You read the thread and responded, and so here it is - the Metagame Analysis Workshop.
The board's purpose is a simple one - it is a workshop for analyzing the metagame. We will cover all four metagames - Uber, OU Standard, OU Suspect, and UU.
You will be asked to analyze and discuss any trends that you see in the metagame. This does not mean you should simply state what is being used - we want to know why and how they are used (what kind of trend is it? what is the trend responding to? what kind of threat does the trend pose? how are people responding to the trend?)
We also want to back up everything we have with statistics, of course. While statistics are thrown off simply because of the "bad" players, there is still truth to be found in these numbers. Meaning, we are also attempting to break down the numbers and decipher them, so to speak. This means that make sure that your observations correspond with statistics.
Note that this is also a "professional" endeavor, so to speak. Considering that you were all selected for your battling skills and intelligence, we are not too worried about this. Note however, that objectivity is our goal. Do not be biased, know where to stop with your arguments. We are not attempting to convince anyone of anything through this - we want a "record" that we can always come back to see how the metagame was at a certain point. My analysis is obviously not perfect, but you can get an idea of what we are aiming for by skimming through it - we wish for a more "complete" analysis that can only come from many viewpoints of many players.
This will be done in a few ways.
1) Analysis of Leads
Leads are a important part of the game - we can say that it sets the tempo of the game. This is perhaps the easiest part to analyze - we want to know what kinds of leads are popular, and why they are popular.
2) Analysis of Pace
Is the game offensive? Is the game stallish? Or is it a healthy mix of both? Is it too bulky? Which Pokemon are the "pace makers"? What is affecting the pace?
3) Analysis of Threats and Trends
Every Metagame is "centralized", so to speak. We want to know who is the biggest baddest threat - from the old standards to the new and rising stars and how they are being used - as in "is it an early game sweeper?" "what is its main purpose?" "what item does it normally run?" We also want to know about the trends that accompany it - from Stealth Rock to Toxic Spikes to Nidoqueen, and how the trends affect each other.
Essentially we want to talk about and analyze the interaction between the trends within the metagame.
4) Future Predictions
Once analyzed, we can see which Pokemon will be "effective" in the metagame, so to speak. We want to see which Pokemon has the potential to break through in the metagame, and try to predict any new trends - this will show how much we actually know about how the metagame works - and our ultimate goal is to make near perfect predictions.
5) Comparisons.
We will be actively comparing the Suspect and Standard OU metagame in order to find out what kind of difference the suspects make in the metagame. Obviously, Garchomp and Deoxys is our first priority. Is the metagame really more decentralized? Or is it still about the same?
After these are done, we, collectively will put together one analysis for each metagame - much like in the style of the peer analysis. We will attempt to separate the chaff from the grain, so to speak, and release an article for the website and the public to respond to. We will attempt to churn out an anaysis a month - or perhaps even bimonthly.
Now, for the sake of intelligent discussion, this forum is private - meaning that if you were not selected, "sorry". We are still willing to accept your submissions - just PM us any observations you have - and if you prove yourself to be keen on the flow of the metagame - you will be added to the forum. Sorry that we can't release this project to the public - we all know what happens to Stark discussions and we do not want to risk this project to the same forces that corrupt Stark.
For future reference, the people who have access here currently are
The board's purpose is a simple one - it is a workshop for analyzing the metagame. We will cover all four metagames - Uber, OU Standard, OU Suspect, and UU.
You will be asked to analyze and discuss any trends that you see in the metagame. This does not mean you should simply state what is being used - we want to know why and how they are used (what kind of trend is it? what is the trend responding to? what kind of threat does the trend pose? how are people responding to the trend?)
We also want to back up everything we have with statistics, of course. While statistics are thrown off simply because of the "bad" players, there is still truth to be found in these numbers. Meaning, we are also attempting to break down the numbers and decipher them, so to speak. This means that make sure that your observations correspond with statistics.
Note that this is also a "professional" endeavor, so to speak. Considering that you were all selected for your battling skills and intelligence, we are not too worried about this. Note however, that objectivity is our goal. Do not be biased, know where to stop with your arguments. We are not attempting to convince anyone of anything through this - we want a "record" that we can always come back to see how the metagame was at a certain point. My analysis is obviously not perfect, but you can get an idea of what we are aiming for by skimming through it - we wish for a more "complete" analysis that can only come from many viewpoints of many players.
This will be done in a few ways.
1) Analysis of Leads
Leads are a important part of the game - we can say that it sets the tempo of the game. This is perhaps the easiest part to analyze - we want to know what kinds of leads are popular, and why they are popular.
2) Analysis of Pace
Is the game offensive? Is the game stallish? Or is it a healthy mix of both? Is it too bulky? Which Pokemon are the "pace makers"? What is affecting the pace?
3) Analysis of Threats and Trends
Every Metagame is "centralized", so to speak. We want to know who is the biggest baddest threat - from the old standards to the new and rising stars and how they are being used - as in "is it an early game sweeper?" "what is its main purpose?" "what item does it normally run?" We also want to know about the trends that accompany it - from Stealth Rock to Toxic Spikes to Nidoqueen, and how the trends affect each other.
Essentially we want to talk about and analyze the interaction between the trends within the metagame.
4) Future Predictions
Once analyzed, we can see which Pokemon will be "effective" in the metagame, so to speak. We want to see which Pokemon has the potential to break through in the metagame, and try to predict any new trends - this will show how much we actually know about how the metagame works - and our ultimate goal is to make near perfect predictions.
5) Comparisons.
We will be actively comparing the Suspect and Standard OU metagame in order to find out what kind of difference the suspects make in the metagame. Obviously, Garchomp and Deoxys is our first priority. Is the metagame really more decentralized? Or is it still about the same?
After these are done, we, collectively will put together one analysis for each metagame - much like in the style of the peer analysis. We will attempt to separate the chaff from the grain, so to speak, and release an article for the website and the public to respond to. We will attempt to churn out an anaysis a month - or perhaps even bimonthly.
Now, for the sake of intelligent discussion, this forum is private - meaning that if you were not selected, "sorry". We are still willing to accept your submissions - just PM us any observations you have - and if you prove yourself to be keen on the flow of the metagame - you will be added to the forum. Sorry that we can't release this project to the public - we all know what happens to Stark discussions and we do not want to risk this project to the same forces that corrupt Stark.
For future reference, the people who have access here currently are
Although all the moderators should have access here anyway ^^