- "Leap into the air and come down with a powerful downward punch. Allows you to move first even if it is blocked, making it effective for continuing offensive pressure."
- —Street Fighter 6
The Phalanx (ファランクス Farankusu?) is one of Marisa's special attacks, introduced in Street Fighter 6.
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Description[]
Executed by performing a Shoryuken motion and pressing punch (or pressing down and Special Attack for Modern control), Marisa jumps forward and punches her opponent overhead with her rear arm, knocking them down on hit. The Overdrive version makes the opponent roll back, causing a low wall splat when used in the corner.
World Tour/Battle Hub[]
Once it's learned, the Avatar can perform the Phalanx in the open world map or in the Battle Hub. In addition to being a high-damaging initiator for NPC fights, it provides a slight amount of movement utility.
Tactics[]
Phalanx has one hit of Super Armor once Marisa leaves the ground, making it effective against projectiles and long range pokes. On block, it also gives Marisa slight frame advantage, making it a highly effective move for getting in from a distance, although it is vulnerable if jumped over or spaced incorrectly. High-level players refer to Phalanx as a "knowledge check" or "scrub-killer" move. New or inexperienced opponents are unlikely to realize that the attack has armor and/or jumps over lows and projectiles, or that every version gives 2 frames of advantage. Properly spaced, it can even recover fast enough for Marisa to block, parry or even against the opponent's Drive Impact with her own.
However, against higher-ranked players predictable Phalanxes get punished extremely hard. In addition to being vulnerable to neutral jumps and invincible Reversals, it is slow, predictable and telegraphed enough for the opponent to use a Drive Impact or Drive Parry on reaction. As such, its usage becomes much more limited, but should still be kept in mind to keep an opponent honest.
Trivia[]
- A phalanx is closely-arranged formation used by police officers and troops of war.
- The word comes from the Greek word for "log", and is also used to describe a bone in one's finger or toe.
- Colloquially, the move is also called the "Superman Punch", as it is identical to the real move used in MMA Fighting.
Gallery[]
