Hi, I enjoyed learning this tier for NDCL so I thought I'd post the teams I used and share my opinions on the meta. During NDFL I just blindly got passed teams for however many games I played, but this tour I tried to figure out the tier for myself and ended up building most things I ended up using. I still don't have much experience in this tier, so take everything with a grain of salt I suppose.
W1 vs lb (W)
:slither-wing::pidgeot-mega::gligar::slowking::cobalion::cyclizar:
I was busy with holidays this week so I didn't build anything. Interlinked passed me a team and it won. I think starting off the tour with CB slither voltturn probably influenced my building later on, it felt like a very strong and intuitive playstyle despite me not knowing the tier very well at this point. Not much to say about this game, CB Slither carried.
W2 vs Kingler (L)
:sceptile-mega::latias::slither-wing::tinkaton::swampert::crobat:
Started building for myself this week, and after asking Interlinked what looked strongest out of the different drafts I had, he recommended this double dragon team with a couple changes (mainly adding swampert > shocks). This game definitely woke me up to how strong HO was. My double on T2 was justifiable, IMO, but didn't work out, which put me behind from the start, and then I lost my Crobat because I didn't consider scarf Bulu at all. I think I played very well throughout the midgame and clawed my way back to a winnable position, but choked a bit on T29 by not going Tinkaton. I probably still would've had to get additional doubles right or get lucky paras, but I would've had much better odds. Another game where CB Slither carried me on its back.
W3 vs seed (W)
:glimmora::tapu-bulu::iron-jugulis::oricorio-pom-pom::latias::sharpedo-mega:
I just wanted to use Oricorio this week ngl. It looked good into seed's teams, no one else had been bringing it, and the mon seemed busted to me. It felt difficult to build with, though; I had a hard time fitting good speed control, because you either stack electrics by running Zera (not actually that bad since Ori beats most grounds, but still not ideal), stack rock weaknesses by running Jugulis (also fake speed control), run a fast non-Sharpedo mega (but then you lose HO's best mon!), or slap on a random scarfer. Priority users like Lucario/Digg/etc help the issue but don't solve it entirely, and are not always easy to fit. Bunch of medicore/unfinished HO teams got left in my builder this week. The team I almost loaded was a fun terrain squad that I actually think has some potential, although I'm glad I ended up running the Ori HO instead. I should've popped Z Mystical Fire immediately against Aggron, and I should've gotten another roost with Oricorio on T34, but overall a fine game from me.
W4 vs jawabarat (W)
:glimmora::mimikyu::iron-jugulis::cobalion::latias::sharpedo-mega:
Running HO again was kind of a last-minute decision from me this week, I originally wanted to run spikes voltturn like I brought W1. I had a handful of spikes voltturn builds I felt good-but-not-great about, but I ultimately pivoted before the game and ran a HO team I was more confident in. Lead Cobalion is a decent mixup that lets you run offensive Glimmora, leads well into opposing HO, and is generally unexpected. Fast taunt, can self-KO, pretty bulky, not too passive, mon ain't bad. I think I played this game well.
W4 vs mrfraud (W)
:manectric-mega::talonflame::diggersby::milotic::tangrowth::cobalion:
Not my favorite team, but it got the job done I guess. Gentlemanned to no Glimmora here. I was debating bringing HO again because I felt like it would be unexpected, having brought it the past two weeks and with no Glimm around. Interlinked recommended to load something safer though. Originally had Krook > Diggersby but he suggested I go with the rabbit. I didn't have much direction in my prep this week, I sorta just wanted to use AV Tangrowth because I thought it was strong. I think this team is a bit passive without spikes or a proper wincon, but the defensive backbone carried me without having to do much work myself. I played well for the first 20ish turns, lost focus a bit, and then eventually realized Milotic stonewalled everything without Bulu around. We brought this Cobalion set W1 and unfortunately didn't get to show it off here either.
W6 vs THE_CHUNGLER (L)
:zeraora::volcanion::tangrowth::steelix-mega::latias::crobat:
Another week where I felt a bit directionless in prep. Interlinked recommended Toxic Volcanion looking at the scout so that's what I went with. There was another version of this team with Aggron Gligar > Steelix Crobat that I wish I loaded instead, but hindsight is 20/20. I kept mentioning in my channel how I knew Zera was coming based on Chungler's past loads, yet I still loaded a team that was pretty mediocre into it, so I have a few regrets in prep this week. Tunnelvisioned a bit in-game and assumed BU/Plasma/CC/PRough Zera since that's what Chungler loaded when he brought this team earlier in the tour; I went Lati on T18 to catch either CC or Plasma, with the plan being to bait PRough and go Steelix next, but when it revealed Z-Fighting instead of Fairy I really should've expected other changes on the set too. I needed to play this much better than I did in order to overcome the matchup disadvantage, which didn't end up happening.
W6 vs Roginald (L)
:sceptile-mega::tinkaton::latias::diggersby::swampert::talonflame:
No time this week to prep and had to play early. Inter was helping speedprep the day of, and we just ended up reusing the W2 team with some edits. I've had the suspicion that Mega Scept is fraudulent for a while, but this game sealed it. Mon is def cheeks. I couldn't break my opp's team unless I played like a god. While this wasn't a perfect game from me by any means, I don't have many regrets either; I got some turns wrong, but I couldn't see a winpath without taking these risks. Rogi going Zarude on T22 was pointlessly ballsy and I wish I had punished it, probably would've won if I clicked U-turn, but he got the play right and that is what matters.
This team I built a few weeks prior was the only other option I considered bringing.
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At one point I had the best record in the pool at 4-1 going into W6, so it is a bit disappointing to end with two losses and finish 4-3. Was hoping to have a playoffs run but our team imploded in the end. Can't complain too much since I didn't win my W7 game either. I expected to go for cheap and break even, though, which is pretty much what ended up happening. I'm not sure why two managers now have put me into NDRU but I've enjoyed playing it both times. I suppose it's a weaker pool overall, so throwing a random 3k into the tier and hoping for the best isn't a bad strategy.
Overall the meta seems pretty good. Mega shark being banned should be an improvement as well. I think Zeraora is the best mon in the tier, and is probably too versatile for its own good. Really feels like there's a set for every matchup, although no single set will be strong versus everything. Can run BU and CM viably with multiple different Z options, can tech random coverage like GKnot/Blaze/Prough, pivot HDB sets are strong and insanely consistent, other items like Life Orb/Ebelt are decent, list goes on. It picks and chooses its counters with relative comfort. Being able to compress your breaker and cleaner into one slot is so strong, especially in the absence of other good non-mega speed control options.
I said in my channel at one point that I thought hazard stack was phenomenal in this tier—because so many mons run Z-moves, mega stones, and choice items, you'll typically see 3-5 mons on every team that take spikes and/or rocks damage. Many of the tier's best breakers also just happen to learn pivoting moves, like Manectric, Slither, Zeraora, Pidgeot, and Basculegion, all of which can contribute defensively to a team (e.g. Slither/Pidgeot can pivot into grounds, Basc is a cobalion/lucario check, etc.) which makes building these structures more forgiving. I had a hard time building good hazard stack throughout the tour, though. Spikes setters are basically limited to Gligar/Gastro and maybe Deo-D, which is the first major constraint; you also probably want Cyclizar as your removal because it learns Knock Off, pivoting, and since Spin > Fog for hazard stack, so your removal options are also somewhat constrained; you still have to worry about how to switch into monsters like Z Latias and CB Slither, which are not Pokemon you can only handle offensively; and you are probably weak to HO, because TSpike absorbers can be hard to fit, and cleaners like Sharpedo/Jugulis tear through frailer teams.
Glimmora strikes me as unhealthy, though I wouldn't call it broken. TSpikes are great for the same reason Spikes are. There are many grounded mons in this tier due to how common choice items, mega stones, and Z crystals are. Grounded poisons, however, don't seem that common; you have Glimmora itself, and then Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Fez, Glowbro, a couple other less common ones like Munkidori, NGas Gweez, and Toxtricity/Revravroom/Muk-G if people ever run those. Not a bad list but most teams won't easily fit one of these. Glimmora's versatility is also ridiculous—sash, balloon, red card, meteor beam, Z crystals, rock polish, can set spikes if it wants, scarf (idk if anyone's used this but it seems fine), probably more? Near impossible to guess what its set is from preview, and every team needs to have a plan for how to counterlead it and stop it from barfing up hazards unless you want to lose versus every HO. I just don't think this mon is healthy for the tier long-term.
Latias seems broken and fine simultaneously. Another insanely versatile mon, but maybe a bit too reliant on Z moves? It felt impossible checking this in the builder at times since Dragon/Fire/Fighting Z options just blow up a lot of standard checks. Think you just kinda have to outmaneuver it. Offensive counterplay is very important.
Mega Steelix seems really outclassed. Is there a reason to run this over Aggron unless your team absolutely needs a Volt blocker? It's not even a good Volt blocker because the best Electrics all run stuff that heavily threaten it. I guess a strong EQ and Thunder Wave immunity could be situationally useful? I know the VR is outdated, but I was shocked to see this in A rank. Maybe I'm missing something obvious here.
Slither is so good man. Holding this tier together by a thread. I would run HO with four Dark-types every match if this guy didn't exist.
I tried to watch every RU replay as the tour went on, and I saw other players bringing some stuff that looked cool to me. Seems like there is ample room to bring creative teams and succeed. I had a fun time playing RU this tour, thanks
Interlinked for picking me up and for your support throughout the weeks.
