The season's first Intercontinental Championship is days away, taking place in London on December 9-11. Since the start of the season, PokeStats has been gathering statistics on each deck to place well at tournaments, trying to create mathematical ways to evaluate the metagame. After weeks of research I believe my Power Rating system has developed to the point where it's accurate in predicting the outcome of tournaments; therefore, I'm going to put it to the test with London. I don't expect pinpoint accuracy; rather, I hope to take the results of London into account as I further refine my Power Rating model.
So, here goes...my prediction of the top 10 decks, in terms of Meta Share, at London Intercontinentals:
- Yveltal-EX/Garbodor
- Volcanion
- Rainbow Road
- M Scizor
- PlumeBox
- Raichu variants
- Giratina-EX variants
- Greninja BREAK
- M Rayquaza
- Pidgeot-EX/Jolteon-EX/Garbodor
M Scizor got a big boost in the Power Ratings because not only does it have an excellent matchup against Rainbow Road (which is on a hot streak) and other Fairy-type decks, but the new Promo Salamence-EX may counter Volcanion (Scizor's worst matchup). The rest is pretty self-explanatory: Yveltal is firmly the BDIF; Volcanion has the slight edge over Rainbow Road due to consistency; and Greninja still has the power to win just about any match if it sets up.
Just missing the Top 5 in the Power Rankings are Lightning-type decks like Raichu variants and Raikou/Electrode; these hard-counter Yveltal but aren't especially great against the rest of the format.
The Experts' Picks
Of course, I'm just a kid with a calculator and a blogspot domain, and no top cuts at major tournaments or things like that. What do some of the game's most renowned players predict for London?
SixPrizes
Alex Hill: Hill suggested M Gardevoir STS, M Rayquaza, and Greninja.
Chris Schemanske: Schemanske's approach was more rogue: Darkrai/Tina/Garb, Tina/Salamence-EX, Raikou/Electrode, and Vespiquen were his suggested decks.
Brad Curcio: Curcio produced a tier list:
S Tier = Yveltal, Volcanion, Rainbow Road
A Tier = M Gardevoir STS, PlumeBox, M Ray, Greninja
B Tier = M Mewtwo, M Scizor, Darkrai/Tina
Some1sPC
The Some1sPC crew each revealed what they'd personally play at London:
Russ LaParre: M Mewtwo or Pidgeot-EX
Marc Albright: M Gardevoir STS
Chris Taporco: M Scizor
Dylan Bryan: Vespiquen
60cards
Robin Schulz predicted either a Giratina variant or Yveltal/Garb to win it all.
Gabriel Samedo's tier list:
Tier 1 = Volcanion, Yveltal/Garb, Rainbow Road
Tier 1.5 = M Gardevoir STS, PlumeBox, Tina/Garb
Tier 2 = M Mewtwo, M Ray, Greninja, Raikou/Electrode, Regice/Glaceon-EX/Garb
Tier 2.5 = M Scizor, Gyarados, Raichu/Golbat, Vespiquen variants
The Chaos Gym
Rahul Reddy predicted the Top 5 decks in terms of Meta Share would be (in no particular order): Yveltal/Garb, Greninja, Volcanion, Rainbow Road, and M Ray.
The Experts' Picks
Of course, I'm just a kid with a calculator and a blogspot domain, and no top cuts at major tournaments or things like that. What do some of the game's most renowned players predict for London?
SixPrizes
Alex Hill: Hill suggested M Gardevoir STS, M Rayquaza, and Greninja.
Chris Schemanske: Schemanske's approach was more rogue: Darkrai/Tina/Garb, Tina/Salamence-EX, Raikou/Electrode, and Vespiquen were his suggested decks.
Brad Curcio: Curcio produced a tier list:
S Tier = Yveltal, Volcanion, Rainbow Road
A Tier = M Gardevoir STS, PlumeBox, M Ray, Greninja
B Tier = M Mewtwo, M Scizor, Darkrai/Tina
Some1sPC
The Some1sPC crew each revealed what they'd personally play at London:
Russ LaParre: M Mewtwo or Pidgeot-EX
Marc Albright: M Gardevoir STS
Chris Taporco: M Scizor
Dylan Bryan: Vespiquen
60cards
Robin Schulz predicted either a Giratina variant or Yveltal/Garb to win it all.
Gabriel Samedo's tier list:
Tier 1 = Volcanion, Yveltal/Garb, Rainbow Road
Tier 1.5 = M Gardevoir STS, PlumeBox, Tina/Garb
Tier 2 = M Mewtwo, M Ray, Greninja, Raikou/Electrode, Regice/Glaceon-EX/Garb
Tier 2.5 = M Scizor, Gyarados, Raichu/Golbat, Vespiquen variants
The Chaos Gym
Rahul Reddy predicted the Top 5 decks in terms of Meta Share would be (in no particular order): Yveltal/Garb, Greninja, Volcanion, Rainbow Road, and M Ray.
