Shadow Tag: BAN
A lot of thought was needed into this vote, as this is potentially banning an entire Pokemon(well, forme) from ubers(Mega Gengar). I'm voting ban because I deem the mindgames inherent in Shadow Tag and the removal of switching—a fundamental mechanic in Pokemon—uncompetitive. Shadow Tag is one of those abilities that force you to play differently from the mere presence of it. Ubers is a tier where nearly everything is absurdly powerful and it's hard to carry more than one check to most things. The so-called "50/50s" that Shadow Tag creates are tilted in the abuser's favor. Should the victim lose just one of these turns, they could lose the game, while the abuser can usually just try again later in the game. This is where the uncompetitiveness lies. Now, is it uncompetitive enough to be banworthy? Yes. As I previously said, Ubers is a tier where nearly everything is absurdly powerful, and it's hard to carry multiple answers to the threats in the tier. This means that losing your only check to a threat makes a much larger difference than it does in other tiers. The removal of switching is also removal of choice during the trapping turns of Shadow Tag to the point where it is uncompetitive. The trapping turns of Shadow Tag, while sometimes not that long, can have more impact than a larger portion. With all of this in mind, Shadow Tag should not be allowed in the Ubers metagame.
A lot of thought was needed into this vote, as this is potentially banning an entire Pokemon(well, forme) from ubers(Mega Gengar). I'm voting ban because I deem the mindgames inherent in Shadow Tag and the removal of switching—a fundamental mechanic in Pokemon—uncompetitive. Shadow Tag is one of those abilities that force you to play differently from the mere presence of it. Ubers is a tier where nearly everything is absurdly powerful and it's hard to carry more than one check to most things. The so-called "50/50s" that Shadow Tag creates are tilted in the abuser's favor. Should the victim lose just one of these turns, they could lose the game, while the abuser can usually just try again later in the game. This is where the uncompetitiveness lies. Now, is it uncompetitive enough to be banworthy? Yes. As I previously said, Ubers is a tier where nearly everything is absurdly powerful, and it's hard to carry multiple answers to the threats in the tier. This means that losing your only check to a threat makes a much larger difference than it does in other tiers. The removal of switching is also removal of choice during the trapping turns of Shadow Tag to the point where it is uncompetitive. The trapping turns of Shadow Tag, while sometimes not that long, can have more impact than a larger portion. With all of this in mind, Shadow Tag should not be allowed in the Ubers metagame.