My power rankings for this datamine:
Broken: Mix Red, SS Roxie, SS Piers, Penny, Elaine
Really good: Ryuki, Variety Elio, Variety Selene
Good: Lodge Gladion, Eve
As for grid expansion:
– Leaf’s boosts are goated. She basically became better Kiawe. Yet, Leaf is now forced to spend energy into Trainer Move MPRs to maximize Crit. That works to her detriment as it takes energy from her rudimentary utilities. It’ll take some time getting adjusted to, but Leaf improved overall.
– Iris is fine. Honing Hit Soften Up combos well for Gauntlet self-sufficiency. Aggravation 2 is also big. Idk, I think Steven got a far shittier expansion. Champion Iris still does her Champion Iris things.
[0:00] – Eve, Ryuki
Eve is solid for a freebie. Her kit structure is reminiscent to that of Oak’s, as she can serve many functions between tanking, debuffing, disrupting, nuking, etc. However, Eve’s grid layout makes it difficult to use all her best traits in unison. She wouldn’t be my first CS Striker choice, especially now that Normal-types have to deal with 3000pts clears.
Ryuki is good fun. Easily my favorite unit this batch. His Shell Trap mode is fantastic (if you know how to manage countering moves). Given how well Ryuki’s kit facilitates successful Shell Traps, he wipes on-type with a simple Sun boost. His traditional moves perform well too. The biggest issue with Ryuki is that his kit has a big on-type bias, much like Drasna. His presence in more difficult content like Extreme Battles is shaky.
[1:47] – Penny, SS Piers
Penny is busted as hell. To put it into perspective, she is a better Special support than SS Kris. Rebuffs Mind Games 9 is a powerful enhancing combo. Like, with Penny’s help Diantha can safely drop Devastation and be better off for it. I considered a Cracked tiering for Penny, but I have to see how well she handles off-region EBs. Only Special Support that’s beating her is Champion Blue.
SS Piers would be relatively unimpressive if not for the field effect compression. His structure is very similar to that of SS Lana, although he doesn’t peepee as hard because he demands the 5/5 for SE Next and SMUN enhancements. Nonetheless, his ability to combo in Dual Strike mitigates his slow self-sufficiency, and Piercing Blows is nice for Gauntlet gamers (his utility doesn’t reach Petrel’s levels though). I’d say he is a little clunky to be a hard top tier unit though.
[3:28] – Variety Elio, Variety Selene
These two continue the trends set by their Variety predecessors. Permanent field effects are always nice, and Elio/Selene have an aptitude for disarming enemy defenses. Elio has tough competition in SS Lana. Selene is better because she has Bite, although she needs offensive Support below 3/5.
I hold the same opinion on them as I did back with Kris/Lucas/Lyra: Solarize-esque nuking is cringe because you often miss out on the field effect, so you can achieve better results by pairing a field effect caster alongside a competent nuker. Similar critique that Field pairs get, ironically enough. The Variety Eeveelutions are stronger in alternate formats like Gauntlet.
[5:02] – Elaine, Mix Red
Elaine is busted. She takes cues from Ball Guy in that she cyclically spams a potent Trainer Move. Elaine doesn’t fit my playstyle per se, but it’s easy to tell DeNA cranked the shit out of her utility. Her grid can be catered to counter any content you toss her at. Between interferences, debuffs and the best passives Supports have to offer, I’d say Elaine is one of the most consistent Supports released. What Anabel wanted to be more or less. The lack of Spe buffs doesn’t even matter because her Trainer Move takes approximately 5 years to execute.
Mix Red is a one man army. Self-sufficient, very powerful, good defensive backbone, debuff compression, Dynamax bursts, a field effect… but only the most dedicated of whales can attempt Mix banners. This is a good onset for Field pairs though. DeNA is willing to give them everything.
[7:36] – Lodge Gladion, SS Roxie
Lodge Gladion is looking kinda schnice. His kit is robust for Lodge standards. Haze is very useful. His level of consistency is also commendable between a good Trainer Move with MPR3, First Aid 4 and Synchro Healing. Only thing that’s cringe about him is gauge.
SS Roxie is basically better Fall Iris. You may cope with me. Her Electric mode is not shabby either. Dynamax is huge for spread damage dealers like her. I don’t have anything to criticize Roxie for besides her poor defensive backbone, which limits her Gauntlet potential.
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