Shang vs Sonya Matchup Question?

[LawAbidingCitizen]

I couldn't find any MU charts or numbers for Sonya and I'm wondering who wins this MU.
Sonya (Ring Master) has very good zoning with 12f rings and amp making them mids. On top of that she has Drone Drop which if placed properly reaches just short if full screen in 4 spots and hits Overhead when dropped on their head but if it just clips em it becomes a mid. As far as I can tell there are 3 blind spots for her Drone.

Her Close down game is very strong but generally starts with highs to gain damage. So when she mixes you its 35-50% per overhead and 20-30% per low and she can end in restand for less damage but zero on block pressure.

Her footsie range is where I think she doesn't have the advantage because she lacks long range mids or any long range move and if the opponent spaces correctly they could remove most of the threat.

Shang has no restand, less damage mid and corner and slower projectiles. But it does seem she outrades with her rings and well placed drones and has good hit advantage to counter ground skulls. It seems she can get the life lead and outzone or stay close with restands into blender.

Does Sonya or Shang win this matchup? I'm not sure I think Even but I'd like to have the communities opinion.

 

[STB Sgt Reed]

Sonya wins. She's fucking dumb. Outzoning zoners.

Why is this in the JC forums tho? lol

 

[SaSSolino]

It's one of Shang's worst MUs. Here's a quote from Shang's MU Thread:

I had two days of Sonya MU experience (both variations). Shang definitely loses to Ring Master, and probably still slightly loses to No Holds Bared.
Just like I said before the zoning is pretty much even. But Shang has to think more, Like where to place corpses and when to use a straight skull to interrupt Sonya’s zoning patterns. While Sonya can pretty much just chuck her broke projectiles if she has a life lead with occasional Amplified rings and a drone drop if Shang isn’t fullscreen. She only has to be careful throwing them at Far Ground Eruption’s max range.

As such this MU becomes very life lead dependent. And this is why Sonya wins: one opening for her equals HUGE damage almost every time. And Shang won’t be able to evenly zone anymore after just one instance of her offense.
She can also easily make up a life deficit by getting in and opening you up just once.
Soul Stealing her and using her broke stuff against her is too risky. Like I have mentioned before if she catches you while you are Sonya, a combo into f4 1+3 is a guaranteed reset, because you are forced into a morphback right after the restand. If the Sonya player knows this he can time the attack after that so that you can’t block it. She can just delete you whole lifebar for this.

tl;dr: Sonya's zoning is slightly better and up close she demolishes Shang.

 

[Agilaz]

I was gonna write a post but seems others covered the issue already.

Sonya can outzone Shang (who is "zoner" lol) and up close it's pretty much coin flips until you die. Morphing doesn't work because the game punishes you for using it, so you kinda have to hope you guess right all the time and frustrate your opponent into making mistakes.

I suppose at mid range Shang is a bit more of a threat, in my experience sonya's don't throw as many rings there. With some proper spacing Shang's 3,u2 string becomes dangerous for the Sonya.

 

[LawAbidingCitizen]

Sonya wins. She's fucking dumb. Outzoning zoners.

Why is this in the JC forums tho? lol

I have no clue I put it in the Shang forums at least that's what I clicked while making the thread.
@Vslayer can you move this to Sonya/Shang section?

 

[Vslayer]

I have no clue I put it in the Shang forums at least that's what I clicked while making the thread.
@Vslayer can you move this to Sonya/Shang section?

Done.

 

[Lord Snotty]

Sonya wins. Always. She can fuck people up with her rings. Not her engagement or diamond rings. Her pink rings of doom. Sorry Shang!

 

[LawAbidingCitizen]

I was gonna write a post but seems others covered the issue already.

Sonya can outzone Shang (who is "zoner" lol) and up close it's pretty much coin flips until you die. Morphing doesn't work because the game punishes you for using it, so you kinda have to hope you guess right all the time and frustrate your opponent into making mistakes.

I suppose at mid range Shang is a bit more of a threat, in my experience sonya's don't throw as many rings there. With some proper spacing Shang's 3,u2 string becomes dangerous for the Sonya.

If you where to use Shang let's say you are a loyalist and want to find a way to overcome this matchup, how would you do it. Do you have any tips?
From what I'm gathering Sonya is slightly better zoning, loses mid range and destroys Shang close up.
I know from labbing that Sonya has a hard time getting in with far ground skulls at max range unless she can land a ring on hit and if Shang is just trowing Ground Skulls she can block far Skulls then dash up wait for first close ground skull to come out and dash past the second hit making it wiff putting him in combo. But if Shang threatens with s3/F2/Soulsteal along with Ground Skulls It's not possible for her to get in that way.

 

[deathstroke187]

Sonya wins. She's fucking dumb. Outzoning zoners.

Why is this in the JC forums tho? lol

as a shang main , i couldnt said it better

 

[Agilaz]

If you where to use Shang let's say you are a loyalist and want to find a way to overcome this matchup, how would you do it. Do you have any tips?
From what I'm gathering Sonya is slightly better zoning, loses mid range and destroys Shang close up.
I know from labbing that Sonya has a hard time getting in with far ground skulls at max range unless she can land a ring on hit and if Shang is just trowing Ground Skulls she can block far Skulls then dash up wait for first close ground skull to come out and dash past the second hit making it wiff putting him in combo. But if Shang threatens with s3/F2/Soulsteal along with Ground Skulls It's not possible for her to get in that way.

You really wanna stay at mid range against her, like just outside of her b1 range. like you said, s3, f2 and soul steal are your friend. Consider throwing after doing f2 for a cheecky throw/strike mix up.

Full screen she can wittle away at you, and if she has the life lead you're in for a bad time.

Up close it's literally just guesses which will cost you anywhere from 20 to 45% of your life if you guess wrong. You'll be relying more on b3, 112 and 114. Also, throw her every chance you get.

Make sure to also be mindful of your position on the stage. Even if you're playing at mid range, she can walk you down to the corner and you really don't want to be there.

 

[SaSSolino]

You really wanna stay at mid range against her, like just outside of her b1 range. like you said, s3, f2 and soul steal are your friend.

With her projectile it's hard to stay there though. Personally the only distance I feel decent is this MU is far ground burst range, anywhere else and I feel she has control.

 

[kcd117]

She wins it.

It is a life lead-based matchup and Sonya's rings outzone Shang pretty bad. Her drone is great for repositioning too.

When down on life Shang has to chase, which is arguably the last thing you wanna do with this character bc he is terrible at it. Then, if you happen to get in, you just put yourself at the range of her 50/50s.

When you have the lead, Sonya's mobility with one of the most stupid wave dashes in the game can cover distance fast and safely. Any life lead will be erased by a 50/50 into fatal blow or a 50/50 in the corner... or both.

He can win if she fucks up a lot and you guess right on every 50/50, but it's very unlikely unless the Sonya is not that great.

 

[Agilaz]

With her projectile it's hard to stay there though. Personally the only distance I feel decent is this MU is far ground burst range, anywhere else and I feel she has control.

That range had always been iffy for me, as the knockback from blocking rings tends to push me just outside of ground skulls range.

Playing at mid range is def riskier, but having access to more option helps, in my experience.