Have you read the OP of the Ability Poll? It clearly states AMC works only on the switch-in.
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CAP 9 CAP 9 - Part 7a - Ability Discussion
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Well that sucks, I was hoping it was a everlasting effect. Puts a damper on how I view CAP9 now.
I think Auto-Magic Coat has a lot of value - not just what it actually does in the metagame, but the psychological aspect it has on people by looking at it.
Okay, sure, AMC might be horrible at actually blocking the secondary - it might be the most amazing thing the world has ever seen at deterring secondary moves. We're probably not going to know until sometime late-post playtesting. By the time general consensus actually forms a solid opinion of how well AMC works, people are going to come up, see AMC and start thinking, "Woah. They made an ability that's designed to block secondary moves."
That's going to have a huge impact on the way people think about certain decisions. Especially in team-building and the early game. The idea that Auto-Magic Coat (particularly) is there - and that the Pokemon it's on will be one of the most popular for the duration of playtesting - is going to affect how they consider using the secondary.
Think of it like Fidgit with Persistent. When it initially came out, there were quite a lot of Trick Room teams and the like. Eventually it tapered down, but early on a lot of people fixated on Persistent's effect and it translated into the metagame. Since one of our goals is to see what would happen in a metagame that encourages less of a focus on the secondary, I think that, just by implying that this Pokemon can destroy the use of the secondary (regardless of whether or not it actually does), we can go a long ways towards accomplishing that.
Of course, I believe AMC can be useful and have long-term benefits... as well as that it could do really well paired with Guts and the like. I'm just saying, if AMC does great or poor, it's still going to affect how people look at using the secondary... at the very least for the two weeks we're going to be intensely studyng this.
Okay, sure, AMC might be horrible at actually blocking the secondary - it might be the most amazing thing the world has ever seen at deterring secondary moves. We're probably not going to know until sometime late-post playtesting. By the time general consensus actually forms a solid opinion of how well AMC works, people are going to come up, see AMC and start thinking, "Woah. They made an ability that's designed to block secondary moves."
That's going to have a huge impact on the way people think about certain decisions. Especially in team-building and the early game. The idea that Auto-Magic Coat (particularly) is there - and that the Pokemon it's on will be one of the most popular for the duration of playtesting - is going to affect how they consider using the secondary.
Think of it like Fidgit with Persistent. When it initially came out, there were quite a lot of Trick Room teams and the like. Eventually it tapered down, but early on a lot of people fixated on Persistent's effect and it translated into the metagame. Since one of our goals is to see what would happen in a metagame that encourages less of a focus on the secondary, I think that, just by implying that this Pokemon can destroy the use of the secondary (regardless of whether or not it actually does), we can go a long ways towards accomplishing that.
Of course, I believe AMC can be useful and have long-term benefits... as well as that it could do really well paired with Guts and the like. I'm just saying, if AMC does great or poor, it's still going to affect how people look at using the secondary... at the very least for the two weeks we're going to be intensely studyng this.
When it comes to dealing with Trick, I'm still in favor of using Sticky Hold. This CAP won't like a Choice Scarf Tricked onto it, as locking into Earthquake OR Pursuit/Crunch is set-up fodder for the metagame's biggest threats. EQ lets Gyara and Mence DD, and Latias gets a free CM. Pursuit and Crunch are asking Lucario to come in and SD, while Scizor comes in with impunity and U-Turns for SE or scouting. I think Sticky Hold should be seriously considered as CAP9's second ability.
Also, Sticky Hold is better than Klutz because it lets CAP 9 actually use an item, and Klutz is only useful to Trick things onto others without harming yourself. Klutz really does nothing to stop Trick other than nullifying the effects on you, but your opponent doesn't have a Choice item anymore, and instead has something harmful to trick again. With Pursuit, Sticky Hold will actually FORCE the opponent to switch if they use Trick, while otherwise they could simply hit us with (STAB) SE Grass Knots and Surfs.
Sticky Hold should definitely be used over Guts if this thing gets a decent Speed, which most of these spreads have.
Also, Sticky Hold is better than Klutz because it lets CAP 9 actually use an item, and Klutz is only useful to Trick things onto others without harming yourself. Klutz really does nothing to stop Trick other than nullifying the effects on you, but your opponent doesn't have a Choice item anymore, and instead has something harmful to trick again. With Pursuit, Sticky Hold will actually FORCE the opponent to switch if they use Trick, while otherwise they could simply hit us with (STAB) SE Grass Knots and Surfs.
Sticky Hold should definitely be used over Guts if this thing gets a decent Speed, which most of these spreads have.
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