Arctic Armor
“Arctic Armor” (K) is an Ambush assist that will call Subzero out to cover the lead character’s torso with an ice shield that negates all incoming projectiles for 7 seconds, or until it is broken after absorbing 5 projectile hits; this armor will also disappear if hit by a regular attack, some of which are disjointed and/or can visually resemble projectiles (i.e. Peacemaker or Homelander B4/D4). This assist costs half of the Kameo Gauge and will begin recharging at a moderately slow rate once Subzero teleports slowly offscreen; pressing (B+K) or (F+K) when calling the Ambush will deplete the remainder of the gauge and cancel Arctic Armor recovery into “Kold Shoulder” while Subzero is still onscreen. This can allow the player to defend themselves against incoming attacks that are covered by projectiles, as the ice armor can be called on reaction and then be used to keep an advancing opponent away with the Kold Shoulder. As soon as Subzero vanishes offscreen, the gauge will begin refilling at a moderate rate.
=Kold Shoulder
“Kold Shoulder” (B+K) is a Summon assist that quickly calls Subzero in to perform a Mid-hitting shoulder charge that is forward-advancing, has midscreen range, and also has midscreen knockback midscreen distance on hit. This assist is -1 on block with roughly jump-distance pushback, and has 14 active frames allowing it to hit meaty by traveling a longer distance and become plus on block. This assist can also be used as an Ambush out of Arctic Armor; by pressing (B+K) or (F+K) at any point after the (K) input before Subzero starts to vanish offscreen, Subzero will recover from the freezing animation of the Arctic Armor and shoulder-charge from behind the executing player to in front of them. This will cause the move to come out 8f faster on startup (from 23 to 15), as well as become even more advantageous on block as an Ambush. Kold Shoulder gains invulnerability on its first frame when used as both a Getup Summon and Reversal, making it a “true invincible reversal” that can be effective as a quick tool for creating space between both players. This assist costs half the Kameo Gauge when used as a Summon and begins refilling at a moderately faster rate once the attack’s animation has finished and Subzero begins to slowly vanish offscreen; using the Ambush version after Arctic Armor depletes the full gauge and slightly delays the cooldown window to right after Subzero vanishes, as well as slightly slowing down the gauge refill rate.
Deep Freeze (parry)
“Deep Freeze” (D+K) is a Summon assist that calls Sub-Zero in behind the player to freeze them for 71 frames effectively turning their character into an ice clone, which can be quickly cancelled at any point while the freeze is active by pressing (B+K). This move is a 8f parry' that will counter all incoming attacks except lows and projectiles, and will inflict 1% dmg on the parried opponent while leaving them in a freeze state for 2 seconds, during which they will be vulnerable to a follow-up kombo. This is an effective tool against opponents who may attempt to counterpoke and take their turn back, allowing the executing player to exploit this habit by making a hard read via either performing the parry raw in the neutral or performing a Summon Cancel into the parry after certain normals/strings. The uninterrupted move will leave the executing player in recovery for 16 frames (while cancelling the move speeds up recovery by 1f), making them punishable if challenged correctly by the opponent. However, the frozen “ice clone” state initially inflicted upon the executing player can be cancelled into “Iceball Special” (aka “Ice Clone Toss”) by pressing (F+K) at any point before it stops being active, which will cause Sub-Zero to grab the frozen player, pull them back and toss them forward like a projectile (a callback to MKX Sub-Zero’s “Grandmaster” variation which would allow him to throw his Ice Clone as a projectile) into a Mid rolling attack that grants a 6% dmg knockdown on hit. This move has a 30f startup but a very fast travel speed, with only 7 active frames and throwing the executing player nearly fullscreen distance in front of the opponent; the attack is also roughly +6 on block and becomes slightly more advantageous when hitting in its later active frames from farther distances. This move can be cancelled into from Deep Freeze at any point while the freeze is active— the ability to delay or quickly cancel [into/from] these options allows players to enforce a 3-way mindgame of “strike/throw/parry;” the parry can discourage opponents from attacking and getting stunned for a kombo, which will allow executing players to create a mixup between whether they will toss the “ice clone” (leading to a knockdown or block pressure) or will instead cancel the parry and open up the defending opponent with a Throw. This assist can be challenged with Low attacks such as D3/D4 pokes, although mistiming an attack against Ice Clone Toss during its startup may cause the low to miss due to the animation of Sub-Zero pulling the character up and back before hurling them forward; it is also possible to attack the thrown “ice clone” character as they are being tossed, however the fast speed of the ice clone may be hard to react to consistently. This assist costs half of the Kameo Gauge to perform and will begin refilling at a moderate rate as soon as Sub-Zero vanishes offscreen; the cooldown before the assist begins recharging will be delayed for as long as Sub-Zero performs the full move but can be shortened by cancelling the move (by itself or into Ice Clone Toss).
Iced Out
“Iced Out” (F+K) is a Summon assist that quickly calls Subzero out to perform a proximity ice blast right in front of the executing player, which hits Mid and will freeze nearby opponents for 117 frames. This will cause grounded opponents to undergo a short “freezing” animation that leaves them standing (after which they will return to the neutral standing state), but will cause airborne or juggled opponents to freeze directly in place wherever they are hit in the air (before falling to the ground or being hit out of the freeze state). This assist grants all characters a quick option to Summon Cancel a normal or string into a stun that allows them to continue their kombo. This move is -17 on block and is unsafe to use outside of hit-confirming in a kombo, although it has 23f startup and 17 active frames (meaning the move can theoretically hit meaty up close after certain knockdowns and be made safer). This assist costs half of the Kameo Gauge and will begin refilling at a moderately slower rate as soon as Subzero has slowly vanished offscreen.