Power Up Blast serves a vital role in DFCI, however when used without caution it can leave you in a disadvantageous situation. We will go over various methods in which Power Up Blast can be used. Here are a few visual examples of the following topics metioned below.
Starting with the most obvious, reversal Power Blast is one of the most commonly seen spots to Power Blast. Beginning with the benefits of using it as a reversal, Power Blast is invincible so if the opponent continues his pressure it is an easy way of stopping his approach with the possible added benefit of the Power Blast hitting him and gaining an extra meter and even if he does block, it is ±0. That is about the only benefit, now on to the shortcomings. It is easily avoidable from almost any situation and towards round 2 and 3, getting baited and punished becomes much more severe. Reversal Power Blast can be avoided in a number of ways.
Delayed 4AB on oki will guard point through the Power Blast and recover in time to punish the recovery of the Power Blast. This acts not only as a countermeasure to deal with reversal Power Blast, it will also guard point through reversal AB and Ranbu, and is an overhead.
Dashing or walking up to the opponent just inside of the Power Blast range, then immediately walking back or crouching outside of the range before a predicted Power Blast. While this is mostly a countermeasure for reversal Power Blast, it will also bait reversal AB and Ranbu, though it is more obvious given the space between you and the opponent.
A multitude of Option Selects off a safe jump. Easily the most efficient way to bait reversal Power Blast without committing to a certain option. This generally costs a resource, but certain AB attacks such as Tatsuya 2AB will bait and punish Power Blast at no cost.
Certain assists (mostly ones with moderate startup, or more if in Trump) can easily bait reversal Power Blasts as well as letting you continue oki as usual
At the base level, using Power Blast to bait a throw tech by running up to the opponent, leaving a slight delay as to trick him into thinking you will throw, then using Power Blast is a good way of hitting the opponent with raw Power Blast. Even at the higher stages of the throw meta, Power Blast will beat fuzzy jump, B~C throw tech, and charge C throw tech. However the one area where this method will lose to is the Trump throw tech OS. It is also vulnerable in the case of the opponent not aware of the throw bait attempt, or refusal to fall into it, and instead attacking and possibly causing your attempted Power Blast to turn into an Escape Blast.
Another extremely common tactic is to use Power Blast raw, most often seen at round start. If the opponent is not looking for it, it is the easiest way to use Power Blast and move on with the match. However if done haphazardly it can be punished by a plethora of attacks. At round start, a raw Power Blast can easily be reacted to and punished accordingly, but even at further ranges if the opponent has the right assist or character he can punish a raw Power Blast at those ranges if he is looking for it. Knowing what characters/assists can do at given ranges will help you decide when going for a raw Power Blast. Generally, if the opponent is in the air relatively far away from you (not at the range where Power Blast will whiff, but his forward jump attack will reach), he will not be able to punish a raw Power Blast so that is a good time to use it (exceptions being characters with EX air projectiles that track such as Tatsuya and Kuroko).
One of the safer opportunities to use Power Blast, albeit it still has shortcomings. While not every character has unique moves to leave them close enough where Power Blast will reach, and the move is not actually punishable (Rentaro 214A being a prime example), 4AB is the main situation where this applies. 4AB is also one of the more advantageous methods of using Power Blast as if it hits you can follow up into a meterless raw Power Blast. More importantly though is when the opponent blocks 4AB, the first hit is -2 which is minus but not punishable.
Using Power Blast in this situation falls in line with the somewhat dangerous mantra of “the opponent blocked a move that leaves me at frame disadvantage, so he will try to attack because he has the advantage, therefore I will DP/counter with an invincible move.” The difference between Power Blast however, is that it is an invincible move that is safe on block and because 4AB leaves you point blank in front of the opponent, he has little room to maneuver around it. Of course this strategy is not infallible, and will lose in the case of the opponent immediately using Ranbu or AB.
While this is also considered a raw Power Blast, I think the way in which it is used is enough to distinguish it as a separate category. Because the hitbox of Power Blast is so large, using it as an anti air is a fairly strong option, especially in a game where anti airs are not immediate and reliant options because they rely on hitbox/hurtboxes as opposed to having head or other specific types of invulnerability. As long as the opponent is within range, there is almost no way around it and the opponent is forced to block it, or in the case of attempting a jump in he will get hit.
One of the guaranteed methods of using Power Blast is to hit the opponent with it as an OTG attack. While this does not provide the benefits of hitting the opponent with a raw Power Blast, it does offer stability. Using a Power Blast as an OTG attack usually comes from situations where an EX move or assist knocks the opponent down, allowing for the OTG Power Blast.
Normally Power Blast is ±0 when blocked but when properly timed as a meaty it can leave you at frame advantage. This can lure the opponent into thinking they have leeway to trade by using his quickest attack when in fact he will most likely lose. The drawback to using Power Blast as a meaty is if the opponent does a reversal AB attack or Ranbu, which in either case will punish the Power Blast attempt. Similarly, another tactic is to use a delayed Power Blast on the opponent’s wake up. This has a higher chance of hitting the opponent if he tries to do anything on wake up and will also beat most reversal AB attempts, however it can still lose to 4AB and Ranbu depending on the timing.
Another variant of a raw Power Blast is calling an assist before using Power Blast. The utility of this method will rely solely on the assist and whether they can halt the opponent from punishing your raw Power Blast. If your assist can do so, there is little drawback to this method other than calling the assist too close to the opponent and you end up getting punished for the assist call itself.