Resource Draft Analyses Format (What We Do Differently)

[Hacker]

Draft analyses do not work like other analyses. Due to the nature of Draft, standard analyses do not fit the format of what we need. We have a unique analysis format that should be followed. This thread is mandatory reading for making reservations here. Reading the Announcements thread is also mandatory.

Analysis Format

Format and prototype notes by UT

[overview]
**Draft Order**: (general vibe on when it's often drafted)

**Price Range**: (be as specific as possible)

**Overview**: 2-4 sentences highlighting the key elements of the Pokemon. What does it usually do, why do you usually draft it, etc. Should be very high level but give the picture of what it does.


[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Role 1**: 1-2 sentences about the first common role it takes.

**Role 2**: 1-2 sentences about another common role.

(repeat as necessary)

Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: (these generally don't need explanation since they should be fairly obvious)

**Setup Moves**:

**Utility Moves**:

**Coverage**:

Niche Moves
========
**Niche move 1**: sentence about why this is usable and when.

**Niche move 2**:

(repeat as necessary)

Common Items
========
**Common item 1**: sentence explaining why it's useful and what roles should consider it.

**Common item 2**:

(repeat as necessary)

Niche Items
========
**Niche item 1**: sentence explaining why you should use this.

**Niche item 2**:

(repeat as necessary)

Tera
========
Explain if this Pokemon should be a Tera captain, and if yes, what types are relevant.

Draft Strategy
========
1-2 sentence highlight of draft strategy. Then go into specifics in bullet-points below.

**Specifics 1**: Sentence or two.

**Specifics 2**: etc.

(repeat as necessary)

Checks and Counters
========
**Common check 1**: Explain why it checks the Pokemon and what you should do about it

**Common check 2**:

(repeat as necessary)

[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user1.100000
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000

Most notably, Draft analyses do not use sets. Due to the preparation gameplay of Draft, where Pokemon are built specifically to counter an opponent's drafted team, the idea of default EVs, items, or even moves are not applicable. Our format structure instead focuses on Draft-specific information and concepts. You can see examples in the following posts. We have chosen specific Pokemon as examples to cover the range of what analyses might look like, as often multiple Pokemon fill fairly similar roles compared to each other.

Please be aware that Draft as a format ranges wildly in structure, format, and strategy. What is standard fare in one community may be unheard of in another. These analyses are focused on Smogon Draft's style of tournament, as well as any format that closely resembles the structure. See our Seasonal Draft thread for drafting and battle rules that these analyses are structured on. This is especially important for the Tera section, as Tera rules vary wildly between communities.

Find some example writeups here:
These Pokemon were chosen to represent a wide variety of possible categories that most Pokemon in SV Draft can be compared to. These examples are not intended to be published or used as draft or formatting advice, but rather guides for new writers to understand how they may write similar reserved Pokemon in our format.

Blaziken, a linear sweeper, by Deranged_Lime
Talonflame, a fast pivot, by UT
Galarian Slowking, a versatile pivot, by vmnunes
Iron Hands, a bulky but slow wallbreaker, by blittius
Iron Valiant, a strong, versatile first round pick, by Dartrix - Joker
Klefki, a prankster support pick, by Techno6377
Uxie, a defensive pivot, by olivia

 

[Hacker]

On Tera:

Different leagues and tournaments do Tera differently, including us. We even change how we've handled Tera over the several SV tournaments we've run, so we know that one-size-fits-all approaches don't necessarily work. However, with these analyses being focused on our tournaments, and any leagues/tournaments run similarly (8mon, Tera Preview, etc), we have some guidelines on how to approach writing about Tera.

1) In the Tera section, assume every Pokemon can access Tera. We are particularly aggressive with Tera Bans in our most recent SV tiering board, but this is not universally true across the community and may also not be true in future tournaments of ours. Regardless of the Pokemon's likeliness to be restricted from Tera (or, benefit from it), there should be some information on what to do if a reader has that Pokemon with Tera.

2) We do not intend to change our Tera rules from Seasonal, and that should be the basis of how you write about Tera. You can find those rules here.

3) Prototypes above like Espathra and Iron Valiant should give you an idea of how to write Pokemon that may change drastically when giving/limiting access to Tera. They should give some guidance towards how to write Pokemon in a similar position. If you need further clarification or guidance, feel free to reach out to QC and/or mods on Discord for help.

4) We trust you to put your effort and time into the correct place. We don't allow Tera Dragonite and the vast majority of leagues don't eiher. In addition, the vast majority of players are not genuinely looking for Tera advice on their 2-point 8th pick budget option, even if they designate it a Tera Captain to budget for a high-pointer TC. There should be something in the Tera section, but it should reflect reality.

 

[Hacker]

Hey, we wanted to clarify a few things that we commonly see done incorrectly on analyses that QC or GP usually ends up needing to fix.

• Do not take out the [overview] or [strategy comments] that you see in the template. We need these for when we upload the analyses.
• For the Draft Order section, please do x round onwards. For example, Garchomp is Round 1 onwards, or Latios is Late round 1 onwards
• For the Price Range section, it is x-y points, where x is less than y.
• For the Common / Niche Items section, when refering to plates, Expert Belt, Black Belt, Life Orb, etc we label them as "Damage-boosting items".
• For the Common / Niche Items section, when refering to berries that help you tank hits from types that you are weak to, we call them "Resistance Berries".
• For the Common / Niche Items section, when you are putting a slash between two items it is "x / y" not "x/y".
• In the Common Moves section, if a Pokemon has Trailblaze and it is STAB, it is only considered Primary STAB and not setup if Trailblaze is a pokemons strongest option.
• In the Common Moves section, if a Pokemon has Substitute it is always considered utility.
• When you are talking about a Pokemon that can Tera, we call it a "Tera Captain" with that capitalization.

Vocabulary

• Avoid using the term "abuse" in analyses.
• When listing U-turn as a move, it is "U-turn" not "U-Turn".
• When talking about Stealth Rock, it is "Stealth Rock", not "Rocks".
• When talking about Stealth Rock or Spikes setters, they are "entry hazard support".

 

[Hacker]

From now on, in the Checks and Counters section you are not supposed to say how a pokemon can get through its checks and counters. This information will usually be in in Draft Strategy, Common / Niche Items, or in its Coverage moves.