Silph Arena Factions S2 Postseason Metas

I've already discussed the structure of the last postseason ever for Silph Arena Factions, but I haven't discussed its framework, which would mean the metas or formats. The reason they hadn't been divulged back then is because they were still in development, and since these are to be the ones to end all others in Factions, they had to be perfected... even up to this very day, the final day for entry of Pokémon teams for King of the Hill (more on this personally very soon). In any case, at this point, they do deserve discussion.

Great League and Ultra League are vastly different for both. In the Worlds Championships (which will start next week), they are "bring 8, ban 2" affairs that were teased earlier, but they also have a "block 2" element that can be used to prevent certain selections from being banned; this has the potential to be very dynamic because of its novelty. In King of the Hill, they are 6-a-side points-based formats with quotas of 19 and 17 for Great League and Ultra League respectively. The viable species are divided into four tiers with four point values (S with 7, A with 5, B with 2, and C with 1) from which Trainers as usual are demanded to build the best teams possible without "breaking the bank", for the best this competition now has to offer in its final stage.

Then there are the unique Battlefields for both. For the Worlds Championships, that would be called "Pandamonium", and this is the teased "novelty changing format". The format - which is standard 6-a-side - starts with a small selection of 17 species, and each week (Bout), new species are added, and some old species may be removed as well based on trends; it has a similar dynamic energy to the league formats above. For King of the Hill, the unique Battlefield is called "Ragnar" and is structured like a standard Silph Arena theme with allowed types (Water, Bug, Poison, Psychic, Ice, Dragon), "curated" species (Snorlax, Miltank, Greedent), and bans (Electric, Rock, and Dark types, Shadow Pokémon and 17 species) but using the "bring 8, ban 2" system for a little spice in this final competition.

Both Worlds Championships and King of the Hill also have two points of commonality, one of them being Master League, still 6-a-side. Its tiers and points still remain the same as they have been from Cycle 3 (S with 4, A with 3, B with 2, C with 1, and D with 0) plus the necessary ban list, still comprising Mega Evolution - at least, the forms that are absolutely not allowed, as other Mega Evolved forms are present in other tiers - and Primal Reversion. The only differences, as with Cycle 4, are the new species and forms that have been introduced since then, which have been assigned accordingly to the tiers. At the least, those who deal with this might find that the experience is essentially unchanged.

For the other point of commonality, that would be the Battlefield called "Echo". It's a slot-based Battlefield that recalls popular (but not too popular) species from previous Faction Battlefields with two picks from each group (four in all) of two or three prior Battlefields that comprises approximately 30-50 species. Accordingly, it uses the "bring 8, ban 2" system, and while some species are found across groups, the "species clause" (only unique picks) remains in effect as is standard for Silph Arena play. Shadow Pokémon is also banned, so this Battlefield becomes just a pure species showcase for Trainers, specifically against those of others once put into battle against others.

After dealing with Factions for however the length of time may be - whether briefly like for my Faction and a number of others, or the entire time as with yet others - once they're involved in these final competitions, the final test is at hand... perhaps also for the people who organize the Arena as well, as in the case of the development for the above. Now that they've been developed, the final battles of Silph Arena Factions can be initiated to see the ones that can come out on top - hopefully perfectly no matter the imperfections.

One year ago: NADWPKMN - The Video Series: Episode #3 - The Games I Play

Two years ago: Mastering Balls of Hands and Feet

Three years ago: It's a-Mario Time

Four years ago: Going Big in Galar

Five years ago: Pokémon Archetypes

Six years ago: New Paradigms