Raphael's combination of speed and range afford him a good "first strike" offense. His moves are very quick and offer little visual warning, making it difficult for an opponent to guard impact or side step consistently. These same moves also have a nice medium range to them, giving Raphael a slightly safer distance then normal in order to jab at his opponents for an opening.
Raphael, like Nightmare and Voldo, also has some useful stance into stance moves, which add variety in height and timing in his offense. Variety in timing your offense is a concept to keep in mind while using Raphael, as he has the potential to keep opponents on their toes and control the pacing of the match.
Losing control of his medium range game, either by long range attacks, a short pressure offensive, or fighting someone who simply has better medium range tools is where Raphael seems to fall apart.
This is actually more of a five to six move recommendation in one. Aspiring Raphael players should at least commit a minimal amount of time to learning every incarnation of the Double Apple Cut and Triple Botta (6, B, B, B) because they are essentially different versions of a similar chain that can land you into a plethora of stance combinations (right off the bat you can attack, then land into Preparation two, Preparation three, Preparation four or Quick Parade which also lead into attacks that can end up in even more stances!!). Taking the time to get down all of these stance possibilities with this set of moves will make picking up stance transitions with Raphael's other moves a lot easier.
The two incarnations of Attack au Fer (A, A hitting high and A, 2, A ending low) and Moulinet (A, B or A, hold B into Preparation Four) are nice basic moves that come out quick and are perfect for tossing the occasional poke at your opponent. Raphael players should try to especially mix up between the high and low version of Attack au Fer, as he lacks a lot of quick attack strings that mixes between high/mid and mid/low.
Against grounded opponents, Pirouette Sweep is a great low move to consider. While the physical speed of the move is moderately fast, it seems to connect with fallen opponents a lot better than his other low attacks. Speaking of low attacks, Raphael players should also experiment with Grave Needle (1, B, B), Sweep Kick (2, K) and Heal Snipe (8WR-1 (or 7), A). Remember that Raphael is fairly limited in his low game, so try to mix these four moves in whenever the opponent is not opening up to his mid/high regiment.
Click here to see all of Raphael's moves
