Team Monotype Winter Premier IV - Commencement Thread

twinkay

la bella vita
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Hosts: me and Kev



art by Moosical

Welcome to the fourth installment of Monotype Winter Premier, everyone's favorite Monotype OM (?) tour. This thread should be used for any discussion related to the tournament. Memes are fine, but use common sense to determine which ones are appropriate.

The format for MWP IV is the following:
  • SS Monotype
  • SS Monotype
  • SS Monotype
  • Oldgens Bo3 (SM / ORAS / BW)
  • Natdex Monothreat
  • Natdex Monotype

The managers and teams for this year's MWP are:
- cy + mushamu - :dhelmise: Seafolk City Spirits :dhelmise:
- Dugza + Kaguya Lys - :pangoro: Po Town Pandas :pangoro:
- Izaya + Feitan the steam - :zigzagoon: Zephyr Zigzagoons :zigzagoon:
- LuckyPiper + Crashy - :lunatone: Late Night Lunatones :lunatone:
- Mateeus + ToxaNex - :ninetales-alola: Nixtorm Ninetales :ninetales-alola:
- Omega-Xis + Bondie - :magneton: Mauville Memers :magneton:
- Sabella + Leru - :murkrow: Mossdeep Murkrows :murkrow:
- Ticken + maroon - :weavile: Wayward Weaviles :weavile:

Rules

All battles MUST be played either on Pokémon Showdown! or Smogtours (smogtours.psim.us). No exceptions will be granted if another server is used.

Regular Season
:
The regular season will consist of 7 round robin weeks where each team will play the other 7 teams one at a time. There are 6 matches each round, so ties are a possibility. Each week win is 2 points, a tie is 1 point, and a loss is 0 and will be recorded on the spreadsheet.

Playoffs:
The top 4 teams with the best records will move on into the playoff bracket where the #1 seed will play the #4 seed and the #2 will play the #3. The two victors will move on to the finals, with the victor of that week ultimately crowned the first MWP IV Champion!

*IMPORTANT*
Playoff requirements will mirror that of MPL VI where your overall score will be comprised of week wins and total wins. Each week win is 2 points, a tie is 1 point, and a loss is 0 and will be recorded on the spreadsheet. Playoffs will come down to week wins, total wins, and then a bo3 tiebreaker.

Tiebreaker:
The tiebreaker will consist of 3 games: 1 SS Mono, the other 2 each being chosen by the participating teams. The lower seed chooses the first format followed by the higher seed. If both teams have the same seed, it'll come down to the head-to-head during the regular season.

Substitutions:
If a captain wishes to substitute a player for an inactive one in the lineup, you must post in the week's thread who is subbing in for who. In addition, please make the post highlight the opponent and their Captain so everyone is aware of the substitution that has occurred. If Kev and I feel that you are trying to gain an unfair advantage with your substitute, we hold the right to veto it.

Pre-Week Battling:
Because there is a set schedule generated at the beginning of the season, it is possible to accurately guess what players you will be facing in any given week. However, because the next week’s rosters are not set in stone until the day before the next week, there is no telling what a manager will do with regards to who they slot in one spot… especially if they have more than one player in any given tier. Asking to battle early for future weeks is essentially asking the opposing manager to short themselves options and forces them to make their roster early, perhaps without all of the knowledge they might have gleaned over the course of the week. Due to this, battling early for future weeks is not allowed. Do not ask to battle early for a future week. You will be denied. No exceptions. This is what you have substitutes for.

Trades:
Trades are no longer allowed once Week 1's OP has been posted. Kev and I hold the right to veto any trades we do not think are fair, which happens very rarely.

Activity Decisions:
There will be times when a game is not completed. In these instances, Kev and I will undertake our duty as hosts to make a thorough investigation. If both sides made no effort or have tried to make every effort but could still not make the match happen, the match will simply result in a no contest. If one side made considerably more of an effort to get the match scheduled and done, that player will be awarded a win. Here are some things you can do to ensure that you do not lose your match via activity: Immediately leave your opponent a VM on their profile after you receive the highlight, do not miss you and your opponent’s schedule time, provide your opponent with concrete times (and your timezone) when you can be reached and reply to your opponent’s VM if they contacted you before you were able to contact them. We highly recommend scheduling via Smogon profile walls only as this is public information and strengthens our ability to make accurate activity calls. Scheduling via Discord or Smogon private messages is not public to the hosts.

Reverse Rulings:
Rulings will not be reversed unless it is immediately appealed and Kev and I overlooked a critical piece of evidence. After it is posted in the Administration thread, we reserve the right to reverse the judgment within 12 hours of the decision going public in order to get the best outcome of each situation.

Bo3 Order / Threat Types:
The tier for the first game of the Bo3 (SM / ORAS / BW) will be randomized at the beginning of each week. The loser will get to choose the next gen played. The threat type will also be randomized each week and announced on Sundays.

Other general Smogon tournament rules apply, any evidence of violating them will result in an immediate ban.

The draft will be occurring on Saturday, December 4th at 1 pm EST!
 

Gray

stop ballcapping
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
First you make the tour smaller with only 6 slots and therefore less engaging despite being on track to nearly equal the player signup compared to last year.
THEN you choose not to have the best manager duo in Seo and Zap who were able to undoubtedly create the best team environment last year and nearly win a week despite having a dogshit team.

Be better.
 

twinkay

la bella vita
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
1638490749318.png

beep bop beep bop

SS: beatiful
SS: Meta
SS: TJ
BO3: feitan the steam
Natdex: Izaya
Threat: Nailec

SS: Evigaro
SS: QWILY
SS: Padox
Natdex: maroon
Threat: Ticken
Bo3: Zap
Subs: ashbala99, jojo8868, nalorium

SS: Sabella
SS: Isza
SS: King Choco
Bo3: Leru
NatDex: yedla
Threat: Dieu Amphibien
Subs: Havens, AtraXMadara

ss : mushamu
ss : ainzcrad
ss : hyperspace12
bo3 : fen
natdex : cy
threat : tonyflygon

SS: shiba
SS: cielau
SS: fraolainNatDex: piper
Threat: crashy/sae
Bo3: crashy/sae

SS: Kaguya Lys
SS: DugZa
SS: Leafium ZNatDex: Fatfighter2
Threat: K3ppr
Bo3: Star

SS: Floss
SS: Ninjadog
SS: ez
Natdex: The Strap
Threat: Fylkir Pudin
Bo3: Jolly Togekiss

SS: Xiri
SS: roxiee
SS: Vodoom
Natdex: Mateeus
Threat: Toxanex
Bo3: Trichotomy


some of the pricelist (lol): https://pastebin.com/YbuqvFGd
 

twinkay

la bella vita
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
MPL IV Power Rankings
Writeups by me, Zar , Ticken and DugZa
Rankings done by managers with help from Ticken

:spectrier: SS
:spectrier:

1. :pangoro: Po Town Pandas :pangoro:
Floss (2), DugZa (6), Kaguya Lys (8)


The Pandas core of Floss, DugZa, and Kaguya Lys are rated very highly to start off this tour. Floss’s #2 ranking is surprising considering his average 3-3 MPL after a strong 3-1 MWCOP on a dying team, but he is generally thought to have one of the highest ceilings in SS. DugZa makes a return to team tours and is thought to have a similarly high ceiling, and isn’t that crusty if his win vs Chaitanya in his signature ribbon tour indicates anything. Finally, Kaguya Lys rounds out the core. Much like Floss, he had an average 3-4 MPL but he has maintained a strong performance in The Monotype Invitational where he is one of 3 players still in the Winner’s Bracket (thanks to his fantastic scheduling pursuits). With all of these players having the potential to put up great records, the Pandas are in a great spot to farm SS this tour.

2. :zigzagoon: Zephyr Zigzagoons :zigzagoon:
Star (1), Feitan the steam (3), Padox (16)

The Zigzagoons have a very top heavy core of Star, Feitan the steam, and Padox. Star is considered the best player in the pool after dominating Monotype tours for quite some time, being 46-25 on the sheet even after an average 3-4 MPL, and should have a much easier time farming people in SS this time around. Feitan is also considered a great builder and player, despite a 3-2 MWP campaign playing unviable tiers last time he played. Finally, Padox rounds out the core as a Team Europe special who went 3-2 when he played in MWCOP, although losing both playoffs games. If the top half of this core can perform well, this core should dominate as expected.

3. :lunatone: Late Night Lunatones :lunatone:
Meta (10), yedla (11), King Choco (12)

The Lunatones are a well-rounded core with no real standout players. Yedla went 5-2 in MPL, Meta went 4-3, and King Choco went 3-3. While yedla’s record was great and a big reason that Treeckos made playoffs, both other players have consistently average results. This core is pretty boring and everyone is expected to do average, as long as they remember their Psychic Terrain mechanics.

4. :murkrow: Mossdeep Murkrows :murkrow:
TJ (5), jonfilch (13), freezai (17)

The Murkrows have a SS core with generally solid tour players in TJ, jonfilch, and freezai. TJ went 3-6 on the Braves in MPL. jonfilch and freezai have been absent in recent Monotype tours, with jonfilch being 2-4 on the sheet while freezai is 0-2. Still, both of these players have proven themselves in SS OU and can likely have a successful transition into SS Monotype with the right motivation and prep.

5. :ninetales-alola: Nixtorm Ninetales :ninetales-alola:
Shiba (7), Xiri (9), style.css (23)

The Ninetales drafted two tour players that usually put up good results in Shiba and Xiri; Shiba had a standout 6-2 performance last MWP and a fine 4-3 in MPL, while Xiri had an amazing 7-1 MPL playing SM. These two are expected to do well, being ranked 7th and 9th. The core falls off hard with style.css, a BLT mainstay who has yet to play an official Monotype tour. He will hopefully be motivated to prove his ranking wrong, but for now this core is lumped in with the other average cores.

6. :magneton: Mauville Memers :magneton:
beatiful (4), Jolly Togekiss (18), Havens (22)

The Memers core is carried by beatiful’s high SS ranking at #4, where he is expecting to continue his dominance in SS OU in SS Monotype if given the right team support (big if there). From there the core falls off with Jolly Togekiss having relatively uninspiring team tour performances in the past, although he did horse building in MPL so he might be able to pass good teams, and Havens who is crust ruled and went 0-2 in his most recent attempt at a team tour, MWCOP.

7. :weavile: Wayward Weaviles :weavile:
EviGaro (14), Cielau (15), Fraolain (24)

With two of the Weaviles SS players hailing from the great country of France, which has gratefully supplied mediocre Monotype players for millenia, there is not much faith for this team. Cielau and Fraolain went 2-4 and 1-4 last MPL and the last time they were on the same team, they lost the tour in 4 weeks. EviGaro is a fine tournament player and can probably put up a decent record, but is not the saving grace this team needed after being absent since MWCOP.

8. :dhelmise: Seafolk City Spirits :dhelmise:
Hyperspace12 (19), adjustments (20), Leafium Z (21)

Unsurprisingly coming at the bottom is the Spirits, whose SS core looks like it came straight out of a mock. Their highest rated player is Hyperspace12 who has never played a Monotype team tour before, but is reportedly a fine builder. adjustments went 4-2 in MPL but barely played SS, and it’s unsure how he will fare in a tour without his longtime manager LuckyPiper. Finally, Leafium Z rounds out the core with an uninspiring 0-2 MPL performance. This team can prove their ranking wrong with mushamu and Hyper’s building but for now, they come in at dead last.

:alakazam: Bo3 :alakazam:

1. :zigzagoon: Zephyr Zigzagoons :zigzagoon:
Trichotomy (1)

Trichotomy starts the tournament in first seed, a ranking that should come to no one's surprise seeing how he's the only good BO3 player other than mushamu who bothered to sign up. Considering the fact that only half of the pool ended up with a positive record in the last MPL, we should see Trichotomy easily clean up. The only question mark will be whether or not he manages to stay active enough to play his games.

2. :dhelmise: Seafolk City Spirits :dhelmise:
mushamu (2)

Coming hot off a good MPL and a ribbon win is mushamu in second place. He's had an excellent year in Monotype and is undoubtedly the most in-form player in the tier right now. This pool should be easy pickings for mushamu, that is if he finally stops pretending to quit the game by hiding in different alts in the Monotype room to play tournaments at 3 AM. Other than that, mushamu will be looking to cap off an excellent year by finishing it the way he started it, with a team tournament win.

3. :murkrow: Mossdeep Murkrows :murkrow:
Sabella (3)

Rounding off the podium we have Sabella who has had back-to-back 7-2 records in back-to-back MPLs. Sabella is convincingly the best BW player in Monotype right now and should win in there most weeks. As one of Monotype's oldest players in both age and experience, Sabella is more than capable of handling the other two gens as well. His opponents will have to pray the grandpa finally starts to slow down in his twilight years.

4. :ninetales-alola: Nixtorm Ninetales :ninetales-alola:
Bushtush (4)

Monotype's very own attack dog Bushtush claimed the best record in BO3 in the last MPL. He is in the middle of the pack however mainly due to his inconsistencies in Monotype tournaments. He had a horror show in the last MWP as he started off losing each of the first 5 weeks and only won against the lower end players. Thankfully for him SS, the tier he played last season is not in the old gens BO3.

5. :pangoro: Po Town Pandas :pangoro:
Wincon (5)

Wincon is back..or well maybe he is? Not much is actually known of Wincon's current state after he disappeared out of nowhere during his time as one of the better players in the tier even though he had to dodge a Play Rough vs LuckyPiper in 2019. The Pandas will be praying that he has not lost his battling ability during his hiatus though since he's in a completely new ground in BO3. His manager, Zephyr, is known for having a certain type of attitude towards his peers though so maybe it'll be Wincon praying for his own sake.

6. :lunatone: Late Night Lunatones :lunatone:
Crashy (6)

Crashy has been performing admirably for the past few tours with a respectable 5-2 record in the most recent MPL. Although 3 of those games were in BO3 last season, the odds are stacked against him to perform well. Nonetheless the weeb team somehow always manages to perform well against all odds and given the less than average pool this time around, Crashy might just pull through this season.

7. :weavile: Wayward Weaviles :weavile:
Sae (7)

Opposite to Crashy we have Sae, who has been on a downward spiral in old gens with consecutive disappointing results in MPL 6 and MPL 7 where he managed to only rack up 3 wins across the two tours. MWP 3 in between was a beam of light for Sae though as he achieved a top 3 7-2 record in the tournament. But that was in STABmons, which is no longer in the tournament. Sae is now left to face his demons again in old gens.

8. :magneton: Mauville Memers :magneton:
Feen (8)

Unsurprisingly we have Feen at the bottom of the barrel. Once one of the better players in the tier, Feen has fallen off massively and is now a tiny fish in a huge pond of sharks. Maybe being with his old friends Omega and Bondie as managers can re-ignite his old form but that's unlikely as they aren't too familiar with the different gens themselves. The Memers will have their hopes on Jolly Togekiss not to time out in giving teams for Feen.

:lanturn: Monothreat :lanturn:

1. :murkrow: Mossdeep Murkrows :murkrow:
TonyFlygon (1)

TonyFlygon is coming in at #1 for Monothreat and it isn't hard to figure out why he's rated so highly. He started playing Monothreat seriously in last year's MWP where he earned the best Monothreat record of the season and proceeded with his agenda by tying for the most amount of wins in Monothreat for Mono WC and garnering the most in NatDex Mono PL as well. He is certainly the most battle-tested competitor in this year's starting lineup and now has multiple tournaments under his belt which only adds to his undeniable ability and skill. Tony runs a variety of playstyles and mixes up how his teams are built from setup oriented to well-built, hard to break teams.

2. :weavile: Wayward Weaviles :weavile:
Ticken (2)

Unsurprisingly coming in at #2 is Ticken. Ticken is Ticken, and has run the Monothreat scene for many years, being the primary builder and tester in the tier even he hasn't been able to play in most tours due to hosting. While his mantle as the best Monothreat player has been surpassed by Tony in recent months, mostly due to his underperformance in MWCOP at 2-4, at the end of the day he is still a player to beat and is one of the most active, if not the most active, and successful members of the Monothreat community.

3. :magneton: Mauville Memers :magneton:
Fylkir Pudin (3)

The former 2020 Monotype Circuit Champion makes a surprise appearance at #3 seeing how he has a collective 7 Monothreat team tournament games (5-2) lifetime and only started with Mono WC. It is never certain how serious he will take any one game, but seeing how he's focusing on Monothreat in his recent team tournament appearances, he should be motivated to perform well. He is well known for using off-meta types/Pokemon such as consistently opting for Rock and using Regidrago in SS so his depth of knowledge in using and crafting creative builds will be of great benefit for him in the format.

4. :ninetales-alola: Nixtorm Ninetales :ninetales-alola:
Nailec (4)

Next up is Nailec who is most known for his expertise in side Monotype formats such as Mono LC and Monothreat. While Nailec does not have many Monothreat games under his belt, and going negative in Mono WC, he consistently helps other players test and gaining more experience with the format. It will be interesting to see how Nailec will do with the support of ToxaNex, a staple in the Monothreat community, and if he sticks to a certain archetype or mixes it up throughout the season.

5. :pangoro: Po Town Pandas :pangoro:
K3ppr (5)

A mild upset at 5th is K3ppr who is most known for his involvement with OMs and Discord-based tours. He is one of the Monothreat Council members and makes an appearance to play or help prep in team tours whenever Monothreat is in attendance and has an assortment of friends and acquaintances to help him test. His Monothreat record last year in MWP, Mono WC, and NatDex Mono PL are not the best but he is due for a break out performance. He took a notable break in mid-2021 and is back, refreshed and determined.

6. :zigzagoon: Zephyr Zigzagoons :zigzagoon:
Catalystic (6)

A surprise candidate sporting the #6 rank is Catalystic who has never played a single Monothreat game in any Monotype hosted team tournament. Similar to K3ppr, Catalystic is most well known for his involvement with OMs. He primarily played Mono Ubers in previous iterations but that format is no longer in attendance so he seemingly has his eyes on the prize with the Monothreat pool in its place. He is a wildcard in the truest sense but has competed alongside and possibly learned from Monothreat players on his team in the past so he very well could be the dark horse in the format.

7. :dhelmise: Seafolk City Spirits :dhelmise:
cy (7)

A newcomer to the Monotype scene is cy. He is an experienced user when it comes to Discord-based tours and is currently competing in UUSD who is also interested in Monotype, and by extension, Monothreat. There are a lot of question marks regarding cy's inclusion in the pool considering we have 0 data on him, but he is co-managing with mushamu (formerly Decem) who has an expansive resume and can quickly show him the ropes. cy could very well be a dark horse in the format as well and it will be intriguing to see how they do throughout the tournament.

8. :lunatone: Late Night Lunatones :lunatone:
LuckyPiper (8)

Lastly, we have LuckyPiper, our resident Anime and card collecting specialist. Unlike Catalystic and cy, LuckyPiper has 1 win in the format (100% WR lgi) so seeing him in last is surprising. Piper does not have the best track record when competing in team tournaments due to shoving himself in Bo3 and facing off against Mono's greats so that may be way he is ranked so low. That being said, a single game does not give anyone much to go off of and there are many question marks as to why he is competing in the format, but if he puts in the work and uses the resources available, he can definitely pull off some upsets.

:breloom: Natdex :breloom:

1. :weavile: Wayward Weaviles :weavile:
maroon (1)

NatDex Monotype TL maroon finds himself leading the rankings this year and should come as a surprise to none given his dominant 15-6 showing across MWP III, MWCoP II, and NDPL II and not to mention his impressive 5-2 showing in MPL earlier this year. With the pool being arguably much weaker than previous years and one of the best team tour records over the past few months under his belt, Maroon is expected to replicate his success yet again without much trouble.

2. :murkrow: Mossdeep Murkrows :murkrow:
QWILY (2)

QWILY finds himself ranked 2nd despite being relatively new to the Monotype tournament scene. He rose to quick fame in Monotype earlier this year after putting up a solid 4-2 in SM in MWCoP. However, that was soon followed by an extremely poor 0-5 record in MPL so many question marks remain about his consistency and if he will be able to replicate his WCoP success in NatDex which he isn’t as familiar with. That said, with his MWCoP manager Leru by his side once again, it is more than likely he can recreate the MWCoP magic and prove it wasn’t a one time fluke.

3. :dhelmise: Seafolk City Spirits :dhelmise:
FatFighter2 (3)

Ubers main and zoomer FatFighter2 finds himself ranked third despite being relatively new to Monotype and the tournaments scene as a whole. He is also known for his unorthodox teams and crazy building which is only going to be crazier this tour thanks to his manager Decem. His strong 14-4 showing across MPL, NDPL, and NDMPL speak for themselves and he will look to capitalize on that success one more time. That said, many questions linger around the legitimacy of his records as they were plagued with good matchups but only time will tell….

4. :pangoro: Po Town Pandas :pangoro:
The Strap (4)

While not new to the Natdex Monotype scene, The Strap finds himself ranked 4th as a relatively strong player with a high ceiling. With a 5-2 record in NDMPL and a 2-1 record in MWCOP in NatDex, he has shown his ability to gain wins and put up solid records. However, his NDMPL record must be taken with a grain of salt as the pool was not exactly the best ever and he gained wins against players such as Riku Sakuraba and Attitude Adjuster, so it's up to him to prove he can be consistent against a better pool.

5. :ninetales-alola: Nixtorm Ninetales :ninetales-alola:
Mateeus (5)

The other half of the NatDex Monotype TL duo finds himself ranked 5th. Mateeus is long due for a breakout performance with only average at best showings thus far. While he is prone to tilt quickly in high pressure games, he does have a high playing ceiling which is evident by glimpses of greatness in some of his tour games. If he is able to keep his nerves in check he should easily be able to put up a solid performance but otherwise this tour is bound to be an uphill battle for Mat.

6. :zigzagoon: Zephyr Zigzagoons :zigzagoon:
Vodoom (6)

Vodoom is one of the tour’s wild cards with a high playing ceiling and low floor. His multiple average at best showings leaves much to be desired. After skipping out on MPL and deserting his team midtour in MWCoP, if he will be motivated for the tour is yet to be known. But with some of the best support and his closest friends in izaya, Feitan, and Trichotomy by his side he can easily prove the rankers wrong and go on to dominate this player pool.

7.:lunatone: Late Night Lunatones :lunatone:
Dieu Amphibien (7)

Hoping to follow up on his respectable 6-0 record in NDMPL is Monotype’s resident frog god, Dieu Amphibien. However, many attributed most of that success to multiple good matchups so not a lot of people have faith in Dieu’s ability to do well in this tour which is evident by his low ranking. Being slotted in random slots such as Bo3 and BW in previous tours where his experience is non-existent doesn’t do him any favors either. However, with fellow weebs by his side and the power of friendship, don't be surprised if Dieu puts up a solid showing.

8. :magneton: Mauville Memers :magneton:
StepC (8)

Finding himself at the bottom of the barrel is StepC who is relatively new to Monotype tournaments as a whole. StepC only has experience playing the tier in MWCoP II – where he lost Grass vs. Ground which is unavailing to say the least – and circuit tours such as seasonals. With one of the best players in Zap by his side to provide teams he could easily make a mockery out of his last place ranking but unfortunately for the Italian, for now the odds are stacked against him.

:mantyke: Overall :mantyke:

1. :murkrow: Mossdeep Murkrows :murkrow:
SS (4), Bo3 (3), Threat (1), Natdex (2)

Coming to no surprise, the Murkrows, managed by Sabella and Leru, have a solid draft of tour players, a strategy that served them well last MWP where they reached the finals. Sabella will be playing Bo3 this time around, and after a great 7-2 performance in MPL farming the BW pool, he is expected to do well in this tier as well. TonyFlygon is the top player in Monothreat after his great performances in the tier over the past two tours, and QWILY is the second rated NatDex player after a strong SM showing in MWCOP. Their SS core of TJ, jonflich, and freezai are inexperienced in Monotype outside of TJ, but jonflich and freezai have a high ceiling and are expected to pick up wins if they play at their best. Overall, if everyone on the Murkrows performs as they are expected to, the team will likely be heading down the same path to finals and hoping to get the win unlike last MWP.

2. :pangoro: Po Town Pandas :pangoro:
SS (1), Bo3 (5), Threat (5), Natdex (4)

After DugZa speedran losing MPL in a record-setting 4 weeks as the Miniors manager, expectations of him as a manager aren’t high. Thankfully for DugZa and his new assman Kaguya Lys, this time around Attribute deleted his signup, so their team might actually have a chance in this tour. The Pandas are ranked very highly due to their great SS core of Floss, DugZa, and Kayuga Lys, all which are ranked in the top 10 SS players. If Floss can shake the nightmares of last MWP and DugZa can return to his ribbon-getting form, then this SS core should dominate over the course of this tour. Wincon in Bo3 is a huge question mark after being gone for some time. Without his love Yami, it is unclear how motivated he will be for this tour, but he should be good in SM at least. K3ppr’s main accomplishment in Threat is being one of the few players to beat Tony in recent memory, and he is a fine player with experience in the tier. Similarly, The Strap is a consistent player with a high enough ceiling to beat most people in the NatDex pool. Overall, the Pandas do not seem to have any glaring weakness in their draft, and as long as they can handle DugZa’s rude attitude to his peers then they should be in a great spot for this tournament.

3. :zigzagoon: Zephyr Zigzagoons :zigzagoon:
SS (2), Bo3 (1), Threat (6), Natdex (6)

With izaya managing another team in another Monotype team tournament, the Zigzagoons are unfortunately destined to another last place. However, if izaya and assman Feitan’s curse can be broken, the Zigzagoons have drafted a team with a good chance of winning the tour. The Zigzagoons had a great start to the draft by drafting Trichotomy and Star, two of the very best Monotype players in recent memory. Trichotomy will be playing Bo3, where he is expected to dominate after his great 7-3 record playing SS Bo3 last MWP. Star will be playing SS alongside Feitan the steam and Padox. Feitan the steam has a similarly high ceiling and is expected to do very well, and Padox can probably put up wins after a decent performance in MWCOP. Catalystic is slotted in Monothreat after being the only one eligible to play it for the first two weeks, and while he has no experience in the tier, is historically great at Monotype OMs in general. Finally, Vodoom is the pickup for Natdex, and could do well or poorly depending on his motivation. If the performances of Trichotomy and Star live up to expectations, then it will be hard for the Zigzagoons to do poorly and they should be in a good spot to take the first place this time.

4. :weavile: Wayward Weaviles (T) :weavile:
SS (7), Bo3 (7), Threat (2), Natdex (1)

The Weaviles are managed by two long standing members of the Monotype community, Ticken and maroon. However, nothing at Ticken, but he has been mia in the managing scene for a long time so that’s multiple red flags not to blindly trust his takes in drafting. And it would be correct not to do so, as the Weaviles decided not to draft a single player better than their managerial core, resulting in their ranking being boosted by maroon’s and Ticken’s high ranking. Maroon essentially invented NatDex and went on a 4-1 tear in the tier in MWCOP, only losing in finals. Ticken underperformed a bit in MWCOP at 2-4, but he’s still been a primary innovator in the tier for many years. Their SS core, on the other hand, is ranked the second worst in the tour. Cielau and Fraolain went 2-4 and 1-4 in MPL, respectively, and the fact that they’re both French doesn’t help either. Although absent from the most recent MPL, EviGaro had a solid 2-1 showing in MWCOP, but isn’t seen as a top player in the tier. If maroon can pass them teams on time, the core could be okay, but if not then the situation is dire. Sae in Bo3 is also a question mark after a very underwhelming showing last MPL. Overall, the team will need as-expected performances from the two managers and improved performances from the rest of the team to disprove their number 5 ranking.

4. :ninetales-alola: Nixtorm Ninetales (T) :ninetales-alola:
SS (5), Bo3 (4), Threat (4), Natdex (5)

For the Ninetales, Mateeus returns to the managing helm once again after a successful MPL, where he is managing alongside longtime Monothreat main ToxaNex, someone a wise man once said was the “fastest way to lose MWP”. Thankfully, ToxaNex is not playing, but rather unfortunately Mateeus is back to buying himself. This time he will play NatDex which he’s like TL or something in. If he remembers to put Crunch on Mega Sharpedo at least, then maybe has a shot of disproving his #5 ranking. Their SS core consists of Shiba, Xiri, and style.css, two relatively consistent Monotype players and someone who used replays from 2019 in his tryouts. Their #4 ranking is fair and they will probably do average. Bushtush had a fantastic 7-1 campaign on Mateeus’ team in MPL but faces a stacked Bo3 pool this time around, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the same dominance. Finally, Nailec is playing Threat and is also sporting a middle-of-the-pack ranking, but he has dabbled in Threat before and has ToxaNex building support. Although their draft is not bad, with 4-5 rankings across the board for this team, some slots on the Ninetales will need to step up in order to repeat Mateeus’ strong MPL win last tour.

6. :lunatone: Late Night Lunatones (T) :lunatone:
SS (3), Bo3 (6), Threat (8), Natdex (7)

In perhaps the most shocking development in this edition of Monotype Winter Premier, LuckyPiper’s team is not the worst one, for the first time in Monotype history! With the departure of Zoopals mainstays such as taide and adjustments, the Lunatones decided to invest money into some strong players, resulting in a surprisingly decent draft. The obvious highlight of the team is their SS core of yedla, Meta, and King Choco. While there is no real “star player” of this core, all of these three players tend to put up consistent results in SS, with the players going 5-2, 4-3, and 3-3 in the last MPL, respectively. However, the rest of the team is in the bottom half of their respective rankings. Crashy is a proficient BW player and went 5-2 last MPL, and 2-1 in Bo3, but it is unclear how proficient he will be in SM and ORAS, where he is less proven. LuckyPiper will be taking over taide’s previous slot in Monothreat this year. He has no experience in the tier, leading to his last place ranking, but in his defense it is Monothreat so anything could happen lmao. Finally Dieu Amphibien rounds out the team as the team’s Natdex player. His 7th place ranking is unsurprising because all of his wins are in SS and because of French clause, as well as his questionable play in big tournaments such as his circuit playoffs games vs mushamu, but if he can find a way to spam Acupressure Drapion in NatDex maybe has a shot. Overall this team will have to hope for the power of anime friendship to carry once again, but hey, at least they aren’t last this time (unless they want that?)

6. :dhelmise: Seafolk City Spirits (T) :dhelmise:
SS (8), Bo3 (2), Threat (7), Natdex (3)

The Spirits had one of the best starts to the draft by getting 17.5k mushamu, who has dominated individual Monotype tournaments up to this point, winning MLT, Fall Seasonal, and Circuit Championship back to back. Interestingly enough, they decided not to capitalize on this advantage at all, and instead drafted a team that looks like the managers thought this was BLT. Their SS core of Hyperspace12, adjustments, and Leafium Z was ranked 19-21, respectively. Hyperspace12 was hyped up a ton because of his support of the Bucks in their most recent MPL run, but, while proven as a builder, is unproven as a player in both team and individual tournaments. adjustments is a bit more proven, going 4-2 last MPL and 1-2 last MWP, but unfortunately got snaked from the Pipers this time around. Leafium Z went 0-2 last MPL so will also have to prove his ability to get wins in these tours. Their other tiers are a bit more promising. Even in a more stacked Bo3 pool mushamu should win most of his games, and FatFighter2 is a solid pickup for NatDex that went 4-1 in NDMPL (if you count that as a real tour). However, cy does not have experience in Monothreat and is expected to struggle against the more experienced Monothreat players in the pool. The team will unquestionably be motivated, being full of new users looking to prove themselves, but the question for the Spirits is whether they have the talent to follow through on that motivation.

8. :magneton: Mauville Memers :magneton:
SS (6), Bo3 (8), Threat (3), Natdex (8)

Lastly, we have the Memers, managed by old souls Omega-Xis and Bondie. While the community thanks them for agreeing to sign up, these two may be a bit rusty at drafting, and their draft certainly indicates it. They made some very questionable drafting decisions such as drafting Zap for 17k just to have him ride the bench for the first week, drafting Jolly Togekiss for 19k who is 1-3 in his most recent team tours, and drafting someone name random named CODENAMETHICC (congrats to him though I guess). beatiful is the shining light of the team and is expected to transition well into SS after being one of the best SS OU players in recent memory. He will be playing alongside Jolly Togekiss and Havens, with the latter’s most recent achievement being almost beating Maki with Bug. Feen and StepC are ranked dead last in Bo3 and NatDex respectively after a disappointing 0-2 MPL for Feen and an average 1-1 MWCOP for StepC. Fylkir Pudin is ranked highly in Threat after a fine 2-0 Threat campaign in MWCOP, but he will need to prove himself after questions of his motivation and play in team tournaments specifically. To win this year’s MWP, the Memers are hoping to inherit the last place blessing and disprove the competition, but it is undoubtedly an uphill battle for them.


 
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