Mortal Kombat 1/Sub-Zero

Sub-Zero
Base Health	1000

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.
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

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.
Covered in Gaps: Many of his basic strings have notable gaps between hits which can be punished with armor, more so than other characters. Most of his special/Kameo Summon cancels from these strings are also unsafe against armor leading to his next issue:
Ice Klone Doesn't Work: Ice Klone has been nerfed severely with higher recovery frames, lowered duration, 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. Enhanced Ice Klone fixes none of these issues and offers little benefit for its 2 bar cost.
"Honest": Lacks any sort of gimmick or low-risk, high-reward strategy in an meta that is gradually revealing more instances of these amongst the rest of the cast; his more rewarding moves are easy to react to and punish.

Normals and Strings

Grounded

1

Clammy Palm

1

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 1.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

1

Standing Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
7	3	19	18	20	3	H	+16	0	0	-

Lin Kuei Storm

12

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 12.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 12 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

12

FP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
17	2	27	29	30	4.5	M	+11	-7	-7	-

Arctic Hammer

122

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 122.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 122 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

122

FP, BP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
21	3	25	-	70	10.5	OH	+27	-6	-6	-

Advancing Frost

F1

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f1.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

F1

Forward + Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
15	3	23	26	30	3.5	M	+18	-4	-4	-

Frozen Over

F12

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f12.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f12 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

F12

F+FP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
15	2	27	25	50	7.5	M	+9	-7	-7	-

Freezing Point

F123

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f123.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f123 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

F123

F+FP, BP, FK

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
20	5	29	-	50	7.5	L	+22	-12	-12	-

Cold Front

D1

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d1.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

D1

Crouching Front Punch / Crouch Jab

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
7	2	24	20	20	3	M	+11	-9	-9	-

2

Quick Chill

2

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 2.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

2

Standing Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	4	18	21	30	4.5	H	+16	0	0	-

Blistering Blizzard

21

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 21.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 21 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

21

BP, FP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
20	4	25	30	50	7.5	M	+11	-7	-7	-

Whiteout

212

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 212.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 212 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

212

BP, FP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
22	2	37	-	70	10.5	OH	+29	-7	-7	-

Spinal Tap

B2

File:MK1 Sub-Zero b2.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero b2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

B2

Back + Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
24	23	37	33	97.5 (50, 47.5)	15 (7.5, 7.5)	OH, H	+57	-23	-23	-

Brain Freeze

D2

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d2.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

D2

Crouching Back Punch / Uppercut

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
11	3	42	-	140	21	H	+26	-3	-13	-

On Kounter or Punish Hit, can be Jump Canceled with any upward direction + Block for 2 bars of Super Meter

3

Heavy Toe

3

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 3.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

3

Standing Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	2	31	20	50	7.5	H	+8	-1	-1	-

Slip Slide

34

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 34.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 34 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

34

FK, BK

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	8	21	-	70	10.5	L	+27	-7	-7	-

Shin Shatter

B3

File:MK1 Sub-Zero b3.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero b3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

B3

Back + Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
13	2	27	26	50	7.5	L	+8	-7	-7	-

Permafrost

B34

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 34.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 34 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

B34

B+FK, BK

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
16	8	19	-	70	10.5	L	+29	-5	-5	-

Low Step

D3

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d3.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

D3

Crouching Front Kick / Low Poke (Short)

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	2	24	24	20	3	L	+12	-9	-9	-

4

Harmful Heel

4

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 4.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

4

Standing Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
12	3	26	25	70	10.5	H	+14	+3	+3	-

Hail Damage

44

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 44.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 44 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

44

BK, BK

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
18	2	21	-	50	7.5	L	+23	-1	-1	-

Chilled Sweep

B4

File:MK1 Sub-Zero b4.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero b4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

B4

Back + Back Kick / Sweep

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
13	2	37	-	70	10.5	L	+7	-7	-7	-

D4

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d4.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero d4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

D4

Crouching Back Kick / Low Poke (Far)

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
9	2	27	27	30	4.5	L	+14	-7	-7	-

Aerial

J1

Icy Knuckles

J1

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j1.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J1

Jumping Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
7	6	39	24	50	7.5	M	+4	-24	-24	-

Hits Overhead while descending from a jump

Slick Strike

J11

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j11.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j11 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J11

Air FP, FP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
12	4	35	44	27	4.05	OH	+17	-20	-25	-

Polar Plunge

J112

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j112.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j112 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J112

Air FP, FP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	2	40	45	30	4.5	OH	+40	-23	-28	-

Menacing Mace

J12

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j12.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j12 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J12

Air FP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
17	2	34	46	27	4.05	OH	+45	-17	-22	-

Air Lin Kuei

J13

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j13.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j13 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J13

Air FP, FK

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
13	5	33	44	27	4.05	OH	+18	-19	-24	-

Frosted Frenzy

J134

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j134.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j134 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J134

Air FP, FK, BK

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
16	4	33	-	90	13.5	OH	+19	-18	-23	-

J2

Ice Maker

J2

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j2.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J2

Jumping Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
9	4	39	19	50	7.5	M	4	-24	-24	-

Hits Overhead while descending from a jump

Frostbite

J21

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j21.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j21 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J21

Air BP, FP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
14	5	34	46	81	12.15	OH	40	-20	-25	-

Freezer Burn

J22

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j22.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j22 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J22

Air BP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	3	32	38	27	4.05	M	20	-16	-21	-

Arctic Blast

J222

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j222.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j222 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J222

Air BP, BP, BP

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
15	8	36	-	90	13.5	M	19	-25	-30	-

J3 / J4

Balanced Boot

J3 / J4

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j3 4.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero j3 4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

J3 / J4

Jumping Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
11	5	39	35	70	10.5	M	22	-24	-	-

Hits Overhead while descending from a jump

Throws

Shove

F1+3

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f1 3.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero f1 3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

F1+3

Forward Throw / Shove

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	2	33	-	20 (10, 10)	-	Throw (H)	11	-	-	-

Performed when Kameo is unavailable
Break with 2 or 4

Negative Zero

1+3

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 1 3.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero 1 3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

1+3

Back Throw

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
10	2	33	-	110 (10, 30, 70)	-	Throw (H)	11	-	-	-

Break with 1 or 3

Special Moves

Grounded

Ice Ball

DF1

File:MK1 Sub-Zero df1.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero df1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

DF1

Down, Forward + Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
39	-	-	-	20	12.5	H	+74	-11	-11	-

Advantage values derived from point blank hit

DF1+BLK

Down, Forward + Front Punch + Block

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
39	-	-	-	40	15	M	+74	-11	-11	1 Bar

Destroys opponent's projectiles
Advantage values derived from point blank hit

Ice Klone

DB1

File:MK1 Sub-Zero db1.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero db1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

DB1

Down, Back + Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
9	70	-	-	20	12.5	M	+59	-22	-22	-

Negates opponent's projectiles
All versions of Ice Klone share a 3.5 second cooldown after the Klone disappears

DB1+BLK

Down, Back + Front Punch + Block

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
11	-	-	-	90 (30, 30, 30)	41.25	M	+92	-25	-25	2 Bars

Negates opponent's projectiles
All versions of Ice Klone share a 3.5 second cooldown after the Klone disappears

Ice Klone Charge

BF2

File:MK1 Sub-Zero bf2.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero bf2 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

BF2

Back, Forward + Back Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
20	11	26	-	80	20	M	+31	-16	-16	-

Negates opponent's projectiles

BF2+BLK

Back, Forward + Back Punch + Block

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
20	11	26	-	110	23.75	M	+31	-16	-16	1 Bar

Destroys opponent's projectiles

Ice Slide

BF3

File:MK1 Sub-Zero bf3.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero bf3 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

BF3

Back, Forward + Front Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
14	19	36	-	90 (30, 20, 40)	13.75	L	+15	-22	-22	-

BF3+BLK

Back, Forward + Front Kick + Block

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
14	19	36	-	110	23.75	L	+31	-16	-16	1 Bar

Has armor
Switches sides on hit

Deadly Vapors

DF4

File:MK1 Sub-Zero df4.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero df4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

DF4

Down, Forward + Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
31	6	10	-	20	12.5	M	-40	-20	-15	-

Slows the opponent

DF4+BLK

Down, Forward + Back Kick + Block

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
31	6	10	-	40	15	M	-40	-20	-15	1 Bar

Slows the opponent

Aerial

(Air) Ice Klone

JDB1

File:MK1 Sub-Zero jdb1.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero jdb1 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

JDB1

Jump, Down, Back + Front Punch

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
4	70	-	-	20	12.5	M	+52	-29	-29	-

Negates opposing projectiles
Only available while rising from a jump
All versions of Ice Klone share a 3.5 second cooldown after the Klone disappears

JDB1+BLK

Jump, Down, Back + Front Punch + Block

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
4	-	-	-	90 (30, 30, 30)	41.25	M	+106	-11	-11	2 Bars

Negates opposing projectiles
Only available while rising from a jump
All versions of Ice Klone share a 3.5 second cooldown after the Klone disappears

(Air) Diving Glacier

JDB4

File:MK1 Sub-Zero jdb4.png

File:MK1 Sub-Zero jdb4 hitbox.png

Hitboxes Off

Hitboxes On

JDB4

Jump, Down, Back + Back Kick

Startup	Active	Recovery	Cancel	Damage	Chip	Guard	On Hit	On Block	On Flawless Block	Cost
16	14	24	-	50	16.5	M	+6 to +20	-16 to -2	-16 to -2	-

Frame advantage increases when connecting lower against grounded opponents
Can link to grounded buttons at +7 and higher on hit against a grounded opponent

JDB4+BLK

Jump, Down, Back + Back Kick + Block