Melty Blood: Type Lumina has recently been updated with some balance changes and new moves for characters. Along with those changes came two new playable characters: Neco-Arc and Mash Kyrielight. If you’re interested in playing the Shielder herself, this guide can help give you a bit of a head start in figuring out how you’re able to get the most out of fighting with her.
Mash is a very beginner-friendly character. Her specials are straightforward, her normal moves are great, and she can deal a lot of damage. She also has good disjoints, as some of her better attacks utilize her shield. Even without the range of her normals, her specials give her a variety of means for advancing in on her opponents. If you’re just starting to pick up the game, you can’t go wrong with picking Mash. But experienced players can also find fun in using her. Let’s talk about each aspect of her toolkit.
Mash’s standing light attack is quick, and the autocombo advances you forward pretty far. The aerial light attack is also quick, but it comes out at an odd angle. It works well for attacking or pressuring grounded opponents though. Her crouching light attack isn’t so quick though. Her standing medium attack is good for anti-airs and continuing combos when the opponent is in the air. The aerial medium attack works similarly in terms of the range it covers. In most situations, you’ll probably want to use it over her aerial light attack. Her heavy attacks are where her range comes in. The forward heavy attack can also serve as an anti-air if you time the Blowback Edge version well, but you’ll need to combo out of it with a special. The Blowback Edge is also an overhead. The aerial heavy attack also has a Blowback Edge version. This can be used in combos after jump-cancelling certain special moves.
Specials/Moon Skills
Mash’s specials are very good all-around. For the most part, they fulfill the purpose of closing distance between her and the opponent. On top of that, they rack up great damage with minimal effort. When explaining the input for each special, it will be under the assumption that you’re facing the right side of the screen, since the numbers for the analog inputs are dependent on such.
Her 236 special (or quarter-circle forward, or QCF for short), Buster Swing, simply charges her forward with her shield. The light version is quick and safe on block, but using it in combos can be situational. The medium version is less safe, but bounces the opponent off the ground on hit, so it’s perfect for continuing combos. The Blowback Edge version gives her armor as she charges forward, but the tradeoff is that it sends the opponent back pretty far in a recoverable state. The heavy or EX version is full-screen and can wall-bounce opponents, but you’ll get the most damage out of it when you’re very close to the opponent. The Moon Skill has the benefit of bouncing the opponent off the ground on hit and being safe, but it deals less damage than the medium version’s Blowback Edge. Despite that, it’s more consistent for doing combos. All around, this special is good for getting near the opponent and pushing them back as well.
Next up is Mash’s 623 special (or dragon input, or DP for short), Art Strike. It’s your typical DP that launches you in the air. The light version can be jump-cancelled when the attack lands, so it’s great for combos. The medium version can’t be cancelled but has invincibility, so that’ll be the special for getting opponents off of you when they try to attack you as you get up (like other DP’s though, don’t be too predictable with it). The heavy or EX version is just a strong version of the move, that advances you forward with three attacks. It serves better as a combo finisher than a starter or anything in-between, and the third hit doesn’t come out if the attack misses or is blocked against. On top of also bouncing the opponent off the ground, the Moon Skill can be cancelled out of whether the attack lands, misses, or is guarded against, so it’s useful in many situations. In all, Art Strike is good for attacking airborne opponents.
Now there’s her 214 special (or quarter-circle backwards, or QCB for short), Quick Assault. It’s an attack where she jumps forward while swiping with her shield. An additional attack input will allow her to swipe again as she comes downward. The light version goes a short distance, but the medium version goes farther both horizontally and vertically, on top of being stronger. For both, you’ll have to time the additional input properly to get combos out of it. The heavy or EX version automatically does a second attack, which will be an overhead. It bounces opponents off the ground and can be jump-cancelled out of if the attack lands, so it’s perfect for starting or continuing combos. The second hit of the Moon Skill is also an overhead, but it can be cancelled out of, whether the attack lands or is blocked. Quick Assault is a decent combo tool, and it’s a way to get in while keeping opponents in check, whether they’re on the ground or in the air.
Mash’s 252 special (or down down input), Bunker Shot, makes her slam her shield into the ground to create a gust of wind which knocks the opponent back. Both the light and medium attacks deal the same amount of damage, but the light version is quicker and better for combos while the medium version has a bit more range. You’re gonna need to be mindful of where you perform the medium version to get the most damage if you’re not doing it in the corner. The EX version goes even father and deals more damage, but you’ll still want to be mindful of where you do it to get the most damage. The Moon Skill is both fast and deals more damage than the medium version. Each version of the move has the ability to wall-bounce opponents. It’s a good move for corner pressure and corner combos, and does a decent job at keeping opponents at bay when they try rushing in.
Mash has two aerial specials, the first of which is her aerial 236 special, High-angle Transfer. Performing this will make Mash dive ahead to the ground. The light version is at a lower angle and the opponent can recover shortly after, so quickly perform a heavy or EX special to get more damage off of it. The medium version has her pause in the air before diving at an even farther angle, dealing more damage. It also has the opponent bounce off the ground a bit when the attack lands so you don’t have to worry about wasting a bar to get a combo out of it. The heavy or EX version has her travel at an even sharper angle for even more damage. The amount of end lag on it makes it more suitable for an aerial combo finisher. The Moon Skill is fast and travels at a sharp angle, so it’s fine to use in-between or at the start of combos, but you’ll still need to use a heavy or EX special to continue it. High-angle transfer provides Mash with a way to get in on opponents from the air when Buster Swing isn’t the best option.
Next is her other aerial special, the mid-air 214 special, Here’s a heavy one! This has her slam her shield down over her opponent. The medium version travels farther than the light version, but both deal the same amount of damage. The heavy or EX version travels a shorter range but is stronger and better suited for continuing combos. The Moon Skill travels the farthest and deals more damage than both the light and medium versions. All versions of the move are overheads and have the interesting property of popping opponents up even if they successfully guard the attack. If you manage to land the move close enough, you can go for a low attack to keep the pressure on. Here’s a heavy one! provides a way for you to get in while also giving you aerial mix-up options.
And finally, there’s Mash’s Arc Drive, EX:Punishment. She throws her shield straight ahead before charging forward to grab her opponent, then summons her shield back into her hands which knocks the opponent backwards. It’s a full-screen move, but if the opponent as far from you as they can be, you’re missing out on a few hundred points of damage. The cool thing about this Arc Drive is that it has a Blowback Edge version that’s an overhead, and despite being a bit slower than the normal version, it’s still pretty quick. You could most likely mix up your low pressure with a Arc Drive if they’re unaware of Blowback Edge overhead, but if they are aware of it… the Blowback Edge is useless.
Mash has a variety of combos she can use. The Mission Mode can give you some combos to do, but here’s some fairly easy ones to start off with that utilize each of her special moves without wasting any Moon Meter or Magic Circuit:
And that’s everything. Hopefully this makes Mash easier to use for you. While this guide should give you a basic understanding of her moves and combo potential, you should see this as a head start in utilizing Mash on a deeper level. There’s way more heavy-hitting combos you can find for her, but you should pursue them after getting a better understanding. She’s very simple and fun to use, so surely you won’t have trouble doing so. Have fun!
