In just the few short days since his release M. Bison has been absolutely tearing up Street Fighter 6. Players have been flocking to the franchise’s main antagonist not only because he looks absolutely stellar in this latest appearance, but because he’s proving relatively easy to win with.
It’s a little early to deem Bison a spot on the tier list or claim he’s amongst the game’s strongest as we need time to fully understand his potential as well as the counters to his evil plans, but he’s definitely frustrating people right now with some obviously strong out-of-the-gate tools like his scissor kicks. Lucky for us, MC Mura has already put together a video showcasing how to counter some of Bison’s go-to strategies.
It’s clear in these initial days after Bison’s release that we’re going to need a lot of rock to beat all the scissors that are suddenly flying out way. Bison’s long-time special is no longer a charge attack, meaning he can launch into it with more freedom than ever before, and players are certainly taking advantage of this.
That means the homework is on you, the defender, to figure out the correct strategies to stop it, the first of which is to know the frame data. The maneuver is relatively quick and, despite being -5 on block, has a push back that can make it safe if he spaces it correctly.
Mura articulates how to identify if you’re going to be in range to punish a blocked scissors by noting that if Bison does the move from his heavy punch or crouching medium kick ranges then he’s likely close enough for you to punish with your character’s farthest-reaching 4-5 frame attack.
Hitting Punish Counter with a light usually means you can convert into a medium, which is usually good enough to then convert into a Drive Rush combo, and doing so consistently will make Bisons think twice about abusing scissors when they’re close.
What about from outside that range? Trying to “take your turn” results in a kind of guessing situation that can lead to Bison doling out some of his massive damage if you use the wrong maneuver, so it might be better to think about this situation a little differently.
If you have a fast fireball, like Luke, you might use that to pressure the dictator and keep him honest from this position. You also might consider a forward jump as his anti-air options from this range aren’t the most amazing, and an empty jump-in can easily make his crouching heavy punch anti-air whiff in this situation, leaving him open for a full punish combo from you.
Mura goes into more detail on scissors and goes on to discuss Bison’s tricky aerial approaches and his Psycho Mine shenanigans in the full video below. Check it out and see if these tips don’t help you in this new Street Fighter 6 match up.