So, I’m bored at work, and there tends not to be a ton of content on this sub-forum, so I figured I’d solicit some. 
So tell me, what’s your favourite character to play? Why do you like playing them? Do you not have a favourite? Do you bounce between a bunch of different characters depending on your mood? That’s interesting too! Tell me about it!
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My favorite character is…
wait for it…
Vendetta.
I know, what a shock.
There are many reasons for this.
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I feel he is the most skill-testing character in the game. Unlike some other characters who almost feel like they are on rails, Vendetta can do so many things and they all have cost/benefit ratios that fluctuate significantly based on gamestate, hand composition, and opponent’s character. Also, he doesn’t have any easily abusable moves to use as a crutch so every turn has tough decisions to make. He requires close attention to hand management, resource allocation, and risk management to win.
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You can give in to your wildest and riskiest hard reads and if you get them wrong just backflip out of trouble. Lets you get away with some stupid stuff.
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Has a 35 damage throw combo.
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Largely prevents games ending from getting hit with random huge supers, like Beast Unleashed or Maximum Anarchy. Forces honest play.
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I picked up Pers recently (more or less on a whim, partly because I got a hard-lock against a CPU and that was fun), and found that she and Ven both have a similar vortexy play style. Forcing both the opponent and myself to make the right reads multiple turns in a row has been fun, and in that vein, I’ve been looking to pick up BBB and Quince as well.
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I don’t have a favorite, and hence I like to bounce around a lot. Part of the appeal of Yomi is the contrast among the character pool.
I do appreciate and enjoy playing Gloria the most at the moment. She requires so much concentration, whereas with most other characters, I find myself just playing by my “gut” and not putting too much thought into it, and focusing more on quick play.
There are some characters I’ve not even tried yet though: Quince, Geiger, Vendetta, BBB, Zane (yuck), Lum.
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In terms of who I actually play the most, I don’t really have a favorite character - there are definitely tiers but there are too many at the top for it to really be useful information. I like playing almost every character in the game, even a few that I initially thought weren’t for me (like Troq and Gloria).
If you put a gun to my head though, the character I’ve stuck with despite mixed results, whom I want to play and get to work, is Jaina. I like her actual character design and I like her mechanics - spesifically, having a large combo capacity, an aggressive game plan and reliable access to fast attacks, but needing more hand management and decision-making than Setsuki or Gwen (but not as much as Valerie whom I’ve never really gotten to work for me.)
Generally, I like high damage characters (like Menelker, Midori and the aforementioned ninja girls) because they give you a good chance to get a commanding lead (and the attendant margin for error that I often find myself needing in the late game) and they have good comeback potential. I hate the feeling of being out of a game before I’ve actually lost. But I also like Argagarg and Persephone and don’t care for Zane or DeGrey so… I don’t know, really? Variety is the spice of life.
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fwiw that is actually the perfect description for degrey, troq and zane. They are very forgiving about mistakes since they have lots of HP and their dmg output is the best in the game.
My fav char is grave, because he is a well rounded char with strong and weak points.
I like his 0.0 reversal, the mind games with KtO, the suddend death due to tpos.
Imho is the most balanced char, since his throw game and dodge follow up are meh (unless tpos).
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Yeah, that’s definitely true. There are other reasons why I don’t play those characters much. (I wouldn’t mind discussing it with you but I don’t think we should derail this thread to do it.)
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Unsurprisingly, my favorite character is 
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He’s a lower-pressure character. What I mean by that is, he doesn’t have an overwhelmingly good multi-ace move like many other characters do. I liked this when I was first starting to play Yomi because it was less stressful. When I played characters with really good ace moves, I would often agonize over when and whether to play them because I was so afraid of the opportunity costs of whiffing.
's ace move is only 2 aces, though, and it’s only 16 damage, so psychologically it was easier for me to play it and not worry so much. -
Similarly, he also doesn’t have any really good combo-filler cards that he hates seeing run into a Joker. Again, when I was starting Yomi, it was more comfortable to play a character where I didn’t have to agonize as much over whether or not the Joker were real. Even if I did play into a real joker, in most scenarios I hadn’t given up more than about 10 damage from hand.
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He has relatively less variance than other characters, in my opinion. Hex gives you consistent damage regardless of what’s in your hand, and most of the time, he isn’t really that reliant on pulling specific cards out of his deck. There are some MU-specific exceptions to that, such as MUs where he really wants his 10 ability or 7 ability, but other than that, it’s nice to know that 90% of the time
will have the tools he needs. It also means that when I win with him, I feel more satisfied with the victory, and when I lose with him, I feel like it’s easier to go back and figure out where I went wrong. -
supports two very different strategies. His strong defensive option(s) and Hex of Murkwood means you can take a very slow, defensive approach, but his unique ability to function well at a low hand means you can also engage in a lot of goon-level tactics and go crazy. As a result, playing him remains interesting since, depending on the player and the MU, you will want to shift between these two distinct styles.
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I love having a counter ability, and
has the absolutely easiest counter to use in the game. Just ran a 4 normal into a Windmill Crusher? Crash and Flow into 4-5-6 straight is a true combo that always satisfies 
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I’m lazy, so I like a character who doesn’t have to actually do anything to deal damage and whose “vortex” requires no effort to upkeep besides just not losing combat
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I identify with this a lot. Zqxx, I feel like we would get along really we-
…I don’t know you, and I never cared to. runs off crying
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I probably like Onimaru the best with Setsuki being a close 2nd. I love the guard crush mechanic. The speed gap between 1.0 and 3.4 leaves him open to some damaging combos. Landing clockwork soldiers helps to alleviate some of the pressure that comes from this gap. It leaves your opponent with an awkward dodge/block decision.
To sum it up, I really enjoy playing him. If he didn’t have a few bad matchups, then I would probably double or triple my tournament play time with him. I still bring him out whenever there is an alternative tournament format that is favorable to him.
Edit: K+K+K+K+Clockwork Soldiers is the true weirdo trick shot 50 DMG move in the game
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The main reason I play Yomi and keep coming back to this game is because of one character: 
Quince just appeals to me in so many ways.
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Other than his hideous looking shoes, lorewise and appearance wise he’s awesome. Quince looks like an aloof dignified politician, but is not afraid to get his hands dirty and RIGHTEOUS ZEAL someone in the face. He’s the only character in Yomi that has illusory copies of himself and it really reflects his playstyle and how he tricks his opponents.
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I like how much Quince rewards good reads. Since his attack and throw speeds are abysmal, he usually needs to beat someone in pure RPS to deal damage. But once Quince lands a hit, not only does it feel satisfying (normals lead to meaty 567 straights, A and Q have high efficient damage and KD), Quince can start his devastating vortex. Landing that hit can be tricky but it’s so rewarding once you do.
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Quince mixups are the wildest in Yomi and are open to mindgames and creative setups. Not only does he force tough 50/50s with his face cards, he can Flagstone Tax (his 10 ability) to persuade the opponent to play into your hands. Mixing up dishonest spins with honest ones leads to your opponent second-guessing what Quince will do next. It’s incredibly satisfying to play a dishonest greedy setup (K spin reveal, tax throw, play attack) and watch it pay off because your opponent was desperate to get out of spin time and beat your honest play.
And I can ramble on in great detail about Patriot Mirror, but that makes your mixups even trickier because it’s ambiguous. Your opponent has no idea what two cards you will play and has to completely outplay you by guessing what options Quince will facedown in order to avoid losing combat. Quince is definitely cheap when he’s in his advantage time. -
His damage is chunky and efficient from any hit. K throw into Q++ for 26 damage. 567J for an ace and 27 damage. Raw Q into Q++ for 29 damage. 5 normal into AAA for 35 damage. When Quince has a good hand, everything he does HURTS. With 10 or 12 damage from single cards he has really good dodge followups that lead to KD too, not just from combos.
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He forces his opponents to make tough decisions. Two Truths is a prime example. His 2* ability lets you form piles from the discard and the top of your deck and lets your opponent choose what he’s going to let you put in your hand. A lot of what makes Quince fun here IMO is creating a lose-lose situation for your opponent by creating the most equal value piles possible. You’re either going to get three decent cards, or two high value cards for free. It drives home the running theme of his character, that Quince is always in the right no matter what your opponent chooses to do. So what if your opponent beats your K spin? You taxed throw so you drew three cards out of it. So from a certain point of view, you didn’t lose combat at all.
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Finally, Quince never feels like he runs out of options. With Two Truths letting him get back his best cards (plus new ones from the deck), every face card having two sides with different combat options, more dodges and throws than the average character, you almost always have an answer to what your opponent can do when playing as Quince. For example if you REALLY need to throw your opponent, Quince won’t be suffering from lack of those. It kind of loops back to point #2 I made, that not only does Quince reward you for hard reads, he gives you everything you need to make it happen.
TL;DR
Quince is fucking awesome and the most fun character for me in Yomi.
15 Likes
It should be no surprise to anyone who’s been here for any length of time, but my favorite has been Gwen since even before I could play her. When it comes to fighting games, I’ve always been drawn to characters that have great mobility and fast attacks. That probably explains why women have always been my go-to on the rosters. Sadly, though, that usually ends up being a trade-off in exchange for significantly less health and weaker strikes.
Gwen is basically my dream come true in terms of mechanic design. She’s simple to understand, what with the whole “priority is my bitch” aspect of her moves, but takes more thought to use effectively than schwang-dang your cards all over the place. The damage trade-off doesn’t exist, so even the most basic of combos end up eating anywhere between 20-30% of a person’s lifespan. In fairness, the life trade-off comes in the form of constantly losing health over the course of the match, but hey, can’t have everything, can we?
NO SHUT UP ABOUT GEIGER I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT
It doesn’t hurt that, if you want to make a comparison to characters from major fighting games, Gwen is basically Rule 63 Sub Zero.
I’m also a sucker for a good story, so there’s bonus points for both Gwen and Gloria, who I think have the most fleshed out lore in the franchise right now.
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Zane!
I got into Yomi while myself and my gaming group were into SFIV, and Bison had become my main.
We kept up to date on news of the Shadows expansion and the new characters, and when I heard that there was one that would be based on Bison’s move-set I was very excited and gravitated towards that character. Zane has changed a bit from his early versions (he was pretty absurd with his 2 being A/T). When I got my hands on the expansion set from the Kickstarter I went straight for Zane and instantly loved him. Aggressive, efficient, flashy and able to really pile on the pressure. But, with enough of a defensive downside that smart players are able to exploit.
Plus his character design is really great.
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Zane is my third pick and no. 1 for most badass.
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!
Over the last year Lum has really jumped up as my favourite. I pretty much always have fun when playing the panda.
- He has big straights. Throwing down long combos is always fun.
- He has recurring special attacks (when his luck is in).
- He has a K+K+K+K move. It is fun to build towards fully pumped King and then get the pay off (and maybe even get all the cards back into hand). It’s even fun to build towards it and fail or just opt out because something better came along. It’s always engaging to be keeping an eye on your Kings and working out what you want to do with them.
- He usually gets through a lot of his deck. So you end up thinking about topdeck probabilities more often, and you also get faced with more deck-out scenarios. These are fun.
- He has a ridiculous throw, Extra Juice.
- And then there are the abilities: playing Blackjack; rolling dice; picking cards out of your opponent’s hand hoping for Aces (but getting popped with Jokers); messing around with your discard pile trying to get the effects you want; drawing from the bottom of your deck; etc. This stuff all makes me smile.
- If you are all set up late game you can really get a crazy momentum swing with the various abilities going off in sequence. This can lead to great, daft wins. But it can also go spectacularly wrong at the last moment, which brings lols.
Playing Lum demands that you think a lot about what you are doing with your hand, deck and discard, so he lends himself well to a valuation based style. This isn’t necessarily more fun or less fun, just worth noting.
Second favourite character: 
If Lum is all about navigating through your cards and quirky abilities, then Zane is mostly the opposite. Instead of having to constantly think about hand management and setting yourself up for future success you can focus more on beating whatever it is your opponent is trying to do. You do still have to manage your hand a bit, but it’s not an all consuming focus like with lots of other characters.
I’ve gone on long enough already, so I’ll keep this short. Fun Zane things: Advantage time from opponent KD and keeping that going by pressing the advantage. Trying to figure out your opponent’s range and exploiting it (you can do this more often because Zane has so many good tools). Clashing with or undercutting your opponent’s DP and taking 50 off their life bar. Rushing down your opponent because they have a weak hand. Shelling up when they expect a rush down and they can’t bring themselves to throw you.
All in all, playing Zane feels like a powerful, reckless joyride. It’s as close as I’ll ever get to being in a motorcycle gang.
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I’ve heard it said that Grave was the balance benchmark, that every character was first balanced with respect to him. So, supposedly, that’s why he has such an even spread of match-ups.
He’s probably my third favourite character. He’s really flexible in terms of play style which leaves a lot of room for personal style. I like that.
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My favourite character to play from a pure gameplay perspective is probably Quince, for a lot of the same reasons that @migohunter pointed out. Because of his slow attacks, he genuinely feels a lot like a grappler to pilot, and then his vortex is so interesting to play. If Quince shows up in a match, no matter which side of the fight he ends up on, I’m having a good time.
My favourite character to play in tournament is definitely Troq. He’s the only grappler who’s attacks you need to respect from turn 1 to turn 54, which also means he has the most effective throws of any grappler. His card distribution is also the best, and combined with his face cards, it means he has the most consistent opening hands of the grapplers, to say nothing of the rest of the Yomi cast. He has the 2nd highest HP in the cast, and hand destruction to punish bad draws or errors of over-extension.
Put it all together and you have a character who is both the absolute ideal for risk minimal play and has immense burst damage. Troq gets to play Yomi from T1, and only gets better if he gets to play Drawzo.
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I remember the days when Rook was the guy everybody talked about. How much fun they had with him. How hype 4 Aces applied to the face was. How gribbles were the thing to do.
Now it’s all about Troq…
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wampuh has returned to carry the Rook torch. All I ever accomplished with Rook was to bring down Djister’s winrate.