THTB
Arez | Booya | Riu48 - Rest Easy, Friends
After a lot of thinking, and some discussion with MITDJT, I've pretty much done a 180 on my stance of Reptile. Before, I thought this character was completely middle of the road, with a string of bad matchups. Okay, fuck that thought process. This character is definitely top 10, barely outside of it at the worst again. My lack of playing as much as I used to seriously blinded me.
This character does not lose as hard to that many characters. Sonya, Kabal, Cyrax, and maybe Kung Lao. Only 4 characters that give him a hard time. Skarlet isn't a disadvantage matchup...it's just unfamiliar right now. Kenshi just requires us to be patient. Why would anyone ever think Sektor beats Reptile? The only thing keeping this character from going higher is that he's not as dominant a character as the better characters. But he's solid vs the entire cast. And yes, he has an advantage vs Kitana.
This character is good, but tbh, he's good if you can play him in a patient manner. I don't mean patience as in turtling your ass off. I mean playing to pick your spots. He's not a character you can straight go aggro or turtle. You have to play this character to his all-around abilities. He's solid at zoning, solid at footsies, solid at rushdown...all-around solid. You can't play him on one side of the fence to play him at his peak. That's why some of these matchups seem harder than they are.
The fact of the matter is that MIT and Showtime are probably the two most complete Reptile players out there...and honestly play him the most optimally. I didn't understand why they still had as much confidence in Reptile as they did until I did some hard thinking about the character myself. Even though I'm not playing this game competitively anymore, I see it now.
Reptile mains, in order to get where you need to be with him, you have to improve every single aspect of your game. You have to learn what it truly means to play him solidly...not relying on gimmicky play as much. These wakeup gimmicks can help, but it's not going to win you a tournament. This game is 1 1/2 years old. As it gets older, people will just start blocking more than they already do, and these gimmicks will dwindle in effectiveness. It's not something we can rely on. Place an emphasis on a solid gameplan instead of reliance on gimmicks, and I can assure you...more Reptiles that are at their level will arise, and more of us will see exactly where our character stands.
Likely one of my last posts pertaining to Reptile's matchups. Here is my honest opinion.
6-4 vs Baraka
5-5 vs Cyber Sub-Zero
4-6 vs Cyrax
5-5 vs Ermac
5-5 vs Freddy Krueger
6-4 vs Jade
5-5 vs Jax
5-5 vs Johnny Cage
4-6 vs Kabal
6-4 vs Kano
5-5 vs Kenshi
6-4 vs Kitana
4-6 vs Kung Lao
5-5 vs Liu Kang
5-5 vs Mileena
6-4 vs Nightwolf
5-5 vs Noob Saibot
6-4 vs Quan Chi
5-5 vs Raiden
5-5 vs Rain
6-4 vs Scorpion
5-5 vs Sektor
6-4 vs Shang Tsung
7-3 vs Sheeva
6-4 vs Sindel
5-5 vs Skarlet
5-5 vs Smoke
4-6 vs Sonya Blade
7-3 vs Stryker
5-5 vs Sub-Zero
This character does not lose as hard to that many characters. Sonya, Kabal, Cyrax, and maybe Kung Lao. Only 4 characters that give him a hard time. Skarlet isn't a disadvantage matchup...it's just unfamiliar right now. Kenshi just requires us to be patient. Why would anyone ever think Sektor beats Reptile? The only thing keeping this character from going higher is that he's not as dominant a character as the better characters. But he's solid vs the entire cast. And yes, he has an advantage vs Kitana.
This character is good, but tbh, he's good if you can play him in a patient manner. I don't mean patience as in turtling your ass off. I mean playing to pick your spots. He's not a character you can straight go aggro or turtle. You have to play this character to his all-around abilities. He's solid at zoning, solid at footsies, solid at rushdown...all-around solid. You can't play him on one side of the fence to play him at his peak. That's why some of these matchups seem harder than they are.
The fact of the matter is that MIT and Showtime are probably the two most complete Reptile players out there...and honestly play him the most optimally. I didn't understand why they still had as much confidence in Reptile as they did until I did some hard thinking about the character myself. Even though I'm not playing this game competitively anymore, I see it now.
Reptile mains, in order to get where you need to be with him, you have to improve every single aspect of your game. You have to learn what it truly means to play him solidly...not relying on gimmicky play as much. These wakeup gimmicks can help, but it's not going to win you a tournament. This game is 1 1/2 years old. As it gets older, people will just start blocking more than they already do, and these gimmicks will dwindle in effectiveness. It's not something we can rely on. Place an emphasis on a solid gameplan instead of reliance on gimmicks, and I can assure you...more Reptiles that are at their level will arise, and more of us will see exactly where our character stands.
Likely one of my last posts pertaining to Reptile's matchups. Here is my honest opinion.
6-4 vs Baraka
5-5 vs Cyber Sub-Zero
4-6 vs Cyrax
5-5 vs Ermac
5-5 vs Freddy Krueger
6-4 vs Jade
5-5 vs Jax
5-5 vs Johnny Cage
4-6 vs Kabal
6-4 vs Kano
5-5 vs Kenshi
6-4 vs Kitana
4-6 vs Kung Lao
5-5 vs Liu Kang
5-5 vs Mileena
6-4 vs Nightwolf
5-5 vs Noob Saibot
6-4 vs Quan Chi
5-5 vs Raiden
5-5 vs Rain
6-4 vs Scorpion
5-5 vs Sektor
6-4 vs Shang Tsung
7-3 vs Sheeva
6-4 vs Sindel
5-5 vs Skarlet
5-5 vs Smoke
4-6 vs Sonya Blade
7-3 vs Stryker
5-5 vs Sub-Zero