Zangief’s Tundra Storm counter move in Street Fighter 6 is… weird. This special move originated back in Street Fighter 5 — where it was equally as strange — and it essentially is used to stop only certain grounded kick attacks.
It takes a massive read to use it properly, and truth be told, the read required is so big that the move widely goes unused even by top Zangief players. However, a recent clip on Twitter shows that Zangief’s useless counter in Street Fighter 6 actually has a very important use, but only against certain characters.
The footage comes from SuzyDiabolos on Twitter and shows their Zangief going up against a Manon player online. As the bout rages on, there comes a point where Zangief hits Manon with a Drive Reversal that sends her flying back and leaves Gief in burnout.
Naturally, when a player is burnt out they are far more susceptible to being hit with Drive Impact as they cannot parry nor counter DI themselves. In this case, the Manon attempts to use a raw Drive Impact in neutral to catch Gief slippin’, but instead the grappler tosses out the seldom seen Tundra Storm in anticipation.
Much to the surprise of everyone, the counter move actually fully stops Manon’s Drive Impact here. This works because Manon’s DI is a big, grounded kick attack, which means it falls under the criteria for the counter to, well… work.
While Zangief wasn’t cornered during this play and wasn’t really at risk of being stunned here, the fact that Tundra Storm can stop certain Drive Impacts means it can also be used to stop said DIs when the threat of stun is looming — which is major.
In Street Fighter 6, when most characters have their backs to the corner, are in burnout, and don’t have any super meter, it usually means they have found themselves in a checkmate scenario where a stun is pretty much guaranteed. Some characters like JP and Marisa have counter moves that can stop Drive Impact in this situation, and it appears Zangief can do exactly the same — but only against certain characters.
Basically, any fighter that has a Drive Impact that kicks is vulnerable to the Tundra Storm counter. Below is a list of the characters who can be countered by the special move:
• Blanka
• Cammy
• Chun-Li
• Dee Jay
• Guile
• Juri
• Kimberly
• Manon
• Rashid
バーンアウトしてる時に(相手の生インパクトが蹴りなら)ツンドラしておくといい事あるかも pic.twitter.com/sqiqFpyGmW
— IZM_Postman (@SuzyDiabolos) February 8, 2024