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Tournament SCL VI PU Discussion Thread
- Thread starter DripLegend
- Start date
SV PU: Trichotomy vs zS - they just throwing bro anywhere but its clear zs is the most locked in person on the islanders tricho did avoid getting owned by the featured shitmon last week but zs shitmons are next level so I'm going with zs
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Kushalos - 3-0 battle woooo I have a lot more faith in gum's builds after being less impressed with Michael's team last week Michael is probably the better clicker and could win despite a team disadvantage but I just got a hunch for this one.
SV PU: Mako vs Metallica126 - surprised no pu swap from the foxes but ig their options are obb or tuthur. mako isn't really playing bad though more they just need a putl to start building the tier he leads anyways Metallica is pretty locked in atm so going with him
SV PU: MZ vs Cielau - yall dont understand mz is going X-2 that timer loss is gonna motivate the hell out of him also cielau debut is tough after their only builder is 0-3. platoons really pulled a draft 0 pu support and pray again so I expect to see django sun here.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Kushalos - 3-0 battle woooo I have a lot more faith in gum's builds after being less impressed with Michael's team last week Michael is probably the better clicker and could win despite a team disadvantage but I just got a hunch for this one.
SV PU: Mako vs Metallica126 - surprised no pu swap from the foxes but ig their options are obb or tuthur. mako isn't really playing bad though more they just need a putl to start building the tier he leads anyways Metallica is pretty locked in atm so going with him
SV PU: MZ vs Cielau - yall dont understand mz is going X-2 that timer loss is gonna motivate the hell out of him also cielau debut is tough after their only builder is 0-3. platoons really pulled a draft 0 pu support and pray again so I expect to see django sun here.
So PU copped shade last week for doing a video-only write-up and I've been following this SCL more closely than usual so I thought I'd have a go at supplementing the video for the forum lurkers.
Hecidueye continues to be the story of the tour as the most used mon despite some lukewarm results. A much stronger showing from the fake bird this week, demonstrating its set variety and helping us heal from a generation of getting mogged by Rhydon.
Glowbro looked the full S-Tier monster this week and P2 is looking to be a strong soldier for balance in the post-Heattom meta.
Game of the Week: MZ vs Cielau
Dirk Ducklett
Hecidueye continues to be the story of the tour as the most used mon despite some lukewarm results. A much stronger showing from the fake bird this week, demonstrating its set variety and helping us heal from a generation of getting mogged by Rhydon.
Glowbro looked the full S-Tier monster this week and P2 is looking to be a strong soldier for balance in the post-Heattom meta.
Game of the Week: MZ vs Cielau
Winner: Trichotomy
The Teams
Trichotomy: Cramorant/Florges/Mudsdale/Porygon2 (Tri/SB/IB)/Glowbro (Def Helmet w Psy/Press/Tox)/Zoroark (Adamant Scarf?)
Zs: Haunter (Eviolite Encore)/Ambipom/Heracross (Scarf)/Vileplume/Rhydon/Alolaslash
Trichotomy brought fairly standard PU balance slop. P2 again a strong soldier and another Body Press/Psychic Glowbro. It was unrevealed but I suspect Specs Florges as the breaker with some help with a greedy Adamant Scarf Zoro (or the Vileplume had weird EVs). The only thing I'll note is that this team is only possible in a post Heattom meta so thanks for voting ban frends.
So, zS brought Encore Haunter. I wouldn't be Shadowheart unless I loved a tricky Ghost. With Ambipom as well, the defensive core of had to put in overtime. PU's version of "slap on a Tusk/Gambit to enable my niche mon" is Rhydon + Slash and it was nice to see Vileplume getting some usage. With Haunter as Eviolite, Pom as Boots, and Hera as Scarf, the team was a bit short on breaking power for my liking.
I would really love to know what Zs saw in the scout for Encore Haunter to be the bring of choice. Zs gets the swag points but big advantage to Trichotomy on preview.
The Game
Hard to say anything but it was over on preview.
A fun start to the game with a awkward moment between Glowbro and Vileplume realising they wore the same outfit (A Rocky Helmet) and were expecting someone else.
Trichotomy kept hazards away with some aggressive switching and Cramorant Defog plays.
The story of SCL this weak is that Sludge Bomb's poison chance is fake. Haunter got the cheesy Encore onto P2 Recover then could not get the poison.
Trichotomy baited the Haunter Tera Steel with Adamant Scarf Zoroark masking as Florges and does 88% with Knock Off to KO anyway. I checked, Jolly doesnt KO and it didn't do enough to Vileplume to be Band.
There was an unfortunate Ambi Axel miss into P2 Ice Beam crit, but I think it just ended a foregone conclusion more quickly.
I will never criticise cooking in the team builder but standard with a sprinkle of special Adamant Zoro sauce won the day today.
The Teams
Trichotomy: Cramorant/Florges/Mudsdale/Porygon2 (Tri/SB/IB)/Glowbro (Def Helmet w Psy/Press/Tox)/Zoroark (Adamant Scarf?)
Zs: Haunter (Eviolite Encore)/Ambipom/Heracross (Scarf)/Vileplume/Rhydon/Alolaslash
Trichotomy brought fairly standard PU balance slop. P2 again a strong soldier and another Body Press/Psychic Glowbro. It was unrevealed but I suspect Specs Florges as the breaker with some help with a greedy Adamant Scarf Zoro (or the Vileplume had weird EVs). The only thing I'll note is that this team is only possible in a post Heattom meta so thanks for voting ban frends.
So, zS brought Encore Haunter. I wouldn't be Shadowheart unless I loved a tricky Ghost. With Ambipom as well, the defensive core of had to put in overtime. PU's version of "slap on a Tusk/Gambit to enable my niche mon" is Rhydon + Slash and it was nice to see Vileplume getting some usage. With Haunter as Eviolite, Pom as Boots, and Hera as Scarf, the team was a bit short on breaking power for my liking.
I would really love to know what Zs saw in the scout for Encore Haunter to be the bring of choice. Zs gets the swag points but big advantage to Trichotomy on preview.
The Game
Hard to say anything but it was over on preview.
A fun start to the game with a awkward moment between Glowbro and Vileplume realising they wore the same outfit (A Rocky Helmet) and were expecting someone else.
Trichotomy kept hazards away with some aggressive switching and Cramorant Defog plays.
The story of SCL this weak is that Sludge Bomb's poison chance is fake. Haunter got the cheesy Encore onto P2 Recover then could not get the poison.
Trichotomy baited the Haunter Tera Steel with Adamant Scarf Zoroark masking as Florges and does 88% with Knock Off to KO anyway. I checked, Jolly doesnt KO and it didn't do enough to Vileplume to be Band.
There was an unfortunate Ambi Axel miss into P2 Ice Beam crit, but I think it just ended a foregone conclusion more quickly.
I will never criticise cooking in the team builder but standard with a sprinkle of special Adamant Zoro sauce won the day today.
Winner: MichaelderBeste2
The Teams:
MDB: Alolaslash (Spikes)/Palossand/Kilowattrel/ Wo-Chien (Specs)/Porygon 2/Passimian (Scarf)
Kush
Glowbro (CM)/Coalossal (Spikes)/Mudsdale/Kilowattrel/Wo-Chien (Band)/Florges (Scarf)
Both brought fairly standard hazard stack balance slop with Kilo speed control and offensive Wo-Chien as the breaker of choice.
Not a lot of crazy innovations in the teams. MDB used specs Wo-Chien, a bit of signature at this point, and a P2 that looked like it had 252 EVs in HP, Def, and SpDef. Kush used a cool band Woch and made the fairly bold bring of Coalossal.
I actually think Kush had the slight edge in the builder, but bringing a fairly standard hazard stack balance against the best clicker in the tier was a big risk.
The Game:
Luck was slightly on MDB's side but MDB clicked slightly better as well.
The risk of bringing Coal is that 30% can feel like 0%. Kush got a key turn right bringing in Coal on an early Passimian Uturn but missed the burn. They also clicked Tera Water Scald 4 times for no burn on Palo, a key moment that meant Palo survived to save the game at the end. Meanwhile, in defiance of this week's narrative, MDB's Palo got 2 immediate Sludge Bomb poisons.
Kush's play felt a little directionless around turn 20 after all the hax but they finished strong. The key moment in the game was MDB's Palossand clicking Shore Up on a Kilo U-turn to escape with its life and wall Mud at the end.
The Teams:
MDB: Alolaslash (Spikes)/Palossand/Kilowattrel/ Wo-Chien (Specs)/Porygon 2/Passimian (Scarf)
Kush
Glowbro (CM)/Coalossal (Spikes)/Mudsdale/Kilowattrel/Wo-Chien (Band)/Florges (Scarf)
Both brought fairly standard hazard stack balance slop with Kilo speed control and offensive Wo-Chien as the breaker of choice.
Not a lot of crazy innovations in the teams. MDB used specs Wo-Chien, a bit of signature at this point, and a P2 that looked like it had 252 EVs in HP, Def, and SpDef. Kush used a cool band Woch and made the fairly bold bring of Coalossal.
I actually think Kush had the slight edge in the builder, but bringing a fairly standard hazard stack balance against the best clicker in the tier was a big risk.
The Game:
Luck was slightly on MDB's side but MDB clicked slightly better as well.
The risk of bringing Coal is that 30% can feel like 0%. Kush got a key turn right bringing in Coal on an early Passimian Uturn but missed the burn. They also clicked Tera Water Scald 4 times for no burn on Palo, a key moment that meant Palo survived to save the game at the end. Meanwhile, in defiance of this week's narrative, MDB's Palo got 2 immediate Sludge Bomb poisons.
Kush's play felt a little directionless around turn 20 after all the hax but they finished strong. The key moment in the game was MDB's Palossand clicking Shore Up on a Kilo U-turn to escape with its life and wall Mud at the end.
Winner: Drud
The Teams
LpZ: Glowbro (AV)/Tatsugiri/Hecidueye (SD)/Hyphlosion (Choiced)/Ambipom/Mudsdale
Drud: Zoroark (Phys Scarf?)/Araquanid (Restalk)/Cramorant/Mudsdale/Magneton (Eviolite?)/Salazzle (Tox Protect)
LpZ brought a solid Offense team that was a nice change from PU balance slop.
Drud, also using bulky offense, brought a team that was on the more interesting side. They gave us a blast from the past with Tox Protect Lazzle and brought an interesting offensive Restalk Araquanid. Good to see innovation with our relatively new spider toy.
Cool innovations, butLpZ won this one in the builder with a single mon.
The Game:
Folks, this is one for the Regen purists. It was AV Glowbro sacrificing the other 5 mons at the altar of whatever Eldritch horror Regenerator mons pray to for healing.
Sure there was plenty of skillful positioning from both players throughout the match but that was a sideshow. There was only ever one question that needed answering this battle: would Drud be able to kill AV Glowbro before it 6-0ed their team?
The short answer is no, but a Zoroark crit on the penultimate turn meant that Drud won anyway.
Sludge Bomb continues to have a fake poison chance and Hecid goes to 0-5 outside mirrors.
The Teams
LpZ: Glowbro (AV)/Tatsugiri/Hecidueye (SD)/Hyphlosion (Choiced)/Ambipom/Mudsdale
Drud: Zoroark (Phys Scarf?)/Araquanid (Restalk)/Cramorant/Mudsdale/Magneton (Eviolite?)/Salazzle (Tox Protect)
LpZ brought a solid Offense team that was a nice change from PU balance slop.
Drud, also using bulky offense, brought a team that was on the more interesting side. They gave us a blast from the past with Tox Protect Lazzle and brought an interesting offensive Restalk Araquanid. Good to see innovation with our relatively new spider toy.
Cool innovations, butLpZ won this one in the builder with a single mon.
The Game:
Folks, this is one for the Regen purists. It was AV Glowbro sacrificing the other 5 mons at the altar of whatever Eldritch horror Regenerator mons pray to for healing.
Sure there was plenty of skillful positioning from both players throughout the match but that was a sideshow. There was only ever one question that needed answering this battle: would Drud be able to kill AV Glowbro before it 6-0ed their team?
The short answer is no, but a Zoroark crit on the penultimate turn meant that Drud won anyway.
Sludge Bomb continues to have a fake poison chance and Hecid goes to 0-5 outside mirrors.
Winner: Metallica126
The Teams
Metallica: Mesprit (SR)/Bruxish (Scarf)/Skuntank/Hecidueye (SD)/Coalossal/Kilowattrel
Mako: Grimmsnarl (3 att)/Heracross (FO)/Rotom-C (Scarf)/Alolaslash (SR)/Rhydon (Double Dance?)/Glowbro (Defensive Psychic, Toxic, Body Press)
Mako brought a fairly standard balance build with Glowbro and the Gen 9 PU classic of Alolaslash + Rhydon. Looked like offensive 3 attacks Grimm which is the best set these days imo.
Metallica cooked a bit this week, managing to build a balance team without any of the top 10 mons (in VR or ladder usage), although Kilo, Brux, Hecid are big tour threats. Hecid is the most used mon this tour but, prior to this game, it was 0-4 in non-mirror matches. That's also 2 for 2 games so far this week with a Kilo Coal core.
Mako's team looked like it had the edge on preview, but Chef Metallica had some special sauce.
The Game
In a shocking opening, Bruxish clicked Flip Turn on turn 1.
12 million set variation Glowbro is revealed to be Rocky Helmet Body Press, which was a cool innovation. The trade king Skunk Knocks the Helmet and Bruxish cries tears of joy.
Slash and Coal trade hazards. Coal manages to set a meaningful spike then fails to spin for the rest of the game. Flame Body is useless as Mako's breaker is Guts Hera.
The mid game is pretty even, with Brux and Hera punching holes. Despite losing Hera perhaps a little unnecessarily, Mako looked to come into the endgame with game wrapped up. With Temu Uxie dying to rocks, and PsychicPress Glowbro drugged on defense EVs at full health, Hecidueye looked all but dead.
Then Mako got Gen 9ed. Metallica had the right set and the right Tera to sweep with a bit of help from a signature move with 17 secondary effects. Psychic thudded into Tera Steel allowing a Roost then a very relevant Triple Arrows def drop meant Body Press just missed the KO and dropped it below the 50% damage that could be shrugged off with Roost. Some parahax on Grim meant Hecid was kept healthy and the game was sealed with a sneaky Sucker Punch that Metallica did well to keep hidden.
People will say the Psychic on the obvious Tera was a choke by Mako, but I think it was still the best play into a mon that will be Tera Ghost on its sweeping sets much of the time.
I'll give Mako the win in spirit here, but well done to chef Metallica on the tenacious endgame with the creative team.
The Teams
Metallica: Mesprit (SR)/Bruxish (Scarf)/Skuntank/Hecidueye (SD)/Coalossal/Kilowattrel
Mako: Grimmsnarl (3 att)/Heracross (FO)/Rotom-C (Scarf)/Alolaslash (SR)/Rhydon (Double Dance?)/Glowbro (Defensive Psychic, Toxic, Body Press)
Mako brought a fairly standard balance build with Glowbro and the Gen 9 PU classic of Alolaslash + Rhydon. Looked like offensive 3 attacks Grimm which is the best set these days imo.
Metallica cooked a bit this week, managing to build a balance team without any of the top 10 mons (in VR or ladder usage), although Kilo, Brux, Hecid are big tour threats. Hecid is the most used mon this tour but, prior to this game, it was 0-4 in non-mirror matches. That's also 2 for 2 games so far this week with a Kilo Coal core.
Mako's team looked like it had the edge on preview, but Chef Metallica had some special sauce.
The Game
In a shocking opening, Bruxish clicked Flip Turn on turn 1.
12 million set variation Glowbro is revealed to be Rocky Helmet Body Press, which was a cool innovation. The trade king Skunk Knocks the Helmet and Bruxish cries tears of joy.
Slash and Coal trade hazards. Coal manages to set a meaningful spike then fails to spin for the rest of the game. Flame Body is useless as Mako's breaker is Guts Hera.
The mid game is pretty even, with Brux and Hera punching holes. Despite losing Hera perhaps a little unnecessarily, Mako looked to come into the endgame with game wrapped up. With Temu Uxie dying to rocks, and PsychicPress Glowbro drugged on defense EVs at full health, Hecidueye looked all but dead.
Then Mako got Gen 9ed. Metallica had the right set and the right Tera to sweep with a bit of help from a signature move with 17 secondary effects. Psychic thudded into Tera Steel allowing a Roost then a very relevant Triple Arrows def drop meant Body Press just missed the KO and dropped it below the 50% damage that could be shrugged off with Roost. Some parahax on Grim meant Hecid was kept healthy and the game was sealed with a sneaky Sucker Punch that Metallica did well to keep hidden.
People will say the Psychic on the obvious Tera was a choke by Mako, but I think it was still the best play into a mon that will be Tera Ghost on its sweeping sets much of the time.
I'll give Mako the win in spirit here, but well done to chef Metallica on the tenacious endgame with the creative team.
Winner: Cielau
The Teams:
MZ: Hariyama (BU)/Florges(Specs)/Tentacruel (Boots)/Rhydon/Wo-Chien (CB)/Glowbro (Def Colbur Psy/FT/Tox)
Cielau: Rotom-F (NP)/Glowbro (Def Helmet Twave/EQ/SSA)/Zoroark (SD)/Florges (Scarf)/Hecid (Defog)/Rhydon
MZ brought a team so fat I thought it might be Hariyama semi-stall on preview. No such luck, it's a creative balance team. EQ over Knock on BU Yama for Poisons and CB Zen Headbutt Wo-Chien for Hecid both interesting brings.
Cielau brought a fairly standard balance team with SD Zoro as a cool breaker paired with Hecid. Wait. Is that the Fridge? Gen 8 PU war flashbacks.
No clear winner on preview here so I was looking forward to a pretty fascinating matchup.
The Game
Probably the most tightly contested game this week and hard to fault either player for their clicking, nor can anyone blame hax.
An early Scarf trick onto Cielau's Glowbro limited it a bit, but EQ was a relatively safe click into a team with no ground immunes (especially with Woch being scared of SSA or Twave).
Cielau's Defensive Hecid had a good showing. It did its job in neutering Rhydon all match and still managed to beat Woch, taking peanuts from CB Zen Headbutt.
The fridge looked scary on preview but a Toxic plus Florges said no. It did punch enough of a hole in Florges to be relevant.
MZ's Hariyama looked like it might just win at +3 with Cielau needing to trade Florges for a Trick. Luckily the Florges had a bit of bulk or it would have been curtains.
The endgame boiled down to some masterful positioning of Zoroark by Cielau snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Cielau did a great job of bluffing a choice item and a Glowbro entry then clicking SD at the right moment to win the game.
Most well-played game of the week by both players imo and an absolute masterclass in chip damage, positioning, and psychological warfare by Cielau.
The Teams:
MZ: Hariyama (BU)/Florges(Specs)/Tentacruel (Boots)/Rhydon/Wo-Chien (CB)/Glowbro (Def Colbur Psy/FT/Tox)
Cielau: Rotom-F (NP)/Glowbro (Def Helmet Twave/EQ/SSA)/Zoroark (SD)/Florges (Scarf)/Hecid (Defog)/Rhydon
MZ brought a team so fat I thought it might be Hariyama semi-stall on preview. No such luck, it's a creative balance team. EQ over Knock on BU Yama for Poisons and CB Zen Headbutt Wo-Chien for Hecid both interesting brings.
Cielau brought a fairly standard balance team with SD Zoro as a cool breaker paired with Hecid. Wait. Is that the Fridge? Gen 8 PU war flashbacks.
No clear winner on preview here so I was looking forward to a pretty fascinating matchup.
The Game
Probably the most tightly contested game this week and hard to fault either player for their clicking, nor can anyone blame hax.
An early Scarf trick onto Cielau's Glowbro limited it a bit, but EQ was a relatively safe click into a team with no ground immunes (especially with Woch being scared of SSA or Twave).
Cielau's Defensive Hecid had a good showing. It did its job in neutering Rhydon all match and still managed to beat Woch, taking peanuts from CB Zen Headbutt.
The fridge looked scary on preview but a Toxic plus Florges said no. It did punch enough of a hole in Florges to be relevant.
MZ's Hariyama looked like it might just win at +3 with Cielau needing to trade Florges for a Trick. Luckily the Florges had a bit of bulk or it would have been curtains.
The endgame boiled down to some masterful positioning of Zoroark by Cielau snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Cielau did a great job of bluffing a choice item and a Glowbro entry then clicking SD at the right moment to win the game.
Most well-played game of the week by both players imo and an absolute masterclass in chip damage, positioning, and psychological warfare by Cielau.
Dirk Ducklett
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lol last week i got 0/4 right predict
SV PU: MZ vs Kushalos
I feel sorry from kush for underrated him a lot, with good skill and good support, kush is one biggest threat in this pool, MZ still great but now looks struggling in pool.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ
Highlight game, MDB2+DD Joe combo is broken rn, but LpZ still have big hope won this game, like 50.1/49.9.
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau
Both soild, and have good pu experience and good skill, Lana have better SV PU experience but i love Cielau last week's team pick.
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy
Like kush, trich is another big dark horse in this pool, his skill is good so can defeat zs last week, his team is soild but also ambitious/not boring, another thing is he still only 4 replays so still hard predict what he run.
SV PU: MZ vs Kushalos
I feel sorry from kush for underrated him a lot, with good skill and good support, kush is one biggest threat in this pool, MZ still great but now looks struggling in pool.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ
Highlight game, MDB2+DD Joe combo is broken rn, but LpZ still have big hope won this game, like 50.1/49.9.
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau
Both soild, and have good pu experience and good skill, Lana have better SV PU experience but i love Cielau last week's team pick.
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy
Like kush, trich is another big dark horse in this pool, his skill is good so can defeat zs last week, his team is soild but also ambitious/not boring, another thing is he still only 4 replays so still hard predict what he run.
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SV PU: MZ vs Kushalos- im a mz believer and i think from teaming with him that he can surely be able to build and play around the unusual sets and techs that the technical machines are loading here. Will be a really interesting game to watch.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ gotta bold mdb but lpz has had impressive games and wouldnt be surprised if he wins
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau cielau is blessed and islanders have been struggling a lot in this slot
SV PU: Drud vs Metallica126 metallica is in great shape rn. I think drud has really good chances too, i liked a lot his team last week and i think if he brings smth similar style wise he might even be slighty favoured here but i feel like he might try another approach and lose
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy SV PU MICCIU SV PU MICCIU
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ gotta bold mdb but lpz has had impressive games and wouldnt be surprised if he wins
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau cielau is blessed and islanders have been struggling a lot in this slot
SV PU: Drud vs Metallica126 metallica is in great shape rn. I think drud has really good chances too, i liked a lot his team last week and i think if he brings smth similar style wise he might even be slighty favoured here but i feel like he might try another approach and lose
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy SV PU MICCIU SV PU MICCIU
1/4 last week I was one bold off having to put an lbn obscenity at the start of my predicts lets fix that
SV PU: MZ vs Kushalos - the great lock in did not happen I still think mz will bounce back but just not this week and so long as Kush doesnt load coal again he should be golden also kush enjoyed my daine nicknames so he also gets the tony bold of faith
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ - close one both are strong clickers and seem to have ample support mdb has just seemed more confident in this tour and I feel joe teams look good vs regiboob teams but sometimes he overcooks so still close
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau - cielau had a good debut last week I do rate Lana as a clicker but the islanders just haven't been able to lock this slot down, even their strongest soldier zS couldn't save it. Also cielau gave me all the dopamine of seeing a xiri level shitmon put in the numbers so they get the bold.
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy - the world is cruel and unjust... the prs are lying, the pu all time sheet hasn't added last puwc records, and tls have been consumed by the void. Every part of me wants to bold dpp pu legend meatchew maybe throw in a shade or two at monotype but I've already been burned twice bolding against tricho and the shoguns builder clearly has figured the tier out meanwhile foxes have the dugza curse and have obb building. I wish you luck micciu but you'll be climbing up a whole ass mountain for this one.
SV PU: MZ vs Kushalos - the great lock in did not happen I still think mz will bounce back but just not this week and so long as Kush doesnt load coal again he should be golden also kush enjoyed my daine nicknames so he also gets the tony bold of faith
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ - close one both are strong clickers and seem to have ample support mdb has just seemed more confident in this tour and I feel joe teams look good vs regiboob teams but sometimes he overcooks so still close
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau - cielau had a good debut last week I do rate Lana as a clicker but the islanders just haven't been able to lock this slot down, even their strongest soldier zS couldn't save it. Also cielau gave me all the dopamine of seeing a xiri level shitmon put in the numbers so they get the bold.
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy - the world is cruel and unjust... the prs are lying, the pu all time sheet hasn't added last puwc records, and tls have been consumed by the void. Every part of me wants to bold dpp pu legend meatchew maybe throw in a shade or two at monotype but I've already been burned twice bolding against tricho and the shoguns builder clearly has figured the tier out meanwhile foxes have the dugza curse and have obb building. I wish you luck micciu but you'll be climbing up a whole ass mountain for this one.
SV PU: MZ vs Kushalos - mz will bounce back eventually, but this is a hard week to do so. I'm betting on the cook.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ - if anyone from the remaining roster can hand mdb an X-1, it's lpz. Gotta hope mdb has another kamikaze performance like vs mz.
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau - cielau played an impressive match last week. No reason to bet against them.
SV PU: Drud vs Metallica126 - drud with a nice cook! That's what was missing for me to bold him.
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy - someone's gotta exploit Trich's builds, but is micciu the person? Idk. Nothing more consistent than standard.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ - if anyone from the remaining roster can hand mdb an X-1, it's lpz. Gotta hope mdb has another kamikaze performance like vs mz.
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau - cielau played an impressive match last week. No reason to bet against them.
SV PU: Drud vs Metallica126 - drud with a nice cook! That's what was missing for me to bold him.
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy - someone's gotta exploit Trich's builds, but is micciu the person? Idk. Nothing more consistent than standard.
WEEK 5
SV PU:
MZ vs Kushalos 
SV PU:
MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ 
SV PU:
Lana vs Cielau 
SV PU:
Drud vs Metallica126 
SV PU:
Micciu vs Trichotomy 
Everyone's so excited to predict I can't keep up!! Lots of new people in this week so maybe the underperforming slots can make a comeback during the latter half, only one way to find out!
SV PU:
MZ vs Kushalos SV PU:
MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ SV PU:
Lana vs Cielau SV PU:
Drud vs Metallica126 SV PU:
Micciu vs Trichotomy SV PU: MZ vs Kushalos
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau
SV PU: Drud vs Metallica126
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs LpZ
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau
SV PU: Drud vs Metallica126
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy
SV PU: Lana vs Cielau - Go Snatchers
SV PU: Drud vs Metallica126 - Metallica likes me predicting against him
SV PU: Micciu vs Trichotomy - holy shit 3 Snatchers starting? But I think Trich has earned the predicts atp
Week 5 Round-Up for Text-Based Lifeforms
It was always going to be an exciting week. 5 Players coming in with 3-1 records and MDB sitting undefeated, someone had to start losing. Two first-time players in the PU slot (for this tour) in Micciu and Lana. Finally, we had a clicker battle for the ages in MDB v LpZ and the fact this is not battle of the week is indicative of how good the games were across the board.
I don't know if anyone read my ranting about PU hazard stack balance slop last week, but the builders did not disappoint this week. There was a veritable smorgasbord of archetypes from HO to stall. 40 unique mons were used and only Glowbro (3 + 1 mogging) and the spicy flavour of the week, Firebull (4), were used more than twice.
And then there's the big news of the week. Viable big stall has finally come to SV PU.
Battle of the Week: Micciu v Trichotomy
Team of the Week: Kushalos
It was always going to be an exciting week. 5 Players coming in with 3-1 records and MDB sitting undefeated, someone had to start losing. Two first-time players in the PU slot (for this tour) in Micciu and Lana. Finally, we had a clicker battle for the ages in MDB v LpZ and the fact this is not battle of the week is indicative of how good the games were across the board.
I don't know if anyone read my ranting about PU hazard stack balance slop last week, but the builders did not disappoint this week. There was a veritable smorgasbord of archetypes from HO to stall. 40 unique mons were used and only Glowbro (3 + 1 mogging) and the spicy flavour of the week, Firebull (4), were used more than twice.
And then there's the big news of the week. Viable big stall has finally come to SV PU.
Battle of the Week: Micciu v Trichotomy
Team of the Week: Kushalos
The Teams
MZ: Clawitzer (Specs)/Kilowattrel/ Bombirdier (Utility) /Glowbro (AV)/Salazzle/Passimian (Scarf)
Kushalos: Milotic/ Hecidueye (Defog)/Avalugg/Chansey (SR)/Naclstack (Curse?)/Glowbro (TrickScarf)
Stall has been pretty garbage for most of SV PU but there has been some chatter recently that, with Avalugg and Chansey dropping, there might finally be hope for everyone's favourite fast-paced archetype.
Kush played it extra safe bringing double removal (which has always been kinda necessary in SV PU stall). I love me some Naclstack gaming, although I am not sure about scarf Glowbro as speed control (/s).
MZ brought everyone's favourite lobster and, traditionally, there are not too many mons you would rather have into stall than Specs Clawitzer. However Milo + Chans deal with Claw pretty well and the rest of the team looked pretty horrible into stall.
This MU looked pretty over on preview. MZ was going to have to play out of his mind (and even then it might not have been enough).
The Game
It was obviously a longer game so I won't go full blow-by-blow but here are some key turns:
Turn 1: Classic Tera Avalugg Turn 1 is pretty normal for PU stall, and Tera Fairy looked really good into Passimian + Bomb.
Turn 4: Bombirdier is revealed as the Rocker (the only option on preview) and Fairy Avalugg looked like it would be spinning for free all game unless MZ Tera Ghosted something. Bomb being Parting Shot also meant no chip on Ava.
Turn 9: Salazzle Tera Ghosts to act as a pseudo spin blocker. This means no Tera Dragon for Clawitzer which severly limited it's breaking power.
Turn 12: Kushalos' Glowbro is revealed to be TrickScarf and hits a great target in the opposing AV Glowbro. While stall is not really a good MU for AV Glowbro, being locked into an attack made life much easier for Kush.
Turn 23: Hecid reveals Defog and, as Bomb seems to lack Brave Bird, Kush will be able to keep hazards away despite Ghost Lazzle. Even with the Defiant boost, Scarf Passimian is not doing enough to Glowbro and Fairy Ava.
Turn 33: Clawitzer only does 44% to Milo meaning, without a crit, it's never 2HKOing.
It was all just slow chip and wearing down from there. MZ did well to keep Chansey low to keep Clawitzer in the game, but it was always going to be a mountain.
Great cheeky bring from Kush and a rough one for MZ who would have been hoping to turn things around this week. It is good to see that we finally have the full range of archetypes available to us in SV PU.
MZ: Clawitzer (Specs)/Kilowattrel/ Bombirdier (Utility) /Glowbro (AV)/Salazzle/Passimian (Scarf)
Kushalos: Milotic/ Hecidueye (Defog)/Avalugg/Chansey (SR)/Naclstack (Curse?)/Glowbro (TrickScarf)
Stall has been pretty garbage for most of SV PU but there has been some chatter recently that, with Avalugg and Chansey dropping, there might finally be hope for everyone's favourite fast-paced archetype.
Kush played it extra safe bringing double removal (which has always been kinda necessary in SV PU stall). I love me some Naclstack gaming, although I am not sure about scarf Glowbro as speed control (/s).
MZ brought everyone's favourite lobster and, traditionally, there are not too many mons you would rather have into stall than Specs Clawitzer. However Milo + Chans deal with Claw pretty well and the rest of the team looked pretty horrible into stall.
This MU looked pretty over on preview. MZ was going to have to play out of his mind (and even then it might not have been enough).
The Game
It was obviously a longer game so I won't go full blow-by-blow but here are some key turns:
Turn 1: Classic Tera Avalugg Turn 1 is pretty normal for PU stall, and Tera Fairy looked really good into Passimian + Bomb.
Turn 4: Bombirdier is revealed as the Rocker (the only option on preview) and Fairy Avalugg looked like it would be spinning for free all game unless MZ Tera Ghosted something. Bomb being Parting Shot also meant no chip on Ava.
Turn 9: Salazzle Tera Ghosts to act as a pseudo spin blocker. This means no Tera Dragon for Clawitzer which severly limited it's breaking power.
Turn 12: Kushalos' Glowbro is revealed to be TrickScarf and hits a great target in the opposing AV Glowbro. While stall is not really a good MU for AV Glowbro, being locked into an attack made life much easier for Kush.
Turn 23: Hecid reveals Defog and, as Bomb seems to lack Brave Bird, Kush will be able to keep hazards away despite Ghost Lazzle. Even with the Defiant boost, Scarf Passimian is not doing enough to Glowbro and Fairy Ava.
Turn 33: Clawitzer only does 44% to Milo meaning, without a crit, it's never 2HKOing.
It was all just slow chip and wearing down from there. MZ did well to keep Chansey low to keep Clawitzer in the game, but it was always going to be a mountain.
Great cheeky bring from Kush and a rough one for MZ who would have been hoping to turn things around this week. It is good to see that we finally have the full range of archetypes available to us in SV PU.
The Teams
MDB: Ambipom/Heracross (Scarf?)/Palossand/Porygon2/Salazzle (Toxic)/Tatsugiri (Eject Pack NP)
LpZ: Rhydon (SR)/Tauros Blaze (Scarf)/Cramorant/ Venusaur (Offensive Eject Pack)/Grimmsnarl (3 attack)/Hoopa (AV)
The top billed game for the week didn't disappoint in the builder.
MDB brought balanced offense with a 2 mon defensive core of P2 Palo. That's 2 weeks in a row with that core and definitely another MDB favourite. Tastu looked the most scary on preview.
LpZ brought a similar style bulky offense mixing the classics (Rhydon/Scarfbull/Cram) with some more modern SV PU innovations (Eject Pack Leaf Storm Venu/3 attacks Grimm/AV Hoopa).
No clear winner in the builder but both bringing interesting teams.
The Game
With relatively even teams, the match became what we all wanted: a duel between the two best clickers in SV PU.
MDB won the lead MU with Palossand setting rocks on Firebull but Cram blanks Palo pretty hard, so Defog was fairly free for LpZ.
MDB's Tatsu gets a nice entry and chunks Hoopa to an inch of death with a +2 Draco and surviving at full health with Eject Pack shenanigans.
MDB gets another good Tatsu entry with a great double as LpZ brings Rhydon into P2. This time LpZ gets the turn right and brings Venu in on Surf. It fires a Leaf Storm into P2 and engages in its own Eject Pack shenanigans. At 32% MDB's, P2 is getting dangerously low and Eject Pack gives LpZ gets a free turn with offensive Grimm.
I ran a calc and 252 HP P2 takes Max 31.5% from Crunch so either MDB got some Showdown jank rounding AND the worst roll ever or LpZ was Blackglasses or Muscle Band Grimm, but Grimm takes out P2.
Hera comes in and fails to KO with CC then dies to Play Rough. As Hera never KOs here and Grimm killed P2, I'm guessing MDB thought it was Band Grimm. A great bit of building + bluff by LpZ and their team to turn the battle.
The last nail in the coffin was Turn 17 where LpZ made a bold stay with Venu on Salazzle to KO with Earth Power and only taking a Toxic in return.
MDB fought to the end but it was a losing battle. Nothing to say here except well-played LpZ.
MDB: Ambipom/Heracross (Scarf?)/Palossand/Porygon2/Salazzle (Toxic)/Tatsugiri (Eject Pack NP)
LpZ: Rhydon (SR)/Tauros Blaze (Scarf)/Cramorant/ Venusaur (Offensive Eject Pack)/Grimmsnarl (3 attack)/Hoopa (AV)
The top billed game for the week didn't disappoint in the builder.
MDB brought balanced offense with a 2 mon defensive core of P2 Palo. That's 2 weeks in a row with that core and definitely another MDB favourite. Tastu looked the most scary on preview.
LpZ brought a similar style bulky offense mixing the classics (Rhydon/Scarfbull/Cram) with some more modern SV PU innovations (Eject Pack Leaf Storm Venu/3 attacks Grimm/AV Hoopa).
No clear winner in the builder but both bringing interesting teams.
The Game
With relatively even teams, the match became what we all wanted: a duel between the two best clickers in SV PU.
MDB won the lead MU with Palossand setting rocks on Firebull but Cram blanks Palo pretty hard, so Defog was fairly free for LpZ.
MDB's Tatsu gets a nice entry and chunks Hoopa to an inch of death with a +2 Draco and surviving at full health with Eject Pack shenanigans.
MDB gets another good Tatsu entry with a great double as LpZ brings Rhydon into P2. This time LpZ gets the turn right and brings Venu in on Surf. It fires a Leaf Storm into P2 and engages in its own Eject Pack shenanigans. At 32% MDB's, P2 is getting dangerously low and Eject Pack gives LpZ gets a free turn with offensive Grimm.
I ran a calc and 252 HP P2 takes Max 31.5% from Crunch so either MDB got some Showdown jank rounding AND the worst roll ever or LpZ was Blackglasses or Muscle Band Grimm, but Grimm takes out P2.
Hera comes in and fails to KO with CC then dies to Play Rough. As Hera never KOs here and Grimm killed P2, I'm guessing MDB thought it was Band Grimm. A great bit of building + bluff by LpZ and their team to turn the battle.
The last nail in the coffin was Turn 17 where LpZ made a bold stay with Venu on Salazzle to KO with Earth Power and only taking a Toxic in return.
MDB fought to the end but it was a losing battle. Nothing to say here except well-played LpZ.
The Teams
Lana: Mudsdale/Qwilfish-H (Spikes)/Tauros Blaze (Scarf)/Glowbro/ Cramorant/Florges (Specs)
Cielau: Porygon2/ Zoroark (Specs)/Mudsdale/Alolaslash/ Amoongus (Stun)/Tauros Blaze (Scarf?)
We nearly managed to avoid the standard PU hazard stack balance slop all week, but it is served in full here.
For their first week in PU, Lana brought an extremely standard hazard stack balance with Specs Florges and Scarf Firebull as the breaking core. Standard is standard for a reason and Lana's team looks solid into most things.
Last week in his recap video, MZ questioned the logic of running Ghostless hazard stack and I'd echo that here, especially with a Defogger rather than a spinner. However, it is hard to argue with Specs Florges and, honestly, I am surprised it is the only one we saw this week with all the Hecidueye usage.
Cielau also brought hazard stack balance but with a bit of a para spam twist with Twave P2 and Stun Spore Amoon. Breaking core of Specs Zoro and Scarf Firebull (who seems to be the flavour of the week).
Very similar teams and there is a reason why hazard stack balance is the most standard archetype in SV PU, they are solid into everything. No clear advantage on preview.
The Game
Whether its day 1 Gen 5 low ladder or SCL 2026, a Turn 1 Zoroark gottem will never not be absolute cinema. If the Glowbro was AV (which seems likely based on the team) then the crit mattered but we will never know. Glowbro faints turn 1 and it's... kinda over?
Eject Button Amoon into Slash stops Specs Florges from going brrr early and Cielau makes the right call, catching Florges with Triple Axel on Lana going for the Moonblast beat down.
Another pivotal turn at Turn 9. Cielau's P2 survives Tera Fight CC from Lana's Firebull and fires off TWave in return. Amoon then gets Stun Spore on HQwil and Cramorant for good measure. Lana was running out of resources fast.
The game was a slow death to Lana from here, with Tera Dark Zoro cleaning up a paralysed team. In the end, Cielau only needed 5 mons. With such even teams, it was hard to see Lana ever coming back from their disastrous Turn 1.
Lana: Mudsdale/Qwilfish-H (Spikes)/Tauros Blaze (Scarf)/Glowbro/ Cramorant/Florges (Specs)
Cielau: Porygon2/ Zoroark (Specs)/Mudsdale/Alolaslash/ Amoongus (Stun)/Tauros Blaze (Scarf?)
We nearly managed to avoid the standard PU hazard stack balance slop all week, but it is served in full here.
For their first week in PU, Lana brought an extremely standard hazard stack balance with Specs Florges and Scarf Firebull as the breaking core. Standard is standard for a reason and Lana's team looks solid into most things.
Last week in his recap video, MZ questioned the logic of running Ghostless hazard stack and I'd echo that here, especially with a Defogger rather than a spinner. However, it is hard to argue with Specs Florges and, honestly, I am surprised it is the only one we saw this week with all the Hecidueye usage.
Cielau also brought hazard stack balance but with a bit of a para spam twist with Twave P2 and Stun Spore Amoon. Breaking core of Specs Zoro and Scarf Firebull (who seems to be the flavour of the week).
Very similar teams and there is a reason why hazard stack balance is the most standard archetype in SV PU, they are solid into everything. No clear advantage on preview.
The Game
Whether its day 1 Gen 5 low ladder or SCL 2026, a Turn 1 Zoroark gottem will never not be absolute cinema. If the Glowbro was AV (which seems likely based on the team) then the crit mattered but we will never know. Glowbro faints turn 1 and it's... kinda over?
Eject Button Amoon into Slash stops Specs Florges from going brrr early and Cielau makes the right call, catching Florges with Triple Axel on Lana going for the Moonblast beat down.
Another pivotal turn at Turn 9. Cielau's P2 survives Tera Fight CC from Lana's Firebull and fires off TWave in return. Amoon then gets Stun Spore on HQwil and Cramorant for good measure. Lana was running out of resources fast.
The game was a slow death to Lana from here, with Tera Dark Zoro cleaning up a paralysed team. In the end, Cielau only needed 5 mons. With such even teams, it was hard to see Lana ever coming back from their disastrous Turn 1.
The Teams
Drud: HAvalugg/Indeedee/Drifblim/Hitmonlee/Sceptile/Delphox (NP)
Metallica: Tauros Blaze (Band)/Rotom C (NP?)/Snorlax (Curse 3 Attack?)/Alolaslash (SD)/Palossand/Grafaiai (Prankster Scarf)
Drud brought grain rot this week (terrain seed HO). It has been a tournament staple for all of SV PU for a reason. Drud's team is a borderline sample team at this point, but its effective and the nicknames are finely tuned. Sure, it is a bit fishy but it asks a very simple question of the opponent: you know what I'm going to do, can you stop it?
Metallica brought a fairly standard looking bulky offense team but with some very quirky sets. The first is prankster trickscarf Grafaiai, a mon that is relatively underexplored since its return to PU. There has been a bit of experimentation with CB Poison Touch but Prankster Scarf cripples defensive mons and acts as an emergency HO check (very much needed in this battle).
Having Scarf Graf frees up Cuttom and Firebull to run other sets. We didn't see much of the Rotom but Band Firebull is a monster with the right support. Restless Snorlax is not my favourite set but it is always a scary mon. The last oddity was bulky SD Slash, an interesting take on a PU staple that gives it a better MU into bulkier teams.
The PsyTerrain MU looked pretty rough for Metallica's team. No Dark type meant Expanding Force was going to cause havoc, especially with Restless Snorlax making it easily worn down. Late game Hitmonlee looked like a massive threat.
Drud definitely caught the fish they were looking for at preview.
The Game
From early on, the game was all about positioning for a late game Hitmonlee sweep (or stopping it).
It is near impossible to stop HAvalugg from setting SR but Rotom Volt Switch into Band Firebull Flare Blitz stopped any Custap Shenanigans.
Drud goes to Delphox first to prevent losing Indeedee immediately and gets a valuable crit Expanding Force on Rotom and some chip on Lax.
Drud gets the first terrain set at the cost of half of Indeedee's HP and a Body Slam para. Indeedee sets Reflect through the para which looks really scary for Metallica's team.
Drud goes back to Delphox on a surprise SD from Alolaslash. Metallica burns Tera, going Water on a Fire Blast crit and clicking spin. Alolaslash looks pretty threatening here at +2 Attack +1 Speed but it turns out to be slower than Phox after the boost and dies to Expanding Force. I couldn't calc it because the Slash obviously had some weird EVs, but I suspect the FB crit mattered.
With Reflect still up, Phox NPs in the face of Snorlax, but Body Slam does not para. +2 Expanding Force chunks Lax down to a quarter health.
Drifblim comes in to start setting up on the last turn of terrain and Metallica takes what might be his only opportunity to priority Prankster Trick with Terrain ending. Drifblim gets locked into TBolt which gave Metallica some breathing room.
The rest of the battle is about positioning around the Hitmonlee sweep. Sceptile got some valuable chip on Tauros, but much of the rest of the game is Metallica attempting to waste terrain turns.
Metallica was in a pretty tough position and, despite some good doubles with Firebull Intimidate and preservation of Palossand, it wasn't enough. Hitmonlee and Drud looked inevitable and that's how it played out.
Drud: HAvalugg/Indeedee/Drifblim/Hitmonlee/Sceptile/Delphox (NP)
Metallica: Tauros Blaze (Band)/Rotom C (NP?)/Snorlax (Curse 3 Attack?)/Alolaslash (SD)/Palossand/Grafaiai (Prankster Scarf)
Drud brought grain rot this week (terrain seed HO). It has been a tournament staple for all of SV PU for a reason. Drud's team is a borderline sample team at this point, but its effective and the nicknames are finely tuned. Sure, it is a bit fishy but it asks a very simple question of the opponent: you know what I'm going to do, can you stop it?
Metallica brought a fairly standard looking bulky offense team but with some very quirky sets. The first is prankster trickscarf Grafaiai, a mon that is relatively underexplored since its return to PU. There has been a bit of experimentation with CB Poison Touch but Prankster Scarf cripples defensive mons and acts as an emergency HO check (very much needed in this battle).
Having Scarf Graf frees up Cuttom and Firebull to run other sets. We didn't see much of the Rotom but Band Firebull is a monster with the right support. Restless Snorlax is not my favourite set but it is always a scary mon. The last oddity was bulky SD Slash, an interesting take on a PU staple that gives it a better MU into bulkier teams.
The PsyTerrain MU looked pretty rough for Metallica's team. No Dark type meant Expanding Force was going to cause havoc, especially with Restless Snorlax making it easily worn down. Late game Hitmonlee looked like a massive threat.
Drud definitely caught the fish they were looking for at preview.
The Game
From early on, the game was all about positioning for a late game Hitmonlee sweep (or stopping it).
It is near impossible to stop HAvalugg from setting SR but Rotom Volt Switch into Band Firebull Flare Blitz stopped any Custap Shenanigans.
Drud goes to Delphox first to prevent losing Indeedee immediately and gets a valuable crit Expanding Force on Rotom and some chip on Lax.
Drud gets the first terrain set at the cost of half of Indeedee's HP and a Body Slam para. Indeedee sets Reflect through the para which looks really scary for Metallica's team.
Drud goes back to Delphox on a surprise SD from Alolaslash. Metallica burns Tera, going Water on a Fire Blast crit and clicking spin. Alolaslash looks pretty threatening here at +2 Attack +1 Speed but it turns out to be slower than Phox after the boost and dies to Expanding Force. I couldn't calc it because the Slash obviously had some weird EVs, but I suspect the FB crit mattered.
With Reflect still up, Phox NPs in the face of Snorlax, but Body Slam does not para. +2 Expanding Force chunks Lax down to a quarter health.
Drifblim comes in to start setting up on the last turn of terrain and Metallica takes what might be his only opportunity to priority Prankster Trick with Terrain ending. Drifblim gets locked into TBolt which gave Metallica some breathing room.
The rest of the battle is about positioning around the Hitmonlee sweep. Sceptile got some valuable chip on Tauros, but much of the rest of the game is Metallica attempting to waste terrain turns.
Metallica was in a pretty tough position and, despite some good doubles with Firebull Intimidate and preservation of Palossand, it wasn't enough. Hitmonlee and Drud looked inevitable and that's how it played out.
The Teams
Micciu: Milotic (Sub Leftovers)/Coalossal (SR)/ Kilowattrel/Heracross (FO)/Hoopa (Scarf)/Qwilfish-H (Spikes)
Trichotomy: Ambipom/Bombirdier (Leftovers!)/Hecidueye (Defog)/Lanturn/Glowbro (Helmet)/Hyphlosion (Specs)
Micciu bringing a spike stack balance with Hera Hoopa breaking core and (another) Kilo Coal pairing. Coalossal has looked unconvincing this tour (and for the whole of SV PU) but it is a cool mon to blank Ambipom. If the Coal bring was a read on Trichotomy's scout then it got the MU it wanted. Both hazard setters (Coal and HQwil) had good MUs into Defog Hecid. Good to see people adapting to the massive Hecid usage in this tour.
The most interesting mon on Micciu's team was an extremely unorthodox subMilo with Scald and Alluring Voice. It's an interesting idea, especially into balance and bulkier MUs that lack breaking power and rely on status to wear down Milo (especially in the Milo mirror where spamming Scald for burn is the meta). Lefties was a particularly bold choice with Coal the only removal.
Trichotomy brought my favourite SV PU archetype: Volturn into Specs Hyph, so I was rooting for them this week.
Lanturn Hecid Bomb Hyph have great synergies and Glowbro provided enough of a defensive core that Ambipom could be brought safely. Some major greed on bringing lefties Bomb, particularly with Hecid being so popular that hazard stack were likely to be well prepped for Defog Hecid.
Teams looked pretty even, with maybe a slight edge to Micciu with the safer team. For Micciu it was all about keeping rocks up. The hazard setters had a good MU into Trichotomy's Hecid and Hoopa + Hera is always scary. On the other side, the slightly old school pick of Lanturn in the post Heatom meta looked amazing into Micciu's team. It switched into and either walled or slow voltturned on Micciu's entire defensive core. There are not many answers to Specs Hyph (and Micciu had none) but it is a hard mon to position and is a high risk high reward bring.
The Game
Thr most interesting aspect of Hyphturn is the fear and we see Hyph in Micciu's head from Turn 1. The early turns are also the most dangerous for momentum-based volturn teams because a bad play into a hazard setter before you get them in the blender can mean a quick end.
Micciu has a great lead MU with Kilo into Bomb, but the fear of Lanturn into Hyph means they click Uturn instead of an electric move. Trichotomy has cajone's of steel and stays, getting a valuable Knock on HQwil's Eviolite.
Micciu tries to call Bomb staying in and Rocking, clicking Toxic but Trich goes to Resttalk Lanturn to absorb the status. Micciu clicks Crunch, which I didn't really understand (I think Spikes would have been better) and Lanturn Volts into Hyph.
Trich gets the first Hyph 50-50 right, clicking SBall as Micciu goes to Coal. Coal sets Rocks and Trich stays with Hyph, putting Coal dangerously low at 24%. Micciu goes to Milo and just survives the 2hko with lefties, finally stabilising.
Trichotomy played the first 6 turns near perfect and it put Micciu on the back foot from the start. Micciu had a couple of opportunities to make hard clicks to gain the initiative. Tbolting Bomb Turn 1, staying and Crunching Hyph with HQwil, or clicking Coal's coverage attack rather than setting rocks all wouod have put Trich in a terrible position.
Sub Milo dominates Micciu's midgame. While it blocks Glowbro's Toxic, Lanturn can just Volt for free, wasting recovers and letting breakers get in for free. Hecid managed to Defog following another good play by Trich using Ambipom to bait the Coal entry then double-switching.
Heracross looked threatening on Lanturn's passivity and helped Micciu get back in the game, killing Glowbro with a crit Knock and forcing Tera Fairy on Hecid.
The last real turning point was turns 21 and 22 where Trich risked clicking 2 contact moves with Ambipom into Coal. Flame Body once again failed to activate and Ambi kills Coal. No hazards for Micciu and Ambi can pivot for free for the rest of the battle.
The rest of the battle was the Lanturn and Ambipom show, with Micciu never really getting the chance to get another big Heracross hit off.
A bit of luck for Trichotomy but still a deserved win due to that spectacular opening.
Micciu: Milotic (Sub Leftovers)/Coalossal (SR)/ Kilowattrel/Heracross (FO)/Hoopa (Scarf)/Qwilfish-H (Spikes)
Trichotomy: Ambipom/Bombirdier (Leftovers!)/Hecidueye (Defog)/Lanturn/Glowbro (Helmet)/Hyphlosion (Specs)
Micciu bringing a spike stack balance with Hera Hoopa breaking core and (another) Kilo Coal pairing. Coalossal has looked unconvincing this tour (and for the whole of SV PU) but it is a cool mon to blank Ambipom. If the Coal bring was a read on Trichotomy's scout then it got the MU it wanted. Both hazard setters (Coal and HQwil) had good MUs into Defog Hecid. Good to see people adapting to the massive Hecid usage in this tour.
The most interesting mon on Micciu's team was an extremely unorthodox subMilo with Scald and Alluring Voice. It's an interesting idea, especially into balance and bulkier MUs that lack breaking power and rely on status to wear down Milo (especially in the Milo mirror where spamming Scald for burn is the meta). Lefties was a particularly bold choice with Coal the only removal.
Trichotomy brought my favourite SV PU archetype: Volturn into Specs Hyph, so I was rooting for them this week.
Lanturn Hecid Bomb Hyph have great synergies and Glowbro provided enough of a defensive core that Ambipom could be brought safely. Some major greed on bringing lefties Bomb, particularly with Hecid being so popular that hazard stack were likely to be well prepped for Defog Hecid.
Teams looked pretty even, with maybe a slight edge to Micciu with the safer team. For Micciu it was all about keeping rocks up. The hazard setters had a good MU into Trichotomy's Hecid and Hoopa + Hera is always scary. On the other side, the slightly old school pick of Lanturn in the post Heatom meta looked amazing into Micciu's team. It switched into and either walled or slow voltturned on Micciu's entire defensive core. There are not many answers to Specs Hyph (and Micciu had none) but it is a hard mon to position and is a high risk high reward bring.
The Game
Thr most interesting aspect of Hyphturn is the fear and we see Hyph in Micciu's head from Turn 1. The early turns are also the most dangerous for momentum-based volturn teams because a bad play into a hazard setter before you get them in the blender can mean a quick end.
Micciu has a great lead MU with Kilo into Bomb, but the fear of Lanturn into Hyph means they click Uturn instead of an electric move. Trichotomy has cajone's of steel and stays, getting a valuable Knock on HQwil's Eviolite.
Micciu tries to call Bomb staying in and Rocking, clicking Toxic but Trich goes to Resttalk Lanturn to absorb the status. Micciu clicks Crunch, which I didn't really understand (I think Spikes would have been better) and Lanturn Volts into Hyph.
Trich gets the first Hyph 50-50 right, clicking SBall as Micciu goes to Coal. Coal sets Rocks and Trich stays with Hyph, putting Coal dangerously low at 24%. Micciu goes to Milo and just survives the 2hko with lefties, finally stabilising.
Trichotomy played the first 6 turns near perfect and it put Micciu on the back foot from the start. Micciu had a couple of opportunities to make hard clicks to gain the initiative. Tbolting Bomb Turn 1, staying and Crunching Hyph with HQwil, or clicking Coal's coverage attack rather than setting rocks all wouod have put Trich in a terrible position.
Sub Milo dominates Micciu's midgame. While it blocks Glowbro's Toxic, Lanturn can just Volt for free, wasting recovers and letting breakers get in for free. Hecid managed to Defog following another good play by Trich using Ambipom to bait the Coal entry then double-switching.
Heracross looked threatening on Lanturn's passivity and helped Micciu get back in the game, killing Glowbro with a crit Knock and forcing Tera Fairy on Hecid.
The last real turning point was turns 21 and 22 where Trich risked clicking 2 contact moves with Ambipom into Coal. Flame Body once again failed to activate and Ambi kills Coal. No hazards for Micciu and Ambi can pivot for free for the rest of the battle.
The rest of the battle was the Lanturn and Ambipom show, with Micciu never really getting the chance to get another big Heracross hit off.
A bit of luck for Trichotomy but still a deserved win due to that spectacular opening.
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SV PU: Vulpix03 vs xavgb
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ
SV PU: Drud vs Trichotomy
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Metallica126
SV PU: Vulpix03 vs xavgb
Highlight week game, pix have more experience but xav is one best player and he can learn well, also pix use cheese w1 and i feel xav is more honest player and not build too much cheese.
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ
Another highlight, I predict LpZ cuz he is my GOAT and looks like use less cheese but kush also good.
SV PU:CheeserDrud vs Trichotomy
Use cheese try steal a free mu not a good player should did
, drud plz be honest and stop cheese opp, you should use bo, balance even fat and use last year 7-2 skill win, not use cheese in future time! trich is a honest player, he used 0 cheese until now so i bold him.
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu
looks both not use cheese, both of them are honest, cielau did well recent 2 weeks so i bold him.
I can fly
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ
SV PU: Drud vs Trichotomy
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Metallica126
SV PU: Vulpix03 vs xavgb
Highlight week game, pix have more experience but xav is one best player and he can learn well, also pix use cheese w1 and i feel xav is more honest player and not build too much cheese.
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ
Another highlight, I predict LpZ cuz he is my GOAT and looks like use less cheese but kush also good.
SV PU:
Use cheese try steal a free mu not a good player should did
, drud plz be honest and stop cheese opp, you should use bo, balance even fat and use last year 7-2 skill win, not use cheese in future time! trich is a honest player, he used 0 cheese until now so i bold him.SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu
looks both not use cheese, both of them are honest, cielau did well recent 2 weeks so i bold him.
I can fly
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3/4 lbn could never ❤
SV PU: Vulpix03 vs xavgb - well this wasnt expected. Mz usually has a good bounce back and I dont believe xav has been doing great in the wastelands of ru, pix on the other hand finally returned to the pu mantle after the islanders threw every single player they had trying to cover for him while he focused on classic. Overall ill bank on the team with 1 pu win rather then 0 pu wins
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ - Gamblers falicy kush won last week when I bolded him so ill let it ride. Lpz did take down michael last week and they both have the same record but im once again gonna argue that gum builds seem like they'll be naturally good into boob builds tacked on top the fact boob is also now starting so who knows if he'll have the time to lock in here regardless wouldnt be surprised if this went the other way but the chef still has my favor
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu - going against all logic on this one instead of waiting for next week when foxes play the islanders I'm going all in now I BELIEVE IN MEATCHEW FUCK THE DUGZA CURSE, FUCK THE PREDICTION SHEET, FUCK TRIPLE ARROWS 50% DEF DROP CHANCE ITS ALL COMING UP MICCIU. Now I cant explain why im expecting this upset cielau has been preforming well and platoons apparently retained kyuss for 0k and got him to start building for them but my gut is telling me its micciu time.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Metallica126 - now if this were any other team I'd expect a 2nd cheese team in attempt to tilt Metallica to the stratosphere but I dont really see mdb cheesing and Joe's ho teams aren't really my favorite of his builds I also think Metallica teams tend to do well into michael and he currently has the rage of 1000 tauros so I know hes gonna lock in still this will probably be close but ill go with the underdog here
SV PU: Vulpix03 vs xavgb - well this wasnt expected. Mz usually has a good bounce back and I dont believe xav has been doing great in the wastelands of ru, pix on the other hand finally returned to the pu mantle after the islanders threw every single player they had trying to cover for him while he focused on classic. Overall ill bank on the team with 1 pu win rather then 0 pu wins
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ - Gamblers falicy kush won last week when I bolded him so ill let it ride. Lpz did take down michael last week and they both have the same record but im once again gonna argue that gum builds seem like they'll be naturally good into boob builds tacked on top the fact boob is also now starting so who knows if he'll have the time to lock in here regardless wouldnt be surprised if this went the other way but the chef still has my favor
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu - going against all logic on this one instead of waiting for next week when foxes play the islanders I'm going all in now I BELIEVE IN MEATCHEW FUCK THE DUGZA CURSE, FUCK THE PREDICTION SHEET, FUCK TRIPLE ARROWS 50% DEF DROP CHANCE ITS ALL COMING UP MICCIU. Now I cant explain why im expecting this upset cielau has been preforming well and platoons apparently retained kyuss for 0k and got him to start building for them but my gut is telling me its micciu time.
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Metallica126 - now if this were any other team I'd expect a 2nd cheese team in attempt to tilt Metallica to the stratosphere but I dont really see mdb cheesing and Joe's ho teams aren't really my favorite of his builds I also think Metallica teams tend to do well into michael and he currently has the rage of 1000 tauros so I know hes gonna lock in still this will probably be close but ill go with the underdog here
SV PU: Vulpix03 vs xavgb - pix hasn't inspired confidence in a w3 sub and is facing a high level clicker
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ - the best way to defeat LpZ has to be in the builder and kushalos' builds has impressed the most
SV PU: Drud vs Trichotomy - someone's gotta exploit trichotomy safe brings
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu - Cielau just pulled out 2 all-timers for their debut. Betting on them for the french clash
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Metallica126 - DD Joe can do something funny this week
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ - the best way to defeat LpZ has to be in the builder and kushalos' builds has impressed the most
SV PU: Drud vs Trichotomy - someone's gotta exploit trichotomy safe brings
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu - Cielau just pulled out 2 all-timers for their debut. Betting on them for the french clash
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Metallica126 - DD Joe can do something funny this week
SV PU: Vulpix03 vs xavgb
SV PU: Kushalos vs LpZ - practically 50/50, just a feeling about how LpZ's style might do into the kush builds but also I just got hard fished so maybe I don't know anything about that
SV PU: Drud vs Trichotomy - also practically a 50/50 with a feeling about Drud's style being good here but I'm also way more familiar with Drud than trich so maybe that's stupid
SV PU: Cielau vs Micciu - not a massive gap here but Cielau is clearly looking better so far after the much more convincing week 5
SV PU: MichaelderBeste2 vs Metallica126 - also not a massive gap here but I really hope last week wasn't too tilting for these guys between the ranbats exhibition and psychic terrain
Week 6 Round-Up for Text-Based Lifeforms
The news headlines for this week:
Some cooked teams and some cooked plays this week but more interesting diversity in teams with some semi-stall and cheesy weatherless/terrainless HOs. The most used mon of the week was Florges at 5, with our floral queen finally returning to glory after a quiet tournament infested with Hecidueye. Rhydon and Cramorant both appeared 4 times and Glowbro and Hecid appeared thrice. This all makes it sound like it was a fairly regular week until you see there were 3 Salazzles and 3 Hariyamas. Don't worry friends, the cookers are still cooking.
Battle of the Week: Vulpix03 v Xavgb
Team of the Week: MichaelderBeste2
The news headlines for this week:
- Metallica's lactose intolerance intensifies;
- Breaking the same defensive core two weeks in a row ain't as easy as breaking circuits;
- Smogon's French community is actually a single AI hivemind;
- Hariyama wakes in an alley with a terrible hangover.
Some cooked teams and some cooked plays this week but more interesting diversity in teams with some semi-stall and cheesy weatherless/terrainless HOs. The most used mon of the week was Florges at 5, with our floral queen finally returning to glory after a quiet tournament infested with Hecidueye. Rhydon and Cramorant both appeared 4 times and Glowbro and Hecid appeared thrice. This all makes it sound like it was a fairly regular week until you see there were 3 Salazzles and 3 Hariyamas. Don't worry friends, the cookers are still cooking.
Battle of the Week: Vulpix03 v Xavgb
Team of the Week: MichaelderBeste2
The Teams
Drud: Tatsugiri/Qwilfish-H (Spikes)/Hariyama (Guts BU?)/Kilowattrel (Comp)/Mudsdale/Salazzle (ToxTect)
Trichotomy: Milotic/Hyphlosion (HDB)/Kilowattrel (VA)/ Bombirdier/ Hecidueye (Off Scope Lens)/Bruxish (Scarf)
Some oddness in both teams this week.
Drud's brought a bit of a strange hazard stack BO structure and I didn't quite see the vision on this one. My only guess is that it was an attempt to fish on Trichotomy's limited scouts as Hariyama can just 6-0 some teams on preview.
The team seems to be setting up for a BU Hariyama, but there was nothing with immediate breaking power. It's hazard stack but with limited boots usage, no spin blocker, and only Tatsu for removal. I did like the use of Comp Kilo to punish Hecid usage. Kilo Salazzle are OK speed control but no scarfer and weak priority in Yama's Bullet Punch left the team vulnerable to opposing scarfers. Finally, the team seems vulnerable to a number of common breakers: Guts Hera just clicks Facade and Specs Florg just clicks Moonblast.
Trichotomy brought Hyphturn two weeks in a row. I already glazed them for it last week because it's my favourite archetype to use, but I think it's far from the most consistent archetype in SV PU.
Perhaps Trich was trying not to be too similar to last week, but there were some oddities in the sets for Hecid and Hyph. Hecid was some sort of Scope Lens offensive variant. We only saw Triple Arrows so unclear if it was SD or Defog or both. It seems wild to forgo Defog on a Hyph team, but the Hyph set was boots Infernal Parade (probably SubCM or some Wisp variant). Hyph is generally regarded to be too slow to break offensive teams reliably without Scarf and too weak to break defensive teams without Specs. As such, HDB CM and/or Wisp have always been sets with a lot of potential but needing a lot of support.
At preview, it didn't look great for Drud and only got worse once the sets were revealed. Hariyama can win the game on Turn 1 vs some teams but Drud didn't get the MU they wanted, especially vs Hyph and Bruxish. A Hyph that could switch attacks looked pretty amazing into Drud's team, especially as Yama was Guts. Trich having Volt Absorb Kilo into Drud's Competitive meant Drud's Kilo was next to useless. Endgame Scarf Brux looked terrifying into Drud's team as well.
The Game
Drud had a narrow window to victory in a late-game Yama sweep. Health on HQwil and Tatsu were going to be a premium, as they were Drud's main checks to both Hyph and Brux.
Drud leads Tatsu trying to force Trich into an early 50-50 with Brux but got Bombirdier instead. That's two weeks in a row that Trich has led Bomb, stayed in and clicked Knock, this time getting Mudsdale's Leftovers. Both sides set Rocks then Drud's Mudsdale clicks Stone Edge on Milotic. This means either no Body Press or Roar which is bad news bears into Trichotomy's team.
Drud goes to Hariyama rather than Tatsu and Trich clicks Alluring Voice, chunking a third off Drud's main win condition. This looks like a misplay but I think it was more a teambuilding issue. In the face of Tatsu, Trich was almost always clicking Alluring Voice if they had it. Drud's only Fairy resist was Salazzle who can't switch in to Milo. HQwil and Tatsu are both OK switches into Milo but they are the most important defensive pieces on Drud's team in the battle because of Brux + Hyph. Honestly I don't know what else Drud could have done here from a clicking perspective.
Mid-Game Salazzle puts in some work, critting Milo down to 29% and Poisoning Hyph. Drud goes to HQwil on Infernal Parade and gets burned, somewhat unluckily although that is the reason to run Parade over Sball. Trich, recognising that the game is kinda over if HQwil or Tatsu dies, just clicks Flamethrower for more chip. Drud then has to sac Yama to keep their Psychic immune alive.
Drud's Comp Kilo gets blanked by Trich's Volt Absorb Kilo then the players trade Mudsdale for Hecid which basically clears the way for a Bruxish + Kilo clean and its over.
No spectacular reads. Trich just had to play safe and not choke and they did so. Rough MU for Drud but some question marks over team choice for sure.
Drud: Tatsugiri/Qwilfish-H (Spikes)/Hariyama (Guts BU?)/Kilowattrel (Comp)/Mudsdale/Salazzle (ToxTect)
Trichotomy: Milotic/Hyphlosion (HDB)/Kilowattrel (VA)/ Bombirdier/ Hecidueye (Off Scope Lens)/Bruxish (Scarf)
Some oddness in both teams this week.
Drud's brought a bit of a strange hazard stack BO structure and I didn't quite see the vision on this one. My only guess is that it was an attempt to fish on Trichotomy's limited scouts as Hariyama can just 6-0 some teams on preview.
The team seems to be setting up for a BU Hariyama, but there was nothing with immediate breaking power. It's hazard stack but with limited boots usage, no spin blocker, and only Tatsu for removal. I did like the use of Comp Kilo to punish Hecid usage. Kilo Salazzle are OK speed control but no scarfer and weak priority in Yama's Bullet Punch left the team vulnerable to opposing scarfers. Finally, the team seems vulnerable to a number of common breakers: Guts Hera just clicks Facade and Specs Florg just clicks Moonblast.
Trichotomy brought Hyphturn two weeks in a row. I already glazed them for it last week because it's my favourite archetype to use, but I think it's far from the most consistent archetype in SV PU.
Perhaps Trich was trying not to be too similar to last week, but there were some oddities in the sets for Hecid and Hyph. Hecid was some sort of Scope Lens offensive variant. We only saw Triple Arrows so unclear if it was SD or Defog or both. It seems wild to forgo Defog on a Hyph team, but the Hyph set was boots Infernal Parade (probably SubCM or some Wisp variant). Hyph is generally regarded to be too slow to break offensive teams reliably without Scarf and too weak to break defensive teams without Specs. As such, HDB CM and/or Wisp have always been sets with a lot of potential but needing a lot of support.
At preview, it didn't look great for Drud and only got worse once the sets were revealed. Hariyama can win the game on Turn 1 vs some teams but Drud didn't get the MU they wanted, especially vs Hyph and Bruxish. A Hyph that could switch attacks looked pretty amazing into Drud's team, especially as Yama was Guts. Trich having Volt Absorb Kilo into Drud's Competitive meant Drud's Kilo was next to useless. Endgame Scarf Brux looked terrifying into Drud's team as well.
The Game
Drud had a narrow window to victory in a late-game Yama sweep. Health on HQwil and Tatsu were going to be a premium, as they were Drud's main checks to both Hyph and Brux.
Drud leads Tatsu trying to force Trich into an early 50-50 with Brux but got Bombirdier instead. That's two weeks in a row that Trich has led Bomb, stayed in and clicked Knock, this time getting Mudsdale's Leftovers. Both sides set Rocks then Drud's Mudsdale clicks Stone Edge on Milotic. This means either no Body Press or Roar which is bad news bears into Trichotomy's team.
Drud goes to Hariyama rather than Tatsu and Trich clicks Alluring Voice, chunking a third off Drud's main win condition. This looks like a misplay but I think it was more a teambuilding issue. In the face of Tatsu, Trich was almost always clicking Alluring Voice if they had it. Drud's only Fairy resist was Salazzle who can't switch in to Milo. HQwil and Tatsu are both OK switches into Milo but they are the most important defensive pieces on Drud's team in the battle because of Brux + Hyph. Honestly I don't know what else Drud could have done here from a clicking perspective.
Mid-Game Salazzle puts in some work, critting Milo down to 29% and Poisoning Hyph. Drud goes to HQwil on Infernal Parade and gets burned, somewhat unluckily although that is the reason to run Parade over Sball. Trich, recognising that the game is kinda over if HQwil or Tatsu dies, just clicks Flamethrower for more chip. Drud then has to sac Yama to keep their Psychic immune alive.
Drud's Comp Kilo gets blanked by Trich's Volt Absorb Kilo then the players trade Mudsdale for Hecid which basically clears the way for a Bruxish + Kilo clean and its over.
No spectacular reads. Trich just had to play safe and not choke and they did so. Rough MU for Drud but some question marks over team choice for sure.
The Teams
Vulpix03: Glowbro (NP)/Avalugg/Chansey (SR Twave)/Persian-Alola (Utility) /Sandaconda/Haunter
Xavgb: Porygon2/Hoopa (Specs)/Bombirdier (Scarf)/Rhydon (SR)/Hariyama (BU?)/Tentacruel (HDB)
If you asked me which words I was expecting to utter with Vulpix coming back off the bench after going 0-2, my answer would not have been "Haunter paraspam semi-stall." Yet, here we are.
I know there has been chatter this week about how stall is fish. And like, yeah, stall is a always a bit fishy because of the way you design the team. I do think Avalugg + Chansey + Glowbro is just good, and I think they make stall and semi stall more than just a fish. There have been a few experimentations lately with the above stall core plus TrickScarf Persian-A but the Boots TWave approach was an interesting alternative angle. NP Glowbro gives a good bit of breaking power in addition to its incredible defensive utility.
I assume Sandaconda and Haunter also had movesets, but we didn't get to see them. Maybe Glare + Coil Sand and the Haunter could have been anything from Specs to Scarf to annoyer. Anyway, super unconventional team and full respect to Vulpix for bringing something creative.
Xavgb, sitting at 1-4, subs in for MZ for the Breakers bringing a slightly more conventional balance. There is Scarf Bomb for speed control and specs Hoopa + BU (or at least lefties) Hariyama as a breaking core. Rhydon + P2 make a solid defensive backbone and Tenta makes a comeback after having a quiet couple of weeks.
Teams looked pretty even. Haunter didn't look too threatening into Xavgb's team and there was some strong breaking power in specs Hoopa plus Yama. All I was really thinking on preview was: it would pretty funny if the Breakers got "fished" by the same defensive core two weeks in a row.
The Game
Man, what a weird game. There were some galaxy brain clicks that were beyond my mortal mediocre 70-something GXE comprehension.
A nothing lead MU ends with Vulpix setting rocks with Chansey on Turn 3. Persian comes in on the Bombirdier and Xavgb just... lets their speed control get paralysed? No problem, it still outspeeds the whole team except Haunter. Xavgb then brings P2 on a mon with Knock Off but Persian clicks PShot into Chansey.
Hariyama takes a SToss but reveals lefties and looks in a great position to start clicking Knock or setting up BUs. Instead, Xavgb doubles into Hoopa and OHKOs with a Specs Tera Fighting Focus Blast. Sandaconda is dead but now Xavgb has no way to block Rapid Spin from Avalugg.
Glowbro is Vulpix's follow-up and it sets up a NP then clicks +2 Surf to chunk Bomb down to 19% in exchange for losing its item and 58%, a great trade for the regeneration cultist. It always just survives another Knock and Bomb is paralysed so the hit is not guaranteed. Bomb also can't come back in until rocks are removed.
Vulpix Slacks Off on the switch to P2 then... swtiches out at +2 to Chansey? I guess they figured they were far enough ahead that taking a P2 TWave or SBall wasn't worth it. They want to keep it healthy to take Hoopa FBlasts as well I expect.
Chansey begins her David and Goliath battle to solo Rhydon with SToss then bails to Avalugg who can spin for free as Hoopa is Terastalised except that "spin-blocker" Bombirdier comes in to die to rocks and deny the spin.
Then Avalugg just clicks spin on Tenta also clicking spin next turn. A solid aggressive read by Vulpix that was really a 50-50.
Persian gets another TWave off, this time on Tenta then both pivot out. It's a Hoopa Glowbro face-off and Hoopa looks a real threat to take something out. Vulpix burns Tera Fairy, clicking Psyshock on Xavgb's double to Tenta, leaving it at 5%. I guess Xavgb was trying to read the Tera but Tenta was an interesting call for the double. I guess Surf Psyshock is kinda weird Glowbro coverage...
Chansey gets rocks up and Avalugg comes in to spin for free on Rhydon with no sacs available. Hoopa gets another entry but Glowbro lives the Specs SBall and Chansey is back.
Vulpix then STosses Rhydon with Chansey twice to get Don down to 19% then clicks Soft-Boiled on the Tenta switch. Vulpix looking on fire tbh.
Chansey manages to Para P2 but Xavgb managed to get Yama in on Chansey for a second time this battle and... doubles to Hoopa for a second time.
Vulpix sacs Persian then, after some back and forth, Hoopa gets in on Avalugg. Xavgb calls it right this time and Psyshocks into Chansey. Avalugg takes the second Psyshock like a beast then Vulpix says "get out of my battle" Body Pressing Yama for 45% then calling out the double to Hoopa by Body Pressing again.
Awkward. Two weeks in a row. Same defensive core, same result. Fool me once, it's a fish, fool me twice, well...
I thought Vulpix made some amazing plays and kept the pressure on both breakers, not even needing Haunter (or really Sandaconda). I questioned some of the decisions from Xavgb, but maybe they felt they were paying from behind so had to make something happen. Looking forward to hearing MZ's thoughts this week on this one.
Vulpix03: Glowbro (NP)/Avalugg/Chansey (SR Twave)/Persian-Alola (Utility) /Sandaconda/Haunter
Xavgb: Porygon2/Hoopa (Specs)/Bombirdier (Scarf)/Rhydon (SR)/Hariyama (BU?)/Tentacruel (HDB)
If you asked me which words I was expecting to utter with Vulpix coming back off the bench after going 0-2, my answer would not have been "Haunter paraspam semi-stall." Yet, here we are.
I know there has been chatter this week about how stall is fish. And like, yeah, stall is a always a bit fishy because of the way you design the team. I do think Avalugg + Chansey + Glowbro is just good, and I think they make stall and semi stall more than just a fish. There have been a few experimentations lately with the above stall core plus TrickScarf Persian-A but the Boots TWave approach was an interesting alternative angle. NP Glowbro gives a good bit of breaking power in addition to its incredible defensive utility.
I assume Sandaconda and Haunter also had movesets, but we didn't get to see them. Maybe Glare + Coil Sand and the Haunter could have been anything from Specs to Scarf to annoyer. Anyway, super unconventional team and full respect to Vulpix for bringing something creative.
Xavgb, sitting at 1-4, subs in for MZ for the Breakers bringing a slightly more conventional balance. There is Scarf Bomb for speed control and specs Hoopa + BU (or at least lefties) Hariyama as a breaking core. Rhydon + P2 make a solid defensive backbone and Tenta makes a comeback after having a quiet couple of weeks.
Teams looked pretty even. Haunter didn't look too threatening into Xavgb's team and there was some strong breaking power in specs Hoopa plus Yama. All I was really thinking on preview was: it would pretty funny if the Breakers got "fished" by the same defensive core two weeks in a row.
The Game
Man, what a weird game. There were some galaxy brain clicks that were beyond my mortal mediocre 70-something GXE comprehension.
A nothing lead MU ends with Vulpix setting rocks with Chansey on Turn 3. Persian comes in on the Bombirdier and Xavgb just... lets their speed control get paralysed? No problem, it still outspeeds the whole team except Haunter. Xavgb then brings P2 on a mon with Knock Off but Persian clicks PShot into Chansey.
Hariyama takes a SToss but reveals lefties and looks in a great position to start clicking Knock or setting up BUs. Instead, Xavgb doubles into Hoopa and OHKOs with a Specs Tera Fighting Focus Blast. Sandaconda is dead but now Xavgb has no way to block Rapid Spin from Avalugg.
Glowbro is Vulpix's follow-up and it sets up a NP then clicks +2 Surf to chunk Bomb down to 19% in exchange for losing its item and 58%, a great trade for the regeneration cultist. It always just survives another Knock and Bomb is paralysed so the hit is not guaranteed. Bomb also can't come back in until rocks are removed.
Vulpix Slacks Off on the switch to P2 then... swtiches out at +2 to Chansey? I guess they figured they were far enough ahead that taking a P2 TWave or SBall wasn't worth it. They want to keep it healthy to take Hoopa FBlasts as well I expect.
Chansey begins her David and Goliath battle to solo Rhydon with SToss then bails to Avalugg who can spin for free as Hoopa is Terastalised except that "spin-blocker" Bombirdier comes in to die to rocks and deny the spin.
Then Avalugg just clicks spin on Tenta also clicking spin next turn. A solid aggressive read by Vulpix that was really a 50-50.
Persian gets another TWave off, this time on Tenta then both pivot out. It's a Hoopa Glowbro face-off and Hoopa looks a real threat to take something out. Vulpix burns Tera Fairy, clicking Psyshock on Xavgb's double to Tenta, leaving it at 5%. I guess Xavgb was trying to read the Tera but Tenta was an interesting call for the double. I guess Surf Psyshock is kinda weird Glowbro coverage...
Chansey gets rocks up and Avalugg comes in to spin for free on Rhydon with no sacs available. Hoopa gets another entry but Glowbro lives the Specs SBall and Chansey is back.
Vulpix then STosses Rhydon with Chansey twice to get Don down to 19% then clicks Soft-Boiled on the Tenta switch. Vulpix looking on fire tbh.
Chansey manages to Para P2 but Xavgb managed to get Yama in on Chansey for a second time this battle and... doubles to Hoopa for a second time.
Vulpix sacs Persian then, after some back and forth, Hoopa gets in on Avalugg. Xavgb calls it right this time and Psyshocks into Chansey. Avalugg takes the second Psyshock like a beast then Vulpix says "get out of my battle" Body Pressing Yama for 45% then calling out the double to Hoopa by Body Pressing again.
Awkward. Two weeks in a row. Same defensive core, same result. Fool me once, it's a fish, fool me twice, well...
I thought Vulpix made some amazing plays and kept the pressure on both breakers, not even needing Haunter (or really Sandaconda). I questioned some of the decisions from Xavgb, but maybe they felt they were paying from behind so had to make something happen. Looking forward to hearing MZ's thoughts this week on this one.
The Teams
MDB: Froslass/Brute Bonnet/Oricorio-Baile/Cramorant (Custap)/Rhydon (DD)/Florges (Scarf)
Metallica: Hariyama (BU)/Brute Bonnet/Florges (Scarf)/Milotic/Golurk/Alolaslash (SR)
After one of the great prediction posts shaming his dishonourable, cheesy foes, Metallica had the opportunity to do the funniest thing and bring terrain cheese this week.
MDB has brought a slightly more honourable team than Drud did last week, it still has plenty of lactose. It's just good old-fashioned weatherless/terrainless HO topped with the most delicious cheese PU has to offer, Custap Cramorant. Who said no scarfers on HO? Florges Moonblast goes brrr. Double Dance Tera Flydon has tormented us for a generation and Etern's favourite bird, Oricorio, has tormented every tier below PU.
On Metallica's side, its more BO. Brute Bonnets and Scarf Florges do the Spider-Man point. Alolaslash and Milo make a temporary core for Golurk to punch something. Oh no, is that another BU Hariyama? That's 3 from 3 plus another one in NU, what is going on?
No clear winner on preview. Metallica had solid checks to all of MDB's mons but it looked like MDB would have plenty of opportunities to break through with good positioning. It's a click-off then!
The Game
MDB's plan was clear this week: better to go out with a bang than a whimper. It was just a question of whether Metallica could stop it, they definitely had the tools.
A good read on Metallica's anti-lead Yama by MDB turn 1, going Florges rather than suicide lead Froslass. MDB gets the immediate Trick on to Alolaslash which will severely limit it for the rest of the battle.
MDB brings in Cram on Alolaslash setting rocks to bait in Milo then doubles to Brute Bonnet. MDB clicks Seed Bomb which does peanuts to Metallica's Bonnet.
Turn 5 was such a weird one. Metallica switches to Florges to take a CC but MDB clicks Seed Bomb again, chunking Florges for 75% but then allowing it to heal next turn by clicking Sucker. The second Seed Bomb was such a huge risk into what was likely a speed tie, and it only kinda paid off.
Metallica goes back to Bonnet to take another Seed Bomb then Crunches, somehow catching MDB switching to Froslass (I guess expecting CC). So no spikes for Michael.
Oricorio enters, trying to begin its reign of terror. It Quiver Dances and Metallica brings in Florges, threatening Trick? Then immediately doubles to Golurk (perhaps checking for Taunt). MDB is the sort of player that hits their Hurricanes when they matter and suddenly Golurk is at 4%. Golurk is cleaned up with Rev Dance so likely no Taunt shenanigans.
Down a Golurk but with no risk of Taunt, Metallica brings in Florges to Trick for realsies this time. MDB gets the 50-50 right and switches to Cramorant, who takes the Scarf then clicks Hurricane a few times ineffectually.
Oricorio comes back in to Quiver in the face of Milo and Metallica Flip Turns out (maybe expecting Tera grass?) MDB Roosts on the Brute Bonnet Sucker and then gets another kill with Revelation Dance. Hariyama finally kills the stupid bird, but not after burning Tera Steel.
Double Dance Rhydon with Tera intact looks as inevitable as it has done for most of SV PU. Sure enough, it sets up and cleans the remaining 4 mons.
It looked pretty hairy for MDB there for a bit but there was just enough gas in the tank to get home. Some weird plays for sure by both around Brute Bonnet, Florges, and Oricorio but Michael gets the W. Hate to say it, but PsyTerrain cheese would have destroyed MDB's team :P
MDB: Froslass/Brute Bonnet/Oricorio-Baile/Cramorant (Custap)/Rhydon (DD)/Florges (Scarf)
Metallica: Hariyama (BU)/Brute Bonnet/Florges (Scarf)/Milotic/Golurk/Alolaslash (SR)
After one of the great prediction posts shaming his dishonourable, cheesy foes, Metallica had the opportunity to do the funniest thing and bring terrain cheese this week.
MDB has brought a slightly more honourable team than Drud did last week, it still has plenty of lactose. It's just good old-fashioned weatherless/terrainless HO topped with the most delicious cheese PU has to offer, Custap Cramorant. Who said no scarfers on HO? Florges Moonblast goes brrr. Double Dance Tera Flydon has tormented us for a generation and Etern's favourite bird, Oricorio, has tormented every tier below PU.
On Metallica's side, its more BO. Brute Bonnets and Scarf Florges do the Spider-Man point. Alolaslash and Milo make a temporary core for Golurk to punch something. Oh no, is that another BU Hariyama? That's 3 from 3 plus another one in NU, what is going on?
No clear winner on preview. Metallica had solid checks to all of MDB's mons but it looked like MDB would have plenty of opportunities to break through with good positioning. It's a click-off then!
The Game
MDB's plan was clear this week: better to go out with a bang than a whimper. It was just a question of whether Metallica could stop it, they definitely had the tools.
A good read on Metallica's anti-lead Yama by MDB turn 1, going Florges rather than suicide lead Froslass. MDB gets the immediate Trick on to Alolaslash which will severely limit it for the rest of the battle.
MDB brings in Cram on Alolaslash setting rocks to bait in Milo then doubles to Brute Bonnet. MDB clicks Seed Bomb which does peanuts to Metallica's Bonnet.
Turn 5 was such a weird one. Metallica switches to Florges to take a CC but MDB clicks Seed Bomb again, chunking Florges for 75% but then allowing it to heal next turn by clicking Sucker. The second Seed Bomb was such a huge risk into what was likely a speed tie, and it only kinda paid off.
Metallica goes back to Bonnet to take another Seed Bomb then Crunches, somehow catching MDB switching to Froslass (I guess expecting CC). So no spikes for Michael.
Oricorio enters, trying to begin its reign of terror. It Quiver Dances and Metallica brings in Florges, threatening Trick? Then immediately doubles to Golurk (perhaps checking for Taunt). MDB is the sort of player that hits their Hurricanes when they matter and suddenly Golurk is at 4%. Golurk is cleaned up with Rev Dance so likely no Taunt shenanigans.
Down a Golurk but with no risk of Taunt, Metallica brings in Florges to Trick for realsies this time. MDB gets the 50-50 right and switches to Cramorant, who takes the Scarf then clicks Hurricane a few times ineffectually.
Oricorio comes back in to Quiver in the face of Milo and Metallica Flip Turns out (maybe expecting Tera grass?) MDB Roosts on the Brute Bonnet Sucker and then gets another kill with Revelation Dance. Hariyama finally kills the stupid bird, but not after burning Tera Steel.
Double Dance Rhydon with Tera intact looks as inevitable as it has done for most of SV PU. Sure enough, it sets up and cleans the remaining 4 mons.
It looked pretty hairy for MDB there for a bit but there was just enough gas in the tank to get home. Some weird plays for sure by both around Brute Bonnet, Florges, and Oricorio but Michael gets the W. Hate to say it, but PsyTerrain cheese would have destroyed MDB's team :P
The Teams
Cielau: Rhydon (SR)/Glowbro (AV)/Florges (Specs)/Cramorant/ Shaymin (LO)/Persian (Scarf)
Micciu: Rhydon (SR)/Glowbro (Def CM)/Florges (Scarf)/Cramorant/ Hecidueye (BU)/Zoroark (Specs)
Mdr. Qui se ressemble s'assemble.
So both players basically brought the same PU balance slop team with some small variations.
Cielau brought Persian-Alola as their Dark, speed control, and check to Physical threats. This freed up Cielau to go AV on Glowbro, Specs on Florges, and make the more aggressive Grass choice in LO Shaymin as an additional breaker to Specs Florges.
Micciu went down the Specs Zoroark route which meant Glowbro needed to be physdef, Florges needed Scarf, and the team needed an answer to Dark in Hecid.
Hard to look at the preview and not laugh. Both solid teams with very little between them (bring the same mons will do that). Micciu looked slightly stronger offensively and Cielau better defensively. Anyway, how I am supposed to tell who will win on preview if no one brings Hariyama?
The Game
As this game was basically a mirror match with lots of positioning, I am just going to talk about key turns.
Turn 13: After Micciu's Florges brings Cielau's Florges down to 25% with 2 SpAtt drops on Turn 11 and 12, Cielau is forced to click Synthesis. Micciu brings in Glowbro. Cielau brings in their own Glowbro and takes a Zoroark Dark Pulse for 73%. Gottem.
Turn 15: Cielau trades their Florges for tricking Specs on Glowbro. A bit unlucky getting Sludge Bomb poisoning but it felt like a wild play to make with Rhydon in the back and Shaymin to cover Tera Water shenanigans.
Turn 17: Cielau burns Tera Flying on Rhydon to take out Cramorant with Stone Edge before it can Defog Rocks. Now Micciu's Rhydon can come in and set Rocks for free.
Turn 20: Cielau clicks Seed Flare on Micciu's Glowbro, trying to catch a switch. Micciu just stays in and KOs with a now Specs Sludge Bomb. Seed Flare never KOs Glowbro from that range and Sludge Bomb only KOs with Specs (maybe Cielau forgot or just overcooked the read?)
The game is kinda over from here with Cielau's two main progress makers in Florges and Shaymin fainted while Micciu's are all still alive.
Micciu cleans up and finally breaks the Foxes PU curse.
Cielau: Rhydon (SR)/Glowbro (AV)/Florges (Specs)/Cramorant/ Shaymin (LO)/Persian (Scarf)
Micciu: Rhydon (SR)/Glowbro (Def CM)/Florges (Scarf)/Cramorant/ Hecidueye (BU)/Zoroark (Specs)
Mdr. Qui se ressemble s'assemble.
So both players basically brought the same PU balance slop team with some small variations.
Cielau brought Persian-Alola as their Dark, speed control, and check to Physical threats. This freed up Cielau to go AV on Glowbro, Specs on Florges, and make the more aggressive Grass choice in LO Shaymin as an additional breaker to Specs Florges.
Micciu went down the Specs Zoroark route which meant Glowbro needed to be physdef, Florges needed Scarf, and the team needed an answer to Dark in Hecid.
Hard to look at the preview and not laugh. Both solid teams with very little between them (bring the same mons will do that). Micciu looked slightly stronger offensively and Cielau better defensively. Anyway, how I am supposed to tell who will win on preview if no one brings Hariyama?
The Game
As this game was basically a mirror match with lots of positioning, I am just going to talk about key turns.
Turn 13: After Micciu's Florges brings Cielau's Florges down to 25% with 2 SpAtt drops on Turn 11 and 12, Cielau is forced to click Synthesis. Micciu brings in Glowbro. Cielau brings in their own Glowbro and takes a Zoroark Dark Pulse for 73%. Gottem.
Turn 15: Cielau trades their Florges for tricking Specs on Glowbro. A bit unlucky getting Sludge Bomb poisoning but it felt like a wild play to make with Rhydon in the back and Shaymin to cover Tera Water shenanigans.
Turn 17: Cielau burns Tera Flying on Rhydon to take out Cramorant with Stone Edge before it can Defog Rocks. Now Micciu's Rhydon can come in and set Rocks for free.
Turn 20: Cielau clicks Seed Flare on Micciu's Glowbro, trying to catch a switch. Micciu just stays in and KOs with a now Specs Sludge Bomb. Seed Flare never KOs Glowbro from that range and Sludge Bomb only KOs with Specs (maybe Cielau forgot or just overcooked the read?)
The game is kinda over from here with Cielau's two main progress makers in Florges and Shaymin fainted while Micciu's are all still alive.
Micciu cleans up and finally breaks the Foxes PU curse.
The Teams
Kushalos: HAvalugg/Salazzle (NP Mud-Slap)/Hecidueye (SD/BU?)/Qwilfish (SD)/Grimmsnarl (BU)/Rhydon (DD)
LpZ: Avalugg/Florges (CM/Wish?)/Palossand/Chansey/Salazzle (Tox)/Qwilfish (Spikes?)
After bringing full stall last week, Kush does the SmogTours special by bringing HO this week. It is a physical beat down style offense with a slightly off beat, namely SD Qwil, BU Grimm, and NP Mud-Slap Tera Ground Salazzle. SD Qwil in particular has traditionally had a pretty good MU into stall.
LpZ, possibly reading that Kush would not go defensive two weeks in a row, brought a stall (ish) team of their own with more of a focus on hazards as the progress maker. The omission of Glowbro was interesting given how strong the Chansey/Avalugg/Glowbro core has proven in recent weeks. Glowbro's role compression is hard to forgo, and it meant that Glowbro's defensive job was sort of spread across the remaining 4 mons. I'm not a believer in Body Press over EQ on Avalugg, but I understand the logic. I would also be interested to know the full Lazzle set, perhaps some sort of Tox + Knock annoyer to remove boots for hazard progress?
Stall vs HO is traditionally a terrible MU, although the lack of Unaware mons in PU outside of Crocalor means that beating down stall is more possible than in higher tiers. LpZ did not have the perfect 1-for-1 counters that stall wants but there was plenty of physical defense on the team to cover Kush's mons. LpZ's lack of a clear answer to Qwil and DD Rhydon meant Kush had plenty of outs with good play, but I think LpZ had the edge on preview.
The Game
Qwilfish on Qwilfish action for the opening gambit, and LpZ Flip Turns out as LpZ SDs. SD Qwil already looks pretty threatening.
LpZ goes to Palossand and gets an immediate burn with Scorching Sands on the incoming Hecidueye, rendering it effectively useless for the rest of the battle.
Kush sets Rocks with Havalugg and brings Qwilfish in again to set an SD on Avalugg's spin. LpZ's Avalugg is revealed to be Press rather than EQ so Kush's Qwil gets to +5. LpZ switches around trying to bait a contact move on their own Qwilfish's Helmet, but Kush just keeps clicking Gunk. The sweep is eventually stopped but Avalugg is at 40%, Palos at 50%, and Qwil is fainted so no spikes and no intimidate vs a grounded physical offense team.
After both Qwil's faint together in solidarity, both players bring in Salazzle. LpZ clicks Corrosion Toxic and Kush clicks Tera Ground Mud Slap and LpZ loses one of their main progress makers in Toxic Lazzle. Look, credit to Kush for creativity in the builder and I can understand why LpZ stayed in, but there is a full health Chansey that is otherwise doing nothing for the battle into a team of physical attackers, why not play safe? Especially as you might want to toxic a more dangerous physical threat later in the game.
Kush resets Rocks then trades Rhydon to get Florges down to 18% health. Grimmsnarl is now looking immensely threatening with nearly all the physical walls low and, sure enough, Kush positions it in and sets up a bulk up to clean the team.
The Mud-Slap Lazzle was a fun lure but Kush won a bad MU this fair and square with good clicking.
Kushalos: HAvalugg/Salazzle (NP Mud-Slap)/Hecidueye (SD/BU?)/Qwilfish (SD)/Grimmsnarl (BU)/Rhydon (DD)
LpZ: Avalugg/Florges (CM/Wish?)/Palossand/Chansey/Salazzle (Tox)/Qwilfish (Spikes?)
After bringing full stall last week, Kush does the SmogTours special by bringing HO this week. It is a physical beat down style offense with a slightly off beat, namely SD Qwil, BU Grimm, and NP Mud-Slap Tera Ground Salazzle. SD Qwil in particular has traditionally had a pretty good MU into stall.
LpZ, possibly reading that Kush would not go defensive two weeks in a row, brought a stall (ish) team of their own with more of a focus on hazards as the progress maker. The omission of Glowbro was interesting given how strong the Chansey/Avalugg/Glowbro core has proven in recent weeks. Glowbro's role compression is hard to forgo, and it meant that Glowbro's defensive job was sort of spread across the remaining 4 mons. I'm not a believer in Body Press over EQ on Avalugg, but I understand the logic. I would also be interested to know the full Lazzle set, perhaps some sort of Tox + Knock annoyer to remove boots for hazard progress?
Stall vs HO is traditionally a terrible MU, although the lack of Unaware mons in PU outside of Crocalor means that beating down stall is more possible than in higher tiers. LpZ did not have the perfect 1-for-1 counters that stall wants but there was plenty of physical defense on the team to cover Kush's mons. LpZ's lack of a clear answer to Qwil and DD Rhydon meant Kush had plenty of outs with good play, but I think LpZ had the edge on preview.
The Game
Qwilfish on Qwilfish action for the opening gambit, and LpZ Flip Turns out as LpZ SDs. SD Qwil already looks pretty threatening.
LpZ goes to Palossand and gets an immediate burn with Scorching Sands on the incoming Hecidueye, rendering it effectively useless for the rest of the battle.
Kush sets Rocks with Havalugg and brings Qwilfish in again to set an SD on Avalugg's spin. LpZ's Avalugg is revealed to be Press rather than EQ so Kush's Qwil gets to +5. LpZ switches around trying to bait a contact move on their own Qwilfish's Helmet, but Kush just keeps clicking Gunk. The sweep is eventually stopped but Avalugg is at 40%, Palos at 50%, and Qwil is fainted so no spikes and no intimidate vs a grounded physical offense team.
After both Qwil's faint together in solidarity, both players bring in Salazzle. LpZ clicks Corrosion Toxic and Kush clicks Tera Ground Mud Slap and LpZ loses one of their main progress makers in Toxic Lazzle. Look, credit to Kush for creativity in the builder and I can understand why LpZ stayed in, but there is a full health Chansey that is otherwise doing nothing for the battle into a team of physical attackers, why not play safe? Especially as you might want to toxic a more dangerous physical threat later in the game.
Kush resets Rocks then trades Rhydon to get Florges down to 18% health. Grimmsnarl is now looking immensely threatening with nearly all the physical walls low and, sure enough, Kush positions it in and sets up a bulk up to clean the team.
The Mud-Slap Lazzle was a fun lure but Kush won a bad MU this fair and square with good clicking.
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SV PU: Cielau vs Drud
SV PU: xavgb vs LpZ
SV PU: Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2
SV PU: Kushalos vs Metallica126
SV PU: Micciu vs Vulpix03
SV PU: Cielau vs Drud
more honest player
SV PU: xavgb vs LpZ
xavgb is great but struggling rn
SV PU: Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2
more honest player, tho froslass ho is more honest cheese and i'm big fan of mdb2 last week team pick but he cheese me
SV PU: Kushalos vs Metallica126
Nothing is more lamentable than a dead heart, i can't fly
SV PU: Micciu vs Vulpix03
with last good win and good performances, i think pix will did better
SV PU: xavgb vs LpZ
SV PU: Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2
SV PU: Kushalos vs Metallica126
SV PU: Micciu vs Vulpix03
SV PU: Cielau vs Drud
more honest player
SV PU: xavgb vs LpZ
xavgb is great but struggling rn
SV PU: Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2
more honest player, tho froslass ho is more honest cheese and i'm big fan of mdb2 last week team pick but he cheese me
SV PU: Kushalos vs Metallica126
Nothing is more lamentable than a dead heart, i can't fly
SV PU: Micciu vs Vulpix03
with last good win and good performances, i think pix will did better
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WEEK SEVEN WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
SV PU: Cielau vs Drud
SV PU: xavgb vs LpZ
SV PU: Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2
SV PU: Kushalos vs Metallica126
SV PU: Micciu vs Vulpix03
SV PU:
Cielau vs Drud SV PU:
xavgb vs LpZ SV PU:
Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2 SV PU:
Kushalos vs Metallica126 SV PU:
Micciu vs Vulpix03 SV PU: Cielau vs Drud
SV PU: xavgb vs LpZ
SV PU: Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2
SV PU: Kushalos vs Metallica126
SV PU: Micciu vs Vulpix03
SV PU: xavgb vs LpZ
SV PU: Trichotomy vs MichaelderBeste2
SV PU: Kushalos vs Metallica126
SV PU: Micciu vs Vulpix03
