Project The Top 5 CAP Titans of the Gen 8 CAP Metagame

dex

Hard as Vince Carter’s knee cartilage is
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Voting is now open for the top 5 CAP Titans of Gen 8! Here is an example vote:

1. CAP 1
2. CAP 2
3. CAP 3
4. CAP 4
5. CAP 5


Points will be assigned inverse of their placement. If you rank something first, it will get 5 points, second gets 4 points, and so on. Feel free to explain your votes, though it is not required.

All Nominees:
:astrolotl:1655239977453.png:revenankh::stratagem::jumbao::tomohawk::pajantom: :pyroak: :colossoil: :arghonaut: :equilibra:


Cawmodore and Malaconda did not get written up, and so are not eligible for voting. Deadline for voting is June 22nd, 12:00 AM GMT -4.
 
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dex

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1. Astrolotl
2. Equilibra
3. Tomohawk
4. Arghonaut
5. Jumbao


Reasoning: I think Astrolotl is a pretty clear cut #1 here. It has been consistently excellent throughout the entire generation, and in my mind it has defined the tier. Equilibra is a close second, as its ability to enable wallbreakers was monumentally influential for the pre-DLC2 metagame. Tomohawk comes in 3rd, and though it has seen next to no usage nowadays, it stood alone as the single true Urshifu counter for quite a while, and the famed TomoLibra core that dominated DLC 1 was something to behold. Arghonaut is my pick for fourth due to its prevalence during the pre-book meta and it generally being a very nice pick throughout the gen. It felt at times that Arghonaut was the only thing holding the meta together, especially during the period of time where Garchomp breached the S rank. My final slot goes to Jumbao, which, while much more threatening before the introduction of Galarian Slowking, still held an important role, especially during the Kyurem metagame.
 
1. Astrolotl
2. Tomohawk
3. Equilibra
4. Venomicon
5. Revenankh


I think Astrolotl has carved a really good niche for itself ever since its introduction, and while having been nerfed a few times already, it is still highly relevant. Tomohawk and Equilibra are kind of interchangeable for me, but both of them were very prevalent mostly during the earlier half of the generation. Venomicon has become a very threatening wincon as it sets up easily against a variety of common mons, and I don't think we'll ever see it drop hard in usage. Rev is here because of its rise and fall from glory during a few tournaments and also because he's my son.
 
1. Pajantom
2. Astrolotl
3. Equilibra
4. Venomicon-Epilogue
5. Jumbao


It might seem odd that the person who nominated Astrolotl in the first place is the first person so far to not put it in the number one spot. However, we are considering the entire 3 years of the metagame for these rankings, and Astrolotl was not a part of a 6th of the metagame's lifespan. Pajantom, however, has been around for all of it, and I think it has the most consistent viability in the metagame's history. While it never completely dominated the tier like others such Astrolotl, Epilogue and Pyroak, it also has never been particularly bad either. IIRC B tier is the worst it has ever been, and for a lot of the metagame it was more than that. While other CAPs like Tomohawk and Jumbao have had really awful lows, Pajantom's lows haven't been as bad, and I think it is worthy of the number 1 spot. Astrolotl is second though, it had to be nerfed twice and it is still the highest ranked CAP on the current viability rankings. Equilibra is 3rd, as similarly to Pajantom, its lows have never been extremely bad, the current metagame is its worst point and it is still B, and for a lot of the metagame it dominated and even had to be nerfed. This is where I would put Cawmodore but I can't so instead Epilogue. Epilogue hasn't been around for too long but it has been extremely powerful and has never dipped below A on the VR, it is here instead of Prologue because it had to be nerfed. Jumbao is in the last slot because it has been very good throughout a lot of the generation and only got really bad when it was discovered that it's illiterate. And it is still C, which is more than Tomohawk, who isn't on the current VR at all. Arghonaut, Stratagem and Revenankh aren't here because they took a while to kick off and never needed nerfs, Pyroak's buff was way too recent for me to want to rank it, and Colossoil nearly made it but not quite.
 
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shnowshner

You've Gotta Try
is a Pre-Contributor
1. Astrolotl
2. Equilibra
3. Arghonaut
4. Tomohawk
5. Venomicon-Epilogue


Astro has been such a big part of the tier since inception, and even after two nerfs continues to thrive with its great in-game flexibility and rise of new sets like Defog and Scarf. There was like one point where it was on a downtrend, but otherwise has consistently been a metagame staple. I wasn't around to fully experience the Libra metagame but its not hard to see its influence on the pre-CT metagames, and it still has a good place in the metagame as-is. Argh is just really solid and has been for a good while this gen, there's a reason I nominated it. Even after two new mons were introduced that make its life hell it still has a lot going for it. Tomohawk is also pretty before my time but was just as centralizing as it ever was until recently, and that can't really be understated. EBook comes last as its more recent than anything else here, but its initial impact was massive, and I feel its unique properties influence a lot of what gets run nowadays, which is primarily more offense-oriented teams.

Revenankh: post-CLT era was funny and rev definitely was a surprise, but before that wasn't anything special and today is just a good breaker/sweeper if you bring proper support.

Stratagem: mon is good but feels too recent for me to nom in good faith

Jumbao: wasn't really feeling this one, might just be a lack of experience in prior metas but I feel Astro/Libra/Tomo were or still are more relevant than Jumbao, esp after GameFreak took away its Flame Burst and HP Ground

Pajantom: considered this one as a submission but didn't feel it really "defined" the tier, moreso just remained a good pick the whole generation without really impacting how teams were built half the time

Pyroak: too recent + did nothing until the buff, and its place in the tier still feels a bit ethereal to me

Colossoil: similar reasoning to pajantom, mon is good but there's not really much else to it

Venomicon: easily the closest to being on the list, personally just see its counterpart having made a bigger splash after being dropped, perhaps because relying on a 70% accurate move is not nearly as consistent as a nearly-unresisted STAB 120 BP one
 

spoo

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Astrolotl
Equilibra
Tomohawk
Jumbao
Arghonaut

My reasoning is all the same as dex’s, but I have argh and jumbao flipped. This is mostly because of Jumbao’s insane dominance early-gen; it was S rank for multiple months (I forget exactly how long), and was still strong for years before Venom’s release. It was THE role compression option for so long, arguably doing more for building than something like current scarf fini, which is even more wild considering pex/gking/corv and competing fairy-types theoretically holding bao back throughout gen 8. It also had strong set versatility between scarf, LO, and even drought sets all being solid at one point in time, sometimes all at once.

I think the venom formes have been highly influential too, but it’s hard for me to pin this influence on just one of them. I think the effects they had on the meta are almost impossible to consider isolated of one another; perhaps if I could vote for both of them at once, I’d place them 5th. They also simply haven’t been released for that long - they’re great pokemon for sure, but I think there might be some recency bias going on when evaluating them.
 
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Rabia

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GP & NU Leader
Astrolotl
Jumbao
Equilibra
Tomohawk
Pajantom

Astrolotl is number one and any ranking that doesn't put it there is just bad. It's consistently been in the A ranks and mostly been A+ or S because its process overloaded it with utility bullshit that still haves it overly versatile two nerfs later.

Jumbao was amazing the entire generation up until Venomicon's introduction. Choice Scarf Jumbao was incredible from pre-DLC to throughout much of DLC2 because of the lower power level early and the immense utility it provided down the road. Generally great Pokemon that punished the Regenerator spam cores of earlier metagames.

Equilibra was a bastard earlier on but fell off quite hard during DLC2 as a result of increased competition for its slot from Landorus-T, Ferrothorn, Garchomp, etc. It's still pretty mid, but the early dominance puts it at 3 for me.

Tomohawk, despite all the FuturePort, put the metagame on its back when Urshifu-S was allowed. Nothing much to say there: it was a great physical wall that could keep even some of the most broken bullshit in check.

Pajantom I have at 5 because like Brown4Sides said it's just been the most consistent out of them all (outside of Astrolotl). I think its issue (and why I have it only at 5) is that at no point can we really say it was super dominant or defined the metagame. But I think that it never really being below B+ speaks volumes about it.
 

Zetalz

Expect nothing, deliver less
is a Pre-Contributor
1. Astrolotl
2. Equilibra
3. Venomicon
4. Tomohawk
5. Jumbao


Lotl takes it easily, no contest. Mon was literally given everything, got nerfed twice, survived the transition through 2 DLCs and is still A+, mon is evergreen as fuck.
 

dex

Hard as Vince Carter’s knee cartilage is
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a CAP Contributor Alumnus
Here are the results! We have our top 5 CAP Titans of generation 8:

  1. :Astrolotl: Nearly everyone slotted Astrolotl first, and for good reason. It has simply defined the tier due to its myriad of sets and utility options. Astrolotl is rarely a bad pick for most archetypes. Result: 49/50
  2. :equilibra: Equilibra has been dominant since its introduction in gen 7. While it may be more iconic to its home generation given Bulletproof, it still remains a dreadfully tough nut to crack. Its dominance pre-DLC 2 surely gave it the boost here, and unlike Tomohawk, it remains semi-usable. Result: 36/50
  3. :Tomohawk: Tomohawk stood alone as the sole best answer to Urshifu. It seemed at times that it was perhaps the only way balance could survive terrifyingly powerful breakers like Cinderace and Urshifu. While it is no longer the titan it once was, its service as an indispensable defensive option grants it the number 3 slot. Result: 22/50
  4. :Arghonaut: Arghonaut was always a steady B-ish option before the metagame went Weavile + Garchomp crazy, but once those two entered the picture, Arghonaut quickly rose to the top. While its defensive traits are not as desirable anymore given the introduction of Venomicon and Slowbro taking over much of its niche, it still remains a decent pick on balance squads due to its sometimes-ridiculous combination of Spikes and Knock Off and its ability to absolutely blank Weavile. Result: 13/50
  5. :Jumbao: Jumbao was an absolute menace for much of SS CAP. It is quite telling that, despite the introduction of Galarian Slowking, it remained a top tier offensive option. While it has taken a backseat to other Fairy-types like Tapu Lele and Tapu Fini as of late, its dominance early-generation cannot be understated, and its extremely useful Speed tier and bulk made it one of the better Kyurem checks available. Result: 9/50
Here are the results of those that did not make the top 5:
Venomicon: 7/50
Venomicon-Epilogue: 7/50
Pajantom: 6/50
Revenankh: 1/50

Thank you all for participating! I think the list we came up with is quite accurate. Gen 8 has been a wild time for CAP, and I'm glad we could look back at the generation holistically like this.
 

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