We've all built a team where one of our Pokemon is clearly a cut above the rest, a god among 'mon. The rest of your team then follows in service of this deity, even making the ultimate sacrifice and becoming death fodd--err...honorable martyrs, if the need arises. This metagame takes that dynamic to the next level, with a little bit of Monotype-esque fun thrown in. In this metagame, the Pokemon in your first slot becomes your "god," gaining no extra power but a whole lot of responsibility. This slot ignores the OU banlist, pretty much allowing you to use whatever you want, from Ubers to PU. The remainder of your team is comprised of "followers," the faithful servants of your god. These Pokemon are limited by the OU banlist, and additionally must share at least one type with their god, as they were created in its image. Should you fail to protect your god in battle, your entire team will be saddled with an endless Embargo, sealing the use of all held-items. Because of this divine punishment, consider it wise to sacrifice a lowly follower over letting your god collapse.
In other words...
Rules:
[Party Slot #1]
Bans: Ubers banlist
Mechanic: Applies constant Embargo effect to the player's team upon fainting
[Party Slots #2-6]
Bans: OU banlist
Restrictions: Must share at least one type with Party Slot #1. If the Pokemon has an in-battle form change that alters their secondary type, both forms must share a type with the god.
[Overall]
Bans: None yet!
Clauses: OU clauses, Ubers SleepTrap clause
Possible Gods (Ubers):
Aegislash [Steel + Ghost]
Arceus [Any Type]
Blaziken [Fire + Fighting]
Blaziken (Mega) [Fire + Fighting]
Darkrai [Dark]
Deoxys (Normal) [Psychic]
Deoxys (Attack) [Psychic]
Deoxys (Defense) [Psychic]
Deoxys (Speed) [Psychic]
Dialga [Steel + Dragon]
Dugtrio** [Ground]
Genesect [Bug + Steel]
Gengar (Mega) [Ghost + Poison]
Giratina (Altered) [Ghost + Dragon]
Giratina (Origin) [Ghost + Dragon]
Gothitelle** [Psychic]
Gothorita** [Psychic]
Groudon [Ground]
Groudon (Primal) [Ground + Fire*]
Ho-oh [Fire + Flying]
Kangaskhan (Mega) [Normal]
Kyogre [Water]
Kyogre (Primal) [Water]
Kyurem (White) [Dragon + Ice]
Landorus (Incarnate) [Ground + Flying]
Lucario (Mega) [Fighting + Steel]
Lugia [Psychic + Flying]
Lunala [Psychic + Ghost]
Marshadow [Fighting + Ghost]
Metagross (Mega) [Steel + Psychic]
Mewtwo [Psychic]
Mewtwo (Mega X) [Psychic + Fighting*]
Mewtwo (Mega Y) [Psychic]
Naganadel [Poison + Dragon]
Necrozma (Dawn Wings) [Psychic + Ghost]
Necrozma (Dusk Mane) [Psychic + Steel]
Necrozma (Ultra) [Psychic + Dragon* / Ghost* / Steel*]
Palkia [Water + Dragon]
Pheromosa [Bug + Fighting]
Rayquaza [Dragon + Flying]
Reshiram [Dragon + Fire]
Salamence (Mega) [Dragon + Flying]
Shaymin (Sky) [Grass + Flying]
Solgaleo [Psychic + Steel]
Wobbuffet** [Psychic]
Xerneas [Fairy]
Yveltal [Dark + Flying]
Zekrom [Dragon + Electric]
Zygarde (Complete) [Dragon + Ground]
*Does not impact the type restrictions of the team
**Considered "Uber" with the ability Shadow Tag or Arena Trap
Blacklisted Gods:
The Pokemon listed below can only be considered "gods" under the ability of Shadow Tag or Arena Trap and are outclassed by other Pokemon with these abilities on the list above. Please refrain from discussing the Pokemon listed below as gods:
Diglett
Gothita
Trapinch
Wynaut
Strategy:
There are multiple ways to succeed in Gods and Followers. Generally, you want your god to provide some combination of four traits: 1) solid typing, 2) survivability, 3) team utility, and 4) offensive pressure. Kyogre, for instance, demonstrates all these characteristics: Water is a good typing, Kyogre itself is fairly bulky, providing Rain for a team-wide damage and potential Speed boost is a huge boon and the ocean god hits hard with its special attacks. However, some gods specialize more so in a few of these categories but excel regardless: Yveltal provides a great typing to build a team around (allowing two types unlike Kyogre), Lugia can take hits for days (and Recover/Roost unlike Kyogre), Arceus has access to all sorts of hazard and status moves to support the team (unlike Kyogre), and Xerneas can instantly double three of its stats with Geomancy (unlike Kyogre). Every god has a weakness, but playing around those weaknesses is key to victory.
The other half of the equation, of course, is your choice of followers. Like Monotype, certain Pokemon that are lackluster in standard play will shine on certain teams due to traits that few other Pokemon of their type can provide. Skarmory, for instance, is a nearly essential follower on many Flying- and Steel-based teams due to its unique combination of type, stats and utility moves. Balance, stall and offense have all proved successful in GaF, but generally the teams that win the most are those that can trounce a variety of different god matchups. If a certain type of team is strong, consider followers that would help you win those matchups even if there seems to be a type disadvantage working against you. If you're building a more defensive or balanced type team, consider making one of your followers a cleric set (ex: Wish + Heal Bell) to keep your god healthy.
Generally, players tend to avoid sending in their god until absolutely necessary. If your god falls early on to a random critical hit or lure move, you'll not only lose one of your best Pokemon, but the rest of your team will be unable to use their items. This is especially crucial for certain sets, such as a wall that needs Leftovers to function, a wallbreaker that needs Choice Specs to do its job or a revenge killer that can't outspeed anything when lacking a Choice Scarf. However, it's not the end of the world if your god faints. If you see an opening for victory despite the threat of Embargo, sacrificing your god can make for a solid play. It's all about reading the pace of the match and planning your moves carefully, rather than just throwing out a powerful Ubers Pokemon and hoping it crushes the opposition.
Q&A:
Q: Where can I play this?
A: http://rom.psim.us/ and dragonheaven.psim.us/
Q: If my god has to be in the first slot, does that mean I have to lead with it?
A: No, you can choose your lead as usual.
Q: Then how do I know which Pokemon is my opponent's god?
A: The god of either team is always the farthest on the left in team preview.
Q: What happens after my god faints?
A: For failing to defend your deity, your entire team will suffer an eternal Embargo. If you forgot how Embargo worked (as it is a very uncommon status effect) all non-Megastone, non-Z-crystal held items will fail to function. As this isn't a primary status effect, you can still be effected by Burn, Poison and everything else. While this definitely puts you at a disadvantage, a smart player can prevail even with the lack of defensive and offensive utility that items provide.
Q: How is this different from Monotype with a weird banlist?
A: Aside from the fainting mechanic, you are not necessarily limited to one type. For example, if I put Ho-Oh in my first slot, the rest of my Pokemon can be any type combination that includes either Fire or Flying: Darmanitan and Honchkrow can be on the same team, in this scenario. However, if Kyogre is my god, only Water type Pokemon can be used.
Q: How do Pokemon that change type through in-battle forms work?
A: Only the primary type of their base form of the god is checked when determining the type restriction of your team. For example, a team with Primal Groudon as its god cannot utilize Volcarona, because base Groudon isn't Fire type. If the follower has an alternate form that it can transform into in battle, then both forms need to share a type with the god. To summarize:
A: Nope! While players that do so do have an inherent advantage, brave players can use an entirely OU legal team. There are perks to going this route: maybe you want to create a Water + Fairy or Fire + Steel team. No Ubers Pokemon have both these types, so you can use the perfectly viable Azumarill or Heatran as gods instead. Note that the Embargo effect applies no matter what tier your god is.
Q: If a move or ability is banned from OU but legal in Ubers, can I use it for my god?
A: It depends. Shadow Tag, for instance, is only allowed in the god slot and nowhere else. However, team-wide clauses like Baton Pass Clause follow OU, thus Smashpass Smeargle cannot be a god (not that you'd want it to be).
Q: How can I apply to be on the GaF council? What does that entail?
A: If you join the council, mostly you'll be discussing bans, rule changes and viability rankings via PM discussions when the need arises. If you'd like to join, I'm imposing the following restrictions on applications: 1) you must be an active presence in the OM, either through discussion in this thread or promoting and playing it on Showdown, and 2) you must be an active presence in the OM community as a whole, either by having voice in the Other Metas room or managing an OM/OM project of your own. If you fit the above criteria, send me a PM with your application.
Council:
Ransei
Quantum Tesseract
Chopin Alkaninoff
Kris
Ban History:
11/26/17 - Naganadel moved to Ubers
Resources:
Check out the Gen VI thread for old replays, team imports, viability rankings and guides:
[http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/gods-and-followers.3545230/]
Replays:
In other words...
Rules:
[Party Slot #1]
Bans: Ubers banlist
Mechanic: Applies constant Embargo effect to the player's team upon fainting
[Party Slots #2-6]
Bans: OU banlist
Restrictions: Must share at least one type with Party Slot #1. If the Pokemon has an in-battle form change that alters their secondary type, both forms must share a type with the god.
[Overall]
Bans: None yet!
Clauses: OU clauses, Ubers SleepTrap clause
Possible Gods (Ubers):
*Does not impact the type restrictions of the team
**Considered "Uber" with the ability Shadow Tag or Arena Trap
Blacklisted Gods:
The Pokemon listed below can only be considered "gods" under the ability of Shadow Tag or Arena Trap and are outclassed by other Pokemon with these abilities on the list above. Please refrain from discussing the Pokemon listed below as gods:
Strategy:
There are multiple ways to succeed in Gods and Followers. Generally, you want your god to provide some combination of four traits: 1) solid typing, 2) survivability, 3) team utility, and 4) offensive pressure. Kyogre, for instance, demonstrates all these characteristics: Water is a good typing, Kyogre itself is fairly bulky, providing Rain for a team-wide damage and potential Speed boost is a huge boon and the ocean god hits hard with its special attacks. However, some gods specialize more so in a few of these categories but excel regardless: Yveltal provides a great typing to build a team around (allowing two types unlike Kyogre), Lugia can take hits for days (and Recover/Roost unlike Kyogre), Arceus has access to all sorts of hazard and status moves to support the team (unlike Kyogre), and Xerneas can instantly double three of its stats with Geomancy (unlike Kyogre). Every god has a weakness, but playing around those weaknesses is key to victory.
The other half of the equation, of course, is your choice of followers. Like Monotype, certain Pokemon that are lackluster in standard play will shine on certain teams due to traits that few other Pokemon of their type can provide. Skarmory, for instance, is a nearly essential follower on many Flying- and Steel-based teams due to its unique combination of type, stats and utility moves. Balance, stall and offense have all proved successful in GaF, but generally the teams that win the most are those that can trounce a variety of different god matchups. If a certain type of team is strong, consider followers that would help you win those matchups even if there seems to be a type disadvantage working against you. If you're building a more defensive or balanced type team, consider making one of your followers a cleric set (ex: Wish + Heal Bell) to keep your god healthy.
Generally, players tend to avoid sending in their god until absolutely necessary. If your god falls early on to a random critical hit or lure move, you'll not only lose one of your best Pokemon, but the rest of your team will be unable to use their items. This is especially crucial for certain sets, such as a wall that needs Leftovers to function, a wallbreaker that needs Choice Specs to do its job or a revenge killer that can't outspeed anything when lacking a Choice Scarf. However, it's not the end of the world if your god faints. If you see an opening for victory despite the threat of Embargo, sacrificing your god can make for a solid play. It's all about reading the pace of the match and planning your moves carefully, rather than just throwing out a powerful Ubers Pokemon and hoping it crushes the opposition.
Q&A:
Q: Where can I play this?
A: http://rom.psim.us/ and dragonheaven.psim.us/
Q: If my god has to be in the first slot, does that mean I have to lead with it?
A: No, you can choose your lead as usual.
Q: Then how do I know which Pokemon is my opponent's god?
A: The god of either team is always the farthest on the left in team preview.
Q: What happens after my god faints?
A: For failing to defend your deity, your entire team will suffer an eternal Embargo. If you forgot how Embargo worked (as it is a very uncommon status effect) all non-Megastone, non-Z-crystal held items will fail to function. As this isn't a primary status effect, you can still be effected by Burn, Poison and everything else. While this definitely puts you at a disadvantage, a smart player can prevail even with the lack of defensive and offensive utility that items provide.
Q: How is this different from Monotype with a weird banlist?
A: Aside from the fainting mechanic, you are not necessarily limited to one type. For example, if I put Ho-Oh in my first slot, the rest of my Pokemon can be any type combination that includes either Fire or Flying: Darmanitan and Honchkrow can be on the same team, in this scenario. However, if Kyogre is my god, only Water type Pokemon can be used.
Q: How do Pokemon that change type through in-battle forms work?
A: Only the primary type of their base form of the god is checked when determining the type restriction of your team. For example, a team with Primal Groudon as its god cannot utilize Volcarona, because base Groudon isn't Fire type. If the follower has an alternate form that it can transform into in battle, then both forms need to share a type with the god. To summarize:
- Mega Gyarados can be used on Kyogre teams because Gyarados is Water/Flying and Mega Gyarados is Water/Dark
- Mega Gyarados cannot be used on Darkrai teams because Gyarados is not part Dark
- Mega Gyarados cannot be used on Rayquaza teams because Mega Gyarados is not part Flying
- Mega Gyarados can be used on Yveltal teams because Gyarados is Water/Flying and Mega Gyarados is Water/Dark
A: Nope! While players that do so do have an inherent advantage, brave players can use an entirely OU legal team. There are perks to going this route: maybe you want to create a Water + Fairy or Fire + Steel team. No Ubers Pokemon have both these types, so you can use the perfectly viable Azumarill or Heatran as gods instead. Note that the Embargo effect applies no matter what tier your god is.
Q: If a move or ability is banned from OU but legal in Ubers, can I use it for my god?
A: It depends. Shadow Tag, for instance, is only allowed in the god slot and nowhere else. However, team-wide clauses like Baton Pass Clause follow OU, thus Smashpass Smeargle cannot be a god (not that you'd want it to be).
Q: How can I apply to be on the GaF council? What does that entail?
A: If you join the council, mostly you'll be discussing bans, rule changes and viability rankings via PM discussions when the need arises. If you'd like to join, I'm imposing the following restrictions on applications: 1) you must be an active presence in the OM, either through discussion in this thread or promoting and playing it on Showdown, and 2) you must be an active presence in the OM community as a whole, either by having voice in the Other Metas room or managing an OM/OM project of your own. If you fit the above criteria, send me a PM with your application.
Council:
12/9/16 - Geomancy unbanned
12/10/16 - Landorus-I moved to Ubers
12/10/16 - Type-changing Megas restricted to teams of their primary type
1/10/17 - Genesect moved to Ubers
4/11/17 - Pheromosa moved to Ubers
5/13/17 - Metagross-Mega moved to Ubers
7/6/17 - Marshadow moved to Ubers
12/10/16 - Landorus-I moved to Ubers
12/10/16 - Type-changing Megas restricted to teams of their primary type
1/10/17 - Genesect moved to Ubers
4/11/17 - Pheromosa moved to Ubers
5/13/17 - Metagross-Mega moved to Ubers
7/6/17 - Marshadow moved to Ubers
11/26/17 - Naganadel moved to Ubers
Resources:
Check out the Gen VI thread for old replays, team imports, viability rankings and guides:
[http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/gods-and-followers.3545230/]
Replays:
Your gods are waiting
Will you follow?
Will you follow?
Last edited:
