Fighting Liu Kang
Liu Kang is most likely faster than you. His combos are probably better. His range probably swamps yours. Looking pretty bleak, eh? Not quite.
You've got two main options. Be more aggressive or outsmart him. Staying close is dangerous, but being far means you'll probably be pelted by fireballs, so close is better unless you’re using one of the zoner adepts (Noob, Sindel, Kano, Kitana, Mileena) or one of the characters with a captue (Sub-Zero, Cyrax).
Being highly aggressive isn't the best idea, because of Liu's Parry, but his Parry is high, so using low combos to start off will often catch him off-guard. Defensive fighting isn't that safe on Liu, he can poke very well at blockers and has nasty mix-up game incorporated into his juggles. He can catch most of the other characters, so a hit-and-run game isn’t likely to work well, either. His specials do have a lot of cool down after failing, so punish them if you can. Just like with Smoke, getting caught in one of Liu's chains is murder on your health so breakers are more advisable against him.
Switch your tactics to keep him guessing, Don't get into a projectile fight unless you are sure you're better, and keep in mind that his EN Flying Kick has Armor. Characters that can trap (Sub-Zero, Cyrax) or Teleport are your best bet for slaying this dragon.
Fighting Mileena
A good Mileena is going to be difficult to fight. She has some of the best mix-up options in the game coupled with a great, great zoning tool. You’re going to have two options: (1) present the better rushdown and keep pressure on her so that she can’t mix you up, or (2) read her mix-up and counter. Obviously option 2 is much more difficult, but more likely to succeed than option 1. Fuzzy guarding helps immensely in this match-up.
If you go the counter route, you have to read her Ball Roll and Teleport and bait them in with projectiles. Both of these moves are punishable with AA combos on block. Speaking of Anti-Air, should you have an anti-air attack (Sheeva & Jax' Anti-Air Throws), or even one with high priority in the air (CSZ's Dive Kick), you can utilize it against Mileena's Teleport Drop.
Be careful with your zoning. A Ball Roll under any of your projectiles will have you eating ~30%. Other than that, stay diverse. Mileena thrives against predictable opponents, so keep your options open and don't try to play defensively unless you're sure you can read her and send her dancing into a fatality.
Fighting Nightwolf
A good Nightwolf is one with a very powerful offense and pressure. He plays up close, can easily close in on zoners with a power charge and though his mix up game isn’t exactly top notch, he seems to have every kind of counter or combo for a turtling character. His weakest play is his defensive game though. Forcing a Nightwolf to retreat will give him only his arrows and lightning for support, both of which can be easily overcome with the proper timing. Never turtle against Nightwolf, it’s best to counter his abilities with an aggressive amount of mix ups. That isn’t to say that Nightwolf can’t be zoned out. He has Reflect, which can reflect most projectiles as shown below and absorb even more for health with the EN version.
He has a technique for every situation, but his defense up-close is still weak. Most likely you’ll have to play by his terms or bait him into Charging or jumping towards you. If he jumps any anti-air will take him. But if he charges, it can easily be defeated by ducking (without blocking), then uppercutting or if you’re quick enough, unleashing a combo. As for his Lightning its primary use is to punish people who pressure him or punish defensive players. Don’t give him a good reason to use it. Play carefully, because it is unblockable. But a whiffed Lightning means a lot of easily punished recovery time for Nightwolf. A quick dash type move (Reptile’s Elbow Dash, Jax’s Dash Fist) can escape a Lightning and may guarantee damage, but a simple jump away works wonders too.
Blocking high most of the time will stop his more powerful combos from wreaking any real havoc on you and you shouldn’t randomly try to jump at him because of the aforementioned Axe Swing or even a well-timed Choke. If you can play smart, carefully, and aggressively, then you will send him to meet his ancestors.
Note: The Relfect List is a work in progress, but is probably worth including.
Reflect List
Nightwolf can Reflect/Deflect/Absorb the following:
Baraka – Spark
Cyber Sub-Zero – Ice Ball
Cyrax – Sticky Bomb, Net [Deflect]
Ermac – Forceball
Jade – Boomerang
Jax – Shockwave
Johnny Cage – Forceball
Kabal – Gas Blast
Kano – Knife
Kitana – X-Ray, Fan Toss
Kung Lao – Hat Toss, Ground Hat
Liu Kang – Fireball
Mileena – Sai
Nightwolf – Arrow Shot
Noob – Shadows [Deflect]
Quan Chi – Skull
Raiden – Electricity
Reptile – Force Ball, Acid Spit
Sektor – Missile
Shang Tsung – Fireball, Ground Skull [Deflect], Up Skull [Deflect]
Sheeva – Fire Blast
Sindel – Fireball
Sonya – Energy Ring
Stryker – Grenades, Gun Shot
Sub-Zero – Ice Ball
Nightwolf can Absorb, but not Reflect/Deflect the following:
Cyber Sub-Zero – Ice Beam
Kabal - Buzzsaw
Kung Lao – EN Hat Toss
Sektor – X-Ray
Sub-Zero – Ice Beam
