Alright, I think I've read enough of this now to make an argument of my own. First I'm going to address several arguments on both sides I have a problem with.
"He's not unpredictable, he only has 3 sets!"
What people mean here isn't that you can't predict the set, it's that you can't predict the coverage. The coverage is the issue people are complaining about. It's the fact you can't beat it with 100% certainty with anything you'd use anyway if Deoxys-S didn't exist.
"He's broken because he's so unpredictable!"
Yeah, I'm going both ways with this one. The other side of the coin is that its the COVERAGE that's so unpredictable. Basically, if you have something that can beat it, you will usually beat it because it can only cover a couple of its checks at a time. While it's annoying and frustrating to never be certain you can beat it, if you can beat it 90% of the time with that Starmie you're using anyway then it isn't an issue 90% of the time. Consistency is key to banning a Pokemon, and when you can beat it more consistently than it beats you then it's not a problem. If it's broken, it's not because of its unpredictability
"It isn't guaranteed to do X, you can use <insert obscure method here> to prevent it!"
It's irrelevant if something random and seldom used can stop it or not if that something isn't viable otherwise. If you're being forced to run something that would be nonviable if Deoxys-S didn't exist, then something is wrong. One Pokemon shouldn't force every team to run something specifically for it. That's why Excadrill was banned, and I fully agree with that idea.
"You HAVE to run <insert obscure pokemon/set here> to beat it!"
Equally as invalid as the above argument. There are multiple ways to beat every version, some less overall viable than others but there are ways. Hell, it turns out my team just doesn't have problems with Deoxys-S because I happen to have answers to each of its supports even without considering Deoxys-S in my team building process (this team was made prior Exca ban mind you). Like anything else, you just have to play smart around it.
"The hazards Deoxys-S sets up don't matter, you can just spin them away!"
Oh hell no. Have you actually TRIED spinning in this metagame? It's not just the spin-blockers either, oh no. It's the difficulty in finding a way to keep your damn spinner alive long enough to get its job done. Not to mention that usually after you KO Deoxys-S brining out your spinner right away just isn't in the cards, and every turn those hazards stay on the field is a turn the advantage slips to your opponent. So even if you do eventually spin them away, frequently your team is already damaged enough from them it doesn't matter.
"The ability to set up two layers of hazards almost guaranteed is too powerful!"
Well, it certainly puts you at a disadvantage but again its not insurmountable. If you're smart you can play around it, and if your team is so hazard weak you take oodles of damage before you can spin it away then your team has problems Deoxys-S or not. It's a similar situation if your team doesn't have a way of removing/preventing hazards; having some way of dealing with that has been standard since last gen if not before then. The bottom line is that having your opponent set up hazards should not be the end of your team even in a meta without Deoxys-S, so complaining that you're required to deal with them now is just whining.
"Life Orb Deoxys-S is piss weak and priority walks all over him!"
What Deoxys-S lacks in raw power it makes up for with spectacular coverage and untouchable speed. It not to be underestimated, as it's basically a scarfer with the ability to switch moves. If your opponent is playing it like a sweeper, then you're facing a bad player. If your opponent is using it to pick off weakened opponents (a job is does incredibly well) then it's doing it right. Finally, as pointed out by many on here, Deoxys-S has a lot more bulk than many people give it credit for. It can take most priority moves from full health (it helps that it resists the common fighting type ones), and if it's already weak enough that it's within KO range from priority chances are its already taken something out. The bottom line is underestimate Life Orb Deoxys-S at your own risk.
"Life Orb Deoxys is broken too! It can't be touched with that speed and surprise KOs everything!"
Again, unpredictability is not grounds for banning on its own. If you lose a pokemon to Life Orb Deoxys-S, it's usually your own fault for underestimating it. It's the same as any other surprise set; people don't act appropriately when it pops up so you net a kill. As for the speed, you can always just wall it, or if you're going high offense use priority. It's hardly unbeatable, and in no way falls under the old offensive clause. It can't sweep worth shit unless a team is already in shambles.
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So, now I'm sure you're wondering... where do I stand? You'd think I'd be on the fence judging from the above but you'd be wrong to assume that based just on that, because there's one thing I have not discussed yet... the Dual Screens set combined with High Offense. I never had trouble with it personally, but that's because it turns out Hydration Vaporeon shits all over High Offense, dual screens or no. Most people though aren't going to be using Hydration Vapreon, and as such will have a lot of difficulty with it. Can the play style be beaten? Of course. Can it be beaten without resorting to specific Deoxys-S counters? Yes it can, though not without a lot of skill and luck. The problem is that it's far too easy to just slap together a DS Deoxys-S + 5 sweepers team and blow your way to a high rating without any real effort at all. Now this could just be because people haven't adapted to the recent shifts to the metagame yet, and that if things are left unchanged things will balance out after a while without centralizing the meta. Or it could be because the support DS Deoxys-S provides is too overwhelming and makes only High Offense and teams directly made to counter High Offense viable. The only way to tell is time.
And that is my conclusion; this round of talk about banning Deoxys-S is just too soon. We haven't had enough time to adjust to the changes since the last suspect test yet. I say see where we are in another month and then make a decision. There's a reason why usage based tier changes are spaced out 3 months apart; the metagame takes time to stabilize after change, and making more changes before it stabilizes is counterproductive. Wait and see how things shape up first so we have a clearer picture of what state things are actually in. Then we can go about deciding whether it needs fixing or not, and how to fix it if it does need it.
TL;DR: Just read the last paragraph, that's the important bit.
