Jonathan Almaguer
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5 Min read July 24th marks the arrival of the very first Street Fighter 6 DLC characters with Rashid, ”The Soaring Eagle of the Desert,” being added to the new game’s roster.
Rashid was originally introduced to the franchise in Street Fighter 5, as one of its protagonists.
Whenever a new character gets released, the immediate question on everyone’s mind is: “Is this character going to be totally overpowered or an utter disappointment?”.
The official Street Fighter Youtube page has given us a demonstration of his specials and Super Arts. Let’s break them down in order to get an idea of their usefulness and highlight certain moves that stand out as giving Rashid advantages no other character in the current roster possesses.
Make sure to check out the video below as we’ll be referring to it throughout the rest of the article!
Here’s a list of Rashid’s special moves and Super Arts with definitions from the official video for reference.
Rashid’s Spinning Mixer is his DP move and will be useful in both combos as an anti-air tool. Right away, Spinning Mixer already appears that it will be the undisputed best anti-air special move in Street Fighter 6.
The ability to change the angle of his trajectory based on strength used, (light, medium, heavy) is the first aspect of what makes Spinning Mixer a strong anti-air.
The medium strength’s 45° angle allows Rashid to anti-air opponents spacing their jumps, or catch them on the rise of a jump with a quick reaction.
The vertical path of the heavy version, however, gives Rashid’s anti-air game a unique strength no other character has. Rashid can anti-air both jump-ins landing in front of him, as well as cross-ups with the same attack, without the player needing to change their input or waiting for Rashid to turn around just before being hit.
No other Dragon Punch type special move has this ability. On cross-ups, A regular DP special move would either whiff past your opponent – leaving yourself wide open for a punish – or you would need to wait for the opponent to cross onto the other side of you, then just as your character turns around, input the DP in reverse to anti-air the jump attack.
Rashid doesn’t have to worry about trying to guess if the opponents jump in will cross him, or timing it just right. He can just let heavy Spinning Mixer rip knowing it will anti-air either way.
Eagle Spike is another busted-looking special for Rashid. The character guide video states that it, “deals high damage,” but the fact that it looks to be safe on block is even more significant.
Similar to Blanka ball or E. Honda headbutt, Eagle Spike has a massive amount of push back which sends Rashid flying backwards across the screen before the opponent is out of block stun.
Additionally, if Rashid is being cornered by his opponent and lands an OD Eagle Spike, he switches sides with his opponent, placing them into the corner and putting them into a juggle state allowing for follow-up damage.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a demo of the OD Eagle Spike on block so we cannot say for sure if the interaction is safe or easily punishable.
Similar to Spinning Mixer, Rashid can alter the properties of his projectile, Whirlwind Shot. Each strength (light, medium, heavy) changes the trajectory. Holding the attack button also charges up the projectile for extra hits and damage.
A fully charged Whirlwind Shot also produces a tornado Rashid can use to speed boost himself into a follow-up attempt, chasing after the projectile. For example, if Rashid lands a fully charged OD Whirlwind Shot he can boost himself through the tornado for a guaranteed juggle combo follow-up.
Arabian Cyclone can be used as a movement tool to quickly advance towards his opponent with the three different follow up options listed above.
A Heavy Arabian Cyclone into Rolling Assault has advantage, allowing you to continue to attack first even on block giving Rashid a great offensive pressure tool. I assume we will be seeing some very strong block strings utilizing this move, especially on opponents in burn out.
Arabian Skyhigh may prove to be Rashid’s most powerful approach tool. We’ll have to wait and see how reactable it proves to be in action, but my guess is that it will prove to be one of the best approach options in the entire game.
Rashid is being given the sole double jump ability in Street Fighter 6. He can use it to bait out anti-air attempts against him and then punish accordingly. Just the existence of a mid-air jump gives Rashid a threat which forces opponents to reconsider their anti-air options since Rashid is able to completely change the distance he’s going to land mid jump.
He can jump past the opponent, onto the opponent, or stop his momentum mid-air, forcing your opponent into a guessing battle no other character has the ability to do.
Rashid’s most interesting Super Art is definitely his level II Ysaar. The video demonstrates multiple uses and set ups you can use this giant tornado for.
Rashid can let Ysaar move slowly towards the opponent and launch himself through it to the opposite of the defender, forcing them to have to defend against attacks from both sides.
He also has the ability to use Arabian Cyclone to quickly launch Ysaar towards a retreating opponent. My guess is that we will be seeing a lot of Level II Super Arts from Rashid players, and Level III will only come out as a combo finisher when max damage is needed for the win.
The variations in his projectiles coupled with his uniquely powerful Spinning Mixer anti-air makes Rashid’s zoning game very strong.
Opponents will likely find it extremely difficult to approach Rashid as they will need to not only correctly guess that Rashid is throwing a projectile but also whether it is going to be a rising Whirlwind Shot, a grounded one, or if the Rashid player will wait to anti-air with Spinning Mixer.
On the other hand, the plethora of approach options via his special moves, and his safe on block attack options make Rashid seem even better suited for a rush-down play style similar to Cammy or Ken.
If you are the type of player that hates projectile spam, definitely give Rashid a try because he has so many answers to projectiles with between his own projectile and movement abilities. With Rashid’s anti-projectile options, you’ll leave your opponent frozen in fear and 2nd guessing every projectile they throw out!
Rashid appears to be an extremely versatile fighter who offers himself to a wide variety of playstyles. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long to see some top players pick up and optimize Rashid so we can witness his true potential!
With his top-tier offensive pressure, approach mix-ups, and defensive options, Rashid looks like he is definitely going to be viable in competitive play.
Unless his normals are just total trash or his damage numbers are pathetically low he’s gonna be a high tier competitor. Based on what has been revealed so far, I can’t say he’s going to be better than the current top tier picks like Luke, Juri and Ken, but with so many options to track he’s gonna be a menace to the unprepared.
Prospective Tier List placement: High A
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