BW week review with Lasen. I will also do predictions because I am a tiny bit bored!
Week 1 round-up
Lasen vs. Trade
vs.
Cloyster sun (Ho-Oh) brought by myself on a clean re-use spree. Trade has brought a Deoxys-Speed rain offense with mystery Kyogre. Trade is almost always going to be E-killer here, while my team has the small of chance of having Ghosty-but it's E-killer. Ho-Oh here has to be played kind of similarly to DPP Ho-Oh wherein if you can't guarantee hazards off, Brave Bird foes away. One missplay from me, though, signals the end of the game as Trade has infinite threats.
Suicide Leads are lead, and I very disrespectfully Shell Smash to make sure I 2HKO whatever wants to try and switch in. The plan is to check for an item, expecting Smart Kid aka Edgar to have passed Trade some Fling set, possibly with Psycho Boost in the back. If I get flinched, plan is to go into Ho-Oh to take the Psycho Boost then straight back into Cloyster. if I get paralyzed, I cry. Thankfully, no Fling shenanigans occur and I get my kill while denying hazards. Kyogre comes in, knowing full well it limits me to either 1 hazard or checking its EVs and possibly item but not getting any Spikes up. I opt for the residual damage that Spikes will provide and sack Cloyster to Surf. I don't expect this to be Choice Scarf since there is a Genesect, so I go into Groudon to either scare it out or at the bare minimum lower Surf's power as I immediately double into Latios and take a fat Ice Beam to the face (which somehow catches me off guard). Kyogre is threatened and Genesect takes its places, taking the Grass Knot like a champ. Trade is always clicking U-turn here so I of course catch it with Ho-Oh, as Kyogre comes in. I weigh my options as this Ho-Oh has yet to reveal anything about it and realize I made this bitch Jolly for a reason: to catch primals lacking. Brave Bird OHKOs (roll) and I am super far ahead in the game now, with a Ho-Oh that is not immediately threatened by anything other than perhaps Thunder from Life Orb Dialga, something that can't safely come in lest it wants to take a potential Earthquake. Trade still goes to his Dialga as it's actually Lum Berry and gets Stealth Rock up, meaning I am basically forced to sack my Ho-Oh as switching out means it'll be too low to be a useful switch-in. Thankfully for me, its best move to hit my Ho-Oh seems to be Draco Meteor which I can always Roost off as I get phazed into E-killer which chips Dialga and then into my Earth Plate Groudon. At this point, I feel that the road is paved for my E-killer to eventually win so Stealth Rocks are going
up as I once more am forced into Ho-Oh, but this time it can kill Dialga with Sacred Fire. Trade goes into his own E-killer which cannot afford the 50-50 of getting burned or not from Sacred Fire, so he opts to kill it. I feel extremely confident at this point, so I go into my Groudon which Dragon Tails on the Swords Dance and brings in the perfect target: Genesect. I make a missplay and go for Dragon Tail against the Genesect but thankfully miss as it's locked into Ice Beam, allowing me to click buttons after a Swords Dance without thinking. I don't get every turn right but it hardly matters as everything is in range of Extreme Speed at this point meaning I can get multiple turns wrong and still come out on top.
There was a lot of cool stuff brought here, such as max speed base 90s and the classic game of chicken between the leads of Cloyster and Taunt Deoxys-Speed. I think my knowledge of the tier gave me a definitive advantage here and I have to give props to Trade as he played while sick.
cy vs. Evuelf
vs.
cy has loaded a pretty standard looking sun offense with Choice Scarf Genesect and what I assume is Silk Scarf E-Killer from team preview. Evuelf has similarly loaded sun, with his build aiming to catch his opponent off-guard with Deoxys-A in the first slot bluffing to be a lead set and Forretress seems to be just a support set, which fails the test if one is experienced enough in the tier. Arceus seems to be E-Killer but it could be something niche.
Game opens up with Evuelf revealing that his Forretress is most likely Lead Custap as cy immediately goes for the Hidden Power Fire while Evuelf sets up a layer of Spikes. Now, I don't know which one of the two messed up, but this HP Fire should ALWAYS bring it down to Sturdy... but it doesn't because this Deoxys-S is Jolly fsr. Custap allows Evuelf to bring Deoxys-S low with a Gyro Ball which phazes him into Deoxys-A which comfortably takes the 2nd HP Fire and revenges Forretress, meaning the lead match-up is won by the Villains' player. Giratina-O comes in to threaten with Sneak which allows Evu to go Groudon, tank it and gets his Stealth Rocks up on cy's double into her own Groudon. In her best BW Ubers main cosplay, cy tries to "up" and gets punished by Life Orb Deoxys-A coming in and OHKOing with Psycho Boost. Giratina-O is the fresh bring once more, with Evuelf insisting on doubling out into Groudon. A prediction of Dragon Tail or even Will-O-Wisp (at this point I asssume the SpD Groudon is Lum Berry) leads Evuelf to try to paralyze Giratina-O with with Thunder Wave which fails spectacularly as it bops into the Substitute. Were he the classic phazing move, this could get very ugly very fast, but he manages to break the Sub with a Dragon Claw as his Forretress is forced in to die from Rocks. With Giratina-O seeming to be the only mon they're allowed to bring in after a kill, Evuelf loses the tie or simply gets "nice prep"-ed as he takes massive damage, is phazed, and Deo-A dies to Rocks. With Choice Scarf Dialga being forced to come in as it's the only thing that threatens a KO, cy opts to not go for broke with Arceus but instead pivots into Genesect to take the Draco Meteor, making her E-killer counterplay worse by the minute as Genesect is now in range to dying to hazards. The biggest head-scratchers comes during these next two turns: first in turn 15 where Evuelf decides to switch to Dialga to preserve a Groudon at 6% instead of sacking it and going into E-Killer and setting up to +2 at the bare minimum against a SpA raise Genesect, and then the next turn cy deciding to keep said Genesect as death fodder instead of seeing what it decides to lock itself into (spoiler: it locks into Draco Meteor which is a great opportunity for her to go to her own E-killer!). So now Latios is sacked instead, which could have been a very useful tool for her to pressure in the late game. Surprise-surprise, cy's E-killer comes in on the -2 Dialga to set up with Swords Dance and reveals it's max Speed with Earthquake and assuredly Power Herb as it's the flavor of the month. As Evuelf sacks the Groudon to SR and then goes to Dialga to check the E-killer, cy fails to see the winpath of greeding up and going to +4 to try and kill the opposing Arceus on what is at WORST a Speed tie. Unfortunately, the combination of a lot of minor things leads to Evuelf losing a speed tie but still coming away with the game as he hits his own Shadow Force on the already weakened Giratina-O, cleaning up the game.
Overall, the team choices here are pretty standard, albeit a couple of sets like mystery item Groudon (perhaps BKC's Custap Berry?) and the Jolly Deoxys-S appeared. The level of play was good, despite my malding in call about imaginary perfect scenario sets such as Adamant Power Herb Arceus. The more established player won the game and I'd like to see Jackie and Blim give cy something
awful for week 2 so I don't have to try more game-time cause I see some potential here.
Alex Walls vs. Monai
vs.
Rain mirror shows up here, with both players loading pretty standard looking teams once more, with Monai going a slightly more aggressive route with Kabutops while Alex seems to have reverted to good ol' BW sleep mechanics being a solid wincondition. A difference between the two teams seems to be how the Kyogres will be played, with Alex's very likely being Choice Scarf as his immediate speed control seems lacking otherwise, while Monai can afford to run a SpD set with Kabutops acting as pseudo-speed control. Arceus formes can be E-Killer or Fightceus for either player, with a tiny chance of Monai having Refresh CM Darkceus.
Right off the gate we see that Monai has loaded a Fist Plate while Alex isn't scared of a Choice Scarf lead and goes for broke with his Darkrai. This promptly forces Monai to go to his sleep absorber which is none other than SpD Ogre. He then immediately doubles into Arceus-Fighting, as nothing really threatens it on AW's side and catches the Dialga coming in. Dialga immediately gets chipped as Alex Walls prioritizes setting up hazards more than keeping his Dialga healthy, signalling that his Arceus is probably gonna be an offensive set (most likely E-killer). Game progresses with Giratina-O getting Toxic'd as it phazes the Arceus-Fighting out, bringing out the WORST possible Pokemon for Alex Walls in Ferrothorn. Thinking that his own Ferrothorn is good enough to check Monai's Kabutops, Alex Walls immediately phazes the Ferrothorn, taking Iron Barbs ch*p in the process and allowing Ferrothorn to get a layer
up. This brings in the SpD Kyogre, which somehow forces AW to switch into Ferrrothorn, which is able to take a Scald if need be and threaten Ogre out with Power Whip. This prompts Monai to go into his own Dialga as hazards are exchanged. Seeing how little Aura Sphere is doing to Ferrothorn, Monai switches out to Ferrothorn which allows Alex Walls to get them all
up. Darkrai comes in as Monai's Ferrothorn sets up a second layer of Spikes, but through a couple of Protect turns giving Ferrothorn lefties recovery, it's able to take the combination of Focus Blast>Dark Pulse, meaning that Darkrai is forced to hit 2 Focus Blasts and die to Life Orb recoil. With both players heading into a blind match-up now and 40 layers up, Monai goes into his CB Kabutops who can now start clicking Stone Edge, KOing Dialga and chipping Giratina-O before it's forced out by Dragon Tail and making it die to the hazards it can no longer remove. As Arceus-Fighting is forced in, Alex Wall's Giratina-O dies to the Toxic damage. Choice Scarf Kyogre forces Arceus-Fighting out as the Kabutops is sacked to hazards. The Scarf whale crits through its cousin as it eats a Scald and chips the Giratina-O... which dooms it to die to hazards through a Dragon Tail. Ekiller is now IN and it's revealed, going for a Shadow Force which barely doesn't kill, meaning it fails to clean the extremely weak foes on Monai's side. Dragon Tail forces it out once more, leaving it unable to set up again or take any hit, meaning the combination of a healthy Dialga and a Fightceus that vibe checks E-killer ensures Monai walks away with it.
As far as match-up goes, Alex Walls' threats were all covered completely. Arceus-Fighting checked 5/6 Pokemon and nothing but the hazards damaged it this game. Arceus similarly never stood a chance, staring down a bulky Kyogre, a Kabutops, two Steel-types and of course, Arceus-Fighting. Definitely a game that favors Monai greatly, even though a couple of rolls could have changed everything for Alex Walls.
Thor vs. crucify
vs.
Thor suprises new viewers by bringing a Jirachi while long time fans know this dude opened his Farceus builder, changed Forretress to Custap lead instead of Focus Sash and said "a la chingada" to himself. Crucify has brought a hazard stack that is almost identical in mons to what Trade brought against me, but with a Toxic Spiking lead in Scolipede. Crucify's Arceus forme is obviously E-killer while Thor's shrouded in mystery; Toxic Spikes + E-killer is fine, especially with Jirachi's potential Healing Wish support, while a supporting Arceus + offensive ogre can also be a structure.
Crucify leads SpD Kyogre to combat Thor's Forretress lead, trying to burn with Scald. Thor sets his layer of Spikes and then skedaddles out of there, keeping the nut as a sac later. Dialga is brought in to absorb the 2nd Scald and thankfully doesn't get burned. Crucify tries to catch Thor as he rocks so he can set up some hazard with Scolipede, but gets Draco Meteor'd on the switch and drops. No extra hazards for this BW OU main! An exchange of Stealth Rock between the Dialgas happen, and then Thor scouts by sacking the Forre. Thor reveals a Fightceus, which of course forces Dialga out as crucify's Kyogre comfortably absorbs it. Thor continues to surprise friends and foes alike by CMing in front of the Kyogre, which of course Roars him out before it's too late. Unfortunately for our SPL finalist, he brings in the Dialga which can potentially click Thunder and hax through his whale, so he Rests up. Thor goes for a rather safe catch-all in Roar, bringing in Genesect to take hazards. As he isn't threatened in the slightest, he absorbs the weak U-turn and Roars the incoming Kyogre out once more. E-killer is now revealed, which doesn't want to waste PP or drop below a certain threshold, so it recovers as it, too, is Roared out. Kyogre shows up once more, taking advantage of BW RestTalk to roll Roar and phaze the Dialga out before it can Roar for itself. As Jirachi is pulled in and reveals it's Choice Scarf (DPP main), it U-turns back into Dialga so Kyogre's Scald can bounce off. The Rest song and dance seems to want to happen again as Thor goes into his own Ogre, but it doesn't reveal an item so crucify goes into... Genesect? expecting genuinely I do not know what. What the whale ends up clicking is somehow Calm Mind, meaning it has to take this boosted U-turn as it Surfs twice to kill Giratina-O. Dialga cleans it up with a Thunder. Fightceus contests it immediately, so crucify's Kyogre comes in to take the Judgement. After a CM here and a failed Sleep Talk here, Fightceus is forced out as Kyogre Roars it right as it wakes up. Giratina-O Dragon Tails the once more asleep Kyogre and Shadow Sneaks the Genesect which puts it in range of Rocks + Spikes... but wait! A Freeze potentially can save the game for crucify! He tries to take advantage of it by hard switching into his E-killer, but is met with Dialga. Unable to KO it with what is probably E-Speed + Ghost move, crucify recovers to try and remain healthy as he is phazed out for the umpteenth time. Life Orb Dialga clears Thor's Dialga, but everything is now chipped; Arceus-Fighting starts clicking Judgement in an attempt to kill everything remaining and thankfully for Thor, Kyogre pulls nothing but Rest with its Sleep Talk. While crucify's E-killer is bulky enough to take an unboosted Judgement, it can't OHKO without critting and so it gets 2HKOed and Thor comes out on top.
This game showcases just why people hate the hazard metagame of BW, with multiple turns coming down to "oh you pulled this one mon in? Guess I have to take another 40% on two of my mons in an attempt to check you. Thor's build is very creative, running a Choice Scarfer that situationally beats Genesect and having multiple win conditions, albeit I don't know how it could have dealt with the E-killer if a Spike had gone up from a lead that could threaten Forre like Deoxys-Speed.
Metagame Observations
Genesect was brought by half the playerbase cementing it as a top level threat. E-killer won every mirror, while Fightceus is a strong check to it as it bested it in two different match-ups with two different sets. I think Silk Scarf Arceus wasn't respected enough by the playerbase considering how some of these games were played out. Dialga is a prime Stealth Rock setter, checking the SpD Kyogre and contesting the best phazer in Giratina-O. No sand yet, but I expect to see it at least twice as the weeks progress. Besides Thor's team and Trade's Kyogre item, most things are bogstandard as we all feel each other out.
Week 2 Predictions
Villains vs Dracovish
Evuelf vs. Alex Walls (60-40): It seems Alex Walls was feeling a bit rusty during his week 1 game, bringing comfort while Evuelf brought Deoxys-A and dominated. If Alex Walls gets in form, this should be the best match of the week. Alex Walls has brought fat in the past while Evuelf sticks to mostly BO and HO stuff. Excited to watch what will be brought!
Dialgas vs. Durians
crucify vs.
Monai (45-55): Crucify got goombastomped by a dude running CM Fightceus and Jirachi while Monai pulled a solid win against my fellow crustacean in Alex Walls. I still think crucify is a good pilot that just needs to hit his stride than it'll be smooth sailing, but he left a lot to be desired after the first week. Perhaps loading Fightceus into E-killer helped in both past weeks? Maybe Ghosty would have won? Or is E-killer my beloved gonna pull a fast one once more?
Mukkers vs. Bandits
Lasen
vs. cy (50-50): I am trying to convince tape to let me bring Lugia: week 2.
Drizzlers vs. Melmetals
Thor vs. Trade (70-30): Thor has been unleashed and if the Drizzler management is allowing him to load a literal DPP team, then who knows what he'll bring next? Trade on the other hand has really strong helpers in 64 squares and Smart Kid who will certainly help her get acclimated to the volatile nature of the metagame. For now, he seems to not be in control but I know he can show off why he went for 11k.
Gondra? You mean Drizzlers Pioneer, lord mcgoated in USUM? That Gondra? BET this'll be good. Goat heart is a good ass player, but gondra is gondra and I have troubles not bolding him. (Why are you ayaka now though)
