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Project SV RU Personal Viability Rankings
- Thread starter Ampha
- Start date
Created this tier list before Denial made the new one (literally a day before), so its got mons that others don't have
S: 
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A1:
A2:
A3:
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B1:
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C1:
C2:
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D1:
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A1:
A2:
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B1:
B2:
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C1:
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D1:
mine personal vr rankings
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With the metagame about to shift in two weeks, thought I'd go ahead and update a Tiermaker for the projected shifts as well as include my early thoughts on what the meta will be like post-shifts. Tiermaker link: https://tiermaker.com/create/january-2025-svru-tiermaker-16598396
I talked about it here but Volcanion and Galarian Zapdos are easy S rank mons to me, both being incredibly splashable and elite in their capacities as wallbreakers.
A+
This subrank is pretty inflated, sure, but none of these mons feel any worse than A+ to me. The notable inclusion here is Mamoswine, who was ridiculously powerful during its last stint in the tier and will likely be similarly strong (borderline broken..). I also will defend my Slither Wing to A+ take to the death, this mon is incredibly versatile and just so easy to pilot and build around.
A
Surprisingly not a ton of mons in the A rank for me, I think these four kind of separate themselves as great mons that nicely fit between the A+ and A- groups. Metagross and Rhyperior are pretty nice additions to the tier, offering bulky Stealth Rock users that can be defensive and offensive as needed, happy to have them.
A-
This subrank has a handful of really good fat mons and several great wallbreakers, which is nice to see. My two favorite mons in this subrank are Magnezone and Wo-Chien probably, really nice options for teams as they can fulfill several key roles.
B+
This is where the niche offensive options, like Gyarados and Necrozma, and some good defensive pieces, like Chesnaught and Gastrodon, seem to fall for me. Plenty of really solid mons here that can fit on a lot of archetypes.
B
So many things in this subrank that I like to use a ton personally. My favorites in this bunch are Golurk and Lucario, though there are plenty of cool things to use here.
B-
Home to some of the sneaky best wallbreakers in the tier, like Chandelure and Toxtricity. Would happily find a way to fit any of these on a team.
C+
A couple of these mons found usage in SCL and excelled in spurts, like Florges and Sylveon, and a few others are mons I like to use like Galarian Articuno and Basculegion.
C
I made the Altaria and Scrafty noms in my latest VR post and think some other stuff in this subrank, like Hisuian Decidueye and Vileplume, still have decent traits in the tier.
(all subranks ordered alphabetically)
S
I talked about it here but Volcanion and Galarian Zapdos are easy S rank mons to me, both being incredibly splashable and elite in their capacities as wallbreakers.
A+
This subrank is pretty inflated, sure, but none of these mons feel any worse than A+ to me. The notable inclusion here is Mamoswine, who was ridiculously powerful during its last stint in the tier and will likely be similarly strong (borderline broken..). I also will defend my Slither Wing to A+ take to the death, this mon is incredibly versatile and just so easy to pilot and build around.
A
Surprisingly not a ton of mons in the A rank for me, I think these four kind of separate themselves as great mons that nicely fit between the A+ and A- groups. Metagross and Rhyperior are pretty nice additions to the tier, offering bulky Stealth Rock users that can be defensive and offensive as needed, happy to have them.
A-
This subrank has a handful of really good fat mons and several great wallbreakers, which is nice to see. My two favorite mons in this subrank are Magnezone and Wo-Chien probably, really nice options for teams as they can fulfill several key roles.
B+
This is where the niche offensive options, like Gyarados and Necrozma, and some good defensive pieces, like Chesnaught and Gastrodon, seem to fall for me. Plenty of really solid mons here that can fit on a lot of archetypes.
B
So many things in this subrank that I like to use a ton personally. My favorites in this bunch are Golurk and Lucario, though there are plenty of cool things to use here.
B-
Home to some of the sneaky best wallbreakers in the tier, like Chandelure and Toxtricity. Would happily find a way to fit any of these on a team.
C+
A couple of these mons found usage in SCL and excelled in spurts, like Florges and Sylveon, and a few others are mons I like to use like Galarian Articuno and Basculegion.
C
I made the Altaria and Scrafty noms in my latest VR post and think some other stuff in this subrank, like Hisuian Decidueye and Vileplume, still have decent traits in the tier.
Alright, got my thoughts down here.
Just some quick reasonings (he said thinking he wasn't going to be monolouging):
Unlike fp (sorry, Clyde), I don't think anything is S tier in this meta. Everything in the tier has flaws and have legitimate reasons why you wouldn't use them. Closest is maybe bisharp, but it is a big tera hog and can feel dead weight into bulkier teams (mainly stall) at times.
Despite this, there are multiple A+ tier mons in the tier, with all of them very splashable and contributing a lot to battles. Main weird picks are jirachi (cm rachi is lowkey a bit broken) and fezandipiti (u-turn until you can cm, then profit).
A tier mons are a step below the A tier mons, but are still extremely great. Main mons in the tier are conkeldurr (disgusting mon against fatter playstyles while having utility against faster teams) and hippowdon (run rock slide or ice fang, its still an amazing wall).
A- tier mons have genuine flaws that hold them back a bit, but have really good upsides. Main mons in the tier are vaporeon (insanely crazy defensively, and enables a ton of dangerous shit), rhyperior (great mon, but is stonewalled by a couple of really important targets and has some 4mss) and chesnaught (insane role compression and walls a lot of amazing mons)
B+ tier is mons that have less upsides then A- tier, but still can perform really well. Main mons are flygon (just doesn't do well enough in any one category to not be outclassed by other grounds), porygon-Z (insane sweeper that doesn't add a lot defensively, but still really good) and oricorio pom pom (yanmega junior, but balanced).
B tier mons get into the "you can use these on a team and they can work well, but other mons do outclass them a decent amount" Main mons here are A-muk (really great ghost answer that can have a suprising amount of flexibility if you look deeper), gallade (really great fat answer that has options against faster teams) and mowtom (abuses a lot of people prepping for rhyperior while also doing well against rhyperior itself).
B- tier mons aren't necessarely bad, but just outclassed or have significant flaws. Main mons in here are chandelure (really great spinblocker that exerts a ton of pressure), cress (only reason its not C tier is cause of lunar dance, but I'm using a better mon 9/10 times), kilowattrel (stop saying rhyperior, kilo can get around it) and infernape (insert potential man joke).
C+ tier is going onto the mons that are bad, but still have a few upsides. Main mons are torkoal (better then tales, due to spin and body press), scrafty (amazing fat destroyer that can check bisharp) and bronzong (amazing rhyperior answer that can have a ton of utility).
C tier is where we get to the bad mons. You won't use these mons often, only once in a while to fill specific roles in a team. Main mons are cincinno (maushold with knock is alright), cloyster (bad shell smasher, was close to putting it into UR but its power is good) and grimmsnarl (guille popped off with this, but nobody else has used it so eh).
UR are for genuinelly bad mons. I can't see a reasoning to use these mons on a team as they are liabilities if anything. Mons here are forretress (good role compression, but always is setup fodder for something due to its 4mss, and is outclassed by most walls/spinners. Only use it sometimes on weather teams), galvantula (love you buddy, but bee outclasses you almost entirely), kingdra (just run hersculegion, that speed and dragon stab is not enough of a differentiating factor), indeedee (run armarouge in another teamstyle and it will prob do just the same amount of work, plus indeedee lets in way too many powerful mons), vileplume (worse amoonguss, and bisharp is its father) and incineroar (def the best of the UR's, but its just outclassed by other dark types)
Mew/Reva would prob go around A- range.
Electric types are a lot better then people give credit for, not many of our ground types stop them too well (and the ones that do people don't seem to want to use for some reason, please use hippo). No, rhyperior dropping doesn't make kilo or heattom unviable, just run u-turn/t-blast or wisp. And besides rhyperior doesn't have the best longevity so it can be chipped down.
Spikes is def the way to go, best playstyle in the tier. Despite this, every major playstyle is viable.
Nothing is banworthy besides maybe armarouge. Every other candidate like bisharp, slowbro, volcanion or suicune is fine, and has drawbacks that hold them back every game.
Just some quick reasonings (he said thinking he wasn't going to be monolouging):
Unlike fp (sorry, Clyde), I don't think anything is S tier in this meta. Everything in the tier has flaws and have legitimate reasons why you wouldn't use them. Closest is maybe bisharp, but it is a big tera hog and can feel dead weight into bulkier teams (mainly stall) at times.
Despite this, there are multiple A+ tier mons in the tier, with all of them very splashable and contributing a lot to battles. Main weird picks are jirachi (cm rachi is lowkey a bit broken) and fezandipiti (u-turn until you can cm, then profit).
A tier mons are a step below the A tier mons, but are still extremely great. Main mons in the tier are conkeldurr (disgusting mon against fatter playstyles while having utility against faster teams) and hippowdon (run rock slide or ice fang, its still an amazing wall).
A- tier mons have genuine flaws that hold them back a bit, but have really good upsides. Main mons in the tier are vaporeon (insanely crazy defensively, and enables a ton of dangerous shit), rhyperior (great mon, but is stonewalled by a couple of really important targets and has some 4mss) and chesnaught (insane role compression and walls a lot of amazing mons)
B+ tier is mons that have less upsides then A- tier, but still can perform really well. Main mons are flygon (just doesn't do well enough in any one category to not be outclassed by other grounds), porygon-Z (insane sweeper that doesn't add a lot defensively, but still really good) and oricorio pom pom (yanmega junior, but balanced).
B tier mons get into the "you can use these on a team and they can work well, but other mons do outclass them a decent amount" Main mons here are A-muk (really great ghost answer that can have a suprising amount of flexibility if you look deeper), gallade (really great fat answer that has options against faster teams) and mowtom (abuses a lot of people prepping for rhyperior while also doing well against rhyperior itself).
B- tier mons aren't necessarely bad, but just outclassed or have significant flaws. Main mons in here are chandelure (really great spinblocker that exerts a ton of pressure), cress (only reason its not C tier is cause of lunar dance, but I'm using a better mon 9/10 times), kilowattrel (stop saying rhyperior, kilo can get around it) and infernape (insert potential man joke).
C+ tier is going onto the mons that are bad, but still have a few upsides. Main mons are torkoal (better then tales, due to spin and body press), scrafty (amazing fat destroyer that can check bisharp) and bronzong (amazing rhyperior answer that can have a ton of utility).
C tier is where we get to the bad mons. You won't use these mons often, only once in a while to fill specific roles in a team. Main mons are cincinno (maushold with knock is alright), cloyster (bad shell smasher, was close to putting it into UR but its power is good) and grimmsnarl (guille popped off with this, but nobody else has used it so eh).
UR are for genuinelly bad mons. I can't see a reasoning to use these mons on a team as they are liabilities if anything. Mons here are forretress (good role compression, but always is setup fodder for something due to its 4mss, and is outclassed by most walls/spinners. Only use it sometimes on weather teams), galvantula (love you buddy, but bee outclasses you almost entirely), kingdra (just run hersculegion, that speed and dragon stab is not enough of a differentiating factor), indeedee (run armarouge in another teamstyle and it will prob do just the same amount of work, plus indeedee lets in way too many powerful mons), vileplume (worse amoonguss, and bisharp is its father) and incineroar (def the best of the UR's, but its just outclassed by other dark types)
Mew/Reva would prob go around A- range.
Electric types are a lot better then people give credit for, not many of our ground types stop them too well (and the ones that do people don't seem to want to use for some reason, please use hippo). No, rhyperior dropping doesn't make kilo or heattom unviable, just run u-turn/t-blast or wisp. And besides rhyperior doesn't have the best longevity so it can be chipped down.
Spikes is def the way to go, best playstyle in the tier. Despite this, every major playstyle is viable.
Nothing is banworthy besides maybe armarouge. Every other candidate like bisharp, slowbro, volcanion or suicune is fine, and has drawbacks that hold them back every game.
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Guess I'm making two posts in a row...
Main things to note are:
I moved quite a few A+ mons down to A tier. Most of them are still fantastic, but there would be like 10+ A+ mons and that wouldn't fit right with me. And yes, Mamoswine is A+ tier. Tier defining mon that should definetely be banned (please and thank you).
Moved Raikou up to B+ tier. I am very close to moving it up to A- tier, as it feels like one of the best electric types. CM raikou I feel is only alright, not a bad set, but overrated I feel. SubCM is def better, as its able to acquire multiple boosts really easily. However the main set I love is pivot raikou. Its able to chip down its answers with volt switch really easily and set up its teammates perfectly, while still being very good offensively. Definetely something people should look out for.
Moved Feraligatr down to B tier. Not a bad mon by any means, but it feels in line with pokemon such as Gallade or A-tales where its good, but feels a bit akward to fit. Gyarados mainly competes with it, but its awkward speed tier means it can't alway deal with as many threats as it wants without going dd, which is weakeer and still doesn't outspeed as much as it wants. I honestly just haven't felt like I wanted to use gatr recently.
Moved Bronzong to B tier. Some might call me crazy for this, I say that they should try out phys defense Bronzong and see how much easier dealing with mamoswine for defensive teams gets. Able to switch into its stabs quite easily and can take a few knock offs. Also makes a ton of progress with rocks, bp and psychic noise, allowing you to customise the last slot with trick toxic orb, heavy slam, iron defense, future sight or night shade. Genuinely underrated mon in the tier.
Moved Torterra, Infernape and Regidrago down to C+ tier. Tell me the last time you saw any of these? Torterra destroys fatter teams, but we have a lot of those. Struggles immensly with faster mons. Infernape is called potential man, and its not hard to see why. It has everything, but then you realise it is just short of everything. Needs specs or NP to deal damage, which comes with drawbacks. Any physically attacking set is done better by another fighting type. Regidrago requires a ton of support to work, too much in fact. Needs pristine hazard control, has to have slow pivots, and needs to click the right move every time otherwise its not doing well. Potentially has to dedicate tera too.
Moved forretress to C rank and Inteleon to UR. Fine, I concede, Forretress has a niche. But only on weather. And ngl, weather should always be more offensive where fitting it can be a struggle. Don't be surprised if I move this back down. Inteleon has an unfortunate case of "generic water type" syndrome. Its 'fine', but that's it. And fine doesn't really cut it.
I might have missed something, but these are my general thoughts on the meta.
Main things to note are:
I moved quite a few A+ mons down to A tier. Most of them are still fantastic, but there would be like 10+ A+ mons and that wouldn't fit right with me. And yes, Mamoswine is A+ tier. Tier defining mon that should definetely be banned (please and thank you).
Moved Raikou up to B+ tier. I am very close to moving it up to A- tier, as it feels like one of the best electric types. CM raikou I feel is only alright, not a bad set, but overrated I feel. SubCM is def better, as its able to acquire multiple boosts really easily. However the main set I love is pivot raikou. Its able to chip down its answers with volt switch really easily and set up its teammates perfectly, while still being very good offensively. Definetely something people should look out for.
Moved Feraligatr down to B tier. Not a bad mon by any means, but it feels in line with pokemon such as Gallade or A-tales where its good, but feels a bit akward to fit. Gyarados mainly competes with it, but its awkward speed tier means it can't alway deal with as many threats as it wants without going dd, which is weakeer and still doesn't outspeed as much as it wants. I honestly just haven't felt like I wanted to use gatr recently.
Moved Bronzong to B tier. Some might call me crazy for this, I say that they should try out phys defense Bronzong and see how much easier dealing with mamoswine for defensive teams gets. Able to switch into its stabs quite easily and can take a few knock offs. Also makes a ton of progress with rocks, bp and psychic noise, allowing you to customise the last slot with trick toxic orb, heavy slam, iron defense, future sight or night shade. Genuinely underrated mon in the tier.
Moved Torterra, Infernape and Regidrago down to C+ tier. Tell me the last time you saw any of these? Torterra destroys fatter teams, but we have a lot of those. Struggles immensly with faster mons. Infernape is called potential man, and its not hard to see why. It has everything, but then you realise it is just short of everything. Needs specs or NP to deal damage, which comes with drawbacks. Any physically attacking set is done better by another fighting type. Regidrago requires a ton of support to work, too much in fact. Needs pristine hazard control, has to have slow pivots, and needs to click the right move every time otherwise its not doing well. Potentially has to dedicate tera too.
Moved forretress to C rank and Inteleon to UR. Fine, I concede, Forretress has a niche. But only on weather. And ngl, weather should always be more offensive where fitting it can be a struggle. Don't be surprised if I move this back down. Inteleon has an unfortunate case of "generic water type" syndrome. Its 'fine', but that's it. And fine doesn't really cut it.
I might have missed something, but these are my general thoughts on the meta.
Flam is back to yap enlighten the masses about the state of the metagame. All subtiers S to A- are ordered best to worst, B+ and below are just alphabetical order for convenience.
To elaborate just a bit on some noms I think need explanation:
A+
- Incredibly potent pivot and setup option, despite Mamoswine dropping. I am a huge fan of this mon and think it might be one of the easiest to build with.
A
- The big fish is such a potent wallbreaker and can get fancy with Substitute + Leftovers stuff as well. Really great offensive piece that I built a ton with for Lana in RUBD.
- This just dropped in the actual VR for... reasons? I can't explain why they decided it was getting worse when it still handles a majority of the tier well and is a great glue mon for balance and bulky offense.
A-
- Another exceptional option I like to build with, has reliable priority, great damage output, and can pivot on common walls like Slowbro and Galarian Weezing to great effect. Foundational piece for VoltTurn stuff in my mind.
- I talked a bit about it in the Metagame thread but Magnezone is a really, really awesome mon. The classic FezMag structure still owns a lot of stuff and it can be a stand alone threat, using all kinds of items to great success.
- A personal favorite of mine lately, super dynamic setup threat that can be really flexible with its sets and EVs. I tinker with some weird stuff sometimes in the builder and this gives me so much freedom to explore, I like it a lot.
- I think A- fits this better than A for now, it is kind of reliant on Terastallization at times to make progress but WOW does it make progress sometimes. Super cool Stealth Rock setter in this meta.
B+
- Super cool Substitute + Calm Mind mon and offensive pivot. I think no matter the set you're using this has great matchups into offense and balance, which is hard to find.
- I lost faith in this guy for a minute but it still dominates some games with IronPress stuff. Really good special wall and setup threat, though I can acknowledge it can be a bit constraining in the builder to make work sometimes, but it is worth it.
- Feliburn does not have me held hostage, this is a legit nom on my part. I do think big Wo can be hard to justify but it still dominates a fair amount of matchups, like Registeel, and can be quite disruptive and customizable.
B
- Poison Heal + Protect + 3 attacks is a really dynamic set. Huge fan of this thing and can appreciate the occasional Choice Band or Swords Dance set.
- A very underrated Agility + Download setup sweeper. Pivot into Slowbro, click Agility on the switch, claim multiple kills.
- Surprised to see it this low but it does have so much competition in the tier and I think getting it going requires a lot of care and consideration. Still a deceptively good disruptor but not quite as sold on it as previously when I thought it was a top threat.
To elaborate just a bit on some noms I think need explanation:
A+
- Incredibly potent pivot and setup option, despite Mamoswine dropping. I am a huge fan of this mon and think it might be one of the easiest to build with.A
- The big fish is such a potent wallbreaker and can get fancy with Substitute + Leftovers stuff as well. Really great offensive piece that I built a ton with for Lana in RUBD. - This just dropped in the actual VR for... reasons? I can't explain why they decided it was getting worse when it still handles a majority of the tier well and is a great glue mon for balance and bulky offense.A-
- Another exceptional option I like to build with, has reliable priority, great damage output, and can pivot on common walls like Slowbro and Galarian Weezing to great effect. Foundational piece for VoltTurn stuff in my mind. - I talked a bit about it in the Metagame thread but Magnezone is a really, really awesome mon. The classic FezMag structure still owns a lot of stuff and it can be a stand alone threat, using all kinds of items to great success. - A personal favorite of mine lately, super dynamic setup threat that can be really flexible with its sets and EVs. I tinker with some weird stuff sometimes in the builder and this gives me so much freedom to explore, I like it a lot. - I think A- fits this better than A for now, it is kind of reliant on Terastallization at times to make progress but WOW does it make progress sometimes. Super cool Stealth Rock setter in this meta.B+
- Super cool Substitute + Calm Mind mon and offensive pivot. I think no matter the set you're using this has great matchups into offense and balance, which is hard to find. - I lost faith in this guy for a minute but it still dominates some games with IronPress stuff. Really good special wall and setup threat, though I can acknowledge it can be a bit constraining in the builder to make work sometimes, but it is worth it. - Feliburn does not have me held hostage, this is a legit nom on my part. I do think big Wo can be hard to justify but it still dominates a fair amount of matchups, like Registeel, and can be quite disruptive and customizable.B
- Poison Heal + Protect + 3 attacks is a really dynamic set. Huge fan of this thing and can appreciate the occasional Choice Band or Swords Dance set. - A very underrated Agility + Download setup sweeper. Pivot into Slowbro, click Agility on the switch, claim multiple kills. - Surprised to see it this low but it does have so much competition in the tier and I think getting it going requires a lot of care and consideration. Still a deceptively good disruptor but not quite as sold on it as previously when I thought it was a top threat.
