Metagame NP: ZU-Stage 14 - Trip to Valhalla - Perrserker Suspect Test

Corthius

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:ss/Perrserker:


Returning to the tier with the latest tier shift, Perrserker quickly established itself as the tiers most fearsome Choice Band wallbreaker. With an amazing ability in Tough Claws boosting its already strong attacks, like STAB Iron Head, Close Combat, and U-turn, Perrserker has very limited counterplay and forces to use Qwilfish or niche Pokemon like Cramorant, Rotom-S, or Poliwrath in every team. The council has decided that it is best for the currently on-going UMPL to quickban Perrserker with and immediate retest, to help stabalize the metagame within the tour.

Furthermore, Perrserker can support itself very easily, with good physical bulk and an amazing typing with pure Steel to beat common walls, like Articuno, Altaria, and Clefairy and with the power of 2HKOing common physically bulky foes like Palossand and Gurdurr. Tough Claws Close Combat acts as a pseudo-secondary STAB move able to demolish common Steel-resists such as Stunfisk formes, Pyukumuku, and Rapidash, OHKOing the latter. It also got access to U-turn that lets it retain momentum and makes it excellent on VoltTurn teams due to pairing very well with special wallbreakers like Thievul, Rotom, and Silvally-Water, that can easily take advantage of its few checks. The last move is flexible and can be chosen for the teams liking. The common options include Lash Out, a move able to OHKO Rotom lacking a Colbur Berry, Offensive Qwilfish, and Shedinja; Double-Edge to threaten niche checks like Cramorant and Rotom-C and Facade which turns down the opponents hopes when they get a status off on Perrserker.

However, the council thinks Perrserker still deserves a chance in the tier because of some downsides. It suffers from being very slow, even being slower than Articuno, Miltank, and Altaria, three pokemon which it is supposed to abuse. Its below average special bulk also makes it tough to position itself multiple times throughout a game. Additionally, it can be prediction reliant and locking into the wrong move allows for the opponent to fish for contact punishment, like Flame Body, Rocky Helmet or Static from Rapidash, Qwilfish, and Stunfisk respectively.


  • ***THIS IS NEW TO GEN 8 SUSPECTS*** Reading this is mandatory for participating in the suspect test. The voting requirements are a minimum GXE of 77 with at least 50 games played. In addition, you may play 1 less game for every 0.2 GXE you have above 77 GXE, down to a minimum of 30 games at a GXE of 81. Also, needing more than 50 games to reach 77 GXE will suffice.
GXEminimum games
7750
77.249
77.448
77.647
77.846
7845
78.244
78.443
78.642
78.841
7940
79.239
79.438
79.637
79.836
8035
80.234
80.433
80.632
80.831
8130

  • You must signup with a newly registered account on Pokemon Showdown! that begins with the appropriate prefix for the suspect test. For this suspect test, the prefix will be ZUKE. For example, I might signup with the ladder account ZUKE Corthius.
  • Laddering with an account that impersonates, mocks, or insults another Smogon user or breaks Pokemon Showdown! rules may be disqualified from voting and infracted. Moderator discretion will be applied here. If there is any doubt or hesitance when making the alt, just pick another name. There are infinite possibilities and we have had trouble for this repeatedly. If you wish to participate in the suspect, you should be able to exhibit decent enough judgement here. We will not be lenient.
  • The aspect being tested, Perrserker, will be allowed on the ladder but NOT in any ZU tournament play.
  • Any form of voting manipulation will result in swift and severe punishment. You are more than welcome to state your argument to as many people as you so please, but do not use any kind of underhanded tactics to get a result you desire. Bribery, blackmail, or any other type of tactic used to sway votes will be handled and sanctioned.
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  • Unlike previous tests, we will be posting the voting identification thread immediately after this thread. Please avoid getting more games before getting confirmed.
  • The suspect test will go on for about 2 weeks, lasting until November 23rd at 8 PM GMT +1, and then we will put up the voting thread in the Blind Voting subforum.

This thread will be open to allow all users to share their thoughts on this suspect test and discuss with one another their thoughts. Should you have any questions about the suspect test, feel free to message me or anyone else on the ZU council. Keep in mind that our suspect tests are decided by the community; anyone who achieves voting requisites is allowed to vote. The outcome is up to you. Happy posting and laddering!

Avoid posting one-liners or posts that do not contribute to any discussion. They will be deleted.

Edit: Perrserker will be allowed for the currently on-going rounds of Majors, SSNL and UMPL, but will be banned from the next two weeks!
 
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5Dots

Chairs
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I wholeheartedly believe Perrserker is broken. The fact that ZU had only a few viable Steel-types (in general, really) makes it seem this viking cat would be a welcome addition as a strong breaker. Perrserker's biggest problem is that unlike other Steel-types, it's too easy to make progress with it unless your opponent is running a very offensive build that causes it to trade instead.

Let's identify switch-ins for Choice Band sets:
:ss/Qwilfish:
The safest and most prominent, using a combination of good physical bulk and Intimidate to neuter Iron Head, Close Combat, and perhaps the rare Seed Bomb, with Rocky Helmet adding chip damage as a bonus. Lash Out may be the hardest move to click out of Perrserker's kit, but being a clean 2HKO against Qwilfish and OHKOing Rotom (which is an emergency switch anyways) showcases how overbearing Perrserker is - an incorrect prediction and you lose one of your best walls. Even if Lash Out wasn't used, U-turn still gives Perrserker the chance to bring deadly wallbreakers like Exeggutor and Thievul, which have seen notable upticks in use like in ZU Majors and SSNL.

:ss/Cramorant:
kay's favorite Pokemon continues to be one of the most hotly defined topics for "is this Pokemon good in this meta"? Like Qwilfish, it resists everything in its kit except Seed Bomb and Lash Out, but unlike our favorite fish, it does much better against Lash Out variants without the Intimidate drop, and it isn't as hard-pressed for moveslots thanks to its standard set being fine enough on its own. Roost gives it better recovery than Pain Split for most of the battle. Double-Edge variants have seen occasional use as a more threatening way to break through it, but due to Perrserker's low Speed, this isn't too much of an issue. Cram may be an even better switch-in if it wasn't for its vulnerability for Knock Off, but this is a minor prevention for how good it is defensively otherwise.

:ss/Poliwrath:
Poliwrath's high physical bulk and good defensive STAB moves also makes it an elite switch-in. Like Qwilfish, it can also add additional chip damage with Rocky Helmet and threaten it out with STAB moves. While still a reasonably common Pokemon, it's a lot less popular than the pufferfish since it takes neutral damage from Close Combat, takes super effective damage from Seed Bomb, and is more passive due to its reliance on RestTalk for recovery. Most defensive Poliwraths are also slower than Perrserker, meaning that it can't recover well against Seed Bomb variants. To make matters worse, Close Combat has a very high chance to 2HKO even Leftovers Poliwrath after Stealth Rock, which further adds risk to defensive teams:

252+ Atk Choice Band Perrserker Seed Bomb vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Poliwrath: 192-228 (50 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tough Claws Perrserker Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Poliwrath: 187-221 (48.6 - 57.5%) -- 95.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Perhaps Wrath can add some additional Speed EVs to outrun Perrserker, though its bulk is its main draw as a wall and sacrificing EVs for a better Perrserker matchup often isn't worth trade-off.

:ss/Rotom:
Rotom's utility movepool with Will-O-Wisp and pivoting make it a solid switch-in despite its low bulk. Unlike the others, it can pivot freely with Volt Switch and generate momentum. Its biggest problem lies on how even resisted Iron Heads can cleanly 2HKO it, which makes it a one-time at best even with Sitrus Berry. Even with Colbur Berry, Lash Out still can KO Rotom, though like Qwilfish, it's not exactly an easy move to click with so many other threats:

252+ Atk Choice Band Tough Claws Perrserker Lash Out vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Colbur Berry Rotom: 194-229 (80.4 - 95%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

:ss/Rotom-Fan:
Unlike its regular form, Rotom-S has the added benefit of resisting Seed Bomb and taking neutral damage to Lash Out. Rotom-S also avoids the 2HKO from any of its moves, minus rare Double-Edge variants. Like Rotom, it can pivot and spread status with Will-O-Wisp. Rotom-S, unlike other Pokemon, has a lot of difficulty fitting in Pain Split, since it ideally needs both of its STAB moves, and it usually ends up as a Defogger. It still relies a lot on Heavy-Duty Boots, and due to its 4MSS, even more prone to getting worn down, which hinders its reliability as a check.

:ss/Stunfisk:
Because Stunfisk is often tasked with handling specially offensive threats like Rotom and Skuntank, it often underperforms, but distinguishes itself through Static, which the paralysis can often help. Like Poliwrath, it suffers from being crippling slow, requiring paralysis support to outrun it, and Stunfisk still gets 2HKOed by Seed Bomb and Close Combat. Not to mention U-turn still being a problem.

:ss/Pyukumuku:
Similar story to Poliwrath but worse. It does great against Iron Head, Double-Edge, and Lash Out but can't handle Close Combat or Seed Bomb. There's also the concern of it being the most passive check, which makes it problematic since it can't even threaten damage back, it can only hope for Perrserker to stay in.

:ss/Shedinja:
This is perhaps the best check to all perrserkers. It's completely immune to anything Perrserker does except for lash out. Perrserker can't even pivot out because Wonder Guard completely blocks U-turn.

You can employ offensive checks like Rapidash, Alolan Dugtrio, and Sawk, but all of them can't really switch in which was why I listed all defensive checks above. Perrserker is easy to offensively answer but a nightmare to defensively answer. It rips apart all balance builds and makes offense ones (bulky, hyper) so good otherwise.

As for other sets? I feel like Sub SD sets are great alternatives. It makes the Tangela, Clefairy and Articuno matchups even more convincing (though you do have to watch out for Knock Off and pivoting), and gives it more depth to the Pokemon. While there are a few other Substitute and Swords Dance Pokemon, respectively none of them have Perrserker's mix of a good defensive typing and immediate levels of power. Assault Vest sets give up Perrserker's immediate threat potential for slightly better special bulk, and I don't think it's worth using over Ludicolo.

Those are pretty much my thoughts for Perrserker. I'll probably vote ban due to how limited defensive counterplay is, and how overemphasizes on offensive play instead to defeat it.
 
I think one thing that people overlook is not only does it struggle into most things offensive, but defensive teams have the ability to run Tangela to come in and scout choice locked sets and use your other tools (stunfisk/rapidash, ghost types, eating the damage from u-turn and playing reactively around the pressure and hope you're not giving it so many free in's as possible, ect) depending on what it locks and punish it. Its an extremely strong way to deal with it and not something I've seen people explore enough. Its actually pretty hard to knock Tangela right now with how the meta is given Sawk and Gurdurr on a very harsh decline from Cofagrigus, and Thwacky usage hasn't been too high this UMPL.

That said, I think this mon gets way too much value for what it does defensively to give it constant opportunities to come in and either break or gain momentum for free, and really pushes out a lot of out defensive staples like Articuno and Clefairy that it abuses which pushes the metagame in a very special breaker + Perrserker dominating meta like we've seen with Appletun + Perrserker doing very very well in UMPL. I think this mon pushes the tier in a very bad direction while also being way too strong on an individual level. I'm extremely pro ban even if its a lot more reasonable to deal with than people make it out to be.
 
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While Perrserker is a great wallbreaker with solid switchin opportunities, I'm anti ban for a couple of reasons.
  • CB is obviously prediction reliant and locking into any move that's not U-Turn can be taken advantage of, while SD requires a lot of support to pose a big threat. It is also quite susceptible to common residual like Spikes and Rocky Helmet, as well as status from Static/Flame Body/TWave.
  • Its STAB and Speed means that it's quite limited in how much damage it can do to a team. Compared to other offensive menaces like Klinklang or Rapidash, it is forced to trade down with offensive mons, or find opportunities through speed control, pivot moves, and aggressive doubles. Also unlike those faster Pokemon, the options to force it out after a kill are much less constrained.
  • The checks to it are not hard to fit on a team. Rotom, Miltank, Stunfisk, Qwilfish, Tangela, Rapidash and Poliwrath are all great and splashable Pokemon. While they aren't perfect as solo answers, good teams should have defensive overlap in general.
  • This is more of an opinion but dealing with fat is asinine and having such a powerful tool to help dismantle it is nice to have.
Worst case scenario we just like ban it again later
 

BaitWiz

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Ah, Perrserker. How I loved you when you dropped; finally, ZU would have a top-tier breaker that can actually threaten both Miltank and Articuno.

Perrserker is incredibly good at what it does. Mono steel typing is excellent, allowing it to switch into several weak Ice attacks and it has reasonably good physical bulk that gives it general usage against the metagame as a whole. While Band is indeed prediction reliant, the reward is just nuts compared to the risk - getting a free UTurn on an incoming Qwilfish/Poliwrath or cold OHKOing the opponent's Rapidash/Miltank with a CC is rough at worst and game-ending at best, while Fake Out provides Perrserker with surprisingly solid utility against faster teams and even lets it assist against Sun of all playstyles by helping stall out turns. Seed Bomb lets Perrserker do solid damage to another friend of Miltank and Articuno, the ever reliable Palossand, and hits fat water types like Qwilfish and Poliwrath harder than any other options do. Lastly, Lash Out abuses Qwilfish *even harder* through its secondary effect and hits ghosts like Rotom and Cofagrigus hard once their Colbur berries aren't around.

As far as checks go, the most reliable checks are offensive in nature - Rapidash, Sawk, and *several* more can threaten Perrserker back out once they hit the field, but most of these checks must either get free entry onto the field through a sacrifice or risk a 50/50. Meanwhile, defensive checks are shaky at best - Tangela and Qwilfish are fairly reliable switch ins but get abused by U-Turn and Lash Out, respectively, while Cofagrigus is the closest to a true defensive check that exists within the tier - a mon often already tasked with handling several other physical attackers for its team. It's also worth noting that Perrserker does also get crippled by Flame Body and Static, should they activate.

At this point I feel that Perrserker is just a bit too strong to remain within the tier. Checks aren't consistent enough and cleric support makes on-contact effects less relevant, while its versatile moveset and power leave little in the way of defensive utility.
 

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