PNDK&M has released another video from the channel’s Mortal Kombat Competitive History series. This time, Ketchup is talking about how strong Kabal has been throughout the Mortal Kombat series.
According to Ketchup, Kabal might just be the overall strongest character in Mortal Kombat history due to him being consistently top tier. Even his weakest appearance ended up being average at the very worst.
It was said that Kabal was top 2 in Mortal Kombat 3 (after Sub-Zero) and either top 1 or top 2 (potentially after Human Smoke) in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Though Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 nerfed Kabal’s Buzzsaw to the point of it being basically useless, Kabal effectively had a perfect kit in both games.
As Kabal skipped Mortal Kombat 4, Mortal Kombat Gold and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, he wouldn’t return to the series until Mortal Kombat: Deception. Because his Nomad Dash had the ability to cause an OTG setup that reset combo damage, Kabal was considered to be strong in Mortal Kombat: Deception, though there were stronger characters in the game.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon marks Kabal’s weakest performance. He’s overall just a nerfed version of how he was in Mortal Kombat: Deception as he lost some tools like his OTG setup during the transition.
In Mortal Kombat 9, Kabal is recognized as the undisputed best fighter thanks to excelling in both rush down and zoning. It’s said that he had no losing match ups, and only a lucky few characters had even match ups against him.
Finally, Kabal began as a mid tier in Mortal Kombat 11. He would eventually become an upper mid tier when each fighter was given a third variation for competitive matches, but it was really the custom variation system that pushed Kabal into the top 5 as it allowed him to combine high damage with excellent mobility.
Check out the video below to hear about how Kabal has evolved throughout Mortal Kombat history:
