Master Gundam

Model Number: GF13-001NHII	Pilot: Master Asia
Cost: 3000 Hp: 750 Transform: X Form Change: X

The leader of the Devil Gundam’s Four Heavenly Kings. While it is normally seen in its cloaked mode, the cloak can transform into wing binders on its back, allowing the Master Gundam to move freely and perform devastating melee attacks. It is also capable of entering Hyper Mode to boost its capabilities even further.

Move Summary

Ranged	Armament	Ammo	DMG	Notes
Main	Darkness shot	10	15 ~ 120 [20 ~ 168]	Fires a small projectile that stuns. Hold the button to keep firing Damage and muzzle correction increases while in Burst.
Charged Melee	Boulder-Breaking Heavenly Fist (Sekiha Tenkyoken)	–	100-150-210	projectile with 3 charge levels
Special Shooting	Gundam Heaven Sword	2	76	Summon Heaven Sword or Fuun Saiki to charge at the enemy. 5AC: Heaven Sword.
	Fuun Saiki Summon		48	*AC: Fuun Saiki.
Special Melee  (5BC)	The Grand Wheel of Twelve Kings (Jyuuniou Houpai Daishahei)	1	15~81	Summons mini-Masters who stagger the enemy and cling onto it. If any mini-Masters are clinging onto the enemy you can detonate them using 5BC, stunning the enemy. Hold B to summon up to 5 mini-Masters.

Melee		Input	DMG	Notes
Sub	Master Cloth Grab	5AB	20	Lashes out with the Master Cloth in a straight line, grabbing onto the enemy
	Giant Swing	5AB~no input or 4/6/8	125~208	Swing the enemy around. Keep holding the lever to keep swinging
	Rope In	5AB~2	20	Pulls the enemy closer for easy follow-up
	Single Kick	5AB~*B	115	Pull the enemy in and kick him hard
	Lightning Legs	5AB~BC	189	Kick the enemy rapidly and repeatedly
	Master Cloth Slam	8AB	90	Strikes downwards, bouncing the enemy
	Master Cloth Sweep	4/6AB	100	Whip horizontally
5B	Kung Fu	5BBBB	221
	Drunken Dance, Rebirth In The Mortal Plain, Deadly Wave (Suibu Saikenkouko Deadly Wave)	5B(BB)~8BB	261~279	Can cancel into the 8B follow-up anytime during the 5B string. More hits, more damage
	Palm Strikes	5B(BB)~4/6BBB	224~263	Can cancel into the 4/6B follow-up anytime during the 5B string. More hits, more damage
	Launcher> Aerial Rave	5B(BB)~2B~C~5BBBBBBB	287~293	Launch the enemy for an air combo. Can cancel into the 2B follow-up anytime during the 5B string. More hits, more damage
	Single Kick	5B(BB)~A	156~230	Similar to 5AB~B
8B/CC8B	Master Kick	8B/CC8B	85	A rapid, high priority kick. Shrinks hitbox can low profile moves.
4/6B	Master Cloth Strikes	4/6BBB	173	One of the best side melees in the game
	Cloth Stabs	4/6BB~8B	217	Move forward while stabbing repeatedly with the Master Cloth
	Lynch	4/6BB~2B	175
2B	Counter	2B	70	Counters melee attacks from all angles
Special Melee	Darkness Finger	8BC	147~207	Mash for more damage
	The Overlord’s Super Electric Shadow Bullet (Choukyuu Haou Deneidan)	2BC	188
Burst Attack	Choukyuu Haou Deneidan (Master Disciple Combination)	ABC	351(F)/305(E & S)	Unusual Burst Attack with high damage

Cancel Routes:

5B and 4/6B (except last hit): All Sub attacks, 2BC,8BC, all AC attacks

Overview

Master Gundam has come to be feared as one of the most deadly Mobile Suits in close-range combat. It’s natural to compare it against Epyon, since both are melee-centric and use whips,  but Master does have a few extra tricks up its sleeve that give it the edge in certain situations.

Master has a varied move pool that helps keep the opponent guessing. And against opponents who are excellent at self-defense, Master is still a valued force on the battlefield, for the sheer reason that it is simply too critical a target to ignore. Garnering enemy attention takes heat off your partner, giving him free reign to launch a full-blown assault on the enemy. Lock collecting is an important job, too!

Master truly shines (literally) during its Burst. G Gundam suits gain the largest damage modifier in the game during Burst, and Master takes full advantage of this, dishing out near 300 damage combos in the blink of an eye. You also gain an incredible speed boost, giving you what the Japanese refer to as a “one chance” to turn the tide in your favor.

The ability to patiently wait for the perfect opportunity to strike with an impeccably-timed Burst is what sets the Master Masters apart from the Master Apprentices. Achieve a state of Meikyo Shisui, and you will surely find peace and victory on the battlefield.

Ability Details

Ranged Weapons

Main: Darkness Shot

Master fires a series of purple ki blasts that stun the enemy. Causes vernier before firing two ki blasts per button tap. You can hold down on your shooting button to fire a series of up to 10 shots like a pseudo machine gun. This move has a limited range of 4 practice blocks and the projectiles travel pretty slow, but the muzzle correction is good and the payoff for hitting this in close range is massive.

With only a 4% proration on hit (single shot), it’s possible to hit confirm off this move into 300+ damage combos. Realistically, it’s easy to hit quick combos in the 200 damage-range, or even just leave it to your teammate to follow-up. Do note that the stun duration is relatively short, so you should try to get a good feel on how long the stun lasts so you don’t rush in and get punished instead. It’s best to fire only one or two pellets at the enemy, because hitting them with all 10 shots will lead to big proration on follow-ups, and less damage done overall.

This move is an important mixup tool that beats a lot of melee shutdown options, such as X1’s whip, zunda-ing backwards, vernier-type moves like bazookas, and melee counters. Using your melee moves as feints into this move is a really effective way to land this.

Another benefit of the Darkness Shot is that it goes right through ABC mantles, although it will be blocked by shooting guards. This means Master does fairly well against the likes of X1, X1FC, and X2, because all of his ki-based attacks ignore ABC mantles entirely. 

Charged Melee: Sekiha Tenkyoken

It takes 2.5 seconds to charge each level of the ultimate technique of the School of the Undefeated of the East. Each level of the attack varies in their own ways, but each charged level does progressively more damage. This attack, like all of Master’s ranged options, is ki-based, so ABC mantles cannot block this move.

Lvl 1: The smallest projectile with the least damage, but the fastest startup, best tracking, and best projectile speed.

Lvl 2: A larger projectile than lvl 1, but at the cost of having poorer tracking and projectile speed.

Lvl 3: The largest projectile (an open palm compared to a closed fist), but the slowest startup and projectile speed. Despite a much bigger hitbox, it is considerably harder to hit this than a lvl 1 Tenkyoken. However, the damage caused by this is nothing to sniff at; 210 damage for a single hit is devastating.

It’s possible to combo into this move using your AC and strikers. It’s also possible to use this as a sneak attack or an intercept, if you’re confident the enemy won’t interrupt your startup. It’s definitely awesome to see this move hit, at any rate.

Special Shooting: Summon Heaven’s Sword/ Fuun Saiki

Master has access to two different assists. Because they are different characters, you can use both your assist counts at once to summon both Heaven’s Sword AND Fuun Saiki to be out on the battlefield at the same time. 

5AC: Gundam Heaven’s Sword

Master calls upon one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Gundam Heaven’s Sword. Upon being summoned it charges at the enemy, kicking at it rapidly upon contact. 

Compared to Fuun Saiki, this has poorer tracking, but it still travels fast enough to used to catch landings, or as a tool in the mid-range to force enemy movement. More importantly, because it kicks the enemy for a long duration, you have a much larger opportunity than with Fuun Saiki to follow-up with a combo.

Do note that this move has strong down value, so you can get one combo string in at best. The standard 5B string is often your best option.

5AC: Fuun Saiki

Master does a backflip before summoning Fuun Saiki to the battlefield. On hit, Fuun Saiki knocks the opponent upwards. The opponent will be able to tech after a brief moment, so the window of opportunity to capitalize with a melee attack is rather small.

Nevertheless, this is a great move when used in conjunction with your offense. Force the enemy to dodge Fuun Saiki, and then launch an attack of your own. 

Special Melee: Jyuuniou Houpai Daishahei 

Summon Mini Masters to attack the enemy. Holding down BC summons more Mini Masters (up to 5). 

The Mini Masters only attack the enemy in red lock, so you can summon these safely in green lock (like at the start of the round) and then enter red lock to make them attack the enemy.

Once they approach the enemy, they function quite similarly to funnel style weapons. They will first encircle the enemy, and then take turns kicking towards the enemy. Should they hit, they latch onto the enemy, and Master can once again press BC to make the Mini Masters detonate, stunning the enemy. 

While it’s great to use this move as a standalone, this move truly shines when used in a coordinated attack. Avoiding the Mini Masters requires a sizeable boost expenditure, and a good player will capitalize on that by using the Mini Masters to force the enemy to spend boost evading them, and attack the enemy with low boost. Also, because the Mini Masters only attack when you enter red lock, it’s possible to summon them, wait till you see the enemy use maybe 30-50% of his boost, then enter red lock to send them out and attack when he’s in a more difficult position to evade them.

Master spends a lot of time in the front line as a vanguard, but if you can find safe timings to use this move (hiding behind buildings, or on the opponent’s wakeup), it can be your ticket into breaking a neutral game stalemate or changing the enemy’s formation.

Melee Set

Sub: Master Cloth 

Master has one of the best melee movesets in the game, which is further bolstered by its Master Cloth subweapon which gives it a bit more range. Using the Master Cloth effectively requires strong reads on the opponent’s movements, but once you master this weapon it will feel to your opponent’s like you’re a psychic who is leaving them with no place to run or hide.

5AB: Master Cloth Grab

Lash out with the Master Cloth in a straight line, latching onto the enemy and rendering them immobile.

This move comes out really quickly, but it has no muzzle correction or tracking. This move travels further than your 4/6AB, and it can be used as an intercept or for catching landings.  You can sidestep out of this move, and there are quite a few follow-ups which are listed below.

5AB~any directional input, or no input: Giant Swing

Swing the enemy around. Keep holding down on any direction to keep swinging, up to a maximum of 7 rotations. While swinging the opponent you are completely vulnerable, but this move is more damaging (and obnoxious) than you’d think. The down value of this move is also really low, and what this means is it’s possible to loop [5AB~4 (6 rotations)] 3 times, swinging the enemy around up to 19 times, and causing a whopping 287 damage.

This is pretty much impossible to pull off against good opponents in a 2v2, but if you somehow manage to pull it off, it will make your enemy hate his partner hardcore.

5AB~2: Reel-In

Pulls the enemy towards you and briefly staggers them, allowing you to follow-up with any melee attack. This is your standard follow-up from a hit 5AB, and it leads into pretty much any combo you like, including the devastating 5B~2B aerial combo, which does over 320 damage.

5AB~B: Single Kick

Reels the enemy in and gives them a single kick. It’s a good quick combo ender that does slightly more damage than another quick combo ender, 8AB. However, it has absolutely no cut resistance, so 8AB often feels like a safer option.

5AB~BC: Lightning Legs

Reel the enemy in and kick them repeatedly. Really flashy, but not the optimal option in terms of damage output.

8AB: Master Cloth Slam

Jump slightly and slams the Master Cloth downwards. This move covers a wide amount of vertical space, hitting enemies directly above, on the same plane, and below you. It’s a bit hard to explain in words what situations this move hits best in, so it’s best you use it often to figure out for yourself the “sure hit” moments.

The slight jump before lashing out with the cloth is not a large movement, but it is possible to dodge beam rifle shots or other small projectiles if timed right. The attack actually causes ground bounce on hit, so it’s very easy to combo off this move, but the damage proration isn’t the best so don’t expect huge damage off this.

This is one of your bread and butter combo starters, and enders. It’s definitely one of the top 5 moves Master has, so be sure to properly learn when to whip it out. Hehe.

4/6AB: Master Cloth Sweep

Swings the Master Cloth horizontally, knocking back any enemies foolish enough to venture near Master. Causes untechable down on hit.

What’s unique about this whip move is that it hits in a 360 degree circle, while many other whips like Epyon’s and X1’s only cover the front 180. Although this whip isn’t quite as fast or long as the aforementioned two. You can use 4 or 6 to choose the direction you wish to swing the whip in.

This move is great for self-defense, okizeme, and as a combo ender.

5B: Kung Fu

A sequence of 5 hits over 4 button presses. This is not your highest priority or best chase-down melee, but what it does excel in is sheer power. This is your ticket to 300+ damage combos, and some of your more flashy moves too.

As expected of a melee suit, this move has a tonne of follow-ups, which are listed below.

5B~8B: Suibu Saikenkouko Deadly Wave

Master rapidly strikes the enemy before dashing through it, finishing with a dramatic pose which is so awesome the enemy explodes.

The damage of this move is good, but not the best. You probably won’t use this move much unless you want to style on your enemy.

5B~4/6B: Palm Strikes

Circle the enemy before hitting a sequence of palm strikes. The movement doesn’t cut tracking, and you only tack on a little more damage than using the regular 5B sequence. You’ll probably never use this.

5B~2B: Launcher>Aerial Rave

The reason the previously mentioned follow-ups don’t see much use is that this move exists. Kick the enemy up with the first 2B, then press C to jump up, and mash B to hit them multiple times, ending with a powerful kick.

This does a ridiculous amount of damage: 5B~2B~C~BBBBBB~8BC does about 320, before burst. After burst it does near 400. Goodness.

You can combo into this sequence from Darkness Shot, or the 5AB~2 whip. Aside from the jump this move is executed completely stationary, so be sure your target’s partner is not in a position to interrupt your combo.

Contrary to logic, the best damage from this follow-up comes from going into the 2B as soon as possible, meaning you do less damage doing 5BBB~2B than you would 5B~2B.

8B/CC8B: Master Kick

This move is actually executed with both 8B and CC8B. It’s so good, they want to make sure you can do it anytime you want.

This move has a wee-bit of startup when compared to 4B, but its chase distance, priority, and speed are all top class.

You launch the enemy on hit, allowing for good combos afterwards.

One thing to note is that during the move’s startup you have roughly 0.3 seconds of a shrinked hitbox, which can allow you to dodge hits if timed right. It’s not something to rely on, more like something you should praise God about should you be lucky enough to slide under a Beam Rifle shot before kicking the enemy in the face.

This move is even more deadly during Burst, when you achieve Godlike speed. The move’s startup becomes near non-existent, so be sure to use your Burst wisely to land strong kicks!

4B: Master Cloth Strikes

A legendary 4B melee attack that makes all other Mobile Suits jealous. Great chase distance, high speed, quick hits, good damage, nice curve, and wide hitbox- this move does it all.

It has good follow-ups too. Check ’em.

4B~8B: Master Cloth Stabs

Travel forward while stabbing repeatedly with the Master Cloth. This has good cut resistance, so if you notice your target’s teammate is about to shoot you while you’re doing a 4B sequence, you can react and transition into this follow-up to become a harder to hit target.

4B~A: Lynch

Hang the opponent with the Master Cloth, and then detonate it. This has decent cut resistance when hanging the opponent, and seems to do good damage even after proration so it’s a good combo ender.  

2B: Melee Counter

Master goes into its cloaked mode, and enters a counter stance. If you hit him with a melee attack while he is in this state, he will retaliate with the Darkness Finger.

Unlike many counter moves, Master’s protects him from all angles, not just the front.

Generally this move is quite situational, as few players would dare to try and get into close-range fisticuffs with Master. This is a great move for hard reads though, like if an enemy is in burst and thinks he can take you in melee range, or if he tries a burst attack. Also worth noting is that this move absolutely destroys Epyon, as all of his moves (except Striker) are melee-based. 

Still, as far as melee counters go this one has one of the longest startups. Be careful with the way you use it. 

8BC: Darkness Finger

One of Master’s signature attacks. Similar to the God Finger, you fly straight at the enemy and grab their head, ending with an explosion. You can mash B for additional hits before the explosion.

This move is used mostly for two purposes- ending combos, and dashing towards the enemy. It’s quite easy to substitute this for the last hit of any melee combo, and add quite a good bit of damage. The trade-off is that you are stationary for a long period of time during this move, so it’s not something you can go for if your target’s partner is locked on to you. You can assess the situation while doing the first part of the combo, and decide if it’s safe enough to go for this more damaging option.

This move can also be used as a pseudo-dash, as it advances on the enemy very quickly. If you want to close the distance quickly, this is your fastest way to do so, although it’s also quite unsafe. It’s generally only something you can do if your target is not looking at you.

I also have to mention, purely for completion’s sake, that this move has super armor frames in its startup. However, it’s so little that it’s hard to time and use effectively, and not something you can plan for. Just take it as a stroke of luck if the super armor activates and saves you from a hit.

2BC: Choukyuu Haou Deneidan

Hop upwards and turn into a funky green tornado, charging at the enemy. This move has a great hitbox at the sides, but a poor hitbox at the front where Master’s head is. 

The hop part of this move actually cuts tracking, which is pretty nice, and the damage proration and priority of this move is great. However, the one downfall of this move is that it consumes a very large amount of boost, which severely limits it’s use cases, especially when compared to other options that fulfill the same purpose, like 5BC.

That being said, this could be useful as a pseudo pyonkaku, step diving after the hop animation.  

Burst Attack: Choukyuu Haou Deneidan (Master-Disciple Combination)

Master poses for a second and calls for his Disciple. Domon appears out of nowhere in his God Gundam, and both Master and God initiate the Choukyuu Haou Deneidan on collision course for each other. When they meet, they form a large green tornado of angry faces (you have to see it to get it) which shreds anything unfortunate enough to get caught in its path.

You have super armor during the entire move, but if you max out on your down value during the tornado sequence the tornado will stop. 

This is actually really hard to hit raw, even if it does have super armor, because the hitbox is not fantastic (even though Domon has a hitbox too) and the startup is more than long enough for the enemy to simply get out of the way.

The good news is that it’s possible to combo into this move from either your Main or AC. You can do combos like 8B>>A>ABC, but note that the timing for A>>ABC is quite tight, so be sure you cancel quick.

Strategies

• If you’re serious about playing Master/God, it’s super important you learn to boost dash normally instead of running on the ground. You can do this by stepping before your boost dash, for example doing 44~CC. To do it even more smoothly and naturally, you can do 4~C~4~C (very quickly), or 4~4C~C. Basically you want to cancel out of the sidestep animation so quickly you don’t even see it. This takes practice, but the benefit of boost dashing normally instead of running on the ground is too good to ignore.
• Contrary to popular belief, Master is not meant to be played like a charging bull spamming melee attacks at enemies. Your role is more of a “lock collector”, serving as a vanguard who pressures enemies into double locking you, leaving your partner free to attack without worrying about self defense. This means staying at the close/mid range, not attacking, but pressuring with your mere presence. Of course, should the enemy make a mistake or choose to ignore you, you can punish them hard.
• When the neutral game shifts is when you can start playing more aggressively. If your teammate downs one of your enemies, you can for a brief interval double lock his teammate, and be more aggressive in your offense. Alternatively, Master has a very strong okizeme (wakeup) game, meaning that waiting close by for an enemy to get up is an extremely advantageous position for you. Options like 4/6B>4/6B to force a rainbow step war, 8B on fleeing enemies, 4/6AB, 2B, darkness shot, AC; the list of potential options goes on. Make the opponent guess wrong 2-3 times and he’s dead.
• The success of Master depends on not getting sucked into the enemies’ pace- instead, you must set the pace. Don’t worry too much about taking damage during the neutral game, don’t get pressured into attacking unless you have absolutely no other option. Remember that Master is one of the suits with the strongest comeback potential in the game, it’s possible to kill a 3000 cost MS in a matter of seconds during Burst. Bide your time and wait for the right opportunities.
• Cost Management is so key to success with Master, if your teammate dies first it’s highly likely you’ll lose the game as an over-costed Master is almost no threat. Coordinate with your partner accordingly.
• Burst Management is also extremely important. It’s preferable to half-burst twice with Master, to have multiple chances to do big damage. Of course, if your teammate dies first and you have not Burst yet, it’s best to save it for your second life on one big chance. Whatever it is, using your Burst at the right time is key to winning and losing matches. Observe the enemy carefully, and watch for situations where using your Burst will be key to winning an exchange. As for which burst to use- pick Fighting, every time. The damage boost is too good to ignore.
• Lastly and most importantly- Master plays exactly the way it appears in the anime. It’s a beast of a suit and a formidable threat on the battlefield, and you should aim to instill the same amount of dread on the enemy. Threaten your enemy with your mere presence, and time your offense and Bursts appropriately, and you will no doubt be worthy of the title, ‘Undefeated of the East’.

Recommended Combos

Starter	Combo	Damage	Notes
A (1-shot)	A>>5B~2B~C~BBB~8BC	298-318	Highest damage from A
	A~5BC~8B>4BBB	?	Take advantage of the A~5BC combo route
Sub	5AB~2~5B~2B~C~BBB~8BC	303-319
	[5AB~Swing (before final throw)>4B]*2>5AB~Swing	~280?	Really long and irritating combo. Good damage that’s worth your trouble. So obnoxious.
	8AB>4BBB	199	BnB combo
5B	5B~2B~C~5BBB~8BC	310-335	Kill combo. Substitute the finish with 5AB Swing for a little less damage, but extreme obnoxious-ness
	5B~A>>8BC	245-280	Quick, high damage
8B	8B>>4BB~8AB	220	BnB
	8B>>8BC (mash, cancel before final hit)>4B~8BC	~280?	Double DF for highest damage off 8B
4B	4B~8BC (mash, cancel before final hit)>4B~8BC	~271
	4BB>4BBB	220	The most important BnB of all time
2B	Refer to 8AB combos	8AB combos -20 damage	Same down value as 8AB, so refer to those combos
Burst Combos	4BBB>4BBB	303	Over 300 damage in less than 3 seconds. Won’t connect if you sidestep left- use right
	A>ABC	355	Cancel quick to link
	4B>A>>ABC	313	Another way to combo into your burst attack
	5B~2B~C~5BBB~8BC	~380?	Congratulations you’ve won the match