I thought this day would never come...
So this is, in my eyes at least, more of a philosophical discussion, whereas Mega Lucario etc is clearly a practical discussion. That is, we are not just discussing whether pranksterfusion is overpowered, but also whether it is fair.
To summarise why so many people dislike this particular so-called strategy, here is a very short algorithm:
1) Is the opponent confused?
If yes, go to 2). If no, use Swagger.
2) Are you behind a substitute?
If yes, go to 3). If no, use Substitute.
3) Is the opponent paralysed, or a Ground- or Electric-type?
If yes, use Foul Play. If no, use Thunder Wave.
The reason that this is a problem is that following this scheme is the best thing a player piloting a swagmon can do 95%+ of the time, regardless of what the opponent is doing. In other words, a player, when using a swagmon, doesn't need to think about what his opponent is doing - his play is unpunishable, as long as he gets the required RNG rolls. In using these strategies, a player is forcing his opponent to play the percentages with him, and there is nothing the opponent can do to stop him. Many games involving a swagmon, and every game involving a whole team of them, is decided by luck not skill. I fail to see how this is different to evasion, to be honest.
As for whether luck is a bad thing - I'm a ladder player, so I can console myself that my luck is being smoothed out over hundreds of matches. But for a tournament match to be decided in such a way would be a travesty. Basically swagplay gives nothing to the metagame other than increasing the probabilities for bad players to beat good players, and as such it deserves no place in the metagame. In my opinion, ban Swagger, or possibly Prankster + Swagger, on the grounds that it renders skill irrelevant and is no fun.
So this is, in my eyes at least, more of a philosophical discussion, whereas Mega Lucario etc is clearly a practical discussion. That is, we are not just discussing whether pranksterfusion is overpowered, but also whether it is fair.
To summarise why so many people dislike this particular so-called strategy, here is a very short algorithm:
1) Is the opponent confused?
If yes, go to 2). If no, use Swagger.
2) Are you behind a substitute?
If yes, go to 3). If no, use Substitute.
3) Is the opponent paralysed, or a Ground- or Electric-type?
If yes, use Foul Play. If no, use Thunder Wave.
The reason that this is a problem is that following this scheme is the best thing a player piloting a swagmon can do 95%+ of the time, regardless of what the opponent is doing. In other words, a player, when using a swagmon, doesn't need to think about what his opponent is doing - his play is unpunishable, as long as he gets the required RNG rolls. In using these strategies, a player is forcing his opponent to play the percentages with him, and there is nothing the opponent can do to stop him. Many games involving a swagmon, and every game involving a whole team of them, is decided by luck not skill. I fail to see how this is different to evasion, to be honest.
As for whether luck is a bad thing - I'm a ladder player, so I can console myself that my luck is being smoothed out over hundreds of matches. But for a tournament match to be decided in such a way would be a travesty. Basically swagplay gives nothing to the metagame other than increasing the probabilities for bad players to beat good players, and as such it deserves no place in the metagame. In my opinion, ban Swagger, or possibly Prankster + Swagger, on the grounds that it renders skill irrelevant and is no fun.
Last edited: