Terry

With great disjointed normals, a broad variety of target combos, and a set of well-rounded special moves, Terry's primary strengths are very similar to a standard shoto package with a few extra twists that make him particularly unique--his main goal is going for close-range pressure and spacing traps to either force errors out of the opponent or punish them for overextending in closer-range before going in and bringing home the big one.

Notable amongst Terry's normals are his medium buttons, as well as his 5HP. 5MP alone starts off several target combos, each of which have their own utilities--Power Drive knocks the opponent down on hit and pushes them back far enough for a spacing trap from another 5MP on block, Passing Sway lets him attempt to try a strike/throw mixup or a sideswitch on hit, and Power Shoot sets him up for a Power Dunk on a 5MP counter-hit. As a counterbalance, much more of his conversion potential is put on his 2MP, especially after a Drive Rush, due to its hitbox, speed, and hitstun; his 5MK and 2MK, by comparison, are among his longest buttons, with 2MK featuring a special-cancelable Target Combo in Fire Kick and 5MK serving as an excellent poke that links into his fast and punishing SA1, Buster Wolf, on counterhit. 5HP is a two-hit normal that serves as one of his primary setups for juggles from other special moves, as well as being a huge threat from Drive Rush.

As far as special moves go, Terry has his pick of several versatile ones. On the projectile front, Power Wave and Round Wave are a pair of unique fireballs with different use cases. LP Power Wave travels on the ground much like Juri's enhanced Saihasho does, enabling it to sneak under higher projectiles and hitboxes, while MP Power Wave loses a bit of range in exchange for clashing with regular fireballs and OD Power Wave is a multi-hit projectile that's great for pressure and approaches; Round Wave eschews a projectile entirely, keeping the fireball clash property, and serves as a fireball bait from further away and a powerful pressure and okizeme tool up close. Quick Burn and Burn Knuckle are similarly divided in use--whereas Quick Burn allows Terry to break open opponents at close range with minimal risk when properly spaced, Burn Knuckle is a fast gap-closer (especially when spaced for safety) and a great corner carry tool during juggles. Power Charge allows Terry to set up both loops and juggles from anywhere on screen depending on which version he uses, while Crack Shoot is an excellent low crush, even hopping over projectiles when the HK version is used; Rising Tackle rounds out his kit with a standard DP. Terry also has a unique SA2, Power Geyser--not only is it a powerful anti-air tool, it can be extended into Double Geyser by spending 3 Drive Bars, and spending an additional Super Gauge on top of that turns it into Triple Geyser, which can potentially do more damage than even using his standard SA3, Rising Fang.

The main drawbacks to playing as Terry mostly deal with the speed and range of some of his other normals and how they affect his gameplan. Because 2MP is the only medium normal that Terry has that's 6 frames, and due to the lighter hitstun on his 5LP and short range of his 2LP, some of Terry's conversions are either short or awkward without spending Drive Gauge, getting a counterhit, or otherwise staying at very specific positioning. Similarly, while his medium and heavy buttons are quite disjointed, it is very easy for Terry to find himself outmatched in a poking war if he is too careless with where he places them, since many of them are a bit slower by comparison to other moves. Lastly, Terry's damage potential is very high, but he is often highly dependent on Drive Gauge use for his longer confirms. His combos can be pretty tricky while also leaving him deprived of resources if he overspends, requiring players to spend a good amount of time optimizing combos before his potential really shines.

If you want a character who excels at close-mid range pokes, pressure, and punishes, and can crack open opponents with savvy street style, pick Terry and bust some wolves.