Hi, maybe you remember my first warstory (I'm singing in the rain ♪) where I showed you a decent battle (not the best probably) featuring my "anti-rain stall" team. Like I said then, it's hard to come up with good batte logs due to either rage quits or just boring sweeps (I've been swept pretty badly with CM Manaphy). But in an effort to advertise for the Ubers tier, I saved this log as I think this battle is better in terms of prediction and decisions. Hope you guys enjoy it.
Team Preview:
locoghoul's team
Patt's team:
I'm using the same team as before: Gastrodon to keep offensive Kyogre at bay, Deoxys-A and Dialga take care of defensive versions. Xatu walls Ferrothorn all day long and Skarm walls all Extremekiller Arceus. That pretty much eliminates the usual rain stall core. Key here -as it is in other tiers as well- is entry hazards control. Notice I don't have a spinner so I rely on Xatu to stop hazards being set up. The problem I have is that besides Deoxys-A I don't really have a sweeper on this team. My dragons are bulky so they get outspeed by almost everything.
Remember that team preview doesn't really tell you which Arceus your opponent is using so I don't know that until he enters battle. Physical versions (Normal, Ghost, Ground) are usually no problem for Skarmory but CM version are problematic depending on the version (Ghost and Water being the most problematic).
I decide to lead with Dialga as usual as I want SR up as soon as possible.
Battle between locoghoul and Patt started!
Tier: Wifi Ubers
Variation: +2, -30
Rule: Rated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle
Patt sent out Kyogre!
locoghoul sent out Dialga!
The foe's Kyogre's Drizzle made it rain!
Dialga is floating on a balloon!
Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
100%
100%
Favorable match up for me, I can either set up SR or go for the SE attack on Kyogre. Most likely he is going to switch to Ferrothorn but since I actually want that (Xatu free switch in) I'll just go with Thunder. I don't like overpredicting early in the match plus you don't know if it is a Twave lead or a Specs Modest Ogre (can 2HKO with Water Spout).
Start of turn 1
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Dialga used Thunder!
It's not very effective...
The foe's Dialga lost 17% of its health!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
89%
Support Dialga or BU Dialga? It’s too early for BU Dialga to show up so I assume it’s support version and he’ll most likely set up rocks. Go Xatu!
Start of turn 2
locoghoul called Dialga back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
The foe's Dialga used Stealth Rock!
The foe's Dialga's Stealth Rock was bounced back by Magic Mirror!
Pointed stones float in the air around Patt's team!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
95% (SR)
Now that SR got bounced I’m thinking he will either attack or switch. Xatu doesn’t really threat Dialga so he’ll probably attack. Lefties makes me think he doesn’t have Draco Meteor (probably Dragon Pulse which isn’t that scary) and that its other move is Thunder (is either Thunder or Fireblast but since it is a rain team I expect the Thunder). I send in my Electric switch hoping to force some switches.
Start of turn 3
locoghoul called Xatu back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
The foe's Dialga used Thunder!
It had no effect!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
100%
Just as I thought. Now, I want to get some damage on this Dialga as Deoxys-A fails to OHKO bulky Dialgas from my experience (does around 85-95 depending on the EV spread). I don’t wanna play a prediction game with Xatu (in case he goes for SR again) because he is my best answer to Ferrothorn. If he attacks I can always Recover off the damage (I need Gastrodon above 60% to fully counter Kyogre and Ice Beam).
Start of turn 4
The foe's Dialga used Stealth Rock!
Pointed stones float in the air around locoghoul's team!
Gastrodon-Ea used Earthquake!
It's super effective!
The foe's Dialga lost 40% of its health!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100% (SR)
67%
Ok, he went for rocks. Like I said at the beginning, hazard control is important and now that we both have SR up, I need Spikes so that I get the switch advantage. I could EQ again but he won’t risk Dialga knowing he can’t touch my Gastro. Let’s start racking up SR damage.
Start of turn 5
Patt called Dialga back!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
Gastrodon-Ea used Yawn!
Gastrodon-Ea made the foe's Ferrothorn feel drowsy!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
100%
I used to have Toxic instead of Yawn but I often found my Gastro to be Ferrobait. At least with Yawn I can force switches. Next move is a no brainer, Xatu owns Ferrothorn, period.
Start of turn 6
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Gliscor!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Gliscor!
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Gliscor's Toxic Orb activated!
The foe's Gliscor was poisoned!
81%
87%(poisoned)
Ah, the infamous Gliscor. To be honest, this is the first time I see one of these. Luckily for me, I have Dialga (still with balloon) and Xatu to wall him for more than his 32 turns of Sub+Protect.
Start of turn 7
The foe's Gliscor used Substitute!
The foe's Gliscor made a substitute!
Xatu used Reflect!
Reflect raised locoghoul's team defense!
Start of turn 8
The foe's Gliscor used Protect!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
Xatu used Toxic!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
Start of turn 9
The foe's Gliscor used Earthquake!
It had no effect!
Xatu used Toxic!
The foe's Gliscor's substitute blocked Toxic!
Start of turn 10
Patt called Gliscor back!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
Xatu used Reflect!
But it failed!
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
100%
So he probably figured out he can’t out pp stall me (Reflect alone could do the work I think). Regardless, there is nothing Ferro can do to Xatu, unless he wants me to drain my PP.
Start of turn 11
Xatu used Toxic!
But it failed!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 75 HP! (22% of its health)
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Locoghoul's reflect wore off!
84%
100%
Even without Reflect I can wall Ferro all day. I was going to set up reflect again but went with Roost instead. So far, the match is going OK; I need to know which Arceus I’m facing and also I need to get a switch in for Deoxys-A as he creates a lot of switches and can bait Extremekiller versions in (free switch for Skarm/spikes set up).
Start of turn 12
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Kyogre!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
Xatu used Roost!
Xatu landed on the ground!
Xatu regained health!
100%
87%
Xatu has helped me a lot this match already but the Kyogre switch in is odd because Ice Beam doesn’t 3HKO Gastro and the whole Gastro-Ferro-Xatu switch doesn’t particularly favor him (if anything Kyogre is just losing HP). Once again my slug goes in to take the splash.
Start of turn 13
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
locoghoul called Xatu back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
100%
He double switches into Ferrothorn, not that unexpected really (I’ve played this team against many many rain teams) and doesn’t hurt me a lot. There is nothing Ferrothorn can do as long as I have Xatu.
Start of turn 14
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's Ferrothorn's Leech Seed was bounced back by Magic Mirror!
It doesn't affect the foe's Ferrothorn...
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
81%
100%
Time to set up Reflect once again just in case and see what does he switch into.
Start of turn 15
Xatu used Reflect!
Reflect raised locoghoul's team defense!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 72 HP! (21% of its health)
Start of turn 16
Xatu used Roost!
Xatu landed on the ground!
Xatu regained health!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 70 HP! (20% of its health)
Start of turn 17
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Xatu used Toxic!
But it failed!
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
70%
He knows by now that his FerroOgre is not working so Dialga can possibly dent Gastro more than Kyogre’s Ice Beam. I can still take any attack Dialga has except the rare Outrage (not common in support sets).
Start of turn 18
locoghoul called Xatu back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
The foe's Dialga used Draco Meteor!
The attack of the foe's Dialga missed!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
76%
Not to minimize the hax but Gastro has sponged DMs from offensive versions before. At 100%, he wouldn’t had been 2HKO by Dialga and he can Recover. On other side, he did have DM (I thought it was Dpulse/Thunder/SR/Fireblast). I’ll attack this turn in case he decides to go for DM again.
Start of turn 19
Patt called Dialga back!
Patt sent out Giratina!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
Gastrodon-Ea used Earthquake!
The foe's Giratina lost 10% of its health!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Locoghoul's reflect wore off!
100%
84%
Giratina means he wants some damage on my Gastrodon so I’ll switch into Xatu to bounce the WoW and force him to be asleep.
Start of turn 20
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
The foe's Giratina used Dragon Tail!
Xatu lost 69 HP! (20% of its health)
locoghoul called Xatu back!
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory!
Skarmory was dragged out!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
93%
90%
(Xatu 55%)
Maybe he just wanted some SR damage on my other pokes. Still, having Skarm out actually works great for me cause I can set up some Spikes. I don’t fear the WoW that much because I’ll do more damage with Spikes that the residual damage will hurt my Skarm.
Start of turn 21
Patt called Giratina back!
Patt sent out Kyogre!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
Skarmory used Spikes!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
75%
Finally I get to set up Spikes, this should help as most of his switches resist SR. If you have noticed from previous turns or even my previous warstory, I don’t mind Ferro double switching into Gastro at all while I still have Xatu. The more switches he does, more entry hazard damage for me.
Start of turn 22
locoghoul called Skarmory back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
The foe's Kyogre used Ice Beam!
Gastrodon-Ea lost 120 HP! (28% of its health)
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
72%
75%
Not a 3HKO with SR up if at 100 %. Now that I have Spikes up it’s time to pseudo phase with Yawn.
Start of turn 23
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Giratina!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
Gastrodon-Ea used Yawn!
Gastrodon-Ea made the foe's Giratina feel drowsy!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
78%
71%
So here I was thinking for some time. Will he absorb the sleep? He definitely has a Resttalk set but will he be willing to be asleep on my terms? Giratina is only useful for him at the moment for phasing so I would think he would like to keep it awaken to spam Dragon Tail later. He can Rest against many of my defensive pokes later to heal the hazards damage. So, assuming he switches I would like to add some more damage so I go for the Scald in case he goes into Ferrothorn to hope for the burn as a slept Ferro doesn’t hurt him so much.
Start of turn 24
The foe's Giratina used Will-O-Wisp!
The attack of the foe's Giratina missed!
Gastrodon-Ea used Scald!
It's not very effective...
A critical hit!
The foe's Giratina lost 21% of its health!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Giratina fell asleep!
84%
56%
Useless hax for me and unlucky him that he didn’t get the burn. I predicted wrong there and a burn could have helped his Kyogre. With 56% he is asleep now so he can’t heal himself and his moves will be luck based so let’s try to get Dialga untouched to see if I can scare him away.
Start of turn 25
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into Dialga!
Dialga is floating on a balloon!
Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Giratina is fast asleep!
The foe's Giratina used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Giratina used Dragon Tail!
Dialga lost 61 HP! (15% of its health)
Dialga's Air Balloon popped!
locoghoul called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory!
Skarmory was dragged out!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
93%
62%
Oh well, luck on his favor this time I guess. A burn to my Dialga would not have matter that much (I don’t have a physical attack on him) as long as I still have balloon for Gliscor (I don’t like relying too much on Xatu as I often will sacrifice him to get a safe switch for Deo-A if needed). But Skarm is out now which means I can either use Spikes again or Whirlwind. At this point I want to check which Arceus he has so I can plan accordingly late game.
Start of turn 26
Patt called Giratina back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Skarmory used Whirlwind!
Patt called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Arceus-Drago!
The foe's Arceus-Drago is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Arceus-Drago was dragged out!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
75%
(Dialga 61%)
Interesting. If not Normal (Extremekiller) I'm used to see Ground Arceus or Fighting Arceus paired up with Kyogre. I’d seen only one Arceus Dragon before and it was a mono CM version. So here there are two alternatives: a) is a special version or b) is a physical version. If it is a special version then it could be a CM with Sub and Recover so Whirlwind would be the right move but what if he has a SE move? If it is a Fire attack I should be ok since is raining. For a second there I thought he might have the Thunder (makes more sense on a Kyogre team) but if that was the case, he woulda switched it earlier. Hmm, I’m at 100% which means he can’t OHKO thanks to Sturdy. I’m leaning more towards either a physical version (never saw that before) or a mono CM version. In any case I’ll phase him out.
Start of turn 27
Patt called Arceus-Drago back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Skarmory used Whirlwind!
Patt called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Giratina was dragged out!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
37%
(Dialga 42%)
Right move there. Dialga’s HP is low enough to take him with Gastro if the match up arises. Giratina is also low in health and won’t be able to heal himself. Just hoping he doesn’t get Dragon Tail and I’ll be able to phase him.
Start of turn 28
The foe's Giratina is fast asleep!
The foe's Giratina used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Giratina used Rest!
But it failed!
Skarmory used Taunt!
The foe's Giratina fell for the taunt!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
100%
43%
Great. He has to switch otherwise is Spikesland for him. I’ll Whirlwind his switch in instead of using Spikes. I don’t want to lose the momentum.
Start of turn 29
Patt called Giratina back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Skarmory used Whirlwind!
Patt called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
The foe's Kyogre is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Kyogre was dragged out!
100 %
50%
(Dialga 37%)
At 100% he can’t OHKO and after 30 turns he probably knows I’m switching into Gastro. So, instead of switching I’ll just use Spikes to receive the incoming Ferrothorn.
Start of turn 30
The foe's Kyogre used Ice Beam!
Skarmory lost 188 HP! (56% of its health)
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of Patt's team!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
51%
50%
I overlooked the fact that he can’t be so switch happy now that I have SR and Spikes. I’ll send Gastro now and force him out. At least I have 2 layers of Spikes now. That should soften up Ferrothorn.
Start of turn 31
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Arceus-Drago! (Arceus-Dragon)
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Arceus-Drago!
The foe's Arceus-Drago is hurt by spikes!
locoghoul called Skarmory back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
84%
46%
Good move by his part. I was expecting a Ferrothorn switch. I could risk the Scald to burn him but it could be a special version. Yawn works for both versions as I don’t think any of his attacks can OHKO me (Arceus usually sets up for both physical and special sets).
Start of turn 32
The foe's Arceus-Drago used Swords Dance!
The foe's Arceus-Drago's Attack sharply rose!
Gastrodon-Ea used Yawn!
Sleep Clause prevented the sleep inducing effect of the move from working.
But it failed!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
90%
46% (+2 Atk)
Of course, what a moron. I thought Gira was self asleep and forgot he took my Yawn before. This mistake could cost me the game now as it was a physical version and my Skarm is at half HP. If I hadn’t taken that Ice Beam from Kyogre…
Start of turn 33
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Skarmory!
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory!
The foe's Arceus-Drago used Outrage!
It's not very effective...
A critical hit!
Skarmory lost 125 HP! (37% of its health)
Skarmory fainted!
locoghoul sent out ID4! (Deoxys-A)
Pointed stones dug into ID4!
ID4 is exerting its Pressure!
5-6
fainted
87%
46% (+2 Atk)
He draws first blood. Can’t believe a single poke had not fainted after 32 turns. And useless crit again. I’m pretty sure a +2 Outrage from Arceus could take my half HP Skarm. Even if not, I could not survive the next Outrage so nothing to complain about. If anything, I can revenge kill him now that he is stuck in Outrage.
Start of turn 34
ID4 used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
The foe's Arceus-Drago lost 46% of its health!
The foe's Arceus-Drago fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
The foe's Ferrothorn is hurt by spikes!
5-5
fainted
77%
80%
Hmm, I’m not sure if Low Kick can kill Ferro with that HP. I can’t risk Deo-A like that. I can deal with Ferrothorn later. I’ll send Xatu to generate more switches.
Start of turn 35
locoghoul called ID4 back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 69 HP! (20% of its health)
Xatu fainted!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
locoghoul sent out ID4! (Deoxys-A)
Pointed stones dug into ID4!
ID4 is exerting its Pressure!
4-5
fainted
65%
86%
Ok, I didn’t think much there. With Xatu dead I have no way to deal with Gliscor now (dialga’s balloon is gone) if he switches into anything but Deo-A who is the only one that can outspeed. If I want to win, I can’t switch because that will net him a free Gliscor switch in and gg. I know Low Kick does around 75% to Ferrothorn (I don’t run calcs because I don’t want to rely on surprise EV spreads like Def EVs on Ferro and the like) so I’ll just have to hope it kills.
Start of turn 36
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga fainted!
ID4 used Low Kick!
But there was no target...
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
The foe's Ferrothorn is hurt by spikes!
4-4
fainted
65%
60%
That was a weird move on his part. If he wanted to scout my move he coulda switched into Kyogre now, unless he was thinking I had Espeed, which I don’t. Kyogre is also on the KO range with Low Kick so there is no reason to overpredict.
Start of turn 37
ID4 used Low Kick!
It's super effective!
The foe's Ferrothorn lost 60% of its health!
The foe's Ferrothorn fainted!
The foe's Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts ID4
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Gliscor!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Gliscor!
4-3
fainted
43%
87%
I don’t want to predict too much in crucial moments like this. If I go for the Psyshock instead of the Ice Beam, he can kill me with EQ and then Gastro *could* kill him with Scald but it’ll probably leave it too damaged with Toxic to wall Kyogre OR he could just switch between Kyogre and Gliscor to stall my Gastro. I can still get a Deo-A switch in if I sacrifice Dialga so Ice Beam should be the right choice.
Start of turn 38
The foe's Gliscor used Protect!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
ID4 used Ice Beam!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
The foe's Gliscor restored HP using its Poison Heal!
43%
100%
Scouting or mindgames? He knew I had the Ice Beam, maybe he didn’t want to risk the Kyogre switch due to entry hazards. Then I looked at my HP. He may want to kill me with LO recoil from resisted attacks + SR switch damage. But that’s not going to happen. Not hard to predict.
Start of turn 39
Patt called Gliscor back!
Patt sent out Kyogre!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
The foe's Kyogre is hurt by spikes!
ID4 used Psyshock!
The foe's Kyogre lost 21% of its health!
The foe's Kyogre fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Giratina!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
4-2
fainted
33%
19%
GG. Luring the Ice Beam was too obvious. Now that his scarfer is gone, Deo-A can sweep the rest of his team.
Start of turn 40
ID4 used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
The foe's Giratina lost 19% of its health!
The foe's Giratina fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Gliscor!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Gliscor!
4-1
fainted
23%
87%
No way Gliscor can survive an Ice Beam from Deo-A.
Start of turn 41
ID4 used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
locoghoul: gg
The foe's Gliscor lost 87% of its health!
The foe's Gliscor fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
4-0
13%
fainted
locoghoul won the battle!
locoghoul: gg
Patt: gg
Props:
- Deoxys-A for killing 5 of his 6 pokes.
- His Dragon Arceus for drawing first blood.
- Hazards for killing Dialga.
Slops:
- Some minor hax (WoW miss, Draco Meteor miss).
- Gastrodon using Yawn when Sleep Clause was activated.
- His Gliscor for not doing anything.
- My Giratina-O for not doing anything.
Again, any comments regarding format/style will be appreciated. If you want to comment on my team feel free to do so as I'm open to constructive criticism. I hope this warstory encourage people into play more in the Ubers tier. You could argue that is more overcentralized than OU but as you can see, you can use that to your favor if you know the metagame.
Team Preview:
locoghoul's team
Patt's team:
I'm using the same team as before: Gastrodon to keep offensive Kyogre at bay, Deoxys-A and Dialga take care of defensive versions. Xatu walls Ferrothorn all day long and Skarm walls all Extremekiller Arceus. That pretty much eliminates the usual rain stall core. Key here -as it is in other tiers as well- is entry hazards control. Notice I don't have a spinner so I rely on Xatu to stop hazards being set up. The problem I have is that besides Deoxys-A I don't really have a sweeper on this team. My dragons are bulky so they get outspeed by almost everything.
Remember that team preview doesn't really tell you which Arceus your opponent is using so I don't know that until he enters battle. Physical versions (Normal, Ghost, Ground) are usually no problem for Skarmory but CM version are problematic depending on the version (Ghost and Water being the most problematic).
I decide to lead with Dialga as usual as I want SR up as soon as possible.
Battle between locoghoul and Patt started!
Tier: Wifi Ubers
Variation: +2, -30
Rule: Rated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle
Patt sent out Kyogre!
locoghoul sent out Dialga!
The foe's Kyogre's Drizzle made it rain!
Dialga is floating on a balloon!
Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Favorable match up for me, I can either set up SR or go for the SE attack on Kyogre. Most likely he is going to switch to Ferrothorn but since I actually want that (Xatu free switch in) I'll just go with Thunder. I don't like overpredicting early in the match plus you don't know if it is a Twave lead or a Specs Modest Ogre (can 2HKO with Water Spout).
Start of turn 1
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Dialga used Thunder!
It's not very effective...
The foe's Dialga lost 17% of its health!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Support Dialga or BU Dialga? It’s too early for BU Dialga to show up so I assume it’s support version and he’ll most likely set up rocks. Go Xatu!
Start of turn 2
locoghoul called Dialga back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
The foe's Dialga used Stealth Rock!
The foe's Dialga's Stealth Rock was bounced back by Magic Mirror!
Pointed stones float in the air around Patt's team!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Now that SR got bounced I’m thinking he will either attack or switch. Xatu doesn’t really threat Dialga so he’ll probably attack. Lefties makes me think he doesn’t have Draco Meteor (probably Dragon Pulse which isn’t that scary) and that its other move is Thunder (is either Thunder or Fireblast but since it is a rain team I expect the Thunder). I send in my Electric switch hoping to force some switches.
Start of turn 3
locoghoul called Xatu back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
The foe's Dialga used Thunder!
It had no effect!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Just as I thought. Now, I want to get some damage on this Dialga as Deoxys-A fails to OHKO bulky Dialgas from my experience (does around 85-95 depending on the EV spread). I don’t wanna play a prediction game with Xatu (in case he goes for SR again) because he is my best answer to Ferrothorn. If he attacks I can always Recover off the damage (I need Gastrodon above 60% to fully counter Kyogre and Ice Beam).
Start of turn 4
The foe's Dialga used Stealth Rock!
Pointed stones float in the air around locoghoul's team!
Gastrodon-Ea used Earthquake!
It's super effective!
The foe's Dialga lost 40% of its health!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Ok, he went for rocks. Like I said at the beginning, hazard control is important and now that we both have SR up, I need Spikes so that I get the switch advantage. I could EQ again but he won’t risk Dialga knowing he can’t touch my Gastro. Let’s start racking up SR damage.
Start of turn 5
Patt called Dialga back!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
Gastrodon-Ea used Yawn!
Gastrodon-Ea made the foe's Ferrothorn feel drowsy!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
I used to have Toxic instead of Yawn but I often found my Gastro to be Ferrobait. At least with Yawn I can force switches. Next move is a no brainer, Xatu owns Ferrothorn, period.
Start of turn 6
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Gliscor!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Gliscor!
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Gliscor's Toxic Orb activated!
The foe's Gliscor was poisoned!
Ah, the infamous Gliscor. To be honest, this is the first time I see one of these. Luckily for me, I have Dialga (still with balloon) and Xatu to wall him for more than his 32 turns of Sub+Protect.
Start of turn 7
The foe's Gliscor used Substitute!
The foe's Gliscor made a substitute!
Xatu used Reflect!
Reflect raised locoghoul's team defense!
Start of turn 8
The foe's Gliscor used Protect!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
Xatu used Toxic!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
Start of turn 9
The foe's Gliscor used Earthquake!
It had no effect!
Xatu used Toxic!
The foe's Gliscor's substitute blocked Toxic!
Start of turn 10
Patt called Gliscor back!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
Xatu used Reflect!
But it failed!
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
So he probably figured out he can’t out pp stall me (Reflect alone could do the work I think). Regardless, there is nothing Ferro can do to Xatu, unless he wants me to drain my PP.
Start of turn 11
Xatu used Toxic!
But it failed!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 75 HP! (22% of its health)
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Locoghoul's reflect wore off!
Even without Reflect I can wall Ferro all day. I was going to set up reflect again but went with Roost instead. So far, the match is going OK; I need to know which Arceus I’m facing and also I need to get a switch in for Deoxys-A as he creates a lot of switches and can bait Extremekiller versions in (free switch for Skarm/spikes set up).
Start of turn 12
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Kyogre!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
Xatu used Roost!
Xatu landed on the ground!
Xatu regained health!
Xatu has helped me a lot this match already but the Kyogre switch in is odd because Ice Beam doesn’t 3HKO Gastro and the whole Gastro-Ferro-Xatu switch doesn’t particularly favor him (if anything Kyogre is just losing HP). Once again my slug goes in to take the splash.
Start of turn 13
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
locoghoul called Xatu back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
He double switches into Ferrothorn, not that unexpected really (I’ve played this team against many many rain teams) and doesn’t hurt me a lot. There is nothing Ferrothorn can do as long as I have Xatu.
Start of turn 14
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Leech Seed!
The foe's Ferrothorn's Leech Seed was bounced back by Magic Mirror!
It doesn't affect the foe's Ferrothorn...
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Time to set up Reflect once again just in case and see what does he switch into.
Start of turn 15
Xatu used Reflect!
Reflect raised locoghoul's team defense!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 72 HP! (21% of its health)
Start of turn 16
Xatu used Roost!
Xatu landed on the ground!
Xatu regained health!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 70 HP! (20% of its health)
Start of turn 17
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Xatu used Toxic!
But it failed!
Xatu restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
He knows by now that his FerroOgre is not working so Dialga can possibly dent Gastro more than Kyogre’s Ice Beam. I can still take any attack Dialga has except the rare Outrage (not common in support sets).
Start of turn 18
locoghoul called Xatu back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
The foe's Dialga used Draco Meteor!
The attack of the foe's Dialga missed!
The foe's Dialga restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Not to minimize the hax but Gastro has sponged DMs from offensive versions before. At 100%, he wouldn’t had been 2HKO by Dialga and he can Recover. On other side, he did have DM (I thought it was Dpulse/Thunder/SR/Fireblast). I’ll attack this turn in case he decides to go for DM again.
Start of turn 19
Patt called Dialga back!
Patt sent out Giratina!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
Gastrodon-Ea used Earthquake!
The foe's Giratina lost 10% of its health!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Locoghoul's reflect wore off!
Giratina means he wants some damage on my Gastrodon so I’ll switch into Xatu to bounce the WoW and force him to be asleep.
Start of turn 20
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
The foe's Giratina used Dragon Tail!
Xatu lost 69 HP! (20% of its health)
locoghoul called Xatu back!
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory!
Skarmory was dragged out!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(Xatu 55%)
Maybe he just wanted some SR damage on my other pokes. Still, having Skarm out actually works great for me cause I can set up some Spikes. I don’t fear the WoW that much because I’ll do more damage with Spikes that the residual damage will hurt my Skarm.
Start of turn 21
Patt called Giratina back!
Patt sent out Kyogre!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
Skarmory used Spikes!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Finally I get to set up Spikes, this should help as most of his switches resist SR. If you have noticed from previous turns or even my previous warstory, I don’t mind Ferro double switching into Gastro at all while I still have Xatu. The more switches he does, more entry hazard damage for me.
Start of turn 22
locoghoul called Skarmory back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
The foe's Kyogre used Ice Beam!
Gastrodon-Ea lost 120 HP! (28% of its health)
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Not a 3HKO with SR up if at 100 %. Now that I have Spikes up it’s time to pseudo phase with Yawn.
Start of turn 23
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Giratina!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
Gastrodon-Ea used Yawn!
Gastrodon-Ea made the foe's Giratina feel drowsy!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
So here I was thinking for some time. Will he absorb the sleep? He definitely has a Resttalk set but will he be willing to be asleep on my terms? Giratina is only useful for him at the moment for phasing so I would think he would like to keep it awaken to spam Dragon Tail later. He can Rest against many of my defensive pokes later to heal the hazards damage. So, assuming he switches I would like to add some more damage so I go for the Scald in case he goes into Ferrothorn to hope for the burn as a slept Ferro doesn’t hurt him so much.
Start of turn 24
The foe's Giratina used Will-O-Wisp!
The attack of the foe's Giratina missed!
Gastrodon-Ea used Scald!
It's not very effective...
A critical hit!
The foe's Giratina lost 21% of its health!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
The foe's Giratina fell asleep!
Useless hax for me and unlucky him that he didn’t get the burn. I predicted wrong there and a burn could have helped his Kyogre. With 56% he is asleep now so he can’t heal himself and his moves will be luck based so let’s try to get Dialga untouched to see if I can scare him away.
Start of turn 25
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into Dialga!
Dialga is floating on a balloon!
Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Giratina is fast asleep!
The foe's Giratina used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Giratina used Dragon Tail!
Dialga lost 61 HP! (15% of its health)
Dialga's Air Balloon popped!
locoghoul called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory!
Skarmory was dragged out!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Oh well, luck on his favor this time I guess. A burn to my Dialga would not have matter that much (I don’t have a physical attack on him) as long as I still have balloon for Gliscor (I don’t like relying too much on Xatu as I often will sacrifice him to get a safe switch for Deo-A if needed). But Skarm is out now which means I can either use Spikes again or Whirlwind. At this point I want to check which Arceus he has so I can plan accordingly late game.
Start of turn 26
Patt called Giratina back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Skarmory used Whirlwind!
Patt called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Arceus-Drago!
The foe's Arceus-Drago is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Arceus-Drago was dragged out!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(Dialga 61%)
Interesting. If not Normal (Extremekiller) I'm used to see Ground Arceus or Fighting Arceus paired up with Kyogre. I’d seen only one Arceus Dragon before and it was a mono CM version. So here there are two alternatives: a) is a special version or b) is a physical version. If it is a special version then it could be a CM with Sub and Recover so Whirlwind would be the right move but what if he has a SE move? If it is a Fire attack I should be ok since is raining. For a second there I thought he might have the Thunder (makes more sense on a Kyogre team) but if that was the case, he woulda switched it earlier. Hmm, I’m at 100% which means he can’t OHKO thanks to Sturdy. I’m leaning more towards either a physical version (never saw that before) or a mono CM version. In any case I’ll phase him out.
Start of turn 27
Patt called Arceus-Drago back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Skarmory used Whirlwind!
Patt called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Giratina was dragged out!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(Dialga 42%)
Right move there. Dialga’s HP is low enough to take him with Gastro if the match up arises. Giratina is also low in health and won’t be able to heal himself. Just hoping he doesn’t get Dragon Tail and I’ll be able to phase him.
Start of turn 28
The foe's Giratina is fast asleep!
The foe's Giratina used Sleep Talk!
The foe's Giratina used Rest!
But it failed!
Skarmory used Taunt!
The foe's Giratina fell for the taunt!
The foe's Giratina restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Great. He has to switch otherwise is Spikesland for him. I’ll Whirlwind his switch in instead of using Spikes. I don’t want to lose the momentum.
Start of turn 29
Patt called Giratina back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga is exerting its Pressure!
Skarmory used Whirlwind!
Patt called Dialga back!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
The foe's Kyogre is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Kyogre was dragged out!
(Dialga 37%)
At 100% he can’t OHKO and after 30 turns he probably knows I’m switching into Gastro. So, instead of switching I’ll just use Spikes to receive the incoming Ferrothorn.
Start of turn 30
The foe's Kyogre used Ice Beam!
Skarmory lost 188 HP! (56% of its health)
Skarmory used Spikes!
Spikes were scattered all around the feet of Patt's team!
Skarmory restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
I overlooked the fact that he can’t be so switch happy now that I have SR and Spikes. I’ll send Gastro now and force him out. At least I have 2 layers of Spikes now. That should soften up Ferrothorn.
Start of turn 31
Patt called Kyogre back!
Patt sent out Arceus-Drago! (Arceus-Dragon)
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Arceus-Drago!
The foe's Arceus-Drago is hurt by spikes!
locoghoul called Skarmory back!
locoghoul sent out Gastrodon-Ea! (Gastrodon-East)
Pointed stones dug into Gastrodon-Ea!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Good move by his part. I was expecting a Ferrothorn switch. I could risk the Scald to burn him but it could be a special version. Yawn works for both versions as I don’t think any of his attacks can OHKO me (Arceus usually sets up for both physical and special sets).
Start of turn 32
The foe's Arceus-Drago used Swords Dance!
The foe's Arceus-Drago's Attack sharply rose!
Gastrodon-Ea used Yawn!
Sleep Clause prevented the sleep inducing effect of the move from working.
But it failed!
Gastrodon-Ea restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Of course, what a moron. I thought Gira was self asleep and forgot he took my Yawn before. This mistake could cost me the game now as it was a physical version and my Skarm is at half HP. If I hadn’t taken that Ice Beam from Kyogre…
Start of turn 33
locoghoul called Gastrodon-Ea back!
locoghoul sent out Skarmory!
Pointed stones dug into Skarmory!
The foe's Arceus-Drago used Outrage!
It's not very effective...
A critical hit!
Skarmory lost 125 HP! (37% of its health)
Skarmory fainted!
locoghoul sent out ID4! (Deoxys-A)
Pointed stones dug into ID4!
ID4 is exerting its Pressure!
5-6
He draws first blood. Can’t believe a single poke had not fainted after 32 turns. And useless crit again. I’m pretty sure a +2 Outrage from Arceus could take my half HP Skarm. Even if not, I could not survive the next Outrage so nothing to complain about. If anything, I can revenge kill him now that he is stuck in Outrage.
Start of turn 34
ID4 used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
The foe's Arceus-Drago lost 46% of its health!
The foe's Arceus-Drago fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
The foe's Ferrothorn is hurt by spikes!
5-5
Hmm, I’m not sure if Low Kick can kill Ferro with that HP. I can’t risk Deo-A like that. I can deal with Ferrothorn later. I’ll send Xatu to generate more switches.
Start of turn 35
locoghoul called ID4 back!
locoghoul sent out Xatu!
Pointed stones dug into Xatu!
The foe's Ferrothorn used Gyro Ball!
Xatu lost 69 HP! (20% of its health)
Xatu fainted!
The foe's Ferrothorn restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
locoghoul sent out ID4! (Deoxys-A)
Pointed stones dug into ID4!
ID4 is exerting its Pressure!
4-5
Ok, I didn’t think much there. With Xatu dead I have no way to deal with Gliscor now (dialga’s balloon is gone) if he switches into anything but Deo-A who is the only one that can outspeed. If I want to win, I can’t switch because that will net him a free Gliscor switch in and gg. I know Low Kick does around 75% to Ferrothorn (I don’t run calcs because I don’t want to rely on surprise EV spreads like Def EVs on Ferro and the like) so I’ll just have to hope it kills.
Start of turn 36
Patt called Ferrothorn back!
Patt sent out Dialga!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Dialga!
The foe's Dialga is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Dialga fainted!
ID4 used Low Kick!
But there was no target...
Patt sent out Ferrothorn!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!
The foe's Ferrothorn is hurt by spikes!
4-4
That was a weird move on his part. If he wanted to scout my move he coulda switched into Kyogre now, unless he was thinking I had Espeed, which I don’t. Kyogre is also on the KO range with Low Kick so there is no reason to overpredict.
Start of turn 37
ID4 used Low Kick!
It's super effective!
The foe's Ferrothorn lost 60% of its health!
The foe's Ferrothorn fainted!
The foe's Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts ID4
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Gliscor!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Gliscor!
4-3
I don’t want to predict too much in crucial moments like this. If I go for the Psyshock instead of the Ice Beam, he can kill me with EQ and then Gastro *could* kill him with Scald but it’ll probably leave it too damaged with Toxic to wall Kyogre OR he could just switch between Kyogre and Gliscor to stall my Gastro. I can still get a Deo-A switch in if I sacrifice Dialga so Ice Beam should be the right choice.
Start of turn 38
The foe's Gliscor used Protect!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
ID4 used Ice Beam!
The foe's Gliscor protected itself!
The foe's Gliscor restored HP using its Poison Heal!
Scouting or mindgames? He knew I had the Ice Beam, maybe he didn’t want to risk the Kyogre switch due to entry hazards. Then I looked at my HP. He may want to kill me with LO recoil from resisted attacks + SR switch damage. But that’s not going to happen. Not hard to predict.
Start of turn 39
Patt called Gliscor back!
Patt sent out Kyogre!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Kyogre!
The foe's Kyogre is hurt by spikes!
ID4 used Psyshock!
The foe's Kyogre lost 21% of its health!
The foe's Kyogre fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Giratina!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Giratina!
The foe's Giratina is hurt by spikes!
The foe's Giratina is exerting its Pressure!
4-2
GG. Luring the Ice Beam was too obvious. Now that his scarfer is gone, Deo-A can sweep the rest of his team.
Start of turn 40
ID4 used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
The foe's Giratina lost 19% of its health!
The foe's Giratina fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
Patt sent out Gliscor!
Pointed stones dug into the foe's Gliscor!
4-1
No way Gliscor can survive an Ice Beam from Deo-A.
Start of turn 41
ID4 used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
locoghoul: gg
The foe's Gliscor lost 87% of its health!
The foe's Gliscor fainted!
ID4 is hurt by its Life Orb!
4-0
locoghoul won the battle!
locoghoul: gg
Patt: gg
Props:
- Deoxys-A for killing 5 of his 6 pokes.
- His Dragon Arceus for drawing first blood.
- Hazards for killing Dialga.
Slops:
- Some minor hax (WoW miss, Draco Meteor miss).
- Gastrodon using Yawn when Sleep Clause was activated.
- His Gliscor for not doing anything.
- My Giratina-O for not doing anything.
Again, any comments regarding format/style will be appreciated. If you want to comment on my team feel free to do so as I'm open to constructive criticism. I hope this warstory encourage people into play more in the Ubers tier. You could argue that is more overcentralized than OU but as you can see, you can use that to your favor if you know the metagame.