M2Dave
Zoning Master
The game has been out of almost a month. It is mid quarter now and time to send those report cards to the parents in order to let them know how their son / daughter / children is / are performing in school.
Report Card Format
Character: (character name)
Grade: (S, A, B, C, D, and F)
Comments: (brief character description)
Anticipated Tier Position: (top, mid, or low tier)
Character: SummonerQuan Chi
Grade: S
Comments: Summoner Quan Chi is the game's best zoning character because of two special moves - the ground blast (AKA rune) and the demon (AKA bat). The EX ground blast is a two-hit, launching special move that is +15 on block. The second hit of the EX ground blast has natural delay which causes players to second-guess themselves about running or dashing forward. Once you establish your ground blast zoning game, you can summon the demon, which performs various special attacks per Quan Chi's command. One of the attacks the demon is able to perform is a quick, mid-hitting projectile that travels at a very fast speed. If the demon hits or is blocked, Quan Chi can re-summon the demon without any delay. Quan Chi's zoning is accompanied by one of the best vortices in the game. One wrong guess may result in 60% of your life gone. Quan Chi's only weakness is the lack of a viable armored special move. Nonetheless, the zoning combined with the vortex make Quan Chi the best zoning character in Mortal Kombat X.
Anticipated Tier Position: Top tier.
Character: Grandmaster Sub Zero
Grade: S
Comments: Sub Zero is not a zoning character in the traditional sense that he depends on a great projectile to control horizontal space. He has no demon strike, knife toss, or machine gun, but he does have the ice clone, which has to be the most buffed special move from Mortal Kombat 9 to Mortal Kombat 10. The ice clone now absorbs any one hit of a single-hitting projectile, can be tossed as a mid-hitting projectile, or shattered using the ice burst. The ice ball has slightly better recovery frames and the EX ice ball can absorb any one hit of a single-hitting projectile and freeze the opponent during his or her recovery frames. Aside from the ice clone, Sub Zero has some really good normal attacks such as f+4,2, d+4, and b+2, all of which are mostly safe on block except b+2. Sub Zero's corner game has been improved dramatically. He can finish combos with neutral jump kicks, perform an ice clone as you wake up, and set up a 33/33/33 mix up using b+2 (overhead), b+3,3 (low attack), and throw, which throws you into the ice clone. As far as anti-zoning is concerned, he has the slide, which crouches under almost every projectile in the game, including mid-hitting ones. Sub Zero is definitely one of the most powerful and versatile characters in the game.
Anticipated Tier Position: Top tier.
Character: Cybernetic Kano
Grade: A
Comments: Knives, knives, and more knives. Cybernetic Kano has access to the best traditional projectile in the game - the knife toss, a quick, mid-hitting projectile that travels at a very fast speed. The EX knife toss is even faster and contains three hits. The EX knife toss is +5 on block at point blank range. It is more advantageous the farther away Kano is from his opponent. Not only can Kano keep opponents full screen away, he can play footsies very well too. b+2,3 is very similar to Sinestro's b+1,2 in Injustice in terms of range and recovery. d+4 is one of the best low pokes in the game. And b+1 is a godlike anti-aerial attack that very few jumping attacks will beat clean. Kano has very few but conspicuous weaknesses - he has no 50/50 mix ups in the Cybernetic variations and his damage output is fairly low in comparison to other top tier characters.
Anticipated Tier Position: High mid tier.
Character: Full Auto Jacqui
Grade: A
Comments: The ultimate scrub killer, Jacqui is hated by most casual online Mortal Kombat X gamers. The machine gun is one of the best projectiles in the game. It is a high, multiple-hitting projectile that breaks armor. To avoid chip damage and intense meter building, opponents have to neutral crouch (i.e., block low without holding block) the machine gun, which allows Jacqui to control the pace of the match. Every character, however, is able to get a guaranteed dash in between each neutral-crouched machine gun. Jacqui's range on normal attacks is limited, but f+1 is a very good footsie tool. f+1 has 15 frames of start up and is 0 on block. f+1,2 is also 0 on block and can be hit-confirmed into a full combo. Due to Jacqui's amazing walk speed, she can easily walk in and out of her opponent's normal attacks and whiff punish with f+1,2. She also has a safe 50/50 mix up using b+2 (overhead) and b+3,3 (low attack). EX up rockets are an option select after both moves, which means they will only come out if b+2 or b+3,3 hits an opponent. Either option leads to a 40% combo. However, Jacqui has a slow d+2, so anti-airing opponents with great jumping attacks is not easy. Also, while the machine gun is an overpowered tool against low level players, patient players find will ways to exploit and punish Jacqui on her over-reliance on the move. She is a very good character with a couple of weaknesses.
Anticipated Tier Position: High mid tier.
Character: Dragon's Fire Liu Kang
Grade: C
Comments: Liu Kang's gameplay design has remained mostly unchanged from Mortal Kombat 9. He does some things effectively, but he also does some things poorly. In terms of zoning, Liu Kang's best move is the low dragon fireball, which has a fast start up and decent recovery frames. Opponents have to respect the low dragon fireball by constantly holding down-back and blocking. The flying kick is -8 on block in dragon's fire and hits twice. The EX version has one hit of armor, which can be used as a wake up attack and an anti-zoning tool. The whiff recovery has been considerably improved from Mortal Kombat 9. Liu Kang has some solid normal attacks and low pokes but suffers immensely from the lack of a powerful 50/50 mix up. b+2 is his only worthwhile overhead attack. b+2 starts up in 14 frames, is -11 on block, and results in a knockdown, which is nothing special in a game full of safe and hit-confirmable overhead attacks. Aside from a strong 50/50 mix up, I believe that Liu Kang's biggest weakness is the lack of a safe, long-range poke. d,b+2 has very good range but is an easy bait for a neutral jumping punch. The same is true for the overhead (b+2). Both normal attacks are easily punishable on whiff, meaning that characters with a superior mid range game will be able to out-footsie Liu Kang. The EX bicycle kick has also surreptitiously received the biggest normalization of the game, going from +15 on block to only +2. At the moment, I cannot see Liu Kang being anything higher than a mid tier character.
Anticipated Tier Position: Mid tier.
Character: Balanced Kenshi
Grade: D
Comments: Think about Kenshi in Mortal Kombat 9. What are some words that come to mind? Very safe and dominant footsies, right? Well, unfortunately, Kenshi in Mortal Kombat X is the exact opposite. He is one of the most unsafe characters in the game and his footsies are below average. Honestly, from my testing, research, and observation, the only good thing about Kenshi is the EX rising karma, which is an armored special move that leads to 30% combos. The combos end in tele-flurry which leaves you full screen away. Everything else Kenshi has is mediocre, largely due to the inexplicable special move recovery frames. At -15 on block, the spirit push (b,f+2) has twice as many recovery frames as the spirit push in Mortal Kombat 9. The telekinetic slice (d,b+4) has 24 frames of start up and is -10 on block. The tele-flurry is a humongous -24 on block. When the tele-flurry whiffs, Kenshi cannot block for almost an entire second. These numbers might have been acceptable if characters in Mortal Kombat X could not run. But they can. If you block any of Kenshi's special moves, you are able to buffer run and close an immense amount of space. Kenshi is an excellent representation of what is wrong with the typical zoning character in Mortal Kombat X - absurdly unsafe, lack of mix ups, and atrocious normal attacks. I truly believe that the only thing that separates Kenshi from Shinnok is the EX rising karma, which, by the way, is punishable on block. This character is bad.
Anticipated Tier Position: Low mid tier.
Character: Mournful Kitana
Grade: D
Comments: Mournful Kitana is an effort to combine the general gameplay of Mortal Kombat 9 Kitana and Mortal Kombat 9 Jade. While I am fairly certain that no character would want to share moves with the tragedy that is Mortal Kombat 9 Jade, this variation, nonetheless, attempts to fuse Kitana's and Jade's gameplay. Admittedly, Kitana is the character I know the least about from this compiled character list, but I can immediately tell she has no 50/50 mix ups. She only has b+2, which is a slow and insignificant overhead attack with limited range. If you do not have access to a 50/50 mix up in this game, you had better have excellent normal attacks and zoning, and I believe she has neither. Kitana's normal attacks are mediocre. Whatever happened to Mortal Kombat 9's f+2,1? f+2 has been replaced by some worthless 19F normal attack that is not even safe on hit. She does have a mid-hitting projectile, but the start up is 24 frames. Why on God's green earth does this projectile start up in 24 frames? Characters can run in this game. Besides, Kano's knife toss hits mid and starts up in 12 frames. Unlike Kano, I am aware that Kitana can control her projectile by tapping up and down, but then again... she has no 50/50 mix ups and her normal attacks are mediocre. I am baffled. I just do not understand this design at all. Just like Kenshi, Kitana is an excellent representation of what is wrong with the typical zoning character in Mortal Kombat X - absurdly unsafe, lack of mix ups, and atrocious normal attacks. She has some damaging combos, but I believe they are exclusive to the Royal Storm variation. She is bad.
Anticipated Tier Position: Low mid tier.
Character: Necromancer Shinnok
Grade: F
Comments: If you want to use an unsafe character whose zoning tools have no tracking whatsoever, you will not be disappointed because Shinnok is definitely your character. Where do I start? The flick does not track at all. If Shinnok performs a full screen flick, you can run and get a guaranteed combo. A character like Jacqui can back-walk the flick. The summoned fiend does not track any better, which is irrelevant because the move is not safe on block anyway. Hell sparks (i.e., Shang Tsung's ground fireballs) are laughably unsafe on block. Even the EX version is punishable on block by advancing special moves. As far as normal attacks go, he has b+3, which is a 7F low attack, and d+2, which is a 7F anti-air uppercut. Everything else is mediocre. For example, f+2,2 is -8 on block. Many characters in the game have almost identical long-range pokes, such as Kano and his b+2,3, which is -4 on block. To make matters worse, f+2,2 xx flick does not jail and can be option-select punished by fast armored special moves. If you are fighting against Tempest Kung Lao, you are out of luck because you have no safe pokes. Did I also mention Shinnok has no 50/50 mix ups in any of his variations? Speaking of variations, nobody actually knows whether Necromancer is the best one, but people generally agree that they are all equally abysmal. If one variation is, indeed, superior to the other, the difference is insignificant.
Anticipated Tier Position: Low tier.
---
Patch - 05/14/2015
A brief analysis of the major changes.
- Quan Chi's demon summon has one second of cool down. You can no longer summon the demon indefinitely without any delay, which reduces the power of the zoning to an A or B. Only time will tell. The vortex has remained the same, though.
- Sub Zero's ice clone has one second of cool down and disappears when Sub Zero blocks any attack. The implication of this change is unknown until I practice with Tom again.
- The in-game frame data that suggests that Kano's b+1 is now -2 on block, which seems like -4 to me. Aside from the block disadvantage, b+1 functions in the same manner in every other aspect. Cybernetic knife toss is untouched.
- Jacqui is untouched. f+1 may have a couple more frames of recovery on block. I am not 100% sure, though.
- Liu Kang's f+2,1 is -3 on block now. Everything else seems unchanged.
- Kenshi has not received any buffs whatsoever. Very disappointing. Next patch perhaps? Come on, NRS. Make Tele-flurry a lot safer.
- Kitana has received a new low attack - b+3. 15F of start up. -8 on block. I guess she now has a 50/50 mix up with b+2 and b+3. I am not going to pretend like I know what this addition does to her game plan because I honestly have no idea.
- Shinnok is the most buffed character in the game. He now has an overhead, performed by b+3. 18F of start up. -11 on block. The old low attack has been changed to f+4. Hell sparks can be meter-burned on block, which makes them +25. The location of the unblockable hand in Necromancer can now be controlled via back and forward. These changes are most likely not good enough to propel Shinnok to top tier status, but he ought to be at least a mid tier character now.
Report Card Format
Character: (character name)
Grade: (S, A, B, C, D, and F)
Comments: (brief character description)
Anticipated Tier Position: (top, mid, or low tier)
Character: SummonerQuan Chi
Grade: S
Comments: Summoner Quan Chi is the game's best zoning character because of two special moves - the ground blast (AKA rune) and the demon (AKA bat). The EX ground blast is a two-hit, launching special move that is +15 on block. The second hit of the EX ground blast has natural delay which causes players to second-guess themselves about running or dashing forward. Once you establish your ground blast zoning game, you can summon the demon, which performs various special attacks per Quan Chi's command. One of the attacks the demon is able to perform is a quick, mid-hitting projectile that travels at a very fast speed. If the demon hits or is blocked, Quan Chi can re-summon the demon without any delay. Quan Chi's zoning is accompanied by one of the best vortices in the game. One wrong guess may result in 60% of your life gone. Quan Chi's only weakness is the lack of a viable armored special move. Nonetheless, the zoning combined with the vortex make Quan Chi the best zoning character in Mortal Kombat X.
Anticipated Tier Position: Top tier.
Character: Grandmaster Sub Zero
Grade: S
Comments: Sub Zero is not a zoning character in the traditional sense that he depends on a great projectile to control horizontal space. He has no demon strike, knife toss, or machine gun, but he does have the ice clone, which has to be the most buffed special move from Mortal Kombat 9 to Mortal Kombat 10. The ice clone now absorbs any one hit of a single-hitting projectile, can be tossed as a mid-hitting projectile, or shattered using the ice burst. The ice ball has slightly better recovery frames and the EX ice ball can absorb any one hit of a single-hitting projectile and freeze the opponent during his or her recovery frames. Aside from the ice clone, Sub Zero has some really good normal attacks such as f+4,2, d+4, and b+2, all of which are mostly safe on block except b+2. Sub Zero's corner game has been improved dramatically. He can finish combos with neutral jump kicks, perform an ice clone as you wake up, and set up a 33/33/33 mix up using b+2 (overhead), b+3,3 (low attack), and throw, which throws you into the ice clone. As far as anti-zoning is concerned, he has the slide, which crouches under almost every projectile in the game, including mid-hitting ones. Sub Zero is definitely one of the most powerful and versatile characters in the game.
Anticipated Tier Position: Top tier.
Character: Cybernetic Kano
Grade: A
Comments: Knives, knives, and more knives. Cybernetic Kano has access to the best traditional projectile in the game - the knife toss, a quick, mid-hitting projectile that travels at a very fast speed. The EX knife toss is even faster and contains three hits. The EX knife toss is +5 on block at point blank range. It is more advantageous the farther away Kano is from his opponent. Not only can Kano keep opponents full screen away, he can play footsies very well too. b+2,3 is very similar to Sinestro's b+1,2 in Injustice in terms of range and recovery. d+4 is one of the best low pokes in the game. And b+1 is a godlike anti-aerial attack that very few jumping attacks will beat clean. Kano has very few but conspicuous weaknesses - he has no 50/50 mix ups in the Cybernetic variations and his damage output is fairly low in comparison to other top tier characters.
Anticipated Tier Position: High mid tier.
Character: Full Auto Jacqui
Grade: A
Comments: The ultimate scrub killer, Jacqui is hated by most casual online Mortal Kombat X gamers. The machine gun is one of the best projectiles in the game. It is a high, multiple-hitting projectile that breaks armor. To avoid chip damage and intense meter building, opponents have to neutral crouch (i.e., block low without holding block) the machine gun, which allows Jacqui to control the pace of the match. Every character, however, is able to get a guaranteed dash in between each neutral-crouched machine gun. Jacqui's range on normal attacks is limited, but f+1 is a very good footsie tool. f+1 has 15 frames of start up and is 0 on block. f+1,2 is also 0 on block and can be hit-confirmed into a full combo. Due to Jacqui's amazing walk speed, she can easily walk in and out of her opponent's normal attacks and whiff punish with f+1,2. She also has a safe 50/50 mix up using b+2 (overhead) and b+3,3 (low attack). EX up rockets are an option select after both moves, which means they will only come out if b+2 or b+3,3 hits an opponent. Either option leads to a 40% combo. However, Jacqui has a slow d+2, so anti-airing opponents with great jumping attacks is not easy. Also, while the machine gun is an overpowered tool against low level players, patient players find will ways to exploit and punish Jacqui on her over-reliance on the move. She is a very good character with a couple of weaknesses.
Anticipated Tier Position: High mid tier.
Character: Dragon's Fire Liu Kang
Grade: C
Comments: Liu Kang's gameplay design has remained mostly unchanged from Mortal Kombat 9. He does some things effectively, but he also does some things poorly. In terms of zoning, Liu Kang's best move is the low dragon fireball, which has a fast start up and decent recovery frames. Opponents have to respect the low dragon fireball by constantly holding down-back and blocking. The flying kick is -8 on block in dragon's fire and hits twice. The EX version has one hit of armor, which can be used as a wake up attack and an anti-zoning tool. The whiff recovery has been considerably improved from Mortal Kombat 9. Liu Kang has some solid normal attacks and low pokes but suffers immensely from the lack of a powerful 50/50 mix up. b+2 is his only worthwhile overhead attack. b+2 starts up in 14 frames, is -11 on block, and results in a knockdown, which is nothing special in a game full of safe and hit-confirmable overhead attacks. Aside from a strong 50/50 mix up, I believe that Liu Kang's biggest weakness is the lack of a safe, long-range poke. d,b+2 has very good range but is an easy bait for a neutral jumping punch. The same is true for the overhead (b+2). Both normal attacks are easily punishable on whiff, meaning that characters with a superior mid range game will be able to out-footsie Liu Kang. The EX bicycle kick has also surreptitiously received the biggest normalization of the game, going from +15 on block to only +2. At the moment, I cannot see Liu Kang being anything higher than a mid tier character.
Anticipated Tier Position: Mid tier.
Character: Balanced Kenshi
Grade: D
Comments: Think about Kenshi in Mortal Kombat 9. What are some words that come to mind? Very safe and dominant footsies, right? Well, unfortunately, Kenshi in Mortal Kombat X is the exact opposite. He is one of the most unsafe characters in the game and his footsies are below average. Honestly, from my testing, research, and observation, the only good thing about Kenshi is the EX rising karma, which is an armored special move that leads to 30% combos. The combos end in tele-flurry which leaves you full screen away. Everything else Kenshi has is mediocre, largely due to the inexplicable special move recovery frames. At -15 on block, the spirit push (b,f+2) has twice as many recovery frames as the spirit push in Mortal Kombat 9. The telekinetic slice (d,b+4) has 24 frames of start up and is -10 on block. The tele-flurry is a humongous -24 on block. When the tele-flurry whiffs, Kenshi cannot block for almost an entire second. These numbers might have been acceptable if characters in Mortal Kombat X could not run. But they can. If you block any of Kenshi's special moves, you are able to buffer run and close an immense amount of space. Kenshi is an excellent representation of what is wrong with the typical zoning character in Mortal Kombat X - absurdly unsafe, lack of mix ups, and atrocious normal attacks. I truly believe that the only thing that separates Kenshi from Shinnok is the EX rising karma, which, by the way, is punishable on block. This character is bad.
Anticipated Tier Position: Low mid tier.
Character: Mournful Kitana
Grade: D
Comments: Mournful Kitana is an effort to combine the general gameplay of Mortal Kombat 9 Kitana and Mortal Kombat 9 Jade. While I am fairly certain that no character would want to share moves with the tragedy that is Mortal Kombat 9 Jade, this variation, nonetheless, attempts to fuse Kitana's and Jade's gameplay. Admittedly, Kitana is the character I know the least about from this compiled character list, but I can immediately tell she has no 50/50 mix ups. She only has b+2, which is a slow and insignificant overhead attack with limited range. If you do not have access to a 50/50 mix up in this game, you had better have excellent normal attacks and zoning, and I believe she has neither. Kitana's normal attacks are mediocre. Whatever happened to Mortal Kombat 9's f+2,1? f+2 has been replaced by some worthless 19F normal attack that is not even safe on hit. She does have a mid-hitting projectile, but the start up is 24 frames. Why on God's green earth does this projectile start up in 24 frames? Characters can run in this game. Besides, Kano's knife toss hits mid and starts up in 12 frames. Unlike Kano, I am aware that Kitana can control her projectile by tapping up and down, but then again... she has no 50/50 mix ups and her normal attacks are mediocre. I am baffled. I just do not understand this design at all. Just like Kenshi, Kitana is an excellent representation of what is wrong with the typical zoning character in Mortal Kombat X - absurdly unsafe, lack of mix ups, and atrocious normal attacks. She has some damaging combos, but I believe they are exclusive to the Royal Storm variation. She is bad.
Anticipated Tier Position: Low mid tier.
Character: Necromancer Shinnok
Grade: F
Comments: If you want to use an unsafe character whose zoning tools have no tracking whatsoever, you will not be disappointed because Shinnok is definitely your character. Where do I start? The flick does not track at all. If Shinnok performs a full screen flick, you can run and get a guaranteed combo. A character like Jacqui can back-walk the flick. The summoned fiend does not track any better, which is irrelevant because the move is not safe on block anyway. Hell sparks (i.e., Shang Tsung's ground fireballs) are laughably unsafe on block. Even the EX version is punishable on block by advancing special moves. As far as normal attacks go, he has b+3, which is a 7F low attack, and d+2, which is a 7F anti-air uppercut. Everything else is mediocre. For example, f+2,2 is -8 on block. Many characters in the game have almost identical long-range pokes, such as Kano and his b+2,3, which is -4 on block. To make matters worse, f+2,2 xx flick does not jail and can be option-select punished by fast armored special moves. If you are fighting against Tempest Kung Lao, you are out of luck because you have no safe pokes. Did I also mention Shinnok has no 50/50 mix ups in any of his variations? Speaking of variations, nobody actually knows whether Necromancer is the best one, but people generally agree that they are all equally abysmal. If one variation is, indeed, superior to the other, the difference is insignificant.
Anticipated Tier Position: Low tier.
---
Patch - 05/14/2015
A brief analysis of the major changes.
- Quan Chi's demon summon has one second of cool down. You can no longer summon the demon indefinitely without any delay, which reduces the power of the zoning to an A or B. Only time will tell. The vortex has remained the same, though.
- Sub Zero's ice clone has one second of cool down and disappears when Sub Zero blocks any attack. The implication of this change is unknown until I practice with Tom again.
- The in-game frame data that suggests that Kano's b+1 is now -2 on block, which seems like -4 to me. Aside from the block disadvantage, b+1 functions in the same manner in every other aspect. Cybernetic knife toss is untouched.
- Jacqui is untouched. f+1 may have a couple more frames of recovery on block. I am not 100% sure, though.
- Liu Kang's f+2,1 is -3 on block now. Everything else seems unchanged.
- Kenshi has not received any buffs whatsoever. Very disappointing. Next patch perhaps? Come on, NRS. Make Tele-flurry a lot safer.
- Kitana has received a new low attack - b+3. 15F of start up. -8 on block. I guess she now has a 50/50 mix up with b+2 and b+3. I am not going to pretend like I know what this addition does to her game plan because I honestly have no idea.
- Shinnok is the most buffed character in the game. He now has an overhead, performed by b+3. 18F of start up. -11 on block. The old low attack has been changed to f+4. Hell sparks can be meter-burned on block, which makes them +25. The location of the unblockable hand in Necromancer can now be controlled via back and forward. These changes are most likely not good enough to propel Shinnok to top tier status, but he ought to be at least a mid tier character now.
Last edited:
