Hi, I played quite a bit in the post-DLC and clef ban metagame, and even if it's still somewhat unexplored, we can already draw some clear general trends from it. I know that there will be no update before CAPPL starts, but it already gives some direction.
Equilibra and Tomohawk are two major forces in the current metagame. Even if Tomohawk is a bit better, they both have their place in
S.
New stuff:
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Urshifu is extremely powerful. In combination with Future Sight Slowking/bro or simply a means of poisoning Tomohawk and Mandibuzz, it is one of the major threats of the tier.
A+ or S.
I'm very surprised how little I've seen of Magearna as it wreaks havoc in OU. It remains a gigantic threat.
A+, maybe S.
Horrible to deal with, access to Heavy-Duty Boots doesn't help.
Somewhere in A, maybe S.
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Astrolotl is a solid choice : very good spiker, many options, and can put a lot of pressure on the opposing team. However, it faces competition from other Fire types like Cinderace, Rotom-Heat and Smokomodo (which are all viable somehow).
Somewhere in A.
Life Orb Nasty Plot Alakazam is a major threat. Faster than the majority of the meta (which hasn't gained much speed so far), capable of ohkoing almost everything at +2.
Somewhere in A.
Chansey invalidates all special attackers, lays down the rocks, and has the all-important Heal Bell.
Somewhere in A.
Slowbrothers have become perfect pivots with access to Teleport. They form the most spammable core of the game with Urshifu. Regenerator allows them to come and go freely.
Somewhere in A.
Marowak-alola is very strong right now. It can 2hko Tomohawk AFTER INTIMIDATE. Trick Room makes it even more popular.
Somewhere in A.
As soon as a physical threat is able to beat Tomohawk it's panic. That's the case with Azumarill... very versatile (defensive and offensive sets are all playable), very threatening.
Somewhere towards A.
I haven't seen much of Tangrowth. While it's a decent wall, it may lack utility, and faces competition from Ferrothorn and Jumbao.
Low A / B
I haven't seen it much. It's still a decent wall that has access to broken Spore.
Somewhere towards B.
Magnezone doesn't have a lot of targets to trap right now. The Specs Analytic set is borderline better than Magnet pull.
Somewhere in B.
Totally walled by Tomohawk, a little weaker than in OU.
Somewhere in B.
The meta is not good for Scizor.
Somewhere in B.
Kingdra's a decent asset for rain... It is not necessarily necessary, however.
Low B.
Drops:
Toxapex remains very strong but is losing a bit of popularity as the metagame becomes more diverse and the wall options become numerous.
Corviknight is facing a lot of competition from Tomohawk and Mandibuzz right now. It remains correct, but has trouble keeping up with the general increase in the wallbreakers'power.
When there's a chansey in front of it, Kyurem will have a hard time doing anything. It remains decent though, and the ppstall sets have a lot of potential after Clef's departure.
I don't know why it's still in A, but it's definitely lost a lot of popularity in the last few months.
Rises :
Mandibuzz has had an impressive surge in popularity, as it is the only wall capable of tanking Urshifu + Future Sight, while being an appreciable Ghost resist. We also note that there are quite few hazards removers at the moment, and being one of them is a great asset. It also provides Knock Off support and pivoting with U-Turn.
Stratagem is taking advantage of its speed and divine coverage to do a lot of damage at the moment. It can come rather quietly on very used pokémon like Tomohawk or Astrolotl. Not sure that it stays very long, because I think that the meta will gain in speed (in scarfers) in the next weeks, but it is nevertheless very used.
Trick Room is one of the best archetypes right now, so Fidgit is coming out of the shadows. :snek: