Mortal Kombat 11/Sub-Zero

Sub-Zero #MK11_SUB

REDEMPTION Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei clan. Kuai Liang beat death to redeem his clan for the evil committed by Sektor and the Cyber Lin Kuei. He rebuilt the Lin Kuei and brokered peace with their Shirai Ryu rivals. Now, he hopes to finally close the book on sins of Lin Kuei past.
Data
Health	1000.00
Hitbox	Male

Introduction

Sub-Zero is an aggressive, mix-up oriented character who can also compete at range thanks to his signature Ice Ball and Slide. His kustom abilities complement him well by improving his 50/50s (either giving him better rewards or reducing his risks) or improving his options for approaching opponents. He is a strong character at all skill levels, being easy to pick up for beginners and a viable character at the higher levels of competition.


Pros	Cons
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Movement

Movelist

Normals and Strings

S1

Straight Chop
1

The Left

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
20.00 / 3.00 / 0.30	High	8	2	15
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
11	6	0	0	-
Use for jailing, very good for staggering.

Chinese Ninja Warrior
1, 2

The Right

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
30.00 / 04.50 / 0.45	Mid	9	2	20
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
13	18	0	0	-
Good auto shimmy, the mid will catch ducking opponents who were expecting a throw from the similar animation. The window to input the 2 here can be pretty tight.

Cold Encounter
1, 2, 4

And the Goodnight!

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
70.00 / 10.50 / 1.05	Mid	15	2	39
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	30	-4	-4	-
Causes knockdown, cannot be special cancelled. Extra safe on block with the added pushback if you need some space.

B1

Axe Bash
B+1

Ya got something on yer cheek there

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
30.00 / 4.50 / 0.45	High	14	3	26
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
17	6	-2	-2	-
Far reaching poke with good forward momentum. Good tool for whiff punishing or safely getting in. It is a high though so irresponsible use against ducking opponents can make you eat a D2 KB when you're not expecting it.

Icy Grave
B+1, 4

That something was your face

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
30.00 / 04.50 / 0.45	Mid	22	4	22
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
27	10	-4	-4	-
A solid mid to follow up the high, you only normally stop here for staggering on block. This is the only part of this string that can cancel into Ice Ball while grounded.

Frozen Over
B+1, 4, 3

Roundhouse!

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
50.00 / 7.50 / 0.75	Mid	14	3	31
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
18	18	-7	-7	-
Causes knockdown, can be special cancelled. On hit during a combo this can be followed up with Slide ender. Can only be punished if the opponent has a 6-frame reversal, which many don't.

D1

Low Back Hand
D+1

He just backhanded your knees

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
20.00 / 3.00 / 0.30	Mid	6	2	18
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
17	13	-6	-6	-
Cannot be canceled into special moves if Flawless Blocked. It's a 6-frame jab that allows you to punish and challenge pressure in ways most of the kast aren't able to. Jail into your high starters if you get a hit with this attack.

Jump and Hop Attacks

Heavy Fist
J1

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
50.00 / 7.50 / 0.75	Mid/Overhead	12	5	31
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
46	-1	-13	-13	-
Can hit the opponent earlier into the jump due to lower angle of the attack's hitbox. Used less often because of the slower startup frames and doing less damage than J2.

Straight Punch
J2

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
50.00 / 7.50 / 0.75	Mid/Overhead	6	6	31
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
41	9	-8	-13	-
More horizontal hitbox and faster startup makes for a good air-to-air attack. Does more damage which makes this the more popular jump-in attack for Ice Ball combos.

Cold Boot
J3/J4

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
90.00 / 10.35 / 1.35	Mid/Overhead	10	6	31
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
45	23	-8	-13	-
More horizontal hitbox and faster startup makes for a good air-to-air attack. Does more damage which makes this the more popular jump-in attack for Ice Ball combos.

Frigid Strike
U+1/U+2

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
90.00 / 10.35 / 1.35	Overhead	10	3	31
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	29	-12	-17	-
Reaches farther than U3/U4 and is the more popular of the two Hop Attacks.

Cold Front
U+3/U+4

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
90.00 / 10.35 / 1.35	Overhead	10	3	31
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	29	-12	-17	-
Much shorter in reach than U1/U2 and is less commonly used as a result.

Getup and Flawless Block Attacks

Axe Swipe
U+2

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
50.00 / 7.50 / 0.75	Mid	11	5	21
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	49	-9	-9	1 OFF and 1 DEF
Launches opponent into the air for a juggle kombo. It is unsafe on block and has no invincibility unlike U+3 but otherwise a very good hitbox that cannot be ducked or low profiled. Fast Regen Rate (8.5 seconds).

Chilled Heel
U+3

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
90.00 / 13.50 / 1.35	Mid	10	3	21
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	15	-7	-12	1 OFF and 1 DEF
Invincible during the animation of this attack. Can only be punished if the opponent has a 6-frame reversal attack. The opponent needs to be a little closer to get hit unlike other U+3's but otherwise a serviceable getup/block attack. Fast Regen Rate (8.5 seconds).

Special Moves

Ice Ball
D, F+1

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
N/A / 16.20 / 0.30	High	28	N/A	N/A
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	104	-16	-16	-
Does 45.00 damage if opponent was frozen already during the kombo, first hit does no damage but stuns the opponent for a combo extension. Cannot be amplified without the Deep Freeze kustom ability.

Slide
B, F+3

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
70.00 / 18.75 / 1.87	Low	11	14	30
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
22	29	-20	-20	-
A very fast, low-profiling forward moving attack that lets you whiff punish from far away. Great for checking movement and going under projectiles and high attacks. It is unsafe on block so don't be too reckless. A nice gimmick to check the opponent's reactions is to cancel this out of F2 to create a challenging overhead to low mix.

Slide Amplified
B, F+3, Amp

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
146.00 / N/A / N/A	Mid	13	5	36
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	9	-4	-4	1 OFF
Amped Slide's Krushing Blow is a vital part of Sub's gameplan and something that the opponent must respect and break away from. Cannot amplify if Slide is blocked. Opponent can Breakaway from Slide before the Amplify catches them. Use if you need the side switch or need the extra damage or stacks for Krushing Blow, otherwise save your meter for your other specials. KRUSHING BLOW: "Triggers on the THIRD AMPLIFIED Slide to hit." With Krushing Blow Held Check set to ON, this activates at the player's discretion after previously landing at least two successful amplified Slides. An amped Slide is considered successful after the grab animation is activated. Throwing the opponent into an Arctic Trap counts as a successful amped Slide while the opponent using Breakaway to avoid the grab does not. Deals a total of 319.00 damage on its own.

Fatal Blow

Chill Out
BLK + SC

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
340.00 / 15.00 / 1.50	Mid	25	3	42
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	16	-23	-28	FB Charge On Hit, 10 Sec CD On Miss
Absolute robbery after a confirmed F2 or B2, 3, massive unbreakable damage after Freeze > J2 > S4, on top of the regular shenanigans that Fatal Blows enable.

Kustom Abilities

Deep Freeze

"Modifies Ice Ball. Can amplify Ice Ball Special Move. Absorbs other projectiles."

2 Slots, No Conflicts, No Requirements

Deep Freeze
D, F+1, Amp

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
50.00 / 16.25 / 1.62	Mid	6	N/A	N/A
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	110	-15	-15	1 OFF
Does damage while stunning, turns into a mid projectile that destroys the opponent's projectile. Great counter-zoning tool and adds new combo opportunities, most importantly off F2.

Rising Ice

"Adds Rising Ice Special Move. Leap upward with rising ice spikes."

1 Slot, No Conflicts, No Requirements

Rising Ice
D, B+3

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
60.00 / 17.50 / 1.75	Mid	21	10	21
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
31	38	-24	-24	-
Causes knockdown and launches opponent away. Typically used amplified to extend kombos.

Rising Ice (Amplify)
D, B+3, Amp

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
80 / 17.50 / 1.75	Mid	6	10	21
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	53	-4	-4	1 OFF
Causes knockdown and pops opponent straight into the air. Allows you to continue your kombo, vastly increasing Sub-Zero's overall damage potential.

Ground Ice

NOTE: This ability is currently disabled for competitive play. You may still use it in casual matchmaking and all PVE modes.

"Adds Ground Ice Special Move. Create a hazardous zone that can freeze."

2 Slots, No Conflicts, No Requirements

Ground Ice
D, B+1

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
70.00 / 0.00 / 0.00	Unblockable	49	0	0
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
44	88	0	0	-
Freezes the opponent's legs, giving you a free mix-up. Best used as a set up after winning a knockdown. The opponent can use their Wakeup U3 to stop you if they're close enough.

Ground Ice (Amplify)
D, B+1, Amp

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery
0.00 / 0.00 / 0.00	Low	2	85	0
Cancel	Hit Adv	Blk Adv	F/Blk Adv	Cost
N/A	60	-54	-54	1 OFF
Increases the range of the ground ice but now becomes crouch blockable.

Strategy and Kombos

General Tactics

Sub-Zero has one of the best shimmy and whiff-punish capabilities in the game due to his high mobility and plethora of forward-moving buttons such as Back3, Back1, Forward2 and Back2. This combination allows him to walk or dash in and out of the opponent's effective range and force a whiff for a whiff punish or a block check on them since both his Low starter and Overhead starter move Sub-Zero forward.
Even at farther distances Sub-Zero can block check your opponent with Slide, which is pretty much unreactable at most distances. Coupled with the space control of Ice Ball that also wins any projectile trade with a full-screen combo confirmation, Sub-Zero can condition the opponent into ducking and crouch blocking at farther distances which can help shape the pace of the game to your advantage.
If the opponent is frozen while standing, a popular strategy is to use the [B+1, 4] string for a standing reset with 10 frames of hit advantage for continued pressure instead of knocking down the opponent. [B+3, 2] is also a useful string for standing resets after freeze with 16 frames of hit advantage.
If you want to better enforce the Overhead/Low mixup game, you may want to consider slotting either Deep Freeze or Rising Ice for your variation. Either of these two Equipped Abilities allow you to convert your Forward2 overhead into a full combo, and Rising Ice lets you do more damaging combos in general. Mixups that do more damage will weigh more heavily on an opponent's mind.

Popular Variations

Creeping Ice, Rising Ice, (Air) Polar Axe

An overall well-rounded variation. The combination of Creeping Ice for added safety, Rising Ice for added reward from 50/50's and the (Air) Polar Axe for space control and counter zoning should give any player the tools to seize an advantage at any distance or opportunity with their opponent.

Rising Ice, Deep Freeze

A variation that focuses especially on getting Sub-Zero within mixup distance of their opponent. Deep-Freeze gives the player multiple projectile speeds to anti-air with as well as counterzone. Rising Ice is used to maximize a player's overall damage potential from any hit once they are at their ideal distance.