Which Version 4 Server?

Hello, we are currently developing a pixelmon serer. We would love to use 1.8 of sponge but it just seems like we would be sacrificing a lot of features of the server to upgrade to 1.8. Would you rather have it be 1.7.10 and loaded with features or a new and shiny striped-down 1.8. Please let us know your thoughts.