SV OU Suspect Coverage: Kingambit

By hamiltonion. Released: 2023/09/13.
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Art by Deka__

Art by Deka__.

Introduction

Kingambit has been arguably the most influential pokemon in SV OU since the banning of Chien Pao in the pre-Home metagame. While Generation 9 introduced several fearsome sweepers in Chi-Yu, Chien Pao, and Iron Valiant and amplified the power of others through the Terastallization mechanic, Kingambit is perhaps one of the more blessed Pokemon to hit the OU tier. Amazing Attack stat backed up with solid STAB moves in Sucker Punch, Kowtow Cleave, and Iron Head, fantastic overall bulk even better than that of Skarmory, an array of important resistances especially to Dragon and Ghost, and an incredible comeback ability in Supreme Overlord, it is easy to see how Kingambit might have been designed by Game Freak to leave a mark on the OU tier. While this in itself seems like an incredible package, Terastallization was another incredible boon for Kingambit. Thanks to its excellent bulk and access to Swords Dance and Sucker Punch, Terastallization allows Kingambit to flip matchups on would-be hard checks like Great Tusk with relative ease and turn them into setup fodder. Indeed, a healthy Kingambit with Tera intact represents one of the most threatening wincons in SV OU. Being reverse swept by a Terastallized Kingambit became somewhat of a rite of passage in SV OU. Teams often ran multiple Kingambit checks since just Great Tusk was so prone to being muscled past with the right Tera. Given the formidable array of tools at Kingambit's disposal and its ability to singlehandedly overturn games, it was no surprise when Kingambit recieved high support for a suspect action, and a suspect test was finally set up.

Sets

Fast Offensive

Kingambit

Straightforward but extremely potent, this set functions as a late-game sweeper. Finding its home primarily on offense or hyper offense, the idea behind this set is to simply weaken the opponent's team with hazards and pressure from the rest of your offensive threats and then let Kingambit clean up the rest. As a testament to its power, with five fallen allies +2 Iron Head does a minimum of 60% to Impish Great Tusk while Kingambit avoids being OHKOed by Earthquake. Thus, Great Tusk has to stay relatively healthy over the entire game to have any hope of checking Kingambit, which can often be exploited by forcing Great Tusk to come in with hazard stacking. Meanwhile, Sucker Punch lets Kingambit deal with fast offensive threats, KOing Baxcalibur at +2 and doing a minimum of 96% to Sneasler and almost 60% to Iron Valiant with Tera Dark and maximum boosts from Supreme Overlord. Low Kick is occasionally run on Kingambit, since it still deals heavy damage to Great Tusk but has the added benefits of hitting Hisuian Samurott much harder and flat-out KOing opposing Kingambit. The Speed investment helps in this regard, and a Jolly nature is occasionally seen, especially with Low Kick, to outspeed opposing Adamant Kingambit. Although less common than either Dark or Fighting, Tera Fire has occasionally seen usage as a counter to Will-O-Wisp users such as bulky Cinderace and Moltres.

Bulky Offensive

Kingambit

This set takes a more holistic role with Kingambit, running bulk to act as check to key offensive threats such as Dragapult, Gholdengo, and Meowscarada. Heavy HP investment alongside Leftovers lets Kingambit pivot in more effectively over the course of a game to utilize its excellent defensive typing. However, thanks to the power of Supreme Overlord and STAB Sucker Punch, Kingambit is also perfectly capable of functioning as a wincon. A timely Tera Fairy or Flying can turn potential checks such as Great Tusk or Landorus into setup fodder, opening the way for a sweep. Importantly, Tera Fairy with Tera Blast allows Kingambit to break even Bulk Up Great Tusk in a one-vs-one matchup, which is typically a solid Kingambit check. Tera Blast also allows Kingambit to deal with problematic threats such as Baxcalibur and Dragonite in a pinch, which can be hugely threatening to bulkier teams. This type of role compression is highly valued on balanced teams and is otherwise almost unseen in the tier, which plays a huge role in Kingambit's prominence on many teams.

Pro Ban

Kingambit's unique combination of bulk, offensive power and its potential to singlehandedly sweep teams with Terastallization led many players to considering it overpowered. Several people in the pro-ban camp also felt that it was specifically Supreme Overlord and how well it synergized as a comeback mechanic with Terastallization was the final straw that made Kingambit broken. Indeed, many felt that instead of Kingambit, Terastallization or Tera Blast should be suspected instead. Additionally, some players felt Kingambit's ability to warp the endgame around itself was far too easy, especially with its ability to beat even faster threats with boosted Sucker Punch. Several games in the World Cup of Pokemon 2023 were seen to come down to Sucker Punch 50/50s, which left a bad taste in the mouth for all involved. Finally, another line of reasoning was that Kingambit was an overcentralizing presence in the metagame, approaching near 50% usage and warping the metagame around itself by forcing teams to stack multiple checks. Typically, the highest usage is usually reserved for glue Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Landorus-T, Great Tusk, and Clefable, but a late-game sweeper like Kingambit occupying this spot was a cause of concern.

Anti Ban

While there were many clamoring for a ban on Kingambit, equally many thought Kingambit was perfectly healthy in the OU metagame. Primary among the anti-ban arguments was the fact that the metagame was adapting to Kingambit and had several rising sets that provided strong counterplay against it such as Bulk Up Great Tusk, Will-O-Wisp users like Moltres and Cinderace, Zamazenta, Dondozo, Sneasler, and Iron Valiant. While theoretically, the right Tera type might let Kingambit beat its checks, that would potentially open up other weaknesses that could be exploited. Additionally, many felt Kingambit's unique defensive profile allowed it to check key metagame threats such as Gholdengo and Dragapult and banning it might destablize the somewhat fragile balance of the metagame.

Final Thoughts

With the conclusion of the vote, Kingambit did not receive a supermajority vote required for a ban and thus remained legal in OU. With August stats coming out soon after, Kingambit finally toppled Great Tusk's reign at the top of the usage stats and took the throne as the most used Pokemon in SV OU with an eye-popping 48% usage. Regardless of the result of the vote, this feels like a fitting way to bring the down curtains on the pre-DLC metagame. The king is dead, long live the king!

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