Mortal Kombat 1/Sub-Zero/Introduction

Introduction

Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei

"As the Lin Kuei's Grandmaster, Sub-Zero leads his ancient warrior clan in the defense of Earthrealm from external threats. For centuries, it has been their solemn task. But Earthrealm hasn't been threatened in generations, and Sub-Zero sees no point in limiting his clan to preparing for dangers that may never come. Under his leadership, the Lin Kuei will come out of the shadows and fight for its place as one of Earthrealm's great nations."

Sub-Zero is a straightforward, primarily defensive character who combines elements of his previous incarnations in NRS titles, including his overhead/low 50-50 game, ice ball, slide, the notorious ice clone trap and even Cyber Sub-Zero's dive kick. Many of his special moves can clash with or destroy projectiles, making it difficult to zone him out. While his primary mid, F1, has been slowed down from pre-release builds, Sub-Zero can still demand respect on offense thanks to his 50/50 game of overhead or low; he synergizes well with Kameos that help him stay safe when mixing his opponents as well as increase his reward for guessing right. His dive kick also gives him some much-needed mobility as his ground speed is lacking. Deadly Vapors, a tracking ground attack which slows opponents down, serves as both a combo extension tool and a chip damage option to close out rounds. Sub-Zero is arguably the character of choice for learning the fundamentals of Mortal Kombat 1 as his toolset is easy to understand and teaches skills that translate well to other characters.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Brick Wall: (Enhanced) Ice Klone Charge, (Enhanced) Ice Klone and Enhanced Ice Ball can negate or even destroy projectiles, making him difficult to approach with a life deficit; Deadly Vapors can also put pressure on an opponent within chip kill territory; Ice Klone Setplay: Cancelling certain meaty attacks into Ice Klone lets Sub-Zero freeze opponents attempting to wake up with armor. Ice Klone also had its duration extended enough so that he can throw out at least one projectile in the neutral. In the corner he can grab people into the Klone for a combo as well; Mid Projectile: While lacking the range of other fireballs, Ice Klone Charge hits Mid for free when most characters need to spend bar to do so; Dive Kick: A strong mobility tool to get around zoning which can lead to full combos on hit and can be made safe on block when spaced properly; Solid Reach: Buttons like D1, S2, D3 and F1 have great range and/or advancing movement for counter-poking and whiff punishes. D2 is blessed with a great range and angle for anti-airs; Kombo Demon: The changes NRS have made to Sub-Zero across the game's lifespan have opened up his combo routes significantly; he now has consistent meterless routes in the corner with Deadly Vapors, having control over Ice Slide into Spear makes his Kameo conversions less gated and creating a more consistent armored launcher, and the removal of the freeze limit on Ice Klones creates new 1 bar routes.

Freezes Scale Hard: Ice Ball and Deadly Vapors incur relatively harsh damage scaling on Sub-Zero's combos, limiting his damage in his confirms or fireball trades; Slide Standing Frames: Ice Slide forces him to stand up during its startup, limiting its use as a reaction to incoming fireballs; Lacks That One Kameo: Sub-Zero currently lacks synergy with the Kameo roster compared to other characters whom receive greater benefits from the system; Loses the Fireball War: Ice Ball's slow startup even when Enhanced coupled with the shorter stun duration make it difficult for him to win fireball wars and capitalize on trade situations; some projectiles, most notably Reptile's Force Ball, require two hits to break, meaning Ice Klone and Ice Klone Charge outright lose to them; Covered in Gaps: Many of his basic strings have notable gaps between hits which can be punished with armor, more so than most other characters; Ice Klone Doesn't Work: Ice Klone has been weakened from previous games with higher recovery frames and an increased cooldown timer; there are few situations in which Sub-Zero can setup Ice Klone and not at least be punished by Armored attacks on reaction. Ice Klone being a part of his combo theory means if he's already used it in neutral the cooldown restricts him there too.