Now that BDSPPL is over i would like to make some posts about the current state of the meta with as many replays as possible to back it up.
General Overview:
This meta is actually pretty great, with a few minor caveats which will be explained throughout the post.
Why is the meta "great"?
If i could summarize this concept in one word it would be flexibility. Throught BDSPPL we saw a wide array of different team comps, here are a few of my favorite replays as examples
Offense:
Sticky Webs by 5dots and myself
Trick Room by myself
Offense by somalia
Balance:
Bulky Offense by Somalia
Balance (probably the most prominent style) by plznostep
Stall:
Semi stall by Somalia
Stall by Larry
As we can see, there is quite a lot of flexibility in the teams you can build that can be viable picks in tournament settings making BDSP PU a surprisingly fun yet competitive tier with a good amount of freedom for creative teambuilding while retaining competitive viability. However, this does not mean the metagame is completely balanced and there are a few points i would like to touch on that were brought to my attention during this tournament.
Meta defining mons:
1. Kadabra :kadabra:
I would say this is the most meta defining mon in the tier without a doubt. Kadabra holds the 2nd highest spA in the tier (10 spA behind glaceon) with a staggering base 105 speed making it the 9th fastest mon in the tier. Kadabra usually holds the Life orb + Magic Guard combo further boosting its special attack without the drawback of being choiced locked into a single move and without receiving recoil due to its ability.
There are quite a few factors that contribute to Kadabra's dominance in the tier.
- Lack of Steel types:
The tier's steel types are reduced to Probopass :Probopass:, Mawile, Bastiodon and Wormadam Trash with Probo being the dominant steel in the tier (more on Mario later) and the other three have big flaws in fulfilling their role as a steel type or they are simply heavily outclassed by Probopass.
-Lack of Dark types:
There are no viable dark types.
-Lack of Priority moves:
Besides arbok and mawile there is not much access to priority. Other notable mons with priority such as purugly, dugtrio and persian already outspeed kadabra naturally.
While some form of counterplay is available to Kadabra (mainly in the form of Probopass or running a lot of Bulky mons) its dominance is heavily asserted by its ability to 2h KO almost every mon in the tier bar the steel types. To make matters worse, the Kadabra-Probopass interaction can be heavily abused by Future Sight as showcased in this game, which honestly might be what pushes kadabra over the edge for me and i do believe Kadabra to be a problematic force in the tier that could require some tiering action.
2. Chatot :Chatot:
A little more manageable however still extremely punishing for unprepared teams. Even tought it only has a base 92 spA it has access to the move Boomburst. With the context of there being basically no ghosts in the tier, it is pretty much a better boomburst spammer than Exploud. As if not enough, chatot has access to two of the better pivot moves in u turn and parting shot to get out of unfavorable Matchups (basically only Probopass or spdef Rock type). Usually, chatot will just click boomburst if its out and heavily dent unprepared teams and click pivot move if the opponent has a Probopass. Chatot is a little more manageable because of its rock weakness and lower speed tier making it revengeable by mons such as leafeon, kadabra, manetric. However, base 91 speed is still a very respectable speed tier.
3. Probopass :Probopass:
Meta defining only basically because the last two mons force it on every team that is not HO or Offense. Even if there was no Kadabra or Chatot in the tier, Probopass would still be finding itself in most teams because of its supportive capabilities mainly throught moves like Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave and Volt Switch. Probopass also has some good offensive power due to the unwallable combo of rock + ground move making it not as passive for a defensive mon.
Other Mentions:
Lumineon: One of the best defoggers in the tier that holds respectable bulk, gives the team a water immunity via Storm Drain and can pivot out with u-turn and makes progress with scald. This mon is quite good and i find myself slotting it on a lot of my teams.
Monferno: Very good choiced mon. Access to u- turn and the strong fire/fight combo with high BP moves to back it up. Immensily strong when rocks are up as it forces its checks such as Altaria and Pelipper to take rocks damage. Althought rarer, monferno has other roles such as dedicated lead and sd sweeper.
Tangela: We all know what Tangrowth does and what Tangela does. Despite the lack of eviolite in this meta, it still holds its position as one of the premier physical walls in the tier. Also able to make progress via sleep powder, knock off and making good use of a base 100 spA.
Gabite: Quite to my surprise, gabite is a fantastic physical attacker that also has access to rocks. Very good at making progress vs teams that lack tangela mainly. While its speed tier and bulk is nothing stellar, ground and dragon makes for a fantastic combo.
Conclusion:
Personally, i would like to see future action on either Kadabra or Chatot leaning more towards Kadabra. While the counterplay is there, it is not much and its not difficult to chip down its checks. Despite this, this meta is a very fun one and i can see it becoming even better with a few more developments.
General Overview:
This meta is actually pretty great, with a few minor caveats which will be explained throughout the post.
Why is the meta "great"?
If i could summarize this concept in one word it would be flexibility. Throught BDSPPL we saw a wide array of different team comps, here are a few of my favorite replays as examples
Offense:
Sticky Webs by 5dots and myself
Trick Room by myself
Offense by somalia
Balance:
Bulky Offense by Somalia
Balance (probably the most prominent style) by plznostep
Stall:
Semi stall by Somalia
Stall by Larry
As we can see, there is quite a lot of flexibility in the teams you can build that can be viable picks in tournament settings making BDSP PU a surprisingly fun yet competitive tier with a good amount of freedom for creative teambuilding while retaining competitive viability. However, this does not mean the metagame is completely balanced and there are a few points i would like to touch on that were brought to my attention during this tournament.
Meta defining mons:
1. Kadabra :kadabra:
I would say this is the most meta defining mon in the tier without a doubt. Kadabra holds the 2nd highest spA in the tier (10 spA behind glaceon) with a staggering base 105 speed making it the 9th fastest mon in the tier. Kadabra usually holds the Life orb + Magic Guard combo further boosting its special attack without the drawback of being choiced locked into a single move and without receiving recoil due to its ability.
There are quite a few factors that contribute to Kadabra's dominance in the tier.
- Lack of Steel types:
The tier's steel types are reduced to Probopass :Probopass:, Mawile, Bastiodon and Wormadam Trash with Probo being the dominant steel in the tier (more on Mario later) and the other three have big flaws in fulfilling their role as a steel type or they are simply heavily outclassed by Probopass.
-Lack of Dark types:
There are no viable dark types.
-Lack of Priority moves:
Besides arbok and mawile there is not much access to priority. Other notable mons with priority such as purugly, dugtrio and persian already outspeed kadabra naturally.
While some form of counterplay is available to Kadabra (mainly in the form of Probopass or running a lot of Bulky mons) its dominance is heavily asserted by its ability to 2h KO almost every mon in the tier bar the steel types. To make matters worse, the Kadabra-Probopass interaction can be heavily abused by Future Sight as showcased in this game, which honestly might be what pushes kadabra over the edge for me and i do believe Kadabra to be a problematic force in the tier that could require some tiering action.
2. Chatot :Chatot:
A little more manageable however still extremely punishing for unprepared teams. Even tought it only has a base 92 spA it has access to the move Boomburst. With the context of there being basically no ghosts in the tier, it is pretty much a better boomburst spammer than Exploud. As if not enough, chatot has access to two of the better pivot moves in u turn and parting shot to get out of unfavorable Matchups (basically only Probopass or spdef Rock type). Usually, chatot will just click boomburst if its out and heavily dent unprepared teams and click pivot move if the opponent has a Probopass. Chatot is a little more manageable because of its rock weakness and lower speed tier making it revengeable by mons such as leafeon, kadabra, manetric. However, base 91 speed is still a very respectable speed tier.
3. Probopass :Probopass:
Meta defining only basically because the last two mons force it on every team that is not HO or Offense. Even if there was no Kadabra or Chatot in the tier, Probopass would still be finding itself in most teams because of its supportive capabilities mainly throught moves like Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave and Volt Switch. Probopass also has some good offensive power due to the unwallable combo of rock + ground move making it not as passive for a defensive mon.
Other Mentions:
Lumineon: One of the best defoggers in the tier that holds respectable bulk, gives the team a water immunity via Storm Drain and can pivot out with u-turn and makes progress with scald. This mon is quite good and i find myself slotting it on a lot of my teams.
Monferno: Very good choiced mon. Access to u- turn and the strong fire/fight combo with high BP moves to back it up. Immensily strong when rocks are up as it forces its checks such as Altaria and Pelipper to take rocks damage. Althought rarer, monferno has other roles such as dedicated lead and sd sweeper.
Tangela: We all know what Tangrowth does and what Tangela does. Despite the lack of eviolite in this meta, it still holds its position as one of the premier physical walls in the tier. Also able to make progress via sleep powder, knock off and making good use of a base 100 spA.
Gabite: Quite to my surprise, gabite is a fantastic physical attacker that also has access to rocks. Very good at making progress vs teams that lack tangela mainly. While its speed tier and bulk is nothing stellar, ground and dragon makes for a fantastic combo.
Conclusion:
Personally, i would like to see future action on either Kadabra or Chatot leaning more towards Kadabra. While the counterplay is there, it is not much and its not difficult to chip down its checks. Despite this, this meta is a very fun one and i can see it becoming even better with a few more developments.
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