RYX
BIG PUSHER
Really, what's the point of using it? Outside of high, extremely conditional damage, it doesn't offer anything unique besides the damage reduction on his Obsidian Totem, which is.. kind of underwhelming. My argument;
- His up-close game in Blood God is honestly pretty lacking. War God is already known for its huge range advantage and mix-up game, while Sun God is probably going to be used vs people who want to rush him down thanks to EX Sun God Choke having armor. Add on the fact that SG has incredibly strong tick throws and Blood God seems worse by comparison.
- Taking advantage of Blood God's damage requires a lot of set-up, and he really doesn't have strong means to actually set them up. Almost every safe way to end with a totem usually leaves the opponent full screen (which is not where you want them unless you're putting out Obsidian and turtling) and his normals aren't good enough in the neutral game to fill that gap.
- His totems don't seem to stand out too much on their own as far as being interesting or strong enough to make you play Blood God. Crystal Totem is a damage buff, of which he has one on all variations. Not to say that this is a bad thing; high damage should be Blood God's specialty, and being able to combo into it is a great boon to its function, but having it on top of Mace Parry and Blood Sacrifice feels a little repetitive.
- Blood Totem is a better/worse version of Sun God's heal. What it does is drain the opponent's meter on hit as well as restore a % of damage you've dealt when it expires. I'm not too sure but I'm pretty sure the Totem breaks if you get hit while it's up, denying you the chance to heal. It's worse because Sun God only requires that you have at least one stack of his throw, and while it costs meter, I'd argue Sun God is better off when combined with his other options. Both draw a parallel in that you sacrifice immediate or future damage for a chance to lame out your opponent or make a comeback, but Sun God's is more reliable, whereas Blood God has a potential to heal for massive chunks.
- I'll be honest, I don't think Obsidian Totem is ever going to be useful enough to warrant using over the other two. At best, I'll give it some credit for reducing damage that you eat while trying to get in on heavy projectile users, maybe running away with a life lead, but I think it should grant him an armor buff instead. Probably an overkill buff but I'd rather have Obsidian Totem grant him a hit of armor similar to one of Quan Chi's buffs. It makes him a powerful threat while it's on the screen since now this variation has an answer to rushdown and zoning, while also keeping him from having an equal mix-up game on par with the other two.
Right now I think Blood God is his worst variation, and this could change depending on how his set-ups get discovered and altered to suit him better. But right now, he's a little too unreliable in too many areas for my tastes.
- His up-close game in Blood God is honestly pretty lacking. War God is already known for its huge range advantage and mix-up game, while Sun God is probably going to be used vs people who want to rush him down thanks to EX Sun God Choke having armor. Add on the fact that SG has incredibly strong tick throws and Blood God seems worse by comparison.
- Taking advantage of Blood God's damage requires a lot of set-up, and he really doesn't have strong means to actually set them up. Almost every safe way to end with a totem usually leaves the opponent full screen (which is not where you want them unless you're putting out Obsidian and turtling) and his normals aren't good enough in the neutral game to fill that gap.
- His totems don't seem to stand out too much on their own as far as being interesting or strong enough to make you play Blood God. Crystal Totem is a damage buff, of which he has one on all variations. Not to say that this is a bad thing; high damage should be Blood God's specialty, and being able to combo into it is a great boon to its function, but having it on top of Mace Parry and Blood Sacrifice feels a little repetitive.
- Blood Totem is a better/worse version of Sun God's heal. What it does is drain the opponent's meter on hit as well as restore a % of damage you've dealt when it expires. I'm not too sure but I'm pretty sure the Totem breaks if you get hit while it's up, denying you the chance to heal. It's worse because Sun God only requires that you have at least one stack of his throw, and while it costs meter, I'd argue Sun God is better off when combined with his other options. Both draw a parallel in that you sacrifice immediate or future damage for a chance to lame out your opponent or make a comeback, but Sun God's is more reliable, whereas Blood God has a potential to heal for massive chunks.
- I'll be honest, I don't think Obsidian Totem is ever going to be useful enough to warrant using over the other two. At best, I'll give it some credit for reducing damage that you eat while trying to get in on heavy projectile users, maybe running away with a life lead, but I think it should grant him an armor buff instead. Probably an overkill buff but I'd rather have Obsidian Totem grant him a hit of armor similar to one of Quan Chi's buffs. It makes him a powerful threat while it's on the screen since now this variation has an answer to rushdown and zoning, while also keeping him from having an equal mix-up game on par with the other two.
Right now I think Blood God is his worst variation, and this could change depending on how his set-ups get discovered and altered to suit him better. But right now, he's a little too unreliable in too many areas for my tastes.