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Guide - Commando Full Commando Kano Guide

MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 1: Who is Commando Kano?
​

Probably the only ”true” grappler in MKX, Commando Kano utilizes parries and command grabs to break all the ribs he can get his hands on. Losing the mid knives in Cyber and the safe 50/50s from Cutthroat, Commando instead relies on multiple reads to frustrate and power bomb his opponents.


What he gains:​
  • Fast (11 frames) command grabs where you can, without meter, decide where your opponent will end up
  • A safe string ender in Choke that is also a sweet anti air.
  • Parries that give you all the swag points in the world
  • A high damaging and excellent footsie tool in the 22 string
  • A MB pop up string that switches sides
  • the best wake up tools in the game
  • Good oki
What he loses:​
  • He does less damage meterlessly than his other variations.
  • He lacks the stronger keepaway game from Cyber
  • He lacks the safe 50/50s and damage from cutthroat.
  • Doesn't have the strongest corner game
Kano has a decent walk speed, great forward backdash. You're going to want to use the backdash a lot to whiff punish stuff and get out of pressure. Forward dash is good as well as his run speed run speed. Your jump is floaty and probably one of the worst in the game but you have Air Ball to make up for it.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 2: Normals/strings​
1: 8 frame combo starter with ok range, neutral on block. Also a great anti air. It's a high and will whiff on a bunch of crouch blocking characters.

11: -2 on block. Second hit is supposed to be a mid but whiffs on a lot of crouch block opponents. Is decent for staggers as long as it doesn't get low profiled.

112: -1 on block. Your go to punisher unless you block a slide or something else that puts them really low to the ground. It has a gap between 11()2 but that can actually be exploited (more on this under Utilizing the gap in 112)

2: 13 frame combo starter with good range. It's +2 on block so in theory it's a good stagger but it's a high that will whiff on a lot of crouch blocking opponents.

2F4: 0 on block with enormous pushback. Also causes a splat knockdown on hit. It can be used in the corner on block to put you outside of a lot of opponents pokes, but inside the range of your F4 and Command Grab. All in all, this string was made obsolete by 22 however.

22: Your highest damaging combo starter. Enormous range. -1 on block so it leaves you in a great range. A great pressure tool (more on this under The 22 string) and combo filler.

3: 9 frame mid starter, -7 on block. Has poor range. Mostly used in juggles and grounded combos for it's extention. Pretty good for punishing low profiling moves.

32: -1 on block, making it a decent stagger. Can be hit confirmed into a full combo. Unlike it's Cybernetic and Cutthroat counterparts, Commando's 32 doesn't launch but leaves you +15 and them standing.

32 2+4: Decent ender that switches sides. The knockdown gives you pretty nice setups (see Oki). Can be MB'd for a 30+% combo. Death on block (-13).

4: A 15 frame high that serves little purpose outside of very niche combos. It's +2 on block though. One of the few normals and strings that 100% connect into EX Knives on block.

B1: 9 frame mid that's your go to combo starter for low profiling moves or moves that are out of range of 112. It's -8 on block but it doesn't matter since it should always be cancelled into a tick throw or done as a string. Also an amazing anti-air. Can get low profiled by some few moves such as Johnny's D4. Also central to Commando's oki game (see Oki).

B13: -2 on block, meaning you can stagger it. Pretty good punish string, albeit less damage than 112.

B13 2+4: Decent ender that switches sides. The knockdown gives you pretty nice setups (see Oki). Can be MB'd for a 30+% combo. Death on block (-12).

B3: Your low starter, that comes out in 14 frames. -3 on block but you'll rarely use it by itself.

B31: +1 on block making it a great stagger. Can be confirmed into EX ball midscreen for a full combo.

B312: -8 on block but has huge pushback so it's usually safe. It's basically a launcher in the corner off a confirmed B31 or EX ball.

F3: 13 frame mid with poor range. -5 on block. Can be used in specific situations.

F33: This adds a low kick on the second hit. It ticks into your command grabs and can lead into som nasty setups in the corner. -8 on block.

F4: An 11 frame lunging mid. Has pretty good range but doesn't low crush consitantly. Is -5 on block but acts a semi stagger since you can special cancel it.

B4: A 16 frame sweep. -6 on block and good range but pretty useless. Will low profile a lot of things.

D1: 9 Frame mid that's -7 on block, +25 on hit. Only realy use is to cancel into command grab (tick), choke/parry (bait counterpoke).

D2: An 8 frame upercut with amazing horizontal hitbox. You have more damaging options but D2 will hit almost anything out of the air.

D3: 7 frame low, -3 on block, +13 on hit. Your go to poke in close quarters, also your safest option. Ticks into your command grabs.

D4: 7 frame low poke, -8 on block, +17 on hit. Great range and your go to poke. On hit you can run in or F4 for pressure. Ticks into your command grabs. Low profiles a lot of attacks including a bunch of projectiles (see Low profiling projectiles)

JI1: 6 frame startup. Probably your best jump in.

JI2: 7 frame startup. Hits a little deeper than JI1 and can be a bit more consistent when crossing up the opponent.

JI3: 10 frame startup. Generally outdone by JI4 but has some uses. Ticks into your command grabs.

JI4: 11 frame startup. The better of your jump in kicks. Has a weird hitbox that will hit behind Kano, making it good for crossups. Ticks into your command grabs.

NJP: 9 frame startup. Decent NJP that can be used on reads. Can be used for throw setups.

NJK: 11 frame startup. Can be used for throw setups.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 3: Special Moves​
  • Kano Ball(BF3): Has less use in this variation than his others. 14F start up, unsafe on block but not super easy to punish. Punishes some things that are outside of your range.
  • EX Kano Ball (BF3 BLK): Armored combo starter. Less useful than in his other variations but great for corner carry. Has weird armor properties (see here http://testyourmight.com/threads/mb-kano-ball-armor.53176/).
  • Air Ball(BF3 while in the air): An airborne Kano ball that tracks the opponent. Hits overhead if close, low if far away making it a mixup of sorts. Hugely unsafe on block but is great for punishing forward advancing moves and changing your jump arc. If both hits hit it does 9%, if only the low does it will deal 7%.
  • EX Air Ball (BF3 while in the air+BLK): This adds an unblockable part to the Air Ball. On hit this will extend the damage to 14% but the real use is spacing this out so that the opponent will try to block the low but eat the unblockable. It does 11% if only the unblockable part hits.
  • Up Ball(DB2): A 6f reversal that can can punish a lot of things that are usually considered safe (such as Alien's overhead flip). Good for anti airs or as a brave counterpoke. Since it's so fast it will often work, but it is death on block so use it with caution. Hits twice and can break armor. Does 10%. Has some use as a gimmicky ender in the corner since it causes a quickrise.
  • EX Up Ball (DB2+BLK): Armored version of the Up Ball. Great for OS:ing out of pressure. It's safe (-5) with a lot of pushback and hits twice so it will break most armor. Also good for late anti-airs since it has armor. Does 13%.
  • Blade Toss(DF2): Commando's projectile that he shares with Cutthroat. -7 on block and +7 on hit. Pretty good for keeping people out, can be used as a combo ender to keep them standing within your range.
  • EX Blade toss (DF2 + BLK): A great tool to keep up pressure. The second knife is a mid so it can catch people off guard neutral ducking from full screen. +9 on block but few things 100% jail into it. You can use the frame advantage to go for a command grab or a string.
  • Choke (DF1): A great multi tool. It's your go to ender for standing opponents, deals 11% damage and leads to a hard knockdown. It's also a reliable anti air. Furthermore it's a tool for you to build meter since it's only -4 on block.
  • EX Choke (DF1+BLK): An armored version of choke that deals 18% damage and has armor. Decent wakeup as it will beat neutral jumps (for those trying to bait command grabs). It's also good for when you're late on reacting to a jump in.
  • Rib breaker (DBF4): Your forward command throw. Does 16% damage and starts up in 11 frames. Your go to ender for airborne opponents.
  • Rib strike (DBF4 + BLK): Same as above but armored and deals 19% damage.
  • Power Slam (DFB4): Your backwards command throw. Starts up in 11 frames and deals 17% damage but is slightly easier to low profile and has worse range than Rib breaker. Leads to a great brutality.
  • Power Bomb (DFB4 + BLK): Same as above but armored and deals 20% damage.
  • High Kounter (DB1): Parries most mids, highs and overheads. Deals 17% damage. Is not terrible on whiff but use it sparibgly. Starts up in 4 frames. EX starts up in 2 frames and deals 21% damage but is pretty useless.
  • Low Kounter (DB3): Parries most lows. Deals 17% damage. Is not terrible on whiff but use it sparibgly. Starts up in 4 frames. EX starts up in 2 frames and deals 21% damage but is pretty useless.
  • X-Ray (Lacerator): Starts up in 21 frames, is -8 on block, and does 32%. Scales horribly but can be used as an anti air. Pretty useless but pretty swaggy.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 4: Combos​

Commando Kano isn't very combo heavy but you need to learn the basic combos anyways.

Starter = 112, 22, F4, B13, 32, B31.

Midscreen:
[starter] EX ball cancel, rc, injp, b1, 22, command grab – 33-38%

[starter] EX ball cancel, jip, 22, knife – 25-31%

[starter] EX ball cancel, jip, 22, choke – 29-34%

[B13/32] 1+3 EX, b1, b1, b1, 22, command grab – 33-34%

NJP b1 b1 b1 22 command grab – 33%



Corner:
(starter + EX ball cancel) b312, b312, 112 command grab – 40% (41-46% if done with EX ball)

(starter + EX ball cancel) b312, 32, 112 command grab – 37% (39-44% if done with EX ball)

INJP b312 11 112 command grab – 34%
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 5: Meter building, 112 string and utilizing minus frames ​
Meter building:

Commando has good meter build. If you stay back and chuck knives you gain a ton of meter. Also choke and strings on block are a great way to build bar as well. Since Commando is quite a defensive character you want to have that meter to be able to reversal and break (similar to Mileena in that sense). It's not uncommon to break 2-3 times in one round as Commando Kano.

Knife and choke on block build a bit more than 1/8 of a bar.

Any 2 hit string (b31, 32, b13, 22, f33) into choke will build slightly more than 1 /4 of a bar.

112 into choke will build slightly less than 1 /3 of a bar.


112 string:

You want to use 112 a lot as it builds a chunk of bar and it opens up another mind game. The gap in 11()2 can be used to bait armored reversals. You go to options are parry, EX Upball and EX Choke. The two latter options are safe, but cost bar. Parry is semi-hard to punish and is meterless. A full breakdown of this tech can be found here: http://testyourmight.com/threads/using-the-gap-in-112.58566/



Utilizing minus frames

This is a staple of Commando Kano's gameplay. Being minus matters little to Commando as he has a plethora of tools to condition your opponent. The goal is to make your opponent so scared they start backdashing on YOUR minus frames, at which point you can start chasing them down for a full combo. Usually you'll put your self at minus after 112 (-1), 22 (-1), b13 (-2), 32 (-1) or choke (-4). After this it's all about reads.

Your safest and best option is to backdash. Few characters can punish this.

If you read a button, parry OR low parry is a great option. Usually you want to go for regular parry unless your opponent has a strong low starter.

If you read a button you can also counter armor. EX command grab is great as it will catch people blocking as well, however a backdash, njp or jump over will grant a full combo. EX Upball is great if you read a jump or if theyre in the corner as it will catch jumps and keep them in the corner if they block it (and you're only -5). EX kano ball is risky but will grant you a full combo if you make a good read. A similar, but riskier option is injp. It's punishable and can be stuffed but when it hits you get a full combo.

If you read a backdash or jump, go for a punish. Also a d3 is a good option to avoid reversal grabs. Lastly you can just block and hope they go for something risky.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 6: Anti Airing​

As Commando you have an array of anti-airs you can use. Your best ones are:

  • B1
  • D2
  • S1
  • NJP
  • Air Kano Ball
  • Upball/Ex Upball
  • Choke/Ex Choke
  • D4 OS
This is a breakdown of how I think they work the best.

B1 is great for jump INS, especially if they're done from far-ish away. B1 has a great vertical AND horizontal hitbox and you can use b1 b1 b1 22 command grab for a 31% combo off of an AA.

D2 is probably your most consistent AA. It works on jump ins, crossups, jump kicks, etc. It's amazing but doesn't grant a full combo (except if they're jumping out of the corner, you can convert with 11 11 112 command grab).

S1 is another amazing AA-normal. It has a huge vertical hitbox but not a huge horizontal one which makes it stronger against crossups than jump ins. You can convert with b1 b1 command grab for 29%.

NJP is kind of situational and mostly done on a read but you can get a nice 31% with b1 b1 b1 22 command grab.

Air Kano Ball is super situational as well but a lot of times you can catch forward jumps with a backjump into Air Kano Ball. It's not really as a read but as part of your footsies, using backjump to bait forward advcancing moves or jumps.

Upball/Ex upball are similar to D2 in the sense that they're good and consistent but not the highest damage. Upball can trade (and also lose) in which case you'll send them away from you and get knocked down which isn't necessarily bad. Ex upball is great when you're late on your AA and/or just want the guaranteed damage. A jump in is usually 5% or 7% so you're trading that for your 13% which is not great however.

Choke is one of the most consistent AA:s you have. It's only 11% BUT it sets up oki after choke's hard knockdown. It will anti air stuff like Kotal's ji1 if done correctly. Works great against jump ins and whiffs and shines vs crossups. Ex can be used to guarantee the damage, when you're late on your AA. Also it deals some more damage and will also set up oki. It's a lot more favorable to use Ex choke over Ex Upball but they have different properties on what they'll hit as Ex Choke can whiff vs JIK's because of how the animation of ”blocked” (ie aten by armor) JIK's work. Ex upball doesn't have this issue.

D4 OS is more a gimmick than anything else but against some jump ins you can low profile the attack with D4. In that case you can go for pressure as they land. You can also hit them out of the air with the D4 and if you input choke after it you get a nice 13% and a HKD. If you're late on the D4 you get D4 into choke which doesn't jail, but is safe on block so it's not a terrible situation. Most of the time D4 will whiff OR you'll get the AA though.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 7: Footsies/neutral​
As Commando you have two ranges you want to be in. One is your d4 range and one is your 22 range. You can play a decent full screen game versus a good portion of the cast but you can basically just throw knives at that point.


D4 range:

This range is just outside of ”in their face”-range. You will hit with your D4, slightly miss your D3, hit with your command grabs, hit with your B1 and F4.

This range is great for your far reaching normals and specials and you can check your opponent without taking too many risks. At this range, throwing out a parry every once is not SUPER risky as they might not have time to react to it and full combo punish (unlike if you're in their face). You can sort of step in and out of that range and keep poking them with D4 or go for a command grab or ticks off of B1. F4 Choke is a good whiff punisher considering it reaches slightly farther than B1.


22 range:

This is the really interesting range and quite unique for commando. It's a special range that's about half screen away from your opponent. I call it the 22 range because you will hit with the second hit of that string. The idea is that you whiff the first part and land the mid part. Since it's quite fast and covers a lot of space it's great for punishing any whiffed attacks or catching people sleeping. It cancels into choke which is great for meter build of block and grants oki on hit. The important part is that most characters don't have a good answer for the range of the whiffed S2. At max 22 range the first part of the string leaves you outside of most character's pokes so they'll have to either respect the second part or try to punish a fast incoming mid that's outside their range. In other words, it's playtime for Commando. Keeping this range is crucial for Commando's footsie game.

From the 22 range you can also throw knives to build meter and try to make your opponent impatient and start jumping, which you can anti air easely with choke or B1. On a read vs character's with great advancing moves or desperation run up armor you can try to parry.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 8: Oki​



Commando Kano has one of the strongest oki's in the game. Pretty much all your knockdowns lead to setups and repeat the situation.

I've made a full thread on it here: http://testyourmight.com/threads/commando-anti-wakeup-os.56237/ The D4 tech is sort of obsolete but the HUGE google document there is good fucking stuff, you should take a look. And for those that can't be bothered, it's a breakdown of what armors you can break and how to break them. For every WU in the game pre-XL.

The knockdown from Choke, EX choke and both your command grabs give you similar advantage so you can pressure your opponent on WU. From these you can run up and break their armor. Your options are:

  • B1 EX choke
  • B1 ex command grab
  • 11(2)
  • Parries

B1 EX choke:

The mid hit from B1 will eat the armor and the EX choke will punish them. The total is 21% damage into a new HKD. They can wake up and block in which case you lose a bar but you're safe at -4. There is a gap between B1 and the choke BUT you can always finish the string (B13) so letting go of block is risky. On delayed WU you're safe and can land a new, meaty B1 for B1 Command grab/B13 mind games.



B1 EX Command grab:

This is the same kind of setup as B1 EX Choke BUT they can't just block your Choke without eating the command grab. The gap is still there but you can still go for B13 so they mind game is in your favor. Does 22-23% total. On delayed WU you're safe and can land a new, meaty B1 for B1 Command grab/B13 mind games.



11(2):

11 will break a lot of slower armors that don't low profile. It's also -2 on block. You can continue into 112 or 112 choke to build some bar and deal some chip and still be in a good situation (-1 or -4). You can also confirm into EX Ball for a full combo.



Parries:

These are for risky but meterless reads. Deals 17% damage and costs them a bar. Regular one reverses positions which is not the best in the corner. Low one is usually not worth it since slides are very – on block. It's really useful against safe on block WU's though.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 9: Wake ups​

I'll go out and say it. Commando Kano has, if not the best, at least top 3 wake up game in the whole roster.

Let's go over his options:

  • Backdash (Midscreen only). Great against characters who don't have great advancing normals (ie not Takeda, Kotal, etc).
  • EX Kano ball. While great and fast, it's full combo punishable and you have better options in this variation.
  • Upball. Not armored but extremely fast, has two hits, can get you out of some meaties if you feel like taking the risk. High risk/low reward. Will anti air most NJP/NJKs
  • EX Upball. Armored, extremely fast, two hits. Will anti air.
  • Choke. Fast, but hits high. Mostly used to anti air most NJP/NJKs on a read. It's gimmicky but it can be used to OS between NJ and crossup jump since it moves Kano forward to make him safe or safe-ish midscreen.
  • EX Choke. Fast, but hits high. Will anti air.
  • Low parry/EX low parry. Not really worth it but can be used on a read if someone loves checking you with d3/4. EX is almost never worth it.
  • Parry/EX Parry. EX is rarely worth it but regular parry can counter meaties and d1 checks. Also it reverses positions in the corner.
  • Rib breaker/Power bomb. Not armored but decent if they try to bait your other WU's. Throw it out every once in a while, similar to WU throw but can't be teched and does more damage.
  • EX Rib breaker/Power bomb. Armored, fast, catches people blocking or attacking. Can reverse position in the corner.
As you can see Commando has a shitload of viable wakeups. He always has the threat of reversing the corner position with parry/power bomb and doesn't even need meter to still be a threat. When they start NJ on your WU to bait parry/command grab you can make a read and hit them out of it with upball/choke. The fact that he has so many viable options makes him very hard to oki and the guessing game is almost in your favor. This is not even counting his good pokes (delay wake up into d4 is a thing). He is extremely hard to keep cornered and ALL of his wake ups lead to good situations on hit (worst being upball which sends them full screen). Also EX Upball, Choke, EX Choke are safe on block.
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 10: Ticks/Staggers/Setups/Corner/Misc​





Commando has ticks off of his pokes, F33, B1 and JIK. He has staggers which work decently for throw setups such as 1, 11, JIP, NJP, NJK, S2 and F4. Dash and empty jump command grab are also quite good. On hit F4, B13 and knife toss are good for setting up command grabs. Ex knives are good on block but have inconsistencies : http://testyourmight.com/threads/ex-knife-frame-trap.56001/

D1 is preferable over the other low pokes as it will not randomly get hit by someone blocking high. B1 is your best tick. F33 is situational but works at times, especially in the corner where you can create a mixup with knife toss. Also works well against big bodies. See http://testyourmight.com/threads/f33-setup-vs-big-bodies.59743/

There are several ways to make command grabs whiff but the easiest way is to use a sweep on oki. See http://testyourmight.com/threads/making-ex-command-grabs-whiff.56378/

Your corner game should be based around B31(2) since it's your only meterless launcher. You can achieve this launch by making your opponent stop blocking using your staggers, threat of command grabs and parries. Your D4 is great for outspacing your opponent due to great range and can be used to make them fear to do anything else but block in which case you can open them up with grabs. You should use your strong oki game and at times back off to your 22 range to try to whiff punish WU's and normals.

Lastly you can use D4 to low profile mid hitting projectiles. There's a list over here: http://testyourmight.com/threads/mid-projectiles-that-can-be-low-profiled-with-d4.56317/
 
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MsMiharo

MsMiharo

Kuff Bano
Part 11: Gameplay & When do you use Commando?​


The way I like to play Commando is like a very turtling character. He doesn't excel at rushdown so he shouldn't be played as such. Instead, stay back, chuck knives, move in and out of your 22 range, punish jump ins and whiffs. Perform burst of aggression, running in for pressure and backing out.

Commando excels vs characters that don't have great low starters and characters that can be kept out with knives. He struggles vs those with good/better zoning and those with overwhelming pressure that jails/is faster than parries come out. Also characters that benefit a lot from jumping, such as Takeda, will generally be a nuisance since they can't be grabbed if they jump. Overall Commando Kano is a high risk, moderate reward character that relies on constant small reads and advanced mind games.
 
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ando1184

ando1184

Warrior
Is b1 as an AA combo starter gonna be in the combo section? I think b1, b1, b1, 22 command grab is around 32-33%? Btw, good stuff so far.
 
J

Jupe

Mortal
Good stuff, I like the videos too. Didn't actually know commando's 32 leaves opponent standing, don't use that string enough.
 
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