MORTAL KOMBAT 1 TIER LIST! Best to Worst!

[@Bladekill05]

This must be most accuret tier list possible rightnow. As a Kung Lao main I salute you brother.

[@Mantis1993]

As a Smoke main who wins a lot of online matches, I completely agree. Smoke isn't a good/strong character. It's just that nobody wants to learn the matchup. He's actually one of the easier matchups to learn too, because he's not a strong character.

[@xairaxboss]

Just armor amiright?

[@Mantis1993]

@xairaxboss Yeah, armor is the bane of Smoke's existence. Literally every single string has at least one armorable gap.

[@oldmanfgc]

Yup, I've tried almost every character and it didn't take long to realize he's on the lower end. Fun to play though.

[@JustinKeithD]

There is no "close game" with smoke. If his health is low and he attempts to do any string besides 21 he's dead. Whenever I come across a player who understands that it makes me hate smoke more and more. He literally isn't allowed to do his strings.

[@Mantis1993]

@@oldmanfgc I have 3 other characters that I play regularly. However, I'm loyal to my boy Smoke. I enjoy his cancel-heavy playstyle. It's so satisfying.

[@BBL-Diddyy]

Legit probably the best list I’ve seen. I personally think Johnny is great but actually not at that level. The reason I say this is because I actually enjoy fighting Johnny but the other characters at the top I can’t stand fighting against.

[@fortunefiderikumo]

That's not a good way to judge a character strength lol,I hate fighting sub zero because of constant ice clones but that doesn't mean he isn't shit without Khameleon

[@RBTrell]

@@fortunefiderikumo i think what he saying is johnny isn't really broken compared to the others at the top bc majority u have to guess like crazy, u don't really have to guess with johnny he just has the best norms in the game which makes him good enough to compete with any character

[@small_blue_bird]

You can literally watch Xombat playing Sektor/Lao and see him hit confirm her double hitting low into her teleport repeatedly in online games. In his tutorial for her, he says it is a hit conformable string, but it's tough and takes a lot of practice.

[@NickopzTV]

It's really hard to explain this to a non high level player. It's literally impossible to hit confirm the second hit of the low. Not the first hit into the second hit, that is easy. I'm talking about the second hit alone.

[@small_blue_bird]

​@NickopzTV Bro, stop it. 😂 I'm not soo trash I can't understand the concept of why the second hit of the string wouldn't be hit confirmable, it comes out instantaneously and has a ludicrously fast animation before the 3rd hit of the string comes out. Its a simple misunderstanding on my part. In the video when you said it was impossible to confirm off her double hitting low and later said "you can't go low low cancel" I thought you were referring to both low hits not being feasible to hit confirm. My mistake, I misunderstood what you meant. 👍

[@MastermindRell]

Watched the whole thing and it’s very valid. As a noob main, who originally mained smoke, I don’t think noob belongs there. He suffers in neutral dramatically and characters with forward advancing or long range normals outclass him. He has too many matchup weaknesses to be S tier.

[@Vustazoid]

Noob has some of the best neutral in the game???? He has a good mid a basically safe 50/50 and barely any armor gaps?

[@MastermindRell]

@ as someone who is elder god with him , his neutral is ass. His mid his best bet, but the range is ass compared to others.

[@Vustazoid]

@@MastermindRell I don’t know what elder gods you’re playing against. Clearly the matchmaking is throwing you against Demi gods. However saying noobs range is terrible isn’t really applicable when there are other characters with bad range who are still top. Ie Johnny cage, havik. Literally everything about noob is genuine. He’s easily a low S tier character, his frames are almost all safe his shimmy’s are some of the best in the game and he gets 40 percent off of every touch. Barely any armor gaps. He has the best dive kick in the game. Also has an absolutely retarded amount of kameos that work with him. And I’m pretty sure he has a 6 frame standing 2. So do not try to downplay noob just because you main him and get ur ass kicked. Promise you noob has a lot more that you clearly aren’t seeing

[@Vustazoid]

Forgot to mention as well that almost every character in the top teir doesn’t have great range. Range is not a necessity to be top teir.

[@MastermindRell]

@@Vustazoid I’ll have to disagree my friend. I don’t think he ass but going up against certain matchups with noob is terrible. Characters that have forward advancing moves like shao,Kitana , Scorp etc shreds him. Because of bad matchups make me think he’s not S tier. I’d say he a strong A. I’m not downplaying at all. Just stating he has weaknesses against some characters.

[@vipxv]

One of the best tier lists out there

[@afroperson7762]

Oh shoot, Vipxv 🗿🗿🗿🗿

[@vipxv]

@afroperson7762 yooo what's up

[@DB-bq6zc]

The fact that Scorpion needs ferra to open up effectively says alot about the character. He still needs buff though. Relying on 1 kameo for a good game plan damages the mascot of the series reputation.

[@skull_reviews4964]

A buff, are you high 😂

[@alanlupercio1395]

With the direction this game went i just stopped playing. I still enjoy watching your content on it though.

[@josecuevas7631]

Bro the game is peak wdym

[@MC24DB]

​@josecuevas7631 I enjoy the game but it definitely isn't peak, it has a ton of issues balance wise.

[@NickopzTV]

I really love the game right now. But if you don't I completely understand it, kameos not for everyone.

[@tonirivers12345]

MK1 is amazing

[@IJC52]

@@tonirivers12345 that’s your opinion lol, this game still plays like ass 😂, assist based fighter mk is not the way, I get clipped all the time playing neutral lol

[@Somebody-mn8ip]

I honestly feel like Omni man needs one buff to be a great character. Maybe something like a faster overhead (still negative as all hell but faster) or a command grab.

[@x0nix]

cmd grab

[@isaiahacevedo541]

I think if his jab string didn’t have an armor gap that could be a decent start. Maybe give him an actual projectile or better neutral tools? He isn’t that scary in general compared to other characters. He can be annoying but his offense isn’t that wild he doesn’t have a great way to open you up I think.

[@omrizubary]

God no, I would take a safe overhead over giving an already oppressive character a cmd grab

[@SmushBoi]

His mids and B4 buttons needs to be a 2-3 fasters to make sense with his plus frames. His counter zoning absolutely does not make any sense in the current meta. Viltrumite stance buttons need either a rework or buttons needs to be faster/safer in order to compete with all the zoning in the current meta.

[@Somebody-mn8ip]

@@omrizubary I'm sorry how is Omni man oppressive? All you have to do is turtle up and wait for him to mess up. Also a safe overhead is just stupid because you would be giving him a safe near full screen overhead that can punish projectiles and launch with Mavado

[@The_falsetto]

Ashrah/Mavado pair is cracked, great combo extentions, free combo with her back toss and throwing Mavado's electric trap, ridiculous midscreen damage (nearly 50%) and anti zoning capabilites. I'm an Ashrah main myself so not trying to be player bias or nothing,😅 just underrated.

[@tigopzgaming1141]

Cool to see your still making videos and your channels grown. Keep it up homie 💪

[@MC24DB]

Solid tier list, only thing I would change personally is putting Johnny between Kenshi and Nitara. For Smoke they just need to make his F1 a mid and improve his armour. Buff Smoke

[@Somebody-mn8ip]

@@MC24DB you don't nees to make it a mid but remove the gap in between the first and second hit so he can enforce the plus frames. Remove the gaps in his jab string.

[@MC24DB]

@Somebody-mn8ip it would 100% be better as a mid, Smokes gameplan will not change just by removing the gap, he will still have the same issues with being mashed on, make it a mid and change it from +2 to 0 on block. He would have a starting mid stagger so that changes the mind game over the gap anyway as F12 would then hit mid/mid

[@VaNdlE1000]

homelander is better then Johnny hands down if it wasn’t for how strong his lasers are full screen it would be debatable

[@NickopzTV]

@VaNdlE1000 I don't agree

[@VaNdlE1000]

His mid range/aerial is better, his close range is arguably better…. plus he has full screen presence which Johnny doesn’t without khamleon

[@NickopzTV]

I just don't agree. Go watch my last video on Johnny. And that will explain why I don't agree.

[@RBTrell]

yea idk how he still got johnny number 1 when homelander and nitara throwing out straight 50/50s 😂😂

[@IJC52]

@@VaNdlE1000your wrong no matter the nerfs they give Johnny he will always be the best character because of how broken and unnecessary star power is. He still has a 9 frame mid, the best synergy with all the kameos, and the best buttons in the game. I agree with nick on that he is being downplayed atm for no clear reason. Still has the best parry also btw, he is undeniably the best character in the game and I main havik and I can tell you Johnny beats havik even with all his buffs lmao

[@TheJoker-my2xz]

Pretty good tier but i legit dont believe Johnny is this good anymore. I dont see him anywhere. But no big tournament has really happened since all the new OP chars so he might still be dominant

[@hands-ongaming7180]

Cause homelander. Same reason no one uses kenshi. He’s just better

[@shawnfrost5767]

Hi can you tag the link of the video or the name in which you explain Johnny’s situation? I’m new to this game and I’d love to understand about his concept in depth

[@kanasas2]

Liu synergy with kameo is underrated thats why he's my main. That's how you know he's a complete character.

[@alexanderkirk3126]

18:14 ermac/janet gets you 50% corner combo with 1 bar and one kameo call

[@AmiriHipHop]

Ever thought about making a video on the WORST Kameo For Each Character ? Just go through the roster and give a brief description of "If you play (character) there's absolutely no reason to choose (kameo) as your kameo. They don't help the character in any meaningful way and there are much better options". The ONLY issue with this type of video is that a lot of characters may end up having the same answer. If you end up with 8 people having Darrius as their least helpful Kameo then I get not doing it.

[@isaiahacevedo541]

A lot of them would be with Frost and Darrius. Frost one of the weakest kameos in the game.

[@NickopzTV]

I never thought about that

[@Jspore-ip5rk]

I would put homelander at number 1 in the curreent patch but Johnny being on top doesn't bother me at all.

[@ForourLord95]

Haven't played this since peacemaker dropped. Came back to have another laugh at how they robbed me, even at 50% off.

[@twirlycomet389]

I haven’t touched this game in a solid 6 months and man has the list changed 😭

[@onehandstance]

As a baraka main I'm happy he's good and not a jobber story wise

[@Mexman75]

Shao/Sektor doesn’t have to sacrifice anything. Zoning, full screen fatal, axe forward 2 combos with rockets, restands with flamethrower, makes unsafe strings safe/ can save from being punished

[@KahnzTV]

Sektor gives shao pressure and something of a fullscreen presence. With sektor you lose a lot of damage because missiles scale. Using restand isn’t worth it because any mix you try to enforce is death on block and since you used sektor you can’t use the missile. The missile makes things safe where other characters get plus. The full screen fatal has to be a hard read because for the most part if you try to react you get smacked out of the fatal animation. If you’re having trouble against shao lmk I can help you

[@Mexman75]

@ thanks, I’ve watched your content before we should play a set sometime. I swap characters every season and take them to God if I have time. I ran Shao to God rank last season and Sektor was the Kameo I felt gave me everything I wanted. Started with sub to Motaro to khameleon to Darrius. All were fun but I feel Sektor does everything with little to no negatives. My comment mostly was to say Sektor doesn’t take anything from Shao in my opinion.

[@KahnzTV]

@ okay okay I can rock with that. By no means will I say shao is weak but man where he struggles, he struggles HARD. With sektor some of those struggles are remedied but they’re not fully fixed is all I’m saying

[@Mexman75]

@ Bro tell me about it lol but I don’t think he is as Kameo dependent as the vid suggests. Shoot me message if you ever want to run a set

[@tramerecornelius7569]

25:22 I would say khameleon is by far her best kameo. Plus frames zoning, safety grab combos and mix.

[@marklo6283]

Great tierlist Nick, Lao is back to being garbage now 😂

[@xeas1096]

The Kitana downplay has to stop. Kitana/Ferra is CHEAP.

[@Mr.Nooorthmemphis10]

Kitana/Jax/khameleon even more cheap😂

[@Bmolikeme]

Kitana/Ferra? Lmaooo not really I feel Mileena/Ferra is better

[@MC24DB]

​@@BmolikemeMileena/Ferra isn't cheap, Ferra isn't even in her top 3 khameos.

[@xeas1096]

@@Mr.Nooorthmemphis10 They’re really good picks as well, but Ferra just gives her soo much while solving the biggest issue she has which is opening people up. Like scorpion she has jailing 50/50s with Ferra, a safeish armored launcher, and you’re doing 40 MINIMUM off every touch for no meter ( with meter you’ll get around 45). I’m not even gonna bring up the p & g buff 😮‍💨

[@Mr.Nooorthmemphis10]

@@xeas1096 you're probably right,but when a kitana/Jax has me in the corner it's ggs😂..sub main here btw

[@fortunefiderikumo]

Could you make a short video explaining that Shao-kameo tradeoff and you're right bro they killed Lao, he should be in B, what have they done to my boy😂😂

[@JustinKeithD]

I'm literally in a twitter group of smoke mains, including the best ones, and we're just dying for a crumb of love. Smoke is a scrub killer, plain and simple. Like you stated here...if you just take 3 minutes to lab you'll understand that he literally can't open people up unless they get greedy. If you never upblock this character all he can do is grab. The main problem lies within his vicious vapors move and him not having a hypothetical f3,4 string that would be low to low knockdown. People will always mash or press on his cancels because there's literally nothing to fear about them. There needs to be a reason for people to second guess pressing or not. And without a low,low he has no conditioning tools. Scrubs call him a mix character but he's straight up a strike/throw character.

[@BBL-Diddyy]

@@JustinKeithD when I played smoke I always used lao for the low low and also just the hat setups into overhear or invis. But yea smoke ass

[@MC24DB]

You need to do single hits into cancels as well as strings to mix the timing, Smoke is 100% a mix character, his whole gameplan isn't the cancels, it's the invisible mix. F1 needs to be a mid and his armour improved.

[@JustinKeithD]

@BBL-Diddyy 100% laos hat was perfect for this but lao just doesnt offer enough overall unfortunately.

[@JustinKeithD]

@MC24DB look buddy, I'm not trying to be a dick but what do you think I've been doing? Invis ALWAYS costs a bar and typically needs a kameo to cover. So to get invis off you're always spending two resources and I'm telling you the better players can typically just block any single fucking thing WHILE he's invisible because his low (f3) is too negative on block to adequately stagger. He isn't a mix character. He straight up isn't. You can block low to smoke and react to every single thing he does WITH EASE. Not to mention all of the cancel pressure isn't real. Ill take my turn back with f3,cancel and they'll press on the first one and blow me up. That's because they're conditioned to press when they see the smoke animation because there's nothing to fear. I'm not going to do f3 into bf3 and let it rip HOPING they press just to get a whopping 7%...and if they block...I die. His risk to reward ratio is WAY off. He needs tweaks. I'm not trying to make him top tier...I just want him to have some better tools or less flaws.

[@ThelilMeat28]

@@JustinKeithD use frost makes them have to guess between F32 F3 grab or F3 frost

[@WaveGawd912]

Sub is still bottom 2 imo. No mixups and if you're lucky enough to open up your opponent, you get 28%. Terrible character.

[@adonbanchamek2254]

Hell no, Sub-Kam is so good, high tier team.

[@oldmanfgc]

@@adonbanchamek2254 Agreed, Sub is actually really solid right now, with a few good kameo options to choose from and good MUs against some of the top tiers.

[@mrAPchem]

Sub-Zero does have tools, but he also has exploitable weaknesses that severely hold him back like his string gaps, no full-screen presence without Kameo and a Klone that can be full-combo punished on reaction. This stops him from being the worst character, but he certainly does belong among the worst 10 characters because any character that beats Sub/Kham just beats Sub-Zero period.

[@oldmanfgc]

@@mrAPchem He does have weaknesses, as most characters do, but not enough to hold him back much since most can be overcome or even used to your advantage (bait armor during a gap in your string and klone to armor break them). He has plenty of advantages, many more than disadvantages, and few bad MUs these days with the right kameo pick. If you're sticking just with Kham that might explain why you feel he's among the worst 10 characters.

[@mrAPchem]

@oldmanfgc Not hold him back much? Have you seen the tournament scene - when was the last time a Sub-Zero was even seen being solo-mained anywhere near a Top 8 in an offline event? He has every tool to compete against Joe Blows in KL, but once you start playing him against decent/good players, the fact that damn-near all the strings he has have gaps gets him killed because he can never safely pressure anyone. All he can do is stagger and bait, while always losing his turn in the process. There's a reasin that other characters like Quan, Li Mei and Smoke consistently occupy the lower tiers in this game - their gaps stop them from fully using up-close offense against good players. Not to mention, people use him with Kham because she is his best Kameo, period. She's the only one that has been proven to be battle-tested against the best players in this game, unlike Sonya, who seems to work well enough online, but we have yet to see a tournament in which a Sub/Sonya made it out of pools. And that Khameleon success that Sub had was before she got a dozen nerfs, which all hurt Sub disproportionately. Sub-Zero as a base character is a Bottom 3 character in the game - he requires meter or a Kameo for basic functionality because his lone meterless launcher is 24 frames and just as negative on block, he has no full-screen presence because of his slow Ice Ball, yet he also suffers up close because his primary strings are holier than church ladies on Easter. And his Klone is -43 anytime he does it, which gets him full-combo punished even when used properly against good players. Once he's paired with Kham, he becomes a complete character, but not an actual team like someone like Kitana/Jax or Liu/Lao. People failing to fight the character properly online does not make him good.

[@machspeed3333]

As a Johnny main… Yeah, he could use a nerf Probably his counter or plus frames on combo starters

[@bryanmolina9054]

Still waiting for me as a sub main to be able to use other kameos to be decent. Not bad or trash. Decent. So I’m still stuck.

[@PewPewShootEmUp]

He has like 3 decent ones that ain't bad

[@rohamkhalesi5020]

Do you guys think he will get buffed in the Ghostface update?

[@blockayethe2nd220]

Use cyrax Darius or mavado there u go

[@ArktikaZer0]

@@blockayethe2nd220 cyrax gives no mix and mavado gives no mix as well also Darius is just boring to use and you get no cool combos with him

[@blockayethe2nd220]

@@ArktikaZer0 Darius is so fun every freeze guarantees u a hard to block able launcher. Cyrax and mavado both give u throw combos and an armoured launcher. Cyrax in the corner is great for damage and u can use his bombs for pressure.

[@Tokiyotomare2814]

Smoke has no way to enforce his turn beyond his first f3 so realistically its never smokes turn

[@mjisdabest1760]

Real, as a smoke main i 100% feel this pain, i might just be switching mains now tbh

[@Victo00]

GERAS BOTOM 3 IS CRAZY BUFF MY BOY

[@oldmanfgc]

Watch Grr play in the Blink Respawn tournament. The character has a definite gameplay and isn't bottom 3.

[@IJC52]

@@oldmanfgc he’s not that bad but he’s not amazing, he can still compete and just recently won a tournament thanks grr

[@oldmanfgc]

@@IJC52 Agreed that's he's not amazing. I'd put him as solid mid tier since he has some bad MU -- Scorpion for instance. Watching Grr fight Bandidoz recently in KOTT was rough because Geras's armor suuuuucks.

[@IJC52]

@@oldmanfgc by the end of this games cycle we should have the most busted mk of all time

[@oldmanfgc]

@@IJC52 I mean, as long as everyone is broke and fun, I'm here for it!

[@TheNikolaYo]

As you said sub zero is crwp without kamelion,we need buffs.

[@IJC52]

@@TheNikolaYo he needs more kameo synergy and new strings and a rework on his ice ball, he needs an ice clone buff so that his enhanced regular ice clone is safe.

[@omrizubary]

I disagree, he is fine just takes more effort

[@TheNikolaYo]

@omrizubary He needs buff cuz hos every string has gaps,against players who know the match up he i soo bad,cuz they can punish you on every clone cancel on reaction.

[@Blackoutpb14]

good tier list

[@andrewjohnson8919]

Nick: Lei Mei range is bad Me: What range? When she get some? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Good video sir

[@fabianl5174]

Kameleon is for almost every character just for that I would put sub lower

[@oldmanfgc]

Sub is actually great right now, especially with Sonya, who is probably his best kameo. I'd put him higher, honestly.

[@fortunefiderikumo]

​@oldmanfgc sonya is NOT his best kameo lol,it's Khameleon without a doubt but Sonya's good too

[@oldmanfgc]

@@fortunefiderikumo There's actually very few MUs where I find Khameleon to be his best pick, especially after the nerfs, maybe against Sindel or Quan Chi. But against a character with gaps, like any Ferra user, having a consistent armored launcher is better. And against characters like Havik or Reiko, Janet or Scorpion kameo and meterless Slide conversions makes winning so much easier.

[@NickopzTV]

I still think kham is the best, but I respect your opinion.

[@fabianl5174]

@@oldmanfgc In my opinion is too slow to consider a mixup. Can give more dmg but in very rare cases

[@WaveGawd912]

I wish yall would stop putting Mileena in S tier. She's mid at best. Just stand block and walk backwards. Nothing in her kit has enough range to hit you. Wait for the desperation ball roll, block it, GGs.

[@dannystorey136]

Why do you want to keep the tier list videos shorter? When I can listen to a video, I prefer it to be longer. Idk what the algorithm likes though lol.

[@NickopzTV]

Because a 1hr is just not popular for the algorithm lol and I feel like with tiktok culture, people attention spans are just naturally lower looool

[@carnifex6669]

My boy baraka needs a buff ❤️

[@NickopzTV]

I hope he doesn't get it :)

[@RBTrell]

no way u think liu is over rain and ermac lol

[@ManDyter]

Quan Chi very bottom?? That's why top tiers rage quit against my Quan huh. Seems legit.

[@kangweiyan7012]

Good list, but the new patch is coming😂Maybe Smoke will be up there

[@Vustazoid]

Johnny over sindel/havik/homelander?????? Truly interesting. I agree with ur point that Johnny is top teir. But I think the top two is havik and homelander now. Not homelander Johnny. Good video tho for sure

[@JusticeAngel]

When's the stream?

[@denilsontv6327]

The best tierlist, Johnny is top1 and people dont understand that.

[@jamesinjustice2640]

How nitara move up so much?

[@kle0774]

I use scorpion and scorpion because it’s fun af lol

[@kazeshini7286]

Team is goated so many conversions

[@KoolSocietyFilms]

U were spot on about Kitana , u actually have to kno how to play her she doesn’t carry the user

[@IJC52]

@@KoolSocietyFilmsher mid is honestly really good clips me and a lot of players alot

[@thel1chking]

Kenshi is not high tier . Period . All up to the player .

[@NickopzTV]

LOL

[@Soulman_Reezo]

They gottah rework my Boii Quan man his hit boxes garbage to he had the best animation hands down it’s a struggle playin wit my Boii but we keeping hope alive 😂💯

[@dreski3635]

ong please buff smoke ns

[@StankyTurtleMK]

Buff peacemaker

[@mckickz665]

I won’t take anymore baraka slander! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@NickopzTV]

I'm SORRY IT'S TRUE.

[@TheRed1221]

I feel like cyrax is top 3

[@NinjaSpicoli]

😂 23:03 facts!

[@coytheboyy]

Raiden Darrius is his best team

[@NickopzTV]

@@coytheboyy come fight me with it, show me the power

[@hands-ongaming7180]

@@NickopzTVpeople only say this because Sonic fox said so but when Sonic tried using this team he dropped it in a day after getting smacked by a kenshi

[@shabririiiii]

27:10

[@TheNikolaYo]

Sub-Zero is not an A character,he only seems good against bad player,no one is getting opend by his 50/50s hos mid is too slow,he can only play kamelion,witch sucks,he is decent with her,but still not A.

[@papafranku9975]

#BuffLao

[@LuisLopez.333]

Who’s johnnys best kameo?

[@NickopzTV]

@LuisLopez.333 it's on the video. Look in the corner of the character

[@LuisLopez.333]

@ thanks