So, I've been playing a
lot of the metagame since the QBs of Cinderace and Magearna; it's a ton of fun, and the teambuilder has been far more opened up. With that, though, comes with some pretty notable nominations. I'd like to run through the ones that have been made thus far.
Rillaboom: A to
A+
100%
agreed. I sorely underestimated just how opened up its Grassy Glides have been made with Magearna and Cinderace's bans, and I've been using Rillaboom quite a bit post-ban and have come to feel that Rillaboom has become one of the best wallbreakers and easily the best revenge killer in the tier. Not only is its Choice Band set a phenomenal option to easily and effectively revenge kill opponents with Grassy Glide, but its access to Knock Off and U-turn is, simply, incredible. U-turn allows for it to turn a Grassy Glide switch-in into a momentum opportunity, and Knock Off is an immensely spammable, safe option that punishes a majority of the tier's Grassy Glide switch-ins with a debilitating item removal, namely the HDB of Zapdos and Mandibuzz. Without Magearna running about, Grassy Glide has become less consequential and liable to forcing the Rillaboom user to stomach a Choice Specs-boosted attack, making its revenge killing/wallbreaking abilities more reliable.
It's not been mentioned yet, but its Swords Dance set has pretty much 0 switch-ins in the entire tier, and those that do switch into its Grassy Glides are cleanly blown asunder with Superpower or Knock Off; even so, +2 LO and terrain boosted Grassy Glides are unbelievably hard to switch into, as a majority of the tier's resists are easily 2hkod barring Mandibuzz, Skarmory, and Corviknight. Consequentially, this thing has created a near necessity to have a bulky Flying-type on teams, as revenge killing it is a really tall order. You are otherwise forced to either survive the onslaught of the Grassy Terrain, rely on a Choice lock, or have priority of your own (which, due to Rillaboom's solid natural bulk, isn't super reliable anyway). I feel as though its ability to pressure Pokemon so reliably and perform as a revenge killer and wallbreaker so consistently are attributes that are very worthy of A+.
Kyurem: A- to
A
Definitely
agreed. I predicted that this thing would become a premier wallbreaker in the tier, and I'm glad to say that I wasn't wrong. Its Freeze-Dry + Ice Beam + Draco Meteor + Earth Power move combination lacks a reliable switch-in in the tier barring Blissey, making it an incredibly effective special wallbreaker that can pierce open quite a few balance cores that overrely on Steel-types as their special backbone. Earth Power is a fairly popular option, but I also take quite a liking to Focus Blast, which can still blow Heatran/Melmetal away while also having the benefit of super effectively smashing Ferrothorn and 2hkoing Blissey after Stealth Rock (it actually does). Additionally, we've seen some usage of Choice Scarf, which creates for a pretty solid revenge killer since Kyurem's natural strength and powerful options can easily exploit the speed boost to make for a very legitimate endgame cleaner. Kyurem's main weaknesses come in its vulnerability to Stealth Rock limiting switch-ins and making it pressed for removal, since its offensive variants tend to want the utility of other items to optimize its wallbreaking/cleaning capabilities, and special walls like Blissey and Glowking can be pretty annoying. Though, make no mistake; Kyurem is legit.
Aegislash: B to
A-
I somewhat
agree here as well; not to A-, but to
B+. Aegislash has grown stronger as a result of recent metagame trends (such as the lowered use of Mandibuzz) and the series of quickbans either limiting its competition or removing its checks. As a result, Aegislash as a mixed attacker, Special wallbreaker, and SD variant have started to pick up again, and they're the real deal. A majority of Shadow Ball switch-ins like Blissey or Mandibuzz utterly hate having to stomach a Close Combat or Flash Cannon, making it generally reliable at what it does. It also boasts a fairly relevant defensive typing in tandem with Stance Change, being able to take advantage of quite a few Pokemon for switch-in opportunities if it is healthy. Some examples include Tapu Lele, Mystical Fire-less Latios, Slowking-Galar, Earth Power-less Kyurem, and Heat Wave-less Tornadus-T (which is fairly common), also performing decently against some neutral targets like Tapu Koko. However, Stance Change is double-edged sword
hehehehehehehehehe. There's no denying that its speed tier in tandem with its Blade form's severe bulk drop is really bad for a wallbreaker in the current meta, making it really easy to revenge kill or take advantage of for a momentum garnering opportunity. For this reason, if Aegislash wants to do work, it either has to take a hit beforehand, outspeed its target, or scare its opponents out. Aegislash, much like Melmetal, is really easy to chip down due to the way that it plays, and this is ultimately worsened by the overall loss in bulk, and worsened against the increased use of SpDef Corviknight.
Mandibuzz: A- to
B+
This is a nomination I
disagree with for sure. Although at a glance it grew worse due to it losing the niche of checking Spectrier, I'd actually argue Spectrier
worsened its viability, as it was forced to pidgeonhole into dong options like dual Dark-type STABs and Whirlwind over the much more valuable U-turn, making it a major momentum sap and a sluggish Pokemon to use in general. However, its merits as a bulky Dark-type Defog user are still very valuable, and I would argue in a metagame where Rillaboom and Dragapult are rising to fame that it definitely holds a very distinct niche, especially now that it can make use of U-turn again and instead improve the flow of momentum. I still feel as though Corviknight is the superior bird due to its better matchups against Kyurem and Garchomp, but being a generally more reliable answer against Grass spam and also checking Dragapult much more reliably is something that I feel is very valid right now, especially because it can still deal with things like Excadrill and Kartana (Kartana with even more reliance due to resisting Knock Off and Foul Play sending it to the 4th dimension) with relative comfort.
Kartana: A- to
A
Agreed. Kartana in a metagame without Magearna to check it, Cinderace to reliably revenge kill it, and where Rillaboom is shining a lot more is monstrous. In my opinion, Grass spam is utterly phenomenal right now, and Kartana is a huge reason as to why that is (alongside Rillaboom, of course). Not only is its Choice Scarf set once again a great cleaner and form of speed control, but due to Cinderace no longer being everywhere to revenge kill it, its SD + Leaf Blade + Knock Off + Sacred Sword set has a field day on the tier, only really being able to be stopped with contact recoil, a faster revenge killer, Static, or a healthy Mandibuzz. Its physical bulk is also really great, as Pokemon like Landorus-T are pretty much fodder to it since it can't be easily picked off on the physical side without a super effective attack. The latter set's main drawback is its proneness to being revenge killed by a Choice Scarf user or a faster threat, since unlike Rillaboom, it can't just invalidate anything naturally faster than it with a STAB-boosted nuclear priority option. I'm not sure if I'd rather see it in A or A+, but I do think it deserves a rise for sure. A for now should be fine!
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Now, here's a nomination of my own.
Dragapult
A to
A+
Dragapult, in my eyes, has become a premier form of speed control in the tier once again, making great use out of its speed and STABs to allow its classic Choice Specs/Hex sets to run through the metagame. Although it still prefers a +Speed nature due to the use of Tapu Koko, the fact it has the ability to outspeed literally any viable Pokemon except Zeraora in the tier and pivot around things so easily makes it incredibly powerful right now and stunningly easy to create an endgame with. It's really easy to lose to Dragapult if you aren't careful with your special walls, HP, and/or what Pokemon is being hit with a status (which it spreads with ease). For this reason, it's both a gigantic threat in the teambuilder and in execution, especially without Spectrier giving it such heavy competition. However, unlike Spectrier, it boasts a typing that is really great both offensively and defensively, and it is deceptively bulky with its range of resistances, too, making it both a great wallbreaker and a surprisingly effective offensive glue for teams in need of immediate speed and power. As an extra point in its favor, Dragapult also loves Magearna being gone, making it that much harder to deal with in a vacuum, and even more consistent at what it does.
Dragapult has become a staple on double Dragon-type cores, Volt-Turn, and Balanced Offense teams for a reason, and it's nothing to trifle with whatsoever. It is easily worth A+ in my eyes.