Question - Kotal Kahn Interested in picking up Kotal Kahn

[RM_NINfan101]

Hey guys, I'm a Shinnok main and was just wondering on what the general pros and cons are to Kotal and his variations? I'm not really looking for combos, but just a general synopsis of what strings/pokes are good with the character, and what he struggles with. I really like his footsie oriented playstyle.

 

[regulas]

War God is the most competitive. Strong footsies,pressure,mix-ups and relative to most of the cast good damage. Has some issues versus zoners as he has no fast long range options without meter.

Sun God: You get a command grab. It's ok footises still but far less overall options and pressure. You will mostly be about tic throws.

Blood God: You get 48% BnB combo, but have no way to land it. You have no tools or options and your better normals can't be used as they aren't safe in this variant like they can be with War. Great way to learn base fundementals of the game though. Mostly your goal is to sneak out crystal totems and then block forever until you can punish or EX parry punish something.

As for basics for war god.

B22~ Sword
F1B2~ Sword
114~ sword or air grab

Basic combo would be something like:
EX DB1, F2, B122~db1 (if starting with the sword for its armor)
or the EX DB1 may not juggle well if they are already juggled in which case use DF1 instead.

 

[Rajhkeem Beck]

Hey guys, I'm a Shinnok main and was just wondering on what the general pros and cons are to Kotal and his variations? I'm not really looking for combos, but just a general synopsis of what strings/pokes are good with the character, and what he struggles with. I really like his footsie oriented playstyle.

If you're looking for a good footsies variation for Kotal then war god is the way to go. It gives him more options for mixups. Kotal shines in the damage department definitely. He's relatively slow and has trouble with zoning. However, he has a lot of forward advancing moves like F2 that can help close the gap against people. I think Im decent with him but there are probably a lot of other players who understand his meta game better, that's just general stuff I like with his tools.

 

[podizzler3000]

war god seems his best variation by far. taste the blade of oshtek

 

[Jeremy KO]

Yeah go with War God. Make them fear the armored db1

 

[NHDR]

War God is also the most safe, also has very straight-forward mixups. Also, character doesn't rely on run combos at all, good if you're not proficient at them.

 

[RM_NINfan101]

Appreciate all the input. I definitely was looking moreso into his War God variation, as while the totem abilities do seem nice, he seems like he really needs that sword.

 

[xInfra Deadx]

War God is also the most safe, also has very straight-forward mixups. Also, character doesn't rely on run combos at all, good if you're not proficient at them.

His main mixups are not safe in War God.

 

[regulas]

His main mixups are not safe in War God.

No but his DF2 is, which still allows him to do far more just by itself.

Also while the mix-up's aren't explicitly safe, only some cast members can easily punish the regular versions.

 

[xInfra Deadx]

No but his DF2 is, which still allows him to do far more just by itself.

Also while the mix-up's aren't explicitly safe, only some cast members can easily punish the regular versions.

DF2 is slow as hell and is going to get armored through eventually. Plus it's only a mid.

 

[jozuvloke]

Db3 also has armor on it for the pressure!

 

[regulas]

DF2 is slow as hell and is going to get armored through eventually. Plus it's only a mid.

It cant be chained into off of everything but it is a solid choice where it can be used, and as a footsies tools the md hit doesnt matter so much, compared to the reachknockback and frame position

 

[NHDR]

His main mixups are not safe in War God.

I know, I only said they're straight-forward. When I wrote safe I was talking about his DF2 and some of his normals.

 

[Second Saint]

Let's not forget that db3 cancel is also safe (in the vast majority of cases) and also comes with its own mind game of whether or not the unblockable is coming.

 

[rage of cage]

I'm my no means a great player, casual to intermediate at best But I picked up sun god today and I'm enjoying it. I can't say it's his best variation but it's really fun. my main tactic is putting sun god choke at the end of strings to catch them in a grab and make them try to punchanged me out of it then i armor . Also just moving in really quickly to whiff punish. He has some pretty decent damage for simple combos. And his dry rub brutality is pretty cool.

 

[MORDECA1]

He seems kind of difficult to play as in my opinion.

 

[Stoneshotz]

Long live the WAR GOD!!!!! EX db1 is the shizznit. And that brutality-b122df2: taste the blade of oshtekk as you get sawed in half like a steer at a butcher shop! Gotta love the war god variation, by far my favorite.