Type:
Base Stats: 80 HP / 120 Atk / 90 Def / 60 SpA / 70 SpD / 85 Spe
Ability: Intimidate / Guard Dog / Stakeout (HA)
Notable Moves:
- Crunch
- Play Rough
- Jaw Lock
- Psychic Fangs
- Destiny Bond
- Taunt
- Hone Claws
- Roar
- Wild Charge
- Fire Fang
- Ice Fang
- Trailblaze
- Reversal
- Outrage
Pros:
- 1 fantastic ability in Stakeout, 1 good ability in Intimidate
- Solid Attack stat is complemented well by Stakeout
- Physical bulk is good and can be further improved by Intimidate
- Coverage is solid between Crunch and Play Rough, which is only resisted by Tinkaton and Klefki in UU
- Dark type grants it immunity to Prankster and resistance to Sucker Punch
- Mediocre special bulk and an awkward speed tier mean Mabosstiff is easily overwhelmed by fast special threats and some priority users
- Hone Claws and Trailblaze are its only reliable means of boosting attack and speed, respectively
- Strongest STAB is only 80BP and other coverage moves are not super strong either
- Struggles against Fairy types (e.g. Dachsbun, Tinkaton, Azumarill) and certain defensive threats (e.g. Bisharp, Wo-Chien, Avalugg)
- Can be easily worn down by contact-activated items and abilities like Rocky Helmet and Flame Body
You're probably better off Terastalizing something else with a more powerful movepool and/or more defensive prowess, but Mabosstiff can leverage Tera Dark to dish out super strong Crunches.
Sets:
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Mabosstiff @ Black Glasses
Ability: Stakeout
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Jaw Lock / Crunch
- Taunt
- Play Rough
- Trailblaze
With this set, Mabosstiff can function as a nasty wall-breaker with additional trapping capability if desired. Mabosstiff naturally lures in defensive threats like Quagsire and will deal massive damage on the switch-in thanks to Stakeout and Black Glasses. Adamant nature is preferred to maximize its wall-breaking capacity. Jaw Lock vs. Crunch is a matter of preference. Jaw Lock maximizes its wall-breaking capabilities, but can potentially lock you into unfavorable matchups without careful play. Crunch deals the same damage without the trapping capabilities, but can potentially trigger Defiant from Bisharp and Primeape. From there, Mabosstiff can use Taunt to neuter the foe's recovery or status moves that would normally shut down man's best friend. It can also prevent slower offensive threats like Azumarill from trying to set up in its face. Play Rough is a solid coverage option and can OHKO/2HKO mons like Hydreigon and Slither Wing. Trailblaze gives Mabosstiff an opportunity to boost its speed against neutered defensive threats and allows it to outmaneuver certain non-scarfed checks like Hawlucha and Talonflame at +1 Speed.
Scarf Scarf Arf Arf
Mabosstiff @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Stakeout
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Play Rough
- Fire Fang / Psychic Fangs
- Destiny Bond
Choice Scarf allows Mabosstiff to serve as an effective revenge killer with Stakeout serving as an excellent deterrent to switch-ins. Crunch is what you'll be clicking 90% of the time, but Play Rough can surprise Dark and Fighting types who attempt to switch in and stomach an expected Dark type move. Third slot is purely for coverage - Fire Fang can nab surprise 2KOs on Tinkaton while Psychic Fangs can destroy screens. Destiny Bond in the last slot is a great last resort option to take down threats Mabosstiff can outpace but cannot muscle through.
Other options:
- The pooch can run Jaw Lock + Taunt + Destiny Bond in an anti-lead/anti-hazard stack strat, although it should be noted that VoltSwitch users like Forretress cannot be trapped by Jaw Lock.
- Mabosstiff can also run coverage options such as Wild Charge to surprise KO mons like Azumarill or Talonflame on a switch-in, but this comes at the cost of its own longevity.
- Intimidate is a good ability, but Mabosstiff lacks the longevity to take full advantage of it and needs to be wary of Defiant/Competitive users.
- A defensive Mabosstiff can potentially run Roar to force out certain setup sweepers and/or proc chip damage from hazards.
- Finally, Guard Dog has niche utility as an Intimidate deterrent and could theoretically pair well with Adrenaline Orb, but is highly situational; however, Guard Dog strats could see more relevance if/when more Intimidate users are introduced to the metagame as Home is released.