Normal Throws

Face-Crush Chop near foe

Face-Crush Chop: Alex’s brutal facial chop lays the opponent out. If the opponent quick rises, Alex is at +16 about 30 percent of the screen away. If you throw and then dash as soon as possible, you’ll end up point-blank next to a quick-riser but at -3. If they don’t know that, by all means bully them with dash offense after forward throws. Against an attentive foe, though, just walking forward is safer than forward dash.

This advantage is good for things other than dashing. If you use LK Slash Elbow immediately after recovering from Face-Crush Chop, it hits perfectly meaty against a quick-riser. It just so happens to allow for links afterward when it hits meaty or on counter-hit, too. If you’re feeling bold, forward throw’s frame situation also gives a 16-frame head start to MK Air Stampede or MP Head Crush, although there’s still a big gap between them getting up and those attacks hitting. You can also just jump in from this distance; same idea, not quite as risky.

Alex’s command throw is slower than average, grabbing in six frames and its range is not exceptional (even for the LP or EX versions), so his five-frame normal throws are still important. They’re not as vulnerable when whiffed, making them less likely to get nuked by neutral jumps or other airborne attacks. Under pressure, you’re less likely to mess up a normal throw command than a half-circle command, too.

Leg Tomahawk near foe

Leg Tomahawk: Alex passes by his victim and then delivers a walloping kick to his or her back. The opponent is knocked down about 40 percent screen’s distance away and your sides are swapped. Alex is +7 if they quick rise; if you dash forward right away against a quick-riser after back throw, Alex actually ends up at -12 and in striking range, so don’t advance forward quickly after backward throw. Back throw is mostly useful to swap sides when an aggressor has backed you into a corner. You aren’t guaranteed the same follow-up opportunities as after forward throw, though.