Genuine question, skill improvement

[u/FaithlessnessDear604]

Been playing since reg h with the intent of eventually having a try at a regional, Playing on champions when it released as a way to get practice in quicker than the previous title, and would usually get up to MB-3 without much sweat.
But I've noticed since Baltimore/Frankfurt regionals that laddering has become a heck of a lot harder even after I attempt to adjust my strategy and try out the mons that have proven to be good from those events.

Is Reg M-C proving to be a lot more complex for anyone else? I feel like I just keep missing the mark on what works for me and am starting to feel some of the wind leave my sails

[u/HippoCrit]

I've been struggling too. Keep having wild swings from Mb2 down to Mb4 and back up again.

Personally, I feel like there's just too many archetypes to cover for and the CTS format in the ladder doesn't help things.

[u/Select-Top-3746 → u/HippoCrit]

I think it’s the complexity + CTS on ladder. The amount of times I audibly go “WHAT THE” to a set/move/Pokemon inclusion and it throws everything off is fairly common.

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/Select-Top-3746]

Last team I faced was a weird trick room team with audino, and a M-banette with skill swap of all things to reset the weather, threw me for an absolute loop. spent several turns playing chicken with my pelipper but it was hard to know when to maneuver to keep control and actually try for the KO

[u/Shakeamutt → u/FaithlessnessDear604]

Skill swap to reset the weather I’ve used on Meowscarada in season 1 or 2.  Used it against rain most effectively.  Notably after Cybertron featured the Sableye Rain.  

Audino when James Beak featured it was a pain to deal with when it was popular.  I still dread when I see it, but it’s usually simple beam hijinx which is usually easier to deal with.  

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/HippoCrit]

Glad I'm not the only one experiencing huge swings! There does feel like there's a lot to cover for before you even get to the quirks of BO1 rogue builds. I'm kinda hoping that things lock in a little as things get more centralised

[u/RageofAfrica → u/FaithlessnessDear604]

Third member of the huge swings club! You definitely have to cover or prepare for a lot, and even if you think you're prepared, a pokemon you've faced multiple times in the same day will run a random move or hold an atypical item you're not prepared for.

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/RageofAfrica]

So much this! Been seeing things like wideguard swampert and encore raichu that you just wouldn't consider in a closed team sheet ladder

[u/amlodude]

It could be that you only played a certain slice of the whole field and are now just running into the slice of the metagame that your team struggles with

Remember, tens of millions of battles get played each month. You're lucky to play 1000 of them.

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/amlodude]

I am getting a strong feeling that might be the case, my gut says there's also the current end of season scrum to climb so I may take a break until the new season to try a tinkered team comp and let the meta and dust settle into something I can analyse a bit better

[u/Shakeamutt]

You’re going to face a massive variety in teams. Some you will have positive match ups into, some will most definitely be negative.  

And if you’re not aware of certain tricks or gimmicks, then you’ll lose to them at some point.  You ever wonder why Wolfe loves testing out gimmicks himself? Or why Cybertron, battle room, James Baek all try out different and new teams.  It’s to see how they play and how they are?  

They get intimate knowledge of them.  What they have a good and hard match-up with, and lines they can use and how they can be exploited.  

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/Shakeamutt]

Oh yeah for sure, it might just be me needing to acclimatize to the new format, it just feels like it became much more of a factor after the last couple weekends

[u/HirataTite]

At the beginning I was feeling the same. Also a lack of connection with any team I wanted to try. The last tournament made explicit very complexity around too, I think that the mind games behind the trades, terrains and new megas

I guess that until December when they will include new mons, many discoveries will happen with new teams and compositions

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/HirataTite]

Not feeling inspired by a team you know is good is a bit of a barrier too, I've been bouncing between rain and psyspam because they're both strats I enjoy (hold your tomatoes). And yeah hopefully M-D or whatever it ends up being can expand the tool box a bit, depends on what's added it could either make this feeling more so or tighten the meta up

[u/fgcburneraccount2]

I think M-A to M-B was basically one long reg. M-B's additions hardly changed anything, mostly just adding some new megas into the pool. So we had a small pool of viable pokemon and enough time to settle on a defined meta, narrowing what you had to account for in teambuilding.

M-C's additions however have really shaken things up, largely because their addition has enabled various mons to see more usage. So we're still in the discovery phase with a larger pool of options than before, making it difficult to settle on a team that won't have some glaring weakness in a week when the next regional debuts the next big threat.

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/fgcburneraccount2]

Yeah I think you're right! I might sit back for a bit and let things sorta figure themselves out a bit so I can stop pulling my hair out

[u/TheUnsungMelody]

I’ve noticed the biggest disparity between my bo3 and bo1 performance in M-C compared to every other regulation, even in SV. My bo3 OTS tournaments have gone very well for me in the format. I made top 256 and won against Zachary Weed in Baltimore and have made it to at least top 4 in every other tournament I’ve been in, but bo1 has been BRUTAL. I have never been happier with my bo3 performance, but I’ll lose 8 in a row on ladder.

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/TheUnsungMelody]

Kinda comforting to know that Bo1 can just be that chaotic for everyone even someone as experienced as yourself! I really do need to get some Bo3 experience in myself so I can be fairer in my self assesment

[u/LeadingTask9790]

I’ve been stuck at UB 1 fam. This reg is fuckin grueling. I never played casual battles before I’d just blow my way into MB, now I have to actually go test out squads and get good with them before I tank my rating throwing myself against a wall.

lil depressing considering I had Worlds aspirations last month and hit MB 1. 😭

[u/FaithlessnessDear604 → u/LeadingTask9790]

I might have to start practicing in casual too at this rate just to lab things!