Intro
Steel is widely acknowledged as a very strong defensive type, boasting a huge number of resistances. Therefore, in my experience, the most consistent steel teams seem to be the more defensive teams as they play to the type's strengths. The fact that toxic doesn't work on steel types also encourages this defensive style as you don't have to worry about being put on a timer. However, teams that utilise a defensive style are also not the most popular as many people find that it's not very fun to play or play against (although I'm sure some people do find it fun!). Personally, I also find defensive teams a bit boring especially if you're trying to grind the ladder; but steel is one of my personal favourite types! Therefore, I tried to build a team that can play to the type's strengths and encourage tactical play, but also switch up the pace and
erupt for a more exciting battling experience! I absolutely love this team and I hope you guys give it a go if you'd ever like to try playing with steel!
Team Explanation
This team utilises different methods to whittle down the opponent's health such as hazard stacking and toxic spreading (as you'd expect from most steel teams), in order to deal fast, fatal blows with the two scarfed Pokémon on the team!
Skarmory: Our first piece of the defensive core. It's very important to have a Steel/Flying type on any steel team for the immunity to ground type attacks, and Skarmory is my favourite of the bunch! An incredibly good physically defensive wall with great utility, being able to switch into many physical attacks. It's also a very effective Pokémon against fighting types as most of them are physical attackers, even Keldeo's Secret Sword hits the physical side (but be careful of the special attacking water moves)! I've personally found that Stealth Rock on Skarmory and Spikes on Ferrothorn is better than the other way round (which seems to be what's standard) because it means Skarmory can be a lot more useful against Flying teams (Ferrothorn has Leech Seed anyway which is already great value against Flying teams). Whirlwind is a great way to stop set-up sweepers before they get scary, and also synergises nicely with the hazard stacking capabilities of both Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Body Press is a great attacking move to have on such a physically defensive Pokémon like Skarmory, and also aids Melmetal with the fighting type coverage. Rocky Helmet also aids in the goal of whittling down the opponent's health for the grand finale!
Ferrothorn: Another piece of the defensive core. Ferrothorn can be a good wall in both the physically defensive side and the specially defensive side. However, in this team, the main focus is the physical side. It synergises with Skarmory as it can switch into electric type moves and rain boosted water type moves that Skarmory may struggle to take (alongside others given the situation). Physically defensive Ferrothorn also synergises with its ability Iron Barbs, allowing it to survive for longer while contributing to the goal of whittling down the opponent's health. To aid its survivability, Leech Seed and Leftovers give Ferrothorn the sustain it needs to be an annoying thorn for your opponent to deal with! Protect further aids the sustain as you can Protect for extra Leech Seed and Leftovers recovery! Power Whip provides important overall coverage especially against water and ground Pokémon.
Aegislash: As much as I'd love to run Weakness Policy offensive Aegislash as it's such a fun set, the defensive core is in need of a specially defensive wall, and a ghost type to prevent rapid spinners from clearing the hazards that you've worked so hard setting up! The fighting immunity is nice too! Aegislash fits this role very well and is also an incredibly good toxic staller. Substitute, King's Shield and Leftovers all synergise together to toxic stall, and being behind a sub facilitates the spreading of poison (as well as general damage with Shadow Ball). 248 HP EVs brings Aegislash to an optimal HP number that minimises HP loss from Substitute while maximising Leftovers recovery.
Heatran: The star of the show! If you've ever played/faced a steel team before, you'll find that a lot of Heatrans are part of the defensive core as another specially defensive wall with moves like Magma Storm and Toxic (and also as a much-needed fire immunity which is still the case in this team). But not this Heatran! Eruptions from Heatran are so incredibly strong, I felt that it would be such a waste if I didn't slap a scarf on it and let it loose! Nidoking thinks it can kill Heatran with Earth Power? Heatran clicks Eruption and Nidoking is never to be seen again! Even Pokémon that resist Eruption still take substantial damage assuming Heatran's HP is full. Oh and don't get me started on what happens if you ever get a Flash Fire boost. Of course, scarf Heatran does have its drawbacks. For example, mirror Heatran matchups become a lot harder to deal with especially if they have Air Balloon. However, as long as you can break the air balloon somehow, the game should be a lot easier. You can even hit it with a juicy Superpower from Melmetal (which we'll come to later). Another drawback is that scary Pokémon like Volcarona and Dragonite can get a bit comfortable with setting up in front of Heatran, which is why I've put Toxic so that if I ever expect one of them to switch in, I can poison them and put them on a timer. In the early game, Toxic can also be used to bluff the scarf too as long as the opponent's Pokémon is slower anyway.
Melmetal: Since Heatran is no longer the special defensive wall that assists Aegislash as you would usually see in other steel teams, I needed a different Pokémon that can switch into special attacking dark or ghost moves, while also not being passive (as I already have 3 Pokémon that are quite passive). Melmetal's incredible bulk paired with an assault vest seemed like the perfect answer! Melmetal's attacking stat is already so high that I didn't think it was necessary to give it a damage-boosting item. Melmetal's signature move Double Iron Bash is incredibly strong especially against Pokémon that like to set up a Substitute, or Pokémon like Mimikyu (with the Decoy ability). It's also one of the few STAB attacks on this team which is important for keeping favourable type matchups actually favourable! Ice Punch helps against ground matchups, and there's something satisfying about clicking Ice Punch predicting a Landorus-Therian switch in, then subsequently seeing its health bar getting deleted. I've seen a lot of Melmetals run Earthquake over Thunder Punch, however, I think Thunder Punch is important to help deal with opposing Steel/Flying types as well as Pokémon like Mantine. Superpower is also important for fighting coverage as Skarmory's Body Press isn't sufficient. Overall a very solid Pokémon that still hits like a truck even without a Choice Band, what's not to love about Melmetal!
Excadrill: Last but certainly not least we have our fire type destroyer and electric immunity. In general, having an electric immunity is very useful otherwise dealing with hard-hitting and fast volt-switchers becomes a pain. Also, it's incredible how many people forget that Excadrill has Mold Breaker, may I remind you that your Rotom-Wash is not safe if I click Earthquake?
Excadrill is this team's form of hazard removal, which is important as this team will want to switch a good number of times. Switching into 3 layers of spikes every so often is not fun! I found the best success when giving Excadrill a Choice Scarf as it's able to revenge kill, on top of being able to outspeed and kill most fire types. Now for your rock type coverage, you could run either Rock Slide or Rock Blast. Rock Blast is usually better for those flying types with Substitute (like Galarian Moltres), ice type Pokémon with Focus Sash, or even some Volcarona Substitute sets. However, I've personally had such a horrible experience with Rock Blast as most of the time they either hit twice or just miss completely, so out of frustration I changed it to Rock Slide! Hopefully, the same experience doesn't happen to you!
If you're reading this, I sincerely thank you for getting this far with reading my word vomit about a team that I've enjoyed playing with so much! I hope you guys give this team a go and see if you like this offensive spin on a typically defensive standard steel team! Even if you're not a fan, I hope my breakdown of the team has been an interesting and informative read. For my next steps, I might try climbing the ladder with other types and see how they go! I'm currently playing with a dark-type team and it's been a lot of fun so far! Best of luck in your battles!!