Hey everyone, I wanted to take this opportunity to share my preliminary thoughts on the HOME metagame after having played a few dozen games. Please take these opinions with a grain of salt as we are not even a day into the metagame, but I feel I've played enough at this rate to have a decent read on what is/will ultimately be good in the tier.
For visiblity's sake, here is a tier list I put together. I will be explaining my choices up to A-tier, but I will happily explain my lower-tier choices if inquired.
Quickban:
Nuke these fools.
Ursaluna is absurd. While its Speed tier is very debilitating outside of Trick Room, it is one of the highest immediate power threats the tier has ever seen with a STAB combo and coverage that is unreasonably good at breaking holes into teams with little prediction required from the Ursaluna user. There has been extremely high Air Balloon Gholdengo use on the ladder to try and dissuade its STAB combination, but its access to moves like Fire Punch to remedy this and Substitute to remove prediction makes it very difficult to respond to without using dedicated counterplay, expending your Tera, or predicting right. It's worth noting that all of these are major investments and often wind up with your team put into a very unideal position before one of the tier's many great cleaners can pick up the slack. It alone makes Trick Room a highly viable strategy, but even without it, its bulk and solid use of Tera means it often can take 2-3 Pokemon with it before it's taken down. While the metagame can most definitely adapt to its presence, it is beyond centralizing and I believe the tier would be better off without it as it doesn't really bring much of value anyway.
It's been profusely said how powerful Regieleki is with Tera, and I am here to echo that sentiment. Tera completely downplays its one key weakness and makes it so Regieleki is able to utterly wreck every and all team structures that don't use specific Ground-types. It alone has forced obscene Iron Treads usage on the ladder, and even it can't withstand Tera Blast for long. I've been using it on a Rain team, too, and it can even use Tera Water to break apart Iron Treads with no issue, and even some other niche answers like Tera Steel Thundurus-T. Much like Ursaluna, it certainly can be adapted to, but it demands far too much from the player in the builder and it has no place in the tier.
Honestly, I'm not really too big a fan of its presence in this metagame, not gonna lie! Body Press is just way too good an addition on Zamazenta-Crowned; it's very easy for Zamazenta to begin boosting Body Press with its amazing bulk, type, and Speed, and its other slots can easily be dedicated to blasting the tier's best Body Press checks in Gholdengo, Galarian Slowking, and Enamorus through STAB Behemoth Bash and Crunch alone, and it can use its bulk to win those 1v1s. You have to try and burn or paralyze it, but most bulky status users in this metagame (Skeledirge and Volcarona) aren't exactly ones you want to throw on every team, and in some cases aren't even good enough as they don't actually respond to Body Press (Rotom-W). While this is the one I'm most borderline about as it's not as overtly broken to me as Regieleki and Ursaluna, it too contributes to a potential centralization problem since Iron Defense Body Press checks are fairly specific.
On My Radar:
This tier is for Pokemon that are on my personal radar, but am unsure about booting from the tier out the rip.
Actually a really cool and powerful Pokemon with very interesting progress-making tools with access to Poison Touch + U-turn and nice utility in general, and is a presence I would actively enjoy having in the tier if it weren't for Dire Claw. Dire Claw is a really stupid move and a super easy click for the most part due to that obscene and common secondary effect. Close Combat is a great partner in crime into Dire Claw immunities, and it has U-turn as well for other checks in Gholdengo, for instance, so Dire Claw's secondary effect comes into play very often. Being able to fish for Sleep or Para odds is, bluntly, a really unwelcome mechanic imo, and can steal games undeservedly as many people have said before. It's a shame too as, since Dire Claw is only on Sneasler, we have to look at Sneasler as opposed to Dire Claw itself. Sneasler as a whole would sit solidly in high A/low S, but with the uncompetitive and often game-changing elements behind Dire Claw it most likely--and sadly--needs to be evaluated for a potential ban.
Much like I mentioned in my earlier post, Magearna's healthy elements heavily in contention with its potentially broken ones. CM Tera Water sets are really hard to stop and, since it trades for very hard-to-exploit weaknesses in tandem with Calm Mind boosting, it can farm games easily with Screens support and proper positioning. Their great customizability between Iron Defense and Shift Gear and, of course, Magearna's amazing coverage options, sadly augments this issue. However, Magearna's other sets to me have been honestly not that bad. Specs is blanked pretty badly by the near omni-present Galarian Slowking and Iron Treads usage, making it somewhat prediction reliant, and with Trick you're not really getting as much value as you'd like as Magearna values its moveslots more than ever in this metagame. AV and Utility-focused sets are great but far from broken; if anything I highly welcome them in such a volatile metagame state. However it's the Calm Mind sets that really complicate things and I'm still mulling over if those sets are manageable enough, as well as if its set variety alongside the potential brokenness of CM is banworthy in and of itself. It's for that reason I don't believe it should be quickbanned at this time; however, Magearna is still on my radar.
Chien-Pao in this metagame is the embodiment of broken checking broken, essentially giving every offensive team a Get Out Of Jail card into Regieleki with its great STABs and Speed tier. Compared to Zamazenta-H it does this in a considerably less balanced sense, but it does certainly still have its checks. It hates Urshifu-R's potency in this metagame, and the existence of Magearna/Hisuian Samurott are pretty annoying for it too. I've been able to beat it pretty handily but it's one of those Pokemon whose brokenness tends to show as we trend toward stability. I expect it to probably kick the bucket down the line, but I'm not so sure right now.
S-tier Contenders
If you've played at all on the OU ladder today I guarantee you've seen at least one. This Pokemon is in contention for the best Pokemon in the tier; everything about it feels so handcrafted to glue the metagame together, especially as it received a pivoting option to really live up to its predecessors. Chilly Reception expands Galarian Slowking's team applications beyond belief, giving it a home on VoltTurn structures and the highly viable Trick Room archetype. It also received Toxic Spikes and Toxic to reinforce teams into dangerous setup sweepers like Magearna, giving it more utility on bulkier structures. Its AV set is still phenomenal, and I'm sure setup variants will come to rise once the metagame becomes stable. Right now it is capable of doing so much and providing a stopgap into many of the tier's most dangerous Pokemon while providing constant pressure and support for its team. Galarian Slowking is insane.
Regieleki has put Zapdos on the backfoot a bit, but it provides the tier with the all-purpose Flying-type that it has been craving since SV launched. Its type combination matches up great into Zamazenta, Landorus-T, and Great Tusk, and its bulk is just solid enough alongside Static to pull its weight as a glue into other relevant Physical attackers like Kingambit, Sneasler, and Urshifu-R. While losing Defog sucks quite a bit, Hurricane and Heat Wave uninvested generally gets the job done, giving teams a nice blend of offense, momentum, and utility akin to Galarian Slowking. I expect it to surge in use once/if Regieleki leaves the tier. Maybe S-tier overrates it a bit, but I've been using it on nearly all of my teams, and I'm sure it will settle into a very nice niche for bulky offense and balance.
I honestly think Zamazenta-H is a nice presence in the tier; a very powerful and influential one, for sure, but one I personally welcome a lot. It provides a very balanced yet potent tool for offensive structures. It boasts a great click in Close Combat, a very good Speed tier, nice bulk, and potent coverage options, making it a fantastic Choice Band user and great revenge killer that doesn't demand too many resources to shine. There are a lot of good and easily available checks in the aforementioned Galarian Slowking and Zapdos, as well as Pokemon like Landorus-T, Volcarona, Skeledirge, Great Tusk, and Enamorus. As for its Body Press set, I don't actually think it's that demanding as, unlike Zamazenta-C, it lacks a good secondary STAB to shore up its matchup into common Body Press resistances and it's also not Toxic-immune. I like it a lot, honestly. It has solid winning power that rewards smart positioning and progress-making, its Speed tier is a great asset, and its bulk is useful but not unbearable.
A-tier Contenders
Heatran does Heatran things, what is there to say? It's a great Special tank with an always-useful and powerful click in Magma Storm, and its access to Taunt is always a nice way to expedite its utility. Although it lost Toxic (and that sucks a lot, don't get me wrong), it gained Tera Blast and Tera as a whole in exchange, which can allow for it to specialize its trapping game a lot more. I admit I'm somewhat worried about this as the metagame stabilizes, but in such a fast and offensive metagame it's quite hard for Heatran to find that theoretical value. I mostly just see and have experienced a bulky and powerful tank with nice resistances, and that's going to be good no matter what.
SAMUROTT IS GOOD GUYS!!!!!!! HE'S GOOD!!! HE FINALLY DID IT!!!!!!!! In all seriousness, Hisuian Samurott is awesome. Ceaseless Edge is stupid spammable and supports the everliving crap out of faster cleaners in Sneasler/Zamazenta. Alongside the fact Ceaseless Edge is so useful, its type offers a lot both offensively and defensively, and as such it has honestly a lot of set versatility. I've found a lot of success with RestTalk and it's a set I implore you try as it gives you that familiar Ceaseless Edge value while reaping the rewards of its great resistances, but Choice Scarf, AV, SD + Black Glasses with Sucker Punch are all really solid performers as well. It's definitely more of an offense fixture by nature, but I think Hisuian Samurott will settle into a very comfortable spot in this metagame just because Sharpness-boosted Ceaseless Edge and its typing are so unique and powerful. Its Speed, only-serviceable bulk, and Sharpness-reliant offenses really show at times, though, so I don't expect it to ever be topping the charts. However you can bet that it will do its job, and you best believe that job is really, really useful.
Enamorus is pretty strong, and I think as the metagame slows down it will probably become more and more potent, but as it stands it's a powerful wallbreaker and bruiser thanks to its powerful Moonblast and perfect neutral coverage. Taunt + 3 Attacks puts in a lot of work and can be a nice fat-buster while trading nicely into offense, and I've liked Specs too. However Calm Mind and Superpower offer decent win-conditions at the cost of requiring more awareness in positioning. I think 4MSS, its desire for HDB, and its Speed tier let it down just a bit but there's a lot it can do and I believe it will settle into a very cozy spot in the metagame, even with Galarian Slowking at the top.
Galarian Moltres benefits really hard from the fast metagame state and farms offense, especially since it's so good at using Tera and bops most structures that don't run Kingambit, Magearna, or Tyranitar. If you run into the latter two you're in for a bit of a bad time, but barring that it's a pretty damn reliable win condition that can flexibly wallbreak and clean on a whim.
People are sleeping hard on this gigathreat. You may think its type may be its main weakness in this metagame, but you would be wrong as it matches up really well into non-Toxic Galarian Slowking, non-Choice Band Urshifu, and Amoonguss. Even with the Psychic-type, being a Flying-type in this metagame is extremely useful due to the widespread Fighting-type spam, and because of that, it's able to put in a comical amount of work as an Esper Wing-boosted win condition and wallbreaker. There is literally no switch-in to this Pokemon and it doesn't have to wear a Choice Specs to dish out the hurt due to Tinted Lens. It can easily just click Esper Wing and Hurricane and easily force trades, and if you're running fat, Calm Mind + Roost with its bulk farms arguably even easier, and Tera expedites this even easier. Its Speed is the main thing that lets it down, so you usually want several Esper Wing boosts before it's too late to stop you, but the sheer strength of Esper Wing and its guaranteed Speed boost alongside STAB-boosted Tinted Lens Hurricane near always force a KO, and its resistance profile/bulk often means you can do that at least once per game. Maybe A is reactionary, but I've found really consistent success with it. You certainly do have to support it and it's more Tera reliant than other Pokemon, but I think this Pokemon is a sleeper threat and it should be respected more.
This Pokemon cusps on the top end of A for me. It's a strong offensive pivot and newfound access to SD and Trailblaze make it a potentially ruinous win condition. Its resistances are also really nice, being able to provide reinforcement into Heatran, Hisuian Samurott, and Chien-Pao. People have already discussed most of its merits, but I've found that Punching Glove pivot sets are really easy to slot onto teams. Tera Water with Punching Glove closely simulates Choice Band-boosted Surging Strikes, minus the choice lock and the fear of recoil, which makes it a very autonomous threat that can take hits and dish them out. It's just a great Pokemon, and could be banworthy in the later stages of the metagame, but I've really liked having it so far.
EDIT: Swords Dance is fucking crazy. Dear god I apologize
Landorus-Therian's resistance profile and access to U-turn are its primary draws in this metagame, making it one of Sneasler's better checks and a decent all-around pivot into Heatran, Zamazenta, Kingambit, and Great Tusk. Losing Knock Off, Defog, and Toxic are honestly extremely bad for it and it shows, as it often winds up being setup fodder for Dragonite, Zamazenta, and Tera Water Magearna. Gaining Taunt is a bit of a consolation prize and it does like having it, though you definitely want Speed to get the most use out of Taunt, which hurts its bulk a bit as well. Still, though, it's a Landorus-T and it'll do what you need it to do, it's just not as phenomenal as it once was, making it comfortably A in my eyes.
, it's just that worth using with its horrifiying strength especially after a boost i love it
