Match-up Discussion Smoke's Matchups

[ApocaLips]

Table of Contents

Baraka through Ermac
Jade through Kabal
Kano through Liu Kang
Mileena through Quan Chi
Raiden through Sektor
Shang Tsung through Smoke
Sonya through Sub-Zero
DLC Characters


Introduction

The goal of this thread is to accrue matchup-specific information about Smoke so that players have a resource to learn strategies to deal with the rest of the cast. Smoke is a very reactionary character with a counter-style skill set, so learning how to apply it to each character specifically is crucial.

Please post strategies that have worked for you against particular characters in the past. If you have a difficult time dealing with a particular strategy, this is also the place to bring it up so that we can develop counter measures against it.

I'm going to simply add the comments that other users post. Once we get too many posters on a single character, I'm going to try to summarize everyone's posts into one writeup, attempting the best that I can to keep every helpful comment that every poster makes.

Once we gather enough data on a particular character, we can try to take a stab at the matchup rating. I'd like to refrain from doing so until we get to that point though.

Please post away! I can't possibly handle matchup writeups against the entire cast, so your input is vital to the success of this thread.

 

[ApocaLips]

Baraka

Cyber Sub-Zero

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: Your general goal is to stay away and bait freeze blasts. He beats you up close, and you beat him from far away. However, if he does get in and get a life lead, you may need to launch a counter assault because he can turtle pretty safely against you.

Early jump kicks beat his dive kicks, and if you catch him low enough you get 38% to his 7% (or 18% with meter). That's way in your favor, so try to stop his dive kick pressure that way (watch his meter though - his x-ray beats jump kicks and looks just like he's going in for a normal dive kick). He can mix it up with jump punches to beat your jump kicks, but he doesn't get too much damage off of that either if you're in the air. Beat jump punches with a backwards jump kick.

At long range, a trade between smoke bomb and freeze is in his favor, as he gets a full combo. However, smoke bomb is much faster than freeze, so it's still safe to pressure with that if he's blocking for free meter. Just make sure to block the incoming freeze. He might learn that slide beats smoke bomb clean (it'll whiff), so if he figures that out be more conservative with smoke bombs.

Shake is by far the best way to deal with freezes if you know they're coming. It's safe and the damage is unavoidable. This means that Cyber Sub can't really zone you too well.

Up close is where Cyber Sub has the advantage. He has fast high/lows that you'll have trouble out-prioritizing. Don't be afraid to en:shake to get him off of you.

If you're noticeably behind on life and he's turtling you, you may need to rush him down. It's very hard to do so, but it's sometimes necessary. Cross-up punches, as always, are a good way to get some damage, as they screw up his parry input. Your combos greatly out damage his, so one clean hit should be enough to go back to a spacing game. Watch out for parries - they're fast. Sweep if you think it's coming then go for a cross up jump punch on wakeup.

Cyrax

Ermac

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: You have advantage at full screen, disadvantage at mid screen, and are about even close up.

At full screen, throw smoke bombs and hold block right after. If Ermac tries to fireball, it trades with smoke bomb in your favor (8% to 12% even without a combo, and you get okizime). If he tries to teleport punch on reaction to your bombs, you'll block it and he'll eat a combo. Try to vary your timing on the bombs, as he can only teleport punch if he correctly guesses the timing of your bomb and teleports at the same time. Smart Ermacs will realize this disadvantage and will block-dash to about mid screen. You need to counter his spacing with your own teleports.

At mid screen, your goal is to get in or get out. Ermac beats you badly here. If you jump, he can force push you out of it. If you throw a smoke bomb, he can threaten to jump punch in on you for huge damage. You need to block-dash in or out and not try anything risky.

Up close, both of you are about the same threat level. Ermac's 2, 2 combo is decently fast but you can duck under it cleanly. His B+1, 1, 4 combo hits special mid but is very slow, so if you're crouching you can poke out of it. Either of these combos leads to very big damage, however, so watch out. Meanwhile, you have your 42% combo with 3, D+1, 2, and you can threaten a fast overhead with B+2 for 35%, and you have a fast sweep for 7% + okizime. Neither of you really like being up close, so depending on the opponent and how comfortable you are up close you may be able to get the advantage here.

If you score a knockdown, Ermac has no answer to cross up jump punch on wakeup. Do that into a sweep/overhead/throw mixup.

 

[ApocaLips]

Jade

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: If you know to watch out for enhanced Shadow Flash and her enhanced Boomerang reset, then you're in good shape.

Before talking about your game plan, it's important to know how to deal with some of the tricks that Jade has. The first is her enhanced Shadow Flash. It has super armor, so you can't do anything against her or you'll eat a full combo. It doesn't last very long though, and she'll be sure to try to rush you down during that time, so if you can escape or block the string she attempts then you're fine. Stay on your toes and watch her meter to make sure you don't attack during the enhanced flash.

Jade also has a reset that can lead to enormous damage but is very easy to avoid. When Jade ends a combo, she can whiff an enhanced boomerang. It'll come back just in time for you to stand up. If it hits you, she gets a free combo. If you see her toss an enhanced boomerang, stay blocking as you wake up to avoid eating a second combo.

Your long range game plan is to counter her usual patterns. You have all of the tools you need to mess up whatever she throws at you. Shake counters all boomerangs. Jade is used to being able to Shadow Flash through projectiles, but Smoke Bomb doesn't actually count as a projectile, so you might be able to score some surprise bombs on her, especially on wake up where Jade is used to countering meaty projectiles with a wake up flash.

Up close, you only really need to watch out for Jade's overhead combos. Her staff overhead is so slow that if you're looking for it, you can uppercut her out of it. She only has one low string and it doesn't lead to anything, so pay more attention to her overheads. Her rushdown is pretty weak, so you should be able to handle it. Meanwhile, you have a stronger mixup game (thanks to your faster sweep) and get higher rewards, and you have enhanced shake to get out of jail if need be, so you're in good shape at point blank. Just watch out for random enhanced Shadow Flashes.

Jax

Johhny Cage

Kabal

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: Kabal is a very solid character and difficult to fight against. His mixups are very strong and there's no good way to cut down his options. You're going to have to read your opponent very well and capitalize on any chance you get.

First off, make sure that you know how to punish a blocked nomad dash. It's absolutely crucial for this match.

Full screen is your safest and best position. From here, you can shake his projectiles and still block in time if he attempts to dash. You can throw some smoke bombs, but don't spam them. If he spins at the same time as you throw a bomb, you'll get hit. You ideally want to stay at this range, but both of you are very nimble characters with a lot of movement options and since you have no great way to force him to remain at full screen, you'll likely have a hard time keeping this advantage over him.

Good kabals will hover around mid screen range. From there, he can toss out projectiles to try to bait your shakes. When he guesses correctly, he dashes your shake (which you won't have time to recover from at this range) for a full combo into a reset. He can also dash at you and cancel into either of his overhead or low specials. Baiting a dash and punishing is your best option here. If you're not comfortable at this range, go ahead and smoke away back to full screen. A mistake can be very costly.

Kabal's close game is very nasty. Since he has an overhead and a low special (Tornado Slam and Buzzsaw), he can threaten a high/low mixup at any point in his blockstrings. He can combo into dash off of almost any of his built-in combos. His 1, 1, b+4 string hits low and combos into dash, or if blocked he can tack his fast overhead onto the end. If he's on the offensive, you're in trouble. Use enhanced shakes whenever you can to get out of this mess.

Good kabals know how to use his reset. Instead of ending his combos in the most damaging way possible, kabal will end in f+4. This move puts you into stagger state, which is a state in which you can only block. He'll then dash at you and attack you with 1, 1, forcing you to block. From there, he can go into another mixup (end the string in B+4, dash into another reset, B+4, tornado throw or just a tornado throw where you expect the low). It's very safe for him and can deal a ton of damage if he guesses right a few times. Try your best to not get into a situation where he can set this up, as it will likely cost you the round.

If you're on the offensive, he luckily doesn't have a ton of tools to deal with your close game. Enhanced dash is his best bet, but if he gets you with it you're in trouble, so watch out.

Be very careful with your jumps in this match. If he catches you, you might eat an anti-air dash into a reset.

Again, there's no magic way to deal with this matchup. You need to figure out what flavor patterns your opponent likes to use and react accordingly. Be attentive and quick to react.

 

[ApocaLips]

Kano

Kitana

Kung Lao

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: Keep him at full screen. Don't jump.

At full screen he can only toss his hat at you and teleport. Hat loses to shake and smoke bomb badly. He can teleport, but you can uppercut that on reaction. His only real options are block-dashing, whiffing a dive kick, and en:teleport.

Up close, Lao absolutely wrecks you. Spin beats out all of your normals, and you have a very hard time punishing it with your slow normals (you might be able to get a smoke bomb, but I'm not sure and can't test it). He can mix it up with throws, a very fast low combo into spin, and his usual 1, 1, 2 spin. You can't win at point blank, and your primary goal is to get him off of you. En:shake can be a good desperation move. Your sweep goes under his 1, 1, 2 and out-ranges most of what he has. Block dashing backwards can work, as can enhanced teleports backwards.

Don't ever jump. He can punish it on reaction at any range. From far away, he gets a free dive kick. Up close, he gets a spin into a combo. It might be a good idea to bring a separate controller/stick with a broken up button for this matchup.

The Matchup against Kung Lao is really really hard (at least for me it is) BUT it's doable. There's this one guy on XBL who plays a REALLY REALLY good Kung Lao. If you want Kung Lao practice but can't get to JWong then look for Chriswis on XBL. Jump-ins are terribly unsafe at all times, since Kung Lao can always Spin to anti-air and juggle you all day for at least 40% damage. Kung Lao can also Anti-air Spin>X-Ray>quick juggle for a good 50%+i believe. Some Kung Laos won't throw the straight hat some will, it's just a matter of testing the waters so obviously Shake when you see his hat shine lol. REALLY IMPORTANT NOTICE: The mixup that completely messes you up is after the Roll one would think it's punishable on block, but it isn't. This is where the mind games begin, most likely that Kung Lao player will Spin right away and catch you on that +40% combo. Or if u keep blocking and they know you'll block they will Grab you. You CANNOT jump over them because Spin WILL catch you and IDK about jumping away. How you can stop this you say? well it's not that easy but at the same time it's really easy. Most likely a Kung Lao will Roll when they're at Jump Range to get in your face. This is when you predict this Roll and just do you and catch him on the roll. Yes it works, that's what I do to punish/prevent that. WATCH OUT for dive Kicks. They do A LOT of damage. Most likely a GOOD kung Lao will only Dive Kick during a combo or just to cover some ground. This is when you start to Dash>>Dash> towards him so that he doesn't whiff it on purpose and you block it instead and punish with a full combo. Teleport is interesting. When you were curious on who to main and you tried out Kung Lao and saw his teleport (or maybe back in the MK2 days) you say to yourself "wow this is fucking garbage" (i know i did). NO NO NO That teleport is AMAZING be VERY careful don't try to punish it or jump away, because you will get caught by the Bounce (teleport Bounce ) or you will get grabbed (dont think it grabs if you jump away). The Kung Lao corner game is BRUTAL but like I always say "when in doubt :en Shake". Kung Laos will use the + to chip you (it really chips a whole lot). OR they will jst do the start of it and stop to keep you blocking and grab you or sweep or pretty much whatever they want. A Kung Lao can make a mistake and do + and if you block that (it's an overhead) you can punish with a full combo. That's all i can say for now.

Liu Kang

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: Don't let him corner you.

Liu Kang can't beat your range game. Bad Liu Kangs or Liu Kangs who aren't familiar with the matchup may try their fireball/flying kick mixup to try to hit shakes. You can shake fireballs on reaction, so don't sweat those. Punish flying kicks. The only way he can land one is by guessing your shake and doing it at the exact same time. Be careful with smoke bombs - flying kick beats them.

Another piece of preliminary information before attempting the matchup is how to deal with his mixups. A lot of people seem to think he has 50/50 strings, but that's really not the case. He does have strings that hit low and mid, but not in the same spot, so you can actually block them both without guessing. Block the first hit of his strings low and the third hit high. If you do that, he can't mix you up like that.

There's nothing really special about the way this matchup plays except for his corner pressure. As always, you beat him from full screen but can't really pressure him, and he can put decent pressure on you if you're up close. You want to zone him and force him to make a mistake.

The one particularly nasty thing that Liu has is his corner pressure. If you get hit by a combo, you'll be carried about halfway to the corner. Once you're in the corner, his pressure is pretty nasty. His meaty strings usually beat wakeup attacks, but Smoke has an ace in the hole. Smoke's enhanced teleport on wakeup is totally invincible and will get you out of the corner no questions asked for only one bar. That beats what almost everyone else can do (most end up breakering a combo).

 

[ApocaLips]

Mileena

Nightwolf

Noob

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: This matchup is way in your favor. You have the advantage in every screen position. Just apply your tools correctly and you should come out on top.

Noob usually excels at long range. His shadow tackle is faster than most other ranged options, he can threaten with a low projectile, and when he makes the enemy crouch to avoid the low, he can teleport in or just continue chipping. This is usually what a Noob player will try to do to opponents, and his game revolves around getting back into this position.

Smoke's shake totally undermines this whole strategy. It ignores the low mixup completely and you can do it on reaction to all of his projectiles if you're sharp. Shake also recovers fast enough that even if the Noob player baits it and tries to punish it on reaction, you'll be able to block and punish in time. Noob can try to predict your shake and teleport at the same time, but doing so is extremely in your favor. He gets 10% off of a successful prediction while you get 42%. So long as you watch for random x-rays, you should crush him from this far away.

Since you beat him so badly at range, Noob has to get close to you. The problem for him is that you still have an advantage there. Noob only has one mixup. It starts with B+1, 2, and from there he can to F+4 for a low or B+1, 4 for an overhead into a special. Most of the time Noobs go for the overhead because the payoff is so much better, but even if he lands the whole string it's at most 23%. Meanwhile, your abare is much, much higher, and you can get big payoffs from hits that he gets very little from (such as a jump kick, 38% for you and 7% for him). You also boast a faster sweep and much faster overhead, meaning you should be getting more hits in than he does.

Last point to watch out for is that he can teleport in the air. Stay blocking while he's jumping. He may try to bait anti-airs this way, but again if you catch him it's 42% for you and only 10% for him.

The numbers are way in your favor for this matchup. Just play solidly, erring on the side of caution. Noob has to take big risks to win this matchup, so just watch out for them and punish appropriately.

Quan Chi

 

[ApocaLips]

Raiden

The Raiden match up is pretty hard, not only because he's top tier but his Electric Fly is super fast and will surprise a person as well as his teleport. When cornered it's really hard to get out because Raiden can do all day and trick you by canceling it with the Electric Fly and it can be very frustrating. Raiden can also Electric Fly in the air so watch out for that it will take out pretty far across the map and can corner you easily. Watch out when jumping in Raiden can juggle you with
Shocker(grab, it is blockable). or Vicinity BlastThat's is your main concern, Jumping in can give any smart Raiden the quick win just by catching you twice. Even when in low health do your best not to jump in or you WILL lose the round/match. watch out for :en Lightning Ball he can combo from the second hit. Watch out for the teleports, they are very quick and can catch you of guard into a grab or even a combo setup. Not too big of a reason to Low because Raiden can overhead you all day so it’s up to you as a player to read when they will sweep you. When cornered :en Shake will come in extremely useful, especially after getting mindfucked with two Sweeps at wake-up or even when being rushed down :en Shake wins. So ALWAYS keep in mind against ANY character :en Shake when in doubt lol. So quick review...keep in mind to be careful with jump-ins, :en Shake when indoubt, read their mixups (1 or 2 sweeps at wake up) the idea thing to do on wkae up when being rushed is to low block until the opponent does something then the high block to stop the overhead (middle attacks), have a quick reaction to teleports or you will get caught off guard. this is all i got for now. All my posts are made from losing to all the things i metion or things i look out for to punish or try to punish. He's a very fast character so idk what combos can be punished on block. when i come across this information i will add on to this or just post it separate to show the update.

Reptile

The Reptile match-up is pretty simple. Most Rpetiles after knocking you down try to Acid Ball to zone you so you have the option to wake-up with Shake or Teleport (i prefer shake). You also have to watch out for the slide so advance with caution and constant Dash>low >Dash>low etc. maybe throw a Smoke Cloud in there to keep them in check. Watch out for Acid Balls/Spits when you jump in. Getting hit by Acid Balls will cause you to take at least 36% dmg from juggleing and getting hit by an Acid Spit will do 8% damage and put you at their feet. Reptile can do a quick combo into Acid Ball juggle or a slower one for more damage. The faster one I BELIEVE (not sure about the starting 3 hits) it's :fAcid Ball, reptilian elbow, +, , Acid Ball (idk whats next). The slower one is the Acid Ball into the same combo. so that is what can really hurt you. other than that dont worry too much about their zoneing, don't random teleport either, watch out for Slides, :en Shake when cornered or rushed down (hope they dont sweep or low hit). They dont really turn invisible but if they do then just :en Smoke Cloud becuase of it's HUGE radius so they won't be able to jump right away. If there's anything else i missed or got wrong please point it out.

Scorpion

The match-up against Scorpion is pretty tricky. Dangers of being aggressive is being hit by either Teleports or Spears. Dangers of being too defensive is getting hit by Hellfires. When fighting Scorpion you can be aggressive on their wake-up, they don't have much that can get them out of a wake up , +, other than :en Teleport and i believe :en Hellfire (not sure about Hellfire). The Scorpion Hellfire is unblockable as well as uncounterable. The full screen block contest is in Scorpion's favor. Scorpion can Hellfire all day while your Smoke Cloud does not chip and it leaves you vulnerable for a Teleport. Jumping is ideal in this situation. When fighting a talented Scorpion they will try to Spear anti-air you, when you see them spear you can teleport. Hit or whiff it's in smoke's favor because you can land and , +, before they can , , spear you. After blocking , , you should + because they will most likely follow up with a Takedown or Spear(this will whiff), and then you can punish. Sometimes they will Hellfire if they're expecting the low . So it's up to you to read your opponent's decision. These are things to watch out for and keep in mind. The rest is up to you as a player to read your opponent and decide what you'll be doing.

Sektor

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: There's no magic way to beat Sektor, but there are a few things you can know and watch out for that will help you out.

Sektor has a straight missile and an up missile. You can shake both of these on reaction. Again, unless he guesses exactly when you shake, he can't teleport uppercut you from full screen.

Teleport uppercut has a few notes associated with it that you should know. Interestingly, it's not a physical attack. That means that enhanced shake won't beat it. Be careful about that. On wakeup, it has a lot of invincibility, so be careful with meaty attacks when he's getting up. The enhanced version is completely safe on block.

Sektor's flamethrower stuffs absolutely everything in its range. You need to blockdash close enough while you're within its zone to threaten a cross-up jumping attack. Everything else will lose to it.

Sektor has a high/low mixup in B+3 and U+3, 4. Start blocking low and if you see his leg raise, block high. That'll take care of most of his mixup. He rarely does U+3, 3 because B+3 is the same thing but faster.

With all of these things in mind, read your opponent and note his tendencies. Respond to them appropriately. Smoke definitely has the tools to win this one.

 

[ApocaLips]

Shang Tsung

Sheeva

Sindel

Smoke

Matchup: 5/5

Strategy: Like most mirrors, the Smoke ditto is a headache. Smoke needs to play this matchup very differently than most other matchups, and it has a lot of weird twists that can really throw you off.

Shake doesn't counter Smoke Bomb because it's not technically a projectile, so don't use the normal version at all in this match. At full screen, there's going to be a lot of random bomb chucking. Expect a lot of trades.

Smoke has very few anti-air options, and the first player to realize this is going to be at a big advantage. Smoke gets 38% off of jump kicks and a free mixup even if it's blocked. This makes an extremely aggressive playstyle have a very, very high reward. Practice your rushdown for this matchup because you'll need it.

Remember that your usual get out of jail free card, en:shake, is beaten by Smoke Bomb, so don't get too trigger happy with it or you'll eat lots of damage.

 

[ApocaLips]

Sonya

Stryker

Sub-Zero

Matchup: ?/?

Strategy: Sub-Zero is a zoning character. You're an anti-zoning character. Outzone him and force him to make mistakes.

Don't rush in on him when he throws down an ice clone. Wait for ice blasts and punish with shake. Be sure to block incoming slides and punish. He'll eventually learn that he has to come to you, as he has absolutely no options to deal with your ranged game.

Unfortunately, Sub-Zero has pretty good rushdown. He can threaten a quick mid or low at pretty much any time. His damage is decent, especially if he has full meter.

That means that you need to force him try to get in, but not actually let him in. Punish his mistakes as he tries to get in, and if/when he does get in, be very careful. Don't jump to get in on him. He can threaten an ice clone at any point if he detects that you'll get aggressive, so stay calm. Cross-up jump punches are good against him if you need to launch an offense.

This match is all about getting someone to make mistakes. He can aggravate you into doing something stupid and punish pretty well. However, remember that you control the pace of the match, so make sure that you're the one causing the frustration, and capitalize on his mistakes with your big damage combos.

The fight against Sub-Zero isn't really that bad since Sub-Zero can't zone Smoke due to lack to teleport or even an anywhere on screen unblockable (Hellfire). The main thing to watch out for is that slide which can catch people off guard and it knocks down. Also blocking Sub-Zero's , , (3rd hit is an overhead... high)combo opens up an amazing opportunity to quickly dash cancel into , +, combo. Ice clones you really shouldn't worry too much about them since you can stay away with Smoke Clouds or Teleports. The only time you should be careful when Sub-Zero clones is when jumping in. A talented Sub-Zero player will Ice Clone to counter your jump in. Even then it's hard to time since Sub-Zero can't clone if you're anywhere face-to-face with him. So I BELIEVE (not sure) that jumping over Sub-Zero is Clone-proof. Once again, a well-timed slide is an anti-air. Watch out for the X-Ray, don't underestimate the X-ray. It travels pretty far. When Sub-Zero has X-ray watch out on your jump ins, start blocking on their wake-up, don't teleport unless you combo. As for :en Counter idk if it can stop moves.

 

[ApocaLips]

Reserved for DLC characters

 

[Synraii]

Can I request someone to do a study vs. Sonya?
I know her strings fairly well but I really have trouble zoning/keeping advantage - she gets me in a wall WAY too easily, umm... Help?

 

[ApocaLips]

Sorry, I don't know any decent Sonyas, so I can't really help here. Hopefully someone else can offer some insight here.

 

[lambofgodfn]

nice. appreciate you posting my insights in it here too. I was like "i ain't typing all that shit again" lol. but now i know so i'll post all the matchups i know of now that im out of college for 3 more months lol.

Matchup with sonya...i dont really know....BUT i can tell u this.....when in doubt....:en Shake

 

[ApocaLips]

Your advice is good stuff. I didn't want to lose any info. I just want to keep it updated and orderly.

 

[ApocaLips]

So no one has any matchup experience?

 

[G4S KT]

I can contribute to the Mileena match up if anyone is interested. She's always been my hardest matchup, with any character, and I've spent a while thinking about why.

 

[Cozby]

I need to go outside and play real people more, there's definitely good players around (in about a 100 mi radius). It also would be hella nice if there was a record feature in training mode. I would love to contribute some stuff.

Although, I could've sworn Smoke could not shake any of Noob's klonekazis in a previous patch. This goes miles to making it a great matchup for Smoke.

We can punish (all?) ninja teleports and divekicks on block with 3d12.

Smoke can get out of bomb traps (Scorpions fire as well) with his warps on wakeup - very good, which will keep him competitive.

 

[ApocaLips]

Don't be shy. You don't need to do a full writeup. Just start talking about what you know and what you've experienced. We'll figure everything out through discussion.

Also, just because it has a write up doesn't mean it can't be talked about. Feel free to add to/dispute anything that's already there.

 

[K0rN b4LL]

This stuff helps alot. I played a good Cyber Sub for the first time the other night and couldn't tell what the @#$% was going on in the match other than that I was getting molested. I think I got about 3 hits in and managed to avoid any perfects. Had never really played against his proper play style before, and it was my first match of the night so I just kinda sat there dumbfounded at the sheer volume of attacks coming my way. Now I have an idea of what to look for so thanks.

 

[ApocaLips]

Glad it's been helpful. Be sure to post what was working for you and what wasn't. Cyber sub is a deep character that can be played in a lot of different ways, so more info will be very helpful for solving him.


Added info on Liu Kang and Sektor. Sektor is less of a 'how-to' and more of a list of things to watch out for.

 

[Armour Hyena]

Great thread, ill write some stuff from my experiences a little later

 

[cabibi]

nice. appreciate you posting my insights in it here too. I was like "i ain't typing all that shit again" lol. but now i know so i'll post all the matchups i know of now that im out of college for 3 more months lol.

Matchup with sonya...i dont really know....BUT i can tell u this.....when in doubt....:en Shake

I just found out the hard way that sonya's arc kick beats EX Shake. I can understand sub's sllide, cause it's low, and sektors teleport, because it comes from the ground... but the arc kick baffles me. Is this a glitch or is this the way it's supposed to be?

 

[Demonicspire1]

for some reason people pick n00b a ton against me. and always second. Like they wait for me to pick, then go and grab noob. But they are usually pretty easy to take out. n00b noobs usually rely on teleport slams, so just holding block will grant you the victory against those clowns. and of course, shake all day.

 

[PeeJaeys]

Anyway to counter Cyrax? I try to stay away and make him eat my balls (That's what she said) But, he teleports and just puts me in the command grab. Anyway to get out of that pain in the anus move?

 

[THTB]

Cyrax cannot teleport without putting himself in a bad position unless he does it at the right time. He is always at a disadvantage unless he teleports while the opponent is doing something like attacking.

 

[G4S KT]

Anyway to counter Cyrax? I try to stay away and make him eat my balls (That's what she said) But, he teleports and just puts me in the command grab. Anyway to get out of that pain in the anus move?

Hmm... command grab should be easy to tech now (10 frame window) so try going for that. Otherwise, whenever cyrax is outside of immediate melee range I'm expecting a teleport (or a less likely net) and as soon as I see it, I jump backwards and throw a jump in punch which will usually connect and net some big damage.

I feel like the only matchup I have trouble with is kung lao. His spin is so deadly that you are forced to stay grounded, which is tough for me. I usually try to work the spacing against kung lao and land combos that start with b+2 from about two steps away. From there, you're out of range of his normals.

Any more insights into the kung lao matchup from anyone?