Away We Go (teleport)
“Away We Go” AKA “teleport” (K) is an Ambush assist that calls Kung Lao onscreen behind the executing player in 20 frames, grabbing them from behind and teleporting them down through the ground up to the other side of the opponent. Holding the (K) button will momentarily leave the executing player in an airborne state and allow them to cancel from the teleport into an aerial attack or ability. This move also grants a hit of armor to the executing player for a brief window when it first connects, which can protect them from certain incoming attacks; this armor will activate right when Kung Lao hooks his arms underneath the lead character’s and lifts them into the air. The player and Lao are both vulnerable to being attacked out of this animation right before Lao teleports the player, after the peak of the lift when the characters begin descending, or at any time after the characters have reappeared on the other side of the opponent. Teleport’s ability to interrupt attack animations can also create unique kombo opportunities off of moves that typically would not even allow other Kameo Ambush abilities to kombo, especially because Teleport nullifies any trade animation that the executing character would normally undergo by having their animation interrupted. This kombo potential is character-specific and highly depends on whether the character has an attack animation that will leave the opponent in a suspended or “incomplete” state when interrupted by the Teleport (i.e. Liu Kang’s Throw animation technically leaving the opponent in a crumple state, Geras’ meterless “Time Stop” being interrupted before the final built-in hit leaving them in the freeze state, etc.) but will not work for every character with such an animation. This assist costs half of the Kameo Gauge and will begin recharging at a moderately slower rate a moment after Lao has teleported offscreen.
Buzz Saw (low hat)
“Buzz Saw” AKA “low hat” (B+K) is a Summon assist that quickly calls Lao out to throw a spinning hat into the ground which advances toward the opponent. This attack is a 24f Low projectile and is -3 on block when hitting on the first active frame, allowing players to cover up unsafe moves and remain safe at point-blank range; the move immediately becomes +3 when hitting on the second active frame, and gains an additional frame of block advantage for every active frame added. This move costs half of the Kameo Gauge and has no cooldown window before recharging the gauge at a fast speed; holding the Kameo button will begin quickly depleting the remainder of the gauge and allow players to delay the hat for as long as the button is held. This will greatly increase the amount of active frames even at closer distances, making the hat that much more plus on block the more active it becomes, while also still having a fast cooldown and recharge rate. Delaying the low hat will allow the lead character to move freely in front of or behind it, allowing players to set up the low hat from a distance (or on oki) and potentially enforce a low/overhead mixup that is hard to block (AKA a “hard-to-blockable”). Delaying this assist will reduce its recharge rate slightly but will begin refilling the gauge after the hat connects with the opponent.
Spin
“Spin” (F+K) is a Summon assist that quickly calls Kung Lao onscreen to advance in front of the executing player while spinning in a rapid circle. This move is a 24f Mid that will launch the opponent on hit with enough advantage to allow players to follow up with a jump cancel; it is -15 on block when connecting on any of its 15 active frames, making it risky to use outside of kombos. Spin gains invulnerability on its first frame when used as both a Getup and Reversal, making it a “true invincible reversal;” performing this move as a Getup/Reversal will change its launching property to a knockback, disabling follow-up kombos. This move costs half the Kameo Gauge and will begin recharging at a slower rate once Lao has teleported offscreen.
Orbiting Hat/Wobbly Orbit
“Orbiting Hat” (D+K) is a Summon assist that quickly calls Kung Lao behind the player to toss out a hat which orbits around the lead character at a fast speed for 5 seconds; this move has a 21f startup and will allow the player to move freely after a very fast Summon animation recovery. The attack is a Mid projectile that generally connects anywhere from on the 8th active frame to the 11th (depending on things such as what moves the player performs a Summon Cancel after, or even character models themselves causing it to hit on inconsistent frames), which will grant a minimum of +34 hit advantage. On hit against a grounded opponent, they will be left standing in a momentary state of stun which the executing player can link into a kombo; hitting an airborne or juggled opponent may allow certain characters to extend their kombo if the hat connects before the opponent has dropped below a certain height. This move is +8 when hitting at point-blank range and can become more advantageous when hitting in later active frames. The default version can protect players from incoming attacks that hit straight in front of them and kounter the opponent, but may be low-profiled or bypassed by certain overhead or higher-hitting attacks as the default spin goes straight around the executing player’s waist; holding down the (K) button during the initial startup of this command will trigger “Wobbly Orbit” which will cause the hat to orbit around the character in an oblique circle that is more likely to cover their upper and lower body from incoming attacks at certain intervals. Hitting the opponent successfully before the hat orbits and kounters the attacking player will end the move and cause the hat to disappear. This assist will begin depleting the Kameo Gauge at a very fast rate until the hat has hit the opponent or been interrupted; successfully hitting the opponent with the hat will instantly deplete the remainder of the gauge, while being interrupted out of orbit hat will stop the gauge depletion at its current point. This assist has no cooldown and will begin recharging the gauge at a moderately fast rate.
