Key Highlights:
- Complete guide covering Tanya’s Fatalities, Animality, and Brutalities in Mortal Kombat 1.
- Platform-specific inputs with Input Distance and Execution Difficulty ratings for Fatalities and Animality.
- Brutality requirements include Fighter Mastery ranks, Final Hit conditions, distance requirements, and additional Khaos Reigns Brutalities. Features practical execution advice, platform controls, and video guide.
Quick Links:
Tanya leads the Umgadi, the warrior priestesses responsible for protecting Outworld’s royal family. Her Mortal Kombat 1 fighting style combines a three-section staff with magical abilities including Heavenly Hand, Divine Protection and Seeking Guidance.
Tanya has two character-specific Fatalities, the Kills R Us Animality, The Klassic, five Brutalities unlocked through Fighter Mastery and two additional Khaos Reigns-era Brutalities. This Mortal Kombat 1 guide covers every current finisher alongside its platform inputs, working distances, Final Hits and activation conditions.
How to Perform Tanya’s First Fatality in MK1 (Helping Hands)
Input Distance: Close to Sweep Distance
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️⬇️🅧
- Xbox: ⬇️⬅️⬇️🅐
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️⬇️🅑
Tanya twists her opponent’s head backwards with her staff before forcing the weapon through their mouth. She then summons magical arms that help tear the victim’s head and spine completely from the body.
Helping Hands gives you more room than the basic Close label suggests. Tanya does not need to be standing directly against the opponent, so there is no reason to walk point-blank after a round finishes with a small gap between both fighters.
How to Perform Tanya’s Second Fatality in MK1 (Show Of Hands)
Input Distance: Jump Distance
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️⬇️🔺
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️⬇️🅨
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️⬇️🅧
Show Of Hands summons multiple magical arms that lift Tanya’s opponent from the ground and stretch their body apart. Tanya then launches her staff through the victim, splitting the body and leaving the severed head impaled on the weapon.
I would establish roughly one full jump of space before entering the input. That gives Show Of Hands a much clearer reference point than trying to judge the vague Mid description found in older move lists.
Important: Tanya can also perform the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Winter Fatalities if they are unlocked on the player’s account. These seasonal Fatalities are not unique to Tanya and can be performed by other playable fighters.
How to Perform Tanya’s Animality in MK1 (Kills R Us)
Input Distance: Sweep Distance to Full Screen
Execution Difficulty: Easy
- PlayStation: ⬇️⬅️⬇️⬅️
- Xbox: ⬇️⬅️⬇️⬅️
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️⬅️⬇️⬅️
Kills R Us transforms Tanya into a giraffe that catches the opponent in its mouth and violently swings them around using its long neck. Repeated impacts tear away the victim’s limbs before the Animality ends.
Its extremely broad activation window makes Kills R Us one of Tanya’s easiest finishers to position. If the opponent falls a reasonable distance away, I would leave Tanya where she is and concentrate entirely on the four-direction input.
The giraffe is Tanya’s first Animality in the Mortal Kombat series. She made her playable debut in Mortal Kombat 4, several years after Animalities disappeared from the main series, meaning Mortal Kombat 1 finally gives her an animal transformation of her own.
For the animal transformation used by every other playable fighter, see our complete Mortal Kombat 1 Animality guide.
All Tanya Brutalities in Mortal Kombat 1
Tanya has The Klassic and five character-specific Brutalities unlocked through Fighter Mastery. Rest In Pieces, Hot Head, Head Kase, Kore Sample and Watch This! unlock at Mastery Ranks 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 respectively.
Need A Hand? and Royal Guard were added with the expanded Khaos Reigns-era finisher collection and sit outside Tanya’s original Fighter Mastery progression.
The Klassic
Unlock Requirement: Available by default
- PlayStation: ⬇️ + 🔺
- Xbox: ⬇️ + 🅨
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️ + 🅧
Final Hit: Uppercut
Additional Condition: Hold Back Punch during the Final Hit.
Tanya performs the universal Uppercut Brutality, using her staff as the attack removes the opponent’s head and attached spine.
Continue holding Back Punch once the Uppercut has been entered so the activation condition is already satisfied when the Final Hit connects.
Rest In Pieces
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 3
- PlayStation: L1 or ⬜ + 🅧
- Xbox: LB or 🅧 + 🅐
- Nintendo Switch: L or 🅨 + 🅑
Final Hit: Descendant Blows (Back Throw)
Additional Condition: Hold Up during the Final Hit.
Tanya launches the opponent high into the air before posing beneath them. The victim falls back towards the ground and bursts apart on impact.
Initiate the Back Throw first and then hold Up. Adding the direction after the Throw begins avoids introducing an unnecessary movement input before Tanya has grabbed the opponent.
Brutality Variation: Instead of holding Up alone, hold Up + Back Punch immediately after initiating the Back Throw to trigger the universal MK11-style Screen Throw Brutality. The opponent is thrown towards the camera and cracks the screen.
Because both finishers start from Descendant Blows, the extra Back Punch is what separates the hidden Screen Throw from Rest In Pieces.
Hot Head
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 5
- PlayStation: 🅧, L1 or ⬜ + 🅧
- Xbox: 🅐, LB or 🅧 + 🅐
- Nintendo Switch: 🅑, L or 🅨 + 🅑
Final Hit: Brought Low
Additional Condition: Press Down, Down, Down during the Final Hit.
Tanya completes Brought Low and knocks the opponent onto their back before crushing their head with a powerful staff strike.
Begin the three Down presses once the second part of Brought Low starts rather than waiting for the finishing strike.
I would treat the execution as:
Front Kick → Throw → Down → Down → Down
That separates the Kombo itself from the Brutality condition and removes the need to react to the final animation.
Head Kase
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 7
- PlayStation: ⬇️➡️⬜
- Xbox: ⬇️➡️🅧
- Nintendo Switch: ⬇️➡️🅨
Final Hit: Heavenly Hand
Input Distance: At least Jump Distance
Additional Condition: Hold Forward during the Final Hit.
Tanya fires Heavenly Hand and destroys the opponent’s head when the magical projectile connects.
Head Kase will not activate from close range even if Heavenly Hand would otherwise end the round. I would establish the required spacing first, then perform Down, Forward + Front Punch and continue holding Forward.
NOTE: Do not concentrate solely on the held direction if Head Kase keeps failing. The minimum distance is an equally important part of the Brutality condition.
Kore Sample
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 10
- PlayStation: ⬅️➡️🅾️
- Xbox: ⬅️➡️🅑
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️➡️🅐
Final Hit: Drill Kick
Input Distance: At least Jump Distance
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit.
Tanya performs Drill Kick and destroys the opponent’s lower legs. The victim attempts to crawl away before collapsing from the injuries.
Like Head Kase, Kore Sample has a minimum spacing requirement that needs to be established before attempting the finishing move.
The easiest way I would separate Tanya’s two ranged Brutalities is by their attacks:
Heavenly Hand + hold Forward = Head Kase
Drill Kick + hold Down = Kore Sample
Both use the same minimum spacing, but the Final Hit and held direction are completely different.
Watch This!
Unlock Requirement: Fighter Mastery Rank 15
- PlayStation: ➡️ + 🔺, ⬜, ⬜
- Xbox: ➡️ + 🅨, 🅧, 🅧
- Nintendo Switch: ➡️ + 🅧, 🅨, 🅨
Final Hit: Karma
Additional Condition: Hold Forward during the Final Hit. The opponent must have almost no health remaining.
Tanya performs Karma and uses a rapid series of staff strikes to break away the opponent’s arms before crushing their head with the finishing blow.
Watch This! is easiest to execute by keeping Forward held after the opening Forward + Back Punch. Complete the two Front Punch inputs without releasing the direction.
NOTE: Reduce the opponent to a tiny amount of health before attempting Karma. This Brutality needs the sequence to reach its finishing strike, so starting it against an opponent with too much health can prevent the required Final Hit from occurring.
Additional Khaos Reigns Brutalities
Two more Tanya Brutalities were introduced with the Khaos Reigns-era finisher expansion. Need A Hand? and Royal Guard are separate from her five Fighter Mastery unlocks.
Need A Hand?
Unlock Requirement: Khaos Reigns-era additional Brutality
- PlayStation: ⬅️ + 🔺, 🅧
- Xbox: ⬅️ + 🅨, 🅐
- Nintendo Switch: ⬅️ + 🅧, 🅑
Final Hit: Message From Above
Additional Condition: Hold Down during the Final Hit.
Tanya completes Message From Above and knocks the opponent down before summoning an enormous magical hand that crushes them against the ground.
I would avoid holding Down before beginning the Kombo. Message From Above starts with a directional Back Punch, so keeping the Brutality condition separate makes the sequence easier to enter cleanly.
Royal Guard
Unlock Requirement: Khaos Reigns-era additional Brutality
- PlayStation: ⬜, 🔺, 🔺
- Xbox: 🅧, 🅨, 🅨
- Nintendo Switch: 🅨, 🅧, 🅧
Final Hit: Piety
Additional Condition: Hold Back during the Final Hit.
Tanya performs Piety and finishes the opponent with a staff strike that tears their body apart across the waist.
Do not begin holding Back before the Kombo starts because Tanya’s opening Front Punch can be changed by a directional input.
I would enter it as:
Front Punch → Back Punch → hold Back → Back Punch
That preserves Piety’s opening attack while applying the Brutality condition before its final strike.
Tanya Fatalities and Brutalities Video Guide
The video showcases Tanya’s current Mortal Kombat 1 finisher collection, including both Fatalities, and her Brutalities. It provides a clear visual reference for the finishing animations and is particularly useful for comparing the different Final Hit requirements covered throughout the guide.
In Mortal Kombat 1’s New Era, Tanya’s duties as leader of the Umgadi connect her directly to Mileena and Outworld’s royal family, while Li Mei’s history as the former Umgadi leader remains important to Tanya’s story. You can explore our Li Mei and Sindel finisher guides for their Fatalities, Animalities, and Brutalities.
For the complete playable roster in one place, see our Mortal Kombat 1 Finisher Guide, which brings together every character guide covering Fatalities, Animalities and Brutalities.
