Match-up Discussion Cyrax Matchup Discussion Thread

[Gengar]

So this is my first post on this site, and MK9 is the first fighter ive ever taken seriously. i main cyrax, however im no pro. even so, after looking at this thread the characters i struggle with seem to be a universal thing, not just me. there are a few characters on here that are viewed as a shitty match up for cyrax (kano for example) that i have yet to run into a really skilled player so i win them, but ive watched a kano completely shut down cyrax with crazy zoning and corner destruction.

some people are putting smoke, sektor, and reptile as games that are not in cyrax's favor, personally i disagree. In reptiles case, like someone said above, hes gotta get through the obstacle course first, which is a hell of a chore. spam enough bombs and nets and youll have him stuck full screen. any force ball trade ends bad for reptile, and his only other projectile is easily ducked under. once he makes a mistake, hes all yours, or if he breakers hes still out of your face and back where you want him. all the meter you generate from bombs/nets gives you plenty to breaker him, and a wake up tele/aa will keep you out of the corner and give you plenty of breathing room.

Sektor you can crouch block the whole time (does he even have an overhead?) its likely that a trade with a net and missile will occur, not to mention that i think that cyrax is the faster of the too, and if you apply enough pressure to sektor he will crumble. im quite certain that cyrax's 334 combo is faster than sektors moves, and you can 33b3 him right into a net. (i hope i got those numbers right)

smoke you can just wait out. smoke ball has no chip, and i also believe that smoke has no combos that start low. once he stops spamming smoke balls and is forced to move in thats when you punish, a blocked port is easily punished, as is jabbing through smokeports. cyrax to me is a turtle, however he is a turtle that can be very VERY aggressive. a MU to me is all about knowing what characters you need to stick to your turtling instead of coming after them. smoke and sek are 2 such characters.

also, i know resets were touched on and i found a pretty decent one for when you catch someone in an air net, its howver not a true unavoidable reset, as certain wake ups or staying down will avoid it. when i get someone in an air net i do b2>ex bomb> far bomb > let them land from the exbomb >b2. b2 has a start up so it will actually begin hitting as soon as the stand up, if the block it they eat the far bomb you placed and youre free to combo away, if they dont then they eat the b2 and you go right into a combo anyway.

 

[PND_Mustard]

some people are putting smoke, sektor, and reptile as games that are not in cyrax's favor, personally i disagree. In reptiles case, like someone said above, hes gotta get through the obstacle course first, which is a hell of a chore. spam enough bombs and nets and youll have him stuck full screen. any force ball trade ends bad for reptile, and his only other projectile is easily ducked under. once he makes a mistake, hes all yours, or if he breakers hes still out of your face and back where you want him. all the meter you generate from bombs/nets gives you plenty to breaker him, and a wake up tele/aa will keep you out of the corner and give you plenty of breathing room.

Sektor you can crouch block the whole time (does he even have an overhead?) its likely that a trade with a net and missile will occur, not to mention that i think that cyrax is the faster of the too, and if you apply enough pressure to sektor he will crumble. im quite certain that cyrax's 334 combo is faster than sektors moves, and you can 33b3 him right into a net. (i hope i got those numbers right)

reptile doesnt have to pass through anything, he has no reason to come to you if he has the life lead, he can elbow dash when he sees you throw a bomb and jump over any net to instantly close fullscreen, the forceball trade is not bad for reptile in the slightest, if you net him and get forceballed hes out of the net by the time you wakeup, and even if you manage to get a teleport off hell likely have recovered and be able to elbow dash punish you for it.

the reason sektors a bad matchup (its not even horribly bad, just slightly in his favour) is because he can instant air teleport on reaction to nets and avoid the bombs the same way everyone else can, his enhanced teleport makes it very hard to pressure him on wakeup and of course leaves him safe, his d1 can shut down alot of command grab attempts so you're pretty much stuck to fighting him with cyrax's basic tools.

 

[Gengar]

reptile doesnt have to pass through anything, he has no reason to come to you if he has the life lead, he can elbow dash when he sees you throw a bomb and jump over any net to instantly close fullscreen, the forceball trade is not bad for reptile in the slightest, if you net him and get forceballed hes out of the net by the time you wakeup, and even if you manage to get a teleport off hell likely have recovered and be able to elbow dash punish you for it.

the reason sektors a bad matchup (its not even horribly bad, just slightly in his favour) is because he can instant air teleport on reaction to nets and avoid the bombs the same way everyone else can, his enhanced teleport makes it very hard to pressure him on wakeup and of course leaves him safe, his d1 can shut down alot of command grab attempts so you're pretty much stuck to fighting him with cyrax's basic tools.

by the trade i mean when he throws a ball, gets caught in a net and due to the slow travel time of force balls, as well as slow start up frames, he gets caught and you block the force ball. plenty of cyrax's moves throw him full screen, too far to elbow dash or slide. and a life lead against cyrax as a rush character to me isnt a big deal, as one mess up and its over. if he doesnt want to come to you then hes welcome to sit full screen, and avoid bombs and nets all day, but one slip up and that life lead goes the other way around.

i still find that sektor players get to comfortable with throwing the port and you will likely block at least one and punish it big time. against a good sector im going to crouch block until he comes at me. he tries to jump in and hes eating an aa on reaction, the only time id throw a net is if my opponent was busy spamming missiles, giving him enough time to block it if he isnt commited to a 2nd missile, but not enough time to jump port, and if he ports im blocking by the time he hits me. mind you, idk much about frame data and the more technical terms, but from what ive watched and played sektor is forced to come to you, and lacks any power tools to get there outside of ex port, everything else comes with a risk, and any risk against cyrax is a big one, what with 60% punishes

 

[A F0xy Grampa]

by the trade i mean when he throws a ball, gets caught in a net and due to the slow travel time of force balls, as well as slow start up frames, he gets caught and you block the force ball. plenty of cyrax's moves throw him full screen, too far to elbow dash or slide. and a life lead against cyrax as a rush character to me isnt a big deal, as one mess up and its over. if he doesnt want to come to you then hes welcome to sit full screen, and avoid bombs and nets all day, but one slip up and that life lead goes the other way around.

i still find that sektor players get to comfortable with throwing the port and you will likely block at least one and punish it big time. against a good sector im going to crouch block until he comes at me. he tries to jump in and hes eating an aa on reaction, the only time id throw a net is if my opponent was busy spamming missiles, giving him enough time to block it if he isnt commited to a 2nd missile, but not enough time to jump port, and if he ports im blocking by the time he hits me. mind you, idk much about frame data and the more technical terms, but from what ive watched and played sektor is forced to come to you, and lacks any power tools to get there outside of ex port, everything else comes with a risk, and any risk against cyrax is a big one, what with 60% punishes

Watch Mustard Vs Ketchup in any tournament gameplay, Sektor doesn't have to get near Cyrax because his rockets recover too quick within certain ranges. Mustards probably THE person to ask about Cyrax Vs Sektor.

 

[PND_Mustard]

by the trade i mean when he throws a ball, gets caught in a net and due to the slow travel time of force balls, as well as slow start up frames, he gets caught and you block the force ball. plenty of cyrax's moves throw him full screen, too far to elbow dash or slide. and a life lead against cyrax as a rush character to me isnt a big deal, as one mess up and its over. if he doesnt want to come to you then hes welcome to sit full screen, and avoid bombs and nets all day, but one slip up and that life lead goes the other way around.

i still find that sektor players get to comfortable with throwing the port and you will likely block at least one and punish it big time. against a good sector im going to crouch block until he comes at me. he tries to jump in and hes eating an aa on reaction, the only time id throw a net is if my opponent was busy spamming missiles, giving him enough time to block it if he isnt commited to a 2nd missile, but not enough time to jump port, and if he ports im blocking by the time he hits me. mind you, idk much about frame data and the more technical terms, but from what ive watched and played sektor is forced to come to you, and lacks any power tools to get there outside of ex port, everything else comes with a risk, and any risk against cyrax is a big one, what with 60% punishes

but the difference is here, you're going by what you see sektor players do, not what he actually CAN do, just because not many people play the matchup correctly doesnt change the fact sektor is capable of it, im not talking about a sektor randomly teleporting, NO good sektor is gonna do it off the bat, im talking about reaction teleporting to your nets, which he can get a good 40% off. you get the life lead and crouch block then he's just gonna harass you with rockets and up missiles, you can dodge all day but the moment you're forced to dash from a missile coming down on your head he gets a d4 into some free pressure, its much easier for sektor to get in on cyrax than it is cyrax to get in on sektor.

as for the reptile matchup, the only way reptile is gonna be at a disadvantage with a net trade is if he inputs the ball AFTER youve already thrown the net, which isnt matchup based, thats just the reptile player being an idiot.

 

[PND_Ketchup]

by the trade i mean when he throws a ball, gets caught in a net and due to the slow travel time of force balls, as well as slow start up frames, he gets caught and you block the force ball. plenty of cyrax's moves throw him full screen, too far to elbow dash or slide. and a life lead against cyrax as a rush character to me isnt a big deal, as one mess up and its over. if he doesnt want to come to you then hes welcome to sit full screen, and avoid bombs and nets all day, but one slip up and that life lead goes the other way around.

i still find that sektor players get to comfortable with throwing the port and you will likely block at least one and punish it big time. against a good sector im going to crouch block until he comes at me. he tries to jump in and hes eating an aa on reaction, the only time id throw a net is if my opponent was busy spamming missiles, giving him enough time to block it if he isnt commited to a 2nd missile, but not enough time to jump port, and if he ports im blocking by the time he hits me. mind you, idk much about frame data and the more technical terms, but from what ive watched and played sektor is forced to come to you, and lacks any power tools to get there outside of ex port, everything else comes with a risk, and any risk against cyrax is a big one, what with 60% punishes

A good sektor player will next to never trade with the net once the matchup is 100% downloaded. I'd suggest ignoring the statement of sektor player eventually doing a blocked teleport punch. Generally i never do a naked TU and if i do it's enhanced to make it safe. Don't mean to be a dick or anything but generally sektor won't do scrubby tactics like that lol, unless i mistime my instant air, which is unlikely.

 

[Temjiin]

So this is my first post on this site, and MK9 is the first fighter ive ever taken seriously. i main cyrax, however im no pro. even so, after looking at this thread the characters i struggle with seem to be a universal thing, not just me. there are a few characters on here that are viewed as a shitty match up for cyrax (kano for example) that i have yet to run into a really skilled player so i win them, but ive watched a kano completely shut down cyrax with crazy zoning and corner destruction.

some people are putting smoke, sektor, and reptile as games that are not in cyrax's favor, personally i disagree. In reptiles case, like someone said above, hes gotta get through the obstacle course first, which is a hell of a chore. spam enough bombs and nets and youll have him stuck full screen. any force ball trade ends bad for reptile, and his only other projectile is easily ducked under. once he makes a mistake, hes all yours, or if he breakers hes still out of your face and back where you want him. all the meter you generate from bombs/nets gives you plenty to breaker him, and a wake up tele/aa will keep you out of the corner and give you plenty of breathing room.

Sektor you can crouch block the whole time (does he even have an overhead?) its likely that a trade with a net and missile will occur, not to mention that i think that cyrax is the faster of the too, and if you apply enough pressure to sektor he will crumble. im quite certain that cyrax's 334 combo is faster than sektors moves, and you can 33b3 him right into a net. (i hope i got those numbers right)

smoke you can just wait out. smoke ball has no chip, and i also believe that smoke has no combos that start low. once he stops spamming smoke balls and is forced to move in thats when you punish, a blocked port is easily punished, as is jabbing through smokeports. cyrax to me is a turtle, however he is a turtle that can be very VERY aggressive. a MU to me is all about knowing what characters you need to stick to your turtling instead of coming after them. smoke and sek are 2 such characters.

also, i know resets were touched on and i found a pretty decent one for when you catch someone in an air net, its howver not a true unavoidable reset, as certain wake ups or staying down will avoid it. when i get someone in an air net i do b2>ex bomb> far bomb > let them land from the exbomb >b2. b2 has a start up so it will actually begin hitting as soon as the stand up, if the block it they eat the far bomb you placed and youre free to combo away, if they dont then they eat the b2 and you go right into a combo anyway.

I can't comment on the Smoke matchup as I don't play him. However I main the other 2 so will give my $0.02 on this.

Reptile is a 5/5.You can't just spam bombs because they can be walked over. Reptile can however spam forceballs which win on trade at full screen, due to the launch. When Cyrax recovers and teleports Reptile can block the string. He doesn't have a normal that's faster than Cyrax's 3 though so he could eat a command grab or throw. However if Reptile gets on Cyrax he doesn't have a lot of tools to escape the pressure.

Sektor is also a 5/5. Sektor has all the tools to deal with Cyrax, he can zone him out and has the fastest uppercut and jab (6 frames) in the game. Sektor has an amazing rushdown game, he has U3 stance which if linked to 4 TU is an overhead and a full combo.

I respect Cyrax and the immense damage output so I don't put either of these matchups as advantage Rep/Sek. However they both have the tools to deal with the matchup. I imagine Smoke might be a bad matchup for Cyrax though.

EDIT: In the time it took to write this, vastly better players than me have already responded.

 

[Gengar]

but the difference is here, you're going by what you see sektor players do, not what he actually CAN do, just because not many people play the matchup correctly doesnt change the fact sektor is capable of it, im not talking about a sektor randomly teleporting, NO good sektor is gonna do it off the bat, im talking about reaction teleporting to your nets, which he can get a good 40% off. you get the life lead and crouch block then he's just gonna harass you with rockets and up missiles, you can dodge all day but the moment you're forced to dash from a missile coming down on your head he gets a d4 into some free pressure, its much easier for sektor to get in on cyrax than it is cyrax to get in on sektor.

as for the reptile matchup, the only way reptile is gonna be at a disadvantage with a net trade is if he inputs the ball AFTER youve already thrown the net, which isnt matchup based, thats just the reptile player being an idiot.

well, ill agree with the sektor part, as you are someone who knows the up and up on a rax v sek match up. as for reptile im merely against the MU going in reptiles favor, its fine and dandy that only an idiot would forceball after a net is already thrown, however thats just one of the multiple things that reptile has to watch out for. whenever i play reptile i am constantly putting him at full screen, since his zoning is nothing special, and if you catch reptile withanything its fairly easy to put him at full screen. once hes there, the net/bomb barrage begins. to me reptile has to be spot on with avoidance to get past the bombs and nets to land get in elbow dash range. and if he isnt perfect with it, then he gets to start all over again. from the beginning. to me its a 5-5, just not in reptiles favor like others are saying.

 

[PND_Mustard]

Sektor is also a 5/5. Sektor has all the tools to deal with Cyrax, he can zone him out and has the fastest uppercut and jab (6 frames) in the game. Sektor has an amazing rushdown game, he has U3 stance which if linked to 4 TU is an overhead and a full combo.

cyrax's d1 beats the u3 EVERY time. hell with the latest patch changing jip advantage, he probably even has enough time to go for 1,2 net on reaction to sektor doing the u3 at all.

 

[RomeoBravoDelta]

To me, the thing thing that makes the Sektor match-up in his favor (5.5 to 6 at he most) is that it's a match-up where Cyrax actually needs to use breakers., which limits his offensive capabilities.

Most of the time, Cyrax can shrug off damage and say "Thanks of the meter," but the fact that Sektor gets a guaranteed 40%+ combo off of is TU, which can be done ia on reaction to nets, means that Cyrax can't afford to tank the hits. He absolutely can't zone Sektor which means Cyrax has to go to him. And he can't teleport because Sektor's 1 and d4 are simply too fast.

Sektor has an easier time opening up Cyrax for damage than Cyrax can open up Sektor, and Sektor can actually get Cyrax to break, which is more than most characters can say.

And Sektor never has to "come to you." If a Sektor wants it, you have to chase him though the missiles and fire.

 

[Temjiin]

cyrax's d1 beats the u3 EVERY time. hell with the latest patch changing jip advantage, he probably even has enough time to go for 1,2 net on reaction to sektor doing the u3 at all.

Absolutely. I was just making the player aware that he does have an overhead.... If I played someone oblivious to this I'd take the gamble on it. To say you can just crouch block against Sektor with a health lead is nuts.

 

[Gengar]

Absolutely. I was just making the player aware that he does have an overhead.... If I played someone oblivious to this I'd take the gamble on it. To say you can just crouch block against Sektor with a health lead is nuts.

yeah i had no idea that he had an over head, im assuming it doesnt come out much due to its slowness, but someone like me that would feel safe crouch blocking no matter what would get punished for that. ill keep that in mind next time a sektor player comes at me

 

[NariTuba]

the reason sektors a bad matchup (its not even horribly bad, just slightly in his favour) is because he can instant air teleport on reaction to nets and avoid the bombs the same way everyone else can, his enhanced teleport makes it very hard to pressure him on wakeup and of course leaves him safe, his d1 can shut down alot of command grab attempts so you're pretty much stuck to fighting him with cyrax's basic tools.

Iatu on reaction to net is true so net is almost out of the question. But imho Ive found there's a sweet spot for trading net with Sektor, somewhere around the tip of flamethrower range and jump distance. This is basically the range I stay at all match since he cant iatu on reaction to net or bombs. If I read a jump back I AAt and Im in his face. Both characters need to respect eachothers d4s, but Cyrax does need to be careful with Sektor f2. Good spacing is crucial in this match.

I disagree that his Extu makes it hard to pressure him on wakeup, it costs meter he needs to save for breaker and is not truly safe since you can poke him after it and hes forced to block.

Command grab also sucks against Sektor becaujse of his low crouching hitbox that will make it whiff (damn cheat!)

I agree youre pretty much left to fight him with basic tools. It is a little more of a grind for Cyrax than it is for Sektor since you have to go to him, but I call it a 5-5 because of Cyrax damage and the fact that Sektor wakeup sucks so its hard for him to stop your momentum once you get going.

A good sektor player will next to never trade with the net once the matchup is 100% downloaded

What do you mean Ketchup? How does it play out once 100% downloaded?

 

[A F0xy Grampa]

How does it play out once 100% downloaded?

Pokemon

 

[PND_Ketchup]

Iatu on reaction to net is true so net is almost out of the question. But imho Ive found there's a sweet spot for trading net with Sektor, somewhere around the tip of flamethrower range and jump distance. This is basically the range I stay at all match since he cant iatu on reaction to net or bombs. If I read a jump back I AAt and Im in his face. Both characters need to respect eachothers d4s, but Cyrax does need to be careful with Sektor f2. Good spacing is crucial in this match.

I disagree that his Extu makes it hard to pressure him on wakeup, it costs meter he needs to save for breaker and is not truly safe since you can poke him after it and hes forced to block.

Command grab also sucks against Sektor becaujse of his low crouching hitbox that will make it whiff (damn cheat!)

I agree youre pretty much left to fight him with basic tools. It is a little more of a grind for Cyrax than it is for Sektor since you have to go to him, but I call it a 5-5 because of Cyrax damage and the fact that Sektor wakeup sucks so its hard for him to stop your momentum once you get going.



What do you mean Ketchup? How does it play out once 100% downloaded?

you wont trade with then net at all if you know what move to use where. Unless you make a mistake, but that's not the matchup. That's you.

 

[xenogorgeous]

Sektor , if can keep a good game of up missile + normal missiles, without being caught by a net and a teleport, can put some pressure in Cyrax, baiting for an error, for next, an Ex TU. This kind of mind game requires strictly good timing and execution.

** Anyone knows if Sektor flame thrower can stop Cyrax Reverse Kick ? Normal and Ex Version ?

 

[SLy]

Cyrax v Jade 6-4?

I see it as 5-5 at Least. Neither of them doesn't have a huge advantage over the other..Anyone care to explain?

Edit: 5.5-4.5 at best

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

Rax VS Jax: How do I put this match in my favor?

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

Rax VS Jax: How do I put this match in my favor?

Hahaha same question i get blown up by jax all the time.

 

[Krayzie]

Rax VS Jax: How do I put this match in my favor?

5-5

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

5-5

So basically I've gotta be a low-to-the-ground D3/4ing ninja with surgical precision on my strikes?

Fucking Jax, man...just...pain. Lots of pain. Patriotic, muscle-kissing pain.

 

[Nick T.]

Cyrax v Jade 6-4?

I see it as 5-5 at Least. Neither of them doesn't have a huge advantage over the other..Anyone care to explain?

Edit: 5.5-4.5 at best

Damage output.

 

[PND_Mustard]

Damage output.

by that logic doesnt that mean cyrax is 6-4 everyone?

 

[SLy]

by that logic doesnt that mean cyrax is 6-4 everyone?

Agree.. Cyrax damage output applies to all of his matches but I assume he still has tough ones even with his damage output.

I feel her glow somewhat limits Cyrax a little bit..While most players cant escape his resets or has to conserve 2 meters..Jades Ex glow will get out of some setups with the cost of 1.. If its any character I think cyrax will have a harder time locking down jade..Her glow works well against net setups if used correctly.

Jade can keep up with cyrax in this MU

 

[Red Reaper]

by that logic doesnt that mean cyrax is 6-4 everyone?

I agree 6-4 everyone! lol..