Like Cassandra, Ivy appears to be one of the few characters in the game who can take advantage of just about any style of offense, but does not excel at any one thing specifically. Some would say her greatest advantage is in the long range, which is very impressive as she can whip and stab opponents from a very safe distance. Sticking exclusively to the long range game, however, is only taking advantage of a fraction of her abilities.
Ivy can easily grace herself into medium range to knock opponents around and she can even handle the short game with a list of straight sword moves. The one constant in any range you put her in is a need to sustain and control the spacing over your opponent. This may sound true for all characters, but Ivy seems to be someone who is either dominating or else someone else is dominating her. You need to find your opponent's weakest range and try to hold them there. If you can't, the fight can easily become a nightmare, especially if you can't shove back and control a good Taki or you're allowing Kilik to trade blows with you in the medium to long range game. She has the tools to counter most offenses; you just need to utilize the correct one for the correct job.
Biting Raven into Whip State is just one of several moves Ivy has that allows for a nice smooth transition into a whip stance while slightly disorienting the opponent. Some of her better versions of normal sword attacks that "snag" opponents and put Ivy into a whip state are Insanity Light (6, 6, A+B) and Dancing Insanity (8WR-4, hold A).
Ancient Wheels provides Ivy with a nice, medium to short range low attack that is great for either mixing in a couple of non high/mid attacks or tacking on a little extra damage by punishing a grounded opponent. Some might say there are better tools for the job, but Ancient Wheels is definitely a personal favorite.
God Whisper seems to come in handy for shoving opponents back or getting in a nice close chain that mixes up mid and low height ranges. Some of Ivy's simpler moves, such as a normal Biting Raven (A, A), Cross Madness (3, A), and Immortal Gale are good if you absolutely have to trade blows with someone in your face.
Click here to see all of Ivy's moves
