Best Mortal Kombat characters

Scorpion wins 67% of its duels and tops the Mortal Kombat ranking ahead of Sub-Zero, with Johnny Cage rounding out the top 3.

The rivalry between Scorpion and Sub-Zero extends beyond the lore: the two ninjas are separated by just 6 ELO points at the summit, with Scorpion at 1375 and Sub-Zero at 1369. Johnny Cage follows close behind at 1367, while the sharpest drop in the ranking appears between Noob Saibot at 1348 and Raiden at 1318, a 30-point gap that marks the boundary between the elite tier and the rest of the field. At the bottom, D'Vorah struggles with 989 ELO and a 24% win rate across 37 duels, suggesting the insectoid fighter has few defenders in this community.

This ranking draws from 2577 duels submitted by 41 players across 21 contenders, last updated on 12 October 2026. The tight margins at the top and the wide gaps below reveal a fanbase with strong opinions about the franchise's icons but less enthusiasm for its more divisive additions. If you have a favorite Mortal Kombat character, cast your vote in head-to-head duels on VAINKEURZ and shape the next update of this TopList.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →