S.S. Tidal Cycle 2 Week 1

NEW CYCLE! HI OLD FRIENDS, ENEMIES (SEAKINGPIN), PEOPLE I DON’T KNOW

To those of you returning to the Battle Frontier… WELCOME BACK! Being the test dummies for the first cycle means you know what to expect and who you’ll be going up against in the coming 6-8 weeks. You all (for the most part) have a bit of a safety net so you can enjoy the tiers that you’re in and not have to worry about the chaos of Open Tier (shoutout to Fearsome Froslass) and in some cases can get a pass to their home region’s corresponding tier if they want to move back to EMEA (Legends United EU, Sky Dragons Gaming, & Slark Paper Scissors). To those of you stepping foot in the Battle Frontier for the first time… Why’d you wait & are you ready for the Open Pool chaos that awaits you? The former Emeralds looking to decimate anyone that thought they could hang with them… The new teams formed from remnants of past Silph favorites… The Open teams from Silph that are now Open teams in Battle Frontier… Anyone who came from the Play Pokemon circuit/GBL… Seven(ish) weeks of tier/pool play to look forward to in the Great & Master Leagues, along with the Enchanted Domain for our Ultra League players and Primordial & Serene Domain for the people who love themed Great League formats (or like me and just too cheap to spend on Master/Ultra). How will your team do? Will you give the Battle Frontier a classic memory? Will I get on to the analysis? Yes, yes I will… Now!!

TIER PREVIEW

Records against tier across Silph/Battle Frontier. May have missed some but tried to be as accurate as possible. Trust and believe this is the last time I’m doing something like this!

Legendary Tier

1. LU:EU (5-5; 4-3 vs SDG, 1-1 vs Chicago, 0-1 vs DAF, has not played Rock Paper Slark, Sharks & Rec, Apocalypse NA, nor LU: Vanguard)
2. Rock Paper Slark (8-1; 2-0 vs DAF, 1-0 vs Chicago, 0-1 vs LUV, 4-0 vs S&R, 1-0 vs SDG, has not played EU Emperors nor Acopalipse NA)
3. Chicago Stars (5-4; 1-1 vs LUEU, 3-1 vs DAF, 0-1 vs RPS, 0-1 vs S&R, 1-0 vs LUV, has not played Acopalipse NA nor Sky Dragons Gaming)
4. Acopalipse NA (1-1; 1-0 vs S&R, 0-1 vs SDG)
5. Sky Dragons (6-6; 1-0 vs LUV, 1-1 vs DAF, 1-0 vs ACOP, 0-1 vs RPS, 3-4 vs LUEU, has not played Sharks & Rec nor Chicago Stars)
6. Sharks & Rec (2-5; 1-0 vs Chicago; 0-1 vs ACOP, 1-0 vs LUV, 0-4 vs RPS)
7. *LU: Vanguard (1-3; 0-1 vs Chicago, 1-0 vs RPS, 0-1 vs S&R, 0-1 vs SDG)
8. Deoxys Alberta Forme (3-6; 0-2 vs RPS, 1-1 vs SDG, 1-0 vs LUEU, 1-3 vs Chicago)

*LU: Vanguard’s record is factoring in Stadium Elite Silver’s record against Sharks & Rec + Rock Paper Slark

Champion Tier

1. Muddy Water (5-1; 2-0 vs EVAN, 2-1 vs NEB:UM, 3-0 vs BB, has not played BraveNerds, HomeSliceHomies, Bark Town Boomers, nor Hoosier Daddies)
2. BraveNerds (1-0; 1-0 vs HSH, has not played anyone else)
3. Evanstonks (5-4; 0-2 vs MW, 2-1 vs BB, 3-1 vs NEB:UM, has not battled BraveNerds, HomeSliceHomies, Bark Town Boomers, not Hoosier Daddies)
4. Backstage Battlers (4-6; 0-3 vs MW, 1-2 vs EVAN, 0-1 vs NEB:UM, 1-0 vs HD, 2-0 vs HSH, has not played BraveNerds nor Bark Town Boomers)
5. NEB: Udder Madness (4-7; 1-2 vs MW, 1-0 vs BB, 1-3 vs EVAN, 1-2 vs HD, has not played BraveNerds, Bark Town Boomers, nor HomeSliceHomies)
6. HomeSliceHomies (2-5; 0-1 vs BN, 0-2 vs BB, 1-1 vs NEB:UM, 0-1 vs HD, 1-0 vs BTB, has not played BraveNerds has not played Muddy Water nor Evanstonks
7. Bark Town Boomers (1-1; 0-1 vs HSH, 1-0 vs HD, has not played BraveNerds)
8. Hoosier Daddies (2-3; 0-1 vs BB, 0-1 vs BTB, 2-1 vs NEB:UM, has not played BraveNerds, Bark Town Boomers)

Elite Tier

1. Northeast Battlers (3-2; 0-1 vs TX, 1-0 vs TTD, 1-0 vs IW, 0-1 vs CS, 1-0 vs MTD)
2. Lucky Muks (3-2; 3-0 vs TX, 0-1 vs IW, 0-1 vs CS)
3. TexasPVP (4-4; 1-0 vs NEB, 0-3 vs LM, 1-0 vs TTD, 0-1 vs CS, 1-0 vs IW, 1-0 vs DDB, has not played Mighty Thunderducks)
4. Canadian Shieldon (3-3, 1-0 vs TX, 0-1 vs MTD, 1-0 vs NEB, 1-0 vs LM, 0-2 vs IW)
5. Icy Wind (3-2; 1-0 vs DDB, 0-1 vs TX, 0-1 vs NEB, 2-0 vs CS
6. The Thunderdome (1-2; 0-1 vs NEB, 0-1 vs TX, 1-0 vs MTD)
7. Decidueye Dynasty Black (0-2; 0-1 vs IW, 0-1 vs TX)
8. Mighty Thunderducks (1-2; 0-1 vs TTD, 1-0 vs CS, 0-1 vs NEB)

Expert Tier

1. Phoenix Rising (2-4; 1-3 vs HH, 0-1 vs TF, 1-0 vs TNT)
2. Hammer Heads (5-1; 3-1 vs PR, 0-1 vs TF, 2-0 vs OMEGA)
3. Thunder Fury (2-0; 1-0 vs HH, 1-0 vs PR)
4. TNT Flingulls (4-4; 0-1 vs PR, 1-0 vs HH, 0-2 vs OMEGA, 0-1 vs SPS, 3-0 vs iCFC)
5. Team OMEGALUL (3-5; 2-0 vs TNT, 0-2 vs HH, 0-1 vs PR, 1-2 vs iCFC)
6. Slark Paper Scissors (2-0; 1-0 vs TNT, 1-0 vs iCFC)
7. RoSlarkBo (Has not faced anyone in this tier)
8. iCarly PVP (2-5; 2-1 vs OMEGA, 0-1 vs SPS, 0-3 vs TNT)

Premier Tier

1. The Great Unown (3-1, 2-0 vs SMZ, 1-0 vs GRP, 0-1 vs SKP)
2. Gong Rippers (3-3, 3-0 vs SMZ, 0-1 vs TGU, 0-1 vs DDC, 0-1 vs PVPVP, 1-0 vs SKP)
3. NerdyBirds (0-2, 0-1 vs SMZ, 0-1 vs FF)
4. *D’Nair Don’t Care (2-6; 1-3 vs FF, 0-1 vs SMZ, 0-2 vs PVPVP, 1-0 vs GRP)
5. SeaKingPin (2-1; 1-0 vs SMZ, 0-1 vs GRP, 1-0 vs TGU)
6. Sw1tchMstrz (0-5; 0-3 vs GRP, 0-1 vs SKP, 0-1 vs FF)
7. Pioneer Valley PVP (3-0; 2-0 vs DDC, 1-0 vs GRP)
8. Fearsome Froslass (3-0; 1-0 vs DDC, 1-0 vs NB, 1-0 vs SMZ)

*counting their time as Angry Bottoms

Ace Tier

1. Eastcalibur (6-4; 5-1 vs CK**, 0-2 vs DDG, 1-1 vs FDES)
2. FletchinDErella Story (1-1; 1-1 vs ESC, 0-1 vs CK)
3. Decidueye Dynasty Green (2-0; 2-0 vs ESC)
4. Delibird’s The Word (Has not faced anyone in this tier)
5. Coastal Kings (2-5; 1-5 vs ESC**, 1-0 vs FDES)
6. Thundersquirrels (Has not faced anyone in this tier)

**Coastal Kings vs Eastcalibur record also includes The Orlando Faction’s record vs Eastcal. Same logic as LU: Vanguard

LEGENDARY TIER: SKY DRAGONS GAMING VS LU: EU EMPERORS

Last Meeting: SDG won 11-10 in Round 1 of Battle Frontier C1 Playoffs

All-Time Series: EU Emps lead 4-3, with a point differential of +11

Longest Win Streak In Series: EU with 2 straight

Kicking off Legendary Tier coverage with a legendary rivalry from EMEA! EU Emperors’ aura was felt throughout the entire conference, never truly being in danger of relegation (even with a 1-3 start) while winning 4 Tier Championships and a World Title. They were the flag bearers of EMEA, and very few teams stood a chance against them on a consistent basis. But one of those few is their first opponent in this tier, as Sky Dragons Gaming sports 3-win record against them (only Snovertappers have more wins). Their last matchup ended in an 11-10 win for Sky Dragons in the playoffs, with Bumelancik grabbing a 3-0 for Sky Dragons to offset LukasVeb’s 0-3. LukasVeb may be looking for redemption in this matchup, though that may come hard with the history both teams have with each other.

CHAMPION TIER: BRAVENERDS VS NEB: UDDER MADNESS

First Time Meeting

BraveNerds & NEB: Udder Madness enter Champion Tier following tepid Top Bracket playoff runs. I wouldn’t make a fuss about that, as BraveNerds came up just short on 3 of their matches and Udder Madness’ record since their S2C2 Silph Gold run has been exceptional. This matchup is an exciting one, as both teams do have a strong presence in the Open fields. That makes their Domain matchups much more important. In the Enchanted Domain GngrGirthQuake & SeanofBillings go at it, and if their records in Silph’s Justicar & Celestial fields are anything to go off of, they’ll be threats to the entire tier throughout the cycle. Their matchup is the most important one in this meeting; BraveNerds do tend to put out an 0-3 when facing upper-echelon teams in fields/domains and NEB:UM you can almost bank on an 0-3 there too. Throw in Ooch & SkepticalTracer’s ML matchup being a toss-up and I feel like all could be decided in the Enchanted Domain. 

ELITE TIER: CANADIAN SHIELDON VS TEXAS PVP

Last Meeting: C-Shield won 13-8 in S2C4B8 Silph Diamond Tier 

All-Time Series: C-Shield leads 1-0, with a point differential of +5

How much should we make of their one and only meeting happening in the dying days of Silph? I ask because their performance from King Of The Hill and beyond makes me think this second meeting may be an 11-10 match that’s littered with 2-1s/1-2s. C-Shield comes from Pool 2 with some good wins (Northeast Battlers) and startling loses (…SeaKingPin, though they did avenge that loss), whereas Texas had some intense battles against everyone in their pool picking up wins over Hidden Powers & Pioneer Valley while losing out against Sharks & Rec & Apocalipse. This is a match that’s hard to analyze only because it’s a match (one of very few) that no analysis can do justice. Two evenly matched teams with little turnover since 2021, and it’s going to come down to the wire between these two. 

EXPERT TIER: iCARLY PVP VS ROSLARKBO

First Time Meeting

Everything RoSlarkBo does in this tier will be indicative of how good they actually are. They’ve never played anyone in this tier at anytime (during their time in Silph, the first cycle in Battle Frontier, and BF C1 playoffs). On one hand, that’s a good thing as no one knows what to expect from them as a team. On the other hand, every other team in this tier was Gold tier or higher in Silph and was in either a Pool Of Death (Phoenix Rising, Hammer Heads, Thunder Fury, Team OMEGALUL) or a Pool dominated by Champion or higher tier teams (Slark Paper Scissors, iCarly, TNT Flingulls). iCarly is a good first opponent for them, and how this match turns out will let us know off-rip if RoSlarkBo will be contending for promotion or relegation this cycle…

PREMIER TIER: FEARSOME FROSLASS VS NERDYBIRDS

First Time Meeting

BOUNTY ON THE HEADS OF SEAKINGPIN!!! Now that that’s out the way…

I believe everyone’s gunnin for The Great Unown in this tier. They’ve made it the highest in Silph, doesn’t have too much turnover in between cycles, and runs DEEEP. Two teams that have the moxie (not necessarily the track record) are Fearsome Froslass & NerdyBirds. FF’s coming off a promising cycle in Pool 3, and are hoping to build off that success. NerdyBirds drew a short straw in last cycle’s Pool 6 (The Battle Pyramid), and while they didn’t rack up wins they did get close to knocking off current Legendary/Champion Tier teams, not to mention they can also bounce ideas off their Champion Tier clubmates in BraveNerds. FF’s cinderella story from last cycle did hit a bit of a hiccup in the Tier playoffs, as one or two more points could’ve meant starting in Expert instead of Premier. But that’s why I think they could challenge The Great Unown this cycle; breaking through in Pool play last cycle lit an undeniable fire in the commonly-found-in-Silph-Open Tier team and I don’t expect that fire to be extinguished yet. 

ACE TIER: COASTAL KINGS VS DELIBIRD’S THE WORD

First Time Meeting

Last cycle I signaled for any able-bodied doctor to be on standby for Coastal Kings; sometimes they just needed little bandaids for knicks and cuts, other times… it looked like a scene from the Evil Dead franchise. This cycle… I mean they’re not my favorites to get promoted, but they should be in the conversation, right? Right?! Like, nah, let’s look at this tier now that TSwift Fan Club left: Eastcalibur enters on a 10-game losing streak which at least isn’t as bad as Thundersquirells, Decidueye Dynasty Green finished behind Eastcal in Pool 2 last cycle, so make of that what you will, Delibird’s The Word has so far only shown the capacity of winning games by a score of 11-10 (both of them), and FletchinDErella Story… Well I ain’t got nothing bad to say about them in this pool, yet. There’s honestly no reason why Coastal Kings should finish no worse than 3rd place this cycle. As for Delibird’s The Word? This is the perfect matchup for an 11-10 win for them.

OPEN TIER

Pool 1: BTW TRES VS INFERNO OVERDRIVE

What BTW3 Needs To Do: Take advantage in Open Leagues

What IFO Needs To Do: Dominate in Primordial

Key Match: LyleJeffsIII vs S1D3M4NN in ML

Prediction: IFO wins 13-8

Pool 2: SOCAL SWABLU GOLD VS SCIZOR ME TIMBURRS

What SCSG Needs To Do: Dominate the domains

What SMT Needs To Do: Apply pressure in all areas

Key Match: Flyingpizza1 vs GraceUnderFiero in Serene 

Prediction: SCSG wins 14-7

Pool 3: GHOSTPEPPER DUNSPICE VS PALLET TOWN RED

What GD Needs To Do: Don’t outspice themselves

What PTR Needs To Do: Jump on them from the start

Key Match: Sylvieboi vs DJValkyria in GL

Prediction: GD wins 12-9

Pool 4: BLOUSES VS SOCAL SWABLU BLUE

What BLOU Needs To Do: Push for 3-0s when possible

What SCSB Needs To Do: Limit 0-3s when necessary

Key Match: Nck228 vs AllaFlutter in Primordial

Prediction: SCSB wins 11-10

Pool 5: WEEKEND AT BURMY’S VS LU: ORIGINS

What WAB Needs To Do: Steal points

What LU:O Needs To Do: …what we know they can do

Key Match: OlivieroG vs JEngels21 in ML

Prediction: LU:O wins 14-7

Pool 6: SOCAL SWABLU SD VS NOTORIOUS NOCTOWLS

What SCSD Needs To Do: Don’t blow obvious matchups

What NN Needs To Do: Play out of their F*****G MINDS!!!

Key Match: Dapperdiscs vs NinjaWarGod in Serene

Prediction: SCSD wins 15-6

Pool 7: ISLAND GAURDIANS VS WING ATTACK 2

What IG Needs To Do: Win GL & Serene

What WA2 Needs To Do: Play up to skill level

Key Match: Misba14351 vs Layraj in Enchanted

Prediction: WA2 wins 12-9