Alisa is a well-rounded character that is biased towards a more defensive playstyle in the neutral, contrasted by one of the most aggressive stances in the game that is a near never-ending vortex.
She thrives lingering just outside range 1. To maximise her capability, strong defensive movement is required in the form of Backdash Cancelling and Sidestepping. Although not required, great amounts of pressure can be had if Instant While Running is learnt.
Neutral
She has plenty of mid (b1, f2) and low (d4, db3, SS 4) pokes that hit from a distance normally out of range for other characters. However, this is balanced by the fact that her generic mid checks (df1, df4) have poor block recovery. But, df4 has decent pushback on Block, resetting farther than range 1.
Most of her fast Launchers are short range. This especially becomes an issue when trying to Launch Punish either moves with pushback (Heihachiâs ff2, Paulâs qcf2, etc.).
To keep her in check, most of her options (pokes and launchers) have weak tracking to the right. But, she is also given strong homing options with incredible safety: 4 and b3ăź both KND on Hit, and having comfortable options on Block.
She also has great tools to close space, in the form of her two running moves: fff2 and fff3.4. They both exhibit weak tracking, so great movement and anticipation/baiting is required to restore their utility.
Pressure
She has plenty of 3 Hit Strings, but most are either punishable or duckable with no alternative for a mix-up. So it is ill-advised to use strings as a form of pressure. The uniqueness of her animations may be a benefit for players that rarely plays against her, but also means they are animations easily remembered by others.
Furthermore, by having no easy options from neutral that give her plus frames on block, the only pressure she can exert is by raw ducking at random moments to enforce her Full Crouch Mixup. She has a strong mid (ws1+2) and low (FC df1+2) option that are both relatively safe on block, but are slow. FC 4 and ws4 are faster but weaker options.
Should iWR be a skill available to the player, Alisa gains a plus on block high (fff2) that is able to pressure with great effect, especially when paired with her great mid CH Launcher (b4) and Magic 4.
Punishment
Having some of the best Standing Punishers in the game, a more defensive playstyle is rewarded for punishing appropriately. But her full crouch punishment leaves much to be desired. Her 11i (ws4) and 13i (ws1.2) options are notoriously subpar on paper, and her 15i (uf4.4) has poor range.
Even her Low Parry is one of the weakest in the game.
But, a good portion of her Punishment (Standing and Full Crouch) contains transitions to her signature stance, Destroy Form (DES), which has all the moves required for an opponent to respect the stance.
Available Transitions
Standing 10i - 1.1(.1+2) [Optional]
Standing 13i - 3.2
Standing 15i - b4.3(.1+2) [Optional]
Full Crouch 13i - ws1.2(.1+2) [Optional]