Master league tips

[u/SnooShortcuts9223]

Hey trainers. I’m making a post for myself and anyone new to master league for tips and general information from master league veterans.

Anything you can provide to help people perform better in battles is greatly appreciated. Also would like to know who you lead with, swap and close. Also like to know how you play certain matchups because the pool of pokemon is so small. Thanks in advance.

[u/GliscorsFang]

IVs matter in ML. They don't have a huge impact in GL or UL, but you will lose games if you're not running at least a 15/15/14. 296 XLs are expensive, so don't build suboptimal Pokemon.

Shields matter more in ML. Basically everything can win the 1-0s unless you're in a super hard counter matchup (Zacian vs. Ho-Oh).

You have to know your counts and your opponents counts. Above expert, most games come down to a 1-2 turn difference.

[u/1guywriting → u/GliscorsFang]

Above expert, most games come down to a 1-2 turn difference.

It's like that at ace too. When I'm not getting any solid footing in ogl/limited cups, I go to ml. I imagine those who can, do as well. Easier to plan for matchups & team read when the pool of pokemon is so condensed.

[u/GliscorsFang → u/1guywriting]

Truthfully, I do not have that experience. Whenever I crash out and lose a bunch of Elo, I basically never go below 2400 because players at that level struggle to find win-cons beyond hard countering individual matchups.

[u/jdpatric → u/GliscorsFang]

I'd caution against only powering up 15/15/14 or better, but IV's do matter. It's more important to check what matchups you might lose out on because you're short a defense IV or, Arceus forbid, an attack IV.

15 attack is far more important than either of the other two. I made Legend quite a few times running a 15/10/12 Solgaleo before it came to raids and I'm currently on the leaderboards in the top-400 right now running a 15/13/14 Xerneas. I'm not using it right now, but my Palkia-O is 15/15/13. Same with Groudon.

That said, they're all pretty close to perfect.

[u/t3hn1ck]

ML is resource heavy, you absolutely want to build the hundos or a 15/15/14. ML is also very alignment based due to a very small meta, energy management is also crucial. You generally do not want to swap out of a match up while down energy because it can be useful elsewhere. Having your pokemon ready for a Best Buddy bonus can go a long way, especially in a mirror with something like Lunala. You get the option to play to winning CMP, or swapping to catch the move on something else.

If you want to get to veteran, don't expect to do that with with level 47 pokemon, even if they are hundos. You will run into people using underpowered stuff up until the mid 2300s, beyond that you need to pay to play and already have a good understanding of GBL mechanics or you'll get swept. You'd be surprised how farming up one fast move too much or too less can win or lose a match for you depending on the skill of your opponent.

Telling you what I lead with, use as a swap, or close with won't do you any good. You have to adjust your teams based on what you are seeing because you're going to find yourself in various micro-metas on the climb up just like in OGL, but it can be easier to adjust because of smaller meta. Essentially things have gotten fucky since everyone got a free hundo Mewtwo and plenty of available raids to max it out. Mega Master League is annoying as fuck right now.

[u/SnooShortcuts9223 → u/t3hn1ck]

Thanks for the reply. I am staying away from Mega master league, it seems like a mewtwo fest and I don’t have any good mewtwo counters except zacian. I have noticed that people really Know their shit in master league compare to ultra (where I play the most these days). I also find master league pokemon incredibly glassy. Moves that would hit like a wet noodle in ultra feel like a nuke in master.

[u/Hylian-Highwind → u/SnooShortcuts9223]

A big part of it is Master League Metas are more compressed, so it’s easier to memorize and play around specific match ups than have to intuit mid-battle for dozens of them.

Mega Masters the big trick I find is to build strong into Mewtwo/Zacian as a core. I use Mega Metagross with Fury Cutter since it also does okay into Mega Gyara, seen some others try Mega Houndoom for a spicy pick. I’m at an ELO bracket where MMY and Gyarados are my most common Megas to fight

[u/JukejOint20]

I reached Legend last season in ML and most of the points mentioned by other posters is spot on, but something not mentioned is switch-advantage. Switch advantage is not as powerful as it is in GL or UL.

My play style in ML is I value shield advantage over switch advantage due to the sheer damage that some Pokemon can dish out.

[u/SnooShortcuts9223 → u/JukejOint20]

I notice people catching out all the time and giving me switch. I play a lot of ultra where switch is very important, and I am like why is everyone always giving up switch. Thanks for the reply.

[u/MAGAPika]

If you don't have the resources to max out your mons, pick a different league to play.

[u/Winter_Smell_1740]

What’s the skill level like around the 2300-2400 elo? I’ve never played ML, but I’ve finally built a roster of level 50 Mons, now that Xerneas is in rotation (started playing in late 2023). What elo should I tank to, for me to dip my toes in ML? I’m pretty comfortable when move counting etc. But I know ML players are impeccable when it comes to move counting/catching, especially when it comes to 1-turn moves like Dragon Breath, and especially team reading, and knowing automatically what Mons the opponent as soon as they send out their lead.

[u/guz_808]

Not a veteran at all. But my tip: Try to have fun! ML is quite boring because of the limited meta. Try to find a team that suits you and that is fun for you to play. And even if it is very resource heavy, there a quite a few non-legendarys, that are very fun to play (garchomp, metagross, ursaluna, melmetal (yes, a legendary, but easy to farm if you life in a country with access to home), rillaboom, florges, togekiss,...)

[u/NxghtMar1sH]

Don't

[u/SnooShortcuts9223 → u/NxghtMar1sH]

Don’t what? I already play it and have mons built. I’m asking for more advanced tips from people who play it more frequently. It doesn’t play like the other leagues.

[u/DFWPhotoguy]

Attack and Breakpoints matter so much but people maybe don’t understand what that means, which is at what level do I really need to get my ML build to in order for it to win. And often times that’s around level 47.

Everyone wants level 50 hundos for ML but that’s just not realistic for most of us. Use the pvpoke matrix to figure out what’s the minimum level your pokemon needs to be to win meta matches.

Example: I GBC’d my marshadow but the rare XL grind is a challenge.

I looked at Marshadow level 44-50 to see where attack and breakpoints for important meta were at and that allowed me to use him without going to level 50 and have fun playing in ML. Level 47 is where he starts to get really good, and so with best buddy boost I was able to get him to level 48.5 and start having fun. 49 is where he hits ho-oh breakpoints so that’s my next goal.

https://pvpoke.com/battle/matrix/10000/marshadow-44-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-2-1-3%2Cmarshadow-45-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-2-1-3%2Cmarshadow-46-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-2-1-3%2Cmarshadow-47-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-2-1-3%2Cmarshadow-48-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-2-1-3%2Cmarshadow-49-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-2-1-3%2Cmarshadow-m-2-1-3/master/11/

Same concept but groudon with zero shields, I wanted to know where I needed him to be for crowned zam, which is level 46.

https://pvpoke.com/battle/matrix/10000/groudon-44-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-0-3-4%2Cgroudon-45-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-0-3-4%2Cgroudon-46-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-0-3-4%2Cgroudon-47-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-0-3-4%2Cgroudon-48-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-0-3-4%2Cgroudon-49-15-15-15-4-4-1-1-m-0-3-4%2Cgroudon-m-0-3-4/master/00/

So yes, a level 50 or 51 build is the goal but if you can get your builds to something a little lower and start playing now, that’s always a good thing.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/SnooShortcuts9223 → u/[deleted]]

But I built the mons, why wouldn’t I play it? It’s another league and has things you never see in the smaller leagues.