warionumbah2
Smash Master
When you call MKs neutral bad are you comparing it to Sheik and Diddy? If not then please refrain from saying this, there's already enough false information on this character as it is.MK's lackluster neutral game, .
Pre Leo
MK users never exploited Uair combos, so the only thing they could refine was their neutral. The gameplan wasn't to obliterate your stock it was to get maximum damage off every punish(mach tornado was good at this), also you anted to go for guaranteed stuff all the time which is why FF Bair confirms weren't used alot instead footstool combo's were being developed. You needed to have a firm grasp of MUs to get far. Uair combos weren't even considered BnB. MKs results during this time was mediocre in the US because of customs, Tyrant got 13th at CEO and Leo was dominating on the down low.
Post Leo
Majority are pocket MKs since everyone had a main at that point, people wanted easy options for the character. Uair combos became more common and became a huge factor in alot of MUs, the only thing stopping MK from being abused at mid level is the difficulty and risk involved in the combo(you could watch a video of mario,ness,cloud,pre patch luig and diddy and do exactly what you see without much practice, this isn't the case for Uair combos). New MKs will ask other MKs nothing more than how to do a BnB combo, they completely ignore fundamentals and how to play neutral in MUs. Then they'll find themselves getting bodied by each and every top tier due to their lack of neutral. Aba got away with this because his punishes were THAT good, G3 he had to face against players who understood the MU due to experience and characters which requires a strong understanding on what you can and cannot do in neutral. Look at the number of new Mks that drowned including Aba, then look at the old school MKs get high placements.
Thats how im seeing things atm, its also becoming more apparent when people use other characters because they're forgetting how to play neutral. Only way i can see a MK forget neutral is if they spam dash attack all day and abuse uair combos on someone who doesn't know how to deal with it.