Well,
This is the way I see it. I'm sure plenty will disagree with me; I can totally understand. I have about three or four characters I play (for the most part) so maybe I'm a little biased in some areas.
Regardless, here's what I think:
[-1-] KABAL
- Pretty easy to see he's in a league of his own. Yeah, Jax and Kung Lao (particularly) certainly can give him a hard time but he has every tool in the world assuming you can play him at a high level. He has the safest "pseudo teleport" in the game with the NMD/cancels, a pretty simple F+4 to end your combos with standing resets to start pressuring all over again, a pretty great projectile game (iaGBs) and one of the best moves in the game in eX Nomad Dash (for it's armor). -
[-2-] SONYA
- Sure she's got a few bad matchups but they're completely within reason to deal with. -
[-3-] KUNG LAO
- Between Kung Lao and Sonya; it's sort of a 2a/2b situation but there should be no argument here. Through all the patches and hot-fixes, Kung Lao has retained his game-changing ability.
[-4-] KITANA
- Really solid zoning tools (40%+ off one iaFT) and some great rush-down tools. She does lack some good wake-up options but they're not even close to the worst. -
[-5-] KENSHI
- An armored zoning tank of a character. Just dirty from every aspect that you could possibly look at him from. Underrated rush-down and so many solid tools. -
[-6-] JOHNNY CAGE
- You can laugh all you want and say "well he's got soo many bad MUs;" that's fine. He still has top-three comeback potential and some of the best rush-down in the game. -
[-7-] SMOKE
- Somewhat deserving to be a little higher but I can't justify it other than the fact that he has a high damage reset (80%+) yet has every tool in the world to play keep away and frustrate you into making stupid mistakes. His lack of low options will get him destroyed and he isn't much for mixing it up but he -- like Cage -- has some of the best comeback potential in the game in any match. -
[-8-] JAX
- Great armor, decent pressure/mix-up game and one of the dirtiest corner resets in the game. Simply put Jax is the definition of "tank" in the right hands. Did I mention his low hit-box, as well? -
[-9-] SINDEL
- Honestly, I would never put Sindel this high had it not be for her Levitate cancels which can be used as a pressuring tool to not only compliment her already great zoning but to completely mind-f-ck your opponent into guessing games/situations. Laugh all you want -- I'm telling you she belongs. -
[-10-] MILEENA
- This is when the list sort of levels off and becomes a little more blurry. Yeah, Mileena has some very unsafe specials but if used correctly can be a severe problem for pretty much the whole case. Her 50/50 game is pretty solid and the simple fact you can't jump against her (at all) sets her apart from those below her on this list. -
[-11-] FREDDY KRUEGER
- I wanted to put him a little higher but I've yet to see someone who uses him to his absolute fullest aside from M2Dave; so maybe that's not really fair but I'm not huge on his rush-down despite his extremely powerful 50/50 game. In my opinion, his zoning and ability to trap you and keep you away puts him nearly on Smoke's level -- the only difference I could see is that Smoke has better rush-down but it's a lot closer than this list leads you to believe. -
[-12-] SHANG TSUNG
- One of the most underrated characters in the game. Make no mistake, his wake-up game flat out sucks but that's rubbish when you consider the fact he has unbreakable combos, great footsies and scary comeback potential because of one of the most deadly (and cool) specials in the game in Soul Steal which is +1 on block. If you can't justify Shang this high then I don't think you know the true potential of this character. -
[-13-] SKARLET
- I wanted to put Skarlet a little higher but I just don't think she's as good as some would stake the claim for her to be. Incredible rush-down, mix-ups and 50/50s -- all that without even mentioning some of the best chip damage combos, meter building potential, ways to get in, crazy super armor on Red Dash, cancels and her standing reset might be one of the scariest in the game. As I write this I'm sort of half-way thinking that I highly underrate this character. Shoutouts to aNinj and TureDimsky, they use this character in scary ways. -
[-14-] LIU KANG
- His rush-down has been up there from the very get-go however his lack of solid wake-up options really dictate his placement more than anything I can really make a solid argument for. Kang doesn't need meter, all he needs is you to let him get in on you and he'll take it from there with an absolute scary corner game and some of the best 50/50s and mix-ups on the entire roster. Nothing about him is flashy and (shout-out to Zyns for bringing this to my attention) the fact he can't combo-cancel into Dragon Stance puts a damper on some of what he can do but Liu Kang can dictate a match a lot better than the majority of the cast can. -
[-15-] CYRAX
- I just don't buy into Cyrax as much as everyone else does. Yeah, I struggle with him myself but nothing about the character really scares me if you know what you're getting into. Like any character there are those that can prove to you he should be a lot higher not because of his ridiculous resets but because he has so many options and unblockables that make you not touch your meter until you see that chest opening and a Sticky Bomb coming your way. Oh, and he's got a stupid Command Grab that can pressure you into making mistakes at the most crucial times. -
[-16-] RAIN
- All you need to know is his eX Roundhouse Kick is an absolute force. If there's any non-reset orientated character out there that should scare you with a full bar of meter -- it's Rain. His lack of great footsies holds him back significantly as does the fact that his only (pseudo) projectile does barely any chip damage (Lightning). His lack of low options can be crippling, especially online but Rain has so much going for him with his armor, RH cancel mindgames and Bubble reset that it's tough to ignore him. Oh, and you can do 42% without meter and close to 50% in the corner pretty easily. I think some will say this is too high but I really don't think so and I've mained him since his release. -
[-17-] SEKTOR
- The only reason why Sektor isn't higher on my list is because everything he has seems so risky. Sure, he's got some of the best anti-air options in the game but there's no real fear to this character because of his lack of a great overhead option. Don't get me wrong though, his rush-down is really underrated and his damage output can be flat out ridiculous but like Kabal he requires a ton of proper execution and experience to use at the highest level. -
[-18-] RAIDEN
- For so long I've hated this character for the simple fact that his Teleport rubbed me the wrong way but I just didn't know how to play him. As a Rain player it felt unfair to take away my best tools in this fight in the RH cancels and the armored Roundhouse Kick but nothing Raiden can do should really scare you -- in fact, I'd tell you he's all smoke and mirrors at all but except the highest levels of play (which would require a ton of experience believe it or not). You can make the argument he should be a little higher but I don't think by much. Obviously he's dangerous and changes the way you come at him but he's not nearly as scary as I and many others have led you to believe. -
[-19-] SCORPION
- Here's a character I really wanted to put higher but I just can't. Everything he has is relatively unsafe and can be punished but I guess that's the way it was meant to be with Scorpion. I don't want to under-estimate the "Vortex" because that alone makes him one of the most deadliest characters on the entire roster but if you approach this match-up how you would against a little lesser Johnny Cage or Cyrax then you should be fine. -
[-20-] SHEEVA
- So, so garbage! No, but seriously Sheeva gets a bad rep for some pretty simple reasons but I don't think most realize just how deadly this character can be. If GGA Jeremiah didn't give you a little taste of that at Final Round then I don't think you understand how tough she can be. Yeah, her normals are slow as are her combo start-ups but she has so much armor and can do so much damage that it's tough to ignore how good she can. I hope NRS realizes what they did to this character though by giving her armor on almost everything. -
[-21-] STRYKER
- Don't underestimate this guy. Yeah, he's kinda slow but his mix-ups and 50/50s can be lethal -- not to mention how solid his footsies are. At the highest level, Stryker can be a force but if you know how to play the match-up; you'll be able to see that nothing he can do is truly overwhelming. -
[-22-] QUAN CHI
- Essentially he has the Rune Trap and a bunch of other really punishable stuff. Some say he's cheesy, I think he's well designed just needed a little more love from the developers. He lacks a lot but can be scary in the right hands. He's one of those character that dictate your meter-usage but by no means should be viewed as any higher than this. -
[-23-] BARAKA
- Nothing about Baraka should scare you but you can't underestimate him either. His eX Blade Charge is solid and he's got the closest move to Kung Lao's Spin in the game that will deny jump-ins and crossovers but other than his corner game; nothing about this character really worries me too much. -
[-24-] REPTILE
- I don't expect anyone to agree with me here but that's fine, I just don't think he's all that great. The six-frame Elbow Dash is his best tool and his pressure game can force you to make some bad decisions but this is a character you know what's coming at you and if you know how to fight him; you should be okay. -
[-25-] ERMAC
- I love Ermac so much but he's not as great of a character as most of us had once believed. Ever since NRS handed out armor like candy, it has been tougher and tougher for Ermac to compete. Yeah, he's got some of the highest damage outputs in the game and some really solid anti-airs but there isn't a single thing he can do that should really scare you -- it's just about playing against him the right way. -
[-26-] KANO
- Another sad story of nerfs that somewhat destroyed the character. He's got good zoning and good anti-airs but not much else. Nothing about Kano is too much to handle. -
[-27-] SUB-ZERO
- The same that went for Kano goes for Subby and it's also a product of everyone learning what they can and cannot do against him. If you don't jump and play extremely cautiously trying to bait Sub's mistakes -- nothing about Sub can be scary unless you get in the corner. His corner game is his biggest plus, in my opinion and his eight-frame down+4 can be a burden but lets not try to oversell Subby -- he's nowhere near where he once was. He needed the armor and he needed the reset if you ask me. -
[-28-] NOOB SAIBOT
- Watching my brother main this character since MK9's release has helped me discover just how many flaws this character has. Yeah, he's got some nice tools but his eX moves are completely whack and are almost pointless. You make one mistake with Noob and it could be over. He doesn't have a ton of bad match-ups (not even Raiden, in my opinion only Reptile and Mileena) but he doesn't have any really favorable ones either. I don't hate Noob Saibot but I think he didn't get the proper attention he deserved. His zoning is a joke for the simple fact that if you can get around Shadow Tackles/Slides it's smooth sailing on-route to an easy win. He's a counter character and nothing more. -
[-29-] CYBER SUB ZERO
- Maybe I just haven't seen enough of CSZ but I just don't think he's very viable. His Ice Parry is great but you can just poke him out of it every time. I just don't see what he has that others don't. -
[-30-] NIGHTWOLF
- He's got a lot of good things but his downsides are pretty crippling if you ask me. Recently, I've seen some players do well with him but I just don't think people know the match-up. Nightwolf is not scary in any way shape or form and in my opinion is one of the most limited characters on the entire roster. -
[-31-] JADE
- Everything about Jade is unfortunate. Why does she need meter to link the Overhead Staff from B+2? Come to think of it; what the hell can she do without meter? I really wish I could say she was higher up for me but she's not. I will tell you I have an enormous amount of respect for those Jade-mainers out there -- mad love to you guys! -