EventHubs' Killer Instinct Thunder impressions

• Thunder is designed to fit the Grappler archetype in the upcoming Xbox One exclusive, Killer Instinct.

• He retains great damage output, with combos that can net over 60% with the use of 2 meters.

• Thunder can use his back throw as a Linker, which will toss the opponent to the opposite side of him. This is a great tactic to use when you find yourself cornered and want to put yourself into a better position on screen.

• Regular back throw also leads to a full grounded combo. Comboing after a throw scales the KV meter (Knockdown Value meter) fairly hard, so you won't be able to score nearly as many hits as a normal combo. In this situation, my combo of choice throughout the night was Back Throw, st. HP, MP Triplax (Linker), HP Auto Double, HP Command Throw Ender. This combo pretty much tapped out the KV meter and resulted in a damage of 40 - 45%. Considering this was a meterless combo and came from a normal Back Throw, it is safe to say that Thunder's damage output is something to be feared.

• Thunder also has some soild normals. Standing Heavy Punch has great range and is special cancel-able. Using this attack in conjunction with a Triplax or Ankle Slicer works very well to close distance between you and your opponent.

• Standing Heavy Kick is a straight kick that functions as a decent poke. I found it worked best when the opponent was cornered. Once a st. HK made contact with them, more often than not, they became hesitant to hit any buttons back. This made for an effective command throw set up.

• Jumping Heavy Punch and crouching Heavy Punch were also solid normals. Crouching Heavy Punch worked well as a quick anti-air, when reacting with a Sammamish just wasn't in the cards.

• Horn Breaker (Forward + Heavy Punch) is a two-hit overhead with quite a bit of range on it. This command normal is special cancel-able and can go into a Light Punch Triplax for some safe pressure or into Ankle Slicer for a tricky high/low mix up.

• EX Call of the Earth (command throw) leads into a free juggle. The most common follow up I used was st. HP, HP Sammamish, Sky Fall. The chances of Sky Fall, (down + Heavy Kick after Sammamish), successfully connecting after a Sammamish, seemed fickle. Sometimes it hit the opponent on the way down, and sometimes it whiffed, leaving me completely open for a punish upon landing.

• Heavy Kick Ankle Slicer has incredible range. It works as a combo opener, has a quick start up, and hits low. At mid-range, Thunder can go into either Horn Breaker (overhead) or Ankle Slicer (low) in order to get the ball rolling.

• Thunder's Shadow moves work well on wake up and as tricky counters to an an opponent pressing buttons. EX Sammamish is a viable reversal option and if blocked, can be followed up with Sky Fall for an additional attack or mix up.

• I found myself using EX Call of the Earth (command throw) much like I would Abel's EX Tornado Throw in SSF4 AE v2012. It seemed to go through enemy attacks and worked well after a Light Punch Triplax up close.

• Although Thunder has ways of moving in quickly, much like a traditional grappler, it feels like he struggles against smart zoning. Jago's fireball game seemed to give me trouble when the opponent stayed almost full screen away. Even with Sammamish going through fireballs, if the Jago's spacing is right, they can punish you when you land. Thunder's Instinct Mode does help with this, but seeing as though you can only use it once per game, you'll have to get in and do your damage quickly.