Hey! Blank wrote a rebuttal to this piece! I don’t think it addresses a lot of the content of this piece, but I do think you should go read it!
https://theamiiblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/amiibo-and-arenas-worth-a-second-look/
Back in update 3.1, Nintendo added the ability to set a new type of online arena: an amiibo arena. People who had trained amiibo but never joined the competitive scene took this as a way to host amiibo tournaments, and a few small ones sprouted up.
Unfortunately, arenas are not very conducive towards hosting multiple-set large amiibo tournaments, for a variety of reasons. In this article, we’ll discuss the significant advantages that Powersaves-hosted tournaments have over arena tournaments.
Arena Advantages
- Free and built-in to Smash Ultimate
- Very easy to set up
- No financial startup cost
Arena Disadvantages
- All players must be coordinated to conduct the tournament properly
- All players must be online at the same time for the duration of their entire run in the tournament
- Because the tournament happens in real-time significantly more time investment is required across all parties
- TOs have no way to check the legality of an amiibo before the tournament begins
- Arenas are capped at 8-amiibo tournaments
Powersaves Advantages
- Requires only the TO to be running the tournament, and can happen at any time
- Can host infinite amount of amiibo, with multiple entrants per trainer
- TOs can check legality of amiibo before the tournament
- No coordination necessary between trainers: one trainer leaving doesn’t disrupt the entire tournaments
Powersaves Disadvantages
- $25 price tag to host a tournament, entrants must have their own method to enter a tournament
- Powertags can fail, causing tournaments to take longer
- Not built-in to Smash Ultimate
The biggest difference between Powersaves and arenas is the question of money versus time. If you have money and want to host, Powersaves is absolutely your best option. It’s faster, more efficient, and allows you to ensure the integrity of your tournament.
If you don’t have money, then you’re limited to arena tournaments. Unfortunately, because arena tournaments are so small, they can’t be used as a reliable metric by which an idea of the metagame can be derived. It’s best to only get data from Powersaves tournaments because of their larger size.
For these reasons, I am exclusive to Powersaves tournaments. While arenas are fun and useful for testing out amiibo, or just having a good time, in serious amiibo competition there’s really no substitute for a Powersaves.
Amiibo Doctor 