Capcom wasn’t kidding when they said Luke would be the future of Street Fighter when he was introduced as the final character in Street Fighter V’s final season. It was a preview for his full introduction in the then-next game in the franchise. He takes over entirely as the new protagonist in Street Fighter 6, settling in his place as the new equivalent to Ryu.

Luke is different from the new Ken and Chun-Li equivalents (that’s Jamie and Kimberly, if you’re wondering) through his similarities to Ryu. Specifically, he plays a lot like a “Shoto” style character, with techniques similar to those Ryu and Ken use. He’s not identical to them, but facets of his move set are close enough that veteran and new Street Fighter players alike will settle in with him. He’s also a lot of fun, is extremely good in the game as of this writing, and has some hard-hitting and flashy combos. Let’s cover some of the best.

10. Heavy Flash Knuckle Finish (6 Hits)

Start at 3:16

To get Luke’s best combos down, it’s a good idea to learn his simpler and fundamental ones. It wouldn’t be worth starting anyone off with a long and stringy combo that requires several minutes or hours of practice to get down, after all.

This combo incorporates a bunch of Luke’s heavier punches, as it starts and ends with one. It speaks to just how strong and dominant the character is that he can start a combo with a heavy punch that’s so quick, and with a fair amount of range. It’s also a good combo for getting the timing of Luke’s Flash Knuckle’s down, as holding the punch button down when one is executed makes it stronger and hits the opponent much harder. But it’s possible to hold it too long during certain combos, which will prevent hits from connecting during combos.

This combo doesn’t use any of the Super Art or Drive meters. But the six hits it provides still do a notable 2960 damage.

This combo shows how conventional Luke is, but he’s hardly “boring” by Street Fighter standards. It’s fun to style on an opponent, and it’s flashy to knock them into a wall to watch them bounce for a juggle and knock them to the ground for a finish. This will also open the opponent up for future Luke mix-ups.

How to perform:

• The combo starts with a crouching hard punch that’s cancelled into a slightly-charged medium punch Flash Knuckle (quarter-circle back + punch) that will knock the opponent into the wall.
• As the opponent bounces back, perform a light punch slightly-charged Flash Knuckle to knock them into the air.
• Finish it with a hard punch Flash Knuckle.
• Yes, this combo uses all the Flash Knuckles except for the EX one.

9. Target Combo Pale Rider Finish (13 Hits)

Start at 1:19

Another great combo starter for Luke, a character with a good number of them, is his Target Chain Combo. This one is performed by simply pressing light punch, medium punch, and heavy punch in succession, AND it’s Special and Super move cancellable. This is the benefit that a top-tier character gets.

This combo shows how it’s easily possible for Luke to start one with the lightest of punches, and end with a Super Art. It’s flashy, will rack up the hits and damage, and doesn’t take much practice to get down.

The combo ends with Luke’s Level 3 Super Art, but it’s fortunately not long enough for damage scaling to neuter it too badly. It will do a total of 13 hits, with the Super Art itself supplying seven of them, for a total of 4020 HP of damage. That’s a little over 35 percent of an average opponent’s HP.

The combo will teach any Luke player just how easy it is to start them, and how damaging they’ll be by the end. The button presses and timing required aren’t too hard for anyone with Street Fighter 6 or even overall Street Fighter experience, especially for anyone who got down the last combo. There’s a reason this entry started with that one.

How to perform:

• This combo starts with the light punch, medium punch, and hard punch Target Combo that’s Special move-cancelled into an EX Flash Knuckle.
• Then, land a hard punch Flash Knuckle as the opponent is falling and Super-cancel into the Level 3 Super Art: Pale Rider (quarter-circle forward twice + hard punch).

8. Drive Impact Corner Vulcan Blast Finish (10 Hits)

Starts at 3:43

Learning how to play Luke also means getting his unique corner juggles down. The previous combos were easy compared to this one, though it’s hardly difficult to master.

This combo starts after the opponent is Drive Impacted in the corner and bounces off the wall. This is the start of the juggle, with Luke having a bunch of moves that will continue to knock the opponent upward for the combo to continue. It ends with Luke’s Level 1 Super Art, the easiest one to use to finish this combo off.

By the end, this combo will do ten hits to the opponent, half of them coming from the Super Art. It will do a total of 3200 HP, solid damage for the low meter usage required. It’s yet another example of just how good Luke is.

Luke is one of the characters on the roster that lets the player seriously use the opponent as a punching bag, but doesn’t make it too hard for them to do so. This combo is good for that, another one to get down before getting to his more complicated strings inside and outside the corner. The only tricky part here is getting the timing down for the Level 1 Super Art to finish the combo, but it’s hardly difficult. Anyone experienced with Street Fighter should have it down in minutes.

How to perform:

• This combo begins with a Drive Impact in the corner, which will cause the opponent to crumple after being slightly wall bounced.
• Then, continue it with a standing hard punch that’s Special move cancelled into a slightly-charged light punch Flash Knuckle, with another light punch Flash Knuckle needed to hit the opponent on the way down.
• Before the opponent hits the ground, hit them with the Level 1 Super Art, Vulcan Blast (quarter-circle forward + light punch).

7. Drive Impact Eraser Finish (17 Hits)

Starts at 5:51

The three combos above are good starter ones, with #8 only being slightly harder. But there will be opportunities to show how hot stuff you are. Sometimes, you gotta go Beat Mode baby.

This combo starts with a mid-stage Drive Impact that works as a “Punish Counter” counterattack, the kind that will crumple the opponent for a massive combo opportunity. The rest of the combo will knock the opponent back to the corner to finish with the Level 2 Super Art. It’s officially called “Eraser,” but good luck finding anyone who doesn’t call it “Beast Mode.”

The combo will hit the opponent a whopping 17 times by the time it’s over. It will do a total of 4285 HP of damage, shredding a little more than half the HP of an opponent with average health. That’s every character outside of Marisa and Zangief.

It’s clear that this combo will do a good deal of damage to the opponent without using that much meter. It’s also cool that it will carry the opponent to the corner with a knockdown, leaving Luke free to perform corner mix-up opportunities to follow the combo if it doesn’t cause a KO. This is part of what makes the Eraser Super Art so good to begin with when it’s used from mid-screen.

How to perform:

• This combo starts with a Drive Impact Punish Counter to crumple the opponent.
• As they’re collapsing, hit them with a crouching hard punch that’s Special move cancelled into a slightly-charged medium punch Flash Knuckle that will wall bounce them.
• Perform a quick light punch Flash Knuckle as they’re falling to start the juggle.
• Then, hit them with an EX Avenger (quarter-circle forward + kick) into the No Chaser (punch button during Avenger) tackle, and Super Cancel into the Level 2 Super Art, Eraser (quarter-circle back twice + medium punch).

6. Drive Rush Eraser Combo (18 hits)

Starts at 7:05

Now that more fundamental combos are out of the way, it’s time to get into the more complicated ones. Any combo that uses a Drive Rush will be harder to pull off, but it’s essential to use for the opportunities it affords. And Luke has a lot of them.

This combo works best when the opponent is outside the corner. It also requires some damn-good timing on the player’s part, and knowledge of hit confirming, the latter involving the player’s instinct of knowing when a hit lands to safely continue the combo. It’s not easy, but a good one for getting Luke’s Drive Rush strategies down.

Luke will land 18 hits on the opponent by the end of this, which finishes with the Super Art contributing most of those. It will do a total of 4089 HP by the end.

Don’t compare the damage to the previous combo and think this is a lesser one; there’s a good reason for that. The Drive Impact Punish Counter is more situational, something landed as a counterattack to an opponent’s attack. This one is more neutral, and doesn’t need to work as a counterattack. It also involves going “Beast Mode” on the opponent by finishing with the Eraser and leaving them in the corner.

How to perform:

• The combo starts with either a crouching medium punch or crouching medium kick.
• Once it lands, Drive Rush into a crouching medium punch and link to a crouching hard punch, and Special move cancel into a slightly-charged medium punch Flash Knuckle that will bounce them from the corner.
• As the opponent is falling back, perform a quick light punch Flash Knuckle, and then an EX Avenger into the No Chaser tackle that’s Super-cancelled into the Level 2 Super Art, Eraser.

5. Drive Rush Pale Rider Finish (15 Hits)

Starts at 7:30

It keeps being mentioned throughout this piece that Luke has a bunch of powerful combos that don’t require using much meter for damage, one of the reasons why he’s one of the best characters in the game as of this writing. There’s yet another one that will save a bunch of Drive meter.

This combo has to be done outside the corner, a good one from mid-screen or if Luke finds himself cornered by the opponent. It’s a lengthy combo, but remains an intermediate one thanks to only requiring one Drive Rush in the middle. But it will take plenty of damage, more than half the HP of a character with average health.

The opponent will take 15 hits by the end for a whopping 5434 of damage by its end.

This isn’t the strongest combo Luke has from a neutral position on the stage that uses Drive Rush, even in terms of being a combo with intermediate difficulty. But this one is more reliable because it’s less situational, with the more powerful combo being a Punish Counter. This combo will take some practice and a full Super meter, but should be a cinch to pull off once you have Drive Rushing down.

How to perform:

• This combo starts with either a standing hard punch or a crouching hard punch.
• Both can be Drive Cancelled into a back + hard kick attack that will link into a crouching hard punch, which is Special move cancelled into a slightly-charged medium punch Flash Knuckle that will bounce the opponent off the wall.
• As they’re coming back, hit them with a slightly-charged light punch Flash Knuckle to knock them airborne again.
• As they’re falling, hit them with a hard punch Flash Knuckle that’s Super-cancelled into the Level 3 Super Art, Pale Rider. See? That’s not hard.

4. Corner Drive Pale Rider Finish (16 Hits)

Starts at 9:10

Now we’re getting to the more difficult combos. This corner combo is long and stringy, and will burn the entirety of both the Drive and Super meters. Sometimes, you have to spend it all, and should.

It should go without saying that both of Luke’s pockets will have to be stuffed with maximized resources for this combo to be fully pulled off. You’ll need both the Drive and Super meters stocked before trying it. The Super bar can be nearly full here, though, since it will build up during the earliest portions of the combo.

By the end, this combo will do 16 hits to the opponent for 5848 HP of damage. That’s slightly more than half the HP of a character with average health, about half for Marisa, and nearly half for Zangief.

This combo requires spending all the resources, which means Luke will be in the burnout stage by the end of it. But that’s fine, because he has plenty of moves he can use to defend himself in case he finds his energy expended. It’s better to spend all the resources in one big combo instead of sitting on them for too long -- especially when not doing so will cost you the match or the entire fight.

How to perform:

• The combo requires the opponent to be in the corner.
• It starts with a standing hard punch that’s Drive Cancelled into a back + hard kick attack and linked to a crouching hard punch.
• This is Drive Cancelled into another back + hard kick and another crouching hard punch, which is Special move cancelled into a slightly-charged light punch Flash Knuckle.
• Then, hit the opponent with an airborne neutral medium punch that’s Special move cancelled into a slightly-delayed air Flash Knuckle.
• As Luke lands, perform the Level 3 Super Art, Pale Rider.

3. Mid-Screen Eraser Finish (16 Hits)

Starts at 1:28

There are times when a Luke player will get really lucky, when they’re granted a jump-in opportunity for a counterattack, or to catch the opponent off guard. This will be a setup to a powerful and damaging combo.

That said, this is a difficult one because of the timing involved with some attacks, particularly getting the Super Art to connect at the end. It’s yet another combo that shows how high Luke’s damage potential is even if he doesn’t want to spend all the meter.

The combo will do a total of 16 hits by the end of it, for a total of 4410 HP. This is extremely good damage for a mid-screen combo that doesn’t use all the meter.

This is a good combo to use at the start of a match in the second round, or midway through a match. It’s even better if you’re cautious about using too much meter, and want to save it for other opportunities. This is the maximum amount of damage that can be done in this combo, as the Level 3 Super Art’s start-up is too slow for it to land here. The Eraser Level 2 Super Art has quicker start-up, making it easy for combo opportunities.

How to perform:

• This combo begins with a jumping hard kick.
• After it lands, continue with a standing hard punch that’s then Drive Cancelled into a back + hard kick and crouching hard punch link, which is Special move cancelled into a slightly-charged medium punch Flash Knuckle.
• After the opponent returns from the wall bounce, quickly dash and perform the Level 2 Super Art, Eraser, to finish it.

2. Jump-In Pale Rider Finish (17 Hits)

Starts at 2:30

There’s an even better and more powerful combo to start from a jump in, with this one showing how the Luke player can end the combo with the Level 3 Super Art, “Pale Rider.” This is probably better known as “Going Down to Memphis'' at this point, thanks to the memes involved.

This combo also starts with a jumping hard kick, and is similar, though not entirely identical, to the last combo. Again, there’s no way to simply end the last combo with the Level 3 Super Art instead of the Level 2 one thanks to the far quicker start times for the second one. That’s what Beast Mode gets you.

The opponent will take 17 hits by the end of it, seven of the hits coming from the Super Art. It will do 5771 HP of damage to the opponent, leaving them reeling.

The damage here is ridiculous for a combo that doesn’t even use the entirety of the Drive meter. It’s proof of how big of an opportunity the Luke player will have after landing a meaty jump-in attack, especially the hard kick. That is, if the player has the skill to continue the combo. The timing here is very strict, so it’s not the best idea to try and pull it off in a live match without ample practice first.

How to perform:

• The combo begins with a jumping hard kick, from a neutral position or after jumping in an arch.
• From there, combo into a standing hard punch, followed by a quick Drive Cancel with a back + hard kick and crouching hard punch link.
• This is Special move cancelled into a slightly-charged light punch Flash Knuckle to knock the opponent into the air. Then, quickly Drive Rush into a crouching hard punch that’s Special move cancelled into a slightly-charged medium punch Flash Knuckle.
• Then, perform an Avenger dash into the No Chaser tackle, and Super Cancel into the Level 3 Pale Rider Super Art.

1. The Ultimate Pale Rider Finish (18 Hits)

Starts at 2:52

The final Luke combo on this list is by far his most powerful one, and thus the hardest one to pull off.

Winning in Street Fighter is all about capitalizing on punishment opportunities, and this is a combo where the player can spend all the resources they have. The combo will only work if the Luke player is down to the last quarter of their health for the Critical Art, the more powerful variation of the Level 3 Pale Rider Super Art. It also begins with a Punish Counter, with the player capitalizing on a punishment opportunity with a hit that stuns the opponent for a longer time.

By the end, the combo will do a total of 18 hits to the opponent. The combination of the Punish Counter, using all the meter, and the Critical Art will do a whopping 6694 HP of damage to the opponent. That’s well over half the health of the average opponent, and still more than half for Marisa and Zangief, who have higher-than-average health.

This combo, it’s worth noting, requires a little luck to start successfully. The player will need to have both meters at the maximum level to pull it off, and will need an opportunity to punish the opponent with a Punish Counter. Luke, again, must also have only a quarter of his health left. This isn’t as rare as it might sound for anyone who hasn’t played the game extensively, thus making it practical. But ample practice will be needed to pull it off efficiently.

How to perform:

• The combo begins with a back + hard kick that works as a Punish Counter.
• After it lands, perform a Drive Rush and a crouching hard punch.
• Then, Drive Rush again into the back + hard kick and crouching hard punch link.
• Then, Drive Rush yet again into another back + hard kick and crouching hard punch link, and Special move cancel into a slightly-charged medium punch Flash Knuckle.
• After the opponent returns from the wall bounce, hit them with a slightly-charged light punch Flash Knuckle tol knock them into the air.
• As they’re falling, perform a hard punch Flash Knuckle, and Super Cancel into the Level 3 Critical Art, Pale Rider.

Luke isn’t the most difficult character to get down, but like any character, he has combos that require plenty of practice. Using these in battle will set any player on their way to becoming an expert with the character. But doing so will be easier said than done, so keep at it and don’t get discouraged. 

Special thanks to Vesper Arcade and MC MuraFGC for these combos.

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