I agree with pretty much all of the decisions made with this stage, except for maybe disallowing Fire Fang. However, I don't think people should discount Ice Fang because it makes offensive sets more viable. How is it bad for Malaconda to run an offensive set like 252 HP / 252 Atk with a Sitrus berry if it still achieves the goal of spinning and being a pivot for Sun teams? Using an offensive set lets Malaconda fulfill its role in a slightly different, non-destructive way. People are not going to be running a Band on this thing as locking Malaconda into any of Power Whip, Crunch, Ice Fang, or Rapid Spin lets the opponent switch in a counter far too easily, destroying the Sun team's hard fought momentum. These moves have a ton of bulky (or quad) resists and just aren't good spamming moves. Heck, Politoed could switch into locked Ice Fang / Rapid Spin and just muck around.
As such, I don't see the problem with U-Turn either. Either offensive pivots run it and get a lot better at conserving momentum for Sun teams (which is exactly what we want) or people run bad choice sets, realize how bad they are, and switch to the offensive pivot sets instead.
Remember, Malaconda is not going to be an inherent powerhouse like Aurumoth, as it has so many checks and counters. We can afford to give it these extra tools to make it more viable without it becoming overbearing. U-Turn is just about the best addition for aligning Malaconda to Sun teams outside of Fire Fang due to its momentum conservation, and Ice Fang lets it hit Dragonite / Salamence and co on the switch, helping Sun teams to fend off even more dangerous Dragons.
As such, I don't see the problem with U-Turn either. Either offensive pivots run it and get a lot better at conserving momentum for Sun teams (which is exactly what we want) or people run bad choice sets, realize how bad they are, and switch to the offensive pivot sets instead.
Remember, Malaconda is not going to be an inherent powerhouse like Aurumoth, as it has so many checks and counters. We can afford to give it these extra tools to make it more viable without it becoming overbearing. U-Turn is just about the best addition for aligning Malaconda to Sun teams outside of Fire Fang due to its momentum conservation, and Ice Fang lets it hit Dragonite / Salamence and co on the switch, helping Sun teams to fend off even more dangerous Dragons.