KCBL Draft Analysis - The Kevengers

I thought about doing videos for this cause it's fun... and frankly I still might but for now... blog posts :D

New team name! Since I don't live in LA anymore, the LA Kinglers are now The Kevengers--I'm obsessed with those movies and wanted a team name that could go with me regardless of my city, and what better team to name mine after than the Avengers?!

I landed in roughly the middle of the draft, which is a little harder to draft from, imo.  That said, I did win one league while drafting from the middle but my worst season ever was also from that position (admittedly it was only my second time doing this). Instead, I prefer wheel picks because I like drafting pairs that go well together, but that's not where we are this time.

Also, this is a point-system draft based on the NPA's tier/cost system. It's actually not a bad system but a couple things should probably be tweaked if other leagues are considering adopting this system.

SO. Without further ado, the draft.

Round 1
Landorus-T (Hovercat) - T1

I have no idea how so many people passed this up. But I'm excited to use this guy.  I'm going to try and be defensive or utility as little as possible but I just love how this guy does so much for the team.  I've been wanting to try it for a long time since there's no true counter to it and it checks a lot of high-priority boxes for me: wall breaker, pivot, switch initiative, rocks + defog, set up on either side, and a reliable ground type.  It's also an "every game" Pokemon, meaning there will be few instances in which it's not a good option, and I love drafting mons like that so I'm sure I'll have fun with Hovercat :]

Round 2
Milotic (Mila) - T2

Maybe jumped the gun on her, but my other choice was Empoleon and it didn't feel right drafting best defogger that early (though you have to admit the amount of utility in my first two picks would have been insane lol).  In my opinion, Milotic is probably a top 5 water type in draft even though it isn't as versatile as other options like Manaphy or Rotom-W. Instead what you get is is a reliable, salt-of-the earth water type that's super easy to synergize with and extremely hard to kill. Blue's Milotic once lived a Thunderbolt and a Thunder in the same game from Zapdos and Heliolisk--tell me that isn't reliable bulk!  I also liked that I didn't have to risk someone abusing Lando's Intimidate for their benefit so that was a factor in choosing it so early and over Empoleon.  Bottom line was I wanted a water type that could beat the water/ ice types that Lando couldn't and Milotic seemed like the best call.

Round 3
Clefable (Lil Cletus) - T1
If there's ever a Pokemon on my squad that needs no introduction, it's Lil Cletus. Still one of the best fairies around, I had to jump on her early.  Even though offensive sets are more often outclassed than in gen 6, I just love building with her in general and I wanted to get a great fairy as early as possible. Say what you will about type-based cored (FWG, DSF, etc) but they're nice to have and almost always synergize really well.  Also, Lil Cletus is a former champ for me and a season MVP, so I'm really excited to have her on the squad.

Round 4
Scizor (Iron Mantis) - T1
Another former Kingler Champion (albeit in mega form), I wanted to add a steel-type as soon as possible also.  Besides that, I like to use Scizor offensively since it utilizes priority, making it slightly more reliable and defensively, it pairs quite well with all my previous picks while providing another Defog option.

You'll also notice I've drafted three T1 Pokemon at this point which is already boxing me into a specific Mega.  The plan, before this draft even began, was to draft Mega Banette to show how much work it can put in so this is all part of the plan haha.  But do I get Mega Banette? Stay tuned ;]

Round 5
Roserade (Thug Rose) - T3
Named after one of my favorite female MMA fighters, Roserade is a Pokemon I feel is criminally underrated in draft.  Spikes + T-Spikes is enough to get my attention, but the power of this Pokemon at 125 base special attack means even bulky sets can do damage, which is a great quality in a pick.  Natural Cure and Technician are both good abilities to build with and I think Roserade in general is just a very unpredictable Pokemon that I expect will catch a lot of people off guard, especially when you're focusing on all the picks before this.  Just wait until people realize too late how hard it is to switch into a specs Leaf Storm :D

Round 6
Mesprit (Marley) - T4
I felt Mesprit was one of the most versatile Pokemon in T4 and I liked that I wouldn't have to force rocks on to Clef or Lando.  Healing Wish is always something I look for if the opportunity presents itself so Mesprit can actually support the team quite well both offensively and defensively.  I wouldn't be surprised to see it come to a majority of games.

Round 7
Noivern (Corrin) - T4
Honestly, Noivern isn't one of my favorites to use, although I do like the design a lot.  I really wanted to finish that DSF core and there were very few (maybe a couple) dragons left in my budget.  I also really needed some speed, so Noivern actually fit the bill surprisingly well and gave me another defog option should I need it.

Round 8
Dusclops (Winky) - T5
At this point, you probably assume I'm drafting this guy for the general bulk, but I've actually forecasted all of my remaining picks at this point and Dusclops is going to be somewhat essential to...some things :] But when picking out of tier 5, you're probably picking something for the bulk anyway and I like that this gives me a spin blocker and lots of disruptive support options.

Round 9
Mega Camerupt (Sally) - T4 Mega (adds points)
My friend Mav and I were discussing our draft plan, and I felt Mega Banette suited his team better, and Camerupt actually suited my team really well, so I sadly had to let my plans with Banette go, but Sally is actually an amazing pick for the team. 

I *have* to draft a T4 Mega now because of the amount of points I've spent to get all of those T1s earlier but Camerupt gives me an additional ground type that forces you to choose a hidden power--do you run Ice for Lando? Or Water for Camel? Most likely Ice, which adds to the usefulness of this extremely hard-hitting mega.  It also has decent bulk and paired with Dusclops and Mesprit, I have a very dangerous trick room option I can use to dent teams, then clean up with my faster threats in the back.  And outside of trick room, I have yet another good Stealth Rock option at my dispsoal, bringing my total to 4.  I think you'll be seeing this Pokemon more than you might expect :]

Round 10
Scrafty (Scrafteezy) - T4
So thanks to the points Mega Camerupt gave my draft, I can now pick a T4 and a T5.  I wanted the best Dark type possible and decided that Pokemon was Scrafty.  While it can technically work in my Trick Room mode, I expect it more often to fill a more defensive role or perhaps a bulky set up Pokemon. Scrafty has great coverage meaning it can break through would be counters and checks more easily with a Z-move and I really like all the abilities it brings to the table, especially a second Intimidate mon.  I've also got a lot of Knock Off on the team but Scrafty brings the first STAB one so I don't expect to see a lot of clutch berries, making prep probably a bit easier.  I also wanted a fighting type, so Scrafty did a lot for me for a T4 pick.

Round 11
Rotom Frost (Freon) - T5
Whaaaat Rotom Frost? Yep :]  Listen guys, a Rotom is a Rotom and even though Blizzard isn't as accurate, I get another levitating mon, great dual stab, initiative and defog.  Rotom Frost is also a great Z-mon with Icium Z to mitigate that god awful accuracy for a turn while nuking something with very powerful Ice STAB. Rotom Frost also synergizes very well with several members of the team and frankly, I'm really happy with this pick :]

Final Thoughts
So that's the squad :] I honestly don't think I'm going to make any changes unless I get bored building with it, which I doubt I will do.  Also, any changes would require a significant overhaul and I don't think there's any moves that could improve the team as of now :]

If there was something I'd change about it, I'd like to see a little more priority on the team since Scizor's is really the only good option, and maybe a little more diverse speed tiers.  The speed tiers are a little clustered but I feel it was a worthwhile sacrifice for the synergy, utility, and diversity of the draft.

CIL Season 5 Review

So we've done 5 laps around the track at this point and I think I'm starting to get the hang of this.  I'm gonna cut back on the fluff since I've got a lot to cover so here I go:

Draft:
Jirachi [[[Chi Chi]]]
Zygarde-50% [[[Jormungandr]]]
Blacephalon [[[Disco Inferno]]]
Azumarill (Z-Captain) [[[Captain Bun Bun]]]
Toxapex [[[Reefer]]]
Tangrowth [[[Spaghett]]]
Cloyster (original Z-Captain) [[[Dat Boi Cloi]]]--> Miltank [[[Shazoo]]]
Jolteon [[[Ion]]]
Dugtrio [[[Thugtrio]]] --> Crobat [[[The Count]]]
Hydregion [[[Yamata]]]
Mega Aerodactyl [[[Pteriyaki]]]

I get haxed a lot so I wanted to turn things my way and pick Jirachi this time.  Originally I was going after Koko or Necrozma but both were picked. Even though I did make a couple transactions, I was really pleased with the draft; it had great synergy throughout, three Stealth Rockers, two T-spikers (later 1), Spikes (later none), two defoggers + a spinner (later 3 defoggers), a fantastic regen core, and a lot of speed without being too weak to trick room. 

I ultimately dropped Cloyster because I felt Miltank helped with several problematic Pokemon going forward and as bad as I wanted to show off how good I think Cloyster could be, I wanted to give myself the best chance at winning so I had to make the swap.  Dugtrio, a Pokemon I wish I could have kept, was fantastic in the season but I noticed in future match-ups I was very weak to substitute as some of my bulky switch ins to wall breakers would have issues breaking the sub.  I also wanted an additional defogger since I was having some frustrations fitting it onto teams.

The most pleasant surprises were Toxapex + Tangrowth, Azu, and Mega Aero.  The regen core was good in just about every match and Pex wasn't as much of a liability as I had initially feared. Having the most reliable T-spiker almost every week was really nice.  Azu, I knew was a good Pokemon but it worked incredibly well on the team because of the Perish Trap set.  I believe I brought that maybe twice as often as Belly Drum as I felt most teams had enough checks to it and trapping a key defensive wall made a lot more sense.  And Mega Aero, which I definitely had low expectations for was fantastic at pressuring teams with great speed and always having the right coverage.  I even brought a defensive set a couple times and it played beautifully.

Perhaps the only underwhelming member of the team was Zygarde.  I know how great that thing is on the ladder, which is why I drafted it so early, but I found the damage output to be very disappointing.  To be completely honest, I don't think I'd draft it again as Hydreigon proved to be far more useful on a regular basis; obviously it's still a top tier dragon and I think on a different team it could do well, but I've been much happier with Kyurem-B, Latias, and even Dragonite in the past. That said, I think if I made Zygarde my Z-Captain, it would have performed significantly better. Access to something like a +1 Adamant Corkscrew Crash probably would have won a couple games on its own.  Bottom line: if you draft Zygarde, I really think you should make it your Z-Captain to get the most out of it.


The Season
Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better regular season.  Going undefeated with a +26 differential narrowly left the Kinglers out of the top spot (+29) but we averaged better than a 4-0 win in all our games.  I really think that's remarkable to achieve that level of consistency and I'm very proud of my prep and play throughout the season.  I really don't have much else to add other than Toxapex was voted Defensive MVP honors, but Tangrowth could have been as well if I nominated it and actually was second in KOs on my team to Jirachi.  I nominated Pex simply because I knew people recognized it as a wall more than Tangrowth and I like taking home these little honors haha.

Playoffs
EVERY time I play Mav, he haxes me LOL. But luckily, this game was fine.  I brought Mega Aero, Crobat, Tangrowth, Toxapex, Hydreigon, and Miltank while he brought a team of Mega Venusaur, Keldeo, Sylveon, Gliscor, Snorlax, and Scolipede, which I mostly predicted him to bring, except for Keldeo and Scolipede.  He left Necrozma and Weavile on the bench, both of which I felt were really strong in the match-up in favor of those two; Scoli makes sense to me, Keldeo doesn't.  The problem with Keldeo is that you can't set up because I have Pex (and Tangrowth to an extent) so your best set is going to be choice-locked.  Scarf loses you momentum because I have TWO counters in Pex and Tangrowth, and depending what move you lock into, Crobat and Hydreigon can also come in on it.  I also have Jolteon, which means you have to be scarf to put any offensive pressure on me with surprise KOs but I suppose a specs set might have gotten a little chip on my regen core.

On my end, Toxapex was mostly spdef for that rogue Keldeo (and Sylveon & Mega Venu) but I did have some phys def to better take on Scolipede and potentially Weavile. Tangrowth completed the regen core, Miltank was there for Rocks and my Weavile counter, Mega Aero was just a standard attacker, Crobat had Super Fang and was the defogger (Mav only really had one defogger so I figured he'd be more inclined to hazard stack than me).  Hydreigon was the most heat set, being physical and sporting Throat Chop. I liked this because I needed my dark type for Necrozma (I was still weak to it but if he was Iron Defense AND CM, he probably couldn't touch Hydreigon and if no Iron Defense, then Physical attacking would be superior for taking on a more likely CM set) but also his most likely switch in to this was Sylveon and if I Throat Chop, it can't use Hyper Voice, giving me a couple turns to gain momentum back.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7customgame-748011161

In review, the Snorlax set was surprising because I can easily Haze CurseLax so I do feel Mav could have definitely beat me with a few adjustments to his prep.  Also not knowing Infiltrator would work behind his Reflect was kind of critical because Scolipede could have done some damage once it got going.  Throat Chop kind of worked and we got the W so I was pretty pleased with this game.

Finals
I hate to be a debbie-downer but I knew I couldn't win this one.  I knew for certain 4/6 mons Black would bring and there was literally nothing I could do about it: Unaware Clef, P2, Amoonguss, and Zapdos.  I was fairly confident Greninja would come, that there would be some kind of substitute mon, and possibly his sand mode, but the first four I mentioned form a defensive core that my team is truly incapable of breaking--he doesn't even have to predict because he has the perfect counters to all the options I had at my disposal so the plan was to hax him haha.  I didn't even like Jirachi that much in this match-up but I honestly felt I needed to flinch stuff to even have a chance.  Besides the 4 I knew were coming, he brought Zard X and Excadrill while I had Blacephalon, Normalium Z BD Azu, Hone Claws Mega Aero, Pex, Jirachi, and Infiltrator Crobat.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7customgame-760179753

I do feel I played very well in these finals but as you can see, there was just no way I could muscle through his defense.  I think my plays towards the end (going hard Aero on a mon that has been spamming Discharge) might seem reckless but I really had no choice.  I had to try and set up for a last-ditch Azu sweep and hope I was wrong about the Clef set (of course I wasn't lol).  As much as I hate taking L's, I really don't feel bad about this one because a) I truly feel there was nothing I could do in the matchup b) I lost to my good friend who works incredibly hard at this and is easily one of the best draft players to ever do it.  So if you're reading this Black, congrats again to you, my friend and well-played all season long :]

Side note: His team shares a lot in common with my team that won season 3 so there might be something worth examining here.  We both had Hippo + Drill sand, a Kyurem (black for me, regular for him), Clefable, an electric flying type (Thundy-I for me, Zapdos for him), and a fast dual spiker (Scoli for me, Gren for him). He even had Manaphy earlier in the season, which I also had in S3 and both teams were exceedingly dominant in their respective seasons so if you've stumbled upon this and are new to draft leagues, I suggest examining those drafts :]

Final Thoughts
To be honest, I don't feel I learned a ton this season so it's hard to reflect on lessons learned, but rather just built on stuff I've learned in past seasons.  Picking a Z-Captain was difficult because I had so many Pokemon that could use it well (Blacephalon, Zygarde, Azu, Cloyster, Hydreigon) and frankly, I think I chose wrong both times lol. Z-Zygarde might have actually helped me in the finals because if I could have used it to draw in Clefable and weaken it, Azu might have pulled off the sweep.  But that example almost feels too specific/ situational so I'm going to apply that wisdom cautiously going forward.

If you read this book, thanks for sticking with me and if you haven't for some reason, check me out on Twitter @KevinVGC since I'm the guy you need to talk to if you were thinking about joining the CIL yourself in Season 6 :]  See you there!