bane for SK

Let's talk about Bane for a bit again (this is a repost from last thread for linking purposes with a couple minor edits or additions).

Bane is probably not very good. However, he is pretty fun to play, and he has some intimidating pressure tools, several of which are safe (or mostly safe) on block. He also has his Venom trait that boosts damage but more importantly gives armor to most of his specials (sorry Ring Slam). Specifically, these are which moves get armor at which levels:

Venom level 1 and 2: dbf3 (the grab), bf1 (the running charge), bf2 (the overhead punch), db2 (his silly leaping uppercut)
Venom level 3: all those moves plus f2 and f2d. Apparently these also get armor-breaking properties which I honestly did not know at the time I posted this the first time.

Each level of Venom adds another hit of armor to each of those moves, but the more Venom you pump, the less Venom time you get, the more withdrawal time you get, and the worse the speed and damage debuff during withdrawal. I'm not going to go into detail because a poster on TestYourMight named Doombawkz has covered the math behind his Venom in super fine detail already, but suffice to say that most of the time you want to only be in Venom level 1, with exceptions being A) if you can guarantee a round win and have landed a hit-confirmable combo starter or B) you just need a crazy hail mary anyway. Oh yeah, he also apparently gains less meter from combos the higher his Venom level is at the time, so that's another strike against juicing to the max.

The nice thing about Bane is that Venom management is pretty much the only complicated thing you have to worry about with him. The rest of his game comes from basic but scary and generally safe pressure and hit-confirming into combos that for the most part are really easy to do. Let's talk about his pressure tools real quick:

d1 - 11 frames is slow, but this move makes up for it with being both a low (many other chars have mid-hitting d1) and having great range. Safe on block, and on hit you can continue pressuring with 113, b112, or b23 with only small gaps for the opponent to try and escape/interrupt pressure. You can also cancel into the bf2 Double Punch either way since it is also safe on block. It is also worth noting that a blocked d1 into command grab (not canceled, just do the command grab after the d1 recovers) is a strong option, especially with a level of Venom up to eat a hit from anyone getting antsy and pressing buttons to attempt to escape your pressure.

113 - First hit high stinks, but the last hit is overhead, and the string is safe.

b112 - A slowish starter but it's two lows and a mid, and again it's safe whether you stop at b11 or complete. Easily hitconfirmable into dbf3. b11 is punished by Superman super but b112 is not.

b21 and b23 - 18 frame low, both strings are plus on block, b23 leads to good damage whereas b21 is low then overhead. Some characters with really fast and/or invincible reversals can interrupt between the b2 and the next move, though (at least, Superman super definitely can).

f2d - 11 frame overhead, even on block, special cancelable. It has string additions (f2d2 and f2d3) but you pretty much never want to use them, instead just letting the f2d rock on block, cancelling into bf2 on block, or cancelling into dbf3 on hit. Execution note: If you know you want to cancel the overhead into dbf3 or the dbMB bounce cancel, do the overhead as f2~d/f. The down-forward is enough to make Bane do the overhead, then you can just roll through down to back, then hit forward and 3 for the grab. If you did f2d going straight to down, you would then have to return to neutral, then hit dbf3 for the grab because Injustice's input buffer is weird.

b3 - Absolutely huge range, puts you at plus frames on block, and can be meter burned for armor. This is a strong tool when outside of your d1 range or against opponent jump-in attempts.

jumping d3 - The Body Splash is big and slow but has a strong hitbox that can be hard for opponents to deal with on crossup, even on wakeup. You can then just key in one of Bane's safe string options and confirm from there whether it all comboed or was blocked.

Double Punch (bf2) - -5 on block, meaning that it's safe in most situations. It's also an overhead, so that's pretty cool. Gets armor when Venomed up, making it a strong tool against an opponent's wakeup, and puts you into position to mixup on their wakeup again.

Body Press (dbf3) - Command grab, gets armor when Venomed, another strong tool against an opponent's wakeup and again leads into another wakeup mixup. Meter burn adds more damage but throws them further away. However, the MB version lets you pick which way you throw them, so it can be useful if you land it while Bane is cornered, leading into scary corner pressure for you.

Raging Charge (bf1) - This is Bane's only movement gimmick, and it needs to be used wisely to get in. Smart opponents will time a backwards jump to go over the Charge and punish with a full combo if you just throw it out, so you have to be sure they're doing something before you go for it. It's also worth noting that bf1~MB does like 32% damage on its own in Venom level 3, so if someone's not respecting the threat of it and going nuts with projectiles, you can make them suffer.

Ring Slam (db1) - 3 of the 4 versions mostly suck because they throw the opponent way far away. The fourth, however, is guaranteed to happen in certain combos and leaves the opponent just outside d1 range (see below).

Venom Uppercut (db2) - Venomed up db2 is strong anti-air. Meter burning adds a drop kick that pushes the opponent to full screen, which generally isn't great for Bane, but sometimes the push toward the corner is good, and in the corner it can lead to almost inescapable command grab on their wakeup.

Break the Bat (super) - One of the coolest supers in the game, and you should almost never use it. It's unfortunate, but Bane has too many other things he should be using meter on instead, including:

- b3 (and f3 is you're feeling it in mixup pressure)
- Meter burning interactibles to make sure you get to throw that shit at the opponent without getting knocked out of it
- bf1 in certain combo situations where the MB version will cause the elbow drop to cross back over, leaving Bane right next to the opponent on wakeup
- The occasional db2 or even bf2 MB versions for slightly more damage and more push toward the corner
- dbf3 when you need the damage or to throw them back into the corner
- Bounce cancels (dbMB or bbMB) which add respectable damage to certain Bane starter strings
- Clash. Everyone loves Clash.

Of course, Bane's super still has its uses, as confirming a b23 has hit, quickly mashing out Venom level 3, then doing super is 51%. You can actually do b23 444 123 XX super as well, but that gives the opponent the opportunity to recognize you pumped up the juice and Clash out.

This is already more words than I planned on typing, so I'll finish by dumping my modest notepad file of combos, organized by combo starter and then by meter spent. Each combo has damage listed both without and with the jumping d3 Body Splash leading into it, and some of them make special note of the distance Bane is left from the knocked down opponent in a midscreen situation:

High starter:
113 XX dbf3 (25%, 33% with jumping d3 opener, leaves close)
113 XX bf1~MB (30%, 37%, leaves close EXCEPT near corner)
113 XX dbMB j2 123 XX db1 (38%, 45%, leaves just outside d1 range)
113 XX super (41%, 48%, leaves midscreen)
^^ Note: third hit of string is overhead

Mid starter:
b3 j2 123 XX db1 (32%)

Low starters:
d1 XX bf2 (8%)
(blocked d1) XX dbf3 (16%)

b112 XX dbf3 (24%, 32%)
b11 XX dbMB j2 123 XX db1 (33%, 40%)
b112 XX super (41%, 48%)

b23 123 XX dbf3 (29%, 37%)
b23 XX dbMB j2 123 XX db1 (34%, 41%)
b23 123 XX super (40%, 47%)

Overhead starters:
f2d XX bf2 (13%, 21%)
f2d XX dbf3 (21%, 29%)
f2d XX bf1~MB (26%, 34%, leaves close)
f2d XX dbMB j2 123 XX db1 (36%, 43%)
^^ Note, as mentioned earlier, do the f2d as f2~d/f, then roll through down to back and hit MB for the bounce cancel.
f2d XX super (39%, 46%)

f3 j2 123 XX db1 (32%)