Welcome to the LCPL XII power rankings!
We asked knowledgable players from each team to rank all the starters and then averaged said rankings in an attempt to get what we hope is an unbiased ranking. That said, with all the possible variables, it is nigh impossible to get an accurate ranking, as some teams and individuals are bound to perform better than what their rankings indicate and exceed expectations. Therefore, please do not take these rankings to heart; at the end of the day, this is all to bring hype and enjoyment for the tournament while giving everyone a fun read. A big thank you everyone who participated in the ranking process, and an even bigger thank you to
Elfuseon ,
Hacker ,
gali ,
BlackKnight_Gawain ,
tazz and all others who helped write!
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Swooping Rufflets
SV: Laroxyl
SV: Quinn
SV: TheShoddyStrawman
SS: Collette
SM: Toadow
ORAS: Heysup
BW: fatty
DPP: SuperEpicAmpharos
Bench: RL, Grape Tylenol
Laroxyl is returning to LCPL with a lot to prove, having just narrowly missed playoffs on his first go last year. This time he is aided by Howkings, who has managed at the highest level, and his own practical experience from his previous season. The only constant from last year’s team, however, is his decision to splurge on Heysup; if Heysup can repeat his 5-2 performance his price tag will certainly be worth it. The rest of his team looks like an attempt to learn from last year: outside of Heysup’s impressive ORAS run and a respectable 4-3 from Fantos13 in DPP, Laro’s old gens were the definite weak point on his team. He has certainly rectified that in this draft, grabbing top-of-the-pool picks from SS all the way down to BW.
Collette, Toadow and the aforementioned Heysup are the stars of this old gen core, each boasting a solid 2nd rank in their pools. All three have been able to consistently put up positive records in their generations, and can be expected to serve as the backbone to the team. Fatty, despite being ranked a bit lower within his pool, was a huge acquisition for Laroxyl late in the draft. Though it's been a year since he’s played BW in a tournament setting, if he can replicate his last two records—4-2 in LCPL and 7-2 (!!) in LCWC—Laro’s old gen core may prove impenetrable.
To get such a strong core of four players—along with himself—Laroxyl had to invest all of his budget, resulting in a very top-heavy team, at least price-wise. The remaining 5 players were all 3k picks at the very end of the draft, and are all relative newcomers to their respective pools. TheShoddyStrawman had a respectable debut last LCPL, going 2-2 as a sub on the Hoppips. His subsequent LCWL season was a bit rougher, ending at 3-5 against strong opponents, but if the Rufflets are lucky this might be the tour where he breaks out. Quinn is about 1 tour behind Shoddy; their first tour was LCWL where they went 1-3. SuperEpicAmpharos is a total newcomer to the LCPL pool, instead coming up via DPPPL and LPL, where he went 1-3 and 3-3 respectively. His prospects are bolstered by the legendary Heysup support, who will undoubtedly cook up some ungodly combos to take games off even the most seasoned opposition.
Although the Rufflets don’t take the top-heavy strategy quite to the same extent as the Fueco’Tacos, they are still depending on strong performances from their five star players. Depending on how the tournament plays out this could be a strength or a weakness: there have been LCPLs in the past where only three elite slots were needed to win the tournament. The flipside of this is that if one or more of the slots that cost so much to secure ends up struggling, the team could be in serious trouble. Laroxyl managed to snag arguably the strongest old gen core in the tournament, but they are not uncontested. None of his players top their pools, and each will have to fight hard to prove their rank—and price. Fatty in particular faces the most difficult bw pool the tournament has ever seen, with the average price of a bw starter reaching an unbelievable 15k. Against teams like the Munnas, Skittles and Drifloons with similarly menacing old gens they may be forced to fall back on their potentially shaky new gen core. Still, if all goes as planned and his old gen core is as dominant as they are projected to be, or if Laroxyl gets lucky and one of his 3k picks overperforms, the Rufflets could easily be the team to beat this tournament.
Fueco'Tacos:
SV : Elfuseon
SV : CMDoge
SV : Danny
SS : Scottie
SM : Cam
ORAS : Avarice
BW : Freezai
DPP : Fantos13
Bench : Piyush25, BlackKnight_Gawain
Making their LCPL managerial debuts are Elfuseon and CMDoge representing the Fueco’Tacos. Though predicted to be the newest incarnation of the French Team, the two managers instead opted out of picking up any French talent whatsoever. They instead went for a top heavy draft consisting of themselves, LC juggernauts Scottie and Freezai, and a selection of minbid players to fill out the remainder of their roster. Elfuseon and CMDoge are relying on themselves for their teams’ SV core, and not without warrant. Elfuseon will be hoping to continue with their momentum from the latest LC team tour, LC Winter League, where they put up an impressive 7-2 record solidifying him as one of the best SV players. CMDoge was able to prove that his reputation as one of SS LC’s greatest innovators applied to SV too by going an impressive 5-2 in LCWL. Rounding out their SV core is Danny, who is a tournament player with a positive record on the LC sheet and will hopefully be able to pilot to a positive record given the right support.
The Fueco’Tacos also have a threatening lineup for their old gens. Scottie was solidly ranked the best SS player in the pool, but the Fuecos may not be able to rely on a free win in SS as hoped. Though Scottie’s circuit achievements are unmatched, his team tour record is near .500 overall. If the Fueco’Tacos are to win the tournament they will need him to perform above that. Their SM player is Cam, who is currently qualified for Grand Slam playoffs and is a more than capable player, but will need support. Their ORAS player is avarice, who is more known for playing SV and DPP but seems to have a knack for picking up new tiers. YouTube clout machine Freezai is their BW player who will almost assuredly have a good season as long as they are up to date with the recent meta trends. And rounding off their starters is their DPP player, Fantos13. Fantos has been a DPP LC player for quite a long time and has had a decent amount of success in the tier with an overall positive sheet record. On the bench is Piyush25, who is a team India WCOP player and a very solid all-around sub. Their last player is BlackKnight_Gawain, a newcomer to the LC scene having supported in BLT and played in LC Majors. They will almost assuredly be a great presence to have in the team chat.
High Noon Drifloons:
SV : Kythr
SV : Fc
SV : Nat
SS : Tko
SM : Voltix
ORAS : Akaru Kokuyo
BW : Ninjadog
DPP : Melon
Bench : DugZa, Links
Starting with half of your budget in exchange for two of the best LC players of the past few years? Seems worth it! That’s the deal Kythr and Ninjadog made for this LCPL auction. They both have more experience combined in LC than any other managing pair. Unfortunately, they aren’t allowed to play 4 slots each so they had to gather troops. Starting with their SV core, Kythr is going to lead the way freshly surfing off an LCWL victory as well as participating in many big tournaments such as World Cup of Pokemon and qualifying for Grand Slam playoffs — he’s clearly the man to beat in SV this year. Next in SV is Fc, the Ubers tier leader and generally good tour player, who won a past LCPL and finished runner-up in this year’s LC Open.
The Drifloons also traded Kodiak for Nat, who is a solid tour player and arguably a top 3 SV OU player. They will need support to finish positive here but Nat’s got the chops to pull it off.
Looking at their old gens, Tko in SS might be questionable one could say – they will have to work hard to perform well in a stacked pool. Voltix is probably someone you’ll forget is in this pool, but remember this guy just went 7-2 in LCWL while being 3k.Next up is maybe the weakest link in this team, doubles main Akaru Kokuyo. They will have to prove themselves in the difficult tier that is ORAS to bring back some wins for the team. The other manager, Ninjadog will take on BW after establishing himself as top 2 in this pool after a semi-final finish in the last BW LC Cup. Melon is another pillar of this team, standing out as an all star DPP LC player, although they still need to avoid infamous DPP crits and getting Zigzagoon’ed… Finally, on the bench are DugZa and Links, who are very good tour players that still have to prove themselves in LC but are very motivated teammates. The Drifloons are definitely ones to watch in this tournament and will surely be in the top 3 of the regular season, at least on paper, they just need to make sure every piece falls into place!
Massive Stat-Boost Munnas:
SV: Eniigma
SV: daunt vs
SV: JuanSG
SS: xavgb
SM: tazz
ORAS: gali
BW: Kaboom
DPP: Nails
Bench: Mendeez, aleaniled, shiloh, and yellowfin
The Munnas almost certainly drafted a team with talent—although some slots could struggle in the already hypercompetitive pools. Starting off their SV is Eniigma, who is a longtime LC ladder hero with a ton of recent success in this tier with deep runs in individuals alongside going positive in the latest LCWL. They are also known for having super-unique builds featuring Pokemon such as… Finizen. Next up are two prominent Spanish players (and cancer slots), daunt vs and JuanSG. Daunt vs is undeniably a strong player, with a positive sheet record to prove it. That being said, they have yet to take their talents to SV in tournament play and only time can tell how well they can transition to the current gen. Lastly in SV they have tilt master JuanSG who has been a long time LC player who shows a lot of promise in the new generation. They had a great run in the Spring Seasonal but have not had much noteworthy results outside of that.
The Munnas’ old gens is where this team's talent truly shines. Xavgb will almost certainly go positive despite the super competitive pool given that they went 7-1 last LCPL, and even got a clutch win in finals tiebreakers. Tazz is a top contender for the best player in the SM pool, having played this tier for forever with plenty of experience and strong records to show for it. Gali is a long time player who is super experienced in the ORAS slot and consistently performs around .500, but for this team to showcase its best potential, she might need to step up a little. Kaboom is another long time LC player but they have yet to deliver a stellar record since returning. Rounding out their lineup is Nails, who is undeniably a top contender in the DPP pool and almost certainly will go positive. The Munnas also have an incredibly strong support group on the bench. Mendeez is a good player who would likely be starting for any other team with their 12-6 record on the LC sheet. Aleaniled is a rising star player who, like Eniigma, has had a meteoric rise in SV going 7-4 in LCWL. Shiloh is a strong player, having tons of experience playing in tournaments on this website as well as having a little bit of experience playing LC. And to close out their roster they have yellowfin who is a longtime LC player who is a great presence to have around and also shows a lot of potential in SV going 3-1 in LCWL.
The Remoraiders:
SV: goldenghost
SV: Wail Wailord
SV: babyboyblues
SS: Stecolomaxx
SM: Mikaav
ORAS: Corckscrew
BW: Shou Dui
DPP: Alkione
Subs: Tack, Greedy_eb, Chaos23333, Charis_Akins
The Remoraiders are back for another edition of LCPL, hoping to bring home the championship after making it to finals last year with many of the same players. This year, the team boasts possibly the most formidable SV lineup in the tour. Goldenghost, Wail Wailord, and babyboyblues would be a strong lineup even if most of the top players weren’t playing old gens; in a weaker SV pool, they just might carry the Remoraiders to the championship they narrowly missed last year. They aren’t just good players: bbb has demonstrated himself as one of SV’s premier builders, and Tack’s cheesy concoctions are certain to cause more than one challenger to cry in consternation.
The Remoraiders’ old gens are where this team has question marks. While Corckscrew has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt in ORAS, his wacky builds always run the risk of backfiring. Their other four old gens starters - Stecolomaxx in SS, Mikaav in SM, Shou Dui in BW and Alkione in DPP - are all lifetime under-.500 players in very strong oldgen pools where it’ll be tough to post a positive or even even record. Their substitutes might not be able to help much, either: Tack is a solid enough BWer but doesn’t seem to want to play, Chaos2333 is a good all-around player but is inexperienced in old gens, Charis_Akins had a promising SM cup run but remains unproven, and Greedy_eb is exclusively an SV player. If this team’s SV core plays as well as they’re capable of, and their old gens manage to stay afloat, this is a surefire playoff team.
Dave's Deerlings:
SV LC: Drifting
SV LC: Hacker
SV LC: Vulpix03
SS LC: Z Strats
SM LC: Éric
ORAS LC: trace
BW LC: iss
DPP LC: HSOWA
Subs: Leru, Merritt
The renowned manager pairing of Stone Cold & Leru have come looking to establish another Dave's franchise, this time in the LC scene. Their lineup represents the high standards the accomplished duo have, being well-rounded across all tiers. SV has a solid core fronted by reigning circuit winner Hacker (formerly Door Money), with fellow mainer (and infamous bad take machine) Drifting and Vulpix03 joining him. Z Strats comes in as a Dave's franchise player to start SS in a competitive pool, although with Hacker’s support their piloting skills should be good enough here. Éric is an accomplished mainer and is very versatile — their experience should be helpful in a stacked SM pool. ORAS sees long-time LCPL player but never full mainer Trace take up the slot. While Trace has been out of LC a while, he still stands out in a not as competitive pool and has the sheet wins to back this slot up. BW sees superstar iss lead the fray, who has a strong claim to be the best BW player at the moment. Rounding out the old gen roster is another veteran in HSOWA, who also might be one of the strongest in the pool. Leru and Merritt are on the bench, but with a starting lineup this strong you can tell the Daves were confident in not picking support. Most of their players are versatile and capable of supporting each other's slots, which makes them ones to watch. Forget playoffs, this team might be the winner if they stay consistent.
Skitty Committee:
SV : Nultiprise
SV : Rasche
SV : Floss
SS : Acehunter1
SM : Kingler
ORAS : LilyAc
BW : zF
DPP : Lunala
Subs : Chloe, Meru
Once again, we have an impressive pair of managers with LilyAC, longtime captain of the Skitty Committee and defending LCPL manager champion accompanied by another honored player and former LC circuit champion Acehunter1. Combined, they have massive knowledge to cover all the gens in the tournament as well as being able to confidently place themselves in the top 3 of their pool, and will likely be securing important wins each week. Let's start with what is going to be the most difficult part of the job for these managers, their SV core. Nultiprise is a baguette player who has experience in multiple LPLs and is going to have to step up to lead the way. His level as a player over the past years has generally been average but not anything spectacular, which may make things tough for him in a high level pool. Next, we have a newcomer and gamble of the tour from Lily, Rasche. Everything is still to be proven by this ladder hero and prospect from the cat’s mistress. Thirdly is the well known tour player Floss. This guy has been under the spotlight throughout the last 2 years across all the tiers he’s played. Believe it or not, he managed to build up an impressive 6-3 record in the last LCWL, making him one of the most wanted tour players of this draft. Let’s see if he can keep it rolling. In old gens now, we have Acehunter1 in SS. The morelull-larvesta enjoyer will hax his opponents to the death if you’re not ready for it, but don’t forget to smile and say “Hi mom!”, because you’ll be on TV. Many people awaited this – the return of mister 12345, 2x LC open champion and winner of the LC Ekans teamtour, Kingler. With that much on his resume, everyone is definitely expecting a lot from him, so it’ll be fun to see if the old man can catch up with all the new kids. ORAS will be the playground of LilyAC. She has been dominant as of late and there is no doubt that she will be on top of a very divided pool and will be collecting wins like an old maid is collecting cats. Next is Ubers main zf. They haven't participated in an LC team tour since LCPL IX, and have always finished even or slightly negative, so the question will be if they can get back on track in LC.
Lastly, we have Lunala in DPP. Lunala has been playing several tiers and generations over the past few years while also being a huge factor in their team in the last LCWL and LCPL (6-2 in both) playing SV and DPP respectively. There is no doubt that Lily and Acehunter are expecting a lot from them. Finally on the bench are Chloe, former PU Tier Leader, and Meru. Both are tour players that can pick up tiers and gens quite easily while also having a lot of experience to help new players shine. Overall, this is probably one of the top 3 teams on paper. They supplement a solid roster with deep support. Canwe expect the Skitty Committee to defend their title? The biggest problem for them may be the timer…
Ohayo Oshawotts:
SV LC: Lokifan
SV LC: Jox
SV LC: Sylveon used calm mind
SS LC: robjr
SM LC: Shrug
ORAS LC: gorex
BW LC: Fille
DPP LC: AM
Subs: Surfy, Raj.Shoot, BeardedDrakon, Fragments, Kodiak_45, LeJames Chonk, Oscar90x
The Oshawotts approached the draft in typical Jox and Fille fashion – inebriated and there to have a fun time. Purchasing both of themselves for 15k a piece, they were left with 70k credits to fill out the rest of their team. Despite having one of the larger starting budgets however, they did not buy a single player, bar Lokifan, for more than 10k. It seemed as if they let the ball drop and passed up on basically every big name player, but perhaps this was intentional. With a still enormous bank at the end of the auction, Jox and Fille drafted an army of users making their team the largest in the tournament by far. Starting with SV, the team has a solid core of recent open champion Sylveon, building talent Jox, and rising star Lokifan. It looks as if Jox, along with mainers on the bench such as Kodiak, LeJames, BeardedDrakon and Oscar, will be building a majority of the SV and SS teams. Lokifan stands out as the big name player of the SV core. Despite being ranked 5th out of 24 players overall, they did receive 2 votes from other teams as the #1 ranked SV player, so it will be exciting to see if they can live up to the hype.
In SS the Oshawotts are employing robjr, who is an all around strong tour player, but does not have the best LC track record with an alltime of 12-20. Motivation and activity could also be an issue here as well as in the next slot. Shrug is one of LC’s best ever players but he’s way past his prime. Shrug has everything you want in a player besides the desire to win and schedule his games. In ORAS the Oshawotts start gorex who is an overall solid old gens player. They are more-so known for their DPP play in LC rather than ORAS, so if things go south we may see some slot shuffling later in the tour. Fille in BW sits on the top half of a very stacked BW pool. It would be expected of him to go positive by a game or two even against some very tough opposition. Rounding out the starting lineup is AM in DPP. AM is an interesting choice as they have only 1 official LC team tour game ever on record. Because of this, they were almost unanimously ranked as the worst player in the DPP pool, but they are an experienced old gens player so it wouldn’t be too unrealistic for them to put up a solid record. The Oshawotts bench provides the team a lot of flexibility and perhaps what Fille and Jox value most – a fun and active team chat. Surfy has won the past 2 LC team tours and can sub in for SS and SM, while Raj is an experienced player who provides support in the old gens. Fragments is a newer face to the LC community but they made a decent run in majors meaning they have some SV experience. Kodiak_45, who was acquired via trade from the Drifloons, is a very good team presence, and will likely help with scouting and building, while BeardedDrakon is a solid level mainer who will also likely help out with SV and sub in if the team needs to switch things up. Lastly is Oscar90x who made a name for themselves with a good LPL record and is now getting their first taste of an official tour. Overall, the Ohayo Oshawotts drafted a diverse team with a lot of players, but were ultimately ranked as the worst team in the tournament. Having the last ranked player in SS, ORAS and DPP leads these slots to be questionable, but the redeeming part of their lineup is with their current gen. If the Oshawotts wish to make playoffs it will likely be down to Jox and Lokifan in SV and Fille in BW to put up some stellar performances and top their pools.
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Lastly, here is the overall team rankings, along with individual rankings by tier:
I'll also not put the managers
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