Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
That was a pretty decent game, bugzi's good match up allowed him to take it quite easily since Pttp didnt have much to break this type of balanced. The only actual threat PttP had was Swampert but it had to take a draco way too early in this game to help vs bugzy's team.
I don't really know why but I dont like SPL UU games as much this year, the players arent bad by any mean and their teams are solid most of the time, it's just not as entertaining as I expect SPL games to be. Still looking forward for the other games happening this week.
xMarth vs Hikari was a really cool match, Seeing stall was a little different, but Hikari played it so well, and xMarth was obviously not prepared.
That Arcanine did put in a lot of work though, definetly an overlooked mon imo. But yeah Hikari had the matchup advantage and used that to win.
GG's all around
xMarth v Hikari was definitely a cool game. Hikari brought our second instance of full stall (the first being Disenchanted's use of it last week), and definitely proved that stall is no slouch in a tour environment in UU. I liked xMarth's team a lot as well, with a really solid U-Turn core of Bee/Hydreigon/Gligar and some underrated threats like Arcanine. That Toxicroak in particular looked dangerous as hell for Hikari's team, but Hikari played around it really well, slowly letting it wear itself down with hazard chip and LO recoil. Nice game overall, well played by both parties.
Also teal v lochie was a really fun one. teal's team was very cool, with a backbone of the two bulkiest CMers in the tier: Cresselia and Suicune. CM Cress is something we saw a lot in last year's SPL, but hasn't seen much use this year - but teal6 showed why it can be so dangerous. Calloflochie had some cool sets as well, including what looked like Natural Gift Entei... but unfortunately, he needed to preserve the illusion that it was banded early game if he hoped to catch Suicune with a Natural Gift later on, which kept him from taking advantage of it early game to do things like take a chunk out of Beedrill with ESpeed in turn 2. Anyhow, largely on the strength of Infernape and his two CMers, teal6 managed to bring home another solid win, making him the only undefeated UUer going into midseason.
On hikari's team - I've messed around with those same 4 mons a lot (bliss/tang/sab/alomo) and I've always had trouble building with them in a way that doesn't leave me weak to opposing sableye. I'd like to hear if hikari just had like a tonne of speed creep on his own sableye or if there was some move choice on one of his mons that compensated for it, because he looked fairly weak to it.
I loved dodmen's slight remake of his All Falls Down team. Crobat doing so much work made me really happy since it's been getting a lot of flack recently due to Zapdos hype. Tesung had no flying resists and with Suicune being offensive, dodmen just had to click Brave Bird and claim something.
The RMT thing was unintentional at first, I was trying to figure out what to use when Dad's Dad showed me a team with those 6 mons. I changed the sets, but it ended up looking very similar, with Cobalion functioning as a much better Hydreigon check and just better in this metagame and particular matchup (I didn't expect SD Feraligatr to do well against anything Tesung might have brought). Also, his Cobalion wasn't phys def or anything lol, I was just 76 Attack + Sky Plate and got a super low roll. Idk why people flipped out when I switched into Sharpedo vs Salamence. If he'd attacked there instead of Roost, I won unless he won a speed tie and crit CC in the same turn.
That was a pretty decent game, bugzi's good match up allowed him to take it quite easily since Pttp didnt have much to break this type of balanced. The only actual threat PttP had was Swampert but it had to take a draco way too early in this game to help vs bugzy's team.
I don't really know why but I dont like SPL UU games as much this year, the players arent bad by any mean and their teams are solid most of the time, it's just not as entertaining as I expect SPL games to be. Still looking forward for the other games happening this week.
Exactly what are you expecting of the players? Give them a break, Pokemon is not a game particularly conducive to a best of one series with the ridiculous amount of RNG (luv scald) and matchup factor. These players aren't just "not bad" they are all at least very good, even almost as good as me.
Loved Hikari's team because it was full stall, the biggest flaws to that sort of stall I saw were lack of Dragon resistance and by extentsion Slurpuff weakness which isn't horrible as far as stall weaknesses go. Lack of Defog is annoying if he had to face a Spikes team but Sableye can manhandle Froslass and Tentacruel is a decent spinner in addition to absorbing Toxic Spikes. So I can't really criticize the team building.
Switching Tentacruel into Toxicroak was actually a very strange idea but few Toxicroak run Earthquake and Sableye risks getting in trouble with Nasty Plot Sludge Bomb poison I guess. Other than that I think both Hikari and XMarth placed well but stall just showed what a superior playstyle it is in the current metagame and didn't give XMarth much of a chance despite some hax.
On hikari's team - I've messed around with those same 4 mons a lot (bliss/tang/sab/alomo) and I've always had trouble building with them in a way that doesn't leave me weak to opposing sableye. I'd like to hear if hikari just had like a tonne of speed creep on his own sableye or if there was some move choice on one of his mons that compensated for it, because he looked fairly weak to it.
Sableye is the kind of Pokemon that will always annoy stall teams. You basically need patience to beat it
My Sableye had a significant amount of speed, Tang had Toxic + Giga Drain and Mola / Tenta had Scald. Nothing is a massive threat to Sableye, but chip damage + status and the ability to switch between Tangrowth and Alomomola endlessly (if hazards aren't up) is how I deal with it.
Exactly what are you expecting of the players? Give them a break, Pokemon is not a game particularly conducive to a best of one series with the ridiculous amount of RNG (luv scald) and matchup factor. These players aren't just "not bad" they are all at least very good, even almost as good as me.
Loved Hikari's team because it was full stall, the biggest flaws to that sort of stall I saw were lack of Dragon resistance and by extentsion Slurpuff weakness which isn't horrible as far as stall weaknesses go. Lack of Defog is annoying if he had to face a Spikes team but Sableye can manhandle Froslass and Tentacruel is a decent spinner in addition to absorbing Toxic Spikes. So I can't really criticize the team building.
Switching Tentacruel into Toxicroak was actually a very strange idea but few Toxicroak run Earthquake and Sableye risks getting in trouble with Nasty Plot Sludge Bomb poison I guess. Other than that I think both Hikari and XMarth placed well but stall just showed what a superior playstyle it is in the current metagame and didn't give XMarth much of a chance despite some hax.
Even without the dragon resistance, the only dragons that actually threatensthat team are late game DD Mence (and haxorus, but no one actually uses that) and a well played Taunt Hydra. Mola eats meteors, Tenta had Dazzling Gleam, Blissey is Blissey and Sableye is never OHKOed by LO Draco Meteor from Hydreigon. Protect + Regen mons are a good way of dicking dragons in general.
I led with Alomomola because I needed Toxicroak to switch in and show its set (and if for some reason he didn't go to Croak, I was ok with getting a free Toxic off). I went to Tentacruel because I needed to find out the set and make sure it didn't get out of control early with haze, and I figured out that Tenta wasn't really that helpful in that game because: 1) I could setup rocks on like 4/6 of the team 2) He had defog and his team minded SR being up more than mine. His only threatening mon was Toxicroak and I had to figure out its set fast.
Looks like the firebot falcons have waited until midseason to pick up a uu player, grabbing Christo.
A good player to grab on two fronts - he's good at pokemon, and it starves teal6 of teams somewhat. That especially helps given that teal has gone 4-0 so far and is looking like one of the strongest uu players in the tier.
Still, I'm sure teal still has plenty teams for the upcoming weeks.
So, while we're hanging out in our off-week waiting for the Salty Suite to play out and the rest of the season to pick up, I thought I'd take a look at the UU players so far this season.
(Note: I didn't order these myself - rankings and stat information are from here)
MIDSEASON RANKINGS:
1. teal6 (4-0) - Cryonicles WINS vs. xMarth, dice, Omfuga, Calloflochie
LOSSES vs. N/A
teal6 was a bit of a question mark when he was first picked up, with less experience than anyone else on the list, but he has more than proved his value by putting up an impressive four straight wins in these first four weeks - making him not just the only UUer to be undefeated going into mids, but also one of only six people in all of SPL to hold a 4-0 record. His first win against xMarth was a bit shaky; what looked like a close but solid win for xMarth turned into teal6's first W thanks to some help from the RNGods. But teal6 proved that this win was no fluke by consistently putting up solid wins in the three weeks that followed, taking down UU veterans such as Omfuga and Calloflochie. teal6 is looking like the person to beat coming out of mids - and he'll have a big challenge on his hands next week, when he goes up against dodmen.
2. kokoloko (3-1) - Raiders WINS vs. Hikari, dodmen, Omfuga
LOSSES vs. bugzinator
Though he hasn't been a big presence in the UU community since retiring from his position as tier leader, kokoloko showed that he still has a commanding grasp of the tier with three incredibly solid wins over three of the biggest threats in UU: Hikari, dodmen and Omfuga. Though he doesn't have an undefeated record thanks to a week one loss against bugzy, koko had arguably the toughest schedule of anyone these first four weeks, and still came out with a fantastic record. If anyone had any doubts about kokoloko before the season began, I hope they were quickly dispelled: koko might just be the most dangerous UUer in SPL this season. Next week should be interesting, as he plays the Ruiners, who have been struggling to find a UUer they are happy with after failing to field a win between Mazar, PttP and Disenchanted - will the midseason give the Ruiners a chance to reorganize and field an opponent worth fighting, or will kokoloko cruise to an easy 4-1?
3. bugzinator (3-1) - BIGs WINS vs. kokoloko, Hikari, PttP
LOSSES vs. Omfuga
bugzinator has been quietly but surely putting away victory after victory. After a solid if mediocre 5-5 showing last year, bugzy captured two impressive wins over the current and former tier leaders of UU this year. His close win over koko looks especially impressive in light of koko's performance in weeks 2, 3 and 4. Though he is not the showiest player, he is a solid threat who looks to match up well against just about anyone in the tier. Next week he faces the Falcons, who like the Ruiners have been struggling to find a UU lineup they are happy with... but as the Falcons look currently poised to pick up Christo. in the midseason auctions, this may not be an easy glide to victory.
4. Calloflochie (2-2) - Classiest WINS vs. dice, Disenchanted
LOSSES vs. dodmen, teal6
After taking about eight months off, a lot of people were interested to see how lochie would perform this SPL. He's had a solid run, but there's still a bit of a question mark surrounding him. Calloflochie has had a tough schedule that makes it difficult to judge his progress this SPL - his two wins were against dice and Disenchanted, who have failed to pick up any wins of their own this season, but his two losses were against two of the top UU players SPL has to offer. He's had a good showing every game, though, and it's clear that despite his hiatus from playing, lochie isn't going into these games rusty. Now with the remainder of the season ahead of him, it will be up to Calloflochie to prove that he is as dangerous as ever and bring home a winning record. His first challenge post-mids will give him a great chance to do just that, as he faces the always-dangerous Hikari.
5. xMarth (2-2) - Scooters WINS vs. Mazar, Leftiez
LOSSES vs. teal6, Hikari
Like teal6, xMarth came into SPL with almost no tour experience, and some people questioned whether or not he belonged here. The answer appears to be a resounding yes. Like Calloflochie, his schedule makes it difficult to gauge his success, as his wins were against the winless Falcons and Ruiners, but he played two very tight games against teal6 and Hikari that proved he can hold his own against anyone in the tier. Next week he faces another challenge, as the Scooters take on the Wolfpack, whose UU thrust has been led thus far by Omfuga.
6. Omfuga (2-2) - Wolfpack WINS vs. Mazar, bugzinator
LOSSES vs. teal6, kokoloko
Rumors keep circulating that Omfuga wants to focus on tiers other than UU, but that hasn't stopped him from putting away a pair of wins for the Wolfpack, including being the only person so far to defeat bugzinator. While he has an "average" record of 2-2, his pair of losses are against the two top dogs of SPL UU this season, teal6 and kokoloko, which combined with his win over bugzy tells us that Omfuga is not someone to ever underestimate. The real question is whether or not the Wolfpack will look to shake things up after mids - while Omfuga's solid performance means that he will probably continue to perform well in UU, the Wolfpack is one of the few teams with enough depth in the lower tiers to do just that if they want to keep their opponents on their toes. If not, we should expect to see Omfuga take on xMarth next week in what is sure to be a great battle.
7. Hikari (2-2) - Sharks WINS vs. dodmen, xMarth
LOSSES vs. kokoloko, bugzinator
If you'd asked me before the season started who the most dangerous player in UU was, I'd probably have said Hikari. Unlike most of the SPL field thus far, Hikari has built and played wildly different team styles and archetypes each week, making him almost impossible to counter-team. However, a pair of losses against bugzinator and kokoloko put Hikari's record at a middling 2-2 - certainly not bad, but it leaves him in the middle of the pack. Still, I don't think anyone is underestimating Hikari, who looks like a dangerous opponent for anyone in SPL right now... and if the Sharks keep up their overall performance, we might expect to see Hikari playing not just the next six weeks, but into playoffs as well. Next week he faces off against the Classiest's Calloflochie in another game of Old versus New, as both players will be looking to break out of their 2-2 records.
8. dodmen (2-2) - Tigers WINS vs. Calloflochie, Tesung
LOSSES vs. Hikari, kokoloko
Perhaps the most-hyped UU player (as evidenced by the fact that he was the most expensive UU buy this auction), dodmen has had an interesting SPL run thus far. Both of his losses were against two of the most menacing players in SPL right now, Hikari and kokoloko, and he played close games that could have easily gone in his favor if just a few things had changed. On the other hand, his wins against lochie and Tesung were also relatively close calls. Still, he has really shown off his talents as a teambuilder this year with some great looking bulky offense teams, and now that any early-season jitters (and two of the toughest possible matchups) are out of the way, I expect to see a great finish from dodmen. He's got a big challenge right off the bat, though, as next week he faces off against the undefeated teal6.
9. Disenchanted (0-1) - Ruiners WINS vs. N/A
LOSSES vs. Calloflochie
Not too much to say about Disenchanted - he subbed in over Mazar in week 3, and while his stall team appeared to have a solid handle on Calloflochie, he was unprepared for the possibility of Toxic Spikes on Beedrill and sacked his spinner early on, which turned what looked like a straightforward W into a surprisingly commanding victory from lochie. I don't know whether we'll see Disenchanted come in for any other games for the Ruiners, but my gut says no.
10. PttP (0-1) - Ruiners WINS vs. N/A
LOSSES vs. bugzinator
Like Disenchanted, PttP came in to attempt to salvage the Ruiners' ruinous record in UU, but failed to do so as bugzy won solidly with a fairly standard balance team that PttP's bulky offense just had very little chance to break. PttP handled himself well despite the matchup being so heavily in bugzy's favor, but as with Disenchanted, I won't be surprised if we see the Ruiners continue to look for someone else to bring home some Ws in the lower tiers.
11. Leftiez (0-1) - Falcons WINS vs. N/A
LOSSES vs. xMarth
Leftiez came in week 3 to attempt to pull the Falcons up after moving dice to BW. While Leftiez is a talented player with a lot of experience in other tiers, he struggled against xMarth, who grabbed momentum after a Stone Edge miss and carried that momentum to a solid W. While I liked the team Leftiez ran, with the Falcons appearing poised to pick up Christo. in the midseason auctions, I suspect we won't be seeing him play any more games this tier.
12. Tesung (0-1) - Falcons WINS vs. N/A
LOSSES vs. dodmen
I think it's fair to say that Tesung is one of the most dangerous players around in any tier, and he proved that by playing a close game against dodmen that could have potentially gone in his favor if not for a minor misplay against dod's Crobat in the late game. However, it appears that the Falcons are planning on resting their UU hopes and dreams on the shoulders of Christo. after the mids, so as with Leftiez I doubt we'll be seeing Tesung playing any more UU this season.
13. Mazar (0-2) - Ruiners WINS vs. N/A
LOSSES vs. Omfuga, xMarth
Despite a fanastic run in Grand Slam, where he had a decent showing in the UU Open followed by a commanding storm through the Grand Slam playoffs (including UU wins over teal6 and Bouffalant), Mazar has struggled in SPL this season. He failed to repeat his UU Open victories over Omfuga when called to do so in week 1, and in week 2, xMarth consistently held the reigns in their match and galloped to a solid win on the back of Gyarados. It's not clear what the Ruiners will do for the rest of the season, but if they hope to make it to playoffs, they're going to have to figure out something to do about their mediocre record in the lower tiers.
14. dice (0-2) - Falcons WINS vs. N/A
LOSSES vs. Calloflochie, teal6
I was interested to see what dice would bring to the table this season - he's well known as an Ubers teambuilder and has a ton of tour experience, but other than a brief run in UU Open, very little of it was in UU. Unfortunately we won't be seeing much more of dice in UU; after two solid losses to lochie and teal6, dice was moved to BW, and it looks like the Falcons are going to pick up Christo. after mids who in all likelihood will end up in the UU hot seat.
MIDSEASON AUCTIONS
There are a lot of talented UU players who have signed up in hopes of being drafted in the midseason. Thus far the only primary UUer who has been picked up is Christo., who saw a 6k bid come from the Falcons, but there are a number of other talented UU players still remaining, such as Hairy Toenail, Sacri' and radianthero156 (the latter of whom did not sign up for UU, but who has a ton of experience in UU and who played UU in SPL for the Wolfpack last season). Right now the big question mark is what the Ruiners will do - will they continue to shuffle amongst their current team in an effort to shore up their 0-4 record in UU, or will they look to grab someone in the auctions to put them back on track? As they're currently sitting in 5th (largely on the strength of their OU games, where they've sported a tremendous record), an extra W each week could make or break their chances at playoffs.
...so, what do people think? Has anyone surprised you so far in UU? What do you think about the games so far? What are you looking forward to in post-mids?
EDIT: This list's ranking comes from the official spreadsheet, which is ordered first by record, and then by auction price (in ascending order). So, tiebreaks within a ranking are done by the player's cost - hence Calloflochie, the least expensive 2-2, is listed at the top of the 2-2s, while dodmen, a 15k buy, is at the bottom. For a more accurate list where tiebreakers are based on the records of their opponents, atomicllamas put this together:
Amazing post you have there Hogg! I personally would love to see Hogg drafted during the Mid-Season Auction. He is the whole package when it comes to what a manager would want. It is apparent he is a good battler, builder, mature / level-headed, and I know he has knowledge in other tiers as well(LC God).
I also think Sacri' is a solid option as well.
Edit: I agree with r0ady in that Pak would be a great pick. Unfortunately he isn't too active on these forums making it hard to get his name out there.
If were talking UU "randoms" that are solid choices sacri is definitely a strong pick, but someone id love to see get some attention is Pak, Who is in my opinion one of the most overlooked good players in UU right now.
I didn't rank them, I just took the rankings directly from the spreadsheet. I also think lochie's placement at the top of 2-2 is a bit odd, as his only two wins are against people with no wins of their own and he's ranked way ahead of dodmen, who beat him head to head. (Not to bring lochie down of course, as I think he's had a solid run thus far... just saying that I don't really know exactly how the spreadsheet chooses to break ties.)
EDIT: I've just been told that the spreadsheet orders first by record, then by price, with the most expensive at the bottom and the cheapest at the top. That would explain the odd rankings among the 2-2s and 0-1s. If I have time, I might try to re-order based on strength of schedule later.
I didn't rank them, I just took the rankings directly from the spreadsheet. I also think lochie's placement at the top of 2-2 is a bit odd, as his only two wins are against people with no wins of their own and he's ranked way ahead of dodmen, who beat him head to head. (Not to bring lochie down of course, as I think he's had a solid run thus far... just saying that I don't really know exactly how the spreadsheet chooses to break ties.)
EDIT: I've just been told that the spreadsheet orders first by record, then by price, with the most expensive at the bottom and the cheapest at the top. That would explain the odd rankings among the 2-2s and 0-1s. If I have time, I might try to re-order based on strength of schedule later.
