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Match-up Discussion MK2 Johnny Cage VS Mileena

MKB

Forum General Emeritus
VS


Rules of this discussion:
  • You may contribute anything that will further the interest and understanding of the matchup. This includes strategies, videos, combos, etc.
  • Feel free to answer the default questions posed in the first reply, though you are not required to do so.
  • Please keep the discussion focused on the two characters in question.
 

MKB

Forum General Emeritus
The masked bitch makes the male in this relationship her bitch. Why?

Well, pretty much based on Mileena's sai spam alone. Cage has a difficult time closing distance from full screen unless he ducks and inches in closer second-by-second. Even if Cage throws a green ball, Mileena will win the projectile war by virtue of the speed of the sais. Counter all green balls with a roll, JK, air sai combo (or more if in the corner.) Blast Cage with an uppercut if he jumps in. Even though Cage has a deadly CQC game, he is going to be afraid of getting rolled so it shouldn't be THAT big a concern for Mileena.

Cage, of course, needs to find a way to get inside the sai spam and avoid the rolls. Jumping over the spam is possible, but requires strict timing or he will eat a sai or get caught for an uppercut. Slowly inching forward works, but Mileena can always throw in a well-timed roll to catch Cage off guard. If anticipated, Cage can punish with 2xaaHP, shadow kick, but it's hard to do that with constant spam. If Cage does get in close, apply jab pressure, HK, etc. Don't let Mileena breathe and Cage will have a chance.

All things considered, Mileena shuts down Cage pretty good. 9-1 Mileena, all day.
 
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mortal_jason

Kitana's Bodyguard
Last year I picked this as the hardest match to win in MK2.

I don't feel that way anymore, but... it's still up there.
One thing is for sure- this IS the most cringe-worthy match in the game. It's a boring match for Mileena, and not fun for Cage.
The only match my sister ever won against MIKECALDWELL was this one. She just air sai spammed from afar and he prolly said screw it. That's pretty much all you need to do to win this match. (If you think she got mad against MKillBill in the tournament, shoulda heard her when she was getting whooped by Mike years ago!)

The match is ridiculous for Cage for so many reasons. The big one (other than sai spam) is that Cage's strength is in close. But Mileena is hard to jab with Cage, and the threat of roll is always looming. Her sweeps are so fast and long that he'll probably eat a few trying to get in.
She has no balls to break, so ballbreaker is useless vs her.
Best bet for JC in this one is to lay back and wait. If Mileena spams, just duck. Wait for ill-timed rolls/telekicks and punish. If Mileena gets sloppy with her air sais and throws too high, Cage's green ball will hit her, and her sais will pass over his head.

Up close however Mileena doesn't exactly have her way with Johnny. Yes her sweep and roll give her an edge, but she really can't jab him either. And if she gets careless, Cage's shadow kick will smack her back.

9-1 for Mileena.
 

mortal_jason

Kitana's Bodyguard
I still can't believe they designed the game that way. As if Mileena and Kitana needed more of an advantage.
Yeah me neither. When they were designing the game they probably figured the girls would be weaker, so they wanted to give them some small advantage over the guys. HA!

Well even if Cage could crotch punch (ha again) Mileena, he would still lose 1-9 just from her air sai, roll and sweep.
 

MKB

Forum General Emeritus
Yeah me neither. When they were designing the game they probably figured the girls would be weaker, so they wanted to give them some small advantage over the guys. HA!

Well even if Cage could crotch punch (ha again) Mileena, he would still lose 1-9 just from her air sai, roll and sweep.
Yeah the ballbreaker is just a joke move because everything after that is pretty much blockable. You can setup jab pressure which may lead into an axe kick, shadow kick combo, but that's only if you catch the person with their guard down. Cage would have really benefited from being able to land an unblockable axe kick launcher.
 
Yeah me neither. When they were designing the game they probably figured the girls would be weaker, so they wanted to give them some small advantage over the guys. HA!

Well even if Cage could crotch punch (ha again) Mileena, he would still lose 1-9 just from her air sai, roll and sweep.
Yea it wouldn't change anything, but the nut punch could possibly be effective against people who like to low toe out of pressure.
 

mortal_jason

Kitana's Bodyguard
Yeah the ballbreaker is just a joke move because everything after that is pretty much blockable. You can setup jab pressure which may lead into an axe kick, shadow kick combo, but that's only if you catch the person with their guard down. Cage would have really benefited from being able to land an unblockable axe kick launcher.
YES! the ballbreaker really needs to get a free unblockable hit afterwards, just like Jax's Hammer Punch. I wonder if they were smoking a little something when they made beastly Jax's Hammer Punch unblockable after contact, but not lowly Cage's ballbreaker. I'd say both moves are equally as hard to score on someone- both should be rewarded with a free hit.

If Cage could crotch punch the girls, AND get an unblockable hit in afterwards (aka leg uppercut/shadow kick) he would probably be a mid-tier character.