I've been toying around with a somewhat bulky offensive team I made for a SomethingAwful tournament. While it did well, it did lose in the semi finals. After tweaking it some more and testing it further, it has reached the final stage and I now ask you guys for feedback.
Adamant
@Custap Berry
Clear Body
240 HP / 252 Att / 12 Spd
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Explosion
Standard Gross lead, with a twist. The beauty of lead gross is that it rarely dies within the first few turns and is extremely viable later in the game. The first move used depends on the opponent's lead. If it's safe to attack, it'll use EQ or MM if it poses a threat and SR if it doesn't. Focusing on HP means it'll last a bit longer than most leads. The best part of the set is the Custap Berry. After repeated switches and SR damage, it's HP will be near or in critical state, meaning the berry will activate, giving the opponent a boosted Priority Explosion in the face, killing virtually any threat it faces. Since it resists most priority attacks, going first shouldn't be a problem. Although very situational at times, the satisfying high risk/high reward factor is there.
Edit : After testing it in a few battles, many opponents never see it coming and stay in, expecting to KO Metagross, eating an Explosion in the face. Really fun to use.
Timid
@Choice Scarf
Levitate
6 HP / 252 SAtt / 252 Spd
ShadowBall
Thunderbolt
Trick
Will-O-Wisp / Hypnosis
With the insane speed CS gives it, it acts as a revenge killer of sorts. However, it can cripple an incoming counter by tricking it onto them. Gengar loves to see Blissey switch in to sponge it's attacks, only to be rendered useless by a choice item. Even without scarf, Gengar is still very deadly with its 3 useful immunities and is still surprisingly resilient to unstabed moves. The last slot entirely depends on what version I'm playing on, Hypnosis usually is better but W-o-W is equally devastating to physical attackers.
Rash
@Choice Scarf
Magnet Pull
56 HP / 252 SpAtt / 200 Spd
Thunderbolt
Hidden Power (Fire)
Flash Cannon
Explosion
The first member of my team's defensive and offensive core. Custom set, a fusion of the Steel Killer set (which I found to not be very effective outside of dealing with Skarmory) and the revenge Choice Scarf set. Defensively, Magnezone and Salamence resist each other's weaknesses, while contributing to the team's success.
Reaching a speed number of 307, Magnezone is EV'd to outspeed every steel type except Jirachi (who is almost always a lead, and switching Magnezone into it on Turn 1 gets rid of it entirely most of the time), Heatran (who's usually scarfed but can be dealt with)and Lucario, KOing them with appropriate moves. Going Rash means more power while still keeping that key speed required for it to work as well as preventing it's attack to be lower than with a Modest nature, powering up Explosion. Hidden Power Fire shuts down Scizor, Thunderbolt outdamages HP Fire on most steels. Flash Cannon is used as an alternate STAB against other threats and Explosion is a last resort move.
Magnezone's job is to get rid of all the pesky steels that get in the way of Salamence, ensuring it's sweep. It's plethora of resists allow it to be also very effective defensively when paired with Gyarados, doubling it's effectiveness in my team.
Adamant
@Leftovers
Intimidate
156 HP / 208 Att / 144 Spd
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Dragon Dance
Taunt
Pretty much standard Gyarados set. The EV spread is different however, focusing a bit more on attack.
Still as fearsome as it used to be. Very hard to take down if it manages to get a few Dances under it's belt. Water/Rock gives it nice coverage and Taunt is invaluable to shut down some of it's counters and stall teams. Also part of a defensive core with Magnezone.
Jolly
@Choice Band
Intimidate
6 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spd
Outrage
Earthquake
Aqua Tail
Dragon Claw
No setup, huge damage. That's all this Salamence is about. The second member of my team's offensive combo. Outrage will tear teams apart after Magnezone does it's job, destroying any non steels in a few hits. The other physical moves complete it's devastating arsenal, some moves outdamaging Outrage against certain key enemies. I went with a pure physical set since steels are dealt with Magnezone and the rest of the team.
Still testing whether or not I need it to have 328 speed over 299, if it's usefulness really warrants the loss of 56 points in attack from not going Jolly.
Bold
@Leftovers
Trace
252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpAtt
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Recover
ThunderWave
Another key member of my team. Deals with a good number of top threats that would normall threaten the team.That list includes Salamence (physical variants) Flygon, Jolteon, Gyarados, Heatran, Vaporeon and many more. Thanks to his defensive stats and a bulky EV spread, it can withstand powerful physical attacks and recover them off. Not only that, but it's bulk allow it to spread paralysis around to help the slower members of the team.
I mainly have problems with Raikou and sometimes Lucario. I tried to fit in a bulky roarer in there but wasn't able to without fucking up the team's balance. Comments are suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
Edit - I'll add a threat list later on when I'm not completely exhausted.
Adamant
@Custap Berry
Clear Body
240 HP / 252 Att / 12 Spd
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Explosion
Standard Gross lead, with a twist. The beauty of lead gross is that it rarely dies within the first few turns and is extremely viable later in the game. The first move used depends on the opponent's lead. If it's safe to attack, it'll use EQ or MM if it poses a threat and SR if it doesn't. Focusing on HP means it'll last a bit longer than most leads. The best part of the set is the Custap Berry. After repeated switches and SR damage, it's HP will be near or in critical state, meaning the berry will activate, giving the opponent a boosted Priority Explosion in the face, killing virtually any threat it faces. Since it resists most priority attacks, going first shouldn't be a problem. Although very situational at times, the satisfying high risk/high reward factor is there.
Edit : After testing it in a few battles, many opponents never see it coming and stay in, expecting to KO Metagross, eating an Explosion in the face. Really fun to use.
Timid
@Choice Scarf
Levitate
6 HP / 252 SAtt / 252 Spd
ShadowBall
Thunderbolt
Trick
Will-O-Wisp / Hypnosis
With the insane speed CS gives it, it acts as a revenge killer of sorts. However, it can cripple an incoming counter by tricking it onto them. Gengar loves to see Blissey switch in to sponge it's attacks, only to be rendered useless by a choice item. Even without scarf, Gengar is still very deadly with its 3 useful immunities and is still surprisingly resilient to unstabed moves. The last slot entirely depends on what version I'm playing on, Hypnosis usually is better but W-o-W is equally devastating to physical attackers.
Rash
@Choice Scarf
Magnet Pull
56 HP / 252 SpAtt / 200 Spd
Thunderbolt
Hidden Power (Fire)
Flash Cannon
Explosion
The first member of my team's defensive and offensive core. Custom set, a fusion of the Steel Killer set (which I found to not be very effective outside of dealing with Skarmory) and the revenge Choice Scarf set. Defensively, Magnezone and Salamence resist each other's weaknesses, while contributing to the team's success.
Reaching a speed number of 307, Magnezone is EV'd to outspeed every steel type except Jirachi (who is almost always a lead, and switching Magnezone into it on Turn 1 gets rid of it entirely most of the time), Heatran (who's usually scarfed but can be dealt with)and Lucario, KOing them with appropriate moves. Going Rash means more power while still keeping that key speed required for it to work as well as preventing it's attack to be lower than with a Modest nature, powering up Explosion. Hidden Power Fire shuts down Scizor, Thunderbolt outdamages HP Fire on most steels. Flash Cannon is used as an alternate STAB against other threats and Explosion is a last resort move.
Magnezone's job is to get rid of all the pesky steels that get in the way of Salamence, ensuring it's sweep. It's plethora of resists allow it to be also very effective defensively when paired with Gyarados, doubling it's effectiveness in my team.
Adamant
@Leftovers
Intimidate
156 HP / 208 Att / 144 Spd
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Dragon Dance
Taunt
Pretty much standard Gyarados set. The EV spread is different however, focusing a bit more on attack.
Still as fearsome as it used to be. Very hard to take down if it manages to get a few Dances under it's belt. Water/Rock gives it nice coverage and Taunt is invaluable to shut down some of it's counters and stall teams. Also part of a defensive core with Magnezone.
Jolly
@Choice Band
Intimidate
6 HP / 252 Att / 252 Spd
Outrage
Earthquake
Aqua Tail
Dragon Claw
No setup, huge damage. That's all this Salamence is about. The second member of my team's offensive combo. Outrage will tear teams apart after Magnezone does it's job, destroying any non steels in a few hits. The other physical moves complete it's devastating arsenal, some moves outdamaging Outrage against certain key enemies. I went with a pure physical set since steels are dealt with Magnezone and the rest of the team.
Still testing whether or not I need it to have 328 speed over 299, if it's usefulness really warrants the loss of 56 points in attack from not going Jolly.
Bold
@Leftovers
Trace
252 HP / 252 Def / 6 SpAtt
Thunderbolt
Ice Beam
Recover
ThunderWave
Another key member of my team. Deals with a good number of top threats that would normall threaten the team.That list includes Salamence (physical variants) Flygon, Jolteon, Gyarados, Heatran, Vaporeon and many more. Thanks to his defensive stats and a bulky EV spread, it can withstand powerful physical attacks and recover them off. Not only that, but it's bulk allow it to spread paralysis around to help the slower members of the team.
I mainly have problems with Raikou and sometimes Lucario. I tried to fit in a bulky roarer in there but wasn't able to without fucking up the team's balance. Comments are suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
Edit - I'll add a threat list later on when I'm not completely exhausted.
