Arctic Armor
“Arctic Armor” (K) is an Ambush assist that will call Sub-Zero 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 non-projectile attack, some of which are disjointed and/or may even visually resemble projectiles (i.e. Peacemaker or Homelander B4/D4). This assist costs half of the Kameo Gauge and will begin refilling at a moderately slow rate once Sub-Zero 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 Sub-Zero 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; however, although the “Arctic Armor” Ambush is allowed to be inputted while blocking, the “Kold Shoulder” Ambush Cancel cannot be performed while holding block. The hit reaction of Kold Shoulder will also allow players who use the move as an Ambush Cancel out of Arctic Armor to convert the hit into a follow-up kombo if their following attack lands before the opponent falls to the ground. As soon as Sub-Zero vanishes offscreen, the Kameo Gauge will begin recharging at a moderate rate.
Kold Shoulder
“Kold Shoulder” (B+K) is a Summon assist that quickly calls Sub-Zero in to perform a Mid-hitting shoulder charge that is forward-advancing, has midscreen range, and also has midscreen knockback 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 Sub-Zero starts to vanish offscreen, Sub-Zero 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 allow the executing player to enforce mind-games around whether they will cancel into Kold Shoulder immediately or delay the cancel. Performing the Ambush Cancel version of this assist will cause the move to come out 8f faster on startup (from 23 to 15), in addition to becoming even more advantageous on block as an Ambush; the hit reaction of Kold Shoulder itself (in which the opponent’s legs fly backwards and up as they are knocked back) will also allow the executing player to follow-up the Ambush version with a kombo if their attack connects before the opponent has fallen to the ground. The Summon version of 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 recharging at a moderately faster rate once the attack’s animation has finished and Sub-Zero 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 Sub-Zero vanishes, as well as slightly slowing down the gauge’s recharge 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 out Sub-Zero 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 into the assist in a kombo string, 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 Sub-Zero has slowly vanished offscreen.
