KIllaByte
PSN: playakid700. Local name: BFGC MonkeyBizness
As a Wrestler Jax player, I agree on this matchup being wild and momentum based. Cage and Jax have the same goals and similar tools, but are slightly differently.Cages d4 is among the best in the game i will happily admit, but Raiden vs d4 is tough to say as the match is often played at range 0 after the initial neutral game, which can go either way. Raiden wont get to wake up because of nutpunch so d4 isnt huge there, and he doesnt need to armour to get off the floor anyway as he has decent pokes and normals to defend with. If im gonna abuse d4 to blow out raidens shocker then he has other armoured options that d4 doesnt beat. Same in any matchup though cage can just block to blow up armour, same as he would d4 raiden. Cage has slow pokes and d4 loses up close as he cant get low quick enough, so when raidens on the attack you are generally stuck in the corner trying to put a d1 or EX in the right place like everyone else, while raiden can build meter safely and has a good 50/50 restand. Momentum swings in the matchup instantly though and both characters have to blow armour or read to get out of each others pressure so I dont think cage has a big advantage at all in this matchup. He doesnt lose by any means, but d4 isnt enough to swing the matchup in his favour when raiden does his thing.
Jax f212 is not something cage really cares about if jax is trying to approach with it because of d4 but still has to respect it because of the range, if cage whiffs anything hes either blocking a f2 and being staggered/frame trapped or it hits and hes going in the corner where jax is mad. Jax can also open anyone up with his strings and mixups, his d12 is good fast option close up and his damage is crazy from anything that hits or he armours through near the corner. Its a tough matchup for both parties, and i think either of them can get the advantage from a touch and keep it. Sometimes 1 good read could turn into you being cornered and losing, i would have never put this as cage advantage but he doesnt lose it. SD Cage i like a tiny bit more for this matchup, you can run more in neutral without crippling your pressure when you get in lol, i see it as even though, jax is scary.
If Cage wants a soft frame trap off of a blocked projectile, he has to spend a bar of meter, while Jax only needs a raw energy wave.. but, Jax's energy wave hits high, so, it's almost even in that department. Both have long range whiff punishing combo starters, but for this, Jax gets to hitconfirm more easily and get more damage... but Cage's stuff eds with a meterless, hella plus restand.
THey do a lot of similar things... there are some magical ranges and footsie wars in this match, because the first hit in a round matters so much.