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Skarlet 101 Final Episode - Playstyles and Paradigms

Eddy Wang

Skarlet scientist

Ever wonder why Skarlet players look different from one to another even if they're using the exact same character? Find the answers today and hopefully this helps you to improve your Skarlet.

Skarlet is a hybrid archtype of character in MK9, she was build as a balance between Offense, Neutral Game and Defense, so she can either play rushdown, footsies or Zoning initially, but this is only the beggining, during the time we broke down the character we noticed that each individual Skarlet had his own way to deal with matchups, it was different in some cases and similar in others.

The styles are:
Offense game Chart (Naked Rushdown Gambler and Oki Traps)
Neutral game Chart (Footsies, Turtle)
Defense game Chart (Zoning, Hidden Traps)

So i came to find out later that we were actually using a sort of code that would print our playstyles into a sort of battle formation which i later started to call paradigms.

Along these years, we've came to a conclusion that Rushdown could be split in to situational perks.
The first one discovered was the Gambler, though it was initially identified as the situation where Skarlet could armor out of a block stun where she didn't had advantage, later on also started to be implemented in the block string and resets setups against characters who tried to crouch block to avoid block damage. Skarlet players developed their eyes to read guard patterns and blow up with a downslash, the master of this perk is the one and Only KH Scar.

Oki Trap is another situational perk where Skarlet can use anti-wakeup attacks techs to successfully limit the opponent's options on getting up so she can apply more pressure, it started with armor, but over the years others setups as blockstrings against wakeups with no invincibily before the active frame started to surface, as well as the infamous iaDD on every knockdown to force the opponent to wakeup into it against their own will.

L0rdoftheFLY started by identifying soft knockdowns and light knockdowns to start to apply oki traps, in my opinion this was the turning point in Skarlet game, as myself started to implement more and more on my game, i started to see the weakness of other characters and the advantage of using oki traps whenever i found possible.

Naked Rushdown was the primarly style, RedRaptor never was a player of taking much risks, so having the option of playing safe 90% was something he alone was willing to do, in many cases all Skarlet players have used naked Rush plain and simple, i think a Skarlet on their first steps uses this playstyle mostly, and then it starts to bend into gambler.

The Neutral game is rulled by the Footsie game.
As a few might know, the top 2 characters with the best forward walk speed are:
1. Mileena
2. Skarlet
3. another mid tier character
4. Top 10 characters
So this makes Skarlet the best top 10 character with the best walkspeed in the game, her walking backwards is average, but its also where the top 10 characters are in terms of category.

Skarlet can also play the neutral game by Turtling, running away most of the time with a life lead, leading characters into her punishing zone using walking backawards and low daggers alone

Zoning isin't exactly her strong core, but she can still do it against some characters, and iaDaggers are better for that.
There is a different style of zoning which i called Hidden Traps, the goal is not pushing characters away out of their confort zone, but is to force them to do something they will regret for, iaD is the most easy way to get it, by carefully knowing when to fire one, you can catch characters jumping away and convert the damage, or you can make characters jumping in without even firing a dagger, you can also force them to retaliate inside crimson dash range and get them punished for it.

I just gave this detailed explanation here, but all there is to know, is on the video.



There is a lot of paradigms, but not every single one of them were formed or named, the most common are:


  • Relentless Assault: Naked Rushdown + Gambler + Oki traps (Generally the whole offense chart, which is also KH Scar’s style and is very effective against Kabals)
  • Absolute Defense : Turtle + Footsies + Zoning (General Defense style, which is perfect to hold the ground against Cyraxes, Moonspell uses this one a lot too)
  • Vicious: Hidden Traps + Naked Rushdown + Gambler (Ninj’s Playstyle, consists of firing a lot of iaDs with 3 main reasons, conversion meterbuild to back up his other styles and time killing)
  • Repressed Assault: Zoning + Naked Rushdown + Oki Traps (RedRaptor’s playstyle, he plays the basic, rushdown here, zoning there, Oki when he has the chance, he switches paradigms too)
  • Divided Assault: Naked Rushdown, Gambler, Footsies (L0rdoftheFLY’s style, consists of playing risky when the opponent is thinking he is playing safe and playing safe when the opponent is playing risky)
  • Cold Blooded: Turtle + Oki Traps + Hidden Traps (Eddy Wang’s Style, which is useful against characters with slowest walkspeed than Skarlet and a weaker wakeup game)
  • Frost Blooded: Hidden Traps + Turtle + Footsies (Alternate Cold Blooded, Footsies replaces Oki traps in this paradigm, yet both makes more use of Skarlet walkspeed and less Red Dashes out of combos)
  • Notoriety: Zoning + Naked Rushdown + Hidden Traps (AssassiN’s style, He switches playstyles a lot from one to rushdown, he switches paradigms too)
@AssassiN
@Ninj
@STORMS
@RedRaptor10
@AK L0rdoftheFLY
@FCP/EMP SCAR
@Moonspell
@STRYKIE
@GLoRToR
@Johnny2d
@REDARROWBUGGY7 ( Because he wanted to see this one)
 
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Johnny2d

Xbl: Johnny2Die
I wish there could be a TYM award for most improved player and long term dedication to a character and also community instruction, because you would win that award Eddy. Your videos have come so far in the last 3 years. Good stuff once again, and thanks for the tag.
 

MK Led

Umbasa
Amazing video, as always. I cry myself to sleep every night knowing my skarlet knowledge will never even come close to yours.

Also can't wait to see your mkx stuff :D
 

Eddy Wang

Skarlet scientist
I wish there could be a TYM award for most improved player and long term dedication to a character and also community instruction, because you would win that award Eddy. Your videos have come so far in the last 3 years. Good stuff once again, and thanks for the tag.
This wouldn't be possible without every single one of you members and contributors of the Skarlet community, we run on this road together and not a single day we doubt her potential, everything on these 101 vids its all product of all of you, as i said many times before, each Skarlet player is a Skarlet community pillar, instead of saying "i will just play like these" why not play like everyone at the same time?

There is also NRS into this, IMO this was one of theirs most creative MK9 characters along side with Kabal, the possibilities are limitless as Ninj used to say, no one ever shaked his faith once besides what some peeps used to say.

Amazing video, as always. I cry myself to sleep every night knowing my skarlet knowledge will never even come close to yours.

Also can't wait to see your mkx stuff :D
On that time we were building up, with this it should've just become much easier if we had these conclusions 3 years earlier, can't deny we put in work, even among Skarlet players we agreed that there were stuffs that it was really crazy to learn or pull out, her execution requirements didn't help much either, though i think if it was that easy i would probably pick kabal.

AAing opponents with U3 was discussed a lot.
landing the lowest possible reset after 3 downslashes in one combo was also another one among other things like iaD consistency.

If tournaments of MK9 were still active from 2013 to now like it was before and if no one stopped playing Skarlet, i think we would see a lot of Skarlets in tournaments around the world.