@Qwark The reason this MU is hard is because Sub can't keep Lao out and Lao out footsies sub. Sub can't pressure with 212, sub can't 2 1 4 ice clone because it's -24 and Lao can tele right back in for pressure. Lao can jump and and mix up with tele shenanigans on every character, it's not MU specific. The 1 in 2 1 is 11 frames, you only have 3 frames to execute your D4 and you have to worry about 6 different options if you're not neutral crouching bro.
actually that is not true, I asked somberness a long time ago and he also added it into the frame data, the 1 in 21 comes out at 23 frames. if it really came out in 11 frames kung lao wouldnt have to spin at all because he would have an 11 mid hitting string. if this were true, any time he blocked a d1/d3 he would get a free 21 and he would also get a free 21 if he hit you with a d3/d4 which is obviously not the case.
believe me I have tried everything to find a way to make kung lao compensate for him not having a mid, if there really was a way to make him have a ''mid'' he would already be better than kabal and kenshi.
im always gonna crouch block when youre in my face, im just never gonna crouch block when im reading a 21
this is what a character CAN do, matchups are not based on READS, otherwise i may as well just say im gonna crossup your tele 1 grab and punish spin all day but that aint sub specific.
stop taking reads into account, take into what can be done and while accounting risk/reward.
d4 and clone are still really great tools in this matchup, just because the clone can't trap kung lao doesnt mean he can't use it to occupy space, which makes f3 somewhat risky to use and dive kick cannot be randomly used like in a lot of matchups because the clone can occupy that space.
d4 is 8 frames which is great, but it doesnt matter whether it is 12 frames or 8 frames because you will always be able to poke kung lao on neutral if he tries to pressure with a string. the fact that your d4 is even faster than his d3 is also great. you shouldn't focus on playing keep away against kung lao because youre going to fail. just accept the fact that you have to play kung laos game and beat him in his own game.
If i recall correctly kung lao can poke you out of standing 2 even if you hit him with a standing with a d4 because of his hitbox. but thats okay if you hit him with a d4 and he doesnt respect you just d4 him again for 3% until he does respect you. in bad matchups, d4 into grab is always a good tool imo, once he respects your d4. if he can uppercut you out of standing 2 after d4 on hit just do a d4 and stand there if you think he is going to do that, let him whiff the uppercut and whiff punish it for full combo, kung lao does this against a lot of characters as well and people tend to get really predictable with their uppercuts sometimes.
dont even bother cornering kung lao because that is not going to happen. you should just play the game midscreen to upclose, which is the best option imo.