Trophy Club
Noob
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I remember once reading a 3s thread on SRK about unblockables, and how much fun they were. The idea of forcing opponents into making mistakes out of a sense of panic, or being forced into unavoidable damage just amuses me to no end. With that I knew I had to play Cyrax when I got into MK.
Well, the day of reckoning officially came and I think it is safe to say Cyrax has been hit with the nerf bat harder than anyone else. However, all is not lost, while he may not be in the top 3 I would have placed him at on debut, he is certainly still playable.
Cyrax as of now is a much more fair character, I won't deny that. Guaranteed bomb trap allowed him to avoid having to make actual reads on opponents far more than it should have and even just bulldogging in at times to just force through 60% damage or more. But, now we must get more creative with our setups so here are some of the ones I've had/been working on, feel free to post your own or other cool stuff with our favorite yellow robot. I would post videos but I unfortunately don't have the equipment so maybe someone else can do it if they want, otherwise I'll just explain what I can and provide links when available to streamed stuff.
Corner Bomb Loop - My personal favorite
Demonstration: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 5 about 20:30 minutes in.
This thing is nasty, I got the idea from it when Tom Brady did a puddle setup on me at PDP. Essentially just push them to the corner and hit with a net then follow with a neutral jump punch that induces the ground slide. The forced slide gives you the time to drop your bomb and get a couple timing ticks in. As they wake up do the 3,3 chain, on hit or block they don't have enough time to jump out. What is really ridiculous is some characters can not escape it as their wake ups just eat 3,3 for some reason (sub-zero is a good example). Add in EX nets to prevent breakers and you have a dead character very quickly.
The Anti Breaker: Bad read by opponent leads to no meter and a reset
Demonstration: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 6 50:30ish
I mess it up several times in this match because I suck but if you do it properly it's damn near guaranteed. Go for your normal ex bomb combo doing as much as their meter allows for before breaker, but instead set your bomb placement close. Most people don't pay attention/don't know the difference. Afterward do your uppercut as low as possible for when they break and they ll fall right into it for some big damage follow ups. Alternatively, you can go for a reset every time by doing EX bomb, close bomb then 3,3. They will fall and wake up into a bomb unless they commit to a wakeup attack which usually = punish combo for you pending what matchup.
Side switch to corner pressure:
Demo: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 5 23:05
Really simple concept that I don't see people implement often. Cyrax has multiple ways to determine which part of the screen he is on via teleport, air throw and the special kick ( can't remember name). Essentially, because you have time to input the air throw afterwards you recover fast enough to drop a bomb for opponents wake up completely, this forces them into a guessing game so if you make a proper read, you can net them to give time for bomb to pop, meet them in the air and jump kick them into the bomb (really hard timing), or dash and block their wakeup attack for free punish into repeat.
High anti air uppercut into bomb placement
demo: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 5 1:50:30
In order to get the timing on this you have to hit the uppercut early in their jump. Afterwards throw a medium bomb immediately and almost always a net as the placement from what I've seen only leaves them the option to jump backward or forward, either of which usually ends in getting netted. If you are midscreen and anticipate the jump backward or dash and want to screw with them throw far bomb instead. Remember, good reads lead into mistakes from your opponent even if your initial set up doesn't hit
Air to Air jump punch
If you hit an air to air at some point, as soon as you land dash 1 pause dash 1 pause dash 1,2 then medium bomb. This will give you god screen carry and place them directly waking up into a bomb. If you want to mix it up a little finish your 1,2,1 string into far bomb if it places them in the corner. The medium bomb setup typical followup for me is either net or dash 3,3, or you can even dash and jump punch for added pressure to make them sweat. Off a far setup net is really your only option but if they are cornered it is the only one you need typically.
The Kung Lao Magnet:
The spacing is difficult to explain, but essentially you want to be just slightly out of range of kung lao's rolling attack (if you aren't you're going to get hit). Place a medium bomb and it ll land at his feet, EVERY kung lao the first time you do it will try to rolling attack you from this point, so throw a net and you got em. If they've learned from their mistake the next choice they will probably make is a jump into dive kick so the key is to now first place a close bomb followed by a medium bomb they will jump it and dive kick, however cyrax's anti air is god and will throw them out of the sky and ideally right into your close bomb as it explodes.
Command throw into...command throw.
Dumb little setup with our old and beaten friend, but hey it's free 24% if people are scared of your aggression. Alternatively you have enough time to get a bomb placement of your choice out to force a guessing game.
That's all I got for now if I remember come up with others I'll add them, and feel free to share your own. Hopefully this helps someone!
I remember once reading a 3s thread on SRK about unblockables, and how much fun they were. The idea of forcing opponents into making mistakes out of a sense of panic, or being forced into unavoidable damage just amuses me to no end. With that I knew I had to play Cyrax when I got into MK.
Well, the day of reckoning officially came and I think it is safe to say Cyrax has been hit with the nerf bat harder than anyone else. However, all is not lost, while he may not be in the top 3 I would have placed him at on debut, he is certainly still playable.
Cyrax as of now is a much more fair character, I won't deny that. Guaranteed bomb trap allowed him to avoid having to make actual reads on opponents far more than it should have and even just bulldogging in at times to just force through 60% damage or more. But, now we must get more creative with our setups so here are some of the ones I've had/been working on, feel free to post your own or other cool stuff with our favorite yellow robot. I would post videos but I unfortunately don't have the equipment so maybe someone else can do it if they want, otherwise I'll just explain what I can and provide links when available to streamed stuff.
Corner Bomb Loop - My personal favorite
Demonstration: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 5 about 20:30 minutes in.
This thing is nasty, I got the idea from it when Tom Brady did a puddle setup on me at PDP. Essentially just push them to the corner and hit with a net then follow with a neutral jump punch that induces the ground slide. The forced slide gives you the time to drop your bomb and get a couple timing ticks in. As they wake up do the 3,3 chain, on hit or block they don't have enough time to jump out. What is really ridiculous is some characters can not escape it as their wake ups just eat 3,3 for some reason (sub-zero is a good example). Add in EX nets to prevent breakers and you have a dead character very quickly.
The Anti Breaker: Bad read by opponent leads to no meter and a reset
Demonstration: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 6 50:30ish
I mess it up several times in this match because I suck but if you do it properly it's damn near guaranteed. Go for your normal ex bomb combo doing as much as their meter allows for before breaker, but instead set your bomb placement close. Most people don't pay attention/don't know the difference. Afterward do your uppercut as low as possible for when they break and they ll fall right into it for some big damage follow ups. Alternatively, you can go for a reset every time by doing EX bomb, close bomb then 3,3. They will fall and wake up into a bomb unless they commit to a wakeup attack which usually = punish combo for you pending what matchup.
Side switch to corner pressure:
Demo: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 5 23:05
Really simple concept that I don't see people implement often. Cyrax has multiple ways to determine which part of the screen he is on via teleport, air throw and the special kick ( can't remember name). Essentially, because you have time to input the air throw afterwards you recover fast enough to drop a bomb for opponents wake up completely, this forces them into a guessing game so if you make a proper read, you can net them to give time for bomb to pop, meet them in the air and jump kick them into the bomb (really hard timing), or dash and block their wakeup attack for free punish into repeat.
High anti air uppercut into bomb placement
demo: http://www.justin.tv/offcast/b/287882186 part 5 1:50:30
In order to get the timing on this you have to hit the uppercut early in their jump. Afterwards throw a medium bomb immediately and almost always a net as the placement from what I've seen only leaves them the option to jump backward or forward, either of which usually ends in getting netted. If you are midscreen and anticipate the jump backward or dash and want to screw with them throw far bomb instead. Remember, good reads lead into mistakes from your opponent even if your initial set up doesn't hit
Air to Air jump punch
If you hit an air to air at some point, as soon as you land dash 1 pause dash 1 pause dash 1,2 then medium bomb. This will give you god screen carry and place them directly waking up into a bomb. If you want to mix it up a little finish your 1,2,1 string into far bomb if it places them in the corner. The medium bomb setup typical followup for me is either net or dash 3,3, or you can even dash and jump punch for added pressure to make them sweat. Off a far setup net is really your only option but if they are cornered it is the only one you need typically.
The Kung Lao Magnet:
The spacing is difficult to explain, but essentially you want to be just slightly out of range of kung lao's rolling attack (if you aren't you're going to get hit). Place a medium bomb and it ll land at his feet, EVERY kung lao the first time you do it will try to rolling attack you from this point, so throw a net and you got em. If they've learned from their mistake the next choice they will probably make is a jump into dive kick so the key is to now first place a close bomb followed by a medium bomb they will jump it and dive kick, however cyrax's anti air is god and will throw them out of the sky and ideally right into your close bomb as it explodes.
Command throw into...command throw.
Dumb little setup with our old and beaten friend, but hey it's free 24% if people are scared of your aggression. Alternatively you have enough time to get a bomb placement of your choice out to force a guessing game.
That's all I got for now if I remember come up with others I'll add them, and feel free to share your own. Hopefully this helps someone!
