I
want to clear up the confusion,
@jamashawalker but I also want to keep things concise. That ain't happening, but now things will be... messy. >.>
To accurately diagnose the current Standard Format, you have to understand that this game has
never been properly balanced. Always remember that
every Pokémon is someone's favorite, that most folks actually like
several Pokémon, and that some folks want as many
options as possible. Put all that together, and no single aspect of a Pokémon should be an automatic (or probable) qualifier/disqualifier.
Meaning it isn't good when
any Stage, Type, strategy, win condition, etc. is disproportionately dominant.
Ideally, it would be perfectly balanced, but that ain't happening, so I'll settle for things being closer. Also, the rules need to be streamlined. When something is only "balanced" because the powers-that-be introduced a special rule, s'good sign it isn't actually balanced e.g. No T1 Supporter, no T1 attack, etc.
I'm also warning about viewing recent Formats as if they were all that great... because in the grand scheme of things, they most likely weren't. Most likely? With respect to SUM - LOT,
dudes, the body's still warm; eventually, we'll hit that sweet spot where long enough has passed to offer perspective, but not so long that memories and information sources have become unclear. This is
especially true if things in a person's life may have changed; for years, I remembered the mid-2000's as better than they were. Why? That was when I had the most time, money, and friends to play.
Addressing some
specific questions/comments, though:
In this CEC metagame we can eliminate a good portion of the cards that are legal for standard. Due their overwhelming bad matchup against the best decks in the format.
I don't like it, but this is
normal. I think you may be recalling the past Format as more diverse than it was, or else, cherry-picking that moment when it was at its best. Intentionally doing so? No; you're going to approximately the same time in the previous Format as we are in the current one... but Standard Formats aren't always at their best at the same point.
Not only do they have a bad matchup, it is beyond difficult to set up with them due to the extremely limited amount of pokemon search we have in the format. Inform me on this (I really mean it because idk lol) has there ever been a time you can look at a card and first have to ask before reading it.... "Is it searchable?"
There were times when that wasn't a question because all available Pokémon search was
far worse than what we have now. There are a lot of times when it has been better. I'm not sure if there have been a lot of times when it has been well-balanced, though. Y'see, when you have universal Pokémon search like Ultra Ball, that makes it far easier for cards to become generic deck staples. You'd think a rising tide lifts all boats, but it actually enables the best to be used in everything.
Plus, the search we
do have is inadequate because of the
other issues with the game.
I'm beyond excited for SwSh with the new Quick Ball+Evolution incense to come into play. We can look back at the older cards that never got a shot due to consistency issues and see how we can incorporate them into the new format
True
but remember they'll still have to compete with everything we already had plus the new stuff in Sword & Shield. As or more important is the new T1 rule about no Supporters. I don't like it, because the problem is
certain T1 Supporters and Pokémon. Which I think the designers were more than a little foolish to create and release in the first place.