Glue sniffer is why

I simply found the idea of playing tag instead of a fighting game to be very funny

Reasons I play zoners: - I like neutral - I don't wanna hold mix-ups - I feed off your suffering

lordknight: * declares that outboxing is zoning * me: "he's out of line. but he's right."

To pile on the mtg analogy, I think zoners are more like control players, where they want to slap you down and control the pace of the game until they have a spot they can definitely win from. In this case, I see LK as more of a tempo player, preferring to live on the edge and maneuver around the opponent, using its defense offensively. Grapplers are just out here playing ramp decks so they can just slam a big dino on the table and slap you silly for the crime of walking up. As someone who tends to gravitate towards midrange/control, this is a very interesting way for me to look at how I pick characters lol.

Mayweather being classified as a zoner has completely rocked my world

That feeling of CONTROL when you can shape the entire pace of the fight and deny someone at every opportunity... Surviving any offensive onslaught your opponent throws at you and then resetting it back to neutral knowing they failed to make an impact and that their actions have been futile... That feeling of CHECK MATE is why I love playing as defensively orientated, often zoning characters. It feels like you win with your brain, and not because you flipped a coin with the onga bonga

I can't speak for everyone but the reason why I picked a zoner is because people play like apes, Apes are dangerous and I would like to not interact with them just like any human.

When they were developing Dhalsim, they kept making his limbs shorter and longer because the devs were all arguing over how big his attacks should be. Since they were creating one of the first zoners, they didn't have anything to use as a reference point for "how far is too far" for a zoner. Obviously he ended up fucking busted but at least they still put a lot of thought into it.

1. You're a threat at all ranges (except maybe up close, but, you know) 2. You feel like a certifiable genius if you keep rushdown characters out. 3. You feel like certifiable supergenius if you win zoning matchups with flair.¸ 4. You get that much better at fighting other zoners with non-zoning characters thanks to experience.

I never thought zoners were cheap because I'm actually pretty bad at zoning, lol. I think it's usually a lot easier to get in and do mixups or pressure. Throwing out projectiles is easy, but throwing out the exact correct move to keep another player away from you at all times is not. Now I dabble with Axl, but I'm way better with I-no. Sidenote: People used to talk shit to me for using Baraka's one projectile, even though if they weren't scrubs they'd just duck.

The feeling of just keeping someone trapped with long range buttons is crack. I usually play mid-range disjointed chars, but I can definitely sympathize with the zoner pleasure in shutting someone down every time they try and escape corner or get in.

forcing opponents to play at your pace as opposed to what they want gives you a satisfying advantage and that goes hand in hand with zoners

Hearing you say people don't play zoners for fun was weird. Personaly, poking people from afar, figuring out their patterns and shutting down their approaches is one of the most fun parts about fighting games for me. Especially if I manage to properly defend when they do get in and then get away again, when my opponent seems lost and gives up on approaching, instead just sitting there hoping I will get to them instead is when I feel the most validated. Yuzuriha from UNI is probably my favorite fighting game character, I never had more fun playing any other character in any other game. On the other hand, destroying opponents with unreactable mixups or bullying them with pressure that always leaves me plus seems rather dull to me. Since you play Millia, I assume it's the opposite for you. Would be interesting if you asked on twitter what kind of playstyles and types of interactions people find the most fun in fighting games, and then made a video reading responses and sharing your thoughts.

As a spectator, I like zoners for the same reason I like any other archetype, I love it when a plan comes together. Seeing a zoner consistently put an attack right where the opponent moves themselves to and shutting down any and all approaches is just as satisfying as seeing the grappler getting in and setting up command throw pressure or the glass cannon deftly avoid incoming damage as they rain hell on their opponent. As a player, I'm a poor zoner. I get impatient and run at the enemy. :p So I also respect the restraint it takes to play one properly.

I like zoning characters because they're like a test in fundamentals, for both me and the opponent. Also to express my misanthropy in a safe environment.

On the MTG three type classification, I do think zoner characters have a lot of draw to the Timmy archetype as well. I've definitely seen people drawn to someone like Axl just based on seeing the huge buttons. Sure it's not a big and muscular guy but full screen normals do present a lot of clear up front power.

i dont usually pick zoners, but in strive i just found axl's design super cool; drip, time stop super, tk bomber sauce. so i just gravitated to him. I also appreciate how rare zoner players are (unless the zoners are completely broken like mvc3 moriggan).

As a zoner, there is a sense of achievement in perfecting your range between the enemy and punishing when they try to destroy the perfect balance(range) so you can aggressively switch to punish the enemy and keep on pushing. Also Za Warudo!!!

I really think you nailed it. I play Marth in Melee, and a lot of what I get out of the zoning aspect is a feeling of control. It's fun for me to put my opponent in a situation where if I don't make a mistake, they won't be able to get in. I will continue to beat you bit by bit. Also, having super fast characters like Fox, and Captain Falcon to fight against is exciting. If I become predictable with pre-emptive swinging I will get completely run over. So I have to make all these decisions as fast as my opponent forces me to, and live on a razor edge where on one side I succeed, and on the other I get punished really hard. Interestingly enough, that feeling of losing control over the situation on screen, and being put in a bad position is really fun too. Situations feel like they always circle back to "What could I have done better?". My opponent knows they want to get in, I know I want to keep them at a certain range, and then we fight for control. There's other parts I like, which are things like having I think the most interesting hitboxes in the game where you can start to learn how to use sour spots, and reverse hitboxes to do some really fun combos. Tipper is also a really interesting mechanic because of how heavily it rewards precise spacing. But that's more character specific, and I think you really are on to something with your description of the archetype.

As a lame style player in almost every game I play you hit the nail pretty close on the head. I thoroughly enjoy zoners as a playstyle, it's hella fun for me to play, it's relaxing playing at your set pace reacting to stuff, and the biggest thing is I love stopping people that just want to enforce their will on you the whole game.

I never played or liked zoners until I picked up Happy Chaos (even tho I don't think he is fully a zoner, but he can definitely do it). Always annoyed how Chipps or Milias just run and fly around the screen, but as soon as you pull out the gun, they freeze. They HAVE to block. They HAVE to sit still and be patient for 2 seconds. This feeling is just amazing.

Really enjoyed this video! Hope you break down other archetypes!

I find pretty satisfying when ypu figth someone that actually tries to get around your zoning and it becomes a close match because IMO thats what fighting games are, getting to play and have fun with opponents at the same level

The reason I play zoners is because I like having ranges that different characters are good at. You get to use more of the screen and extremely varied attacks that cover as many angles as they miss. When you get a long range knockdown, it creates a new situation where you can reposition to set up your next gauntlet of hitboxes for people to navigate. Haters that don't get it call that running away, when from the zoner's perspective, they attack better from that range so it's an offensive movement. The only matchups I really don't like are when you play a midscreen normals zoner vs a full screen projectile zoner (for example ferry vs the bow lady in GBFV). A lot of times, zoners are not given the tools to close the distance against those characters and it feels like ferry is forced to play rushdown with a kit that has zero rushdown moves.

Axl my beloved

It's definitely about aesthetics and Control for me. Knowing that someone at full screen still has to respect your offensive choices, knowing you direct the pace of the match, it just feels so good. Getting a ranged combo feels elegant to me. You can say cowardice too, that's fine. I play a lot of keep-away because I'm not as mechanically sound as a lot of people, and I can't beat them up close. I don't want to lose there, so I run to where I don't have to get punched in the face. But I also don't think anyone likes being Genesic Emerald Tager Bustered. That's just universal.

I think the main draw for me is that I get to hit people a lot in neutral. I don't mind if I get blocked or my damage is ass, I just love the feeling of stopping my opponent with a bop on the head whenever they try to do something. It's about control, yes, but also saying NOPE to whatever the opponent is going for. I don't mind blocking for days or fdealing with mixups, because I know it's not my turn and I still have options to deny them what they want. Even when I play rushdown characters I have way more fun baiting reversals or doing a throw shimmy than going for a high/low or a cross-up. Playing a Zoner also protects me from what I hate most: Getting counter hit for pressing buttons in neutral.

I started playing axl in strive because i enjoyed to always be playing and/or attacking, no matter where both me and the other player are positioned during a match

I tried SFV recently and went straight to the amazing Menat because of that video (“Thank you, I have a man”). Turns out she’s a weird zoner and it’s been interesting playing the turtle after so much Millia Rage. Ken (Haha Ken) has seen my punishes to all his very minus specials and jump-ins are clearly not tolerated - no fly zone. Menat deflects fireballs. Jab. Jab. He has nothing and we both know it. Release the orbs. It’s a feeling more powerful than Garuda.

I picked up axl as my first true zoner and I just like his simplicity, the gameplan is very straightforward and it mostly requires me to adapt to my opponent at a safe distance. Also you get more opportunities to interact with your opponent and see what kind of options they like to pick (will the sol try to ground viper after blocking rensengeki, do they use double jump to mix up their approach and so on), so it feels like even if I have less expirience in fgs I can pick up some of their habits more easily, and it makes the best of three more personal than a match with maybe a nago that exploded me twice and that I exploded thrice (love fighting nago, but it's a different experience). Edit: also absolutely agree that there's a somewhat zen feeling while playing a zoner, it's uncommon for you not to be in an advantageous situation and all you have to do is mantain it, while making your opponent's life as hard as possible

Great video

One comment on the MtG player archetypes: There's a fourth player type that isn't mentioned here called the Vorthos. These are players who like cards, decks, or playstyles based off of the lore of the cards. This could be extrapolated to those who play characters for the aesthetics and personality. For instance, one person at my locals always plays "bad boy" type characters such as Terumi in BB and Belial in GBVS. And as a side note, I do think traditional Grapplers in specific are often a hybrid of Timmy (big bodies and fat damage) and Johnny (working towards a singular, powerful win condition) archetypes as opposed to just being Timmies. EDIT: I forgot that Vorthos has a "sister archetype" in the Melvin, which is the mechanical counterpart.

Great video. 🙂

"There's no way someone who's into big strong muscle mode will play a zoner" and then there's me, who picked Peacock for her grab super and Naoto for her IK's

I play zoners because I suck at comboing but I’m good at identifying players weaknesses. Figuring out what my opponent can’t deal with is a fun minigame

I really like the feeling of frustrating the opponent, and looking calm while doing it. zoners/poking characters provide me this way more than rushdown or setplay. Also, Millia is way worse than Chipp agains Axl. Every normal is just a bet lol

This video was too short, part 2 please! Also 100% accurate!

As someone who primarily gravitates towards zoners and space control characters what you said about a feeling of control was spot on.

"People don't generally play zoners for fun" Wrong. You have no idea how much pleasure seeing your eyes losing their sparkle and your soul slowly leaving your body give me

New outro, love it

youre spittin with the floyd analogy

you were really consistent this round, LK you covered everything before time ran out PERFECT job, you just cannot be touched.

I like playing Zoners, specifically ones with a lot of projectiles/obstacles, because I like setting up traps more than rushing combos. Yea I only get 1-3 or 15 hit combo with multihit projectile, but it's satisfying to see the whole stage becomes your sandbox.

This outro is AMAZING

I honestly started playing axl just because I loved how fluid and cool his close slash combos looked. The zoning element is always sort of an after thought

I mostly like them because they force you to learn defense in a new way. You’re limited up close, but your defense IS having your game plan. Guile can scrap up close, but he can set up those situations with a sonic boom that recovers quickly for frame advantage. It’s a ballet of range and opportunity.

I think a couple points point that didn't get covered much is the idea of "All according to keikaku", "I have all the right tools to keep you out and if I am smart/careful/thoughtful enough I can make that happen", and straight up it feels kinda good to be the oppressor and telling your opponent "no" everytime they try to get in. Going back to card game analogy, zoners are control decks. Magic wise they are blue/white, they force you to play under "fair" rules and make you ask for permission to press buttons. Whereas grapplers would be black/green, big stat blocks with huge power who sacrifice life to do insane damage.

I came to this video again months after i first watched it. I got a tip from a friend that based on my style when trying to learn fighting games, i wanted to play zoner. At first, i thought I was all rushdown all the time. Then, oddly, when i started playing rushdown characters, i would, against their entire playstyle, back up and get more space. That suggestion brought me to this video to understand the mentality, and then you showed me Nu. You mentioned you dont like the mech aesthetic, but i do, a lot. The moment i saw her, i knew i had to play her. Took me a while to find what game she was from, but when i found out, i picked up Blazblue and immediately started maining Nu, which made me realize im just a zoner through and through. As for why...its because i realized i dont like gambling. I dont like to take risks, but i still want to win, or if learning, gather information. My input execution, as a new player, is very low. I can do specials, but many combos are beyond my ability at the moment. So, with that, zoners, at least the ones ive played, played on my strengths of using space and gauging reach of attacks, as well as mitigated my lack of combo skill(not to say zoners have no combos). With this, my hands can still keep up with what im processing. As I'm still learning i still lose, often. Now its because i made the wrong decisions, and made incorrect predictions or assumptions instead of a blanket "i cant do combos in the game and cant convert damage to a win", which feels better to me for some reason

Love these talks.

I've been waiting for this finally my people rise up zoners

Lk: *has an analysis of why someone would like zoning* Me: hehe, someone's going to be salty because of my Axl.

When I play zoners, like Hilda from UNICLR or Ivy from SC6, I like the feeling of having options from anywhere on the screen. My opponent isn't "safe" if they are farther away from me so then they get desperate and try to rush in. You let them rush right into your attack. They dig their own graves. So yeah, it's being in control and making accurate reads and responses based on where your opponent is on screen. It adds to the perception of an unassailable opponent.

I see a lot of other people saying this already but I'll add on too for the algorithm. What you said about a feeling of control is 100% spot on. It's why I play Byakuya in Undernight instead of a traditional zoner like phonon or vatista. The webs provide control and security to run my gameplan behind.

For me it's the knowing that I have the tools to never let someone touch me if I react quickly and can predict their approaches, nothing feels better than playing perfectly and ending a round without taking damage or ever having to block

I think my biggest enjoyment from zoners is hard reads. I personally enjoy the axl and dhalism. While they enjoy large attacks, they also have quite a few precise ones and landing those into a nice combo feels good. I really feel this with axl in GGXX.

I’d say he got it pretty spot on for me at least, playing zoners helps make myself feel a lot more calm and confident. I know that I can keep them out, I know that I can play patient, and wait for them to slip up. It can be scary when the opponent is up in your face, but being able to escape the situation, reset back to neutral, and regain your footing feels super nice. “Alright, the hard part is over. I’m back in control” that’s what makes me love zoners so much

Honestly, the reason I play Zoners is because I enjoy it and I'm immensely good at it because I'm good at neutral. I almost always know what they are going to do and how to stuff it once I know what kind of player they are. I also use that same ability to play Rushdown as a heart player (As categorized in that one CoreAGaming video) because I'm about all conditioning and reads. I basically started as a Zoner player because I couldn't do combos but I knew what I was good at. Then after I learned combos, I took my skills of knowing what they will do and then stuffing it and turned that into an aggressive playstyle. So for me, it's not about the "not wanting to get hit." It's about the enjoyment of knowing what they are going to do or making them do what I want them to do and the joy of countering it.

When I first tried BlazBlue years ago on the PS3 I picked Lambda as my first character because shooting swords everywhere looked really cool.

I've been wondering if I enjoy playing zoners or not. Been playing chaos in particular, and while it's pretty fun blasting away from fullscreen and constantly keeping my opponent at bay, the moment someone gets in on me I stop wanting to play that way. Like, as soon as I get them in me I don't want to go back to zoning, I wanna go punch em and mix em up. Sort of like an in and out type of playstyle. But that's not always an easy thing to do, and sometimes I just straight up get bored if my opponents keep letting me zone them forever. I played Gio and Jack-O before this, and I found both to be a very rewarding learning experience (albeit I almost dropped Jack-O because I just didn't feel like I was making any headway with her, before I eventually got into celestial with her). With Chaos though, even after making it into celestial and climbing the rankings this month I haven't really felt that way at all. It's not like all of my matches have been easy wins mind you. I'm just not getting that same click in my brain that tells me I'm doing a good job that makes me feel good for playing the character.

Really good video, interesting points and fun ideas about why people play zoners. Good content as always. Glad I started watching you cause of strive. Ps- I think that zoners can be like Timmy because controlling space makes you feel powerful. The feeling of oppressing others through zoning and the self-expression in how you annoy your opponent is fun. But its also why people hate fighting zoners.

I love either projectile zoners or midrange button bullies because both characters excel at winning neutral. They also tend to have aesthetics I love.

i mainly play zoners because i like keeping people from having fun SLOWLY rather than grapplers keeping people from having fun QUICKLY

I know I’m probably not the target audience for this, but as a total casual I play zoning characters exclusively for fun because every character who’s just Punch and Kick Man makes me want to tear my hair out from boredom. I know people will say “oh but their shit leads into interesting combos” but the fact is I just don’t personally care about game mechanics and block strings and I’m glad there are characters that are made to be immediately interesting in some way

I play zoners because I hate my opponent

I play Axl and I play him for fun. I love Axl and playing zoners. Controlling space and calling out your opponents movement is great fun. Also you know your opponent goes on tilt and it feels so good

I love the rush of "one mistake and I'm dead."

I like the obstacles/mind games zoners can put in play my first zoner was captain cold in injustice 2

I don't like playing zoners for the most part but Axl is the exception. Axl has to commit really hard for his choices considering he doesn't use projectiles. Long recovery and the fact that his chains have hitboxes means you get punished harder as Axl than other zoners if you spray and pray. To make up for that, he's actually got some crazy fun "go in" potential. I like that I really have to be careful with my zoning tools and I like having the option to go for wild high-execution run-ins

I’ve watched boxing my entire life so when you brought up Mayweather Jr while talking about zoning I fuckin died laughing😂

I very much gravitate towards zoners, and I'm particularly fond of setplay-based zoners, especially if they move (not necessarily attack) quickly or have some form of teleportation. More specifically, Testament is one of my favorite characters of all time purely in terms of how his gameplay feels, but I also love C-Roa, C/F-Nrvnqsr, Carmine, Byakuya, Gordeau, Izanami, Nu/Lambda, Arakune, Nine, Raven, Dormammu, Scharlachrot, Kudlak-Sin, etc. This is all just to paint a picture: if they're an edgelord and they pin the opponent down while making me untouchable, that's who I like to play. And I think you're absolutely spot on about the reasons, including the brazen, shameless cowardice and the desire to control the pace of the match. It just makes sense. I want to determine where my opponent is coming from and punish them for even trying to get in - in fact, I want to _force_ my opponent into attacking in certain ways, either because they've lost confidence in attacking from a given angle or because I've built an airtight cage between me and them. When my opponent gets punished for daring to try to play the game, I want my okizeme to be ridiculously oppressive so I can continue to limit their options and thus minimize the risk to myself. Ideally, I want my opponent to become so demoralized they choke and let me mix them up while their thoughts are busy racing through how they're going to try to escape, putting them back exactly where they belong: kneeling in the corner, swallowing my blockstring, desperate to avoid getting opened up as their guard meter drains and their life slowly ticks away from the chip damage. Especially if they're a hyper-fast rushdown character: they can fucking eat it all. The one thing I'd disagree with is I'm not sure what you mean when you say people don't pick zoners to "have fun." I'm having the time of my fucking life here. Maybe the other dude isn't having fun, but nobody is enjoying themselves _that_ much while they're getting a mix run on them - that's just the nature of the beast.

I play with zoners because i like to make people mad

I've played rush down my whole life and recently picked up axl and Its kinda fun to relish in my opponents' suffering

I am curious to what you all think regarding this question, is Dizzy a "Zoner"? While she has certain options which are great for space control, she doesn't quite play like a traditional Zoner, such as Axl. Her focus is a bit more setplay and oki based.

The only zoning like character I play is Samus in Smash Bros, and it's because, outside of feeling very technical, her neutral feels very structured. Breaking from expectations and positioning her for different things is really interesting with her. Normally though, I like characters where THE MIX is in timing and spacing, more so than a real mix that you can't just wait out. Like Hakumen, or defensive leaning shotos. (Jin/Ky/Ryu). Very much though, yeah. I'm looking for a feeling of control. A playstyle that's very about smacking my opponent for decisions they're making, more so than overpowering with situation enforcement.

it's like picking telekinesis over super strength. waterbending over firebending. mage over knight.

I recently started playing Axl cause I suck at doing a lot of things in the actual fighting game. You can call zoning my crutch, I can’t fight you while you’re in my face so I grab tools to keep you away from it so I don’t need to worry about the thing I suck at. Though I am trying to fix them I think I still can’t react to things like getting crossed, I find myself swapping my block just a bit too slow sometimes so unless I fix my reaction time or something I think I can only really keep relying on my crutch. Another thing is that I suck at combos, I always try combos that people consider simple and I can’t organize the inputs I need to keep doing in my head. Sometimes I misinput, sometimes I literally just stop in the middle, other times I just suck. I mean I learned how to do the TK bomber, if the even consider that a combo, but while learning it I realized it’s more of a timing thing than anything. I mean this could mean exactly what I need in other combos, maybe I’m just timing my input wrong or something idk, but honestly I’ve felt pretty comfortable with Axl, I’m still hardstuck floor 8 though Axl is the whole reason why I even got to floor 8, hope I can get somewhere further with it cause I do wanna get better at fighting games

I think Axl is really fun to play. People who like rushdown enjoy pressuring you until you make a mistake. I enjoy predicting how the opponent is gonna approach and placing a sickle there.

There's a simplicity of gameplan when being a zoner that I enjoy. If I'm out of their range, I'm doing well. If they're in range, I'm fucked. I can sort of split my learning of the game into 2, which lets me focus on one at a time when I'm trying to improve. I know my state and that helps my brain figure out all the crazy shit happening on screen.

*casually sipping coffee while scrolling through the war in the comments*

I just started fighting games with guile so now I like zoners and charge characters

I play characters if they're cool or can do cool stuff. In GBVS, I played Metera who's a zoner, but she can do some sweet set ups with her butterflies. In GGST, I've also touched on Axl purely for the Bomber Loops and Time Stop combos. There is also this satisfaction of being a squishy character and having to play defense really well

Wtf happened to the song you always play at the end of the videos I loved that song lol.

I just like the idea of feeling like a villain that can win without my opponent even getting close to me, makes it really fun to play vs friends at equal level because then it's like you are an obstacle for them to beat, so when they win, i get excited too :]

I'm a zoner main. You're absolutely spot on, defensive, careful, control the space and control the pace. One thing I'd add is that getting beat by a good zoner player is demoralising in a way that's hard to describe. Like you never had a chance in the first place, like there's nothing you can do, like your controller doesn't even work or may as well not. Like you showed up to a fist fight and your opponent has a rifle and starts 200m away. I absolutely love daring you to do something unsafe as you get more and more tilted by my half-screen pokes.

What about wildcard characters? Faust is taken as a spicy zoner but personally I have never played with just the intention of keeping out but creating interesting situations for my enemy to respond to, to be honest.

Do you think one could categorize HC as a zoner? I remember you saying you like "zoning" with him, but I think he's kind of a mixed bag. He doesn't really "control space" with his gun, as it is more like a full screen 1f poke ; but on the other hand, its gameplay can kinda looks like those of zoners, as you can decide to run away, put some space between you and your opponent, frustate them so they come to you and make a mistake, etc. You kinda have the same feeling of control you have with traditional zoners, but at the same time its mechanisms are really different

I love the comparative to magic. Being a control deck freak myself, zoning in magic is a real thing.

My favourite thing to do in FGs is to condition jumps and hit anti airs, and zoners are spec'd the most into that style of play

I play zoners for fun when they got flashy moves and cool mechanics. Axl in Strive has some of the flashiest looking combos in the game with TK bomber loops and a time stop. Doctor Doom in all his mvc iterations is SO hype, he got so much love. Weirder pick, Duck Hunt in Smash can play ping pong with an exploding tin can and do cool tricks to hit you anywhere on the screen with it.

Comparing fighting game archetypes to MTG ones is very interesting to me. I only just started playing GGS as my first ever fighting game and am gravitating toward Baiken's playstyle after trying a few different potential waifus while having no idea about FG archetypes. From what my untrained eyes can see she does seem to fit in to a similar place as my two favourite MTG decks (Skred and U/R Tempo). I think I'll keep the comparison in mind moving forward for which other DLC characters I should buy and try out.

Timmy likes a full screen normal, Johnny likes the time stop sets, and spike wants to not get hit - axl is E for everyone

That feeling you described at the end I get in the opposite direction. Playing Pot vs Axl and slowly working my way in, looking for the right opportunity to act on a read, score a knockdown and then blow them up is very satisfying. Also I think there's something to be said that in anime games grapplers go against the grain quite a bit, thus appealing to Johnny players as well. The lack of speed in a subgenre defined by it is pretty different. Also anime grapplers often have a lot of depth to dive into and optimize once you get passed the surface.

This video hit different. Do I.... Need to try Axl?

"Your main is a reflection of yourself". It do be like that, I have gravitated towards "balanced" characters since I got into fighting games back in '07. I want the ability to zone if I have to, to rush down if I have to, good normals, and a reversal is a must for mind games and disrespect. So Jin in BB, Yuel in GBVS, and while I currently main Anji in GG, I'm thinking of eventually maining Ky or Chipp because I feel like Anji needs to be polished up some more in Strive, that and no DP is pain. I personally could never play a pure zoner or grappler, zoning is just unfun to me and grapplers are usually slow and have god awful match ups against true zoners (Tager vs Nu/Lambda is big yikes).

I’m not sure this applies to me because I’m not sure if my character can be classified as a zoner. I play Asuka in GGST

The Potemkin hate makes me smile every time. The glue must be getting to my brain.

I don’t exactly play a *zoner*, but playing Sin in Xrd definitely gives me a feeling of controlling the match even when I’m not doing anything because my options are just so threatening they always have to consider them. Not to mention, playing a zoner, you gotta have a little villain streak in you when you fight some poor close range character who can’t move well and you just don’t let them have ANY fun at all. It rules, trust me.

I really like comparisons between card games and fighting games because those are what I play most. (LoR player). I think a perfect example of a FG character that is analogous to Combo is Dhalsim from SFV. He controls space with small hits here and there, but has the ability to dish out good damage, heavy pressure and create near-checkmate situations when the conditions are right.

I have a gravity toward mid-range balanced characters, but sometimes that style of character leads me into a zoning matchup. Sometimes I feel very good about it, sometimes it feels not very hard tbh. But I realize that comes from a place of the matchup already favoring zoning. Like I wouldn't call a shoto a zoner overall, until they're fighting zangief. Then it can start to feel easier/OP to zone, when in reality it's exactly because Zangief just struggles with zoning. The most Zoner character I've played is Lambda-11 in CF. Not quite as full zoner as Nu-13, but close. It definitely feels great to just control the space. It's the same feeling I used to get in League when you run a good lane.