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| Lern2LittleCup: Vader's Guide | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 12 2009, 10:54 PM (540 Views) | |
| Vader | Feb 12 2009, 10:54 PM Post #1 |
HALLO I AM A VADER
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Little Cup Overall Strategy and Prediction Guide: Lern2LittleCup Table of Contents Part I: A Brief History of the Little Cup Metagame Part II: Basic Rules to Follow Part III: Prediction, Prediction, Prediction Part IV: Acceptable Losses&Revenge Killing Part V: Gaining Momentum Part VI: Managing Your Play-Style Closing Thoughts Part I: A Brief History of the Little Cup Metagame In the early days of Little Cup, there was a lot less intel on what worked and what didn’t. Choice Band Diglett was the be-all end-all revenge killer. Abra was the best Special Sweeper ever, Cranidos the best Scarfer, and Gastly the best ghost. Many Pokemon now considered staples, such as Croagunk and Elekid, were largely overlooked. Speed was not such a vital component, as shown by the standard Elekid rarely running a +Speed nature. Priority was also very overlooked, and monstrously powerful Pokemon like Murkrow and Clamperl were also undiscovered. Scyther was, initially, the only Uber Pokemon in Little Cup. However, it was soon joined by Yanma, Sneasel and Meditite Later on in the Metagame’s development, Choice items began to become more and more popular, as did Focus Sash. Murkrow became renown for using CB Sucker Punch to inflict massive damage onto anything that dared to attack it and Pursuit to punish anything that stayed in or switched out. Drill Peck was the norm on this monster. Oran Berry began to see some popularity and the Item Clause left over from the 3rd Generation was starting to be questioned and was soon done away with. Munchlax and Croagunk both emerged as powerful, popular Pokemon at this point. Priority’s popularity began here, as a way to stop Choice-users and Sash abusers. Scarfquil Leads were very popular. Themed teams began to see popularity, as well. It became clear within a few weeks that Tangela underneath the Sun and Clamperl under Trick Room were simply too much for the Metagame. Tangela and the Deepseatooth item were banned. Murkrow began using Pluck in response to the vast number of berries, particularly Oran, that were being used. Abra and Gastly continued to lose popularity. The equilibrium of the Metagame was soon threatened, however. A powerful new set, now called Bellywag, emerged with the ability OHKO any Pokemon in the Metagame if allowed to set-up. Elekid began to run 20 Speed to deal with this threat. Murkrow was soon found to safely check it, and Bellywag faded into obscurity after 2 or 3 weeks of extreme popularity. Murkrow’s newest and most dangerous set then surfaced. Fake-Turner Meowth, hailed as the best lead in the game even today, was also thought of during this period. Subkrow ushered in the modern age of Little Cup. Misdreavus had almost totally replaced Gastly, save for the Scarf set. Abra was seldom seen because of its weakness to Murkrow. Hail Stall began to see some use, and the LC Ladder was implemented, allowing true usage statistics. Platinum Moves shook up the metagame a little bit with additions like Ice Punch Croagunk and Swift Nasty Plot Technician Meowth, but not enough to make a truly significant impact on more than a few Pokemon. SR began to see more use as a way to stop Sashers. Murkrow’s ban opened the door to a new stage of the Little Cup Metagame. Rock Polish Gligar became very popular in the wake of Murkrow’s ban, as did Scarf Anorith and Carvanha. Sub/Charge Beam sets for both Misdreavus and Drifloon began to see use as well. Protect gained popularity as well, being used to scout moves and in the case of Munchlax take advantage of Leftovers recovery. However, perhaps most significant of all would be the new Pokemon to be added to the OU list. Paras and Doduo became OU by virtue of a number of new players. Now, this obviously begs the question why was the entire history of the Metagame important? It shows the trends of the game, how it was once played, and how it got to where it is today. Additionally, many older players may have fallen “out of the loop” and may be using older yet effective sets that are not currently in vogue. It is important to be aware of sets like these (i.e. Choice Band Diglett) in order to be prepared for them. Additionally, it lets those of us in the current Metagame look back at what did NOT work and what did and made it forward, similar to the real-world principle of Natural Selection. However, some sets are still very viable or were formerly not and have become so. For example, ScarfQuil is still a very viable Lead, while Scarf Anorith has only recently come out of obscurity to bring itself into OU. Part II: Basic Rules to Follow These aren’t the literal “rules” of Little Cup. That’s in the main Little Cup Analysis. These are some basic guidelines for playing the Metagame. 1)Always be conscious of your team and what your opponent has used. This is perhaps the most important rule in playing Little Cup. You must always know what your opponent has that can switch into your sweepers, or stop your wall, or set up or whatever. You must also be aware of what you have that checks your opponent’s known Pokemon and keep checks alive to their major threats at whatever cost possible. Being conscious of their sets is very important as well, which leads to rule 2. 2)Always know the current set that is “in vogue” for each OU Pokemon This rule may trip you up a bit when combined with the first rule at the beginning, eventually you’ll get used to it. Knowing the current popular set is a great way to lose a Pokemon to a novelty set, but it’s also a great way to know what the Pokemon’s movepool can contain. 3)Keep tabs on your opponent’s known moves and items. This may seem like a reiteration of Rule 1, but it is very important that you follow this. If your opponent’s Elekid OHKO your Munchlax with Cross Chop, remember that and don’t switch in a Pokemon that’s weak to Fighting! Taking note of Oran and when it’s already been used lets you know what will kill and what won’t. Life Orb is the most obvious item and is easy to remember. Other things, like Choice items, are harder to figure out but very, very easy to take advantage of once you do. 4)Always be aware of your “play-style.” In Little Cup, there are two main “play-styles,” which will be further elaborated on in their own section. These Styles are Prudent Play and Daring Play. Once you are conscious of which you naturally lean towards, you can make less impulsive decisions and perform better. 5)Don’t be afraid to make a sacrifice every now and then. In a metagame as fast as Little Cup, sacrifices are inevitable. This rule is further elaborated on in the guide, but is an important one to remember: If your opponent’s main threat to your team is almost in KO range for a Pokemon on your team but not quite, remember that if they carry LO or you have priority you can bring them down that little bit for the KO. Part III: Prediction, Prediction, Prediction While prediction may be important in other metagames, it is absolutely vital in Little Cup. One misprediction can easily turn the tide of the battle against you and even cost you the match due to the speed of Little Cup matches. Therefore, it’s important to always try and anticipate your opponent’s actions in the following turns, which is accomplished by the following: 1)Following Rules 1, 2 and 3 as listed above. These rules form the basis for being able to predict an opponent, rather than blindly guess what they’re going to do. Rules 1 and 3 allow an actual basis for your moves based on what your opponent has done, while Rule 2 allows for a less substantial basis for prediction. By recalling how your opponent has played, you can try and figure out what they will do next. By 2)Only sacrifice when totally necessary. Once again, the section on sacrifices is far more in-depth on this. The more Pokemon you have left, the easier prediction becomes because you have more options. If your team is ghost-weak and you lose your only normal-type, then the game becomes hell and prediction becomes even more difficult. 3)Follow your intuition. Although it may sound like bad advice, a person’s intuitive responses and impulsive predictions are often the best. However, this rule must strike a balance with Rule 4. 4)Think about your moves before you make them. In most scenarios, you have five minutes to figure out what you want to do. This doesn’t mean deliberate over every little decision. Just think about what you’re doing and don’t hit the button before you’re sure it’s what you want to do. Part IV: Acceptable Losses & Revenge Killing Well, we’ve gotten this far. Now you know the most basic rules of prediction and play in Little Cup, many of which are applicable elsewhere. Now it’s time to learn one of the most basic techniques in Little Cup, far more dominant here than in OU: Revenge Killing. The most basic idea needed to revenge kill is the idea of an acceptable loss. An acceptable loss can be defined as the following:
Sound complicated? Let’s break it down, bit-by-bit, starting with the first part:
This is one of the most important things to remember. Do not give up integral members of your team just to kill one Pokemon. If you have one Gligar stop on a Gligar-weak team and it dies and your opponent happens to have Gligar, then what? If your Lead has 1 HP left and guarantees a free switch-in, when why not give it up? It’s probably not going to be contributing anything major anytime soon. Now, for the next part:
This is the clincher. If the Pokemon you need to kill isn’t directly threatening to fully sweep your team or you aren’t in a position to finish the game immediately afterwards. Otherwise, your sacrifice just to get a revenge-kill was just a waste of a Pokemon, contributing or not. Revenge-Killing itself is much less complex when not trying to mitigate your losses to be “acceptable.” If you have a Pokemon with either a powerful priority move or that is known to be faster than whatever just killed your Pokemon, bring it in for the revenge kill. Diglett is infamous for its ability to trap and kill most Pokemon after a KO. Part V: Gaining Momentum This is an absolutely crucial aspect of the Metagame. Unlike in most other metagames, sweeps can be much more difficult to stop in this metagame. As the game progresses, if your main sweeper is too difficult to stop it is called “gaining momentum.” Gaining momentum is the main way that most players win and can lead to 6-0 or 5-0 victories rather easily. As one player gains momentum, the opposing player often begins to panic, making a win much easier. The way that one gains momentum in Little Cup is usually via set-up sweepers, which can be almost impossible to stop after a certain benchmark is reached. An example of such a Pokemon is Sub+Charge Beam Misdreavus, which can become almost impossible to stop with no set-up beyond the Substitute. Elekid can sweep through teams easily if they lack a Sasher or Scarfer. So, the question is, how does one disrupt an opposing player who is gaining momentum? Mainly by revenge-killing. By taking a loss or two to the opposing sweeper, it can be whittled down enough for a KO by another team member, allowing you to retake the game. Part VI: Managing Your Play-Style This part is less important for beginners than for more experienced players that want to get better. As any player knows, there is a certain way that every player leans towards when playing, be it offense, defense, stall, themed teams, or whatever else. In Little Cup, these styles are largely boiled down because of the highly offensive metgame. In a nutshell, there are really three kinds of “playstyles:” Prudent: A prudent player keeps risks to a minimum and only predicts an opponent in a situation where they aren’t likely to face any repercussions. A prudent player is likely to try and minimize risks in battle and use calculations to ensure KOs. Prudent players tend to panic more easily than other kinds. Middling: A player who plays neither prudently nor carelessly. Most players fall into this category and are willing to take risks as well as hold back when necessary. Careless: Perhaps a better name for careless players would be daring. A careless player often takes many risks and doesn’t hesitate to make a risky prediction. These players often think more about the payoff that they may get instead of the risk they’re taking. Conscious: A conscious player is the kind players should strive to be, knowing when to play prudently and when to take a risk. These players are often among the best and can keep their cool when the situation looks bad. Now, the first part of managing one’s playstyle in Little Cup is recognizing what your natural style of play is and building a team specifically to force you to play against your current playstyle. Once you’ve done this, make a team to maximize both prudent play and careless play, making prediction when they can pay off but trying to keep as many Pokemon as possible alive. Closing Thoughts I have none right now. Edited by Vader, Jun 16 2009, 10:30 PM.
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i agree owner of #lc, #osm, #lcwifi, #lcwarstories, #lcmafia, #lcubers, #lcwc, #vader, #VARK, #kfc and best of all #fap | |
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| Kannon | Feb 13 2009, 01:53 AM Post #2 |
SDS's official henchman
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Very well written and informative. I remember a time when everyone used TauntKrow to keep things from setting up and forcing switches, yet I see no mention of TauntKrow on your list of pokemon. That's my only complaint, as TauntKrow made stat-upping and substituting much less popular and helped bring the game to where it is today. |
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[14:29] <%Kannon> what resists water/flying [14:29] <+MantykeKnight> ice ?_? suck on that SDS | |
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| Colloquy | Feb 14 2009, 02:20 AM Post #3 |
 
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Fix up your grammar, son. Not capitalizing the "g" in Ghost? Seriously? Also, switch Careless to Daring, it offended me. But, I agree with noob Kannon that this is a good guide, helpful for new players to understand the gist, and get how a strategy is important. |
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| Son_of_Shadows | Feb 14 2009, 07:34 PM Post #4 |
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Bwa-ha-ha! Having read this, I will be... unstoppable! *ahem* Yeah right. I suck. But, this will help. Nice job. |
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| Dixie | Feb 14 2009, 10:08 PM Post #5 |
Back. Will see in the next week or so how much I can contribute.
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Gaining momentum is useless unless it is at the right time. Look at my warstory vs cooler than you. My Magby was raping him but I still lost because the momentum was with him late game thanks to abra and teddiursa cleaning up. In short it's about having momentum towards the end of the game, and your sacrifices should reflect this. Generally it's better to sacrifice walls rather than fast sweepers. |
 Jonny Evans - Legend. | |
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| Deck Knight | Mar 2 2009, 01:40 PM Post #6 |
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You forgot the fifth playstyle: Unconscious: A playstyle defined by wasting 5 minutes of your opponent's time by not paying attention to LC Ladder popups. I jest. Excellent guide Vader. Beat Up theme teams, btw. are all about momentum. If you can't stop the Beat Up sweep fairly quickly, you will be crushed underfoot. Edited by Deck Knight, Mar 2 2009, 01:42 PM.
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| Vader | Mar 7 2009, 02:40 AM Post #7 |
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HALLO I AM A VADER
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Dixie, the reason that he gained momentum is because he disrupted your momentum, a circumstance mentioned in the guide. Do you guys think this is worth submitting to the Smogon Magazine? |
i agree owner of #lc, #osm, #lcwifi, #lcwarstories, #lcmafia, #lcubers, #lcwc, #vader, #VARK, #kfc and best of all #fap | |
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| eric the espeon | Mar 7 2009, 02:30 PM Post #8 |
vader was here
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Maybe, but there are a few things that could need adding, like closing thoughts. Sorry about not going through this but its not something I can find nitpicks with particularly. If you want I can talk you through some bits I think could do with changing on IRC or shoddy. |
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| Colloquy | Mar 7 2009, 11:30 PM Post #9 |
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No. Not yet. We should wait for a bit, when the magazine is started, and when SDS is accepted.
Edited by Colloquy, Mar 8 2009, 12:12 AM.
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