VGC 2018 Tier List

VGC 2018 Tier List

All rankings are in subjective, opinionated order of usefulness, not an alphabetical order. Take all rankings with a handful of salt, as I have my personal biases towards and against certain Pokemon.
These Rankings are based off of both usage stats and Pokemon’s strengths/weaknesses. The tiers range from A+ to C-.
Pokemon with Blue Names have articles detailing sets and tips for said Pokemon. Clicking on the name will open the article in a new tab.
If you disagree with any of the rankings, please feel free to comment below!
(I don't know where to place alot of the lower tier mons)
As of 5/1/2018


A Tier

These Pokemon are meta-defining threats that are incredibly useful. These are the most common and useful threats in the format that all teams should have some form of answer for.


A+ (2)

 Mega Metagross

A (6)

 Tapu Koko
 Incineroar
 Snorlax
 Tapu Fini
 Amoonguss
Mega Gengar

A- (9)
 Tyranitar + Mega Tyranitar
 Zapdos
 Cresselia
Mega Croissant
Mega Manectric
Mega Charizard Y
Tapu Lele
Aegislash
Kartana


B Tier
These Pokemon, while still great in their own right, require more support and thought to use efficiently. The B- Tier especially requires multiple specific tools and combinations to use effectively, and are overshadowed by options that rank above it.



B+ (10)
Porygon2
Kommo-o
Tapu Bulu
Gothitelle
Mimikyu
Azumarill
Heatran
Volcarona
Mega Kangaskhan
Celesteela

B (10)
Excadrill
Milotic
Politoed
Ludicolo
Pelipper
  Mega Gardevoir
  Mega Venusaur
Mega Charizard-X
  Ferrothorn
 Whimsicott

B- (13)
  Thundurus-Therian
  Raichu
  Mega Latias
  Mega Swampert
  Mega Gyarados
  Suicune
  Clefairy
  Persian-Alola
  Naganadel
  Blaziken / Mega Blaziken
  Mega Camerupt
  Mega Mawile
Scrafty


C Tier
Fulfilling specific niches, these Pokemon require too much support to use consistently, yet God-like team builders and cheesy Bo1 teams can use these Pokemon adeptly.

C+ (10)
 Rotom-Heat
 Bisharp
 Rotom-Wash
 Kingdra
 Stakataka
 Hydreigon
 Gastrodon
 Togekiss
 Venusaur
 Thundurus

C (10)

 Hitmontop
 Mega Blastoise
 Marowak-Alola
 Bronzong
 Nidoking
 Greninja
 Nihilego
 Porygon-Z
 Blacephelon
 Gigalith

C-  (10)

 Entei
 Xurkitree
 Terrakion
 Ninetales-Alola
 Orangaru
Torkoal
 Stop it Kim Joohwan
 Mega Abomasnow
 Vanilluxe
 Sandslash-Alola


Last Updated: 2/24/18




Comments

  1. It is hard to have a good argument for why Amoonguss is listed as 2nd tier when it does nothing but Rage Powder or a weak attack most of the time versus good teams or good players. It also is hard to say that Koko is in the 2nd tier, but no other Tapu is, when Landorus-T is the most common mon in the game and it has the fastest terrain which means it often gets out-terrained. Furthermore I see Lax as a good mon, but I don't see it in the 2nd tier, because it is setup-based and is not very consistent without the setup. It does not get the setup to work often enough to be highly consistent. Just because a lot of people used it at the Collinsville regional does not make it 2nd tier. I also think you underestimate how valuable speed control is, by not listing certain speed control and highly consistent mons vs nearly any team they might bring like Zapdos, as 2nd tier. I am also not quite sure how you define your tiers. To me A+, A, A- mean nothing. I have never been familiar with those tiers, since they never have seemed to be defined concretely to me. Using Smogon tiers seems acceptable since that is what most people are used to, but I prefer using black and white definitions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! Someone finally comments..
      I think you're missing the value that Amoonguss has in the current metagame. While Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko mitigate its effectiveness to Spore grounded Targets, there are not only a massive variety of airborne targets to Spore (e.g. Landorus, Zapdos, Cresselia) but you can also easily switch the terrain to Psychic to allow for Spores. This creates an environment in which opponents are forced to play a Terrain management game, and it eventually forces suboptimal switching. Spore also stops Trick Room setters and set up Pokemon dead in their tracks. Doing "nothing but Rage Powder" is already half of Amoonguss' job, which is to redirect attacks from your sweepers. It therefore fulfills this role very handily. Amoonguss' sole attack (if you aren't running some Grassium Z nonsense) is more often than not Clear Smog. While weak, its effect of removing all stat buffs that opponents have set up is incredibly useful. These three moves combined make Amoonguss into a very high tier threat which you are definitely underselling.
      The main selling point and threat of Tapu Koko is its incredibly fast Z move. This allows you to nuke practically every mega evolution and non-resist Pokemon for massive damage. Sure, having the fastest terrain can be a detriment, but any good player can simply switch Tapu Koko out to reset terrain. Landorus being in the format does threaten Tapu Koko heavily, however Intimidate and Electric Surge give away Speed tiers. I don't believe any player will consciously let their Tapu Koko die to a Scarf Earthquake, nor will they go for a play/attack without weighing in the possibilities of losing Tapu Koko to a slower Landorus. Tapu Koko also has the flexibility of fulfilling a supportive role with Sky Drop/Taunt and inflicting speed control with Electroweb, adding to its inherent value. Tapu Koko is therefore a potent damage threat that can KO opponents or switch out before they can move, which is why it is rated so highly.
      I find it silly that you think Snorlax is rated highly because of its usage in one regional, but in any case, Snorlax is a monster of a Pokemon. Its natural bulk and access to Gluttony + Pinch Berry allows Snorlax to continually soak up damage on the field. Because it has the option of setting up Curse/Belly Drum, opponents are therefore either forced to pour numerous resources into KOing Snorlax (in which case it can simply Recycle HP back up), or ignore Snorlax and risk losing the game after Snorlax sets up. It also does not need to set up to deal consistent damage; STAB Return off of 110 Attack does quite a number on non resisted targets. Combined with the plethora of Trick Room setters in this format, Snorlax is definitely a top tier threat.
      I am not underestimating the value of speed control in rating Zapdos below the A tier, but they are simply not as effective as the Pokemon listed above them. If a Zapdos gets off a Tailwind, thats fine and dandy, but Zapdos simply can not provide the same offensive pressure as say a Charizard or a Tyranitar. In fact, I was planning on moving Zapdos down a few places because Cresselia is a much better option for Speed control than Zapdos is. Despite lacking even more offensive presence, Cresselia, with access to both Trick Room and Icy Wind, is a contender for the A tier. With Ally Switch and bulk to protect its allies, Cresselia seems much more useful than Zapdos is in this format.
      Finally, if the tiers mean nothing to you yet they seemingly work and mean something to the majority of Pokemon players, I believe that is a personal preference and problem that you can sort out by yourself.

      Delete
    2. To me tiers should be based on consistency + how good they are. It makes no sense to place a mon as high or top tier when it is only good to bring vs less than half of the teams, and still is not consistent the high majority of the times when you pick it. Sure you could change terrain or do some tricks to Spore something, but easier said than done. Keep in mind I did not even go into the fact that every good player will use offensive mon(s) to kill Amoonguss as well, not simply rely on terrain. Amoonguss is a defensive mon and does nothing to counter the offensive slaughter that some teams have. Out of all the tournament battles I have seen with Amoonguss, it seems rare that it actually pulls its own weight better than another mon could have. To further my point, the high-rate submissions in the UFC are armbars, rear-naked chokes, and guillotines. This is comparable to Pokemon in the sense that certain mons work well and work consistently at a significantly better ratio than others. Just because something is highly used or has high potential does not make it good. Usage is a pretty weak justification for tiers, should be based on logic and results over everything.

      Delete
    3. If it's based off of consistency, then your argument makes no sense. Amoonguss pulls its weight in fulfilling its role as a damage sponge. It is not meant to counter offensive slaughter but redirect it, so that your allies can destroy opponents. I'm not sure if you're trying to help or hamper your point in saying that usage is a weak justification, because my justification for Amoonguss is entirely based off its set and not its "potential". It is a Pokemon consistently performing its role with nothing else fulfilling nearly the same niche.

      Delete
  2. I see Xurkitree and Oranguru are bottom tier. Maybe I'm just a god, but those two work wonderfully together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neither Oranguru nor Xurkitree are in a good/viable state in the metagame right now; they will stay bottom tier unless someone does stupidly well with either of them. Both of them are simply outclassed

      Delete
    2. Nah, B. Instruct gets you a double tail glow which is ridiculous. Once it gets going, it's hard to stop.

      Delete
    3. It takes too much to setup, alongside having to build around two subpar Pokemon susceptible to very common threats. They will stay low tier

      Delete

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Other Resources

VGC 2018 Teams

Salamence Analysis (Mega Croissant)

Naganadel Analysis

Charizard Y Analysis

Lurantis Analysis

Kartana Analysis

Snorlax Analysis

Aegislash Analysis

Alolan Marowak Analysis

Gengar Analysis