Best/Worst Variations of your Main

[MsMiharo]

Is Blood God viable now? And commando Kano? I remember people whining about commando kano back in April

Commando is the weakest but not weak. Think BG is ok. Mr Aqua won a local with him before buff

 

[Shaazzyam]

Cassie Cage:

Best: Spec Ops
Worst: Brawler

In the greater spectrum of the game, Brawler isn't bad, but it's her worst variation. I still see no reason to use it when Erron Black exists.

because teek throws and more meeksupz. brawler would be better or equal than hollywood if you could chose sides on command grab and it had armor.

 

[Arkane Slim]

I main Jacqui Briggs who is kind of a "I'm not sure how to truly use her" character. But us Jacqui players love our Bae

I have to say, she is average at most: You really have to put in work to make her a threat and open your opponents up. This goes for ALL variations. So, with that said... her best and worst is from my opinion but also the Jacqui community. I see some improvements with her hit box NORMALIZATION (not buffs)...but still...

Best: FULL AUTO -- This is only because of the Guns. I don't recommend spamming, but Jacqui was made to be a footsies and rush down character IMO. However, her normal and combo strings are lacking. She has a good walk and dash but FULL AUTO basically makes maintain pressure from full and mid screen better than any others, that's why its the most used and probably the best.

Worst: HIGH TECH -- IMO, I think the Jacqui players are getting close to making this variation viable and possibly her go to, but mannnn is it hard to work with. This is her block string pressure type variation and you can get some good damage with Lvl 2 Gauntlets especially in the corner. But remember her Normals and Combos are still lacking so we have to work harder. A full screen and Mid screen threat is non-existent.

Please don't be confused and think the "vortex" is a true threat because its not. But right now, that's the variation I'm best at.

 

[Harlequin969]

Ermac (Obviously)

Best: Master of Souls
It's the best simply because of the strenght of the vortex. Ermac wants that mid screen range where he can go for his 50/50 38%/40% meterless damage. Soul ball wins all trades and Vanish is just an interesting troll move with some hidden tech if used right. Ermac has it all. If only he weren't so reliant on rush down he'd be a bit better since a lot of his moves are slow/unsafe.
Worst: Spectral
It has nothing. The flight ability in this variation is bullshit. You have shitty normals and no real mobility. There is nothing special, in a good way, about this variation. Not to mention Soul Charge is bad. Can't combo, can't MB for armor and is unsafe. Ermac got the short end of the stick with this variation and as a lover of the Mac I'm saddened by this.

 

[Ray'sGoodLiquor]

Quan Chi...

Best- No questions, summoner.

Worst- Probably warlock. I think if they ever adjust the hitbox on his F3 and Portal Grab to not whiff so often, it might catch up a bit.

 

[Harlequin969]

We need a list of chars that are legit with all 3 variations, although some of them have one so much better that its hard not to choose them, it still should be taken into account when we finally make a tier list, because if you main a char package with only 1 high level variation you have less options than someone with 3 counterpicks

I think-

Dvorah
Scrub 0
Scorpion
Raiden
Quan?
(seems like tanya is legit in all 3 but I didnt buy her someone let me know)

I'd say Takeda's 3 variations are all pretty viable. Obviously Shirai Ryu is the most popular but Ronnin has good pressure strings and Lasher has a better long range with a great anti air.

 

[Harlequin969]

Quan Chi...

Best- No questions, summoner.

Worst- Probably warlock. I think if they ever adjust the hitbox on his F3 and Portal Grab to not whiff so often, it might catch up a bit.

Outside of armor portal what does Sorceror offer? Not to bash, I'm curious and you've got the Sorceror tag on your profile. Both of his offensive spell circles seem to be easy to escape from.

 

[SOLEdier]

Takeda
1. Shirai Ryu
2. Ronin
3. Lasher

Kenshi
1. Balanced
2. Kenjutsu
3. Possessed

Sub Zero
1. Grandmaster
2. Cyromancer
3. Breakable

 

[Pan1cMode]

Cassie Cage:

Best: Spec Ops
Worst: Brawler

In the greater spectrum of the game, Brawler isn't bad, but it's her worst variation. I still see no reason to use it when Erron Black exists.

You're wrong about brawler. It's at least as good as Hollywood if not better.


Jacqui:
Full auto
High Tech
Shotgun

Cassie:
Spec Ops
Brawler
Hollywood

Tanya:
Dragon Naginata
Pyromancer
Kobo Jutsu
(Too early to properly call this)


Sonya:
Special Forces
Covert Ops
Demolition

 

[Magnum Magpie]

Mileena

Best - Ravenous/Piercing
Worst - Ethereal

Cassie

Best - Spec Ops / Brawler / Hollywood

Tanya

Best - Dragon Naginata / Pyromancer / Kobu Jutsu

 

[Ray'sGoodLiquor]

Outside of armor portal what does Sorcerer offer? Not to bash, I'm curious and you've got the Sorcerer tag on your profile. Both of his offensive spell circles seem to be easy to escape from.

Armor circle gives you favorable zoning trades midscreen almost every time. Most midscreen combos from the circle can get you 2 hits of armor if using crossover punch after the trance. Finishing your combo in the circle gives you at least 1 free 50/50, and it increases your options since you can be a little more unsafe than usual. In the corner, you get free pressure for days. If you're taking pressure while in the circle, you can let go of block then immediately go into a 14 punish string and it stuffs a lot of peoples normals. Also, if you're outside of the armor circle and your opponent's combo pushes you back into the circle, you still get your hit of armor which usually causes their combo to drop.

Chip damage circle allows some head games mid screen with zoning. Sometimes when you throw it out instead of armor after a 141 ender, your opponent is gonna move or mash buttons, leading to easy EX trances. If you have 3 bars, you can get 100% damage rune traps in the corner.

DD1 (the meter draining portal) seems useless at the moment.

I don't think sorcerer is better on paper than warlock, but due to some of the issues warlock is having (meter building, meter intensity, normal and specials whiffing, etc.) sorcerer is better by default. I've had the Warlock tag up until about 3 days ago, so honestly I'm more knowledgeable about warlock than sorcerer, but those are the glaring differences I've seen thus far. It's always a mother fucker as warlock when you have 3 bars of meter, and by the time you get the opponent into the corner, you're out, and nothing you can do is safe anymore.

 

[Harlequin969]

Armor circle gives you favorable zoning trades midscreen almost every time. Most midscreen combos from the circle can get you 2 hits of armor if using crossover punch after the trance. Finishing your combo in the circle gives you at least 1 free 50/50, and it increases your options since you can be a little more unsafe than usual. In the corner, you get free pressure for days. If you're taking pressure while in the circle, you can let go of block then immediately go into a 14 punish string and it stuffs a lot of peoples normals. Also, if you're outside of the armor circle and your opponent's combo pushes you back into the circle, you still get your hit of armor which usually causes their combo to drop.

Chip damage circle allows some head games mid screen with zoning. Sometimes when you throw it out instead of armor after a 141 ender, your opponent is gonna move or mash buttons, leading to easy EX trances. If you have 3 bars, you can get 100% damage rune traps in the corner.

I don't think sorcerer is better on paper than warlock, but due to some of the issues warlock is having (meter building, meter intensity, normal and specials whiffing, etc.) sorcerer is better by default. I've had the Warlock tag up until about 3 days ago, so honestly I'm more knowledgeable about warlock than sorcerer, but those are the glaring differences I've seen thus far. It's always a mother fucking as warlock when you have 3 bars of meter, and by the time you get the opponent into the corner, you're out, and nothing you can do is safe anymore.

Wow, didn't think the armor circle gave all those options but you're right. I've run into the fact that Quan is a slow character too often when I want to get any sort of damage started. I've been playing Warlock for a little while now and I really like it but it struggles. Can't Zone like Summoner and can't armor like sorceror but goddammit it if doesn't look good doing it's portal nonsense. I can only hope for variation buffs in the future.

Though I might be tempted to give Sorceror a proper try.

 

[STRYKIE]

Mileena

Best - Ravenous/Piercing
Worst - Ethereal

Cassie

Best - Spec Ops / Brawler / Hollywood

Tanya

Worst - Dragon Naginata / Pyromancer / Kobu Jutsu

FTFY.

#TuckFanya

 

[Ray'sGoodLiquor]

Wow, didn't think the armor circle gave all those options but you're right. I've run into the fact that Quan is a slow character too often when I want to get any sort of damage started. I've been playing Warlock for a little while now and I really like it but it struggles. Can't Zone like Summoner and can't armor like sorceror but goddammit it if doesn't look good doing it's portal nonsense. I can only hope for variation buffs in the future.

Though I might be tempted to give Sorceror a proper try.

I up played Warlock SO HARD for the longest time. @STB Shujinkydink finally talked some sense into me last week. Every point he made about Warlock was completely valid, and quite frankly, I got tired of having to stare at my meter all match if I wanted to get anything done. You need 2 bars to safely start a combo that ends in a vortex, when summoner gets better vortexes without meter, and sorcerer gets an equally good vortex for 1 bar and it's safer.

 

[ShaolinGunFu]

Is Blood God viable now?

Hes my 2nd char so id rather a bg main chime in but in my experience, any opponent with decent blocking and patience feels so hard to open up. Hes not the worst in the game but hes one of those chars that can theoretically kill you in one combo but most of the time will be chipping away hoping you mess up

 

[Mac Royale33]

Takeda:

Personally my best is Shirai Ryu, but Ronin is mechanically Takeda's best variation because of its high damage (but way harder) potential and the start-up on is df1 special is his quickest special of all his variations and he can use it to safely exit a corner on wake-up. Both Shirai Ryu and Lasher struggle tremendously when trapped in a corner due to the slow start-ups on a majority of his moves.

Kitana:

Royal Storm all the way. She just has more options than her other variations along with her db3 7 frame start-up special. Assassin is alright, but it's not really realistic to use her damage buff against a good opponent due to her lack of a 50/50 game so it's a wasted special along with her db3 because why wouldnt you just use her bf3 instead? Mournful is fun and flashy and if I played it more, I could come to realize that it is superior to at least Assassin, but the chage in her projectile properties is what keeps me away from seriously getting into this variation. I really just want my fan stun.

Tanya:

She has a 7 frame overhead that hits multiple times in Kobu Jutsu along with high damage combos with minimal meter use. Her Nagatana variation is cool, but it seems like it's generally unsafe and she is at a big disadvantage on block from many of her variation specific moves here. Pyromancer is cool if you want to camp and not have as many combo string options and mix-ups as her other variations. She can get decent damage off of her df2 debuff though.

Sub-Zero:

Why would you not play Grandmaster?

 

[DDustiNN]

Mileena

Best: Piercing - I feel like I have a little something for everything, and I always feel comfortable with what tool I should use at almost any moment. That low sai really comes in handy, I love stabbing, and that brutality is my absolute favorite in the game. Only downside is she can be pretty predictable and readable. Her moves are slow and super punishable. But she's so much fun.

Worst: Ethereal. Just... Why?

--

I'm working on Tanya (Kobu Jutsu) now, to see if she can take Mileena's place. Still not there yet. I need to get more comfortable with her moves and combos, and when to use everything.

 

[Houndovhell]

Just updated my post! took an hour, butt fuck it
Also, I think Tanya is kinda like this; Kobu Jutsu/Dragon Naginata/Pyromancer , I think pyro is equal to nagi, just better at different ranges. And Kobu is the best (unfortubately) because of how strong the up close game is. But again, this is a huge preference of how you prefer to play your game, and at what distance you are comfortable at (isnt it weird how a lot of characters are like that?)

 

[Gesture Required Ahead]

Reptile:

Best - Noxious
Gives him a usable meterless special, unlike most of his other specials. The passive DoT gives him a damage boost in everything including defending from endless fitty fitties. When Poison Gas activates, it gives him a bigger damage boost in combos and throws. EX gives and even bigger damage boost.

Worst - Deceptive
It's not to say that this variation is garbage. Invis gives him a 1 hit damage nullifyer and EX Invis has armor on start-up. Complete invis can help him slightly in the neutral a bit and helps his offense a bit because you literally can't see him.
But like Nimble, Invis requires meter for it to be fully useful and with Reptile's crap meter-building and already being a meter-dependant character, it's best to save the meter for other things.

 

[SnowboardRX]

Takeda:
1.) Ronin
2.) Shirai Ryu
3.) Lasher

 

[jaepeso170]

Main: Takeda

My Honest opinion

Best: Shirai Ryu

Worst: Ronin

I originally had Lasher as worst but after the recent buffs to 1, d1, Low Slash(Lasher) and Whip Trip(Lasher) I have began using Lasher with immense success. The Low swipe into Kunai provides great zoning and ending combo strings with EX Whip Trip can launch and continue for more hits and higher damage. Again my opinion but Id rather have good range and zoning (plus arguebly the best Anti air in the game)

 

[voidkiller]

Jax
Pumped up
Heavy weapons
Wrestler

 

[SplitMushroom]

"gulps'

His best is Imposter
His worst is Necromancer

Don't shoot

 

[Sulfur]

Kano
JC
Cassie
Kotal
Kitana
Kung Jin
Kenshi

Lol Johnny Cage isn"t viable in ANY variation

 

[LaidbackOne]

Just updated my post! took an hour, butt fuck it
Also, I think Tanya is kinda like this; Kobu Jutsu/Dragon Naginata/Pyromancer , I think pyro is equal to nagi, just better at different ranges. And Kobu is the best (unfortubately) because of how strong the up close game is. But again, this is a huge preference of how you prefer to play your game, and at what distance you are comfortable at (isnt it weird how a lot of characters are like that?)

Kinda immature but I still laughed my ass off