microchip Wrote:
Things start to get a bit diluted in the top ten, and I'm also sitting outside my workplace waiting for my shift to start, so I'll just post my top four and low three.
1. Shang Tsung: I've already given my reasons for this earlier in the thread.
2. Kung Lao: With a trusty anti-air, a variety of high/low combos that can cancel into his spin and continue to a high 30% combo, this guy is deadly as fuck.
3. Ermac: This fucker pisses me off. Has a 45%+ combo with no meter and can control so many zones with his force push. YES, I know he nearly has no mix up potential at all, but that's the thing. He NEARLY has no mix up potential. He does have one low string combo, and an overhead that can cancel into a lift. Put those together and that's all the mix ups you'll need. NRS, do me a favor and put a bullet in this fuckers skull.
4. Cyber Sub-Zero: most fighters are overly aggressive. Cyber subs parry cripples this. Nuff said.
Low
1. Jade: I don't give a damn what anyone says. She is an abomination with no low intro combos that can cancel into anything, ALL her moves have slow start up times, meaning any mediocre player can read her and block when needed. Throw her in a mix up with an aggressive player and she is a good as dead.
Gotta go. I guess it'll just be top four and bottom one for me.
Your bit on Ermac was hilarious, and true--he's a beast. Though I have to disagree on Jade--and I know everyone has probably heard this all before, but here we go anyway:
She is an abomination with no low intro combos that can cancel into anything
3,4 xx ES Staff Overhead, Dash, B+2, Dash, 1,2~1 xx Staff Grab
This hits low on the second hit and does 32% damage
ALL her moves have slow start up times, meaning any mediocre player can read her and block when needed.
Jades moves have great range, so she is good at keeping aggressive players out. B+2 is a pretty good anti-air tool, and can be easily followed up by:
Dash, B+3,2 xx Staff Grab (20%)
or a little more difficult
Dash, 1,2, Dash,1,2, Dash, 1,2 xx Staff Grab (23%)
Not bad for an anti-air.
Shadow Flash, ES Shadow Kick (has armor), and ES Staff Overhead (has armor), makes her a nightmare for zoners. Also, the Shadow Kick is extremely fast, hits from over a half screen away, and is safe.
D+4 is decently fast and can give her breathing room is someone gets in to pressure.
ES Boomerang shenanigans--my favorite involves the following combo:
B+1 xx Staff Overhead, Dash, B+2, Dash, 1,2, Dash, 1,2 xx ES Boomerang
The ES Boomerang will miss the first pass, and if the opponent tries to attack, they will eat the return boomerang giving you a free combo back into B+1, if they block, you can double dash throw and they cannot jump out. The only way out is to tech roll and block, which puts them a few dashes away--this is Jade's butter zone as her moves have great range and can frustrate an aggressive opponent trying to get in close into making mistakes.
There are many setups for ES boomerangs that will grant you free combos--some of them can be read, of course, but in the heat of a match, it's not so easily done with the amount of mixups she can do. Also, you can pretty much cancel any block string into Shadow Kick to make it safe--even B+1.
Jade may not be top tier, but she is at least middle ground, and can hang with most characters outside of "S" tier. Her worst matchups are 6-4 in the opponents favor, and she has plenty of matchups going 6-4 in her favor. She probably has one of the biggest mismatches in the game when playing against Noob--I say it's 8-2 Jade.
Other characters have bigger problems than Jade, which is why she is not in my bottom 5--this is just my opinion on her though.
