omg someone who actually plays the tier????? I kinda just clicked her as a joke to see if anyone posted here in forever but someone actually did no waaaaaay Im playing through BD on my switch rn :)
Hello yes I am back with another post. I'm a filthy triple-poster. I started writing this one back in January and only recently decided to actually finish writing it, hope y'all enjoy. Also I have no idea why the text up here is bold I can't change it
Reining In Rain In BDSP
Rain in BDSP OU has had a wild ride, starting off so dominant that Drizzle had to be completely banned from the tier, to then falling out of favour so incredibly hard that it felt like little more than a gimmick that only lower ladder players would run, to seeing a small resurgence during 2024 as a respectable, yet still fringe and match-up fishy, playstyle. But with this slight uptick in rain there has also been a slight uptick in players, especially those less familiar with the tier, who find it difficult to manage. While it is true that rain can be a bit of a teambuilder check, there are more than enough avenues one can take while in the builder in order to have a playable matchup into rain teams.
Basic Rain Structures
To understand how to beat rain it's important to first understand how rain teams are made and how they generally function.
Volbeat and Kingdra are the two mons which are absolutely mandatory on any serious rain team. Volbeat is the main rain setter for these teams thanks to Prankster Rain Dance guaranteeing rain can go up in most situations while also boasting other good utility such as U-turn pivoting, Thunder Wave for sudden speed control, and Encore for disruption tactics. Kingdra meanwhile becomes one of the most devastating threats in the metagame when under rain, threatening OHKOes on many neutral targets with its Water STAB and outspeeding even the fastest of scarfers such as Infernape and Latias.
Rain teams won't settle with just Volbeat as their weather setter, so they'll employ the services of Mew and friends to act as secondary rain setters as well as the Stealth Rock setter for the team. These mons will usually lead off early game in order to set hazards and rain and then killing themselves for momentum, though they can also make an appearance in the mid-game to set up rain if need be. Mew is the most common option, as it can set hazards, deny opposing hazards with Taunt, and then use Explosion to gain momentum while rain is up. Azelf accomplishes the same thing as Mew but with higher speed and damage output at the cost of lower bulk, which can be particularly rough on rain teams who want ideally hazards and rain set up in the early game. Jirachi is by far the least common of these options but it has some nice traits. While it lacks Taunt and Explosion, its access to U-turn and Healing Wish can prove useful for rain teams, offering them extra pivoting support and allowing one of their offensive threats to be fully healed in a pinch.
More offense is still required on rain teams, so strong Swift Swim users beyond just Kingdra are staples on rain teams. Ludicolo offers a uniquely threatening choice on rain, as it's a Swift Swim user blessed with STAB Giga Drain that directly threatens bulky water types who could withstand its Water STAB while also healing off any Life Orb recoil. Unfortunately for Ludicolo, it cannot afford to run a Modest nature or else it is outsped by Choice Scarf users like Garchomp and Infernape while under rain, so a Timid nature is required, though it remains slower than Scarf Latias by just a single point. Qwilfish, on the other hand, is a strong physical sweeper who can break past bulky Grass types with its Poison STAB and trade with anything in a pinch with Explosion. Lastly, Poliwrath can sweep while under rain with a Belly Drum set, although it is pitifully weak without a boost with this issue being further compounded by requiring a Jolly nature much for the same reasons as Ludicolo.
Azumarill and Crawdaunt both offer the same thing for rain teams, a strong physical Water breaker with priority. They can run their classic Choice Band sets, or other sets of their choosing (Belly Drum for Azumarill, mixed for Crawdaunt). Not much to say here.
Two other common choices on rain teams. I wasn't really sure on where exactly they would go since they don't fall under any other category and calling them other options or filler feels wrong. I guess we could put these under "pivots for rain teams". As for the mons themselves, Scizor doesn't benefit at all from rain directly but it offers loads of defensive utility for rain teams, such as a Latias and Weavile answer with longevity, while allowing rain abusers to safely come in thanks to U-turn. It can act as an extra rain setter for these teams with a more defensive spread or it can go on the offensive and run Swords Dance with attack investment, taking advantage of rain tearing through its main checks for an easy late game sweep. Raikou on the other hand is much more simple, it benefits from rain thanks to Thunder becoming a guaranteed hit under rain as well as Scald getting an extra boost in power for dealing with Ground-types. Greatly threatening bulky Water-types is nice for rain teams as those can be a hassle to break through on occasion, and Volt Switch lets it keep momentum when it cant make clear progress.
Other miscellaneous options can be considered when building rain. Pretty much any offensive Water-type can benefit in some way from being used on a rain team, though effectiveness can vary drastically between some options.
In practice you'll end up with something looking like these teams, the first one being from the sample team thread and the second being my own creation. Unfortunately I don't have any others on me as of writing this so this is all I can show for now.
https://pokepast.es/d9328f70cad64849
https://pokepast.es/29b7e1d9eb4e258e
Withstanding The Weather
With a basic understanding of rain teams and how they're built, it's time to start looking at your options for being able to withstand the onslaught of aquatic offense that rain teams bring to the table.
The Walls
(with storm drain)
Simply put, the best defensive answers to rain teams there are in the metagame. While they are not perfect against all rain abusers, their ability to cover major portions of these teams' offense and stick around for longer games helps ease the rain matchup significantly for any team that decides to pack them.
The blob that walls special attackers walls a team style that consists primarily of special attackers. More news at 11. But seriously, Blissey's immense special bulk and access to support moves like Thunder Wave to cripple the enemy's offensive threats and Stealth Rock to punish switches from the opponent make it extremely difficult for rain teams to remove easily. Fits best on balance and stall, but can potentially see use on BO teams.
Specially defensive Celebi is a solid wall against rain teams for offense and BO teams, being able to withstand strong Water moves while not fearing Ice, Grass, or Electric coverage. STAB Giga Drain and Recover can help keep Celebi healthy while options like Stealth Rock, U-turn, and Thunder Wave offer valuable team support.
Milotic can be a massive pain for rain teams that lack mons like Ludicolo or Raikou, since it can eat up rain-boosted Water moves with ease and recover them off safely. Once it hits the field there won't be many ways to force it off, as even setup attempts can be thwarted with Haze. Fits best on bulkier team styles such as balance and stall.
Though Tangrowth's poor special bulk can make it seem worthless against rain, its absurd physical bulk is put to use against rain's physical threats, and in a pinch it can even take rain-boosted Hydro Pumps from the likes of Kingdra. Knock Off, Sleep Power, and Leech Seed are all great ways for Tangrowth to punish switches from rain teams and Regenerator lets it stick around even if it takes a big hit. Tangrowth is almost always paired with something that can sponge special attacks to boot, so it won't facing the storm alone. Fits on teams ranging from BO to stall.
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The Slowtwins may struggle in BDSP OU but they can prove quite useful against rain teams. Slowking boasts the better matchup of the two thanks to its much higher special bulk letting it withstand rain's many special attackers more reliably. Slowbro, on the other hand, can struggle to take multiple rain-boosted Surfs and Hydro Pumps, but it can switch into them in a pinch while more reliably answering the physical attackers like Qwilifsh and Azumarill. Regenerator and Slack Off give them good longevity against these teams and with Thunder Wave they can slow down rain's offensive threats, making them easier to manage. Calm Mind can also aid in withstanding the rain abusers while becoming a potential win condition at the same time. Fits best on balance and stall, can see some use on BO.
Storm Drain Gastrodon hard walls every rain abuser aside from Ludicolo and the physical breaker duo of Azumarill and Crawdaunt. Qwilifsh can lure Gastrodon in and remove it with Explosion on the switch but that requires a hard read and Gastrodon may not even be a team's immediate answer to Qwilifsh, resulting in a large potential loss for little gain. Like many of the other bulky water options listed so far, it fits best on balance and stall teams.
Softer Checks
These are options which can be solid against rain teams, but who are less reliable than the mons listed above for a variety of reasons, whether it be lack of recovery, less-than-stellar bulk, lack of resistances, etc.. Still, though they may have some issues, they're still good enough for most teams as ways to deal with rain.
Washtom is a metagame staple that anchors many offense and BO teams thanks to its long list of valuable traits. Many of these same traits can help it stave off Rain teams for its partners, especially with a specially defensive spread. STAB Volt Switch is nice for chipping away at the opposing team and helping with positioning, while Protect can help stall out rain turns and give Washtom extra Leftovers recovery. If running Thunder Wave, it can greatly cripple the Swift Swimmers by cutting them off from their most valuable trait: their unparalleled speed. Physically defensive spreads can help check the physical rain abusers like Qwilfish, Azumarill, and Crawdaunt, with Will-O-Wisp ruining their damage output. Choice Scarf sets can also prove useful early game, though there will be more on that later.
Starmie's Water resistance and access to Recover make it decent at handling strong rain-boosted moves in 1-on-1s, though it has difficulty actually switching in to said attacks. A large part of Starmie's utility against Rain teams comes from its early-game utility, which I'll elaborate more on later.
Solid natural bulk and useful resistances with access to Recover makes Latias decent at handling Rain teams, though she must be wary of STAB Draco Meteor from Kingdra as well as Ice Beam coverage. Her strong STAB moves can put massive dents into Rain teams and/or force a switch which can be taken advantage of. Choice Scarf variants outspeed Ludicolo even under rain and Calm Mind can make Latias difficult to break for the special attacking threats.
Suicune's solid natural bulk, Water resistance, and Pressure ability can prove troublesome for Rain teams. Though it is prone to being worn down due to a lack of recovery aside from Leftovers, Suicune can make use of Protect to gain more passive recovery, stall out Rain turns, and burn even more PP thanks to Pressure. Calm Mind can also be useful if there is an opportunity to use it, as it makes Suicune extremely difficult to break without a strong physical rain abuser or Ludicolo/Raikou.
Less valuable than Celebi against Rain teams due to its lack of a Water resistance, which makes it unable to pivot in reliably against rain-boosted Water moves. However it can still take hits well enough to where it can spam Roost in 1-on-1s in order to stall out Rain turns.
Empoleon's typing is extremely useful defensively against Rain, resisting Water, Dragon, and Fairy; being neutral to Grass; and possessing an immunity to Poison. Its lack of recovery and general passivity can be a bit of an issue, as it can be worn down quickly if it isn't careful, but it can still make its mark with hazard utility and phazing options.
No Water resistance and poor special bulk, but with solid physical bulk, Skarmory can check the physical rain threats in a pinch and phaze them out. Spikes can also help wear down Rain teams quickly, and Sturdy can let Skarmory take a strong special hit in a pinch.
One-and-Dones
These are mons who can be useful defensively against rain, but usually are only able to take one strong hit before being unable to take any more hits. This makes them useful more so as revenge killers and pivots into weaker moves than walls that can take a beating over the course of a game.
Though Roserade's bulk isn't particularly amazing, especially when having to face off against rain-boosted Water moves, it's able to take at least one hit with ease and cripple the opponent with status (usually sleep) or set up Spikes, which can wear down the opposing team quicker for your own threats to clean up late-game. It can also pivot into Ludicolo's STAB moves decently well, as Hydro Pump isn't favoured to 2HKO even with Stealth Rock and Giga Drain does next to nothing thanks to Roserade's 4x Grass resistance. Ice Beam can sting though.
Azumarill's fantastic typing is betrayed by its lack of recovery and good-but-not-great bulk leaving it vulnerable to being worn down quickly if it isn't careful. Defensively speaking, this means it can usually only take one big hit, though its immunity to Draco Meteor and resistance to Ice Beam can be helpful in a pinch against Kingdra. However, Azumarill can be quite potent offensively against rain teams, as they can have trouble withstanding its powerful Play Roughs, with their most common resists being Qwilfish (2HKOed and no recovery) and Scizor (can't take rain-boosted Waterfalls). Aqua Jet isn't particularly useful in most situations, since most rain abusers resist Water, but it can be used to pick off weakened threats in a pinch.
Slowing Down The Storm
The early-game for Rain teams heavily revolves around setting up Rain and hazards as early as possible, which means that Volbeat or Mew will often lead off in order to execute their gameplan. Though this can be effective, it can be equally abused by the opposing team, who can anti-lead these mons to try and prevent the Rain team from gaining an uncontested lead.
Offensive anti-leads
These anti-leads use their offensive potential to greatly threaten Rain teams while they're setting up their weather and hazards.
The tier's Dark-types are all solid anti-leads against Rain teams, as they reliably OHKO Mew with their Dark STAB and can't be affected by Volbeat's Prankster due to their typing. They all possess advantages and disadvantages, so it would be best to quickly go over them.
Heracross's STAB Megahorn rips through Mew (barring a miss) and with Guts you deter Volbeat from attempting to Thunder Wave you turn 1. You don't OHKO Volbeat without a Guts boost so what was mentioned prior about wasting Rain turns while threatening a KO or massive damage on a rain abusers still applies here.
Shreds through Volbeat with STAB Brave Bird and you 2HKO Mew as well. Since Staraptor has poor longevity regardless there isn't much to lose in using it to break open holes early-game against Rain teams. Everything on Rain teams is 2HKO'd at minimum by Brave Bird (bar the rare Jirachi), which means that any attempts at preserving Mew will backfire immensely.
Hazard setter anti-leads
Rain teams play at such a fast pace that they don't bother running hazard removal, since it would waste precious turns that could be instead spent on brute forcing their way through the opponent. As such, fast hazard setters like Garchomp, Infernape, and Azelf can set up Stealth Rock before the likes of Mew can use Taunt to deny them. With no removal to speak of, those hazards will stay up the entire game and chip away at the rain team, making them easier to pick off with priority and faster threats when rain isn't active.
Disruptor anti-leads
There is no real reason for Rotom formes to keep their Choice Scarf against rain teams. When rain is active the Swift Swimmers outspeed them handily, and when it isn't active Rotom will outspeed them regardless. As such they can Trick away their Scarf turn 1 with no real repercussion, crippling the opponent. They may even take away the Damp Rock from Mew or Volbeat. Choice Specs can also be Tricked away but since you'll be slower than Mew it can set up weather or hazards beforehand.
Progress denier anti-leads
Starmie may be a bulky Water with less-than-stellar bulk, but its high Speed and access to Rapid Spin make it extremely useful in the early-game against Rain teams. The Volbeat matchup can be a bit iffy, as Starmie can't do too much aside from chip away at it with Scald, but Starmie can completely shut down Mew/Azelf leads. Rapid Spin denies them the ability the set Stealth Rock, so the more turns the opponent spends trying to set them up against Starmie, the more time they're wasting, especially if they tried to set up Rain in the meantime. The only difference between the Mew and Azelf matchup is that Starmie needs to click Rapid Spin turn 1 against Azelf in order to outspeed it and deny it the ability to block Rapid Spin with Explosion.
Turning The Tide
Once the game starts nearing its end, you're probably going to want to amp up your offensive pressure in order to finish off the Rain team before it can finish you off for good.
Priority users
Strong priority is extremely useful against Rain teams because it bypasses their immense Speed stats and prevents them from going on a rampage for free.
Multiscale Dragonite is a classic anti-offense option, being able to tank a multitude of strong attacks while at full health and use it as a setup opportunity. Dragonite's Water resistance is helpful against Rain since it lets it withstand those strong, boosted attacks while setting up. Extreme Speed is extremely strong, letting Dragonite pick off Rain abusers once they've taken enough chip damage. Choice Band sets are also useful against rain, offering immediate strength at the cost of being unable to set up for an endgame sweep.
Lucario can basically sweep Rain teams after a Swords Dance thanks to Extreme Speed, though hazard chip is still necessary for some rolls. However, because of its lack of bulk and Water resistance, Lucario can have difficulty setting up. Good opportunities to set up would be taking advantage of a Kingdra locked into Draco Meteor or Ice Beam, or setting up against a pivot like Scizor.
Choice Band sets can provide immediate pressure with Technician Mach Punch, while Swords Dance sets can sweep similar to Lucario. Breloom's frailty gives it difficulty in finding setup opportunities, even with a Water resistance.
A more niche anti-offense option, especially when compared to Dragonite, but it offers strong priority in Extreme Speed in order to help deal with Rain teams. As a Fire-type, which is usually afraid of strong Water-based offense, this is a nice trait to have.
Bulky setup
Bulky setup sweepers can prove useful against Rain by being able to withstand the attacks thrown their way and using it as an opportunity to set up or retaliate with big damage. I've already went over these examples before, so I'll keep it quick.
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One thing I would like to point out with all the mons mentioned throughout the post is that they're all viable options in the tier that have many reasons to be put onto a team beyond their matchup against rain teams. This means that it isn't necessary to go looking for extremely fringe lower tier options in order to handle Rain. I would also like to stress that I didn't bother listing every single Pokemon and strategy that can be used to combat rain effectively, otherwise this post would be an absolute mess (as if it isn't already). Pokemon that you might have not initially considered to be of use against rain can help stave it off if you play your cards right. And lastly, I want to highlight that last bit again: you can have the tools to beat rain, but ultimately it is up to you to wield them effectively in order to beat it reliably. There is rarely, if ever, a way to win based purely on matchup, so it is best not to get complacent when playing against rain, or any play style for that matter.
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Resource BDSP OU Metagame Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Eve
- Start date
Similarly to Codex, I have also decided to make some BDSP content on YouTube. I hope to give this metagame some more exposure to an audience outside of the normal BDSP community.
Is this meta only playable by challenge? I loved it back in the day.
I haven’t played it since it dropped off the drop down (unless I’m missing it).
I haven’t played it since it dropped off the drop down (unless I’m missing it).
Yes, outside of the rare RoA Spotlight ladder, bdsp and all of its metas can only be played via challenge. The non-OU tiers (bar Ubers) also need challenge codes to be played. I'm pretty sure they're here on the forums, but they can mainly be found on the discord.
omg I havent played this metagame in so long, i was super active in the BDSP OU room and I had wrote the first smogon analysis for Scizor
Thought it might be interesting to talk about my favourite OU games from each pairing at the end of every week. Help stir up some discussion y'know? (click the sprites for game link)
Lake Erie Slowpokes vs Big Cargo Magcargos 
Lake Erie Slowpokes vs Big Cargo Magcargos YoruNoxx vs Mada
vs 
Starting off with my own team's game
, we have YoruNoxx versus... holy shit, Dua Lipa? Joking aside, YoruNoxx, who is a solid player but new to BDSP, going up against Mada, a really solid player who has experience in BDSP, was going to end up being rather interesting no matter the result. We can see this from the team choices, with Yoru bringing a MamoZap balance squad that seeks to lure in Ground-types for wallbreaking opportunities and Mada bringing a Raikou BO/balance team that seems to use Raikou as a way to punish opposing BO teams. If memory serves me correctly, it is a team that was initially used during last year's PL, but I won't fret too much over that, as the right plays can make a reused team just as threatening as when it was fresh.
The game starts off with Zapdos leading off and using U-turn on the incoming Gliscor and immediately bringing in Mamoswine to come and break stuff Limp Bizkit-style. The game proceeds to slow down quite a bit from there, with Yoru spreading chip damage and Will-O-Wisp burns onto Mada's team, until Mamoswine is able to find entry once again as Gliscor uses Stealth Rock on turn 16. Scizor switches in on Icicle Crash and proceeds to Bullet Punch Mamoswine into dangerously low health as it goes down to Earthquake. Raikou comes in afterwards to revenge kill Mamoswine with Scald, though Mamoswine uses Ice Shard to get some dying chip damage against it before it can be brought down by the hot water. Latias comes in afterwards to revenge kill Raikou, suggesting a Choice Scarf set, and proceeds to 2HKO Azumarill with Psychic on the switch. From this point on the game slows down for a while as neither side is able to make large amounts of progress, though Yoru is able to whittle Mew down with the burn, hazards, and Heatran's Taunt. Eventually Tangrowth is able to pick up the KO against Clefable followed by it scoring a Knock Off as Raikou uses Calm Mind. From this point onwards Latias is able to enter the field and clean up with Psychic and Draco Meteor.
Though this game had its slow moments, I found it plenty of fun to watch Yoru pilot a MamoZap team with good success in their first BDSP tour game. Mada played well for the most part as well, though I do wonder if it may have been worth using Calm Mind on turn 19 as Mamoswine clicked Ice Shard in order to limit the possibilities of revenge killing it. Of course, Scald is a safe play that nobody would be blamed for clicking; no one wants to be the person to lose their Raikou to a 10% Mamoswine that decided to click a ballsy Earthquake. End of the day though, it was a solid game, and I expect both players to continue to do well moving forward in the tour.
vs Starting off with my own team's game
, we have YoruNoxx versus... holy shit, Dua Lipa? Joking aside, YoruNoxx, who is a solid player but new to BDSP, going up against Mada, a really solid player who has experience in BDSP, was going to end up being rather interesting no matter the result. We can see this from the team choices, with Yoru bringing a MamoZap balance squad that seeks to lure in Ground-types for wallbreaking opportunities and Mada bringing a Raikou BO/balance team that seems to use Raikou as a way to punish opposing BO teams. If memory serves me correctly, it is a team that was initially used during last year's PL, but I won't fret too much over that, as the right plays can make a reused team just as threatening as when it was fresh.The game starts off with Zapdos leading off and using U-turn on the incoming Gliscor and immediately bringing in Mamoswine to come and break stuff Limp Bizkit-style. The game proceeds to slow down quite a bit from there, with Yoru spreading chip damage and Will-O-Wisp burns onto Mada's team, until Mamoswine is able to find entry once again as Gliscor uses Stealth Rock on turn 16. Scizor switches in on Icicle Crash and proceeds to Bullet Punch Mamoswine into dangerously low health as it goes down to Earthquake. Raikou comes in afterwards to revenge kill Mamoswine with Scald, though Mamoswine uses Ice Shard to get some dying chip damage against it before it can be brought down by the hot water. Latias comes in afterwards to revenge kill Raikou, suggesting a Choice Scarf set, and proceeds to 2HKO Azumarill with Psychic on the switch. From this point on the game slows down for a while as neither side is able to make large amounts of progress, though Yoru is able to whittle Mew down with the burn, hazards, and Heatran's Taunt. Eventually Tangrowth is able to pick up the KO against Clefable followed by it scoring a Knock Off as Raikou uses Calm Mind. From this point onwards Latias is able to enter the field and clean up with Psychic and Draco Meteor.
Though this game had its slow moments, I found it plenty of fun to watch Yoru pilot a MamoZap team with good success in their first BDSP tour game. Mada played well for the most part as well, though I do wonder if it may have been worth using Calm Mind on turn 19 as Mamoswine clicked Ice Shard in order to limit the possibilities of revenge killing it. Of course, Scald is a safe play that nobody would be blamed for clicking; no one wants to be the person to lose their Raikou to a 10% Mamoswine that decided to click a ballsy Earthquake. End of the day though, it was a solid game, and I expect both players to continue to do well moving forward in the tour.
Brexit Bibarels vs Sunyshore Skitties 
Brexit Bibarels vs Sunyshore Skitties zinnias vs Skittyrox Game 1
vs
The first game of zinnias's and Skitty's best-of-3 set was rather standard in terms of team choices, but still ended up being a rather solid game with some cool techs that were shown off. Both teams are on the BO end of things, with zinnias bringing a more offensive team with Beat Up Weavile and Future Sight Celebi and Skitty having a Clefable and offensive Starmie to pack a bit more bulk while still keeping up the pressure.
I want to talk more about zinnias' team in particular because it has some small, yet still cool, techs that make sense to help keep up the pressure on this sort of build. The first one is Beat Up Weavile; calling that a cool tech feels disingenuous since its just a legitimately viable option on more offensive builds, but it does help contextualize the other two pieces of tech that I liked. The first is Lum Berry on Garchomp; it's an item that is very rarely seen on it because it much prefers Leftovers recovery or Life Orb's damage boost, but on this team the one-time status cure helps keep Beat Up's pressure high, as it won't be diminished by Garchomp getting statused. The second piece of tech is Future Sight Celebi. Now Future Sight isn't used all that often in BDSP OU mainly due to how few truly viable users of the move there are in the tier, and it's mainly seen on more balanced builds due to how the Slowtwins are the most common users of the move. On a more offensive build such as this though, Celebi is an interesting, yet effective, user of the move, as it lures in Steel-types like Heatran and Scizor, sets up a Future Sight, and can then swap out to a threat such as Garchomp or Rotom-Wash and threaten massive damage. Leaf Storm is another small touch I thought was cool as opposed to running Giga Drain as its Grass STAB, since it gives Celebi more immediate offensive pressure in one-on-one scenarios like against Clefable. That being said, I'm not crazy about Defog Scizor because it's generally known to be rather poor at its job, but on this build it makes sense, so I don't see too much of an issue with it. There's less to be said about Skitty's team, it's rather standard, though of course there's nothing wrong with that. The standard stuff is standard for a reason.
As for the game itself, the opening turns show us some Scarf Washtom mirrors, Stealth Rock trading, and the first instance of Future Sight being used in this battle. Skitty responds well to the initial Future Sight, bringing in Starmie to both answer the Heatran that had just entered the battlefield as well as absorb the incoming attack while also threatening big damage with Analytic Life Orb attacks. zinnias is able to respond to the Starmie well by pivoting to Scarf Washtom to eat an Ice Beam and follow it up with some offense of their own, chipping down Skitty's own Scarf Washtom with Hydro Pump. Skitty then proceeds to make a solid play by hitting the incoming Garchomp with a Will-O-Wisp as opposed to attempting to pivot out against a potential Celebi switch-in with Volt Switch, though this play is immediately nullified thanks to Garchomp's Lum Berry. A bit of swapping around and another Future Sight combo later and the first KO of the game is taken, with Skitty's Washtom being eliminated from the game. Things slow down for a handful of turns until Starmie is able to hit the field again and threaten Celebi with a big Ice Beam, forcing it off the field to avoid being KOed, though zinnias uses this opportunity to bring in Weavile and begin threatening Skitty's team with a full-power Beat Up. A few turns later and Weavile is able to find entry on Starmie's Ice Beam yet again and does even more damage to Skitty's Scizor with Beat Up, though this time it falls to Bullet Punch the following turn. A few turns pass and Skitty is able to reestablish his hazards and loses Garchomp in the process, Starmie enters the field to scare out Heatran and uses that opportunity to Recover. Celebi has since entered the field and is within Ice Beam range, with Starmie favoured to get the KO; it goes for it the following turn and just misses out on the KO and faints in return to a Leaf Storm. Though there is still potential for plenty of game left to be had, this more or less seals the deal in zinnias's favour, as Skitty's remaining Pokemon are all checked by Heatran, and without Starmie's blend of offensive power and defensive utility, Skitty has trouble making it over the finish line.
Between the team choices and techs and the in-game plays, I found this one to be quite enjoyable to watchafter I woke up at like 1pm. Seeing people that are newer to BDSP pull up with solid teams and play is something I always love seeing and I hope to see more from both players this tour.
vs The first game of zinnias's and Skitty's best-of-3 set was rather standard in terms of team choices, but still ended up being a rather solid game with some cool techs that were shown off. Both teams are on the BO end of things, with zinnias bringing a more offensive team with Beat Up Weavile and Future Sight Celebi and Skitty having a Clefable and offensive Starmie to pack a bit more bulk while still keeping up the pressure.
I want to talk more about zinnias' team in particular because it has some small, yet still cool, techs that make sense to help keep up the pressure on this sort of build. The first one is Beat Up Weavile; calling that a cool tech feels disingenuous since its just a legitimately viable option on more offensive builds, but it does help contextualize the other two pieces of tech that I liked. The first is Lum Berry on Garchomp; it's an item that is very rarely seen on it because it much prefers Leftovers recovery or Life Orb's damage boost, but on this team the one-time status cure helps keep Beat Up's pressure high, as it won't be diminished by Garchomp getting statused. The second piece of tech is Future Sight Celebi. Now Future Sight isn't used all that often in BDSP OU mainly due to how few truly viable users of the move there are in the tier, and it's mainly seen on more balanced builds due to how the Slowtwins are the most common users of the move. On a more offensive build such as this though, Celebi is an interesting, yet effective, user of the move, as it lures in Steel-types like Heatran and Scizor, sets up a Future Sight, and can then swap out to a threat such as Garchomp or Rotom-Wash and threaten massive damage. Leaf Storm is another small touch I thought was cool as opposed to running Giga Drain as its Grass STAB, since it gives Celebi more immediate offensive pressure in one-on-one scenarios like against Clefable. That being said, I'm not crazy about Defog Scizor because it's generally known to be rather poor at its job, but on this build it makes sense, so I don't see too much of an issue with it. There's less to be said about Skitty's team, it's rather standard, though of course there's nothing wrong with that. The standard stuff is standard for a reason.
As for the game itself, the opening turns show us some Scarf Washtom mirrors, Stealth Rock trading, and the first instance of Future Sight being used in this battle. Skitty responds well to the initial Future Sight, bringing in Starmie to both answer the Heatran that had just entered the battlefield as well as absorb the incoming attack while also threatening big damage with Analytic Life Orb attacks. zinnias is able to respond to the Starmie well by pivoting to Scarf Washtom to eat an Ice Beam and follow it up with some offense of their own, chipping down Skitty's own Scarf Washtom with Hydro Pump. Skitty then proceeds to make a solid play by hitting the incoming Garchomp with a Will-O-Wisp as opposed to attempting to pivot out against a potential Celebi switch-in with Volt Switch, though this play is immediately nullified thanks to Garchomp's Lum Berry. A bit of swapping around and another Future Sight combo later and the first KO of the game is taken, with Skitty's Washtom being eliminated from the game. Things slow down for a handful of turns until Starmie is able to hit the field again and threaten Celebi with a big Ice Beam, forcing it off the field to avoid being KOed, though zinnias uses this opportunity to bring in Weavile and begin threatening Skitty's team with a full-power Beat Up. A few turns later and Weavile is able to find entry on Starmie's Ice Beam yet again and does even more damage to Skitty's Scizor with Beat Up, though this time it falls to Bullet Punch the following turn. A few turns pass and Skitty is able to reestablish his hazards and loses Garchomp in the process, Starmie enters the field to scare out Heatran and uses that opportunity to Recover. Celebi has since entered the field and is within Ice Beam range, with Starmie favoured to get the KO; it goes for it the following turn and just misses out on the KO and faints in return to a Leaf Storm. Though there is still potential for plenty of game left to be had, this more or less seals the deal in zinnias's favour, as Skitty's remaining Pokemon are all checked by Heatran, and without Starmie's blend of offensive power and defensive utility, Skitty has trouble making it over the finish line.
Between the team choices and techs and the in-game plays, I found this one to be quite enjoyable to watch
Stark Mountain Slugmas vs Rolling Spheals 
Stark Mountain Slugmas vs Rolling Spheals Baddy vs veti Game 3
vs
Down to the last game of Baddy vs veti and we see two teams that share a good amount in common yet still end up being quite different from each other in the end. Stealth Rock Garchomp + Washtom + Scizor is a tried and true combination that offers a good blend of offensive pressure and defensive utility. Baddy rounds out his team with Clefable, Raikou, and Dragonite, which adds more to that aforementioned blend of offense and defense and ultimately leading to a more balanced team structure, though I wanna hesitate from saying that it's outright balance? Meanwhile veti chooses to fill out their team with Staraptor, Mew, and Tangrowth; with the latter two being able to carry a lot of the team's defensive duties, and Staraptor's general existence alongside them, it shows that veti's team is much more offensively inclined compared to Baddy's. This is despite them sharing half of their team members.
Now when it comes to the battle, it begins with Raikou pivoting out against Mew, and we see that the damage from Volt Switch indicates that it is Choice Specs Raikou. Washtom is able to come in for free, and in return so does veti's Tangrowth, which then proceeds to threaten a free Knock Off against Baddy's team; in this case, it manages to remove Scizor's Leftovers. Tangrowth swaps out as Scizor clicks U-turn and Baddy is able to bring in Garchomp to set up Stealth Rock as Tangrowth comes in yet again. Scizor swaps in once again to be worn down by Leech Seed even further, and after pivoting out to Clefable, Tangrowth is able to score another Knock Off. The game slows down for a couple of turns as status gets spread for a bit until veti's Washtom hits the field and reveals that is Nasty Plot and is able to score some good damage against Scizor before being scared out by Raikou. After locking into Shadow Ball and threatening out Garchomp, Baddy catches veti's double to Staraptor with his Dragonite, revealing an unorthodox specially-based mixed set with Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Extreme Speed, and an unrevealed fourth move. Baddy then brings Garchomp in against Mew as it clicks Volt Switch and proceeds to trade a bunch of health as Garchomp uses Earthquake to bring Mew low, Baddy then takes advantage of the predicted switch to set up Stealth Rock, which could have been otherwise difficult to set up safely. The game slows down for a bit; veti's Garchomp reveals Protect as its fourth move, showing that it cannot threaten bulkier foes as easily, though in a matchup such as this, perhaps it doesn't need to. veti's Washtom is able to come in again and set up a Nasty Plot as Baddy brings in Garchomp to bring it down to low health as Garchomp faints to Hydro Pump. Dragonite comes out to revenge kill Washtom with Extreme Speed, but veti makes a smart move and pivots to Garchomp in order to break Dragonite's Multiscale, forcing it out. Mew is eventually able to hit the field and use Defog, permanently clearing veti's side of the field from hazards. Staraptor comes in shortly afterwards and shows why it has the sauce by threatening a 2HKO on physically defensive Washtom before swapping out to let Scizor heal up. Dragonite is eventually able to find its way in against Tangrowth and picks up a KO with Ice Beam before being threatened out by Staraptor yet again. Staraptor picks off the rest of Washtom and proceeds to do half to Raikou with a resisted Brave Bird before fainting. veti's garchomp is able to hit the field after a couple of turns to set up Stealth Rock and picks up a KO against a predicted Dragonite switch-in with Dragon Claw. From this point onwards, veti's Metal Coat Swords Dance Scizor is able to clean up against the rest of Baddy's team, capping off an exciting best-of-3 set for the tour's first week.
Though the teams look rather similar at a glance, they end up being rather different from each other thanks to the team members and individual sets each Pokemon decided to wield. The flow of battle shifting between aggressive plays and safer positioning moments helped highlight that aspect too I believe, as it gave time for the teams to showcase what made them different from one another without dragging on for too long. And although I do admit I wished for Baddy to win, this was a well-deserved win on veti's part.
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As for the rest of the OU games during week 1, for the most part I found them enjoyable to watch. Of course, many players in this tour aren't terribly familiar with BDSP so there are some growing pains to be had in the early weeks (this is especially notable during the two rain games this week), but that just leaves plenty of room for everyone to grow during this tour. Looking forward to what comes in the following weeks!
vs Down to the last game of Baddy vs veti and we see two teams that share a good amount in common yet still end up being quite different from each other in the end. Stealth Rock Garchomp + Washtom + Scizor is a tried and true combination that offers a good blend of offensive pressure and defensive utility. Baddy rounds out his team with Clefable, Raikou, and Dragonite, which adds more to that aforementioned blend of offense and defense and ultimately leading to a more balanced team structure, though I wanna hesitate from saying that it's outright balance? Meanwhile veti chooses to fill out their team with Staraptor, Mew, and Tangrowth; with the latter two being able to carry a lot of the team's defensive duties, and Staraptor's general existence alongside them, it shows that veti's team is much more offensively inclined compared to Baddy's. This is despite them sharing half of their team members.
Now when it comes to the battle, it begins with Raikou pivoting out against Mew, and we see that the damage from Volt Switch indicates that it is Choice Specs Raikou. Washtom is able to come in for free, and in return so does veti's Tangrowth, which then proceeds to threaten a free Knock Off against Baddy's team; in this case, it manages to remove Scizor's Leftovers. Tangrowth swaps out as Scizor clicks U-turn and Baddy is able to bring in Garchomp to set up Stealth Rock as Tangrowth comes in yet again. Scizor swaps in once again to be worn down by Leech Seed even further, and after pivoting out to Clefable, Tangrowth is able to score another Knock Off. The game slows down for a couple of turns as status gets spread for a bit until veti's Washtom hits the field and reveals that is Nasty Plot and is able to score some good damage against Scizor before being scared out by Raikou. After locking into Shadow Ball and threatening out Garchomp, Baddy catches veti's double to Staraptor with his Dragonite, revealing an unorthodox specially-based mixed set with Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Extreme Speed, and an unrevealed fourth move. Baddy then brings Garchomp in against Mew as it clicks Volt Switch and proceeds to trade a bunch of health as Garchomp uses Earthquake to bring Mew low, Baddy then takes advantage of the predicted switch to set up Stealth Rock, which could have been otherwise difficult to set up safely. The game slows down for a bit; veti's Garchomp reveals Protect as its fourth move, showing that it cannot threaten bulkier foes as easily, though in a matchup such as this, perhaps it doesn't need to. veti's Washtom is able to come in again and set up a Nasty Plot as Baddy brings in Garchomp to bring it down to low health as Garchomp faints to Hydro Pump. Dragonite comes out to revenge kill Washtom with Extreme Speed, but veti makes a smart move and pivots to Garchomp in order to break Dragonite's Multiscale, forcing it out. Mew is eventually able to hit the field and use Defog, permanently clearing veti's side of the field from hazards. Staraptor comes in shortly afterwards and shows why it has the sauce by threatening a 2HKO on physically defensive Washtom before swapping out to let Scizor heal up. Dragonite is eventually able to find its way in against Tangrowth and picks up a KO with Ice Beam before being threatened out by Staraptor yet again. Staraptor picks off the rest of Washtom and proceeds to do half to Raikou with a resisted Brave Bird before fainting. veti's garchomp is able to hit the field after a couple of turns to set up Stealth Rock and picks up a KO against a predicted Dragonite switch-in with Dragon Claw. From this point onwards, veti's Metal Coat Swords Dance Scizor is able to clean up against the rest of Baddy's team, capping off an exciting best-of-3 set for the tour's first week.
Though the teams look rather similar at a glance, they end up being rather different from each other thanks to the team members and individual sets each Pokemon decided to wield. The flow of battle shifting between aggressive plays and safer positioning moments helped highlight that aspect too I believe, as it gave time for the teams to showcase what made them different from one another without dragging on for too long. And although I do admit I wished for Baddy to win, this was a well-deserved win on veti's part.
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As for the rest of the OU games during week 1, for the most part I found them enjoyable to watch. Of course, many players in this tour aren't terribly familiar with BDSP so there are some growing pains to be had in the early weeks (this is especially notable during the two rain games this week), but that just leaves plenty of room for everyone to grow during this tour. Looking forward to what comes in the following weeks!
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week 2 gaming why is this bolded up here i cant change it
Lake Erie Slowpokes vs Sunyshore Skitties
Lake Erie Slowpokes vs Sunyshore Skitties DerpySux vs Skittyrox Game 1
vs 
Honestly this one was chosen 90% because of the Snorlax set and the sheer hilarity of it. Belly Drum into killing whatever is in front of it and itself before they even have the chance to KO you because of Custap Berry, amazing stuff. As for the rest of the teams, Derpy brought a RoseTranMie hazard stack team with Weavile, Dragonite, and Snorlax as the offense bringers, while Skitty brought a no removal BO team with two Dragons and a Magnezone. Just based on matchup alone this has potential to be a solid game, as Skitty has to contend with two big threats to his team (Dragonite and Snorlax) alongside hazards that he cannot remove whatsoever, whereas Derpy stares down offensive threats like Azumarill and Garchomp that their team doesn't have the raw bulk to handle, and will thus need to play around them with care.
Derpy starts the game with an advantageous lead matchup with Weavile vs Latias and hits Azumarill with Icicle Crash, revealing that the Azu is Leftovers. Roserade comes in the next turn while Azumarill sets up a Substitute (what) and gets some chip damage against Rose. Magnezone is hit with Sleep Powder on the switch in and, as Roserade sets Spikes, uses Sleep Talk and pivots out with Volt Switch, bringing in Garchomp and picking up a KO with Earthquake. Weavile comes in to revenge kill and hits Magnezone with Icicle Crash, eating a Thunderbolt and living on 1HP in the process. Eventually Roserade comes in against Starmie and sets up Toxic Spikes, leaving Starmie to remove them with Rapid Spin while Rose heals up with Synthesis, revealing that it has no Sleep Powder. Azumarill gets frozen on the switch in, but thaws immediately afterwards, meaning it basically didn't if you think about it; Starmie goes down to a Play Rough afterwards. Dragonite revenge kills Azu with Extreme Speed, gets forced out by Latias, and Heatran sets up Stealth Rock as Garchomp enters the field. As Heatran swaps out to Snorlax, Garchomp sets up Stealth Rock; with no removal after Starmie went down, Weavile is out of commission and Dragonite's threat level is severely lowered with Multiscale being broken. Scizor enters the field as Snorlax clicks Belly Drum, and then fucking dies the next turn to +6 Self-Destruct. Lmao. Latias hits the field the next turn and proceeds to set up Calm Mind, guaranteeing the win now that Weavile cannot switch in anymore.
I do think there were some better lines of play to be taken during this game, but overall it was a fun one to watch. Snorlax just guaranteeing a KO via blowing itself up is just so funny to me.
vs Honestly this one was chosen 90% because of the Snorlax set and the sheer hilarity of it. Belly Drum into killing whatever is in front of it and itself before they even have the chance to KO you because of Custap Berry, amazing stuff. As for the rest of the teams, Derpy brought a RoseTranMie hazard stack team with Weavile, Dragonite, and Snorlax as the offense bringers, while Skitty brought a no removal BO team with two Dragons and a Magnezone. Just based on matchup alone this has potential to be a solid game, as Skitty has to contend with two big threats to his team (Dragonite and Snorlax) alongside hazards that he cannot remove whatsoever, whereas Derpy stares down offensive threats like Azumarill and Garchomp that their team doesn't have the raw bulk to handle, and will thus need to play around them with care.
Derpy starts the game with an advantageous lead matchup with Weavile vs Latias and hits Azumarill with Icicle Crash, revealing that the Azu is Leftovers. Roserade comes in the next turn while Azumarill sets up a Substitute (what) and gets some chip damage against Rose. Magnezone is hit with Sleep Powder on the switch in and, as Roserade sets Spikes, uses Sleep Talk and pivots out with Volt Switch, bringing in Garchomp and picking up a KO with Earthquake. Weavile comes in to revenge kill and hits Magnezone with Icicle Crash, eating a Thunderbolt and living on 1HP in the process. Eventually Roserade comes in against Starmie and sets up Toxic Spikes, leaving Starmie to remove them with Rapid Spin while Rose heals up with Synthesis, revealing that it has no Sleep Powder. Azumarill gets frozen on the switch in, but thaws immediately afterwards, meaning it basically didn't if you think about it; Starmie goes down to a Play Rough afterwards. Dragonite revenge kills Azu with Extreme Speed, gets forced out by Latias, and Heatran sets up Stealth Rock as Garchomp enters the field. As Heatran swaps out to Snorlax, Garchomp sets up Stealth Rock; with no removal after Starmie went down, Weavile is out of commission and Dragonite's threat level is severely lowered with Multiscale being broken. Scizor enters the field as Snorlax clicks Belly Drum, and then fucking dies the next turn to +6 Self-Destruct. Lmao. Latias hits the field the next turn and proceeds to set up Calm Mind, guaranteeing the win now that Weavile cannot switch in anymore.
I do think there were some better lines of play to be taken during this game, but overall it was a fun one to watch. Snorlax just guaranteeing a KO via blowing itself up is just so funny to me.
Big Cargo Magcargos vs Rolling Spheals
Big Cargo Magcargos vs Rolling Spheals Glurakaiser vs veti Game 1
vs
There is a Chatot on my screen in an OU game. Glurakaiser brought an offensive VoltTurn BO and veti brought some balance. Why is there a Chatot on my screen in an OU game. The game has some good back-and-forth that I like to see when watching these games and deciding which to put down for the week. Why the fuck is Chatot in an OU game. Both players did pretty well in this one. WHY THE FUCK DID CHATOT PUT IN WORK IN AN OU GAME???
Honestly I don't have the energy to go through this game in-depth, the sheer insanity of Chatot pulling up to an OU game and actually doing stuff that isn't being sacrificed unceremoniously on turn 12 has taken me out. It didn't win, but holy Jesus.
vs There is a Chatot on my screen in an OU game. Glurakaiser brought an offensive VoltTurn BO and veti brought some balance. Why is there a Chatot on my screen in an OU game. The game has some good back-and-forth that I like to see when watching these games and deciding which to put down for the week. Why the fuck is Chatot in an OU game. Both players did pretty well in this one. WHY THE FUCK DID CHATOT PUT IN WORK IN AN OU GAME???
Honestly I don't have the energy to go through this game in-depth, the sheer insanity of Chatot pulling up to an OU game and actually doing stuff that isn't being sacrificed unceremoniously on turn 12 has taken me out. It didn't win, but holy Jesus.
Brexit Bibarels vs Stark Mountain Slugmas
Brexit Bibarels vs Stark Mountain Slugmas Incognition vs LB
vs
Main reason I chose this one is because I find it to be a good example of how the rain matchup can be played around and won even without a particularly solid defensive backbone to fall on. LB does have Blissey, which to be fair completely nullifies Kingdra, but Incognition's rain team is more physically-oriented with the likes of Qwilfish and Crawdaunt, which LB's team cannot safely answer if they are given free turns to set up. As for a closer look at LB's team, it appears to be a balance team that relies on Blissey/Heatran/Clefable/Mew to wall off most threats and make progress while Garchomp (which I'm assuming is Choice Scarf) and Swords Dance Scizor carry the team's offense. No Water resistance is kind of worrying, not even in the sense of the rain matchup but even just against stuff like CB Azumarill and Crawdaunt, though the latter is much easier for this team to limit as we see during this game.
Anyways the game starts with Volbeat leading off and setting rain while Scizor sets up with Swords Dance. Bullet Punch OHKOes Volbeat the following turn with a critical hit, but as we see that Scizor outspeeds and OHKOes Crawdaunt with a U-turn the following turn, it is an offensive Metal Coat Scizor. Though the exact EV spread is unknown, we at least know now that though the critical hit was unfortunate for Incognition, it wasn't necessary, as it was a roll to OHKO regardless; once again though, without an idea of the exact EV spread, the exact odds to OHKO without a critical hit are unclear. Kingdra comes in to threaten Mew after it has hit the field and LB swaps to Blissey to wall off Kingdra. Blissey then proceeds to fire off a Thunder Wave and hits Incognition's own Mew, the least important target here, but still a nice thing to accomplish. Rain eventually gets set up again and Qwilfish comes in to try and get some work done, but LB's Mew punishes its setup attempt with a Volt Switch, leaving it in range of Scizor's Bullet Punch, to which it falls to the following turn. From this point onwards Blissey walls off the remainder of Incognition's team and LB secures the game.
Like I said earlier, even though LB had a Blissey that blocked Kingdra's potential progress, I believe that it would still be a very winnable matchup for LB had they had something else in its place. For what it's worth I think Incognition played to the best of their ability especially after the unfortunate critical hit against Volbeat at the beginning of the game, but rain will always have that matchup fish-y element to it where it just hopes to go against a team that can't handle it whatsoever; when it often does face teams that have the tools to handle it, then the matchup evens out tremendously even if at a glance rain should be more dominant, so long as the opposing player is able to pilot their team well enough of course.
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As for the rest of the OU games this week, there were some good ones, but for the most part it felt like one player would take the advantage early on while the other doesn't really attempt to take it back, or if they do try, they get shut down in the process. Lead to many games not being as interesting as they could have been imo. I don't mean to be overly negative if it comes across that way, it's still early on in the tour so people may still be adjusting, and of course many players in this tour are also in more prestigious tournaments currently so I don't blame them for putting this on the backburner. Lower tiers have been pretty fun to watch for the most part too fwiw.
vs Main reason I chose this one is because I find it to be a good example of how the rain matchup can be played around and won even without a particularly solid defensive backbone to fall on. LB does have Blissey, which to be fair completely nullifies Kingdra, but Incognition's rain team is more physically-oriented with the likes of Qwilfish and Crawdaunt, which LB's team cannot safely answer if they are given free turns to set up. As for a closer look at LB's team, it appears to be a balance team that relies on Blissey/Heatran/Clefable/Mew to wall off most threats and make progress while Garchomp (which I'm assuming is Choice Scarf) and Swords Dance Scizor carry the team's offense. No Water resistance is kind of worrying, not even in the sense of the rain matchup but even just against stuff like CB Azumarill and Crawdaunt, though the latter is much easier for this team to limit as we see during this game.
Anyways the game starts with Volbeat leading off and setting rain while Scizor sets up with Swords Dance. Bullet Punch OHKOes Volbeat the following turn with a critical hit, but as we see that Scizor outspeeds and OHKOes Crawdaunt with a U-turn the following turn, it is an offensive Metal Coat Scizor. Though the exact EV spread is unknown, we at least know now that though the critical hit was unfortunate for Incognition, it wasn't necessary, as it was a roll to OHKO regardless; once again though, without an idea of the exact EV spread, the exact odds to OHKO without a critical hit are unclear. Kingdra comes in to threaten Mew after it has hit the field and LB swaps to Blissey to wall off Kingdra. Blissey then proceeds to fire off a Thunder Wave and hits Incognition's own Mew, the least important target here, but still a nice thing to accomplish. Rain eventually gets set up again and Qwilfish comes in to try and get some work done, but LB's Mew punishes its setup attempt with a Volt Switch, leaving it in range of Scizor's Bullet Punch, to which it falls to the following turn. From this point onwards Blissey walls off the remainder of Incognition's team and LB secures the game.
Like I said earlier, even though LB had a Blissey that blocked Kingdra's potential progress, I believe that it would still be a very winnable matchup for LB had they had something else in its place. For what it's worth I think Incognition played to the best of their ability especially after the unfortunate critical hit against Volbeat at the beginning of the game, but rain will always have that matchup fish-y element to it where it just hopes to go against a team that can't handle it whatsoever; when it often does face teams that have the tools to handle it, then the matchup evens out tremendously even if at a glance rain should be more dominant, so long as the opposing player is able to pilot their team well enough of course.
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As for the rest of the OU games this week, there were some good ones, but for the most part it felt like one player would take the advantage early on while the other doesn't really attempt to take it back, or if they do try, they get shut down in the process. Lead to many games not being as interesting as they could have been imo. I don't mean to be overly negative if it comes across that way, it's still early on in the tour so people may still be adjusting, and of course many players in this tour are also in more prestigious tournaments currently so I don't blame them for putting this on the backburner. Lower tiers have been pretty fun to watch for the most part too fwiw.
give it up for week 3 god damn it its bolded up here again :sob:
Lake Erie Slowpokes vs Rolling Spheals
Lake Erie Slowpokes vs Rolling Spheals DerpySux vs veti Game 3
vs 
Down to the last game of the week, we have DerpySux with a Suicune + Toxic Spikes Nidoking team seen last year during BDSPPL and veti with a Porygon-Z + Magnezone BO/balance team that looks to trap Steels to really let PZ's Tri Attack rip. Looking at this team preview, one of the first things to notice is how both teams lack a true answer to one of the other's threats; veti's team is torn to shreds by Nidoking, while Derpy's team has a Heatran to take on PZ, but it can only take so many hits before it goes down, not to mention that PZ outspeeds Derpy's Nidoking, limiting its opportunities to break. Thus, this game is going to primarily be centered around who can position their big scary wallbreaker more effectively as well as limiting the opposing team's wallbreaker to avoid getting torn apart.
The game starts off with Derpy leading Heatran and veti leading PZ, prompting the latter to swap out into Gliscor as Heatran misses Magma Storm. Suicune comes out in response as Gliscor clicks U-turn, bringing in Celebi to set up Stealth Rock; Mowtom hits the field as it does so and Tricks it a Choice Scarf before it leaves the field with U-turn. This play leaves Celebi more vulnerable to being takn advantage of by Derpy's team, but it also leaves the entire team outsped by the dangerous PZ, barring Latias; we see this come into play as PZ hits the field and KOs Mowtom with Ice Beam (not Tri Attack?). Heatran comes out afterwards to set up Stealth Rock and swaps to Suicune afterwards to avoid Gliscor's Earthquake. Suicune sets up a Substitute safely in order to bait out Magnezone and prompt and Electric-type move, granting Nidoking free entry that it would otherwise struggle to find. It uses this opportunity to set up Toxic Spikes as Celebi enters the field, the two trade damage with Sludge Wave and Giga Drain until Celebi goes down, having brought Nidoking down to 23% HP in the process. Infernape enters the field to revenge kill Nidoking and gets afflicted with poison from the Toxic Spikes, putting it on a timer. Its Close Combat is blanked by Clefable who then proceeds to wall Gliscor, though it is still able to remove hazards with Defog. Eventually PZ finds it way in front of Clefable and begins firing off Specs Tri Attacks against Heatran, who then lures Gliscor onto field before swapping out to Suicune. Magnezone takes some damage from an incoming Scald but manages to avoid the burn, veti then proceeds to swap to PZ on a predicted Protect turn to force more damage onto Heatran, even managing to secure a paralysis in the process. Gliscor enters the field yet again and so does Suicune, who proceeds to set up a Substitute and play out the same situation as earlier, granting Nidoking free entry on a Volt Switch. Infernape gets KOed by Sludge Wave and PZ returns the favour by KOing Latias with Tri Attack on the switch. Suicune attempts to waste some Tri Attack PP with Pressure + Protect, but it goes down immediately afterwards, leaving Derpy with few ways to play around the remainder of veti's team. Clefable is Derpy's response to PZ, as it sets up a Wish as PZ swaps out to Gliscor and proceeds to chip down both Gliscor and Magnezone with Moonblast. Magnezone locks into Flash Cannon, which gives Heatran an opportunity to come in and fire off a Magma Storm on the incoming Gliscor. Giscor proceeds to U-turn as Derpy's Clefable prepares a Wish for Heatran to receive after swapping in to PZ's Tri Attack, giving Depry some extra breathing room in the face of the funny little cyber duck. Clefable manages to set up another Wish, this time as Magnezone threatens it with Thunderbolt, but it stays in and sets up another wish as PZ swaps onto the field; this lets Heatran get back up to full health, though this is short-lived, as Heatran eventually gets trapped on a double switch to Magnezone, forcing it to take a hefty chunk of damage from Volt Switch. Gliscor eventually gets chipped down enough that it falls to Clefable's Moonblast, leaving veti's team without much in the ways of longevity, so they'll need to close the game out quickly. PZ hits the field yet again and proceeds to use, not Tri Attack, but Hyper Beam. It secures a KO on Heatran from 61% HP but becomes vulnerable in the process. Unfortunately for Derpy, Nidoking is unable to OHKO PZ with Sludge Wave, so another free turn is needed. Clefable is sacked to the following Hyper Beam, giving Nidoking the chance it needed to secure the KO on PZ and clean up the rest of veti's team.
I had to watch glimpses of this set while at work (thankfully it was a really slow night for me) and it was unbelievably hype watching this game in particular. The way that both players needed to dance around each others big scary threats lead to some very aggressive plays and interesting lines, which is something I always like to see when spectating. Not to mention the sheer surprise of PZ pulling out Hyper Beam at the end of the game, only for it to be its downfall. Peak Cinema or some shit like that.
vs Down to the last game of the week, we have DerpySux with a Suicune + Toxic Spikes Nidoking team seen last year during BDSPPL and veti with a Porygon-Z + Magnezone BO/balance team that looks to trap Steels to really let PZ's Tri Attack rip. Looking at this team preview, one of the first things to notice is how both teams lack a true answer to one of the other's threats; veti's team is torn to shreds by Nidoking, while Derpy's team has a Heatran to take on PZ, but it can only take so many hits before it goes down, not to mention that PZ outspeeds Derpy's Nidoking, limiting its opportunities to break. Thus, this game is going to primarily be centered around who can position their big scary wallbreaker more effectively as well as limiting the opposing team's wallbreaker to avoid getting torn apart.
The game starts off with Derpy leading Heatran and veti leading PZ, prompting the latter to swap out into Gliscor as Heatran misses Magma Storm. Suicune comes out in response as Gliscor clicks U-turn, bringing in Celebi to set up Stealth Rock; Mowtom hits the field as it does so and Tricks it a Choice Scarf before it leaves the field with U-turn. This play leaves Celebi more vulnerable to being takn advantage of by Derpy's team, but it also leaves the entire team outsped by the dangerous PZ, barring Latias; we see this come into play as PZ hits the field and KOs Mowtom with Ice Beam (not Tri Attack?). Heatran comes out afterwards to set up Stealth Rock and swaps to Suicune afterwards to avoid Gliscor's Earthquake. Suicune sets up a Substitute safely in order to bait out Magnezone and prompt and Electric-type move, granting Nidoking free entry that it would otherwise struggle to find. It uses this opportunity to set up Toxic Spikes as Celebi enters the field, the two trade damage with Sludge Wave and Giga Drain until Celebi goes down, having brought Nidoking down to 23% HP in the process. Infernape enters the field to revenge kill Nidoking and gets afflicted with poison from the Toxic Spikes, putting it on a timer. Its Close Combat is blanked by Clefable who then proceeds to wall Gliscor, though it is still able to remove hazards with Defog. Eventually PZ finds it way in front of Clefable and begins firing off Specs Tri Attacks against Heatran, who then lures Gliscor onto field before swapping out to Suicune. Magnezone takes some damage from an incoming Scald but manages to avoid the burn, veti then proceeds to swap to PZ on a predicted Protect turn to force more damage onto Heatran, even managing to secure a paralysis in the process. Gliscor enters the field yet again and so does Suicune, who proceeds to set up a Substitute and play out the same situation as earlier, granting Nidoking free entry on a Volt Switch. Infernape gets KOed by Sludge Wave and PZ returns the favour by KOing Latias with Tri Attack on the switch. Suicune attempts to waste some Tri Attack PP with Pressure + Protect, but it goes down immediately afterwards, leaving Derpy with few ways to play around the remainder of veti's team. Clefable is Derpy's response to PZ, as it sets up a Wish as PZ swaps out to Gliscor and proceeds to chip down both Gliscor and Magnezone with Moonblast. Magnezone locks into Flash Cannon, which gives Heatran an opportunity to come in and fire off a Magma Storm on the incoming Gliscor. Giscor proceeds to U-turn as Derpy's Clefable prepares a Wish for Heatran to receive after swapping in to PZ's Tri Attack, giving Depry some extra breathing room in the face of the funny little cyber duck. Clefable manages to set up another Wish, this time as Magnezone threatens it with Thunderbolt, but it stays in and sets up another wish as PZ swaps onto the field; this lets Heatran get back up to full health, though this is short-lived, as Heatran eventually gets trapped on a double switch to Magnezone, forcing it to take a hefty chunk of damage from Volt Switch. Gliscor eventually gets chipped down enough that it falls to Clefable's Moonblast, leaving veti's team without much in the ways of longevity, so they'll need to close the game out quickly. PZ hits the field yet again and proceeds to use, not Tri Attack, but Hyper Beam. It secures a KO on Heatran from 61% HP but becomes vulnerable in the process. Unfortunately for Derpy, Nidoking is unable to OHKO PZ with Sludge Wave, so another free turn is needed. Clefable is sacked to the following Hyper Beam, giving Nidoking the chance it needed to secure the KO on PZ and clean up the rest of veti's team.
I had to watch glimpses of this set while at work (thankfully it was a really slow night for me) and it was unbelievably hype watching this game in particular. The way that both players needed to dance around each others big scary threats lead to some very aggressive plays and interesting lines, which is something I always like to see when spectating. Not to mention the sheer surprise of PZ pulling out Hyper Beam at the end of the game, only for it to be its downfall. Peak Cinema or some shit like that.
Sunyshore Skitties vs Stark Mountain Slugmas
Sunyshore Skitties vs Stark Mountain Slugmas Skittyrox vs Lacks Game 1
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Part of me wanted to put down the act call as this week's choice, but that was kinda lame from an analytical standpoint so I decided against it. Not many games to work with here, as I'm only left with Skitty vs Lacks, but it went to three games so it's not the slimmest selection to choose from. Regardless, Skitty is running a Snorlax balance team, while Lacks has a Magnezone + Weavile BO team.
The battle begins with Skitty leading Latias and Lacks leading Garchomp; both players swap out, fearing that the other can OHKO them if they aren't careful. Skitty is able to get Gliscor in safely as Lacks brings in their Scizor, and after a U-turn, Heatran enters the field. Scizor also U-turns and immediately gets punished by a Flame Body burn, though Lacks makes up for this by sending out Garchomp and setting up Stealth Rock immediately as Milotic hits the field. Washtom eats a Scald burn the moment it sees play, but it forces out Milotic and gets a Volt Switch off against Latias; Lacks continues the pivot chain some more by using Magnezone to force out Latias and pivot out against Snorlax, followed by U-turning and bringing in Garchomp as Snorlax sets up with Curse. Garchomp sets up Swords Dance in order to help break past it, and eats a +1 Body Slam in the process, thankfully avoiding a paralysis. Lacks manages to snipe Gliscor with a boosted Dragon Claw, and then Skitty swaps into Heatran on the follow-up Dragon Claw and gets burns Garchomp with Flame Body, a nasty 3-for-3 on burns so far. Milotic manages to come in safely and Haze away Garchomp's boosts. The game continues with Lacks pivoting around while Skitty tries to respond to each threat, getting their own rocks up in the process. Weavile eventually hits the field and reveals that it is Life Orb, not Choice Band. We got a Swords Dance Weavile on our hands, folks. Heatran takes two Throat Chops and fails to get a Flame Body burn for once, leaving Weavile to be quite the threat. Milotic enters the field and forces out Weavile, eventually coming back in against Scizor, who Skitty now has issues forcing out now that Heatran has been removed from the game. Scizor then gets a Defog off, removing any sort of hazard pressure for Skitty's team. With their back against the wall, Skitty begins to set up multiple Curses with Snorlax, and Lacks responds by sending in Clefable, who sets up Calm Mind alongside it. At this point though, Skitty reveals Gastro Acid on Snorlax, completely nullifying Clefable's Unaware and forcing it out, picking up a KO against Garchomp as it enters. Magnezone comes in to try and threaten Snorlax, who cannot be Sleep Talk because it is running Gastro Acid as its fourth move, and forces it to Rest in order to stay alive. After a few Flash Cannons and losing half its health, Magnezone eventually gets a SpDef drop on Snorlax and forces it out with a Sleep turn to spare. Eventually Skitty is able to remove Stealth Rocks on his side of the field, leaving both sides entirely without hazards for the rest of the game. Lacks's Weavile eventually finds its way back in again and KOs the Latias that is at 1HP, and is then immediately forced out by Skitty's own Weavile. Lacks is able to respond with Clefable, however, and after a few turns Weavile manages to come back in as Gliscor Roosts, uses Swords Dance, and proceeds to KO Milotic and bring Skitty's Weavile down to 4% before being picked off by Ice Shard. Skitty once again attempts to bring the game back by using Curse Snorlax, but despite removing Clefable's Unaware, it is forced out while asleep because Clefable had accrued so many Calm Mind boosts. In a last ditch effort, Skitty hard swaps to Weavile on a Calm Mind turn and proceeds to use Icicle Crash in the hopes of getting a lucky flinch. Weavile does manage to get one, and then another after Clefable had uses Protect, but misses when Clefable is in kill range. Clefable is then able to heal up with Wish and win the game from there.
Despite a lot of the hax in the early-game, I think this was a rather interesting one to watch. Both teams had potential issues managing the other's main setup threat; Snorlax on Skitty's team, and Garchomp on Lacks's. Both players were able to play carefully around said threats and neutralize them, leading to a more drawn out game where they had to manage their resources carefully. Also props to Lacks for loading Swords Dance Weavile and not having it immediately flop.
vs Part of me wanted to put down the act call as this week's choice, but that was kinda lame from an analytical standpoint so I decided against it. Not many games to work with here, as I'm only left with Skitty vs Lacks, but it went to three games so it's not the slimmest selection to choose from. Regardless, Skitty is running a Snorlax balance team, while Lacks has a Magnezone + Weavile BO team.
The battle begins with Skitty leading Latias and Lacks leading Garchomp; both players swap out, fearing that the other can OHKO them if they aren't careful. Skitty is able to get Gliscor in safely as Lacks brings in their Scizor, and after a U-turn, Heatran enters the field. Scizor also U-turns and immediately gets punished by a Flame Body burn, though Lacks makes up for this by sending out Garchomp and setting up Stealth Rock immediately as Milotic hits the field. Washtom eats a Scald burn the moment it sees play, but it forces out Milotic and gets a Volt Switch off against Latias; Lacks continues the pivot chain some more by using Magnezone to force out Latias and pivot out against Snorlax, followed by U-turning and bringing in Garchomp as Snorlax sets up with Curse. Garchomp sets up Swords Dance in order to help break past it, and eats a +1 Body Slam in the process, thankfully avoiding a paralysis. Lacks manages to snipe Gliscor with a boosted Dragon Claw, and then Skitty swaps into Heatran on the follow-up Dragon Claw and gets burns Garchomp with Flame Body, a nasty 3-for-3 on burns so far. Milotic manages to come in safely and Haze away Garchomp's boosts. The game continues with Lacks pivoting around while Skitty tries to respond to each threat, getting their own rocks up in the process. Weavile eventually hits the field and reveals that it is Life Orb, not Choice Band. We got a Swords Dance Weavile on our hands, folks. Heatran takes two Throat Chops and fails to get a Flame Body burn for once, leaving Weavile to be quite the threat. Milotic enters the field and forces out Weavile, eventually coming back in against Scizor, who Skitty now has issues forcing out now that Heatran has been removed from the game. Scizor then gets a Defog off, removing any sort of hazard pressure for Skitty's team. With their back against the wall, Skitty begins to set up multiple Curses with Snorlax, and Lacks responds by sending in Clefable, who sets up Calm Mind alongside it. At this point though, Skitty reveals Gastro Acid on Snorlax, completely nullifying Clefable's Unaware and forcing it out, picking up a KO against Garchomp as it enters. Magnezone comes in to try and threaten Snorlax, who cannot be Sleep Talk because it is running Gastro Acid as its fourth move, and forces it to Rest in order to stay alive. After a few Flash Cannons and losing half its health, Magnezone eventually gets a SpDef drop on Snorlax and forces it out with a Sleep turn to spare. Eventually Skitty is able to remove Stealth Rocks on his side of the field, leaving both sides entirely without hazards for the rest of the game. Lacks's Weavile eventually finds its way back in again and KOs the Latias that is at 1HP, and is then immediately forced out by Skitty's own Weavile. Lacks is able to respond with Clefable, however, and after a few turns Weavile manages to come back in as Gliscor Roosts, uses Swords Dance, and proceeds to KO Milotic and bring Skitty's Weavile down to 4% before being picked off by Ice Shard. Skitty once again attempts to bring the game back by using Curse Snorlax, but despite removing Clefable's Unaware, it is forced out while asleep because Clefable had accrued so many Calm Mind boosts. In a last ditch effort, Skitty hard swaps to Weavile on a Calm Mind turn and proceeds to use Icicle Crash in the hopes of getting a lucky flinch. Weavile does manage to get one, and then another after Clefable had uses Protect, but misses when Clefable is in kill range. Clefable is then able to heal up with Wish and win the game from there.
Despite a lot of the hax in the early-game, I think this was a rather interesting one to watch. Both teams had potential issues managing the other's main setup threat; Snorlax on Skitty's team, and Garchomp on Lacks's. Both players were able to play carefully around said threats and neutralize them, leading to a more drawn out game where they had to manage their resources carefully. Also props to Lacks for loading Swords Dance Weavile and not having it immediately flop.
Big Cargo Magcargos vs Brexit Bibarels
Big Cargo Magcargos vs Brexit Bibarels Medasus vs haxlolo
vs
I think this game made me realize that Skitty, and to a lesser extent myself, have been supplying so many teams in this tournament whether we were aware of it or not. Both players pack a VoltTurn core of Infernape/Gliscor/Scizor/Washtom, with Medasus going a more BO route with Latias + Clefable as the final two, whereas haxlolo goes all in on the VoltTurn mayhem with Mew as support and PZ as a breaker. Based off the team selections, this game was likely to be decided by who could get momentum first and retain it for as long as possible.
The game starts with not much happening until Mew and Clefable trade Stealth Rock, and Clefable hitting Scizor with a Moonblast and revealing that is has no Leftovers, showing us that is a more offensive set. Medasus's Gliscor manages to get its Toxic Orb activated but is immediately forced out by the threat of Mew's Ice Beam. PZ hits the field in the fact of Clefable and gets a clean KO wih Tri Attack, jesus chris that thing is strong. Scizor comes out to revenge kill PZ and catches Infernape on the switch with U-turn, bringing in Latias to threaten some damage. Washtom tanks a Life Orb Psychic and sacrifices itself to Trick away its Choice Scarf against Latias, greatly reducing its threat level. lolo's Scizor hits the field and gets a free turn to Roost as Medasus brings in their own Scizor; lolo uses U-turn and goes to Gliscor as Medasus uses Swords Dance and chunks Gliscor for decent damage. Infernape comes in after a U-turn to threaten out Scizor and nearly OHKOes Washtom with Choice Band Close Combat, though Medasus's Gliscor is able to absorb the following attack. Mew hits the field and in response Medasus sacks Washtom to Stealth Rock in order to block a potential Volt Switch. Medasus's Infernape enters the field and chunks Mew with U-turn, but it heals it off with Roost as Scizor hits the field to heal up. lolo's Infernape hits the field once again and tears through Gliscor with Flare Blitz, leaving itself within Stealth Rock range after picking up the KO. Scizor comes in to revenge kill Infernape with Bullet Punch, but lolo's own Scizor absorbs the hit. The two begin to boost up with Swords Dance alongside each other, and while it initially seems as though lolo has the speed advantage, it eventually becomes clear that they are speed tying. At this point, both teams have their primary Scizor answers removed or chipped far too much to properly answer them, so the Scizor mirror ends up being the best course of action for both sides. Medasus seems to initially have the advantage thanks to some speed tie wins, but they miss out on some damage rolls and leave lolo's Scizor barely hanging on and wins the crucial final speed tie to pick off Medasus's Scizor. Infernape hits the field to finish off Scizor with Mach Punch and is then forced out by Mew, who chips Latias on the switch and takes some damage from Draco Meteor before picking up the KO against Latias. At this point, the rest of lolo's team is in Choice Band Flare Blitz range, so the only play for Medasus is to go to their lost mon, Infernape, and hope they manage to pick off the rest of the team before they succumb to recoil. First Blitz and Mew goes down, Infernape is left at 35% HP. Second Blitz, Gliscor is KOed, 21% HP remaining. Third Blitz, PZ is cleanly cleaved through, and Infernape faints from recoil damage.
This game went down to the wire, which made it very entertaining to watch imo. There were some unfortunate parts, mainly the fact that a large part of the mid-game came down to Scizor speed ties, or even how the game progressed to a state where an SD Scizor mirror became the most optimal line of play for both sides. This isn't necessarily the fault of the players, it's a part of the tier, albeit one that's come to frustrate me recently.
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As for the rest of the OU games this week, they were overall solid, with more consistent quality across the board. Hoping it stays that way going forward.
vs I think this game made me realize that Skitty, and to a lesser extent myself, have been supplying so many teams in this tournament whether we were aware of it or not. Both players pack a VoltTurn core of Infernape/Gliscor/Scizor/Washtom, with Medasus going a more BO route with Latias + Clefable as the final two, whereas haxlolo goes all in on the VoltTurn mayhem with Mew as support and PZ as a breaker. Based off the team selections, this game was likely to be decided by who could get momentum first and retain it for as long as possible.
The game starts with not much happening until Mew and Clefable trade Stealth Rock, and Clefable hitting Scizor with a Moonblast and revealing that is has no Leftovers, showing us that is a more offensive set. Medasus's Gliscor manages to get its Toxic Orb activated but is immediately forced out by the threat of Mew's Ice Beam. PZ hits the field in the fact of Clefable and gets a clean KO wih Tri Attack, jesus chris that thing is strong. Scizor comes out to revenge kill PZ and catches Infernape on the switch with U-turn, bringing in Latias to threaten some damage. Washtom tanks a Life Orb Psychic and sacrifices itself to Trick away its Choice Scarf against Latias, greatly reducing its threat level. lolo's Scizor hits the field and gets a free turn to Roost as Medasus brings in their own Scizor; lolo uses U-turn and goes to Gliscor as Medasus uses Swords Dance and chunks Gliscor for decent damage. Infernape comes in after a U-turn to threaten out Scizor and nearly OHKOes Washtom with Choice Band Close Combat, though Medasus's Gliscor is able to absorb the following attack. Mew hits the field and in response Medasus sacks Washtom to Stealth Rock in order to block a potential Volt Switch. Medasus's Infernape enters the field and chunks Mew with U-turn, but it heals it off with Roost as Scizor hits the field to heal up. lolo's Infernape hits the field once again and tears through Gliscor with Flare Blitz, leaving itself within Stealth Rock range after picking up the KO. Scizor comes in to revenge kill Infernape with Bullet Punch, but lolo's own Scizor absorbs the hit. The two begin to boost up with Swords Dance alongside each other, and while it initially seems as though lolo has the speed advantage, it eventually becomes clear that they are speed tying. At this point, both teams have their primary Scizor answers removed or chipped far too much to properly answer them, so the Scizor mirror ends up being the best course of action for both sides. Medasus seems to initially have the advantage thanks to some speed tie wins, but they miss out on some damage rolls and leave lolo's Scizor barely hanging on and wins the crucial final speed tie to pick off Medasus's Scizor. Infernape hits the field to finish off Scizor with Mach Punch and is then forced out by Mew, who chips Latias on the switch and takes some damage from Draco Meteor before picking up the KO against Latias. At this point, the rest of lolo's team is in Choice Band Flare Blitz range, so the only play for Medasus is to go to their lost mon, Infernape, and hope they manage to pick off the rest of the team before they succumb to recoil. First Blitz and Mew goes down, Infernape is left at 35% HP. Second Blitz, Gliscor is KOed, 21% HP remaining. Third Blitz, PZ is cleanly cleaved through, and Infernape faints from recoil damage.
This game went down to the wire, which made it very entertaining to watch imo. There were some unfortunate parts, mainly the fact that a large part of the mid-game came down to Scizor speed ties, or even how the game progressed to a state where an SD Scizor mirror became the most optimal line of play for both sides. This isn't necessarily the fault of the players, it's a part of the tier, albeit one that's come to frustrate me recently.
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As for the rest of the OU games this week, they were overall solid, with more consistent quality across the board. Hoping it stays that way going forward.