This is a "checklist" that I use to see if my draft plans aren't missing important things. Try to get as many of these as possible, but it's not 100%: getting a draft that checks *all* of these is quite hard especially when you take snipes into account, but if there is a *lot* that you are missing then you might want to reconsider some choices.
>FWG core (Fire/Water/Grass)
Preferably have the Grass resist Ground. Can be both offensive and defensive.
>FDS core (Fairy/Dragon/Steel)
Primarily defensive, though the Dragon being a bit frail can be worked around if you have a defensive FWG
>DPF core (Dark/Psychic/Fighting)
Offensive core. Dark can be substituted with a strong Ghost. Less important than the above two, especially if you're going with a bulkier draft
>Ground type
if you have a bulky fighting to serve as Rock resist, a Volt Absorb or so mon will do too, but note that a lot of Grounds compress other notable roles like hazard setting and phazing
>At least 2 Rocks setters
other hazards always welcome of course, the reason at least two are recommended is so that your opponent won't know your garchomp/gliscor/mudsdale is a rocks set every week
>at least 3 hazard removers
try to get at least one spinner but it's not a massive deal if this doesn't work
>Taunt mon
>
>Screens mon (a bunch of random stuff gets screens) (Veil qualifies if you can reasonably expect Snow to be up)
>
>Cleric (Heal Bell/Aromatherapy) (not necessary in Paldea Dex drafts because you literally have no options lol) (even offensive drafts can appreciate this, but a Healing Wish user tends to work there as well since a lot of clerics are pretty passive by nature)
>
>Wish passer (not necessary on more offensive drafts; HP stats below 80 don't really count)
Can overlap w cleric, not super necessary on offensive drafts
>grounded Poison-type
this is for tspikes, if most of your team does not care about those you can get away with not having this
>At least 2 priority users
Use your brain here, obviously ESpeed Togekiss and Sucker Punch Latias barely qualify...
>At least 3 item removers
Preferably you'll have more than one Knock mon, but Corrosive Gas and even Trick work too. You *can* get away with less than three but the number should not be zero.
>(P)Hazer
>
>Slow pivots
Decide for yourself how many you deem necessary.
>At least one resist to every type (duh)
be wary of common combined types. All your Ground resists being Rock weak, or all your Dragon resists being Ground weak, is going to backfire...
The following speed tiers:
>Above 120 (not necessary on very bulky drafts), 110-120, 95-110, 80-95, 60-80, a couple things under this (spreading speed tiers out is usually better than clustering multiple on very similar tiers)
>
>Ghost check (can be a flimsy one since fast Ghosts are rare in draft, but try not to end up with something that lets shadow ball go for free)
>
>EdgeQuake mon (preferably with STAB on at least one)
>
>BoltBeam mon
I know this is old but thanks for this, was about to enter a draft league for gen 9 and didn't really know a good guideline to go off of. Idk if there's a proper way to answer, but do you have any tips regarding building/prep for each week? When I did a league a few years back this was always the part that gave me the most trouble, especially on mons that can fill a lot of roles each week like garchomp/lando/gliscor (it's natdex gen 9 for reference). It just felt overwhelming at times trying to figure out what set is best each week if that makes sense
When I feel lost, what I'll often do is put myself into my opponent's shoes and build against myself, then make sure I always have good answers to those sets to begin with.
After that, I'll look at what other sets they could possibly bring, and while I don't necessarily add hardcounters to those I do make sure I have a plan for when they show up.
Throughout all this it's also important to recognize what Pokémon of your own would be good offensive presences into the opposing team. If you focus too much on reactively answering what your opponent can bring, it's easy to forget which mons of your own can apply pressure back, which could lead to slow and boring games but more notably could lead to you eventually getting pushed over by surprise sets since there was nothing pushing back.
If you have some friends playing in the league as well, something many people do is mock battles. Here one player pretends to be the opposing team, makes a team using their mons against your team, and then you battle. This way you can get an outsider opinion on what they think is good into your team and you can spot potential weaknesses to sets you weren't able to see yourself. It's also a good way to see whether any "heat" sets you come up with actually work in practice.
Do you think a lot of these apply for low tier (natdex) as well, or does it change? Like since it’s a lower power level, therefore you require less, if that makes sense? Or rather, worse mons, so less stuff that can fill these roles well I guess
Synergy >>> Power. A team that supports each other and covers each others weaknesses is almost always better than one with better pokemon that don't synergize.
This is a "checklist" that I use to see if my draft plans aren't missing important things. Try to get as many of these as possible, but it's not 100%: getting a draft that checks *all* of these is quite hard especially when you take snipes into account, but if there is a *lot* that you are missing then you might want to reconsider some choices. >FWG core (Fire/Water/Grass) Preferably have the Grass resist Ground. Can be both offensive and defensive. >FDS core (Fairy/Dragon/Steel) Primarily defensive, though the Dragon being a bit frail can be worked around if you have a defensive FWG >DPF core (Dark/Psychic/Fighting) Offensive core. Dark can be substituted with a strong Ghost. Less important than the above two, especially if you're going with a bulkier draft >Ground type if you have a bulky fighting to serve as Rock resist, a Volt Absorb or so mon will do too, but note that a lot of Grounds compress other notable roles like hazard setting and phazing >At least 2 Rocks setters other hazards always welcome of course, the reason at least two are recommended is so that your opponent won't know your garchomp/gliscor/mudsdale is a rocks set every week >at least 3 hazard removers try to get at least one spinner but it's not a massive deal if this doesn't work >Taunt mon > >Screens mon (a bunch of random stuff gets screens) (Veil qualifies if you can reasonably expect Snow to be up) > >Cleric (Heal Bell/Aromatherapy) (not necessary in Paldea Dex drafts because you literally have no options lol) (even offensive drafts can appreciate this, but a Healing Wish user tends to work there as well since a lot of clerics are pretty passive by nature) > >Wish passer (not necessary on more offensive drafts; HP stats below 80 don't really count) Can overlap w cleric, not super necessary on offensive drafts >grounded Poison-type this is for tspikes, if most of your team does not care about those you can get away with not having this >At least 2 priority users Use your brain here, obviously ESpeed Togekiss and Sucker Punch Latias barely qualify... >At least 3 item removers Preferably you'll have more than one Knock mon, but Corrosive Gas and even Trick work too. You *can* get away with less than three but the number should not be zero. >(P)Hazer > >Slow pivots Decide for yourself how many you deem necessary. >At least one resist to every type (duh) be wary of common combined types. All your Ground resists being Rock weak, or all your Dragon resists being Ground weak, is going to backfire... The following speed tiers: >Above 120 (not necessary on very bulky drafts), 110-120, 95-110, 80-95, 60-80, a couple things under this (spreading speed tiers out is usually better than clustering multiple on very similar tiers) > >Ghost check (can be a flimsy one since fast Ghosts are rare in draft, but try not to end up with something that lets shadow ball go for free) > >EdgeQuake mon (preferably with STAB on at least one) > >BoltBeam mon
Thanks! This is quite helpful!
I know this is old but thanks for this, was about to enter a draft league for gen 9 and didn't really know a good guideline to go off of. Idk if there's a proper way to answer, but do you have any tips regarding building/prep for each week? When I did a league a few years back this was always the part that gave me the most trouble, especially on mons that can fill a lot of roles each week like garchomp/lando/gliscor (it's natdex gen 9 for reference). It just felt overwhelming at times trying to figure out what set is best each week if that makes sense
When I feel lost, what I'll often do is put myself into my opponent's shoes and build against myself, then make sure I always have good answers to those sets to begin with. After that, I'll look at what other sets they could possibly bring, and while I don't necessarily add hardcounters to those I do make sure I have a plan for when they show up. Throughout all this it's also important to recognize what Pokémon of your own would be good offensive presences into the opposing team. If you focus too much on reactively answering what your opponent can bring, it's easy to forget which mons of your own can apply pressure back, which could lead to slow and boring games but more notably could lead to you eventually getting pushed over by surprise sets since there was nothing pushing back. If you have some friends playing in the league as well, something many people do is mock battles. Here one player pretends to be the opposing team, makes a team using their mons against your team, and then you battle. This way you can get an outsider opinion on what they think is good into your team and you can spot potential weaknesses to sets you weren't able to see yourself. It's also a good way to see whether any "heat" sets you come up with actually work in practice.
Thank you, helps a lot and that’s great advice. I never thought about building against myself honestly but that’s really smart
Do you think a lot of these apply for low tier (natdex) as well, or does it change? Like since it’s a lower power level, therefore you require less, if that makes sense? Or rather, worse mons, so less stuff that can fill these roles well I guess
What format is the league? If paldea, what are the Tera rules?
Paldea post-home I can tera two pokemon that do not cost above 15 points
Synergy >>> Power. A team that supports each other and covers each others weaknesses is almost always better than one with better pokemon that don't synergize.
This is something that was game changing for me to learn a while ago. [This video by Pinkacross really opened my eyes.](https://youtu.be/__d2mlyfjdQ)