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General Cage questions from a nooby Cage

Beat11

The Improvisor
Okay, so I've been rocking socks with JC lately and I really like his style so i'm picking him up. I've got most of his pressure strings down pack like f3,3,EX green shit/f3,f3,etc/1,1/1,1,f1/2,grab/2,2,2,repeat/2,1,EX green shit/etc, you get the point. But i'm feeling like i'm having a roadblock with my development with JC. Granted, I play mostly online so there is one problem already. But my real questions are:

1. How do I practice hit confirming a nutpunch from a f3,3? Or (in other words) Whats the best way to get a nutpunch from a f3,3 during pressure without me having to throw out a nutpunch for no reason hoping it hits? Do I need to just improve my reaction to throw out a nutpunch whenever JC hits the first hit of f3,3 or what?

2. I can't seem to get in with JC very often because of my poor understanding of footsies in MK9. What are JC footsie options? I tend to suck when it comes to that.

3. Sometimes when I know that my opponent will stand block the f3,3,b3 I throw out an EX green crap to restart my pressure on opponents who aren't paying close enough attention. They can d4 poke it and make you waste a bar though. I've caught people offgaurd with this but my question is, is this worth risking? I was thinking that I could condition them to throw out d4s after a blocked f3,3,b3 so I can throw out a b3 to beat out their d4. Is it really worth it or not?

4. How much frame advantage is a d3 on hit and on block?

5. Does anyone use X-ray anymore? Seriously, am I the only one who thinks its funny to slap away my opponents pathetic attempts to poke out of my pressure?
 

Mikemetroid

Who hired this guy, WTF?
1. Practice. What I like to do is I hit f33 and hold back. if I see that it hits I hit down then 1. It takes a bit but you can learn through practice

2. What you want to do is when you're trying to get in on a Kabal (for example) is be patient and punish them for their fuckups or even better make them fuck up. You have great launcher tools such as b3 and 21f2 to do this.

3. Only in the corner and off a JP

4. block is -7 and hit is +3

5. Yes, Xray is so fucking good. Especially against those like Cyrax and Sektor (who like to have close projectile setups that can be parried).
Even just the xray itself does high damage.
 

Dizzy

False Information Police Officer
Premium Supporter
NetherRealm Studios
1) Just comes with time. Once you get good at hit confirming nutpunch on hit, you can start simultaneously stand block confirming EX forceballs. Just give it time and you'll improve if you keep looking for it.

2) This is kind of a complex topic. I would say d3 and d4 are his best footsies tools. Then if you want to get cute you can use f3 and b3 but they are really whiff punishable.

3) Its just a gimmick. I wouldn't rely on it as most people with decent Cage experience won't fall for it. You can use a low profile normal or armor on reaction to the forceballs.

4) -7 on block and +3 on hit. The hit/blockstun is very short though so the person has to be specifically looking for it to poke out in time after blocking it.

5) It's kind of fun for trolling yeah, but there is almost no reason to not just do EX nut punch instead, and if it's blocked or whiffed then you can still break.
 

Beat11

The Improvisor
Mikemetroid
1. Thanks, I can see how that can work out.

2. yeah, I guess I just need to learn to be patience. I get overjoyed with his speed sometimes.

3. Well I guess I was just playing bad players or people who pay no freaking attention to anything i'm doing at all.

4. Damn, I was afraid it would be like that but oh well.

5. Haha, I knew it! There just something so freaking satisfying about doing things like 1,1s repeatedly or creating holes in my offense on purpose to make them think its okay to move just to get my 50+% with a reset off their sheer ignorance.

GGA Dizzy
Yeah I figured that they didn't have any Cage experience if their fall for f3,3,b3 EX green crap and wow, I can hitconfirm EX green crap from a stand blocked f3,3? This is so fucking awesome. old to everyone else but stellar to me nonetheless.
 

Beat11

The Improvisor
Also, I guess I need to replace those X-rays with EX nutpunches for better manage of that meter. But I love that X-ray tho lol.
 
As far as footsies, understanding Cage's movement is very important as well. Getting good at dash blocking is a tremendous help for Cage's tougher matchups. He has a great walk speed as well, so walking back and forth to bait your opponent to do something is a good strategy with him. He excels at whiff punishing, so as soon as you see someone whiff something, dash in and f33 nutpunch (or 21f2 if you're close to the corner). Getting good at movement and blocking is pretty fundamental but will really improve your footsies game.

There's also tons of videos in the video thread as well as on Youtube of a bunch of different Cage players, I'd recommend watching those as well.