i never thought id see the day where i would like liu kang but he is an absolute monster of a fighter. his moves are cheap, as usual, and his 2 new stances are very, very effective. god help whoever runs across someone who knows how to play him well.
so far jade, hotaru, and dairou have been disappointments for me. baraka is extremely strong when someone knows how to play him and raiden...yikes. his stances have not changed but now he has his classic moves back so look out. it is so easy to teleport to avoid an attack then reappear and start a combo from behind.

Baraka is just disgusting. I was kinda in awe of Onaga until I got there with Baraka lol
Im also really like Havik and Scorpion
I really cant wait until I can dedicate some time this weekend and find Raiden and Kang

Personally I like sub-zero's combos when your switching forms Kabal and Sub-Zero are great to have when playing chess kombat just freeze them and knock them into the dead pool(If you are on the level) Im glad they gave Scorpion back his teleport kick that really comes in handy havent really tried havik or hotaru, but i have all the characters on the character select screen unlocked, ill continue to try out new characters throughout the day and post my opinions here

id have to say baraka nightwolf and noob smoke

Any character can be dominant. You just have to play against the right person who is able to control that player well =)

I'm doing great with Shujinko, I mean stellar. Combo heaven =]
Have had alot of luck with Kenshi too, and Ermac.
Nightwolf rocks, Tae Kwon do was always a good style in DA, add in his tomahawks and you've got some damage juggly goodness.
Ermac's got an awesome setup for a juggle, tele-slam to tele-throw move. works from almost any pop up. I found the best set up is to pop with the Axe and then let it roll.
Mileena's not that terrible. She's all about juggling, scrapp all her specials save the dive kick. Since she doesn't do much damage it's about playing a guessing game, high and low with lotsa popups.
Kira's okay too, I like her, 10 hit is easy.

Kenshi is (still) my best character. I haven't played everyone yet, but I've also done well with Ermac, Ashrah, Tanya, Shunjinko, Kabal, Kobra, and Havik. Bo' Rai Cho's Sumo style is very powerful and does a lot of damage.

My best characters have to be Kobra, Baraka, Scorpion, and Kira
Kira is got some nice combos but if you miss you're left vunerable to attacks. If you use your breakers well you she's a pretty easy character.

I think all Characters are good its just how you use them. My personal Fav. Is Scorpion, Then Shijuinko.

Nightwolf, Sub-Zero, and Ermac.

Deception is already at the old MKDA 50/50 mixups. Those who have them (Scorpion, Hotaru, Nightwolf) are the dominant characters.
Sure, breakers can get you out of them, but once you run out...it's back to DA style.
Why is this? BECAUSE WE HAVE NO GET UP OPTIONS!
You should have listened to Ray DeGuzman...Mr. Boon.

All I have to say is wait until you get a load of KOBRA!!! All you need are the Kali sticks, and with his quick recovery there is minimal risk for his mix up game. Combine that with the fire fist, the "must block it low" low fire ball and the tele-punch and what you will have created is a monster. His high/low mix-up reminds me of Guy fro Alpha 2. My record was shit until I used him, I practically won 30 matches in a row to boost the wins over the losses.
I even had some poor guy disconect on me LOL! When you come accross a person who understands what style he needs to be in with Kobra its "lights out" and be prepared for a very frustrating match.
Take care.

I have learned to simply roll away from an opponent who is using the guessing game or 50/50 as you call it. That way they cannot continue the onslaught. I wish there was a wake up game built in like in Street Fighter or something but I've created my own with the "roll back and counter" with a quick move like a flaming fist from Kobra. That seems to work for me and gives me the chance to save the breaker when I really need it. Not only that but I've noticed that it's different than just 50/50, since throws are unblockable (thank god) its now more of a 33.33/99.99 game. If you think I'm going for a low attack and you block high I'll throw you to continue the pressure.
Take care

i like subzero.....his combos arent the best but his freezing moves give u enough time to recover from an attack and pull a nice combo off.....plus when u get cornered u could always use the cold shoulder and get some space......my second favorite is jade.....her combos are good and her special attacks arent bad.....shes quick and strong......noob-smoke is good but only when ur fighting against a friend because u could easily confuse him....ermac isnt bad, his combos arent good but when u combine his special attacks followed by a few combos hes one hell of a fighter

Throws are part of the 50/50 game now. And with moves that you can't roll out of, it get's frustrating.
Yes, Kobra Kali Sticks B+3 or Throw mixup game while they are getting up is very frustrating.

For me its Scorpion, Liu Kang, Shujinko and Raiden. Scorpion is simply unstoppable when you use him right. Liu kang was super hard to find for a reason, hes so quick and punishing that anyone with any kind of skill can tear up. Shujinko, well...you had to beat an entire sub game to get him and he has great combos along with some of the best special moves in MK. Raiden, ....Huge combos (need skills) and his staff, nuf sed.