Resource VGC 2018 Viability Rankings

Mega Mane really should have at least B- rank. Its main weakness before was that it had to protect turn one to get the speed boost, but now it doesn't, so it can start being faster right away. It works both with and without the Mega, like Mawile, it can be a good Intimidate VoltTurner with Landorus and has moves to cover its weaknesses, besides hitting like a truck. It's frail, yeah, but it can check and scare so many things that it can be a great glue for any team, specially with Ferrothorn being back to the field.
 
Maltrab said:
I think the following Pokemon will need to be ranked as well once we figure out where Naganadel, Stakataka, and Blacephalon go.

Mega Charizard-X
Raichu (Kanto)
Rhyperior (I think it should be ranked and would like to open it up for discussion)
Mega Manectric
Togedemaru
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Sure, but let's just focus on the UBs for now. There's obviously still a lot to discuss but I don't want to burn out the thread too quickly.
 
C+ is too high for Virizion. Its former niche of beating Rain Teams is questionable at best with Pelican around. Gen VII also made its Fighting type a liability.
 
I'd nominate blacephalon for b+. It has a great offensive typing, and a good self-destruct move, as well as being one of the only things to in this meta to hit cress super effectively. It ohkoes stuff like megagross, ferrothorn and a bunch of other popular mons as well. HOWEVER, it can't switch into anything, is hard walled by tyranitar, is kinda slow, and is shut down HARD by scarf, priority, and literally anything faster than it. If you put care into teambuilding, it's not much of a problem, and isn't very adaptable like things like lando-t or kangaskhan. It's kinda one dimensional.
I can't say much about stakataka or naganedel, they weren't piloted by exactly the best players the few times I saw them being used. They were kinda easy to dispose of with things like heatran and landorus.
 
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Id say blacephalon is B- to B. It does hit hard, but in terms of power it is generally outclassed by aegislash/heatran. It does have a niche in some rain and chalkf variants, and can steamroll with proper support.
Nganadel is B+ to A-. Nowadays often replacing amoongus on chalkf teams, it offers support and setup with nasty plot. If supported properly (often just a foing partner) and can decimate the opposing team. Its lackluster bulk prevents it from being as common, as it that generally interfers with the general bulky synergy of chalk teams.
Stakataka is B to B+. It has a niche on sun teams, and if properly set up can deal massive damage. The issue holding it back is that nearly every mon has a coverage move that can ohko it, and wigh lando-t being so common it often steuggles keeping its damage up. Wg buff also doesnt help.
Kommo-o even with its z move is incredibly underwhelming, still gets ohkoed by fini at +1. The prevelance of tapu fini, aegislash, tapu lele, metagross, salamence, and even kangaskhan really dont help it at all. I would rank it as B- or C+ at best.

This opinion comes from extensive laddering in the high vgc18 sd ladder.
 
PinkSylvie said:
Id say blacephalon is B- to B. It does hit hard, but in terms of power it is generally outclassed by aegislash/heatran. It does have a niche in some rain and chalkf variants, and can steamroll with proper support.
Nganadel is B+ to A-. Nowadays often replacing amoongus on chalkf teams, it offers support and setup with nasty plot. If supported properly (often just a foing partner) and can decimate the opposing team. Its lackluster bulk prevents it from being as common, as it that generally interfers with the general bulky synergy of chalk teams.
Stakataka is B to B+. It has a niche on sun teams, and if properly set up can deal massive damage. The issue holding it back is that nearly every mon has a coverage move that can ohko it, and wigh lando-t being so common it often steuggles keeping its damage up. Wg buff also doesnt help.
Kommo-o even with its z move is incredibly underwhelming, still gets ohkoed by fini at +1. The prevelance of tapu fini, aegislash, tapu lele, metagross, salamence, and even kangaskhan really dont help it at all. I would rank it as B- or C+ at best.

This opinion comes from extensive laddering in the high vgc18 sd ladder.
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I've heard the meta strat is to run stakataka in trick room with 17 defence ivs and negative defence nature. That way, it gets attack boosts from killing something.
 
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R-B-Y said:
I've heard the meta strat is to run stakataka in trick room with 17 attack ivs and negative attack nature. That way, it gets attack boosts from killing something.
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Its negative defensive Nature and with 17 defensiv IVs to get the attack boost. And yeah, thats correct. Since you’ll die to any 4x move most of the time anyway or just have an Intimidate user on your team to survive every move. You dont need that extra bulk, its better to always get the atk boost to destroy even harder in TR. Only bad thing about this mon is, that it’s walled by Aegislash alone. And aegislash is easily the 2nd best pokemon in the meta after landorus ofc.
 
fatihmatih said:
Its negative defensive Nature and with 17 defensiv IVs to get the attack boost. And yeah, thats correct. Since you’ll die to any 4x move most of the time anyway or just have an Intimidate user on your team to survive every move. You dont need that extra bulk, its better to always get the atk boost to destroy even harder in TR. Only bad thing about this mon is, that it’s walled by Aegislash alone. And aegislash is easily the 2nd best pokemon in the meta after landorus ofc.
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Oh yeah, didn't notice at the time. Will edit now.
 
Rankings update
  • Nagadanel: UR -> B- (not 100% on this)
  • Stakataka: UR -> B+
  • Blacephalon: UR -> B
  • Amoonguss: A -> A-
  • Landorus-T: A+ -> S
  • Muk-A: B- -> B
  • Cobalion: C- -> UR
  • Virizion: C+ -> C
Let's talk about:
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    Raichu
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    Mega Charizard X
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    Rhyperior
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    Mega Manectric
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    Kommo-o
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    Togedemaru
All of which are currently unranked.

Oh and if you have replays to support your opinion, they'd be very helpful!
 
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    Raichu C+: It has a niche as a fast Fake Out user, has redirection with Lightning Rod, and can disrupt with Encore. Issue is that it is just a niche and Raichu is still extremely frail and doesn't fit on every team.
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    Mega Charizard X B-: Probably the best Dragon Dance user in the metagame since it's immune to burn. Also happens to be a Dragon type that isn't weak to Fairy and has EQ/Rock Slide to go alongside Flare Bllitz. The existence of Lando-T is why I don't put it higher.
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    Rhyperior C+/B-: Similar to Gigalith for me. Both are slow, bulky, and strong Rock types. I'd think I'd give Gigalith the edge due to actually being able to take Water/Grass attacks and having a better ability.
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    Mega Manectric Unsure: Not sure where to rank this yet
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    Kommo-o C-: I think it has a niche, but being 4x weak to Fairy is a big problem.
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    Togedemaru C-/C: Objectively, it's a worse Raichu
 
Regular raichu is a mon i have rarely seen. Yes it does get fo and is faster then m-kanga, but lr isnt as good asin vgc15/17. It lacks the damage output of a lot of other common electric types. Id say it is C+ or B-.
Zardx does have a niche on some bulu teams; however, its issue is the prelevance of rain, lando-t, fini, heatran. I would say it is C+ to B-.
I havent seen ryperior at all so im not going to say or rank it at all.
Mega-manectric does have a niche with lax set up teams. Intimidate, volt swich, snarl and fast make it a scary damage reducer for those teams. Its major issue is its lackluster damage compared to other megas and its about average bulk. It should also be B- to C+.
See my previous post for thoughts on kommo-9
 
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Raichu does suffer from lacking good partners. Celesteela relies on staying long on the field so Raichu's frailty does not help it stay long on the field. It's nasty Encore is also difficult to pull off with the high speed of Alolan mons.
 
fatihmatih said:
Its negative defensive Nature and with 17 defensiv IVs to get the attack boost. And yeah, thats correct. Since you’ll die to any 4x move most of the time anyway or just have an Intimidate user on your team to survive every move. You dont need that extra bulk, its better to always get the atk boost to destroy even harder in TR. Only bad thing about this mon is, that it’s walled by Aegislash alone. And aegislash is easily the 2nd best pokemon in the meta after landorus ofc.
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15 IV def, isn't it? I quit on a 16 because I thought it was 15 the threshold.

Edit:. Just checked, it's 17. OH, BOTHER!
 
imo Landorus-T will always be at least A tier for several years to come, at least in the more standard rulesets.
 
I really think rotom heat should be higher. It can take on almost half of everything in A, either walling or OHKO-ing them. Landorus is shut down by hp ice, heatran and Tapu koko literally cannot touch it, as well as Celesteela, amoonguss, megazard and salamence, minus Draco meteor. Aegislash is OHKOed as well, I believe, although I have to do some more calcs.
 
Pyritie i would like to point out that a new and upcoming 'core' on high sd ladder is zardy, koko, kartana with snorlax, cress, and lando-t. Snorlax does indeed hit hard and has potential, but its bulk is lackluster compared to vgc17. It requires way more support then last year, and it either needs a dedicated team or 2-3 mons with specific movesets with moves such as redirection/ally switch to do well. It should really B+ rather then A-, as the mons in the A- tier aside from lax require substanially less support if any at all to properly function on teams. The kartana on this team is believe it or not a twind berry set. Also Stakataka shouldn't be B+, it should B-/B. Compared to the other mons in the B+ tier, it is much weaker and requires much more support.
 
would honestly put aegislash to S too, besides Landorus-T and Mence into A and Mega Kang + Mega ZardY + Mega Metagross to A+.
 
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