Street Fighter 6’s revamped Blanka is not among the top picks of the main roster. However, his speedy moveset and surprising combos have been enough to keep him in the competition. Many professional Street Fighter 6 players actually believe that Blanka is a versatile mid-range brawler who can dominate grounded and airborne combat. The only catch is that he’s a punishable fighter that shines only when the player can avoid whiffs.

To help fans get the hang of Blanka, this guide offers a detailed strategy, a list of combos, and a bunch of expert tips that can pave the way to mastering Blanka.

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Strategies for Blanka

As a charge character, Blanka requires players to use a sporadic mix of pokes and dashes to confuse opponents and enhance Special Moves. The goal is to avoid whiffs and punishments while gaining space and time to charge. His strategy should remain movement and surprise-oriented, and he should capitalize on sneaky combos.

• Create Cross-Up setups with hops. Blanka’s Surprise Hop is a unique dash that shoots him behind the enemy. Use this move to get Cross-Up setups and punish whiffs.
• Check with standing/crouching MP. Blanka’s only two safe check & poke moves are standing and crouching medium punches. Throw them carefully for hit-confirms before combos.
• End with a slide, roll, or shock. Blanka has three main combination finishers: the Amazon River Run (slide), Rolling Attack, and Electric Thunder (shock). Utilize the first one to bridge the gap after a combo. Go for the second one to create distance. And conclude with the third one to frame-trap.
• Select the Blanka-Chan Doll effect by position. Depending on the charging method, the doll gets three unique attacks: rolling, bouncing, and leaping. Roll it to break stances; bounce it to get an anti-air; make it leap to knock back a cornered opponent.
• Keep the opponent guessing. Feint with the Coward Crouch and Backstep Rolling Attack. These moves trick the enemy into rushing an attack and making mistakes.

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Blanka’s Move List

Common moves aside, Blanka has 24 commands in his moveset. Of these, ten are Unique Attacks, eight are Special Moves, three are Super Arts, and the rest are Throws. The following is a comprehensive list of his moveset, along with their respective inputs.

Best Combos for Blanka

The optimal sequence for Blanka is push, follow, throw. After a hit-confirm, he must knock back the enemy with a pushback Unique Attack, chase them with a hop, dash, or Drive Rush, and finish them off with a rolling attack or a command grab.

Because Blanka’s standing and crouching mediums link to his Specials, it’s also a good idea to prioritize ground-to-air combinations that end with the Vertical Rolling Attack into Super Art Level 1 or 3.

Beginner: Mediums into Specials Combo

A foolproof combo for Blanka is a jumping medium kick, followed by a crouching medium kick into a Special Move. Using the Vertical Rolling Attack as the Special Move is recommended because the last normal in this sequence is a low attack. In other words, this move will automatically charge and be ready to use without needing to hold any buttons.

Intermediate: Standing Heavies and Lights into the Electric Thunder Combo

After a few crouching pokes, players can execute a standing combination of light and heavy attacks. To begin, they should land a standing heavy kick and light punch, followed by a Drive Rush into a standing light punch, heavy punch, and light punch before finishing off with a quarter-circle-back punch-punch (an Overdrive Electric Thunder).

Advanced: Heavy Attacks into Level 3 Super Art Combo

For a 6,000-dmg combo, players should devastate the opponent with heavy punches and kicks after a punish counter. The combo should begin with a counter-hit standing heavy kick, followed by a standing light punch into a Drive Rush, and conclude with a standing light punch, heavy kick, and light punch into a double quarter-circle forward kick.

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Pros and Cons of Playing as Blanka

Despite being a C-tier character, Blanka is a deadly mind-range fighter. His strengths include mobility, unpredictability, and aggression. However, he is also prone to whiffing and getting punished, especially when the opponent can read his moves and has basic matchup knowledge.

Pros

• Above-average movement speed.
• Unique dashes and surprise hops.
• Seamless checks into attacks.
• Hard-to-counter buff.
• Mid-range versatility.
• Practical projectile.

Cons

• Whiff vulnerability.
• Interruptible combos.
• Inconsistent pokes.
• Long recoveries.

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Tips for Winning with Blanka

To succeed with Blanka, players must be mindful of their timing and speed. As many of Blanka's regular attacks can leave him open to counterattacks, it is important to consider the frame advantages/disadvantages and utilize strategic footwork to minimize vulnerability.

Here are four more advanced tips for players seeking to main Blanka:

Hop After Each Combo

Because Blanka’s combo finishers are pushback-heavy, players are recommended to link chained attacks with hops. A leaping maneuver, a dash, or a Drive Rush can bridge the gaps and allow for Okizeme, but beware that the enemy might do backward recoveries and plan counterattacks once they read this strategy.

Feint with the Coward Crouch

Like Chun-Li, Blanka has a unique crouching stance that gives him two follow-up attacks, but players can also treat this position as bait, encouraging the opponent to go airborne. Once they are in the air, Blanka can perform his Wild Lift, which is a surprise launching attack.

Connect Blanka-Chan Doll with Super Art Level 1

The Shout of Earth, Blanka’s first Super Art, is an electrical smash that can charge his projectiles uniquely. When a Blanka-Chan Doll is activated with this move, it leaps toward the enemy, often catching them off-guard. Combines these two attacks and hop toward the stunned enemy for a throw opportunity.

Use Super Art Level 2 to Cause a Burnout

The Lightning Beast buffs all attacks and enables Blanka to do Rolling Cannon from all rolling-type moves. With this buff, players can push a defensive opponent and drain their Drive Gaugewhile they’re blocking.

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How to Counter Blanka

Blanka’s effective range is short and is prone to whiff punishment. Therefore, the best counters for him are Ryu, Ken, and Manon, who can exploit his weakness. However, it’s also possible to counter a speed archetype like Blanka with long-range fighters like Dhalsim, as they can maintain distance.

When playing against Blanka, the key is to read his moves and counter his strategy. Blanka's slow startup and recovery leave him with no choice but to adopt a risky game plan. His opponent, therefore, should take advantage of this and focus on punishing his whiffs.

Street Fighter 6 is available now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.