During the grand finals of a Mortal Kombat 1 event, R1p’s Arena had to make a decision about what appeared to be a new Sindel reset combo. To be perfectly clear, the previous Sindel infinite involving Kameo Sub-Zero in the corner was actually patched out with the latest update. This was an entirely new sequence that involved Sindel that apparently first popped up during this tournament.
With any launch combo, Sindel has the ability to restand the opponent using her scream special, leaving the opponent still open to continue the combo. Following this, she can then end a combo using the “Karthweel” special. Finally, Jax is called at a specific time so that the player can begin a new combo while airborne.
At a glance, this reset combo seems similar to the one that can be performed by Scorpion when paired with Jax. However, there’s apparently a key difference with this other setup that makes it particularly problematic.
As it turns out, most setups involving Jax’s unblockable Ground Pound can be escaped by holding down upon hit. Rather than being launched, this will make it so that the Ground Pound will splat the player character, preventing a reset combo.
Oddly, this escape doesn’t work specifically when the opponent has been hit by Sindel’s Kartwheel special. Without meter to perform a combo breaker, Sindel can effectively delete 80% of a life bar with a truly inescapable sequence.
For better or worse, R1p’s Arena ultimately made the decision to ban this sequence for the rest of the grand finals. Not everyone agreed with the decision, but others did. As such, R1p’s Arena is seeking feedback from the community regarding this situation.
As pointed out by R1p’s Arena, this sequence with Sindel is likely unintentional. The previous patch removed the Sindel’s inescapable reset while paired with Sub-Zero, so this sequence will likely also be patched out with NetherRealm Studios now likely aware of it.
Furthermore, East Coast Throwdown 2023 actually made the decision to ban the previous Sindel unblockable setup, as well as banning the usage of Shujinko as a Kameo when specifically against General Shao prior to the latest patch. Indeed, this latest setup falls in line with those exploits, which would mean that it would also probably be banned had this setup been discovered before.
I’d like to get some community feedback. Today I was put in a situation where I had to decide if this is allowed or if we ban this during our 5k Grandfinals. Since this doesnt seem intended i made the decision to ban this midstream & the community was 50/50 about it. pic.twitter.com/OWPK9OV5gy
— R1p‘s Arena (@R1ps_Arena) November 4, 2023
good point. we took a 30 min break and labbed it & reached out to @X_AZEEZ3 & @mg6 to reconfirm if its somehow avoidable. This is literally my biggest fear as a TO, that i have to make a decision like that. To me it just doesn’t look intentional.
— R1p‘s Arena (@R1ps_Arena) November 4, 2023
additional information: this is a guaranteed, unblockable sequence into 80% percent guaranteed. there’s no way to escape this.
— R1p‘s Arena (@R1ps_Arena) November 4, 2023
