The play that Onraider proposed was going to lax after lax revealed rest instead of screeching, so it's not a problem of knowing moves or not. You can still disagree with the statement made tho, we're open to discussion (and happpy obviously that people are interested in what we say).
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Tournaments SPL XVI - GSC Discussion
- Thread starter vani
- Start date
Ok doing this first hl mu quickly, for god sake I need more time in my life.
On the left side we got BIHI, his season didnt reach the expctation his team probably had spending 20k on him for his ingame skills featuring the help of d0nut who's known for having great gsc slots in SPL. But he still grabbed 3 wins in this regular season, and now is the real deal. Now that we're in playoffs, we can see the second reason why BIHI is that expensive : he's clutch. His tie break vs Troller was one of the most memorable moments in recent SPL and with his team being the clear number one of this regular season if BIHI reach his peak, Tyrants will need to reach a crazy level to do the upset.
On the right side tho we got Ruby, the clear favourite of this mu, here again in this first semifinal preview. He played a crazy game vs Carapinga last week (review will come at some point) and we clearly understood why they were both the two best gscer that season. Tyrants finally qualified last week to have a chance to defend their trophies in playoffs and Ruby, as I said last week, had a huge impact on his team this year : if he let him down vs such an opponent, the worst could happen to his team. So a lot of pressure on Ruby's shoulders, and a great moment to prove he got the mental to win these crucial games, a critic he often received during his first officials teamtournament.
SEMIS 1
FRANCE BREAKS UP
[CLA] BIHI vs Rubyblood [TYR]
3-5 <= SPL XVI Regular season record => 6-3
67-58 <= Overall Sheet record => 16-13
dice, d0nut <= Visible and notable support => BKC
FRANCE BREAKS UP
3-5 <= SPL XVI Regular season record => 6-3
67-58 <= Overall Sheet record => 16-13
dice, d0nut <= Visible and notable support => BKC
On the left side we got BIHI, his season didnt reach the expctation his team probably had spending 20k on him for his ingame skills featuring the help of d0nut who's known for having great gsc slots in SPL. But he still grabbed 3 wins in this regular season, and now is the real deal. Now that we're in playoffs, we can see the second reason why BIHI is that expensive : he's clutch. His tie break vs Troller was one of the most memorable moments in recent SPL and with his team being the clear number one of this regular season if BIHI reach his peak, Tyrants will need to reach a crazy level to do the upset.
On the right side tho we got Ruby, the clear favourite of this mu, here again in this first semifinal preview. He played a crazy game vs Carapinga last week (review will come at some point) and we clearly understood why they were both the two best gscer that season. Tyrants finally qualified last week to have a chance to defend their trophies in playoffs and Ruby, as I said last week, had a huge impact on his team this year : if he let him down vs such an opponent, the worst could happen to his team. So a lot of pressure on Ruby's shoulders, and a great moment to prove he got the mental to win these crucial games, a critic he often received during his first officials teamtournament.
Game Preview :
BIHI's scout was very offensive, but with mixed results I'd say BIHI haven't find his comfort zone yet and we could see pretty much anything. On Ruby's side, he used both stall and offense with success, but my instinct tells me that he'll use offense to not just win but really beat BIHI. I'd expect some kind of special offense from Ruby, to continue to be impredictable and on BIHI's side I wont say anything.Will BIHI pull the clutch ? Or will Ruby assert dominance ?
See you on Sat 4pm -4 !
See you on Sat 4pm -4 !
Decisive game in gsc this week, what a joy. Score is 6-5 in Tigers favours and choolio will need to do the upset for clutch a tie for his win.
SEMIS 2
[TIG] Don Eduardo vs choolio [WOL]
20-9 <= All time Sheet Record => 10-14
7-2 <= SPL XVI Record => 5-3
Won <= Regular-season clash => Lost
M Dragon <= Visible and notable support=> D4 Repertoire, Fear
On our left side, the best player of this regular season Don Eduardo aka Carapinga. After a dominating year in rby for SPL XV, Carapinga came back to play gsc in a great gsc pool and demonstrated that he was probably the most solid gscer around atm. Now his team is 6-5 and he got the occasion to close the week and send his team into finals, like they did last year and try to win and close the curse period for tigers.
On our right side we got choolio, most people didnt rank him that high among all these great players, but he finished with the third best record in gsc this year. In this process, I think Fear/D4 help was crucial and choolio did play well to convert this into wins. But now he's facing a player who is another caliber : preparation and ingame, both will need to be really high to have a good chance to win.
Will Carapinga hit the final stab to Wolfpacks, or will choolio make the upset and get us a tiebreak ?
See you on Smogtours in 10 mins !
SEMIS 2
20-9 <= All time Sheet Record => 10-14
7-2 <= SPL XVI Record => 5-3
Won <= Regular-season clash => Lost
M Dragon <= Visible and notable support=> D4 Repertoire, Fear
On our right side we got choolio, most people didnt rank him that high among all these great players, but he finished with the third best record in gsc this year. In this process, I think Fear/D4 help was crucial and choolio did play well to convert this into wins. But now he's facing a player who is another caliber : preparation and ingame, both will need to be really high to have a good chance to win.
Game Preview
In regular season when they clashed, choolio brought the classiic jynx gar golem while Don used an innovative lix champ zam and got the win with it. Both had some very offensive SPL, and the only player I could see stall here would be Carapinga, or a crazy preparation from Wolfpacks but stall isnt the greatest way to put a sharp prep I'd say. I'd say that choolio will move to a more mixed offense this time, and for Carapinga's side idk (my tox umbreon predict landed last week, but I have no idea rn soo not this week)Will Carapinga hit the final stab to Wolfpacks, or will choolio make the upset and get us a tiebreak ?
See you on Smogtours in 10 mins !
We're back ! And we got a gsc rematch for these tiebreaks.
SEMIS TIEBREAK
[TIG] Don Eduardo vs choolio [WOL]
20-9 <= All time Sheet Record => 10-14
7-3 <= SPL XVI Record => 6-3
Won <= Regular-season clash => Lost
Lost <= Playoff clash => Won
M Dragon <= Visible and notable support=> D4 Repertoire, Fear
On our left side, even after last week he still have the best record of the GSC pool : Carapinga. Despite his defeat last week, Tigers chose to trust him to win such a crucial game, which is logical seen how dominant he was this season. Like I said already, best record, impressive games and could deserve a better ratio if he had a bit more luck, but that's the game we play. As I'm writing, Tigers won the neutral SV game, meaning than now they just need to score one last goal. This kind of moment would put a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but Carapinga doesnt seem to be affected by hit as he talks on smogtours discord. That's a crucial moment for the Carapinga legacy and a great moment to show up a new quality : "clutchness".
On the right side choolio who clutched the tie for his team last week : it was already an impressive achievement. But now he must win again for this tiebreak. Tho choolio acquired a lot of trust these recent weeks, with 4 wins in a row including Conflict and Carapinga last week. As I said last week, I think the help from D4 and Fear from the bench is crucial to this success. Tho his team is now down 0-1 and he must win the toughest spot. If he ends up winning that game and in finals, it would be one of the craziest gsc performance in SPL, even tho whatever the result is today, he can be proud of the comeback he made for this XVIth season of SPL.
choolio had an innovating 6 : dnite lix teams are a known archetype for gscers, but the general 6th abuser is vaporeon to abuse twave on elecs. But here we instead got a mixed tyranitar, an unseen choiced from me so far but I really like it : it relies less on para and works in pair with dnite to break snorlax thx to dynamic punch. Para + rslide is a naturally good combo obviously and tyranitar likes not having to trade a lot of hp vs zapdos.
On Don Eduardo's side, a known 6 with his uncommon choices like sleep boom leech egg lead and a AOA lax with it relying on a raikou as the elec to be the special wall. Not my favourite Carapinga build from this SPL but we're here to win, not see some nice builds. I think both teams have the same mentality : solid teams, with their own innovative twists to surprise the opponent and aim for a good mu (the best way to play this game if you ask me).
Now what should we expect for tonight ? An even greater game I hope obviously, and two offense again I'd say : both are full of self confidence and I think they both have the ambition to be the one pressuring the other in the game. And my own prediction : no normal resi team from Kenix and a golem offense from choolio, which ends up with a Carapinga win (sorry chool but I'm choosing the entertainement)
SEMIS TIEBREAK
20-9 <= All time Sheet Record => 10-14
7-3 <= SPL XVI Record => 6-3
Won <= Regular-season clash => Lost
Lost <= Playoff clash => Won
M Dragon <= Visible and notable support=> D4 Repertoire, Fear
On the right side choolio who clutched the tie for his team last week : it was already an impressive achievement. But now he must win again for this tiebreak. Tho choolio acquired a lot of trust these recent weeks, with 4 wins in a row including Conflict and Carapinga last week. As I said last week, I think the help from D4 and Fear from the bench is crucial to this success. Tho his team is now down 0-1 and he must win the toughest spot. If he ends up winning that game and in finals, it would be one of the craziest gsc performance in SPL, even tho whatever the result is today, he can be proud of the comeback he made for this XVIth season of SPL.
Game Review & Preview
Last week game was cool but clearly mottled by luck (thunder lax missing on cloy, surf low roll on tar and dnite going god mod) but was choolio not deserving ? I'm really not sure, depends on what was his moveset on lax / dnite in the endgame, I find that he used his lax a weird way but i'm not sure it was talk (and i'm not sure neither that this dnite had an elec move, which could explain why he kept his zapdos). Anw I didnt analyze that one deeply and that's not the most important here. choolio had an innovating 6 : dnite lix teams are a known archetype for gscers, but the general 6th abuser is vaporeon to abuse twave on elecs. But here we instead got a mixed tyranitar, an unseen choiced from me so far but I really like it : it relies less on para and works in pair with dnite to break snorlax thx to dynamic punch. Para + rslide is a naturally good combo obviously and tyranitar likes not having to trade a lot of hp vs zapdos.
On Don Eduardo's side, a known 6 with his uncommon choices like sleep boom leech egg lead and a AOA lax with it relying on a raikou as the elec to be the special wall. Not my favourite Carapinga build from this SPL but we're here to win, not see some nice builds. I think both teams have the same mentality : solid teams, with their own innovative twists to surprise the opponent and aim for a good mu (the best way to play this game if you ask me).
Now what should we expect for tonight ? An even greater game I hope obviously, and two offense again I'd say : both are full of self confidence and I think they both have the ambition to be the one pressuring the other in the game. And my own prediction : no normal resi team from Kenix and a golem offense from choolio, which ends up with a Carapinga win (sorry chool but I'm choosing the entertainement)
choolio Don Eduardo I wish you a great game
Will Carapinga finally hit the one last stab that Tigers need, or will choolio get his team back to 1-1 ?
See you on Smogtours at 1 am +1 !
Will Carapinga finally hit the one last stab that Tigers need, or will choolio get his team back to 1-1 ?
See you on Smogtours at 1 am +1 !
FINAL GAME, and it is the remake of my w1 hl (funny honestly)
On the left side we got BIHI, who got a surprise win vs Rubyblood, getting the upset in a super tight week. He got a good mu and game wasnt against him clearly and played correctly to get the win. I said last week he was clutch, he proved it once (we wont talk about that dpp game) but here we are : his team got into finals and he must be even more clutch winning vs the threat of this pool : Carapinga.
Indeed , on the right side we got Don Eduardo Carapinga AGAIN. Best record of the pool in regular season and won the second game vs choolio which couldnt make the upset happen again. Kenix clearly wasnt satisfied by his level last week (SPL is a long tournament, a marathon). On paper BIHI is weaker than choolio but in playoff settings, you can't rely on these kind of thoughts, everyone will play as hard as they can to get the final win so heat match incoming.
PAIRING OF THE FINAL
The end of SPL XVI's cycle
[CLA] BIHI vs Don Eduardo [TIG]
28-21 <= All time SPL record => 12-7
4-5 <= SPL XVI Regular season record => 8-3
dice, d0nut <= Visible and notable support => M Dragon
The end of SPL XVI's cycle
28-21 <= All time SPL record => 12-7
4-5 <= SPL XVI Regular season record => 8-3
dice, d0nut <= Visible and notable support => M Dragon
On the left side we got BIHI, who got a surprise win vs Rubyblood, getting the upset in a super tight week. He got a good mu and game wasnt against him clearly and played correctly to get the win. I said last week he was clutch, he proved it once (we wont talk about that dpp game) but here we are : his team got into finals and he must be even more clutch winning vs the threat of this pool : Carapinga.
Indeed , on the right side we got Don Eduardo Carapinga AGAIN. Best record of the pool in regular season and won the second game vs choolio which couldnt make the upset happen again. Kenix clearly wasnt satisfied by his level last week (SPL is a long tournament, a marathon). On paper BIHI is weaker than choolio but in playoff settings, you can't rely on these kind of thoughts, everyone will play as hard as they can to get the final win so heat match incoming.
Game Preview :
In regular season, Carapinga stalled him with the first toxicTalkUmbreon of the season, and BIHI failed to break it. But BIHI clearly demonstrated last week that he was bringing some good teams into stalls and that he was ready to kick some skarmory's ass. I dont expect a stall from BIHI clearly, I predict a lix team from BIHI, and an offense from Kenix but not with golem I'd say, maybe norm resi less ? I dont know, but we can expect some heat from Don Eduardo (tie break team tho seemed bad, I'm looking forward reading more explanations about it)A Dynamo player will win SPL after winning SCL, but which one ?
See you RN on smogtours !
got trapped, it'll be at 1am +2 on sunday/monday
(And see you in tiebreak for the rematch as Tigers pick)
got trapped, it'll be at 1am +2 on sunday/monday
(And see you in tiebreak for the rematch as Tigers pick)
Last edited:
Carapinga. I always liked when someone of this caliber made a team dump so i could ladder with better teams, which definitely helped me improve. Additionally, i gotta say most of the times I open some lower level tour replay (or even bigger tours, sometimes) I feel repulsion of the abomination of teams they are using; even though I like that everyone creates their own thing and tries to use their brain, it mostly doesnt pay off. I also gotta admit that the sample teams are not at the level it should and most of them are bad teams.
The main purpose of this is to make the best tier (despite the fraudulent flip accusations) grow, with these teams to help either rising talents to use proper teams and get better results which will make them eventually improve; other tier players that just want teams for classic or some random pl just to discover this tier actually rules and keep playing it; or some random in ladder if that lokete happens to see this post.
Anyways, too much yap, these are the teams ive used in SPL:
Week 1 vs BIHI
https://pokepast.es/701123e476ee350a
Week 2 vs Conflict
https://pokepast.es/fe79d9c61d7af4d9
Week 3 vs BlazingDark
https://pokepast.es/a0953bd4138edfa6
Week 4 vs Siatam
https://pokepast.es/5650d1b6608f6ce1
Week 5 vs Choolio
https://pokepast.es/6198c856a1ee6373
Week 6 vs Gorgie
https://pokepast.es/b5ca02f758ce8636
Week 7 vs MrSoup
https://pokepast.es/5623f625ca679514
Week 8 vs Vani
https://pokepast.es/812575040654576d
Week 9 vs Rubyblood
https://pokepast.es/8aad761536a7f4b6
Semifinals vs Choolio
https://pokepast.es/ad458b249d7add93
Semifinals TB vs Choolio
https://pokepast.es/2c27c49afde4dc0e
Finals vs BIHI
https://pokepast.es/82042796d00e8994
One paste format
https://pokepast.es/06d1103cd7811deb
Obviously these teams have been built and picked considering a scout, but if I ended up bringing them it means they are good vs overall everything so dont worry for that. All these teams are tested and are very good. If u suck using them, its your fault. If thats the case, although im lazy enough to write here about how you should use each team, you can always hit me up in discord and Ill try to help you with the team you are struggling. Thats all. Carapinga.
The main purpose of this is to make the best tier (despite the fraudulent flip accusations) grow, with these teams to help either rising talents to use proper teams and get better results which will make them eventually improve; other tier players that just want teams for classic or some random pl just to discover this tier actually rules and keep playing it; or some random in ladder if that lokete happens to see this post.
Anyways, too much yap, these are the teams ive used in SPL:
Week 1 vs BIHI
https://pokepast.es/701123e476ee350a
Week 2 vs Conflict
https://pokepast.es/fe79d9c61d7af4d9
Week 3 vs BlazingDark
https://pokepast.es/a0953bd4138edfa6
Week 4 vs Siatam
https://pokepast.es/5650d1b6608f6ce1
Week 5 vs Choolio
https://pokepast.es/6198c856a1ee6373
Week 6 vs Gorgie
https://pokepast.es/b5ca02f758ce8636
Week 7 vs MrSoup
https://pokepast.es/5623f625ca679514
Week 8 vs Vani
https://pokepast.es/812575040654576d
Week 9 vs Rubyblood
https://pokepast.es/8aad761536a7f4b6
Semifinals vs Choolio
https://pokepast.es/ad458b249d7add93
Semifinals TB vs Choolio
https://pokepast.es/2c27c49afde4dc0e
Finals vs BIHI
https://pokepast.es/82042796d00e8994
One paste format
https://pokepast.es/06d1103cd7811deb
Obviously these teams have been built and picked considering a scout, but if I ended up bringing them it means they are good vs overall everything so dont worry for that. All these teams are tested and are very good. If u suck using them, its your fault. If thats the case, although im lazy enough to write here about how you should use each team, you can always hit me up in discord and Ill try to help you with the team you are struggling. Thats all. Carapinga.
With SPL coming to an end and this year's Invitational right around the corner I think it's a good time to do this post. I really liked last year's posts from Siatam and Fear so I wanted to do one this year myself especially because I think it's cool for newer players to read the thought process and approach of SPL players when prepping and building. I remember reading bruno's post 5 years ago and did find it very interesting as a newer player. I will only talk about how I approached prepping and building each week and won't go over the actual games. OmBrArch, aminita and Onraider already did a superb job covering these and I also don't feel like it.
Week 1 vs BlazingDark
Before the start of the tournament, I was determined venture more outside my comfort zone in the builder. I might have gone a bit overboard the first week though. When scouting BD his very high Starmie and Raikou usage catched my eye and Meganium came to mind immediately and I couldn't shake the idea off. So, this squad was created. It is centered around Meganium so it actually can sweep. I was debating between Flamethrower and Earthquake on Snorlax for some time. Earthquake is better for Golem and Gengar while Flamethrower catches Forretress and pressures Skarmory. I decided to go with Flamethrower as deposing of Forretress quickly was preferred as it can sit on Meganium for quite a while. Golem and Gengar get pressured by the rest of the team an you can always fish for a burn versus these two. Steelix is the primary Snorlax check and the best tool to kill Skarmory. The 4 attacks set on Tyranitar is necessary to pressure opposing offense and to force progress versus stall. With these moves you have the perfect coverage to pressure most stalls after disposing of Forretress. You often force the Skarmory to stay in and go for the Toxic so Tyranitar gets a chance for the kill with Thunderbolt. During testing it worked quite well and I was more often than not winning with it. Though I don't think this team is good but at the same time it isn't bad either. It depends a lot on not misplaying, hitting your moves and getting the surprise factor on your opponent. I really wouldn't recommend on using it in an important tournament game but it can work.
Week 2 vs Siatam
Though this year he went with more standard teams, Siatam is unpredictable in the builder. One week he just loads a sample team, the other he loads double Growth or some weird tech like Counter Lax. There was no point in prepping something specific. One thing I was quite certain about was that I wouldn't face stall. The team I ended up bringing kind of bets on that. I worked on this team for a few months but never found the perfect version until I just accepted that this team would have some unwinnable matchups. The team is built around Porygon2. Others came up with different versions like the Alakazam or Jynx one and they have their own merits but I always felt these versions were lacking something defensively so I was trying to go a different direction with Starmie. The Nightmare set synergizes quite well with Porygon2. Going into a Curse war with opposing Snorlax helps Starmie cleaning late game. Starmie can help burn Thunder PP from electrics which this team can struggle to switch into at times. It also helps vs Jynx and Machamp. The Forretress set aims to maximize pressure versus offense but it can come in handy versus stall as you can force the boom onto the Starmie or Tentacruel so you can activate your own Starmie. Versus most stall you have to accept playing most likely with no Spikes as you can't prevent spinning. With Starmie and Porygon2 you have win conditions that can break stall if you get lucky or the opponent misplays. Blissey stall is truly the only matchup that you won't win against if the opponent knows what they're doing. Thunder is a valid option on Porygon2 to spread para as it increases the chances of sweeping by itself.
Week 3 vs choolio
Facing choolio was a bit weird prepping wise. With both Fear and D4 as managerial support I really didn't know what to expect. From what I have seen the first two weeks their prep seemed to be on the lazier side with choolio going with more old school squads. I decided early that I would disregard the scout and just load something more generic that would have at least a neutral matchup versus anything that choolio would bring. The Gengar set was the only outlier on this team with it being the trap set with Dynamic Punch over the standard Ice Punch. I chose this set to deal better versus Curse Lax that can be troublesome against the rest of the team. Though I would recommend on using a more standard Gengar set. The trap set is not consistent and too fishy.
Week 4 vs gorgie
I was set on using a double electric structure right from the start. I took most of the week deciding between going with an offensive version or the six I played last year versus ggggd. In the end I decided to go with an offense. Machamp is the best last slot on this structure in my opinion but I opted for Gengar instead for two main reasons. It forces progress versus a lot of teams and I wanted a spin blocker. gorgie's Golem usage was crazy low with him playing a lot of teams with no Spinner, Starmie or Spin only on Forretress or Cloyster. That made Gengar more appealing than Machamp. Though dropping Machamp means being weaker to Curse Lax. That weakness dictated most of the other set choices. Reflect + WW Zapdos and Hypnosis Gengar as a direct response to Curse Lax. Destiny Bond is also a fine option but I didn't wanted to let the game potentially come down to getting the Destiny Bond turn right. My own Snorlax is RestTalk out of necessity for Nidoking and other Special Attackers.
Week 5 vs MrSoup
This week I decided early going with a physical offense. Heracross, Machamp and Marowak were all being options. For one or two days I played with the idea of bringing Siatam's Heracross + Machamp team from last year. Jester and Garay nudged me into another direction though and it ended up being the classic ifm Heracross squad. Not much to add on this team as it should be known by everyone. The only twist is Crunch on Raikou. Garay suggested it adamantly and it came in clutch. While Crunch Raikou is often lacking it actually synergizes quite well with Boom Lax as it deals better vs Gengar, Jynx and Exeggutor who Raikou needs to take on often due to Snorlax having no Rest.
Week 6 vs BIHI
Going into this week I noticed d0nut's influence on some of BIHI's team choices. In other weeks BIHI played comfort picks, for example the Jolteon squad in week 5. It seemed to me that BIHI felt more comfortable with his comfort picks. So, when watching BIHI's Cup and Circuit Playoffs run I noticed his high Exeggutor usage and that he did not bring it this SPL yet. I had a very strong gut feeling that I'll face it and maybe something similar to what he played versus me in Circuit Playoffs which were Exeggutor thrice together with double electric, Machamp and Vaporeon once each. That feeling was spot on as I would face an Exeggutor + Vaporeon squad. Based on this I quickly chose to go with a Spin Starmie offense, something that I did not play often at all and that would come as a surprise and match quite well against what I expected to face. I was considering both this version and another with Marowak instead of Steelix. I decided to go with Steelix as it was more resilient defensively. I dropped Surf on Cloyster in favur of Ice Beam as it synergizes quite well with Starmie. Also, I was a bit worried about letting Exeggutor enter too freely so Ice Beam would come in handy as well. The version Conflict played with SleepTalk over Earthquake on Snorlax and Pursuit instead of Fire Blast on Tyranitar is a viable version as well and I was considering it too but I liked the EQ + FB here more.
Week 7 vs Rubyblood
/ 
I didn't actually plan to stall this week but it just happened that I really liked Suicune + Misdreavus into Ruby's scout. Jester was suggesting Suicune as well so I was set early on stalling. The team I ended up building is a more unusual stall as Suicune when used at all in recent years is mostly played on double dog structures with Golem. But I always feel like that structure has issues in preventing the spin especially versus opposing stalls. That's why I wanted to pair it with Misdreavus. The rest of the team comes naturally with Forretress being the sole Spinner. Playing stall with only Spin on Forre comes with problems as it is more prone to hax but you can make it work by maneuvering it carefully and maximizing the Protect usage. Testing with it especially on ladder was quite successful. That's why I regret even more that I didn't end up bringing it. Unfortunately, a couple of hours before the game was scheduled Conflict did bring the same team with Kingdra over Suicune though. I did let myself get influenced by that game and chose to change my team that I thoroughly tested and put Kingdra in over Suicune and changed the Skarmory set with it. I did not test that team at all and really regret doing this. Please don't play the Kindra version. If you want to use a Kingdra team, go with Conflict's team. The Suicune team is actually decent and viable and I would love seeing it in some tournament games.
Week 8 vs Don Eduardo
This week the team was built around Crunch Tyranitar as Carapinga loves playing Psychics and special offense in general. While testing I really liked Surf over the standard EQ. With Crunch you can afford to drop EQ. Pairing the Tyranitar with Exeggutor made sense considering his scout. The last slot had to deal with Curse Snorlax and we ended up deciding on Machamp. The rest of the team and sets are quite standard. I chose to go with Ice Beam again to catch potentially a Zapdos or Exeggutor by surprise which would help my own Exeggutor and Machamp.
Week 9 vs Zokuru
I would lie If I said I wasn't disappointed not facing Conflict again. In all these years Conflict and I played each other countless times in Ubers but not once in OU. Perhaps next year Conflict? Facing Zokuru made prepping a bit easier as he is more set on his style while Conflict can be more unpredictable. I do nt want to make Zokuru smaller as he is. He can be quite surprising as well. I still remember our game from last year where he was trying to shuckle me. When facing Zokuru you always have to be prepared facing stall. When doing the scout, it was not surprising to see Skarmory at 60% usage. I definitely wanted to use something that can overwhelm stall structures. I considered SD Tentacruel, AgiPass Marowak and Curse Tyranitar. I ended up choosing Tyranitar. This set is normally only seen on some stalls as it is way too passive on offense once forced to Rest. But I felt like it was worth the risk. The Snorlax is Surf out of necessity to make Tyranitar somewhat useful versus offense as well. I decided to go with Zapdos as a secondary phazer to take some workload off from Tyranitar and having a second way of dealing with Curse Lax once Tyranitar is sleeping or dead. WW Zapdos matches up quite well versus stall too. Exeggutor and Gengar as lasts help versus electrics and make progress and force switches. That's also the reason for Leech Seed over Giga Drain.
In the end it was a bit of a disappointing season for myself. I didn't venture outside my comfort zone as much as I wanted and I'm quite unhappy how I played some games. But I grew a lot as a player and know where to improve. There is always something to learn from disappointment. I want to thank the Scooters for another fun season and especially Garay oak, RealJester and Xrn for all their help. See you next SPL!
Week 1 vs BlazingDark
Before the start of the tournament, I was determined venture more outside my comfort zone in the builder. I might have gone a bit overboard the first week though. When scouting BD his very high Starmie and Raikou usage catched my eye and Meganium came to mind immediately and I couldn't shake the idea off. So, this squad was created. It is centered around Meganium so it actually can sweep. I was debating between Flamethrower and Earthquake on Snorlax for some time. Earthquake is better for Golem and Gengar while Flamethrower catches Forretress and pressures Skarmory. I decided to go with Flamethrower as deposing of Forretress quickly was preferred as it can sit on Meganium for quite a while. Golem and Gengar get pressured by the rest of the team an you can always fish for a burn versus these two. Steelix is the primary Snorlax check and the best tool to kill Skarmory. The 4 attacks set on Tyranitar is necessary to pressure opposing offense and to force progress versus stall. With these moves you have the perfect coverage to pressure most stalls after disposing of Forretress. You often force the Skarmory to stay in and go for the Toxic so Tyranitar gets a chance for the kill with Thunderbolt. During testing it worked quite well and I was more often than not winning with it. Though I don't think this team is good but at the same time it isn't bad either. It depends a lot on not misplaying, hitting your moves and getting the surprise factor on your opponent. I really wouldn't recommend on using it in an important tournament game but it can work.
Week 2 vs Siatam
Though this year he went with more standard teams, Siatam is unpredictable in the builder. One week he just loads a sample team, the other he loads double Growth or some weird tech like Counter Lax. There was no point in prepping something specific. One thing I was quite certain about was that I wouldn't face stall. The team I ended up bringing kind of bets on that. I worked on this team for a few months but never found the perfect version until I just accepted that this team would have some unwinnable matchups. The team is built around Porygon2. Others came up with different versions like the Alakazam or Jynx one and they have their own merits but I always felt these versions were lacking something defensively so I was trying to go a different direction with Starmie. The Nightmare set synergizes quite well with Porygon2. Going into a Curse war with opposing Snorlax helps Starmie cleaning late game. Starmie can help burn Thunder PP from electrics which this team can struggle to switch into at times. It also helps vs Jynx and Machamp. The Forretress set aims to maximize pressure versus offense but it can come in handy versus stall as you can force the boom onto the Starmie or Tentacruel so you can activate your own Starmie. Versus most stall you have to accept playing most likely with no Spikes as you can't prevent spinning. With Starmie and Porygon2 you have win conditions that can break stall if you get lucky or the opponent misplays. Blissey stall is truly the only matchup that you won't win against if the opponent knows what they're doing. Thunder is a valid option on Porygon2 to spread para as it increases the chances of sweeping by itself.
Week 3 vs choolio
Facing choolio was a bit weird prepping wise. With both Fear and D4 as managerial support I really didn't know what to expect. From what I have seen the first two weeks their prep seemed to be on the lazier side with choolio going with more old school squads. I decided early that I would disregard the scout and just load something more generic that would have at least a neutral matchup versus anything that choolio would bring. The Gengar set was the only outlier on this team with it being the trap set with Dynamic Punch over the standard Ice Punch. I chose this set to deal better versus Curse Lax that can be troublesome against the rest of the team. Though I would recommend on using a more standard Gengar set. The trap set is not consistent and too fishy.
Week 4 vs gorgie
I was set on using a double electric structure right from the start. I took most of the week deciding between going with an offensive version or the six I played last year versus ggggd. In the end I decided to go with an offense. Machamp is the best last slot on this structure in my opinion but I opted for Gengar instead for two main reasons. It forces progress versus a lot of teams and I wanted a spin blocker. gorgie's Golem usage was crazy low with him playing a lot of teams with no Spinner, Starmie or Spin only on Forretress or Cloyster. That made Gengar more appealing than Machamp. Though dropping Machamp means being weaker to Curse Lax. That weakness dictated most of the other set choices. Reflect + WW Zapdos and Hypnosis Gengar as a direct response to Curse Lax. Destiny Bond is also a fine option but I didn't wanted to let the game potentially come down to getting the Destiny Bond turn right. My own Snorlax is RestTalk out of necessity for Nidoking and other Special Attackers.
Week 5 vs MrSoup
This week I decided early going with a physical offense. Heracross, Machamp and Marowak were all being options. For one or two days I played with the idea of bringing Siatam's Heracross + Machamp team from last year. Jester and Garay nudged me into another direction though and it ended up being the classic ifm Heracross squad. Not much to add on this team as it should be known by everyone. The only twist is Crunch on Raikou. Garay suggested it adamantly and it came in clutch. While Crunch Raikou is often lacking it actually synergizes quite well with Boom Lax as it deals better vs Gengar, Jynx and Exeggutor who Raikou needs to take on often due to Snorlax having no Rest.
Week 6 vs BIHI
Going into this week I noticed d0nut's influence on some of BIHI's team choices. In other weeks BIHI played comfort picks, for example the Jolteon squad in week 5. It seemed to me that BIHI felt more comfortable with his comfort picks. So, when watching BIHI's Cup and Circuit Playoffs run I noticed his high Exeggutor usage and that he did not bring it this SPL yet. I had a very strong gut feeling that I'll face it and maybe something similar to what he played versus me in Circuit Playoffs which were Exeggutor thrice together with double electric, Machamp and Vaporeon once each. That feeling was spot on as I would face an Exeggutor + Vaporeon squad. Based on this I quickly chose to go with a Spin Starmie offense, something that I did not play often at all and that would come as a surprise and match quite well against what I expected to face. I was considering both this version and another with Marowak instead of Steelix. I decided to go with Steelix as it was more resilient defensively. I dropped Surf on Cloyster in favur of Ice Beam as it synergizes quite well with Starmie. Also, I was a bit worried about letting Exeggutor enter too freely so Ice Beam would come in handy as well. The version Conflict played with SleepTalk over Earthquake on Snorlax and Pursuit instead of Fire Blast on Tyranitar is a viable version as well and I was considering it too but I liked the EQ + FB here more.
Week 7 vs Rubyblood
/ I didn't actually plan to stall this week but it just happened that I really liked Suicune + Misdreavus into Ruby's scout. Jester was suggesting Suicune as well so I was set early on stalling. The team I ended up building is a more unusual stall as Suicune when used at all in recent years is mostly played on double dog structures with Golem. But I always feel like that structure has issues in preventing the spin especially versus opposing stalls. That's why I wanted to pair it with Misdreavus. The rest of the team comes naturally with Forretress being the sole Spinner. Playing stall with only Spin on Forre comes with problems as it is more prone to hax but you can make it work by maneuvering it carefully and maximizing the Protect usage. Testing with it especially on ladder was quite successful. That's why I regret even more that I didn't end up bringing it. Unfortunately, a couple of hours before the game was scheduled Conflict did bring the same team with Kingdra over Suicune though. I did let myself get influenced by that game and chose to change my team that I thoroughly tested and put Kingdra in over Suicune and changed the Skarmory set with it. I did not test that team at all and really regret doing this. Please don't play the Kindra version. If you want to use a Kingdra team, go with Conflict's team. The Suicune team is actually decent and viable and I would love seeing it in some tournament games.
Week 8 vs Don Eduardo
This week the team was built around Crunch Tyranitar as Carapinga loves playing Psychics and special offense in general. While testing I really liked Surf over the standard EQ. With Crunch you can afford to drop EQ. Pairing the Tyranitar with Exeggutor made sense considering his scout. The last slot had to deal with Curse Snorlax and we ended up deciding on Machamp. The rest of the team and sets are quite standard. I chose to go with Ice Beam again to catch potentially a Zapdos or Exeggutor by surprise which would help my own Exeggutor and Machamp.
Week 9 vs Zokuru
I would lie If I said I wasn't disappointed not facing Conflict again. In all these years Conflict and I played each other countless times in Ubers but not once in OU. Perhaps next year Conflict? Facing Zokuru made prepping a bit easier as he is more set on his style while Conflict can be more unpredictable. I do nt want to make Zokuru smaller as he is. He can be quite surprising as well. I still remember our game from last year where he was trying to shuckle me. When facing Zokuru you always have to be prepared facing stall. When doing the scout, it was not surprising to see Skarmory at 60% usage. I definitely wanted to use something that can overwhelm stall structures. I considered SD Tentacruel, AgiPass Marowak and Curse Tyranitar. I ended up choosing Tyranitar. This set is normally only seen on some stalls as it is way too passive on offense once forced to Rest. But I felt like it was worth the risk. The Snorlax is Surf out of necessity to make Tyranitar somewhat useful versus offense as well. I decided to go with Zapdos as a secondary phazer to take some workload off from Tyranitar and having a second way of dealing with Curse Lax once Tyranitar is sleeping or dead. WW Zapdos matches up quite well versus stall too. Exeggutor and Gengar as lasts help versus electrics and make progress and force switches. That's also the reason for Leech Seed over Giga Drain.
In the end it was a bit of a disappointing season for myself. I didn't venture outside my comfort zone as much as I wanted and I'm quite unhappy how I played some games. But I grew a lot as a player and know where to improve. There is always something to learn from disappointment. I want to thank the Scooters for another fun season and especially Garay oak, RealJester and Xrn for all their help. See you next SPL!
