SCL IV LC Discussion Thread

BlackKnight_Gawain

BlackKnight_Gawain

1630253703394.png


Another year, another iteration of Smogon Champions League! This thread is the hub for Little Cup's involvement in the tour — we'll be posting matches, predictions, discussions, metagame trends, Norwood status of all your favorite players and whatever else relevant to the Little Cup side of things in this tournament. Much like last year, I'll be your host for the thread bringing you all the updates and commentary!

Relevant Links:

SCL IV Commencement Thread
Schedule Sheet
Replays Thread
Usage Stats
Overall Spreadsheet


Teams in full:
1725139872766.png


LC Player Cores + Prices (starters in bold):

Studio Gible:
Hacker (13,500), Nat* (3000), Drifting (4000)
Orange Islanders:
Colin (7500)
Indigo Platoon:
Scottie (13,000 retain)
Uncharted Terrors:
Lokifan (4000)
Technical Machines:
tazz (5000), LilyAC (5000)
Mt. Silver Foxes:
Starsama (5000, Quinn (3000)
Power Plant Dynamos:
Fille (3000), Kaboom (3000)
Showdown Shoguns:
Envy1 (3000), Vert* (32,000)
Circuit Breakers:
Laroxyl (15,000), tko (5000), babyboyblues (3000)
Arena Spartans:
Eric (3000)​
(* indicates that a player may be listed as signed up for LC and/or tierlocked but not necessarily playing)​
​
 
Last edited:
my PRs

S tier:

Hacker - taking my top spot because they were the best player in LC open/LCPL sv lc in my opinion. for sure recency bias but these are my rankings and i don't care.

Scottie - went 11-0 last SCL which is incredible. they didn't play LCPL, and while I assume they can build I don't have the same certainty I do with Hacker so I'll rate Hacker above.

A tier:

Tazz - I'm not convinced that either Tazz or Lily build SV LC at a high level but I am convinced they figure it out by week 2 or 3 if they don't already. Tazz is a great pilot and Lily is the best backup pilot if things go wrong so I have a hard time seeing this core go worse than 4-5.

Tko - I'm even less convinced this core builds SV LC at a high level right now, but I'm just as convinced that they figure it out by week 2 or 3. I assume Tko is starting, but all 3 LCers in this core went positive in LC last SCL.

Lokifan - I think Lokifan is an S tier pilot right now, but doesn't have support. if they master sv lc building they become a major draft steal, but this is not guaranteed.

Éric - They went positive last SCL. I think they're cursed in LCPL, but they're a proven player and respectable builder

B tier:

Starsama - Starsama is an excellent player, but they're generally inexperienced compared to those above them. They can build, but I'm not convinced its good enough to gain an advantage very often

C tier:

Envy1 - its kinda incredible how fast Envy1 has gotten good at LC. They've only been playing for 2/3 a year or so, and although their results are rapidly improving they're not all in SV.

Fille - Fille is a viable pilot, but I rank them last because I think they'll self sabotage in the builder. reminds me a lot of Eniigma, who went positive last SCL with the same concerns entering.
 
here are my thoughts on everyone on the player pool. i think everyone has potential to do well, dont take my rankings personally because i do consider all of yall great friends, etc. gl to everyone!

S Tier: Clear Defined GOAT
Scottie. He went 11-0 last year and theres not really a ton to argue. Little dissapointing run in open while not playing LCPL but I think you would be trolling to not put him number 1. He is very clearly the most talented in game and he had some pretty good teamchoices last year. I would be very shocked if he didn't have another excellent record this year

A Tier: Top contenders to have some of the best records
Lokifan. If we are talking about alltime SVLC results all time Loki is very clearly the best, even better than Scottie in that regard. However I can't put him above 11-0 in SCL eitherway lol. Only real concern with Loki is a (kinda) lack of experience with officials and him being on his own this year without any support. Loki isn't a bad builder though and he definently has the tools to bring good teams weekly, and I don't expect him to struggle with nerves or anything seeing as he won a game last year as my sub and clutched LCPL finals tiebreak last year. He very easily could give Scottie a run for his money and I wouldn't be entirely shocked if he outperformed him.

tko. I think he looked pretty strong last year and he should have had one of the best records. He has plenty of viable building help with him this year with BBB and Laro, and while they aren't in like the best of shape for building rn I think they are still good and I consider tko to be one of the best pilots for LC and I expect a 6-3 kind of campaign from him this year with potential for even better.

Colin. Colin is genuinely the most hard working player I have worked with in tournaments. Despite him only ending LCPL regular season 4-3 (should have been 5-2) I think his play in LCPL was very impressive for someone who hasn't been given the most oppurtunities to play SV. He will definently load good teams weekly and give a respectable performance. My only concern with him is he could deal with newcomer to official nerves seeing as he hasn't played anywhere near the stage that is SCL before, but if he can overcome them I expect great things from him.

B Tier: Middle of the pack
tazz. What tazz has over the supermajority of the pool when it comes to this tournament is experience and the low ranking for him is mostly coming from his lack of experience with SV since last LCPL alongside his helper LilyAC having a grand total of 0 SV games ever doesn't particularly give me the most confidence in them being able to load good teams weekly. If they can figure out the meta they are definently top contenders, but I fear they might start off too slow or just be easily beatable in the builder

Eric. Eric is pretty undeniably good at the game through his showing last year as one of the best records but my main concern with him is him being on his own this year. Last year he had someone pretty fire.. idr who it was though.. helping him and this year hes on his own. Wouldn't normally have this concern since good record is good record but through teaming with Eric multiple times im not like the biggest fan of his teambuilding habits but he definently can load good teams. Just why I'm not ranking him as one of the best

Starsama. I don't actually have much to say about him other than I think he is good. Multiple killer runs in SV lately but his lack of experience in officials or any high stake games makes me want to put him low. I do have more confidence in him than the people below him though.

C Tier: Unproven talent
Envy1. Probably one of the most dedicated people to playing this tier ever since they started playing lol, but similar case to Starsama where they don't have a ton of experience on the big stage and could very easily not do great due to nerves or other factors. Alongside that, their most recent results come from BW, not SV though I do suspect they do a massive role in helping their LCPL teams SV. I do think this is one of the biggest possible upside picks in the entire auction and that Envy could definently do well, just also definently could end up struggling too.

Fille. I think Fille is an overall pretty decent player, but I just don't rate him as much as the other people in this tour. I think most of his LCPL brings have been pretty bad and easily exploitable, but despite that I still don't really want to count him out because he does have a lot of potential especially with some of his wacky brings. Also every tournament needs an underdog, eh?
 
Last edited:
S rank: Best record / go positive
A rank: Could see them ending with best record/ go positive
B Rank: Go positive/end as .500 or just below
C Rank: Hover around .500/end negative
S Rank:
Scottie - Silly to not give someone who went 11-0 the sole position up top. The meta has not changed drastically enough since last scl, and he had time to consider what went wrong during open.
A Rank:
Tazz - One of the most solid LC players, doesn't matter the gen or meta. Experience will make up for the fact he has less people backing him as support this year. Really does not matter that Lily hasn't played any SV in tours, shes been in the team chat with Ghost paying attention to the tier and picking up knolly.
Hacker - LC's wunderkind had a good showing last SCL and doesn't show signs of stopping. Biggest concern is missing the mark on building as a few weeks last season had some really questionable brings + no support. Corphish tho was misjudged as a viable mon by multiple teams so view that as you want. Likely to outplay and succeed with a worse team a solid % of the time tho.
B Rank:
TKO - Couldn't care less about LC majority of the year and will still play better than majority of his competitors. Biggest question is can BBB and Laroxyl supply him teams that will give him the opportunity to succeed, and I'd lean towards yes. Laroxyl is a solid player and I'd bet money his own season in OU will be a success. BBB despite struggling this LCPL is one of the best builders in SV when he puts effort in.
Colin - Finally given his chance to play SV in LCPL, Colin made it count with a decent 4-3 record going into the playoffs. That being said, he was with Hacker and is now on an island with no support within the team. I expect him to find success and hover around that .500 record.
Starsama - Similar to Colin they got a chance outside of SS and succeeded in LCPL at 4-3, as well as in open. No chance to improve the former though as they've failed to make playoffs. Has shown to be a consistent threat and has quinn as support to expand their decision making while teambuilding. They're the lowest ranked in B, but could punch up just like the rest.
C Rank:
Lokifan - Despite having a better record than the two directly above this LCPL, I have less faith in Lokifan. Undoubtedly a skilled pilot, but I don't believe they're that much more impressive when you consider how much help from Colin and Hacker in the builder attributed to their success. Could make waves as a solo performance, especially if Hacker decides to help on weeks they don't play each other, but am not betting on it.
Eric - Doesn't go positive in majority of the LC tours they play in, including the most recent LCPL, but had a solid record last LCWC and one of the best records in SCL. Majority of their games last SCL felt like their opp losing more than them winning. Doesn't believe in scouting. The biggest wildcard of the pool.
Envy1 - Only notable SV results are in LPL, what is basically the feeder league for LCPL. Likely will be an okay pilot given they were basically fresh to BW and are doing well in LCPL, but I don't have high expectations for their building.
 
Last edited:
Bored with everything I need done done so I decided to write my PRs

S tier Best Player

Scottie: Support Taka

The best Lc player of all time not a single team tour trophy but is still 1st in the lc hall of fame by a good amount he went 11-0 last year continuing that dominance in wcup only ending this insane streak at 15-1 iirc can’t really contest that the man deserves a trophy they also have really solid support in Taka he got 2nd in his first lc ssnl and I saw him putting in a shit ton of work in East Cord accidentally creating an incredibly popular set in offensive mare that willingness to throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks is incredibly important definitely a good guy to have in your corner

A Tier Higher chance to go positive then the rest of the pool

Hacker: Support Drifting, Ninjadog

He’s a former circuit champ he had a shaky performance last year as long as he doesn’t bring wingull again he’ll probably go positive jokes aside he’s one of the best lc players and I don’t see him going negative again even if he doesn’t have amazing support Ninja is always phenomenal even if he ended Lcpl with a not so impressive record of 3-3 without a single sv game and Drifting is well Drifting the siren of tours players having not to stellar of an lcpl run ending at 2-4 also not a having a single sv game this Lcpl making me a little concerned about their knowledge of the current meta Ninjas slot also went 2-10 last season with mainly boring and not particularly innovative HO brings with the sole exception of LO stunky that set is gas however mons is mons I think their historical high aptitude for lc barring drifting will carry them to a solid performance this year

Vert: Support Envy

If Vert was serious in their sign up even with no known experience Verts one of the best players on the site I don’t see a reality where they do poorly in any tier especially if they have amazing support like Envy backing them Envy is a very hard worker grinding the lc ladder harder then anyone else even with their results mainly being in Bw I think that dedication will be essential to this slots success

Fille: Support Kaboom Great pilot with a willingness to go where no player would dare go to paired with the best support hands down I’ve teamed up with Kaboom twice and he is by far the most hard working and dedicated person I’ve met on the site as long as kaboom is successful in reining in Filles more **questionable ideas** I have faith they’ll put up a solid record

B Tier Solid will probably end even slightly positive or slightly negative

Lokifan: No Support

Feels kinda criminal to put him this low he’s one of the best pilots easily top 3 or even top 2 pays attention to what’s relevant and almost always puts up a solid record when it counts with no stable support I fear he’ll struggle so that’s why he’s a lot lower then I’d like I view Loki in the same regard as hacker but as a slightly better pilot without the experience Hacker has or the support he has

Tazz/Lily can’t go against experience even though I have literally never seen LilyAC play a single game of sv lc mons is mons and she’ll figure it out Tazz has been around for a while putting up solid but not to stellar records in officials throughout the years however I’m a believer and I think as long as he doesn’t lose himself to variance he’ll shine

Colin: Support Surfys

Similar situation as Loki very high skill ceiling but will have issues drawing out that potential with a lack of experience in officials coupled with a lack of reliable support he does still have an incredibly high win rate in team tours and is one of the hardest working players I’ve met so far really rooting for you

Starsama: Support Quinn

Insane year for star only a hand full of losses out of almost 2 dozen games with a majority of those losses coming from their teammate Quinn I think Star has the potential to be a top 3 pilot however their builds are very basic and abusable and I don’t really know how good Quinn will be as a Helper

C Tier will likely go even or negative

Éric: No Support

hate to put my guy Éric this low but he doesn’t historically do well in team tours even though he had an amazing record last season (6-3) I don’t think he’ll strike that same success this year

tko: Support Laroxyl, Babyboyblues

Don’t like putting tko here even though he has phenomenal support he didn’t play in lcpl and hasn’t played any lc to my knowledge since scl last year and I think that’s really going to bite him here
 
Last edited:
WEEK 1 MATCHUPS ARE HERE! go crazy with predicts:

(Platoon) Scottie vs Envy1 (Shoguns)
(Islanders) Colin vs tko (Breakers)
(Dynamos) Fille vs Hacker (Gibles)
(Terrors) Lokifan vs Éric (Spartans)
(Foxes) Starsama vs tazz (Machines)


you know the drill: post predicts, comment who's a bald fraud, secretly put money on your favorite players and gamble, etc. etc.​
 
Last edited:
Platoon (Scottie) vs Shoguns (Envy1)
Islanders (Colin) vs Breakers (tko)
Dynamos (Fille) vs Gibles (Hacker)
Terrors (Lokifan) vs Spartans (Éric)
Foxes (Starsama) vs Machines (tazz)
 
scottie vs envy1 - until buddy loses I am riding the bandwagon
colin vs tko - colin kinda busted
fille vs hacker - people still havent learned not to rank fille last in prs
lokifan vs eric - i might be wrong on this one
starsama vs tazz - now everything on the left is bolded and I am a sucker for that
 
[TMS] tazz vs Colin [ISL]
[SPA] Éric vs Scottie [PLA]
[GIB] Hacker vs Lokifan [TER]
[BRE] tko vs Fille [DYN]
[SHO] Envy1 vs Starsama [FOX]
 
TMS] tazz vs Colin [ISL] - one of these won last week
[SPA] Éric vs Scottie [PLA] - eric has to mentally beat himself before he can think of beating scottie
[GIB] Hacker vs Lokifan [TER] - toss up honestly
[BRE] tko vs Fille [DYN] - idt fille has lost a game since I predicted against him in lcpl
[SHO] Envy1 vs Starsama [FOX] - go argentina
 
[TMS] tazz vs Colin [ISL]
[SPA] Éric vs Scottie [PLA]
[GIB] Hacker vs Lokifan [TER]
[BRE] tko vs Fille [DYN]
[SHO] Envy1 vs Starsama [FOX]
 
WEEK 2 PREDICTS, YOU GUYS DID THEM BEFORE I COULD TOUCH THEM SO THANKS BUT DO MORE PREDICTS:

[Machines] tazz vs Colin [Islanders]
[Spartans] Éric vs Scottie [Platoon]
[Gibles] Hacker vs Lokifan [Terrors]
[Breakers] tko vs Fille [Dynamos]
[Shoguns] Envy1 vs Starsama [Foxes]

​
Week 1 Recap:


[PLA] Scottie vs Envy1 [SHO]
Top rated Scottie comes off a 11-0 run in the previous SCL, and his first opponent is newcomer Envy, regarded by most PRs as among the bottom if not the bottom ranked. Of course, this is exact kind of setup in a good sports story for an upset— so it was probably inevitable Envy won here yeah?

Both sides brought fairly similar teams, with the difference of a Tinkatink v Glimmet as a Vullaby check for each side. What I like about that is Tink offers a safety cushion for Envy to push momentum in the Vull mirror, as Knock is deterred due to Pickpocket. Flash Cannon also means Glimmet can't safely trade with it either. The tinkmare core also makes the scarf Mienfoo less reliable, although this wouldn't be obvious at preview. Envy's early trades into forcing the scarf foo to eventually tera and hit Voltorb pretty much guarantees him a win, although he did make a questionable play in trying to knock the scarfoo instead of KOing it which might've cost him the game had it not stayed paralyzed. Time will tell if Envy fluked this win and punched above his weight, and if Scottie will remain the dominant player in this tier's official tournament rep. I'm excited to see both subvert community expectations.

[ISL] Colin vs tko [BRE]

The people's LCers Colin and tko square off in this matchup, the former making his official debut after many vouching for his rise through a great LCPL. Tko on the other hand, is coming off a long absence in LC but many still put him high from prior experience in the tier and the officials scene.

Tko's opted for a trapper based structure in Trapinch, which looks great here given Colin's defensive core being Tinkmare. With Voltorbs not running Protect much anymore, a tera Bug First Impression looks dangerous for the orb as well as Colin's trapper Gothita. An Iron Defense Nasty Plot Vullaby also proves to be troublesome for Colin's build, forcing him to trade into spots where Trapinch keeps cleaning up and eventually win the game. A good first showing for tko this season, who's already beaten one of the better SV builders. Colin will have to look to calm his nerves and play with the confidence he's shown in other SVLC tours, as many are still confident he'll deliver a good showing in this season.
[DYN] Fille vs Hacker [GIB]

This matchup happened twice this week, first in SCL before happening again in LCPL's semifinals tiebreaker. Spoiler: It didn't go Hacker's way, twice.

Amusingly (much to my chagrin in the LCPL game), both times Hacker got caught offguard by a random scarfer on Fille's side. In the SCL game, it was Vullaby. Hacker's opted for a Mudbray Foongus Glimmet driven team, whereas Fille's got the ToedTinkMare that's been common in the other matchups so far. The early spore into max sleep on Hacker's Vullaby forces him into the backfoot early, with Fille's Psytorb pushing through the double poison core as well. A few crits and a Mienfoo speed tie eventually just puts Hacker into a position where he can't pull through, as the scarf vull dashes the comeback position. A big win for Fille, who many also put in the bottom while Hacker's been the PR favorite after his open win and general form this year.

[TER] Lokifan vs Éric [SPA]

Early morning in Europe on the dawn of week 1, two LCers conspired to play immediately to get Smogon merch. With the promise of SCL Merch for the winner of the first game, both haphazardly pull up to the arena to get what I would at least hope is a cool sweatshirt.

Anyway, Lokifan pulls up with a double poison core with mare and Stunky, but the opposing side's Voltorb looks promising here as Loki almost certainly has to tera to keep up or rely heavily on Slowfoo. Loki's early game starts off strong, getting some strong rolls by trading Slowfoo but this puts him at risk vs Voltorb, meaning he needed to Tera his Mudbray to deal with it defensively. Getting an early wake means this Mudbray also keeps trading with the opposing Mudbray and Foongus, but now the entire team is at risk vs Voltorb and the surprise Scarf Foo, which as Eric points out in his own post, was easy to conceal with the lack of opportunity it had to come in. This ultimately would cost Lokifan the game from a strong start, and more importantly a free t-shirt. Eric, please let the crowd know what you end up getting shipped so we can judge your taste.

FOX] Starsama vs tazz [TMS]
Another big highlight of the week was Brazilian debutant and rising star (boo) starsama, not to be confused with former lcer starmaster, or many other multiple players with a star prefix. This matchup sees him paired against tazz, who comes in with building support from LilyAC, notorious for not having touched SV LC more than a kindergartener can count. Of course, this means expectations are big on starsama, who ends up being the crowd favorite here despite being up against a proven veteran in officials.


Tazz's team here looks to have Torchic as a sweeper/cleaner, with defensive support in Mudbray and Mareanie alongside hazard removal in Toedscool to keep Torchic healthy. Starsama opts for a more balanced structure with Stunky and a defensive core of Foongus and Mudbray. Some early trading on Mudbray and Vullaby means Starsama has to Tera dragon the Mienfoo to keep up, before being forced to trade Stunky which means he can't do much else vs Psychic Torchic. A slightly different sequence could've seen Starsama pull off the upset, but unfortunately the questionable plays just fell through and cost him the game here.




who was your favorite this week? who do you think played the baldest? looking forward to week 2 and seeing the games!
 
Last edited:
another year another eridanalysis
1726516473933.png

even tho he has mare + goth, im feeling well. his voltorb counterplay is scarce: he will more than likely tera something into it, which means my scarf mienfoo gets better, even if im really forced to tera. i need rocks up asap so tera hjk will kill gothita. i also thought about my mudbray being the vull check moreso than the stunky check, because his stunky will just die to hjk

1726516455871.png

i start the game with my foongus because it gets a free spore into this team. mienfoo gets put to sleep, which means i am free to go mudbray. i think he has two possible plays here: he either burns a sleep turn or goes stunky/mareanie. in all of these cases i get free rocks, which i very much value, as he has likely no removal, and they are very important for my hjk rolls into mareanie, gothita and vullaby. he unfortunately gets a lucky 1 turn sleep, so im forced to swtich out.
1726516674074.png

i thought that uturn was a very likely play from him, as i did not want to stay in with mudbray to get damaged (i wanted it moreso alive for vull/stunky). in that case, going into foongus would just mean im getting trapped by gothita so, to avoid that, i pivoted into vullaby. it eats a hjk, and i decide to just brave bird. you can see this as a very stupid or a very big brain play. its stupid bc brave bird might just not kill, and uturn is so unlikely here that foongus was free to spore. at the same time, its big brain because it gets mienfoo so low that my voltorb just takes kills now. anyway i got rewarded regardless of it killing, so i went for it, and voltorb did go nuts once i did. he had to maneuver very weirdly around it.
1726516698734.png

after he got mareanie at 1 hp and stunky in range of tbolt, he pivoted mudbray into my tbolt. now, here i thought whatever he teras into, i just volt switch after. i failed to realize id get in gothita range anyway, so in hindsight it was just better for me to go into my mudbray. this is very obvious in hindsight, but i dont regret doing what i did. heres my thinking: he has done so much to not lose to voltorb, so the next step is obviously getting a tera up. if i giga like i did, id inevitably go into mudbray anyway, to later get a spore off. i can just skip one step, leaving my voltorb at 100%, and guarantee a spore off anyway. even if he doesnt tera, i will get progress off either way. alas, i didnt do it, so i had to sacrifice two mons just to put mudbray in hjk range, after he got another lucky 1 turn sleep.
1726516728770.png

since he never gave me an opportunity to switch my mienfoo in anyway, he failed to realize that i was scarf, because honestly i dont think he couldve lol. therefore, my tera mienfoo just killed the vullaby with the help of stealth rocks. this, coupled with the fact that mare was already at 1 hp and mienfoo was incredibly low too, just gave me the game. i failed to kill the gothita even after rocks (its a 62.5% roll in my favor vs normal spreads but allegedly he had more defense), but after that i just needed to hit my gunk shots to secure the win
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top