The point of this thread is to discuss Freddy's matchups, but you should probably read my
Freddy guide before you proceed. This thread is a never-ending project, and I will keep updating this post with fresh information for as long as I play the game and the character. I have put a lot of time and effort into the character even before he was tournament legal, but my opinion is not the be-all and end-all. I encourage everyone to post his or her match up chart too, so we can engage in a healthy discussion.
- m2dave
6 vs Baraka
5 vs Cyber Sub-Zero
5 vs Cyrax - despite the inconceivable amount of damage Cyrax can dish out in one combo, Freddy has the ability to zone him safely. You just have to be really careful of nets (b,b+3) at mid range to avoid trading. Do not waste any meter on anything besides combo breakers vs this character, and only break Cyrax's combos after the player wastes the meter for the EX bomb, or you will never ever win.
5 vs Cyblax (Human Cyrax)
6 vs Ermac - Freddy punishes blocked TKP (b,f+1) anywhere on the screen with the appropriate spike. Ermac has to rush down, and he can do so because a lot of his strings work well on Freddy because of the large crouching hitbox. In all honesty, this match up is probably only 5.5 : 4.5 in favor of Freddy.
5 vs Jade
6 vs Jax - Even though CD Jr. beat me at Season's Beatings, I still think this match up is in favor of Freddy. This fight is very similar to Johnny Cage (see below). NMS crouches under Jax's d,f+2 and gives you a full combo punish via NMS, 1. If you get cornered, however, you may as well put your stick down. Every hit of f+4,1,3 jails Freddy and leads to death combos.
5 vs Johnny Cage - simple match up. If you manage to zone Cage, you win. If Cage corners you, you are dead. You need to learn to use NMS in footsies in this match up to be successful. Cage is more dangerous mid screen than Jax due to EX forceball trap.
5 vs Kabal
6 vs Kano - all spikes crouch under knives while up ball is easily punishable by f+4,2,1. Kano has to rush down Freddy, but the problem is that his offense is not good enough for him to win consistently. Aerial balls are an issue, however, because of their whiff punishing abilities.
5 vs Kenshi
6 vs Kitana
4 vs Kung Lao - Kung Lao is a difficult match up because of his air mobility, which makes him hard to zone, and teleport 3, which locks Freddy because of his large crouching hitbox. You cannot simply stand in one spot and zone like you normally would. The key is to keep moving forward. Kung Lao's teleport 3 can be punished with EX ground spikes if you dash forward, and NMS, 1 works well as an anti air versus dive kicks. You have to play this match up a lot to get an idea how to overcome Kung Lao's mobility.
6 vs Liu Kang
4 vs Mileena - this match up is not as bad as I thought, but Freddy still loses. Mileena is a very strong character, so there is a lot to talk about. First, the ideal distance to fight Mileena is 3/4ths of the screen away, or slightly closer. You do not want to stay full screen away because the Mileena player can easily react to gloves and fingers and punish you with telekicks. Zone with spikes because they have a tendency to hit Mileena out of the telekicks. Be sure to try to punish all telekicks and rolls with the following combo: u+3~EX spike, JP,b+1,2,u+1, dash f+4,2,1 xx mid spike, far spike, far spike (46% of damage). You have to be standing to punish with u+3, so train yourself to block standing vs Mileena, and I know doing so is difficult because of d+4. EX telekicks can usually be punished with d+2 or d+1 xx glove toss, but you must block the second hit while crouching. Punishing these moves correctly is crucial. Furthermore, if you jump on Mileena, be sure to jump deep with a kick because a jumping punch whiffs when she does d+4. You can combo with mid spike thereafter. Be patient and play smart, and you will give yourself a chance to win. Mileena's damage output is low while Freddy's is high. That is the only reason he does not lose worse than 6:4.
6 vs Nightwolf - Reflect is a problem because the move disables glove toss/Freddy fingers, but turtling with NMS gives Nightwolf a tough, tough time. NMS crouches under shoulder and arrow, severely limiting Nightwolf. Spikes are neither reflectable nor absorbable.
6 vs Noob Saibot - sweet dreams catches teleslam attempts and trades with any shadow clone in your favor. Just wake up and perform two far ground spikes. Freddy has safer zoning, better mix ups, more damaging combos, and superior mobility, so Noob is outclassed in almost every category. But the match up can still surprisingly be very competitive if the Noob player is not mindlessly chucking shadows.
5 vs Quan Chi
4 vs Raiden - because of the teleport (d,u), Raiden is literally un-zonable and un-trappable. In other words, this is a difficult match up for Freddy. Raiden cannot teleport punish glove toss on reaction. Ground spikes, on the other hand, are punishable if he randomly teleports. EX ground spike does not track teleport, unfortunately. d+1, f+4,2,1, and JP are your best options in dealing with the teleport. JP is especially good because if it connects, it leads to combos, and if it gets blocked, it leads to un-fuzzy-guardable albeit unsafe 50/50 mix up between b+2 and b+3 xx close ground spike, but EX ground spike is safe. Do not zone too much. Instead, be more aggressive. This match up feels random sometimes mostly because you never know when the Raiden player will teleport. You have to take some risks to beat him.
5 vs Rain
6 vs Reptile - when Reptile is full screen away, he is one of the most helpless characters vs Freddy as his regular dash is the worst in the game. He has to take risks by elbow dashing or jumping forward. Glove toss takes care of elbow dash while mid spike takes care of a forward jump. Keep him full screen away as long as you can, but do not use far spikes on him. Blocked far spikes allow him to approach you with elbow dashes. Keep tossing gloves. If the Reptile player starts neutral ducking your gloves, start tossing freddy fingers. Reptile is only a threat at mid range because of elbow dash, slide, d+4, jump, X-Ray, etc. Be aware that his slide can slide under gloves (while Sub Zero's and Cyber Sub Zero's slide cannot). Blocked elbow dashes are punishable by f+4,2,1 + combo.
5 vs Scorpion - this match up is even because Scorpion has some solid anti-zoning tools. Do not spam gloves or freddy fingers because Scorpion can trade with a hellfire, take a hit, and perform another hellfire for 14% of damage. Zone with far and mid spikes because the Scorpion player cannot react to those. If the Scorpion player is hellfire happy, you can trade with sweet dreams. You have enough time to spike afterwards. Block regular teleports and then punish them with your best combo. EX teleports are not only safe but also advantageous on block. In fact, Freddy has to block 3,3 after EX teleport. The ideal solution is to low poke the EX teleport with d+1 and then juggle with f+4,2,1. Scorpion has one of the best 50/50 mix ups in the game even though they are very unsafe. The overhead option is b+2 while the low option is f+4 xx spear. Be sure to punish both with f+4,2,1 + combo. Spear is punishable by spikes, even full screen away. Takedown is safe on block. The EX version has armor. Play this match up carefully and patiently, and try to force mistakes because Scorpion still has to approach Freddy unless he has the life lead.
5 vs Sektor
6 vs Shang Tsung - Shang Tsung has to rush down Freddy, and he has some solid frame traps with f+4,3,4 xx close up skull and d+4 xx up skull. Close up skull leaves him at +1 on block. He is helpless vs Freddy from a distance, though. Ground skulls are too slow for glove toss and spikes. Do not get cornered and be aware of EX soul steal at mid range, and you should yourself a very good chance to win.
6 vs Sheeva - NMS automatically backdashes away from Sheeva's unblockable stomp and gives you a free launch via NMS, 1. If she stomps behind you, NMS's motion is reversed (d,b+4 -> d,f+4), and sweet dreams comes out instead. Because the stomp is slow, spikes can usually interrupt its start up animation. Sheeva's fireball hits mid and EX fireball is an overhead. Spikes "crouch" under both, so you do not have to bother blocking either one. Do not fall for any stomp shenanigans, stick to the staple zoning game, and you should win. Respect the character, though. Sheeva has some damaging single hitters and combos, and you can die quickly if you make mistakes.
5 vs Sindel
6 vs Skarlet
3 vs Smoke - Smoke bomb completely negates Freddy's zoning game and leads to tons of damage thanks to resets. If you toss a glove or freddy finger, Smoke can take the hit and still juggle. Trading Smoke bombs (12%) with spikes (6%) does not allow Smoke to juggle, but the trade is still in his favor. Fight Smoke at mid range because there is no point in staying full screen away. Freddy can do very little about full screen smoke bombs. Again, fight this match midscreen and try to bait a smoke bomb and then jump and punish with a big combo. If you jump carelessly, though, the Smoke player will AA you with his standing 2. I need to play and explore this match up more, but thus far it is Freddy's hardest because 70% of your tools are useless vs Smoke. The resets when combined with smoke bombs are too powerful.
