Tournament Smogon Snake Draft 2018: RU Discussion

[col49]

Snake Draft Introduction​

Howdy. Another year of snake incoming, feel free to discuss the draft, games, metagame trends, and more here. We had some really nice discussion last year, and am hoping for more with this rendition as well. I'll do my best to keep this (fairly) up-to-date with replays and standings, bear with me.

Potential RUers:

Goldenrod Gliders: soulgazer, Luigi
Terminus Taipans: dodmen, august, Sage
Berry Forest Bushmasters: col49, Accelgor, shiloh
Shinto Ruin Serpents: Ajna
Cianwood Cobras: Lycans, Scythe., esche
Lake of Rage Leviathans: Eternally, King Wynaut, KingKDot, Robert Alfons
Lanakila Nagas: MrAldo, Sam
Black City Mambas: FlamingVictini, Aeroblacktyl, Alpha Rabbit, Analytic
Sootopolis Sidewinders: aim, Nat, yjh971203, tko
Ambrette Astrotias: Tricking, Eternal Spirit, lighthouses

Replays

Stage 1
Phase 1:
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Scythe. [COBR]
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Nat [SIDE]
Scythe. [COBR] vs. col49 [BUSH]
col49 [BUSH] vs. Yoppie [GLID]
soulgazer [GLID] vs. Nat [SIDE]
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. lighthouses [ASTR]
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. dodmen [TAIP]
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. Ajna [SERP]
Ajna [SERP] vs. King Wynaut [LEVI]
King Wynaut [LEVI] vs. dodmen [TAIP]

Phase 2:
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. col49 [BUSH]
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Welli0u [GLID]
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Welli0u [GLID]
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Nat [SIDE]
col49 [BUSH] vs. Nat [SIDE]
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. Ajna [SERP]
Alpha Rabbit [MAMB] vs. KW [LEVI]
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. KW [LEVI]
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. august [TAIP]
Ajna [SERP] vs. august [TAIP]

Stage 2
Week 1:
Ajna [SERP] vs. MrAldo [NAGA]
esche [COBR] vs. KW [LEVI]
Eternal Spirit [ASTR] vs. col49 [BUSH]

Week 2:
Ajna [SERP] vs. esche [COBR]
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Eternal Spirit [ASTR]
KW [LEVI] vs. col49 [BUSH]

Week 3:
Ajna [SERP] vs. KW [LEVI]
Sam [NAGA] vs. col49 [BUSH]
Corazan.. [COBR] vs. Tricking [ASTR]

Ajna [SERP] vs. lighthouses [ASTR]
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. KW [LEVI]
esche [COBR] vs. col49 [BUSH]

Power Rankings

1. soulgazer: 2.143 - Gliders

Historically, soulgazer has remained a pinnacle of consistency in the team tours environment, and if anything his past year has even further reinforced this notion; with his last iteration of SPL finally yielding him a trophy and a strong WCoP showing further cementing his ability to branch out, soulgazer has showcased his potency not just as a lower tier player, but a player period. While this second stage of his career has not highlighted building prowess, perhaps the most exemplary shortcoming that might arise from the Gliders RU scene (a tier that building phenomenon TDK has traditionally struggled with), his ability to stick to the basics and outplay have rarely led him astray in these past few years. With the ingenuity of various, broadly effectual builders in tow, soulgazer is surely the player to beat in this season.

2. Ajna: 2.143 - Serpents

Ajna has in these past couple years soundly cemented himself as the most essential RU player of the "new" generation of players, establishing consistency as a player and, unlike various others, seeming to avoid the pitfalls of major tour nerves through rigorous circuit play prior. While his latest SPL saw him in a bit of a slump, the shift in scenery offered by an arguably stronger managerial duo and the presence of likeminded individuals and friends would seem to provide every reason for Ajna to play to capacity in order to retain his trophy. Moreover, the interim period between SPL and Snake has birthed something of a renaissance in his building, opening up to the idea of more unconventional concepts and Pokémon, thereby shedding a lot of perceived issues of one-dimensionality. While this stigma as an entirely self-sufficient player has once again left him without any support to speak of from his teammates, Ajna's ceiling is almost certainly high enough to afford him that leeway.

3. Nat: 3.000 - Sidewinders

While something of a renegade, Nat is undoubtedly one of the strongest players of the pool. Seeming to have escaped most of the nerves that bogged down her previous Snake Draft performance, Nat returns with a commendable SPL performance, a circuit tour win, and even a brief stint in the esteemed RU council under her belt. Furthermore, the team she finds herself on offers an almost unprecedented amount of coincidental RU support in yjh971203, aim, and tko to bounce ideas off, which one might expect could only bolster confidence. Were there any outstanding flaws to be had, Nat is perhaps the most tilt-prone player in the pool thus far, meaning the first preventable loss to be had could potentially snowball into something that could in a worst case scenario result in an unbecoming substitution. However, with an acquaintance in Kaori around to talk her down from situations such as this, Nat does stand firmly along the stronger end of the bell curve.

4. col49: 3.143 - Bushmasters

If he shows up, which does happen occasionally but not during a plethora of other, smaller tournaments, then col49 is a great pickup for RU. He has a superb grasp on the metagame, including how to craft teams and integrate more unorthodox Pokémon or elements in teams in order to give himself an inherent advantage given into games. In addition, col49 has a clear understanding of the playerbase around him and what their tendencies are, thus also playing into this aforementioned preparation dynamic that certainly plays into his favor. He is far from shabby in games themselves, too, as he has shown flashes of dominance and top player potential in numerous past showings. If col49 will be active enough to get the job done, then it would not be too surprising to see him start with a string of victories much like last year, but if things get tough or he gets busy, then it would also not be shocking if he had to get substituted out or simply did not give it his best effort, compromising the ultimate results.

5. dodmen: 4.286 - Taipans

dodmen, while more broadly regarded for his contributions to UU, has remained a very consistent RU player during this leg of the tier, going as far as even preferring it. As a player here his strengths lie in both his aggressive, punishing playstyle and his building approach, which tends to overcome the constraints of stigma placed upon your average RU "main". This combination offers him inherent advantage versus a variety of players within the pool, which in conjunction with his high threshold as a player makes the prospect of playing him something of an ordeal for most anybody. As far as negatives are concerned, himself alongside his support in Sage and august have a certain lack of 'depth' in building, and to that end it is very possible we see a few half-baked ideas fail to get left on the cutting room floor. Moreover, in spite of his skill, dodmen has been consistently delivering middling results in a team tour setting, making a seemingly surefire pick seem somewhat less appealing.

6. lighthouses: 4.714 - Astrotias

lighthouses is a player characterized just as much by his highs as his lows. As a builder, he surely has one of the better minds when it comes to how teams should be built and what needs to be done to achieve certain goals consistently; however, many of these concepts lose the narrative by the time all is said and done, resulting in a product that overlooks huge, overall checklist points. As a player he has exhibited many great games, with his exemplary late-Snake Draft run in the year prior being a standout, but for as many of those games one can pull from a cache of games where he shot the moon overthinking an early-game play. Fortunately, with Arifeen, Eternal Spirit, and (as legend has it) slurmz in his stable, there should be enough peer review to help level out some misgivings the spectators might have for lighthouses, but ultimately it is that uncertainty that pushes him into a middle-of-the-pack ranking.

7. Scythe.: 6.857 - Cobras

Scythe., as some might recall, was a huge rising star some years back, exhibiting a proficiency for competitive play and some very unique, albeit occasionally wonky, building practices. This alongside an impressive UU Open win had poised Scythe. for a lasting position in the tournament community, but instead he opted out entirely, quitting until very recently and emerging now for this tour. While rust is only an excuse for anybody with a pre-2015 join date to rationalize a loss, lack of metagame knowledge is very much a real issue, and this is perhaps the Achilles' heel of the Cianwood Cobras at large. Including the managing duo, Scythe. is being supported by about five players that, with the possible exception of Chill Shadow, at best dabble in the RU tier, which surely goes a long way but will almost always result in a certain lack of nuance that separates good from great. Of the lower ranked players here, Scythe. has arguably the highest ceiling here, but him and his team will definitely need to put in the work to make ends meet.

8. Aeroblacktyl: 7.571 - Mambas

Aeroblacktyl is, as expected, something of an enigma here. Discounting all the rumors circling his name and alleged modus operandi, MoP is a player whose past several years have been almost entirely silent on the Smogon front, with the occasional and admittedly unremarkable tour showing once in a blue moon. Of the more recent endeavors was a modest showing in RUPL under FlamingVictini, a scenario reyscarface seems to have sought to replicate here. As a legendary player in his heyday, Aeroblacktyl alongside support from aforementioned collaborator FlamingVictini and promising newcomer Alpha Rabbit would surely be something to be feared; however, this second stage of his career has not been nearly as fruitful. Just as with Scythe., the potential for Aeroblacktyl to return in prime form is incredibly dangerous, but unless he has been playing a fantastic long con in anticipation of this very tour, the likelihood is somewhat lower.

9. MrAldo: 7.857 - Nagas

RU workhorse and recent product of post-SPL hype MrAldo, having received high praise for his support during the Wolfpack's season, is unfortunately put in a compromising position with his first major tournament as a drafted player. While being a very capable builder and excellent teammate, his capacity as a player and the high likelihood of nerves have come under scrutiny, with many members of the community positing it to have been in his best interest to spent some time on the bench before being thrust onto the front lines. However, with only moderate RU interests in Sam and GaryTheGengar as alternatives, Aldo finds himself as something of a lesser of evils. While his tenacity and solid building could find him prying one or more wins out, he unfortunately is projected to struggle in a pool of players such as this.

10. King Wynaut: 8.429 - Leviathans

While perhaps something of an overreaction to be placed last, the tenth spot does aptly characterize the underdog that is King Wynaut here. In a bid to escape the unfortunate tag of "2016 Arifeen", King Wynaut has been characterized by many as loud-mouthed and mediocre, attributing his success in circuit play and the like to anything but skill. Be that as it may, his performances of the past several months do ultimately outweigh the three players ranked above him, currently holding the most points of the 2018 circuit, and as the trend has gone he is backed by a surprising amount of support; Eternally, Robert Alfons, and KingKDot all play RU at a high enough level to provide solid feedback to stabilize his performance or offer a solid sub if all goes south. With almost nothing to lose but Finchinator's respect, King Wynaut has to take his spot in the limelight for all it's worth to prove he deserves a spot amongst the tour vros.

Player Standings

1. Leviathans - KW [7-1]
2. Serpents - Ajna [6-2]
3. Nagas - MrAldo [3-4] / Sam [1-1]

Phase 2 Exit:

1. Bushmasters - col49 [5-4]
2. Cobras - Scythe. [1-3] / esche [0-3] / Corazon [0-1]
3. Astrotias - lighthouses [0-5] / Eternal Spirit [0-2] / Tricking [1-0]

Phase 1 Exit:

1. Sidewinders - Nat [3-1]
2. Mambas - Aeroblacktyl [2-1] / Alpha Rabbit [1-0]
3. Gliders - sougazer [0-1] / yoppie [1-0] / Welli0u [1-1]
4. Taipans - dodmen [0-2] / august [1-1]

 

[-Tsunami-]

well unfortunately I am unable to post in the Tournament forum as a trade-off for my fire flames red aesthetic
therefore, I will once again grace this community with my presence. I will admit I have not watched or played RU in a rather long time, but I have definitely seen most of these people play the tours that really matter on Smogon, so I think I have a pretty good grasp on my own player rankings.
so while you wait for col49's thoughts, hf w ya boy humble af VOD METABEAST'S FIRE FLAMES POWER RANKINGS

1. soulgazer
I find it extremely difficult to rank anyone in a lower tier in an official team tour over SG. God knows how, but he never fails to consistently deliver 7+ wins every SPL; he even did astonishingly well in World Cup this year in the thinking gen. Experience matters in official tours, and no one on this list has close to the amount of experience as soulgazer. He knows how to win, and I think TDK will get a solid enough grasp on the metagame to help him thrive.
2. Ajna
Ajna followed a dominant Snake with a disappointing SPL; a lot of this, at least to me, can be blamed on motivation and a lack of time commitment. I feel as though I have to give him the benefit of the doubt here, especially since I've watched him play a decent amount of games over the past year too. He is a very talented battler, and to me, there's no one else below him who has done enough to surpass him. If Ajna is not derailed yet again by the meme known as the 3D world, he has a very good chance to prosper.
3. col49
49 is in some ways an enigma. Everyone knows about his intellectual posts and vast knowledge of the metagame. However his inactivity combined with his minimal showings in tournaments over the past few years has left many people in the dark in regards to his skill. I trust in his activity for this tournament, based on what people have said about him from the last snake draft. I also will once again believe in Tony's ability to get the most out of his players. 49 is in a prime position to succeed, and time after time, he manages to generate countless techs that give him the edge in his games.
4. dodmen
dodmen's playing ability and skill seem to be a contentious issue among various individuals. I suppose my opinion falls somewhere in the middle...which is why he is ranked close to the middle. I don't really see dodmen as a standout player, but based on the pool, I think he has a decent enough chance to go positive. dodmen has been surrounded by high expectations since his breakout into the tour scene, and is 0/2 in terms of going positive in UU in team tours. Keep in mind that UU is a tier he supposedly mastered, as can be seen by his #1 Power Ranking in SPL. dodmen in some sense is the anti-soulgazer, and I can't justify giving him a top 3 spot seeing as he has been unable to go positive in a tier I can only assume he knows far better than RU.
5. Nat
After an extremely lackluster Snake Draft, everyone on the planet was ready to cast Natalie aside like a torn-up doll. However, Nat proved to be a force to be reckoned with in SPL, going 5-0 while defeating top threats such as Ajna and windsong. I can't really say that Nat is in the best environment to succeed based on the extremely lackluster group of teammates the mainers have assembled, but regardless, Nat definitely has potential to surpass those above her and rise to the top of the standings once again. I wouldn't be particularly surprised to see her trajectory go the other way, either, but I have higher hopes for her than the rest of the individuals ranked below her.
6. lighthouses
Diogo finds himself on the lower half of these rankings, but he definitely has a decent enough shot of beating some of the people ranked above him. His metagame knowledge is well-known, and he occasionally displays flashes of battling prowess. With an amazing sidekick in slurmz by his side, lighthouses comes in with high hopes for the tournament. He has the potential to finish with a top 3 record, and he is close in skill to his peers. Personally, I just like the individuals ranked above him slightly more.
7. Scythe.
Now, we're into the part of the rankings that becomes extremely difficult to rank. My catastrophic failure in SPL 8 taught me one thing: crusts are dogshit. However, when the people below this list are two extremely unproven mainers and godfather mop, it becomes extremely difficult to rank this group. Scythe. has been learning the metagame recently, and was highly regarded before his exit from Smogon a couple of years ago. To me, there is a big gap between 6th and 7th on these rankings, but of the people in the bottom 4, I would give him the best shot of performing remotely admirably
8. MoP
THE GODFATHER HIMSELF. My first real manager on Smogon and a man with an extremely fire personality and sense of humor, Mop hops into a lower tier in a team tour yet again. I'm honestly not sure what to make of him, and I'm also not sure how in the world he was a Round 5 pick. Regardless, if MoP can channel some of his former battling acumen and decides to stop cheesing people with Monotype (although, he has won with it before...), he has the capability to surpass this ranking. He performed the best out of his teammates in the last RUPL, showing that some sparks of skill are still there. If this ranking was happening prior to SPL 8, MoP would have been a top 5 player. However, with the way my brain is wired currently, he finds himself here.
9. Mr. Aldo
Mr. Aldo and King Wynaut are both very unproven mainers, stepping into the limelight for the first team tours. I've seen some of their games, but personally, I don't really factor in anything that isn't an official tournament, so the results themselves aren't that impactful to me. In all honesty, I'm giving Mr. Aldo a slight bump simply due to the fact that he helped the fire flames Wolfpack and my friend soulgazer the entirety of the previous SPL, and was able to witness first-hand the inner workings of an SPL team and the amount of scouting, testing, and preparation needed to win an RU game in an official tournament.
10. King Wynaut
Now this my friends, is a real enigma. King Wynaut basks in the glow of an official tournament for the very first time. How he will fare remains to be seen, as we have seen many mainers crumble under the limelight and wreck their perceptions for eternity. It doesn't exactly help him that he's surrounded by the worst team in the tournament that FOR SOME REASON PICKED ROBJR IN ROUND 2 OH MY GOD WTF IS THIS! Sorry, I had to mention that at some point, jesus christ. Anyway, time will tell if King wynaut is able to create a foothold for his future tournament endeavors in Snake 2, or if the more seasoned players in the tournament will eat him alive.

 

[Kushalos]

Damn not even included ;;

 

[Pearl]

Damn not even included ;;

sit down boy

 

[MrAldo]

Im really REALLY excited about this, like a small kid getting some new toys. For real, for real. Really looking forward to what could unfold, the player pool looking really REALLY competent so this gonna be great. Love the Nagas for allowing me to be part of this.

With a new format on the loose, the tournament now is gonna have 2 divisions (Sun and Moon division) and, IIRC, you get to play 2 opponents on a timelapse of 2 weeks whenever so that means 4 weeks tops for the first round of the tournament. Lets take a look to the divisions:

Sun Division: Gliders with soulgazer, Luigi, and maybe even Welli0u. Bushmasters with col49 on the lead, Sidewinders with Nat, Cobras with esche and Scythe., and finally Nagas with me and Sam.

Moon Division: Serpents with Ajna, Leviathans with Robert Alfons and King Wynaut, Taipans with dodmen, Mambas with Aeroblacktyl, and Astrotias with Diogo (lighthouses) and Tricking (doubt ES is picking this up unless Diogo is missing since he is mainly an OU player).


After seeing this carefully, both divisions are rather even on the RU spot, but the side that certainly makes most viewer go like "oh shit" is the Sun Division. 3 big names in col49, sg, and Nat duking it out with Scythe. making a return (and me looking to not get destroyed here, assuming I start. I will do my damn best if I do tho!)

Moon division could have some fun matches for sure, seeing Ajna and lighthouses play is gonna be a fun one, with potential debuts like King Wynaut with 2 players with a long route in dodmen and Aeroblacktyl which have proven to be really competent at the tier on this year with good RUPL records under their belt.

Good stuff all around!

 

[lighthouses]

Ur a good stuff all around

 

[Nat]

I guess I can weigh in on the field with my thoughts. To me what's coolest is that this snake hosts a broad range of RUers, such as established current-gen mainstays, older returning players, and fresh faces to the teamtour scene. As far as the pool's difficulty, it looks a lot more threatening than I first imagined it would upon learning that sv/windsong cancelled their signups. I'm probably most excited to see how scythe does upon his return, especially in a pool with seasoned folks like sg and 49. It definitely helps that he has cs and esche for support though, the latter of which I'm super happy to see back in ru! Seeing king wynaut/robert alfons get picked made me happy, though I was surprised to see them on the same team as eternally is pretty decent ru support as it is. Hopefully they both get to play! Aeroblacktyl/Rabbit seems like an interesting dynamic, I could see both of them getting starting time as the season goes on, maybe not though lol. I have a decent number of pals on the moon side of RU, so hopefully those games are clean & worthwhile all around. It wouldn't shock me if Ajna ends up with the best record in the moon pool, he seems committed lately and back in form. I guess as a last random thought, kinda bummed roman didn't get picked as far as people looking to get a first shot go, I think he had a reasonable chance to find success in this field, but I guess there's only so many spots. Anyway I hope it'll be a fun season, I'm sure lots of people have high hopes and obviously not everyone will do as well as they want to, which sucks. I could see a lot of people going like 3-1 or 1-3/0-4, as the field is that competitive. Good luck to everyone =D!

 

[lighthouses]

Aldo vs. Scythe
Aldo vs. Nat
Scythe vs. col49
col49 vs. Soulgazer
Soulgazer vs. Nat

Mop vs. lighthouses
Mop vs. Dodmen
lighthouses vs. Ajna
Ajna vs. KW
KW vs. Dodmen

Alright so these are the likely matchups for phase 1, i think i got them right but i am very small brain so lmk if i messed up somewhere.
Some of these are pretty hype like SG vs Nat and SG vs 49, share your thoughts

 

[col49]

alrighty, the power rankings have been incorporated into the op for those not already following the tour like that, feel free to check out the full article here cuz i here from a reputable source a lot of work were put into them. additionally, the first set of games have been announced:

Sun Division:
MrAldo vs. Scythe.
MrAldo vs. Nat - 8/25 (Sat.), 11 am
Scythe. vs. col49
col49 vs. soulgazer
soulgazer vs. Nat

Moon Division
Aeroblacktyl vs. lighthouses
Aeroblacktyl vs. dodmen
lighthouses vs. Ajna
Ajna vs. King Wynaut - 8/24-25 (Fri.-Sat.), 8:30 pm
King Wynaut vs. dodmen

(all times listed in est)

as with last year, i'll be putting forth an effort to edit scheduled times into the post for those interested in catching any of these live, since i do genuinely feel it adds to experience. if you're anything like me, you thought we were starting a week from now and despite being managed by two td's was still not made fully aware that this was the route being taken and are therefore not ready to play yet, but perhaps we'll manage some games in the earlier half of the phase regardless. notwithstanding, there's hardly a dull game in the phase so i'd be curious to see what others think of them, feel free to share your thoughts!

 

[KW]

MrAldo vs. Scythe. why'd evigaro go undrafted again
MrAldo vs. Nat, Nat will outplay most likely, could be the biggest potential for upset tho if Nat gets tilted by whatever build Aldo brings / some unfortunate early turns
Scythe. vs. col49 Col49 should have a much better comprehension of the meta, and is slightly less rusty coming off RUPL
col49 vs. soulgazer I think Soulgazer plays at a higher level than 49 and being slighly astranged to the metagame might actaully help them verus Col49's antimeta tech heavy builds
soulgazer vs. Nat I don't think anyone disputes this as the HL mu, but I think Nat playing at 100% can win based on having a probably more intimate knowledge of the metagame

Moon Division
Aeroblacktyl vs. lighthouses i don't think lh has won a game of sm ru
Aeroblacktyl vs. dodmen i expect off beat teams from both, but think dodmen has more playing experience as of late
lighthouses vs. Ajna ajna's team will be better and he will win in unspectacular fashion

 

[lighthouses]

Im curious to see how aldo will perform, i think having a great understanding of the metagame goes a long way in giving yourself favorable matchups even if on paper the opponent has more outplaying potential than you, and all the teams ive seen him use recently have been rock solid so he definitely has a good fighting chance(more than what ppl credit him for, at least)
Ive been hearing a lot of talk about tdk not actually enjoying ru much? Although i cant really know for sure it would be interesting to see what SG can come up with by himself.
Also curious to see MOP in action mainly because i like FV's teams(i think they're on the same team?? i could be entirely wrong)
I think the ru pool this year is relatively tight in that anyone can beat anyone mostly, so im expecting all the games to be at least decent.
Might play ajna today btw, hf all

 

[Eternal Spirit]

MrAldo vs. Scythe. why'd evigaro go undrafted again
MrAldo vs. Nat, Nat will outplay most likely, could be the biggest potential for upset tho if Nat gets tilted by whatever build Aldo brings / some unfortunate early turns
Scythe. vs. col49 Col49 should have a much better comprehension of the meta, and is slightly less rusty coming off RUPL
col49 vs. soulgazer I think Soulgazer plays at a higher level than 49 and being slighly astranged to the metagame might actaully help them verus Col49's antimeta tech heavy builds
soulgazer vs. Nat I don't think anyone disputes this as the HL mu, but I think Nat playing at 100% can win based on having a probably more intimate knowledge of the metagame

Moon Division
Aeroblacktyl vs. lighthouses i don't think lh has won a game of sm ru
Aeroblacktyl vs. dodmen i expect off beat teams from both, but think dodmen has more playing experience as of late
lighthouses vs. Ajna ajna's team will be better and he will win in unspectacular fashion

now i understand why people trashtalk you the WHOLE TIME LMFAO

 

[Ajna]

Sun Division:
MrAldo vs. Scythe.- while a great player, i'm not convinced scythe is anywhere near in touch with the meta, or has shaken off all that rust. aldo is a solid builder that knows the meta inside and out, but i don't think the playing ability is there yet. i have this as the closest game this phase.

MrAldo vs. Nat- nat is the most solid in the tour, despite what the pr's say, and I think she takes this pretty easily. hopefully aldo brings some fire team and makes it close though.

Scythe. vs. col49- col is incredibly hard to prep for due to his diversity in the teambuilder, and he backs it up with solid play. as i said, i don't think scythe is anywhere near top form atm, so i think col takes this pretty easily (if he shows up).

col49 vs. soulgazer- sg is always solid, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't build ru and his support this year is like tdk, so idk. i think col brings something solid and wins in a close one.

soulgazer vs. Nat- basically the same reasoning as above. if sg can bring a solid team then my predict is different, but i think he may struggle vs the upper half of the pool this year due to lack of support.

Moon Division
Aeroblacktyl vs. lighthouses- i think that diogo will want to win badly after the early loss and will take this seriously. i don't know much about mop, but from i've heard he hasn't ru'd since rupl, so i think diogo takes this.

Aeroblacktyl vs. dodmen- im not always a fan of dodmen's hyper aggressive playstyle, and horrid tiering opinions, but most of you prolly don't know me n him go way back, so i wish him the best of luck playing ru this year.

King Wynaut vs. dodmen- this game is gonna be wack as shit, but dod can play aggressively without clicking, so i think he takes this.

 

[Hot N Cold]

SM RU Phase 1

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Noivern            |    8 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 1    | Gligar             |    8 |  40.00% |  37.50% |
| 3    | Blastoise          |    7 |  35.00% |  71.43% |
| 4    | Doublade           |    6 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 4    | Virizion           |    6 |  30.00% |  50.00% |
| 4    | Drapion            |    6 |  30.00% |  50.00% |
| 7    | Bronzong           |    5 |  25.00% |  60.00% |
| 8    | Zygarde-10%        |    4 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Roserade           |    4 |  20.00% |  75.00% |
| 8    | Steelix            |    4 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Shaymin            |    4 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Toxicroak          |    4 |  20.00% |  25.00% |
| 13   | Slowking           |    3 |  15.00% |  33.33% |
| 14   | Milotic            |    2 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Gardevoir          |    2 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Necrozma           |    2 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Snorlax            |    2 |  10.00% |  50.00% |
| 14   | Vaporeon           |    2 |  10.00% |  50.00% |
| 14   | Mandibuzz          |    2 |  10.00% |  50.00% |
| 14   | Whimsicott         |    2 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Dragalge           |    2 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Registeel          |    2 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Mismagius          |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Gigalith           |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Stoutland          |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Feraligatr         |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Ribombee           |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Goodra             |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Aerodactyl         |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Abomasnow          |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Donphan            |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Porygon2           |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Sawk               |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Salazzle           |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Vanilluxe          |    1 |   5.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Meloetta           |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Golem-Alola        |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Nidoqueen          |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Sableye            |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Araquanid          |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Chesnaught         |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Jellicent          |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Lycanroc-Dusk      |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Forretress         |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Bewear             |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Flygon             |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Marowak-Alola      |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Klinklang          |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Tyrantrum          |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Ninetales          |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Sigilyph           |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Sneasel            |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Quagsire           |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Barbaracle         |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Espeon             |    1 |   5.00% |   0.00% |

 

[MrAldo]

Zygarde-10% with the whopping 100% win rate. GoaT mon.

Anyways, the matchups for phase 2 have been posted

For the Sun Division

USUM RU:
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. col49 [BUSH]
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Welli0u [GLID]
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Welli0u [GLID]
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Nat [SIDE]
col49 [BUSH] vs. Nat [SIDE]

For the Moon Division

USUM RU:
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. Ajna [SERP]
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. KW [LEVI]
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. KW [LEVI]
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. dodmen [TAIP]
Ajna [SERP] vs. dodmen [TAIP]

Discuss, make predicts, etc. I am looking forward to share an analysis of my first 2 official tour games ever after this phase so stay tuned for that I guess.

LETS GO!!

 

[Feliburn]

I'm gonna drop some comments I had of this 1st phase and maybe post somethin about phase 2
Salt aside, as a spectator most of this games were rlly disappointing to watch in terms of builds and certain plays, tho I appreciate the glimpse of innovation I saw from a lot of ppl

props to Nat for prepping well, got rlly good matchup and played them well

to a lot of the haters, KW being 2-0 is surprising, tho he did get lucky vs ajna after being pressured by super aggro plays that ended up working, the other game was good matchup vs dodmen, p smart team choice from kw, gotta give credit

speaking of dodmen , imagine bitching about a team that loses to toise and then bringing one that got raped by it ROFL

Rlly enjoyed MrAldo 's team vs scythe, it was a rlly cool balance team and I'm a sucker for those, lets fucking go aldo

Mop being 2-0 was a shocker at first but he performed decently besides the 1st team I saw lmao, crazy ass techs, can respect that

Ajna lighthouses


As for phase 2, not gonna do predicts, but I'm looking forward to see what older players who clearly had a big disconnect from the meta before phase 1 (scythe and mop) will bring now that they had some current meta play the past 2 weeks.

Welli0u jumping in ru this phase is interesting, I dont think sg will keep RUing, tho I was expecting the goat yoppie to jump in after his dub but I hope I'm pleasantly surprised.

All in all I hope the quality of games rises as it's giving the tier a bad image ROFL, gl players and have fun.

 

[termi]

Sun:

MrAldo [NAGA] vs. col49 [BUSH] - 49 should be eager to take a win after a disappointing start, as a player i give him the edge over aldo but whereas aldo's been bringing some consistently solid (if safe) squads, 49 brought stuff that was a bit more out there for better or worse. question is if he can bring creative teams this week that are not too weak to one or another top threat
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Welli0u [GLID] - sad that sg had to drop out so soon, but welliou is a more than capable replacement. the gliders are starting to find their footing in ru teambuilding and welliou's simply the more experienced player of the two so im giving it to him
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Welli0u [GLID] - potentially one of the closest matches this round provided scythe works on his teambuilding and doesn't bring a whimsicott (bad), giving the well a slight edge but i find this one difficult to predict
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Nat [SIDE] - scythe has yet to really find his footing in this meta whereas nat has been on top of it all year, i'd be surprised if scythe took the win here but crazier things have happened ig
col49 [BUSH] vs. Nat [SIDE] - this could be a very hype match, both players are great but nat tends to come more prepared, if 49 really puts in the extra mile this round tho we could be seeing a very close match

Moon:

Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. Ajna [SERP] - mop's definitely not afraid to bring some really wild shit to try and catch ajna off guard, but i don't think he'll succeed, ajna knows how to make his teams bullshitproof and he's the best we got in ru in this tour, can't really predict against him
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. dodmen [TAIP] - diogo's a solid player and builder who can put up a tough fight vs anyone, dodmen does have some outplaying potential but his builds haven't been the greatest this week and i feel he has some general building tendencies that are easy to exploit. he also brought a whimsicott last round which is just unforgivable. definitely giving diogo the edge here
Ajna [SERP] vs. dodmen [TAIP] - ajna's just a great player and more on top of the meta than dod, gotta give it to him

last weeks were pretty disappointing ru-wise, too many matches were decided on matchup, i think the biggest challenge for most people starting this round lies in the prep stage, balancing between creativity and keeping a solid matchup vs all big threats can be tough and not everyone seems to have mastered that yet. excited for this round and hoping to see some people get into it more, good luck all and gooooooooooo leviathans !_!

 

[lighthouses]

USUM RU:
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. col49 [BUSH] - 49s strenght lies in the prep stages and there just isnt that much intel on Aldo so far, who i dont think has show many notable patterns or deficiencies that can be taken advantage of. I honestly dont know who would win a neutral matchup here, i feel like people undervalue Aldos playing ability a ton, idk should be a good watch.
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Welli0u [GLID] - ru prep hasnt been too good in the gliders
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Welli0u [GLID]
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Nat [SIDE] - i want both to win omg!! but realistically scythes gonna have to upset here
col49 [BUSH] vs. Nat [SIDE] - different from Aldo i think Nats definitely someone 49 can use his 200iq vinyl collecting brain to nab a good matchup versus, although i do think Nat has more outplaying potential, good watch!!!

USUM RU:
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. Ajna [SERP] - not much to say here, the Mambas got the prep right both times phase 1 but Ajna has been keeping things diverse enough to where im not sure if thats gonna work out
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. KW [LEVI] - while Mop did have two good matchups hes shown very few signs of slipping, with very minimal missplays, whereas kw made a lot of questionable decisions in his games, i think Mops a better pilot(kw has better ru support however)
Ajna [SERP] vs. dodmen [TAIP] - if dod can bring a good team and nab a neutral matchup this will be a good watch

Looking foward to both of 49s games(were both looking to recover from the WASHING we received in the last phase :weary:) everything else seems fairly uninteresting besides the Scythe vs Welli0u game which im curious about.
glhf everyone

 

[col49]

alrighty, op should be up-to-date once again, apologies for the lack of interaction on my part, was a little low on pokemon. notwithstanding i'll do my gosh darnedest to keep track of some times this week, hopefully provide something more useful to the community haha.

schedule

Sun Division

MrAldo [NAGA] vs. col49 [BUSH]
MrAldo [NAGA] vs. Welli0u [GLID]
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Welli0u [GLID] - 9/12, 3 pm
Scythe. [COBR] vs. Nat [SIDE] - 9/09, 6-7 am
col49 [BUSH] vs. Nat [SIDE] - 9/16

Moon Division

Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. Ajna [SERP]
Aeroblacktyl [MAMB] vs. KW [LEVI] - 9/16
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. KW [LEVI] - 9/07, 3 pm
lighthouses [ASTR] vs. dodmen [TAIP]
Ajna [SERP] vs. dodmen [TAIP]

i figure now is as good a time as any to extend congrats to nat, mop, and kw for their success, in addition to the aldo, yoppie, and the aforementioned kw for their first (as far as i can tell atm, please be patient i do my best here) wins in a 'major' tour; while not all mind-blowing games, consistency is huge here obviously, and it's awesome to see the fresh batch succeed on the whole. that said, i do have to echo the sentiment that a lot of these games were not hugely rewarding from the viewers perspective, including some very linear games that game obviously be attributed to a strong pre-game (kw vs.dodmen and yoppie v.myself strike me as solid examples of building to their opponent and jut reaping the benefits) but don't do a whole lot for people looking for some interesting turns. i'd say that if anybody wanted to id a 'highlight' game in the previous phase, i would go to ajna v.lighthouses and (at risk of sounding conceited) myself v.scythe, not necessarily as a discredit to any of the other players here but moreso to touch upon some of the most pokemonning done in a game. i feel as though there were some very interesting turns in the ajna lighthouses game, including the layers that came in with the drapion vs.sigilyph turn, and (again, i went out of my way to double check i'm not just being a blowhard, idt i'm alone in this sentiment) myself v.scythe i fee had a ton of really tight turns and predictions to be made, in spite of the fact that it was somewhat sullied by a missav resulting in my sableye lacking will-o-wisp.

to speak to the round broadly, i feel as though blastoise very much characterized the round in a lot of ways; many teams could be quantified by their tendency to 'just lose' to it, and be it in prep or application it was probably the most intimidating mon to work against. myself and a few others were discussing the merits of its various minor tweaks that can be made to it, coming to the consensus that currently the broadly 'best' set, spin / dark / ice / fighting, is pretty voracious right now, arguably hinging on broken and accounting for one of the more flexible and dangerous threats to your traditional balance and bulky offense builds. to illustrate, the team i built for the gliders, which by most conventional definitions is fairly sound defensively, is and was ravaged by that particular blastoise set, and in preparation I neglected it on the assumption that soulgazer was not intimately familiar with this set. to that end, i felt comfortable that the combination of snorlax, jellicent, and chesnaught (with the added softcheck of registeel and the option to pick it off after sr + spikes via z dragon noivern) would wall any traditional permutation of blastoise, and while an untimely ice beam freeze disallowed me from toxic'ing and presenting the option to dance around the threaten, by the time it was done clicking odds were i was unable to respond to the remaining threats. i do feel this will continue to be a pivotal facet of the tour scene and am very much curious to see how folks adapt to its formidable presence in future games.

touching upon personal performance, i'm a bit happy i could receive a kick in the pants like this, good for motivation. i don't regret any plays made in my games, and i believe that in my game vs.scythe in particular i did well enough to set myself to win on the caveat of actually having the sableye set i wanted (not to suggest scythe played poorly, it was an impressive return to form, particularly some of his gligar doubles), but it all does somewhat speak to how folks view my comfort zone in tour games. hoping to dig myself out of the hole in the future, 'cuz apparently i'm not as comfortable getting carried as i would've expected.

e: nat used a donphan

 

[Sir Isaac Mewton]

So far everyone except for Nat, Kw and Ajna isn't at top form. Hopefully the people we've all been doubting since before the tour will do better in the next rounds.

As for predix, KW will go undefeated and ajna, Nat will each lose like 1 more game

 

[teal6]

go Ajna and also my friend Nat

 

[lighthouses]

i am also rooting for the 2 individuals in question

 

[Denial]

[SERP] Ajna vs MrAldo [NAGA]
[COBR] esche vs KW [LEVI]
[ASTR] col49 vs Eternal Spirit [BUSH]

MUs of the first week of snake https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/smogon-snake-draft-ii-stage-2-week-1.3641779/#post-7909774
Aldo vs Ajna is easily the hl match in my eyes

Predictions

[SERP] Ajna(51) vs MrAldo(49) [NAGA] im giving more credits to ajna only because he has more experience, but I can see this going either way
[COBR] esche vs KW [LEVI] Really don't know much about esche so im not gonna say much
[ASTR]col49(35) vs Eternal Spirit(65) [BUSH]
I really didn't like col's performance and es imo is a better player over all

Gl hf

 

[Master Chief]

Might as well give some predictions for fun :D

[SERP] Ajna vs MrAldo [NAGA] : I've been impressed by both Aldo and Ajna this snake. I think in particular Aldo has shaken off his doubters about playing at a high level and his teams have been nothing short of solid and consistent with some really nice lures and techs I've been a fan of. However I do feel like while Aldo has cemented himself already as one of this tier's best builders if not outright the best one right now, I've not gotten behind a few of his plays in his losses. Ajna is all around very solid in both playing and building so I'm giving him the edge based on very solid outplaying even in absolutely terrible matchups and a vast amount of experience at a high level. Ultimately this will be extremely close and I think an amazing game to spectate. If aldo is able to bring the right techs and calmly assess the situation and make a game plan based on the right plays I think he'll take it but my gut feeling is telling me to go with Ajna

[COBR] esche vs KW [LEVI]: Esche has been an good tournament player in general and has had some good showings from what I've seen so he's clearly capable of being able to play and manoeuvre himself into a commanding position if the matchup is even or in his favour. However, I think King Wynaut has a few very good things going for him that'll enable him to take this match. Firstly is really solid support from fagtron and eternally. I think KW is the best supported RU player in the pool and will have plenty of help in making a very solid team. Secondly KW this snake and in ssnls has demonstrated his wide array of different playstyles he's able to bring and play with confidence at high level tournaments. Ultimately I think a possible lack of support for esche with up to date metagame knowledge in RU could cause him to bring a slightly more predictable team but I could definitely be wrong on this and am interested to see what support chill, snaga and scythe can give him

[BUSH] col49 vs Eternal Spirit [ASTR]: I think this will turn out to be a very very good game more than people are expecting it. Col prides himself on building teams that take advantadge of the latest metagame trends and exploit people's reliance on certain metagame staples not being afraid to bring the right tech with the right mon if the situation calls for it. After a rough start in phase 1, he bounced back really well in phase 2 and I really enjoyed his game vs Mr Aldo where after a horrendous turn 1 he was able to bring it back with the broken doggo. Eternal spirit is an extremely good player and far from the 'clicker' people brand him as. He makes very smart decisions on when to be aggressive in a game when it calls for it to get an early advantadge and then work his way through the game from then. Furthermore ES also has great support from Diogo and Slurmz helping him out with his already sound knowledge of the metagame. Ultimately though I think col takes this purely based on unpredictability with a solid backing of sound plays tho ES has the ability to easily take this with the right turns and plays

Ultimately any of these games really could go either way because of the caliber of players involved. Phase 1 had a relatively poor quality of RU games but I do think phase 2 picked it up except when people used horrendous stall or cheese and this phase will only bring more of the same when it comes to high quality showcasings. Looking forward to every one of these games from all of you as a spectator :D

 

[Feliburn]

I'm only gonna talk about 3 games from the last phase cause I only found interesting stuff in them out of all the games played

49 vs Aldo

Rlly appreciated the offense v offense matchup in this game, respect for using ballsy teams like these vs each other considering both of u have used v strong balances in the past. This game looked like a slugfest w/ each other just getting kills left and right which made it p hype to watch. Aldo opening w/ the z espeon and getting the KO on toise t1 was p damn cool to watch too. Came down to 49's avchamp (u getting a ROAST for this one bro ROFL) clutching out the damage needed for the zydog to pick the KO. ggs bros.


KW vs rabbit

Didnt even know rabbit got to play, rocking the houndoom balance while KW used a more offensive build, tho both using slowking oo. Dunno what KW was thinking when he let Rhyperior and Croak, two mons that clearly had so much more potential vs rabbit, die while doing absolutely nothing, basically crippling himself throughout the entire game. rabbit also proving he has balls of steels, on the croak vs viriz turn having NO fear for sucker when his main wincon was clearly needed to win that game, imma give it to him and say he read the tryhard so ya grats on that official tour dub dude.


Ajna vs Mop

I didnt know what other game talk about and 2 felt super short so here we are. Ajna using usual Ajna and mop whips out the big boy sun team w/ ninetales, which I find funny cause 7 mins before the game ajna challed me and got owned by said mon ROFL. I'm gonna try to keep the edgyburn down a bit, but man I feel like Mop just didnt play this properly, not trying to take credit away from ajna's dub, it still came down to a speedtie too which makes this a rlly close game but I honestly feel like mop had that won most of the time.



ig I can do predicts now cause less matchups to talk about


Aldo vs Ajna

Much love to aldo but I'm rooting for ajna in this one, knowing both for years I can just tell Ajna has the edge on this, and ppl seem to think Aldo is gonna just use one cheesy set and completely turn around the game when Ajna has shown that he is also a big madman when he feels like it. Not trynna look down on aldo cause I'm loving his run so far, but u gotta go w/ the kid.


KW vs Esche

I dont have much to say bout this one, idk what esche could even use cause it's been a year since I last saw him touch ru at high level, hoping some heat like the one he used last year's rupl tho cause it'd be fun to watch but who knows, feeling like kw has the edge cause we are talkin about ex cheese master King Wynaut so he could also use somethin like that if he felt like it.

49 vs Gama

LMAO gama rlly back in ru, cant escape fate bro. Unfort cause I'm a believer and was hoping diogo could still use the opportunity to bounce back . Last time I remember seeing gama play ru he created one of my favorite replays of all time (wait isnt this the team u used Alpha Rabbit ROFL who knew), making it p clear this man sometimes gives NO fucks, while I haven't rlly seen 49 make this level of ballsy doubles, I'm more confident in his builds so I'm thinking this game will come down to how much ES can pressure 49's team so I'm not gonna vote for either cause both are p cute too.

Gl to u ppl

As for the other players, I talk mad shit but props to u all for doing ur thing throughout the tour and ggs overall.

I'm gonna b mainly rooting for diogo's team to win cause I dont think I could stand ajna winning another trophy, but outside of them ALDODRAFT2018