Tactics 04 - Kazuya, the Killer

Edit: as of Wednesday, June 12, 2013, Kazuya received many changes in his cards due to Balance Update 03. As a result, I have modified this post to match the present stats for Kazuya. Twin Fang Double Kick's now triggers at 80 HP and below, but I still consider Kazuya's prime under 60 HP.

Since my last post on Kazuya Killing, many players have asked me how to counter it. Although I am not actually a Kazuya player, I have played so many Kazuya's and there are only a few times I've lost to a Kazuya after following the Kazuya Killing Practices.

The Deck

I won't tell you how to build your deck but I will tell you to leave at least 1~2 slot(s) opened for reasons explained. Here are the most popular cards I see on Kazuya:

• Jaw Breaker: 15 Damage, Punch, Before the attack: HP ≤ 110: Opp -1 Parry
• Skull Smash: 13 Damage, Punch, After the attack: Strike: +1 Card
• Oni Stomp: 10 Damage, Kick, Before the attack: Opp Strike HP ≤ 110: +25 Protection
• Twin Fang Double Kick: 13 Damage, Kick, After the attack: HP ≤ 80: Card discard & +2 cards
• Wind God Fist: 22 Damage, Punch, Before the attack: HP ≤ 60: P cards +15 Hit
• Power Card: Kazuya - I: 175 HP, Every turn: P cards + 2 Hit

I prefer cards that aid in the drawing speed for Kazuya, that way it is a relentless assault.

When I fight Kazuya's and use my strategy, the only times I lose are:

• when I overestimate Kazuya's killing power drop him from 75 HP to 3 HP due to sheer laziness or poor arithmetic (lol).
• when the Kazuya I am facing possesses a card which controls his own HP

Kazuya in God Mode. I end up losing the fight after blocking 4 times consecutively.

I strongly feel the last point makes the difference between a Good Kazuya and a Bad Kazuya.

The following are the only cards Kazuya can use to strategically lower his HP:

• Engetsusen: 20 Damage, Kick, After the attack: Dual Focus: Both -15 HP
• Tsunami Kick: 20 Damage, Kick, After the attack: Dual Focus: -15 HP & +1 card
• Devastator: 20 Damage, Punch, After the attack: This card hits: -15 HP & +2 Cards
• Slaughter High Kick: 30 Damage, Kick, After the attack: This card blocked: -15 HP
• SR Devil Blaster: 25 Damage, Kick, After the attack: Dual Focus: -10 HP & Opp -20 HP

Alternative SR option

Devastator and Slaughter High Kick are not very reliable in terms of control, therefore I would recommend SR Devil Blaster, Tsunami Kick or Engetsusen. I would choose Engetsusen over SR Devil Blaster and Tsunami Kick because of Price, and because Engetsusen gets the job done faster, doesn't waste focuses and you also may be interested in other SR cards.

Tips and Tricks for the Fight

These are very simple tricks but I see so many Kazuya's making all the wrong moves.

Block Opponent's potential weak damage, Focus if the damage will bring you to the optimum level.
What I mean by this is, if you and the enemy have 1 card each and the opponents character is a heavy light to medium hitter (Nina, Yoshimitsu, Xiao). They may be trying to bring you from 175 to 155 to 135 to 115 ... to 81/61 and then finish you off. You should be able to see this coming. When you are at around 81-100 HP, and you've seen the types of cards your opponent possesses, (say it is a Nina, so I would imagine, 10 Damage Blonde Bomb, 10 Damage Spiral Explosion,  10 Damage Spin Low Kick to Right Upper), let's say you are at 91 HP with 4 cards and the opponent has 1 card. My advice is to Block. She will either Strike, lose her 1 card, and you can focus/strike back, or she will Focus, making her have 2 cards which you can then focus her attack or strike it or, she is extremely crafty and will block 2x, and make you think she will block a third time forcing you to 5 card discard. If she blocks twice, then it is back to the guessing game.

Tank all five cards if it helps you activate God Mode (HP ≤ 60)
You start the fight at ~175 HP, if your opponent decides to focus to five and strike, and if those 5 cards will leave you at 60 HP. By all means don't block. You'll thank me later

If you have card advantage and you aren't in God Mode, striking could be playing right into your opponent's trap
If you read my post on Killing Kazuya, you'll know that bursting a Kazuya down from 61 HP is the way to go. That being said, there may be moments where the only reason Kazuya isn't dead yet is because he is holding cards such as Entrails Smash (20 Damage, Opp Strike & Opp cards ≥ 3: +1 Punch Parry), Demon Scissors (16 Damage, Block: +1 Punch Parry & Opp 4th card -10 Hit), or Oni Stomp (10 Damage, Opp Strike & HP ≤ 110: +25 Protection) and striking with them would mean discarding them for some damage. The way to handle this is to Focus to 5 cards, and provoke your enemy into striking you first, leaving you at less than 60 HP, you can attempt to accomplish this by focusing when already holding 5 cards. If all else fails, a 5 card discard will occur.

HP manipulator
Engetsusen, Tsunami Kick and SR Devil Blaster
If you've chosen Engetsusen, Tsunami Kick or SR Devil Blaster as your HP manipulator and your opponent is smart, they will refrain from focusing if it leaves you under 60 HP. In these cases, you will have to consider whether it is a good idea to strike with 5 cards or to 5 card discard. If that is the case, Devastator will be more useful.

Devastator
Devastator may just be the only way to get below 80 HP (this is only if your opponent REALLY knows the Kazuya matchup). This is because it is the only HP manipulator that your opponent has no control over (if it is in position 3, 4 or 5) unfortunately it could end up killing you as well due to the recoil damage.

Slaughter High Kick
Using this card to get below 60 HP may seem difficult at first but not a lot of characters can tank a 5 card strike from Kazuya without losing A LOT of HP, especially with Acute Pain on the field. To proc this ability, focus till 5, hopefully you would have taken some hits along the way.

Conclusion

• Add an HP manipulator to your deck
• Chip away at your opponent with cards that aren't your HP manipulator
• Consider tanking a 5 card strike if it leaves you under 60 HP
• Be Mindful of the defensive cards you hold and don't strike recklessly, it may cost you the game
• Play patiently and don't be afraid to 3x Block to trigger a 5 card discard
• Remember to block attacks that will leave you at 81/61 and to focus when their attack leaves you below 81/61
  

Hope this post helps a lot players to use Kazuya more effectively. If you have any quesitons or comments, please leave them below :]

Kazuya, God Mode