A chart of variations and MU's

[MsMiharo]

Hi everyone!

I've been thinking about this more and more as I'm branching into Spare Change for some MU's. Namely making a chart of which variation to use when. I'll go over which variation I think you should use in which MU (spoiler: Don't ever use V3). This being said, this is not a do-all-end-all list. I am a pretty casual player and I'm not that experienced in every MU, especially not with Spare Change.

But as a rule of thumb I use Back in the pack for matchups where:

• Bola trades are threat for the opponent. Setting up a vial is nice and all but getting a full combo off a trade is much more effective.
• Teleport is a real threat
• Be slightly better up close (stronger oki and command grab for mixup)

I use Spare change where:

• Air mobility is a good thing
• Your opponent struggles in the mid range or full screen

Shang Tsung - Back in the pack - Unsure of new variation, but as a rule of thumb his zoning outdoes Spare Change.

Shao Khan - Spare Change - Command grab is risky due to how much Shao gets off a NJK read. Teleport is pretty useless and trading bola with spear gives you nothing.

Frost - Spare Change - Counter zoning with bola is ruined by the shield but vials are good for countering that. Also she doesn't have the best air control so from full screen you can chuck shit for days.

Nightwolf - Back in the Pack - Bola trades shuts down the gameplan of going for a lifelead then keeping you out. I find the MU hard overall but I feel vials and bombs are hard to get out so BitP adds more utility.

Johnny Cage - Back in the Pack - Projectiles in Spare Change are too slow to be of any real use. Projectile trades are good if you can get them.

Sonya - Spare Change - I think both work decently. Air mobility of Spare change means she can't just chuck rings all day and the KB on amp rings makes it scary to try to go for trades.

Cassie Cage - Spare Change - Digital Soldier shuts down BitP pretty well. You can't tele between low guns, you can't trade because she has a ducking animation. F3+followups doesn't come out fast enough. If you get tele off you usually can't punish her. You basically have to walk and block all match. Spare Change means she has to get in. She can challenge with air guns but then you can start reading jumps and get in.

Jax Briggs - Back in the pack - Not entirely sure but command grab is good vs his pressure, vials and bombs get pew pew'd by bf2 on reaction.

Scorpion - Back in the pack - I like the bigger damage, better oki and being able to tele on a read of a spear for a full combo. Also you won't get tele'd on reaction for trying to set up a vial

Noob Saibot - Back in the Pack - You can't throw anything in the air because you get tele'd out of it. A good teleport read from your side is a full combo. Also post command grab is really good oki on Noob

Baraka - Spare Change - Not too sure about this one. I feel vial deters them from throwing sparks all day (which is semi-hard to trade with since they can amp it). Bomb is pretty good in the mid range where they're just outside F44 range.

Raiden - Back in the pack - Hard to pin down so vials are meh. Extra damage and sexy oki is good. You can get trades at times since his projectiles are all slow.

Jacqui Briggs - Back in the pack - Tbh I have no idea. Her variations all play so different but I feel more comfortable with BitP tools vs her. Command grab is good vs variation 1 to catch her when she's minus but in V3 she just super jumps and you eat a full combo. In V2 her plasma launcher is faster and has a hitbox so it will hit you out of vials, making her hard to challenge. But as I said, I am REALLY not sure.

Sub-Zero - Back in the pack - You throw anything and you get iceball'd and die. Tele is good utility on a read.

Kano - Back in the Pack - A toss up really but getting bola trades vs variation 3 is pretty easy. Also reversal command grab is a good tool since Kano is often minus in your face. But it's hard since V3 is new and no one played him before.

Kabal - Back in the Pack - I like the extra mixup of command grab and the potential for trades/good teleport read. You can pretty much never set up a vial without the risk of a nomad dash on reaction.

Liu Kang - Back in the pack - Pretty shit MU, but in BitP you can at least deter him from zoning. Reversal command grab is good if you read a stagger. I feel vials and bombs gets eaten up by dragon kicks, better zoning and just his movement overall.

Kitana - Back in the Pack - Trades are gold in this MU. Plus her air control and general zoning makes Spare change meh IMO.

Kung Lao - Back in the Pack - I like the extra damage but I'm really unsure of this one. Bomb is good for controlling air space in front of you and KL's love their jumps but vial feels pretty useless and hard to get out due to tele, dive kick and hats.

Jade - Spare change - Torn on this one but I feel spare change challenges her the best from full to mid screen. Bombs are good for the mid range. Teleport is good to challenge her zoning, since glow negates any trades but vial is better to have.

Skarlet - Spare Change - She is hard to trade succesfully with considering tongue KD's, different speed on projectiles etc. She has good recovery so teleports only work on HARD reads. Spare change can add pressure from full screen. Bomb also challenges her best range, which is generally hard to do.

Erron Black - Spare change. Vials keep him from keeping you out with scud shot and acid. None of BitP tools really help in this MU, reversal command grab is usually moot because his strings leave him out of range. Teleport is too slow to really challenge him.

D'Vorah - Back in the Pack - Arachnophobia punishes spare change abilities on reaction but her variations are all very different. Not very exp'd in this MU but I feel BitP tools overall work better.

Kotal Kahn - Back in the pack - Haven't played V3 much but command grab is good for opening up if they're trying to tank in the sun. For all variations I feel Kotals buttons catches you if you try to go for anything slow mid screen. Overall, I feel the better oki, damage and mixup from BitP helps.

Geras - Spare Change - Don't know about new variation but you can't trade bola vs sand trap. Command grab is good vs F212 but the extra air mobility and full screen presence of Spare change is better.

Kollector - Squander - Insert clown emoji

Cetrion - Back in the pack - Her zoning shuts down the Spare change abilities completely IMO. However good trades and teleport reads will win you the match.

Back in the Pack: 17
Spare Change: 9
Squander: 1

These are my thoughts. Feel free to add yours below.

@FrankOceansWaifu @MK-Noob @sprintz98 @Hebrew Negro @LawAbidingCitizen @Evil Canadian @dribirut @SixPathsOfHate @AK Harold @The Slaj Jazz @Lex Luthor II

 

[Parasurama]

Between the 2 variations- which do you feel is the most well rounded- I understand one may be better in some match ups but In FT 2 we need to choose one variation sometimes without knowledge of the match up (hidden pick). I only know Back in the pack so I would think that one due to the tele and command grab but is spare change perhaps better in general?

 

[SnowboardRX]

Jacqui Briggs - Back in the pack - Tbh I have no idea. Her variations all play so different but I feel more comfortable with BitP tools vs her. Command grab is good vs variation 1 to catch her when she's minus but in V3 she just super jumps and you eat a full combo. In V2 her plasma launcher is faster and has a hitbox so it will hit you out of vials, making her hard to challenge. But as I said, I am REALLY not sure.

Back in the Pack for her V1 as you can keep her out if you're on point with your straight/up mace game.
Spare Change for her V2 and haven't played V3 yet so I'm unsure on that one.

Jade - Spare change - Torn on this one but I feel spare change challenges her the best from full to mid screen. Bombs are good for the mid range. Teleport is good to challenge her zoning, since glow negates any trades but vial is better to have.

This can go either way depending on the type of Jade player they are. I've had success with both. The Jades that like to jump and toss the rings, I like to use BitP as I use up mace to knock them down all the time. However, in the end, I feel like the decision comes down to the Kollectors' style of play.

 

[QueenOmega]

Talking about matchups,I call for Kollector help. I'm really struggling facing the 44 stagger, and i do not find in the lab how i'm supposed to deal with it,. Any clue? Cetrion main here.

 

[MsMiharo]

Between the 2 variations- which do you feel is the most well rounded- I understand one may be better in some match ups but In FT 2 we need to choose one variation sometimes without knowledge of the match up (hidden pick). I only know Back in the pack so I would think that one due to the tele and command grab but is spare change perhaps better in general?

I find BitP to be generally more well rounded and doesn't get locked out of his tools the way spare change can get.

 

[MsMiharo]

Talking about matchups,I call for Kollector help. I'm really struggling facing the 44 stagger, and i do not find in the lab how i'm supposed to deal with it,. Any clue? Cetrion main here.

Its -10. Walk out of the range when he's done it on block. Basically cetrion beats him closer due to her amazing normals AND zones him out quite efficiently.

 

[Parasurama]

Talking about matchups,I call for Kollector help. I'm really struggling facing the 44 stagger, and i do not find in the lab how i'm supposed to deal with it,. Any clue? Cetrion main here.

Depends on the range you are left at- your best mid? Or a dash cancel or projectile or back up and zone. Like mentioned by Ms Miharo- it is negative

 

[Parasurama]

Back in the Pack for her V1 as you can keep her out if you're on point with your straight/up mace game.
Spare Change for her V2 and haven't played V3 yet so I'm unsure on that one.


This can go either way depending on the type of Jade player they are. I've had success with both. The Jades that like to jump and toss the rings, I like to use BitP as I use up mace to knock them down all the time. However, in the end, I feel like the decision comes down to the Kollectors' style of play.

what is your straight/up mace game- I do not use that move much

 

[Circus]

Thoughts as a Ripper Kano main:

Kollector really has a hard time vs Kano since he got buffed recently. Back in the Pack is definitely a must vs Kano because Kano could just jump like a moron and Air-Ball on reaction anytime Kollector decides he wants to throw his projectile in Spare Change.

Even before Kano got a mid and his offense became way better, Kollector got out footsied by Kano pretty handedly.
Like you mentioned though, before the patch, Kano would be forced to stay barely safe in Kollector's face many times because of Kano's reliance on D1 and no real staggers. This would give Kollector more opportunities to start his game.

Now that Kano could properly stagger with his F1 string though, he could abuse the fact that he wins the neutral battle and be the character that initiates his offense more often than Kollector can in the matchup. F1 opens up Kollector to all of Kano's mixups and it leaves Kollector in a position where he can't retaliate with his own stagger string until he steals back advantage.

It's not a terrible matchup for Kollector by any means, but I definitely think at the moment it might possibly be Kano's most winning matchup because he has so many more opportunities to enforce his gameplan.

Here's a matchup chart for Ripper I recently made (Ratbag might be entirely different):

Spoiler

(ordered)

 

[SnowboardRX]

what is your straight/up mace game- I do not use that move much

I tend to use it quite often. Probably more than any other Kollector out there tbh. (But, it is also matchup dependent as certain ones like Scorpion it's risky as he could react teleport and punish). I pretty much use it at standing 4 distance and usually use up mace on reads when I feel like they're going to try and jump in (A lot of times after a knockdown). It's just something I've rolled into my gameplay and have had quite a bit of success with it.

 

[BarakaTile]

I feel like Spare Change is better against Jax and Rushdown Jacqui because they want to be in your grill so if you keep them away and be mindful of their tools to close space, you can thwart their attempts at chasing you down with b3/Bola/f3 123/4.

From then on, their at full screen trying to contend with (Air) Vial+Bag Bomb/Bola or f3123.
Catching them with Amplified Bola, f3 123 will push em back allowing you to go back to your space again.

Don't think it helps against Sonya because she can still Zoneya.

 

[SnowboardRX]

I feel like Spare Change is better against Jax and Rushdown Jacqui because they want to be in your grill so if you keep them away and be mindful of their tools to close space, you can thwart their attempts at chasing you down with b3/Bola/f3 123/4.

From then on, their at full screen trying to contend with (Air) Vial+Bag Bomb/Bola or f3123.
Catching them with Amplified Bola, f3 123 will push em back allowing you to go back to your space again.

Don't think it helps against Sonya because she can still Zoneya.

To keep Jax and Rushdown Jacqui out, I always use Back in the Pack. Mace/Up Mace go a long way in those matchups.

 

[MsMiharo]

To keep Jax and Rushdown Jacqui out, I always use Back in the Pack. Mace/Up Mace go a long way in those matchups.

I never use up mace and Spare change has regular mace. Reversal command grab is nice though

 

[SnowboardRX]

I never use up mace and Spare change has regular mace. Reversal command grab is nice though

It's funny, I probably use Up-mace more than I use raw command grab. The only time I use command grab is to end combos these days.
It has more to do with the fact that the DBF motion to do it is not very consistent for me. I get db3 way too many times than I'd like. It's also less consistent for me if I'm facing to the left.

TBH, the DBF motion has gotten worse for me with each game. I used Bane in Inj1 on the PS3 and had 0 problems with it. Then once the PS4 pad came out, I got less consistent and with each passing game, it's been worse for me (I didn't use a character in MKX that had that command but Scarecrow in Inj2 and now Kollector in MK11). I ended up purchasing the Battle Beaver D-pads to see if it would help, but to no avail. There's just something with the way my hands sit on the D-Pad so it's something that I've had to learn to deal with.

Dashing up/reversal/OKI command grab probably works 35% of the time for me. The only time I seem to get a decent percentage is when ending combos but facing left seems to work even less.

¯\(ツ)/¯ I've learned to deal with it.

 

[MsMiharo]

It's funny, I probably use Up-mace more than I use raw command grab. The only time I use command grab is to end combos these days.
It has more to do with the fact that the DBF motion to do it is not very consistent for me. I get db3 way too many times than I'd like. It's also less consistent for me if I'm facing to the left.

TBH, the DBF motion has gotten worse for me with each game. I used Bane in Inj1 on the PS3 and had 0 problems with it. Then once the PS4 pad came out, I got less consistent and with each passing game, it's been worse for me (I didn't use a character in MKX that had that command but Scarecrow in Inj2 and now Kollector in MK11). I ended up purchasing the Battle Beaver D-pads to see if it would help, but to no avail. There's just something with the way my hands sit on the D-Pad so it's something that I've had to learn to deal with.

Dashing up/reversal/OKI command grab probably works 35% of the time for me. The only time I seem to get a decent percentage is when ending combos but facing left seems to work even less.

¯\(ツ)/¯ I've learned to deal with it.

Try fiddling with input window timing. Also mustard made a video on doing it. It's always easier from a string or a dash because of buffer window. If you really want to get it right I'd put on a podcast you like and just do command grabs for 30 min lol

 

[Zer0_h0ur]

Good list Ms Miharo.

Regarding the comments about cmd grab and up mace: Command grab mind games in the corner are invaluable IMO. Once that enemy meter is gone, they're SCREWED. Guess that applies to any command grab character tho.

I have zero use with up mace in about 300 kollector games played.

I wish I could trade up mace for that DOT sigh

 

[BarakaTile]

On a read, does Up Mace work against Jade/Kabal/SubZero Jump projectiles?

 

[Zer0_h0ur]

On a read, does Up Mace work against Jade/Kabal/SubZero Jump projectiles?

I take it back. I've used up mace successfully twice.
At the start of a match, against a jade (whom I know they usually jump air glave instantly). I popped her with up ball but I still got hit with a glave
Was a fun read but still not worth it imo lol

 

[SnowboardRX]

On a read, does Up Mace work against Jade/Kabal/SubZero Jump projectiles?

Yes, I use that move quite extensively against those characters because I know they're going to jump projectile. But it needs to be a good read because you can either trade or they can beat you out if you're too slow.

 

[Zer0_h0ur]

Yes, I use that move quite extensively against those characters because I know they're going to jump projectile. But it needs to be a good read because you can either trade or they can beat you out if you're too slow.

Yeah it always trades for me. Up ball seems like another classic useless slot move IMO. Sucks bc BiTP is pretty damn solid, considering there's only 2 slots worth a crap on it.

 

[SnowboardRX]

Yeah it always trades for me. Up ball seems like another classic useless slot move IMO. Sucks bc BiTP is pretty damn solid, considering there's only 2 slots worth a crap on it.

See, I used to think it was a useless move, but as I've said in a previous post, I actually use it quite extensively now (Matchup dependent of course). Not sure if I'm just really good at reads or it just fits with my style of play as Kollecor but the amount of use I get with both up and straight mace is probably more than any other Kollector. As an example, I played 6 games last night, probably connected a solid 20+ mace moves. I'll try to stream/record next time I'm on and post some matches using it.

 

[Zer0_h0ur]

See, I used to think it was a useless move, but as I've said in a previous post, I actually use it quite extensively now (Matchup dependent of course). Not sure if I'm just really good at reads or it just fits with my style of play as Kollecor but the amount of use I get with both up and straight mace is probably more than any other Kollector. As an example, I played 6 games last night, probably connected a solid 20+ mace moves. I'll try to stream/record next time I'm on and post some matches using it.

My reactions are mediocre at best so that may be it. In the corner if I read a jump on wake up, I'll nail 'em with an occasional up ball. But I'm talking 1 connected ball per KL session lol.

 

[MsMiharo]

Regular mace is nice since it has more range than S4. I see no use for up mace that makes up for the risk. IT COULD be useful after strings on block which can be jabbed out of. Up mace is 5 frames faster and will hit them out of trying a jab punish. But no one knows the MU that well and in that case they can just poke so......... No.

 

[Lord_Gandalf]

F3 up mace gimmick is fun.

 

[Zer0_h0ur]

Perfect Legend was using Kollector on stream and I commented about getting outzoned as BiTP and he was saying we're using the character wrong if BiTP is gettin outzoned by cassie, sonya, etc.

Gonna start investing into more Spare Change tho.