A Glimpse into Faction Battlefields

After a couple of preseason Cycles, the Factions of Silph Arena got its regular season going, along with the start of the new regular individual Silph Arena season. It has a neat structure, which ought to be discussed later. Along with that, it also introduced the Battlefields for the cycles of its regular season, four of which have been put in play in the first Cycle that has passed and the second Cycle that is currently ongoing. It is fascinating to take a brief look into these Battlefields to see what goes on in them.

In the first Cycle, there was a Battlefield called "Dungeon". Pokémon types were to have at least one of Water, Bug, Poison, Dragon, and Steel, and the ban list comprised Azumarill, Skarmory, Altaria, Bastiodon, and Shadow Pokémon. Since there are few direct type relations with the necessary types, Pokémon that have other types decided how well species matched up with each other, which is evident with the four banned species that would become dominant otherwise. The non-inclusion of Shadow Pokémon ought to have made this a more friendly choice for some Specialists, though it may be restricting to others.

The first Cycle also featured the return of a previous Arena themed cup as a Battlefield, and that was "Nightfall". The same restrictions for the themed cup still apply, but there is now a ban list, with Pidgeot, Chansey, and Lickitung within it. The first of these has been known to be errantly powerful, and the last two are known to be somewhat supreme defenders, so to balance things this time around, they've been taken out. With all other particulars remaining the same as well as the ability to use new species that have been introduced since that time, the theme becomes slightly renewed but still ready to challenge.

Meanwhile, there is the current second Cycle with its two Battlefields. The first of these is called "Comet", with Normal, Fire, Flying, Ice, and Psychic as the types of choice and Chansey, Wobbuffet, Mantine, Altaria, Medicham, and Deoxys Defense as the ban list. This list is significant, as many of them need Candy XL or are just plain bulky to start out with, which might be cumbersome for Faction newbies or totally dominant for expert Trainers. Therefore, this Battlefield might be considered another (or rather, the more) friendly choice when it comes to entering this Cycle and battling.

Like the first Cycle, the second Battlefield is a returning themed cup called "Twilight", which I hadn't covered on this blog because it was before I'd gotten into Silph Arena. Here, the types of choice are Poison, Ghost, Dark, and Fairy, which are quite interrelated; to keep things in check, the ban list here comprises Nidoqueen (fairly powerful in and out) and Pawniard (another Candy XL seeker). This Battlefield will obviously find favor with those who possess prior experience, and with the ban list being not too extensive and new species in play, there is something to be gained with the new experience as part of Factions.

With the above Battlefields, it can be seen that two are completely new and two are returns from the Silph Arena to suit team play. Yet they still make sense, as Factions itself represents a kind of "novel return" for veterans of Silph Arena together with those who may be relatively less experienced. As Factions continue, new and old themes alike - this time as Battlefields - will certainly mingle and challenge Trainers to make sure that they do well for themselves and their teams in this current season and hopefully beyond.

One year ago: Hype and Habit and Pokémon

Two years ago: Cosplay: Erafun Cosplay Contest

Three years ago: Cosplay: Art and Cosplay Stage "PANSOS"

Four years ago: How Many Is Too Many?