Friday, September 11, 2015

Not yOUr Average Meta Team: Semi-stall Team "Report"

I've wanted to do a sorta team report on this unit for a while.  It's really interesting and looks awful on paper, but at it's best, got me to a 1702 (pre-reset), which is my second-highest ladder ranking on Smogon.  It's a long way from my goal of voting, but I think that had more to do with not having as much time to play.

Anyway, the point here isn't "oh look at me, I'm so cool" but that this team is still a work in progress, and I wouldn't mind some outside eyes weighing in on it so suggestions are absolutely encouraged.

I feel like the last spot in particular (Thundurus) is most open to something new, but I'm having a hard time placing it.  The ideal candidate would provide switch initiative (U-Turn preferred), and somehow help me deal with Kyurem-B and Mega Venusaur, the two things I have problems with.  Gyarados is also optional but I like having dual Intimidates, I love Dragon Dance, and Gyarados is a favorite.  This team is as close as I can get to favorite-stacking and being competitive.


Blue (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect

I really think Gliscor is the best physical wall out there.  The viability rankings may disagree but I don't exactly agree with those anyway (they change too often to be followed verbatim anyway; next week Gliscor may be ahead of Hippowdon).  I haven't done the math, but it feels like Poison Heal basically doubles his HP and the bulk is there to begin with.  He also doesn't care about Knock Off once poisoned and uses that move punishes the all-too-common Lati@s switch-ins and helps speed up the stall process.  The rest is standard Gliscor.  I've seen Substitute & Roost used effectively, but I really like having a way to soften-up AssVest & Eviolite users as well.  Tbh, the EV spread is based on an OLD one, probably gen 5 I think & I have no idea what I need 72 Speed for but it works.

Osiris (Umbreon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Foul Play
- Toxic
- Protect
- Wish

Special wall/ favorite Pokemon that happens to have decent synergy with Gliscor.  The two fill very general roles as walls, not for anything in particular and almost always provide me with a way out.  Plus, how often can you do that with two of your favorites?  Synchronize lets me Toxic Mega Sableye (oh it's worth it) while Foul Play helps speed up stall a little bit and is really my best way of hurting Kyurem-B and keeps him from subbing.  Surprisingly effective but without it, most variants of Kyurem-B maul me with most sets hitting my whole team super-effectively.  Wish-Pass is self explanatory.

Kowalski (Empoleon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Roar

This was actually the last addition to the team.  The logic was: who can set up rocks, clear them, and switch in to special fairies who otherwise tickle my core?  The ability to phaze is a HUGE bonus and keeps almost all set-up sweepers from getting cute.  Did I mention the perfect defensive synergy with Gliscor?  I really love this core.

Jormungandr (Gyarados) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang

Another favorite who puts in the work with Dragon Dance.  Lum Berry is for frequent burn & T-wave shenanigans, the other moves are coverage.  It used to be Moxie, which saved me on multiple occasions in the lower ladder but higher up, players are too smart to let that thing get away from them and Intimidate is really nice anyway.  But seriously, Moxie w/ a Lum in tact eviscerates unprepared teams (which is how he got his nickname--the world serpent slain by Thor [electricity]... clever, no?) and sometimes I miss it, especially after the ladder reset.

Beowulf (Manectric) (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Gyarados's buddy and one of my favorite Megas. Lightning Rod means everyone has to think twice about firing off a T-Wave/bolt.  Honestly though, the best thing this thing provides is fast offense, and Intimidating switch initiative.  The whole idea is to systematically wear down teams so it's essential to get into favorable positions where they have to switch often, gradually getting worn down while I heal up my walls so I need Volt/Turn to do that.  Lots of people love Overheat, but I prefer Flamethrower mostly because it usually KOs things like Ferrothorn, Scizor, Weavile, etc and what it doesn't, I almost invariably deal with using a combination of Volt-Switch & the corresponding wall.  I also hate the special attack drop--for this team, it's more like a marathon than a sprint and Flamethrower helps me control the pace.  Beedrill is tempting in this spot but that's 3 Rock weaknesses.

RNGesus (Thundurus) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 64 SpA / 72 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I've tried a few things in this spot like Victini, Noivern, and Azelf to help address the Mega Venusaur problem and bring U-Turn into the fold, but nothing has worked as well as Thundurus. Prankster T-Wave + Taunt is really nice and few teams have enough ground types to really deter double Volt Switch.  Still, I believe a stronger choice is out there, so if you have ideas, let me know.  The EV spread isn't mine--I'm normally a 252/252 guy and just let my play handle it but I wanted a bulky one that still had a little punch to it.  A more offensive variant might be better but again--semi-stall is a marathon...maybe a half-marathon.  Whimsicott is a favorite and kinda tempting here but Stun Spore isn't great, however Encore is ^.^ I just haven't had a chance to test it.
_________________________________________________________________________________

First you may notice, everyone is blue & yellow. This is purely coincidence (Buckeye fan, thank you very much).  But there's also a lot of overlapping weaknesses too--Ground + Ice are common (yet I've never had a problem with Mamoswine yet), as is Electric, which is why you see Kyurem-B being so annoying.  I also do nothing to defensive Mega Venu and only beat it through a 70+ turn battle with Umbreon who's obvi the clutch-est and so cute and makes me miss my real cat named Osiris back in Ohio <3

Other than that, I honestly don't encounter many problems besides hax (WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING RNGESUS ON MY TEAM) and questionable plays but we can't do anything about that.  My main thing is this: what can I switch into the Thundurus spot (or potentially Thundy & Gyarados) that:
-helps deal with Mega Venusaur
-helps deal with Kyurem-B
-provides switch initiative (key to the team strategy)
-doesn't stack any more weaknesses
-priority and fairy-slayers would be nice as well
-actually, I think Mega Swampert may have been tricky also.

Feel free to comment your ideas below, I promise I'll check them all, or even tweet me some ideas.  Thanks, yall!

3 comments:

  1. Jormungandr idea is very clever, love it. :) Gyarados is a favorite of mine too especially back when Gyara-vire was used. I really love Mega Manectric too. Has interesting qualities; great speed, Intimidate, Volt Switch, decent defenses(not to mention Charge one of my favorite moves and Snarl), and good coverage/Sp.Atk. Mega Venusaur is almost always a problem lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gyarectric/ Manecdos is, at least in my opinion, the new and improved Gyaravire but unfortunately, I lose it after the Mega :/ Most of my favorite Megas are ones that "need" it like Mawile, Aggron, Beedrill, Manectric... things whose utility increases enough to make them viable. Still got my fingers crossed for Fartherfetch'd xD

      Delete
  2. Update on this, I gave Crobat a try and he was probably the second best option. The fast Taunt helps to stall-break and w/ Infiltrator helped me deal with Sub + CM Keldeo. Surprisingly, the support set is sorta ill-equipped to handle Mega Venu but I never seem to see those now.

    I'm probably going to just build a new team with a more balanced play-style and maybe make some changes and move this to UU since half of the team is from that tier anyway. Thanks to all who responded on Twitter ^.^

    ReplyDelete

One Last Ride: The Sleepy Hollow Spectriers Season-in-Review

 I'll make this pretty short since I didn't save any replays, but now that the season has ended for everyone else also (I had to dro...