Mortal Kombat 1/Shang Tsung/Introduction

Introduction

Scheming Sorcerer

"Shang Tsung grew up in Outworld’s backwaters. Too lazy for hard labor and too shifty for honest work, he eked out a living selling quack cures and fake magic. Though his wares were useless, Shang Tsung’s easy charm always closed the deal. Shang Tsung was resigned to this hardscrabble life. But then one day a mysterious stranger came, promising to make Shang Tsung a powerful sorcerer. Though suspicious of the offer, it was one he couldn’t refuse."

Shang Tsung is a form-based Stance/Mimic character who is able to switch freely between his Young Form (a zoning stance more focused on keepaway with straight fireballs) and his Old Form (which is capable of extended unbreakable kombos from his ground fireballs) by inputting the “Morph” command (Down + Flip Stance) at will during movements; this has a slight startup animation when used in neutral and cannot be performed while in hitstun or knockdown, but will allow him to transition between forms during any attacks and jumps as needed with little restriction. Shang Tsung also retains his klassic ability to transform into the opponent character with Form Stealer (FDB4) (the EX version lasting longer and increasing damage output while transformed), as well as with his Old Form EX DB3 which costs 2 bars of meter but is unbreakable and causes a restand while granting the same properties as EX Form Stealer; he also has the ability to morph into the opponent’s Kameo and “Kopy” one of their moves (DB4), with default Kopy typically granting a weaker version of the stolen assist while the EX Kameo Kopy grants the regular or advanced version of the assist. Both of Shang Tsung’s form stances come with unique pros and cons which require players to switch between them regularly:

The zoning form

Strengths

Weaknesses

Free Form: The ability to switch Forms during combos and pressure allows you to tap into each Form's unique strengths at will, giving you a more open-ended strategy; Solid Zoning: He doesn't need meter to access his multi-hitting fireball; A Decent F4: While not offering as much as Old Form's F4, Young Shang's is still a solid 11f mid whose full string offers a decent knockback to continue playing the range game; Flying Overhead: F3 is a borderline ignorant Overhead on par with Reiko's F2 with the added benefit of hopping over many Lows; opponents cannot afford to keep neutral ducking Young Shang, opening them up to... Great Back Throw: His Back Throw carries the opponent over a great distance and leaves them close enough for Shang to dash in and either attempt a throw again or harass with the aforementioned F3; I'm You, But Stronger: At any time, Shang can use Form Stealer to transform into his opponent, with the Enhanced version giving him a damage buff; this rewards knowledge of the rest of the cast and how they synergize with your Kameo of choice; Khaos Reigns also added a Kameo morph move, giving Shang players even more tools to play with in specific matchups.

Weak Conversion Ability: He needs to either switch to Old Form if he wants to cash out for more damage in combos or settle for pushing people back into zoning range; Poor Offense: Young Form's offense is weaker than Old Form's, with fewer buttons or strings that are useful up close; Duckable Fireballs: A fundamental flaw in Young Shang's zoning is that he has few answers for opponents ducking at range: he has to enhance his fireball or use a Kameo to enforce respect; Poor Kameo Synergy: Shang Tsung lacks a Kameo that synergizes with his entire kit, as the needs of both forms are too disparate to easily cover; this is because... Stance Gated: Neither form is a complete character, so juggling between forms is a necessity in a game where other characters have win conditions that are easier to access.

The kombo/pressure form

Strengths

Weaknesses

Free Form: The ability to switch Forms during combos and pressure allows you to tap into each Form's unique strengths at will, giving you a more open-ended strategy; Watch Your Feet: With good aim, Ground Skulls can stymie approach attempts from both the ground and the air; if you're especially on the ball, you can even get a decent reward since... Long, Highly Damaging Combos: Ground Skull allows for long, highly damaging, and potentially unbreakable juggle combos and Injection is a great combo ender for transitioning to Young Shang's zoning; Strong Mid String: Old Form's F4 is 11f on startup and extends into a longer string with easy hit confirms and stagger opportunities in the earlier hits; Great Back Throw: His Back Throw carries the opponent over a great distance and leaves them close enough for Shang to dash in and either attempt a throw again or begin pressure with the aforementioned F4; I'm You, But Stronger: At any time, Shang can use Form Stealer to transform into his opponent, with the Enhanced version giving him a damage buff; this rewards knowledge of the rest of the cast and how they synergize with your Kameo of choice; Khaos Reigns also added a Kameo morph move, giving Shang players even more tools to play with in specific matchups.

Trickshot: Ground Skull is not as easy to fire and forget as Young Form's Straight Skulls; Ground Skull is minus at all ranges and has some blind spots which makes keeping opponents out harder; Knowledge Checked: Opponents savvy against the F4 string will take advantage of F4121 being punishable and F41214 being a High; any other option will give up your turn; Poor Kameo Synergy: Shang Tsung lacks a Kameo that synergizes with his entire kit, as the needs of both forms are too disparate to easily cover; this is because... Stance Gated: Neither form is a complete character, so juggling between forms is a necessity in a game where other characters have win conditions that are easier to access.