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Pet Mod MicroMetaMafia2 (GG STEEL FACTION)
- Thread starter earl
- Start date
Closing Thoughts, Ability VR, Thanks to the GMs!
Opening the closing thoughts: shit was awesome, had a great time fooling around during this game and making new friends with other Pet Mods folks in the process. I feel that the game balance was actually pretty tight - you can glance below at the VR to see a lovely bell curve plot of how strong I feel the abilities ended up being. There are sub-categories for the abilities for which I will go into detail about below as well.
Since I don't play SV metagames I'll pass on commenting on the submissions and the tier. This was never the main interest for me while signing up anyway. I was playing to try and win for my faction, as I think the majority of people were.
In terms of the game's progress: I feel that every faction being on somewhat equal ground from the start causes some interesting interactions in the early and late game, and anybody who immediately noticed that we were playing around a Prisoner's Dilemma would be able to get ahead. The interesting part, however, is that the game's balance meant that getting ahead was mostly meaningless unless you could rally a tonne of support (for which, with the incomplete info nature of things, was basically impossible).
During the midgame phase, I did think that this meant that we would see a petering out of gameplay. Interestingly, I (Rei / Koraidon) ended up having probably the only ability that was strong at every stage of the game, which probably warped my idea of what to expect. It was quite hard to envision how the game was going to end, but with hindsight, it's apparent that the GMs planned the abilities to have a peak strength at certain stages of the game.
While writing out the ability rankings I was reminded that the faction goal targets were weighted in favour of a bulky metagame (Normal, Steel, Dragon), making a win for Dark/Fighting/Bug somewhat harder to pull off, as, especially in the case for Bug and Dark, we were encouraged to submit stuff quite literally described as "niche" and "weaker". These agendas are much harder to push in good faith in a public chat with 5 other factions with unclear goals, and this can be somewhat seen from the faction wins (Normal/Steel/Dragon having 18 wins vs. Fighting/Dark/Bug having 13). I think this caused Fighting to be the most distanced faction from the other 5 as our goal was not adaptable enough to blend as another faction. But alas, we still made it till the late game and overtook Normal and Dark (perhaps due to our strong AF abilities).
Speaking of which, let's talk about the abilities!
Special Thanks: zxgzxg + earl + Gravity Monkey for running this, it's one of the most unique forum games I've ever played and I think perhaps the most fun too. The spreadsheet work to get this playing as intended must have been insane. Cheers to the three of you, I'm glad this iteration made it all the way!
@ me on the Discord if you wanna talk about abilities or MMM2 or whatever, catch you all next time!
Opening the closing thoughts: shit was awesome, had a great time fooling around during this game and making new friends with other Pet Mods folks in the process. I feel that the game balance was actually pretty tight - you can glance below at the VR to see a lovely bell curve plot of how strong I feel the abilities ended up being. There are sub-categories for the abilities for which I will go into detail about below as well.
Since I don't play SV metagames I'll pass on commenting on the submissions and the tier. This was never the main interest for me while signing up anyway. I was playing to try and win for my faction, as I think the majority of people were.
In terms of the game's progress: I feel that every faction being on somewhat equal ground from the start causes some interesting interactions in the early and late game, and anybody who immediately noticed that we were playing around a Prisoner's Dilemma would be able to get ahead. The interesting part, however, is that the game's balance meant that getting ahead was mostly meaningless unless you could rally a tonne of support (for which, with the incomplete info nature of things, was basically impossible).
During the midgame phase, I did think that this meant that we would see a petering out of gameplay. Interestingly, I (Rei / Koraidon) ended up having probably the only ability that was strong at every stage of the game, which probably warped my idea of what to expect. It was quite hard to envision how the game was going to end, but with hindsight, it's apparent that the GMs planned the abilities to have a peak strength at certain stages of the game.
While writing out the ability rankings I was reminded that the faction goal targets were weighted in favour of a bulky metagame (Normal, Steel, Dragon), making a win for Dark/Fighting/Bug somewhat harder to pull off, as, especially in the case for Bug and Dark, we were encouraged to submit stuff quite literally described as "niche" and "weaker". These agendas are much harder to push in good faith in a public chat with 5 other factions with unclear goals, and this can be somewhat seen from the faction wins (Normal/Steel/Dragon having 18 wins vs. Fighting/Dark/Bug having 13). I think this caused Fighting to be the most distanced faction from the other 5 as our goal was not adaptable enough to blend as another faction. But alas, we still made it till the late game and overtook Normal and Dark (perhaps due to our strong AF abilities).
Speaking of which, let's talk about the abilities!
Before diving into the abilities themselves, I'm going to break down each ability into multiple sub-categories, to help understand what makes them strong:
Early game - abilities that are strongest in the early game.
Mid game - abilities that are strongest in the mid game.
Late game - abilities that are strongest in the late game. These abilities are typically the best at enabling a faction win.
Self - abilities that affect the ability holder.
Target positive - abilities that target an ally to receive a benefit.
Target negative - abilities that target an enemy to debuff them.
Vote - abilities that affect voting.
Sub - abilities that affect submissions.
Kill - abilities that affect kill token usage.
Player - abilities that affect the players themselves.
Active - abilities that the player uses for its effect.
Passive - abilities that the player does not use for its effect.
Early game - abilities that are strongest in the early game.
Mid game - abilities that are strongest in the mid game.
Late game - abilities that are strongest in the late game. These abilities are typically the best at enabling a faction win.
Self - abilities that affect the ability holder.
Target positive - abilities that target an ally to receive a benefit.
Target negative - abilities that target an enemy to debuff them.
Vote - abilities that affect voting.
Sub - abilities that affect submissions.
Kill - abilities that affect kill token usage.
Player - abilities that affect the players themselves.
Active - abilities that the player uses for its effect.
Passive - abilities that the player does not use for its effect.
TOP TIER:
Green/Primeape, Annihilape (DkKoba, Fighting):
Anger Point: Day, target another player. That submission gains +6 votes. After using, gain Defiant (submissions you vote for receive -1 vote) and lose Anger Point.
[mid game, target positive, target negative, vote, active]
I think DkKoba was blessed with the best ability in the game for MMM2. Green essentially has two abilities rolled into one, Anger Point is a buffed version of Air Lock with a lesser downside, and almost guarantees a kill token for an ally in the midgame. Defiant is a mostly buffed version of Tablets of Ruin, instead giving an effective -2 votes to a submission at the cost of needing to activate this publicly (but still semi-secluded). -2 vote compared to the standard +1 vote in the late game is incredibly strong, and can completely negate other abilities. There is a chicken and egg problem in that you need a fellow faction member alive to actually win at this stage, but if you can get 1 other player to at least ally vote, it's extremely strong.
Cheren/Rayquaza (Fragmented, Dragon):
Air Lock: Day, target another player. That submission gains +6 votes. Teammates cannot use their abilities the next day. Once per game.
[mid game, late game, target positive, vote, active]
Just a worse version of Anger Point, sadly. Not much else to say that hasn't already been said above, though it is surprising that this version has an extra downside (teammates roleblocked) when Anger Point actually had a sidegrade in becoming another ability.
May/Shiftry (mushroomtester, Dark):
Wind Rider: If your first vote is for the submission in the lead (at the time of voting), it receives an extra vote.
[late game, target positive, vote, active]
A super strong, low commitment, low cost, low exposure ability that can control the direction of the game with ease. Find an ally and turn your votes into even more votes! I think, however (and I'll elaborate on this later with my alias ability), it being time-based is pretty annoying. But I think the sheer strength of having a +2 vote for almost all scenarios is amazing.
Shauna/Silvally (Double Iron Bash, Normal):
RKS System: Submissions after your first receive +1 vote if their type does not match any of your previous submissions.
[mid game, late game, self, vote, active]
The easiest to hide and most consistent vote manipulation ability. Not needing any ally co-ordination to succeed with this is pretty powerful, you can guarantee 16 vote manips through the course of the game if you manage to survive for that long. Pretty good!
Green/Primeape, Annihilape (DkKoba, Fighting):
Anger Point: Day, target another player. That submission gains +6 votes. After using, gain Defiant (submissions you vote for receive -1 vote) and lose Anger Point.
[mid game, target positive, target negative, vote, active]
I think DkKoba was blessed with the best ability in the game for MMM2. Green essentially has two abilities rolled into one, Anger Point is a buffed version of Air Lock with a lesser downside, and almost guarantees a kill token for an ally in the midgame. Defiant is a mostly buffed version of Tablets of Ruin, instead giving an effective -2 votes to a submission at the cost of needing to activate this publicly (but still semi-secluded). -2 vote compared to the standard +1 vote in the late game is incredibly strong, and can completely negate other abilities. There is a chicken and egg problem in that you need a fellow faction member alive to actually win at this stage, but if you can get 1 other player to at least ally vote, it's extremely strong.
Cheren/Rayquaza (Fragmented, Dragon):
Air Lock: Day, target another player. That submission gains +6 votes. Teammates cannot use their abilities the next day. Once per game.
[mid game, late game, target positive, vote, active]
Just a worse version of Anger Point, sadly. Not much else to say that hasn't already been said above, though it is surprising that this version has an extra downside (teammates roleblocked) when Anger Point actually had a sidegrade in becoming another ability.
May/Shiftry (mushroomtester, Dark):
Wind Rider: If your first vote is for the submission in the lead (at the time of voting), it receives an extra vote.
[late game, target positive, vote, active]
A super strong, low commitment, low cost, low exposure ability that can control the direction of the game with ease. Find an ally and turn your votes into even more votes! I think, however (and I'll elaborate on this later with my alias ability), it being time-based is pretty annoying. But I think the sheer strength of having a +2 vote for almost all scenarios is amazing.
Shauna/Silvally (Double Iron Bash, Normal):
RKS System: Submissions after your first receive +1 vote if their type does not match any of your previous submissions.
[mid game, late game, self, vote, active]
The easiest to hide and most consistent vote manipulation ability. Not needing any ally co-ordination to succeed with this is pretty powerful, you can guarantee 16 vote manips through the course of the game if you manage to survive for that long. Pretty good!
GOOD TIER:
Serena/Naganadel (War Incarnate, Dragon):
Beast Boost: Day, target a player. If their submission is weak to one/both of your submissions' STAB(s), your vote is worth +1 that night.
[late game, target positive, vote, active]
Poor War Incarnate didn't get much of a chance to flex what I believe to be one of the coolest abils in the game. Find an ally and turn your votes into more votes just like with Wind Rider. The downside is that if your ally dies or otherwise cannot communicate for some reason (such as being Intimidated), you can't reliably gain your +2.
Silver/Blissey (G-Luke, Normal):
Natural Cure: Night, target a player. If that player would die that night, they instead do not. Once per game.
[mid game, late game, target positive, kill, active]
Pretty amazing as it rewards you for building trust with people and taking risks with kill target trends to identify potential alignments. I think this is by far the best ability that doesn't affect votes. Once per game is a pretty drastic downside though, and risks eroding trust with others in a game with incomplete info.
Gloria/Blaziken (Paulluxx, Fighting) + Hilda/Nincada, Ninjask (Mossy Sandwich, Bug):
Speed Boost: First submission must have base 100 speed. Each sub after must have higher speed than the last. If 10 more speed than the last, +1 vote on that submission.
[late game, self, vote, active]
You're probably seeing a trend by now, that being that all of the vote manipulating abilities that require little to no co-ordination are very strong in MMM2. This one is still pretty strong but I think the restrictions on it compared to RKS System knock it down a few notches, plus it is much harder to seclude this ability by the time it is at its strongest and you're always submitting Mons with over base 180 speed lol.
Worth mentioning that Ninjask had to evolve from Nincada to gain Speed Boost - this was achieved by skipping a cycle (not submitting) - a pretty risky downside depending on how the early game plays out (will players kill target the absent alias?).
Juliana/Butterfree (cyclonez_, Bug):
Tinted Lens: Day, target a player. If their submission resists your STAB(s), your submission gains one vote.
[late game, target positive, vote, active]
Pretty similar to Beast Boost but ultimately worse as you cannot push the vote away from yourself, limiting the flexibility. It requires more co-ordination but is of course still very strong needing just one ally.
Blue/Corviknight (EeveeGirl1380, Steel):
Mirror Armor: Day, target a player. Each vote their sub gets, you get a vote as well. Once per game.
[late game, self, target negative, vote, active]
Very, very, very strong but requires a heavy amount of co-ordination to balance things out. This can be a free kill token in the late game as long as the player has acquired enough knowledge and has decent game sense.
Serena/Naganadel (War Incarnate, Dragon):
Beast Boost: Day, target a player. If their submission is weak to one/both of your submissions' STAB(s), your vote is worth +1 that night.
[late game, target positive, vote, active]
Poor War Incarnate didn't get much of a chance to flex what I believe to be one of the coolest abils in the game. Find an ally and turn your votes into more votes just like with Wind Rider. The downside is that if your ally dies or otherwise cannot communicate for some reason (such as being Intimidated), you can't reliably gain your +2.
Silver/Blissey (G-Luke, Normal):
Natural Cure: Night, target a player. If that player would die that night, they instead do not. Once per game.
[mid game, late game, target positive, kill, active]
Pretty amazing as it rewards you for building trust with people and taking risks with kill target trends to identify potential alignments. I think this is by far the best ability that doesn't affect votes. Once per game is a pretty drastic downside though, and risks eroding trust with others in a game with incomplete info.
Gloria/Blaziken (Paulluxx, Fighting) + Hilda/Nincada, Ninjask (Mossy Sandwich, Bug):
Speed Boost: First submission must have base 100 speed. Each sub after must have higher speed than the last. If 10 more speed than the last, +1 vote on that submission.
[late game, self, vote, active]
You're probably seeing a trend by now, that being that all of the vote manipulating abilities that require little to no co-ordination are very strong in MMM2. This one is still pretty strong but I think the restrictions on it compared to RKS System knock it down a few notches, plus it is much harder to seclude this ability by the time it is at its strongest and you're always submitting Mons with over base 180 speed lol.
Worth mentioning that Ninjask had to evolve from Nincada to gain Speed Boost - this was achieved by skipping a cycle (not submitting) - a pretty risky downside depending on how the early game plays out (will players kill target the absent alias?).
Juliana/Butterfree (cyclonez_, Bug):
Tinted Lens: Day, target a player. If their submission resists your STAB(s), your submission gains one vote.
[late game, target positive, vote, active]
Pretty similar to Beast Boost but ultimately worse as you cannot push the vote away from yourself, limiting the flexibility. It requires more co-ordination but is of course still very strong needing just one ally.
Blue/Corviknight (EeveeGirl1380, Steel):
Mirror Armor: Day, target a player. Each vote their sub gets, you get a vote as well. Once per game.
[late game, self, target negative, vote, active]
Very, very, very strong but requires a heavy amount of co-ordination to balance things out. This can be a free kill token in the late game as long as the player has acquired enough knowledge and has decent game sense.
MID TIER:
Rei/Koraidon (Rezzo, Fighting):
Orichalcum Pulse: Night, end the night at the time of using this ability. Once per game, cannot be used during the first two hours.
[early game, mid game, late game, target positive, target negative, vote, player, active]
Absolutely the best scaling ability in the game with game state awareness and knowldege, the problem however is how do you get that knowledge, how do you trust people, and how do you optimise the use of this ability. It's a mammoth task to get it right and it can easily backfire.
Wild ability lmao, I think mushroomtester (May/Shiftry, Wind Rider) and I were cursed with abilities that encourage staring at the thread during the night phase which is not particularly great game design imo - I was definitely spared compared to shroom by having a one-time use, at least.
Barry/Wo-Chien (TopicHats, Dark):
Tablets of Ruin: Day, target a player. That submission receives -1 vote the next night. Affected player is alerted.
[late game, target negative, vote, active]
Pretty awful in the early and midgame, but pretty strong towards the end of the game due to how much awareness of the gamestate is available to each player. Also doesn't require any co-ordination from others to get good use from. The player being aware of the effect is also pretty damning if you spam it too much early on.
Wally/Dragonite (Beaf Cultist, Dragon) + Ethan/Steelix (master oden, Steel):
Multiscale/Sturdy: The first time your submission wins, lose this ability. The first time you would be killed, instead lose this ability.
[early game, mid game, self, kill, passive]
Best of the passive abilities as it enables you to play aggressively in discussions until you receive a kill token or are targeted. The former of which is great for advancing your faction, while the latter provides valuable information. Downside is that winning in the early/midgame is not optimal while making it to the late game with the ability still active is not optimal either, but having no ability in the late game is also not optimal, kind of leading to this weird tension where the ability is trying to tug you away from playing the game properly.
I still think it's a decent idea overall, but could possibly be tweaked in the future to not be at conflict with the principle of the game.
Nemona/Ditto (Seito Chinchou, Normal):
Imposter: Day or night, activate this ability. Gain the abilities of anyone not on your faction who targets you that phase. Once per game.
[self, mid game, player, active]
The only other decent passive ability, though I'm still unclear on the inner workings of this ability since it is quite an overloaded one! Regardless, your strength within the game is at the whim of everybody else, unless you are extremely patient (and can somehow gain the awareness to be patient, which, uhhh, seems impossible...) and can co-ordinate with someone NOT on your faction to give you their ability. Basically, it's far too fairweather to be 'good', but can also randomly be good by hapchance picking up one of the A/B tier abilities.
Orichalcum Pulse and Imposter have gotta be the two wildest ability ideas in the format lol, gotta love it.
Brendan/Incineroar (Orange Soda Pop, Dark):
Intimidate: Day, target a player. That player will be unable to send any messages next night, except to vote.
[early game, mid game, target negative, player, active]
The strongest 'disruptor' ability since it can affect vote trends and enemy organisation rather than submissions. The problem is that by the late game, people will know that your ability exists and can organise in the day phase to avoid being silenced, making this ability harder to get full value from.
Lucas/Grimmsnarl (Tanny89k, Dark):
Prankster: Day, target a player, name a typing. That player's submission will be changed to have that type.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
Only slightly stronger than the other submission disruptors since it can also vote disrupt Beast Boost and Tinted Lens (but mainly by coincidence or info leak). Changing a typing is also a pretty reliable way of tanking a good submission.
Akari/Mawile (anaconja, Steel):
Sheer Force: Day, target a player. Their submission will gain 20 Atk and 20 SpA.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
I had placed this in D tier just above Battle Armor until I remembered that MMM2 had 3 entire factions whose goal was to submit stuff that has good defensive merit (Steel, Dragon, Normal). But on top of that, it is much easier to ruin a submission with excessive offensive stats due to the way base stats mathematically scale (20 in defensives is objectively less impactful than 20 in offenses). Pretty decent disruptor, all things considered.
Calem/Tatsugiri (M0onstar, Dragon):
Commander: Day, target a player and name a move. Their submission gains the move. You cannot name the same move more than once per game.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
There are a number of moves in the game that can tank a good submission. Stuff like Sketch, V-Create, Shed Tail, Shell Smash, Acupressure, Belly Drum, Fillet Away, Last Respects, Revival Blessing, Dire Claw, Clangorous Soul, Fishous Rend, Bolt Beak, Geomancy, are the ones that I can think of. Compared to Thick Fat, it's also easier to hide that you're doing this.
Not 100% reliable though.
Selene/Hariyama (Squawkerz, Fighting):
Thick Fat: Day, target a player. Their submission's abilities will be replaced with Thick Fat.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
Pretty easy to tank a good submission by adding Thick Fat to it.
Not 100% reliable though.
Rei/Koraidon (Rezzo, Fighting):
Orichalcum Pulse: Night, end the night at the time of using this ability. Once per game, cannot be used during the first two hours.
[early game, mid game, late game, target positive, target negative, vote, player, active]
Absolutely the best scaling ability in the game with game state awareness and knowldege, the problem however is how do you get that knowledge, how do you trust people, and how do you optimise the use of this ability. It's a mammoth task to get it right and it can easily backfire.
Wild ability lmao, I think mushroomtester (May/Shiftry, Wind Rider) and I were cursed with abilities that encourage staring at the thread during the night phase which is not particularly great game design imo - I was definitely spared compared to shroom by having a one-time use, at least.
Barry/Wo-Chien (TopicHats, Dark):
Tablets of Ruin: Day, target a player. That submission receives -1 vote the next night. Affected player is alerted.
[late game, target negative, vote, active]
Pretty awful in the early and midgame, but pretty strong towards the end of the game due to how much awareness of the gamestate is available to each player. Also doesn't require any co-ordination from others to get good use from. The player being aware of the effect is also pretty damning if you spam it too much early on.
Wally/Dragonite (Beaf Cultist, Dragon) + Ethan/Steelix (master oden, Steel):
Multiscale/Sturdy: The first time your submission wins, lose this ability. The first time you would be killed, instead lose this ability.
[early game, mid game, self, kill, passive]
Best of the passive abilities as it enables you to play aggressively in discussions until you receive a kill token or are targeted. The former of which is great for advancing your faction, while the latter provides valuable information. Downside is that winning in the early/midgame is not optimal while making it to the late game with the ability still active is not optimal either, but having no ability in the late game is also not optimal, kind of leading to this weird tension where the ability is trying to tug you away from playing the game properly.
I still think it's a decent idea overall, but could possibly be tweaked in the future to not be at conflict with the principle of the game.
Nemona/Ditto (Seito Chinchou, Normal):
Imposter: Day or night, activate this ability. Gain the abilities of anyone not on your faction who targets you that phase. Once per game.
[self, mid game, player, active]
The only other decent passive ability, though I'm still unclear on the inner workings of this ability since it is quite an overloaded one! Regardless, your strength within the game is at the whim of everybody else, unless you are extremely patient (and can somehow gain the awareness to be patient, which, uhhh, seems impossible...) and can co-ordinate with someone NOT on your faction to give you their ability. Basically, it's far too fairweather to be 'good', but can also randomly be good by hapchance picking up one of the A/B tier abilities.
Orichalcum Pulse and Imposter have gotta be the two wildest ability ideas in the format lol, gotta love it.
Brendan/Incineroar (Orange Soda Pop, Dark):
Intimidate: Day, target a player. That player will be unable to send any messages next night, except to vote.
[early game, mid game, target negative, player, active]
The strongest 'disruptor' ability since it can affect vote trends and enemy organisation rather than submissions. The problem is that by the late game, people will know that your ability exists and can organise in the day phase to avoid being silenced, making this ability harder to get full value from.
Lucas/Grimmsnarl (Tanny89k, Dark):
Prankster: Day, target a player, name a typing. That player's submission will be changed to have that type.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
Only slightly stronger than the other submission disruptors since it can also vote disrupt Beast Boost and Tinted Lens (but mainly by coincidence or info leak). Changing a typing is also a pretty reliable way of tanking a good submission.
Akari/Mawile (anaconja, Steel):
Sheer Force: Day, target a player. Their submission will gain 20 Atk and 20 SpA.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
I had placed this in D tier just above Battle Armor until I remembered that MMM2 had 3 entire factions whose goal was to submit stuff that has good defensive merit (Steel, Dragon, Normal). But on top of that, it is much easier to ruin a submission with excessive offensive stats due to the way base stats mathematically scale (20 in defensives is objectively less impactful than 20 in offenses). Pretty decent disruptor, all things considered.
Calem/Tatsugiri (M0onstar, Dragon):
Commander: Day, target a player and name a move. Their submission gains the move. You cannot name the same move more than once per game.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
There are a number of moves in the game that can tank a good submission. Stuff like Sketch, V-Create, Shed Tail, Shell Smash, Acupressure, Belly Drum, Fillet Away, Last Respects, Revival Blessing, Dire Claw, Clangorous Soul, Fishous Rend, Bolt Beak, Geomancy, are the ones that I can think of. Compared to Thick Fat, it's also easier to hide that you're doing this.
Not 100% reliable though.
Selene/Hariyama (Squawkerz, Fighting):
Thick Fat: Day, target a player. Their submission's abilities will be replaced with Thick Fat.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
Pretty easy to tank a good submission by adding Thick Fat to it.
Not 100% reliable though.
WEAK TIER:
Victor/Malamar (regic boat, Dark), Red/Shuckle (KeeganSkymin4444, Bug):
Contrary: Day, target two players. Those players' submissions votes are swapped the next night. Once per game.
[late game, target positive, target negative, vote, active]
Quite strong but requites extreme (overwhelming?) co-ordination. Really shines in the late game and the late game only, when voting patterns are less volatile and more predictable. I just think, even in the late game, due to it needing to target an enemy of which you will likely be missing info, it is difficult to get the effect of this to land successfully. Once per game is also a pretty sucky downside.
Dawn/Ursaluna (Gaboswampert, Normal):
Mind's Eye: Your votes and votes on your submission cannot be affected by abilities.
[late game, self, sub, passive]
Somewhat niche and situational. Being able to block Mirror Armor & Topsy Turvy is pretty cool but these are literally once-per-game abilities and they are unlikely to be used against you with precise timing.
Also, I don't know if this blocks target positive + vote abils like Air Lock and Wind Rider, so I'm assuming not. But if it does, it's the worst ability in the game by far (weaker than having no ability at all...)
Arven/Armaldo (Gekokeso, Bug) + Elio/Falinks (Taplr, Fighting):
Battle Armor: Day, target a player. Their submission will gain 20 Def and 20 SpD.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
Weaker than Sheer Force because buffing something's defenses is less disruptive than buffing offences, as mentioned before it is mathematically less impactful to a Mon's strength.
Florian/Metagross (Beebos, Steel):
Clear Body: Your submissions are unaffected by players' abilities.
[early game, self, sub, passive]
Not strong. Players by the mid game understand that the 'disruptor' abilities exist and will be more inclined to vote for safe aliases rather than enjoyable submissions. At least it stops you from becoming DUMMY THICC.
This would be better if it also blocked stuff like Intimidate, Defiant, Tablets of Ruin, but judging by the abil desc, it seems that it does not.
Victor/Malamar (regic boat, Dark), Red/Shuckle (KeeganSkymin4444, Bug):
Contrary: Day, target two players. Those players' submissions votes are swapped the next night. Once per game.
[late game, target positive, target negative, vote, active]
Quite strong but requites extreme (overwhelming?) co-ordination. Really shines in the late game and the late game only, when voting patterns are less volatile and more predictable. I just think, even in the late game, due to it needing to target an enemy of which you will likely be missing info, it is difficult to get the effect of this to land successfully. Once per game is also a pretty sucky downside.
Dawn/Ursaluna (Gaboswampert, Normal):
Mind's Eye: Your votes and votes on your submission cannot be affected by abilities.
[late game, self, sub, passive]
Somewhat niche and situational. Being able to block Mirror Armor & Topsy Turvy is pretty cool but these are literally once-per-game abilities and they are unlikely to be used against you with precise timing.
Also, I don't know if this blocks target positive + vote abils like Air Lock and Wind Rider, so I'm assuming not. But if it does, it's the worst ability in the game by far (weaker than having no ability at all...)
Arven/Armaldo (Gekokeso, Bug) + Elio/Falinks (Taplr, Fighting):
Battle Armor: Day, target a player. Their submission will gain 20 Def and 20 SpD.
[early game, target negative, sub, active]
Weaker than Sheer Force because buffing something's defenses is less disruptive than buffing offences, as mentioned before it is mathematically less impactful to a Mon's strength.
Florian/Metagross (Beebos, Steel):
Clear Body: Your submissions are unaffected by players' abilities.
[early game, self, sub, passive]
Not strong. Players by the mid game understand that the 'disruptor' abilities exist and will be more inclined to vote for safe aliases rather than enjoyable submissions. At least it stops you from becoming DUMMY THICC.
This would be better if it also blocked stuff like Intimidate, Defiant, Tablets of Ruin, but judging by the abil desc, it seems that it does not.
BOTTOM TIER:
Kris/Hydrapple (APaidActor, Dragon):
Supersweet Syrup: Day, target a player. If that player's submission wins next, anyone who voted for it is roleblocked for the next day/night cycle.
[late game, target negative, player, active]
Extremely fairweather to the point that it's almost useless. It's also too slow, only taking effect within the next cycle. If you are using this in the late game, chances are that an ally of yours is about to die, but I suppose this at least slows down the snowball. MMM2 just never snowballed enough for this abil to be a deciding factor in practice.
Hilbert/Volcarona (PalpitoadChamp, Bug):
Flame Body: Any player that targets you will be roleblocked during the next cycle.
[target negative, player, passive]
Weaker than Clear Body because your submission/vote count can still be ruined by this. I don't know if this affects target positive abilities, but I'm assuming it does not as it is already pretty underwhelming and having that as an extra factor would make it terrible.
Hop/Magnezone (BreloomBuddy, Steel):
Magnet Pull: Day, target two players. After votes are tallied, for each three votes one of the targeted players received, the other player also gets a vote.
[early game, mid game, target positive, vote, active]
This abil is at its most effective when there is not enough info in the game to make informed guesses on which submissions will win the next cycle. In the late game there are not enough votes going around to make use of this abil. Far too luck-dependent and knowledge dependent to the point of obsolescence.
The stars have to align for this to be pulled off and actually impact a game (I'm not exaggerating).
Hau/Porygon2 (Cratersmash, Normal):
Download: During the night, you may insert/change up to three numbers/words in your submission. Edits appear post-vote.
[self, sub, active]
What is this even lmao
Kris/Hydrapple (APaidActor, Dragon):
Supersweet Syrup: Day, target a player. If that player's submission wins next, anyone who voted for it is roleblocked for the next day/night cycle.
[late game, target negative, player, active]
Extremely fairweather to the point that it's almost useless. It's also too slow, only taking effect within the next cycle. If you are using this in the late game, chances are that an ally of yours is about to die, but I suppose this at least slows down the snowball. MMM2 just never snowballed enough for this abil to be a deciding factor in practice.
Hilbert/Volcarona (PalpitoadChamp, Bug):
Flame Body: Any player that targets you will be roleblocked during the next cycle.
[target negative, player, passive]
Weaker than Clear Body because your submission/vote count can still be ruined by this. I don't know if this affects target positive abilities, but I'm assuming it does not as it is already pretty underwhelming and having that as an extra factor would make it terrible.
Hop/Magnezone (BreloomBuddy, Steel):
Magnet Pull: Day, target two players. After votes are tallied, for each three votes one of the targeted players received, the other player also gets a vote.
[early game, mid game, target positive, vote, active]
This abil is at its most effective when there is not enough info in the game to make informed guesses on which submissions will win the next cycle. In the late game there are not enough votes going around to make use of this abil. Far too luck-dependent and knowledge dependent to the point of obsolescence.
The stars have to align for this to be pulled off and actually impact a game (I'm not exaggerating).
Hau/Porygon2 (Cratersmash, Normal):
Download: During the night, you may insert/change up to three numbers/words in your submission. Edits appear post-vote.
[self, sub, active]
What is this even lmao
Special Thanks: zxgzxg + earl + Gravity Monkey for running this, it's one of the most unique forum games I've ever played and I think perhaps the most fun too. The spreadsheet work to get this playing as intended must have been insane. Cheers to the three of you, I'm glad this iteration made it all the way!
@ me on the Discord if you wanna talk about abilities or MMM2 or whatever, catch you all next time!
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