Announcement National Dex UU Community Surveys

[N_Mareanie]

Hi all!

Here we are with a brand new edition of NDUU surveys, and to start off we just have a quick general thoughts on the current meta survey. don't have to be qualified for this or anything, we wanna know all of ur thoughts!

Survey can be found here

Deadline for survey is december 30th at 11:59pm GMT-5. if u have any questions dm either me, mudkip or niadev. have a great day everyone!

 

[Iride]

As promised, we're back for a new tiering survey once more! the council has since continued to watch the metagame following the result of Tera in NDOU, and subsequent quickbans of Drought, Drizzle, and Hoopa-Unbound. We appreciate having your input as always.

The link to the survey can be found here.

Deadline will be on the 24th of July at 11:59 PM (GMT+1), feel free to message either me, Niadev, or Mudkip if you have any questions.
Said results will be especially volatile to the future of the tier, as we will be looking to use it to plan out any possible shortcut for tiering action.

 

[Iride]

Survey Results are finally here! With a lot to unpack, let's not wait around any longer and get to breaking down the responses.

Overall Results

Among 27 people who responded, 10 of them were qualified based on results from the National Dex UU Kickoff and Open tournaments, respectively.

Beyond this, we also received additional comments on the following Pokemon within the metagame:

• Psychic-types as a collective issue were brought up in some form by 2 different people, mainly surrounding the offensive potential of Terastal + Setup Strategies, or Stored Power.
• Gyarados, Serperior, Lilligant-Hisui, Arcanine-Hisui, Clefable, and Mega Tyranitar were all sighted as potential issues at one point or another, however, as these did not receive more than 1 mention, it's safe to say we will merely continue to follow these Pokemon for the time being.

Here are some notable statistics from the questions, with the qualified players for either tournament being separated via (/):

• The combined rating for metagame playability was roughly 6.56/7.5 out of 10. This shows that while the tier may have been successful at moving forward within a few areas, there are still aspects of concern which should be addressed sometime in the future, one way or the other.
• The combined rating for metagame was slightly higher, being a 7.04/7.7 out of 10. Although the metagame may be more unbalanced in a few areas, it's nice to hear that people still enjoy playing and building for the tier at a relatively satisfactory level.
  • 
    - Enamorus scored an overall average of 2.81/2.9 out of 5. From what we can see, the general playerbase finds Enamorus as a versatile and threatening presence between its huge offensive movepool and coverage options, but currently manageable between the list of trends which has risen to combat it since then, such as the rise of defensive stalwarts like Moltres, as well as continued offensive pressure being at an all-time-high amongst Sand and Hyper Offense teamstyles.
  • 
    - Aegislash scored an overall average of 2.63/3.1 out of 5, similar to Enamorus, Aegislash can be seen as a huge offensive menace between its superb defensive profile, options, and set versatility. But is still undergoing the process of attempting to get around its most common obstacles in this faster metagame, such as the prevalence of Ting-Lu Stack builds, Sand Balances featuring pivots such as Celesteela and Assault Vest Tangrowth, and the overwhelming offensive pressure from Hyper Offense.
  • 
    - Mega Sableye scored an overall average of 2.67/3.1 out of 5. Suggesting that while Mega Sableye is still a strong contribution to defensive teams looking for hazard control, said narrative isn't entirely overwhelming to the extent it can't be played around at all, be it through exploiting its susceptibility to passive damage along with the Recover nerf limiting switch-ins, as well as hazard setters such as Clefable and Mold Breaker Excadrill having come to the forefront of the metagame.
  • 
    - Blaziken scored an overall average of 2.67/3.2 out of 5. Likewise, Blaziken continues to surge in usage following the Dondozo ban, and is making a name for itself once more between its Swords Dance + Speed Boost shenanigans. Owing to its continued adaptions against common issues like a lack of longevity through recoil and loss of coverage against certain targets such as Mega Latias, Skeledirge, and Slowbro, said conclusions suggest that Blaziken might just need a bit more time before being reassessed.
  • 
    - Light Clay scored an overall average of 2.93/3.5 out of 5. This is a notable difference from the rest of the Pokemon, suggesting that the playerbase finds Screens to be in some ways, more responsible for the potency of most sweepers in the metagame - by doubling the number of chances they have to achieve proper setup, including for some of the Pokemon above which also have notable places on these teamstyles themselves.
• When asked about Terastalization, around 77.8/80% of people were in favour of acting against it. As a core mechanic, should we ever proceed with a suspect, this outcome will be taken very seriously as evidence regarding the negativity of its metagame effects.

---

And that’s it. We won’t be using the results as any more than a guideline or such, but just as an informative device on the opinions of the playerbase. That being said, expect some action to be planned down the tiering road, and we hope to see you all once the day comes. Stay tuned!

 

[Iride]

Hello, it's that time of the year again.

The council has decided to release another survey, and is looking forward to your participation once more. We are aware that this is currently taking place in the middle of the Kartana suspect test, but feel as if there are also plenty of other matters to take into account down the line, and are interested in gauging community opinions on how to handle them accordingly. In addition, with the changes to the metagame in mind, we've also listed some potential candidates to consider for a retest in the future, these retests will take place after NDPL.

The link to the survey can be found here.

Deadline will be on the 19th of October at 11:59 PM (GMT+1), feel free to message either me or Niadev if you have any questions.

 

[Iride]

Survey results!

Overall Results

Metagame

Pokémon

Pie Charts for Course of Action

Retest

Of the 32 different responses from this survey - around 6 of them were qualified based on their ongoing participation in NDPL IV.

Beyond these questions, we also received a few other mentions as additional comments when asked.

• Aegislash was brought up for a suspect test by 2 people
• Additionally, Ogerpon-Cornerstone, Iron Moth, Serperior, and Ceruledge each received one mention for a suspect test.

A couple of responses also expressed their appreciation of our work in the comments. On behalf of the council, my thanks goes to all who did so.

Scores for metagame playability were around a 7.25 / 8.16 out of 10, which marks a slight improvement from our last survey. From what we can see, our current tiering process seems to net positively in the eyes of the general playerbase, and we hope to continue moving forward to ensure the tier remains palatable in lieu of recent tiering shifts.

As for metagame enjoyment, it received a 7.75 / 7.17 out of 10, with the qualified player base laying slightly lower. It appears as if most people still find team building to be a generally flexible prospect with our current roster, albeit one with a few instances of centralization that can sometimes lead to a more linear direction certain teamstyles have opted to take recently. I personally hope for the days when tiering shifts give us our most coveted role compression options back too (

), but for now we will have to wait and see how things turn out down the road.

Of all the Pokemon listed on the survey, here are some notable statistics to draw from. Qualified results are once again separated by (/)

• 
  - Ogerpon-Wellspring scored a 2.97 / 1.83 out of 5. Cementing itself was quite the dynamic offensive presence during its tenure in the tier, with a serious upper hand at taking advantage of some of our common defensive trends as of late. That said, it might just be that the playerbase doesn't see it as much of a priority as some of the other Pokemon in the survey, being fairly reasonable to respond to with more offensive checks in this metagame, such as Meowscarada and common Choice Scarfers like Galarian Zapdos, in addition to rising defensive answers such as Mega Venusaur being quite the challenge to get past as well.
  • Qualified responses were also noticeably more lenient, having formed the majority of 1-2 responses to it across the entire survey.
• 
  - Cinderace scored a 2.34 / 2 out of 5. As of late, the increase in exploration for its some of its options has admittingly made Cinderace an awesome utility presence to have around, and a huge asset for more offensive teams limited in their options for hazard control, while also acting as an incredibly fast and versatile pivot for momentum based teams that have begun popping up more lately. Although it's telling that Cinderace itself has still yet to rise to the top of the playerbase's watchlist for options that may be unhealthy to the metagame, with the recent prevalence of Hippowdon and Alomomola-based defensive cores and the overlying dominance of Sand teams dampening its offensive capabilities in a few aspects.
• 
  - Ursaluna scored a 2.69 / 2.67 out of 5. Our recently legalized cocaine bear from the Ballas has made quite a hit in the tiering rum, with stall stocks practically diluted since its inclusion. Ursaluna also benefits significantly from the increased distribution of Screens and pivoting teammates such as Alolomola, Meowscarada, and the Slowtwins each giving it more opportunities to wreak havoc. Although divisive opinions stemming generally from the fast pace of most offensive threats capable of forcing it out, notably those also aiming to take advantage of the defensive anchors commonly supporting it, on top of its susceptibility to hazards and chip damage, suggest that we may just have to wait around the corner for a proper conclusion on Ursaluna to be drawn.
• 
  - Gyarados scored a 3.16 / 3.33 out of 5. This is a strong indicator that the playerbase sees Gyarados as a much higher priority than the rest of the Pokemon on this list, and the biggest constraint on the metagame by far. Being only one of two subjects to have received a majority above 3 among the overall playerbase, this will be taken into heavy consideration for potential tiering action within the near future.
• - Iron Hands scored a 2.19 / 2.83 out of 5. From what's to make out of it, Iron Hands has trailed behind the more recent Pokemon that have risen to take better advantage of this metagame, be it their added security against the common revenge killers of this metagame, their ability to negate and play around residual damage, or something else.
  • The qualified playerbase also considers Iron Hands to be more problematic by a wider margin compared to the overall playerbase.
• - Mega Sableye scored a 2.41 / 1.83 out of 5. A decrease in majority compared to the last survey, especially from the qualified playerbase. Owing to substantial ramifications to the metagame both currently and ahead of time, we will keep this in mind when discussing the effects of Mega Sableye's presence at a later date.
• - Alomomola scored a 2.53 / 2.66 out of 5. Ever since it got Flip Turn, the playerbase has found Alomomola to be much more of a central and splashable presence than it was previously, being a big player in enabling several other Pokemon, including a few of them on this list, to perform their offensive and defensive duties across a more extensive manner. That said, recent adaptations on both sides of the same coin, such as specific setup Pokemon in Substitute users, and long-term forms of residual damage stacking, have also presented quite the obstacle for it and its teammates to get past recently.
• - Enamorus scored a 1.96 / 2.33 out of 5. Likewise, the banning of Terastalization as a mechanic since then has shown itself to have narrowed Enamorus's offensive options by quite a margin. Having struggled to maintain its position against common Regenerator cores, defensive soft checks of the like, and many of the faster offensive threats able to get the jump on its rather awkward speed tier. Enamorus will likely continue to stay down for the time being, but not out given the introduction of its Z-Move sets, demonstrated recently in NDPL.
• - Light Clay scored a 3.25 / 2.5 out of 5. Similar to previously, Light Clay occupies a high position on our survey as an all-around enabler of sorts, though the qualified playerbase appears to have mellowed out to it a bit. Whether or not our stance changes to a more positive light on the matter, remains to be seen based on other changes we plan on making as a result of some of the Pokemon above.

When asked about several different options for a retest, some statistics included:

• - Kommo-o received the most votes in favor of a retest, sitting at a rather surprising 50%. This is not an overwhelming majority by any means and Kommo-o will be re-considered once more should the metagame arrive at an appropriate time to do so.
• - Dondozo only received support from 43.4% of voters for a retest. Indicating that a decent majority of players believe it is an unfavorable presence to add to the current metagame, though not implausible.
• - And finally, Drought received the least votes for a retest, only garnering 35.5% of voters, and marking a pretty overwhelming majority of players not in favor of it happening at the moment. We will likely refrain from including it in foreseeable discussions as a result.

The rundown for those in favor of action (Quickban / Suspect into Ban / Suspect Later / Unsure Suspect), were as follows:

1. Gyarados / Light Clay (78.8%)
2. Ogerpon-Wellspring (63.6%)
3. Alomomola / Ursaluna (57.6%)
4. Iron Hands / Mega Sableye (51.5%)
5. Cinderace (48.5%)
6. Enamorus (33.3%)

The rundown for those in favor of immediate action (Quickban / Suspect into Ban), were as follows:

1. Gyarados (45.5%)
2. Mega Sableye / Light Clay (33.3%)
3. Ogerpon-Wellspring (24.2%)
4. Alomomola (18.2%)
5. Ursaluna / Enamorus (15.1%)
6. Iron Hands (6.06%)
7. Cinderace (3.03%)

And that's it. We will continue to treat this survey as an informative device. (Though it's not to say we don't already have a few matches with the current council, so stay tuned!)

 

[Iride]

As mentioned, we will be hosting the latest tiering survey! Following the recent Meowscarada ban, the council will be aiming to evaluate an optimal COA against a remaining selection of concerns in mind, that being said, we would very much appreciate your input down below.

The link to the tiering survey can be found here.

The deadline will be on the 15th of January, feel free to message either me or Niadev if you have any questions.

 

[Iride]

With the survey having concluded, here are the results!

Overall Results

Metagame

Pokemon

Individual Results for COA

Out of the 24 people who participated, 8 of them were qualified for their involvement in either NDFL or NDPL, respectively.
s/o to Runo for helping me sort these.

Among other concerns, Latios, Drought, Drizzle, Kartana, and Dondozo, were all mentioned at some point. We will keep these Pokemon in mind for the time being, but nothing too concrete should come as of now.

Here are some notable statistics from the questions. Qualified responses are separated by the use of (/) once more.

Metagame

• The average score for metagame playability was roughly a 7.16 / 7.30 out of 10. With scores similar to last time, albeit with a slight decrease in overall playability within the qualified segment. It can be said that our metagame continues to be received fairly positively, but needs work to be made relative to changes experienced by the metagame, we hope to accomplish this aspect sooner or later.
• The average score for metagame enjoyment was higher in comparison, that being a 7.80 / 8 out of 10. With all the new tools the tier has since been given access to via tiering shifts, and some developments from tournaments solidified, it’s nice to see there an increasing number of people that have expressed interest in our metagame, as said, we can only hope to satisfy any further demands that may come down the road.

Pokemon

• - Cinderace scored a 3.38 / 3.13 out of 5, relative to last time, Cinderace’s unmatched offensive potency as an offensive pivot, especially in tandem with wallbreaking teammates like Hydreigon and Thundurus-T, continues to stir much controversy, given the timing, it is highly likely we will be acting on it sooner or later.
• - Ceruledge scored a 3.67 / 3.75 out of 5, since gaining Poltergeist in the Teal Mask, which is by no means an insignificant buff. Ceruledge has become an offensive monster that more than compensates for the specificity of its Swords Dance set on Hyper Offense teams.
  • Most notably, it is also the only one on this list to have received a higher majority than 3.5 on both sides, which will be taken into account.
• - Iron Hands received a 2.75 / 2.38 out of 5, with scores similarly low to last time, it can be said that Iron Hands, especially without Screens to back up setup opportunities, remains less of a concern than other Pokemon as or now. How it will be seen once these aspects are gone remains unclear, however.
• - Last but not least, Mega Tyranitar received a 2.08 / 1.75 out of 5, that being the lowest majority for brokenness by far, it appears the playerbase not only accepts, but even welcomes the attributes brought by its presence for the time being.

This time around, Kommo-o also received a significant majority of support, with 75% of people in favor of a retest of some sorts, and even 25% of those who voted Yes being in favor of an immediate quickdrop. Likewise, we will keep this in mind when deciding our next vote.


The rundown for those in favor of action (Quickban / Suspect into Ban / Suspect Later / Unsure Suspect), were as follows:

• Cinderace (87.5%)
• Ceruledge (83.3%)
• Iron Hands (71.8%)
• Tyranitar-Mega (25%)

The rundown for those in favor of immediate action (Quickban / Suspect into Ban), were as follows:

• Ceruledge (50%)
• Cinderace (33.5%)
• Iron Hands (8.3%)
• Tyranitar-Mega (8.3%)

And that's it. What are your thoughts on the survey thus far? Please continue to let us know.

 

[Lupla]

Hello everyone! After a bit of a delay (mostly my fault sorry), the Iron Hands ban and a few resources being updated, we decided to gather thoughts of the meta and get an idea of what we should be doing after this from the community itself!

The link of the tiering survey is found Here

The deadline for this will be May 29th 11:59 PM GMT -3

 

[Lupla]

The survey has concluded and thus here are the results!

Results

Metagame

Pokemon

Tyranitar-Mega

Iron Moth

Iron Boulder

Kommo-O

Drizzle and Drought

Alongside the main candidates for the survey, the only real mention we've gotten is Mega Pinsir which may be looked on somewhere in the future.

Metagame

• The average score of the metagame's competitiveness and playability is around 7.90 out of 10, a notable improvement from last time during January, telling us that things have been going on a positive direction in terms of tiering decisions but we still have to work on more for sure.
• The average score of the metagame's enjoyment has also gotten a 7.90 out of 10 which, coincidences aside, also happens to be slightly higher than last time. This is good to hear considering how things are a bit close to stale in terms of BO cores with Rotom-Wash, Ting-Lu, M-Venusaur and Iron Moth but people have also been moving out of that a bit post-samples updating.

Pokemon

• Mega Tyranitar scored 2.28 out of 5, this also raised a little bit from the last survey but with also a few mentions that it should be suspect tested from the extra comments. While it isn't as high as other pokemon and it's also one of our top threats, it raised enough concerns to be kept in mind but not enough to require action as of right now.
• Iron Moth scored 3.09 out of 5, after receiving a suspect test that ended up not banning it, things have changed a good amount for it both positively and negatively. It's still a prominent threat that might require action as even with the changes to teams nowadays it's been able to adapt with ease and remain somewhat problematic.
• Iron Boulder scored 1.80 out of 5, the lowest by a notable margen out of the three, it hasn't really met the expectations it had once it dropped due to how often it lacks power. Nowadays Booster Energy is out of favor but Choice Band and SD sets with Z-Crystals are still a good presence but not close to overwhelming.

Back to it again, we asked the opinion of and it's reintroduction into the metagame which around 50% (52%) of the people who voted want to re-test it, around 25% (28%) want to unban it and a small amount of people rejecting the idea (19%). Drizzle has also received a somewhat close decision with two 38% that consisted of people who want to re-test it and those who don't alongside the smaller but notable 23% that want to re-test it right away. Lastly Drought barely got any support in re-testing it as a massive 85% denied it's presence entirely.


And with that, those are the results of the survey! In regards to Room Tournaments we will be working on a proper schedule for them next month as well. Thanks to everyone who participated and if you have any thoughts about the survey then you can discuss it on the metagame thread, have a nice day everyone.

 

[Lupla]

Hey everyone! Hope you're all enjoying NDPL and Summer Seasonals for ND UU right now as we're gonna be working on a lot of things during this time, one of them being this survey!

The link of the tiering survey can be found Here

The deadline for this survey will be September 15 11:59 PM GMT -3

 

[Lupla]

Hey everyone, after a small talk in council, i've decided to close the survey a bit earlier than usual so here we have the results!

Results

Metagame

Aegislash

Iron Boulder

Iron Moth

Drizzle

Kommo-O

Pinsir-Mega

Metagame

• The average score of the metagame's enjoyment has gotten a 8.07 out of 10 which is a slightly higher mark than before, telling us that between the two surveys, the metagame has been improving and getting better which is a pace we're absolutely happy with.
• As for the competitiveness of the metagame, the average score is 8.03 out of 10, also slightly better than last time which could be considered a surprise given how there's lately a lot more fishing from a certain moth, regardless this is a great result for us and one we can definitely be content with.

Pokemon

• Aegislash has received a 2.60 out of 5, a mark that's slightly above average which indicates that despite people potentially viewing it as an issue, it's also not quite there yet. Perhaps we'll see more after we get more changes in the meta (something very likely as the October shifts are arriving).
• Iron Boulder has received a 2.25 out of 5, an amount that's significantly higher than the previous one, most likely from how we've gotten more time to be around this thing with Choice Band sets as they're one of the scariest threats to properly switch into multiple times. Swords Dance sets also deserve some mention, as despite CB being more popular and easier to fit, it's access to Z-Crystals make it a better breaker in the right circumstances (albeit kinda difficult)
• Now for the big one, Iron Moth has received a 3.60 out of 5. If there's a moth, there's a way...for it to just be one of the most cheesy things around of course with how easy it is for Iron Moth to just pivot in and out or accumulate enough chip damage where it can just Fiery Dance it's way through the best answers the tier has for it. It's getting clearer and clearer about what the fate of this mon should be the more we have it around.

These can be summerized by having pretty mixed results (outside of M-Pinsir who actually got the majority for it to not be here). This is something that we'll likely explore more as we hopefully finish up normal suspects and start doing some re-testings later on. While Kommo-O is pretty even in all forms, the state of Drizzle is really mixed as the concerns of M-Swampert and even Archaludon dropping into the tier are really valid as they could make the playstyle too powerful, making the effort of re-testing it not worth the time.

And with that, September's survey has concluded. Thanks to everyone who gave their feedback in the survey, with NDPL being around for 2 Weeks (at the time this is being written), Summer Seasonals being around it's quarterfinals and NDFL about to start it's first week i hope everyone has a great time playing this tier in any of the current tournaments or just in general. Before leaving tho, shoutouts to Lightniong for leaving some bars which was totally the kind of wall text i needed while making this

pipis (open here)

[Verse 1: MF DOOM]
So nasty that it's probably somewhat of a travesty
Having me, then he told the people "You can call me Your Majesty"
Keep your battery charged, you know it won't stick yo
And it's not his fault you kick slow
Should've let your trick ho chick hold your sick glow
Plus nobody couldn't do nothin' once he let the brick go
And you know I know that's a bunch of snow
The beat is so butter, peep the slow cutter
As he utter the calm flow ("Your mother—"), don't talk about my moms, yo
Sometimes he rhyme quick, sometimes he rhyme slow
Or vice versa, whip up a slice of nice verse pie
Hit it on the first try, villain: the worst guy
Spot hot tracks like spot a pair of fat asses
Shots of the scotch from out the square shot glasses
And he won't stop 'til he got the masses
And show 'em what they know not through flows of hot molasses
Do it like the robot to headspin to boogaloo
Took a few minutes to convince the average bug-a-booIt's ugly, like look at you, it's a damn shame
Just remember ALL CAPS when you spell the man name

 

[Danbear02]

Hello all!

We are in the midst of a busy season with NDBD, Winter SSNL, and the Gen 8 NDUU Tour! With all the activity, this is a perfect time to evaluate the state of the metagame, with somewhat of a dead period coming up where tiering action can take place.

The link to the survey can be found here.

The deadline for this survey is February 15th, 11:59 PM GMT -8.

 

[Danbear02]

Hello everyone! Here are the survey results from the most recent survey.

​

Results

Metagame ​

​

Aegislash

​

Gallade-Mega​

​

Hydrapple​

​

Iron Boulder

​

Iron Moth

​

Ursaluna​

​

Venusaur-Mega​

​

Dondozo​

​

Garganacl​

​

Kommo-O

​

Drizzle

​

​

Metagame

• The average score of the metagame's enjoyment has gotten a 7.43 out of 10. This is a notable drop off from the previous survey, and indicates that the tier’s current phase may become less playable as time goes on, with work to be done to improve enjoyability right now.​
• As for the competitiveness of the metagame, the average score is 7 out of 10, which follows with the lack of enjoyment. The dramatically lower stats of this survey likely indicate metagame instability and imbalance, which seems primarily due to metagame development leading to the introduction of a few new controversial threats, as well as NatDex OU’s Tera ban starting to slowly affect NDUU.​

Watchlist

• 

  Aegislash has received a 2.71 out of 5. While this score is slightly below average, it is a slight increase from the previous survey. While this may indicate that it will continue to slowly increase in its perceived threat level, it will likely continue to be a known quantity for the foreseeable future.​
• A newcomer to the list, Gallade-Mega has received a 2.95 out of 5. While this seems to indicate Gallade-Mega being a middle of the line threat to keep an eye on, a quick look at the votes reveals a significant lean towards Gallade being potentially broken/unhealthy. While its standard Swords Dance is plenty threatening due to its high speed and great bulk, experimentation with options like Drain Punch, Shadow Sneak, and Triple Axel may also be worth exploring, leaving Gallade with many avenues to continue developing.​
• Another newcomer, Hydrapple has received a 2.86 out of 5. Hydrapple seems to be much more contentious of a threat, with votes across the board regarding its strength. With few reliable checks, Hydrapple is often played around through resists and revenge killers, which may lend to its contentious nature.​
• 

  Iron Boulder has received a 2.10 out of 5. This is likely due to the skew of the metagame towards bulkier threats that often aren’t immediately threatened by Choice Band sets and barely hang on against +2 Boulder. New developments, mainly the rise of physically defensive stalwarts such as Buzzwole and Hippowdon, as well as the continued offensive dominance of Mega Aerodactyl and Scizor, also prevent Iron Boulder from sweeping even against frailer teams.​
• 

  In a stunning turn of events, Iron Moth has received a 1.76 out of 5. With metagame developments leaning the tier in a bulky offense direction, with many faster threats such as Iron Boulder, Mega Aerodactyl, and Mega Gallade now taking the spotlight, it seems that Iron Moth usage has died down. While it is still a powerful threat, Iron Moth is nowhere near as broken as it had seemed during much of last year, with this score reflecting its decline.​
• Probably the most contentious Pokemon on this list, Ursaluna has received a 2.71 out of 5. With many voters voting 4s or 5s regarding Ursaluna and an equal number voting 1, it seems that we must wait for further development regarding the Bear to adequately assess how strong it is, and on which side of the scale it falls.​
• And finally, Venusaur-Mega has received a 2.24 out of 5. Despite its omnipresent status and ability to win games seemingly from nowhere thanks to its massive bulk, new mainstays in Gallade and Aerodactyl have managed to keep the Frog in check while doubling as notable competition for the Mega slot, and the votes lean towards Venusaur being not broken.​

Unbans

• A majority of voters would like to see Dondozo retested, though not before anything else. With many threatening Grass-types around as well as Physical threats that are difficult to handle, it makes sense why Dondozo has such a high percentage to retest it. Following future suspect tests or retests, Dondozo will be something the council will look at.​
• A majority of voters are interested in retesting Garganacl. Similar to Dondozo, the existence of many fast wallbreakers that can take advantage of Garganacl and Regenerator cores that can easily handle it suggest that it may be fine in today’s metagame. Remember that Garganacl was banned during the Tera metagame, and much has changed since then.​
• 

  While there is a split, most voters would not like to see Kommo-O retested right now, which makes sense. Unleashing such a ferocious threat onto the metagame while it is still struggling to deal with many other offensive threats may not be the best idea.​
• 

  It seems that Drizzle will never be revisited as long as Rain’s best friend Archaludon sticks around, with a large majority of voters not looking to retest Drizzle.​

And that's it! The metagame is in an interesting place, with nothing immediately jumping out as broken, yet enjoyment and balance falling significantly since last survey. While this may be for a multitude of reasons, the Council will be working to figure out the best course of action for the tier. Stay tuned, and as always any thoughts as to the future of the metagame will always be appreciated, either in the Metagame Discussion Thread or on our Discord! Keep an eye on the action in the Winter Seasonal and Playoffs of National Dex Blind Draft, and we will see you soon!

 

[Danbear02]

Hello all!

With a lull in tournaments and general tier activity, now is a great time to figure out how everyone feels about the tier and prepare for the summer tour season!

The link to the survey can be found here.

The deadline for this survey is May 11th, 11:59 PM GMT -7.

 

[Niadev]

Survey results are a bit later than usual, but they are here at last! This time, we tried adding a bit more of a range to the scores for opinions on certain Pokemon, as we felt that it was sometimes difficult to express more subtle differences between Pokemon, as often one would put two Pokemon as a 3 but one was notably more problematic than the other, but there was no way to express this without putting a score you didn't agree with.

Only 11 people responded to the survey, which might be due to a lack of promotion outside of the Discord on our end. We will try to promote the survey more next time around. Fortunately, even when removing outliers that might skew the scores (through the use of the IQR method), they are mostly the same, save for two, which we will address in their sections.

Without further ado, here are the results:

"On a scale of 1-10, how much do you enjoy the current metagame?"

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Average: 7.45/10

This is almost exactly the same score as the last survey, albeit higher by .02, a bit concerning as this means the meta hasn't really improved since last survey. However, the meta is still fairly enjoyable, which is a good sign.

"On a scale of 1-10, how balanced/competitive do you find this metagame to be?"

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Average: 7/10

Also the exact same score as last survey, and still just as concerning as before. Clearly, we need to do some more work to get the meta into a better state.

"What are your thoughts on Aegislash?"

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Average: 6.9nice/10

Aegislash has been contentious as a metagame presence for some time, placing highly last survey, and considerably above others on the survey in scores, save for Hawlucha, scoring a full 2 points higher than the next lowest surveyed Pokemon. Aegislash will likely have some form of action taken on it in the future. When excluding outliers, its score goes up to 7.4, being the only instance of notable change when doing so other than Rillaboom, but this doesn't change its place on the scoreboard of problematicness, still placing below Hawlucha.

"What are your thoughts on Aerodactyl-Mega?"

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Average: 4.27/10

Mega Aerodactyl has quickly surged to prominence as a top meta threat, second only to Aegislash, for its litany of useful traits, notably including blistering speed and high attack, which can often allow it to clean later on in games with just its 3 Attacks + Roost set. However, it does not seem that this combination of traits has made it particularly problematic in the eyes of the playerbase, scoring the second lowest, ahead of only Rillaboom. However, its score is just high enough that we will keep an eye on it.

"What are your thoughts on Hawlucha?"

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Average: 7.73/10

The clear most problematic Pokemon in the community's eyes right now, Hawlucha had far and away the on average highest scores. While it is not impossible to deal with, the answers we do have often either have to run a specific set to not lose to a specific 4th move option Hawlucha has available to it or be partnered with another Pokemon that can check Hawlucha, often a priority user like Aegislash or Scizor to finish it off, which can at times be a strain on the teambuilder.

"What are your thoughts on Hydrapple?"

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Average: 4.81/10

It seems that playerbase sentiment regarding Hydrapple has softened, albeit not completely, going from placing above Aegislash just barely to being considerably below Aegislash. This might be attributable to a more recent shift towards an offensive metagame, giving Hydrapple less opportunities to break gaping holes in teams. It still had the third highest score of all of the Pokemon listed in the survey, however, and its score is still somewhat high. We will keep an eye on Hydrapple for the time being.

"What are your thoughts on Iron Crown?"

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Average: 4.36/10

Newcomer Iron Crown seems to be on the lower end of problematicness according to respondents, but having a high enough score that we will keep an eye on it. Booster Speed sets can be somewhat matchup fishy at times, but we have enough checks to it that it's only really a fish at the minute.

"What are your thoughts on Rillaboom?"

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Average: 3.64/10

It is very clear that the playerbase at large does not consider Rillaboom to be particularly problematic. In fact, the average is actually considerably skewed by two votes - removing outliers, you get an average of 2.5, even more indicative of its non problematic nature. Hopefully for the next survey, we will have more respondents so that there is less such skewing in the future. Clearly, the plethora of steel types and defensive pieces that can answer it, offensive Pokemon that can take a Grassy Glide and revenge kill, and its general difficulty getting in make this a manageable presence.

Action Order Chart

"In what order would you prefer to see action taken on threats you see as broken/unhealthy for the tier? [Take Action on First]"


As reflected in its score in its own question, Hawlucha unsurprisingly took the spot of Pokemon most respondents wanted action on first, but Aegislash was not far behind. Almost every vote here was for one of those two.

"In what order would you prefer to see action taken on threats you see as broken/unhealthy for the tier? [Take Action on Second]"

Those who voted for one of Hawlucha or Aegislash as first for action almost all chose the other of the two here, but Aegislash and Hawlucha surprisingly tied for this spot.

"In what order would you prefer to see action taken on threats you see as broken/unhealthy for the tier? [Take Action on Third]"

Hydrapple took the spot for third, showing that, while opinions on it have mellowed considerably from last survey, it is not out of the woods just yet. We will watch to see how Hydrapple in the metagame develops.

"In what order would you prefer to see action taken on threats you see as broken/unhealthy for the tier? [Wait to Take Action on]"

Iron Crown appears to be a Pokemon that people aren't quite sure of yet, and would rather wait on. This is understandable, as its Booster Speed sets can be somewhat matchup fishy at times, but is otherwise manageable.

"In what order would you prefer to see action taken on threats you see as broken/unhealthy for the tier? [Do not Take Action on]"

It is clear that at large, neither Rillaboom nor Mega Aerodactyl are seen as deserving action at the minute, as both received a majority of Do Not Take Action votes, and had relatively low scores in their own questions.

"What time would you like to see Room Tours in the National Dex UU Showdown room occur? Answers are in UTC (+0)."

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Votes seem to indicate that people most want room tours in the general range of 4PM-9PM UTC, with a good amount of support for 2PM UTC too. Interestingly, this is mostly in the range of when room tours currently happen already, so we may need to investigate other reasons as to why there is low participation in room tours.

"Any additional thoughts regarding the state of the metagame, potential unbans, or potential suspect targets?"

• Dondozo was the only retest of those currently in UUBL mentioned here. This makes sense given its support last survey, but only one person suggested it, perhaps indicating a waning interest in suspect testing Dondozo.
• There was one person who suggested a Kartana retest should it drop back down from OU, but mentioned a concern that, with Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain support, it might be still too strong.
• One person stated a considerable interest in suspect testing Rillaboom, but, unfortunately for them, it is highly unlikely that Rillaboom will be seeing any action taken on it any time soon.

Conclusion:
The meta's enjoyment/health does not appear to have improved or declined, which is both good and bad - good that it hasn't gotten worse, but bad that it hasn't improved at all despite suspect testing and subsequently banning Mega Gallade. We will likely be looking into taking some form of tiering action on Hawlucha and/or Aegislash some time in the near future to remedy this, due to their considerable support in this survey. As for the others, we will be keeping an eye on them, save from Rillabom who will not be considered for tiering action anytime in the near future. This survey has taught us some lessons about making sure surveys are advertised more beyond the Discord and forums, which we will be taking to heart in the future.

As always, any questions, or if you want to discuss the metagame or the survey results, feel free to do so in the Metagame Discussion Thread or the Discord!