Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
Chrom can keep sword pressure flowing with forward tilt, forward air, back air, up tilt, and dash attack, then turn a single touch into landing traps and ledge pressure. If Ken tries to force his way in from mid-range with careless jumps or dashes, Chrom usually gets to win the spacing war and keep Ken above him, which is especially painful given Ken’s weak air mobility.
That said, Chrom has no projectile and many of his approaches still rely on committing the sword first. If Ken mixes walking shield, parries, weak Hadoken, and occasional Focus to make those swings miss, he can turn one opening into low-tilt, close heavy, or jab confirms immediately. Chrom is not especially comfortable once Ken gets fully inside, so the value of each close-range turn is heavily in Ken’s favor.
The frame table also shows that jab, forward tilt, up tilt, dash attack, the smash attacks, Neutral B, Side B, and Up B are all punishable on shield by Shoryuken or Ken’s OOS aerials, and even neutral air and back air lose to 5f Up B. The more Chrom forces close-range pressure, the more dangerous Ken’s punish game becomes.
On the other hand, forward air and up air are hard to punish directly on shield, and overforcing jump-ins or chasing too deep offstage can hand momentum back to Chrom through Soaring Slash. Do not tunnel on one huge center-stage swing. Build kills through close-range confirms into Shoryuken and ledge pressure that uses Hadoken plus low tilt to trap his getup choices.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Ken OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab | 5 | -10 |
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| Forward Tilt | 8 | -15 |
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| Up Tilt | 6 | -22 |
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| Down Tilt | 7 | -5 |
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| Dash Attack | 13 | -21 |
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| Forward Smash | 13 | -28 |
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| Up Smash | 12/13/15/17/19/22 | -29 |
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| Down Smash | 6/21 | -47/-31 |
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| Neutral Air | 6/15 | -6/-6 |
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| Forward Air | 10 | -4 |
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| Back Air | 8 | -6 |
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| Up Air | 5 | -4 |
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| Down Air | 16 | -9/-9 |
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| Neutral B | 21-260 | -15—Shieldbreak |
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| Side B | 9 | -26/-16(air) |
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| Up B | 10/39/53/** | -29 |
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| Down B | 8 (Start of Counter) | — | ||
| Grab | 7 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 10 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 11 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Mix walking shield, parries, and weak Hadoken so Chrom has to swing the sword first, then enter only when you get a whiff or a guarded commit that lets low tilt, jab, or close heavy connect.
- When you block jab, forward tilt, up tilt, dash attack, forward smash, up smash, down smash, Neutral B, Side B, Up B, neutral air, or back air, prioritize the 5f Up B punish, while using OOS uair or up smash in ranges where they fit cleanly.
- Once you get in, cash out the touch with real confirms into Tatsu or Shoryuken instead of settling for light damage and letting Chrom reset the sword spacing.
- At ledge, use Hadoken and grounded presence to slow jump getup and neutral getup, cover roll with low tilt or grab, and force Chrom’s linear recovery to be solved onstage rather than with reckless offstage chasing.
- On defense, vary your landing with fast-fall nair, air Tatsu, and air dodge so Chrom cannot run the same up-tilt or up-air catch sequence repeatedly.
Actions to Avoid
- Repeatedly dashing or short-hopping in from mid-range and donating yourself to forward tilt, forward air, and back air sword spacing.
- Getting a hit, then overreaching for the maximum route and letting Chrom tech or disengage so the game resets back to sword distance.
- Chasing too deep offstage and running into Soaring Slash or drag-down situations instead of punishing Chrom’s weak recovery from ledge.
- Showing Focus or Tatsu too often as panic escapes and turning them into easy targets for counters or pre-positioned sword swings.