Dragunov

Dragunov

Heat	Feint & Catch and Ambush Tackle become unbreakable. Can perform Ambush Tackle after additional moves.
Heat Smash	Mid, i15, +6
Heat Engagers	1,2,1 f+3,1+2 b+4,3 SNK.4 d+1+3 db+3,1+2
Stances	SNK (Sneak) – qcf
Fastest
Launch	i15 – df+2
CH launch	i15 – wr2 (mid) i20 – ub+2 (high)
Wall splat	i14 – b+4,3 (standing) i12 – ws1,3 (crouching)
Archetypal moves
Parry	b+1+3 (high or mid attacks) db+1+2 (low attacks)
Sabaki	b+3+4
Mid check	df+1 (standing) df+4 (standing) b+4 (standing) b+2 (standing) ws4 (crouching)
Power low	db+3+4
Snake edge	db+3
Clef cannon	1,2,1
Slash kick	wr2
Generic moves
Remapped	d+1 → db+1 d+4 → db+4
Missing	d+2
External links
Lore	Sergei Dragunov
Twitter	#T8_Dragunov
Discord	Sergey 🇷🇺 Dragunov

This page is for Tekken 8. For Tekken 7, see Dragunov (Tekken 7).

Dragunov is an oppressive pressure and rushdown character who excels at freezing his opponents cold with powerful, plus-on-block mids, and then slicing them open with hard-hitting mixups, and a complete throw game. He combines strong poking and above-average movement and whiff punishment, making his "small Tekken" also difficult to deal with. In Heat, Dragunov's pressure becomes even more chilling due to the constant chip damage, which when coupled with his pokes, will punish you even for blocking.

Dragunov is fairly simple and straightforward to use, and success with him is directly proportional to your skill. He is excellent for players looking to embody Tekken 8's aggressive philosophy and force their opponents to constantly block their big, strong buttons.

Dragunov's pressure moves can be fairly linear, and require skill to land against opponents with good movement. Their slower startup also leaves Dragunov open to interruption, and he doesn't have the best tools to counterhit opponents trying to mash against him.

Strengths

Chilling Mids: Drag has many excellent and advantageous mids, including qcf+4, b+1+2 and wr2. The latter is an absolutely exceptional move in almost every way: a fast mid that's plus on block, has good range, damage, deals chip on block, and even launches on counter hit. So long as his mids connect, Dragunov benefits in some way.
Big Reward: Drag's average damage is significantly beyond most of the cast. He also gets fantastic corner carry and has many solid wall strings for ending combos. This makes his punish game just as strong as his pressure.
Long Limbs: Due to his lanky arms and legs, Dragunov can effectively play keepout or chip away at his opponents with pokes.
Cold Clutches: Drag has a full throw game, including the unique Ambush Tackle that becomes an unseeable guessing game if he lands it in Heat.

Weaknesses

Please Sit Still: Drag's best pressure often relies on the opponent respecting his plus frames, which are generally quite slow or linear. This makes him susceptible to those that frequently respond to his options appropriately with movement or buttons, and he's somewhat lacking in rewarding counter hits and tracking moves that could be used to better counter this strategy.
Lacking Lows: Most of Drag's offensive potential is loaded into his mids and throws. His lows have little advantage on hit, lacking a good power low, giving opponents that can throw break little reason to crouch block against him.

Key techniques

Instant while running

importance

★★★☆☆

value

★★★☆☆

dexterity

★★★☆☆

rhythm

★★☆☆☆

SNK Crouch Cancel

importance