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A spin on the tierlist

I just read through 91 pages of tier information. There were actually some good posts and points scattered through all the arguing. But stepping away from the tier list a bit, I had a question about matchups. Shock made a really good post about Reptile's strengths against Kabal. So that got me wondering which matchups are the best against say the top 5 on the tier list.

Ignoring player skill, and you can't choose the player against his/herself. If you are having a hard time taking the human element out of the battle, assume you are playing yourself (not playing with yourself), who would you choose to fight with against the top 5 characters:

1. Kabal
2. Human Smoke
3. Kung Lao
4. Kano
5. Reptile

To help those of us new to the game, it would be helpful if you list the techniques or special moves that give fighter X the best chance against the top guys.

Here's a good example quoted from Shock:

The reason why someone like Reptile is particularly good vs Kabal is because he doesn't have to leave the ground and there is no temptation to leave the ground as much as there would be for other characters, meaning 90% of spin attempts from Kabal would have to be guesses, ie: blockably unblockable spins due to human error and not because they were counter spins, and because of this, the amount of spin usage overall is reduced drastically, but when used sparsely, they become less predictable bringing the probability of connecting a random psychic spin up. However, the amount of effort Reptile has to put forth is insane. He is complimented by the actual tactics, the wake up slides which do practically no damage and the forceballs for lock down.
 

oBryant

Noob
Kung lao, or sonya to fight kabal

Ermac, kung lao, or kabal to fight H. smoke

Kung lao, kabal, sonya, kano to fight kung lao

kung lao, sonya, to fight kano..
 
Right or wrong, this is who I typically choose, and it's usually successful:

vs. Kabal = H. Smoke or Nightwolf
vs. H. Smoke = Kabal
vs. Kung Lao = Kitana
vs. Kano = Kabal
vs. Reptile = Kitana or H. Smoke
 
vs. H.Smoke= Ermac
vs. Kabal= H.Smoke,Ermac,or just someone with a good rush down
vs. Kung Lao= Female ninjas
vs. Reptile= Teleporters
vs. Kano= Sonya
vs. Nightwolf= Ermac or H.Smoke
 
Vs Kabal----------uSub, Nightwolf
Vs Human Smoke--Ermac, Kabal
Vs Kung Lao-------Kabal, uSub
Vs Kano-----------Human Smoke, Ermac
Vs Reptile---------Human Smoke, Ermac

This is who I'll use if I'm going to counter pick/ in a tourny. In casuals I'll just either random or pick whomever.

Some may say Human Smoke is a counter for Kabal, but I like that match-up when I'm Kabal. uSub is good against Kabal because his Ice clone stops the rush down, and gives you time to "regroup". Nightwolf's shoulder ram, aa abilities, and rush game makes him an excellent counter for Kabal.

There's not really a counter for Human Smoke IMO, just people you're good against him with. Ermac is good because of his higher damaging combos, and pretty much is the same as Human Smoke. I like Kabal against Human Smoke because I just feel comfortable with that match-up.

Kabal is excellent against Kung Lao. Kung Lao likes to jump alot and also has an easy to punish teleport. Kabal's dash nullifies alot of Kung Lao's tatics, and is good pick. uSub is also good because all his freeze moves work well against Kung Lao. Ice Shower for a random teleport, Ice Clone for a jump kick dash etc.

For Kano and Reptile teleporter are good to use against both. Teleporters work better against Reptile though, because Reptile's game is mainly to zone.

But IMO there's no set in counter for a certain character. There is some aspects of the character that make them better before the match, but it's all relatively balanced in the end. Whichever character you feel more comfortable with against a given character is the one you should use.
 
Also keep in mind that alot of time you don't have the luxury of counter-picking. Alot of people on XBL will wait for you to pick, no matter what, till the bitter end. Even if you random them the first 5 matches and win. It's pathetic.

And I'm not talking about people here (most of them) I'm talking about the random XBL [ban incoming] out there who will do ANYTHING to get a single win on you, then dash the second they get it. People like that piss me off so bad. I mean, even when I beat DC Hustle I don't run off you know I stay and play him even though I know I'm probably gonna lose. It's called honor and respect among players. If you don't have that then you're a sad sack of shit.

Anyway....

Vs Kabal - Nightwolf, Human and Robo Smoke, Kitana, Ermac, Kano, Reptile.
Vs Nightwolf - Kano, H smoke, Kitana, Ermac
Vs teleporting ninjas - RoboSmoke, Kabal, Jax.