Here's what I know about Imposter, these are the negative points:
1) Shinnok has excellent normals. His strings fucking suck. Safest string is -4 and it starts with a 15f high.
2) I have to spend a bar to be safe on 90% of the things I do which makes him insanely meter dependent which I'll get into in a sec.
3) My neutral sucks. There I said it. Shinnok's neutral isn't that good I'm sorry. When I'm not right in your face the only thing I'm gonna be doing is risking an IA which should be punished 90% of the time by someone who knows what they're doing, chuck Hell Sparks which I can't even do unless I have a bar or else I'm gonna get destroyed, run in and throw Hell Sparks, throw out f22 which I have to make safe with a bar, or run in with a mix-up with I will either land, make safe with a bar, or get punished for. I can try and space people out, but people have to be pretty damn close for me to hit them with f4 and most people have strings I don't want to try to contest.
"But Calf, you can whiff punish with Hell Sparks!"
Risky af unless I have a bar, and sometimes even if I have a bar it's still risky af. I WILL SAY THIS THOUGH. If I have just ONE BAR of meter, Shinnok's neutral gets SIGNIFICANTLY better UNLESS the other person has a guaranteed way to punish MB Hell Sparks. Not everyone does.
4) I NEED METER TO PLAY. That's the big part people don't totally get. If I don't have meter, I don't get to play MKX, the game I paid for. It's a rare occasion for Shinnok not to have meter but it does happen and when it happens I lose. Some characters I can loop without meter but I have to commit to it if I want to do that and it's usually a big ol risk. Some characters I can just use the move for chip damage. You know what those are called? Winning MU's. The main point here is that Shinnok needs meter to make himself safe/confirm off of Hell Sparks which is is main footsie tool. If he doesn't have it in Imposter you have to play a little yolo.
5) Aside from his 6f d1, it's hard for him to escape pressure. The armoured shoulder is sort of a shitty wake-up and I need meter for most things so I really don't wanna use it getting you off me for like 13%
Here are Imposter's pros:
1) MY GOD DAMN VORTEX IS LIT. Even if I loop you once I'm probably gonna hit you for 50% or more because of his damage. I have a super fast low, a slowish OH, jailing air normals, a teleport that makes it harder to guess what I'll do, a free af 16% grab, or I could just chip you out. OR I could even whiff the move and keep it going in some cases. Some characters he can loop without meter, some he can destroy in like 2 reps. it's good fun.
2) I use meter for 90% of the things that I do, but I also build it stupid quick. I have jailing set-ups that fill my bar up as if I just drank a potion. People can argue, " Oh but he has to get in or commit to something or what have you" but honestly I feel like people forget one small thing....
We're playing a thinking opponent.
We're playing someone that is scared to death to get touched. We're playing someone that knows we have so much jailing shit now and they know we have a 7f low we could hit them with and they're terrified. We can get a way with some pretty nutty stuff as far as building meter goes.
3) His run is bonkers, the amount of times I glide across the floor and clip someone with an f4 is shocking.
4) His teleport buff opened the door to some really disgusting shit. Added mix-ups, chip damage, more mind games, etc.
5) His normals are great. 7f d2 AA, 6f d1, 11f d4 that jails into Hell Sparks, some +2 stuff, etc.
6) some nutty moves he can steal. RIP Cassie and Ferra/Torr
7) Damage is great after a buff. Rounds can be over after 1 touch - his comeback factor is insane.
I'm sure I'm missing some, and I know if differs when you look at Bone Shaper, but from my experience there's no fucking way Shinnok is C tier. Gotta be A+. Just because he can't run in and instantly do stupid shit like the S tier gods of this game doesn't mean he's lacking in dirt.
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