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 Defensive/Setplay character centered around his Ice Klone (DB1), a versatile tool which serves as a defensive wall, a combo extender, and a setplay trap. The Klone, Ice Slide (BF3, which can be enhanced to add Armor) and his Ice Ball (DF1) give Sub-Zero a degree of Counterzoning gameplay as well; good defensive play will usually give him a freeze from which he can start combos. Add on top of that decently ranged buttons like S2 and F1, a launching Overhead in B2, a Mid projectile (BF2) which negates projectiles, and even a divekick (air DF4) to start combos with and Sub-Zero arguably becomes the character of choice for learning the fundamentals of Mortal Kombat 1. His toolset is well-rounded, easy to understand and teaches skills that translate well to other characters.
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Weaknesses
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- 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;
- Ice Klone Setplay: Cancelling certain meaty attacks into Ice Klone lets Sub-Zero freeze opponents attempting to wake up with armor. Ice Klone also had its duration extended enough so that he can throw out at least one projectile in the neutral. In the corner he can grab people into the Klone for a kombo as well;
- Blue Roman Kancel: Deadly Vapors' slowing properties even on block allow Sub-Zero to check his opponent's approach and give him extra time to react to their armored wakeups;
- 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 kombos 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;
- Kombo Demon: Sub has a variety of way to starts kombos once he has opened his opponent up: Enhanced Deadly Vapors after a hit-confirm, consistent meterless routes in the corner with the regular Deadly Vapors, (Enhanced) Ice Slide and its Spear extension with their own Kameo conversions, and the removal of the freeze limit on Ice Klones creating new 1 bar routes.
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- Freezes Scale Hard: Ice Ball and Deadly Vapors incur relatively harsh damage scaling on Sub-Zero's kombos, 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; some projectiles, most notably Reptile's Force Ball, require two hits to break, meaning Ice Klone and Ice Klone Charge outright lose to them;
- Covered in Gaps: Many of his basic strings have notable gaps between hits which can be punished with armor, more so than most other characters;
- Ice Klone Doesn't Work: Ice Klone has been weakened from previous games with higher recovery frames 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. Ice Klone being a part of his kombo theory means if he's already used it in neutral the cooldown restricts him there too.
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