So how come Reptile became so pop in current tourneys?

[noobharvester]

I remember Reptile in PDP and Power Up to be quite a rare yet the current tourney that went down had tons.

Were the players behind these Reptile's just using their main or something? I have been maining Rep since release and fear he's gonna be bangwagonned and I really don't want that.

 

[BATTLEBEAR]

i have no clue. i felt the same way, and after ECT where literally 40% of the signups alone were reptile, i decided to stop playing him until hype dies down...or he gets another nerf one or the other

 

[salvificblood]

Reptile's a great character. I think a lot of people realised how good he is from his tournament showings thanks to THTB, Chris G, etc. Since I've been playing this game, I've had a weird dislike for him so I'll never end up playing him as a secondary or anything, but I can see why people like him and why his popularity has increased. You should be encouraged by it, not discouraged. There are a lot of Reptiles out there for you to learn from now and that can only be beneficial for Reptile players. I'd love to see Sub-Zero better represented.

 

[MK Peanuts]

Reptile was always good, it's just that when the game first came out there were several characters who were better. Once all those characters got nerfed, Reptile rose to the top.

 

[GNG Iniquity]

i decided to stop playing him until hype dies down...or he gets another nerf one or the other

Well, his x-ray was nerfed, and his armor on EX hand is 100% worthless. Think he's already been given those nerfs. Reptile isn't really that hard of a character to pick up now, especially with all the work we've put into the community threads, the tutorial videos, etc. There's nothing much else to explore , not without a functional trainer, at least.

 

[BATTLEBEAR]

Well, his x-ray was nerfed, and his armor on EX hand is 100% worthless. Think he's already been given those nerfs. Reptile isn't really that hard of a character to pick up now, especially with all the work we've put into the community threads, the tutorial videos, etc. There's nothing much else to explore , not without a functional trainer, at least.

i know. for lot of people, the hard work is done for them. THTB, Chef,Milk,rapzilla,xTeefx myself and yourself have posted discoveries and strats, and his good strats for the most part are uncovered. It comes down to what Brady said..not many people want to work for a win. While im not accusing EVERY recent reptile player to be unoriginal and uninspired, you do have to admit there are a good a mount of cookie cutters out there, or at least i have seen. Plus i bet most people don't know reptile has a kara throw, and can kara into many moves like sagat in SF4......Because it isn't on the boards

 

[GNG Iniquity]

There's certainly more to him, like his EX slow FB setups, but without the damn trainer it's so difficult to fully utilize that. Really pisses me off and it's eventually going to deter me from the game.

And again, I'm not trying to bring up the whole SF thing yet again, but damn it...I want to MASTER a character and without knowing every single scenario where I can train myself to prepare for those it really puts me off on the game.

 

[JennyCage]

I think one of Reptile's big strengths is the fact that he can buffer elbow dash while in blockstun to get out of block strings. Sometimes he can interrupt strings before they complete, for example Cyber's 332 is interruptable before the 2 lands. It's a pretty big asset to be able to quickly position yourself and interrupt block strings.

Basically... Reptile = good.

 

[9.95]

I think it boils down to the fact that Reptile is one of the most well rounded characters in the game. He has fairly easy BnB's, good setups, good rushdown, good zoning. He's prob. the most complete character in the game and his tournament usage proves that. He has all tools necessary to win against any character. I think that just like any game, as players' knowledge of the game and its characters increases, usage of the better characters does too. Reptile is a very low risk, high reward character whether he's zoning or rushing. Characters like Sub-Zero require a ton of work to set up the clone properly to do the damage he's capable of so he's a very high entry character. Ermac, while easy to learn and zone with, has nothing in close. So again, I think that it's just that people are beginning to see that Reptile and Kung are becoming two of the better, most well rounded characters in the game and their tournament use reflects that.

 

[xxteefxx]

I think it boils down to the fact that Reptile is one of the most well rounded characters in the game. He has fairly easy BnB's, good setups, good rushdown, good zoning. He's prob. the most complete character in the game and his tournament usage proves that. He has all tools necessary to win against any character. I think that just like any game, as players' knowledge of the game and its characters increases, usage of the better characters does too. Reptile is a very low risk, high reward character whether he's zoning or rushing. Characters like Sub-Zero require a ton of work to set up the clone properly to do the damage he's capable of so he's a very high entry character. Ermac, while easy to learn and zone with, has nothing in close. So again, I think that it's just that people are beginning to see that Reptile and Kung are becoming two of the better, most well rounded characters in the game and their tournament use reflects that.

I really beg the differ. Reptile does have a lot of problem! and can be easily dominated by a lot of chars! and it requires a lot of effort from rep player to counter tier whores and good players.

Over all dis advantages:
-slow string
-not a lot of high low med string mix ups (which forces u to use slide and acid hand...slide is VERY punishable)
-Slow and bad hit box upper cut
-Horrible anti air compared to others
-Not a good answer against pressure
-Rely a LOT on meter
-Requires perfect zoning for his dash and mix ups
-very slow sweep and stuffable which lead to air massive combos due to the hop (that if u used sweep)
-his main 3,2,1 string is easily duckable. forcing reptile to change the use of pokes and strings
-Horible wake up game


as for char like subzero...i REALLY beg the differ. subzero doesnt require that much skill to learn a basic Clone trap or HIm in general (like at all!). subzero main focus to counter reptile is push to corner and that's it! period...and sadly it works against like 70% of the roaster.
reptile and kung cannot be compared!! chars like those are simply perfect due to some reaosn which i will mention

-Shang tsung
-Kabal
-Kitana
-sub zero
-Kung lao

the reason is, they are amazing in pressure. Amazing combos and resets. amazing projectile game. fast pokes and strings. finally good defense and/or wake up.

 

[THTB]

Reptile has his problems, and even with the techonlogy out there, he's still difficult to use well. He's just popular because Sabin, Chris G and REO used him and placed high. And actually, a lot of the Reptiles you see placing well have been using him from the start.

Teefee, I've never had 321 ducked unless I'm outside of its range...but that's my experiences.

 

[EGP Wonder_Chef]

Honestly it all boils down to two things for me as far as disadvantages:

a. HORRIBLE Anti Airs.

b. Almost nonexistent actual dash.

 

[gtucker1219]

Reptile OP LMAO...

I have been playing reptile on MK9 since I bought the game. And as far as him being OP, he isn't, or it isn't lol.
You want to know how to beat him it is easy in 3 steps;

1. First block, thats right if you get juggled stop getton hit.
2. Don't get hit by my Acid Balls.
3. Watch out for 3,2,1,dash combo or 3,2 FB or SB mixups.

Reptile is better then Sub-zero because his Specials do Damage period. And Scrorpion is to predictable (block upper-cut).

 

[Tim Static]

Reptile has his problems, and even with the techonlogy out there, he's still difficult to use well. He's just popular because Sabin, Chris G and REO used him and placed high. And actually, a lot of the Reptiles you see placing well have been using him from the start.

Teefee, I've never had 321 ducked unless I'm outside of its range...but that's my experiences.

I heard there was a Reptile user that placed 4th at the first MK9 tourney, PowerUp 2011 in Cincinnati. Not sure exactly who. Can anyone confirm this and who it was?

 

[DarkWolf]

for me the first character that i play was reptile, and to this day, reptile is my main and always will be. now i'm actually playing with others chars but only because i like the game. i always know tha the dash was punishable even before the nerf so for me was no change at all.
the hype that rep is having is only because the good players that do his job knoking down and kicking some asses. if you see that a char can do that you think that they won't try it? for me is only a matter of time that they get tired of it because is not quite easy to play and i really think that they won't play as a real reptile.

 

[gtucker1219]

I heard there was a Reptile user that placed 4th at the first MK9 tourney, PowerUp 2011 in Cincinnati. Not sure exactly who. Can anyone confirm this and who it was?

Don't know if this helps but http://mkextre.me/2011/05/06/powerup-2011-mk9-grand-finals/ is a link to a page that has the top 8 winners from the first competion here in Ohio. Y ou might be able to google some their names. I tried the fourth spot but it brought up Bone-Thugs- and Harmony lol.

If nothing else it has a cool video of Tom Brady and Perfect Legend going at it for the #1 spot.

 

[EGP Wonder_Chef]

I can probably attribute Reptile's popularity to how flashy he is. Big combos and a lot of dashing around make him look fun.

Also Elbow Dash is hell to punish online, haha.

 

[THTB]

I heard there was a Reptile user that placed 4th at the first MK9 tourney, PowerUp 2011 in Cincinnati. Not sure exactly who. Can anyone confirm this and who it was?

Lol

 

[Klunker]

I really beg the differ. Reptile does have a lot of problem! and can be easily dominated by a lot of chars! and it requires a lot of effort from rep player to counter tier whores and good players.

Over all dis advantages:
-slow string
-not a lot of high low med string mix ups (which forces u to use slide and acid hand...slide is VERY punishable)
-Slow and bad hit box upper cut
-Horrible anti air compared to others
-Not a good answer against pressure
-Rely a LOT on meter
-Requires perfect zoning for his dash and mix ups
-very slow sweep and stuffable which lead to air massive combos due to the hop (that if u used sweep)
-his main 3,2,1 string is easily duckable. forcing reptile to change the use of pokes and strings
-Horible wake up game


as for char like subzero...i REALLY beg the differ. subzero doesnt require that much skill to learn a basic Clone trap or HIm in general (like at all!). subzero main focus to counter reptile is push to corner and that's it! period...and sadly it works against like 70% of the roaster.
reptile and kung cannot be compared!! chars like those are simply perfect due to some reaosn which i will mention

-Shang tsung
-Kabal
-Kitana
-sub zero
-Kung lao

the reason is, they are amazing in pressure. Amazing combos and resets. amazing projectile game. fast pokes and strings. finally good defense and/or wake up.

You crazy bro. Sorry to say, but all of the cons you said, all characters have it. His cons aren't nearly as bad as other characters cons. I also believe that his massive amount of pros outweigh his cons.

What do you mean he relys on meter? Characters like Jade ARE 100% REQUIRED to use their meter sparingly. His meter only helps his game by adding armor so that he can get in. But he doesn't HAVE to use it other than for breaker or the occasional x-ray.

He has great zoning with all his projectiles (fast and slow projectiles), great close game because he has great wtf moves (dashes/slide), "easy" combos that land after ONE slime ball (whatever..).

I just feel like he is a better Ermac with less damage, better close game, and no teleport (makes up for his mixup slide/dash). I say this as in, his slime ball combos into almost anything he wants, such as tele slam.

Reptile has good close game (combos/mix up dash and slide), good away/panic game (dash to get them away), good zoning, and slime ball to set up combos (similar to ermacs tele slam). I just feel like his is probably the most all around character, just like 9.95 said. He has more pros than cons.

I would say one of his biggest downfalls is that he needs momentum. He isn't one of those characters that can just blow past people. He needs to get into their heads and then mind fuck them to all oblivion. A predictable Reptile is just silly. [BANANA]=)[/BANANA]

 

[salvificblood]

as for char like subzero...i REALLY beg the differ. subzero doesnt require that much skill to learn a basic Clone trap or HIm in general (like at all!). subzero main focus to counter reptile is push to corner and that's it! period...and sadly it works against like 70% of the roaster.

Sub isn't as simple as that. Catching people with the ice clone all comes down to matchup knowledge and reads. You can't catch Reptile with the clone in the same way you catch Raiden with the clone. A good Sub-Zero uses the clone differently in both games.

Sub-Zero has an amazing corner game, but it's not easy to get a good Reptile in the corner, because you're just going to use your forceballs and dash like crazy, which forces me to turtle a lot of the time. Look at the way Chris G played Tom Brady's Sub.

 

[RapZiLLa54]

I heard there was a Reptile user that placed 4th at the first MK9 tourney, PowerUp 2011 in Cincinnati. Not sure exactly who. Can anyone confirm this and who it was?

When I read this all I could picture was THTB redoing this commercial with his Reptile Sig and match videos all in the background lmao

 

[GNG Iniquity]

Honestly it all boils down to two things for me as far as disadvantages:

a. HORRIBLE Anti Airs.

b. Almost nonexistent actual dash.

His acid spit is actually a pretty decent anti-air, I've even found uses for his EX acid spit. The EX acid spit seems to perform somewhat similar to Sektor's flamethrower; which is great for jump ins. I've won quite a few matches using it.

His actual dash does stink, and ocassionally you'll have to eat some chip damage, but once I got used to FFD and blocking it doesn't bother me that much anymore.

 

[RapZiLLa54]

Everytime I've ever tried to use EX spit as an anti air I'd get kicked in the face EVERYTIME before I could get it off so I never tried using it again.

 

[Scoot Magee]

Honestly it all boils down to two things for me as far as disadvantages:

a. HORRIBLE Anti Airs.

b. Almost nonexistent actual dash.

Ex ball while it requires meter is probably one the best anti airs in the game.

 

[FatalTragedy]

I've been a Reptile player from the start. His dash can kill pressure. I get a lot of players online countering my Reptile with Scorpion. There's a handful of good Scorpion players online but his pressure game sucks against even an autopilot Reptile. I'd say if I had a gripe with him it's that he's not as easy to punish on a blocked elbow dash as he should be. Just last week I was singing a different song but playing against a slew of online Reptiles recently who apparently rely on his dash alone... I couldn't believe how often they were throwing those out.