Hey, my name is Koenji! I'm a Tekken player who primarily plays regionally in the UK. In Tekken 8, I play primarily Miary, Azucena, and Kunimitsu, but I also dabble in a lot of the roster.
Miary is an interesting character to play, and unlike other characters, I feel like she really allows you to tap into your own identity for how you want to play her and how you want to play Tekken in general.
I hope this written guide serves you well on your journey playing this character, and you can craft the style that you ultimately enjoy!
Introduction
Miary is a versatile character that can be played in a variety of different ways. For beginners, she's a great starting point for learning how to play Tekken 8 as she has all the tools necessary for a well-rounded character. For immediate and advanced players, she allows you to express the aspects of your playstyle that you're most comfortable with in Tekken, whilst allowing you to experiment with others on the fly.
In neutral, Miary's gifted with an assortment of poking tools to deal with opponents up close or far away in aggressive or defensive manners. If aggression is your weapon of choice, you can utilise Morengy to pressure your opponent from several different strings like df4~f or b2,3~f. If defense is your passion, you can employ spacing traps with WR.2,1 or df4, giving you the perfect opportunity to use your safe launcher (df2) to punish retaliations.
Miary can just about do it all, allowing her to ultimately play the game your way, and for players that are looking for more advanced things, there are a lot of opportunities to perform harder combos that involve cancelling her Morengy or maximising other aspects of her. But she’s not all perfect, with her weaknesses becoming more evident when she has to play on the back foot.
Strengths
Heat increases the strength behind Miary’s poking ability, giving her more damage behind some of her best tools H.f,f+2,2, H.uf3,2 and H.u3,2.
Very good at controlling space. With buttons df2 and df4, Miary can deploy a playstyle that easily makes her opponent second-guess themselves.
Has a unique affinity with stages unlike any other character in the game, she can steer her opponent towards nearby walls (f4,2), her generics and command throw (uf1+2) can break floors and walls respectively, and her ub1 allows her to reverse the position of the opponent.
Weaknesses
Miary is paired with one of the worst backdashes in the game, which can hinder her ability to create space in situations other characters can.
BAO stance is one of the weaker stances in the game, with the opponent having options to interrupt the stance even in situations where it would be relatively safe for you to continue pushing some form of pressure, for example, after transitioning into stance on hit, or after a blocked heat smash.
Although equipped with relatively safe and strong neutral tools, she can struggle at times due to her main options being too slow (WR.3), extremely linear (Uf3), or very short (b2,3). This problem is exemplified when she’s the one having to initiate her offense against a passive opponent.
Heat System
Activating heat with Miary gives her access to additional moves H.uf+3,2 and H.u+3,2.
Miary's Fighting God moves (f+4,2, f,f+2) are also buffed to do additional damage whilst having better properties.
Additionally, Miary gains a buff to Tromba (b+3+4, u+3+4, d+3+4), which allows her to enter her wall stick stance without the presence of a wall.
Miary's 1 jab is your average jab on block and hit, but is paired with some solid string options. 1,1,2 is her go-to 10 frame punish that transitions her into Morengy (MOR). If you get 1,1,2 near the wall, the opponent will stagger themselves against it, giving you the option to follow up with guaranteed MOR options. 1,2 can also be used aggressively with 1,2,2 to wall splat your opponent on counter hit.1,2,2 can be ducked or stepped to the right, leaving you in a punishable state, but you can train your 1,2,2 profiency in a way where you only finish the string if your confirmed that your opponent got hit by the initial jab on counter hit. This is referred to as a situation confirm, and Miary has a handful of options you can situation confirm.
Your go-to mid check, alongside being a solid poking option, df1 is equipped with df1,1, a hefty extension that is one of her key transition options into MOR. df1,4 is a jumping knee that can be used as a counter hit trap for opponents that want to challenge df1.
A generic safe launcher that doesn’t launch crouchers, having a safe df2 in this game is very strong and Miary's is no exception, df2 can be used aggressively against opponents on immediate timing to fish for a safe counter hit attempt, or it can be used defensively as a standing whiff punisher or after df+4 or WR.2,1 with her space controlling options complement a lot of her space-control tools allowing for it to be used defensively.
A safe, multi-hitting move that’s similar to Jin’s demon paw, the safety behind the move makes it a great approach option and can be used as a free wallsplat attempt if your opponent's back is against the wall. With heat, the strength of this move is amplified along with the distance that it’s able to wall-splat.
A potential contender for one of the best poking lows in the game, almost hits at range 3, cannot be low parried, and on counter hit, it allows Miary to freely push pressure. The only caveat with this low is that it's -14 OB, which allows some characters to launch it, so try not to heavily rely on it against characters that can launch it.
One of Miary's best moves in her whole kit, the move is a counter hit launcher and can transition into MOR by holding forward; the magic, however, with this move is when you don't transition into MOR, df+4 will naturally create a gap between you and your opponent, which allows you to punish any punish attempt from your opponent with df+2. df+4 is also a knee-striking attack, which makes this move extremely powerful against specific characters like Asuka or Jun.
A jumping mid that advances Miary forward, allowing her to further push her pressure at an advantage (+4) from crouching. On hit, it allows for Miary to combo into ws1,4, which is a heat engager. u1+2 is extremely strong at the wall, with ws1,4 providing a wall splat into a damaging combo.
A jumping tail swipe that's safe on block. This move is severely underrated and arguably one of Miary’s best moves in her toolkit even after being nerfed in Season 3. On hit, it provides massive frame advantage (+27), allowing you to perform WR.3 or f+3 into MOR.2 for free. On counter hit, it knocks down for a free d+1+2 follow-up or wallsplats if done near a wall for a full combo. In heat, Miary can do H.u+3,2, which will grant a similar knockdown or splat situation to what she gets on counter hit; however, unlike other counter hits that grant her a free d+1+2, this situation is a bit scarier as running up to perform d+1+2 will naturally hit at a timing that will trap your opponents wake up attacks whilst still beating their recovery options. Furthermore, u+3 also tracks opponents’ stepping or moving to the left, which is considered Miary’s weaker side. If you're aiming to play Miary more aggressively, you should be utilising this move a lot in your neutral.
A fast, double-hitting high that is jailing, preventing the opponent from ducking after blocking the first hit. You can also transition into MOR after the second hit. On hit, Miary is at the same amount of advantage as you would be after connecting 1,1,2. On block however, Miary is extremely minus. If done on block, you should ideally cancel out of MOR with db. Despite this, b2,3 is an amazing check in neutral, in addition to being a great option to lock down your opponent's movement.
A safe go to double mid check. On the surface, 3,1 can seem unassuming. On hit, you barely have any advantage (+1), and it’s punishable on block (-10). 3,1 however, can transition into Morengy, which turns this basic poke into a gateway for starting your aggression. If it connects, you can continue your MOR pressure, and on block, you cancel it with db to remain safe. To disincentivize your opponent from pressing into MOR, you can perform 3,1,2, which will wall splat opponents.
A safe, swiping kick from her pole that has strong tracking properties against opponents trying to move left, whilst having slight jumping properties. On counter hit, b+4 will knockdown for a free follow-up with d+1+2. In neutral, you can use this as more of an alternative to f,f+2 if you're piloting Miary in a way that focuses on space control, as this move will give you opportunities where you can backdash out of it and create whiffs. It’s worth keeping in mind that if you do use this in neutral, you can be floated by a jab as you're considered airborne.
Miary’s ogre horn flip, a strong launcher you could rip out in neutral if you don't care about risk, but your mileage will vary in how useful that would be given that it's launch punishable. This move is primarily best used after specific grounded situations where the opponent is unable to get up and block. For example, connecting BAO.1,4 will allow you to run up and perform it for additional damage, and similar situations exist after u+3 and b+4 on counter hit.
A long-range punisher that flings Miary forward, instantly tornadoing her opponent. This move is very strong if you can hone in on using it for its specific block punish niches or even in whiff punish situations if you're confident in your abilities!
A spinning arm swipe that has strong tracking against opponents who are trying to step right against her. On block, this move leaves you advantageous (+3), and on hit, you’re given a free heat engager follow-up with 3,2.
A safe two-punch combo heat engager that can also be performed crouching with ws1+2. 1+2 is also relatively fast, allowing you to check into your opponent's defense. If it hits, you’ll be rewarded with a heat engager. On block you’ll remain safe. Additionally, if this attack is done with heat, 1+2 becomes a Heat Dash launcher.
A safe elbow that's performed out of Morengy. It tracks the opposite direction to MOR.1 and instantly tornados on counter hit. You can perform this after df+4~f or df+1,1~f on hit to beat rage art attempts.
A swift jab from her pole before cartwheeling down. On hit, the full string allows you to run up and get d+1+2 as a follow-up and if the opponent attempts to perform a wake up attack you'll launch them. BAO.1,4 can also wall splat for a lot of damage and it's one of the main ways for Miary to contest against her opponents attempting to interrupt BAO, beating both standing jabs, crouching jabs due to her remaining airborne and any slower attacks your opponent may use. Be careful being predictable with your usage of this move as BAO.1 by itself is a high that the opponent can duck and launch, and against specific matchups, the opponent can perform specific counterplay options to beat BAO.1.
A safe, chunky two-hit mid-heat engager that has Miary spin around her staff. On block, it pushes the opponent away from Miary back into a neutral situation. On hit with heat, it becomes a Heat Dash launcher. BAO.3 will lose to opponents pressing an option that comes out in less than 13F’s, which is the reason why opponents that are familiar with BAO after getting hit by 4,4 or WR.3 on block will retaliate with a jab. To use this move effectively, you need to make your opponent afraid of being hit by BAO.1 or make them want to duck.
A new variant of uf+1 that was introduced in Season 3 that will now reverse the side that Miary is on at the end of a combo. Although it might not seem like much, this move is underrated. The side switch can be used to put you in a favourable position, and it enables you to trigger floor mechanics in situations you normally would not be able to.
Miary's full crouch sweep. On clean hit, this knocks down into a guaranteed d+1+2. You can quickly access FC.df+4 by performing f+3, then cancelling it into db, and then doing the input.
A safe shoulder move that can be used as a follow-up after moves like f+2 on a successful parry or WR.2,1 if you do not transition into MOR. It's also a powerful block punishment against specific moves that can push Miary back, like Paul's deathfist.
A side-stepping, plus-on-block poking tool that can transition into MOR. It's plus whether or not you go into MOR, and similar to df+4, it is a counter hit launcher. However, unlike df+4, it's a lot slower and takes a lot more frames to come out. Stepping doesn't improve the tracking of this move either, with your opponent still being able to step it.
A unique move in Tekken that allows Miary to choose which direction she knocks away her opponent. By default, the knockback direction will be towards Miary's left. Inputting either down or up will change the knockback to the selected direction. f+4,2 is a great move as it allows you to splat your opponent onto walls that are parallel to you, and the knockback distance is ridiculous, allowing you to cleanly splat your opponent from far away, with distance being amplified in combos. If you're aiming to pilot Miary more aggressively, you can opt to use this move in neutral to safely pressure with its long-distance splatting capabilities. Attempting to do so is safe; it will shift your opponent towards your direction of choice even on block, and with heat, these attempts on block will also be accompanied with plus frames. If you're playing defensively, f+4,2 can be a safer whiff punisher tool to use in comparison to f+3+4,2 with the second hit being guaranteed even on normal hit.
If you're planning to play Miary aggressively, this move is your best friend. b+1,4 is string that will knockdown or wall splat opponents at 12 frames. The magic however with this move is on counter hit, where the move becomes an instant tornado.If you have your opponent's timing down this is one of her best counter hit options to use in neutral. I stress to use this move, if you have your opponent's timing, because not only this move punishable but the second hit can also be ducked.
A go-to whiff punisher to use in neutral that combines range with a decent speed (13 frames startup). The speed allows you to use this move to reliably whiff punish any mistakes that your opponent creates, and can be used aggressively to steal back your turn, with the follow-up having a small delay window that you can use to confirm if your opponent got hit by the initial 3. The second hit of 3,2 is a high that your opponent can duck even after blocking the 3.
A ballerina spin that keeps Miary in the air. On block, the move is safe, and with heat uf+3 gains an extension with H.uf3,2 that gives a wall splat and a handful of plus frames. Some players may opt to use the non-heat version in neutral, and you can if your overall aim is to pilot Miary more aggressively. Keep in mind that this is one of the few neutral moves in this game where there’s zero tracking if the first hit whiffs, leaving you in a very detrimental situation.
h,h,mi18~19 i9~10 i9~10-7 oB+6 oH
Stances
Morengy Miroso (MOR)
Morengy Miroso is Miary’s key pressure stance. She can transition into Morengy from key pokes (df+1,1, and b+2,3) and punishes (1,1,2,f). Miary can choose to further push offense with varying levels of risk, from a safe rising elbow that slips underneath strikes (MOR.2), to strong power lows that allow her to further push her offense (MOR.4,3 and H.MOR.4,3,1+2 with Heat). Inputting db during Morengy will allow her to safely cancel out of it.
Baobab Mihira (BAO)
Baobab Mihira provides more explosive mix-up options in comparison to Morengy. She can transition into Baobao from punishing opponents with 4,4, df1,4, or pressuring her opponents with WR.3. From her staff, she has a relatively fast jab to check opponents trying to press into it (BAO.1), a strong safe heat engager option (BAO.3), and a hellsweep that tornados airborne opponents (BAO.4). Unlike Morengy, Baobab is less suited for pressure, as the opponent is able to interact with it in every situation Miary puts them in. Because of this, Baobao is arguably one of the weakest stances in the game.
Miary will cancel her 10F punish into Morengy, Morengy crushes highs for the duration of the stance, which will make it so you're not able to punish her with a high. You can blow up punish attempts with MOR.2
A round ender string where Miary can choose uf2,4, which is a mid, or uf2,3, which is a low. Both of these moves do not hit on the same frame with uf2,4 hitting later than uf2,3. So you can effectively block both options by performing a crouching guard first, then performing a standing guard.
After uf+3 you can duck and retaliate with a launcher as your opponent might not be aware that the move is safe.
h,h,mi18~19 i9~10 i9~10-7 oB+6 oH
Defensive tips
Don't be afraid to interact with BAO
BAO's strengths rely on you losing your mental, the only two options you really need to have for it are a jab and a crouching guard. Crouching guard beats jab and the hellsweep. Floating with a jab beats every other option, and you can perform your counterplay options even after being hit with 4,4 or blocking HS.
Sidestep Left
Sidestep left is a good choice against Miary and will avoid a lot of her key moves, but you still have to keep an eye out for d+3 and u+3
Watch df+2 usage
Miary's df+2 is very good, but newer players may over-rely on it, leading to it being used in a predictable manner. Pay attention to how your opponent is using it, and you can try to backdash, SSR, or launch it.
When leading, let her come to you
Miary likes it when the opponent has to approach her. She doesn't enjoy it, however, when she has to come to you, so play close attention to when she's trying to approach you, create a wall between you and your opponent using counter hit tools and other options that your character has that are effective for keep-out.
The second hit is duckable. It's a multi-hitting attack, so you'll need to practice punishing this move correctly. This move can be mixed up with MOR.1,4 as well, so it's worth keeping that in mind. As a general tip, however, opt to duck first for the MOR.1,2 because the reward you get is better if your opponent does pick that option, additionally, getting hit by MOR.1,4 doesn't do that much damage (unless it's on counter hit)
The second hit is duckable, so you can duck and launch. Similar to MOR.1,2 Miary can opt to do df1,4, which is a mid extension that can counter hit you trying to punish, so keep that in mind.
Not only is this move punishable on block, but the second hit is a high, making it a risky whiff punish for Miary to use, if a Miary uses this incorrectly, duck and launch.
Key whiff punisher, the second hit is duckable, the Miary can mix this up with 3,1, but 3,1 is a jailing string, meaning you're able to freely duck for the 3,2 and you'll block 3,1 anyway.
This move is very powerful, but it also has a very big weakness. The initial hit of this move has minimal tracking, and the follow-up is one of only a few moves in the game to have zero tracking, meaning that if you step the initial kick in neutral, it's extremely rare for the follow-up to connect. Additionally, you can power crush in between the two hits to get back their turn.
miary-zo
