OU Spotlight: Magearna

By DeathByWobbuffet.
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Art by Tikitik

Art by Tikitik.

Introduction

Ever since it was first announced, Magearna has been hyped up as a top-tier threat in the SM OU metagame. It has an incredible base Special Attack stat of 130 alongside a great offensive ability in Soul-Heart that makes it more and more threatening every time it picks up a KO. Its access to multiple methods of circumventing its mediocre Speed in Shift Gear and Trick Room in combination with a wide array of coverage options makes Magearna a powerful offensive threat in OU that is capable of both wallbreaking early-game and cleaning up late-game once its checks and counters have been weakened or eliminated. Magearna also has an incredible defensive typing in Steel / Fairy that gives it two immunities and several useful resistances such as to Dark, Fairy, Flying, and Psychic, as well as above-average 80 / 115 / 115 bulk. This not only gives it an easier time setting up but also gives it a key defensive niche in checking Pokémon such as Latios, Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam, Gengar, Greninja, Tyranitar, Weavile, and Ash-Greninja and makes Assault Vest sets a viable possibility. These factors make Magearna an unpredictable and metagame-defining threat in OU, as it can run a variety of sets and run different moves to suit its team's needs.

Hot Sets
Magearna
Shift Gear
Assault Vest
Trick Room

Click on an item to reveal the set!

Shift Gear transforms Magearna into a potent sweeper with proper team support. After a boost, it outpaces base 102 Speed and below Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, Tapu Lele, and Heatran. This makes it particularly threatening versus offensively oriented teams, as its good bulk and defensive typing give it plenty of opportunities to set up, and it becomes more and more difficult to deal with after every Soul-Heart boost. Thunderbolt + Ice Beam forms the fabled BoltBeam combination, allowing Magearna to hit almost the entire metagame at least neutrally. Thunderbolt is Magearna's best option to use versus Pokémon such as Keldeo, Celesteela, Mega Charizard Y, Mantine, and Suicune, while Ice Beam ensures that Magearna isn't dead weight against Ground-types like Garchomp, Zygarde, and Landorus-T, and +1 Ice Beam also 2HKOes Assault Vest Tangrowth. The final slot comes down to the user's preference. Focus Blast rounds out Magearna's coverage, and in combination with Fightinium Z, it gives Magearna access to a powerful 190-Base Power All-Out Pummeling, which breaks through Ferrothorn, Assault Vest Magnezone, and Heatran, as well as hitting Mega Scizor and opposing Magearna for good neutral damage. Alternatively, Calm Mind can be used over Focus Blast, as it forms a Dual Dance set, which improves Magearna's matchup versus bulkier teams, and additionally, Special Attack boosts make it more likely to complete a successful sweep. The Special Defense boosts also make it less vulnerable to special priority and Choice Scarf users like Ash-Greninja and Keldeo. Calm Mind sets have been seeing more usage on Aurora Veil teams in particular recently, as Magearna tends to be able to gain multiple boosts when Aurora Veil up due to its great bulk and defensive typing. If Focus Blast isn't used, Electrium Z should be used to guarantee the OHKO on Celesteela, Toxapex, and Suicune at +1 with Gigavolt Havoc.

Instead of running an offensive set, Magearna's above-average bulk and high number of resistances allow it to play a more defensive role. Assault Vest Magearna can act as a bulky pivot for offensive teams, as it provides a consistent check to some of the most threatening special attackers in the tier such as Ash-Greninja, Tapu Lele, Gengar, Latios, and Mega Alakazam while at the same time not being a complete momentum drain for such teams because of its good Special Attack stat and coverage options. Fleur Cannon is a powerful Fairy-type STAB move that hits most of the tier fairly hard even without much Special Attack investment because of its high Base Power and Magearna's excellent Special Attack stat. The Special Attack drop that comes with it is less relevant than it is on other sets because Assault Vest Magearna is intended to be played as a defensive pivot that switches out commonly, so it doesn't regularly need to stay in to fire off a second attack. Flash Cannon is a secondary STAB attack that is primarily used to target other Fairy-types such as Tapu Bulu, Tapu Lele, and Clefable. Hidden Power Fire is generally the attack of choice in the third moveslot to prevent Magearna from being completely walled by bulky Steel-types; in combination with 56 Special Attack EVs, it 2HKOes both standard Ferrothorn and bulky Mega Scizor on the switch. Ice Beam is also an option to OHKO Ground-types like Landorus-T, Zygarde, and Garchomp, but these Pokémon don't appreciate taking a Fleur Cannon as they switch in anyway. Volt Switch improves Magearna's momentum-gaining ability by allowing it to pivot out of unfavorable matchups into a teammate. The HP and Special Defense EVs allow Magearna to take on the plethora of special attackers in the metagame better; specifically, they allow it to avoid the 3HKO from Choice Specs Gengar's Shadow Ball when factoring in Stealth Rock damage.

Unlike the Shift Gear set, which is generally played as a mid-game sweeper, Trick Room Magearna generally fulfills the role of a late-game cleaner that can turn the tables on faster offensive Pokémon. Trick Room Magearna's niche over Shift Gear sets is that it can outpace faster Choice Scarf users such as Keldeo, Dugtrio, and Greninja and potentially support slower teammates with Trick Room in some scenarios. Fleur Cannon + Fairium Z is generally used on Trick Room sets because it grants Magearna access to a ridiculously powerful 195-Base Power Fairy-type STAB attack that can quickly KO a Pokémon and give Magearna a Soul-Heart boost, which is useful because Trick Room only lasts five turns. Alternatively, Electrium Z + Thunderbolt is an option because it surprises Pokémon such as Celesteela and Suicune while doing respectable neutral damage to would-be checks like Volcarona and opposing Magearna. Although Focus Blast is inaccurate and rather unreliable, its ability to break through bulky Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Heatran after a boost makes it the attack of choice in the final moveslot. Flash Cannon can be used over either Fleur Cannon or Thunderbolt as well, as not only does it break Fairy-types such as Clefable, but it also provides Magearna with a secondary STAB attack that doesn't lower its Special Attack stat when Fairium Z has been used up, which can come in handy in some situations.

Good Cores

Tapu Lele Tapu Lele
Magearna Magearna

The idea of this core is to pressure and overwhelm shared checks for a potential clean. Choice Specs Tapu Lele is able to lure in and deal respectable damage to even bulky Psychic-resistant Pokémon such as Assault Vest Magnezone, Assault Vest Magearna, and SubToxic Heatran with a ridiculously powerful STAB Choice Specs and Psychic Terrain-boosted Psychic or Psyshock in order to pave the way for a Magearna sweep. It can also use Hidden Power Fire to surprise and OHKO Ferrothorn after a little chip damage and Mega Scizor. Additionally, it's able to pressure one of the best Magearna answers in the game, Chansey, with Choice Specs Psyshock. In return, Electrium Z Magearna can lure in and OHKO Celesteela and Skarmory with a 175-Base Power Gigavolt Havoc, allowing Tapu Lele to easily punch holes through the opposing team.

Landorus-T Landorus-T
Magearna Magearna

The combination of physically defensive Landorus-T and Assault Vest Magearna is an excellent defensive core that is able to cover the vast majority of the metagame, forming a great foundation for bulky and offensive teams alike. Not only does the pair form a potent VoltTurn core, but it also has good offensive synergy. Landorus-T provides Magearna with a much-needed Ground-resistant Pokémon that's able to take on threatening Ground-types such as Zygarde and Garchomp. It can also set Stealth Rock, which chips away at foes and takes advantage of the various switches that the core forces. Additionally, Landorus-T's access to Intimidate allows it to take on physical attackers that threaten Assault Vest Magearna such as Mega Medicham, Mega Lopunny, and Alolan Marowak. In return, Magearna acts as a reliable check to a number of Landorus-T answers and special attackers in general such as Ash-Greninja, Weavile, Gengar, Keldeo, Latios, Mega Diancie, and Tapu Lele.

Metagame Trends

Magearna fares best against offensive teams, as its Shift Gear and Trick Room sets are able to find many opportunities to set up and sweep versus such teams, and its Assault Vest set is an excellent check to many threatening special attackers in the tier. As such, it appreciates the popularity of powerful offensive Pokémon such as Ash-Greninja, Greninja, Tapu Lele, Latios, Mega Tyranitar, and Gengar. On the flipside, Magearna struggles to break through bulkier teams without significant amounts of team support. In particular, the popularity of stall teams, which are spammed on both the ladder and during tournament games, gives Magearna some trouble, as such teams tend to pack multiple Magearna checks and counters.

Final Thoughts

All in all, Magearna's plethora of utility and coverage options make it an extremely versatile and popular threat in the SM OU metagame. Between its great bulk and defensive typing, useful boosting options, and high Special Attack stat, it's difficult to see it falling from grace anytime soon. Give it a shot!

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