Kazumi strategy

Neutral is when both players can act freely. It makes up most of the game, so learning how to play it is critical. There's no point mastering all the combos and setups if you can't use them in an actual game.

This page contains a brief overview of this character's key neutral tools followed by advice for putting them together.

Key tools

Pokes and counter-hits

Pokes and counter-hit moves are the bread and butter of Kazumi's gameplay. Pokes are typically quick and low-risk options that enable your pressure, with counter-hit moves being a big pay-off for timing and pressure reads. As far as poking goes, few have it as good as Kazumi.

1: i10 high, +1 on block. Your most important tool as Kazumi. Initiates her offense, pushes Kazumi towards her opponent, has fantastic range, and excellent whiff recovery
1,1: i10 high string with mid knockdown extension, -3 on block. Second hit tracks to the right. The mid extension is easily hit confirmable and the two highs jail, making this one of the best strings of its kind for pressure and punishment.
2,1: i10 high-mid string, -5 on block, +7 on hit. Gives a guaranteed 1+2 if it connects after sidestepping an opponent to the left.
4: i11 high, launches on counter-hit, -9 on block. Pivotal to both her sticky pressure game, and her keep-out. Great range, an easily confirmable follow-up combo consistent to most ranges, and top-of-class speed.
d/f+1: i13 mid, -3 on block. Fantastic range, and pushes Kazumi towards the opponent. Practically fully tracks left. Has a mid knockdown extension that can wall splat, giving Kazumi excellent mental frame situations at the wall.
d/b+4: i20 low, +4 on hit, tracks left. Great range. Kazumi’s main pressure starter in neutral. d/f+1 becomes a go-to mid frame trap, allowing Kazumi to set up mind games and pressure sequences based on how the opponent works around the situation.
d/b+3: i17 low, +2 on hit, opponent recovers in crouch. Solid range, hits grounded. An alternative to d/b+4, and useful in her oki game. It isn’t as safe as d/b+4 on block, but the situation on hit sets up for great whiff punishment opportunities.
d+3: i16 low, -3 on hit, fast high crushing. Very good range. Used purely to harass from afar. While launch punishable on block, it has minimal block stun and good whiff recovery, making it a very difficult move to appropriately punish. The range also causes many fast while-standing options to whiff entirely when the move is blocked.
d+4: i16 low, -2 on hit, fast high crushing. Good tracking both ways. A safer high crush alternative to d+3 that provides a stronger situation on hit, as Kazumi’s ws4 will beat out mid retaliation. Has much worse range than d+3, however.

Keepout and approach

Your keepout and approach tools are the main tools used when combatting and utilizing movement, be it to initiate, or to retreat. A lot of Kazumi's aforementioned pokes and counter-hit tools do have built-in approaching or retreating capability, but the following moves expressly focus on the battle for space control.

b+2: i15 mid, -9 on block. +4 on hit. Fully homing with great range that moves Kazumi towards the opponent. Your go-to homing option, and a decent whiff punisher to continue pressure from a distance.
d/f+4: i16 mid, -5 on block with some pushback. Fantastic range. Tracks very well to the right, making it invaluable for preventing movement. +6 on hit. Can set up whiff punishes on hit or block.
wr2: i15 (i18+ in practice) mid, -4 on block with large pushback. Huge range, tracks to the right. Wall splats and knocks down. Kazumi’s primary ranged bullying tool. Due to the pushback, the fact it is -4 is almost moot when not near the wall as the opponent needs to approach Kazumi with movement to avoid instant retaliation from whiffing, in turn causing them to cease their frame advantage. This allows Kazumi to loop it into itself once she’s established respect for the situation.
wr1: i15 (i18 in practice) high, +7 on block with large pushback. Same range and tracking as wr2. Wallsplats and knocks down, and the knockdown guarantees follow ups. The frame situation is at its most important at the wall, where Kazumi can frame trap with most of her key tools. As with wr2, most of the frame advantage is forfeit with movement when used in the open. It being a high makes it a substantially larger risk.
f,f+4: i20 mid launcher, -7 on block, fantastic range. The second f input can be heavily delayed, increasing the move’s range and tracking substantially. Good gap closer on a strong read, and Kazumi’s primary normal hit launcher.
f+3+4/b+3+4: Kazumi’s Fearless Warrior and Last Warrior stances, while generally risky, can be useful in certain scenarios when retreating or approaching. The risk-reward for utilising either isn’t great, but when used sparingly, these stances can be a fantastic aid for closing out a round on a life lead, or opening up a difficult turtle from afar.

Basic gameplan

Kazumi’s basic gameplan revolves around three tools:

her 1 jab
her d/f+1
and her d/b+4

Her 1 serves numerous purposes due to its range, extensions, and block situations. She always has enough leniency after 1, 1,1, and 1,2 to sidestep comfortably in either direction. Her 1 being +1 also allows her to set up her 4, an i11 counterhit launcher.

Similarly, her d/f+1 being -3 on block gives her more than enough leniency to move efficiently when blocked. The effectiveness of her backdash and sidestep evasion allow Kazumi to create a lot of scary pressure sequences without needing large plus frames like many other characters do. Typical Kazumi flowcharts like 1,1 into sidestep, d/f+1 into sidestep, d/f+4 into backdash, and so on, are simple on the face of it, but that’s partially why they are so strong.

Her d/b+4, then, is her way of really amping up the pressure and opening patient players up. At +4, Kazumi has a plethora of ways to deter specific responses from the opponent, most of which lead to even more pressure. If they choose to button immediately, d/f+1 will beat all options i10 or slower. If they choose to sidestep the d/f+1, b+2 has her covered. On bigger reads, her magic 4 is always a consideration, and opponents trying to bait a whiff via backdashing open themselves up to her oppressive wr1 and wr2 situations.

By simply cycling these three moves in tandem with her top-of-class movement, Kazumi can fish for info, create oppressive barrages of attacks, and shut down retaliation with well-timed counter-hits and whiff punishes.

Pressure

Kazumi is a character that excels in small frame advantage and disadvantage. The simplicity of her kit and above-average generic movement options mean she can put up pressure walls without needing plus-on-block moves or repeatable knockdown sequences. The amount of forward momentum she gets out of her core pokes and strings is also partially why it feels as if you can never backdash far enough away from her.

An immediately apparent example of how many Kazumi players of all levels harass and stick to the opponent is through her 1 strings and her d/f+1. Given that 1, 1,1, 1,2, and d/f+1 all include a large step forward over the duration of their animations, Kazumi is able to essentially force her way into range 0 at the press of a button. When you compound the aforementioned ability to pressure even at small frame disadvantages due to above-average generic movement, and Kazumi can sidestep or backdash her way out of immediate retaliation with ease. The opponent has the constant threat of being whiff punished or counter-hit launched by her magic 4 to deal with, let alone the fear of the delayable mid extensions off of 1,1 and d/f+1. While both of these extensions are risky, an effective Kazumi's ability to sow a seed of doubt in the opponent by sprinkling these extensions in during sets will provide the hesitation timings needed to net lengthier pressure sequences, or more counter-hit launches. With her d/f+1 and d/b+4 being easily stepped to the right, it is important that Kazumi players take a hot and cold approach to pressure to avoid a sneaky launch sliding its way in, but her ability to sidestep button, b+2, or backdash further than most does give the most button-heavy of players ways to compensate for not wanting to take their foot off the accelerator.

A less immediately apparent example of Kazumi pressure comes in the form of her wr2, and her ability to harass from afar. In practice, maybe it isn't so difficult to see how Kazumi can be a ranged bully, but on paper, it can be easy to assume that a (technically) i18 mid that's -4 on block might not be of much use. Due to the enormous pushback, unless your character has Gigas-length arms, you can't safely approach Kazumi without forfeiting your frame advantage by advancing forward, or eating a whiff punish on an immediate button. And what's more, the range Kazumi is left from you when wr2 is blocked is the perfect range for her to throw out another one if you hesitate, backdash, sidestep, or do practically anything that isn't approach or button. There is counterplay, of course; if your character has a good keepout tool like a ranged or safe df2, or you make a timing read and sidestep the barrage, Kazumi is headed to the ICU. But clever utilization of the wr2 block situation, as well as a good understanding of when to use it in neutral, can cause Kazumi to be a perpetual threat at all times on the screen.

FLY/RSS

Kazumi's Fearless Warrior stance (often abbreviated to FLY or RSS) is essentially her mix-up stance. While riskier than your conventional mixup stances, it still allows Kazumi access to high damage when utilized appropriately, and can be used raw in the open, or as a transition by holding f after the following moves:

1+2: The most common way to transition into FLY. Given 1+2 is Kazumi's main i12 punisher, is a mid, and has strong range, this lets Kazumi apply her FLY mixup at +9 with relative ease.
ws3: Provides the same situation as 1+2f on hit. This is a much more situational tool, however, as it is an i14 mid on a character with already fantastic i11 and i12 ws punishment. Will typically be used on long-range lows, lows with pushback, and in some niche cases, as a combo ender.
u/b or u or u/f+2: While risky, u+2 has its uses as an evasive get-off-me tool during pressure situations, as well as being used as an option select in some niche scenarios. Holding f after provides the same situation as the aforementioned ws3f and 1+2f.
f+3: Given f+3f,2 is one of Kazumi's main long-range launchers, you'll likely be using this transition a lot, even if it is purely to whiff punish. That said, f3 is a unique option for FLY transitioning as f3 alone is -8 on block, making it the only safe on block FLY transitioning tool. On hit, FLY.2 is a guaranteed, non-confirmable followup, while on block, f+3 yields its own unique situation that will be discussed below.

Kazumi has access to the following moves when in FLY (impact frames beginning from when Kazumi is actionable in FLY):

FLY.1: i19 mid that's -11 on block. Wall bounces and knocks down. Very linear.
FLY.2: i15 high that's -10 on block. Launches on normal hit and allows access to her delayed hopkick combo routes. Very strong tracking in both directions.
FLY.3: i23 mid with active frames until i27 that's between -7 and -3 on block depending on when it hits. Knocks down on counter-hit for guaranteed followups. Has the best low crushing of any FLY options. Very linear.
FLY.4,2: i18 low-mid knockdown string. First hit is -31 on block and is a stagger low. Second hit is -16 on block. Wall breaks and provides a low wall splat. First hit has some tracking in both directions, however the second hit can whiff even if the first connects at some angles.
FLY.1+2: i20 mid that's +4 on block and +8 on hit, with a knockdown on counter-hit. Very similar situation on block to d/b+4 on hit. Some tracking but mostly linear.
FLY.f+1+2: i50 unblockable mid that leads to a grounded crumple stun. If the opponent doesn't tech out of the stun, FLY.4, FLY.3+4, and a deep dash into d/f+4 all lead to a float combo. Very linear.
FLY.1+3: i46 mid, unbreakable command grab. Tracks in both directions. Wall splats. Limited by how slow it is and its borderline non-existent range. Used almost exclusively at the wall during oki setups.
FLY.3+4: i19 mid can-cans string. -15 on block with a small amount of high evasion during block stun that can cause fast highs used as punishment to whiff. Launches on normal hit. Fairly linear, though the second hit can clip short steps.

The standard FLY situation

After 1+2, ws3, and u+2 on hit, you can opt to either stay in place, leaving Kazumi at -8 on hit, or hold f to initiate a FLY situation at +9.