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With Mortal Kombat 1 giving us our beloved yellow cyborg with the Khaos Reigns expansion, we can go for those crazy bomb combos that only Cyrax is capable of. In fact, she’s not a cyborg in this timeline, but a human Lin Kuei wearing yellow armor that Master Armorer has presented to her. Cyrax’s history in Mortal Kombat is rooted way back to 1995, making appearances in multiple games after. But is the cyborg strong in every title? Here we’re ranking Cyrax’s combat capabilities across all Mortal Kombat games.
Who Is Cyrax in Mortal Kombat Games?
Cyrax is a Lin Kuei warrior fighting for their cause on the Earthrealm. When Lin Kuei loses Bi-Han/Sub-Zero in the first Mortal Kombat tournament, they launch the cyber initiative program, with Cyrax, Sektor, and Smoke being the first to join. Cyrax is later restored to gain their anti-Lin Kuei ambition back in the previous Mortal Kombat timelines.
In Mortal Kombat 1, Cyrax is reimagined as a female figure that obeys the command of Lin Kuei’s Master Armorer, Sektor. She doesn’t like how Bi-Han, the Grandmaster, rules the clan, resulting in her departure to join Shirai Ryu.
7. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
The lowest rank of Cyrax’s performance in all Mortal Kombat games, without a single doubt, goes to Deadly Alliance. This game is the first that features Cyrax in the 3D Era of MK, but unfortunately for the cyborg, he’s the worst in kombat throughout this game. It’s not like he doesn’t have any decent combo strings and proper special moves, the main issue is that Cyrax hits like a bug. His hits barely damage the enemy, with the ultimate bomb-string combo draining less than 50% of the opponent’s HP.
6. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Absent in the khaos of Deception, Cyrax returns for his last appearance in the 3D Era in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Cyrax is still fighting with his Ninjitsu style as the main stance, and while he doesn’t have Sambo, he’s been gifted a new Pulse Blade as a weapon. Two things put Cyrax above the Deadly Alliance disaster, and that are the better combos with the new combat system, and the fact that his moves do actually deal heavy damage to the adversary.
5. Mortal Kombat 4/Gold
Mortal Kombat Gold is the alternate version of MK4 with new characters that mess with the gameplay, one of which is Cyrax. We had Sektor as the absolute meta of this game in our previous article about that character, but right behind the red cyborg is Cyrax. While he can’t throw infinite missiles, Cyrax’s air grab, bombs, and air dash are beyond broken. It’s simply unblockable to avoid Cyrax’s grapple attack while there’s a bomb under you.
4. Mortal Kombat XL
As part of the Triborg variations, Cyrax is once again back for creative gameplay and crazy combo strings that would drive the opposing players mad. Not just the ground bombs, this time, Cyrax has an aerial smart bomb special move that can float in the air and detonate in contact. Simple strategy; throw the opponent in the air, do your combo, snatch them in a net, and throw the bombs on the air and ground so that you can reset.
3. Mortal Kombat 9
Just like in MK Gold, Cyrax is unblockable in Mortal Kombat 9, and that’s only thanks to his bombs. No, he doesn’t have that crazy mobility here, but the combos that Cyrax can pull off in this game can go all the way up to 100% HP drain, which is quite massive for a character that’s not banned in the tournaments.
2. Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns
Same as MK9, but easier. Cyrax comes to full potential and reaches the high ranks here in Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns, and it is easier to master her gameplan this time around. With enough meters, you can pull off massive combos that lead up to full HP drain hits. But the thing that puts the character above the rest of the variations above is her neutral stance, which comes with pretty solid combos, and easy-to-learn specials that you can convert into aerial attacks.
1. Mortal Kombat 3
Back in the 2D Era, some characters had this infinite combo string that’d require no big brains and mastery to learn. A good example of this is Noob Saibot’s shadow throw in UMK3, and the same goes for Cyrax and his bombs. Mortal Kombat 3 is Cyrax’s domain in a sense, as you can do a simple hit and bomb reset again and again until the opponent is put out of their misery. They’re back against the wall? Round-house kicks + net special moves are how Cyrax ends their career.
