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.