Hello everyone, the Monotype council recently conducted a survey to determine the best way to tier Ice-type moving forward. With over 160 responses, there was overwhelming support for action to be taken on Baxcalibur as shown here. As such, the Monotype council has unanimously decided to suspect Baxcalibur as the second suspect of the generation.
Baxcalibur was quick to cement itself as an integral part of both Dragon- and Ice-type teams in SV Monotype from the get-go but still lacked the necessary tools to push it to a breaking point within the tier. However, the recent DLC release turned a new leaf on its fate with Baxcalibur's new found access to Scale Shot. This allowed Baxcalibur to run Swords Dance sets more effectively while getting a risk-free Speed boost thanks to Scale Shot. Furthermore, the DLC also blessed Ice-type teams with one of, if not, the best Snow and Aurora Veil setter in Ninetales-Alola which only further contributed to Baxcalibur's threatening presence, providing it with ample setup opportunities with little to no risk whatsoever backed up by the Snow and Aurora Veil boost. Albeit not to the same extent as Ice-type teams, Baxcalibur is complemented exceptionally well on Dragon-type teams too. Screens support provided by teammates such as Dragapult along with the ever so important Shed Tail support provided by Cyclizar only further exacerbate Baxcalibur's impact within the tier. Moreover, Baxcalibur can successfully pull of both Swords Dance and Dragon Dance sets; both of which mandate slightly different counter-play at times; while a fast Choice Scarf user is near mandatory to revenge kill Dragon Dance sets, they can easily be taken advantage of by Swords Dance sets that opt for Ice Shard as a move.
That said, Baxcalibur does come with its fair share of limitations. Firstly, as tempting as Loaded Dice sets are on Baxcalibur, they leave it extremely vulnerable to hazards, especially in a metagame such as this that is plagued by hazards. This issue is more apparent as both Dragon- and Ice-types don't have access to very reliable hazard control options and in turn forces most Baxcalibur sets to opt for Heavy-Duty Boots, often forgoing Icicle Spear and making Scale Shot a very shake move. On top of that, with threats such as Urshifu-S, Iron Valiant and Dragapult and the tier being relatively offensive and fast-paced as a whole, Baxcalibur's Speed proves to be mediocre at best prior to any boosts.
All in all, both Dragon- and Ice-type teams provide the necessary team support to push Baxcalibur over the top. We believe its positives and dominance strongly outweigh its negatives and thus opted for this suspect which is further supported by the overwhelming support seen in the survey.
---
In order to cast a vote in this suspect test, you must participate on the [Gen 9] Monotype ladder in which Baxcalibur will continue to be allowed. You must make a new account to ladder with. This account's registration date must be at earliest the day this suspect begins. You must prefix your account name with the tag: BAXSD9 in order for your account to qualify. Tagging Kris to implement this on the ladder!
The requirement for qualification is at least 82% GXE and at least 40 games played. The suspect test will last two weeks until Sunday, October 15th @ 11:59 PM EDT (GMT-4). You will then have three days to cast your vote. Baxcalibur will require a 60% majority of voters in favor of banning it in order for it to be banned from Monotype.
Upon meeting the requirements, you must post proof of the qualification in the Voter Identification thread, which is separate from this thread and will be created closer to the end of the suspect. Do not post your proof in this discussion thread.
You may use this thread to discuss this Baxcalibur suspect or ask for clarification for any questions you may have.
You may not use this thread to post one-liners or discuss topics unrelated to this specific suspect, such as possible future suspects.
Please stay respectful when you post and follow all Monotype forum rules. Please also make sure to follow the Monotype tiering philosophy found here.