The Ultimate
aka CommandThrower
Baraka and Cyrax are a hot topic in MK1 currently. The combo of Baraka and Cyrax are easy to play, and they are extremely strong: a top 5 character & kameo combo. One thing that makes this pairing great is the safety and chip that Cyrax grants all of Baraka's blockstrings. I wanted to make this topic detailing some things about the blockstrings that this pairing has. This one's gonna be long, so if you'd rather watch instead of read, you can watch this:
First, I want to say that the universal answer to these blockstrings is to flawless block. Flawless blocking in MK1 doesn't work like it did in MK11, you can actually flawless block at anytime during a blockstring in MK1, not just when there's a gap. And, when you flawless block, subsequent hits won't deal any chip damage, though they'll still build meter for your opponent. Putting aside Cyrax, Baraka's whole gimmick in this game is chip damage. His specials deal high chip, and his fatal blow, EX spark and EX db+1 inflict a short bleed debuff on the opponent that also increases their block damage, by around a whole 50% increase in chip! Flawless blocking completely eliminates the threat of taking high amounts of chip from Baraka.
When you face Baraka, you'll be seeing two specials from Baraka a lot when he does these blockstrings. His df+2 and his db+1. df+2 is the four hitting special move, and db+1 is the anti-air special that hits twice on grounded opponents. df+2 does 5% chip on block, and it builds a little over 25% of a bar for Baraka on block. It's also -15 on block; so it's full combo punishable by the entire cast if Baraka does this special without a kameo. df+2 also has a gap in it; you can armor through the third hit of the move.
His db+1 does 3% chip, it builds around 16-18% of a bar on block, and it's -11. So, still full combo punishable, but Baraka can space it out to make it more difficult to punish for some characters. However, db+1 has no gap in it. Since both of these specials are unsafe, Baraka needs a kameo to cover his ass otherwise he's gonna get punished for potentially 50% depending on who he's fighting.
So, the blockstring that you're seeing the most of probably involve his df+2; it does the most chip, and leaves Baraka at the most advantage depending on when he calls Cyrax. I want to highlight four possible timings that he can call Cyrax during the blockstring. Basically: the earlier he calls Cyrax, the harder it is to armor the gap, but the less safe Baraka will be on block. The later he calls Cyrax, the easier it is to armor the gap, but the safer and more plus Baraka will be on block. Here's a quick video showing these particular timings:
The first timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax and executes df+2 simultaneously. Cyrax is active during df+2's gap, so the only one who can armor through it is Ashrah. However, Baraka's unsafe at this timing. You can full combo punish him.
The second timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax at the first hit of df+2. At this timing, the only ones who can armor through are Ashrah, Johnny and Nitara. Baraka is safe at this timing, but around -5 or -6 on block, so his turn's over. He'll have to take a risk if he wants to try and pressure.
The third timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax at the second hit of df+2. At this timing, the rest of the cast can start to armor through the gap, with a few exceptions: Raiden, Liu Kang, Tanya, Shao and Mileena will lose to Cyrax, and Havik just straight up loses since his reversal is very slow. Baraka is plus after this timing, but not plus enough to jail into his strings.
And, the fourth timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax at the third hit of df+2. At this timing, the rest of the cast can still armor through the gap, but Raiden, Liu Kang, Tanya and Havik still either trade with Cyrax or straight up lose. Baraka is the most plus after this timing, and can jail into some of his strings.
Then, there's the blockstrings Baraka has with db+1. Since db+1 has no gap, Baraka can now have true blockstrings with the Cyrax copter assist. If he does 12, b1, b3, standing 2 by itself, f4, 444 and the full 444444 into db+1 + Cyrax kameo, those will all be true blockstrings and do around 10% chip on block. After the Cyrax kameo in these db+1 blockstrings, Baraka will be plus on block, but depending on spacing, he might not be able to jail into another string. Again, since these are all true blockstrings, flawless block to avoid taking a grip of chip.
First, I want to say that the universal answer to these blockstrings is to flawless block. Flawless blocking in MK1 doesn't work like it did in MK11, you can actually flawless block at anytime during a blockstring in MK1, not just when there's a gap. And, when you flawless block, subsequent hits won't deal any chip damage, though they'll still build meter for your opponent. Putting aside Cyrax, Baraka's whole gimmick in this game is chip damage. His specials deal high chip, and his fatal blow, EX spark and EX db+1 inflict a short bleed debuff on the opponent that also increases their block damage, by around a whole 50% increase in chip! Flawless blocking completely eliminates the threat of taking high amounts of chip from Baraka.
When you face Baraka, you'll be seeing two specials from Baraka a lot when he does these blockstrings. His df+2 and his db+1. df+2 is the four hitting special move, and db+1 is the anti-air special that hits twice on grounded opponents. df+2 does 5% chip on block, and it builds a little over 25% of a bar for Baraka on block. It's also -15 on block; so it's full combo punishable by the entire cast if Baraka does this special without a kameo. df+2 also has a gap in it; you can armor through the third hit of the move.
His db+1 does 3% chip, it builds around 16-18% of a bar on block, and it's -11. So, still full combo punishable, but Baraka can space it out to make it more difficult to punish for some characters. However, db+1 has no gap in it. Since both of these specials are unsafe, Baraka needs a kameo to cover his ass otherwise he's gonna get punished for potentially 50% depending on who he's fighting.
So, the blockstring that you're seeing the most of probably involve his df+2; it does the most chip, and leaves Baraka at the most advantage depending on when he calls Cyrax. I want to highlight four possible timings that he can call Cyrax during the blockstring. Basically: the earlier he calls Cyrax, the harder it is to armor the gap, but the less safe Baraka will be on block. The later he calls Cyrax, the easier it is to armor the gap, but the safer and more plus Baraka will be on block. Here's a quick video showing these particular timings:
The first timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax and executes df+2 simultaneously. Cyrax is active during df+2's gap, so the only one who can armor through it is Ashrah. However, Baraka's unsafe at this timing. You can full combo punish him.
The second timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax at the first hit of df+2. At this timing, the only ones who can armor through are Ashrah, Johnny and Nitara. Baraka is safe at this timing, but around -5 or -6 on block, so his turn's over. He'll have to take a risk if he wants to try and pressure.
The third timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax at the second hit of df+2. At this timing, the rest of the cast can start to armor through the gap, with a few exceptions: Raiden, Liu Kang, Tanya, Shao and Mileena will lose to Cyrax, and Havik just straight up loses since his reversal is very slow. Baraka is plus after this timing, but not plus enough to jail into his strings.
And, the fourth timing is when Baraka calls Cyrax at the third hit of df+2. At this timing, the rest of the cast can still armor through the gap, but Raiden, Liu Kang, Tanya and Havik still either trade with Cyrax or straight up lose. Baraka is the most plus after this timing, and can jail into some of his strings.
Then, there's the blockstrings Baraka has with db+1. Since db+1 has no gap, Baraka can now have true blockstrings with the Cyrax copter assist. If he does 12, b1, b3, standing 2 by itself, f4, 444 and the full 444444 into db+1 + Cyrax kameo, those will all be true blockstrings and do around 10% chip on block. After the Cyrax kameo in these db+1 blockstrings, Baraka will be plus on block, but depending on spacing, he might not be able to jail into another string. Again, since these are all true blockstrings, flawless block to avoid taking a grip of chip.
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