Going to drop some final impressions of the current DLC1 Metagame before the Indigo Disc drops simply to hopefully spark some discussion.
A -> S
A bit of a drastic rise, so allow me to explain myself.
What happens when you take the incredible defensive utility of Gliscor and combine it with the absurd versatility and power of Great Tusk? Well you get Landorus Therian, a Pokemon who in the current metagame truly can do it
all. From checking half the metagame, to smashing through all of it with its massively powerful STAB moves, Landorus cements itself as arguably the most versatile Ground in the tier bar none. Defensive sets alone put themselves as the absolute best rockers and defoggers in the meta, having at least a neutral matchup into every single means of setting and removing hazards, all while being able to immediately capitalize on it with Intimidate + U-turn facilitating an absolutely absurd amount of Pokemon to go nuts with not only the set up opportunities hazard removal/setting and intimidate can allow for, but the sheer number of switches its massively powerful STABs force even without investment.
And then you get to offensive sets which are often so ridiculously powerful most if not all BOs/Balances require dedicated checks to them specifically to not get bulled over, all the while still being able to pull similar support options, or bolster its absurd wallbreaking potential even further with Tera + Swords Dance. Choice Scarf's ability to revenge kill so much of the metagame, or even just help a team dance around a threat with Intimidate, all while being able to clean out a game, and
still dedicate a slot to something such as Spikes or Defog is a testament to just how easy to it is to justify Landorus Therian on a team, so much to say there's a certain point where I'd argue you need a good reason to
not be using Landorus Therian, the fact it is capable of so much yet demands so little support to compensate for it is mind boggling. From checking Kingambit, Great Tusk, Sneasler, Iron Hands, Tyranitar,
itself, and Physical Iron Valiant, to going on the offensive and wallbreaking so hard it would make a demolition crew blush, I can confidently say Landorus deserves their spot among the best of the best within this tier.
B- -> B
While Bulk Up sets do undeniably struggle due to the far higher power level of STABmons with Annihilape getting nothing to compensate for it, more immediately threatening sets remind us we're still dealing with a Ghost Fighting STAB combo here. With Defiant allowing Annihilape to circumvent Intimidate from Pokemon that would otherwise check it like Landorus Therian, or Salamence, Choice Band Annihilape becomes incredibly difficult to switch in to, so much so Adamant has a very good roll to 2HKO even fully physically defensive Toxapex with Poltergeist without any hazards down, as well as 2HKO Max Physically Defensive Great Tusk with minimal chip! Annihilape is also able to carry vital, and powerful priority in STAB Shadow Sneak or STAB Mach Punch, which lets it still manage to be a decent Anti-Offense tool, if needed Annihilape can even use U-turn to keep up momentum VS catch all physical walls like Dondozo, or Great Tusk (which you can use U-turn against to drop it into 2HKO range of Close Combat). Poltergeist being non-contact is also a very great tool when it comes to being able to bypass normal means of punishing physical attackers such as Flame Body or Static off of Moltres or Zapdos, or invalidating the Rocky Helmet so many Pokemon try to employ already and hitting right past it.
Choice Scarf also proves to be a solid set, for very similar reasons to Choice Band in circumventing Intimidate and contact effects unlike so many other Physical Attackers with one of its most spammable moves, but also being able to get a nasty surprise in early with Final Gambit on an unfortunate switch in like Toxapex, Tusk, Gliscor, or even Dondozo, all of which do not appreciate a max HP Final Gambit, whether it be putting them in range of Pokemon they should otherwise check, or straight up annihilating them in the case of Toxapex and Gliscor, it allows Annihilape to get the jump on absolutely vital assets to many Pokemon commonly found on Balances/Stalls, which is invaluable for the offenses Scarf Annihilape can find itself on for all of its revenge killing, hit trading, and if needed nuclear sacrificing to facilitate other extremely potent teammates at the drop of a hat.
Overall, while Bulk Up has fallen off severely, I do think Choiced Annihilape has gone seriously under the radar, and definitely makes it worth at least a slight rise.
S -> A+
Kingambit is obviously still an amazing Pokemon, however, I do believe it's not all it's cracked up to be. It feels like in the current metagame many teams are over-prepped for it without having to even give it a second thought simply because of the sheer number of Pokemon Kingambit finds itself caught out by and subsequently snuffed out. Very often Kingambit finds itself a Tera hog to even try to get around Pokemon like Landorus Therian, Great Tusk, Physically Defensive Toxapex, Will-O-Wisp Rotom Wash, and Iron Hands, and even that often finds itself requiring multiple Supreme Overlord boosts before it can even think about beating them, by which point because of recent meta shifts there's a lot of cases your opponent has basically already won the game.
Not to mention that Kingambit struggles very often in early play as well because while it does seem to switch into a fair bit on paper, in practice it fails to be as effective as one would believe.
Ghost resistances are simply not in demand, and the Ghosts that are viable in the tier are all running Infernal Parade which forces Kingambit to either be running Covert Cloak or simply pray they are not burned in the process, or blast right through it in the case of Annihilape and Ceruledge.
This is to say nothing of the other Pokemon it should be able to answer that in actuality shit on it, Kingambit for as prolific of a Knock Off user as it is hates being hit by it itself, and Tyranitar both always is packing that move, and can simply salt cure Kingambit down, as well as Choice Band sets usually either having Low Kick or Headlong Rush, both of which smash right through it. Meloetta's Boomburst is simply too strong for Kingambit to reliably switch into (especially with Bullet Punch instead of Sucker Punch), and the same story goes for moves such as Rillaboom's Flower Trick, and Salamence in general, and with all of this compounded by the fact that with the ban of Roaring Moon, Substitute Torch Song users like like Heatran, Volcanion, and Volcarona are getting stronger preventing Kingambit from simply coming in late game after sacrificing their team, this is even further combine with the fact in the same wake of Roaring Moon's ban, Great Tusk and Landorus Therian have become more capable of running offensive sets, making it even harder for Kingambit to find Pokemon it can turn games around on.
Overall while Kingambit is still a very great Pokemon for the fact it is a Kingambit, it should be noted the tier is not as kind to Kingambit as it once was.
A- -> A/A+
Heatran is the best steel type in the tier right now only second to Kingambit, the sheer volume of Pokemon it checks compounded by its great ability to pressure the opposing team with its expansive utility and offensive movepool make for a Pokemon that rarely feels like it isn't holding its own weight. Being able to check all of Iron Moth, Gholdengo, Meloetta, and Volcarona in one slot is a great asset in the current meta, and its ability to turn that into a setup opportunity with either Torch Song or Stealth Rock is a great way of consistently forcing progress that very few other Pokemon can replicate, Heatran also
loves all the recent bans, Manaphy and Roaring Moon gone especially allowing Heatran to find plenty more opportunities to support its team throughout a game, as well as Hearthflame Ogerpon's ban a bit more indirectly for making its best friend Rillaboom a bit more reliable.
A+ -> A
Look up four move slot syndrome in the dictionary, and you'll find an image of Iron Moth listed right next to it. It simply has too much it wants to be running to be as consistent as its ranking lets on, it wants Tera Ground Tera Blast for Heatran, but it also wants Discharge to hit Toxapex without Tera, but it also wants Dazzling Gleam to hit Kommo-o and Ting-Lu, but it also wants Substitute to avoid Jet Punch from things like Wellspring Ogerpon and Urshifu Rapid Strike, but it also wants Mortal Spin to facilitate its teammates, but it also needs Torch Song to even function on top of all of that.
Iron Moth is a very dangerous threat, but it starts to get matchup fishy with how stark the contrast is between if Iron Moth has the coverage to beat its check or not, you either have the right move and get past just fine, or you don't and you're doomed.
and now for some more rapid fire, but still noteworthy opinions of mine.
A- -> A
Appreciates Roaring Moon leaving the tier to free itself to run its more potent offensive sets, also a very good check to Landorus Therian without sacrificing much offensive presence to do so.
B- -> B
Lost Manaphy which it could originally somewhat check in the recent ban wave, but also had two massive problems for it taken out of the picture of Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon and Roaring Moon, as well as being rock solid into the Ogerpon forms at the moment with the exception of the rare Pyro Ball on some variants, as well as Greninja and Crawdaunt.
B -> B+
Good wallbreaker and revenge killer making it a solid fit on more offensive teams with access to some decent defensive utility by virtue of Regenerator allowing it to hard switch into resisted attacks, as well as being very good at wearing down a lot of the current RegenVesters with the sheer power of its STABs for teammates. Big fan of current meta trends in how it can take decent advantage of Non-Freeze-Dry Rotom Wash and Volcanion.
+
C/C- -> C+
Psyspam is good, what can I say? These two abusers inparticular match up very well into a lot of the top Pokemon at the moment and can very easily rob games right out of an opponent's feet because of the sheer power they obtain under the Psychic Terrain support of Indeedee, it should be noted I also believe Armarouge is quite a legitimate threat even outside of Psychic Terrain, but that is still niche enough a role that I don't think it should be ranked higher than C+ because of that fact alone.
A- -> B+
When was the last time someone used this thing? No seriously, the only things Garganacl has going for it over Tyranitar are its status immunity, and Iron Defense Body Press sets, while Iron Defense Body Press is barely even worth it because of all the Flower Trick and Surging Strikes all over the place invalidating it from being able to fully abuse its potency as a win condition in the first place.
B -> B+
Highly potent for very similar reasons to Banded Annihilape, however with the advantage of significantly greater preservation ability, a great speed tier, and a STAB combo that literally only Gholdengo is capable of safely switching to, but even that becomes dicey with Hazards + Knock Off. Life Orb in particular is stupefyingly hard to hold off between its big kill STABs, Knock, relative survivability even in the face of hazard stack, and priority that gets the jump on many Pokemon that could otherwise revenge kill.
If you anyone wishes to discuss any of these more feel free to reply! I'm always open to conversation, I just figured since the tier is nearing the end of its time in DLC 1 it'd be a good time to re-spark some conversation and carry it on over into DLC 2.