MadeFromMetal
Heart From Iron, Mind From Steel.
I think it's deep enough into the game's life to have this conversation. The OP will just be a framework for now, and I only know a few match-ups so I'll be heavily relying on F/T community input to help flesh this guide out. I'll make sure to keep it updated with the latest strategy for each match-up. For now, This will only cover the most used variations, but as the game progresses, hopefully we can get a paragraph or so for each one. If you disagree with anything or want to expand on something in this first edition, just explain why. This is also here to spark strategy discussion, and I want this guide to be as correct as possible.
Jason - ???
Kung Lao - Lackey
Jax - Lackey
Sonya - Lackey
Kenshi - ???
Kitana - Vicious
Scorpion - ???
Sub-Zero - Vicious
Mileena - ???
Takeda - ???
Cassie - ???
Jacqui - ???
Kung Jin - ???
Tanya - ???
Predator - ???
Shinnok - Ruthless
Kano - ???
Johnny Cage - ???
Erron Black - ???
Liu Kang - Variation Dependent
Ermac - ???
Kotal Kahn - Variation Dependent
Reptile - Vicious
Ferra/Torr - ???
D'Vorah - ???
Raiden - ???
Quan Chi - Lackey
Goro - ???
Tremor - Lackey/Ruthless
@cR Biohazard, @Doombawkz, @Wetdoba, @Forr, @MK Led, @Alien Substance, @cR_whiteboi, @EGP Wonder_Chef, @Grr, @AceOfKnaves, @Parnak, @FOREVER KING JR, @RM Indecisive, @Johnny Based Cage, @Braindead, @Pterodactyl, @Kyu @Anyone else that wants to contribute. (Even if you have matchup knowledge from the other perspective.
If you want to weigh in on a character, please keep formatting the same so I can just copy/paste into the OP. Thanks, guys!
Jason - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Kung Lao - Lackey
Key Moves
EX DB2 - Punish gaps in his strings or certain strings into Orbiting Hat for full combo.
D1 - Knocks Lao out of a teleport, a good long range check, but don't get too poke happy because of EX Spin.
BF3 - Good for eating the hit after a teleport, or punishing a string into Orbiting Hat for no meter.
General Strategy
Play aggressive, but smart. Stay close. Lao knows you have to come in so he'll be looking to EX Spin often. If you bait him a few times, he might slow down with the spinning, then you can get going with tick throws and raw command grabs.
EX DB2 - Punish gaps in his strings or certain strings into Orbiting Hat for full combo.
D1 - Knocks Lao out of a teleport, a good long range check, but don't get too poke happy because of EX Spin.
BF3 - Good for eating the hit after a teleport, or punishing a string into Orbiting Hat for no meter.
General Strategy
Play aggressive, but smart. Stay close. Lao knows you have to come in so he'll be looking to EX Spin often. If you bait him a few times, he might slow down with the spinning, then you can get going with tick throws and raw command grabs.
Jax - Lackey
Key Moves
D1 - Max range D1 is your best friend. None of Jax's down pokes can reach from this distance, and it's a very useful move for interrupting his staggers/cancels.
EX DB2 - On Block, anything Jax does after F3 can be interrupted. Use EX DB2 to full combo punish. Also useful for punishing him for staggering. Jax loves to 11, and then keep pressing buttons.
EX BF2 - Useful for escaping the corner on a read. Jax can break armor with 123, and this is fast enough to beat that.
EX BF3 - Also useful for escaping the corner.
DBF1 - Because Jax cannot counter poke at max D1 range, grab him as he whiffs.
General Strategy
Punish the damn gaps and the staggers. If playing Heavy Weapons, punish the cancels on block. He is only plus after 4~LRC. Every other cancel can at least be D1'd out of, if not outright full combo punished with 2/11/ B121~EX DB2. If they start cancelling immediately into block, punish with DBF1 or regular throw. Try to Stay about at max D1 range and be incredibly patient. Like Lao, this is not a matchup where you can just dash in go ham. However, you have to take advantage of every opportunity to get damage, because you might not get it again. Meter management is incredibly important in this match, maybe more so than others.
D1 - Max range D1 is your best friend. None of Jax's down pokes can reach from this distance, and it's a very useful move for interrupting his staggers/cancels.
EX DB2 - On Block, anything Jax does after F3 can be interrupted. Use EX DB2 to full combo punish. Also useful for punishing him for staggering. Jax loves to 11, and then keep pressing buttons.
EX BF2 - Useful for escaping the corner on a read. Jax can break armor with 123, and this is fast enough to beat that.
EX BF3 - Also useful for escaping the corner.
DBF1 - Because Jax cannot counter poke at max D1 range, grab him as he whiffs.
General Strategy
Punish the damn gaps and the staggers. If playing Heavy Weapons, punish the cancels on block. He is only plus after 4~LRC. Every other cancel can at least be D1'd out of, if not outright full combo punished with 2/11/ B121~EX DB2. If they start cancelling immediately into block, punish with DBF1 or regular throw. Try to Stay about at max D1 range and be incredibly patient. Like Lao, this is not a matchup where you can just dash in go ham. However, you have to take advantage of every opportunity to get damage, because you might not get it again. Meter management is incredibly important in this match, maybe more so than others.
Sonya - Lackey
Key Moves
EX DB2 - Good for punishing jump-ins, dive kicks and blocked MS cancels for full combo.
D1 - Out-footsie her from max D1 range and she cannot counter down-poke back.
DBF1 - If you read a counterpoke off of a blocked D1, you can grab her as she whiffs.
BF3 - Good for eating a divekick.
General Strategy
Walk her down. Our arms just straight up out reach her. The only string she has that outreaches us is F2B1. Jump back divekick can be beat with Ex torryuken or normal charge if you have your four frame window timing down. The goal is to get her to the corner. Abuse D4 in the corner since it goes underneath her leg grab wake up and allows for a full punish afterwards. If she gets hit by the D4 its a free mix up, if she blocks it D1 is a frame trap afterwards with command grab ready to snatch her the second she hesitates. EX DB2 is great for getting out of military stance mix ups if you block everything before the cancel into the stance. Just watch out for Xray and bait it because she will use it to get you off her.
EX DB2 - Good for punishing jump-ins, dive kicks and blocked MS cancels for full combo.
D1 - Out-footsie her from max D1 range and she cannot counter down-poke back.
DBF1 - If you read a counterpoke off of a blocked D1, you can grab her as she whiffs.
BF3 - Good for eating a divekick.
General Strategy
Walk her down. Our arms just straight up out reach her. The only string she has that outreaches us is F2B1. Jump back divekick can be beat with Ex torryuken or normal charge if you have your four frame window timing down. The goal is to get her to the corner. Abuse D4 in the corner since it goes underneath her leg grab wake up and allows for a full punish afterwards. If she gets hit by the D4 its a free mix up, if she blocks it D1 is a frame trap afterwards with command grab ready to snatch her the second she hesitates. EX DB2 is great for getting out of military stance mix ups if you block everything before the cancel into the stance. Just watch out for Xray and bait it because she will use it to get you off her.
Kenshi - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Kitana - Vicious
Key Moves
BF4 - Ferra eats projectiles. Nuff Sed.
DB2 - Useful for punishing jumping and Air Fans.
NJP - Useful for punishing jumping on a read. Do NOT just NJP willy nilly because you WILL get caught with an instant air fan.
General Strategy
Try to distance yourself at about midscreen or almost max Boss Toss range. This should give you enough time to punish a fan on reaction with BF4 or a jump fan with DB2. BF3 is also pretty useful for swatting jump-ins from this distance.
BF4 - Ferra eats projectiles. Nuff Sed.
DB2 - Useful for punishing jumping and Air Fans.
NJP - Useful for punishing jumping on a read. Do NOT just NJP willy nilly because you WILL get caught with an instant air fan.
General Strategy
Try to distance yourself at about midscreen or almost max Boss Toss range. This should give you enough time to punish a fan on reaction with BF4 or a jump fan with DB2. BF3 is also pretty useful for swatting jump-ins from this distance.
Scorpion - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Sub-Zero - Vicious
Key Moves
BF4 - Blows up Clone and Ice Ball
DB2 - Blows up Clone and Ice Ball from longer distances.
General Strategy
Do not throw Ferra until there is either a Clone on the screen or an Ice Ball about to leave his hands. If you do and it's blocked, he can immediately clone and throw it, then run up and be at advantage before Ferra gets back. Walk Sub down, and make him react. If he reacts with Clone or Ice Ball, be ready to throw Ferra. In neutral, I pretty much leave BF2 alone in this matchup, because a trade with an Ice Ball is heavily in Sub's favor and EX Slide will give him a HKD and a pressure opportunity. When you get cornered with a Clone, do not NJP. A good Sub will simply Shatter the Clone at the height of your jump and convert for massive damage. You may just have to hold the 50/50 and punish on a correct guess.
BF4 - Blows up Clone and Ice Ball
DB2 - Blows up Clone and Ice Ball from longer distances.
General Strategy
Do not throw Ferra until there is either a Clone on the screen or an Ice Ball about to leave his hands. If you do and it's blocked, he can immediately clone and throw it, then run up and be at advantage before Ferra gets back. Walk Sub down, and make him react. If he reacts with Clone or Ice Ball, be ready to throw Ferra. In neutral, I pretty much leave BF2 alone in this matchup, because a trade with an Ice Ball is heavily in Sub's favor and EX Slide will give him a HKD and a pressure opportunity. When you get cornered with a Clone, do not NJP. A good Sub will simply Shatter the Clone at the height of your jump and convert for massive damage. You may just have to hold the 50/50 and punish on a correct guess.
Mileena - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Takeda - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Cassie - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Jacqui - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Kung Jin - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Tanya - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Predator - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Shinnok - Ruthless
Key Moves
DD1 - Timed correclty, it allows for a punish for almost all of Shinnok's offensive tools.
EX DBF1 - Use this to blow up Frame gaps.
General Strategy
Against Bone Shaper -
5-5 at worst
Bone shaper really only has the faster vortex, and can zone the neutral with bone scythe. The pushback on his beam now actually works against him because it leaves him at a range where Torr can throw moves that reach, whereas Shinnok is forced to commit to advancing normals or a backdash. Torr also heavily outdamages Shinnok and can get the damage buff off consistently. Shinnok does still have the option to build and burn some bar in order to force Torr to lose his buff, but its decently costly on time and meter for the Shinnok player. MB grab negates the option of shoulder on Wake-up due to its 2 hits of armor, and anything level 2 and above in PnG also stops most of his WU game from working.
Against Imposter -
5-5 at worst, possibly even slightly Torr's favor
Imposter lost basically all claim in this MU with the recent changes. For one, now we have an option to punish basically everything he does while getting big and beefy thanks to the PnG changes. Throwing max range mimicry on block? Pain and Gain, soak the hit and run cancel in, free 40% combo. Teleporting in? Pain and Gain, either soak the hit or force the bluff (same timing), punish for 40%. Hell Sparks in the neutral? PnG, soak one, run in for the punish, 40% combo. Any frame gap? MB command throw through it. It becomes a guessing game for the Shinnok player when SHINNOK is on offense. Mind you, he does still have dangerous tools when he does land his vortex, but we certainly aren't helpless towards it anymore. I might even give this slightly Torr's favor because of just the sheer amount of options PnG covers now.
Against Necromancer -
6-4 Shinnok's favor
PnG does a lot of things, but bypassing Necromancer's zoning is not one of them. Mind you, we can get in slightly easier and when we do its basically game over for the Shinnok player, however we still take a lot of bone fingers to the face on the way in. Makes our health loss when buffing a bit more relevant, and we are still a bit too slow to avoid the flick by running. We do have a benefit, however, that at 2 buffs or more we trade for a significant amount more damage withn counter-zoning, but only bowl girl will maintain its hitbox all the way through.
DD1 - Timed correclty, it allows for a punish for almost all of Shinnok's offensive tools.
EX DBF1 - Use this to blow up Frame gaps.
General Strategy
Against Bone Shaper -
5-5 at worst
Bone shaper really only has the faster vortex, and can zone the neutral with bone scythe. The pushback on his beam now actually works against him because it leaves him at a range where Torr can throw moves that reach, whereas Shinnok is forced to commit to advancing normals or a backdash. Torr also heavily outdamages Shinnok and can get the damage buff off consistently. Shinnok does still have the option to build and burn some bar in order to force Torr to lose his buff, but its decently costly on time and meter for the Shinnok player. MB grab negates the option of shoulder on Wake-up due to its 2 hits of armor, and anything level 2 and above in PnG also stops most of his WU game from working.
Against Imposter -
5-5 at worst, possibly even slightly Torr's favor
Imposter lost basically all claim in this MU with the recent changes. For one, now we have an option to punish basically everything he does while getting big and beefy thanks to the PnG changes. Throwing max range mimicry on block? Pain and Gain, soak the hit and run cancel in, free 40% combo. Teleporting in? Pain and Gain, either soak the hit or force the bluff (same timing), punish for 40%. Hell Sparks in the neutral? PnG, soak one, run in for the punish, 40% combo. Any frame gap? MB command throw through it. It becomes a guessing game for the Shinnok player when SHINNOK is on offense. Mind you, he does still have dangerous tools when he does land his vortex, but we certainly aren't helpless towards it anymore. I might even give this slightly Torr's favor because of just the sheer amount of options PnG covers now.
Against Necromancer -
6-4 Shinnok's favor
PnG does a lot of things, but bypassing Necromancer's zoning is not one of them. Mind you, we can get in slightly easier and when we do its basically game over for the Shinnok player, however we still take a lot of bone fingers to the face on the way in. Makes our health loss when buffing a bit more relevant, and we are still a bit too slow to avoid the flick by running. We do have a benefit, however, that at 2 buffs or more we trade for a significant amount more damage withn counter-zoning, but only bowl girl will maintain its hitbox all the way through.
Kano - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Johnny Cage - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Erron Black - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Liu Kang - Variation Dependent
Key Moves
BF4 - Goes through both Liu's fireball options.
D3 - Interrupts FBRC
General Strategy
BF4 - Goes through both Liu's fireball options.
D3 - Interrupts FBRC
General Strategy
Key Moves
DD1 - Build chip gain and meter.
DBF1 - 2 hits of armor, LK can't break.
DB2 - Plus blockstring ender.
General Strategy
The main problem with Lackey in this match up is that Lackey doesn't build enough meter on block to keep up with Liu. Once we do get the meter for armor its not that hard for Liu to completely stuff EX DB2 on a semi read. Using the 2 hits of armor on command grab is your best friend in this MU. Use Ferra toss after B121 to be plus on block along with pain n gain cancels to build meter and decent chip. (increased chip the more pain n gains we do). This makes it so you will almost always have at least one bar to EX grab out of his multihitting strings and specials, plus that grab gets a damage boost from the pain n gain and by going for steady chip and unbreakable grab damage it doesn't give Liu the option to break as often with all the meter he will have.
DD1 - Build chip gain and meter.
DBF1 - 2 hits of armor, LK can't break.
DB2 - Plus blockstring ender.
General Strategy
The main problem with Lackey in this match up is that Lackey doesn't build enough meter on block to keep up with Liu. Once we do get the meter for armor its not that hard for Liu to completely stuff EX DB2 on a semi read. Using the 2 hits of armor on command grab is your best friend in this MU. Use Ferra toss after B121 to be plus on block along with pain n gain cancels to build meter and decent chip. (increased chip the more pain n gains we do). This makes it so you will almost always have at least one bar to EX grab out of his multihitting strings and specials, plus that grab gets a damage boost from the pain n gain and by going for steady chip and unbreakable grab damage it doesn't give Liu the option to break as often with all the meter he will have.
Ermac - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Kotal Kahn - Variation Dependent
Key Moves
BF4 - Punish the Sword Throw on reaction in neutral. Also useful for punishing Kotal for whiffing forward advancing strings to get closer to you.
BF2 - a good distance check.
DB2 - a better distance check.
NJP - Useful against a whiff happy Kotal.
General Strategy
Make Kotal come to you. You can lame this match out, frustrate him and give him a Ferra obstacle course to get in. If they run in after a toss, check them with Lackey D1. Beware of War God armoring through your check, though. The key thing is, don't let him get away with whiffing. Some Kotals like to whiff B34/F12/B122 to get in. NJP and BF4 are great tools to counter that.
BF4 - Punish the Sword Throw on reaction in neutral. Also useful for punishing Kotal for whiffing forward advancing strings to get closer to you.
BF2 - a good distance check.
DB2 - a better distance check.
NJP - Useful against a whiff happy Kotal.
General Strategy
Make Kotal come to you. You can lame this match out, frustrate him and give him a Ferra obstacle course to get in. If they run in after a toss, check them with Lackey D1. Beware of War God armoring through your check, though. The key thing is, don't let him get away with whiffing. Some Kotals like to whiff B34/F12/B122 to get in. NJP and BF4 are great tools to counter that.
Key Moves
B12 - Neutral on block
BF3 - React to pizza with projectile immunity.
EX DB2 - Armored launcher
D1 - Poke back when Kotal uses his 6f pokes.
General Strategy
You can really abuse his lack of armour with b12, d1, EXdb2, etc. Utilizing the projectile immunity on charge very easily against both the normal and EX pizzas (meaning you don't have to risk jumping them or armour through them and take a ton of damage if he has a damage buff out). This also works duringhis b1 string into pizza block pressure. For b14 EX pizza, charge after b14 will get you out of the pressure for no meter and you will take no damage from the pizza as it hits during the invulnerability frames (you can do a lot of things after a blocked b14 but if you're looking to switch sides and/or not use meter, charge can come in handy) and if they're cancelling into EX pizza from b122 you can still soak it up with the invulnerability frames, if they know what you're going for they can block before the charge hits, but the most kotal can do at this point is d1, d4 or d2. And of course having EX db2 to armour through anything for a full combo punish is very good, as he can never challenge it with armour of his own. It also helps to always have access to Lackey's 6 frame d1 make kotals 6 frame pokes less of a pain.
B12 - Neutral on block
BF3 - React to pizza with projectile immunity.
EX DB2 - Armored launcher
D1 - Poke back when Kotal uses his 6f pokes.
General Strategy
You can really abuse his lack of armour with b12, d1, EXdb2, etc. Utilizing the projectile immunity on charge very easily against both the normal and EX pizzas (meaning you don't have to risk jumping them or armour through them and take a ton of damage if he has a damage buff out). This also works duringhis b1 string into pizza block pressure. For b14 EX pizza, charge after b14 will get you out of the pressure for no meter and you will take no damage from the pizza as it hits during the invulnerability frames (you can do a lot of things after a blocked b14 but if you're looking to switch sides and/or not use meter, charge can come in handy) and if they're cancelling into EX pizza from b122 you can still soak it up with the invulnerability frames, if they know what you're going for they can block before the charge hits, but the most kotal can do at this point is d1, d4 or d2. And of course having EX db2 to armour through anything for a full combo punish is very good, as he can never challenge it with armour of his own. It also helps to always have access to Lackey's 6 frame d1 make kotals 6 frame pokes less of a pain.
Reptile - Vicious
Key Moves
BF4 - Reptile is all about controlling horizontal space and Boss Toss can help with negating that.
NJP - Good for catching an impatient Reptile trying to work his way in.
General Strategy
BF4 covers all grounds basically since Reptile is all about horizontal ground movement/control. Boss Toss will beat a forceball and spit at the same time, is faster on start up so can be used to control mad elbow dashing as well. Forces Reptile to get in on us rather than let him play hit and run style with his forceballs. After conditioning them to stop throwing slime, they will try to get in, and a well timed NJP can blow that up as well.
BF4 - Reptile is all about controlling horizontal space and Boss Toss can help with negating that.
NJP - Good for catching an impatient Reptile trying to work his way in.
General Strategy
BF4 covers all grounds basically since Reptile is all about horizontal ground movement/control. Boss Toss will beat a forceball and spit at the same time, is faster on start up so can be used to control mad elbow dashing as well. Forces Reptile to get in on us rather than let him play hit and run style with his forceballs. After conditioning them to stop throwing slime, they will try to get in, and a well timed NJP can blow that up as well.
Ferra/Torr - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
D'Vorah - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Raiden - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Quan Chi - Lackey
Key Moves
D1 - Good for keeping range.
D4 - Great in the corner. It's +2 on block so you're guaranteed a follow-up D1
EX DB2 - Helps Escaping rune pressure.
BF3 - Punish Air Skulls
DBF1 - After getting Quan to respect the fact he can't wake up, grab as he's preparing for pressure.
General Strategy
Get Quan to the corner and abuse max range D4, D1, B121, and Command grab. (FT players NEED to start using D4 more, especially in the corner, its plus 2 on block and plus 20 on hit, slow start up but fast recovery so when done as a meaty on wake ups you can usually block in time before the move hits you). If Quan tries to yolo armor out of knockdown pressure with teleport while doing a D1 or D4 and immediate D1 again will catch him out of the sky on the way down. If you make the read on an IA-NJP, go for an EX DB2.
D1 - Good for keeping range.
D4 - Great in the corner. It's +2 on block so you're guaranteed a follow-up D1
EX DB2 - Helps Escaping rune pressure.
BF3 - Punish Air Skulls
DBF1 - After getting Quan to respect the fact he can't wake up, grab as he's preparing for pressure.
General Strategy
Get Quan to the corner and abuse max range D4, D1, B121, and Command grab. (FT players NEED to start using D4 more, especially in the corner, its plus 2 on block and plus 20 on hit, slow start up but fast recovery so when done as a meaty on wake ups you can usually block in time before the move hits you). If Quan tries to yolo armor out of knockdown pressure with teleport while doing a D1 or D4 and immediate D1 again will catch him out of the sky on the way down. If you make the read on an IA-NJP, go for an EX DB2.
Goro - ???
Key Moves
General Strategy
General Strategy
Tremor - Lackey/Ruthless
Key Moves
EX DB2 (Lackey) - Interrupts the cancels in DB1 or stone fist
BF3 (Lackey) - Also can interrupt cancels for no meter/less damage. Useful for navigating through Overhead rocks.
EX BF3 (Lackey) - gets you out of his armor breaking corner set ups.
DD1 (Ruthless) - Armor through rocks.
EX DBF1 (Both) - Grab through gaps.
General Strategy
Another matchup where patience is key. Navigating through the Aftershock Obstacle Course can be a pain, but if you can get in and punish accordingly from the right range, this matchup isn't as bad as it seems.
EX DB2 (Lackey) - Interrupts the cancels in DB1 or stone fist
BF3 (Lackey) - Also can interrupt cancels for no meter/less damage. Useful for navigating through Overhead rocks.
EX BF3 (Lackey) - gets you out of his armor breaking corner set ups.
DD1 (Ruthless) - Armor through rocks.
EX DBF1 (Both) - Grab through gaps.
General Strategy
Another matchup where patience is key. Navigating through the Aftershock Obstacle Course can be a pain, but if you can get in and punish accordingly from the right range, this matchup isn't as bad as it seems.
@cR Biohazard, @Doombawkz, @Wetdoba, @Forr, @MK Led, @Alien Substance, @cR_whiteboi, @EGP Wonder_Chef, @Grr, @AceOfKnaves, @Parnak, @FOREVER KING JR, @RM Indecisive, @Johnny Based Cage, @Braindead, @Pterodactyl, @Kyu @Anyone else that wants to contribute. (Even if you have matchup knowledge from the other perspective.
If you want to weigh in on a character, please keep formatting the same so I can just copy/paste into the OP. Thanks, guys!
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