Syclant - Three vs Three?
As some of you may or may not know, 3v3 is my favorite battle format. I also used to play a lot of doubles, but I've been playing lots of 3v3 since DP came out. Before getting involved with the Create-A-Pokemon project, most of my "expert" contribution to Smogon was in the various Battle Tower threads, singles in particular. If any of you frequent those threads, you might have seen some of my detailed battle analyses and advice on getting really long BT streaks. I've got one of Smogon's all-time best streaks in BT singles <sticks out chest>, using a fantastic 3v3 team created by Jumpman16, that isn't predicated on pure AI abuse. So basically, I'm saying I love 3v3 and I think I'm pretty damn good at it.
Anyway... I have mentioned that I think Syclant is not as dominant as we thought it would be. Last night, I was wondering if Syclant is not that good, or if my 6v6 battle skills are such that I'm just not able to make it work properly. Then I started thinking about 3v3, where I think I'm quite competant. And it hit me -- Syclant would be a damn good 3v3 poke.
If any of you play 3v3 seriously, you know that coverage (offense and/or defense), speed, and power are the keys to consistently winning teams. It's the same in 6v6, but it's just a lot harder to do when you only have three pokemon to work with. Therefore, each pokemon has to be incredibly versatile. Don't get me wrong, there are some "One-trick ponies" and theme teams in 3v3, but in my experience, versatility is the key to winning more than you lose.
In looking at Syclant -- it's a great fit for 3v3. Since Stealth Rock is not a problem in 3v3, Syclant could run CompoundEyes and hit like a truck with those high-power, low-accuracy moves. Syclant's movepool is freakishly diverse, so it has amazing offensive coverage. Glass cannons are not normally great at 3v3, but a few of the ones with good movepools do pretty good. Azelf and Infernape come to mind.
I know Smogon is primarily focused on 6v6, so I don't expect a lot of discussion on Syclant's applicability to 3v3. But, I thought I'd point it out, in case there are other 3v3 fans out there.