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 unique form-based character who can switch between his Young Form which focuses on a straightforward fireball zoning game and his Old Form which is capable of extended combos through his ground fireballs. He also retains his classic ability to transform into his opponent and, for a bar of meter, increase his damage output while transformed. Each form comes with unique pros and cons:

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 combo/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 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.