#01 · Heavy body
Poppy
Keeper of the Hammer
A short, sturdy heavy who throws her buckler for a damage-soaking shield, plants delayed Hammer Shocks that leave her plus, and charges you into the wall. Pick her if you want simple confirms, a real anti-air button, and a character who gets tougher the closer the fight is.
Strengths
- +Hammer Shock eruptions leave her plus on block, so her pressure resets itself
- +6U is a fast-closing overhead that is plus on block and plus on hit
- +Dedicated anti-air / anti-dash tools (2U, 214 family) that bounce airborne targets
- +Takes less damage and chip up close, and the buckler shield eats a whole hit
- +Strike-invulnerable 623 reversal with wallstick on every strength
- +Every Heroic Charge and Verdict wallsticks, so almost every route ends at the wall
Weaknesses
- −Heroic Charge and the reversal are heavily punishable on block or whiff
- −No projectile you can keep up; the buckler has to come back before she can throw it again
- −Slow air dash; she has to walk or dash in to start her game
- −Her durability tools (shield, 214L armor, Steadfast) all lose to throws
Unique mechanic
Iron Ambassador & Steadfast
Throw the buckler with 5U, then recall it or walk over it for a shield that eats one hit; standing close to the opponent also passively cuts the damage and chip she takes.
Overview
Poppy is the roster's straightforward heavy. Her normals are the universal magic series, but her kit is built around three ideas: the Hammer Shock (22) plant whose delayed eruption keeps her plus, the Heroic Charge family (236 / 623 / 6U) that carries anyone it touches to the wall, and Iron Ambassador (5U), a buckler toss that turns into a one-hit shield when she gets it back.
She is at her best at mid-range and closer. She wants you near her (Steadfast makes her tankier there), she wants you to jump (2U and 214 bounce airborne bodies), and when you sit still she plants a hammer on you.
Gameplan
Neutral
- 5U is her poke from mid-range. It hits, drops the buckler where it connected, and sets up a shield on pickup. Gatling 5L/5M into 5U then 6U for the standard confirm.
- 6U closes distance fast and is an overhead; mix it with walk-up throw once they respect it.
- Anti-air with 2U. It bounces airborne targets, so a hit turns into a combo instead of just a reset. 214M/214H cover air dashes and jump-ins from further out.
- 22H is a space-control plant: its eruption comes out late, so drop it where they want to walk.
Offense
- A blocked 5M/5H can cancel into Hammer Shock: 22M measures +12 and 22L +4 on block point blank, so a blocked string ends with Poppy still holding the turn.
- 5U → 6U on block is a strong ender: 6U measures +11 on block. From there, throw, 2L, or another 6U is the mix.
- Heroic Charge (236) is a combo tool, not a pressure tool: every strength is heavily minus on block.
- Keep the buckler cycling. With the shield up she can take a trade in her own pressure and keep going.
Defense
- Stay close: Steadfast quietly shaves damage and chip while the opponent is near.
- 214L gives a burst of armor and a short, stronger damage cut; use it to absorb a meaty or blow through a gap. It does not hit, and it loses to throws.
- 623 is her strike-invulnerable reversal. It is extremely punishable if blocked or baited, so only use it on a read.
- Anti-air on reaction with 2U; stuff air dashes with 214EX, which also stops a grounded dash cold.
Unique Mechanic
Iron Ambassador (5U). Poppy starts holding her buckler.
- 5U throws it forward. On contact (hit or block) it drops to the floor at that spot; if it touches nothing it drops at the end of its flight.
- Get it back for a shield: walk over the dropped buckler, or press 5U again any time it is out (flying, lying on the floor, or on its way home) to recall it instantly.
- The shield absorbs all damage from the next hit she takes (she still takes the hitstun), then breaks. It fades on its own after about 1.5 seconds if nothing hits it. Throws ignore it.
- If she leaves it on the floor, after about two seconds it flies home by itself and she can throw it again, but that return gives no shield.
- While the shield is up, 5U is disabled.
The HUD lamp on her gauge lights while the shield is up.
Steadfast (the STEADFAST gauge). While the opponent is within about 2.4 m, the gauge fills quickly; when they leave, it drains. The fuller it is, the less damage she takes: up to about 12% off hits and 25% off chip at full. 214L stacks a further 1.5-second buff on top (roughly another 10% off hits and 20% off chip), and the total cut is capped at 40%. None of this is armor: it never stops hitstun, and throws go straight through it.
Combo Notes
- One regular special per leg. After a special cancel, the next special in the same leg has to be an EX, a super, or come after a Style Cancel. The knockdown pickup (j.H or 3H, then land 5L) opens a new leg and resets that rule, up to three legs.
- Autocombo: mashing 5L (or 5M) walks
5L 5M 5H 22M, then the next tap spends Skybound at 100 Style or 236EX at 50. - Neutral confirm:
5L 5M 5U 6U. 6U is plus on hit, so it links into5L 5M 5H 22Mfor a full meterless route, and with a full bar it ends in Awakening or Skybound. - Low confirm:
2L 2M 2U, with5H 623EXat 50 Style for wall carry. - Best meterless damage: use 22L's pop instead of just re-running normals, e.g.
5L 5M 5H 22L 5L 5M 5H 2H jc j.L j.M j.H 5L 5M 5H 22M. Repeating the magic series costs damage each time, so specials and U buttons are how routes grow. - Wall carry: 236M sets up Awakening; 236H sticks long enough for Skybound.
- One bar:
5L 5M 5H 22EX 5H 2H jc j.L j.M j.Huses the fake wall to relaunch. - Style Dash: 236H and 623EX send too far for a plain Style Cancel;
SDC6chases them into2L 2M 2Hfor a second launch.
Key Moves
Generated from the kit data.
| Fastest button | 5L 5f |
| Reversals (strike invuln) | 623L 7f623M 8f623H 7f623EX 8f |
| Lows | 2L 6f2M 8f3H 12f |
| Overheads | 6U 16f |
| Safest specials on block | 22M 12f · +1222L 8f · +422H 16f · -6 |