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Heat Shield (ヒート・シールド) - originally known as Split! (割（わ）れろォ!) - is one of Krohnen McDougall's Special Moves in the King of Fighters series, first appearing alongside him in The King of Fighters 2001.

Input
All appearances
Z Input + Neo Geo A Button or Neo Geo C Button (EX OK OK, KOF XV only)

Description

When used by both K9999/Krohnen, he swings both of his arm downwards, creating an arching shield of flames.

The Neo Geo C Button version of K9999's Split! - where the opponent gets launched high on contact - would later be reinstated as Krohnen's EX OK Heat Shield following his return in KOF XV.

Yoizuki

Yoizuki

"斬（き）る！ (Cut!)"
—Nameless; Yoizuki (Neo Geo A Button ver.)

Nameless' version, Yoizuki (対空型（たいくうがた）抜手刀（ばっしゅとう）戦技（せんざ）・宵月（よいづき）; "Anti-Air Model Slipping-Hand-Blade War Art: Evening Moon"), is largely the same besides the use of his signature scarlet flames, and Nameless also instead flings his arm forward-and-overhead in an arc before he re-holsters his glove.

Strategy

"切（き）り裂（さ）く！ (Shred apart!)"
—Nameless; Yoizuki (Neo Geo C Button ver.)

As the name might suggest, this is a very useful counter to most ranged projectiles in the game - whether they travel on the ground (like Iori's Yami Barai or B. Jenet's Baffrass) or normally in the air (such as King's Venom Strike or Robert's Ryuu-Geki Ken). This move simply dissipates them and effectively serves as free meter for Krohnen since this move builds plenty of it. Whether on whiff or after absorbing a projectile.

The Neo Geo A Button version acts as a reasonably fast anti-air, and can even hit behind K9999, making it a good cross-up tool. The Neo Geo C Button version, while slow, has invincibility on start-

It's also not half bad against projectile-based pokes like Benimaru's Raijinken or the Sakazakis' Ko-Ou Ken, either, since the Neo Geo A Button version is fast enough to beat them both out at neutral range.

The move's best trait, however, isn't what's described above, but rather the abundance of invincibility frames that it has, being one of the easiest anti-airs to throw out in the entire game, moreso than others like the Rising Tackle or Nivose, since Krohnen mostly stays put during the animation and the move has very solid range both in front of and above Krohnen. As a result, Krohnen can also use this to escape pressure due to the very fast startup.

The EX OK version also deserves a mention since in addition to sporting the above, it also launches the opponent upwards, allowing Krohnen to juggle the opponent anywhere on the screen and follow up with another Heat Shield into a Special Cancel for massive amounts of damage. The move's damage potential is especially deadly in the corner, since Krohnen can easily follow up with it after a Neo Geo B Button Strike Slash on hit.

In the 1.32 Patch for KOF XV, the move's properties have changed on hit. The Neo Geo A Button version now knocks the opponent in an upwards arc, making it easier to follow up with a MAX Fusion Blaster while the Neo Geo C Button and EX OK versions move Krohnen closer to the opponent for easier combos.

Trivia