Mortal Kombat 1/Kenshi/Synergy

• Stryker
• Frost
• Sub-Zero
• Mavado
• Cyrax

Synergy Overview/Guide

• Stryker (-50 HP)

- “Low Grenade Toss” (B+K) allows Kenshi to easily confirm into Sento on both hit and block when setup in certain strings (i.e. s141 High/Low) and can also break armor due to its two hits, giving Kenshi a safe way to guarantee Sento in neutral, blockstrings, and also in kombos; grenade confirms directly into Sento with proper timing also allows Kenshi to execute “sandwich” setups by letting him continue his kombo from the grenades’ hitstun with an attack from Sento and ending the kombo with DB4 Teamwork

- “High Grenade Toss” (F+K) can also help cover Kenshi from longer ranges with Mid projectiles to make up for his lack of zoning tools and help him play the neutral more effectively; they cover a fair amount of airspace to prevent opponents from jumping, provide block advantage, and will launch the opponent on hit allowing Kenshi to convert into long-reaching normals/specials

- “Lethal Takedown” (K) and “Kop Bop” (U+K) jail when used as Summon Cancels after s14 and B2 with the latter also being gapless after 141 and s21, which can allow Kenshi to use the +1 Low and +6 Overhead (respectively) to create 50/50 mixups that will keep him at the advantage on block and knockdown on hit; “Kuffed” (D+K) also jails after each of these normals/strings and is +2 on block while restanding the opponent on hit

• Frost

- “Ice Wall” (D+K) Ambush cancelled into “Ice Krash” (K) with proper timing during (141>DB1) will jail the opponent which allows Kenshi to successfully summon Sento even on block in this sequence, while a successful wall-break launch on hit allows Kenshi to extend the kombo with an attack from Sento and/or create “sandwich” setups; the full gauge cost matters little due to the Sento summon replacing the Kameo Gauge with a full “Sento timer”

- “Ice Karpet” (F+K) allows Kenshi to hit-confirm most abilities into a freeze state of stun with a fast fullscreen Low that covers the ground, giving him enough time to call Sento and quickly link into a kombo; this can create mindgames after s21 or B2 which are special-cancellable but only usually have Overhead enders attached to their strings, allowing Kenshi to throw off his opponent and open them up with a risky Low that kombos directly into Sento on hit

- “Snow Flakes” (B+K) setups at the end of a kombo or knockdown with enough advantage or proper distance created can allow Kenshi to effectively pressure his opponent with his longer-ranged attacks being covered by the slow homing ice orb, which will freeze the opponent allowing Kenshi to call Sento out (and in some cases continue into a full Sento kombo); the startup of this assist can be quickly cancelled by simply double-tapping Down which can allow Kenshi to recover in time to defend himself as well as provide a fast cooldown/recharge rate to replace the potentially slow gauge recharge of a previously-used Kameo assist

• Sub-Zero

- adds +50 HP

- “Iced Out” (F+K) allows Kenshi to easily hit-confirm into a freeze state of stun, giving him enough time to call Sento and link into a kombo; this assist has very generous midrange reach allowing for easier confirms from his longer-range normals, as well as a decent hitbox allowing it to connect in more varying situations (i.e. being called on reaction as an anti-air to grant Kenshi kombo conversions or cross-under “Sento sandwich” setups)

- “Arctic Armor” (K) Ambush provides Kenshi with projectile-invulnerability and can be used even while holding block, protecting Kenshi from being zoned out at farther distances; this assist can also pair well with his DF1 Ancestral Guard special, which destroys incoming projectiles as Kenshi advances in on the opponent

• Mavado (-50 HP)

- “Nindrop” (U+K) and “Best Feet Forward” (F+K) can be inputted after Kenshi lands successful meterless launches to extend the juggle kombo and give Kenshi enough time to summon Sento on hit, allowing him to convert the kombo into a DB4 Teamwork ender and guarantee a sandwich setup from any juggle kombo; these assists also give Kenshi a way to convert launches or other airborne states into a juggle kombo when he is stuck in Sento without the spirit, such as from his B2 Overhead or his Low-hitting strings

- “Trap Drop” (K) Ambush gives Kenshi an easy kombo from his Back Throw by inputting the trap as soon as Kenshi stabs his sword downward to hit the opponent during the animation— whereas many Kameos cannot connect an Ambush during his throw due to the opponent’s grounded state, and the few assists with this capability still cause Kenshi to fall out backwards from the animation interruption, timing the trap correctly will not knock Kenshi down and will stand the opponent back up with a crumple stun guaranteeing him enough time to summon Sento and connect a kombo into his DB4 “sandwich” ender; the stun from Trap Drop can also give a Kenshi stuck in Sento without spirit time to exit the stance and then resummon Sento (before continuing into a full follow-up kombo with the sandwich setup)

- “Nomad’s Touch” (B+K) will jail the opponent on block when cancelled into from certain attacks commonly used by Kenshi (i.e. 14/141, s21, B2, F22) and leave him +9 or +10 allowing him to effectively pressure the opponent without needing Sento spirit out; Kenshi also has select normals/strings he can jail into (B+K) from while in Sento stance without the spirit, allowing him to remain at an advantage on block and ultimately regain the upper hand to resummon Sento spirit

• Cyrax

- vertical “Kopter Chopper” (K/U+K) Ambush can extend juggles allowing Sento to be called out mid-kombo, and can also be used when he is stuck in Sento without spirit to convert certain attacks that trigger an airborne state (i.e. his B2 Overhead or Low-hitting strings); although it can no longer be used to get Sento out on block, the horizontal version of “Kopter Chopper” (hold K) can still be effective at pressuring opponents when used in blockstrings due to its multiple hits, chip damage, and pushback advantage

- Forward Throw grants Kenshi a Throw kombo for 2 bars of super meter, which can ultimately allow him to execute a juggle kombo with Cyrax that leads into Sento on hit (or to exit/resummon Sento safely); while in Sento stance without the spirit, his alternate Back Throw can allow for the vertical Kopter to connect when inputted with proper timing after the last hit of the throw

- other tools like “Cyber Net” (B+K) can cause a long-enough stun state on hit allowing for Kenshi to successfully set up and/or convert into Sento while draining the opponent’s meter and limiting their resources for dealing with Sento pressure; “Self Destruct” can also give Kenshi an alternate sort of “puppet-like” tool without needing Sento by allowing him to position Cyrax independently on the screen, even while in blockstun or hitstun, and pressure opponents with the launch bomb (which Cyrax will drop when hit to still detonate)