From the Coach's Desk: Kinglers Season 1 Reflections

At the time of writing this, the CIL technically isn't over, but Kinglers fans... ours is.  Despite suffering our second and worst loss of the season, we can't deny that overall, it was very successful.  We won the X Conference, posted the second best record and differential in the league utilizing what we could describe as an "odd" team at best, and made it to the final four.

What Worked:

1) Lil Cletus

No surprises here; the CIL MVP stole the show by putting the team on her back carrying us to two wins out of the gates.  Cletus was prepared for the week 3 match-up (and only one I view as favorable) but El Murcielago handled it.  Cletus's tide-turning ability and versatility presented a unique threat each week and had we gone with the Cosmic Power Cletus in week 4 as originally planned, we would have finished the regular season undefeated.  There's even a chance that Unaware Cletus could have saved us against SD Scizor, but forcing the CP set and only making one change to the team lead to our season's end.  To be honest, I still think the CP set could have won it, but for some reason, Roserade's Sludge Bomb did over 25% more than the damage calc said, but perhaps it was Modest.  Regardless, if franchising is allowed, Lil Cletus will definitely be back.

2) El Murcielago

Undoubtedly our most quietly successful team member who nearly matched Cletus in KOs and had fewer deaths thanks to a vintage form sweep in week 3.  Its utility also helped in week 2 but ultimately, I feel as though it may have been a little underutilized.  I may try to bring it back.

3) PoPo

As one of the best walls in OU, PoPo did not disappoint this season. It did exactly what I knew it would and performed exactly as expected.  However, as I'd like to have a very different team composition next time, I'm not sure if it will have a spot, but I'll always be open to it.

4) Predictions

Not to toot my own horn (toot toot) but predictions were spot on after week one (I still don't know why Heatran stayed in on 3 different things that could OHKO it haha) and almost grabbed us a HUGE comeback win in week 4 had I not mis-clicked at the end.  Additionally, there was never a time where I was surprised by what was brought; in most cases I was at least 5/6 (4/6 the last match) and felt as prepared as I could be with what I had.  I don't feel as though I could have played much better, though until we're at 100%, there's always room to improve.

5) Straw Polls

I am so good at these it's not even funny.


What Did Not Work:

1) Mega Gyarados

Listen, buddy, I love ya, but you're weak to literally everything.  Not a single team didn't have something that could switch in on a DD and OHKO the following turn and having so many weaknesses (common ones at that), it really isn't suited for a defensive position. A monster in OU, but not in league play where mega evolution is forced on turn 1.  No joke, if I could have swapped a mega for Gyarados, mid-season, I would have picked almost any of the other ones over it... except Audino lol.

2) Team Composition

Just because I didn't plan my draft, doesn't mean I didn't expect more out of the it, but I think the thought process was flawed. My thinking went like "okay so Diggersby sweeps me... better grab Haunter"; basically make sure no one Pokemon just took a dump on the team.  Every time I sat down to team-build, I was frustrated by the lack of cohesiveness and how easily countered my unit was.  Had I tried to draft a more balanced, synergetic unit instead of trying to counter the meta, I think the Kinglers could have done much better and walked away with the title.


So How Do We Improve?

1) Draft a Better Team

Yes, it SEEMS like a no-brainer, but no-brain in the draft process lead to our downfall.  I will go into the next draft with an archetype in mind, probably Volt/Turn, Balance, or Semi-Stall, and construct a team that, above all, works well together.  Hyper Offense honestly seems preferable to me in league format but I'm not as comfortable playing that at the moment.

2) Less Prediction

I just tooted my own horn about this, right? Why change that? The idea is that having a better team should mean I don't have to read aggressively or take unnecessary risks.

3) Prep

I only got to do it a couple times and when I did, the game was always under control.  My two losses were both little- to no prep; not only did I lack time, but I felt the match-up was so stilted against me, that I'd just have to play my way out of it anyway, so why bother.  This is going to be hard to do since I don't know if my schedule will become any less busy in the future, but I did enjoy when I was able to do it; it's kind of the point of the league format haha.


Final Grade: B+

In spite of the negative things I say in my focus on improvement, it was generally a very positive season.  Working with this roster, I'm very pleased, but I can't say it was A-level play yet with the draft being so weak.  And I'm sure someone will be quick to assert that they liked my draft, but it really wasn't good. It lacked synergy (though it was almost a respectable sand team), immediate power, and switch-ins, meaning it really didn't excel at anything.  Still, I learned a lot and have some ideas for the future so the Kinglers will definitely be a lot stronger the next time they take the field.