What? Cyrax's enhanced net drains meter. Not to mention the only other people on the roster who have meter draining moves on the roster is Rain and Quan Chi, difference is those two don't have as much nonsense as Cyrax.

Cyrax doesn't have many mix ups most likely because it's hard as heck to get near him. He has unescapable resets ( most people's resets you can actually escape).


He can take 80 % of your health with one bar of meter, that is reason enough to not have any mix ups at all. Everyone else has to burn through like all their meter to even come close to those numbers.



His buzzsaw hits as an overhead.

and back 2 does too.
Some might think he's overrated, but why exactly? He has good offense, bomb traps, keepaway game that's great, an invincible teleport, tons of diverse specials, an anti-air grab, unescapable resets, ridiculous damage output, all he doesn't have is a ton of mix ups and thankfully he doesn't, he's already practically over the top in his current form.

Like Espio said, Cyrax is still a very strong character despite not having a strong mid/low mix-up game, it's just that he's got other strengths. Another example is Raiden, who's also lacking in low attacks but he's still a very strong character. There are also some characters in the game that don't have any mid/low 50-50 mix-up options (I'm pretty sure this is the case with Nightwolf).




There are differences between the two versions of the character. You can check them out here.

* Cyblax = human Cyrax
* Cyrax = robo Cyrax

Cyrax doesn't need mixups at all.

A basic combo (one bar, no reset) does 56% damage, so it's not like you have to learn much about him to be effective. Also, his teleport has invincibility and his air throw (which he does from the ground) is ultra safe so you can spam it when you're not sure if your opponent is going to jump from the bomb. His net can even catch you in the air, the range is insane.

Cyrax does have a mix up game, its just very different than the traditional sense of what a mix up game is.

I'm pretty sure a mix up doesn't necessarily HAVE to come from choosing strings that hit overhead or low. Lets say you get a free jump in and your opponent blocks, from there you could 2,1 and then do the command grab (b1212), this puts your opponent in a stagger state and grants you a free dash in punch or JIP. The only thing your opponent can do is block, so after you JIP you can mix things up by

1. finishing the 2,1,2 string (which ends in an overhead should they try and poke out or duck). Its also safe on block.

2. do 2,1 into net for a giant ass combo of ur choice, which imo is worth the risk of doing net up close on a blocking opponent.

3. If you don't feel like risking a blocked net however, something i like to do is dash in with or JIP into 1,2,1 ragdoll. It does ok damage on its own, but builds almost half a bar of meter on block and is safe.

4. or you can simply do another command grab if you think they'll continue blocking.

A lot of players are so afraid of the net and prospect of a giant combo you'd be surprised just how many command grabs you can get in a row. If you expect them to try and duck the command grab or poke out of it you can net for a combo (if ur feeling lucky) or simply end the string to play it safe. I always like to throw in an occasional EN ragdoll kick too just to mind fuck my opponent, like they never know where I'm commin from. Either way to get out of the command grab trap they'll have to release block after the JIP which allows you to hit em with the net for a combo if you see them not blocking the 2,1.

The command grab does a nice 13% damage and what i like to do is constantly vary the string i do to lead into it. For example lets say i dash in on a blocking opponent, I'll do 21 command grab, then dash in again and do 2, command grab, then dash in again and do 11, 21 command grab. On the fourth try, if i haven't already caught my opponent releasing block I'll dash in with 21 net and then combo. 13% damage stacks up faster than you might think and if someone chooses wrong on when to stop blocking they eat 60% reset.

Anyway, hope this doesn't sound too confusing, its a lot easier to show than type. I have a great video of it tho if the OP or anybody else wants to see this stuff in action.

True. My favorite mix-ups are actually throw mix-ups since you have to work harder for these and you need to do some frame-testing to see what works and what doesn't.


Great info and tips on Cyrax! Btw, I HATE getting caught with his command grab!


Oh and, clips that have useful character tips/tutorials are always welcome!