Now that I'm out of SPL, I thought I'd share my thoughts based on my season and laddering over the past 2 years.
S RANK
S rank
Magearna
Landorus-Therian
Toxapex
S- Rank
Gliscor - To riff off z0mog, Gliscor is the best win con in the game but can be annoyingly exploitable and doesn't offer the same versatility or defensive capabilities as Lando.
A RANK
A+ rank
Heatran - Heatran took a hard hit — not just with Gliscor usage skyrocketing, but also because its amazing defenisve typing and ability can be misleading. For example, Volcarona invalidates Heatran while Magearna and Lele can break it pretty easily. However, when you have a team that's weak to Tran you're really reminded of how annoying spdef Tran is, especially if it hasn't revealed lefties yet.
Kartana - I never understood why people wanted Kart banned. I think it punishes aimless play harder than most mons and that it commands respect in the early game to determine its set, but I've never particularly struggled against it. I actually think Kart is an amazing defensive presence that helps keep the tier together, but I digress.
Mega Latias - The Lando-T of megas, with endless viable sets. Adding Latias to your team solves so many defensive issues that are otherwise nigh impossible to cover with one mon, with it notably being literally the only splashable counter to SD Gliscor.
Mega Charizard X - This mon was on my final team 3 times in SPL. Unlike Latias, it only has one good set (Blitz + Claw + EQ), but it's insanely hard to answer. Zard-X is especially good vs people who like to play small ball with ground-types like Gastrodon or Gliscor, which are bigger than ever. You can even drop DD for Roost to just keep punching holes through the opposing team all game.
Mega Mawile
Rotom-Wash
Ferrothorn
Greninja / Ash-Greninja - Protean is a lot more solid imo. When was the last time you saw an Ash Gren build that didn't forgo packing answers to some relevant threat? Ash is still a beast and Dark Pulse makes me cry, but it's just so hard to fit on a team when it offers nothing defensively and doesn't have a broken speed tier. Often you're just clicking Spikes, which Protean Gren does better.
Mega Alakazam
Chansey - The win rate says it all. Both its status moves exert a ton of pressure, making Chansey an unstoppable rock setter in certain matchups. It is passive and prone to being teched though, and please stop using it as a water/fire/dark resist...
A rank
Kommo-o
Serperior - Great on HO, broken with subseed, not great with Z
Mega Medicham
Magnezone
Mega Tyranitar - Pursuit is great and MTar is fatter than Skarm while having insane coverage + power, but I came to the conclusion a while back that it's impossible to build a team with TTar that doesn't lose to something off preview.
Manaphy - The oft-changing move choices of Mana and its checks are a clear indicator of how oppressive this thing is vs fat. You'll see Thunder and Punishment coming from defensive teams while Manaphy techs anything from Psychic, Ice Beam, Toxic, Eball, to even Sball.
Weavile
Mega Lopunny - I tried hard to use it, but Lop teams are always just so weak to stall. Free 6-0 vs Mew/Diancie HO with PUP though
Clefable - This mon is insanely hard to lure with viable sets, which led me to use a mon I normally wouldn't in Excadrill the week I was expecting to run into Clef given my past weaknesses to it. 3 attack orb (Moonblast >>> Ice Beam) is great, the mon can set rocks well, and CM sets are scary. I put Clef here though because it can be surprisingly frail or passive depending on your set.
Tornadus-Therian - Torn's great and all, but it's outclassed in most of its roles from checking Medi/Kart/Bulu to exerting offensive pressure. Taunt can be an interesting option vs do-nothing teams, but relies too much on Hurricane hitting to set up outplays and on the one-time Z nuke for my taste.
Tapu Koko
A- rank
Volcarona - This mon invalidates SR Heatran and PsySpam, and the right set can always win. Sub Swarm is crazy
Victini
Tapu Lele - Similar to Ash Gren in that it's often hard to fit outside of "spam" teams
Tapu Bulu
Tapu Fini - RIP
Garchomp - RIP (Still amazing with Z Dragon but hard to fit)
Kyurem-Black
Pelipper - Rain is both unviable and broken at the same time; the most successful matchup fish of the generation
Mega Swampert - A wise man once said rain is broken because of its secondary effects
Mega Latios - Crazy 4MSS and dead weight into Chansey/the right steel or psychic for your coverage
Excadrill
B RANK
B+ rank
Hawlucha
Slowbro - An amazingly versatile mon with great defensive value in current OU that can use Z moves really well on bulkier teams. I go more into detail in the SPL XIII sm discussion thread.
Skarmory - We saw lots of Skarm this SPL, but it's really not splashable at all and doesn't fulfill the role of a typical steel, which limits it. P.S. Skarmory is not a water resist.
Gastrodon
Mega Charizard Y - I have no clue why people don't like Zard-Y — it's a no-nonsense offense killer and sun support for teammates like Heatran and Kart makes up for any problems with rocks.
Reuniclus
Zapdos
Mega Scizor - You really need a good reason to put this mon on any team. SD sets cleave through xtra-style HOs, but you could also just run a fire type that's not as passive or walled by Pex. Pursuit is ok, but only does ~45% to a switching Latias, and Defog sets are stuck trying to constantly heal hazard damage. Furthermore, you barely answer the mons you'd expect to check like Lele, Magearna, and Kartana.
Ditto
B rank
Mega Diancie
Mew -Nearly always sets/denies rocks and paralyzes something as an HO lead. One annoying interaction is not being able to stop Mew with Diancie since you get paralyzed by Synchronize after bouncing back a Twave
Hydreigon - Very underrated mon that often wins off matchup. Unfortunately if your team relies on Hydra for things like breaking Chansey and Pex, running into Clefable requires some really creative playing
Celesteela - Another sad mon that often does nothing; even worse, it's a defensive steel/flying mon that loses to Gliscor.
Jirachi
Mega Sableye
Kyurem - Low key 6-0d most teams this season
Keldeo - Pex is no answer to Sub CM or Z Hydro + Taunt, and even Protect + Toxic with slight bulk is solid
Suicune
Tangrowth - edit: I keep seeing people ask for help with teams in 2022 when they've got AV Tang... first step is to delete the mon. Helmet = B, AV = unranked
B- rank
Mega Pinsir
Mega Slowbro
Mega Gallade
Thundurus-Therian
Mega Heracross
Gyarados
Salamence - Sub DD Mence is one of the scariest sets to face when using a bulkier team
Mega Venusaur
Mega Aggron
C RANK
C+ Rank
Porygon Z - Nasty Plot + Z Hyper Beam + Tri Attack + Agility/Coverage for ghosts — enjoy the free wins and OHKOing Chansey
Cresselia - It's not just a Lunar Dancer for cheese teams; defensive sets are cool into Medicham and Lele
Mega Garchomp
Bisharp
Mega Gyarados
Blacephalon - I've tried to make this mon work so many times, but it just doesn't do its job well enough no matter the set or team. I straight up replaced specs Blace with a suicide Vic on an HO team and immediately went from 50% to 95% winrate
Kingdra
C rank
Crawdaunt - Chansey is not a water resist
Krookodile
Amoonguss
Hippowdon - Hippo loses to everything it wants to beat :(
Tyranitar
Mamoswine
Hoopa-Unbound - There's usually a better choice than Hoopa if you're interested in breaking stall
Breloom - Show me a fat team and show me its switchin to offensive Breloom
C- rank
Mega Aerodactyl - Shreds modern HO and technically walls Gliscor, but has 4mss and issues managing its health. You also have to forgo its amazing speed tier and run adamant for a lot of its relevant OHKOs and 2HKOs
Ribombee
Gengar
Seismitoad
Azumarill
Araquanid
Terrakion
Bronzong - Unique typing and a couple nice movesets - super passive and weak to pursuit too though
Tauros :)
S RANK
S rank
Magearna
Landorus-Therian
Toxapex
S- Rank
Gliscor - To riff off z0mog, Gliscor is the best win con in the game but can be annoyingly exploitable and doesn't offer the same versatility or defensive capabilities as Lando.
A RANK
A+ rank
Heatran - Heatran took a hard hit — not just with Gliscor usage skyrocketing, but also because its amazing defenisve typing and ability can be misleading. For example, Volcarona invalidates Heatran while Magearna and Lele can break it pretty easily. However, when you have a team that's weak to Tran you're really reminded of how annoying spdef Tran is, especially if it hasn't revealed lefties yet.
Kartana - I never understood why people wanted Kart banned. I think it punishes aimless play harder than most mons and that it commands respect in the early game to determine its set, but I've never particularly struggled against it. I actually think Kart is an amazing defensive presence that helps keep the tier together, but I digress.
Mega Latias - The Lando-T of megas, with endless viable sets. Adding Latias to your team solves so many defensive issues that are otherwise nigh impossible to cover with one mon, with it notably being literally the only splashable counter to SD Gliscor.
Mega Charizard X - This mon was on my final team 3 times in SPL. Unlike Latias, it only has one good set (Blitz + Claw + EQ), but it's insanely hard to answer. Zard-X is especially good vs people who like to play small ball with ground-types like Gastrodon or Gliscor, which are bigger than ever. You can even drop DD for Roost to just keep punching holes through the opposing team all game.
Mega Mawile
Rotom-Wash
Ferrothorn
Greninja / Ash-Greninja - Protean is a lot more solid imo. When was the last time you saw an Ash Gren build that didn't forgo packing answers to some relevant threat? Ash is still a beast and Dark Pulse makes me cry, but it's just so hard to fit on a team when it offers nothing defensively and doesn't have a broken speed tier. Often you're just clicking Spikes, which Protean Gren does better.
Mega Alakazam
Chansey - The win rate says it all. Both its status moves exert a ton of pressure, making Chansey an unstoppable rock setter in certain matchups. It is passive and prone to being teched though, and please stop using it as a water/fire/dark resist...
A rank
Kommo-o
Serperior - Great on HO, broken with subseed, not great with Z
Mega Medicham
Magnezone
Mega Tyranitar - Pursuit is great and MTar is fatter than Skarm while having insane coverage + power, but I came to the conclusion a while back that it's impossible to build a team with TTar that doesn't lose to something off preview.
Manaphy - The oft-changing move choices of Mana and its checks are a clear indicator of how oppressive this thing is vs fat. You'll see Thunder and Punishment coming from defensive teams while Manaphy techs anything from Psychic, Ice Beam, Toxic, Eball, to even Sball.
Weavile
Mega Lopunny - I tried hard to use it, but Lop teams are always just so weak to stall. Free 6-0 vs Mew/Diancie HO with PUP though
Clefable - This mon is insanely hard to lure with viable sets, which led me to use a mon I normally wouldn't in Excadrill the week I was expecting to run into Clef given my past weaknesses to it. 3 attack orb (Moonblast >>> Ice Beam) is great, the mon can set rocks well, and CM sets are scary. I put Clef here though because it can be surprisingly frail or passive depending on your set.
Tornadus-Therian - Torn's great and all, but it's outclassed in most of its roles from checking Medi/Kart/Bulu to exerting offensive pressure. Taunt can be an interesting option vs do-nothing teams, but relies too much on Hurricane hitting to set up outplays and on the one-time Z nuke for my taste.
Tapu Koko
A- rank
Volcarona - This mon invalidates SR Heatran and PsySpam, and the right set can always win. Sub Swarm is crazy
Victini
Tapu Lele - Similar to Ash Gren in that it's often hard to fit outside of "spam" teams
Tapu Bulu
Tapu Fini - RIP
Garchomp - RIP (Still amazing with Z Dragon but hard to fit)
Kyurem-Black
Pelipper - Rain is both unviable and broken at the same time; the most successful matchup fish of the generation
Mega Swampert - A wise man once said rain is broken because of its secondary effects
Mega Latios - Crazy 4MSS and dead weight into Chansey/the right steel or psychic for your coverage
Excadrill
B RANK
B+ rank
Hawlucha
Slowbro - An amazingly versatile mon with great defensive value in current OU that can use Z moves really well on bulkier teams. I go more into detail in the SPL XIII sm discussion thread.
Skarmory - We saw lots of Skarm this SPL, but it's really not splashable at all and doesn't fulfill the role of a typical steel, which limits it. P.S. Skarmory is not a water resist.
Gastrodon
Mega Charizard Y - I have no clue why people don't like Zard-Y — it's a no-nonsense offense killer and sun support for teammates like Heatran and Kart makes up for any problems with rocks.
Reuniclus
Zapdos
Mega Scizor - You really need a good reason to put this mon on any team. SD sets cleave through xtra-style HOs, but you could also just run a fire type that's not as passive or walled by Pex. Pursuit is ok, but only does ~45% to a switching Latias, and Defog sets are stuck trying to constantly heal hazard damage. Furthermore, you barely answer the mons you'd expect to check like Lele, Magearna, and Kartana.
Ditto
B rank
Mega Diancie
Mew -Nearly always sets/denies rocks and paralyzes something as an HO lead. One annoying interaction is not being able to stop Mew with Diancie since you get paralyzed by Synchronize after bouncing back a Twave
Hydreigon - Very underrated mon that often wins off matchup. Unfortunately if your team relies on Hydra for things like breaking Chansey and Pex, running into Clefable requires some really creative playing
Celesteela - Another sad mon that often does nothing; even worse, it's a defensive steel/flying mon that loses to Gliscor.
Jirachi
Mega Sableye
Kyurem - Low key 6-0d most teams this season
Keldeo - Pex is no answer to Sub CM or Z Hydro + Taunt, and even Protect + Toxic with slight bulk is solid
Suicune
Tangrowth - edit: I keep seeing people ask for help with teams in 2022 when they've got AV Tang... first step is to delete the mon. Helmet = B, AV = unranked
B- rank
Mega Pinsir
Mega Slowbro
Mega Gallade
Thundurus-Therian
Mega Heracross
Gyarados
Salamence - Sub DD Mence is one of the scariest sets to face when using a bulkier team
Mega Venusaur
Mega Aggron
C RANK
C+ Rank
Porygon Z - Nasty Plot + Z Hyper Beam + Tri Attack + Agility/Coverage for ghosts — enjoy the free wins and OHKOing Chansey
Cresselia - It's not just a Lunar Dancer for cheese teams; defensive sets are cool into Medicham and Lele
Mega Garchomp
Bisharp
Mega Gyarados
Blacephalon - I've tried to make this mon work so many times, but it just doesn't do its job well enough no matter the set or team. I straight up replaced specs Blace with a suicide Vic on an HO team and immediately went from 50% to 95% winrate
Kingdra
C rank
Crawdaunt - Chansey is not a water resist
Krookodile
Amoonguss
Hippowdon - Hippo loses to everything it wants to beat :(
Tyranitar
Mamoswine
Hoopa-Unbound - There's usually a better choice than Hoopa if you're interested in breaking stall
Breloom - Show me a fat team and show me its switchin to offensive Breloom
C- rank
Mega Aerodactyl - Shreds modern HO and technically walls Gliscor, but has 4mss and issues managing its health. You also have to forgo its amazing speed tier and run adamant for a lot of its relevant OHKOs and 2HKOs
Ribombee
Gengar
Seismitoad
Azumarill
Araquanid
Terrakion
Bronzong - Unique typing and a couple nice movesets - super passive and weak to pursuit too though
Tauros :)
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