Bernkastel & Lambdadelta

Bernkastel and Lambdadelta are characters from the When They Cry series.



Moveset
4A: Lambdadelta points forwards, while Bernkastel does an uppercut. Essentially the normal version of 214A: It can chain into supers and specials, but is only slightly less laggier than 4A. Overall a poor move choice, due to the fact that 5A comes out faster, has longer range, can be chained into itself, and practically everything else.

5A: Bern shoves his hand forward. Average speed for a poke, minimal damage. Can be chained into itself.

5B: Lambda shoves her foot out, and a few frames later, moves it slightly. Can be mashed to keep it out indefinitely, but the hitbox only comes out while Lambdadelta’s foot moves. Decent damage and good hitstun: can combo into a 236B.

5C: Bern and Lambda both rear their fists back, and punch. Somewhat laggy startup and ending, but decent damage. Causes reeling and knockdown.

6C: Bern shoves Lambda forward, who shoulders the opponent. Causes decent damage and knockdown. Practically the same as 5C, but has longer range and a shorter-lasting hitbox. Causes reeling, meaning that it cam combo into specials in the corner, and knockdown. It is recommended that, against someone blocking high and with meter, one should cancel into 236A->236236A, since it hits low and can be hard to react to. Keep in mind that the 236236A timing is relatively strict, though it is mitigated by the fact that one 236 is buffered. Against lowblockers, it can be cancelled into 623C, but the opponent can switch blocking to high through reaction, as 623C has a fairly long startup time. Without meter and in every other scenario, 6C can be canceled into 236C, as it hits lowblockers and can restand, or staggered into another attack; or 214A, which can stagger into rekka and whatnot. The possibility of a 236C whiff is, while moderately high, is mitigated by the fact that 236C has minimal landing lag. There is also the issue of a 623A misinput being possible. With that in mind, 214A is likely the safer choice, but 236C has higher reward if successful.

2A: Bern kicks forwards while Lambda perches over her shoulder. Very fast and causes minimal damage. Very good move; better than Akasaka’s 2A in both speed and range. Can easily be chained into itself 8 times from point blank, and can usually hit 9 times before getting out of range.

2B: Lambda leans over Bern’s shoulder and does an uppercut. Good range.

2C: Bern and Lambda both do an uppercut (Lambda’s is presumably just for show), and Bern follows up with a 2A. Causes knockdown, does decent damage. Interesting move, as the first attack hits mid but the second hits low, but the first attack, if blocked, has enough pushback to keep the second one from hitting.

236A: Bern slidetackles forward while Lambda extends her knee. Hits low, does decent damage.

236B: Bern and Lambda rocket upwards in a kung-fu-esque kick. Does good damage, but punishable if blocked on the ground. Causes wallslam if performed on an airborne opponent. Does decent damage.

236C: Bern and Lambda jump upwards, while doing a j.C motion with Bern facing away from the camera, and divekick downwards. Causes knockdown. Does good damage. Can actually cross up in the corner (Against the training dummy, at least)

623A: Bern jumps up slightly and does a small jumping uppercut. Decent damage, but a poor move and cannot be combed into anything and does not cause knockdown.

623B: Lambda claps. Fairly good move for comboing into supers; in fact, it combos into all supers (The Last Mystery and 236236B included, though the timing is slightly strict). Otherwise, still a decent move due to its long-lasting hitbox, and due to the fact that it combos into 2A. Causes massive stun then knockdown.

623C: Bern charges up and headbutts the enemy. If it hits, Lambda grabs the enemy and drives them into the ground. Very good damage and causes knockdown, but laggy. Has invincibility on startup.

214A: 3 punch rekka. Bern charges forwards, fist extended; inputting 214B causes Lambdadelta to follow suit. Inputting a 214C afterwards causes Bernkastel to finish the job with another punch, and knocks down. Inputting 236C instead of 214C causes Lambdadelta to pause for a second before punching again, hitting low. Great move; arguably the fastest rekka in the game. This move is also amazing in combos. 214A by itself combos into all supers, and can even be used after a series of 2As to close the gap and get in range; 214B makes it even easier to combo, as Lambdadelta's fist punches in further. Does good damage; arguably one of Bernkastel/Lambdadelta's best moves, as it can be used for pressure in a similar fashion as Youmu's rekka (SWR[S] incarnate). Cancelable into a super only on the first or second rekka hit.

214C (on the ground): Lambda chucks Bern forwards, who inexplicably turns into an explosive missile. Does fairly good damage, but is laggy. (Unfortunately, Bern does not have a dying animation like Tomitake when cancelled by another bullet)

214C (in the air): Bern rides Lambda like a magic carpet, and rush forwards. Does decent damage and knocks down. Very good move for surprising opponents, as it can be TKed and has nigh-instant startup. Punishable on block, though, if not hit with the end of the move.

Bernkastel & Lambdadelta also have an uppercut move. It is unknown what the inputs are, though it is known that it is caused by some combination of 4 and 2.

236236A: Bern and Lambda do a series of 5 punches, moving 3/4ths of the screen and with the last causing knockdown. Punishable on full groundblock. Can cancel into 4646D on the 4th hit or before. The first 3 hits hit mid; the last 2 hit low.

236236B: Lambda punches forwards. If it hits, Lambda raises her arms and slams her fists down, causing groundslam. Blockable and has a small hitbox, but a very good combo move that can be followed up with most moves. It has slightly longer ranger than 5B. Arguably the best followup at about midscreen is 236B, which causes wallslam. Otherwise, a simple 6C might be best, as 623C and 214C are too slow.

236236C: Uses 2 meter. Bern performs a shoryuken. Has invincibility frames. If it whiffs, Bernkastel jumps anyways, hitting anyone along the way. Causes knockdown if the initial punch hit; no knockdown is caused if hit in the air..

Last Mystery:

4646D: Lambda charges forward about half of a screen. If Lambda makes contact with the opponent, the opponent will be inexplicably juggled around the screen. This does no damage, but Bern jumps down from the skies for a divekick, and proceeds to punch the opponent in the gut for a 7-hit combo. Bern and Lambda then spawn from the opposite sides of the screen, and highfive each other with the opponent in the middle. Does about half a healthbar of damage.

Analysis
Bernkastel and Lambdadelta seem to have a fairly mixed moveset, with tools for generating meter (2A), good combos with 214A, 236236B and 236B, and a DP (623C). They do, however, lack projectiles besides the laggy g.214C, and are likely going to be going on the offensive against most of the rest of the cast. The inputs for Bernkastel and Lambdadelta are also somewhat tricky to utilize properly compared to most of the rest of the cast, especially with lag factored in.

As for approaching, Bernkastel and Lambdadelta have no solid tools for doing so, and so they will likely have to rely on approach mixups. TK j.214C can be helpful when opponents are expecting a standard jump-in. Once the opponent is in the corner or knocked down, Bernkastel and Lambdadelta can use 2A and 5A as mixups. If Bernkastel and Lambdadelta land a hit with a normal, they can easily combo into 623B and more 2As, or, if nearly out of range, a 214A->214B followed by 236236B->236B for wallslam and groundslam, along with some good damage.

Bernkastel and Lambdadelta do not have any defenses against projectiles, unfortunately, and will likely have to rely on stepping to reach their opponent without harm.

Overall, a very promising largely rush-down character with very high potential due to long combo tools, but rather difficult inputs for said tools relative to each other and relatively poor neutral game. Will take a while for mastery considering the rather tight inputs required to perform said combos.

Combos
5B->623B->2C (1-hit)->236236B->236B->4646D: Silly yet effective combo, as shown on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnTjynDauMs

623B->2AxN->214A(->214B)->236236B->236B->Finishing move: Essentially a ripoff of the above combo, this combo does overall better damage, and is easier to do on reaction. Relatively strict and confusing timing, as the 2A->214A portion must be done in a very small timeframe, and after the 214 comes out the 236236 must be inputted in a relatively short timeframe, which can be hard due to hand-switching. The difficulty of this combo increases with each extra 2A. The finishing move can be selected based on distance from the wall; if very far from the wall, Lambda and Bern can practically follow up with any move (2A->214A->214B->214C, 214C, or 6C are recommended in damage order, though 214C has the easiest input), except for 623C and a few other slow moves. Meanwhile, if close to the wall, a 236236A would probably be the best option. At all ranges, a 4646D is possible and recommended if possible.

Note that the 2AxN can be substituted for any combination of 2A->any set of moves that puts Bernkastel and Lambdadelta slightly within 2A range--in other words, doing 2A->214A will not combo if at the absolute tip of 2A's range. This may be slightly harder, as 2AxN->214A can be buffered by simply pressing 4 right before pressing A again.

At point blank range in the corner, 5 hits from 2A is recommended, and at point blank range from midscreen, 3 hits from 2A is recommended. If not at pointblank at midrange, only one 2A is recommended to ensure that 214A chains. Up to 6 2As are possible in the corner.

Also note that, depending on which finishing attack you want to use, you can also tack on a 4A or a 5A between 236236B and 236B. The timing gets even more strict, though. This combo, with a 214B added in after the 214A, becomes easier to perform.

5A->5B->623B->2Ax4->214A->214B->236236B->4A->236B->(dash up)->2A/5A->214A->214B->236236A (4 hits)->4646D: HOLY SON OF A DICK 1CKO. INB4NERF

In any case, this combo can kill Toshiki Inukai, or just in general decimate the lifebar of most characters. Very easy hitconfirm: the only requirement is that 623B must hit a grounded opponent. The distance from the opponent judges the number of 2As needed to kill Inukai. Very very difficult (in the scope of 13.5, at least) execution, and probably close to impossible over netplay. There is approximately 3 2A's worth of leeway for a 1HKO on Inukai in this combo.

This combo is about 4 2As away from killing a Youmu. Also note that omitting the 4646D results in the opponent having less than half of a lifebar left.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3TD0-NyVwA (Unfortunately, one 2A is omitted, the combo took two sessions to record, and the combo was accidentally dropped between 214B and 236236A)