Choosing a main/team

[CamRac]

I tend to play brutal badasses in fighting games, which means I want to play almost everyone now that I'm going hard in MK9. Obviously I have to whittle it down to a reasonable team, so I need some help... Here are my choices:

Raiden -- Played him since MK2, and I can't leave him hanging now! Easily my favorite character, aesthetically.
Ermac -- Played him in UMK3, and he still feels like the MK version of Darth Vader to me.
Jax -- Also played him in MK2 and UMK3. I definitely have some loyalty to the ol' gotcha grab master.
Sheeva -- Playing her entirely for fun, at the moment. Are there matchups she even absolutely kills in?
Stryker -- Fun to play in general, but I think I like him for his roll grab, manly x-ray, and gun cancel/baton shenanigans the most.
Kenshi -- Just a really interesting concept as a character. He's probably the only true keep away/zoner in the game that I've enjoyed playing with so far.
Cyber-Sub -- I've always kind of had an affinity for Sub, but I'm not a huge fan of regular Sub in MK9. EDIT: Cyber Sub seems fun and underrated, so I'd like to maybe look into playing him more.
Cyrax -- I love the concept of bomb traps, and I also just generally think Cyrax is cool.
Cage -- I like the way he moves in MK9, and I played him in MK2. I don't mind that he can auto-pilot. I'm sure once people learn to deal with his pressure, he'll go down in popularity again, too.
Nightwolf -- I'm not sure what to think about Nightwolf, as I can't tell what his playstyle in MK9 is yet. However, I really like him aesthetically, and I have to admit that the fact that he's underplayed draws me to him more.

Which brings me to my final question: Which of these characters are the most underused and which are the most overused? Which characters are the most loved by the community/who do people want to see win a major?

 

[OZombiePenguinO]

Raiden: Not used much anymore, people seem to dislike him more than they like him
Ermac: Not used much, people would probably be more for him than against him
Jax: Used a lot, and you would make people groan
Sheeva: Not used at all, and you'd have the whole world behind you at a major LOL
Stryker: Not used much, you'd be supported
Kenshi: See Jax
Cyber Sub: See Stryker
Cyrax: Eh, neutral I guess
Cage: See Jax
Nightwolf: See Stryker

 

[Vagrant]

Just my two cents... My word is far from law.

Overused: Raiden, Cyrax, Cage (Jax a little too.) These chars are used so frequently either because of tier ranking, ease to learn, or "flavor of the week" factor

Underused: Sheeva, Stryker, Nightwolf, Kenshi. These chars you see less of because of either low tier ranking, they require massive amounts of time to master, or because they haven't made much noise in tournaments

I can't speak for the community but out of your list the characters I love would be Kenshi (He's almost an impenetrable fortress at times) and Stryker (Cause he's one of the underdog of the MK community and I like his playstyle)

I would love to see a major won with Ermac. He's been kind of forgotten by alot of players and I think the MK communities reaction to lets say, someone winning evo with him, would be hysterical!


Nice thread bro =)

 

[NKZero]

I agree with Zombie's breakdown. Raiden is severely under-used for a character of his stature. To me I still maintain he is one of the four "super-characters". Anyways it looks like you want to main Raiden so let's assume he's your main. Then you want to cover his bad match-ups with another character. So as far as I know for now, we are looking at Sonya, CSZ and Kabal (Reptile is tricky but Raiden can win that match).

So to counter-pick, I would choose Jax for the Kabal match-up and then perhaps Cage for the other two. At the end of the day, form a team that you like with the characters you enjoy playing with.

Also I see you have a query on Nightwolf's playstyle. He's in my 'team' (so to speak). He is basically a footsies character who is best at capitalising on mistakes. He has a load of tricks up his sleeve with lightning traps, arrow traps, ghetto corner resets etc. Very fun character that deals good damage. Has no real mix-ups but his footsies are good enough to keep him competitive.

 

[salvificblood]

I would say Raiden and Cage if you like playing those two. They both rely on footsies a lot and they should cover each other's matchups a bit.

My favourite two are Sub-Zero and Kitana. You can still play the other characters casually. I play a few characters for fun. Noob, Raiden, Cage, Smoke, Cyber Sub-Zero lol. I think the game is less frustrating if you can learn multiple characters and have fun with it, sometimes.

 

[ripcrowley]

Overused team
Cage, jax, cyrax, kenshi, raiden

Underused team
Nightwolf, sheeva, stryker, ermac

I think anyone would love to see a underused character win it. Reo beat by sheeva? I'd watch it.

if you want a challenge then go with the underused team

 

[EGP Wonder_Chef]

Someone should teach me how to choose a main too.



I wish there was a machine you could stand in and it would tell you who your main should be.

 

[Altaire]

Cyber-Sub -- I've always kind of had an affinity for Sub, but I'm not a huge fan of regular Sub in MK9. I'm honestly only considering him because I'm willing to take Cyber-Sub to the top if nobody else is, haha.

Except that's really not the case at all. I've been maining Cyber Sub for a long time, as have J360 and Usedforglue. In fact, I'm planning to lead with him at a major two weeks from now, and every subsequent major I attend. If your only motivation for playing the character is because you think no one else is attempting to bring out his full potential, then you should probably just cross this one off the list immediately.

If you want to find a character to main, play everyone you're even remotely interested in until you find the most comfortable fit, then stick with them. Add in other characters, as needed, from there.

 

[CamRac]

Thanks for all of the input guys! It's definitely helping me understand what I should be looking for in MK9.

Someone should teach me how to choose a main too.

I wish there was a machine you could stand in and it would tell you who your main should be.

Well, I'm not so scrubby as to think this is how it works, although I wish it were true sometimes too, haha. I honestly just want to get a feel for what the MK community thinks about the characters I'm choosing from. Just looking for some friendly input, is all.

Except that's really not the case at all. I've been maining Cyber Sub for a long time, as have J360 and Usedforglue. In fact, I'm planning to lead with him at a major two weeks from now, and every subsequent major I attend. If your only motivation for playing the character is because you think no one else is attempting to bring out his full potential, then you should probably just cross this one off the list immediately.

If you want to find a character to main, play everyone you're even remotely interested in until you find the most comfortable fit, then stick with them. Add in other characters, as needed, from there.

Now that I'm looking at my original post, I can say that I definitely screwed up the wording there. That's not the only reason I'm considering him, at all. Like I said, I've always kind of liked Sub, but in this game, I like Cyber Sub way more than human. So yeah, he's still a choice. Didn't mean to undermine your efforts either -- onward to victory, sweet prince!

 

[EGP Wonder_Chef]

Well, I'm not so scrubby as to think this is how it works, although I wish it were true sometimes too, haha. I honestly just want to get a feel for what the MK community thinks about the characters I'm choosing from. Just looking for some friendly input, is all.

Oh no I wasn't mocking you I was being serious.

I must have changed my main hundreds of times already, no joke.

 

[CamRac]

Oh no I wasn't mocking you I was being serious.

I must have changed my main hundreds of times already, no joke.

You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar! I've done the same thing in most games I've competed in -- I know the feel...

Seriously though, I think TYM might be the most helpful and most involved FG forum I've ever had the pleasure to sign up for. 8 Way Run is the only one that even compares to be honest, and this kind of feedback on a post asking about choosing a main is unheard of over at SRK, haha. Point is, thanks for the positivity guys -- glad to be a part of it, now.

 

[quandaghost]

SRK is full of bigots. I personally try to stay away from that site as much as possible. Like half of the character forums have incomplete data in them. Tym is a great site for information, and learning stuff. I say choose two characters, based around your playstyle, like in sf i played Adon, Deejay, Ken, and Dan back in super. Seeing that I like rushdown characters, that have the option to kinda sit-back I tried alot characters, but scorpion felt right. I trying a couple of more now. It all depends on what you like to do and your strategy when you go in.

 

[OSpliffySmitheeyO]

Play freddy bro, watch them little piggies come to be slaughtered

 

[CamRac]

SRK is full of bigots. I personally try to stay away from that site as much as possible. Like half of the character forums have incomplete data in them. Tym is a great site for information, and learning stuff. I say choose two characters, based around your playstyle, like in sf i played Adon, Deejay, Ken, and Dan back in super. Seeing that I like rushdown characters, that have the option to kinda sit-back I tried alot characters, but scorpion felt right. I trying a couple of more now. It all depends on what you like to do and your strategy when you go in.

Just for what it's worth, I'm a Honda main backed up by Adon, Fei, and T.Hawk. Thing is, I kind of play my Honda wildstyle like Mike Ross -- that's the best way to describe it, anyhow. Oh, and I main Nightmare and Algol in SC5, by the way. I see a lot of people in TYM play that game, too. Ultimately, I consider my greatest strengths as a player to be great reads and reactions and solid footsies (mainly from my playing so much ST). I like grapplers and power characters the most, but I've been known to be able to play a defensive powerhouse or zoner whenever I love the character enough, so I'm a little versatile in that respect.

 

[quandaghost]

Just for what it's worth, I'm a Honda main backed up by Adon, Fei, and T.Hawk. Thing is, I kind of play my Honda wildstyle like Mike Ross -- that's the best way to describe it, anyhow. Oh, and I main Nightmare and Algol in SC5, by the way. I see a lot of people in TYM play that game, too. Ultimately, I consider my greatest strengths as a player to be great reads and reactions and solid footsies (mainly from my playing so much ST). I like grapplers and power characters the most, but I've been known to be able to play a defensive powerhouse or zoner whenever I love the character enough, so I'm a little versatile in that respect.

See i like nightmare as well sir. I think sonya will be the character you go for in then end. If not sonya then Jax. they are both powerhouses that are very versatile, and an pretty much change depending on the situation. If my xbl wasn't so ass at the moment I would have to challenge you in some SC5

 

[OSpliffySmitheeyO]

Seriously though, have you thought of maining freddy, with sonya on the side? freddy has very good zoning, full screen frametraps and decent upclose pressure, with a 50/50 mix up. Sonya fights freddies bad MU's, and as quandaghost just said, Shes a BEAST when it comes to pressure, together they're a good pair. Speaking from experiece, as i main freddy with sonya on the side

 

[greeneless]

I want to see cyrax win a major in the US. I don't know how he hasn't. He might have some hard matchups, but he's got some cheap shit, and practically everything he does is neutral on block. Raiden and Ermac would also be sweet to see winning some tournaments. Though, I wouldn't pick ermac as a main. He is more of a back-up character in my opinion.

 

[CamRac]

Seriously though, have you thought of maining freddy, with sonya on the side? freddy has very good zoning, full screen frametraps and decent upclose pressure, with a 50/50 mix up. Sonya fights freddies bad MU's, and as quandaghost just said, Shes a BEAST when it comes to pressure, together they're a good pair. Speaking from experiece, as i main freddy with sonya on the side

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm actually not a huge fan of Sonya as a character, so I doubt I'd love her enough to stick with her in the long run. Freddy is still an option, though. I haven't really given him a fair shot yet.

I want to see cyrax win a major in the US. I don't know how he hasn't. He might have some hard matchups, but he's got some cheap shit, and practically everything he does is neutral on block. Raiden and Ermac would also be sweet to see winning some tournaments. Though, I wouldn't pick ermac as a main. He is more of a back-up character in my opinion.

Just out of curiosity, why do you feel that way about Ermac? I feel like it's becoming more clear now that I want Ermac/Raiden/Stryker/Sheeva, and I'm seriously considering just leading with the red ninja.

 

[Mr. Mileena]

Why is no one playing Kitana anymore

 

[quandaghost]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm actually not a huge fan of Sonya as a character, so I doubt I'd love her enough to stick with her in the long run. Freddy is still an option, though. I haven't really given him a fair shot yet.



Just out of curiosity, why do you feel that way about Ermac? I feel like it's becoming more clear now that I want Ermac/Raiden/Stryker/Sheeva, and I'm seriously considering just leading with the red ninja.

Well everything ermac can do there are like 2 characters that do it better. I think he is solid, and can win if you really know the character, but that's generic and can be said about any character.

 

[salvificblood]

Why is no one playing Kitana anymore

I like Kitana.

 

[OSpliffySmitheeyO]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm actually not a huge fan of Sonya as a character, so I doubt I'd love her enough to stick with her in the long run. Freddy is still an option, though. I haven't really given him a fair shot yet.

There are others to Pair with freddy tbh. You mentioned cage? yet another perfect team. - ' Ultimately, I consider my greatest strengths as a player to be great reads and reactions and solid footsies (mainly from my playing so much ST). I like grapplers and power characters the most, but I've been known to be able to play a defensive powerhouse or zoner whenever I love the character enough, so I'm a little versatile in that respect.' Thats Freddy and cage right there, You know it

 

[CamRac]

Why is no one playing Kitana anymore

Kitana likes me - does that count?

Well everything ermac can do there are like 2 characters that do it better. I think he is solid, and can win if you really know the character, but that's generic and can be said about any character.

Who are the Ermac "replacements"?

There are others to Pair with freddy tbh. You mentioned cage? yet another perfect team. - ' Ultimately, I consider my greatest strengths as a player to be great reads and reactions and solid footsies (mainly from my playing so much ST). I like grapplers and power characters the most, but I've been known to be able to play a defensive powerhouse or zoner whenever I love the character enough, so I'm a little versatile in that respect.' Thats Freddy and cage right there, You know it

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a car salesman in the making!

But seriously though, I'll give Freddy a good run tonight and see how I feel. I've honestly been initially turned off by him just because he's not an "MK character." I don't know if that makes sense or not, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thought that.

 

[OSpliffySmitheeyO]

I know i know, gotta try though The more people playing my main man the better. And i was put off because he wasnt an mk char at first too. But, just think of it like this, you get to play as one of the most well known, and best Killer's ever! The MK universe would approve

 

[quandaghost]

Kenshi, Freddy, and kitana. they all have better footsies, projectiles, unbreakable combos, and armor. You could go for the rushdown Ermac, but sub-zero, sonya, cage, jax, kabal, rain, and reptile do that so much better. That's just my opinion though. Some or one of his strings also will not hit low hitbox characters, and that's problematic in this game right now.