Week Two:
River vs Zinc
River brought Skarph's most famous team, sets
apparently unchanged, which suffers from similar problems to his w1 team. Zinc brought what I assume is an update on
McM's w1 vs CyberOdin in SPL XII. Retro. Maybe it's a point of concern that River is recycling or bringing recently known builds this early into SPL. I didn't know what to expect from Zinc either, but she played quite solidly this game. She's using a concept I fell in (and out of) love with a year or so ago: t1 Brick Break with Suit Tar on a build that is phys Tar weak. I think this is a nice update that allows Suit Tar to play like a Mix Tar for a team that is comfortable accepting Gengar escaping the Suit trap. If successful, you improve the defensive profile of your team while setting up special attackers to make more progress. The downsides of whiffing exist: if Tar-->Skarm on Brick-->Pert on (e.g.) Fire Blast (as opposed to a midground), you've given up information about your set and team, and the opponent is aware of Tar's strength in the match-up. Zinc got her Tar chip, and River was short a breaker in a match-up where she needed one with a team ill equipped to break Rest Zap while plagued by it. The choice to slot Sleep Talk and Toxic is a modern one which makes Zap even more threatening. I have to hand it to Zinc (and her team?) for coming with a new layer of polish to a decent team at the SPL level. I think maybe the genius of McMeghan's original version is that double Spin with Wish support BKC Tar quite well, whereas this version doesn't really make the most of Spin outside of stifling passive Spikes teams whose primary offense comes from Spikes and a single abuser. Double Spin is a weapon against players like River who have a penchant for loading teams in that style, so the team choice is commendable in this match setting, but I don't think this solves the problems for this team more generally. The Forre set having Zap Cannon and HP Bug contribute to the prophylactic suffocation of River's offense. All-in-all, it's a clever build that I can see Zinc (and others) adding to their tour repertoire, and I think it was a thoughtful bring. Zinc is playing it somewhat safe so far, bringing relatively known builds with her own Spin. While a two game sample size is noisy and not representative, I think she's going to do just fine if she keeps going how she's been going. Wondering what she brings next week.
Fruhdazi vs Garay Oak
Garay brought Suit Tar/Forre/Gar/Recover Cele/Pert/Aero.
I wonder if this was a challenge to Fruhdazi, especially after his winpost with a Celebi in it? Either way, the bring was surprising and out of character, but in recent years, I feel Garay has learned to mix it up and has shown he can play a little bit of everything. Even more surprising than the team selection was the choice of techs. Garay zoned up to offense, bringing Tect/EQ/IB/Roar Pert, which is a rare choice we sometimes see on SkarmMag that concedes Skarm layers. The same can be said for the defensive Celebi without HP Fire. No Starmie, no Thief Skarm, but instead it's equipped to handle offensive pressure. Gengar, Forre, Suit Tar, Aero, and Celebi are nice choices for some of Fruhdazi's recent escapades with Spikeless builds. I don't really like defensive Celebi under Sand, though, especially when Forre is overloaded and not supported with Wish on such a slow build, and Aero doesn't offer the same bulk as a slower defensive bird to this team that relies on Pert for most of its phys def responsibilities and Celebi for most of its special defensive responsibilities. It's a playable 6, to be sure, and competent choices were made for the match-up, but if he pulled Fruh's team from even last week, this game might have been very uncomfortable for Garay.
Fruhdazi brought a new take on one of my old Sandless Mag comps. I didn't like the way he played, but I think he had good odds to win before Celebi crit the Suicune. This was another Suit Meta Mag offense. It makes sense to chip Aero with Suit Meta to support Celebi -- and had he gotten that chip, Celebi might have just won. However, he used Meta to trap Gar in support of Snorlax (and Salamence). Meta was burned, and Pert was left at full when Mence tried to abuse the apparent mono Surf coverage before being surprised by Ice Beam. In a (bo1) match setting, I think he should have scouted this or been aware of it once Celebi had been revealed instead of Blissey, who can help check Mence next to Gar and Pert. In any event, I think devoting his primary Aero switch-in to countering Gengar feels like a strategic error, considering that Gengar's best partners are (Skarm) Tar and Aero, and the physical pressure that Suicune and sometimes Salamence are forced to bear become overwhelming, since Magneton isn't contributing so much. I like the weather clearing concept with all of the Tar lures, and I of course like the trend I'm seeing of players slotting Curse Lax (especially with SpD support!) on Mag offenses, since Lax is far more dangerous with Curse. It can be said that the match-up was rough, because Lax is facing 4.5 checks and a Roar Pert and Celebi was unable to set up properly in the game, and it can be said that Fruhdazi might have won had Celebi not crit his Suicune, but in my opinion, this comes down to game-planning to use Metagross in a way that leaves Mence unsupported, either in conception or in execution in game. I'm not sure these are bad techs, and I don't mind Sub Celebi, so maybe we see this version get some play later, but I tended to prefer HP Grass or Toxic on Metagross for Pert. I wonder if this reimagining of the team would succeed with a different approach, or if he simply had to make a few different choices at other points in the game (keeping Mag hidden, Brick Breaking the Tar in front of him, switching out of Pert with Mence, staying in with Celebi on Gengar first time, etc.)
Prinz vs Johnald
Prinz brought a team he supposedly recycled thrice in the recent Jimvitational tournament. The scout has it with these techs:
Sub Pass Zap/FP Off Pert/Curse Bslam EQ FP Lax/Loom/Suit Tar/DD Mence
I like the choice of Sub Pass with 3x Focus Punch, sleep, and a DD Mence (for 2x set up). I also like that it brings Snorlax next to Breloom, as it is a mixed offense team, and Snorlax is one of the best assets there. However, the shortcomings of this approach have been heavily detailed by BKC, and this feels like an approach from the heyday of the old mixed offense, not keeping up with recent trends. Bringing Sand hurts Sub Zap and Lax, which isn't necessarily disqualifying. Bringing Lax without Spin is a choice not to be taken lightly. Sleep and BP can maybe offer compensation, but Loom isn't the most consistently useful Pokemon. I tend to think that Zap+Lax should usually pair with Cune and go Sandless with Mag or Spin support, but standard Loom introduces the desire to slot Pursuit Tar. If you want consistent speed control (fast, guaranteed revenging), Dug and Mence are the best choices for offense by far (with BP Zap a distant third, with Agility+BP banned), and Sand+Cune (without Spin) is a janky fit. Pert makes sense. Maybe it made sense to go for Cune still? I'm not comfortable building with non-Hera fighters to speak on the ideal Loom+Suit Tar build, because while Mence and its running mate, Meta, feel like obvious auto-includes, Tar/Meta/Pert/Loom/Mence struggles to answer the Zapdos and Suicune questions. Maybe this is a job for Registeel.
Anyway, as constructed, FP Pert is wallable -- one of the reasons I made the switch to End Pert on these kinds of teams -- by Celebi, which bothers Zap, Lax, and Loom; and by bulky waters with recovery like Milotic, Starmie, and Suicune. The team also lacks explosions or serious momentum reversal tools, assuming he hasn't slotted Self-destruct. While BP, Sleep, Pursuit, and a combination of strong mons is enough to make this team playable, there are some match-ups for which this team is underprepared. Salamence without Metagross or at least phys Tar is suspicious. I suspect the Tar is Grass to help with Pert, but that's also awkward against Blissey. I think the team counts on Loom and Lax with Suit support to autowin against stall and DD Mence to win against Aero builds with the pressure coming from the other slots becoming overwhelming and eventually luring Pert, if not necessarily carefully and directly targetting and overloading Swampert. For example, El Classico adjacent builds don't have a better switch into an unrevealed Tyranitar than Swampert, so if Skarm can be brought low, HP Grass can be clicked on the switch to catch Pert coming in. It should function, and I'm sure Prinz tested. I think it's fair to say the team is usable, but not without its problems that can be exploited at this level. The one that I don't think there's room to waffle about is the inability to switch into Toxic from Skarmory. It was practically KO'd t8, which enticed Johnald to stay in to HP Grass what might have been a Pert desperado. I thought he might also have gone Tar to catch an HP Grass/Tbolt pivot and to guarantee the Pert stay-in (or return) the following turn to absorb the physical damage or at least block Sub. Anyway, I have to shout out UD for teaching me that it's important to bring a Toxic and a DP Skarm check on every team, and this team is no different.
Johnald brought an EC adjacent build with Mix Jira instead of Gar, for which Fruhdazi and I have advocated in the past. I mentioned my souring on FP Tar in the previous post, due to its limitations as a defensive pivot in non-Blissey match-ups. I think you do want the bulky pivot on this kind of build. There's something of a cat-and-mouse game in prep with Off Cune, where it is strongly desirable to bring DD Tar to trade into Cune and carry the momentum into an Aero win, having only to eat one or two (weaker) special attacks against a Zapdos or (non-Cune) CMer to do its job. It is preferable to bring a bulky Lefties Tar in the Blissey (and now Registeel?) match-up. I suspect it's a standard Sub Punch Tar. I've liked HP Ghost>Bug on some teams. Fire Punch(?) Jira, TW (Roar?) Zap, Aero, and EQ Pert chip in to deal with Jirachi and Metagross. I've got mixed feelings about Zap on these builds. It's a top two Skarm switch-in, clearly second only to Gengar due to a lack of Toxic immunity, that punishes Skarmory teams harder than any other switch-in. It's Spikes immune, too, so it enjoys more bulk than other special checks, like Jirachi, that might fill the same role. All of the things Zapdos compresses into one slot make it irreplaceable for teams that need to switch in on Skarmory to reverse momentum -- y'all can stop with the "big bird = McDonald's" propaganda -- but I have to wonder if it's not just better to apply pressure into Skarmory instead of switching. It's hard to say that there are any mons who can take up the mantle, since no other special check holds pace with Aero, bar Jirachi, and no other special check offers the same offensive package against offensive water types. Aero needs the added bulky pivot, as a CBer who concedes momentum. Maybe someone else has the answer to this, but I'm wondering if Aero+Mag is due for a resurgence. The old Asta LS Celebi comp submitted by BKC to the samples remains competent, and
Ojama's Zap Mag comp could be improved by swapping Pert for Meta. I've done this before, and I wasn't happy with the result, but this could be a technical shortcoming. In any case, and Aero team is an Aero team, and people know what EC does. Mix Jira offers an extra defensive tool in the mirror against Aero while offering tank-luring power, and it did a fine job of KOing Lax and keeping Zap from going crazy this game so his own Zap was free to duel Loom. This might have been dicier had Zap fainted to FP, and maybe it was necessary for Prinz to go to Tyranitar for initiative there, but Johnald played solidly.
Endill vs Mayo
This game made me sad, because I was rooting for Mayo, and angry because both players brought Dugtrio and Dugtrio Dugtrio'd in this game. Endill brought a very grounded Arctic build from an invitation a few years ago, iirc. I never liked this build because it felt like it lost to all optimal configurations of stall/Sandless balance as is. SkarmMag, Gon+Ghosts, Forre+Wish, etc -- not to mention many other faster anti-stall comps. I also felt that the lack of breaking outside of Spikes was sinful. I think preparing for Rest Zap is extremely important, and I almost never forget to do that -- though it might very well be the case that Endill brought Ice Beam Starmie to cover against Mence and pressure Zapdos, but not the stellar combinations of Zapdos with Blissey. I don't buy into the philosophy that defense can outstall everything, so I've tended to move away from these kinds of comps that are super easy to game plan in the builder, since I tend to ladder when I play. The compensation is clear, though, in the form of bringing the unbreakable stall core of Celebi+Blissey supported by a third Recover user in Starmie that gatekeeps poor team building to auto-win some match-ups and round out the mixed defensive core and a second water in Pert to make sure physical attackers are not having a good time. And of course, Dugtrio Spikes have a ridiculous advantage in their ability to remove anything threatening, so doubling and trippling up on most of the tier is good enough to permit sacking what might otherwise be a key defensive mon in order to revenge into a safer position.
In bo1, so long as you don't recycle or avoid teams with rhyming weaknesses, this is acceptable, and the team is generally robust. It almost broke due to Zap taking control early on and Endill having a second lapse in concentration in two weeks and chucking Starmie. Double Toxic, Leech Seed, Dugtrio, and Roar on Pert synergize very well against grounded threats to break through Bliss+water cores and sit on them. This structure also should be able to comfortably gain a match-up against v5, and the raw bulk allows it to tank Aero Spikes comfortably, provided they do not have a means of seriously inconveniencing Starmie (e.g. Gar, Suit Tar, Mix Meta, etc.). It's still playable even then, as Endill proved by locking in to clutch the W this week. The Dug switch on Zap was likely done to midground Tbolt and threaten Rock Slide with EQ mindgames, or Endill is simply the GOAT. I don't know Mayo's Tar was max HP, but the roll is a high midroll at worst for Endill, so it made sense to play to that out. Still, I wouldn't touch this six with a ten foot pole -- give me a top-tier floater instead. I think Spreek called it 'the unemployed Dugtrio,' which is quite amusing. I wish no one employed these moles... But I think Endill has been warming up on them lately?
Mayo brought what I think was an M Dragon build. She played alright, but ForreBliss without Wish or a backup spinner usually means Forre is getting worn out throughout the course of a game, finding itself unable to Spike or Spin. Fortunately, Rest Zap, Bliss, Pert, and Dug can do their job just fine with a layer or two down and Sand up. Forre should be HP Bug and not boom, in my opinion, to improve the team's match-up against Claydol. Zap Cannon makes sense on this team where sufficient Skarm pressure and general support for Forre (beyond Suit) is in short supply. Boom is nice defensively to stop DD Mence setting up or CM Blissey sweeping, and offensively, having the boom to Dug option allows for trapping of Jirachi or Tyranitar. But this team doesn't want boom. Blissey is running Counter (for Dug, I assume?) but it feels like overkill. If you want Counter, why not run it on Forre to prevent a Dug trap and to limit Skarmory breathing down your neck? Toxic is nice coverage for pressuring ill equipped stall, but this was never a match-up for Toxic Blissey to thrive in. Goes both ways. Maybe it's the wrong meta for Toxic Bliss? Or these players were the wrong opponents? I do like mono Pert with Refresh to help against Toxic Skarmory, if that is the set. I also like slotting Hidden Power > Toxic on Zap because Toxic and Roar do similar things to these grounded stall teams. I understand the fear of having Zap against last mon CM Blissey, but to bring 3x Toxic AND Roar on one (or two) set(s) feels like trauma-informed paranoia. There's an antisynergy with both moves, and HP would have allowed more pressure. Otherwise, Roar on Pert and Sleep Talk+Toxic might have been interesting on Zap, while running a more suitable Blissey, with either Wish or Calm Mind, to support or take advantage of Rapid Spin. Can't really talk to Tyranitar or Dugtrio's techs, obviously.
I don't like this 6 from Mayo because this is a typical Dugtrio team with typical Dugtrio team problems -- very similar to what plagues Endill's comp. She had far better odds to apply pressure, but Dugtrio got the better of her twice, which was enough to flip the complexion of the game on its head. Still, both players brought grounded teams, which is why the match-up was so problematic in both directions.
Skarpherim vs Triangles
Triangles brought a kind of blue offense with Machamp in the Hera (fighter) slot. There's another Curse Lax (with Sball unrevealed) that I'm going to assume is Curse 3. Might have to add that set to the Smogdex at this point, no
Zac? Pretty standard comp. Same concern about coming a bit skinny vs Zap with Endill's comp. Guts Champ does a good job of matching up against Gengar. I am really loving the state of Mag off in 2026.
Skarph brought something that looks like
a cut from a 2024 dump of mine, where I wanted to find a use for Starmie on a Spikeless build. I'm told Blaise is an avid scrounger and modifier of forum dumps, so I wouldn't be surprised. I do like this take and might even prefer it to mine. If you've been keeping tally, I've liked the inclusion of Curse Lax on every team so far, so it shouldn't be any surprise that this team fascinates me enough to feature it as my highlight of the week. It's the least theoretical of any of the comps so far -- in the sense that it is off the beaten path, not that it falls short of expectations -- and it does bring tools that are decent into Aero and Dugtrio Spikes compositions, which is the threshhold for a quality composition, in my opinion.
I'm not sure how to feel about this because it is so untheoretical. I like the idea of a Lax that is supported with Suit and Spin, and Meta+Mence is a really nice combo next to it, and Pert is a good fit, too. It's hard to justify Sand over Zapdos, for example, because Snorlax doesn't absolutely need boom to support anything else on this team, but having the nuclear option against Skarmory is justifiable. On my version I used Wish Jira next to Mix Mence, which better supported Lax, akin to Endill's w1 and Fruhdazi's w2 teams, to get more value out of bulky pieces. However, my build is too all-in on Snorlax and maybe optimistic in how easily an overly-supported Snorlax with bulky mixed and special attacking pieces around it should be able to win against the faster and slower teams of the game. I think CB Meta is almost certainly a strict upgrade, but I have to wonder if Wish on Mence is worth considering, when choosing the route of centering Snorlax.
I mentioned slotting Zapdos as a potential upgrade. Having a floating special attacking special check to absorb WoWs, pivot on DP Skarm, and reverse momentum offers upside, but the question is ultimately whether one prefers Starmie+Swampert to Suicune+Claydol at that point, which is more commonly trodden territory due to Suicune's consistent output. This is truly a mixed offense build of the older kind, featuring a Rapid Spin user in an attempt to 'modernize' it. I stand by the idea that Skarph('s team) had that there is a scout out there that is weak to Lax and Meta with Spin support and the raw breaking power (or Speed tier and water resist) of Stamie or its ability to check Suicune are more desirable than bringing your own Cune. Or maybe it's that Meta/Tar/Mence is the desirable core, but that Snorlax with Spin support is preferable to Registeel in this slot. I also stand by Lefties Off Pert on this build, as the added bulk on a team that aims to play slower in some match-ups makes sense to me. Alternatively, different Meta and Tar sets can be used. I think I would almost always use DD Mence here these days, even if I had to use Brick Blast Mence with Suit Meta and even CB Tar to justify the comp. I think there's something here.
I don't know if this team will catch on, but it's one of the more fun concepts I've seen, and I think it should be able to win games. If I had to offer an improvement on this game, it might be to pivot Snorlax (or Starmie-->Tar) on Suicune rather than allowing Metagross to thud into Cune/Mag, because Lax isn't having a fun time against Machamp and the Metagross you can hedge is behind, and it is difficult to break through Champ or make progress with Lax or Tar otherwise.
Stats for nerds:
