PLAYING TO WIN: BH EDITION
one book that i keep coming back to (partially because it's free to read online hehe) is playing to win. it basically outlines the world of competitive games and how to avoid common pitfalls, and common strategies that have had success. it's a great book, but something that always annoyed me about it was the fact that the author always brought up games that are very different from bh, particularly more esport type games like street fighter, cs:go, and starcraft. (the only mentioned game vaguely similar to bh was magic the gathering, which i think speaks for itself.) because of this, i have made my own modifications to the book so that bh players may better enjoy it.
keep in mind that some, if not all of the concepts in this book, can be interpreted in very different ways in the context of bh. because of this, i welcome alternative viewpoints and would appreciate some discussion on the topic.
i won't be covering the beginner's or intermediate's guide, because with those chapters, although different games are used for examples, they are relatively irrelevant to the overall message. besides, the substitutions you can make are pretty obvious (for introducing the scrub, you can substitute in things like imposter, uturn, and prankster haze for "cheap" things, and for more on losing, you can substitute in me for the guy falling into all the losing attitudes). even if you aren't a new player, you should probably read these sections first if you haven't already.
i will start at the art of war:
if you haven't already noticed this stuff is long and i'm tired, so i'll stop at the sheathed sword for now. (keeping the whole thing to one post is also probably not feasible because of the character limit.) in the coming days, though, there will be more updates so stay tuned. hope u guys enjoyed
one book that i keep coming back to (partially because it's free to read online hehe) is playing to win. it basically outlines the world of competitive games and how to avoid common pitfalls, and common strategies that have had success. it's a great book, but something that always annoyed me about it was the fact that the author always brought up games that are very different from bh, particularly more esport type games like street fighter, cs:go, and starcraft. (the only mentioned game vaguely similar to bh was magic the gathering, which i think speaks for itself.) because of this, i have made my own modifications to the book so that bh players may better enjoy it.
keep in mind that some, if not all of the concepts in this book, can be interpreted in very different ways in the context of bh. because of this, i welcome alternative viewpoints and would appreciate some discussion on the topic.
i won't be covering the beginner's or intermediate's guide, because with those chapters, although different games are used for examples, they are relatively irrelevant to the overall message. besides, the substitutions you can make are pretty obvious (for introducing the scrub, you can substitute in things like imposter, uturn, and prankster haze for "cheap" things, and for more on losing, you can substitute in me for the guy falling into all the losing attitudes). even if you aren't a new player, you should probably read these sections first if you haven't already.
i will start at the art of war:
Introduction to the Art of War
The chapters that follow in this book are my retelling and interpretation of [Sun Tzu's The Art of War]. I have condensed his thirteen chapters to seven, joined together similar material, omitted some topics, and added two chapters of my own. I explore how his tactics of military conduct apply to playing BH today, and provide examples from one game. I have taken great liberties on more than a few subjects, but overall, the application of his concepts is quite direct.
Take, for example, Sun Tzu’s five essentials for victory:
You might note that I have not mentioned anything bad happening to defensive Pokemon, like for example, having to play with a crucial Giratina at low HP. This is because in games, defensive cores are usually where you "run away" to, and I would not consider stalling for time to be the best tactic to counteract this disadvantage; if anything, playing defensively would give your opponent more options to take advantage of this deficit. These situations will be covered later on.
[Editor's note: I originally had trouble with finding examples for this, because Playing to Win lists advantages that fade naturally, like a day-night cycle that makes some creatures more powerful than others, and a super mode that powers a player up for a certain amount of time, while boosts in BH generally stay as they are until they are manually shut down. (Hazards are a notable exception to this, but in practice they usually have a greater impact in wearing down a team's defensive core alongside a breaker.) Only very team-specific and rare mechanics, like sand/hail and the early 2017 legend Charge Zekrom, naturally fade away. That being said, you could argue for more abstract things, even in teambuilding, to use this concept.]
Secondly, we have “He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.” You must often employ different tactics when winning than when losing. When losing badly, you are often forced to choose only from high-risk options that have big enough payoffs to put you back into the game. When you are down several important Pokemon or your matchup is significantly worse than neutral, you can no longer afford to grind the opponent down slowly, trading chip for chip and always playing safely. The further behind you are, the more imperative it becomes to find that bold play that lets your Pokemon knock out a foe it would otherwise not have the momentum to. On the other hand, if you are winning by a huge amount in a BH game, you would be wise to restrict yourself to unusually safe moves, giving the opponent no chance to come back. When the opponent is low on defensive resources, making safe moves is as deadly as risking your offensive Pokemon on a prediction that your opponent might just go for. Relying on low risk moves is totally viable when you are in the powerful position of “almost winning.”
“He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.” What Sun Tzu means is that the intent of the general must be carried out by officers and then soldiers, exactly as envisioned. The strategy is wasted if it cannot be executed properly. In a sense, your mind and your body must be “animated by the same spirit” while playing. You must have the dexterity and coordination to physically carry out whatever course of action your mind believes is best. Although "technical skill" in BH, or the equivalent of landing difficult-to-execute combos in fighting games, is physically absent, there are aspects of micromanagement involved. You need to be mentally prepared to ensure your (often complex) strategy is successful and adjust it accordingly to your opponent's team and plays.
And then “He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.” This is closely related to the first of the five points. Advantages shift over the course of a game, and it is the wise player who puts himself beyond the possibility of defeat and waits for the enemy to make a fatal mistake, or at least waits for advantages to shift favorably before attacking.
In BH, hyper offense teams are known for using this strategy to its fullest extent. Although their general frailty and instability place a general limit on how long they have to break the opposing team before crumbling completely, in return they are great at exploiting weak teams and/or plays. Different ways hyper offense can take advantage of unprepared opponents include baiting different sets to gain a potentially huge advantage, putting Pokemon to sleep, and setting up on forced switches, like having a Pokemon that completely walls Imposter transformed into another Pokemon. A well-played hyper offense team can be a nightmare to deal with without the proper preparation, although with it they are frail and easily defeated. (Note that "preparation" doesn't necessarily have to mean having a counterteam ready; if you know the sets of a hyper offense team, it's generally much less effective.)
And finally the most interesting point: “He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.” Sun Tzu talks about the difference between civic virtues and military virtues. Humanity and justice are virtues of the state, but not of the army, he says. The army must be opportunistic and flexible. The state has principles to live by and precedents to set, but war is fierce and urgent. If you wish to win in battle, you must do immediately whatever is practical and effective.
This is the entire point of Playing to Win. Do not be interfered with by the sovereign. If you wish to win, do not play to be looked up to and admired. Do not play to make a statement about this move or that tactic. Do not play to avoid being called “cheap.” Do not play to make friends with your opponent. Being friends with him is a civic virtue that you should indulge in after the match. During the match, you must harass him, annoy him, anger him, counter him at every turn, and surprise him when he is unaware. You must crush him. If you want to win, then don’t do it with one hand behind your back just because forces outside the game compel you to. Inside the game, there are only military virtues. If you want to win, then play to win.
The chapters that follow in this book are my retelling and interpretation of [Sun Tzu's The Art of War]. I have condensed his thirteen chapters to seven, joined together similar material, omitted some topics, and added two chapters of my own. I explore how his tactics of military conduct apply to playing BH today, and provide examples from one game. I have taken great liberties on more than a few subjects, but overall, the application of his concepts is quite direct.
Take, for example, Sun Tzu’s five essentials for victory:
Now consider the application to Balanced Hackmons. First we have “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” If, in a game, you are temporarily at a disadvantage, then you should stall until you can change the situation. In BH, this strategy is actually the most intuitive of all of them, because Pokemon "getting forced out" is such a basic part of the game. If your sweeper is countered by a specific Pokemon, bring it in only after that Pokemon has been eliminated. If your Poison Heal or -ate Pokemon has their ability suppressed, wait until you get momentum to bring them in again. If your wallbreaker is up against a faster mon that can OHKO it, then switch out. (All of these situations do have room for mindgames, but the risk-free play is usually the better one except in certain situations, which will be covered below.)
You might note that I have not mentioned anything bad happening to defensive Pokemon, like for example, having to play with a crucial Giratina at low HP. This is because in games, defensive cores are usually where you "run away" to, and I would not consider stalling for time to be the best tactic to counteract this disadvantage; if anything, playing defensively would give your opponent more options to take advantage of this deficit. These situations will be covered later on.
[Editor's note: I originally had trouble with finding examples for this, because Playing to Win lists advantages that fade naturally, like a day-night cycle that makes some creatures more powerful than others, and a super mode that powers a player up for a certain amount of time, while boosts in BH generally stay as they are until they are manually shut down. (Hazards are a notable exception to this, but in practice they usually have a greater impact in wearing down a team's defensive core alongside a breaker.) Only very team-specific and rare mechanics, like sand/hail and the early 2017 legend Charge Zekrom, naturally fade away. That being said, you could argue for more abstract things, even in teambuilding, to use this concept.]
Secondly, we have “He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.” You must often employ different tactics when winning than when losing. When losing badly, you are often forced to choose only from high-risk options that have big enough payoffs to put you back into the game. When you are down several important Pokemon or your matchup is significantly worse than neutral, you can no longer afford to grind the opponent down slowly, trading chip for chip and always playing safely. The further behind you are, the more imperative it becomes to find that bold play that lets your Pokemon knock out a foe it would otherwise not have the momentum to. On the other hand, if you are winning by a huge amount in a BH game, you would be wise to restrict yourself to unusually safe moves, giving the opponent no chance to come back. When the opponent is low on defensive resources, making safe moves is as deadly as risking your offensive Pokemon on a prediction that your opponent might just go for. Relying on low risk moves is totally viable when you are in the powerful position of “almost winning.”
“He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.” What Sun Tzu means is that the intent of the general must be carried out by officers and then soldiers, exactly as envisioned. The strategy is wasted if it cannot be executed properly. In a sense, your mind and your body must be “animated by the same spirit” while playing. You must have the dexterity and coordination to physically carry out whatever course of action your mind believes is best. Although "technical skill" in BH, or the equivalent of landing difficult-to-execute combos in fighting games, is physically absent, there are aspects of micromanagement involved. You need to be mentally prepared to ensure your (often complex) strategy is successful and adjust it accordingly to your opponent's team and plays.
And then “He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.” This is closely related to the first of the five points. Advantages shift over the course of a game, and it is the wise player who puts himself beyond the possibility of defeat and waits for the enemy to make a fatal mistake, or at least waits for advantages to shift favorably before attacking.
In BH, hyper offense teams are known for using this strategy to its fullest extent. Although their general frailty and instability place a general limit on how long they have to break the opposing team before crumbling completely, in return they are great at exploiting weak teams and/or plays. Different ways hyper offense can take advantage of unprepared opponents include baiting different sets to gain a potentially huge advantage, putting Pokemon to sleep, and setting up on forced switches, like having a Pokemon that completely walls Imposter transformed into another Pokemon. A well-played hyper offense team can be a nightmare to deal with without the proper preparation, although with it they are frail and easily defeated. (Note that "preparation" doesn't necessarily have to mean having a counterteam ready; if you know the sets of a hyper offense team, it's generally much less effective.)
And finally the most interesting point: “He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.” Sun Tzu talks about the difference between civic virtues and military virtues. Humanity and justice are virtues of the state, but not of the army, he says. The army must be opportunistic and flexible. The state has principles to live by and precedents to set, but war is fierce and urgent. If you wish to win in battle, you must do immediately whatever is practical and effective.
This is the entire point of Playing to Win. Do not be interfered with by the sovereign. If you wish to win, do not play to be looked up to and admired. Do not play to make a statement about this move or that tactic. Do not play to avoid being called “cheap.” Do not play to make friends with your opponent. Being friends with him is a civic virtue that you should indulge in after the match. During the match, you must harass him, annoy him, anger him, counter him at every turn, and surprise him when he is unaware. You must crush him. If you want to win, then don’t do it with one hand behind your back just because forces outside the game compel you to. Inside the game, there are only military virtues. If you want to win, then play to win.
1) Deception
BH players have a variety of ways of masking their tells. The classic image of the poker player is the stoic, blank-faced fellow. Never show emotion and there is nothing to read. This is relatively easy to perform—simply stay quiet in the chat during the duration of the game (including teambuilding). Then there’s the other side of the spectrum: the life of the party. If you’re always animated and excited, there’s so much to read that it’s hard for other players to catch the signals in your noise.
While this mostly applies during a game, it certainly has its uses before a game, too. You might intimidate a player before the game, or falsely project your own insecurities, or let him talk too much and reveal something he shouldn’t about his play. I have never really done much of this, as I wonder how much it’s all worth in the end versus just being a genuine and friendly person to your opponents. You’ll have plenty of time to deceive them during the game. Nevertheless, if you are “playing to hustle,” I’m sure these are valuable techniques.
There is much more opportunity to use “outside of the game” deception in games of hidden information that are played face-to-face. Let’s look at two examples from BH that combine deception from both inside and outside the game: (1) the possible Soundproof, and (2) the apparently suicidal bluff.
The Possible Soundproof
Soundproof is an important ability in BH that is able to lure in extremely dangerous -ate users and remove them from the match. This is a one-shot effect, though; if you reveal Soundproof, you’ll have trouble taking on the opposing -ate user because it can use Extreme Speed on the switch, plus Soundproof itself requires an ability slot to use.
You must seem to have a team full of Soundproof users when you have none, and you must seem to have no Soundproof users when there is indeed one present. The opponent does not know for sure if you have this ability in your team (that’s hidden information only you know), but you can use techniques inside and outside of the game to shape his beliefs. When he sends out his -ate user, you can use your acting skills to ponder whether you should use that (nonexistent) Soundproof user in your team—then finally decide not to. Of course, you’ll have to keep your Soundproof user at a high enough HP that you could feasibly live a single attack with it, because all players know the health of your Pokemon. For example, Soundproof Arceus would stay at above 85% HP to take on Mega Diancie.
Inside the game, you can make moves such as not sending in your potential users on Pokemon you obviously could send them in on, representing that you need those Pokemon healthy to lure in -ate users and KO them with your (again, nonexistent) Soundproof ability. You can pivot in these Pokemon, then immediately switch them out to draw attention to them. You can arrange your team in a way that makes sure everyone knows the Pokemon is there, or more deviously, pretend not to care about them so the opponent thinks you are luring them into a trap. You can talk to the opponent about his options, verbally jabbing him about the humiliation he might face in this or that situation should he guess wrong. You can go to great, Academy Award-winning lengths to act like you have (or do not have!) that Soundproof user. Also note that you could use the question of whether you have the Soundproof user as misdirection for some other, far more important aspect of the game at hand.
All of this puts the opponent in a tough situation. If he knows you are faking, he should bring in his -ate users right away while he has the chance. If he believes you have the counter, he should probably play a lot more carefully, bringing in other offensive Pokemon, so the -ate user can sweep once your Soundproof user has been eliminated. If he guesses wrong, then he will either lose one of his strongest threats (in the case where he thought you had no counter but you really did) or play meekly and fearfully, not playing -ate users that could give him the win, giving you more time to deal more damage to his threats in the meantime.
The Apparently Suicidal Bluff
Let’s imagine a situation where you have a strong attacker and your opponent has a bunch of walls, but that he has a perfect counter to your attacker. You see that if your opponent just plays the game safely, then he can just shut you down throughout the game and win. That’s no good!
You consider bringing in your attacker on its counter. Your opponent will be able to decide whether he should stay in with his wall or not. You see that if your opponent doesn’t switch out, you won’t deal enough damage to KO it. Furthermore, when he attacks you on the same turn, you’ll lose your strong attacker to a trapping move or STAB attack. This possibility leaves you much worse off than if you just did nothing at all.
Another possibility is that your opponent might switch out. If he does that, your attacker gets to do some decent damage to a Pokemon in the back. It looks like your opponent would potentially lose so much HP on this secondary wall that he wouldn’t have enough left to handle another of your attackers. It sure would be nice if your opponent chose this response, but this entire situation is clear to him as well, so he would have to be a fool to switch out.
Or would he? Suppose you actually do go to your attacker and stay in. Since your opponent will of course know not to switch, it looks like your move puts you in an even worse predicament than you were already in. Your move appears to be a horrible, game-losing move—unless you have some trick up your sleeve. So naturally, the opponent will know you have a trick. Remember this is a game with hidden information and you have several details on your set unknown to the opponent.
What trick might you have? There are many, but most straightforwardly, you might have a coverage move or unexpected set on your attacker that can break past this Pokemon. So your opponent knows you have something like this going on. He can’t sit idly by and let your obvious trick beat him. What can he do? He can switch out and lose some HP on a different Pokemon. He won’t be able to wall you out for the entire game, but at least he won’t lose the game to your silly parlor trick. Your move is so bad that it signals to him you must be up to something.
Concealing Position
Don’t let the opponent know where you actually are or where exactly you are trying to be. If he does not know these things, he will not be able to attack you easily, and he will not know from where your attacks will come.
Teambuilding in tournaments is where this strategy is most represented. In teambuilding, you must not let your opponent know what your plans are, which means being as unpredictable as you can, but while keeping track of the patterns in your opponent's teams. If you have an exceptionally good idea or if you're hopelessly stuck, don't let the opponent know that. Counterbuilding your opponents is a lot more effective when you take advantage of patterns not even they are aware of, because they will expect the obvious "this player frequently uses Pokemon X, so I will counter it with Pokemon Y" and be able to play around it. More off-the-wall teams have the edge in tournaments because people are likely to be less prepared for them; however, these teams often have flaws in themselves that make them risky picks.
Even in a game of complete information such as in-game after a certain point, you can conceal your current and intended positions. You can mask your true game plan while stalling to cover your intentions, or pretend your situation is much worse or better than it currently is now to cause the opponent to play differently. For example, if your Poison Heal user can potentially sweep after your opponent carelessly switches in their relatively unstable answer, you can take advantage of their incorrect view of the game and improve your position.
The best players are well aware of this nuance and fight hard to know what each player's win conditions are. The weaker player, though also “fighting hard” in some sense, probably doesn’t even know he should be fighting for these exact things (instead simply trying to wear down opposing Pokemon while protecting his own), so the expert player is easily able to eliminate specific targets. And from this catbird seat, the expert is in control.
Commonly, the expert will conceal the very existence of the most important Pokemon. He’ll do a variety of safe moves in quick succession. He’ll pivot back and forth with and around the Pokemon in an elaborate dance designed to hide the true advantage he holds. Mysteriously, whenever the weaker player tries to attack, his opponent's counters are always at near full health, so his Pokemon struggle to get anything done. In frustration, he makes even bigger mistakes and soon falls completely apart. He is not unlike a deaf person trying to read the lips of someone doing an impression of a poorly dubbed Kung Fu movie; the real movements are too masked by the false movements to make sense of any of it.
The expert player is also aided by the “fear aura” around him. If, during his elaborate dance, he does a certain move or series with great intensity and purpose, the enemy cannot help but believe the tactic is valid. Often, it’s just an illusion—a diversion—to waste time until the weaker player takes the bait and falls into the positional trap.
Concealing Weaknesses
If the opponent does not know when you are vulnerable and when you are safe, you can run circles around him. In BH, a “trap” is a great example of this, as nearly all traps have weak points; the trick is concealing them.
A trap is a sequence of moves that prevents the opponent from acting. A trap might be using a reasonably strong move against a switched in resist, and when the Pokemon recovers, another offensive Pokemon switches in. A trap can also be performed by laying hazards to keep up the constant pressure, cutting off the opponent's options.
Traps are hardly ever as solid as they seem to be in BH. Rarely can the attacker complete three, two, or even one repetition safely without leaving gaps. The effective trapper, though, is a master of deceit. Although gaps exist, there appear to be none, and the gaps that are visible are often used as bait.
Let’s take a specific example of a trap to illustrate this. I’ll take Aerilate Mega Rayquaza + Choice Band Mega Garchomp, for example. Mega Rayquaza has its opponent in KO range of Boomburst or Extreme Speed (or Draco Meteor). The opponent must switch out to a Pokemon like Registeel or Fur Coat Chansey. They have no Soundproof user, so there is no way “around” the Boomburst other than simply taking it. The key to this trap is the fast Boomburst followed immediately by the slower, more deadly Garchomp. When the opponent blocks the Boomburst, the Mega Garchomp will come in and break walls basically every time if he tries to stay in and recover with his resist. So the “trap” here is really only two moves long! Not much of trap, yet through illusion, the trap can take out all of the opponent's Pokemon!
So now you have your poor opponent losing Pokemon to Mega Garchomp. He might try to sack his Pokemon to Mega Rayquaza, in which case he’ll still lose momentum and give the Rayquaza user the chance to reset the series. Eventually, he’ll wait for the Boomburst from full HP after which there can be no more true trap. This is the gap. This is when he can double on the Garchomp. Of course, this is exactly what the Rayquaza user expects and that’s why he didn’t switch to Garchomp, but instead waited for the double and used Boomburst again to knock out the Pokemon coming in, with Mega Rayquaza in once again. The trap is reset. Now the enemy is shaken. This trap seems to be unbreakable. The Rayquaza player has created the illusion and can now use it to his advantage.
At this point, Mega Rayquaza might use Boomburst, then Boomburst again (that’s a real trap), then Boomburst again after that. Now, that is not a true trap. The enemy could have attacked with Anchor Shot, Metal Burst, or a similar move on the third Boomburst, but he’s probably too afraid to try. Mega Rayquaza could then switch out, because the enemy is weakened and a true trap is possible. Or Mega Rayquaza might even sneak in three non-trap Boombursts in a row then complete the trap with switching out. Everyone knows you can double on the Mega Garchomp, but the Rayquaza player must surely know that too so—bam!—another Boomburst, trap reset. Shouldn’t have hesitated. The Mega Rayquaza player is using his “fear aura” to do moves that aren’t even a real trap (many Boombursts in a row) and to reset the trap secretly (by going to Mega Garchomp on the Anchor Shot/Metal Burst). Though the Mega Rayquaza player’s intense, purposeful execution of these moves might make them appear to be a real trap, it’s all just an illusion. It’s an elaborate dance designed to conceal where the trap begins and ends.
The gaps are the key aspect of the traps. Because of deception, the defender is not able to detect which gaps are real and which ones are merely bait. Sometimes after a real gap, the attacker will simply wait for the defender to stupidly attack. The defender thought he was being pretty clever since he weathered the storm, then attacked at his first opportunity. Of course, this is such an obvious thing to do that the expert fully expects it.
I remember doing difficult double switches at “clever” times during one opponent’s traps, only to be predicted every single time. I finally realized I was as clever as the man who runs from his pursuer into a room totally empty save for a large chair. It may seem “clever” to hide behind the chair, but the lack of all other alternatives makes the “clever” move wholly obvious to the opponent.
Our actions—both inside and outside the game—give our opponents information. We must recognize what information we are giving away, and replace as much of it as possible with false information. Outside the game, a player’s mannerisms or “tells” can give him away when he’s bluffing in a game with hidden information. Before the game even starts, your tone can tell your opponent if you expect to win or not. If he senses that you are intimidated, he knows to play aggressively, forcing you to play reactively.BH players have a variety of ways of masking their tells. The classic image of the poker player is the stoic, blank-faced fellow. Never show emotion and there is nothing to read. This is relatively easy to perform—simply stay quiet in the chat during the duration of the game (including teambuilding). Then there’s the other side of the spectrum: the life of the party. If you’re always animated and excited, there’s so much to read that it’s hard for other players to catch the signals in your noise.
While this mostly applies during a game, it certainly has its uses before a game, too. You might intimidate a player before the game, or falsely project your own insecurities, or let him talk too much and reveal something he shouldn’t about his play. I have never really done much of this, as I wonder how much it’s all worth in the end versus just being a genuine and friendly person to your opponents. You’ll have plenty of time to deceive them during the game. Nevertheless, if you are “playing to hustle,” I’m sure these are valuable techniques.
There is much more opportunity to use “outside of the game” deception in games of hidden information that are played face-to-face. Let’s look at two examples from BH that combine deception from both inside and outside the game: (1) the possible Soundproof, and (2) the apparently suicidal bluff.
The Possible Soundproof
Soundproof is an important ability in BH that is able to lure in extremely dangerous -ate users and remove them from the match. This is a one-shot effect, though; if you reveal Soundproof, you’ll have trouble taking on the opposing -ate user because it can use Extreme Speed on the switch, plus Soundproof itself requires an ability slot to use.
You must seem to have a team full of Soundproof users when you have none, and you must seem to have no Soundproof users when there is indeed one present. The opponent does not know for sure if you have this ability in your team (that’s hidden information only you know), but you can use techniques inside and outside of the game to shape his beliefs. When he sends out his -ate user, you can use your acting skills to ponder whether you should use that (nonexistent) Soundproof user in your team—then finally decide not to. Of course, you’ll have to keep your Soundproof user at a high enough HP that you could feasibly live a single attack with it, because all players know the health of your Pokemon. For example, Soundproof Arceus would stay at above 85% HP to take on Mega Diancie.
Inside the game, you can make moves such as not sending in your potential users on Pokemon you obviously could send them in on, representing that you need those Pokemon healthy to lure in -ate users and KO them with your (again, nonexistent) Soundproof ability. You can pivot in these Pokemon, then immediately switch them out to draw attention to them. You can arrange your team in a way that makes sure everyone knows the Pokemon is there, or more deviously, pretend not to care about them so the opponent thinks you are luring them into a trap. You can talk to the opponent about his options, verbally jabbing him about the humiliation he might face in this or that situation should he guess wrong. You can go to great, Academy Award-winning lengths to act like you have (or do not have!) that Soundproof user. Also note that you could use the question of whether you have the Soundproof user as misdirection for some other, far more important aspect of the game at hand.
All of this puts the opponent in a tough situation. If he knows you are faking, he should bring in his -ate users right away while he has the chance. If he believes you have the counter, he should probably play a lot more carefully, bringing in other offensive Pokemon, so the -ate user can sweep once your Soundproof user has been eliminated. If he guesses wrong, then he will either lose one of his strongest threats (in the case where he thought you had no counter but you really did) or play meekly and fearfully, not playing -ate users that could give him the win, giving you more time to deal more damage to his threats in the meantime.
The Apparently Suicidal Bluff
Let’s imagine a situation where you have a strong attacker and your opponent has a bunch of walls, but that he has a perfect counter to your attacker. You see that if your opponent just plays the game safely, then he can just shut you down throughout the game and win. That’s no good!
You consider bringing in your attacker on its counter. Your opponent will be able to decide whether he should stay in with his wall or not. You see that if your opponent doesn’t switch out, you won’t deal enough damage to KO it. Furthermore, when he attacks you on the same turn, you’ll lose your strong attacker to a trapping move or STAB attack. This possibility leaves you much worse off than if you just did nothing at all.
Another possibility is that your opponent might switch out. If he does that, your attacker gets to do some decent damage to a Pokemon in the back. It looks like your opponent would potentially lose so much HP on this secondary wall that he wouldn’t have enough left to handle another of your attackers. It sure would be nice if your opponent chose this response, but this entire situation is clear to him as well, so he would have to be a fool to switch out.
Or would he? Suppose you actually do go to your attacker and stay in. Since your opponent will of course know not to switch, it looks like your move puts you in an even worse predicament than you were already in. Your move appears to be a horrible, game-losing move—unless you have some trick up your sleeve. So naturally, the opponent will know you have a trick. Remember this is a game with hidden information and you have several details on your set unknown to the opponent.
What trick might you have? There are many, but most straightforwardly, you might have a coverage move or unexpected set on your attacker that can break past this Pokemon. So your opponent knows you have something like this going on. He can’t sit idly by and let your obvious trick beat him. What can he do? He can switch out and lose some HP on a different Pokemon. He won’t be able to wall you out for the entire game, but at least he won’t lose the game to your silly parlor trick. Your move is so bad that it signals to him you must be up to something.
So the bluff is that you have no trick at all. Inside the game, you’ve made a move that implies you have a trick, and outside the game you are surely acting up a storm about how eager you are to use your surprise set. In reality what you’ve done is trick your opponent into switching and letting a different Pokemon get weakened. By all sensible accounts, he should have won, but now you’ve created an opening to get back into the game.
Concealing Position
Don’t let the opponent know where you actually are or where exactly you are trying to be. If he does not know these things, he will not be able to attack you easily, and he will not know from where your attacks will come.
Teambuilding in tournaments is where this strategy is most represented. In teambuilding, you must not let your opponent know what your plans are, which means being as unpredictable as you can, but while keeping track of the patterns in your opponent's teams. If you have an exceptionally good idea or if you're hopelessly stuck, don't let the opponent know that. Counterbuilding your opponents is a lot more effective when you take advantage of patterns not even they are aware of, because they will expect the obvious "this player frequently uses Pokemon X, so I will counter it with Pokemon Y" and be able to play around it. More off-the-wall teams have the edge in tournaments because people are likely to be less prepared for them; however, these teams often have flaws in themselves that make them risky picks.
Even in a game of complete information such as in-game after a certain point, you can conceal your current and intended positions. You can mask your true game plan while stalling to cover your intentions, or pretend your situation is much worse or better than it currently is now to cause the opponent to play differently. For example, if your Poison Heal user can potentially sweep after your opponent carelessly switches in their relatively unstable answer, you can take advantage of their incorrect view of the game and improve your position.
The best players are well aware of this nuance and fight hard to know what each player's win conditions are. The weaker player, though also “fighting hard” in some sense, probably doesn’t even know he should be fighting for these exact things (instead simply trying to wear down opposing Pokemon while protecting his own), so the expert player is easily able to eliminate specific targets. And from this catbird seat, the expert is in control.
Commonly, the expert will conceal the very existence of the most important Pokemon. He’ll do a variety of safe moves in quick succession. He’ll pivot back and forth with and around the Pokemon in an elaborate dance designed to hide the true advantage he holds. Mysteriously, whenever the weaker player tries to attack, his opponent's counters are always at near full health, so his Pokemon struggle to get anything done. In frustration, he makes even bigger mistakes and soon falls completely apart. He is not unlike a deaf person trying to read the lips of someone doing an impression of a poorly dubbed Kung Fu movie; the real movements are too masked by the false movements to make sense of any of it.
The expert player is also aided by the “fear aura” around him. If, during his elaborate dance, he does a certain move or series with great intensity and purpose, the enemy cannot help but believe the tactic is valid. Often, it’s just an illusion—a diversion—to waste time until the weaker player takes the bait and falls into the positional trap.
Concealing Weaknesses
If the opponent does not know when you are vulnerable and when you are safe, you can run circles around him. In BH, a “trap” is a great example of this, as nearly all traps have weak points; the trick is concealing them.
A trap is a sequence of moves that prevents the opponent from acting. A trap might be using a reasonably strong move against a switched in resist, and when the Pokemon recovers, another offensive Pokemon switches in. A trap can also be performed by laying hazards to keep up the constant pressure, cutting off the opponent's options.
Traps are hardly ever as solid as they seem to be in BH. Rarely can the attacker complete three, two, or even one repetition safely without leaving gaps. The effective trapper, though, is a master of deceit. Although gaps exist, there appear to be none, and the gaps that are visible are often used as bait.
Let’s take a specific example of a trap to illustrate this. I’ll take Aerilate Mega Rayquaza + Choice Band Mega Garchomp, for example. Mega Rayquaza has its opponent in KO range of Boomburst or Extreme Speed (or Draco Meteor). The opponent must switch out to a Pokemon like Registeel or Fur Coat Chansey. They have no Soundproof user, so there is no way “around” the Boomburst other than simply taking it. The key to this trap is the fast Boomburst followed immediately by the slower, more deadly Garchomp. When the opponent blocks the Boomburst, the Mega Garchomp will come in and break walls basically every time if he tries to stay in and recover with his resist. So the “trap” here is really only two moves long! Not much of trap, yet through illusion, the trap can take out all of the opponent's Pokemon!
So now you have your poor opponent losing Pokemon to Mega Garchomp. He might try to sack his Pokemon to Mega Rayquaza, in which case he’ll still lose momentum and give the Rayquaza user the chance to reset the series. Eventually, he’ll wait for the Boomburst from full HP after which there can be no more true trap. This is the gap. This is when he can double on the Garchomp. Of course, this is exactly what the Rayquaza user expects and that’s why he didn’t switch to Garchomp, but instead waited for the double and used Boomburst again to knock out the Pokemon coming in, with Mega Rayquaza in once again. The trap is reset. Now the enemy is shaken. This trap seems to be unbreakable. The Rayquaza player has created the illusion and can now use it to his advantage.
At this point, Mega Rayquaza might use Boomburst, then Boomburst again (that’s a real trap), then Boomburst again after that. Now, that is not a true trap. The enemy could have attacked with Anchor Shot, Metal Burst, or a similar move on the third Boomburst, but he’s probably too afraid to try. Mega Rayquaza could then switch out, because the enemy is weakened and a true trap is possible. Or Mega Rayquaza might even sneak in three non-trap Boombursts in a row then complete the trap with switching out. Everyone knows you can double on the Mega Garchomp, but the Rayquaza player must surely know that too so—bam!—another Boomburst, trap reset. Shouldn’t have hesitated. The Mega Rayquaza player is using his “fear aura” to do moves that aren’t even a real trap (many Boombursts in a row) and to reset the trap secretly (by going to Mega Garchomp on the Anchor Shot/Metal Burst). Though the Mega Rayquaza player’s intense, purposeful execution of these moves might make them appear to be a real trap, it’s all just an illusion. It’s an elaborate dance designed to conceal where the trap begins and ends.
The gaps are the key aspect of the traps. Because of deception, the defender is not able to detect which gaps are real and which ones are merely bait. Sometimes after a real gap, the attacker will simply wait for the defender to stupidly attack. The defender thought he was being pretty clever since he weathered the storm, then attacked at his first opportunity. Of course, this is such an obvious thing to do that the expert fully expects it.
I remember doing difficult double switches at “clever” times during one opponent’s traps, only to be predicted every single time. I finally realized I was as clever as the man who runs from his pursuer into a room totally empty save for a large chair. It may seem “clever” to hide behind the chair, but the lack of all other alternatives makes the “clever” move wholly obvious to the opponent.
The top BH players are able to conceal their strengths (hidden game plans, win conditions, and teams) and weaknesses (gaps in traps) while simultaneously putting on mesmerizing dances designed to harass and confuse the opponent into hesitation, irritation, or worst of all—second guessing himself.
2) The Sheathed Sword
To win with the sheathed sword is to achieve victory before the actual battle begins. After all, actual battle is taxing and produces casualties, and more to the point, involves the risk of defeat. Why risk defeat when it’s possible to win before the fighting starts?
The conflict is where game theory kicks in full swing. During this phase of the game (in most competitive games), players are faced with decisions that depend on “what he thinks I think he thinks I think he will do.” Each player must measure the other and guess what he’ll do, guess if the opponent will expect that guess, and so on. It can get very messy. When things get messy, there is the possibility of surprise, luck, and defeat.
In many games, though, it’s possible to lay traps or perform tricks that must be dealt with before the actual conflict can start. What I mean is that it’s possible to throw up brick walls that the opponent must break through before the back-and-forth strategic play, the “fun part,” can even begin. If an enemy must first defeat three brick walls before even facing you in actual battle, then he’ll be weakened—or even defeated—before real battling begins.
It is very possible to win with the sheathed sword in Balanced Hackmons. In the normal course of this game, each player will have several offensive threats that they can use to dismantle the opponent's team bit by bit until the game eventually draws to a close.
But wouldn’t it be great if you could prevent the opponent from having offensive pressure at all? Deny him wallbreaking ability and hazards and he will have lost before the meat of the game even begins. This is exactly the aim of a stall or semi-stall team in BH. A team of this type contains many common walls (ensuring that you can beat threats) and many Pokemon that handle different types of pressure, like hazards. Most of the latter Pokemon use abilities like Poison Heal and Magic Bounce, walling defensive Pokemon, hazards, and some status, though there are variations on the theme. One Pokemon might have a better typing, but be less bulky so it fails to check wallbreakers it resists (that’s okay, you have plenty of sturdier walls). Another Pokemon might lay hazards itself, adding a timer onto the opponent's already precarious situation. Stealth Rock and Spikes have more PP than Defog, so unless they have a reliable Rapid Spin user, you can always come out on top in the hazard war. The idea is that if you hammer his resources while maintaining your own resources, the opponent will never have a chance to put together any game of his own. Once you strangle him of options, you can win the game yourself with even the weakest of offensive Pokemon. Winning happens incidentally and without much effort when you have denied the opponent any chance to play.
Another example of this from BH is a hyper offense team. Hyper offense stops the opponent from getting their game together. It does this by almost always having some sort of momentum, and utilizing this to take out the opponent's most dangerous Pokemon before they can even move. Threatening Pokemon like Mega Mewtwo Y can disrupt the opponent's team by keeping their set ambiguous, and Shell Smash and Belly Drum users can easily win once the Prankster user has been taken out. If the opponent cannot weather the storm, they can flat out lose the game before it has even begun.
It’s interesting to note that early rounds of BH tournaments are often dominated by “tricks” like the ones I’ve described. Few players have the will to keep those brick walls up forever, though, and eventually resort to “actually playing.” Also interesting is that the last rounds of BH tournaments—and other high level BH play like OMPL—very rarely operate anything like I’ve described. Far more often, the players good enough to get drafted and make top spots are also good enough to easily avoid the kind of roadblocks I’ve been talking about, even if they have to devise countermeasures on the spot. The usual case at such high levels of play is “actual fighting” right off the bat, the very thing I try to put off as long as possible in a ladder match with semi-stall. So it seems that tricks will only get you so far. Above a certain level of play, you must actively try to win the game, not just wait for the opponent to hand it to you. To the benefit of the spectators, when the best face the best, there are more often two bloody, clashing swords than a sheathed one.
To win with the sheathed sword is to achieve victory before the actual battle begins. After all, actual battle is taxing and produces casualties, and more to the point, involves the risk of defeat. Why risk defeat when it’s possible to win before the fighting starts?
How does this apply to playing competitive games? One application is to use your “fear aura” to win the psychological battle with the opponent before the game begins. Winning before the game even starts is always the best way, but let’s suppose we actually have to play it. Even then, the “actual conflict” does not make up the entirety of a game. Most games begin with some kind of jockeying for position or resources, building up of attack potential and defense potential, and only later in the game does the conflict take place.
The conflict is where game theory kicks in full swing. During this phase of the game (in most competitive games), players are faced with decisions that depend on “what he thinks I think he thinks I think he will do.” Each player must measure the other and guess what he’ll do, guess if the opponent will expect that guess, and so on. It can get very messy. When things get messy, there is the possibility of surprise, luck, and defeat.
In many games, though, it’s possible to lay traps or perform tricks that must be dealt with before the actual conflict can start. What I mean is that it’s possible to throw up brick walls that the opponent must break through before the back-and-forth strategic play, the “fun part,” can even begin. If an enemy must first defeat three brick walls before even facing you in actual battle, then he’ll be weakened—or even defeated—before real battling begins.
It is very possible to win with the sheathed sword in Balanced Hackmons. In the normal course of this game, each player will have several offensive threats that they can use to dismantle the opponent's team bit by bit until the game eventually draws to a close.
But wouldn’t it be great if you could prevent the opponent from having offensive pressure at all? Deny him wallbreaking ability and hazards and he will have lost before the meat of the game even begins. This is exactly the aim of a stall or semi-stall team in BH. A team of this type contains many common walls (ensuring that you can beat threats) and many Pokemon that handle different types of pressure, like hazards. Most of the latter Pokemon use abilities like Poison Heal and Magic Bounce, walling defensive Pokemon, hazards, and some status, though there are variations on the theme. One Pokemon might have a better typing, but be less bulky so it fails to check wallbreakers it resists (that’s okay, you have plenty of sturdier walls). Another Pokemon might lay hazards itself, adding a timer onto the opponent's already precarious situation. Stealth Rock and Spikes have more PP than Defog, so unless they have a reliable Rapid Spin user, you can always come out on top in the hazard war. The idea is that if you hammer his resources while maintaining your own resources, the opponent will never have a chance to put together any game of his own. Once you strangle him of options, you can win the game yourself with even the weakest of offensive Pokemon. Winning happens incidentally and without much effort when you have denied the opponent any chance to play.
Another example of this from BH is a hyper offense team. Hyper offense stops the opponent from getting their game together. It does this by almost always having some sort of momentum, and utilizing this to take out the opponent's most dangerous Pokemon before they can even move. Threatening Pokemon like Mega Mewtwo Y can disrupt the opponent's team by keeping their set ambiguous, and Shell Smash and Belly Drum users can easily win once the Prankster user has been taken out. If the opponent cannot weather the storm, they can flat out lose the game before it has even begun.
It’s interesting to note that early rounds of BH tournaments are often dominated by “tricks” like the ones I’ve described. Few players have the will to keep those brick walls up forever, though, and eventually resort to “actually playing.” Also interesting is that the last rounds of BH tournaments—and other high level BH play like OMPL—very rarely operate anything like I’ve described. Far more often, the players good enough to get drafted and make top spots are also good enough to easily avoid the kind of roadblocks I’ve been talking about, even if they have to devise countermeasures on the spot. The usual case at such high levels of play is “actual fighting” right off the bat, the very thing I try to put off as long as possible in a ladder match with semi-stall. So it seems that tricks will only get you so far. Above a certain level of play, you must actively try to win the game, not just wait for the opponent to hand it to you. To the benefit of the spectators, when the best face the best, there are more often two bloody, clashing swords than a sheathed one.
if you haven't already noticed this stuff is long and i'm tired, so i'll stop at the sheathed sword for now. (keeping the whole thing to one post is also probably not feasible because of the character limit.) in the coming days, though, there will be more updates so stay tuned. hope u guys enjoyed
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