Hilomilo
High-low My-low
Quick note that Grimmsnarl has risen to A- and Alolan Ninetales has risen to B+. The VR team agreed on these changes after the above post was already made on the merit of both being great screens setters in a screens-dominated metagame. Grimmsnarl offers fantastic support thanks to Prankster, though some builders have also been preferring Ninetales recently for the threat that Ice-type attacks can pose and the utility of Aurora Veil, though Grimmsnarl is still stronger overall. With that out of the way, here's the discussion slate:
Discussion Points
Kommo-o A+ -> A: Kommo-o has been a bit of a hot topic among the VR team members recently, with some praising it and others doing the opposite. Generally Kommo-o hasn’t found itself as a particularly large staple on any given playstyle to the extent it once was, in part due to the surge of other great picks for screens abusers, but also due to the general falling off of sets like defensive Stealth Rock and the rise of checks like Primarina. Whether it still encompasses the versatility and threat level needed to stay in A+ is a discussion worth opening up to the community.
Aegislash A -> A+: Aegislash has become a more realized offensive threat lately, its Choice Specs set picking up some recent steam and proving particularly nasty. It also sports some nice additional perks, like its typing offering utility against rising foes like Nihilego/Cobalion and setup sets being more accessible on the tier’s popular screens builds. Although its poor Speed can definitely be exploited by the tier’s many powerful fast threats, it’s been in talks for a rise to A+ enough to be a worthy discussion point.
Buzzwole A -> A-: While it’s obviously a good component of the metagame, there has been some talk that Buzzwole’s influence simply may not be big enough for its current spot in A. It yields slightly shaky matchups against the tier’s top dogs and also suffers a tad from its punishable Speed and STAB moves. Checks to it like Moltres and Togekiss have also seen some notable improvement in recent weeks. Buzzwole’s presence as one of the tier’s most immediately threatening wallbreakers with Choice Band is hard to forget, however, which makes whether to drop it a bit of a tricky question.
Gyarados A- -> A: Gyarados has obviously been in a better place as a sweeper since the most recent tier shifts, though its viability has been particularly boosted by the surge in effectiveness of screens builds, which offer some of the best support to Gyarados available and allow it to harness its potential to devastating effects. In some capacity it will definitely always be a bit constricted by its role as a one-time sweeper slightly limiting its splashability, though Gyarados is more well equipped to do its job now than ever before and a rise could certainly reflect its current prowess.
Nihilego A- -> A: Nihilego has been picking up some steam lately as a strong special attacker that also presents some neat utility. Checking the thundies, Moltres, and Rotom-H among some other goons is pretty great, while its splashability has also seen a general increase as Meteor Beam sets have found a nice home on screens builds and as counterplay like Celesteela and Nidoqueen has gotten worse. It’s bulk and occasionally awkward typing still weigh it down in a Scizor-run tier, though it has many good things going for it lately.
Togekiss B -> B+: Togekiss was just a vote away from rising in our last slate, emerging lately as a very solid option thanks to its strong matchups against prevalent Pokemon like Choice Band Krookodile/Kommo-o/Zarude/Tangrowth. Slower threats like Primarina are in for absolute hell against it, while it also has the set of tools needed to mess with checks like Nihilego via something like Thunder Wave, though some users in the thread have noted Togekiss’ lack of appreciation for various surging Electric-types, including the Thundies/Rotoms/Raikou.
Quagsire B- -> C+: As stall falls further out of the limelight, whether to drop Quagsire, the Pokemon whose ranking essentially represents the play style, becomes more worth talking about. It can still offer some crucial matchups against prevalent boosting Pokemon, especially given how many there are in this meta, but easy structures for it to fit onto are quite hard to come by these days.
Mantine C+ -> B-/B: Mantine has developed a larger niche recently as a Pokemon that offers fairly valuable support. Pivoting in on Keldeo is still quite nice, though it also can decently match up against Scizor/Salamence/Moltres and has a solid supportive movepool to boot. Particular hangups include its Electric-type weakness and general passiveness, though more support for a rise than ever before has been communicated from the VR team recently.
That should conclude our update! Be kind and happy posting, and thank you for your patience during a bit of a long wait time for the update :]
Discussion Points
That should conclude our update! Be kind and happy posting, and thank you for your patience during a bit of a long wait time for the update :]