Tier List update November 2016

Tyrone · November 6, 2016

I will announce the Tier list changes of November in this thread.

These changes are made according to the Usage gathered from 5th October - 4th November

The tables can be seen here: (The cut-off point is 4.36%)

A list of this months Tier Changes:

Moving down from Over-Used to Borderline 1 (OU to BL1):
Vaporeon: With a usage of 4.28%, it's just below the cut-off point of Over-Used. Because Kangaskhan is getting an extended test period (more information about that later), as well as the very close % and past history of Vaporeon in UU, the Tier Council has decided to ban Vaporeon to BL1 to avoid big changes with uncertain effects in the Under-Used Tier.
Moving up from Under-Used to Over-Used (UU to OU):
Typhlosion: Typhlosion has reached a usage percentage of 5.10%, putting it in the Over-Used tier. Also, the Tier Council feels it is necessary to ban Typhlosion to BL, to ensure it won't drop down to UU after two months (Yo-Yo rule). A detailed post about the Typhlosion discussion can be found in the Typhlosion Discussion thread.
Haunter: A surprise for most people, but Haunter has reached 4.55% usage in Over-Used last month, meaning it's going to be in the Over-Used tier for at least two months.
Moving down from Under-Used to Never-Used (UU to NU):
Nidoking: This will be a very controversial decision, but the Tier Council has decided to not quick-ban Nidoking from NU to BL2 without a proper test. Unfortunately, with a usage of 3.89% in UU, it has fallen out of flavour. Yet the Tier Council acknowledges the potential of Nidoking and will react fast if it performs too well in the tier.
Moving up from Never-Used to Under-Used (NU to UU):
Absol: Most people were already on board with banning Absol to BL2, but it seems the usage statistics are one step ahead of us. With a usage of 5.56% in Under-Used, it will be in the Under-Used Tier for at least two months. In combination with this, the Tier Council has decided to test ban Absol for the unhealthy characterstic in the meanwhile. By looking at the NU Metagame without Absol, in two months the Tier Council will decide whether to keep it banned (BL2) or to let it come back down if the usage numbers have changed.
Blastoise: Blastoise is famous for Yo-Yo'ing between UU and NU, but after today it will be locked into Under-Used for at least two months, because it has a usage percentage of 5.45%.

Additionally:

Kangaskhan: The one month suspect test of Kangaskhan is being extended with an extra month. The Tier Council feels that Typhlosion's presence in the UU Metagame has disturbed the UU Metagame too much, therefore is unable to accurately judge the healthiness.
Zangoose: As result from the Haunter movement to Over Used, the Tier Council is looking more specifically into Zangoose's performance in UU. In the coming Tournament on Sunday evening, Zangoose will be closely watched and the Tier Council advises everyone of the community to give their opinion on Zangoose (positive as well as negative) in the Zangoose Discussion thread. On Monday, the Tier Council will review and make a decision whether to ban this pokemon to BL1 under Uber Offensive characterstic.
Victreebel: A public Discussion thread for Victreebel will be opened.
Snorlax: The Tier Council has come up with an idea for a Snorlax test, this idea will be further developed the coming days and on Monday the details will be announced to the public.
[Tier] Discussion Request threads will be replaced by [Tier] Metagame Discussion threads instead. A General Discussion Request thread with a template to nominate pokemon which the community believe deserve their seperate Discussion thread will replace the the old system.
Tier Policies and Tiering Etiquette Guide will be getting an update as they are somewhat outdated, to be more in line with our current policies and reflect what has been achieved so far.
Never-Used Tier BL2 bans may now occur throughout the month, as its usage statistics are not relevant for any usage based movements in other tiers. This allows the Tier Council more breathing space and quicker reaction to ensure the Tier's healthiness.

Thank you to all players who have participated in this month's Competitive Events and Ranked matchmaking, we hope to see even more battles in the coming month!

A special thank you to the Tier Council members who continue to voluntarily help the competitive environment to be as good as possible!

@BurntZebra @Gunthug @Artemiseta @Arimanius @gbwead @Rigamorty @DaftCoolio