Discussion Tera Blast in SV OU

[Finchinator]

The SV OU tiering council recently discussed Tera Blast's place in our flagship metagame. While we are not close to a suspect, three members of the council -- leng loi, ausma, and TPP -- are in favor of tiering action while some others wish to see how the informed community feels. This post will outline Tera Blast's history in tiering discussions, place in the metagame, and potential for future tiering action. The hope of this thread is for active SV OU players to comment their thoughts on the move in the metagame.

Please note that this does not mean other potential suspects or retests are being ignored. With WCoP coming to a close, many internal and external discussions about our metagame will transpire.

History

As early as January of 2024, some players cited Tera Blast as a concern when sorting through qualified responses to a tiering survey. This continued as a noteworthy, but not standout, write-in mention throughout the first half of 2024.

Later in 2024, Tera Blast was formally added to a survey after getting more public discussion and having a council member, ausma, speak out in favor of tiering action. Tera Blast receiced the fourth most support in September with a 3.0 / 5 ranking from OLT qualifiers, which kept it in discussion despite not being considered for action yet. Then, it received the third most support in January of this year with a 3.07 / 5 qualified score and only 2.77 / 5 from those who were playing SPL and the fourth most support in May of this year with a 2.76 / 5 qualified score. To put it bluntly: these numbers were underwhelming, nothing with this level of support has been suspected in recent memory, and council support was always limited while survey scores have been emphasized less and less the deeper we get into the generation due to less frequent releases/change.

So what changed? Not much in my personal opinion admiteddly, but it is my job to represent the playerbase and council and I cannot deny two things:

• Tera Blast kept surfacing in internal and external tiering discussions despite middling survey support
• The internal support for tiering action increased with leng loi and TPP joining ausma in favor

We are getting later in the generation and people have very different ideas of the direction of the metagame, so rather than going in circles, it is best for everyone to put their cards on the table and formalize a publicly visible discussion among informed parties on Tera Blast.

Tera Blast in SV OU

Noteworthy Users of Tera Blast in SV OU (Pokemon that see >2% usage in SV OU 1825 stats with >10% Tera Blast usage per gen9ou 1825 stats): , , , , , , , &
I will note that we have seen applications of Tera Blast on some Pokemon that are under 2% usage like , , , , , , , , & and even some OU regulars use Tera Blast on more rare occasion such as , , , , , , & -- this is not meant to be an exhaustive list so much as a frame of reference, so naturally others can use it, too.

The most dynamic and relevant applications of Tera Blast in a tiering context tie into Pokemon with boosting and/or cleaning potential like Dragon Dance Dragonite and Dragon Dance Kyurem. People have recently been using Tera Blast Fire on Dragon Dance Dragapult, too, and Tera Blast Fairy has surfaced on Kingambit for a long time now as well. I do not know of anyone who finds Iron Moth having another coverage option or Landorus-Therian being able to Tera Blast Fly for STAB to be problematic at this stage. It is also worth noting that Dragonite, Kyurem, and Kingambit remain in discussions for general tiering action, but no suspects are imminent on any of the three.

Taking a step backwards, Tera Blast has contributed heavily towards the bans of Volcarona, Espathra, and Regieleki while also surfacing on Roaring Moon, Gouging Fire, and Magearna. We are focused on Tera Blast in the current metagame and that will be the sole determinent in any tiering decisions made in the present, but this does stablish a trendline of strong boosters taking advantage of the added coverage that Tera Blast provides.

Potential for Tiering Action

While I am opposed to action on Tera Blast firsthand and we do not have a majority in favor of a ban, three council members have expressed support and multiple others are comfortable moving the discussion to a publicly visible space. I will also say that numerous people spoke out strongly against tiering action.

The basic argument for Tera Blast being problematic is that some believe it warps counterplay to an extent that the opportunity cost is more than worthwhile when employed properly. This can be displayed on some of the aforementioned boosting threats in the context of SV OU. Some connect this argument to Tera Blast's inherent variance overall and specifically on Pokemon that use the move in the information war. The basic counter-argument in favor of keeping Tera Blast is that this additional coverage provides a strong, but reasonable, boost in offensive prowess while coming at the cost of the game's most substantial resource. This can be depicted in experienced players quickly becoming aware of common Tera Blast uses and the metagame responding accordingly. I will leave the more nuanced analysis of both sides to the posters of this thread, but I will absolutely be chiming in firsthand later this week.

One important note in the discussion is the recent amendment to the Tiering Policy Framework! Please see below on how the onus to ban a non-Pokemon element, such as a move, involves evidence that is both numerous and substantial in nature. It would be paramount for any argument in favor of banning Tera Blast to focus on this portion of the framework when making their argument if they wish for it to hold weight in a serious tiering discussion. I am including this both on behalf of myself and tiering administration in an effort to be transparent on where the bar is for a potential move ban:

Conclusion

Tera Blast is a controversial move in the metagame that we have determined warrants a larger tiering discussion here. While I do not personally support tiering action, three members of the SV OU council do. While survey results have been middling, plenty has evolved on the topic and may continue to. While there are a lot of barriers to a potential ban of a move rather than Pokemon, this thread can be used for arguments pertaining to this. Please DM me with any questions!

 

[ausma]

Tiering policy prioritizes Pokemon bans over exceptional elements. As an exceptional element -- according to the new amendment to the tiering policy framework -- there are criteria that Tera Blast must adhere to as a non-Pokemon ban. These are as follows:

While Pokemon bans are the default, there may be rare instances where a non-Pokemon element is deemed so inherently broken that banning specific Pokemon cannot solve the core problem. These are Exceptional Elements, and they must meet all the criteria below to warrant a ban at the element level.

I.) Inherently Broken Nature

• The element is so powerful or disruptive that it creates a significant imbalance in the metagame, regardless of which Pokemon employs it.
• There is no reasonable context or distribution that would render the element balanced by ordinary means.

II.) Universal Applicability Across Eligible Users

• The element is not just situationally powerful on one or two Pokemon; it is universally problematic across all or most potential users.
• Example: If a move is only broken due to unique synergy with one or two specific Pokemon, then we default to banning those Pokemon rather than the move itself.

III.) No Plausible Scenario for Balance

• There is no current situation in which the element would be balanced on Pokemon that currently have it.
• If giving the element to weaker or niche Pokemon that are still recognisably viable within the tier could be balanced, then the element is not considered universally broken.

For an element to be considered exceptional and warrant direct banning, it should ideally meet all criteria above. In edge cases where the element demonstrates overwhelming disruptive potential even if one criteria is unmet, councils may still consider action if supported by evidence and community consensus. This ensures that only truly disruptive and unresolvable elements are removed at the source, preserving the integrity of tiering decisions and avoiding unnecessary bans.

This post will be detailing why Tera Blast has the capacity to adhere to these criteria.
_____

I.) Inherently Broken Nature

Tera Blast has a broken nature in a way that isn't intuitive at a glance. It has a noteworthy opportunity cost in both a moveslot and reliance on a generation-defining mechanic that is often touted for its adaptable nature. It is not broken in the sense that it is extremely oppressive and blatantly too much. Instead, it is in how it has a negative, disruptive impact on game sequencing, positioning, and resource management.

Councilwoman leng loi made a fantastic post that outlines how Tera Blast accentuates and encourages more proactive use of Tera such that it has the capacity to flip matchups and force positive trades. Compounding upon her point, there are options like Ceruledge or DD Kyurem that gain the ability to secure 1v1s into checks they otherwise would not be able to because they gained a vital coverage option that they normally do not have, and then secure more reliable trades into less proficient checks. Zamazenta is the most noteworthy victim of this, being a blanket check for Pokemon like Ceruledge and Kingambit that gets pressured hard by Fairy Tera Blast unless it uses Tera itself, which may be suboptimal given the circumstances of the game. Proactive Tera usage is far more potent with high octane offensive Pokemon in solid part because of Tera Blast being able to effectively round off their coverage profile, sometimes in an unexpected fashion based on the Pokemon, their viable Tera Blast options, and how they opt to use Tera Blast. Furthermore, if a Pokemon uses Tera offensively without Tera Blast, it's to accentuate a coverage option or boost a STAB which are reasonable to expect within the confines of their movepool and can be more feasibly played around since your expectations are in line with the types the Pokemon is capable of threatening you with. With Tera Blast in the equation, scouting these interactions can, in some cases, be a coinflip, or a situation that is difficult to deduce without putting yourself at a positional disadvantage. Even if they don't have Tera Blast, you have to respect the option.

Lastly, the only context in which Tera Blast would be rendered balanced by ordinary means is by limiting this generation's mechanic due to the move's reliance on it. However, it has been decided to leave Tera alone in its entirety (see this post). Tiering Tera Blast itself is the only viable option for limiting the move and its negative interactions without far more arbitrary measures that violate tiering policy. As a bonus for the anti-Tera crowd, it is also the only way to tier Tera and potentially accentuate its positive qualities; however, Tera Blast is an independent element that can be cleanly tiered regardless.

II.) Universal Applicability Across Eligible Users

Tera Blast, notably, is a universal move for all Pokemon available in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. This makes it harder to justify its eligibility under this criterion since theoretically any Pokemon, OU viable or not, can use Tera Blast. However I have two arguments to suggest that this is not a problem:

1: There exists precedent for banning exceptional elements that are not effective across the board in Baton Pass

Baton Pass possesses extremely wide distribution, famously known for its chains being highly adaptable. However this adaptability is not a holy arbiter as there are Pokemon with access to the move that have very little capacity to stack boosts and/or keep the chain active as a result of power level and metagame climate. Regardless, this move's core functionality is still extremely fundamental to the reason why it is definitionally broken despite having lower power users that don't mesh with the move well at all. Technically these Pokemon can continue chains even if they are poor users. I argue Tera Blast and the broken qualities that I discuss in the above criterion operate similarly regardless of viability.

2: Tera Blast's potential unpredictability and capacity for positive trades scales in less prolific users

Part of the pro-Tera Blast stance is that Tera Blast's unpredictability decreases with metagame knowledge, since Tera Blast complements multiple major Pokemon's offensive profiles very well. Most famously, Dragonite and Kingambit are prolific users with Tera Blast types that people are starting to be more prepared against. I would argue there are still multiple layers of disruptive positional pressure because several major Pokemon have multiple viable Tera Blast types (such as Kyurem and the aforementioned Dragonite) in addition to non-Tera Blast using sets. This situation worsens as niche options are further teched into, which has been happening more as of late. Tera Blast's utility can go very deep, with niche options like AV Tera Fighting Toxapex or Pokemon not even ranked on the VR like Frosmoth that hold a microscopic niche sparsely used by some high level players. While on paper it seems good that Pokemon that are often overshadowed can possess a stronger offensive profile, unpredictability is bolstered considerably among these more niche Pokemon and Tera Blast type options that can more effectively capitalize on surprise factor to force positive exchanges. Tera Blast utilized by less viable Pokemon, even those that are outright bad, still have the aforementioned applicable unhealthy qualities, and in some cases can worsen the unhealthy qualities of the move by limiting metagame knowledge and experience as a means to play around the move.

III.) No Plausible Scenario for Balance

This criterion mostly brings to light a couple of the points I mentioned previously. Tera is not able to be tiered upon to limit Tera Blast on the users who have access to it. Additionally, less viable Pokemon can still make use of the move for the qualities that make it disruptive and unhealthy regardless of opportunity cost, in addition to even worsening one of the unhealthy tenants.

If there is any clarity anybody would like to have on any of these points, please let me know! Thank you.

 

[Finchinator]

As I alluded in the OP, I do not personally find Tera Blast to be banworthy in the metagame. I do think it is important to hash this out in a public capacity, however, as the council was not close to consensus; the community deserves both transparency on what we are discussing and a say in how we proceed (within reason).

To start: I can admit that a small handful of Tera Blast users have been broken and derived this from usage of Tera Blast -- you can point to Espathra, Regieleki, and Volcarona predominantly. I do not think it impacted Roaring Moon and Gouging Fire too much, nor do I think Dragonite is banworthy currently, but I recognize others feel differently.

With this said, a ban on a move has a pretty high barrier historically and this was recently litigated in the tiering framework I quoted in the OP. While I have much respect for how ausma construes it above and recognize that others may hold this stance (and this is the thread to do it if you feel strongly, of course), I find the vast majority of Tera Blast usage and interaction to be healthy. The intimate relationship consistent players of any SV metagame must have with the risks and rewards of Tera usage I view as one that promotes skill, innovation, and experience.

I recognize that when certain, explosive Pokemon have this, they can become too strong -- we have seen a slew of dynamic boosting Pokemon overpower the metagame, finding themselves quickbanned or suspect-banned. I find this approach to be the best one here given our tiering framework and the metagame at large -- ban the few Pokemon that are problematic that use Tera Blast, keep the vast majority of users in-tact. As things stand, I would not support a suspect test. I am only one person on the council though and I refuse to put my personal desires over that of the entire council or community, so threads like this are a healthy way to test the waters.

I also will note that the metagame needs some work and discussions of other topics should come after this one, especially with OLT coming up later this week and plenty of metagame evolution surely to follow suit. I have heard complaints about a handful of Pokemon and these are not being ignored, but I request those calls for action remain out of this thread for now. I expect to be increasingly active in tiering discussions as we get into August so we can find the best metagame for all of our players and I apologize for being less publicly present in June/July.

 

[veti]

1: There exists precedent for banning exceptional elements that are not effective across the board in Baton Pass

Baton Pass possesses extremely wide distribution, famously known for its chains being highly adaptable. However this adaptability is not a holy arbiter as there are Pokemon with access to the move that have very little capacity to stack boosts and/or keep the chain active as a result of power level and metagame climate. Regardless, this move's core functionality is still extremely fundamental to the reason why it is definitionally broken despite having lower power users that don't mesh with the move well at all. Technically these Pokemon can continue chains even if they are poor users. I argue Tera Blast and the broken qualities that I discuss in the above criterion operate similarly regardless of viability.

I disagree with the comparison to Baton Pass. The key difference between the two moves is that any viable FullPass mon is inherently uncompetitive, while nearly undisputedly not broken mons that use Tera Blast actually outnumber the ones that are contested to be broken, and the contested ones like Kingambit, Kyurem, and Dragonite have semi high scores but nothing too special and are also not entirely Tera Blast's fault.

Taking all the mons Finchinator listed here:

Noteworthy Users of Tera Blast in SV OU (Pokemon that see >2% usage in SV OU 1825 stats with >10% Tera Blast usage per gen9ou 1825 stats): , , , , , , , &
I will note that we have seen applications of Tera Blast on some Pokemon that are under 2% usage like , , , , , , , , & and even some OU regulars use Tera Blast on more rare occasion such as , , , , , , & -- this is not meant to be an exhaustive list so much as a frame of reference, so naturally others can use it, too.

Dragonite received a 2.49 score from the qualified playerbase last survey, its score is tied to Tera Blast but its still so low that its not too relevant. Kyurem received a noteworthy 3.05 score, Tera Blast does play a major role here but is still not the sole factor in Kyurem's brokenness, sets without Tera Blast like specs, subtect dd, and special subtect that don't use Tera Blast existing and making Kyurem unpredictable are a major factor in Kyurem's scores and even physical DD sets dont necessarily always run Tera Blast. Kingambit was not on the most recent survey and in the second most recent it got a 2.76 qualified and 2.65 SPL score. TB Fairy plays a role in this but is not the sole factor and the scores are still nothing to act on regardless. Pecharunt hasn't been on the survey for a long time and was there pretty much exclusively because of Poison Puppeteer shenanigans. Raging Bolt had a 2.39 qualified and 2.13 spl score in the second to last survey and wasn't on the latest while having fairly low tb usage.

Every other mon hasn't been on the survey in a very long time or just never has been

Tera Blast receiced the fourth most support in September with a 3.0 / 5 ranking from OLT qualifiers, which kept it in discussion despite not being considered for action yet. Then, it received the third most support in January of this year with a 3.07 / 5 qualified score and only 2.77 / 5 from those who were playing SPL and the fourth most support in May of this year with a 2.76 / 5 qualified score.

I would also like to add that these numbers are somewhat misleading, a significant portion of the anti tera blast movement was from people who wanted to ban Tera Blast to unban Volcarona to balance Kyurem without necessarily thinking Tera Blast is broken, and as stated later in the thread, "We are focused on Tera Blast in the current metagame and that will be the sole determinent in any tiering decisions made in the present". I think this is especially noteworthy when the scores are already low with the inflation.

III.) No Plausible Scenario for Balance

This criterion mostly brings to light a couple of the points I mentioned previously. Tera is not able to be tiered upon to limit Tera Blast on the users who have access to it. Additionally, less viable Pokemon can still make use of the move for the qualities that make it disruptive and unhealthy regardless of opportunity cost, in addition to even worsening one of the unhealthy tenants.

I heavily disagree that there is no possible way for Tera Blast to be balanced, scores for it have been going down and less viable mons aren't really a problem, and we've seen very common trends between the current most controversial and the banned tera blast users, with two archetypes existing.

Italics: Tera Blast isn't that big of a reason in being broken / arguably broken, but plays a not insignificant role (highly subjective but whatever)

1: Bulky and Fast Setup Sweeper (Roaring Moon, Volcarona, Dragonite, Kingambit, Kyurem, Raging Bolt, Gouging Fire, Magearna).

This is the main archetype of mon that Tera Blast breaks. They are already absurdly hard to out offense when they're simultaneously bulky, fast (Sucker / Clap for Gambit and Bolt), and strong that giving them Tera Blast to obliterate the few blanket checks teams have to sweepers just pushes them way over the edge. (Not saying that the OU ones are broken, just that if they're broken by Tera Blast, its because they fit into this very specific archetype of a mon).

2: Pokemon that is solely balanced by a lack of coverage (Regieleki, Espathra).

This archetype is very rare, and Pokemon that fit into this have such absurd traits (200 Base Speed with a damage amp ability, Speed Boost + Calm Mind + Stored Power) that using them as examples of Tera Blast being broken is highly dishonest as they are extreme edge cases.

While Tera Blast can be annoying on other types of mons, I wouldn't really say its broken on them. A Zapdos becoming Ice to snipe a Gliscor or a Pecharunt becoming Fighting to snipe a Gambit can be annoying but the tier is very competitive and I think Tera Blast's opportunity cost is enough for the majority of mons to be balanced with it. Target the broken abusers like we've been doing all gen so far.

 

[LBN]

This'll be somewhat short since I don't have a huge amount of valuable insight to be said since my SV OU pedigree's begin and end in the ADPL undrafted slot. (Even if I did pretty well there) Personally I've always found Tera Blast to be pushing the limit on what is healthy and I think it's got more steps in the camp of unhealthy than not. Using Veti's examples in his last paragraph, I feel like it's not mentioning a piece of the equation. How critical is the Pokemon you're sniping out of the game. Gliscor is an incredible crucial piece for most teams, while Kingambit can keep plenty of sweepers like Iron Moth in check. Sure, you may be burning a key resource to get this done, but at the same time the floodgates are opened in a large way that I think pushes the benefit in favor of Tera Blast user. This also assumes you need to pull that trigger every time, ket's say the intended target isn't present. Good, you don't have to burn the resource and the Pokemon you're enabling isn't hampered by x Pokemon's presence, and all you've lost in the builder is a moveslot, which some of these Pokemon can do their job just fine with only 3 of their moves, like the two examples given or other Pokemon like Darkrai. Of course, there are also the "Tera Captains", Pokemon like Tera Blast Dragonite you have the full intention of pulling the trigger with even before Turn 1. Of course, these are resource gluttons but their effectiveness is potent enough to be worth the trade-off in many cases.

Tera Blast is something that it's downsides feel very minor compared to the pros it can and usually does give you. Sure, you can lose your valuable resource to keep an out-of-control sweeper at bay, but that can be handled instead by clean play in most cases and again you can choose to not go that route if the risk isn't worth it. This lopsided risk vs reward is why I think Tera Blast is inherently broken and I'd personally vouch for a suspect on it.

 

[1LDK]

Was on a break from mons, but I guess I have to come back to provide useless and bad insight

Aaaaaaaaahh Tera Blast, look at the way that dragonite smirks, his set is dragon dance, encore, tera flying tera blast and roost, his opponent wonders why he hasn't played it yet, for he knows, his time will come....

On a more serious note, maybe I'm too TF2 pilled, but I do think that having options that don't invalidate others are the way to go, and while Tera Blast might seem like a way to invalidate defense, I have a counterpoint, which I really hate to write, and I'm hating myself for this, but I guess here it goes

this is Corviknight, most people consider Corviknight an A rank pokemon at worst, with lots of people wanting to rank him to A+ or even S-. Why I'm bringing Corv into the picture, because he is probably one of the biggest victims of tera blast, since physical attackers like Kyurem or Rillaboom when he was more popular, wanted tera fire tblast or electric tblast to blow past him plus other victims, since once he gets an Iron defense off, he can potentially survive off the skin of his teeth, and if the opposite trainer doesn't have anything to exploit it, his pushed gets killed, and he loses momentum

is also probably THE BIGGEST victim of tera blast, since he comes with a natural 1 time defense boost, even more pokemon prepare with tblast OR tera blast ghost just to get more hits in

Yet, these 2 are in the high rankings, this is just to exemplify that even tho the offensive pokemon have ways to invalidate them, if they really did, then people wouldn't be advocating for rises on them

And that's another thing, not every team will use tera blast, most of them do fine without that. It's just another facet of the multiple things you have to account for in building. Everyone praises the guy who gets rewarded for properly scouting his opponent, but not enough people praise the guy who was smart enough to navigate the game without having to show his trump card early

banning tera blast would give us Volcarona back (and without tera blast, now heatran finally has a job again) and regieleki, which maybe RU could use for a spinner, which tbh, is not that big of a deal in the OU grand scheme of things. The real deal is defensive pokemon becoming better now that offensive ones don't have a get out of jail free card. But like I said, I don't think this is really that big of a problem in the first place. It is natural that your brain registers the times when you get rolled by it, because the times you don't get rolled by it, It's because either the opponent used tera elsewhere and now has a dead slot or B, he uses the basic teraless attack and gets rolled

People who hate tblast will probably argue that it's a crutch for bad players who don't know how to position their sweepers over the course of the battle, while the people who think its fine will argue that the tblast haters just need to learn how to play and keep up with the sv meta and maintain the habit of discipline. Whether you are in one side or the other, I think it's a black and white issue, a tblast ban would be a good compromise to keep tera while making the tier "less unstable" but people are not fan of compromises, me included

 

[Stads]

I admit to being a bit of a hater on this topic, but a Tera Blast ban really just screams hardcore cope to me.

Using tera to offensively surprise your opponent with tera blast, trading positively and/or opening the door for a sweep --> Apparently not OK, maybe?
Using tera to defensively surprise your opponent, generally gaining a turn to trade positively and/or open the door for a sweep --> Apparently totally fine, nothing to plausibly discuss here folks?

My internal calibration of what is acceptable and what is banworthy is so thrown off by SV at this point that it's hard to really understand where this is coming from. Yes, I understand that tera blast does increase the number of realistic plausible teras, and so marginally increments the overall brokenness of the mechanic. But I don't understand how it really pushes the mechanic over the line, or how this particular aspect of the mechanic is uniquely unhealthy in the grander scheme of it all. If anything, tera blast simply leans into the highly cyclical and tech-focused nature of SV as a whole, and while a particular tera blast set may rise to prominence in one wave, it often will recede as the next batch of techs are crafted to beat it. That's the way this generational cookie has crumbled, and so it seems to me we may as well learn to live with it.

I'd also say I'm skeptical that Volcarona would be fine without tera blast; it's still the matchup moth that can pick and choose its checks with ease, between its great array of utility and coverage moves and wide range of possible defensive teras. Regieleki is the only slam dunk returnee in my book, although I think a re-suspect of Espathra, Gouging Fire, Roaring Moon, and Volcarona (in no particular order) would potentially make sense.