMH punch target combo: All 3 hits are a true block-string. 2nd and 3rd hits are unsafe on block, but 3rd hit has special cancel.

Drive Reversal on the 2nd or 3rd hit shuts it down completely
L and M Sandblast will frame trap a jab. Light is -7, Med. is -4. Heavy is completely safe but has a 5f gap. OD is a true string
On block mashing SA2 or SA3 will beat all versions of Sandblast, drive rush, and punish no cancel.

Other Notes

Spoiler

Manon is meter hungry, especially if you are aggressively trying to build medals. With that in mind OD.CG and OD.Degage are wastes of meter in most situations. Meter is much better spent on Drive Rush and OD.Wheel.
SA1 is your main reversal, though be aware it's a bit slow. SA2 is faster though obviously 2x as expensive. Outside of that you are mostly relying on blocking and universal mechanics for defense.

Edited August 9 by Vhozite

Vhozite · May 13, 2023

Combos (updated for Season 3)

This section is not intended to be comprehensive, but it hopefully will be a good reference for your optimal routes and as a guide to know what’s possible. Some opening notes:

First number in parenthesis is damage, then hit or knockdown advantage if listed
If no hit or kda advantage is listed, assume standard kda from whatever the ender is.
L.Degage vs M.Degage - light gives oki mid-screen, medium is for extra damage and corner carry
Generally speaking, Super Art cancel rules are as follows:
- SA1 can be canceled into from normals
- SA2 from normals and OD moves
- SA3 from normals, meterless specials, and OD’s
All combos ending in HG’s can be canceled into SA3
All medal based damage values are (Medal 1 - Medal 5) unless otherwise noted
SA3 combo values are non-CA numbers

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Meterless Bread and Butter Combos

Spoiler

cr.lp>st.lp xx Degage

Light confirm/4f punish
End in L.Degage (1240) for oki, M.Ballet for corner carry and damage (1380)
First light can be swapped with cr.lk for a 5f low starter (slight dmg decrease)

s.lk xx H.Wheel (940)

Fast whiff punish/buffer with decent range and good oki

st.mp/cr.mp/st.mk xx L.Ballet (1600)

Whiff punish/buffer from your longest cancelable buttons

b.hp xx M.Spin>HG (2200-2800)

8f punish for meter-less damage and medal

st.mp>mk (1100/+2)

st.hp>hp (1400/+3)

Vacuum effect target combos into strike/throw mix

cr.hp>hp (1100/+16-20 KD)

anti-air target combo

Spin>K, L/M.Degage

Conversion from an anti-fb tool
L.Degage: 1800/+23 KD
M.Degage: 2000/+33 KD

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Drive Gauge BnB Combos

Spoiler

b.hp xx OD.Spin>K, b.hp xx H.HG (2980-3340)
b.hp xx OD.Spin>K, b.hp xx L.Spin>K, M.Degage (2960)

Main meter punish. First is damage/medal, 2nd corner carry (and oki if you get corner)

(AA) OD Wheel, Spin>L.HG (2150-2750)

AA conversion into a medal
Light HG is more consistent but you can combo into medium on high juggles

cr.lk>st.lp xx OD Wheel, M.Ballet (1720/+33 KD)

Low, light conversion burning a couple bars.

cr.lk>st.lp DRC st.lp, b.hp xx M.Spin>HG (1613-1865)

Expensive, low damage light confirm path to a medal.

St.mp/cr.mp/st.mk DRC cr.mp, b.hp xx M.Spin>HG (2480-2834)

b.hp DR, cr.mp, b.hp xx M.Spin>HG (2680-3034)

Medal conversion path from your main cancelable pokes

OD.Degage, s.lk xx H.Wheel (1600)

OD.Degage, st.mp xx L.Degage (1980)

Overhead conversions - 1st combo can whiff from max range, 2nd combo is crouch only
2nd combo can trade L.Degage for Med. w/ typical trade off

(PC)st.hp > hp, OD.Wheel, M.Degage (2840)
(PC)st.hp > hp, OD.Wheel, DR st.lk xx M.HG(2861-3113)

whiff punish. Practice confirming Punish Counter vs regular hit.

(PC) st.hk, L/M.Degage

L.Degage (2080) - oki
M.Degage (2280) - damage/corner carry

(PC) DI, b.hp xx M.Spin>HG (2580-3000)

(PC) DI, CG (2560-3920)

Punish Counter DI combos to gain medals
First combo is optimal at M1, at M2-5 CG does more damage

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Super Art Combos

Spoiler

Notes:

SA3 has extra scaling when combo'd into compared to SA1-2, though in longer combos this is offset by the much higher minimum scaling all SA3's have.
In shorter combos you can get slightly more damage canceling straight into SA3 vs adding a special first. However, that extra attack can make cancels from buttons with fast xx windows/animations (lights) much easier.

Cr.lk > cr.lp xx SA1-3 (1840, 2400, 3040-3430)
cr.lk > cr.lp xx L.Wheel xx SA3 (3070-3370)

Basic light confirms.

st.lk xx SA1-3 (1900, 2540, 3300-3750)
st.lk xx L.Wheel xx SA3 (3220-3550)
st.mp/st.mk xx SA1-3 (2600, 3400, 4400-4970)
st.hp xx SA1-3 (2800, 3600, 4200-4710)

Whiff punishes
Note that st.hp xx SA3 does less damage than using a medium starter

b.hp xx SA1 (2800)
b.hp xx SA2 (3600)
b.hp xx SA3 (4600-5170) = more optimal than dumping drive gauge in most combos

Spin>K, SA1 (2800)

Spin > K, SA2 (3600) - whiffs at max range

SA conversion from an anti-fb tool

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SA combos + Drive Gauge

Cr.lk > st.lp xx OD Wheel, SA1-2 (2200, 2680)

SA2: You get more frames of kda if you link SA2 instead of canceling into it)

st.lk xx OD.Wheel, SA1 or SA2 (2340, 2900)
st.mp/st.mk xx OD.Wheel, SA1 or SA2 (3000, 3640)

whiff punishes

b.hp xx OD.Spin > K, b.hp xx H.Wheel, delay SA1 (3320)
b.hp xx OD.Wheel, SA2 (3840)

Doing SA1 too early will make you whiff under opponent

(PC) st.hp > hp, SA2 (3520)
(PC) st.hp > hp, OD.Wheel, SA1 (3320)
(PC) st.hp > hp, OD.Wheel, SA2 (3800)
(PC) st.hp > hp, OD.Wheel, DR st.lk xx M.HG xx SA3 (4365-4665)

(PC) st.hk, SA1 (3080)
(PC) st.hk, SA2 (3880) - drops from max range

(PC) DI, (delay) b.hp xx H.Wheel, SA1 (3080) - wait until the opponent falls to their knees
(PC) DI, st.hp xx SA2 (3560)
(PC) DI, b.mk > mk xx L.Wheel xx SA3 (4330-4630)

b.mk > mk DRC cr.mp, b.hp xx OD.Degage, st,mp xx L.Wheel xx SA3 (4946-5246)

(PC) cr.mp, b.mk starter (5247-5547)
(PC) st.hk, b.mk starter (5607-5907)

Big damage combo that doesn't burn you out

b.mk>mk DRC cr.mp, b.hp xx OD.Degage, cr.mp DRC b.hp, st.mp xx L.Wheel xx SA3 (5215-5515)
(PC) cr.mp (+10) , b.mk>mk etc. (5396-5696)
(PC) st.hk micro walk b.mk>mk etc (5756-6056)

Full resource cash-out punishes. Will burn you out, but work anywhere on screen. Best I've found but someone else might have a better route
CA + 5 medal version of the last combo does just over 63%. You have to walk just a few frames and let the forward momentum from b.mk carry you the rest of the way.

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Corner Combos

Spoiler

Note: In the corner M.Degage gives great oki, so there is no reason the use light.

b.hp xx OD.Wheel, OD.Wheel, M.Degage, SA1-2 (4280,4760)
st.lk xx OD.Wheel, OD.Wheel, M.Degage, SA1-2 (3220, 3620)
st.mp xx OD.Wheel, OD.Wheel, M.Degage, SA1-2 (4080,4560)

SA1 doesn't side switch here, leaving you right on top of them at +7

b.hp xx OD.Wheel, OD.Wheel, M.HG xx SA3 (4580-4910)
b.hp xx OD.Wheel, OD.Wheel, DR b.hp xx H.HG xx SA3 (4865-5165)

Blocked DI, b.hp xx M.HG (1760-2240) xx SA3 (3200-3560)
Blocked DI, b.hp xx OD.Wheel, M.HG (2176-2560) xx SA3 (3483-3795)
Blocked DI, b.hp xx OD.Wheel, M.Degage, SA1-2 (,3616)

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Other Combos - less practical stuff you won't always use but still might want to know

Spoiler

st.mp DRC, b.hp xx Spin>K, df.hk (2262/+2)

side switch combo applicable from most cancelable buttons

OD.Degage, s.lk DRC, st.lp, b.hp xx M.Spin>HG (2213-2465)
OD.Degage, s.mp DRC, cr.mp, b.hp xx M.Spin>HG (2630-2882)

Conversions from OD overhead into medal. Expensive and low damage but it's there. 2nd combo is crouching only.

Edited August 9 by Vhozite

Vhozite · May 13, 2023

Fighting Manon

Overview/General Strategy

Spoiler

Manon is grappler and highly momentum-based character due to her medal system. While most of the attention goes to her command grab, it is important the you take note of Manon’s other tools. Most notably she has target combos that can suck the opponent in to close range on contact for mix-ups. Manon also has a robust arsenal of normals which allow her to poke, anti-air, and whiff punish with the best of them. Many of her buttons have long range or move her forward, giving her deceptively far reach and better neutral presence than most characters of her archetype. This is a character that excels at blowing up mistakes.

Her biggest weakness is her momentum-based mechanic acts as a double-edged sword. The longer you can deny Manon medals, the easier it is to beat her down the line. Manon’s combos are not particularly impressive, and without medals or burning lots of meter her damage output is relatively low. This combined with using her decent OD moves means Manon can be pretty meter hungry…she will struggle if you can make her burn resources to fight you. Offensively speaking Manon only has only 1 plus on block button (b.hp) without extra advantage from drive rush or meaty hits, and most of her knockdowns leave her fairly far away. Lastly, Manon’s reversal ability is below average. She has no DP from drive gauge and her SA1, while strike/throw invincible, is slow at 10f startup. She mostly relies on blocking and universal mechanics.

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Avoiding the grab

Spoiler

Probably the main reason you are here. There are 3 main things you can do to help yourself avoid her command grab;

Back-dashing instead of jump out when you expect a grab: Back-dashing is less risky than jumping as it takes fewer overall frames to recover and it leaves you relatively close to punish a whiff. Jumping is easier, however it can make punishing awkward if you jump away and it’s much easier to blow up if baited or you make the wrong read.

Make the Manon player condition you/prove they actually have combos and pressure: You should only be getting scooped if you know the other guy is capable of punishing you for trying to escape. Early on without medals or resources Manon’s damage output isn’t super high, so it’s important to test the waters early. You might eat a small combo trying to escape grabs, but it’s important that you show your willingness to escape and the Manon player shows they can tag it, because it influences the guessing game going forward. If the Manon player has sloppy pressure or no combos don’t give them the respect they need to land command grabs.

Understand the risk/reward when guessing in a mix-up: Mix-ups are often called “50/50”, but in a real match you can make observations that help move odds in your favor or pick options based on what puts you at the least risk even if you do pick wrong. For example, if Manon has you in a strike/throw mix-up but she is low on meter, you might opt to back-dash out since it will avoid a throw and even if you get hit you know her combo won’t do a lot of damage. If you are sitting on meter and the Manon player has never attempted to bait a reversal, it’s probably worth it to DP. Of course, there is never an answer that will get you out 100% of the time, but it’s important to understand that people are not robots and real matches have circumstances that will tilt outcomes one way or another.

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Vacuum Target Combo breakdown

Spoiler

Manon has 2 target combos that will vacuum you in on contact to that she can force you into a mixup; st.mp>mk and st.hp>hp. On hit both of these target combos leave Manon at slight advantage right next to you, however on block both target combos are punishable. It is important you blow up any player not hit-confirming into these options. On block both Target Combos are always true blockstrings.

St.mp>mk (+2 on hit/-5 on block): The lesser of the two; less advantage on hit and much harder to confirm into. If you are in burnout it becomes safe on block at -1.
St.hp>hp (+3 on hit/-8 on block): One of Manon’s best tools. St.hp is far reaching, safe on block, and can be easily one hit confirmed into the target combo. If you ever eat this on block punish it, as its always on unsafe (even in burnout). However, since any decent player will be confirming into this, you will mostly be fighting back by countering her st.hp. This button is on the slower end at 10f startup, and has pretty high recovery at 20 frames. At maximum range if it counter hit’s an extended hurtbox sometimes it will not have the range to pull you in, which can make it worth trying to challenge against a player who throws it out a lot

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Stop jumping

Spoiler

Unless you really have a read on something (grab, st.hk, etc.), jumping against Manon is very ill advised. She can AA just as good as any character in the game with multiple ironclad anti-airs that grant her enormous reward on hit. It cannot be overstated how much feeding you can do recklessly jumping at Manon.

Cr.hp is the first half of a target combo that will splat you on the ground right in front of Manon and immediately puts you into a 50/50.
Df.hk is a normal similar to Dee Jay slide. It has very high active frames and on hit it side switches, allowing Manon to escape the corner and turn the tables.
Rond-point (wheel kick special) is functionally a DP for AA purposes. The OD version actually allows Manon a juggle combo on hit which she can easily convert into a hit-grab and medal.
SA2 is fully invincible, has an absolutely gigantic AA hitbox, does big damage, and corner carries a little under half stage.

It might be tempting to try jumping in some mix-up situations to avoid the command grab. However, you must be careful trying to jump out of her mix-ups. As mentioned in the “Avoiding the grab” section, get into the habit of back-dashing out of mix-ups if you expect a grab. This is safer than jumping out and still leaves you in range to a punish a whiffed command grab.

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Neutral Notes:

Spoiler

L/H/OD Dègagè mid-screen “mix-up”: Manon is capable of tagging you with either a low or an overhead at pretty much any time from mid-screen. The low is super unsafe but knocks down, the overhead is slower and very minus (but hard to punish w/ spacing), and the OD overhead is slowest, but safe on block and can lead to a modest combo on hit if done deep enough. Occasionally block low to dissuade random slides while staying on the lookout for the overhead.
St.hk: This is Manon biggest button. On top of the enormous range, it also moves Manon forward and when spaced it’s very much safe on block. However, it has very slow start-up (15f) and very long recovery (26f), making it incredibly minus on whiff (over -40 on whiff). This combined with no cancelable properties means it’s very susceptible to Drive Impact. Lastly, the reward on hit for Manon is poor, as without a punish counter the move leads to nothing and is actually slightly minus on hit (-2).
Advancing Normals: Manon st.mp, st.mk, cr.mk, b.mk, st.hp, b.hp, st.hk, cr.hk, and df.hk all move her forward. This gives her buttons deceptively long range in neutral and it makes her great at whiff punishing. However, this same strength can also be a weakness, as these same buttons are also easier to punish if she does whiff them.
Amazing anti-airs: see the “Stop Jumping” section for more details. TLDR you'll die fast jumping recklessly at her.
Renversè against projectiles: Renversè is Manon’s anti-projectile tool. She can hold the button to briefly spin around a fireball, but she also has a kick follow-up with far reach that can be used if she catches you slipping. The OD version of this move is full upper-body invincible, which makes it capable of countering certain non-projectile attacks like Honda Headbutt or Blanka Ball.
Whiff punish goddess: St.lk, st.mp, st.mk, st.hp, cr.hk, SA1, and SA2 are all very capable whiff punishers due to their relative range and speed.
Dealing with SA1: Be aware that this move is a low, so make sure you crouch block it. Outside of that this move is strike/throw invincible and it has 10f start-up. While that is fairly slow for use as a reversal, take note that in those 10 frames this move travels roughly 75% of the screen. Be on the watch for Manon players buffering this. However, it is not projectile invincible.

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Attacking Manon

Spoiler

Weak defense/wake-up options: Manon has poor options on defense. She has no OD reversal, and her SA1 is slow at 10f startup, making it susceptible to safe meaty light buttons from numerous characters. This list includes:

Spoiler

* = calculated instead of tested myself

AKI: st.lp, cr.lk
Akuma: st.lp
Blanka: st.lk, cr.lp
Cammy: both jabs, cr.lk
Chun-Li: both jabs
DeeJay: both jabs
Dhalsim: st.lp
Ed: st.lp
*Elena: both jabs, cr.lk
Guile: both jabs
Jamie: st.lp
Juri: both jabs, cr.lk
Ken: st.lp
Kim: both jabs, cr.lk
Lily: both jabs, st.lk
*Mai: All lights
Rashid: cr.lp, cr.lk
Ryu: st.lp
*Terry: both jabs
Zangief: cr.lp