PLAYSTYLE

Use his strong neutral to play mind games, then use his Mode to deal massive damage.

Esidisi is best played at mid range, where he can effectively control the neutral with fast, long range attacks, or do an ambiguous jump-in with jM. His 5M and 2M normals in particular serve as great pokes that can be confirmed into small combos. From there, Esidisi can either wait for the opponent to get frustrated and go all-on, or slowly prime the opponent both mentally and physically for a mix-up. Both will then lead to a giant combo.

His main special is 236A, which is a long range, high priority, fast poke with no hurt-box. This move allows Esidisi to dominate the mid-range as it will poke, punish, interrupt, and anti-air the opponent at its ideal range, while recovering before the they can reach him. This allows Esidisi to shave off small chunks of health, while safely learning his opponent’s behaviour. Once he develops a read he can use it to create opportunities for big Mode combos. Mode 1 and Mode 2 greatly improve all of Esidisi’s moves, while boosting his damage and adding passive burn damage, allowing for long and devastating combos. It’s easy to create a life lead and sit on it, or make big comebacks. It also helps that 236A can be used for great wall carry, allowing for particularly intimidating wall mix-ups, and even more damaging combos.

He has other specials, including a projectile, an anti-air, and long range, leaping moves. However, their use is very situational, as they tend to be quite slow without the bonuses Mode gives them. This means that most of the time new players will feel very limited until they learn to get creative with them. Some of Esidisi’s Mode combos can be tricky at first, and dropping them is quite costly in terms of meter and vulnerability. That being said, he is the easiest Mode character to learn, and a good character to play neutral with.

PROS

  • Good poking normals.
  • 236L is a great long range move that dominates at mid range.
  • jM is one of the most ambiguous cross-up tools in the game.
  • Good, meter efficient combo in Normal Mode.
  • Strong wall carry.
  • Best Mode in the game, allowing for huge combos, constant pressure, and buffed specials with great properties.

CONS

  • 236A is linear and can be sidestepped.
  • Most of his specials have limited use outside of Mode.
  • No ‘get off me’ move outside of Mode.
  • Mode combos usually involve a big investment of meter, and can be a big deal if dropped.