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Best specials in MK 9

Flagg

Champion
I'm sure this has been done before and i hope this is in the right section Tim Static, STORMS but this game is now a couple years old and I just been reflecting on what really good moves exist in the game, and if anything similar will appear in Injustice.

Rain's RH. Safe on block, can be used for flash parry properties, leads to massive damage on hit. Also Rains bubble, can lead to big damage, juggles, meter drain. Doesn't trade well though.

Sub Zero's ice clone. Despite the huge down playing of this character, this is still a really annoying move and still gives quite a bit of the cast problems, especially if trapped in the corner.

CSZ ice parry. Best parry in the game, 1 frame start up, beats all mid and high normals and a ton of specials, even ex specials. Can be low poked though.

Smoke bomb. Leads to big juggles and can be extended into infinites with ex smoke bomb.

Kenshi shoulder. I think this move is safe on block, ex shoulder goes through just about anything.

Freddy ground spikes. Great zoning move, ex version leads to combos.

Cyrax bombs and nets. No explanation needed.

Sektor iatp. This move is quite fast if I recall and can punish a lot of projectiles from full screen?

Skarlets red dash. Arguably one of the best armour moves in the game, goes through a ton of stuff.

Kung Laos spin and dive kick. Yeah, punishable on block, but the fear of them and what they can do is still really good.

Kabal and all his special moves are really good, maybe with the exception of his standing gas blast?

Shangs soul steal. Good push back, +1 on block, enhanced version of opponent, damage boost glitch in following rounds.

Raidens teleport.

Worthy mentions I think are Sonyas divekick, Sindels hair grab and Cage nut punch!
 

Qwark28

Joker waiting room
Subzero isn't downplayed, his zoning and strings pay a pretty heavy price for having that one move, when ice clone is undisputably the best special in MK9 and the character is almost bottom 10 that says something.
 
reptile dash lol
i hope nrs learn from their mistakes and mk10 will be a better game.
such moves like smoke bomb is safe even at throw distance, that is nothing but broken.
 

Flagg

Champion
reptile dash lol
i hope nrs learn from their mistakes and mk10 will be a better game.
such moves like smoke bomb is safe even at throw distance, that is nothing but broken.
I really dont think Reptile elbow dash anymore is as bad as people think. Yeah it can be tricky to punish if you dont scout it, but it knocks you down, so what.
 

Flagg

Champion
Subzero isn't downplayed, his zoning and strings pay a pretty heavy price for having that one move, when ice clone is undisputably the best special in MK9 and the character is almost bottom 10 that says something.
You can apply that to characters like CSZ and Rain which a lot of people say are quite average characters, despite both possessing amazing specials.
 

Flagg

Champion
Yeah I should probably put Soul Steal in. You get a powered up version of the opponent, plus the damage boost glitch with closing a round off with this move.
 

Flagg

Champion
No love for Hellfire(scorpion)?
And probably the best Move of all times: Stomp (sheeva)
If her stomp had instant recovery it would easily be the best teleport in the game. Hellfire is just annoying like Reptiles elbow, but not great.
 

dribirut

BLAK FELOW
imo top seven in no order are:
ice clone
rune
cartwheel
nomad dash
kenshi shoulder
elbow dash
blade charge... yes blade charge
 

Briggs8417

Salt Proprietor of TYM
What? Elbow dash is garbage, you are highly overrating that move. It's not even Reptile's best special, let alone one of the best specials in the game.
 

Lord Beef

Death Metal and Trance
Ice clone man.. 2f, and it cuts off the playing field and places a combo anywhere to your liking. one of the most fucked up moves in 2d games today.
 

RiBBz22

TYM's Confirmed Prophet/Time-Traveler
Smoke bomb is good, but it definitely has a lot of issues so I wouldn't put it at the top of the best special moves in the game...although like I said it is still a real good move. It is a great footsie tool + whiff punisher, and the best property of the move is probably that it is very close to being safe on block (-9). Issues that complicate things for Smoke is that the normal version of the move does not do chip so without a life lead the opponent can turtle. It is not a linear projectile so you can not put it on the screen to check any advancing normals/specials.

Zoning characters have to respect it a hell of a lot more than rushdown characters who should be able to dash block their way in without much trouble due to the move's lack of zoning properties.

I think the best special in the game is hands down the ice clone. There can't be enough said about being able to occupy two spots on the screen at the same time. This forces opponents to almost always play your game.

Other moves that have to be close to the top IMO are:

Kenshi Spirit Charge (probably number 2)
Kabal Dash
Sonya Kartwheel
Raiden Teleport
KL Spin
Kabal Gas Blast
Freddy Ground Spikes
Shang Soul Steal
 

GGA Saucy Jack

The artist formerly known as ImNewbieSauce
Upknee
Spirit charge
Raiden tele
Sonya cartwheel
Nomad dash
Ice clone
Glove toss
Quans uppercut (yes, its a special)
 

Phosferrax

Original Liu Kang cop.
If Raiden had the vanilla version of the teleport it would be possibly the best. It recovers too slowly now to be massively devastating.