Sin Kiske is coming back to Guilty Gear as part of Strive Season Pass 2. This was a surprise as I would have totally expected Slayer or That Man to be the picks at this point. I still hold that those two characters will make the roster (I now think it will be Slayer next and That Man rounding out the final pick). However, I also have thoughts on what we have in front of us. Simply put, as a player that mained Anji through the worst of the patches, Sin has me excited for a similar, but better character.
When I saw Sin eat during his introduction trailer, I thought we were getting his calorie meter (meater?) back from GGXrd where his moves would be less powerful if he didn't eat between attacks. Nope! Apparently his moves will come out the same. What eating affects in Guilty Gear Strive for Sin are buffs he can get on top of his regular stuff, and his Calorie Meter just builds back on its own. So what's the Calorie meter for? Follow-ups on his specials! If he has energy in his Calorie Meter, he can follow moves like Beak Driver and Hawk Baker with additional attacks. That means most of Sin's offensive moves can be considered rekkas.
Why does this matter? Well, it feels like Sin might be a stronger version of Anji, who has been struggling against most of the roster in Guilty Gear Strive tier lists. He has nearly everything that's appealing about Anji: a lunge with straight follow-up (Beak Driver), an overhead (Hoof Stomp), a strong-looking DP (Hawk Baker), and a low sweep (Elk Hunt). He even has Anji's misdirecting advance follow-up in Gazelle Step, except he can do it on any special. Additionally, his low sweep seems to have extreme low profile like Sol's Night Raid Vortex. That's a lot of good tools. And they even gave this monster a dive kick, why not?
If my theories are correct (and I'm not alone in them), then this could be the end of Anji play without any significant buffs to the muscley dancer. Anji has only gotten worse with patches and Sin looks significantly well-rounded. Sure, you have to let the Calorie Meter refill, but that feels like an incredibly small price to pay for the tools he has.
Sidenote, I really, really like that not only does Sin Kiske have his own version of Ky's Ride the Lightning, but now he also has his own Tyrant Rave. He's such an impressionable scamp and loves his two dad persons so much. Maybe he'll get a Gamma Ray in the next Guilty Gear to round out his parental figure inspirations. Looking forward to streaming this character soon, so stay tuned!!!
