MKXL - Question Time - Why is Smoke the best Triborg?

[@irina1296]

I love Sektor and Smoke the most. For me, they are equally great but Smoke is much more unpredictable and that makes him the most dangerous cyborg. Great video dear!

[@francesthemutes]

You guys offer such a masterclass of education. Thank you so much for taking the time to do all of these videos.

[@PNDKM]

Thanks for watching :)

[@ryanlott1108]

Hey k&m thanks! I'm a smoke player trying to step up my game and be more competitive, always happy to get more insight from high level players, especially post patch! already loving this new series, great way to start it off :)

[@Grumptr0nix]

Great video and awesome commentary. Well done Ketchup.

[@PNDKM]

Glad you enjoyed it mate!

[@macmomazz]

well being that its smoke. i love the video. he's been my favorite sense way back when. but the concept and the foundation of it is awesome. keep it up

[@NotCarpeDM]

I can already tell I'm going to enjoy this series. Awesome job K&M.

[@shwickid222]

awesome. hyped about this new series. plus you guys are the best. long time fan. hope you guys commentate soon!!!

[@ShadyLizack]

agree smoke has all the tools and crazy mix ups

[@icecoldtruth3478]

Can you make a video on command grabs? I can never remember which are highs, mids, or overheads.

[@freerf2459]

Huh? none of the above. Its a grab, jump it.

[@icecoldtruth3478]

Freerf245 I like to neutral duck grabs for the quicker punish, so I want to find out who I can duck against and who I need to jump against

[@rodrigoribeirodeazevedo9238]

Freerf245 But Erron Black's and Subzero command grab can be neutral ducked

[@SJisafascist]

You can go into training mode and test them yourself, just tell the AI to crouch and go from there, although that will trip you up on Ravenous Mileena's command grab since it actually requires the opponent to crouch. I don't think there are any overhead command grabs though, if it's labelled as "overhead" then it would be a striking hit not a command grab - like Brawler Cassie's bf3. Unless that changed, I used to know these things better. I know it seems tedious to go into training mode to find all this stuff, but learning firsthand is often better for the memory than someone else telling you.

[@SJisafascist]

Freerf245 Just because something is labelled as a "throw" doesn't mean it can't be neutral crouched, it just means it can't be blocked. Some command grabs have "high" hitboxes so you can just duck the grab then punish the attempt.

[@Rhy2412TitanGamer]

Being one of the only characters in MKX with an *invincible* reversal put him in mid-tier in my book because it opens up a whole new mindgame. Then, looking at his godlike mids puts him high-tier. His 50/50's with mids that confirm into 25%+ damage and into a re-stand makes him upper high-tier. Add in tracking projectiles that control grounded opponents and a tracking overhead tele, with both leading into re-stands and he's top high-tier. The removal of armored launchers and stamina nerfs improved his amazing neutral.

[@TerryKristopher3707]

Yeah he is pretty dope! I play a lot more of him now since BG Kotal just doesn't feel the same and isn't as fun to play as after this patch. It's nice having a good mix-up game coming from a character with a super limited one.

[@INauseaI]

Beautiful stuff as always lads!

[@andrewrogers6197]

Still not as good a Noob-Smoke.

[@jusbertmeza4424]

Andrew Rogers that was so OP back in the day

[@andrewrogers6197]

Jusbert Meza Good times...

[@evilpeti]

Great commentary, Ketchup! The MK Kommunity is forever in your debt!

[@-Lizardology-]

Excellent, excellent video guys 😌 Keep up the works.

[@sdstig]

I thought Smoke was ridiculous before this patch. Just not as obvious as those like Acidic Alien or Piercing Mileena were. This new patch has just catered to his game plan even more. Glad I started picking him up before that! Now if only I was competent at the game in general FeelsBadMan

[@PNDKM]

Game footage is taken from Socal Regionals 2016. You can find their twitch over at www.twitch.tv/leveluplive

[@just_2swift]

question. is csz a bad character?

[@SkullcutTutorials]

+just_2swift Cyber Sub lacks damage and good mids he can combo off. He relies on good spacing and htbs. Although I'd say every character is viable in the right hands, but perhaps not competitively.

[@zadornov128]

just_2swift Mid-low tier with quite low damage and htb as his only good tool (IMHO)

[@just_2swift]

I agree but is he really as bad as ppl say?

[@Bogdaman2]

Nice video, thanks, interesting thoughts. It would be interesting to see Kano with his controversial styles and Cutthroat as a topic of similar video.

[@razorfgc]

i see some comments on sektor being stronger, now i feel like sektor and smoke are both high mid tier since the meta has changed so much and footsies and whiff punishing and zoning is much more viable in this meta, sektor and smoke i feel are 2 completely different characters with different playstyles, smoke has pretty good pressure especially in the corner and has very good gap closers with b21 and f3 while on the other hand sektor is a very good zoner with good damage that can push them back to full screen and keep zoning so imo i dont think u can compare the 2 since they play so different from each other. Both sektor and smoke are very good picks in certain situations and neither of them will have an absolute advantage over the other

[@PNDKM]

You can definitely compare Sektor and Smoke IMO. Like I said, there are a small handful of similarities all the Borgs share, which is why the comparison is made. Smoke is a lot more well rounded. Although Sektor is also very very good. Smoke is a more viable pick in more situations. The game changes helped him the most and further exaggerated what he was already good at. I know you could say the same for Sektor, but smoke is all about great neutral, godlike mids and good mix. All 3 things you need to be strong in MKX.

[@razorfgc]

id like to know why people dont address f2 of triborg alot, its a 10 frame mid which all triborgs except csz have, i know its not a true mid but neither is f4 so i think when people keep saying that triborg has no mids other than smoke is very over exaggerated since f2 is a very good option for baiting pokes and getting full combos of it. and sektors gamestyle just feels so different from smokes that i feel like there are many situations where sektor would be a much better pick than smoke since there are ways to negate smokes ex phase when hes grounded and tries to wake up with it

[@PNDKM]

F2 being one of the easiest mids to low profile in the game is a big deal. It's not exaggerated, it's genuinely a big issue for the Borgs that aren't smoke. Like I said in the video, it's ntoi as bad for sektor, because at least f212 chases down backdashes etc. Plus his zoner heavy style doesn't demand a mid as much as the midscreen game Cyber and Cyrax have. I never mention F4 as a mid because every player should be punishing that by now. It often isn't regarded as a good mid because situations you would normally use a mid, AKA, crushing pokes and people trying to low profile, rarely works and you get punished anyway. Cyber Sub and Cyrax have really bad pokes, so they get it even worse. Although Smoke shares the same pokes, he has amazing mids, so he doesn't need them as much. Also, if you're trying to negate Smokes phase, you're not pressuring him. Which means if he reads you trying to get around it, he wakes up for free with whatever he wants.

[@razorfgc]

PNDK&M you are definitely right about almost everything and yes i would never use f43 but thats not what i meant about negating smokes phase, there is tech that ive seen pros use and players ive played against use to completely negate my phase and still pressure me if i dont phase, i dont want to write a whole paragraph on the tech but i hope we get to play on mkxl pc soon and i can explain it there, i live in the uk so ping will be good :)

[@wyteboimagik]

Smoke's vortex helped me get a flawless round on Shujinkydink's Quan Chi last night. #VortexCarries

[@wyteboimagik]

He still won the match though. :/

[@Ben_Simon_]

Great video ketchup! It's a useful information

[@RedSighted]

Listening to this without understanding the jargon is like hearing another language

[@Ponkster]

Cyrax and CSZ both need a mid string. One day i hope to have you make "what makes cyrax strong" video.

[@cardoo2323]

I always thought Sektor had the biggest edge of all the 4 Triborgs, and thought that due to the new meta, his strengths increased, but now I see how wrong I was. Thanks for this video, Ketchup, and for the ones that will come answering to questions. Here's one I'd like to ask: Which is Jax's strongest variation now that Heavy Weapons got destroyed? And how much run cancel characters in general got affected to the stamina changes?

[@PNDKM]

Sektor is still a sick character! Could totally be top 10 for sure post patch. I think the best Jax variation could be Wrestler. The removal of his dash punch armour means his Command Grab is super important.

[@cardoo2323]

PNDK&M Thanks! I recieved opinions from Killtron, Dab and Tyrant on this topic as Jax players, but I wanted an opinion from a neutral POV, from you as an overall game speciallist

[@PNDKM]

I'd trust their opinion on Jax over ours though for sure. Mustard and I don't use him!

[@oldsmk8745]

Great video guys

[@jakobmann1497]

I find it kind of weird that they decided to give smoke his tele-mids AND more options of his f4 while letting csz without any decent mid option.

[@BlewDew]

Jakob Mann Tbh smokes f4 strings should be universal. I don't get why everyone has f43 but not f4d12 which is a nice meterless hitconfirmable launcher

[@PrimeKeroHS]

OdaCova because this is a unique smoke string from previous MKs. Although it would be a great buff for the other variants to give it to them, it's a very iconic Smoke string, I don't think there was ever a chance of them getting it.

[@BlewDew]

PrimeKero they could make Different f4 strings for every borg. Not gonna Happen though. Cyber sub is solid but an other mid than f43 would've been great

[@BasicStupidity]

Great video this seems like it could be a great series but make sure to state the real weaknesses of these characters.

[@Wladislav]

Great idea for a series!

[@brandongarrett8933]

Beast vid can you please do more like this ?

[@PNDKM]

That's the plan!

[@MartynJamieson9]

I think Smoke is an amazing variation and fun to play, i actually like all Trigborg variations. I actually had some very interesting matches online on PS4 last night, I was playing against a very good MKXL player called Brocken32, he was far better than me :) I discovered that Cyrax is actually good character to use against Kano, his net is very good at interecepting his Kano ball from which you can follow up with Cyrax's jumping throw and combo from there, admittedly i lost quite a few matches not being that great using Cyrax (Cyrax and Sektor have always been my favorite cyborgs, i like to use Cyrax despite his weaknesses in comparison to say Sektor and Smoke and even Cyber Sub) but when we had chacter switch i started to use Kano and he chose Cyrax and started using some of the same tactics i had used against him lol so it was interesting how he picked up what i had been doing and worked out and he easily perfected my techniques to defeat me as Kano :) Even though i lost alot it was still fun matches to play, shame i forgot to save an share them as they were some of the best n fun matches i had in some time

[@ScarsUnseen24]

F4D1 should be a universal variation string. Aaarrrggghhh.

[@PNDKM]

Cyrax needs it for sure. I'd be fine with CSZ and Cyrax getting that and Smoke just keeping the launching ender. It'd be pretty amazing if Cyber Sub had the launcher too though. It'd be nice for him to be able to actually use B12+4, as right now there is literally no reason to ever do it haha. He'd be able to end a juggle with it to restand into a mixup :(

[@zeemangena2566]

PLEASE DO A LIU KANG VIDEO!! The strengths and weaknesses of each variation. Which match ups each variation might favour.

[@kingsk0133]

Zee Mangena Liu kang wins every single match up xD

[@Mrvolcomstar]

Strong mids are needed to be a strong character. RIP Kotal

[@kingsk0133]

kotal still has the 13 frame mid though...erron black is the worst when it comes to mids lmao

[@iamnum55]

Great video guys. Would you be doing this for every character or just the ones that people asked?

[@v.mvarga4979]

Are you going to do a Smoke ranked Ketchup?

[@Stubborngang23]

smoke life all day

[@luivela4395]

Ketchup, does overhead into smoke bomb connects sometimes mid screen? i swear when i play Kano and i'm facing a smoke, they can do it!! or am i missing something?

[@PNDKM]

It depends on how you get hit. Off the top of my head, I THINK it's if you get hit by b1 while standing, smoke bomb meterlessly connects, but if you're blocking low smoke bomb won't link. It could be the other way round, but it's something along those lines.

[@kenshin391]

Ketchup do you think the patch was a good choice for the game or do you think it was before besides the nerf of characters

[@PNDKM]

What Question do you guys have about the game?

[@jakobmann1497]

PNDK&M Why don't we see more infrared-inferno-scorpion-sky temple tech?

[@Wladislav]

Why is Lasher Takeda so weak while his other two variations are fine? P.S. And why is Sun God Kotal unquestionably the greatest character in the game?

[@justinwheeler2179]

PNDK&M love the vids and subbed! Q:how can I get out of a vortex with Jax's 111 combo

[@DanielWhoCooks]

PNDK&M could you guys do one of these on Ermac?

[@PNDKM]

Because most humans are not that evil

[@alexkahnum3529]

Is Ravenous now Mileena's best variation? (I've mained it since I got the game so I want to know XD)

[@jangaman7823]

cant tell because piercing is footsies. ravenous is pressure. ethereal is mix ups. so depends on the situation. mileenas grab moves in ravenous are good tho. 1 overhead and the other -2 or -3 on block for great block pressure

[@hypnobearcoup2505]

Maybe do one on gm sub? I'm having trouble getting a refreeze on a corner clone shatter for female hitboxes. On males I just do d1 to clone after the shatter for the refreeze.

[@AtomFA]

1 bar armor launchers were removed but they forgot 1 bar invulnerables i guess ok

[@pvtjhon]

Cyrax is the best triborg because I have fun with him. Good video.

[@Pio19134]

This video was great and very informative I guess what I like to see if you can is make videos of who got the top buffs to make them forces to be reckon with on mkxl now. Or how is still strong even after the buffs for example I hear that Kang is still good just like Smoke.

[@vikster420]

Great vid 👌🏾

[@IDankLobster]

How to get out of a tick throw from relentless

[@misterperson331]

TrueLegend jump

[@jusbertmeza4424]

TrueLegend you can jump or duck... his tick throws are highs you can duck them

[@maradonica10]

keep up the good work people

[@POOFWSURE]

Can you make a video about who got nerfed and buffed the most and how these changes affected the character?

[@Hyperkill101]

As someone who's becoming a Cyber-Sub main , I see him as a weak pick , and really frustrating to be putting a lot of effort into him when other characters can do more with way less effort . Hands down , Cyber-Sub is the weakest between all the triborgs imo

[@ChillWithMe_musics]

Smoke is strong because he is not affected by the reversal nerf. He still has a safe "reversal" with EX smokeaway, which is also a guaranteed way out of the corner, and unpunishable. Most importantly, it leads into 25%ish meterless damage and restand with guaranteed 50/50. He is completely like a pre-nerf character, while the whole cast has been universally nerfed to the ground.

[@jangaman7823]

nerfed to the ground isnt a good statement. some char just dont have the tools to backup the changes which were made. and which made them so called nerfed

[@princeali9129]

Is reptile considered mid tier now?

[@PNDKM]

I feel with Reptile it's too early to tell. He's always been a slow burner character that's always decent, but not really talked about or used much.

[@OahuKanaka]

Do a video on Kotal next please. He's my main, and I want to know your thoughts on his changes; were they justified?

[@TerryKristopher3707]

As a fellow Kotal main, I second this! I think they were super shitty changes. He is honestly no where near as fun to play as now. Also where in the hell did that BG obsidian totem nerf come from? That change simply reverted it back to the damage totem being the only real choice again. Before this came out I thought they might buff the blood totem to actually steal meter on par with some of the other characters meter drain moves, but no. Must be all the BG Kotal mains winning a bunch of tournaments, oh wait that's not the case. Mazdin is the only pro player to do anything with BG and he didn't even think about playing him after these nerfs at SCR.

[@flerphead]

MK Kunzy ofcourse it was justified, you've been spoiled by having a 9frame hitcomfirmable advanceing safe stagger and pressure mid. You had a button for all situations built in auto footsies. Sorry you can't autopilot anymore. He's still God b1 is still good. And the totem is still good.

[@TerryKristopher3707]

Kotal has almost no mix-ups whatsoever. The only kinda mix-up he had was B122 and B14 and the B1 change killed that and the stagger pressure that came along with it. Having 2 great mids made up for his almost non-existent mix-up game. Kotal also doesn't have that may combo strings so with these changes you basically only use D1, D4, F1, F12 and F1B2. He is so boring to play as now. BG was so much more fun before this patch.

[@flerphead]

MK Kunzy Yeah sorry you have to play footsies now, and not mash b1

[@TerryKristopher3707]

Yeah I guess your right. B1 mash really made Kotal god tier. The neutral and footsies are not my big gripe with this change. I can tell I'm not going to convince you of anything, so I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

[@mrmeeseeks8557]

Smokes good because of me.

[@kenshin391]

Can you do one on Kano cybernetic?

[@noelara5978]

Thanks Ketchup.... for ruining ranked for everyone. Now we will see non-stop smokes... :-P. Hahah just messing, great video and breakdown. Always great content!

[@EJayMD-11]

Great video.

[@SerbianSpark19]

I love smoke i am currently trying to learn how to use him in mkxl

[@kanasas2]

i want to know how to be more effective with kano commando

[@NajarinPrime]

Hey ketchup check out how sonicfox deals with shinobi's smoke in top 16. He jumps the forward 1+ 3before the smoke ball and it looks like neutral crouches the back 2+1 after the first block

[@zangilius]

What is Gaps in the game?

[@zangilius]

***** oh Thanks)

[@jangaman7823]

its before the 4 so 21gap4. little mistake but yeah it means its not guaranteed and can be reversald by backdash and special moves(not necessarily armored)

[@mandalorianhunter1]

Now he is considered the best, do you think so?

[@sirEthereal]

Oh shit a tournament Sonicfox didn't win

[@jangaman7823]

can you guys do a df liu kang vid? what is good and what he lacks. like: no 10f low(i dont count f4 because it is unsafe and gets u rekt on whiff) oyea and his version of dash cancel no run required.

[@kingsk0133]

he's still top tier imo...same with ff

[@wearenotundone]

can you do a video about mk9 smoke?

[@simosan22]

Yeah but.....how do you fight against him? Each time i make a mistake, i lose 35% and i get put into the same question again, overhead, low or throw?

[@Something37891]

I have to just say I'm pretty salty about Kotal nerfs... B1 into a high and overhead sword for war God no longer having armor. Omg.... What were they thinking...

[@Mookie819]

Cowvineify I second this lol

[@s-boy4613]

Cowvineify 9 frame advancing mid with good range and led to a lot of damage and a 50/50 in war god was pretty stupid honestly. It had to go. Armoured launchers removal was a change that EVERYONE got. It would've bern unfair if Kotal kept his.

[@iitz_Ifrit]

Cowvineify Get over it and use Sun God

[@okvngel]

I'm okay with the armored launcher removals. I'm just not okay with b1 being a high but I've learned to deal with it and found other ways to pressure, who cares about war god tho I play blood god.

[@kingsk0133]

lmao war god is still very good though. also back 1 was broken before.9 frame far reaching mid that led to a 50 50....that's just stupid

[@kanasas2]

ahhh tht dead pool music love it

[@Apocalypse754]

triborg, my main

[@ghostsnipertrue]

Love your videos, very professional. I prefer watching K&M with sector or cyrax; smoke combos bore me for some reason.

[@Alessandro-jc8vd]

I have mained smoke for a while and I'm sad about the the vortex being destroyed again but overall smoke got better and I feel u can use him again ok sweats instead of War God Kotal Kahn

[@Alessandro-jc8vd]

I instead of u in the middle btw

[@wanyekest6392]

Smoke is really good but I hate the way people use him. Now wen I play against him online. All people do is back 2, 1 and u can't really punish it. And it works from full screen so it's really annoying

[@kingsk0133]

lmao i've only played against smokes who do F34 into uppercut and just throw out overhead teleports...never played a good smoke

[@c.m3162]

Kingsk01 play me;) I don't play like that :p

[@vaper8824]

C. M same

[@LiloRolland]

its unfortunate that netherrealms favouritism gave cyber sub the shorer end of the stick

[@arafatzahan3697]

MKXL - Question Time - Why is Lackey the worst MKXL character/variation?

[@kingsk0133]

Arafat Zahan you and your profile pic again lmao

[@andrewcastellano77]

U should do a video like this for cutthroat Kano

[@RPDthe3rd]

A friend of mine thinks Sektor wins this matchup. I don't necessarily agree. I think Smoke has the tools to deal with the zoning and can easily escape his adequate pressure.

[@BlackChapters]

so who the weakest, Cyrax or Cyber-Liang?

[@section4344]

Cyrax can be very powerful, same with Cyber Sub, you just have to take into consideration that they don't have any good mids, they are more high risk, high reward characters.

[@freerf2459]

up to opinon. I think Cyrax personally but youll get different answers

[@kenjaku_]

Before cyrax nerfed hardcore it was cyrax

[@FelRxz]

Sick memes

[@Anonymous27x]

Is this still true?

[@kingsk0133]

yeah, mkx had its final patch in october 2016 so no more changes

[@tortasinfladas]

My question is Why the people talk so professional in mk I just think the best combos are stronger

[@DeAssassin345]

Nawww i think sektor is the best triborg, i also use smoke and usually will select sektor to take him out, smoke is heavily momentum based so if u try to defend he will hurt u, easily the best way to beat him is to bait him and pressure him.

[@jameslarkin3859]

i actually consider sektor the strongest

[@adamhenderson8690]

vanasco la porta smoke is definitely stronger

[@Tevron_]

smoke

[@luisherrera1039]

he should of gotten nerfed not kotal kahn

[@TerryKristopher3707]

The Kahn nerfs sucked ass. I honestly did not see those coming. Kotal and Smoke are my to main characters and I've been playing a lot more smoke lately.

[@mike_384]

I guess but I shut down smoke bad.

[@godofwar7153]

sonicfox thinks sektor is better than smoke

[@Topsietegames]

I know is the best triborg but i use SEKTOR xD

[@lewinski8147]

AUTO PILOOOTTTTTT

[@williamcatalan4029]

maybe the best triborg but not the best in character in game

[@KicksAndFits]

william catalan no one said that lol

[@espionage69979]

Yeah you stupid fuck , it didn't say that

[@firesonicicefox7976]

Да Соник сам затупил - нахера он после 2-ух проигрышей выбрал опять Саба! Выбрал бы другого кем он играет лучше - тем же Эрррном, мог бы выиграть. А лучше после первого боя надо было менять персонажа.

[@chinarajohnson9538]

lol still think sektor is the best purely because...... the way you play him-_-:)

[@Cloroxxbleach]

too much nerd talk i cant take it gahhhh