1. opinions on stall in adv? i watched a few of your videos of adv replays in spl (partly because i hate reading logs hehe) and from what I gathered you weren't a big fan. same question for BW, I don't think I've seen stall there in a while
I don't mind it at all and I'm thinking about new stall teams all the time. I just feel like in ADV, generic stall not only takes a lot of fun and imagination out of the game but is also incredibly susceptible to a good player with a trap team. I'm not saying people shouldn't bring it now and again to keep people on their toes but even then it's better to switch some things around, mindgames upon mindgames etc. Something cool is much more fun to battle, while it's easier to make some cool offensive stuff it's more than possible for stall as well - for example recently I played Fakes and he brought a Vertigo stall team with six mons not affected by Spikes or Dugtrio. Now that was a fun game,
here it is. I also appreciate the team M Dragon made for KG this past season, one that looks like generic bog standard shit but has a bunch of surprises in store - that removes some/a lot of the predictability those teams have and can definitely give a big upper hand.
As for BW, see the comment about the Ultimate Unbreakable Stall Team of Death. I have this problem in DPP too, where I'm such a perfectionist that I'm never satisfied with even my best stall and am always tweaking it because I want it to be Literally Flawless and I'm always churning out new scenarios in my head. It's another reason I started playing more offensively I was all "lemme play some offense for now to throw people off and I'll finish this Perfect Stall later" because the ability to outplay things more easily meant my perfectionism didn't get in the way nearly as much. Anyway in BW despite all the success of my stall team I haven't brought it out for a while because I'm still trying to figure out the Optimal Version, The Best One, The Pinnacle, etc. It'll happen eventually though. That reminds me I should post it since Jirachee keeps bugging me about it as well as rewriting Bleed...
2. what would you ban in BW to make it a better tier?
Sand Stream, Drizzle, Drought, Spikes, Kyurem-B. I would unban Excadrill and Manaphy.
3. do you feel like matchup plays an important role when playing dpp stall?
Yes but not nearly to the extent certain people would have you believe.
4. what's your way of going about predicting? from having played you, you don't seem to be afraid of predicting a double or an overpredict
I can't really articulate it and I like to think I have a pretty decent grasp on the English language. It's just something I developed with lots of practice and observation. I also have some pretty sick genes which blessed me with usable intelligence and somewhat large testicles
5. any way you think more interest could be garnered for old gens? i guess the new classic tour helps in that regard but still
An all gen WCoP (and if it sticks around, Frontier) would go a long way.
What tier do you think is the skillest one ? ADV or DPP ?
This question makes me cry, picking one over the other just isn't right... objectively it's ADV. SR and the increased importance of lead matchups are pretty big factors. However I think that, similarly to dealing with Dugtrio in ADV, being able to deal with those is what seperates mediocre players from legitimately good ones.
This article is quite useful for the people who cry about lead matchup, Scofield's first paragraph says it all.
What do you prefer in those tiers compared to ORAS / BW ?
Lack of team preview - while many cry about it, I feel that, again, being able to handle it, scouting and figuring out hidden mons based on a million factors is a big part of what makes good players good. When BW came out and team preview was revealed I was soooo pissed, for a while I and some other wifi guys insisted on covering the DS' top screen so you wouldn't see the other guy's team. While others cried (and still cry) "it reduces matchup, now I can't get swept by the DD Gyara I didn't know he had) I again insist that being able to figure out there is a Gyara in the first place is what seperates different levels of players.
Advice for a player who is rating back ? Since you are an old and amazing rater
I'm glad someone remembers!! I was very proud of that back in the day. Nowadays I would personally value "little changes" more that help both offensively and defensively. Let's go with defensively first, say there's an HO team that gets utterly destroyed by Specs Jolteon. Of course there's your basic "don't put Blissey on HO" diatribe, no putting walls on a team like that. Instead figure out a way that the team can work around SpecsJolt. Maybe the Gyarados should be Jolly so it can't revenge kill you after a boost anymore, this'll also help with LO Aero and guys like Lucario/Heatran pre-DD. Maybe the DDnite should have ESpeed, it'll also help with ScarfGon and general revenge killing for, say, other Gyara that might grab a boost off your Lucario/Scizor. Things like that.
Another way is both offensive and defensive. If we keep the Jolteon vs. HO example, instead of just limiting places it can come in, what if you took advantage of its presence? You could add a Scarf Flygon to soak up TBolts and turn them into momentum with U-turn, he can clean up at the end of the game after the wallbreakers have shattered everything. You could add Electivire to turn the TBolt into a speed boost. Definitely do this.
The third way is small things to improve synergy. If Gyara becomes Wacan, it can lure Rotom so Lucario doesn't need to run Crunch and can go for dual priority instead, no longer fearing Gengar/Scarftar. Yache Nite can take out Suicune so Lucario doesn't have to run Jolly. Things like this.
Don't overthink it though, just try to help the team achieve its goal as best you can. I used to have different ideas on how to improve a team so I offered them as alternatives in case someone wanted to make different versions of it.
What are the criteria to be a Smogon Tour winner ?
Hard work, determination and a little bit of luck.
will we ever have a second session D:
pm me on irc ;]
this chick named lejla, she's from bosnia. I met her on the smogon po server when I was 15. golly gee, is she pretty :3
:]
When are you gonna start uploading on YT again, if you're doing it anymore?
Soon!
What you do feel are most underrated threats in DPP and ADV?
Not sure if you mean underrated as in standard dudes that people sleep on or lesser-seen dudes that could use more love, so I'll talk about both!
For the first category, Flygon in both gens. In DPP people somehow think Scarf is bad now?? Maybe they just haven't used the Adamant one (because I totally agree that Jolly sucks) but god damn that baffles me. Mixed sets are terrifying because even after the initial surprise you're still in deep shit and CB ones are so strong. In ADV it's got great typing/ability that lets it check a lot and it can't be worn away at by Spikes or Sand. Its great Speed paired with its just-good-enough offenses and movepool means it can hit everything decently at worst, and it can swing a few ways depending on what you want it to do.
For the second category, in ADV Electrics are scary as hell right now, those STAB Thunderbolts terrorize everything. Just imagine if they could actually hit Blissey/Snorlax/Regice super effectively... Oh My God, Wait -- Electabuzz!!!!!
Not only can Buzz Cross Chop those guys (giving it a Black Belt really helps), it also has a really cool speed tier too. Outrunning base 100s is awesome no matter how you slice it, and it will outrun pretty much every Gengar as well. Another thing is that it has both Ice and Grass coverage, which Zapdos and Jolteon wouldn't die for but they'd be willing to lower their stats a little for it. Cool niche mon.
In DPP, his older brother Electivire is a total beast. Nah... Cresselia has a lot of problems but it's got some really cool things it can do. Spiritomb too.
What are your tips you recommend in terms of preparing for tournament fights, whether DPP or any other tier?
Don't go too hard in counterstyling your opponent!! If he happens to lose to Superachi a lot, pull out a Superachi team, don't build some new contraption just for the sake of (on paper...) beating all his teams.
Do you prefer instrumental metal or lyrics?
I prefer vocals because they're more or less another instrument that happen to have lyrics (which are only a positive for me, either I like them or don't care - never had any metal ruined for me by bad lyrics, of which there is a lot). Most instrumental metal bands are self-indulgent, uninteresting wankery, although there are a few decent ones. It's not something I'll seek out but I dig it on occasion.
Last but not least, what's your favorite Slayer song?
Postmortem... I'm also very partial to the
Altar of Sacrifice + Jesus Saves combo.