A new week means a new meta! I intended to review the Great League Remix, but at the time of this writing, Team Niantic has not seen fit to reveal the banlist to us. And considering that the banlist determines that entire format… yeah, we’re pivoting to Master League Premier instead in the latest edition of “Tips & Tricks”!
Unlike my famous (infamous?) “Nifty Or Thrifty” reviews of the entire meta, this series just hits some of the highlights, grouping Pokémon into roles and comparing and contrasting some of the more potent (and likely to be encountered) picks from the top of the meta. So let’s do this!
FAIR(Y) IS FAIR 
It’s no secret that Dragons (and Dragon moves) in general are on the rise, and that will absolutely play into this meta. And what better way to handle Dragons in Master League than their traditional hard counters, Fairies? TOGEKISS in particular was once a top meta option in even Open Master League, but it’s fallen off more and more over time as the meta has rushed past it, even in Premier. But with buffs to Charm and the charge moves of Togekiss in particular, they’re back in a BIG way.
- Let’s start right there, with Togekiss itself. Yes, Charm was reworked this season, and Togekiss uses it well, with Flamethrower to burn through Steels (like Gholdengo) or Psyshock for more widespread neutral coverage (picking up things like Primarina instead). But it all really centers around the now amazing Aura Sphere, which is just nasty on Togekiss now at all levels (in case you’ve been living under a rock and somehow NOT run into a hundred of them in PvP this season already). Its high damage for reasonable cost allows Togekiss to outrace things it just can’t otherwise like Feraligatr, Ursaluna, and Tangrowth. But there’s also the big buff to Peck, and that variant of Togekiss is now equally viable, shifting the Fairy damage to Dazzling Gleam instead, dropping things like Gyarados and sometimes Gholdengo to instead outrace others like Primarina and Venusaur. And yes, it still handles all the Dragons, even Dragonite and Goodra with their scary Thunder Punching… and it conveniently handles all the other Fairies that may be brought to bear against Dragons too, as well as Grasses and Fighters thanks to the advantages that come with being Flying. Togekiss is ranked #3 in ML Premier, and it’s pretty easy to see why! If you have an old one you maxed back in the days of ML past, throw an Elite TM at it for Aura Sphere and go nuts. I plan to!
- There is a Fairy ranked higher, however… FLORGES is ranked Number 1! And interestingly, it’s ranked that high while not even having its best moveset. Moonblast is great, but Florges can do better with Trailblaze and the new Chilling Water, which can add on wins like Gholdengo, Togekiss, Gyarados, and Golisopod (despite those latter two taking no better than neutral damage from Trailblaze and resisting Chilling Water). Togekiss still has clear advantages over Grass types (which leads to wins Florges cannot replicate like Venusaur and Tangrowth), but is just a bit better overall with wins like Shadow Rhyperior, Shadow Ursaluna, and Gholdengo that Togekiss with most moveset options struggles to replicate. Both of them have more than enough going for them to be build-around pieces for different teams.
- Lastly, we have PRIMARINA, which definitely wants Charm and, in this case, Moonblast too, alongside Hydro Cannon. That plus its Water subtyping leads to wins that elude other Fairies like Skeledirge and Avalugg, but it then suffers losses to things other Fairies can beat like Gholdengo, Shadow Ursaluna, Torterra, Togekiss, and ironically, Water-weak Shadow Rhyperior. It too is ranked within the Top 10.
STEELY RESOLVE 
As another handy counter to Dragons AND the Fairies that counter then, Steel types have remained a steady presence in Master League formats from the beginning, recently exemplified by the Crowned Dogs (#1 and #3 in Open ML), with Dialga, Dusk Mane Necrozma, and Metagross also occupying spots in the Top 20. But of course, we’re talking Premier here, which means most of those fall away. But not all….
- METAGROSS, like Togekiss, was once in the very upper echelon of Master League and has just been passed by more and more as the meta has evolved and grown over time. It has hung around the edges of viability in Open, and is seeing a bit of a resurgence now for the same reason it rockets up to #2 in Premier now: the recent addition of Shadow Claw. The biggest issue Metagross has long had is that its only viable fast move is Steel type, and while it’s a really solid fast move (Bullet Punch), that plus similarly really good Steel charge move Meteor Mash has meant that most of its damage is awkwardly resisted by opposing Steel, Water, and Fire types. Shadow Claw has no such issue, and while it deals less damage than Bullet Punch overall, it’s resisted only by opposing Dark and Normal types (both of which are pretty rare at this level) and generates more energy than Bullet Punch. In a lot of respects, Claw fixes what has been ailing Metagross and allows it to reach for new wins like Gholdengo, Annihilape, Torterra, Magnezone, Feraligatr, and Salamence and, obviously, the mirror match. It DOES mean some new losses as well, such as Rhyperior, Ursaluna, and Goodra, but I think the overall upgrade is more than worth it. As with Togekiss earlier, if you already built yourself a maxed Metagross a while ago and just need that new exclusive move, I think the Elite TM is worth it to spring for Shadow Claw. In this and other Master League play, I don’t think you’ll regret it. That said, if you do NOT want to do that, I’d recommend at least considering non-Legacy new fast move Fury Cutter, which faces a lot more resistances (and losses like Ursaluna, Primarina, and Dragonite) but also nice gains like Torterra, Feraligatr, Magnezone, and the clearest advantage of all three fast moves in the mirror match.
- I’ve mentioned it quite a bit so far, and yes, GHOLDENGO is worth a look here. Interestingly, I think it may be Power Gem that’s the must-have move, as it alone seems able to race past stuff like Goodra and Rock-weak Golisopod, Gyarados, Salamence, and scary Skeledirge. All three other moves have points in their favor, but as mentioned with Metagross’ Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball is widely unresisted and deals very good damage for the cost. Maybe it’s “boring” when you can deal Fairy or Fighting damage with the other moves, but I think I may actually recommend it anyway.
- Yet another Steel type that just squeaks into the Top 10? SCIZOR, specifically Shadoe Scizor. I don’t feel nearly as good about it as I do everything else in this article thus far, but you can’t argue with the potential on a team that knows how to use it. The combo of Steel (Bullet Punch), Dark (Night Slash) or Bug (X-Scissor), and Grass (Trailblaze) is certainly intriguing.
Several more Steels beyond that which can be used as well, including KINGAMBIT, MAGNEZONE, and even AGGRON if you’re feeling frisky, but they all have some glaring weaknesses that hold me back from making any a strong recommendation. All have the uncomfortable potential of getting locked into baaaaaaaad matchups with no good way to dig out. High reward, maybe, but equally high (likely higher) risk. Tread carefully!
HERE BE DRAGONS 
They have long defined Master League in general — becoming more and more prominent over time, not less — and Premier is certainly no different even though a TON of Legendaries and Mythicals are kept out of this meta.
- DRAGONITE just keeps getting better of late, and takes its rightful place in the Top 10 here in Premier, with a record to match. I wasn’t too sure about the addition of Thunder Punch this season, but man, it’s been pretty great on old ‘Nite, and that’s certainly true here with big wins over Primarina, Gyarados, Salamence, and even Magnezone thanks to its damage, baiting potential, or both.Worth noting, however, is that the power of the reworked Dragon Claw is instead better for blowing past Annihilape and Skeledirge.
- GOODRA also likes having Thunder Punch, though honestly it seems to better hit peak potential with Aqua Tail and Draco Meteor, which drags Annihilape, Ursaluna, Salamence, Garchomp, and Rhyperior into the win column and further distinguishes it from Dragonite… though use of self-nerfing Draco Meteor should be judicious, of course.
- I’ve mentioned it a few times, so I would be remiss not to give a shout-out here to SALAMENCE, particularly the Shadow version which does drop Steely Gholdengo and Scizor, but overpowers Dragonite, Garchomp, and Shadow Rhyperior instead.
Beyond those, other options include BAXCALIBUR (Ice having obvious applications versus Flying, Ground, and Grass types while still keeping up pressure on opposing Dragons), HYDREIGON (MUST avoid Fairies, but walloping Ghosts and things dishing out Dark and/or Ghost damage is a nice niche), KOMMO-O coming in hot with handy Fighting coverage, and GARCHOMP with potent Ground damage from Earth Power.
BEST IN CLASS 
Well so far I’ve made this sound like Fantasy Cup: Master League Edition with all these Dragons, Steels, and Fairies. But of course, we actually have ALL typings available to us in Master League Premier, it’s just that the pool for most other typings is limited… most are best represented by just one or two members.
- For Grass, VENUSAUR is highest rated, but beyond an obvious anti-Fairy role, as much as I love my boy Venu, it’s just okay here. Much better in the same Grass/Poison typing is ROSERADE, which can basically beat everything Venusaur can except for Annihilape while adding Gyarados, Lapras, Scizor, Torterra, Venusaur, Magnezone, and in the case of Shadow Rose, Golisopod and Gholdengo too. Fire has a lot of good applications here, so Weather Ball is even more threatening than you may intially think.
- There’s also TORTERRA which is okay but not exceptional… it’s not great as a Grass and its new Mud Slap role is just done better by other things. Things like RHYPERIOR, of course. Or if you want a Ground that does NOT rely on Mud Slapping, URSALUNA may be your cup of tea.
- In addition to Scizor mentioned earlier, GOLISOPOD represents Bugs very well. ANNIHILAPE is really the only Fighter you need (though yes, MACHAMP puts up a decent fight too).
- AVALUGG is the best of the best among true Ice types, though old guard MAMOSWINE can still work if you have that readily available.
- And finally, Water types. I’ve mentioned a few already, but while FERALIGATR has fallen off a bit, things are looking way up for GYARADOS thanks to the big Dragon Breath buff. It tangles with most Dragons, and even with resisted fast move damage, still overcomes (non-Electric) Steels with a steady pounding of Aqua Tail and Crunch. And that’s all on top of the Ground, Fire, Bug, Fighting, Water, and even Grass types you would expect.
IN CONCLUSION
Alright, gonna end it there for today, as the format is about to hit and I want this out in time to actually help you all, dear readers! Hopefully this does just that.
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Stay safe out there, Pokéfriends, and catch you next time!
The post PvP Tips & Tricks: Master League Premier appeared first on Pokémon GO Hub.
