Strategy

Long Range

Because she’s a grappler, you’ll always want Laura to be either in the opponent’s face with the threat of her command throw or at around footsie range, intimidating the enemy with her Linear Movement mobility options. However, Laura is no slouch when it comes to long-range play. With a serviceable projectile that handily deflects other projectiles from long range, she’s difficult to chip at effectively. Thunder Clap also forces other close-combat fighters to engage with Laura since they can’t sit back idly allowing her to build meter and dominate the stage with it. You aren’t going to be chipping out your opponents from full screen with Laura’s Thunder Clap, but it gives you a tool to help you do what you want to do, and that’s to get her closer.

Against zoning characters with projectiles (like Ken, Nash, and Ryu), you have a couple of tools to help Laura fight back without losing ground. You can trade with your own Thunder Clap projectile, or you can blow through single-hit ones with EX Bolt Charge. EX Bolt Charge can be done on reaction and a little anticipation, depending on how far Laura is from the enemy. Successfully connecting with it and canceling it into Split River/Rodeo Break scores you a knockdown. If you want to get Laura into close range afterward, you can immediately follow it with a dash-in, leaving her at ±0 (assuming the enemy quick-rises).

With a full EX Gauge, you can use Inazuma Spin Hold the same way, except Laura’s punish range is less relative to using EX Bolt Charge. Her Critical Art is invincible for the first four frames and travels far forward quickly, easily getting past projectiles for the throw.

At closer distances (around mid to long range), projectiles may be difficult to deal with without EX Gauge because of how slow Thunder Clap starts up (19 frames versus Ryu’s 13 with HP Hadoken). So, in a fireball fight, Laura will eventually lose ground or get hit out of the Thunder Clap animation, since she won’t be able to keep up with the barrage. Laura doesn’t have meterless moves to get around a good zoning game, nor does she have great aerial tools to deal with them. Therefore, when you find yourself in these scenarios, you’ll need to be patient and resort to blocking or neutral jumping. These options are perfectly acceptable, especially since you have plenty of stamina to play with.

If you can pin down your opponent’s projectile patterns, you can make an educated guess jump-in using jumping (her farthest-reaching jump attack), linked into Combo 4. Alternatively, if your guess-jump read is incorrect and Laura is far enough, you can omit the jumping extension, making it less likely for her to get punished. However, this depends heavily on the range that Laura jumped from, as well as her foe’s anti-air capabilities. For instance,

Chun-Li may have a much easier time in deflecting Laura’s jump-in with her standing than characters like Ken or Nash.

The two other zoning characters Laura may have trouble dealing with are Dhalsim and F.A.N.G. These two have parabolic projectiles but are limited in horizontal ground control compared with a zoning-based character like Nash (Dhalsim has a few using standing and EX Yoga Fire). Fortunately, Laura’s Linear Movement – Avante, with its crouching hurtbox and forward movement, makes for excellent mobility in getting under Yoga Fire and Nishikyu. It does have additional recovery frames over Laura’s normal dash, so if the enemy baits it out, they’ll have an easier time punishing her. You only need to get into close range a few times against these low-stamina, projectile-chucking fighters, so sacrificing some stamina trying to get in is generally okay.

Against other grapplers or melee-based characters, there usually won’t be much of a long-range game because you’ll both want to immediately engage mid-stage, with an emphasis on keeping ground or pushing each other to the corner. Remember that you do have a leg up against them in terms of having an actual projectile, so make good use of Thunder Clap (and even charged Thunder Clap if there’s a lull or point of hesitation in the action) to force out mistakes or to take ground control.

Mid Range

When Laura is within mid range, she becomes an immediate threat to her opponent. With so many exceptional mid-range tools, it can be rather unnerving for the enemy to engage with Laura at this range, especially considering the multiple dashes she has available to easily transition into close range. If your playstyle leans toward a conservative footsie approach, you should focus on using attacks like standing , crouching , Thunder Clap, and (occasionally) your Volty Line overhead. If you want to go for a more aggressive approach, you should focus on getting in with your normal dash, Linear Movement – Avante, Step Elbow, and LP Bolt Charge.

Against most characters, Laura will normally be on offense, pressuring her opponent into the corner. To accomplish this at mid range, you need to be vigilant in your aggression. Everything you do from this range should instill fear so that Laura can eventually corner the target, especially if they’re taking a passive approach.

While standing is active for three frames and has a relatively long-reaching hitbox, its hurtbox extends farther, leaving it vulnerable if it misses. However, since it’s a heavy attack with the highest priority, it doesn’t often lose to opposing medium and light attacks, as long as you’re spacing it correctly. Unless you score a counter-hit with it (or cancel it with Spark Show for a combo), you don’t get much from connecting with it, aside from its heavy-attack damage (80). It’s meant as a relatively safe footsie deterrent because you aren’t committing to advancing into close range. It’s particularly strong against hop kick attacks (such as Rashid’s and Chun-Li’s ), as long as you’re proactive with it; stick it out if you’re expecting this kind of attack from your enemy. When it counter-hits against a grounded foe (depending on Laura’s distance), you can proceed into one of the variants listed under Combo 17. Furthermore, it can be canceled into Inazuma Spin Hold, so you can use a sequence of standing for a devastating whiff-punish combo. As an option select, you can use this sequence just outside of your standing attack range so that if the opponent attacks or walks into your standing , you’ll cancel into your Critical Art. Otherwise, you’ll simply miss your attack with your EX Gauge unused.

Another reserved approach you can take is to use MP/HP Thunder Clap. The startup is slow, but if you sense the enemy’s reluctance in engaging in a footsies battle with Laura, it’s imperative that you throw out a long-lasting threat in order to force the action. Once Laura has recovered from releasing Thunder Clap, you can go for an aggressive dash-in with either a normal dash or Linear Movement – Avante. You can opt to charge up to Thunder Clap lv.2 or Thunder Clap lv.3 if your opponent shows absolutely no signs of aggression. Each additional level travels much farther and adds an extra hit to the projectile, causing more chip damage and frame advantage. Note that if Laura is hit while the projectile is out, the projectile will dissipate. For instance, if the foe is within crouching range and they hit Laura directly after she releases her Thunder Clap, you won’t get a trade—the projectile simply disappears. But if she manages to get her Thunder Clap out, it’s essentially a large tempo advantage in your favor. The opponent must deal with the projectile, and for the most part, they can’t simply jump over at Laura since you have ample time to punish them with HP Bolt Charge. An often overlooked advantage of setting out a slow-traveling projectile in front of the opponent is that it puts them into a “proximity guard” while it’s out—while there’s a threat active within a certain range, they can no longer walk backward because it’s replaced by a standing guard animation. You can use this to your advantage as the aggressor, keeping them in place while Laura trails her projectile.

At closer ranges, crouching will be Laura’s main low-hitting mid-range attack. It has average reach, but it can be canceled with LP Bolt Charge for a two-hit blockstring that’s relatively safe when guarded (at -2). This puts Laura at close range but sacrifices a bit of advantage, so be prepared to defend against a retaliatory light attack. As a whiff-punish, you can substitute LP Bolt Charge with EX Bolt Charge Split River/Rodeo Break for a knockdown (see Combo 2), or you can still go with LP Bolt Charge for a non-knockdown, +2 advantage combo. If using the latter sequence, you can go for an immediate Sunset Wheel (which version to use depends on the distance you connected LP Bolt Charge from). If ending with EX Bolt Charge into Split River/Rodeo Break, you get a knockdown (where the opponent can’t back recover). You can capitalize on this with a forward dash (Laura’s left at ±0, so you can go for a three-frame jab or throw setup). You can go for a hit-and-run style crouching sequence by canceling it into Linear Movement – Esquiva, as well. This puts Laura outside of mid range, and you can then cancel the recovery of your with HP Thunder Clap, seamlessly flowing back into an aggressive approach.

If you’ve conditioned your opponent into guarding low at mid range, you can try for a semi-risky Volty Line V-Skill overhead. Unlike most overhead attacks, Laura’s V-Skill deals a large amount of damage (90, versus the usual 60 for an overhead). Additionally, you gain valuable V-Gauge on block and hit. The downside is that if it’s blocked, it’s easily punishable (at -7) with either a medium or heavy-strength combo. Distancing Laura helps make it less punishable, but most characters will still be in range for at least a medium-attack punish. Although Volty Line starts up a bit slowly and is blockable on reaction, its best property is that it has an “anti-jump” property. There are two active frames prior to the overhead active frame that can hit opponents out of the air (however, these frames do not hit grounded characters). Essentially, Volty Line doubles as an overhead and as a high-damage punish for opponents trying to jump out of range from Laura (which many players are tempted to do against a grappler like her).

If your playstyle is more aggressive (or you’re against a character weak to close-range offense, such as Dhalsim, F.A.N.G, or Rashid), you can go for a Step Elbow hit-check advance. Admittedly, you’re left at -2 on block (so be prepared to block a quick light attack), but immediately gets Laura into close range with a chance of connecting with Combo 5. You can’t necessarily use Step Elbow as a whiff-punish because of its lengthy 18 frames of startup, but if you’re punishing a heavy-recovery attack from range, you can go into Combo 6b for around 200 points of damage. Twist Barrage (the follow-up to Step Elbow) is easily punishable on block, but if you have a full V-Gauge, you can turn it into up-close advantage by canceling Twist Barrage into Spark Show (+3) for a potential Sunset Wheel setup.

Another aggressive approach is to simply dash in with your normal dash or Linear Movement – Avante. If you sense hesitation in your opponent’s footsie game, don’t be afraid to just go in with either of these, especially considering the high amount of health Laura has. You can afford to take these risks—compounded with the comeback potential of her V-Trigger, these lines of play can often be more rewarding than harmful. For example, if you’ve been bullying with standing and crouching , you might give pause to the enemy, affording you time to dash in for a quick three-frame standing frame trap into in-your-face grapple pressure.

If you want to take Laura’s offense airborne, she has two exceptional jumping attacks that both have cross-up properties: jumping and jumping . Which to use depends on what type of setup you want to pursue after your jump-in. Jumping puts the opponent in much less blockstun, which threatens a quick follow-up throw, while jumping allows for a stronger combo on hit. See Combo 12 and Combo 13 for sample combos stemming from these attacks. Additionally, jumping can be made very ambiguous with its five active frames. Depending on Laura’s spacing and the timing of your input during her forward jump, you can create an extremely hard-to-block situation for the opponent. The spacing for this is just barely outside of backdash range from the enemy. You can practice this by getting flush with the opponent, backdashing once, and just ever so slightly walking back. Then, forward jump and change up your timing of the input; the later you input it, the more likely you are to cross the enemy up. If you hit it earlier, then Laura will land with a frontal kick to her opponent’s face. If you can master the spacing of this in the heat of a match, you can easily score moderate damage along with a knockdown to keep up your offensive momentum, especially if you set it up with an unrecoverable Crush Counter crouching . As with most jump-ins, though, it’s vulnerable to certain anti-air attacks (especially anti-cross-up ones that strike vertically).

Close Range

Close range is where Laura truly shines. It’s where most of your damage will come from, with the obvious threat of her Sunset Wheel, high-advantage back throw, and three-frame standing jabs. Laura’s only deficiency at close range is that she doesn’t have access to a conventional low-hit check (aside from using full EX Gauge, as seen in Combo 1), but her throw threats make up for this shortcoming.

One of the most common ways Laura will get into close range is from a normal dash or Linear Movement - Avante (standalone or canceled from an attack, like standing ). In these cases, you’ll most likely want to follow up with a fast light attack. Dash in with standing or standing and go for a hit-check using Combo 3, or for a counter-hit frame-trap, Combo 15. Alternatively, you can stop after the first standing / and go for a buffered Sunset Wheel. This type of 50/50 is the basis of your close-range play, so get used to making good reads and gauging your opponent’s defensive habits appropriately. For a counter-hit strategy, you can use a two-step counter-hit-check combo using a standing buffered into crouching sequence, leading into a knockdown combo. See Combo 15 for details and tips.

If you’re transitioning into close range from a blocked jumping or attack, you can use your high blockstun advantage to go for a command throw setup. Time your Sunset Wheel so that it will grab the enemy as soon as they leave guardstun, or lock them down even more with standing , which you can then buffer into Sunset Wheel if they’re still blocking. This strategy is extremely frightening for your opponent to deal with because it leaves only a three-frame window to escape. You’ll beat out three-frame jabs if timed correctly (since throws have priority over strikes in hitbox “trading” situations).

However, watch out for the primary counter-strategies to your command throws. You might not want to go for them too often since they leave Laura completely vulnerable if the enemy scouts them out and preemptively neutral jumps or backdashes away from her. Sometimes, the best command throws are the ones never used. This gives you a leg up with your frame trap pressure because of the higher possibility of connecting with strikes when your opponent is trying to jump out of Laura’s attacks, scoring you combos where you otherwise wouldn’t earn them. If you can make a hard read on a backdash, you can go for a Crush Counter standing or standing . Off of a low, spinning Crush Counter from these, you can either juggle with standing or standing canceled into Linear Movement – Avante for an air recovery frame trap or throw setup. This sequence is particularly effective since standing is only -2 on block, so it’s safe to go for in most cases; its reward is a two-hit heavy-attack combo leading into a setup.

Against neutral jumps, instead of using a high-recovery Sunset Wheel, you can opt for a fast-recovering normal throw instead. Normal throws are particularly attractive to use as a grappler because a player’s natural instincts against grappler-type characters are to get off the ground instead of inputting a throw tech. For example, if you go for a sequence like dash-in standing  into a follow-up normal throw, your opponent may see the standing as a precursor to Sunset Wheel, instigating a neutral jump in hopes of punishing Laura with a full jump-in combo. However, Laura will recover much faster—with good reactions, you can anti-air their neutral jump with HP Bolt Charge or standing .

If you’ve conditioned your enemy into staying grounded and playing a standard close-range neutral game, you can start using your other effective up-close attacks, including standing , standing , and standing .

Standing is an advancing heavy attack that’s cancelable into specials. It’s one of Laura’s primary attacks from just outside of point-blank range. It’s only -2 on block, so you don’t even have to special-cancel it to make it safe. A sample pressure sequence you can use is standing , standing , then a buffered standing for a frame trap. With its heavy-attack priority, you’ll beat out medium-strength normal attacks while catching jumps and backdashes. You can cancel it into Linear Movement – Avante to get back into point-blank range (although at a punishable -5), or cancel it into Linear Movement – Esquiva for a Crush Counter hit-check (see Combo 16). Alternatively, you can cancel it into EX Thunder Clap for frame advantage and a combo on counter-hit and non-counter-hit. (See the Combos section for more details).

When you’re going for a standing Crush Counter check and your opponent blocks, you can cancel the recovery of your Linear Movement – Esquiva with HP Thunder Clap. This is a remarkable follow-up that lets you get Laura back into close range, keeping up your tempo. However, if the opponent makes a good read, they can hold after blocking your standing for a punish on your Thunder Clap. It’s a hard guess they have to make, but it’s still one you should consider.

If you’re looking for a faster close-range attack from standing range but don’t want to commit to eight frames of startup, you can use standing . It’s similar in properties but starts up two frames faster (at six, versus standing HP’s eight). It can only be V-Skill-canceled, but it’s only -1 on block. It boasts an impressive midsection hitbox and gets Laura closer to the opponent, as well. It can be very difficult for foes to deal with even if it doesn’t lead into any major damage. Otherwise, you can use crouching special-canceled into LP Bolt Charge or Linear Movement – Avante or Esquiva. On block, Crouching puts you at -3 advantage, which is less than ideal but can be useful to get Laura into close range immediately against unsuspecting opponents. You can then follow up with a three-frame standing frame trap (if you aren’t interrupted).

Even though Laura doesn’t enjoy the many hit-check combos that other characters have, she can open up more opportunities through counter-hits. For a more damaging close-range counter-hit frame trap, you can use standing at point-blank range (especially if you’re coming from a high-advantage situation, such as a knockdown or a blocked jumping or ). On block, it’s +3, so you can continue your tempo-based aggression with your other attacks, like standing and standing . You can’t link from standing on a normal hit (standing and standing are just short of range), but on counter-hit, you can link into crouching , as seen in Combo 18.

The most important aspect of Laura’s close-range offense is her advantage off of her knockdowns and hits. You’ll want to know the numbers for all of Laura’s knockdown sequences, particularly her throws and hit-throws. These attacks prevent the enemy from back recovery, forcing them into a predictable quick-recovery (or to stay grounded, which is abysmal for them since it gives you meaty, ambiguous cross-up jumping opportunities).

The following advantage values all assume that the opponent is performing a quick-rise while Laura is following up with a dash-in:

• Off of a combo into MP/EX Bolt Charge Split River/Rodeo Break, you’re left at ±0. This gives you a chance for a three-frame jab frame trap, a standing for backdash reads, or a simple Sunset Wheel or throw.
• Off of Sunset Wheel, you’re left at -4. So, if you connect with a command throw, it’s best not to follow up with a dash-in. Instead, walk into close range and start your up-close offense over again. Or, you can throw out a Thunder Clap to force chip damage or an ill-timed jump.
• Off of an anti-air HP Bolt Charge (or a combo leading into it), you’re at -4. As with the Sunset Wheel follow-up, you’ll want to omit the forward dash against wary opponents and play it safe with a transition into a mid-range or close-range game.
• Off of a back throw into a dash-in, you’re at +2, which is the ideal advantage for a meaty Sunset Wheel. Your enemy has an extremely small window to get out of this setup. While it’s usually better to use forward throws to carry your foe into a corner, you’ll have to assess whether the corner is more important than this much knockdown advantage. A good setup is to back throw, forward dash, and then go for a mix-up between a standing frame trap, HK Sunset Wheel, or a normal throw.
• Off of an LP Bolt Charge hit, you’re at +2, with both characters grounded. Sometimes this is better than a knockdown because it forces your opponent to think quickly on their feet. One of the best follow-ups to LP Bolt Charge hit is a standing frame trap. With only a four-frame window, your opponent is forced to block or reversal with an invincible attack if they don’t have a three-frame jab. Thanks to your higher priority, you’ll beat out all four-frame light attacks.

Defensively, Laura lacks an invincible special attack, but she does have a three-frame standing to quickly deflect slower moves and throws if you can make the correct reads. EX Bolt Charge has a point of armor, but it doesn’t activate until the third frame, so it’s unreliable if Laura’s under duress. Her main anti-air is HP Bolt Charge, but against cross-up attempts, you’ll find yourself missing the opponent and getting punished. Against these types of jump-ins, you can resort to a quick three-frame backward-jumping , or you can be more elusive and dash under your foe with Linear Movement – Avante, which can be sort of a crouch-dash. These require quick reactions and preparation, though, so be mindful of the opponent’s distance when they jump.

Spark Show

Under the effects of Spark Show, your strategy will largely remain the same. You’ll deal more damage across the board, with the bonuses of having enhanced mobility and better zoning capabilities.

The most notable changes for the neutral game include increased dash distance with both Linear Movement V-Skills and the transformation of Thunder Clap lv.1 to Thunder Clap lv.2, which decreases the charge time of Thunder Clap lv.3 to that of what Thunder Clap lv.2 is pre-Spark Show. Furthermore, V EX Thunder Clap deals more damage and knocks opponents higher up on hit.

These buffs empower your mid-range and long-range gameplay substantially. You can use Thunder Clap lv.2 on a whim, allowing for an easier advance into close range, especially considering the increased distance of your Linear Movement dashes.

For just about 13 seconds, your enemy will have to respect Laura from farther than usual thanks to her augmented moves. Since she can dash into close range from half-screen distance, you can apply all of your close-range strategies much more easily during Spark Show, while dealing even more damage and stun when successful. If you’re in the lead, you can opt to zone the enemy out and apply projectile pressure with Laura’s leveled-up Thunder Claps.

Pre-activation, when you’re sitting on a full V-Gauge, don’t be afraid to use Spark Show as a free momentum-starter off of Laura’s mid-range attacks. If you see a chance from footsie range, you can go for a Step Elbow Twist Barrage Spark Show sequence for a powerful tempo-based play, followed by a throw or frame trap setup. Otherwise, you can use standing to hit-confirm into Spark Show with Combo 11. With an aggression-based character like Laura, you want to take these chances as often as possible because of the amount of pressure and duress you put on your enemy.