Cliffhanger Update 6.2:

There are Ghosts in the Forest

Written by NHoff

 

A small update this time around to acknowledge some newcomers and reevaluate one tier change!

 


Promotions:

  • Regirock - Tier B -> Tier A

    • Back in update 5.0 we demoted Regirock from A to B after a reevaluation of Lock-On and the awkwardness that the Regis often have in playstyle. While Regice still seems right at a Tier C evaluation, Regirock’s speed to Stone Edge alongside some powerful core partners both old (Venusaur and Tropius) and new (Trevenant and Gourgeist) made it apparent that 1 point was a bit too much of a deal for the Rock Peak Pokémon.

 

New Additions:

  • Trevenant - premiering at Tier A

    • Trevenant is unique in many ways. A brand-new type combination to GO, a new move combination in Shadow Claw/Seed Bomb that offers coverage alongside bait potential, and a possibly first-ever Pokémon with sub-1800k stat product in the top 3 on PVPoke? My memory is shaky on where Shadow Machamp peaked way back when, but that’s the only competition for that title I could imagine.
      Regardless, this tree is both spooky and strong. Its emergence is what prompted an emergency vote on Cliffhanger, and we’ve decided to tier it at A putting it at 5 points. We think this is the best place due to its low bulk despite its high performance in simulations; we will take careful consideration of usage and performance data from future Cliffhanger tournaments to continuously re-evaluate its position.

  • Gourgeist - premiering at Tier B

    • Gourgeist is unique in many ways… hey wait I heard this one before! Gourgeist is a bit of an echo to Trevenant, a bit fainter in strength but still very Grassy and Ghosty.
      Gourgeist’s move downgrade of Hex in lieu of Shadow Claw puts it a full tier below Trevenant for Cliffhanger. We believe this will allow it to still see play as a strong ghost and a cheaper core partner than the flashy Trevenant.

 

Other Considerations Made:

  • This was a lighter discussion and vote due to the importance of tiering Trevenant, but the team did discuss Malamar at more length, as well as the upcoming Luxray upgrade from Shinx Community Day. Both were ultimately left in C, as were some other brief mentions including Hoopa, Galarian Slowbro and Galarian Slowking. With the inclusion of two new Ghost-types there was discussion of other Ghost-types, most notably Sableye, and the tiering around the type, but no changes were ultimately put to vote.

 

— The Cliffhanger Team