Hello Revmaniacs! With the ladder having been up for several days, I wanted to post a team that I have been having some success with, and some general thoughts on the state of the meta so far. TL;DR:
here is the team, meta is fun!
The Team
Blacephalon @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast
- Flamethrower
- Knock Off
Blacephalon gets several major buffs in Rev, most notably much stronger Ghost STAB and being able to hit Blissey harder with Fire Psyshock. While it is tempting to go Specs or Scarf, I have found Heavy-Duty Boots to be the most consistent option to allow it to come in multiple times per game and wear down the other team. Knock is mostly here to annoy good switch-ins by taking away Boots/Vests/etc. Very few things can switch into Blace multiple times, especially if they lose their item early, and it can force progress fairly easily.
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
Lando is role compression personified: it spreads paralysis, sets hazards, is a soft check to most physical attackers, deals solid damage, and pivots, all of which are valuable additions to this team. Hazards in particular are very nice to have, if not mandatory, to limit the number of times your opponents dumb breakers can come in. The addition of flying STAB is nice, but does not change his role significantly from standard play.
Shedinja @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Poltergeist
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
Probably the most surprising mon on this team, especially since it does not directly benefit from the Rev mechanic at all, I have been very impressed with how Shed has performed on this team. With the power level of breakers being significantly higher, but coverage moves being much less common, Shedinja is able to wall a surprising portion of the metagame including Tapu Koko, most Extreme Speeders, and most Swift Swimmers. Ghost STAB especially with priority is always niche as well, and it can do more damage than you expect if given a free turn.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Body Slam
- Roost
- U-turn
- Defog
Corviknight does what it always does; check physical attackers, clear hazards, and pivot. The major benefit it gets from Rev is Flying Body Slam, which combines decent power with a very nice 30% paralysis chance, frustrating many of its common switch-ins or mons that might try and set up on it.
Blissey (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled
- Teleport
Standard Blissey; this team is overall lacking in Special bulk, and Blissey is the easiest way to solve that. It is extraordinarily passive however, and the balance between clicking Soft-Boiled and Teleport can be a fine line to walk. It's often worth trading a decent chunk of Blissey's HP for momentum, but make sure you can actually do something with that momentum.
Tapu Koko @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
Koko
loves finally having access to good Fairy STAB, and it's a serious threat to contend with. Electric Iron Head and Fairy Brave Bird have roughly the same Base Power in Electric Terrain, allowing it to fire off strong attacks from either STAB, while U-turn generates tons of momentum and Roost gives it more longevity than an attacker of its prowess deserves. Iron Head's 30% flinch chance is also very nice-to-have on a mon as fast as Koko.
Megagame Thoughts
Before getting started, I would like to emphasize that I am speaking for myself, as a player, and not as a council member here.
First off, the meta is a ton of fun! I have really enjoyed my time on the ladder, and seeing all the fun and creative sets that people are coming up with. While the metagame is offensive in nature, it is not as hyper-offensive as I feared, with Bulky Offense (see above) and even Balance being viable at all levels (there is probably no hope for stall though). There are a few elements that stand out as possibly stronger-than-balanced, that I would love to hear thoughts on from other players.
Blacephalon
Everyone should be familiar with Blace by now. Special Ghost coverage is insane and very difficult to handle outside of Blissey, Tyranitar, and a few other dedicated checks, all of which have their own drawbacks. It does need to pick between longevity, power, and speed, based on item, but is probably the most significant single attacker to be prepared for and dedicate a check to. This is probably what I would consider the most unhealthy element, but welcome further discussion and disagreement.
Tapu Koko
Similar to Blace, Tapu Koko has always been missing a good second STAB option, which the physical set in particular now has in spades. It's high speed tier and Base Power moves make it hit very hard, but it is prone to being chipped, especially with recoil and no easy way through common physical checks like Ferro or Lando.
Weather
I have not found weather to be a particularly unhealthy mechanic. Especially with the increased prevalence of priority, there are more checks to Swift Swimmers than normal, and the decrease in coverage moves (especially with Special Attackers often switching Hurricane to STAB) mean they have less options to blow by resists. The only element I can see being unhealthy is Barra; Water Close Combat with its amazing Speed tier invalidates even many resists.
Extreme Speed
Extreme Speed has not been overwhelming in my experience. All of our potential abusers suffer from poor defensive typing, poor bulk, or both, making it hard to switch them in for anything other than revenge kills, and even harder to set up. I have so far found Extreme Speed to be a healthy part of the metagame; it is a useful tool, but not overcentralizing.
Body Press
Body Press felt overwhelming on day one, especially in conjunction with Iron Defense and Agility or Trick Room, but I feel like the meta has already adapted and is much more manageable. Most potential Body Pressers have relatively poor special bulk, typings that leave them weak to common moves, and need several turns to reach game-breaking levels. I do not deny that Body Press is strong, but I feel like it is already well incorporated into the metagame.
Do you disagree with my assessment of what is good verse too good? Anything you think is broken that I did not mention? Please reply, and remember, if you are asking for things to be banned, replays and calcs are encouraged to help make your point.