With new Substitution rules (found here) becoming live on June 1st UCT (approximately 11 hours after the time of this post, as per this patch post), we'd like to open this thread for collecting grievances, suggestions, grievances, comments, and grievances regarding these new rules.
Some over-arching goals for the new design of substitutions are:
- Feel free to ask clarifying questions either here or in the Union Room, and also feel free to answer the questions of others in both threads.
- Feel free to suggest clauses you feel are competitively necessary, along with an example of a situation that would not be navigable without it.
- Feel free to suggest clauses you feel would be convenient shorthand, or close enough, for existing clauses or sets of clauses.
Some over-arching goals for the new design of substitutions are:
- Making the system Permissive: A clause is allowed only if it is specifically permitted. Old substitution rules were mired in grey areas, due to having many sweeping inclusions such as comparing "any inequality between properties of a Pokemon." Now, you may instead compare the listed properties, using the listed comparison methods.
- Making the system Clear: The new substitutions are now more dense than prior versions, but hopefully are easier to use as a result (because there's more situations addressed specifically). That said, any suggestions for giving clarifying examples for rules, or suggestions for clearer phrasing of a rule, are welcome.
- Easing anticipation: With a clearer knowledge of what substitutions are possible, it should now be more feasible for a player ordering second to plan around what substitutions they would like to use in the coming round. Likewise, it should be more feasible for opponents to plan around substitutions they might have to content with in that coming round.
- Improving doubles+ substitutions: There's still a lot of work to be done to make subbing for multiple opponents more reasonable. Suggestions targeting these formats, especially when it comes to improving Pokemon placeholders (See 10.4a "Pokemon Placeholders"), are especially welcome.
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