I figured since I have a friend who uses Cervantes, I could post some vids here of good crevy players and my thoughts about their gameplay. I'll probably do this for other characters as well, like Raph(steffan) and mitsu (tyler). I'll try to find some against NM too so you guys could see some anti-nightmare strats.

I'll post some stuff like GI mixup for characters, and other general stuff if I can think of any before the videos. For the GI mixup game for characters you should keep this in mind for what you use. The fast one must come out during the 20 frame window if they don't re-GI right away. For the slow option, you should restrict it to moves that are safe on block. Also keep in mind what moves will ring out or leave you in another good mixup.

Soul calibur IV 101:

Numerical Conventions

7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3

translates to:

u/b u u/f
b n f
d/b d d/f

Or written out fully:
up-back, up, up-forward
back, neutral, forward
down-back, down, down-forward

Hint: Look at your numberpad on your computer keyboard.
Regardless of what side you play on (1p or 2p), 6 is always forward, and 4 is always back. Some more examples:
236 = QCF (quarter circle forward)
214 = QCB (quarter circle back)
63214 = HCB (half circle back)

Buttons

A: A horizontal attack.
B: A vertical attack.
K: A kick attack.
G: A guard.
Any: Any button can be pressed.
[any]: Hold down the button/direction.
_: Or. (B_A, meaning you can press B or A)
+: And. (B+G, meaning you have to press B and G together)
~/aB/bK/kB/bA/kA/aK: Any lowercase letter followed by a uppercase letter is a Slide input or input button immediately after. Input the buttons faster and in smooth conjunction. There are different timings for different slide inputs.
: : Just Frame input. (A:B - means B is input at the next frame)

General Notation:

NC: Natural Combo.
NCC: Natural Combo on Counter.
GC/GB: Guard Crush/Guard Break
BT: Back Turned.
FC: Fully crouched.
iFC: Instant Full Crouch.
WR: While Rising up (WS is also a generally accepted notation, I'll use them interchangeably)
iWR: Instant While Rising.
JF: Just Frame.
GI: Guard Impact.
KND: Knockdown.
TC: Tech Crouch.
TJ: Tech Jump.
AC: Air Control.

Guard Impacts

GI = Guard Impact (6G, 4G, 1G or 3G)
1G = Parry (mid/low)
4G = Parry (mid/high)
3G = Repel (mid/low)
6G = Repel (mid/high)
JI = Just Impact (otherwise known as perfect GI)

Stuns: When a stun occurs on a character yellow lightning covers the characters body. Stuns that are shakable always leave your character standing after the stun ends. The stun can be broken out of with 5 non-diagonal (not 13579) directional inputs.

You should note that, for some stuns that can be broken out of doesn't necessarily mean that there is no combo afterwards. For example you cannot break out of Zasalamel's 6AB (stun) > BT B+K. Some moves are always guaranteed.

Tech(thanks to Kowtow, ojste, and Jaytech):

Tech is just getting up quicker when you get knocked down, time it as you hit the ground.

Wall tech is gone(from SCII), but to tech off the ground simply hit guard, and the direction you want to tech in. Guard alone will make you tech straight up, back will tech farther backwards, left and right will move you that way, and leave you in crouch for a very short period.

As far as when to use it, depends on the situation. A lot of characters have some "tech traps" which are situations where they can get in extra hits if you tech in the wrong direction. Most of this can be found in the specific soul arenas, but actually putting it to use in your defensive game will just take experience. Basically if you tech, and get hit, next time you get knocked down in that same way, don't tech or tech a different direction.

the most effective time to tech is when it will avoid damage that would of hit you had you stayed on the ground, but like kowtow said you have to be careful of tech traps as certain characters have specific moves, which can be used to hit you whilst you're teching.

you basically need to learn what your options are in different situations and decide for yourself and if its a 50/50 situation then you just gotta guess.

Schneider: Also, I'd like to add that in SCIII a "Just tech" was added to the game, which occurs when your juggled and are slammed back down to the ground. By pressing G as you hit the ground you can avoid follow up damage.

Also, because damage scaling can damper stun combos alot in SCIV, a tech trap will reset the damage scaling.


Thanks to http://www.8wayrun.com/f6/newbie-silencer-t76/ for most of the info here.

I'm gonna have a separate post for each character I do to keep the info a bit more neat and organized. I'll try to find informative videos and such to help anyone interested in learning a character.

Edit:August 03, 2009
Added general notation and note about posting combo videos and such

Edit 2: August 25, 2009
Finished adding videos and character strategies for most played characters in scene.

Edit 3: February 16, 2010
Added some posts for Karel and Graeme.

Cervantes

Post-GI mixup (fast option first)
3B > 8A+K > iGDR 28B (67-85)
4[A] > 2A+B > WS A > 4KK (66)

Good combo video(turn on captions for notation):
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/fzTtOiTt6Zg&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/fzTtOiTt6Zg&rel=0</a>

-WS A > 3A+B > 2B+K has the best raw damage, but will not work if the WS A his at a distance Eg: 4[A] > 2A+B > WS A > 3A+B misses. Use 4KK after WS A for wall combos and big damage. Use 3A+B as the ender on open ground, until you feel comfortable applying BT mixups after using moves like 4BK (leaves you at neutral frames), aK (+5 advantage)

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ygVLkNhbWto&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/ygVLkNhbWto&rel=0</a>

-5:31 that is manly right there. bK air-hit into b2 AT is hot Tongue
 -Also about that kick, seems to have a good Tech jump, and knocksdown on NH
-after iGDR, franman uses 22B > 8A+K > 2B+K. Its easier only a few pts less damage than the harder iGDR > 22B > 8A+K > iGDR 28B combo
-aB quick, easy punishing tool, but leaves you at disadvantage on hit, keep that in mind
-good GI game, mixing up with: crouch throw, 3B, GDR(saw in other vid) however it is unsafe on block so don't use it that much
-use 44B after low disadvantage moves, like block 2K/1K can help you avoid quick responses like 2As
 -Also I think it is useful to use against NM's post 2A+B soul charge mixup

-Keep in mind that Crevy is a techincal/flashy character, but its not necessary to use all of his just frame moves to be effective. Use what your consistent with in execution during tourney play.

Cervantes Soul Arena on 8wayrun: http://www.8wayrun.com/f26/

Alright now to give some love to our mitsurgi players. I'm not that knowledgeable about characters besides NM, zas, and Cervy. So I'll mostly be posting what I can gather in good videos.

Mitsurgi

Post-GI mixup (delay to counter re-GI)
A+B[6] 33B (75)

Mitsu wall combos:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/aasZu4ij_Qc&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/aasZu4ij_Qc&rel=0</a>

-This should give you a good idea of what moves will combo and stun into eachother. Here's the combo list topic on 8wayrun managed by Belial, the creator of these two vids.
http://www.8wayrun.com/f33/mitsu-combos-t149/

Mitsu tech traps:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2SYnkWxKEn0&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/2SYnkWxKEn0&rel=0</a>

-Pretty scary stuff here. I didn't know Mitsu had so many techtraps. Its a guessing game between you and your opponent as always. Make sure to mix it up.
http://www.8wayrun.com/f33/mitsu-tech-traps-t150/

Belial's youtube channel is here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BelialRus

He's got a bunch of videos on how to counter some characters.

Also the same video by KnightSpirit (Simon of the Hong Kong Soul calibur group). which I posted shortly after FFTF2 iirc.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/oeDmJjvDTCo&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/oeDmJjvDTCo&rel=0</a>

Shows alot of application of stances, and his Auto-Gi moves. Definitly worth a look to remind you of some of the things he can do.

Go here of course to ask questions and learn new stuff in the 8wayrun soul arenas.
http://www.8wayrun.com/f33/

Alright, I'm gonna post some stuff for Steffan's Raph now

Raphael

Post-GI mixup (fast option first)
33K:B (46)
4[ B ] Prep A 3[ B ] Prep BBB:B (60)

Raph just frames:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/0jwBdQhIq3U&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/0jwBdQhIq3U&rel=0</a>

Alot of them are on impact type just frames.

Raph combo vid, ignore the juggles:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/RrSmvSJLyPI&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/RrSmvSJLyPI&rel=0</a>

Also note that some stuns are shakeable, generally only Prep A > 3[ B ] > Prep BBB:B is guaranteed from what I've seen in videos.

These are strategies directly copy and pasted from me and a friend's msn convo lol.

General strategies:

*raph you do 3[ B ] then mixup
*doing either A or 2[ B ]
*3[ B ] goes to prep...press A does prep A frametrap move
*press 2 [ b ] he'll go to SEA stance and do a mid stab that's + on guard and goes to prep again
*so after 2[ b ] is blocked you do the same thing you do from 3[ B ]
or do 3[ B ] > wait till prep ends throw
*or the sea B (the 2[ B ] from prep) into throw

*poke with AB and B
*BB
*do a lot of single A and single B
*into BB
*AB
*another single A or B
*2K
*etc
*basically be an annoying fag


*anti step is 2A, WS A, and 66A (far range only)

4B is good, with a good TC, hits high though. Can lead into 4[ B ] Prep A 3[ B ] Prep BBB:B for 60 damage.

Also because Steffan likes 44B, I asked him for some info about it.

*it TCs a bit, auto GIs low weapon attacks, retreats (duh), safe on block, kinda retracks sometimes

I also want to mention for the vampire throw (B+K A_B+G), mash buttons and the stick inorder to gain back health.

Raphael Soul Arena on 8wayrun: http://www.8wayrun.com/f35/

Update  Raph Guide on 8wayrun soul arena now!!

http://www.8wayrun.com/f35/win-until-your-opponet-stepz-raph-guide-t6177/

Very nice and clean format

Well that's it for tips and strategies that I've got.  I was hoping to put more info even for the people that don't really play Soulcalibur, but after TST I'll just get stuff for those that have an interest in the game, and get stuff for their characters.

That's all from me.

Ok so there's been some new CASUAL (keyword CASUAL) interest in SCIV again. So instead of doing my uni assignments and studying I'm gonna go help Karel and Graeme get started on the right foot for Lizzy and Asta.

First off I'll knock off Astaroth guidelines because more people play him and there's nice helpful videos made about his combos and tactics (sorry Graeme :[ ).

Astaroth:

Post-GI mixup (fast option first)
66B (45), command throws
22B4 2:8B+G (95)

Generally from what I understand of Astaroth you want to pressure me with your bullrush (66K) and mids (4B) These are safe and get you close to the opponent so you can apply your throws. 66K has a very good tech crouch as well so use it when your expecting a high which will teach me to not abuse Aga with NM so much >_>

You have the biggest throw range tied Rock iirc. So its not a bad idea to use the throws as punishers. Also if you use alot of spacing to keep your distance you can use moves like A+B to ring out and stop run ins. Also due to the range and pushback you should be fairly safe.

In regards to his command throw JFs, all of them you need to press the last motion 4 (in 63214:B_A+G) or 8 (in 28:B+G) with the grab button press they give you more damage and I think a shorter break window iirc. Just don't become too predicable because some characters (NM) have very good WR punishers. Some players have been able to see the JF flash and duck on reaction and punish you. Just get consistent using the command grabs since:

Four consecutive non JF A command throws = End of Round.
Four consecutive non JF B command throws into either 22_88B or 28B+G = End of Round.

The general idea can be seen in this video. Saitoh from france plays a very simple and mind game orientated Astaroth. Also if you note at 1:30 you'll see that Saitoh punishes a low with a crouch throw. Its a good tactic to use imo.

Saitoh vs Malek
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8qG23lOwTYs&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/8qG23lOwTYs&rel=0</a>
Keev vs Saitoh
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wWym6rjJlG8&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/wWym6rjJlG8&rel=0</a>

Here's some other videos for some tactics by another player and combo videos.

Astaroth strategies:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/FaQjdd5x80Q&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/FaQjdd5x80Q&rel=0</a>

Astaroth combo vids:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/OYIx1xL7iKg&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/OYIx1xL7iKg&rel=0</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/kz-iyCHnTeU&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/kz-iyCHnTeU&rel=0</a>
Ashelotte uses the same moveset as Astaroth, she's just a palette swap.

Anyways that's all I can say right now. He isn't a complicated character to learn and you can easily exploit people who fail to throw break (me) or be a jerk and hit them with 5 bullrushes in a row


Astaroth soul arena on 8wayrun:
http://www.8wayrun.com/f24/

Lizardman time =D

Post-GI mixup (fast option first)
3B 33A+B (66)
11B G 6[K] 66B (80)

All i can say is his GI game is stronger than mine ;_;

Generally because I don't know LM very much I think its best to go to this thread to get a general idea of what to do. Its got some very informative posts imo.
http://www.8wayrun.com/f31/brand-new-to-lizzy-would-like-input-t3932/

I'd be weary of going into crawl if an opponent has crouch throws (Astaroth >_>) but it should be useful i think against me when I'm predictable with my highs.

Sorry I don't have much more to say Graeme, just remember one thing......





oh and use the 44K attack throw, its manly and you can use it as an excuse to yell out CHOMG when he does it


Moving on..... Here's some high calibur players for Lizardman... I think not many play him so I don't know all I know is their good players. Try to search for either Oof or Vicious on youtube for more lizardman vids.

Vicious Suicide (Lizardman) Vs Kura (Talim, Kilik)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICWMCzLOw-c
OOFMATIC (Lizardman) Vs. Rigel (Cass)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zaCdxzgiD4


Lizardman Soul Arena on 8wayrun:
http://www.8wayrun.com/f31/