SF6 — How To Beat Manon
Now that you’ve gotten the hang of some of Street Fighter 6’s basics in our training mode, now it’s time to start practicing against specific characters. This time, we’ll take a look at one of the more dominant characters in the game right now, Manon. She’s ever-present at all levels of play and can decimate the uninitiated. So here’s how you can gain the edge over the Swan of Slam.
DON’T GET GRABBED!
This seems like a no-brainer for how to beat Manon in SF6, but it’s significantly harder than it seems. Manon’s kit is made for her to dominate the close-range game. She’s got normals that pull you close to her, and you have to guess if she’s going for a command grab or normal throw. Needless to say, you must avoid this at all costs if you want to get some wins against her.
If you play any character with a projectile, you’re already at the advantage. Manon doesn’t have many movement abilities like Kimberly or Luke, but what she does have is the ability to twirl through your fireballs. So remember to space out your projectiles and throw them at irregular intervals to kill her timing. If you’re backed into the corner, stay calm and try to keep her beyond arm's length. Most important of all, if Manon is hovering over you during wake-up (the state of getting up from being knocked down), the safest bet may be to throw out a light punch/kick or jump over her.
This is critical as all of Manon’s command grabs get stronger the more she lands them. If she’s at level 4 or 5, she can win a round with three grabs against most characters.
Jumping is Risky
While many characters in SF6 have one or two anti-air options, Manon has several. In fact, she might have the strongest anti-air repertoire in the game. If you jump, she can use down FP, to bring you back to earth. Or she could use Rond-point to start some big damage options as well. Medium Degage can also hit out of the air if spaced correctly. She can also use her level 2 super art, Etoile, as well. This strong game against airborne opponents means that she can scare you into fighting on the ground, which is where she wants you.
To mitigate this, make sure that if you have to jump it’s from closer than normal, this way you can get over Manon where many of those moves cannot hit you. But more often than not, you want to keep needless jumps to a minimum. Jumping against a good Manon, at best, you trade hits. At worst, you get chunked for 40% of your life bar.
Watch Your Head
Manon doesn’t have many safe special moves. If she’s attacking, she’s got to commit. However, one of her specials hits overhead and can be hard to react to. Her Hard Degage does a small hop and drops a heel on the crown of your head. If you aren’t used to it, she can mix this up with the light version which hits low. So when you see Manon make that small jump that isn’t quite as high as normal jump, you should block standing up. You’ll eat a few getting used to this, but once you start recognizing it, you’ll nullify it completely.
Keep Her Off Balance
One of the keys to gaining traction with Manon is pressing the attack and keeping her guessing. Outside of Renverse, she has no invincible moves. So, if you keep the pressure up and avoid her grabs, you’ll start getting wins in no time.
