When @scarace360 queried in the matchmaking thread about whether or not anyone knew a 6k+ damage combo with Filia using no assists and one meter I thought to myself, as the resident combologist, that I probably should. After burning through the Tutorial mode (mostly out of curiosity, I mean I know how this dance is done) I hadn't spent any time with Skullgirls because of other distractions like my continued addiction to ME3 multiplayer and LoL sessions with my BFF. The fact that I had just upgraded my PC to once again be able to handle my capture hardware cinched it, it was time to make some new combo videos for the WMFightClub (CBSiFightClub?) YouTube channel.

As with most fighting games, I was going to have to invest a significant amount of time acclimating my hands to the timing of the cancels and the general pace of the game. As a father of a now very active nine-month-old, I wasn't sure how I was going to pull this off, and at first opted to build the combo in segments.

So what came first? Well, since I was dealing with a juggle system a la MvC or BB the first thing I wanted to figure out was how to relaunch. After testing out her various normals I realized I could get some extra damage and height by chaining Filia's cr. into her . This, combined with her air-dash and multi-hitting j. gave me an easy way to bring the enemy back down to the ground for another chain into launcher. In between chasing my baby around the house I managed to grind it out, launcher>air chain>relaunch. In the end the notation looked something like this: +>+>+>>xxSJF, Air >>xxADF, , Land, >>+>>

Now I had to figure out if I could get another relaunch out of the combo. With the vague knowledge I had about the Infinite Prevention System I knew I couldn't abuse her j. again so I started looking for a ground-bounce. A few tests later and I found it in her j.. This time I worked on launcher>ground-bounce>relaunch which looked something like this: >>+>>xxSJF, Air >>(1 hit)>, Land, +>>

With them back in the air it was time for the ender. This ended up being Air xx+(3 hits)xx+ , Land , >>xx+ On paper this all seemed to make sense and so I offered up the following combo for testing despite the fact that I didn't actually know how much damage it did or if it would even work: Air xxADF, , Land, +>+>+>>xxSJF, Air >>xxADF, , Land, >>+>>xxSJF, Air >>(1 hit)>, Land, +>>, Air xx+(3 hits)xx+ , Land , >>xx+

Of course I couldn't leave it at that and kept grinding it out until I made it past the ground-bounce and, fuck me, the infinite prevention system kicked in. I couldn't understand why, I thought the rules stated that I couldn't start two chains with the same attack which I definitely didn't do, but I kept working at it making minor tweaks the further I got. In the end I found that I had somehow broken the infinite prevention system three times. A little research told me that the actual rule was no starting a chain with ANY attack used after the first two chains. A few adjustments and I recorded the following combo for the interwebs: Air xxADF, , Land, >>+>>xxSJF, Delayed Air >xxADF, , Land, >>+>>xxSJF, Air >>(1 hit)>, Land, +>+>xxSJF, Air >>xx+(3 hits)xx+ , Land, >>+xx+

At this point I was feeling pretty good. I had met @scarace360 's goal of 6k damage and had a pretty snazzy looking combo. Unfortunately it wasn't long after posting this combo to Shoryuken that disaster struck. You see, due to the understandable limitations of an indie development team the training mode in Skullgirls is devoid of AI options. As a result, I could not set the training dummy to auto-guard or, more importantly, auto-tech. Because of this I was forced to undergo the crushing revelation that a blue impact circle indicated a ground-bounce that could be teched out of. My combo was not a "true combo."

In my frustration and exhaustion I did something stupid. I tacked on a ridiculously impractical jump-in to boost my damage and simply cut the entire second relaunch out of the combo without any significant thought. Here's the offending combo in question: Air xxADF, >, Land, >+>>xxSJF, Delayed Air >xxADF, , Land, >>+>>xxSJF, Air >>xx+(3 hits)xx+ , Land, >>+xx+

Again my good friends over at SRK.com called me out on my bullshit. It was already midnight and I was running on 4 hours of sleep 20 hours ago. I was exhausted and my baby was being angry about going to bed and honestly I just wanted to close my eyes and let it all fade away. I suppose it was fortunate that it was a particularly fussy night as I was forced to sit on the sofa with my daughter and surround her with blankets and pillows while waiting for her to fall asleep. Since I was there I figured why not give these BnBs another try.

Maybe it was because the onset of delirium was giving me clarity of mind, but I finally really started to think about how I could make the infinite prevention system work for me rather than against me. That's when I realized that I didn't have to give up the second relaunch. After all, where a ground-bounce fails a wall-bounce may suffice and that's exactly what Filia's Gregor Samson Blockbuster provided me with. Two-and-a-half hours later with my baby passed out in a pile of pillows I was finished recording the absolute best practical BnB I could conjure up for Filia in one, two, and three-meter varieties: +>+>>xxSJF, Delayed Air >xxADF, , Land, >+>>xxSJF, Air >>xx+(3 hits)xx+ , Land, >>xxSJF, Air >>xx+((3 hits)xx+ , Land, >>>+xx+[xx+])

Bleary eyed, I tucked my baby in to her crib and flopped down on the bed. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't dream of combos that night. But at least I was able to sleep satisfied in the knowledge that I had come up with a 100% practical BnB that was better optimized than any of the other BnBs I had seen online. Also with her ridiculous 2.9k damage jump-in she can hit 6949 damage for one meter so I still met my original goal.

Thanks if you stuck with me this far, I know I threw a lot of jargon out there and this probably wasn't interesting to most of you but the way I rapidly uploaded these videos offered a unique insight into the way the combos I develop evolve. I figured why not share? Now that I can finally use my capture card again I'll probably continue doing combo videos as time allows. I'm trying to decide between tackling Cerebella, Peacock, or Valentine. Any thoughts?

I fucking love you man. 
 
Never change.

I'd love to see some Peacock combos.

Awesome work, really loving Filia thus far and hopefully I can use some of this as a starting point to get from awful to kind of terrible at fighting games. As far as another combo video, I would really love to see some Valentine stuff. She seems like an all around solid character who could do some really cool stuff.

Good lord, and I can't even perform a reliable dragon punch on the 360 yet. I suppose I will try harder, have got years to learn this stuff.

Cerebella would be nice, she's the one I enjoy playing most out of the bunch. Also, she has the nicest controls for a grappler I have seen.

Um BnB stands for bread and butter...?

Wicked write-up, mate.

i barely understand what you're saying, but those videos are inhuman. now i'm so afraid to play skullgirls again.

I love that first combo, seems very practical I'm looking forward to trying it out

Holy shit.

I'm never gonna be good at this game. I should just sell it.

Try Peacock. This game is fun, even though i really suck at it.

@LordXavierBritish: <3<3<3

@IndieFinch: Don't kill yourself, these combos are definitely advanced level. You would be better served learning a simpler combo that you can do reliably then gradually working your way towards the harder stuff.

@Smokay: Yep

@Commisar123: You may have missed the part where I bitched about the first combo not actually being a combo because the opponent can tech roll out of the ground bounce after j..

I wish my dad did this.

@StarvingGamer: Wow dude, that's really awesome! I'm only getting to grips with making my own combos, this is very inspiring to see! I've noticed a lot of really good players use Filia, most of the best players i've fought online are Filia. Is she your main of choice?

I'm having trouble canceling Hairball into Gregor Samson,should I do the inputs after hairball is done doing damage or when Filia touches the ground?

@el_tajij: No, I was originally thinking Cerebella and Peacock since I tend to gravitate towards the extremes, grapplers and zoners. For example in SSFIV I really like Zangief and Dhalsim. The reason I picked up Filia first was 100% because of @scarace360's comment. That being said, she really seems like the "Ryu" of Skullgirls in that she is a very middle-of-the-road character that is ideal for getting a feel of how the fighting engine handles. That's probably why you're seeing more competent Filias online. If you're experienced with fighting games she's a very easy character to start getting good with.

@StarvingGamer said:

Air xxADF, , Land, >>+>>xxSJF, Delayed Air >xxADF, , Land, >>+>>xxSJF, Air >>(1 hit)>, Land, +>+>xxSJF, Air >>xx+xx+ , Land, >>+xx+

What are these mystic runes? It will takes eons to decipher! Oh fighting games.

@Smokay: No, you actually need to cancel Hairball before it finishes. If you notice in my notation after the + I say "(3 hits)." Normally Air Hairball hits four times but the fourth hit pushes them too far and they recover from hit-stun before Gregor Samson can reach them unless you time the cancel perfectly. To keep the combo more practical you have to perform the cancel after hit 3. The timing is still tight, but much more lenient.

I would recommend just doing xxSJF, Air xx+(3 hits)xx+ over and over again until you get the timing down.

Only reason i play felia is because she is like magneto from MVC2. But without a tri dash.

@scarace360: Needs more DISRUPTAH

@StarvingGamer said:

@scarace360: Needs more DISRUPTAH

No what she does need is magnetos Clk which was 1 frame.

Awesome post. Love the fighting notation

YOOOOOOOO UUUUUUUUULLLLLLLL!

That front page SRK technology! Way to go, StarvingGamer!

Nice job Starving.

Good stuff Starving! I don't plan on getting this as I haven't the time to play the games I have really, but if I do I'll be sure to refer back to your vids ;)

You make it sound so easy. I've got the basics of this game down but I'm terrible at keeping combos going.