SwiftTomHanks
missiles are coming
While a lot of the cast is getting attention due to big names picking them up, Sektor is getting left behind. A lot of Sektor players are having to discover new strategies themselves since the resources are extremely minimal. With that said, I'm going to lay out everything I have learned about the character and his match ups.
Pokes:
- Safe on block as it pushes the opponent away. On hit will throw opponent across the screen, setting up for zoning. This is also a good AA option and can be used in replacement of uppercut since it does only 1% less damage.
- In my opinion there is little reason to do since this move leads into a combo. Sektor's low pokes do not lower his hit box enough and he is still very susceptible to jump punches and jump kicks.
- You can use this when you read a player jumping over you. If you catch them in the air with this you can follow through with a , teleport uppercut. Sektor has an okay uppercut, however unlike characters like Ermac, he can gain nothing else out of it.
Strings
,, - This string is safe on block and allows you a chance to jump backwards after an opponent blocks. Some characters can read the jump back and punish (see character match ups). This string also goes into Sektor's most damaging combo and should be used to punish most of the moves in the game.
, - The ONLY time you should use this string outside a combo is when you can not punish with ,,. Examples would be Mileena's roll punish since she stays in the air too long. The string is safe on block, but the start up is extremely slow.
, - First hit is low, so use this string all the time until your opponent respects low. This string chains into a combo, is safe on block, and is hit conformable into teleport uppercut.
~ - You can not do your overhead without using the leg lift. The ONLY time you should use this is after a blocked (or hit) jump in punch. When you leg lift outside of a blocked jump in punch the opponent can poke you out of your stance and not have to bother guessing overhead or low. This can be linked into a teleport uppercut, but not hit confirmed. Thus, I would recommend using :en teleport uppercut in case your opponent has blocked correctly. If you do not do teleport uppercut, this is safe on block.
Character Match Ups
Reptile:
Zone:
Reptile allows Sektor to zone, but you still must be careful about being hit by a force ball since Reptile will win the trade. Sektor's missiles knock down, so upon landing a hit, there is nothing outside that reptile can do to get threw the next missile. If you are full screen you can shoot a missile AND block his . There is little reason to use up missile since Reptile can and will dash by it. His only way in (dash) is dampened by strait missile, so use it to your advantage. You can use teleport uppercut if you read a force ball, but not on reaction.
Mix ups:
Reptile has the worst uppercut in the game! Keep this in mind since Sektor loves to jump around! Jump over Reptile as much as you want with either jump punches or kicks. When approaching Reptile do not be afraid to jump over projectiles with a jump kick into teleport uppercut. The only thing you need to be worried about is being hit by a force ball. I know of no other high/top tier character who has such horrid AA; the worst thing he can do to you on an air to air is slide for 10%.
Close range:
If Reptile gets you blocking, you're in trouble. Sektor is a slow character so you're really just looking to jump out. When Reptile knocks you on the ground he will most likely dash in and jump over you. If you predict this you can into teleport uppercut which should release some pressure after landing this the first time. A blocked dash will result in a full combo starting with ,,. Do not settle for anything less! Do not worry about ending your combos with flame thrower; dash is not a wake up attack so end with something that sends Reptile as far away from you as possible.
Mileena
Zone:
The most difficult thing about this match up is how Mileena can shut your zone game down 100%. Any Mileena player can "on reaction" teleport if you do a full screen missile of any kind. Also if you are within roll range she will go under your missile, resulting in a 27% combo. Fire missiles every once in a while to keep her in check, but you're going in for this one. If you have the life lead you can wait her out by ducking. Let Mileena make the first move since all her ways in are unsafe. If you do not have the life lead... see the close range part.
Mix ups:
While this isn't really a mix up, do note that any time Mileena goes for an air projectile, you can teleport uppercut her. Also if you read a projectile you can also pull one off. While your range game has vanished, her's is still risky.
Close range:
Most of the fight will probably be done from here. When you approach Mileena make sure to dash cancel into duck so you do not block any projectiles. She will be building tons of meter already, having you block projectiles will only grantee her a breaker by the time you get in. A lot of players do not respect blocking low so once you're close I would recommend starting with b3,4. Jumping in on Mileena is also very dangerous; she can either air projectile you into combo or roll as an anti jump in, also leading into combo. What you do not have to worry about is her block stringing you; stay as close to her as you can. All your strings are safe on block, but none give you advantage. Because of this I would recommend looking into canceling 1,2,b1 at either the 1 or 1,2 to get some block damage on her as well as meter. When you have a lot of meter do not be afraid to EX teleport uppercut! She will probably block it, and then she gets a free mix up, but afterwords it's your call. Careful to wake up when she is close however! Her d4 poke will stuff it and if you used an EX to wake up, say good bye to a bar.
Mileena's mix ups are as follows. She can overhead you, over and over again on block. After an overhead you can jump kick her however and go into teleport uppercut! She can read this and go for a njp, but you can read that and go for an uppercut (this shit gets real!). She can also go low into low OR low into overhead using her EX roll. While it is extremly hard to block this, if she has no meter (she will always have meter lolololol) you don't have to worry about it.
Punishing Mileena:
Both her teleport and roll have a unique punish quality. Her teleport can only be punished by an uppercut 100% of the time. You can go for a jump kick into teleport uppercut but she can throw an air sai afterwords; if it hits you she will get a combo on you. It's a risky punish! Her roll has to be punished by f4,4 ~ teleport uppercut ~ b2,1. I wouldn't recommend ending in flame since her wake ups are not safe. You want her to do them!
In closing, this is Sektor's worst match up in my opinion (6/4 in Mileena's favor). I'll try to get some footage of myself going up against a pro Mileena player to better illustrate the match up. The way to win this is to let Mileena make a mistake and take advantage of it since Sektor packs a punch.
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I'll be adding more match ups very soon. I play against an amazing group of people with diverse characters so I'll cover Cage,Sub Zero,Mileena,Kung Lao,Kabal,Ermac,Noob,Reptile and Liu Kang.
If there is anything you want to add let me know! Or god forbid I'm wrong on something, please correct me! Wrong information is the worst kind of information.
Pokes:
- Safe on block as it pushes the opponent away. On hit will throw opponent across the screen, setting up for zoning. This is also a good AA option and can be used in replacement of uppercut since it does only 1% less damage.
- In my opinion there is little reason to do since this move leads into a combo. Sektor's low pokes do not lower his hit box enough and he is still very susceptible to jump punches and jump kicks.
- You can use this when you read a player jumping over you. If you catch them in the air with this you can follow through with a , teleport uppercut. Sektor has an okay uppercut, however unlike characters like Ermac, he can gain nothing else out of it.
Strings
,, - This string is safe on block and allows you a chance to jump backwards after an opponent blocks. Some characters can read the jump back and punish (see character match ups). This string also goes into Sektor's most damaging combo and should be used to punish most of the moves in the game.
, - The ONLY time you should use this string outside a combo is when you can not punish with ,,. Examples would be Mileena's roll punish since she stays in the air too long. The string is safe on block, but the start up is extremely slow.
, - First hit is low, so use this string all the time until your opponent respects low. This string chains into a combo, is safe on block, and is hit conformable into teleport uppercut.
~ - You can not do your overhead without using the leg lift. The ONLY time you should use this is after a blocked (or hit) jump in punch. When you leg lift outside of a blocked jump in punch the opponent can poke you out of your stance and not have to bother guessing overhead or low. This can be linked into a teleport uppercut, but not hit confirmed. Thus, I would recommend using :en teleport uppercut in case your opponent has blocked correctly. If you do not do teleport uppercut, this is safe on block.
Character Match Ups
Reptile:
Zone:
Reptile allows Sektor to zone, but you still must be careful about being hit by a force ball since Reptile will win the trade. Sektor's missiles knock down, so upon landing a hit, there is nothing outside that reptile can do to get threw the next missile. If you are full screen you can shoot a missile AND block his . There is little reason to use up missile since Reptile can and will dash by it. His only way in (dash) is dampened by strait missile, so use it to your advantage. You can use teleport uppercut if you read a force ball, but not on reaction.
Mix ups:
Reptile has the worst uppercut in the game! Keep this in mind since Sektor loves to jump around! Jump over Reptile as much as you want with either jump punches or kicks. When approaching Reptile do not be afraid to jump over projectiles with a jump kick into teleport uppercut. The only thing you need to be worried about is being hit by a force ball. I know of no other high/top tier character who has such horrid AA; the worst thing he can do to you on an air to air is slide for 10%.
Close range:
If Reptile gets you blocking, you're in trouble. Sektor is a slow character so you're really just looking to jump out. When Reptile knocks you on the ground he will most likely dash in and jump over you. If you predict this you can into teleport uppercut which should release some pressure after landing this the first time. A blocked dash will result in a full combo starting with ,,. Do not settle for anything less! Do not worry about ending your combos with flame thrower; dash is not a wake up attack so end with something that sends Reptile as far away from you as possible.
Mileena
Zone:
The most difficult thing about this match up is how Mileena can shut your zone game down 100%. Any Mileena player can "on reaction" teleport if you do a full screen missile of any kind. Also if you are within roll range she will go under your missile, resulting in a 27% combo. Fire missiles every once in a while to keep her in check, but you're going in for this one. If you have the life lead you can wait her out by ducking. Let Mileena make the first move since all her ways in are unsafe. If you do not have the life lead... see the close range part.
Mix ups:
While this isn't really a mix up, do note that any time Mileena goes for an air projectile, you can teleport uppercut her. Also if you read a projectile you can also pull one off. While your range game has vanished, her's is still risky.
Close range:
Most of the fight will probably be done from here. When you approach Mileena make sure to dash cancel into duck so you do not block any projectiles. She will be building tons of meter already, having you block projectiles will only grantee her a breaker by the time you get in. A lot of players do not respect blocking low so once you're close I would recommend starting with b3,4. Jumping in on Mileena is also very dangerous; she can either air projectile you into combo or roll as an anti jump in, also leading into combo. What you do not have to worry about is her block stringing you; stay as close to her as you can. All your strings are safe on block, but none give you advantage. Because of this I would recommend looking into canceling 1,2,b1 at either the 1 or 1,2 to get some block damage on her as well as meter. When you have a lot of meter do not be afraid to EX teleport uppercut! She will probably block it, and then she gets a free mix up, but afterwords it's your call. Careful to wake up when she is close however! Her d4 poke will stuff it and if you used an EX to wake up, say good bye to a bar.
Mileena's mix ups are as follows. She can overhead you, over and over again on block. After an overhead you can jump kick her however and go into teleport uppercut! She can read this and go for a njp, but you can read that and go for an uppercut (this shit gets real!). She can also go low into low OR low into overhead using her EX roll. While it is extremly hard to block this, if she has no meter (she will always have meter lolololol) you don't have to worry about it.
Punishing Mileena:
Both her teleport and roll have a unique punish quality. Her teleport can only be punished by an uppercut 100% of the time. You can go for a jump kick into teleport uppercut but she can throw an air sai afterwords; if it hits you she will get a combo on you. It's a risky punish! Her roll has to be punished by f4,4 ~ teleport uppercut ~ b2,1. I wouldn't recommend ending in flame since her wake ups are not safe. You want her to do them!
In closing, this is Sektor's worst match up in my opinion (6/4 in Mileena's favor). I'll try to get some footage of myself going up against a pro Mileena player to better illustrate the match up. The way to win this is to let Mileena make a mistake and take advantage of it since Sektor packs a punch.
-------
I'll be adding more match ups very soon. I play against an amazing group of people with diverse characters so I'll cover Cage,Sub Zero,Mileena,Kung Lao,Kabal,Ermac,Noob,Reptile and Liu Kang.
If there is anything you want to add let me know! Or god forbid I'm wrong on something, please correct me! Wrong information is the worst kind of information.