My general gameplan when I use my scrub Abel:
- Zone with qcb+K from the max range from each strength where possible. This is especially important against Zangief, who's his toughest match up EASILY.
- Look for a chance to cross up: On hit, go with c.MP/MK> COD combos. On block either go with c.LKX3> s.LK> f+MK> dash forward > then either repeat or (Ex) Hurricane throw. Repeat will keep the opponent if he tries to jump, Ex Hurricane throw will beat blocks, counter pokes, and I think will also grab opponent's out of uppercuts. Normal Hurricane will beat counter throw attempts.
Alternative to c.LKX3> s.LK> f+MK> dash forward is c.LKx2> c.LP> f+MK. c.LP has less range, but better advantage on block (+3 vs +1)
- Yomi: After a Hurricane or a COD, dash forward one time and cross up again.
Or just dash forward, wait a bit, dash forward again then Hurricane/Ex Hurricane throw on wake up.
- If I land a cross up and got Ultra, I'll save meter and instead of doing COD> FADC> c.HP> Ultra, I'll just do c.HP> Ultra.
- For footsies, use f+MK> Dash> Yomi as a whiff punisher. Not sure what pokes it beats (knowing that is the key to a high level Abel, IMO).
The high level Abels like to f+MK> Dash> s.HP (1 hit)> COD combo, so the potential payoff for learning how to footsie with f+MK is VERY big.
Countering Abel
- These are the two important things ways in which I see Abel play being countered a lot. Maybe a strong Abel player can post here how to counter them...
- Backdash after a blocked f+MK.: Beats all his Yomi follow ups.
- Jump backward or upwards a lot when he's near you.: Sounds like a scrub tactic, but like all scrub tactics, there are skilful ways of applying it. The fact remains that Abel has no real hard counter after people who do a lot of defensive jumping.
