Battlefield, Dreamland, Final Destination, Fountain of Dreams, Yoshi’s Story, counter-pick: Pokemon Stadium. Most of us know the Melee Legal Stages by heart since they’ve been used for so long. That doesn’t mean they’re still universally accepted. Case in point: Pokemon Stadium. Melee players of all levels have griped and called for it to be banned since time immemorial. I mean, GrSmash has an ongoing YouTube series dedicated just to Pokemon Stadium jank.
Duck Hunt and Lylat are seemingly the least liked legal stages at the moment. Duck Hunt, largely due to the interactive elements in the background and the tree left of stage which allows for camping. Lylat definitely gets players…tilted. Both have been called a redundancy in stage size options since they’re both very similar to the starting stages already legal. Player’s in favor of retaining Duck Hunt as a legal stage often site the side walls which allow for wall jumping, greatly aiding the recovery of certain characters. While I do think that camping is a legitimate strategy with counter-play, it isn’t the only complaint players and some TO’s have with the stage. The community is far from agreed on Duck Hunt and Lylat as legal counter-pick’s.
Viewership via Twitch and ESPN for EVO is another bullet point in the argument for banning Duck Hunt. Many feel that by banning Duck Hunt and thereby preventing camping, mostly (looking at some of you Sonic main’s), the game will be generally faster paced and engaging for viewers. In turn generating more growth for the Smash 4 scene. Since recently received a slot on Sunday for EVO’s main stage Top 8, the community is buzzing anew with chatter of reducing legal stages, removing Duck Hunt and Lylat as counter-pick’s and just having 3 legal stages. Are we picking viewership over player fairness? Do some player’s just not understand the point of having counter-pick’s? Here’s some of you all are saying.
EDIT, 1/27/17 11:40am, Recommended Ruleset: https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/5qixz6/smash_for_wii_u_recommended_ruleset/
Skip to 3:40 for the core of his argument.
@TheTantalus like duck hunt is good for space counterpicks, lylat sucks but it’s a counterpick for a reason, small stages, tri platform, etc
— ZeRo (@TSMZeRo) December 19, 2016
Redditor u/MrMockRock:
I’m fine with Duck Hunt going, because it’s a stage that leads to a worse experience for both spectators and players, even if there’s nothing technically bannable about it. You can make an argument for overcentralizing the meta around defensive tactics, but that’s debatable.
That would probably mean taking another stage, and it should clearly be Dreamland in that case. I don’t like this dynamic of “ban Battlefield or Dreamland, I’ll just choose the other one.” Dreamland is less neutral because of the wind and the slight slope of the stage Esam found, so it’s fine to get the axe.
Lylat, on the other hand, should not be banned. It provides a unique layout and doesn’t overcentralize any unfair tactics.
Edit: Here’s John Numbers’ great suggestion,
I feel like I should get this out of the way; there is absolutely no reason to run a 3 stage ruleset, at all. I see people talking about banning Lylat, Duck Hunt, and Dreamland and that somehow means we HAVE to have a 3 stages legal stagelist, meaning one of the 4 remaining stages is being banned for no reason. Just run a 3 Starter, 1 CP stagelist (0 or 1 ban, no DSR), simple as that.
For the 5 stages legal stagelist (FD, BF, SV, TnC, Lylat), you also do not need to run 3 Starter, 2 CP. Just make it 5 Starter (1 ban, no DSR) and call it a day.
Edit 2: From Umbro knight’s comment below, Compiled Reasons Against New Ruleset https://docs.google.com/document/d/15d1QiQ5sBFKA2gIW95tBAX8N0nWo_y9cymaK9jXJP-0/mobilebasic
Make sure to vote in these polls! Share you thoughts in the Reddit discussion!
EzDoesIt Gaming 
Compiled list of reasons against the new ruleset: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15d1QiQ5sBFKA2gIW95tBAX8N0nWo_y9cymaK9jXJP-0/edit
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Thanks for sharing this!
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