100th post + dumping the teams I built for majors. I was able to do fine on ladder, able to get #1 and 90+ gxe, but they all feel too honest/have ridiculously bad mu's into random things so they r like w/e.





Entei balance, based this team around an ivar team from open, it's fun and fresh, but is pretty susceptible to things like set up stail.

This set feels like the truth for it, spikes always let u make progress vs things like zap, and trailblaze lets you become a deadly late-game cleaner, gets bricked by wbb corv but u can play around w tusk and zap.

I don't really think offensive is that good in the current meta, especially now that ceru is gone, although imo it was better even before it got axed. You need the bulk for zama/other random phys threats and the extra damage output isn't needed as spikes help even it out. Speed doesn't feel necessary because teams either have the hard counters to zap (pert, treads, vabs corv) that are slower and get droned on anyway, or the faster threats (moon, boulder, chien) that you wouldn't stay in on anyway. Ig it helps against tusk but most of the time its trading knock for its life at best and its never really staying in on zap anyway. Thunder/Hurricane a busted combo so it bullies the mons the same that it did before even with the reduced damage output.





v1 of the team I ended up using, felt too passive and got dunked on by opposing spike stack so I wanted to rework.





Fun team, gets dunked on by primarina and I load into modest stamina set-up so yea it was just a matter of time before that thing swept, didn't help I got the zapdos turns wrong every time. I wanted brick break pert in case I loaded into screens, I don't usually use mana/pert cores because I don't like the spdef cores they force, and I think testing with it this past week and the game just reinforce that idea for me.





Random spike stack I used on ladder. 3a tect stail is actually heat and dunks on treads that switch-in to check. Tbh I've been vibing w non-wish stail, and it feels like the future for the mon, wish is fine but its always felt exploitable and weaker compared to more offensive sets since psynoise is busted asl. Protect is also just busted because of all the choice lock mons and mons that think they know ur set since u reveal tect and they get bopped w noise or flame.
As for meta thoughts, I'm a broken record but it is like ok. I think getting rid of Ceru was a step in the right direction but you are pulled in completely different directions in the builder when it comes to checking certain mons (zama, chien, rmoon) that the meta will still be incredibly centralized. I've changed opinion on Chien-Pao, as its really the only good user of priority in the tier rn and getting rid of that would make things even more stale, set-up harder to check, and less reliable revenge options. It has decent enough checks and honestly punishes lazy corv builds the most, which is fine. Though in the long-term for the tier it'd prob be better to either get rid of chien or zama, and since zama stayed then I see chien going simply because it has been contentious for so long.

The past few suspects all I read is everything is a 'comfort ban' (whatever that means anyway), this mon would be the furthest from that and would actually force meaningful meta shifts and action post ban. Though I guess if everyone wants the blanket omnicheck, that is also the most brainless and powerful progress maker, that also has insane longevity bc of mg/regen, thats fine (it can also be a deadly set-up wincon, whatever you need it to be!); I just don't understand many of the common complaints about the tier I read when even the thought of suspecting this mon is met w such opposition. It stifles creativity in builder in terms of offensive and defensive cores, as there is currently no reason to run anything else as it is a cut above all other mons in this tier to an insane degree. In-game it is even worse, as it controls and dictates the flow of any game since there is realistically a very small pool of mons that can switch-in to its damage output w knock + turn (which then become fodder for its teammates it pivots in anyway). Atp to me most aaa games come down to who can play their moon better to get their breaker in fast enough to beat down the other team before you yourself get worn down, or you load the right defensive core and just wall w/e they brought so then it really just becomes ab KOing their moon. (also I'm not rlly gonna engage in a convo ab this, this is more for me to get it off my chest since I know at the end of the day this guy is gonna stay because its viewed as too important for the tier to function)

This mon hasn't been the best regen since wake meta, and I still stand by my B+ vote for this thing when we did the voting a few months ago. It is a jack of all trade's master of none to me. Full Phys def/spdef make you lose out on valuable and common mu's on either side of the spectrum, you still need a good amount defensive support for it as mons like zapdos and literally all fires can dunk on it either way, and it is very susceptible to getting knocked/becomes bricked when that does happen. Knock/u-turn/scald is nowhere near as valuable as it used to be, and there has been quite a bit of counterplay developed that naturally handle what mana can do. I also don't think it checks things nearly as well now, and other regens can do similar things while having valuable tools/better mu's into specific threats. I also just think that the cores it forces are boring/weak/aren't as progressive as people have been thinking of ways to beat them for over a year, so you naturally find more counterplay to it compared to some other regens. All this to say consider using other regens in the builder!
Also I'm dipping from council, irl is getting busier than I expected and I want to be able to focus on school/work more meaningfully.