Peckapowa
Noob
After playing mk9 loads latelywith only 2 weeks to mkx I wanna give my final feelings on liu kang.
Personally I think Luis up close game was under appreciated. He's neutral on everything, and his standing 2 and b3 destroy the poke game. He also has dominant footsie tools. I think at the highest level pokes become used even less because characters with exceptional normals will just block and counter with a full string on reaction. Having a 10 frame low to counter pokes, and mixing into 213 when your neutral can starve a few characters up close. Plus you can't even punish him with crossovers usually. Not to mention liu already has great pushback setups and decent mixups. He also has arguably the best aa jab in the game and it's stupidly hard to punish him on whiff. He has a very good neutral.
Baraka: 7-3: low fireball, f12 and Luis overall game shuts down Barakas very underrated blade charge spacing game and trade game. Baraka has a lot of solid mus where he can play his game, this isn't one
Cage: 5-5: liu kang controls neutral game and out footsies cage. It's hard for cage, but liu struggles up close. Player 1 adv is giant in this matchup because it determines whether Luis 8 frame 2 will interrupt even cages 11. If not you have to occasionally d3 or try to read a 11 and whiff it. But having an 8 frame jab camps force cage to poke. Honestly I do not believe thus mu to be bad for liu. Perhaps the opposite, I main both.
Cyber sub: 7-3, f-12 punishes dive kick, iafb and low fbs control neutral, low is good for checking parries, and poke game liu wins. The smoking gun for cyber is op knockdown stuff. I'm
Cyrax: 5-5: liu kang crushes poke game and can punish Cyrax d1 and 2 beats out cyrax 1. Liu also has great recovery and easily out zones Cyrax. But Cyrax does op damage and Luis high hitbox and dealing with Cyrax pressure keeps it tame. Without his broken stuff Cyrax is free but, he has it.
Ermac: 6-4: high fireball is a great tool because of its recovery frames make it hard for tp chars to react and it'll beat out most projectiles. But ermac can still play his annoying air blast game and mid range and Luis high hitbox keep ermac from getting his socks crushed. Luis f12 and up close game seal the deal the and he can flies the gap or zone.
Freddy: 3-7: liu isn't as mobile as johnny, this is a terrible matchup. You can't throw things and ur pressure is your only hope but highest level Freddy is way too good, Freddy can ex claw aa you on reaction to jumping a projectile at full screen and tp forward for 45%. His es ability is to good also. Best projectile game in the world.
Jade: 6-4 minimumI'm presuming Luis normals crush it, but she out zones him due to flow.
Jax: 4-6 player adv. is huge. It determines whether forward 4 or standing 2 wins up close. Jax is too hard to contain and ur high hitbox wrecks you. You can high fireball over gps but jax can trade and fake gopand force you into making guesses and ducking too much. And once jax is it if he's player 1 your done and if not it's still stuff because he has a zillion different setups and safe armor and corner bs.
Kabal: 3.5-6-5: hoesntly this mu is fun and liu kang can out projectile kabal to an extent. The problem is if kabal gets a lifelead it sucks. Between flash parries buzzsaw and kabals always having meter and evading projectiles and murdering up close with ex dash cancels and standing 2s this mu really isn't that close. The more every 1 masters the game the even better kabal is he has everything and has way too many options.
Kano: probably 7-3 high fireballs
Kenshi: 3-7 if kenshis reflect is on point he can just duck mid screen and fuck you over. You're can just cancel pokes I to shoulder, armor and oh slash you to death. You have to guess and get lucky up close and use flying kicks like a maniac to get in. You can mix fireballs I. At diff ranges and make him fish for anti cross ups but it only gets you so far. Kenshi also has amazing offense and his corner game is laughably unfair if needs to regain ground. Kenshi is a beast. You have to get lucky jumping to beat him but a reactionary Kenshi is too good.
Kitana: 6-4-5-5: tbh this is a weaker mu for me. I just think with iafb, and his other fbs kang can Zone her and beat her ass up close. Her crossovers jks are an issue, but when I really think about it he prolly beats her at the highest level.
Kung Lao: 4-6: you need to be quick with you standing 2 and use your fireballs wisely and try to outfootsieing him. But ur high hitbox and all his shenanigans and his op 7 frame standing7 are just too much. 212121 ex tp whiff grab pressure is real. Also bird lao.
Liu: player 1 wins
Mileena: prolly 6-4
Nightwolf: 6.5-3.5: nws only good tool is ex lightning
Noob: 6-4 noibs keepaway isn't good enough to win him this mu. Liu can trade sparingly with the lead and absolutely murders noob up close/ in footsies range.
Quan chi: 7-3 quan has nothing here: he can't do anything but get lucky with stupid runes.
Raiden: 6.5-3.5: the recovery o. High fb forces raiden to guess rather than react. The advance on lius strings make them too hard to punish for high damage on a good tpand raiden can't conpete with lius normals. High level raiden isn't that bad but this mu he doesn't have much. He has to try to react to low fb. I used to main raiden also
Rain: 6.5-3.5: my standing 2, f12, and b312 outclass rains shitty mobility and his good 4 rh. I don't want to see any comments about 4rh crushing d3 because liu never needs to d3 in thus mu. He can blow up 4rh in footies with f12, up close with 2 and whiff punish with 213/b3. You force rain to armor or poke, and rains pokes are bad. Your fireballs control neutral and rains only saving grace is armor which can be jumped backwards against or blocked, and he has a limited supply of it.
Reptile: 6-4: the smoking gun in this mu is punishing ex dash with 213 or ex kick which skillful chris and xarakamaka do fairly consistently. It makes liu dominant up close because reptile has to guess dash and ex dash is his 1 safe option. Because it kills reptiles options. High fbs at 3/4 screen severely limit reptile because the fast recovery stops him from trading. Low fbs can limit reps mobility also. More often than nit reptile isn't going to get his zoning started. Reptile has a great game once it gets going, he can really maintain pressure in the neutral and on knockdown if it gets going. and may e if a reptile consistently dashes under high fb it can change the mu. I just find liu can abuse up close and certain ranges.
Scorpion: 6-4
Sektor: 5-5: sektor out zones liu and is super competitive up close. The footsies game and crossover jks are tough for liu to deal with. Also sektor loves high hitbox es. Could be 4-6, probably is,
Shang tsung : 6-4 / 5-5 fireball game at diff ranges can really disrupt Shang.kang also wins footsies Player 1 is big because if liu has it he can beat out double f3 up skulls. But if Shang gas it double knees are good a and in soul steal double 213s win. Shang has to cancel pokes into armor sometimes if liu is pressuring because liu can beat out knees with 213 and counter d3s well. Liu wins footsies with f12. This could be 5-5 because of ss. Because liu mirrors come down to low fb trades and SS shang wins those. Also soul steal can force you to jump guess. I do think lu outclasses Shang up close and can win the neutral a certain ranges. If Shang gets his fb game started started he can control things. Possible 5-5 but I give it to liu. Doesn't mean I'd beat cowboy In his prime.
Sheeva idk kang wins
Snidely: 5-5?? I know liu has better up close tools, but she definitely wins the neutral and is super slippery and has some stuff. Liu can scarp some trades together but idk this
Skarlet: 5-5/4-6: kang can work in the fireball but the fact that slide is -3 and kang has a high hitbox makes me uncomfortable here. It's a really hard one to judge for me because who the fuck mastered skarlet. She's got some crazy bs and some really annoying stuff. Maybe liu wins I can't remember if he outzones her
Smoke: 5-5: I know some people who think liu wins this. Liu can blow up d1 smoke bombwith b3 but it has to be a read. Liu has better footsies and pressure and can sprinkle in the occasional iAfb. Smoke struggles up close but I find his harssment/pick and pop and damage to definitely even this out. It's similar to smoke cage (which I think is 6-4 cage now) but lius pressure isn't as good as cage and his dash isn't as good for advancing.
Sonya:3.5-6.5: Sonyas ex cartwheel being -3.and down 4 and ia dive kick are way too threatening. It's also a pain in the has to zone her out plus her 7frame jab is an excellent tool. You can scarp together some runaway and footsies but anyone without the op zoning gets destroyed by Sonya. Maybe outside of kitana but I bet she beats her idk that one.
Stryker can gun cancel, all he can do is fish for armored rolls and deep jump kicks. He has no offense.nits probably 8-2
Sub zero: 6-4 liu hates the corner and that annoying ass 8 frame d4 but he has a goid enough fireball game.
That's it guys I'm pretty confident about 80% of these and feel liu is a very strong character whom only struggles with the op ones.
Personally I think Luis up close game was under appreciated. He's neutral on everything, and his standing 2 and b3 destroy the poke game. He also has dominant footsie tools. I think at the highest level pokes become used even less because characters with exceptional normals will just block and counter with a full string on reaction. Having a 10 frame low to counter pokes, and mixing into 213 when your neutral can starve a few characters up close. Plus you can't even punish him with crossovers usually. Not to mention liu already has great pushback setups and decent mixups. He also has arguably the best aa jab in the game and it's stupidly hard to punish him on whiff. He has a very good neutral.
Baraka: 7-3: low fireball, f12 and Luis overall game shuts down Barakas very underrated blade charge spacing game and trade game. Baraka has a lot of solid mus where he can play his game, this isn't one
Cage: 5-5: liu kang controls neutral game and out footsies cage. It's hard for cage, but liu struggles up close. Player 1 adv is giant in this matchup because it determines whether Luis 8 frame 2 will interrupt even cages 11. If not you have to occasionally d3 or try to read a 11 and whiff it. But having an 8 frame jab camps force cage to poke. Honestly I do not believe thus mu to be bad for liu. Perhaps the opposite, I main both.
Cyber sub: 7-3, f-12 punishes dive kick, iafb and low fbs control neutral, low is good for checking parries, and poke game liu wins. The smoking gun for cyber is op knockdown stuff. I'm
Cyrax: 5-5: liu kang crushes poke game and can punish Cyrax d1 and 2 beats out cyrax 1. Liu also has great recovery and easily out zones Cyrax. But Cyrax does op damage and Luis high hitbox and dealing with Cyrax pressure keeps it tame. Without his broken stuff Cyrax is free but, he has it.
Ermac: 6-4: high fireball is a great tool because of its recovery frames make it hard for tp chars to react and it'll beat out most projectiles. But ermac can still play his annoying air blast game and mid range and Luis high hitbox keep ermac from getting his socks crushed. Luis f12 and up close game seal the deal the and he can flies the gap or zone.
Freddy: 3-7: liu isn't as mobile as johnny, this is a terrible matchup. You can't throw things and ur pressure is your only hope but highest level Freddy is way too good, Freddy can ex claw aa you on reaction to jumping a projectile at full screen and tp forward for 45%. His es ability is to good also. Best projectile game in the world.
Jade: 6-4 minimumI'm presuming Luis normals crush it, but she out zones him due to flow.
Jax: 4-6 player adv. is huge. It determines whether forward 4 or standing 2 wins up close. Jax is too hard to contain and ur high hitbox wrecks you. You can high fireball over gps but jax can trade and fake gopand force you into making guesses and ducking too much. And once jax is it if he's player 1 your done and if not it's still stuff because he has a zillion different setups and safe armor and corner bs.
Kabal: 3.5-6-5: hoesntly this mu is fun and liu kang can out projectile kabal to an extent. The problem is if kabal gets a lifelead it sucks. Between flash parries buzzsaw and kabals always having meter and evading projectiles and murdering up close with ex dash cancels and standing 2s this mu really isn't that close. The more every 1 masters the game the even better kabal is he has everything and has way too many options.
Kano: probably 7-3 high fireballs
Kenshi: 3-7 if kenshis reflect is on point he can just duck mid screen and fuck you over. You're can just cancel pokes I to shoulder, armor and oh slash you to death. You have to guess and get lucky up close and use flying kicks like a maniac to get in. You can mix fireballs I. At diff ranges and make him fish for anti cross ups but it only gets you so far. Kenshi also has amazing offense and his corner game is laughably unfair if needs to regain ground. Kenshi is a beast. You have to get lucky jumping to beat him but a reactionary Kenshi is too good.
Kitana: 6-4-5-5: tbh this is a weaker mu for me. I just think with iafb, and his other fbs kang can Zone her and beat her ass up close. Her crossovers jks are an issue, but when I really think about it he prolly beats her at the highest level.
Kung Lao: 4-6: you need to be quick with you standing 2 and use your fireballs wisely and try to outfootsieing him. But ur high hitbox and all his shenanigans and his op 7 frame standing7 are just too much. 212121 ex tp whiff grab pressure is real. Also bird lao.
Liu: player 1 wins
Mileena: prolly 6-4
Nightwolf: 6.5-3.5: nws only good tool is ex lightning
Noob: 6-4 noibs keepaway isn't good enough to win him this mu. Liu can trade sparingly with the lead and absolutely murders noob up close/ in footsies range.
Quan chi: 7-3 quan has nothing here: he can't do anything but get lucky with stupid runes.
Raiden: 6.5-3.5: the recovery o. High fb forces raiden to guess rather than react. The advance on lius strings make them too hard to punish for high damage on a good tpand raiden can't conpete with lius normals. High level raiden isn't that bad but this mu he doesn't have much. He has to try to react to low fb. I used to main raiden also
Rain: 6.5-3.5: my standing 2, f12, and b312 outclass rains shitty mobility and his good 4 rh. I don't want to see any comments about 4rh crushing d3 because liu never needs to d3 in thus mu. He can blow up 4rh in footies with f12, up close with 2 and whiff punish with 213/b3. You force rain to armor or poke, and rains pokes are bad. Your fireballs control neutral and rains only saving grace is armor which can be jumped backwards against or blocked, and he has a limited supply of it.
Reptile: 6-4: the smoking gun in this mu is punishing ex dash with 213 or ex kick which skillful chris and xarakamaka do fairly consistently. It makes liu dominant up close because reptile has to guess dash and ex dash is his 1 safe option. Because it kills reptiles options. High fbs at 3/4 screen severely limit reptile because the fast recovery stops him from trading. Low fbs can limit reps mobility also. More often than nit reptile isn't going to get his zoning started. Reptile has a great game once it gets going, he can really maintain pressure in the neutral and on knockdown if it gets going. and may e if a reptile consistently dashes under high fb it can change the mu. I just find liu can abuse up close and certain ranges.
Scorpion: 6-4
Sektor: 5-5: sektor out zones liu and is super competitive up close. The footsies game and crossover jks are tough for liu to deal with. Also sektor loves high hitbox es. Could be 4-6, probably is,
Shang tsung : 6-4 / 5-5 fireball game at diff ranges can really disrupt Shang.kang also wins footsies Player 1 is big because if liu has it he can beat out double f3 up skulls. But if Shang gas it double knees are good a and in soul steal double 213s win. Shang has to cancel pokes into armor sometimes if liu is pressuring because liu can beat out knees with 213 and counter d3s well. Liu wins footsies with f12. This could be 5-5 because of ss. Because liu mirrors come down to low fb trades and SS shang wins those. Also soul steal can force you to jump guess. I do think lu outclasses Shang up close and can win the neutral a certain ranges. If Shang gets his fb game started started he can control things. Possible 5-5 but I give it to liu. Doesn't mean I'd beat cowboy In his prime.
Sheeva idk kang wins
Snidely: 5-5?? I know liu has better up close tools, but she definitely wins the neutral and is super slippery and has some stuff. Liu can scarp some trades together but idk this
Skarlet: 5-5/4-6: kang can work in the fireball but the fact that slide is -3 and kang has a high hitbox makes me uncomfortable here. It's a really hard one to judge for me because who the fuck mastered skarlet. She's got some crazy bs and some really annoying stuff. Maybe liu wins I can't remember if he outzones her
Smoke: 5-5: I know some people who think liu wins this. Liu can blow up d1 smoke bombwith b3 but it has to be a read. Liu has better footsies and pressure and can sprinkle in the occasional iAfb. Smoke struggles up close but I find his harssment/pick and pop and damage to definitely even this out. It's similar to smoke cage (which I think is 6-4 cage now) but lius pressure isn't as good as cage and his dash isn't as good for advancing.
Sonya:3.5-6.5: Sonyas ex cartwheel being -3.and down 4 and ia dive kick are way too threatening. It's also a pain in the has to zone her out plus her 7frame jab is an excellent tool. You can scarp together some runaway and footsies but anyone without the op zoning gets destroyed by Sonya. Maybe outside of kitana but I bet she beats her idk that one.
Stryker can gun cancel, all he can do is fish for armored rolls and deep jump kicks. He has no offense.nits probably 8-2
Sub zero: 6-4 liu hates the corner and that annoying ass 8 frame d4 but he has a goid enough fireball game.
That's it guys I'm pretty confident about 80% of these and feel liu is a very strong character whom only struggles with the op ones.
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