UU Suspect Coverage: Aegislash

By Monky25. Released: 2022/04/03.
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UU Suspect Coverage: Aegislash artwork

Art by Zephyri.

Introduction

Aegislash has had quite the turbulent generation. Once lavishing as a mighty Uber last gen, many players were taken by surprise when Aegislash dropped to UU during the Isle of Armor DLC, even though it did get a stat nerf. It was quickly banned but freed from UUBL with the new power creep created by the Crown Tundra DLC. It was banned again but received a retest about a year ago and was allowed to roam in UU. It has persisted as a top-tier threat since then, being a metagame defining Pokémon throughout the various metagames UU has gone through. However, newer metagame developments have led Aegislash to be seen as a problem in many players' views, as its vastly diverse sets have made it very difficult to handle on the defensive end. Between sets like SubToxic, Choice Specs, and Swords Dance, Aegislash is almost impossible to counter, with checks for one set getting destroyed by another. With this in mind, plus its continued dominance throughout UU Masters and week 1 of UUPL as well as solid community feedback calling for a suspect test, the UU council decided to suspect test Aegislash yet again.

The Sets

The Standard

Aegislash commonly utilizes a mixed wallbreaker set with King's Shield and Toxic over the last few months, allowing it to wear down defensive counterplay while still maintaining strong defensive utility. Ghost + Fighting is a fearsome coverage combination, allowing Aegislash to punish Shadow Ball switch-ins like Zarude and Chansey. Toxic lets Aegislash cripple Mandibuzz, an otherwise safe check. In addition to its offensive prowess, Aegislash also matches up well against top threats like Nihilego, Jirachi, and Cobalion. A resistance to Stealth Rock and recovery through King's Shield + Leftovers let it consistently check foes. Aegislash can even mix up its EVs on this set; while the above set maximizes bulk in exchange for Speed, Aegislash commonly runs a variant that outspeeds Conkeldurr and everything below it with a Mild nature to still hit hard offensively. This set is the most splashable, fitting on many archetypes ranging from bulky offense to balance with its great offensive potential and defensive capabilities.

While not as consistent as the above set, SubToxic is still a massively dangerous threat. Though it flops against the likes of Zarude and Chansey, common presences in the metagame, this set makes up for it by being an immortal beast. Heavy Special Defense and HP investment lets Aegislash trade with the likes of Salamence, Rotom-W, and Slowking and put them out of commission with Toxic. This set can be tremendously difficult to break without Zarude, Chansey, or RestTalk Galarian Moltres, as nothing else appreciates repeated Shadow Ball and Toxic damage. Even the mighty Celesteela hates repeated Shadow Ball attacks, while Choice Scarf Zarude cannot check this threat. This set is known for compltely punishing typical Aegislash counterplay in Mandibuzz and Amoonguss. In the game from UU Masters below, we can see how difficult it is to beat without any of the aforementioned counters. Here, Aegislash has plenty of opportunities to set up Substitute against the likes of Nihilego and Jirachi, letting it fire off Shadow Ball and Toxic to lead Estarossa to a clean win. SubToxic Aegislash best fits on balance and semi-stall teams that provide the necessary longevity to help Aegislash overcome the likes of Zarude and Chansey through PP stalling and appreciate Aegislash wearing down walls.

Replay

Straying away from more bulky and defensive sets, this set focuses on Aegislash's fearsome offensive potential. At +2, Aegislash is very tough to wall, easily breaking through Chansey and Slowking and even powering past Skarmory and Amoonguss if they're decently chipped. Shadow Claw and Close Combat form the infamous Ghost + Fighting combo; Iron Head is an option over Shadow Claw, as making physical walls like Amoonguss and Tangrowth flinch is very useful. Shadow Sneak picks off faster, frail threats like Azelf, Thundurus-T, and Zygarde-10%. Aegislash can also mix up its item. Air Balloon is the most common to force Excadrill to use Iron Head, letting Aegislash KO it with Close Combat. Weakness Policy utilizes Aegislash's strong bulk in Shield Forme to take a weak super effective hit like Knock Off from Nihilego and accumulate further boosts. Life Orb is an option for more outright power, though Aegislash gets worn down quite easily. This set lacks Aegislash's great defensive utility, but Swords Dance Aegislash is still a fearsome wallbreaker that is a staple on current hyper offense teams in UU, destroying common checks to bulkier sets like Chansey and RestTalk Primarina.

With Choice Specs, Aegislash is one of the most nuclear wallbreakers in the tier; it only really needs 3 moves to win! Shadow Ball is dangerously spammable and can easily 2HKO switch-ins to its mixed set like Mandibuzz and Primarina. Flash Cannon does massive damage to Ghost-resistant foes like Zarude and Mandibuzz. Close Combat is necessary to 2HKO Chansey after Stealth Rock, though being locked into it gives Pokémon like Moltres opportunities. Shadow Sneak is occasionally nice to pick off faster threats like Azelf. Steel Beam is another option to absolutely nuke the likes of Mandibuzz and Zarude, though it severely cuts into Aegislash's health. Like the Swords Dance set, Aegislash misses the defensive utility of King's Shield and Leftovers, but the massive power increase makes the trade very much worth it. This set is best utilized on bulky offense and balance teams that provide entry hazard support and pivoting. In the replay below, Choice Specs Aegislash surprises the opposing player by OHKOing Tangrowth, leading Conkeldurr to win the game.

Replay

The New

You thought we were done, didn't you? Aegislash has much more in store beyond the aforementioned 4 sets. Newer experimentation has led to an influx of new and threatening sets within the metagame.

A newer spin on Aegislash's typical Swords Dance set, this set has been making waves in the UnderUsed Premier League, as seen by the replay below. This set aims to take common Aegislash checks like Zarude and Chansey and completely shatter their ability to beat it. King's Shield allows Aegislash to maintain defensive utility, letting it accumulate Leftovers recovery to better facilitate a sweep multiple times. Being able to trade with typical checks like Zygarde-10% is massive. You've heard this many times already, but Ghost + Fighting coverage is all you need. Shadow Sneak's low power can be shored up by Aegislash's ability to get to +4 quite easily. This set is responsible for metagame trends like Protective Pads on Zarude, showing just how influential this set has become in such a short time. In this replay, Moutemoute's Aegislash was able to get up to +4 and clean late-game once Mandibuzz was removed.

Replay

A set that has seen solid usage in UU Masters, Choice Band Aegislash does what you expect it would: absolutely nuke foes. Taking advantage of the lower Amoonguss usage, this set can easily punish greedy switches from Zarude, Galarian Moltres, and Salamence, setting the enemy team on the back foot. Even decent checks to this set like Mandibuzz have to fear getting overwhelmed. This set is a lot more limited than the Choice Specs set, as it hates getting worn down by Rocky Helmet from Amoonguss and Tangrowth as well as potential Flame Body burns from Moltres. Still, once thought to be an unviable set, Choice Band has ascended to the limelight as yet another powerful tool in Aegislash's already absurdly large and threatening arsenal.

The Niche

While these sets are more niche, they still have fair potency in the metagame and are strong options to use on Aegislash.

This Aegislash set operates a lot differently from other Aegislash sets, relying on boosting its low Speed to sweep. At +2, Aegislash outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame as well as common Choice Scarf users like Diggersby. Thanks to Aegislash's solid bulk, this set often can utilize Weakness Policy to boost up. Shadow Ball is as spammable as always, while Close Combat and Flash Cannon round out Aegislash's moveset as strong midground options and hit usual suspects in Umbreon and Mandibuzz. This set is very hit or miss, as Aegislash relies on Weakness Policy activating to do meaningful damage. This is why Life Orb is sometimes run for more immediate power, though the recoil is very hindersome. Regardless of its faults, Autotomize Aegislash is a nice set for any player who wants to mix it up with Aegislash on their hyper offense teams.

This set is a midground between SubToxic and Swords Dance + King's Shield, retaining Swords Dance + King's Shield Aegislash's ability to particularly lure in Zarude and SubToxic Aegislash's sheer longevity when given free turns. This set also pressures common walls like Slowking, Skarmory, and Amoonguss and maintains solid defensive utility while remaining a strong wallbreaker. As this set drops Toxic for Close Combat, Toxic support from partners like Moltres and Salamence is appreciated.

Last but not least, we have another spin on mixed Aegislash, featuring Life Orb and Flash Cannon to maximize wallbreaking potential. The extra power from Life Orb guarantees an OHKO on Zarude, making it an unreliable switch-in. This set best fits on Grassy Terrain teams, as the passive recovery cancels out Life Orb recoil.

Sample teams

Here are 3 different sample teams, all of different playstyles, showing how Aegislash has the versatility to fit on nearly every archetype in UU.

This team, made by yours truly, is an excellent example of how Aegislash operates on typical hyper offense teams in UU. This team revolves around Sticky Web, which allows the team to KO faster threats much easier, and utilizes Aegislash's spinblocking to limit Excadrill as much as possible. Swords Dance Aegislash is paired with many threatening sweepers and wallbreakers like Nasty Plot Azelf, Nasty Plot Thundurus-T, and Autotomize Celesteela. Lucario is a nice addition that gives the team a positive matchup against Zarude.

This familiar balance team made by Adaam and Moutemoute features a trending set in Swords Dance + King's Shield Aegislash, a potent wallbreaker that can beat counterplay like Zarude. The team features a secondary wallbreaker in Zygarde-10% to help overwhelm threats like Salamence and Mandibuzz. Zarude provides pivoting support, and the combination of Tentacruel, Chansey, and Skarmory provides the team's defensive backbone against threats like opposing Zygarde-10% and Rapid Spin, Stealth Rock, and Spikes support respectively.

This semi-stall team looks familiar, doesn't it? It's the one brought by Estarossa in the earlier replays. One of the newest additions to the sample teams, this team utilizes Flygon, a newer option for semi-stall teams, thanks to its ability to Defog against Nihilego and check Thundurus-T by virtue of Roost. The rest of the team is very formulaic. SubToxic Aegislash and Calm Mind Slowking act as potent wincons, while Chansey, Umbreon, and Skarmory provide cleric and entry hazard support. This team is inherently designed to overwhelm Zarude for SubToxic Aegislash, with Slowking, Aegislash, and Umbreon all forcing it to waste Jungle Healing PP so that Aegislash with Wish support can easily get through it late-game.

The Arguments

Ban Reasoning

If you haven't been reading this article with your eyes closed, then you know Aegislash has a LOT of sets, each with different defensive counterplay. The main issue many players have with Aegislash is that it is too restricting on the teambuilder, as each set has their own defensive counterplay and counterplay to one set loses to the other. Mandibuzz beats Swords Dance variants but loses to SubToxic. Zarude beats SubToxic but loses to Swords Dance + King's Shield. RestTalk Galarian Moltres beats King's Shield + Toxic but loses to Choice Band. Struggling to fit Aegislash answers while still preparing for the rest of the tier can be already troublesome, but the fact your Aegislash answer to one set ends up losing to a different set makes it too much in the eyes of many players. Aegislash is versatile enough to tailor its sets to what is good in the metagame, meaning it will always be a top threat.

Do Not Ban Reasoning

While Aegislash is tough to solely answer defensively, combinations of its checks can be enough to handle it. Zarude, Galarian Moltres, Chansey, Primarina, Celesteela, and Mandibuzz are all common and viable enough to be run for more than just the Aegislash matchup, meaning stacking checks isn't tough to do. These Pokémon also initially switch into to most sets, differentiating Aegislash from a similar multi-set threat that could sweep your team if you guessed wrong like Kommo-o. Some sets like Choice Band and Choice Specs hit very hard, but sacrifice Aegislash's defensive utility. Other sets have their flaws too; SubToxic gets held back by the very popular Zarude and Chansey, while the trending Swords Dance + King's Shield cannot break Amoonguss and struggles to instantly pressure Slowking. Aegislash is also very slow, so many popular threats like Excadrill, Krookodile, Hydreigon, Mamoswine, Salazzle, Salamence, Diggersby, Thundurus-T, Moltres, Zygarde-10%, and the aforementioned Zarude and Galarian Moltres outspeed and hit it very hard, suffocating it against more offensive teams. Even Pokémon it should check like Nihilego can hinder it with Knock Off, limiting its longevity with its lack of reliable recovery.

Conclusion

After a very quick vote, Aegislash remains in UU with a vote total of 14-21. The UU council will continue to monitor the development of the tier throughout UUPL and will see how it changes with the upcoming tier shifts on the horizon.

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