Strategy Trouble against rushdown characters.

[iWumbo]

Hey guys, I'm new here, but definitely not new to MK9.

Anyway, being a Sub-Zero main, I have all his combos down packed, execution is no longer a problem for me. The problem lies within match-ups.

I play online a lot, and I don't usually have problems, unless the person is extremely skilled with certain rushdown techniques. For instance, a good Kung Lao or a crazy Liu Kang just zip right up to me and start doing a million block chains until i finally get hit, which is where they start to combo the lights out of me.

Now I know Sub is all about zoning, and preventing people from approaching and whatnot, but for some reason I just can't prevent characters like that from anally raping me.
Don't get me wrong, if it's just a decent player, i'll completely demolish them...but if the player is very skilled, I get Flawlessed.
Any help available?

 

[LordSpectreX]

I only use Sub Zero as a minor sub, but rushdown characters should be his best matchups. Try doing ice clone more?

 

[Hudathan]

You can't really live off zoning with Sub in this game. Ice blast isn't reliable to trade against projectiles or to keep someone out. Ice clone is good for spacing but also suffers against teleports. The best thing you can do for Sub is to have a strong game up close, to be good at linking mix-ups and ice blasts off his 22 chain, and to force aggressive zoning with safe placement of ice clones off certain set ups. That way, you can maintain a safe level of aggression while rushing down the zoners and have a better sense for predicting the actions of teleporters.

 

[Loot]

Liu's Fireball can counter and break your clone on reaction so you can really only safely use it as a cancel from a d1 or 224 block string. Clone is generally safe against Kung due to his very slow teleport, however I believe his Ground Hat can do the same as Fireball and break it during the active frames.

 

[iWumbo]

I guess that makes sense. I mean I just feel like once they get in close to me, and they start doing block strings, im just sitting there blocking for hours, knowing that eventually i'm gonna lose. There has to be a way to get that kinda pressure out of your face, I'm just not aware of it.

 

[Hudathan]

I guess that makes sense. I mean I just feel like once they get in close to me, and they start doing block strings, im just sitting there blocking for hours, knowing that eventually i'm gonna lose. There has to be a way to get that kinda pressure out of your face, I'm just not aware of it.

That's just a general issue with this game and gets better as one becomes more accustomed to the mechanics. A lot of it has to do with putting the opponent on the defensive first or to correctly punish the opponent's attempts to do the same. It's a game where if you allowed the opponent to jump in successfully, you've already screwed up and now must deal with the pressure as a result of not poking them out of it.

 

[iWumbo]

That's just a general issue with this game and gets better as one becomes more accustomed to the mechanics. A lot of it has to do with putting the opponent on the defensive first or to correctly punish the opponent's attempts to do the same. It's a game where if you allowed the opponent to jump in successfully, you've already screwed up and now must deal with the pressure as a result of not poking them out of it.

Very true, I guess I'll just see where time takes me. Realizing that playing with Sub-Zero is just as much preventive movements as anything else is something that has to be done by studying the other guy, and apparently I'm not there yet.
Thanks for the help, peeps, TYM definitely deserves a spot on my bookmarks bar lol.

 

[CASPER087]

sub is one of the biggest rushdown characters in the game. besides lao everytime i face sub its nothing but dashes to get close but i check him with ermac and let him know to back off lol

 

[iWumbo]

sub is one of the biggest rushdown characters in the game. besides lao everytime i face sub its nothing but dashes to get close but i check him with ermac and let him know to back off lol

Mmmm sorry bud, but if you're using Sub-Zero as a rushdown character, then you're not using him for what he's meant to do. Think about it, how can he be rushdown when he's the anti-rushdown?

 

[Hudathan]

Mmmm sorry bud, but if you're using Sub-Zero as a rushdown character, then you're not using him for what he's meant to do. Think about it, how can he be rushdown when he's the anti-rushdown?

Sub really lives in a space in between both zoning and offense. He can keep someone out with the ice clone but doesn't have a damaging projectile to discourage a patient player from simply waiting out the clone, or worse turn it into a fireball fight against his relatively slow ice blast that doesn't chip on block.

Ice clone is very effective at making someone play passive, but only when you use it at certain times in certain setups or you risk trading with fast projectiles and lose your best tool. In my experience Sub is best when he combines a strong offense with the clone to discourage the opponent from trying to pressure him first via jump-in's, and once he gets close he applies some safe block strings and cancel into the clone in their face so the opponent is even more limited. The only way most characters can move is backward, and teleports can then be read and dealt with appropriately.

The moral of the story is, the clone by itself is not a threat and you will lose many match ups trying to play Sub that way. Like others have said, Sub really needs to do more than just spamming his specials in order to make it all work, he's just not that kind of character but once you spend some time with him his strengths will reveal themselves to you.