| Popularity: Cryomancer - 1st, Unbreakable - 71st, Grandmaster - 7th | MKX Tiers |
| Tiers: Sub-Zero Cryomancer, Sub-Zero Unbreakable, Sub-Zero Grandmaster |
Special Moves
Cryomancer
Basic Attacks
Kombo Attacks
Finishing Moves
Sub-Zero's Variations
Tips for Sub-Zero
Universal Mid Screen Combos
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
13Hits - 30% (Best Corner Carry).
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1, back+1 2, SLIDE/ICE BURST.
12Hits ~ 30%/31%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1, run, throw.
11Hits ~ 29%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1, throw reset(press block during throw), back+2(overhead), run, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
11Hits + 5Hits = 16Hits ~ 26% + 24% = 50%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1,
throw reset(press block during throw), back+2(overhead), run, back+1 2, SLIDE/ICE BURST.
11Hits + 4Hits = 15Hits ~ 26% + 24%/25% = 50%/51%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1,
throw reset(press block during throw), back+2(overhead), run, forward+4 2 1+3.
11Hits + 5Hits = 16Hits ~ 26% + 23% = 49%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1,
throw reset(press block during throw), back+2(overhead), run, forward+4 2, SLIDE/ICE BURST.
11Hits + 4Hits = 15Hits ~ 26% + 22%/23% = 48%/49%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, run, 1,
throw reset(press block during throw), back+3 3(low), ICE BALL(use ENHANCED for males)(use regular in corner males&females), etc.
11Hits + (3+etc.)Hits = >14Hits ~ 26% + (6%+etc.) = >26%.
back+2, run, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
5Hits ~ 24%.
back+2, run, back+1 2, SLIDE/ICE BURST.
4Hits ~ 24%/25%.
back+2, run, forward+4 2 1+3.(use if opponent is further away)
5Hits ~ 23%.
back+2, run, forward+4 2 SLIDE/ICE BURST.(use if opponent is further away)
4Hits ~ 22%/23%.
Rating
Universal Corner Combos
back+3 3(low), ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, back+2, back+2, 2 4 2, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
13Hits ~ 31%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, back+2, back+2, 2 4 2, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
14Hits ~ 37%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1, back+1 2, SLIDE.
14Hits ~ 32%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
15Hits ~ 32%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1, 1, forward+throw.
14Hits ~ 32%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1, 1, forward+throw reset(press block during throw), back+2, back+1 2, ICE BALL, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
13Hits + 10Hits = 23Hits ~ 30% + 32% = 62%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1, 1, forward+throw reset(press block during throw), back+2, back+1 2, ICE BALL, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, back+1 2, SLIDE.
13Hits + 9Hits = 22Hits ~ 30% + 32% = 62%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1, 1, forward+throw reset(press block during throw), back+2, back+2, 2 4 2, 1 2 3, SLIDE.
13Hits + 9Hits = 22Hits ~ 30% + 36% = 66%.
jump in 1, back+1 2, ICE BALL, back dash, jump in 1, 2 4 2, neutral jump+1, forward jump+3, 1, 1, forward+throw reset(press block during throw), back+3 3(low), ICE BALL, etc.
13Hits + (3+etc.)Hits = >16Hits ~ 30% + (6%+etc.) = >30%
Rating
Sub-Zero is much better compared to MK9. He is faster, can pressure better and has better combos.
STANDARD SPECIAL MOVES
ICE BURST(Only CRYOMANCER AND GRANDMASTER)
- Small blast wave that damages the opponent, works as anti air, shatters Klone for damage in GRANDMASTER.
ICE BURST(ENHANCED)(Only CRYOMANCER AND GRANDMASTER)
- Faster startup, launches opponent for combo, 1 hit of armor, works better for anti air, shatters Klone for damage in GRANDMASTER.
ICE BALL
- Projectile goes across the screen, freezes opponent if it hits them, if 2 are used in a combo the second one damages the opponent instead of freezing again.
ICE BALL(ENHANCED)
- Faster startup, absorbs projectiles, freezes opponent for a little longer, damages opponent if a 2nd one is used in a combo.
SLIDE
- He crouches and slide kicks about half screen(hits low). Good for getting under projectiles, getting in on the opponent, doing a low mixup, ending a combo.
SLIDE(ENHANCED)
- Faster startup, 1 hit of armor, flips opponent over you(good for putting them back in the corner) and he shoots ice at them for extra damage.
X-RAY
- Can be held for a few seconds, acts as a freeze parry if opponent hits him, gains armor when held. Not as good as MK9 X-RAY because he no longer shoulder bashes. So it's harder to combo into and it has much less reach.
CRYOMANCER
- Offensive, has bigger combos, can net more damage from the combos.
- Gains better normals like his uppercut. Instead of punching he uses an ice sword which gives better range.
- Gains new combos like his 3 hit sword which adds to combos, attack range. With longer range he can poke and pressure safer.
- The forward+4, 2, 1+3 combo does more damage and ends with reset standing opponent. You can 50/50 doing back+2/FROST HAMMER(overheads), back+3 3/Slide(lows).
- FROST HAMMER is a second overhead. ENHANCED version also launches the opponent for more combos.
- Drawbacks are he has only SLIDE and ICE BURST to defend himself if the opponent overwhelms him. Wake up SLIDE or ICE BURST gives some quick wake up but if in deep trouble use a bar to enhance. They start much faster and have 1 hit of armor.
UNBREAKABLE
- Defensive, has a counter and a power up.
- BARRIER OF FROST acts like a counter and will freeze opponent if they hit it. Stops projectiles. ENHANCED version starts faster and lasts a little longer.
- FROZEN AURA is a temporary power up. Regular version protects from all chip damage while covered in ice. ENHANCED version protects from all chip damage and if hit he takes less damage while covered in ice. Use at the end of a combo or between blocked combo strings it is very hard to punish.
- If an opponent constantly attacks, you can freeze them using BARRIER OF ICE and get a free combo. With protection of FROZEN AURA you can outlast the opponent health wise.
- Drawbacks are he stands in place when using BARRIER so he is partially vulnerable, BARRIER doesn't stop jumping attacks, BARRIER doesn't protect his back, characters like Scorpion and Raiden can get behind BARRIER so use it as a counter when they attack, combos and damage are smaller than CRYOMANCER but not significantly, does not have ICE BURST special move.
GRANDMASTER
- Offensive and defensive. KLONE trapping and strong corner game.
- ICE KLONE puts space between him and the enemy. He can move around while KLONE is on screen.
- KLONE can be used to trap opponent in the corner and keep you safe while you attack them with unsafe moves like back+2.
- If the opponent hits or touches the KLONE they become frozen which gives you a free combo. But if they walk up and block touch the KLONE it won't freeze them and the KLONE breaks.
- KLONE now blocks projectiles(1 hit). It will break when hit by a projectile instead of the projectile going through like it used to. Now you have a better chance of throwing an ICE BALL behind the KLONE.
- You can make a KLONE and use KLONE TOSS to damage opponents. If full screen you can run behind KLONE TOSS to get in on the opponent safer.
- If the opponent is near the KLONE and you do ICE BURST near the KLONE, shards of the KLONE will damage the opponent. ICE BURST near the KLONE and opponent does damage from BURST then shards.
- You can throw the opponent into the KLONE. Throwing the opponent while they're near the KLONE freezes the opponent and Sub-Zero falls down. Quickly get up to do a free combo.
- In the corner you can combo into the KLONE.
- Drawbacks are this style does the same damage as UNBREAKABLE except in the corner. characters like Jax have armored moves and ground pounds which go through the KLONE, characters with teleports like Scorpion and Raiden can cause problems because they make the KLONE almost useless. Ermac's telekinetic attacks go through the KLONE. Also when Sub-Zero is hit, the KLONE disappears.
Rating
Sub-Zero Unlockable Content
Revenant Costume - Beat test your might tower using Sub-Zero.
Grandmaster Costume - Beat Klassic tower using Sub-Zero.
Krypt Brutality Locations
Walkway of Souls - Coordinates: -16, 20. Cost: 55. SPLITTING IMAGE
Shadow Spider Kave - Coordinates: 4, 4. Cost: 7,740. FROZEN DINNER
Shao Khan’s Tomb - Coordinates: 1, 6. Cost: 7,140. PICK YOUR BRAIN
Lost Mausoleum - Coordinates: 3, -3. Cost: 6770. ICE CUBED
Finishing Moves(Fatalities)
Chest Kold (Close) - Back, Forward, Down, Back, 4
Bed of Ice (Close) - Down, Back, Down, Forward, 4
Finishing Moves(Brutalities)
Snow Ball – Down, Forward, 2+Block(ENHANCED ICE BALL)
Must be 40+ seconds left in round.
Must be full screen distance away.
Opponent must be frozen and final attack must be ICE BLAST(ENHANCED ICE BALL).
Frozen Dinner – Down+2(Uppercut)
Opponent must be frozen.
Final attack must be Rising Fist(Uppercut) or Up-Sword(Uppercut CRYOMANCER).
Pick Your Brain – Forward+4, 2, 1+2
Cryomancer variation.
Must perform a six-hit combo that ends in Cold-Blooded(Forward+4, 2, 1+2).
Final attack must be from Cold-Blooded(Forward+4, 2, 1+2) combo.
Ice Cubed – Back, Forward, 4+Block(ENHANCED ICE SLIDE)
Unbreakable variation.
FROZEN AURA must be on.
Final attack must be ICY SLIDE(ENHANCED ICE SLIDE).
Splitting Image – Down, Back, 1(ICE BURST with ICE KLONE)
Grandmaster variation.
Final attack must be from exploding ICE KLONE or ICE STATUE(ENHANCED ICE KLONE).
When fighting against anyone with a teleport (scorpion, takeda, ermac), the ice klone and the ice ball to space out your opponent. Place an ice klone behind you to keep opponents at bay.
This goes all characters. When trying to punish attacks, if you use a normal move it will come out 1 frame later because recovery from blocking is 1 frame. So trying to punish a move that is -6 will mean you need an attack with 5 frame startup unless its a special attack. Special attacks start up normally because they are reversals.
Sub Zero is a good character to start with if not familiar with Mortal Kombat.
His normals and specials allow him to stay up there in terms of ability with the rest of the cast.
He does not excel at anyone thing but with his different variations can take on many challenges the other cast members can throw at him.
Simple kombos but lacking in high damage keeps him fair.
Can move around the screen nicely with mobility, normals and special moves. But not the fastest by a long shot.
To bring out the best and play a high level Sub one only needs a strong fundamental game. Keep a good high/low game up. Mix in throws when people start blocking correctly. Space your opponent to your advantage.
His meter use is also very giving. Since his damage output is not in the higher tiers his meter can be used defensively and offensively to make your opponent respect your ability. Having two bars of meter should not be a problem and keeps options open for most of the match.
Most of his best kombos only need one meter leaving the rest to be usable as defensive tools or to stop peoples kombos with a breaker.
He may be a base character but if mastered can make offensive players and defensive players understand that Sub most likely has an answer for whatever problems they can present.
The Sub Zero Cyromancer is one of the best places to start out if you are new to fighting games. He is easy to use has longer range attacks and basic combos that deal moderate damage. I recommend playing a passive aggressive style of gameplay. When the enemy is pressuring you just do a backwards quarter circle light punch to push the enemy back and deal about 7% damage. When he is open for attack just go in with lp+LP+LP then ice burst for 16% damage. If you enter with a jump in it goes up to 20%. He is not combo heavy and deals massive damage. A jump in with Ice hammer can also mix up your enemy in a massive way making it a hard knockdown and deal a good amount of damage. My only warning going into Cyromancer is that do not expect to surprise freeze people like grandmaster of have the defence of his other variation. But what he does have is a good amount of damage but slow attacks.
The basic strategy for Sub-Zero is simple. You want to combo into an Ice Ball, then continue your combo with Ice Pain combo string to knock the opponent into the air, allowing for additional damage. The variant you choose will determine which options you have available to do this.
Sub-Zero has a moderately unsafe overhead/low mix-up between the Overhead Smash (Back+2) and the Knee Breaker. The Overhead Smash is not safe if the opponent blocks it, but it will lead to a combo when used in the corner. The Knee Breaker if the first attack of the Ices Up and Cold Encounter combos. Both are unsafe if the opponent blocks, but because you can stop at the second or third attack, it's more difficult for an opponent to punish you.
Grandmaster Variant
Grandmaster is the only variant in which Sub-Zero can use his Ice Klone (Down, Back+2). This time around Sub-Zero can follow an Ice Klone with the Klone Toss (Down, Forward+1) to throw the Ice Klone at an opponent like a projectile attack. Given the size of the Ice Klone this attack can be difficult to avoid, especially if the opponent is not expecting it. The enhanced Ice Klone (Ice Statue) lasts longer and freezes the opponent for a longer period of time.
With the Ice Klone in play you can defend against characters with teleport attacks that hit Sub-Zero from behind. Simply use an Ice Klone, then walk in front of it. If the opponent tries a teleport attack they will hit the Ice Klone and freeze, allowing Sub-Zero to follow with an attack or combo. When Sub-Zero's combo strings are blocked, cancel into the Ice Klone to make things difficult for the opponent.
Unbreakable Variant
The Unbreakable variant should be used if you want to play defensively with Sub-Zero. You gain the Frozen Aura (Down, Back+1) and Barrier of Frost (Down, Back+2) special moves. The Frozen Aura covers Sub-Zero in a layer of ice. While the aura is active you will not take any chip damage from blocking an opponent's attacks. The enhanced version (Ice Aura) also any damage taken. It can be used almost instantly, so you should try to have it active as often as possible.
The Barrier of Frost is essentially an ice parry. It freezes opponents who attempt to attack Sub-Zero while the parry is active. However, if you miss the parry, Sub-Zero is left vulnerable to attack and will likely get punished. The enhanced version (Barrier of Ice) lasts a little longer and activates a little faster. Both options parry all attacks except jumping attacks and X-Rays.
Rating
Cryomancer Variant
Sub-Zero gains the ability to use ice-based weapons in the Cryomancer variant that increase the range of some attacks and give him more damage. He also gains the Frost Hammer (Down, Back+2) and Air Frost Hammer (Down, Back+2 in the air) special moves. The enhanced Frost Hammer (Crushing Hammer) also has armor, which makes it useful as a wakeup attack. However, both versions of the normal Frost Hammer are not safe if the opponent blocks. The Air Frost Hammer is safe, but has limited range. It's best used when jumping over an opponent.
The best aspect of the Cryomancer variant is Sub-Zero's new Down+2 attack (Upward Sword). It's one of the best uppercuts in the game and works very well as an anti-air attack. While Grandmaster gives Sub-Zero the most useful tools thanks to the Ice Klone, if you need the extra damage and range
Fatalities
Chest Kold - Back, Forward, Down, Back, 4 (Close)
Bed of Ice - Down, Back, Down, Forward, 4 (Close)
Brutalities
Snow Ball - With more than 40 seconds remaining in the round, freeze the opponent, then stand a full screen-length away and hit them with Ice Blast (Down, Forward+2+Block).
Splitting Image - In the Grandmaster variation, create an Ice Klone (Down, Back+2) or Ice Statue (Down, Back+2+Block), then kill the opponent by exploding the Klone with Ice Burst (Down, Back+1) or Frost Bomb (Down, Back+1+Block), while holding Back.
Rating