NDPL Week 2 Observations
Week 2 just ended and we have some more interesting trends to talk about. As before, if you want to see the usage stats you can find them here.
Unlike last week, Toxapex was not the most used mon this week, however, it does support an absurd win rate of over 70% while still sitting at 2nd in usage. What stands out specifically is Baneful Bunker variants of Toxapex, which had a 100% win rate when revealed, which accounts for over half of the games in which Toxapex was used. We've seen Toxapex run this with a lot more frequency in response to the rising Dracovish usage in the metagame, as it allows it to check it a lot more effectively while whittling it down with Poison damage, while also allowing it to scout opposing Cinderace sets for Zen Headbutt. The fact that Toxapex is an effective check to 3 of the best Pokemon in the metagame in Cinderace, Dracovish, and Ash Greninja means its really a no-brainer that it is so highly used.
Some cool Toxapex teams from this week:
- Used by Finchinator
- Used by Zneon
- Used by Ruft
- Used by Micaiah
A Pokemon which didn't see too much usage last week but has had a massive influence on this week was Dragapult. This comes from this week having much more offense and bulky offensive teams compared to last week which saw a lot of balanced builds. While the majority of Dragapult we saw were indeed the Dragon Dance set that has been a scourge for a while, we did in fact also see some specially orientated Dragapult sets, particularly on some the bulkier teams.
- Used by Jordy
- Used by devwin
- Used by Trade
- Used by Chazm
Landorus-T claims the top spot for this week in terms of usage, however, it did not perform particularly well in terms of win rate. This may be because people are opting to use utility and scarfed sets which have really fallen off in effectiveness recently due to a lack of longevity and difficulty checking top threats like Cinderace long term. Of all the Landorus we saw this week, not a single one showed Swords Dance or a Z move, which was a surprise to me as it is widely regarded as the better option for it right now and something I hope we see more of in the following weeks. I do think there is a place for these less offensive Landorus-T variants and some of the teams which used them well in my opinion will be put below.
- Used by Vaboh
- Used by devwin
- Used by Trade
Cinderace has continued to have an incredible showing, maintaining the insane win ratio from last week. There isn't too much more to say about Cinderace that I didnt say last week, but the fact that its win rate has remained so high consistently is something definitely worth noting. A lot of the teams listed above are good examples of the sort of teams Cinderace was used on this week so I wont list any additional ones here.
General Observations
We saw 0 Stall used this week, a small departure from last week which saw a decent amount of Stall showing. This week we saw much more offensive teams in general.
Over the course of the tournament, Hydreigon has only been used twice and has failed to pick up a win in either game which is incredibly surprising as it has been considered one of the best Pokemon in the format for a long time. Perhaps teams trending towards more offensive builds is what is hindering Hydreigon, as its ability as an incredibly strong wallbreaker becomes less of an important commodity in those matchups.
Week 2 just ended and we have some more interesting trends to talk about. As before, if you want to see the usage stats you can find them here.
Unlike last week, Toxapex was not the most used mon this week, however, it does support an absurd win rate of over 70% while still sitting at 2nd in usage. What stands out specifically is Baneful Bunker variants of Toxapex, which had a 100% win rate when revealed, which accounts for over half of the games in which Toxapex was used. We've seen Toxapex run this with a lot more frequency in response to the rising Dracovish usage in the metagame, as it allows it to check it a lot more effectively while whittling it down with Poison damage, while also allowing it to scout opposing Cinderace sets for Zen Headbutt. The fact that Toxapex is an effective check to 3 of the best Pokemon in the metagame in Cinderace, Dracovish, and Ash Greninja means its really a no-brainer that it is so highly used.
Some cool Toxapex teams from this week:
- Used by Finchinator
- Used by Zneon
- Used by Ruft
- Used by Micaiah
A Pokemon which didn't see too much usage last week but has had a massive influence on this week was Dragapult. This comes from this week having much more offense and bulky offensive teams compared to last week which saw a lot of balanced builds. While the majority of Dragapult we saw were indeed the Dragon Dance set that has been a scourge for a while, we did in fact also see some specially orientated Dragapult sets, particularly on some the bulkier teams.
- Used by Jordy
- Used by devwin
- Used by Trade
- Used by Chazm
Landorus-T claims the top spot for this week in terms of usage, however, it did not perform particularly well in terms of win rate. This may be because people are opting to use utility and scarfed sets which have really fallen off in effectiveness recently due to a lack of longevity and difficulty checking top threats like Cinderace long term. Of all the Landorus we saw this week, not a single one showed Swords Dance or a Z move, which was a surprise to me as it is widely regarded as the better option for it right now and something I hope we see more of in the following weeks. I do think there is a place for these less offensive Landorus-T variants and some of the teams which used them well in my opinion will be put below.
- Used by Vaboh
- Used by devwin
- Used by Trade
Cinderace has continued to have an incredible showing, maintaining the insane win ratio from last week. There isn't too much more to say about Cinderace that I didnt say last week, but the fact that its win rate has remained so high consistently is something definitely worth noting. A lot of the teams listed above are good examples of the sort of teams Cinderace was used on this week so I wont list any additional ones here.
General Observations
We saw 0 Stall used this week, a small departure from last week which saw a decent amount of Stall showing. This week we saw much more offensive teams in general.
Over the course of the tournament, Hydreigon has only been used twice and has failed to pick up a win in either game which is incredibly surprising as it has been considered one of the best Pokemon in the format for a long time. Perhaps teams trending towards more offensive builds is what is hindering Hydreigon, as its ability as an incredibly strong wallbreaker becomes less of an important commodity in those matchups.