Rate Your Character (Mortal Kombat X Edition)!

[Groove Heaven]

Marksman Erron Black

50/50 mix ups and pressure (5/5)

Spoiler

EB can not only gun cancel his f13 and b33 into 2112 for a full combo, on block he can run out of gun cancel and has time to block moves as fast as Sub-Zero's EX slide. He can also rely on the mainstay of Outlaw and Gunslinger - EX sand grenade - to make him +7 even when he guesses wrong. His command grab shenanigans remain the same and his modified oki after losing the plus frames on CG is still strong

Neutral game and footsies (4/5)

Spoiler

Not the fastest advancing normals in the game but he has advancing normals all the same. 21122 is a great string that unfortunately starts with a high so f13 becomes a very important conditioning tool, albeit a slow one (f1 is 16 frames). Difficult to AA with him, uppercut is imo his only reliable option on pure reaction. Marksman's biggest downfall is it's unquenchable thirst for stamina, which effects his decision-making in the neutral and his pressure

Defensive options (2/5)

Spoiler

He may not have the range of choices for armored moves that Outlaw has access to, but he does okay for himself in a pinch. EX slide is always a good option but highly punishable. EX CG is harder to punish and has good horizontal range but whiffs in some weird situations. Basically if your opponent neutral jumps your wakeup you're done. Even when his armor connects he gets 16% tops with no full combo. His backdash is slow, doesn't go far, and wastes his precious stamina. His pokes are pretty good and can tick throw on block. With the inclusion of EX sand toss and EX tarkatan stab, I would say this is the category that Outlaw excels in, but Marksman is lacking in this department.

Zoning and anti-zoning (3/5)

Spoiler

Marksman actually has decent ranged options, but I wouldn't call it pure zoning. df1 (the regular sniper shot) is very slow and easy to jump and punish, but it tripguards well and EB can cancel it on reaction. Unload (db1, where he walks away and shoots 3 times) is a very confusing tool to fight against and it actually functions as a good AA if an opponent is getting restless and trying to run+jump in. Sand grenade and the 32 string round out his ranged capabilities. Basically, his "zoning" is meant to make the opponent approach on his terms. His anti-zoning is lacking, all of his projectiles have long start-up times and characters like Kenshi can punish rifle shots on block from full screen.

Damage output (5/5)

Spoiler

For no bar out of a f13~gun cancel, he'll hit the mid thirties. For a bar he can push it to the low-mid forties. After the command grab nerf, on a punish you'll usually be taking around 30% midscreen into a caltrops setup. When he needs to push it, he is no stranger to 40%+ combos. His damage isn't off the wall but it's very good, much better than his other 2 variations for sure

Total Score: 19 / 25

 

[jasperWOLF]

At work right now but I'll elaborate later.

Cybernetic Kano-

50/50 mixups and pressure (0/5). Non existent. One of the worst in the game easily.

Nuetral game and footsies. (4/5). Pretty strong, not elite, but very strong.

Defensive options (3/5). No priority on specials or EX specials, or half his normals. Few "get off me" options. Useless uplaser. Etc. Compensated by B1 and D2 AA's and an amazing backdash.

Zoning (3/5). Overrated. Knives can only be thrown so much. B2 is slow and has no priority, weak specials get poked, useless uplaser. Compared to actual good zoning, this is average at best.

Damage Output (1/5). What damage? Laughable damage output in comparison to 90% of the variations.

Total score. 11/25. Top of the Low Tier Class.






This is why I'm switching to Shinnok.

FINALLY THE KANO COMMUNITY SPEAKS UP! 0/5 PRESSURE AND MIXUPS...at least he has 5/5 Downplaying

 

[skater11]

Wow amazing thread. Definitely helpful for when picking up new chars.

 

[Big Pampering]

Tempest
1. 50/50 mix ups and pressure (3/5) – 112124 into ex hat is really good. Even without low hat this variation still gives kung lao to mixup blockstrings with throws. Ex hat spin after the nerfs is less effective on low hitbox characters and only has f2 and d4 as guaranteed followups. F2 can't get you a full combo because you don't have a hat after ex hat spin on block.

2. Neutral game and footsies (4/5) – Good footsies with b3, f2,d4, jump 2, ex spin eliminates jumping. The hat projectile is good, but people with good forward advancing moves can punish it on block midscreen, because of the huge recovery.

3. Defensive options (4/5) – Ex spin is fast and gets you high damage, even though you can hit kung lao out of ex teleport, the ex spin can condition the opponent not to press too many buttons and can setup uses for ex teleport. Jump back 2 is a very good defensive tool in the neutral. Tempest spin works better as an anti air than buzzsaw spin.

4. Zoning and anti-zoning (4/5) – Jump 2 and run speed make it hard for people to zone kung lao.

5. Damage output (5/5) – High damage off of any launcher

20 points

 

[MadeFromMetal]

Lackey Torr

50/50 mix ups and pressure (3/5)

• Has an OH and multiple low starters and a low/OH into hard knockdown, but both the Overheads are reactable. The opponent can block low and react to the overhead with near perfect consistency. He suffers a bit without Ferra for the 50/50 after any string. His pressure is decent with the tick throw off of D1, and he's surprisingly safe off of a lot of strings.

Neutral game and footsies (4/5)

• (This is an area where I personally struggle anyway, so take this rating with a grain of salt. If anyone has tips to get better, I'm all ears.) I feel his neutral game is lacking. Outside of f32, he has no far reaching advancing normals. He wants to always be in your face. If the opponent can stay just outside of his d1 range, it's lights out. However, his saving grace is his amazing d1 which can tick from good range. He also has, what I believe, is the best dash in the game. I use it to close the gaps more than his run. His 10f b1 and his 7f s2 are decent punishers that can lead to full combo.

Defensive options (5/5)

• Great counterpoking with d1. D1, while not as good an AA/ACU as FerraJab, still gets the job done against most the cast. Every EX special has armor (one with 4 hits) and one of them launches for a full combo. He's safe on most strings, but not on any specials, except maybe charge on some characters due to pushback. However, his specials aren't safe and he has no projectiles, so he builds meter VERY slowly. Oftentimes a bar is scarce.

Zoning and anti-zoning (1/5)

• Playing lame at 3/4 to fullscreen is the way to go against Lackey. He has zero, count 'em, zero projectiles to counter zone. He's got his Charge, with 4 frames of projectile immunity, but you can see it from a mile away and jump over punish or block it in plenty of time. His EX roll moves fullscreen fairly fast with a hit of armor, but it isn't safe and can be read from long range. His EX charge has 4 hits of armor, which is great for getting in, but again, can be read a mile away and blocked or jump over punished. (Personally, I think allowing 2in1 cancellability on regular charge, OR, reducing whiff recovery of roll to be on par with Reptile's dash would elevate this character immensely.)

Damage Output (4/5)

• Good damage. Can reach 40% with a bar, and most BnB's do mid/low 30s meterless.

Overall 17/25 D+

I may be (probably) wrong on some, to quite a bit of this stuff. So, if anyone has any counter arguments as to why I'm wrong, I'm all ears and open to learning.

Edit: Changed some stuff on wetdoba's recommendation.

 

[Bildslash]

Erron Black (Outlaw)
50/50 mix ups and pressure (5/5) - Pretty obvious with his main strings and tick throws.
Neutral game and footsies (4/5) - His antiairing options aren't good.
Defensive options (3/5) - I feel this is his main weakness. Sand Gust is good but punishable, Slide is punishable as well, and Sand Trap can whiff on the most ridiculous scenarios.
Zoning and anti-zoning (3/5) - In this variation zoning is very poor. Sand Grenade and 32 string are just gimmicky. Luckily he has Slide and F4 for anti-zoning.
Damage output (4/5) - Caltrops and Tarkatan Stab help any combo do above 30% in guaranteed unbreakable tick damage.
Final score = 19/25

Kung Lao (Tempest)
50/50 mix ups and pressure (4/5) - Prepatch it was 6/5, but it took a hit when you have to rely on a starting as a high and whiffing on variable crouching hitboxes.
Neutral game and footsies (5/5) - He covers everything, just like MK9 Lao.
Defensive options (4/5) - Only because his main defensive tools are very punishable.
Zoning and anti-zoning (4/5) - He doesn't zone much in this variation. But he's the king of antizoning zealots.
Damage output (4/5) - Prepatch 5/5, but the 3-4% damage reduction leaves him just shy of the 40% range.
Final score = 21/25

Goro (Kuatan Warrior)
50/50 mix ups and pressure (2/5) - He has none. Only 2 single-hitting attacks lead to tick throws, his potential mixups option have incredibly short range for a mofo so big, his strings are incredibly slow and telegraphed.
Neutral game and footsies (3/5) - Good footsies with good range and safe on block. Super free to air attacks.
Defensive options (3/5) - He has Punchwalk.
Zoning and anti-zoning (2/5) - His fireball is slow and a high to boot. Ground Ppund can be jumped on reaction. Telestomp requires Jedi skills to work well.
Damage output (4/5) - Luckily he has unbreakable 12% damage with EX Ground Pound in this variation.
Final score = 14/25

 

[Eldriken]

Downplaying fool.

It's been revised slightly. =P

 

[STB Sgt Reed]

It's been revised slightly. =P

No take backsies!!

 

[Eldriken]

No take backsies!!

After what Dave said, he was right about her footsies and 50/50s. I only took into consideration the range of her normals instead of how useful they are overall. =P Her T-Rex arms make me not think straight. XD

 

[Evil Canadian]

Eh what the shit, this is for war god Kotal


50/50 - 3/5
He obviously has the options, and can decently force it in however a big part of forcing the 50/50 game is getting the damage in and the only damage comes from ex overhead and that is what anyone smart should be expecting. Generally kotal will be getting his 50/50 damage in small bits vs the mixup into the homerun, so 3/5 on that. Besides that the ex overhead is less for a mixup and more as a blunt object to punish people for hitting any buttons(see neutral).

Neutral - 5/5
Kotal is nearly best in class when it comes to playing neutral, b1 strings, f2b1 into whatever, super fast long range d4, db1 you can basically use as a bludgeon at half screen. If you got the reactions you see any twitch and that is the cue to ex overhead from a ridiculous range away into full combo.

Defense - 3/5
Nothing especially great, or bad. He has ex wakeup to full combo but the option is so obvious it can be played around easily enough. His backdash is slightly better than most. Just very average.

Zoning - 0/5
Can't even give this a 1. EX toss is alright for some gimmicky shit or closing out with chip but that is really all its good for in the end. If anyone has any kind of decent zoning game Kotal just has to be patient and earn his way in, there is no threat from any counter zoning from him in the least and he has no options other than just honestly getting in.

Damage - 4/5
Very high damage pretty much across the board. Would say 5/5 except for the fact his damage without bar(f2 notwithstanding) is lower than the majority of the cast.


*ed* on further thought, changed mixup pressure to 3/5.

 

[HeroesNZ]

Erron Black - Outlaw/Marksman:

50/50s and pressure - 5/5 - Marksman has more pressure options but Outlaw has better oki so it balances out. 50/50s are safe in both variations through OSes.

Neutral game and footsies - 4/5 and 3.5/5 - Outlaw has a great NJP.

Defensive options - 4/5 and 2.5/5 - Outlaw can anti-air a little better with EX Tarkatan Stab, and has an armoured launcher in EX Sand Toss which is huge.

Zoning and anti-zoning - 3/5 and 4/5 - Marksman has more zoning options.

Damage output - 4/5 and 4.5/5 - In the corner Marksman is able to reach a higher damage output, although for more meter.

Total - 20/25 and 19.5/25 which I think is about right in terms of Outlaw being marginally better than Marksman.

 

[DownfouralitY]

At work right now but I'll elaborate later.
This is why I'm switching to Shinnok.

Which variaton?

Impostor Shinnok:

Mixups/Pressure - 4/5 Very good in this regard because of the mimicry 50/50 but it's still not as good as boneshaper imo. HS pressure is still as good as ever, teleport is also a very awesome tool to apply some pressure. Lacks the extra strings in boneshaper but makes up for it with the teleport

Neutral game and footsies 4/5
Has a amazing neutral game and amazing footsies. He controls the screen with hellsparks and instant air teleport. having some of the best pokes in the game also helps his footsie game a lot, and the stolen move does come into play depending on what character you're using. He also has a godlike f2 that has amazing range

Defensive options 4/5
One of the best backdashes in the game, hellsparks are not to be fucked with, and again his pokes are so fucking good. mb shoulder charge is a great armored wakeup and just a good move in general. people also say d2s need to be buffed, think again. Shinnok has one of if not the best d2 in the game, it would need to be nerfed if they buffed d2s universally lol.

Zoning and anti zoning. 3/5
His zoning is strong but not as good as boneshaper. He definitely still controls the screen with hellsparks but I consider impostor to be a way better rushdown variation because of the teleport. You still have to respect those hellsparks though

Damage Output 3/5
His damage output meterless is definitely one of his biggest issues. Without meter he gets like next to nothing, but the damage buff from mimicry does help. He gets amazing chip dmg with the buff and it can be a godsend for closing out games. The only thing I wish he could do better is consistent damage in impostor but it's not too bad.

18/25 total, idk if you call that downplaying but yeah. very solid character, probably bottom 5 though

 

[Sultan]

@General M2Dave
IMO, you're missing a massive category: meter-building.

 

[SaSSolino]

Warlock Quan Chi

Mixups/Pressure 4/5
His pressure is close to unexistent, but the 50/50 mixups are insanely good and the ex rune is a really strong tool. I gave him 4 and not 5 because without meter his 50/50 options aren't safe (unlike a ton of other chars) and his Warlock vortex with the portal stab costs 1 meter and I almost never find a good reason to use it.

Neutral game and footsies 2/5
Same as dave said in the main post, but I value it only 2/5 considering the other chars with insane range in this game.

Defensive Options 3/5
The portal slam is a good reversal that can lead into an over 30% combo, but it's easily avoidable (unlike the ex spin that works on everyone that isn't blocking) and full punishable. Everything else is in the main post by dave. his defense in warlock got better thanks to the reversal, but it's still nothing major.

Zoning and Anti-Zoning 5/5
Warlock has the best anti zoning in the game thanks to his f3. the f3 also helps the rune/skulls zoning and jails after a skull. it's just an amazing tool. business.

Damage Output 5/5
35% to 40% meterless is really good and he gets even more with meter. He can also end his combo in portal stab and go for a throw for almost 50% with 1 bar, ofc it's not garanteed, but it's still pretty good. the damage he gets after a b2xxTrance isn't as good, but I really can't complain.

Total: 19/25
Warlock is solid, even tho the weakest of Quan's variations.


Once I get the last patches on pc, I'll do Impostor Shinnok too.

EDIT: nevermind, someone else did Impostor while I was doing Warlock.

 

[HoneyBee]

D'Vorah (Swarm Queen)

50/50 mix ups and pressure (5/5)

Spoiler

Even with the recent nerf, D'Vorah still has amazing pressure using her f112 bug cancel into stand 2, b1, f2 ect. Although not all the options are guaranteed i.e., there are gaps, proper conditioning can force your opponent to think twice about pressing a button. From range, the opponent should almost always block overhead since that leads into over 30% meterless damage. D'Vorah's d4 can be used to force the opponent to block low. She also has a 50/50 that leads into ~30% with the downside being that the low has very short range and is harder to execute (3f link).

Neutral game and footsies (5/5)

Spoiler

D'Vorah hands down has some of the BEST footsies in the game. Her d3, d4 and f22 are long ranged attacks that can control space while also having a huge benefit of lacking a hurtbox. This can make whiff punishing D'Vorah a challenge although it's still possible. Her f22 is an overhead that leads into ~30% meterless damage which makes her very scary. Her NJP can also be used to catch someone running in or using a forward advancing move because of it's great range. She also has imo, the best d2 in the game which prevents the entire cast from freely jumping in at her.

Defensive options (2.5/5)

Spoiler

This is where D'Vorah struggles. Her only armor move is 20 start up frames, -12 on block and does 11% damage on hit. It has practically zero push back meaning it is punishable by the entire cast if they didn't already break the armor. When knocked down, D'Vorah heavily relies on delayed wake ups to get out of any 50/50 guessing games. She can sometimes use her armor move to get the opponent off her when knocked down but the risk heavily outweighs the reward. Armoring through gaps in strings don't give her much reward compared to the rest of the cast damage wise and characters with good pressure often break her armor if she attempts to use it, meaning she must wait for the opportune moment to poke out with d1 to establish her own pressure.

Zoning and anti-zoning (3.5/5)

Spoiler

Although D'Vorah can't really zone her opponent, her anti-zoning capabilities are strong because of her vortex swarm, a move that creates a swarm of bugs that generate wherever the opponent is standing during the startup of the move. The move itself has 47 start up frames and is +22 on block. When this move trades with a projectile fullscreen, she often has the time to run to the opponent and still connect a f112 ovi or a f34 into b12 air throw, giving her between 22% - 27% damage from fullscreen. The downside to this move is the very long start up of the move which can often be punished from long range if the opponent chooses to run at her and cancel into their best ranged attack for a full combo punish. If the opponent is capable of zoning while airborne, the vortex swarm will also whiff, forcing D'Vorah to take hits or close the gap. Against opponents that have very quick recovery and startup on their projectiles, the opponent will either beat her startup of the vortex swarm, or they'll be able to block the move while D'Vorah takes the hit of the projectile, never resulting in a favorable trade to D'Vorah.

Damage output (5/5)

Spoiler

Her bnb midscreen metereless combos do 29% - 34% and go up to 33% - 38% in the corner. For a bar off her f11 (mid attack), she can get a cool 42% midscreen and 45% in the corner. She's also capable of converting into considerable damage off of stray hits in the corner, roughly 25% - 30%. Stray hits midscreen can be converted into ~20%.

Total: 21/25

 

[Wetdoba]

Lackey Torr

50/50 mix ups and pressure (3/5)

• Has an OH and multiple low starters and a low/OH into hard knockdown, but both the Overheads are reactable. The opponent can block low and react to the overhead with near perfect consistency. He suffers a bit without Ferra for the 50/50 after any string. His pressure is decent with the tick throw off of D1, and he's surprisingly safe off of a lot of strings.

Neutral game and footsies (3/5)

• (This is an area where I personally struggle anyway, so take this rating with a grain of salt. If anyone has tips to get better, I'm all ears.) I feel his neutral game is lacking. Outside of f32, he has no far reaching advancing normals. He wants to always be in your face. If the opponent can stay just outside of his d1 range, it's lights out. However, his saving grace is his amazing d1 which can tick from good range. He also has, what I believe, is the best dash in the game. I use it to close the gaps more than his run. His 10f b1 and his 7f s2 are decent punishers that can lead to full combo.

Defensive options (4/5)

• Great counterpoking with d1. D1, while not as good an AA/ACU as FerraJab, still gets the job done against most the cast. Every EX special has armor (one with 4 hits) and one of them launches for a full combo. He's safe on most strings, but not on any specials, except maybe charge on some characters due to pushback. I don't rate it 5/5 because, due to his specials not being safe and no projectiles, he builds meter VERY slowly, so oftentimes a bar is scarce.

Zoning and anti-zoning (0/5)

• Playing lame at 3/4 to fullscreen is the way to go against Lackey. He has zero, count 'em, zero projectiles to counter zone. He's got his Charge, with 4 frames of projectile immunity, but you can see it from a mile away and jump over punish or block it in plenty of time. His EX roll moves fullscreen fairly fast with a hit of armor, but it isn't safe and can be read from long range. His EX charge has 4 hits of armor, which is great for getting in, but again, can be read a mile away and blocked or jump over punished. (Personally, I think allowing 2in1 cancellability on charge, OR, reducing whiff recovery of roll to be on par with Reptile's dash would elevate this character immensely.)

Damage Output (5/5)

• Good damage. Can reach 40% with a bar, and most BnB's do mid/low 30s meterless.

Overall 15/25 D-

I may be (probably) wrong on some, to quite a bit of this stuff. So, if anyone has any counter arguments as to why I'm wrong, I'm all ears and open to learning.

I'd say add 1 to each category but subtract 1 from damage since the 40% is only in one scenario and every other time it's 30-34ish. Anti zoning needs at least 1 point for projectile immunity at the beginning of charge. Defensive options are definitely a 5/5, we have the best overall armor options in the game and a 6 frame d1. Neutral game and pressure also need plus each for the command grabs speed and range. New score 18 or 19/25 I'd say

 

[smokey]

Stunt Double Cage;
1. 50/50 mix ups and pressure (4/5) – Yellow clones are +a lot on block meaning you get to frame trap/tick throw off them meterless. Builds good meter, has great options after 11, great (low) d4. Against opponents who block instead of armouring the gaps in his pressure/frame traps he can bully them into spending their meter to avoid near guaranteed throws from hesitating, and then bait the armour. Yellow EX elbow gives a jump in, so more chances to tick throw, more chip, more meter build. 113 and 11~f2 works, despite the fuzzy guard, but its not really great due to not being able to hitconfirm (11)3~nutpunch. Corner game is solid as he can combo from 113~shadowkick, catching people sleeping and also leaving you + on block for pressure. He has really good conditioning tools and lots of ways to get on the offense. Doesnt need stamina or meter for frame traps, and also nut punch is nut punch. 4/5.

2. Neutral game and footsies (3/5) – f2 and f3 are both good advancing quick moves and can cancel into clone shadows for advantage when you have them up. d4 is solid, gives you a free f2 at most ranges, and a run up throw/blockstring when people are used to respecting the advantage. Good options mid-range and close, great ones with his clones up, but full screen his clones dont reach, EX shadowkick is easy to dodge and doesnt advance through projectiles with clones up, forceballs hit high. Anti airs and jumping attacks are not the greatest with cage but EX nut does the trick against jump ins and cross ups, and NJP is strong. You can trip guard really effectively from a bit of distance with f3 and f2 so good spacing leads to nutpunches. Some characters have longer range options and can run away effectively to grind you down, and some jump attacks beat pretty much anything you want to try, no downplay, but i wouldnt put this at 4 until I can anti air with no meter every time.

3. Defensive options (4/5) – EX Nut is 30% upwards and combos with great corner carry if clones are up, and leads to nutpunch pressure. Its safe to a bunch of the casts main punishers, and the pushback makes it hard for a lot of characters to even punish at all. IMO possibly the main benefit of launching armour is that you can spend 1 bar to reverse pressure and your opponents breaker costs 2, leading to lots of advantageous situations. D4 has incredible low profiling, can duck most mid projectiles, mid attacks, and a lot of jump ins, and to cap it off his defensive options always lead to nutpunch pressure, which pushed me from 3 to 4/5 despite not having 6 frame pokes.

4. Zoning and anti-zoning (3/5) - Forceball hits high, yellow shadowkick doesnt go full screen and hits high at range, so not good for zoning. EX Shadow kick loses its forward momentum when your clones are up so you lose the option to blow through projectiles to get in. But tbh MKX zoning isnt actually bad enough that you cant just walk in and get to the corner, and you can easily get in a range where shadowkick will punish a ducked special (high tech guns /kenshi flurry). D4 goes under mids like kotal sword, jason machete, so you can actually just sit on a life lead from full screen if you wanted to do so, but its not something i have ever felt like cage should be promoting. Bone shaper after the most recent patch is pretty fucked up for cage though... 3/5 "anti-zoning" because most of the casts zoning doesnt really stop him from going in anyway.

5. Damage output (5/5) – Without clones 20-25 midscreen or 30-35 corner 0 to 1 bars. With clones this shoots up to 30-40 midscreen or upwards of 50% in the corner. Ex nut is 30-40% armoured combo starter. In the corner he can deal like 60-70% with 3 bars loaded. Everything ends in nutpunch too, so you get damage in chip/throws which other characters dont even have the option for as the opponent can wake up. Has good chip damage setups, and has a damage buff when hes below 5% that pushes his damage up by 10%+ in any combo involving a special move. 5/5 easily.

 

[Error404]

@General M2Dave, very fun thread!

Commando Kano

1. 50/50 mix ups and pressure (1/5)

Spoiler

Commando's most basic mixup is between [B13, B1] [B13, EX Command Grab] and [B13~Choke]. The mixup is meter dependent because the regular Command Grab can be countered by the defender using a Throw/Block option select. The first mixup can be punished by any 9F or faster jab into a full combo or interrupted by low profile pokes and randomly whiffs against grounded attacks. The second can be punished by jumping over into a full combo. The third option is safe. However, Choke randomly whiffs on crouching females and is full combo punishable. The reward is 28%, 19% and 11% respectively. Although Commando has a frame trap with [2, B13] it leads to a poor mixup game anyways. 1 point off for meter depedency, 1 point off for having all options full combo punishable, 1 point off for low damage and 1 point off for unreliable hitbox.

2. Neutral game and footsies (2/5)

Spoiler

Kano has average to below average footsies. None of his strings propel him forward and so the player must be very precise in calculating the space when pressing his footsie buttons. Although his F4 is a low crush, which is nice, it simply does not lead to anything all that threatening. F4 is safe on block and Commando can play a mind game with EX Command Grab to punish an opponent for reversing pressure. However, the EX Command Grab threat requires meter and is full combo punishable by a crossover or randomly loses to grounded attacks. Fortunately the normal [B1] is one of the better anti-airs in the game and D4 is a low profile poke with good range. 1 point off for lack of threat after using his footsie tools, 1 point off for requiring meter to use his threat after using his tools and 1 point off for putting himself at risk of a full combo just for attempting to use his threat after F4.

3. Defensive options (3/5)

Spoiler

EX Up Ball, EX Choke and EX Command Grab are all either safe on high guard or counter Block. However, the first option is full combo punishable on low guard, the second option is a high and full punishable on neutral duck while the third option is full combo punishable by a crossover. EX Kano Ball cancel is full combo punishable on block and leads to a combo on hit. Unfortunately Commando cannot capitalize all that well for landing the hit due to his low damage output. 1 point off for lack of safety, 1 point off for meter dependency.

4. Zoning and anti-zoning (2/5)

Spoiler

The Knife in Commando is quick on startup and recovery. However, it's a high and thus cannot lock down opponents. A simple duck and walk will get around the Knife. There is also no mixup in his Knife game except when approaching footsie range and that is whether Commando will make a move and initiate offense. The Knife does control running to a certain extent which is nice. Air Kano Ball is a high risk/low reward counter-zoning tool. EX Air Ball is cannot be blocked. However, it's punishable on reaction by armor, NJ2 and loses to projectiles. 1 point off for lack of lockdown, 1 point off for being a high projectile and 1 point off for lack of reliable anti-zoning .

5. Damage output (1/5)

Spoiler

This is Commando Kano we're talking about. 1/5 if only because his corner damage is respectable.

Total Score: 9/25

@hard_goodbye
@CanadianBaconX

Such nonsense was clearly listed as forbidden in the OP.

 

[Wetdoba]

Vicious Ferra Torr:

50/50 Mix Ups and Pressure: (4/5)
Great meterbuilding and majority of pressure strings are safe. There is room to armor through gaps though and overhead is on the slower side but that's no biggie as we can cancel into low or overhead Ferra's all day. When Ferra is off our back we don't have access to our overhead or command grab or armor but we get our trusty Lackey D1 which is 6 frames. Normal D1 is plus 20ish on hit and grants us a mix up attempt.

Nuetral and Footsies: (5/5)
This is this variations strongest category by far. Ferra attacks give great range. Third best neutral jump punch in the game. Boss Toss is an amzing footsie tool as well. Ferra has no hurtbox on her.

Defensive options: (2.5/5)
Lack of good armor tools, Ferra get's knocked off our back if we get poked out of an attack using her. 20 frame D2 and huge hurtbox means jumping in for days unless you read it like a book. No access to armor when Ferra is off our back, (no armor at all if we are kept standing at the end of a combo). Terrible backdash, especially when considering how big our hurtbox is.

Zoning and Anti-Zoning: (4/5)

Ferra Tosses destroy projectiles which is obviously incredibly good for anti zoning in the majority of match ups. But some like Kenshi's spirit attacks, Quan Chi runes, or Jaqui's guns aren't effected by it.

Damage output: (4/5)

With no way to spend meter to increase our damage, after the Boss Toss normalization we are maxing out at around 34-35% without Xray. Still meterless though

Total Score 19.5/25 Very Solid

@General M2Dave I think there should be one more category for meter build/meter reliance as special meter is probably the best thing your character can have in this game. Thoughts?

 

[M2Dave]

@General M2Dave
IMO, you're missing a massive category: meter-building.

Meter building is part of all the categories in my opinion, footsies and zoning in particular.

 

[SaSSolino]

Cybernetic Kano
50/50 mixups and pressure (0/5)
Defensive options (3/5)
Damage Output (1/5)

his 50/50 are non-existent, true. but his pressure isn't so bad. the damage isn't so bad either (perhaps a 3?) and I belive that his sick backdash, fast pokes and reversals deserve a full 4 in defensive options.

you've played more cybernetic than I have probably, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong; but the votes seem to have an high tendecy so it feels right to me.

 

[SaSSolino]

Meter building is part of all the categories in my opinion.

how about setups? Sorceror's spells make the variation really scary, but in this thread I'd downvote him because I can't give 6 to his damage (rune traps) and I don't know where to put the fact that after every combo he gets a spell out.

 

[REDARROWBUGGY7]

Such nonsense was clearly listed as forbidden in the OP.

Please elaborate.

 

[SaltShaker]

FINALLY THE KANO COMMUNITY SPEAKS UP! 0/5 PRESSURE AND MIXUPS...at least he has 5/5 Downplaying

Lmaoooooooo!!!

Cyber Kano Mixups consist of "if they block anything in your entire move list you can be armored for full combos if you push a button to follow up pressure" and "once you do a string you have no follow ups that don't risk full punishes". 1/5 would rate it too high. That's for his 1 bar B1 32% BnB's. -.- 0/5 bruh.

Which variaton?

Honestly I like all 3 variations, but Dave and UsedCar have convinced me to go with Bone Shaper first.

 

[Gruff757]

-waits for goro-