Bad matchups and how to deal with them(unlike what Flagg said, he has quite a few bad MU's XD):
Many people may have noticed that Baraka is being thrown around in a lot of bottom 5 lists lately, and one of the reasons is because he currently loses to most of the top tier cast that is played at tournaments. To Kombat this, I am going to list each one of his bad matchups and how to deal with them(Wont be done in one go, obviously). If you have anything you would like to add or a matchup you think is either is missing or doesnt deserve to be up here post up.
First off a list of his bad matchups:
Freddy Krueger
Jax
Johnny Cage
Kabal
Kenshi
Kitana
Kung Lao
Raiden
Sonya
Freddy Krueger- The problem with Freddy is he can completely zone Baraka out with full screen frame traps. The first thing to realize is that he CANNOT EX bade charge through Freddy's zoning(when done correctly). That means you have to be patient and dash block forward until you are in range for a blade charge. If Freddy teleports, blade charge will hit him. If Freddy goes into NMS it will hit him. And once you have Freddy up close KEEP HIM THERE. Abuse D4, frametraps, d1 slices and corner pressure to beat Freddy. This is about being patient and keeping Freddy as close as possible.
Kabal- This is of course, one of Baraka's worst matchups. You have to play SAFE. If the Kabal player is iaGBing all over the place, the best thing to do is dash block until you have at least one bar of meter. Once you have that choose the best time to EX blade charge. If it hits, dash more toward the corner. At this point you have to watch out for an EX dash because you will then be in the corner. If you get Kabal cornered keep the pressure with resets obviously. If the Kabal is playing more rushdown and mixing in dash cancels, throw out a couple of d1's and when they hit immediately do slices. Once again abuse D4 when you are in range to keep him in check. NEVER throw out random blade charges because that is punished by dash and a 20-30% combo into reset.
Kenshi- This requires as much patience as the Kabal matchup. Dash blocking is key here, and getting in. Blade charge can be punished by spirit charge, so dont throw to many of those around. If you get meter, and his back is almost to the corner, EX blade charge any of his tele-flurries to get him backed into the corner. Once there punish tele-flurry with blade charge, or rising karma with blade charge. Spirit charge is safe on block I believe, so watch out for that. Once you get him in the corner he doesnt have too much to help him. Use your pressure and resets to win the round. Blade spark is too risky because it is punished by tele-flurry. D4 can keep him at bay for a while, but if you get out of range he can spirit charge.
More to come.
