The King of Fighters '98 UMFE/EX Blue Mary

Introduction

Ex Blue Mary is primarily a rushdown and mixup based character that aims to score a knockdown and run mixups on the opponent. The main attraction of her moveset is her install super that perfectly complements this gameplan as it increases the damage on all her mixup options. It also works as a utility tool as you can use it defensively to react to the opponents actions. to complement her main gameplan she also sports a nice selection of normals that she can poke with to prevent the opponent from getting in on her. Her main weaknesses is a lack of long ranged tools.

Changes from previous versions

98UM to 98UMFE

no changes

Normal Moves

Close

• cl. A: fast startup and + on block. whiffs on short crouchers. Not chainable. Cancelable.
• cl. B: short ranged normal with good frame advantage. Can combo into cl.C with a 1f link. Chainable. Cancelable.
• cl. C: two hitting close normal. good to use in combos since it deals good damage and both hits are cancelable. Safe on block. Cancelable.
• cl. D: two hitting close normal. has a lot of startup and is less safe than cl.C so this one doesn't have much use. cancelable.

Stand

• st. A: fairly short range but it can be used to stop some hops. whiffs on short crouchers. Chainable. Not cancelable.
• st. B: great poke with fast startup, good range, nice active frames and good recovery. Whiffs on tiny crouchers. Not chainable. Not cancelable.
• st. C: long ranged poke with a lot of startup and recovery making it unsafe on whiff. Kinda hard to punish on block because of the pushback. not cancelable.
• st. D: slow poke with a lot of recovery. but it has a lot of low invincibility. Not cancelable.

Crouch

• cr. A: a crouching jab with fairly short reach. Kinda bad on block at -3. good combo tool after cr.Bs. Chainable. Cancelable.
• cr. B: her main low combo starter. has good reach. Shrinks her hurtbox quite a lot. Chainable. Cancelable.
• cr. C: moves her forward a little bit. Has a lot of recovery making it very punishable. can be used in combos from ranges cl.C would whiff. Cancelable on whiff and contact.
• cr. D: long reach but has kinda long recovery making it unsafe on block and whiff. Shrinks her hurtbox a lot so she can go under some flying projectiles with it. Not cancelable.

Jump

• j. A: decent jumpin attack with a lot of active frames.
• j. B: has long reach downwards making it another decent jumpin attack. It can also be used as an instant overhead.
• j. C: has a nice hitbox in front and slightly below Mary so this move can function as both an air to air and air to ground attack. Comes out fairly slow though.

• neutral j. C: great hitbox for air to airing as it has loads of priority in front of Mary.

• j. D: Marys best jumpin normal due to it's good speed, reach and damage. Can crossup. can be used as a instant overhead when used during a hyper hop.

Blowback

• st. CD: good grounded poke that can be cancelled on whiff and on contact to make it safer or apply different mixups.

• j. CD: great air to air normal. Whiffs on low crouchers.

Throws

Victor Heave: (close) b/f + C

• regular throw, techable. Mary picks the opponent up and drops them behind her and then delivers a elbow strike. Sends the opponent half screen away behind Mary with a backturned hard knockdown.

Head Throw: (close) b/f + D

• regular throw, techable. Mary flings the opponent behind her full screen distance causing a soft knockdown.

Command Normals

Hammer Arch: f + A

• overhead when done raw, loses the overhead property when cancelled into.

• one of Marys primary mixup tools.

• punishable on block when done raw and when cancelled into.

• a staple in her combos as it combos after her heavy attacks and allows her to cancel into a special or super.

• gives hard knockdown when hitting an airborne opponent.

Climbing Arrow: df + B

• good anti air that hits high up.

• can be cancelled into dp on hit for a combo.

• shrinks her hurtbox so can low profile some jumpins.

• pops grounded opponents up for an aerial reset on hit.

Double Rolling: f + B

• a slow double kick. First hit has low invincibility but hits mid and second hit has no invincibility but hits low.

• unsafe on block and not cancelable so bad in combos as well.

• avoid using this move.

Special Moves

Young Dive: d~u + B/D

• Blue Mary does a somersault and comes down with a leg strike. B version goes shorter and lower than the D version.

• Hits overhead

• the move can be cancelled into one of the followups before or after the leg strike.

(During Young Dive) Reverse Kick: B/D

• a j.D from the somersault.

• hits overhead.

• on hit it causes a juggleable state so Blue Mary can follow it up in the corner.

• Safe on block.

• if done after the hit of the initial dive it will be a true blockstring on block and a combo on hit.

• causes soft knockdown.

(During Young Dive) Dangerous Spider: A/C

• a grab during the dive.

• a slow command grab that will grab grounded opponents.

• can be good to catch people trying to block the dive attack.

• fairly easy to react to and hop to beat it so use sparingly.

• causes hard knockdown.

M.Spider: (in air) qcf + A/C

• an aerial command grab.

• A version she comes down diagonal, C version she comes down vertically

• This cannot grab aerial opponents only standing and crouching

• causes a backturned hard knockdown on hit

Straight Slicer: b~f + B/D

• a long range sliding kick. B version goes about half screen and D version goes almost full screen.

• can low profile a lot of mid height moves like pokes and some projectiles.

• It can also low profile jump in attacks so it functions as a good long range anti air as well.

• can combo from lights which gives her nice low confirms.

• it has a lot of active frames.

(During Straight Slicer hit) Stun Fang: qcf + B/D

• Blue Mary pulls out a stungun and stuns the opponent after the slide.

• only comes out on hit so always do it after the slide

• causes soft knockdown

Leg Press: down, down + B (When opponent is knocked down)

• OTG move that can be done after hard knockdowns or soft knockdowns if the opponent didn't recovery roll

• can only be done after moves that puts her close enough to the opponent.

• Use it for extra damage whenever possible.

Vertical Arrow: dp + B/D

• a upwards travelling dp move. B version flies shorter than the D version.

• B version has faster startup than the C version.

• B version only has a bit of startup invincibility and D version has full startup invincibility that lasts until the 4th active frame

• B version can function as a fast anti air as it has a very good hitbox.

• D version functions as a reversal and as a late anti air.

• very unsafe on block and whiff.

M. Snatcher: During Vertical Arrow hit, dp + B/D

• a followup to her dp.

• always do this followup as it only comes out on hit and nothing extra happens on block or whiff.

• Causes a backturned hard knockdown.

Real Counter: qcb + A/C

• Blue mary does a pose, she is invincible for a long period during it.

• has a bit of punishable recovery at the end and can be thrown.

• can be cancelled into 2 followups.

(During Real Counter) German Suplex: hcf + A/C

• a 1f command grab out of the real counter.

• causes a hard knockdown.

• There is a trick to get the German suplex out in 1f entirely skipping the real counter part of the move, see the tips & strategy section for details.

(During Real Counter) Face Lock: hcb + B/D

• another 1f command grab out of the real counter.

• causes a backturned hard knockdown that gives you plenty of time to set something up on their wakeup.

Desperation Moves

M.Escalation mode: qcf, qcf + A/C

• an install super that gives Mary a blue effect behind her.

• this super gives access to new moves and new followups to existing moves.

• the main strength of this super is that it gives you the option to tack on more damage on any of Marys special moves that score knockdowns, making her mixup game scarier.

• the other great thing about this super is that it recovers almost instantly and that combined with the super freeze it gives you means that you can use the super as a small timeout where you get to see what the opponent is doing and then take an appropriate action to defend against or beat it.

• Max version makes the super followup do more damage.

┣ (Escalation mode) Spin Fall: qcf + B/D

• Blue Mary does a frontflip whilst kicking in front of her.

• good approaching tool as it's fast and fairly safe on block.

• hits mid.

┗ (During Spin Fall Hit) Double Spider: qcf + A/C

• a grab that can only be done on hit.

• causes a backturned hard knockdown

┗ (Escalation mode, During Straight Slicer Hit) Double Crunch: qcf + B/D

• Blue Mary grabs the opponent after the slide and breaks their leg.

• can only be done on hit.

• causes a hard knockdown.

┗ (Escalation mode, During Vertical Arrow hit) Double Snatcher: dp + B/D

• can only be done on hit.

• causes a backturned hard knockdown.

┗ (Escalation mode, During the end of Double Spider, Double Crunch, & Double Snatcher), M.Triple Ecstasy: down + A/C

• when in escalation mode you can cancel one of the above specials into this.

• Blue Mary picks the opponent up and swings them around in circles and then throws them away to the other end of the screen.

• especially good in extra mode since it gives blue Mary time to charge her meter after using it.

• causes a hard knockdown.

┗ (Escalation mode, During the end of Dangerous Spider, M.Spider, German Suplex, & Face Lock), M.Dynamite Swing: down A/C

• when in escalation mode you can cancel one of the above specials into this.

• Blue Mary picks the opponent up and swings them around in circles and then throws them away to the other end of the screen.

• especially good in extra mode since it gives blue Mary time to charge her meter after using it.

• causes a hard knockdown.

M.Diving Smasher: (close) hch, hcb + B/D

• 1f command grab super.

• good for a higher damaging version of the instant real counter.

• good for combos.

• causes a hard knockdown.

• Max version does more damage.

Combos

• cr.B cr.B cr.A b~f+B qcf+A

basic low hitconfirm combo. In the corner you can add a dd+B for extra damage.

• (j.X) cl.C f+A dp+K/hcbx2+K

basic jumpin or heavy button combo.

• d~u+D K dp+D dp+K

corner combo after her young dive special.

Strategy & Tips

1f real counter

• you can execute the hcf+P in 1f entirely skipping the first part of the move by inputting it like qcb,hcf and an isolated P at the end. By learning to do this you get an additional mixup in your bag that is fairly powerful.

Videos

King of Fighters 98 UM FE: EX Mary Guide by Mash It Out