Resource

Valentine’s vials can be used to inflict poison DoT damage, create new combo routes and get easier conversions off of airthrows and mid-long range tools through increased hitstun (and more undizzy room to work with), or add several frames of delay to an opponent’s inputs to weaken their ability to defend and fight back against your pressure. With the right team composition, right ratio, and enough meter, Valentine can even Touch of Death a character through vial usage.

Assists that give mid-combo vial loads

Position - Point. Point guard. Running back. Blue Lock. Red Ranger.

Her assists and DHC options are just very subpar while her neutral presence is top level, so you'll get more value out of her by giving her backup. Some characters actually really like some of Val's assists for combo routes, but you'll likely be better off by helping Valentine dominate neutral as opposed to helping out another character's combo game.

H Savage Bypass (236HK) - 

Combo Tool

Valentine travels far and fast meaning she may occasionally trip the opponent up in neutral, but because the assist has low blockstun and leaves Val right in front of the opponent, you’re putting her at risk to be punished. Does high damage on its own, so good for frontloaded damage, and with the combination of its speed, distance, and knockback it is an excellent combo tool for certain characters.

Kakushi Caliper (2MK) -

Pressure, Low

It does two hits so it can be used for hit-confirms and pressure resets. And it does hit low so it can aid in mixups if the point character has good high options. Not a "good" assist, but serviceable.

Vial Hazard (214P) -

Poison, Input Delay, Combo Tool

If Valentine has a vial loaded, she throws it. If she doesn’t have one loaded, she loads it. Gives your point character access to the poison/hitstun/delay benefits, but keep in mind that Valentine will only load up to level 1 vials (you can build up to level 3 on point and then get level 3 as an assist, but…). You also cannot load the vial and then toss it within the same combo.

Throw (LP+LK) - 

Throw...

Gives you an easy combo if the opponent gets thrown. They can still tech the assist, but having to commit to a throw tech, jump, or reversal when a point character is right in front of you not having to commit to anything…. Jab your opponent out of the crumple state from Valentine’s throw and go for another throw with your point character for maximum disrespect.

Mortuary Drop (214LP+LK) - 

Command Throw, Combo Tool (with stagger)

Trades the ability to be teched with more startup. You can combo into Mort Drop if you stagger the opponent, which can be nice for Beowulf and Squigly as they both have staggers, and like that Mort Drop gives them plenty of time to build resources.

Annie

Recommended Assists: 

H Destruction Pillar, H North Knuckle

• Destruction Pillar - Anti-Air DP

  • DP assist, which Valentine highly appreciates

  • Val has no issues converting from Destruction Pillar's knockback

  • Vial Load combos anywhere on the screen, and she gets to save OTG

• H Knuckle - Neutral, Lockdown

  • Good ground threat that provides a lot of blockstun for Val to reposition in neutral, or aid her pressure game

  • Val can easily convert from H Knuckle with air Bypass, making it great for things such as Dead Cross/5HP + assist call as a medium-long-range poke

  • Vial Load combos anywhere on the screen, on every character except Big Band(?) outside of the corner

    • Val North Knuckle Midscreen Vial Load

Pros:

• Very strong assist options for Valentine to buff her defensive, neutral, and combo game

• Fullscreen Vial Combo support for Val

• Pillar of Creation DHC for good damage

Cons:

• While Savage Bypass helps Annie a great deal in post-hit scenarios (damaging combos and tricky resets), none of Valentine's assist options address Annie's weaknesses in neutral and landing a hit in the first place

Synergy:

• Good for Valentine, Decent for Annie

• Valentine gets a nice partner in this duo, but Annie's biggest issues aren't addressed with Val's help so this could not be called a good duo

• Valentine takes the point slot, so look for anyone who fits well as a mid or anchor

Big Band

Recommended Assists: 

L/M Beat Extend, H Brass Knuckles 

• Beat Extend - Anti-Air DP

  • Gives Val a great DP assist that also controls a lot of air space, 

  • Vial load combo midscreen and in the corner

• H Brass Knuckles - Armored Neutral, Anti-Zoning

  • Commands the ground space while it's out, helping Val control the pace of the match as she pleases

  • Great for counter-calling assists, which your opponent is likely using to approach Val

  • Vial load combo in the corner

Pros:

• Band's assists give Valentine good screen coverage and vial loading support

• Val's assist support for Band is good for combos and conversions from stray hits in neutral

• Valentine can fight off Big Band's bad matchups and bring him in to play on his terms

Cons:

• If Super Sonic Jazz is done on an airborne opponent, Valentine either has to whiff most hits of her Scalpels level 1 super, or spend level 3 to combo

Synergy:

• Favorite for Valentine, Good for Big Band

• Very strong duo, can't go wrong as long as Big Band is the anchor

• Any character works for a trio, even the more selfish characters (Fortune, Beowulf)

Cerebella

Recommended Assists: 

Excellebella, H Lock 'n' Load, Cerecopter

• Excellebella - Anti-Air, Combo Tool

  • The only (good) assist that lets her build two vials in a combo from anywhere on the screen and still continue

  • You get easy access to Touch of Deaths with poison vials, opened up combo routes and greater reward off pokes with the hitstun vial, and shenangins with the lag vial, more so than any other Valentine team

  • Valentine (H Bypass) + Cerebella (Excellabella) Tech - YouTube 

• Cerecopter - Space-Control, Lockdown, Anti-Armor

  • Midscreen and corner vial load combos

  • Great lockdown pressure

  • Wards off opponents trying to approach on the ground while you control the air

• H Lock 'n' Load - Armored Neutral, Pressure

  • Like Cerecopter, good for making opponents wary of making a grounded approach while you hover in the air

  • No vial-load combos, but still adds a chunk of damage to combos, also good for hitting a mid-air opponent and leading to tricky resets

Pros:

• Excellebella assist is the Valentine Enabler, but the other options are also good for neutral and pressure

• Valentine's assist (singular) is very good for upping Bella's damage as her favorite combo assist

• Good DHC synergy for combo extensions

• Valentine deals pretty well with Cerebella's more troublesome matchups when she's on point

Cons:

• As good as H Bypass is for Cerebella's combo game, it does very little for helping her out in the neutral game, her biggest weakness

Synergy:

• Favorite for Valentine, Good for Cerebella

• The only problem with this duo is that it would be even better with a third character with a strong neutral assist, as both characters really want each other as combo tools

• Pick a mid or anchor with a good neutral assist for a trio

• Val + Bella = BFFs? A Synergy + Tech demo - YouTube

Eliza

Recommended Assists: 

Butcher's Blade, H Osiris Spiral

• Butcher's Blade - Armored Lockdown, Space-Control, Anti-Armor

  • The offensive option, good at converting or locking down opponents from long-range pokes and counter-calling assists

• Osiris Spiral - Space-Control, Lockdown, Mixup

  • The defensive option, keeping the space near Val protected and helping anti-air

  • The better option for resets as it pops ups opponents, making them susceptible to left/right mixups

• Both provide vial loads mid-combo, and might let you sneak a vial on block since they lock down for so long

Pros:

• Val gets good assists for pressure and vial loads

• Easy to tag into Eliza mid-combo and continue if you need to tag out for whatever reason

• Valentine can play point against Eliza's worst matchups and easily tag Eliza in to a more advantageous position

Cons:

• What Valentine provides in her assists is not what Eliza needs

• No good options for DHC'ing after Lady of Slaughter; Scalpels super works but requires OTG in the corner and whiffing the super

Synergy:

• Good for Valentine, Poor for Eliza

• Very strong duo when Valentine is on point, and it is easy to fix your order if it gets disrupted, but Eliza is not getting much from this relationship

• Valentine is going to hog point and Eliza is not a great mid, so for a balanced team you'll be looking for a good mid character

Ms. Fortune

Recommended Assists: 

H Fiber Upper, Dash

• Fiber Upper - Anti-Air DP

  • Valentine is one of the best characters for converting off of Fiber Upper

  • Even if she cannot get a conversion, she does not mind the return to neutral in most cases

  • Gives vial load combos off of throw and in the corner

• Dash - Alpha Counter options

  • Lets you Alpha Counter into Fortune and have her choose any option, including a 5 frame jab, a fast DP, super, jump, or just block. You get to steal your turn out of some pressure strings or get punishes that no other Alpha Counter will safely allow.

Pros:

• Bypass is a very good tool for Fortune's combo game, and even Headless' pressure

• Excellent matchup spread on both characters; no character really gives this shell any trouble

• With Fortune's high meter build, while Valentine is not good at dumping meter for damage, it gives her access to her reversals

• Valentine can easily tag in Fortune off of 5HK's sliding knockdown to skip to the fun part

Cons:

• Fortune's defensive assists are pretty meh for Valentine

• Both characters want to play on point, their only saving grace as anchors being that they fight well alone

• Fortune has to end headless Cat Scratch Fever (headless) early for Valentine to land her DHCs, giving up damage

Synergy:

• Poor for Valentine, Decent for Fortune

• This shell as its own team is less of a "duo" and more "two solos put together."

• Please find a good anchor character. There are several neutral and lockdown assists to pick from the good anchors and they will help this shell operate much more like a team. If the assist also helps Valentine load vials mid-combo, you're golden.

• Val/Fortune/Double Team Tech - YouTube 

marie

Recommended Assists: 

H Hilgard's Haymaker, H Marie Go Round (Twirl)

• Haymaker - Neutral

  • Valentine herself does a good job of protecting Hilgard while he charges his punch, with the range of the punch itself being a good tool for helping Valentine approach or play keepaway

• H Twirl - Armored Neutral

  • Quick armored threat for close/mid-range, easy combo follows if it tags the opponent

  • Vial combo combo thanks to its stagger

Pros:

• Valentine gets nice additions to her neutral control or combo game with Marie's assists

Cons:

• Marie doesn't get all that much from Valentine's assist kit

Synergy:

• Good for Valentine, Poor for Marie

• Not a recommended duo as Marie isn't supported enough

• A character to play the position of mid or anchor is recommended if you want to play a trio

Parasoul

Recommended Assists: 

Napalm Pillar, L Napalm Shot

• Napalm Pillar - Anti-Air DP

  • Cover Val's bad defense, as well as a bit of air space with its large hitbox

  • Vial load combos anywhere, but the midscreen conversion is tight

• Napalm Shot - Projectile, Pressure

  • Good as a cover if you need to approach from ground

  • A nice help for when you land a hit and are putting opponents in the blender, as the tear shot will make it harder to challenge your mixups and pressure

Pros:

• Valentine gets good assists for defense or offense, decent vial load support with Pillar assist

Cons:

• Val's assist and DHC support for Parasoul is just not there

Synergy:

• Good for Valentine, Poor for Parasoul

• Not the strongest duo, but far from the weakest. It functions.

• Valentine wants the point position, and Parasoul's weakest slot is mid, so you'll want a good mid or even anchor character

Robo Fortune

Recommended Assists: 

H Theonite Beam, Collimating Saw (5HP)

• Theonite Beam - Beam Projectile

  • Provides the character with amazing neutral one of the best neutral assists

  • Can get cute mixups with Bypass + Beam

    • More H Beam + L Bypass Ender Tech (Just Val) - YouTube 

  • Vial load in the corner

    • Val Beam corner - YouTube 

• Saw - Armored Lockdown

  • As Valentine herself doesn't have great defensive options, this can come in handy

  • All the same benefits of a good lockdown assist on a character with airdash mixups

Pros:

• This shell just dominates some characters when Valentine is on point with Beam assist, though Saw is also a good pick for her thanks to its defensive properties

• Robo receives surprisingly good assist support from Valentine with H Bypass for both neutral and combos

Cons:

• Valentine's reversal super into Robo's Magnet super is NOT a safe DHC

Synergy:

• Favorite for Valentine, Good for Robo Fortune

• A good duo until you get hit. You have great neutral and movement and can outright shut out some characters. However, you also have two characters with poor defensive options, and their preferred assists don't really help each other much in that regard. You also have no safe DHCs. As for the usual "solo Robo" issue, Valentine can easily get a sliding knockdown and tag in Robo into a favorable position once she gets a hit.

• An anchor character would be a big help for a trio

Umbrella

Recommended Assists: 

Cliff Hanger (6HP), Salt Grinder, Hungern Rush

• Cliff Hanger (6HP) - Anti-Air, Neutral, Combo Tool

  • Controls both air and ground space nicely, making it difficult to approach a keep-away Valentine

  • Can turn stray shuriken hits into full combos if the opponent is grounded

  • Vial load anywhere on the screen

• Salt Grinder - Combo Tool

  • Enables Valentine to load 2 vials mid-combo and gives a nice damage boost to combos

  • Useless outside of that

• Hungern Rush - Anti-Air DP, Combo Tool

  • DP assist, though not a great one

  • Vial load anywhere on the screen

Pros:

• Umbrella's kit gives options for helping Valentine players who like playing a keep-away style, and all of her good assists give easy vial loads

• Umbrella gives Valentine a safe DHC out

Cons:

• Umbrella gets very little off of Valentine's assists or DHCs

Synergy:

• Good for Valentine, Poor for Umbrella

• A very weak duo with the only caveat being a safe DHC. Valentine should always be played point if you attempt this duo.

• This duo requires a third character to function properly, one that can help each other's gameplan and assist the two with approaching the opponent.