Ok, so I guess I'll throw out this concept, since I feel as though it should really be addressed at some point: I feel strongly that Doublade is undeserving of such a high rank, and while I myself don't have much of a knack for slapping letter grades or whatever on such things, I'm quite certain that it should be significantly lower than it currently is, given what else is surrounding it.
I have at almost no point in my experience in this tier (except sorta-ish during the Hawlucha meta, but barely) felt the inclusion of a Doublade would be of benefit to any given team in proportion to the associative risk, and it has in turn under-performed in essentially every match I've seen it utilized in. I'll reference the Knock Off buff only once, since I can only imagine that must've been spammed beyond belief as an argument against it at one point or another, but it does play a significant role in the tier, given a significant sum of Pokemon it would theoretically seek to check carry it as coverage nowadays (Fighting-types, Escavalier, Weavile if you're that desperate, etc.). A further restriction on its defensive capabilities set by the consequential lack of Leftovers recovery, or reliable recovery on any level aside from Rest, is also highly offsetting for a defensively-oriented 'mon such as Doublade, though its good synergy with most clerics and / or wish passers does offset this issue somewhat.
However, one of the biggest complaints I've had with Doublade as a whole is it's inability to yield proportionate return value for the free turns it obtains on the merit of its defensive capabilities, or if I'm not trying to sound smarter than I actually am, the fact that it's passive af. At least to me, a good defensive Pokemon is defined not only by its ability to take on various and / or relevant threats in their given metagame, but also what utilities they are capable of providing in the free turns gained on the merit of their immediate defensive prowess: Florges / Umbreon can provide support w/aromatherapy or wish, Hippowdon can pHaze or set up SR, Forretress can spin or set up hazards, etc. Even with the most basic bulky Water-type, throwing around Scald can be interpreted as a solid use of free turns, since it can yield solid secondary benefits on a fairly consistent basis, and many, such as Suicune or Slowbro, can extend themselves beyond this by doubling as a CM cleaner. Doublade, on the other hand, does not offer any such option, with the closest thing to it being either Swords Dance or Toxic, neither of which being all that effective, given how poor of a sweeper it is. Even as a spin-blocker, it comes across as highly sub-par, as it ineffectively switches in on almost every relevant one barring Forretress, who isn't even threatened by Doublade, and in turn concedes multiples layers of entry hazards to it in what one might consider its 'best match-up' as a spin-blocker. Furthermore, due to its largely passive nature, it very often can concede a free switch to all too many Pokemon, having to go out on a limb if it aims to catch dangerous 'mons like M-Doomer on the switch, and even then being unable to significantly pressure 'mons like Suicune, M-Blastoise, Hippo, Forretress, M-Manectric, Shaymin, Arcanine, Nidoqueen, etc. etc. to the extent that they can't almost always switch into it comfortably and proceed to do with the match-up as they see fit.
All things considered, I struggle to find a reasonable niche for Doublade, let alone one that sets him as high as A- worthy. The only conceivable one I can make of it is perhaps on a defensive team whose Mega slot has already been occupied (thereby disallowing the option of M-Aggron, who I feel fills many of Doublade's intended roles in an outright superior fashion) that supports not only cleric / wish support, but a very strong defensive core to mitigate Doublade's passive nature (so, like, M-Ampharos stall or something?). Regardless, I'd like to get some input on the matter, if it's all the same.
