Scorpion Mortal Kombat 9 Guide

Special Moves

Spear = B, B+1

• Very fast horizontal projectile
• Free combo of choice when connected, including jump in.
• Very punishable if blocked up close and at sweep distance. At mid to long range, punishable by fast specials only.
• Extremely vulnerable on whiff.
• The opponent can crouch block to make this projectile whiff.
• If spear connects opponent in the air, combos that involve b+2 do not launch the opponent as high as they normally do.  

Teleport = D, B+3

• Contains a few invincible frames on start up. 
• Very punishable on block.
• On hit gives free cross over safe jump.
• The opponent can crouch block to make this attack whiff.
• Can be done in the air.
• Free Demon fire on hit.

Demon Fire = D, B+2

• Unblockable appears at the opponent’s feet regardless of location on the screen.
• Only avoidable by jumping, cannot be avoided by normal walk speeds or dashes.
• Scorpion is left at frame disadvantage on hit.
• This attack is incredibly useful for wake ups as it is only escapable by “wake up attacks” which have invincibility frames. The opponent cannot jump to avoid a well timed Hellfire on wake up.
• The active hit box for this move is very short. In wake up situations, it can be easy to accidentally do it too early allowing the opponent to jump away.
• The timing for a wakeup Hellfire can be tricky as it is based on whether the opponent tech rolls or not. However, in untechable situations such as off of a throw or air throw, hell fire is easier to time.
• As a side note, the Enhanced version of this move is extremely easy to time for wake ups. 

Takedown = D, B+4

• Must be blocked low.
• Very punishable on block.
• This move has limited applications as it does only 3% more damage than a B+4 sweep and it is punishable by full combos. 

Air Throw = 1+3 while air born

• Only works on air born opponents.
• Combos off of offensive jump kicks.
• Free Demon Fire or Hellfire on hit. 

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Enhanced Moves

E Flame Spear = B, B+1+5

• Contains one hit of armor at the initial part of the animation.
• Does 4% more damage than the standard Spear.

E Flameport = D, B+3+5

• Contains a 2^nd hitting fire uppercut.
• Uppercut portion cannot be crouched.
• Yields frame advantage on block.
• If done with your back to the corner, this move will yield a corner combo.

E Hellfire = D, B+2+5

• Only 1% more damage than Demon Fire.
• Bigger hit box horizontally and vertically which makes this move much harder to jump than Demon Fire.
• Can be easily used on wake ups to add extra damage to knock downs. However, the opponent can use the invincibility of wake up attacks to avoid this situation. This is how you bait out wake up attacks which are more often than not, unsafe on block. 

E Takeout = D, B+4+5

• Very similar to the non-enhanced version with some added range. Scorpion has much better low options. 

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Normals

1,1

• This is Scorpion's hit confirm string for Spear. 

1,1,1

• This string yields frame advantage on hit.
• You can cancel the last hit into special moves but they do not combo. If you are brave, you can use Takedown here to make your opponent crouch after blocking all three hits. 

2, 1+2

• On hit, you can juggle with Teleport into Spear.
• Second hit is an overhead.
• Very unsafe on block. 

3,3,4

• Very fast start up.
• Safe on block. 
• Knock down. 

B+2

• Overhead launcher.
• Very unsafe on block.
• Combos do not scale as much when this hits an airborne opponent. Using this move an anti- air can yield high damage combos. 

F+4

• This low kick can be cancelled into a Spear essentially making this a low launcher.
• Very unsafe on block is cancelled into Spear. 

F+4,3

• Good frame advantage on hit.
• This string is very unsafe on block, even when it hits a crouching opponent. 

2,1,2

• Third hit is an overhead that knocks down.
• Punishable on block.
• The built in mid hit in this string allows you to mix up with Takedown after the second hit. 

F+3

• Safe overhead which yields a safe jump on hit. 

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X-Ray

• This X-ray has invincibility frames on start up.
• The damage on Scorpions X-ray is lower than average. However, this X-ray is safe on block, a luxury that not many characters have. 

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Strengths

• Scorpion is a high risk character. He can apply several unseeable 50/50s which yield damaging combos and wake ups.
• It’s a good idea to soften your opponent up with F+3 and Sweeps before you start taking risks with B+2 and F+4~Spear.
• Scorpion has several good uses for his meter. E Hellfire is very useful for wake up situations and E Flame Spear’s armor is perfect for dealing with incoming projectiles. Let’s not forget about his safe X-ray and of course Breaker attacks. 

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Weaknesses

• Generally speaking, Scorpion’s damage comes with taking huge risks. Just about all his combo starters are launch punishable in some way.
• Scorpion has several good uses for his meter. This can be a bad thing because you will often be using enhanced moves for wake ups or to deal damage. What this means is that you may not always have a breaker ready when you need it. Meter management is paramount with this character.