Today during ESL Season 2 Finals, a Kombat Kast was performed showcasing Triborg, the Cyber Initiative Lin Kuei Changeling.
While we got full combos, in depth views and matches with Sektor and Cyrax...all we got was a showcase of Smoke's specials.
So in its place, here is a quick analysis of the 1 minute we got to see of Smoke...(I remember them doing the same exact thing to Kung Jin...)
Firstly, I want to touch on the fact that his MK9 tele...ya know, the one that changes sides, is a string and not a special. I believe the input was 2b2. This would make empty full screen 2s a part of the meta, keeping players honest full screen.
Secondly, Smoke is seeming to be a Vortex character. He has his own kind of spear (UMK3, anyone?) that restands the opponent. I'm not sure what options he has as an overhead but he does have a very strong low that pops up. This along with his string that throws the smoke bomb and his invisibility, his 50/50 meterless vortex game could be off the charts.
Lastly, his phasing takes a whole stamina bar unless meterburned. This takes a lot away from his movement. While this could still be worth it given his amount of teleports, taking a whole stamina bar hurts. We will have to see or test it before we can come up with a true assumption of its usability but as of right now, I say it'll be worth the bar. Imagine phasing through Tanya's Tonfa pressure, hitting her with a bnb and ending with the fast spears...he may not need to rely much on stamina...but its all speculation at this point.
I'm excited to bring Smoke into the lab and see what hidden gems this fighter has.
If you guys caught something that I didn't, feel free to comment!
