What are the best picks to intercept your opponent's jump-in attempts? Find out here!
Street Fighter is definitely a footsies and ground-based game in which knowing when to attack and when to defend are key to victory. Of course, an attack can come from many angles and the most dangerous one has to be that from the arc of a forward jump, where usually a combo will follow through.
To beat these jump-ins, a good player needs to use moves that will counter them, hence we name these moves “anti-airs”. Having good anti-airs can be the difference between a victory and a devastating loss, so we'll be counting down the characters with the best anti-air options in Street Fighter V.
5. Rashid
Rashid ANTI-AIR | SFV CE SEASON 5
Rashid of the turbulent wind is a new character that debuted alongside Laura, Necalli, and F.A.N.G. upon SFV’s release. He’s a middle eastern challenger with an upbeat personality and a keen affection for technology and acts as the main character for the general sub-plot of the game.
What makes Rashid overpowered is his excellent, unparalleled mobility. He has an actual run, not just a forward dash, and he can jump off the wall and change his trajectory mid-air with dive kicks. He’s above all a rushdown character, so the game plan here is to get in your opponent’s face and overwhelm them with fluid combos from multiple angles.
His crouching strong is an excellent anti-air button that can be followed up by his 15 frame dash for pressure. Plus, Rashid can also exert immense pressure on the corner, and with this move it’s easy to catch an opponent trying to get out of there. He also has his Spinning Mix, which EX and heavy versions can effectively anti-air, and the rare angle of his projectiles will also catch mid-air opponents.
What Makes Rashid Great:
- Multiple ways to get in quickly
- Attacks can be dished out from all angles
- Savage corner pressure
4. Ken
SFVAE Ken - Which Anti Air + When To Use Em (With Commentary)
Ken Masters is Ryu’s eternal rival and he’s always ready to turn up the heat. Even though he started off as a replica of Ryu but with a different design in the original Street Fighter game, as well as in the vanilla edition of Street Fighter II, he became more and more distinct from his Japanese counterpart as time went on.
Ken shares similar Special Moves with Ryu, but the main difference between them in Street Fighter V is that Ken is designed to take a more offensive approach, and his moves are best applied when in close range.
His heavy Shoryuken, the flame version, has a massive hitbox that can be used to catch your opponent off-guard, right when he thinks he's safe and out of range, and acts as an excellent combo ender. Ken is also equipped with great mobility and literally the fastest dash in the game.
What makes his Shoryuken anti-air so great is that he almost always is rewarded with oki after his Shoryuken and its variants. His V-Trigger 2 gives him access to the Shinryuken, a great vertical anti-air that can be converted into combos. His crouching fierce is also classic and an easy-to-use anti-air.
What Makes Ken Great:
- Combo versatility
- Shoryuken gets him okizeme
- Consistent self-rewarding gameplay
3. Urien
Urien ANTI-AIR | SFV CE SEASON 5
The tyrant brother of the leader of the Illuminati is one of the most dreaded and powerful characters in SFV and there’s good reason for it.
Urien is very execution demanding, his game plan and toolkit are fairly complex, and he supports one of the best V-Triggers in the game: the Aegis Reflector. He can summon up to 2 of these bad boys and can cancel into the first one from most of his normal moves. Aegis Reflector is a threat both offensively and defensively, as it can be used for creative and high damaging combos and can reflect fireballs back to the opponent. It also allows all sorts of step-ups.
His heavy Metallic Sphere will hit any predicted jump-in if spaced well, and as far as his normals go, his anti-air potential is immense. Urien’s roundhouse can cut-off cross-up attempts, his Quarrel Kick can intercept jump starts with its great range, his Quarrel Punch is a great anti-air, and most notably, his crouching fierce has a huge hitbox if timed correctly and can juggle the opponent up in the air for a combo. As if all this wasn’t enough, his Critical Art hits in the form of a wide vertical column of thunder that will hit opponents jumping around anywhere near him.
What Makes Urien Great:
- One of the best V-Trigger in the game
- Anti-air normals can combo for optimal damage
- V-Skills and Aegis Reflector open way to countless set-ups
2. Guile
Guile ANTI-AIR|SFV CE SEASON 5
Sonic Boom! Guile is undoubtedly one of the main characters in the Street Fighter universe. This American Air Force major first appeared in Street Fighter II, seeking revenge for the death of his friend, Charlie Nash.
Guile stands out for having one of the most straightforward game plans in the game. He only possesses 2 Special Moves: the iconic Sonic Boom and the Flash Kick, which serve the purposes of zoning and anti-airing, respectively.
Because both these moves require the player to essentially be defending for 1.5 seconds before usage, Guile is perfect for those who prefer playing a more defensive style, keeping the opponents away with Sonic Booms and stopping their jump-in attempts with the Flash Kick to stay in control of the match.
Flash Kick, while unsafe if blocked, is a great anti-air that will stop pretty much anything airborne, and its EX version is fully invincible on wake-up. His crouching fierce is a great anti-air for close jumps and his standing forward is perfect to intercept distanced ones. To be fair, most of Guile’s normals can be used as anti-airs, you just need to figure out the correct spacing for each of them.
Plus, his Critical Art can be used to catch opponents jumping in and a Sonic Boom infused with his V-Skill 1 can serve as a wall that not only protects Guile while he walks forward but also will catch any jump-in attempt right on the spot.
What Makes Guile Great:
- Simple and straightforward gameplay
- Great defense
- Excellent zoning game
1. Poison
Poison ANTI-AIR | SFV CE SEASON 5
Poison is an original Final Fight character that first appeared in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact as Hugo’s valet, and became playable for the first time on Street Fighter X Tekken and then in Ultra Street Fighter IV. In SFV, she surprised us again by coming back with a completely new and refreshing playstyle.
Poison is great in footsies, largely due to her long range. After all, she uses a whip, of all things, which also means that Poison is a great zoning character, even without a fireball.
Her crouching strong, besides being an excellent and super safe anti-air, does unbelievable damage and can be followed by a walk-up throw or a side switch with her V-Skill 2. She has two target combos midair, which can be used while jumping back to keep any airborne opponent at bay. Poison’s light Shocking Heel is also a criminally underrated anti-air that can be followed by a combo, and her heavy and EX Heart Raids are of course some of the best long-range anti-airs in Street Fighter history.
To put it short, if you’re fighting Poison, you’ll be constantly fearing to jump on her, because it's always a high risk for you, and a high reward for this beautiful, yet fearsome thug. .
What Makes Poison Great:
- Fantastic range
- Can control spacing and positioning extremely well
- Arguably the best anti-air character in the game
Anti-airs will always play a major role in any Street Fighter game, so looking through the options for all characters in this context will always be important for match-up decisions, adaptability, and even to help you choose your main character if you’re a new player.
There are a lot of good anti-air characters in SFV and for sure a lot of them could easily be included here, like Akuma, Seth, or G. But throughout all player levels, from Rookie to Warlord, this is the selection we came up with for the 5 best characters at intercepting those dreaded jumps. Hopefully, we provided you with an interesting outlook and perspective regarding the titans of the airStreet Fighter has to offer.
