The Altair (アルタイル Arutairu?) is Rashid's Critical Art, introduced in Street Fighter V and reappears in Street Fighter 6.
- "Roar, thunder! Showtime! Finish!"
- —Rashid
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Street Fighter 6 (Modern) |
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Description[]
- "Twirl around and summon a whirlwind that lifts up your opponent, before Rashid barrages them with a series of powerful blows. A versatile move, perfect for combos, reversals, and as a way of dealing with projectiles."
- —Street Fighter 6
Executed by performing two quarter-circle forward motions and pressing punch, Rashid spins in place, creating a tornado at his location. If the tornado hits, Rashid spins the opponent up and creates a tornado around his lower body while repeatedly kicking the victim. The Critical Art ends with Rashid kicking the opponent away.
In Street Fighter 6, the entirety of the move takes place inside the cyclone. As the opponent is swept off their feet inside the twister, Rashid vaults up inside the vortex until he is above them. He then zooms through the opponent while delivering a barrage of kicks and stomps all over their body on the pass. After kick through them and positioning himself above them, Rashid delivers a descending downward roundhouse kick underneath the opponent's chin.
When used as a Critical Art, Rashid delivers even more kicks to the opponent while they are floating inside the tornado. Rashid then appears behind the stunned opponent and kicks them square in the back. The opponent starts to descend down the cyclone as Rashid continues the flurry of kicks and stomps to the backside. On the final attack, one of his afterimages crouches low and records his opponent's reaction to getting stomped to the ground with his camera.
Tactics[]
Street Fighter V[]
He can hold either forward or back to move during the tornado, making it safer on block with the backward movement and catching some jump ins with the forward movement. The tornado also has a hitbox directly above Rashid as well, making it a very good way to punish empty jumps. It is mainly used to end combos for optimal damage output. It can be cancelled from Whirlwind Shot, Light or Medium Spinning Mixer and a variety of normals. Rashid is completely invincible during the startup of his Critical Art. It is an excellent counter against projectiles at it can nullify at least two hits of the fireball and still manage to hit the opponent.
Street Fighter 6[]
Since this is Rashid's Level 3 Super Art, this is his strongest move in his arsenal. It inflicts more damage than his Level 1 and Level 2 Super Arts. Altair is mainly used to end combos and finish off the opponent. Rashid is fully invincible during the startup of this move. Additionally, the cinematic animation lasts over seven seconds. This not only allows Rashid to recover some of his Drive Gauge while performing this move, but also drains at least 2 bars of the opponent's Drive Gauge. Most players, however, use the Level 2 Super Art due to the versatility and potential it brings. Altair is mainly used to end a round if Rashid has enough resources to inflict enough damage.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Etymology[]
Altair (Arabic: الطائر) is a historical name for the star Alpha Aquilae, the brightest star in the constellation Aquila. The word by itself means "The Flying (One)" or "The Bird" and comes from the star's full Arabic name Alnisr Altair النسر الطائر, "The Flying Eagle".