The Metagame Council (snake_rattler, Mx, and I) put out a survey to every CAPPL player with the following questions:
Results:
As seen here most people broadly ok with the metagame, with a majority of 4/5 votes, but we clearly have room to improve the metagame to ensure that everyone is as happy as they can be with it.
Our next question was covering everyone's favorite wallbreaker; Urshifu. The general views are very split between pro- and anti-ban, and frankly, I'd like some discussion of this mon after we deal with more prominent issues. The sheer power this mon offers mixed with how easy it is to support (Libra, Slowking, Lotl) mean that it is often a defining element in many of the matches its in, though adaptation (as seen in OU with Mandi/Pex cores) is definitely possible.
Magearna was primarily included because of its OU suspect test, but a number of people still wanted a suspect test; this is something we may pursue in the future after more pressing concerns are dealt with.
We have seen a few concerns about Cinderace, but the survey results broadly mirror my thoughts on it; this a very good mon, and something that definitely has a huge amount of influence on the metagame, but is probably not strictly broken.
Equilibra has seen a lot of talk as of late, with its sheer influence over the metagame, and its ability to essentially force KOs when paired with strong breakers including Urshifu. However, it is not clear whether the problem there is Urshifu-SS or Equilibra itself, which is a trend mirrored in the survey results. This is a CAP that we should definitely revisit after taking action on other threats. In terms of where people think the problem is, there's a mixture of its 2 immunity abilities forcing the opponent to guess right or get DD'd, its sheer bulk making it difficult to punish, and its high SpA stat making it difficult to take advantage of.
If there's one thing the first two weeks of CAP PL have shown in spades, its Astrolotl's ability to force progress against almost any team thanks to its natural bulk, Toxic, Knock Off, and Spikes, all of which let it afford to stay in, Toxic, and then wear down most of its defensive answers. The Survey results reflect this pretty well, with the strong majority of answers pushing for an Astrolotl nerf.
The most common response to where people think the problem is lies with Toxic itself; there were 4 votes that were simply the word Toxic, and a number of others directly implicating it. Others implicated the combination of Toxic+Knock Off+Spikes, while a final common answer was its sheer diversity in terms of utility options.
Given that the metagame has shifted heavily since Clefable's ban in late May, thanks to both Astrolotl's introduction and the Isle of Armor, we asked the playerbase about their thoughts on retesting the pink blob. Most were in favor of an eventual retest, so this is another thing on our to-do list.
Finally, we asked a question about everyone's favorite ladder hero / noob destroyer, Cawmodore, due to its sheer impact on the quality of the ladder and how it impacts players getting into the tier. The majority of players were not in favor of action against it, but in the long form answers there were a few responses that brought up its matchup-heavy nature, and the need for a hard check for it on every team. If action was to be taken the most common responses were either a speed nerf or action on Volt Absorb. However, given the results we will not be considering this mon for action.
Our proposed course of action is to first cover Astrolotl, then cover Urshifu-SS, then Equilibra, and after having covered all those issues, to broach the potential of a return for the pink blob. Any comments on this course of action are appreciated, as are general thoughts about the metagame and survey.
- On a scale of 1-5 how much do you enjoy the CAP metagame?
- How do you feel about Urshifu-Single-Strike?
- How do you feel about Magearna?
- How do you feel about Cinderace?
- How do you feel about Equilibra?
- What do you think the problem, if any, is with Equilibra?
- How do you feel about Astrolotl?
- What do you think the problem, if any, is with Astrolotl?
- How do you feel about retesting Clefable?
- How do you feel about retesting Cawmodore?
- What do you think the problem, if any, is with Cawmodore?
Results:
As seen here most people broadly ok with the metagame, with a majority of 4/5 votes, but we clearly have room to improve the metagame to ensure that everyone is as happy as they can be with it.
Our next question was covering everyone's favorite wallbreaker; Urshifu. The general views are very split between pro- and anti-ban, and frankly, I'd like some discussion of this mon after we deal with more prominent issues. The sheer power this mon offers mixed with how easy it is to support (Libra, Slowking, Lotl) mean that it is often a defining element in many of the matches its in, though adaptation (as seen in OU with Mandi/Pex cores) is definitely possible.
Magearna was primarily included because of its OU suspect test, but a number of people still wanted a suspect test; this is something we may pursue in the future after more pressing concerns are dealt with.
We have seen a few concerns about Cinderace, but the survey results broadly mirror my thoughts on it; this a very good mon, and something that definitely has a huge amount of influence on the metagame, but is probably not strictly broken.
Equilibra has seen a lot of talk as of late, with its sheer influence over the metagame, and its ability to essentially force KOs when paired with strong breakers including Urshifu. However, it is not clear whether the problem there is Urshifu-SS or Equilibra itself, which is a trend mirrored in the survey results. This is a CAP that we should definitely revisit after taking action on other threats. In terms of where people think the problem is, there's a mixture of its 2 immunity abilities forcing the opponent to guess right or get DD'd, its sheer bulk making it difficult to punish, and its high SpA stat making it difficult to take advantage of.
If there's one thing the first two weeks of CAP PL have shown in spades, its Astrolotl's ability to force progress against almost any team thanks to its natural bulk, Toxic, Knock Off, and Spikes, all of which let it afford to stay in, Toxic, and then wear down most of its defensive answers. The Survey results reflect this pretty well, with the strong majority of answers pushing for an Astrolotl nerf.
The most common response to where people think the problem is lies with Toxic itself; there were 4 votes that were simply the word Toxic, and a number of others directly implicating it. Others implicated the combination of Toxic+Knock Off+Spikes, while a final common answer was its sheer diversity in terms of utility options.
Given that the metagame has shifted heavily since Clefable's ban in late May, thanks to both Astrolotl's introduction and the Isle of Armor, we asked the playerbase about their thoughts on retesting the pink blob. Most were in favor of an eventual retest, so this is another thing on our to-do list.
Finally, we asked a question about everyone's favorite ladder hero / noob destroyer, Cawmodore, due to its sheer impact on the quality of the ladder and how it impacts players getting into the tier. The majority of players were not in favor of action against it, but in the long form answers there were a few responses that brought up its matchup-heavy nature, and the need for a hard check for it on every team. If action was to be taken the most common responses were either a speed nerf or action on Volt Absorb. However, given the results we will not be considering this mon for action.
Our proposed course of action is to first cover Astrolotl, then cover Urshifu-SS, then Equilibra, and after having covered all those issues, to broach the potential of a return for the pink blob. Any comments on this course of action are appreciated, as are general thoughts about the metagame and survey.