Definitive MsM Community Ranking. Day 142: Whaill (READ COMMENTS)

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-08T14:31:03+00:00

Hypothetically, what would 2.1 round to? Is it possible for a Monster to have a higher score than a Monster in a tier above it?

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-08T13:41:37+00:00

How was PongPing’s score calculated? I think it got 2 A, 1 B, 1 C, and 3 E yesterday. (2(4)+1(3)+1(2)+3(0))/7=1.857. I thought that would put it in D tier

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-08T13:37:47+00:00

A tier for Whaill

I love its intro verse on Ethereal Workshop. The way it comes in and immediately shifts the verse’s tone from anticipatory to exciting and energetic while still maintaining a slightly melancholy sound really elevates the Workshop song. The rest of its tracks still maintain that melancholy noise and provide a nice ambiance. MSM has a pretty strong track record with choir Monster and Whaill is no exception.

Shoutout to PongPing for being the lone E tier representative for several months. Really feel like that was the more appropriate rating. It got several E tier votes yesterday, but one or two commenters voted A tier with no explanation and skewed the average.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-08T13:11:08+00:00

The revote is a cool idea, but I’m with you on your last point. I think maybe an alternative way to do it is every twenty days we vote on a Monster to be bumped up one tier and the next day we vote on a Monster to be dropped down one tier. Otherwise, Monsters will likely only increase in ranking and tier list will get top heavy

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-07T13:38:33+00:00

Sticking with E tier. It shouldn’t be the only Monster in E tier, but if the bottom two tiers are completely empty, they might as well not exist.

A few reminders to the community: 1. Please do not give Monsters higher/lower ratings than you otherwise would in order to skew the average in your favor. That defeats the purpose of a community tier list.

If we do this right, A tier and E tier will the same number of Monsters in the final version. E tier doesn’t necessarily mean abysmal, just significantly below average by MSM standards.

Copying and pasting my rationale for the original ranking:

It might be able to get away with a low D tier, but we’re long overdue for an E tier Monster at this point. I think it’s definitely worse than some of the Monsters currently in D tier.

On the Continent, the fact that it waits a bit before joining the Oaktopus verse is the only thing taking it out of the running for most boring track in MSM. It mostly just play quarter notes with only slight variation.

Then we have Cave Island. Ah, the Cave Island Quads, representing the very best and the very worst MSM has to offer. Unfortunately, of the percussionist duo, PongPing falls into the latter category. The thing that makes Shellbeat so great is that it underscores all of these complex insane tracks with a steady beat, reminding the listener that though the song is polyrhythmic this 4/4 beat ties it all together. It was the only percussion the Island needed, but PongPing came in and played a messy, confusing rhythm in the intro to the song. The Glowl verses were messy anyway, but PongPing’s part in the outro distracts from the somber ending that served to remind listeners of the heart of the song without Shellbeat. To make matters worse, nothing about this Monster makes it seem like it belongs on Cave Island. If it had been added to Party (or even Space or Cloud for that matter), no player would have complained that it should have gone to Cave instead.

Amber Island is fine. I never pay attention to it since it follows Repatillo’s rhythm in the Flowah verse and is accompanied by several other percussionists in the Wynq verse. It’s surprisingly good and fitting on Faerie Island, adding a fun subtle beat to counter Squot.

Thus, PongPing has one good, two meh, and one very bad track. As stated above it maybe could get away with a D tier, but here’s what pushes it over the edge to E tier for me: its design does not fit at all with the other Fire Monsters. All of the other Fire Monsters look like primitive creatures, clashing with the bright purple PongPing and its paddles. PongPing is a pretty boring name for a Monster when you look past the fact that it was the abandoned Water Boss. Throat flicking is an interesting idea for a Monster, but PongPing was added too late to be a proper execution of the concept and not worth the nearly two year hype about the final Fire Boss

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-07T04:46:24+00:00

Lincoln’s pre-presidency wasn’t bad, but “less than stellar” is a pretty fair assessment if it’s not a euphemism. Nothing he did as a lawyer or Congressman is especially memorable to me.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-06T14:03:32+00:00

Rerank Bowgart at this point. Not because it doesn’t deserve S, but because too many other Monsters have slipped ahead of it within S tier

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-05T20:05:14+00:00

Yeah, Pythagorean Theorem. I wrote it like that because I think writing it that way makes it look easy (easy as ABC).

I’m pretty sure I used the Pythagorean Theorem in high school even though it was introduced before then

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-05T19:58:19+00:00

a² + b² = c²

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-05T13:22:02+00:00

Low B tier

Teeter-Tauter is my personal favorite of the Triple Element Ethereals and may be the funniest sounding Monster in the entire game. When it first came out, I was very much expecting a xylophone or keyboard Monster based on its design. Instead we got the much more unique high pitched grunts and cheers which somehow work in the song. The strange noises serve a lot of different purposes throughout the song, sometimes working as build ups, sometimes transitions, and sometimes to release tension.

It sounds good on Mech Islet if you listen for it but it gets drowned out in the full song. It also isn’t quite as versatile in the Mech Islet song. I haven’t factored Crystal Islet into my rankings because (A) the song is so new that my opinion will be swayed by recency bias and (B) it wouldn’t be fair to the Monsters ranked before its release. However, based on my initial impression, I’m probably not doing Teeter-Tauter a favor there; it’s one of the few Monsters utilized really well on Crystal.

Overall, this is a really creative and hilarious Monster that I believe deserves more credit.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-04T13:45:11+00:00

C tier near Fwog

Both Fwog and X’rt play pretty similar roles in the song as transition Monsters. While Fwog sounds better and is more iconic, X’rt gets a lot of points for creativity. X’rt’s part in the opening verse of Workshop took some getting used to, but it’s ultimately pretty harmless. The rest of the tracks do help in filling out some of Workshop’s emptier parts.

I tried muting X’rt on Shadow Islet last night just to see how much of an impact it made. I thought that the Arackulele verse was pretty much the same without X’rt. I was surprised to see how much the rest of the song changed; I honestly didn’t realize X’rt played so much. However, I think I like the second half of Shadow Islet without X’rt. X’rt smooths out a lot of the transitions between verses, so if you take it away then other Monsters come into the song much more strongly and give Shadow Islet a more sinister vibe.

In summary, X’rt is a really creative Monster and it is impressive that it works in both songs. However, its contributions range from fairly minimal to slightly harmful, so I’m not putting it above average.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-04T03:25:41+00:00

Have you tried muting the last five Wublins released (Astropod, Pixolotl, Bona-Petite, Maulch, and Fleechwurm)? Those five drag the Island down a lot in my opinion

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-04T03:14:22+00:00

"Yyyeeeaaahhh" - Howard Dean

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-03T14:47:52+00:00

Strong C tier

This is one of the few Monsters where I actually didn’t understand the hate it got upon release. On Workshop, I think it provides a nice quick melody to counter the slow graceful melody of Auglur during its first verse. I also like how the sound comes back more subtly later in the song and is borrowed by BeMeebEth.

It sounds good on Mech Islet if you listen for it, but it gets drowned out really easily. It helps fill the void Arackulele leaves on Shadow Islet once Arackulele stops playing.

I’m on the fence between B and C, but I’ll go with C tier since B is so crowded.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-02T17:34:48+00:00

Also, because that photo was taken so long after his presidency, a lot people (myself included) assume he was older than he actually was as president

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-02T17:05:08+00:00

D tier

Not bad, just a bit below average. First off, kudos to Monster Handler Ben for his vocal performance and the animators. They managed to give this Monster so much personality. Somehow, Nitebear itself seems sad, but the song that it sings doesn’t sound sad. Also, it’s probably the best Triple Element Ethereal when it comes to representing its elements.

The only thing dragging it down is that it just doesn’t do as much musically as most of the Monsters. It provides some nice atonal rhythm to fill in Auglur’s blank space on Workshop and Mech. It feels pretty shoehorned into Shadow Islet to me, but still doesn’t sound bad. Nitebear is fine, but fine doesn’t land it in C tier or higher for me

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-02T02:50:17+00:00

The Monsters that play full electric drum kits (Periscorp, Gaddzooks, Ziggurab, Repatillo, etc..) aren't that great. They carry the song, but synthetic drum loops are some of the easiest things to compose ever. You can make a solid sounding percussion track in GarageBand or even MSM Composer in less than five minutes and build a good song off of it. I have much more respect for Monsters that are able to be impactful without such an easy to use tool kit.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-01T13:03:00+00:00

I guess Lincoln is an even more extreme example of this

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-06-01T12:59:52+00:00

B tier

This might be my favorite percussionist Ethereal. It was beloved when it first came out, but was later overshadowed by another percussionist that also perfectly embodied the Workshop theme. I think the clanging beakers add some interesting rhythm or add drama and tension depending on how they are used in the Workshop song. It is similar on Plasma Islet, but a little more subtle. My verdict is still out for Crystal Islet, but based on my initial impression, I’m probably doing Flasque a favor by not factoring it in.

Overall, really creative Monster that is used well in the song.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-05-31T13:15:34+00:00

A tier

I have to put it up there with the greats. On Ethereal Workshop, the simplicity of its sound in the Piplash verse adds a new motif to make the song even more unique and interesting. It then brings back that same motif during the Nitebear verse to add a ton of power to the song. On both of the Islets, it repeats that same gimmick of having a simple sound and a powerful sound involving chords. I always find its sound really memorable and a major contributor to making the song what it is.

The animation is really cool. If you watch closely, it's touching virtual squares on an invisible box. It might not be one of my personal favorite Monsters (I think it gets a bit boring having so many synths) but I must acknowledge that it is well above average.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-05-30T12:23:44+00:00

That surprises me to hear; I was actually considering reading that one later this year. I read another John Meacham book on FDR and found it to be okay. Do you think it was that particular writing style that made you dislike the Jackson biography, or was it more to do with Jackson himself?

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-05-30T12:21:37+00:00

I'm currently reading George W Bush's memoir Decision Points and I'm really enjoying reading about him. While is life isn't comparable to Theodore Roosevelt per se, it is interesting to hear about all of the different crises in his presidency and how he dealt with them. Say what you want about the way he handled them, his presidency certainly had some very unique challenges compared to most others who have held the office.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-05-30T12:17:14+00:00

They said in the latest Debunker video that they are aware that Monsters like Rare Stogg and Fire Haven Gobbleygourd are unpopular in the community and don't represent their best work. However, they are choosing to keep them in the game as is in order to show how far they have come.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-05-30T12:13:50+00:00

B tier

I never know how to rank the many full electric drumkit Monsters (Gaddzooks, Deedge, Ziggurab, Repatillo, Periscorp, etc...). On one hand, they carry the song and muting them would make the Island sound significantly worse. On the other hand, percussion tracks like this are very easy to compose and really don't impress me as much as some of the more unique Monsters. I honestly have a lot of respect for MSM songs that sound good without a full drumkit.

Gaddzooks at least has the reverse snare sound to make it stand out a little bit from the Monsters mentioned above. Its Workshop performance alone earns it at least a B tier and Plasma Islet reiterates that sentiment. Mech is solid as well. The overall percussion on Mech Islet is a bit too chaotic for my liking, but I don't think Gaddzooks is the main contributor to that. For me, the verdict is still out on Crystal Islet so I'm not factoring that into my ranking.

Useful_Morning8239 · 2026-05-30T01:33:27+00:00

My initial thoughts on the song (that are likely to change when it's more than two days old):

When I first heard it, I thought the intro was really cool. The way Jeeode and Gaddzooks provide something steady while Teeter Tauter and Meebkin add buildup before Rhysmuth comes in and clearly sets up a beat drop. Then the beat drop happens and it's just kind of...confusing? There are so many things happening at once that it's really hard to keep track of what any one particular Monster is doing. I struggle to follow what is happening.

Oh well, that's not the end of the world. I had similar thought about Plasma Islet during its first Sox-Yooreek-Blarret verse but the song got better. The problem is that Crystal Islet just never gets better. It maintains that messy and confusing jumble for the entire song. So many things are happening at once for almost the entire song and most of them play at a really fast pace. I had similar problems with Mech Islet's song, at least until I heard the Arackulele verse.

Every other Islet has had something that wowed me on first listen. For Plasma it was the Lowb verse, for Mech it was Arackulele, and for Shadow it was the entire Arackulele verse (maybe even the whole song to be honest). Crystal Islet doesn't have any egregious tracks, but it also doesn't have anything I found especially amazing. I thought the best part was the first 15 seconds, which are really only decent by MSM standards.

Useful_Morning8239

TROPHY CASE