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Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
NOT the scl meme thread (please do not lock this arcticblast)
- Thread starter emma
- Start date
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Tennisace showing up to DPL like
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The Doubles WCOP effect on DPL
YURI VIABILITY RANKINGS
by iwayasu
while we wait for bunny to post her anime viability rankings, enjoy this
by iwayasu
while we wait for bunny to post her anime viability rankings, enjoy this
==THE CANON==
an important text that either defined an era, developed the genre or heavily contributed to bringing yuri to the mainstream
1 TRUE TEXT
maria sama ga miteru
GREAT BUT NOT THAT GAY
sailor moon
PROBABLY GOOD NEVER FINISHED
shoujo kakumei utena
DECENT BUT OVERRATED
puella magi madoka magica (bunny loves it though ._.)
yuru yuri (mediocre but very popular)
OLD BUT GOLD
shiori heya no futari
otome no minato
hana monogatari (untranslated)
porbably lots of other untranslated stuff
WILL BE CANON ONCE IT AGES A BIT
flip flappers
kimi ni naru (personally meh but very popular)
liz and the blue bird (bunny likes this more than me)
==OTHER WORKS==
PRETTY GAY AND VERY GOOD (ORDERED ROUGHLY BY GAYNESS)
miss kobayashi's dragon maid (guessing; haven't seen it)
revue starlight
hibike euphonium
puella magi madoka magica the movie part III: rebellion (this movie is p controversial, but personally I think its about as good as madoka)
little witch academy
little witch academy OVA
kill la kill
yuru camp
aria (only seen the first season)
GAY PART IS GOOD (IN A GOOD SHOW)
sayonara zetsubou sensei
monogatari series (bunny's opinion)
tamako's market/love story
DECENT TO MEDIOCRE
all according to bunny:
harukana receive 7/10
konohana kitan 7/10
miru tights 7/10
assault lily bouquet 5-6/10
new game 6-7/10 (I think this is garbage though)
keijo 5/10
symphogear 5-8/10
strawberry panic (guessing; haven't seen it)
NOT GARBAGE?
new game
non non biyori
love live (bunny says its good but the cgi is a major turnoff for me)
GARBAGE
sakura trick
citrus (according to bunny)
azur lane (according to bunny)
kaleid liner prisma illya (this is fucking weird)
GOOD HENTAI*
anything by mira, most notably
corruptions finale
the sea, you, and the sun
A VERY VERY GOOD MADOKA FANFIC
to the stars by hieronym
SHOWS I'VE NEVER WATCHED
anything not on this list or specifically marked <haven't seen>
*The term 'yuri hentai' is oxymoronic. Contrary to popular belief, 'yuri' is not defined solely by 'Japanese female same-sex romance'. Thats just Japanese lesbian fiction. An important aspect of yuri is
feel free to rate any yuri work on how good and gay they are and I'll edit it in
an important text that either defined an era, developed the genre or heavily contributed to bringing yuri to the mainstream
1 TRUE TEXT
maria sama ga miteru
GREAT BUT NOT THAT GAY
sailor moon
PROBABLY GOOD NEVER FINISHED
shoujo kakumei utena
DECENT BUT OVERRATED
puella magi madoka magica (bunny loves it though ._.)
yuru yuri (mediocre but very popular)
OLD BUT GOLD
shiori heya no futari
otome no minato
hana monogatari (untranslated)
porbably lots of other untranslated stuff
WILL BE CANON ONCE IT AGES A BIT
flip flappers
kimi ni naru (personally meh but very popular)
liz and the blue bird (bunny likes this more than me)
==OTHER WORKS==
PRETTY GAY AND VERY GOOD (ORDERED ROUGHLY BY GAYNESS)
miss kobayashi's dragon maid (guessing; haven't seen it)
revue starlight
hibike euphonium
puella magi madoka magica the movie part III: rebellion (this movie is p controversial, but personally I think its about as good as madoka)
little witch academy
little witch academy OVA
kill la kill
yuru camp
aria (only seen the first season)
GAY PART IS GOOD (IN A GOOD SHOW)
sayonara zetsubou sensei
monogatari series (bunny's opinion)
tamako's market/love story
DECENT TO MEDIOCRE
all according to bunny:
harukana receive 7/10
konohana kitan 7/10
miru tights 7/10
assault lily bouquet 5-6/10
new game 6-7/10 (I think this is garbage though)
keijo 5/10
symphogear 5-8/10
strawberry panic (guessing; haven't seen it)
NOT GARBAGE?
new game
non non biyori
love live (bunny says its good but the cgi is a major turnoff for me)
GARBAGE
sakura trick
citrus (according to bunny)
azur lane (according to bunny)
kaleid liner prisma illya (this is fucking weird)
GOOD HENTAI*
anything by mira, most notably
corruptions finale
the sea, you, and the sun
A VERY VERY GOOD MADOKA FANFIC
to the stars by hieronym
SHOWS I'VE NEVER WATCHED
anything not on this list or specifically marked <haven't seen>
*The term 'yuri hentai' is oxymoronic. Contrary to popular belief, 'yuri' is not defined solely by 'Japanese female same-sex romance'. Thats just Japanese lesbian fiction. An important aspect of yuri is
The hentai I rank here all do something to explore or deconstruct the purity and sisterhood quintessential to the genre.
feel free to rate any yuri work on how good and gay they are and I'll edit it in
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oh man, Bernie is giving new DLC and promising to drop DPL prices!
me 0.015 seconds after winning my own Doubles Ubers money tour:
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Hello friends,
DPL 7 is almost officially here and because I have absolutely no life and spend more time on the internet than I should, I decided to make a writeup of my thoughts for the most fun time of the year. I first looked at some insights I could gather from the last DPL before formulating my thoughts on this year’s tournament. Happy DPL season everyone!
DPL 6 Takeaways
DPL 7 – Manager Selections
This is tough. There are six managing spots and clearly there are more than six qualified selections. I will try to make a case for each person that signed up (in order of signup):
DPL 7 – Pre-Draft Value Rankings
Notes:
DPL 7 is almost officially here and because I have absolutely no life and spend more time on the internet than I should, I decided to make a writeup of my thoughts for the most fun time of the year. I first looked at some insights I could gather from the last DPL before formulating my thoughts on this year’s tournament. Happy DPL season everyone!
DPL 6 Takeaways
There is a finite amount of really good players: pull the trigger on them
This seems quite intuitive, but I think the general drafting strategy from DPL 6 seemed a little off. Players that have dominated DOU were being insanely undervalued in relation to the bankroll that each manager started the draft with ultimately leading to two teams (the Ghosters and Shitposters) getting absolute bargains for the tier’s best performers. It shouldn’t be too surprising to learn that the two teams that had the majority of tier 1 and tier 2 players ended up facing each other in the finals. I can understand how this was able to happen as it can be nerve-wracking as a manager to shell out over a quarter of your bankroll on a single player, but I think last year proved that it is a necessity to overcome to have a realistic shot at winning the whole thing. Even the three most expensive players of the draft (Ezrael, emforbes, and SMB) all going for twenty thousand still feels like a bargain for their week-to-week production and players of Memoric, Nails, and DaWoblefet’s caliber going for less than fifteen thousand is downright criminal. Obviously, this presents a tough task to managers as it means less money allocated to the rest of your starting slots and bench, but strong managers find ways to maximize value out of these picks by making sure they have the resources to be prepped for each week. I think having several mock drafts (where mock managers aren’t trolling) the week leading up to the draft would really help the managers this year feel more confident on bankroll management for the real thing.
The top two teams from DPL 6 had the least amount of players (both had 8)
This generally piggybacks off the underlying points of my first takeaway but I wanted to separately address it to make some things clear. This isn’t some attempt for hyper exclusivity in the draft at all, it is simply a factual insight that I wanted to provide some context on. I think the top performing drafters of the last draft didn’t have money left over at the end of the draft to just grab 3 or 4 extra 3k players and I expect more managers to follow that principle this year. I do think that DPL is super important for the growth of new players because the more time spent listening to good players prep and getting test games in with them the better. With that being said, I think it’s really important to point out that if you don’t get drafted, you can still be a part of a team. It’s not uncommon at all to talk to a manager about being a part of the team discord so you can still get this exposure and take part in high level test games without actually getting drafted to that team.
The managers of the first and second place teams in a DPL should be guaranteed manager spots next year
This is an idea that has floated around various discord servers, but I think it’s appropriate to put it on forums as many times as possible so that this idea is more publicly out there. Obviously, this scenario could not take place for DPL this year due to extenuating circumstances… but I think it’d be a great add to future DPL’s going forward. Guaranteeing that these managers get another crack at it in the next DPL creates really fun storylines and generally rewards managers that have found ways to be successful. Obviously, managers that don’t get first or second will still be in consideration to manage the following year, but they shouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed a spot.
This seems quite intuitive, but I think the general drafting strategy from DPL 6 seemed a little off. Players that have dominated DOU were being insanely undervalued in relation to the bankroll that each manager started the draft with ultimately leading to two teams (the Ghosters and Shitposters) getting absolute bargains for the tier’s best performers. It shouldn’t be too surprising to learn that the two teams that had the majority of tier 1 and tier 2 players ended up facing each other in the finals. I can understand how this was able to happen as it can be nerve-wracking as a manager to shell out over a quarter of your bankroll on a single player, but I think last year proved that it is a necessity to overcome to have a realistic shot at winning the whole thing. Even the three most expensive players of the draft (Ezrael, emforbes, and SMB) all going for twenty thousand still feels like a bargain for their week-to-week production and players of Memoric, Nails, and DaWoblefet’s caliber going for less than fifteen thousand is downright criminal. Obviously, this presents a tough task to managers as it means less money allocated to the rest of your starting slots and bench, but strong managers find ways to maximize value out of these picks by making sure they have the resources to be prepped for each week. I think having several mock drafts (where mock managers aren’t trolling) the week leading up to the draft would really help the managers this year feel more confident on bankroll management for the real thing.
The top two teams from DPL 6 had the least amount of players (both had 8)
This generally piggybacks off the underlying points of my first takeaway but I wanted to separately address it to make some things clear. This isn’t some attempt for hyper exclusivity in the draft at all, it is simply a factual insight that I wanted to provide some context on. I think the top performing drafters of the last draft didn’t have money left over at the end of the draft to just grab 3 or 4 extra 3k players and I expect more managers to follow that principle this year. I do think that DPL is super important for the growth of new players because the more time spent listening to good players prep and getting test games in with them the better. With that being said, I think it’s really important to point out that if you don’t get drafted, you can still be a part of a team. It’s not uncommon at all to talk to a manager about being a part of the team discord so you can still get this exposure and take part in high level test games without actually getting drafted to that team.
The managers of the first and second place teams in a DPL should be guaranteed manager spots next year
This is an idea that has floated around various discord servers, but I think it’s appropriate to put it on forums as many times as possible so that this idea is more publicly out there. Obviously, this scenario could not take place for DPL this year due to extenuating circumstances… but I think it’d be a great add to future DPL’s going forward. Guaranteeing that these managers get another crack at it in the next DPL creates really fun storylines and generally rewards managers that have found ways to be successful. Obviously, managers that don’t get first or second will still be in consideration to manage the following year, but they shouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed a spot.
DPL 7 – Manager Selections
This is tough. There are six managing spots and clearly there are more than six qualified selections. I will try to make a case for each person that signed up (in order of signup):
Memoric – Twinleaf Mutant Ninja Squirtles
It’s insanely hard to envision DPL 7 without Memoric being picked as a manager. He’s a major reason the tier is what it is today and he’s clearly in tune with who the best current players are. On top of that, he’s one of the most active people in the community and in my opinion will give Kyle the best run for his money this year if selected.
It’s insanely hard to envision DPL 7 without Memoric being picked as a manager. He’s a major reason the tier is what it is today and he’s clearly in tune with who the best current players are. On top of that, he’s one of the most active people in the community and in my opinion will give Kyle the best run for his money this year if selected.
N10siT – The Hoenn Heroes
N10siT is an experienced DPL manager and contributes a lot of time to improving the DOU community. He’s managed a playoff team before and has additionally been a host of a DPL, as well. It’s also cool to note that DUU will be added to DPL this year and it would be interesting to see how n10 manages that spot.
N10siT is an experienced DPL manager and contributes a lot of time to improving the DOU community. He’s managed a playoff team before and has additionally been a host of a DPL, as well. It’s also cool to note that DUU will be added to DPL this year and it would be interesting to see how n10 manages that spot.
KyleCole – Galar Ghosters
Obviously, the reigning champion will get a spot. In DPL 6, he was clearly the best manager from the draft all the way through the finish line. He put in more effort than any other manager and it showed. I’m excited to see how he manages this year with a clear target on his back.
Obviously, the reigning champion will get a spot. In DPL 6, he was clearly the best manager from the draft all the way through the finish line. He put in more effort than any other manager and it showed. I’m excited to see how he manages this year with a clear target on his back.
N1n1 – Hungry Hungry Hippowdons
N1n1 is interesting because it’s clear that he absolutely loves DPL. He’s managed successful DPL team in the past, but has ran into some issues that might prevent him from being chosen. Would be interested to see who exactly n1n1 would go after in the draft and how many ladder heroes he can fit onto one roster.
N1n1 is interesting because it’s clear that he absolutely loves DPL. He’s managed successful DPL team in the past, but has ran into some issues that might prevent him from being chosen. Would be interested to see who exactly n1n1 would go after in the draft and how many ladder heroes he can fit onto one roster.
Fespy – Santalune Storms
Fespy has been granted the rights to manage the Santalune Storms for Arcticblast. This creates a super cool storyline as the Storms have been around forever and it would be fun to keep that tradition going. Fespy has been a long-time Storms player and has helped revitalized casting tour matches which has been super successful.
Fespy has been granted the rights to manage the Santalune Storms for Arcticblast. This creates a super cool storyline as the Storms have been around forever and it would be fun to keep that tradition going. Fespy has been a long-time Storms player and has helped revitalized casting tour matches which has been super successful.
SingleThunder – Cyllage City Sandacondas
SingleThunder is a super cool guy to hang around with and would be an interesting choice as a manager. He might have some insight into finding some underrated players and he has the bonus of picking me as his favorite person to play against.
SingleThunder is a super cool guy to hang around with and would be an interesting choice as a manager. He might have some insight into finding some underrated players and he has the bonus of picking me as his favorite person to play against.
Yoda2798 – Hau’oli Haxers
Like Memoric, I feel like it is hard to find a scenario where Yoda gets left out of a manager spot. He’s been around forever and is just as active as anyone. On top of that, he successfully managed Team Europe to the playoffs of WCOP, despite a lot of unknown players being in starting slots. He also whipped up one of the coolest logos I’ve ever seen for a mons tournament which is a good bonus.
Like Memoric, I feel like it is hard to find a scenario where Yoda gets left out of a manager spot. He’s been around forever and is just as active as anyone. On top of that, he successfully managed Team Europe to the playoffs of WCOP, despite a lot of unknown players being in starting slots. He also whipped up one of the coolest logos I’ve ever seen for a mons tournament which is a good bonus.
Stax – Slateport City Spindas
Stax is looking to bring back maybe the most dominant team in DPL history, the spindas. The last time Stax managed the spindas in DPL 5, they completely dominated everyone, easily winning the finals of the tournament. Although he hasn’t been active for the past year, it would be a super interesting choice to see what he can do again.
Stax is looking to bring back maybe the most dominant team in DPL history, the spindas. The last time Stax managed the spindas in DPL 5, they completely dominated everyone, easily winning the finals of the tournament. Although he hasn’t been active for the past year, it would be a super interesting choice to see what he can do again.
AuraRayquaza – Spikemuth Spectral Thieves
This gamer was snubbed of a spot to manage in the last DPL despite going to the finals the year before. It’s cool to see him sign up again as he’s been such a longtime player of the tier. I think he could put together another very successful team if chosen, although not having a logo to signup doesn’t help.
This gamer was snubbed of a spot to manage in the last DPL despite going to the finals the year before. It’s cool to see him sign up again as he’s been such a longtime player of the tier. I think he could put together another very successful team if chosen, although not having a logo to signup doesn’t help.
Neblina – Ice Titans
I don’t know much about this person, but can imagine that they would draft the LATAM godsquad. Good enough reason for me.
I don’t know much about this person, but can imagine that they would draft the LATAM godsquad. Good enough reason for me.
DPL 7 – Pre-Draft Value Rankings
Notes:
- I’m under the impression that the format will be SS/SS/SM/XY/BW/DUU as there has been basically no opposition to this outside of an unnamed user that enjoys creating drama, so that assumption is reflected in these rankings
- There are no monetary values assigned to different tiers (for example: it’s not like I think Tier 1 players should go for a certain dollar amount in the draft). The reason is that things like nom order, what a team already has on their roster, how much money you have left, etc affect the pricing of a player in addition to just ability.
- I am NOT trying to offend anyone in any possible way. I tried to use solely data throughout this so if you are upset about something it’s probably more your fault than mine.
- I 100% missed some people. Accounting for every single person that plays this tier is a nightmare, if you think I blatantly missed someone, PM me and I will add them in.
- Players in each tier are in no order whatsoever. I probably should’ve alphabetized within each tier to more accurately convey this but whatever.
Tier 1
SMB – Pound for Pound, I think SMB is the most valuable pick in the draft. He’s proven to be a top three player at any doubles generation he touches, providing ultimate flexibility to a manager, he’s competitive in team tournaments, he seemingly never cracks under pressure in big games, and his teambuilder alone I would pay 10k for. I have no idea what tier SMB wants to play (if he has a preference), but whatever he plays he will do exceedingly well at while also providing great support for the other slots.
Nails – Although Nails hasn’t touched must of SS post DLC1, his talent alone puts him in tier 1. Mons is mons, and I think if you pair Nails with another SS player that is up to date on the meta, Nails will be caught up in no time at all. Last DPL and SSD, Nails proved to be the most creative builder in the tier, continually finding new ways to build massive advantages at team preview, combined with excellent in-game decision making and has proven to be a Bo1 nightmare.
Umbry – Umbroat is umbroat. She is insanely talented at anything related to pokemon and always performs well in team tournaments. I would assume that she would play SS in DPL, where she not only will play well, but make sure that the team’s other SS slot is feeling confident going into their game. She was one of the anchors of the eventual snake winner, did really well in dwcop, and lost to the eventual circuit winner in invitationals.
Ezrael – Ezrael is in a similar boat to Nails in that he has tier 1 value because of insane talent. Although he hasn’t had much success in DLC2, I don’t think managers have much reason to be concerned. I think that DPL could offer him a chance to really delve into this new meta and come out with a bunch of fresh ideas, especially if you prioritize putting another strong SS slot beside him. Lastly, a manager can super easily put him in at XY or BW, tiers that he dominated in the last classic primarily using just one team in each tier.
Qwello Lee – Hands down the best current gen player right now. I don’t think I need to go into much detail, but he was the best DOU in snake, best player in WCOP, and is the 2020 DOU circuit champ. Do you really need more reason to draft him?
Memoric – The people’s champ. Memoric offers a lot of value in a similar way to SMB. He is elite at whatever gen he decides to play, although I would guess that he would be considered at maximum value playing XY. Memoric will no doubt be chosen as a manager and I think Memoric being able to draft himself for only 15K pretty much means that his team is operating with about 10K more than any other team.
DaWoblefet – Wob offers insane value because the gap between him and the second best BW is way bigger than the gap between the best and second best player of any other tier. BW has gotten to a point where the player base is incredibly small, and being the top player of a tier with the least amount of resistance means that you should be confident that Wob will go significantly over a 50% win rate.
Emforbes – Emforbes is definitely the best SM player having dominated the circuit when SM was current gen, followed up by an incredible run in the last DPL playing SM. He might be the most talented player that DOU has ever seen, and will be a heavy favorite in every single game that he plays this tournament, despite SM feeling like the most stacked tier in the tournament.
SMB – Pound for Pound, I think SMB is the most valuable pick in the draft. He’s proven to be a top three player at any doubles generation he touches, providing ultimate flexibility to a manager, he’s competitive in team tournaments, he seemingly never cracks under pressure in big games, and his teambuilder alone I would pay 10k for. I have no idea what tier SMB wants to play (if he has a preference), but whatever he plays he will do exceedingly well at while also providing great support for the other slots.
Nails – Although Nails hasn’t touched must of SS post DLC1, his talent alone puts him in tier 1. Mons is mons, and I think if you pair Nails with another SS player that is up to date on the meta, Nails will be caught up in no time at all. Last DPL and SSD, Nails proved to be the most creative builder in the tier, continually finding new ways to build massive advantages at team preview, combined with excellent in-game decision making and has proven to be a Bo1 nightmare.
Umbry – Umbroat is umbroat. She is insanely talented at anything related to pokemon and always performs well in team tournaments. I would assume that she would play SS in DPL, where she not only will play well, but make sure that the team’s other SS slot is feeling confident going into their game. She was one of the anchors of the eventual snake winner, did really well in dwcop, and lost to the eventual circuit winner in invitationals.
Ezrael – Ezrael is in a similar boat to Nails in that he has tier 1 value because of insane talent. Although he hasn’t had much success in DLC2, I don’t think managers have much reason to be concerned. I think that DPL could offer him a chance to really delve into this new meta and come out with a bunch of fresh ideas, especially if you prioritize putting another strong SS slot beside him. Lastly, a manager can super easily put him in at XY or BW, tiers that he dominated in the last classic primarily using just one team in each tier.
Qwello Lee – Hands down the best current gen player right now. I don’t think I need to go into much detail, but he was the best DOU in snake, best player in WCOP, and is the 2020 DOU circuit champ. Do you really need more reason to draft him?
Memoric – The people’s champ. Memoric offers a lot of value in a similar way to SMB. He is elite at whatever gen he decides to play, although I would guess that he would be considered at maximum value playing XY. Memoric will no doubt be chosen as a manager and I think Memoric being able to draft himself for only 15K pretty much means that his team is operating with about 10K more than any other team.
DaWoblefet – Wob offers insane value because the gap between him and the second best BW is way bigger than the gap between the best and second best player of any other tier. BW has gotten to a point where the player base is incredibly small, and being the top player of a tier with the least amount of resistance means that you should be confident that Wob will go significantly over a 50% win rate.
Emforbes – Emforbes is definitely the best SM player having dominated the circuit when SM was current gen, followed up by an incredible run in the last DPL playing SM. He might be the most talented player that DOU has ever seen, and will be a heavy favorite in every single game that he plays this tournament, despite SM feeling like the most stacked tier in the tournament.
Tier 2
Paraplegic – Having played in a few team tournaments with Para, I think he’s hands down the best teammate you can ask for in situations like these. Obviously, he is a great current gen player and for the past year has caused significant meta shifts with really solid teams, but on top of that the support and activity he offers to all the other slots is invaluable. If I were a manager and had my eyes set on drafting Nails or Ezrael, I think adding Para to round out that SS core would be super interesting to help make sure that those guys get up to speed quickly.
Yoda2798 – Just like Memoric, Yoda is a lock to be a manager and can play any tier at a very high level. I also think it is definitely worth it for Yoda to buy himself for 15K. Obviously, he is a really solid mons player in general, but the flexibility that this would give to his draft strategy should also be noted. If he buys himself, he can choose to get a stacked old gens lineup and play SS himself, or he can go after the top SS players and hop in to play XY/SM with zero drawbacks to his starting lineup.
Z Strats – Z Strats has the ability to play every single tier at a high level and is someone that can really take your team to the next level with his teambuilding and prep. If I were a manager, I would definitely draft him to start at XY, but having him play SS is a really good option too. He tied with Qwello Lee as the best overall record in WCOP, and I think more importantly he elevated the rest of his team to play at higher than expected levels. He’s shown that when he’s motivated to win, he will stop at nothing to make sure he and the rest of his team are in the best positions to win.
JRL – JRL was one of the biggest storylines of the past DPL for a reason. Although he was relatively unknown, he learned a new tier from scratch and finished with an overwhelmingly positive record in XY. On top of that, he won a seasonal this past year, made it to the top 4 of invitationals, and just won the past DUU money tournament. I would imagine you draft him to start in DUU, but having the option to start him at XY or SS is a nice bonus too.
qsns – qsns isn’t as active as he once was. The good news? XY has pretty much remained stagnant for some time now. Don’t overthink this, Qsns is a staple in doubles team tournaments for a reason. He’s going to be solid playing XY, he’s used to playing in pressure situations, and he’s someone you just want on your team.
Mishiimono – Mishii has always been a solid doubles player, but his value definitely gets a major boost with DUU being added to DPL this year. Despite losing in the finals of the DUU tour, I’m actually pretty sure he had the best overall record throughout the tournament. In addition to being a no brainer start in DUU, he can offer good support at all other tiers.
Frania – I feel like Fran is about as solid of a pick as you can get. His ceiling remains incredibly high, and he’s proven to be a solid current gen player with a top 4 in doubles invitational. Over the past few months, I’ve been able to play a decent amount of games with him and feel like he will be in the better half of the SS starters in DPL this year. I know he wants to play SS, but I think he can also play BW very well.
MajorBowman – Jake has been very good at mons for a long time and is still as solid as ever. I literally have zero inclination as to what tier he will play this DPL, but I think managers can feel confident in his production no matter what tier he gets put in. He recently got second in the last seasonal of DLC1 and had a positive record in WCOP, despite being in a really competitive pool.
Demantoid – Demantoid offers really nice value by being a really strong old gens player and that value gets a nice bonus by DUU being added to the tournament, as well. He went even last DPL despite getting put in at three different tiers which is impressive, while also getting top 4 in the DUU tourney. I would guess that he plays DUU in DPL, but putting him in at XY seems like another really good option to have. Lastly, he got second place in last year's classic showing he can play pretty much anything at a high level.
Paraplegic – Having played in a few team tournaments with Para, I think he’s hands down the best teammate you can ask for in situations like these. Obviously, he is a great current gen player and for the past year has caused significant meta shifts with really solid teams, but on top of that the support and activity he offers to all the other slots is invaluable. If I were a manager and had my eyes set on drafting Nails or Ezrael, I think adding Para to round out that SS core would be super interesting to help make sure that those guys get up to speed quickly.
Yoda2798 – Just like Memoric, Yoda is a lock to be a manager and can play any tier at a very high level. I also think it is definitely worth it for Yoda to buy himself for 15K. Obviously, he is a really solid mons player in general, but the flexibility that this would give to his draft strategy should also be noted. If he buys himself, he can choose to get a stacked old gens lineup and play SS himself, or he can go after the top SS players and hop in to play XY/SM with zero drawbacks to his starting lineup.
Z Strats – Z Strats has the ability to play every single tier at a high level and is someone that can really take your team to the next level with his teambuilding and prep. If I were a manager, I would definitely draft him to start at XY, but having him play SS is a really good option too. He tied with Qwello Lee as the best overall record in WCOP, and I think more importantly he elevated the rest of his team to play at higher than expected levels. He’s shown that when he’s motivated to win, he will stop at nothing to make sure he and the rest of his team are in the best positions to win.
JRL – JRL was one of the biggest storylines of the past DPL for a reason. Although he was relatively unknown, he learned a new tier from scratch and finished with an overwhelmingly positive record in XY. On top of that, he won a seasonal this past year, made it to the top 4 of invitationals, and just won the past DUU money tournament. I would imagine you draft him to start in DUU, but having the option to start him at XY or SS is a nice bonus too.
qsns – qsns isn’t as active as he once was. The good news? XY has pretty much remained stagnant for some time now. Don’t overthink this, Qsns is a staple in doubles team tournaments for a reason. He’s going to be solid playing XY, he’s used to playing in pressure situations, and he’s someone you just want on your team.
Mishiimono – Mishii has always been a solid doubles player, but his value definitely gets a major boost with DUU being added to DPL this year. Despite losing in the finals of the DUU tour, I’m actually pretty sure he had the best overall record throughout the tournament. In addition to being a no brainer start in DUU, he can offer good support at all other tiers.
Frania – I feel like Fran is about as solid of a pick as you can get. His ceiling remains incredibly high, and he’s proven to be a solid current gen player with a top 4 in doubles invitational. Over the past few months, I’ve been able to play a decent amount of games with him and feel like he will be in the better half of the SS starters in DPL this year. I know he wants to play SS, but I think he can also play BW very well.
MajorBowman – Jake has been very good at mons for a long time and is still as solid as ever. I literally have zero inclination as to what tier he will play this DPL, but I think managers can feel confident in his production no matter what tier he gets put in. He recently got second in the last seasonal of DLC1 and had a positive record in WCOP, despite being in a really competitive pool.
Demantoid – Demantoid offers really nice value by being a really strong old gens player and that value gets a nice bonus by DUU being added to the tournament, as well. He went even last DPL despite getting put in at three different tiers which is impressive, while also getting top 4 in the DUU tourney. I would guess that he plays DUU in DPL, but putting him in at XY seems like another really good option to have. Lastly, he got second place in last year's classic showing he can play pretty much anything at a high level.
Tier 3
Tenzai – Tenzai had a really strong year despite being an unknown player at this time last year. He made it to the finals of a DLT and a seasonal and qualified for doubles invitationals for a good reason. Although he didn’t play in the DUU tour, I would think that DUU is another great option to put him in as he and JRL are good friends and can bounce off ideas with each other. He will be a solid starter in either SS or DUU.
YoBuddy – YoBuddytheLegend. YoBuddy has been a strong doubles player for an extended amount of time, as well as, performing well in the DUU tournament. Similarly to Tenzai, he deserves a starting spot on a team as either the second SS player or the DUU starter.
Spurrific – It feels criminal to have Spurrific in tier 3 but this is more of a testament to how stacked SM feels than his playing level. He is an elite pokemon player and is as competitive as it gets. He will be a top SM player in DPL and makes any team better when he is on it.
Croven – Croven is in a similar boat to Spurrific. He has been one of the best SM players for a long time, but so has everyone who will be playing SM which lowers overall perceived value.
Nido-Rus – Nido quietly went 4-0 in WCOP and can play a lot of gens at a high level. I think you draft Nido to start in SS and I think his teambuilding creativity can really shine in team formats. Some of his ideas just need to be fleshed out some which is perfect for DPL.
Kiichikos – Kiichi is the next person on the list of being really really good at SM. Although she played SS in the last DPL, she performed insanely well at SM in classic so I would assume she gets drafted to play that tier. Additionally, it’s clear that she isn’t too much of a fan of the new meta in SS so putting her in an oldgen seems like the move.
AuraRayquaza – Aray is a longtime staple in DPL and I’m curious as to what tier he will play this year. I think he offers the most value in playing BW, but the question is if he will decide to play that tier or not. He performed well in doubles invitational with a big first round upset over Ezrael and would more than likely start in SS if he elects to play that tier. If elected as manager, I would imagine he choses to not play, but nothing is off the table with this gamer.
Metalgro$$ - Although Metalgro$$ isn’t a doubles main, they had an incredible run playing BW in last years classic despite using painfully outdated teams. I’ve never interacted with Metalgro$$ and am unsure if they will sign up or not but they would no doubt start in BW if they were to sign up.
Human – Human has been a solid player for a long time and offers nice flexibility to a managers draft process. I would imagine he will play XY or BW and I think you can feel confident in him to perform well.
Grandmas Cookin – Super underrated SS player at the moment. Gma had a really impressive world cup getting some high quality wins and I think he deserves a starting slot in this years DPL.
Mizuhime – Mizuhime is one of the last BW players remaining. She went 3-3 last DPL and has been one of the better BW players for many years now. In a tier with minimal players, getting someone like Mizu who will play solidly in BW is super nice.
Tenzai – Tenzai had a really strong year despite being an unknown player at this time last year. He made it to the finals of a DLT and a seasonal and qualified for doubles invitationals for a good reason. Although he didn’t play in the DUU tour, I would think that DUU is another great option to put him in as he and JRL are good friends and can bounce off ideas with each other. He will be a solid starter in either SS or DUU.
YoBuddy – YoBuddytheLegend. YoBuddy has been a strong doubles player for an extended amount of time, as well as, performing well in the DUU tournament. Similarly to Tenzai, he deserves a starting spot on a team as either the second SS player or the DUU starter.
Spurrific – It feels criminal to have Spurrific in tier 3 but this is more of a testament to how stacked SM feels than his playing level. He is an elite pokemon player and is as competitive as it gets. He will be a top SM player in DPL and makes any team better when he is on it.
Croven – Croven is in a similar boat to Spurrific. He has been one of the best SM players for a long time, but so has everyone who will be playing SM which lowers overall perceived value.
Nido-Rus – Nido quietly went 4-0 in WCOP and can play a lot of gens at a high level. I think you draft Nido to start in SS and I think his teambuilding creativity can really shine in team formats. Some of his ideas just need to be fleshed out some which is perfect for DPL.
Kiichikos – Kiichi is the next person on the list of being really really good at SM. Although she played SS in the last DPL, she performed insanely well at SM in classic so I would assume she gets drafted to play that tier. Additionally, it’s clear that she isn’t too much of a fan of the new meta in SS so putting her in an oldgen seems like the move.
AuraRayquaza – Aray is a longtime staple in DPL and I’m curious as to what tier he will play this year. I think he offers the most value in playing BW, but the question is if he will decide to play that tier or not. He performed well in doubles invitational with a big first round upset over Ezrael and would more than likely start in SS if he elects to play that tier. If elected as manager, I would imagine he choses to not play, but nothing is off the table with this gamer.
Metalgro$$ - Although Metalgro$$ isn’t a doubles main, they had an incredible run playing BW in last years classic despite using painfully outdated teams. I’ve never interacted with Metalgro$$ and am unsure if they will sign up or not but they would no doubt start in BW if they were to sign up.
Human – Human has been a solid player for a long time and offers nice flexibility to a managers draft process. I would imagine he will play XY or BW and I think you can feel confident in him to perform well.
Grandmas Cookin – Super underrated SS player at the moment. Gma had a really impressive world cup getting some high quality wins and I think he deserves a starting slot in this years DPL.
Mizuhime – Mizuhime is one of the last BW players remaining. She went 3-3 last DPL and has been one of the better BW players for many years now. In a tier with minimal players, getting someone like Mizu who will play solidly in BW is super nice.
Tier 4
Shadowmonstr7 – Shadow has been known for bringing some crazy teams but I think he can be a solid player. I would imagine he will play SS or DUU, but if I were a manager I’d try to work closely with him on his teambuilding process as sometimes he can shoot himself in the foot before the game even starts.
Lord Death Man – LDM is one of the few people that plays DUU all year round and will definitely get a chance at starting in DPL. Unfortunately for him, he got haxed out of the only DUU tournament in the first round, so it’s hard to get a true read on what his value is in that tier.
Fespy – Fespy has been solid for some time now and is a really cool addition to any team. He can adequately support any tier and can be a quality starter in an old gens slot. Like AuraRayquaza, I would imagine he elects to not buy himself if chosen as a manager.
Actuarily – One of the cooler unknown guys out there. I think actuarily might be primed for a breakout performance in either SS or DUU if he gets a shot. The best thing about him is that he’s always playing, trying to get better every day and I think putting him in an environment where he is surrounded by good players could let him go off.
K 8 s m – Another relatively unknown player. K 8 s m went 2-1 in DWCOP in a pool with umbry, MajorBowman, and Kiichikos. Should definitely get drafted to a team with that type of upside.
Eternalsnowman – Similarly to ShadowMonstr7, ESM is known for some pretty wild teambuilding ideas. Would like to see some of this toned down a little but no doubt has high playing upside.
Finally – The legend himself. For those that are unfamiliar, when XY was current gen all those years ago this man was untouchable. He obviously doesn’t play much anymore but it felt wrong to not have him in this writeup.
DaAwesomeDude1 – Dad1 will more than likely get a starting XY slot and for good reason. He has always been one of the better XY players and has a chance to beat even the best XY players when he is on his game.
Hashtag – Although Hashtag hasn’t been active as of recent, you can be confident that he will perform well in old gens. Like Dad1, he will likely get an XY starting slot if he signs up to play and has some high upside in the back portion of the draft.
Miltankmilk – Another long time doubles player that hasn’t been active as of recent. However, long time players know that milk is a really solid player and if he signs up he will deservedly start in SM or XY. If he puts forth maximum effort he can potentially be someone that goes for less than 5K that goes well over 50% win rate.
Floristthebudew – Relatively unknown player that did quite well in DWCOP. Would like to see this person get drafted and get a couple chances at playing on a bigger stage.
GenOne - GenOne is a great addition to any team. He can support any tier and can play XY and SM well. He's been around for a long time and is deserving of a spot on a team for old gen support.
Zikam - Too much of a legend to go undrafted
Shadowmonstr7 – Shadow has been known for bringing some crazy teams but I think he can be a solid player. I would imagine he will play SS or DUU, but if I were a manager I’d try to work closely with him on his teambuilding process as sometimes he can shoot himself in the foot before the game even starts.
Lord Death Man – LDM is one of the few people that plays DUU all year round and will definitely get a chance at starting in DPL. Unfortunately for him, he got haxed out of the only DUU tournament in the first round, so it’s hard to get a true read on what his value is in that tier.
Fespy – Fespy has been solid for some time now and is a really cool addition to any team. He can adequately support any tier and can be a quality starter in an old gens slot. Like AuraRayquaza, I would imagine he elects to not buy himself if chosen as a manager.
Actuarily – One of the cooler unknown guys out there. I think actuarily might be primed for a breakout performance in either SS or DUU if he gets a shot. The best thing about him is that he’s always playing, trying to get better every day and I think putting him in an environment where he is surrounded by good players could let him go off.
K 8 s m – Another relatively unknown player. K 8 s m went 2-1 in DWCOP in a pool with umbry, MajorBowman, and Kiichikos. Should definitely get drafted to a team with that type of upside.
Eternalsnowman – Similarly to ShadowMonstr7, ESM is known for some pretty wild teambuilding ideas. Would like to see some of this toned down a little but no doubt has high playing upside.
Finally – The legend himself. For those that are unfamiliar, when XY was current gen all those years ago this man was untouchable. He obviously doesn’t play much anymore but it felt wrong to not have him in this writeup.
DaAwesomeDude1 – Dad1 will more than likely get a starting XY slot and for good reason. He has always been one of the better XY players and has a chance to beat even the best XY players when he is on his game.
Hashtag – Although Hashtag hasn’t been active as of recent, you can be confident that he will perform well in old gens. Like Dad1, he will likely get an XY starting slot if he signs up to play and has some high upside in the back portion of the draft.
Miltankmilk – Another long time doubles player that hasn’t been active as of recent. However, long time players know that milk is a really solid player and if he signs up he will deservedly start in SM or XY. If he puts forth maximum effort he can potentially be someone that goes for less than 5K that goes well over 50% win rate.
Floristthebudew – Relatively unknown player that did quite well in DWCOP. Would like to see this person get drafted and get a couple chances at playing on a bigger stage.
GenOne - GenOne is a great addition to any team. He can support any tier and can play XY and SM well. He's been around for a long time and is deserving of a spot on a team for old gen support.
Zikam - Too much of a legend to go undrafted
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