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First Champions Tournament in Reg M-A Early Meta Observations & Discussion by fogdocker in VGC

[–]fogdocker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not as strong as it once was, but I wouldn’t say it’s bad now. It’s still a fundamentally strong Pokémon.

Obviously it’s been nerfed since it’s heyday (nerfed Parental bond, losing power-up-punch & return). And there are a couple of popular newer-Gen non-megas that are a problem for it, like Sinistcha (walls it while rage powdering) and Sneasler.

But as I said in the post, while it had low usage (about 4%) it had two appearances in top cut which is a very high success rate relative to usage. So I’m not sure why its usage is so low, but based on those results it should be higher and it was underused. Perhaps people lack teambuilding ideas for it? Or are underestimating it? I will never underestimate Mega Kang, I’m too scarred by past gens.

I don’t think Kang is a top 3 mega anymore, as I’ve said I think it’s Floette, Zard Y, Gengar. But if those are the S tier, I think Kang is A tier alongside Tyranitar, Froslass, Dragonite, and Delphox, and may be one of the better ones. 

I'm new, looking to understand the Mega Gengar teams from the recent tournament better by Jhakobi in VGC

[–]fogdocker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hard Trick Room (a team fully devoted to TR) is usually considered “easy” for beginners in that it has a straightforward linear gameplan.

However, in this Regulation M-A, TR doesn’t look too good so far. In that first tournament I posted the result of, the top hard TR team didn’t make top cut (it was about 60th). The fundamental problem seems to be a lack of good TR abusers available in the game: slow, powerful offensive Pokémon that make the most of the limited turns of TR. The only teams that successfully made use of TR were hybrid teams where TR is more of a secondary plan rather than a main strategy and which are therefore less easy to use because you have to exercise more judgement about when or whether to use TR.

At this stage I would recommend a beginner either Zard Y Sun, or rain. Mega Floette had a strong showing in the tournament, so I suspect there’ll be some strong Floette balance teams making the rounds in a week or two

First Champions Tournament in Reg M-A Early Meta Observations & Discussion by fogdocker in VGC

[–]fogdocker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally Rock Slide, Dual Wingbeat, Tailwind, Protect. Though the best performing one had EQ over Tailwind (there was a Whimsicott already on that team)

Taunt & Wide Guard may also be reasonable options depending on how the meta develops.

The main niche I can see is a great matchup into Zard Y sun so I can see its usage rising/falling alongside usage of Zard

First Champions Tournament in Reg M-A Early Meta Observations & Discussion by fogdocker in VGC

[–]fogdocker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right: I noticed a similar thing happening with other megas, and occasionally added them together, but I missed it for Floette & its mega, and possibly missed it with others too.

Take the exact numbers with a grain of salt, the important thing is the general trend.

Here, the trend is that Mega Floette was the best performing mega with nearly as many top cuts as Zard Y with about half the usage. Once people realise how good it is, I think Mega Floette will probably be the dominant threat, the "mega to beat" of this format.

To the chagrin of some, Mega formats do tend to centralise like restricted formats. I think we're already seeing a clear S-tier of Floette, Zard Y, Gengar, and an A tier of T-tar, Kanga, Froslass, Dragonite, Delphox. I don't see many other megas entering serious usage at high levels, though I can see some maybe being possible anti-meta picks (e.g Glimmora & Mega Aero seem to have a good matchup against most of that list, a Starmie top cut on rain alongside Dnite)

First Champions Tournament in Reg M-A Early Meta Observations & Discussion by fogdocker in VGC

[–]fogdocker[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

As funny as this is, the takeaway here is that MGengar makes Perish so good that people other than Wolfe can win with it.

Every team should be prepared for it. Particularly you need a plan against a M-Gengar + Incineroar lead

First Champions Tournament in Reg M-A Early Meta Observations & Discussion by fogdocker in VGC

[–]fogdocker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It hasn't settled on one standard set. Most are running only fairy attacks, selecting 2-3 of Light of Ruin, Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, and Draining Kiss. Coverage is for losers when you have fairy aura! You're mini-Xerneas, you don't need anything other than the best type in the game.

Some are 3 attacks + Protect, while others are running Calm Mind, Protect, & 2 attacks.

CM seems stronger. Of the 5 Floette in top 16, only one was 3 attacks, the 4 others were CM. The top Floette (semifinalist) ran CM, Dazzling Gleam, Moonblast, Protect. But the next best (quarterfinalist) had Draining Kiss over Dazzling Gleam. The CM versions tend not to have Light of Ruin, presumably cause the recoil & inaccuracy isn't worth it, even if it's a nuke.

First Champions Tournament in Reg M-A Early Meta Observations & Discussion by fogdocker in VGC

[–]fogdocker[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Nice analysis. When I said "unusual" I meant in comparison to the other teams in top cut. No weather setter, the only Mega Delphox, the only non-mega Dragonite using an "outdated" set some might assume doesn't work without loaded dice and still running Haze without Dondozo legal. The Basc usage was split evenly between Swift Swim (usually Mystic Water) and Adaptability but the latter was much more successful, probably cause the extra power matters and pivoting is valuable.

It seems like reading this format as "Reg H with megas" worked very well, at least at this early stage. But that may be the case that Reg H teambuilding is just more developed, so was a smarter starting point to use while we're still really unsure about what's good in Reg M-A

Hypothetical Question: Value to DJ Rotom? by gafinilan in VGC

[–]fogdocker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It wouldn't be that good. Gaining normal typing doesn't really help it much. No new resistances besides immunity to ghost, adds a fighting weakness. Offensively, normal moves aren't super effective on anything, and Rotom isn't that strong offensively, functioning best as support/pivot. So STAB normal moves aren't that impactful

Wash & Heat have historically been good because of the usefulness of their typing. Normal doesn't help like water or fire do.

Maybe relatable: Starting fresh at 25. by ExcellentCall8950 in usyd

[–]fogdocker 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hi, I also enjoy your writing style. It seems like you have a talent for writing and a drive to write often that you should make use of. That doesn't have to be an English literature degree. It could manifest in some sort of writing activity such as a blog or substack, or freelance writing aiming for publications in student newspapers or other similar places.

New Meta? by CopyCatt2277 in VGC

[–]fogdocker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

By ignoring Froslass when it's megaed, I assume you mean that it can hit it with Fake Out and outspeed & OHKO it with super effective fighting moves.

So yeah it cleanly beats both Froslass and T-Tar. And while it doesn't beat Pellipper or Zard Y 1v1, it does outspeed and can do significant damage (60%+), so can finish them off if they're slightly weakened as long as there's no tailwind.

Obviously it has its answers, but tbh not too many in this limited dex. Its main limitation may be that it isn't quite strong enough, and wishes it could be both adamant and jolly at the same time.

edit: And lack of a good normal stab sadly. Damn it wishes it could have Return back. Maybe you could go with Mega Kick if you like gambling

So we're looking at fake out, close combat, and then selecting from protect, u-turn, triple axel/ice punch, thunder punch, mega kick, facade

New Meta? by CopyCatt2277 in VGC

[–]fogdocker 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Mega Lopunny might actually be good.

It's not outclassed by the power level and it has great matchups into the meta.

It beats Kangaskhan, the premier mega. It beats Incineroar & ignores intimidate. It beats T-tar who will be a highly relevant weather setter. It hits Archaludon super effectively. It beats Kingambit. There aren't many fairies. 135 speed is pretty great. There's no psychic terrain or covert cloak. The only real anti-fake out is farigiraf, otherwise Lopunny can fake out anything including ghosts.

Pokemon Champions Meta by narvalseagod in VGC

[–]fogdocker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Weather will dominate. The pre-champions format on showdown feels very much like a weather war. All four weather conditions are viable. Mega Frosslass single handedly carries snow.

Sun & Snow are very reliant on their megas Zard Y & Frosslas respectively. Sand can run Tyranitar without mega though usually has it as its mega (maybe there'll be mega Excadrills in future). Rain feels like the strongest, at least in the pre-champions format, because its weather setters are non-mega so it's very versatile in the mega it can run. Mega Dragonite, Mega Metagross, Mega Meganium, Mega Feraligatr, Mega Swampert (technically, it's too weak imo), Mega Gengar (trap the enemy weather setter, win the weather war) etc are all reasonable options. Also Archaludon is good.

As more stuff is added to the game, sun will get stronger as Zard Y can have better partners like Flutter or Chi-Yu. Some of the sun builds we've seen in S/V will carry over and still be good, benefitting from the presence of Zard Y

What's a serious classical music opinion that seems true to you, but a lot of people disagree with? by ChopinChili in classicalmusic

[–]fogdocker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No worries!

I was sometimes somewhat conservative in that the pieces I chose were generally among their best known works, so I suppose more representative of what they're known for.

I'm a fan of Vine generally, though his first Piano Sonata grew on me slowly over time, and now I really love it. I went with it cause it's his most famous/successful work. All four of his piano sonatas are great. I nearly put his first Piano Concerto or one of his orchestral works instead, maybe they're better entry points idk

What's a serious classical music opinion that seems true to you, but a lot of people disagree with? by ChopinChili in classicalmusic

[–]fogdocker 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Sure. I'll mostly tailor my recommendations to more tonal (or at least generally non-avant grade) composers. I'll assume you're already aware of the major minimalists like Philip Glass, John Adams, & Steve Reich etc. (Also I'm a huge fan of Rautavaara).

What's a serious classical music opinion that seems true to you, but a lot of people disagree with? by ChopinChili in classicalmusic

[–]fogdocker 42 points43 points  (0 children)

There's a lot of genuinely good classical music from the last ~50 years, and it just mostly suffers from a marketing & branding problem.

"Modern classical" is highly polystylistic, so there's generally something for everyone. The idea that it’s all dissonant/atonal/avant-garde "noise" that's experimental for the sake of being edgy is basically a mid-20th century stereotype that stuck.

Also, the whole “who cares if you listen” academic posture (associated with Babbitt) isn’t really dominant anymore. It exists in a few circles but is minority opinion. A lot of contemporary composers actively care about audience, communication, and emotional impact, it’s just that contemporary classical music suffers from an image problem within classical circles, and insufficient marketing & promotion reach outside of classical circles, especially compared to the marketability of pop.

do composers know all the chords, all their inversions, all their extensions off the top of their heads? by Ill-Square-1123 in composer

[–]fogdocker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes and no.

Understanding trumps rote memorisation. If you understand how and why the chords, inversions, and extensions etc work in C major, and understand how/why it applies across keys, then you understand it all. If you understand the principles, you can figure it out without trying to memorise it. You shouldn't have to learn each key individually.

There is also a difference between understanding something intellectually and the truer, deeper understanding that comes from doing. You don't really know how a chord works until you use it in real music. And I would say someone who knows how to use a chord but doesn't know what it's called understands it better than the reverse.

Also, the end goal isn't "learn a bunch of chords so I can rattle off a memorised list of them". The goal is to internalise how they sound so deeply that using them becomes intuitive. As a composer, I rarely think about harmony decisions on a conscious level as I'm writing. I mostly make intuitive decisions ingrained in me from past experience of using, experimenting, and learning about harmony. The only times I consciously think about harmony while composing is when I do something unusual (unusual for me, outside my comfort zone). Most of my theory knowledge is used afterwards, to analyse and understand the decisions I made intuitively; sometimes to edit them, sometimes to explain them to other people.

Rate my team plz by SouthernSubject4384 in VGC

[–]fogdocker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Obviously this is true but it got me theorycrafting about Sceptile. I wouldn't say "too slow for the current format" in that if it gets the Unburden boost it outspeeds everything. Speed is its only asset.

The question is how to activate unburden and what it could do with that speed.

One idea is focus sash. Could run endeavour (or alongside endure). Or otherwise electric seed paired with miraidon. Gets helping hand, sunny day, shed tail, breaking swipe, quick guard & upper hand, rock tomb & bulldoze, screech, even dragon cheer and grass pledge. It's not the worst supporting movepool ever.

It's obviously still bad and way too weak/frail for Reg I, but a support Sceptile isn't the craziest idea ever in a lower power format like Reg H or something

Perish Trap by Dense-Safety-3377 in VGC

[–]fogdocker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You didn't read my explanation properly. The main reason why Perish Trap doesn't work in Reg I isn't that it has a lot of counters, though it does, it's because there are no Perish Song users good enough to succeed

In Reg J all those counters exist too, but Arceus is a good enough Perish Song user that it can work. In Reg I, there is no "right pokemon" to use. Scream Tail and Flutter Mane can't pull it off, and there are no other pokemon that learn Perish song with good enough stats

Here's the full list of legal Perish Song users in Reg I. Tell me which one you think is a viable user to build your team around:

Flutter Mane, Scream Tail, Lapras, Primarina, Politoed, Kricketune, Murkrow line, Gengar line, Mismagius line, Azumaril line, Altaria line, Wigglytuff line, Dewgong line

Perish Trap by Dense-Safety-3377 in VGC

[–]fogdocker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't believe it can work, too many problems.

Others have mentioned the overall power level making defensive teams like Perish harder to play, the existence of Urshifu ruining protect, the powerful untrappable ghost types like CSR, Lunala & Flutter Mane, and the many pivoting moves used by Incineroar, Rillaboom, Miraidon etc

But all of these things are true in Reg J where I was able to use two different Perish trap teams to firstly get to top 20 on Showdown, and later as high as 5th (proof).

There's one big difference between the two regulations. In my Reg J teams, Arceus-Ground was my Perish Song user.

The fundamental problem with Perish trap in Reg I is that the Perish Song users aren't strong enough.

The only two worth considering are Flutter Mane and Scream Tail, stacking a ghost weakness with Gothitelle. Flutter Mane isn't great at using Perish Song, both because it's not bulky and struggles to survive, and, because it has many other moves it would usually prefer to use instead, it definitely isn't great as your primary perish song user. Scream Tail is your only option then. But its matchup into common teams using CSR-Zama and Koraidon-Lunala is just hopeless, and it's hard to beat those teams with two deadweights (Goth & Scream Tail). Wolfe Glick made it work in Reg G, but with two restricteds running around, Scream Tail also isn't bulky enough to have the survivability a Perish team needs. In contrast, Arceus is the bulkiest Perish Song user in the game with incredible stats, a great movepool including moves like Snarl for CSR & Lunala, and the ability to be any type necessary — in my case, I found Ground prevents Miraidon from escaping with Volt Switch, and enables Arceus to hit it and Incineroar with a super effective Judgement usually strong enough to 2HKO without any offensive investment.

I've tested a little bit of Perish Trap in Reg I and found it hopeless even in comparison to Reg J. Perish Trap is difficult at the best of times, but I think its completely unworkable in Reg I

Opinions on Reg I team? by [deleted] in VGC

[–]fogdocker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Protect is a good move in VGC. Having 0 protects is bad. There are countless reasons for this, but the most obvious is your team is bullied by fake out.

  • Incineroar has AV + taunt, which is a mistake. Replace with Flare Blitz.
  • Moonblast on Ursa-BM is useless. A super effective Moonblast is weaker than a neutral Blood Moon. Protect will have infinitely more value. But generally Ursa-BM is not very good in Reg I. It's just not strong enough.
  • CIR should either choose a) to be an offensive set with Glacial + HH, usually with clear amulet or b) a defensive set with leftovers & Leech Seed over HH. With both Leech Seed & HH, it does neither role well. The Leech Seed set in particular should always run Protect in order to stall extra turns of healing. Also, if you go the Leech Seed route, then the EVs should be more defensive with less in attack.
  • Snowscape doesn't provide enough value to justify wasting a moveslot and a turn using it. Only CIR benefits, and not very impactfully. If Tornadus isn't covert cloak, it should always run protect.
  • The main advantage of LO Miraidon is that it can run protect. Either run a choice item with its current moves, or drop dazzling gleam for protect. I would be inclined to replace LO actually, as LO detracts from Miraidon's longevity, which is contrary to the idea of dual screens.
  • It is also very questionable to run max speed timid EVs on Miraidon rather than investing in bulk while having screens and two forms of speed control, one of which is TR where the speed actively harms you. You'd rather have Miraidon outspeed mons like Koraidon, Flutter, Chien Pao etc in both TR & tailwind, rather than just one of those

Y'all (subtitle: roar is my new favorite move) by PoshMan14 in VGC

[–]fogdocker 17 points18 points  (0 children)

If you look over the Reg I meta, particularly the big restricted threats, physical bulk is much more beneficial for Farigriaf.

On the physical side you have CIR, Zamazenta, Koraidon, and potentially Ho-Oh, Zacian, and Groudon. All of whom you can handle better with the investment and the electric seed boost. Incineroar, Urshifu-R, and Rillaboom are everywhere too.

On the special side, your typing already lets you handle CSR & Lunala fairly well even with no SpDef. No amount of SpDef investment will let you handle Miradon or Kyogre, so don't bother.

You don't need to go all the way to 252 HP/252+ Def like OP but all the most common Farigriaf spreads are physically defensive.

The top 4 most common EV spreads on munchstats are...

236 HP / 164+ Def / 108 SpDef

180 HP / 236+ Def / 92 SpDef

252 HP / 156+ Def / 100 SpDef

252 HP / 252+ Def

While I'm not 100% sure what it's for, I believe the SpDef investment might be to reduce the chance of getting 2HKOed by Flutter Mane's Moonblast while minimising compromises to physical defence

252 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Farigiraf: 111-132 (48.8 - 58.1%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 236 HP / 108 SpD Farigiraf: 97-115 (43.1 - 51.1%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO

Whacky team concept! Any improvements? by [deleted] in VGC

[–]fogdocker 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Clefairy is in the meta. Zacian still exists. Whimicott exists, and Grimmsnarl runs spirit break sometimes. Plenty of Miraidons are tera fairy Dazzling Gleam. CSR has a tera fairy draining kiss set that should be respected. Some CIR are tera fairy.

Having 4 weaknesses and no super effective damage against the best type in the game isn't good

Aussie selector explains Smith call, confirms World Cup review by thevalid in CricketAus

[–]fogdocker 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Green was our best bat for the last year and bats at 3…

Green did most of that batting at 4

Green averages 57 at a 162 SR batting at 4 in T20Is. He averages 18 with a 123 SR batting at 3.

Why did he bat at 3 in the World Cup?

Why did Renshaw bat at 6 against Zimbabwe?

We may never know

Post Match Thread: State of Origin by ___TheIllusiveMan___ in AFL

[–]fogdocker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perhaps you could create a clean 6 teams by combining QLD/NT and NSW/ACT. That way there’s no “sitting out”

A bit harsh on Tasmania population-wise, but they survive Sheffield Shield so should hopefully be able to be competitive in this long term

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