A week has passed and the second survey garnered 26 responses, as such let's unveil the results!
A clear division in mentality, as has been the case all generation in regards to Tera. What is more telling is the second answer's results in regards to Tera.
Though sentiments were mixed between whether Tera is healthy or not in STABmons, over 60% have shown support for a re-suspect. I think this really highlights the general confusion people feel in regards to Tera as it has genuine good qualities mixed in with less positive aspects. Defensively Tera is a great addition and this defensive switching is great not just as a purely defensive measure but also as a offensive measure such as letting a defensive Landorus-therian tank a Boomburst with Tera Steel from a Meloetta and hitting it hard with either STAB, in this example it isn't just defensive but offensive, however it is restricted to type switching. Why this is a positive quality is that it is a measure of skillful application when you Tera defensive and how you form your team around all your Teras to address weaknesses. The problem from my perspective is when discussing the additional power granted by Tera; gaining stab effectively twice is problematic in a metagame where the general power level is much higher as all Pokemon innately have access to their typings best moves, something that normally restricts Pokemon, when combined with Tera this become harder to deal with to such a degree that even resists can be toppled with Tera. Examples of this are numerous over the course of this generation but I think one of the best examples was Dragonite being capable of busting through Pokemon such as Corviknight with relatively little chip and capable of 2hko'ing defensive Ting Lu without a defensive Tera that resists it at minimum.
The answer to this survey will lead to an action taking place on Tera which will be discussed after the rest of the survey so keep reading.
To no ones surprise Latios is firmly negative, some will claim it is due to Lumina Crash, however, that move is rarely ever used in actuality due to the presence of various Dark and Steel types, on top of Covert Cloak which is a key element to gen 9 STABmons. The reality is that Dragon Energy and Clanging Scales on top of Tera Dragon let Latios break even resists and in reality it usually required Tera Fairy or a native Fairy type to answer it. The lack of good and commonly played Fairy types beyond Iron Valiant is a big problem, but the crux is that Tera damage amplification plus the raw damage of Dragon Energny, on top of Choice Specs and 130 SPA is quite problematic. Even in the case of Iron Valiant you'd risk switching into Psychic coverage so in reality there are even fewer answers to Latios. So strong is that it can nearly 2hko Blissey, 252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Dragon Latios Dragon Energy (150 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey: 286-338 (43.8 - 51.8%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO.
Action will be taken on it at the end of this post.
Kyurem was survey'd last time as well and it is clear why, the Pokemon has similar qualities to Baxcalibur whilst being weaker physical (not saying much) and fully capable of going mixed, fully special or physical. Ice and Dragon Type are naturally great partners offensively and have some great moves gained through STABmons, and in addition Kyurem has Earth Power to bypass problematic types in general such as Steel. Whilst no action will be taken, this generally middle of the road to negative survey result will keep it on the radar, depending on the results of what is to come later, it may recieve a quick ban or suspect of its own.
For a Pokemon that was once said to be broken by many, the survey turned out a generally middle of the road / positive leaning result for Volcanion and this has a lot to do with the additions brought with DLC 1 and DLC 2 such as more Dragon types to better answer it with Latios and Latias both proving hard match ups for the common Water Shuriken, Torch Song, Steam Eruption, and Earth Power set. The meta is also no longer new to the idea of Water Shuriken sweepers and is generally well preped for it.
No action will be taken on Volcanion.
Volcarona being another key abuser of Torch Song recieved mixed results but nothing all the indicative of necessary action taken against it despite being a potent sweeper through its native access to Quiver Dance on top of the great coverage options it has. Tera also happens to syngergize extremely well with its most common set being a Substitute Tera Grass set that aims to abuse common answers to it.
No action will be taken versus it.
This survey result was more of a litmus test to see how people saw Ting Lu in general and tangentially how people saw its signature move in STABmons, Ceaseless Edge. The result was pretty much clear as day, the Pokemon is fine.
Divided, and understandably so, since this question really aims at me squarely I will speak as myself. I believe the best direction for STABmons is one that balances the various qualities of a Pokemon and a move together rather then separate its new additions through STABmons mechanics. Effectively this means that Torch Song on a Pokemon like Volcanion is judged as a whole, not separate and if it is supported as broken deciding whether it is the move vastly elevating it or a combination of factors. I know not everyone will agree with it and I have no delusions of everyone going to both among players and council.
Beak Blast recieved a extreme amount of mixed results, not entirely sure why either. I myself view it as a healthy addition to the metagame that helps balance offensive contact moves like Dragon's Ascent from being overbearing and is solely the responsibility of the team builder and player if they get caught by it. In addition there are a great number of non-contact moves some of which are underexplored and great in the metagame such as the Torque moves beyond Magical Torque all being non-contact and generally being good additions to the repertoire of your team if you are scared of Beak Blast. Even more to the point, there are two items that totally negate Beak Blast's effect.
As for Ceaseless Edge, it has not shown to be problematic as it is limited to a few pokemon (Ting Lu and Tyranitar namely) meaning it isn't overtly present when most offensive Pokemon would rather run Wicked Blow or something else. The numerous ways of clearing hazards in STABmons also doesn't help the case against Ceaseless Edge.
No action on either.
Torch Song has recieved some support for some sort of action from prominent players but the survey result indicate that there isn't a clear answer, even more to the point two of its major abusers (aside from one other) did not recieve enough support for action either, implying that it really isn't a problematic move on the mons currently.
Surging Strikes over a year ago was one of the biggest points of contention and now it is fairly obvious that in general there is nothing to clamour about, the nerf to rain, and the numerous ways to inflict burns (Beak Blast / Burning Bulwark) or chip (Rocky Helmet) have really stopped it in its tracks.
No action on either.
Yes it is 1 out of 5 as that is the default... regardless the middle of the road results seem to imply that it isn't seen entirely as healthy or unhealthy, the biggest abusers are also not seen all that much in play these days due to various flaws and metagame specific answers.
Astral Barrage was seen as generally healthy, though I think that could've not been the case had we recieved more offensive ghosts, however, as long as all we really got are Gholdengo and Gengar, that the move is going to remain unproblematic especially with metagame specific elements such as Meloetta and Ting Lu being popular.
No action on either.
Generally negative as a whole, Water Shuriken is one of the moves chiefly responsible for the banning of Pokemon in Manaphy and its abusers are quite popular in Rotom-Wash and Volcanion.
There has been a vote on it.
Finally, Wicked Blow was unbanned in January and got two Pokemon banned, and many have problems with how potent it is on many dark types. Specifcally many have issues with how it seemingly invalidates defensive play on a typing that is extremely hard to answer unlike say Surging Strikes or Flower Trick. Chief abusers of it include Greninja, Meowscarada, but aren't limited to them with even Dragon Dance Tyranitar seeing some effective play.
Action will be taken on it.
Now for the time we blow your mind with what was voted on and the results!
As a result, Latios and Wicked Blow are banned from STABmons, Weavile and Kingambit are free again and the rest remain untouched.
But most importantly, TERA will be recieving a re-suspect that will be up by Sunday!
Pinging
dhelmise for implementation, thanks as always!
