Saturday, July 26, 2014

Mega Gengar, too uber for ubers?

I think we all knew it'd come down to this eventually, even if we didn't know when it would happen or what would be targeted - we now have a suspect test ON THE UBER LADDER. The target? Not Arceus, not Xerneas, not Kyogre - no, it's Mega Gengar. Indeed, just packing it is usually synonymous with getting one KO out of it, allowing powerful sweepers to rip through the rest of the team now that a crucial hole has been punched into it. I think everyone realizes that had it been any tier but ubers, Shadow Tag as a whole would be very much deserving of a ban (and yes, even Gothitelle can have an easy time tearing through shit, before you ask). However, there's the ethical issue of ubers being where all the overpowered shit goes anyway - including Mega Gengar. So there are huge disagreements on whether ubers are a banlist or a full-fledged metagame. And it's not hard to see why - the uber list is, at its core, a list of Pokémon that break OU and are therefore banned from it. Ergo, a banlist. But at the same time, any ladder whose core element is allowing these Pokémon is also a metagame. Furthermore, ubers are the third most popular ladder on Smogon, behind OU and UU, so clearly it's a popular metagame to boot.

With that said, why Mega Gengar instead of Arceus, Xerneas or Kyogre? Well, those three can be checked, for one. It's not easy, hence why they're so popular to start with, but it can be done. Mega Gengar just comes in, Taunts, Destiny Bonds, kills, GG. Stall suffers enormously as a result, and it's enough to invalidate an entire playstyle.

It goes without saying that there are other things currently banned from ubers, like OHKOs, Moody and Swagger. These, however, were banned due to their random, no-skill nature. Getting rid of Mega Gengar, though, is something that many people fear may take us down a path where they don't want to go. It'll be interesting to see how this goes.

12 comments:

  1. I can't wait for this to become a Smogon vs VGC argument.

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    1. Oh, it's already begun. Despite the fact that basically no one but Smogon has a permanent metagame dedicated to ubers, so if anyone had any kind of justification for such a move it'd be Smogon. Not saying they do or they don't, the ethical side of banning something from ubers isn't something I'd like to take a stance on because both sides have valid points.

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  2. Dang it, I leave Ubers for TWO seconds and this is what happens. Whelp, looks like it's about time to try to re-earn that TC badge.

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  3. Mega Khan should get this, because it can sweep an entire team easily, not Mega Gengar, which can only take one.

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    1. Baloney. Mega Kangaskhan is simply overpowered, and not even on the same tier as the likes of Xerneas, Arceus or Kyogre at that. The policy as far as ubers go is that you don't ban something for being overpowered, else there would've been plenty of suspect tests already. Mega Gengar isn't just overpowered, it completely takes the game out of the player's hands. Sending a counter out simply isn't an option, you can't just use skill to beat it because you can't even switch. There's a reason why Gothitelle is also brought up often - if the opponent sends out a Shadow Tag user on something the rest of his team struggles more with, you're fucked, and no amount of skill will save you.

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    2. OK, that's fair, I was worng about Khan, but I still don't think that Gengar deserves it. Anything that doesn't use luck goes in Ubers, in my own humble opinion

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  4. Kangaskhan is B-Mid while Gengar is S rank.

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    1. I just can't see a pokemon being banned from Ubers, would that mean you can't use it at all?

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  5. I normally stand by smogon but this is a terrible idea. Ubers is a place where anything skill based should be allowed. Now there is an argument saying megagar is not skill based but I think it still takes a little skill. Now I use it but not all the time and going up against it is a hell of a lot less frustrating than a staller. But that's my opinion.

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  6. Is smogon against vgc or what?

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    1. They have a VGC ladder, if that's what you're asking. I figure if they hated VGC, they wouldn't have one. It's slightly less popular than Smogon doubles, and for good reason (Kalos restrictions are fucking moronic).

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