Magmortar OU Team (1300+) Advice needed.

[Arrogant]

Okay, okay, so I know Magmortar isn't some great OU pick and will inevitably be placed at a lower tier in the future but I wanted to center a team around it since I think it's pretty fun to play. I've gotten back into competitive after my hiatus in Gen 8 but I've been playing for about a week or so and I've learned a lot about all the new strategies currently.

I've had a nearly 100% winrate in low ladder so far but I've found myself having to make very risky decisions to win certain games and I want to know if there are any other ways to modify this team to be more efficient so please, all advice is very appreciated! Here goes...

Magmortar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Vital Spirit
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Scorching Sands
- Psychic

So of course, the star of the team. I think that specs Magmortar is the best way to play him. He doesn't have great speed or bulk but has a whopping Sp Atk so it's purpose is to hop in quickly and punch holes into the opposing team before switching out. Vital Spirit lets him have a slight check to mons that use sleep powder and especially spore which is common amongst Amoongus and Breloom. Overheat is my main go to move to deal huge damage, flamethrower is for a more consistent stab, scorching sands primarily as a Heatran check and Pyschic for fighting and poison types.

I also went with tera Pyschic as a way to deal with Toxapex because for the most part, Pex can wall it but with this, I'm able to have a decent chance of OHKOing SpDef

.

Amoonguss @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Clear Smog
- Sludge Bomb
- Stomping Tantrum
- Giga Drain

I then needed something that could help with a lot of the issues Magmortor would face. Water, ground, rock were all issues for it. This is where Amoongus comes in. It resists water while also having good bulk to where it can help with covering the other weaknesses that Magmortar faces. Max phys Def along with AV makes it tough to take down physically and specially along with regenerator restoring it's hp. There's a ton of setup mons running rampant in OU so Clear Smog is essential, Sludge Bomb helps to poison foes and doing extra damage, Stomping Tantrum helps with coverage and Giga Drain for stab and additional healing.

Iron Boulder @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Mighty Cleave
- Psycho Cut
- Earthquake

This is an absolute beast of a mon. It's amazing at coming in and setting up quickly. The booster energy gives it an immeadiate 1.5x Speed increase on switch and from there all I have to do is SD up. He already has a great ATK stat and a speed stat that exceeds most mons in the tier so once it gets going it closes out games very fast. Even better, it has a great movepool so it's difficult for people to play around it.

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- U-turn
- Defog

Not a whole lot to say about Corv but it serves it's purpose. It has a great typing to assist the team as the team is pretty weak to Psychic types and it's also a ground immunity. I also needed a way to deal with opposing hazards because I don't have any rapid spinners so overall, I like it's role on the team.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

Lando was just an all around good mon to assist the team. It stops opposing teams from setting up with Taunt. it's my Stealth Rock setup and hits pretty hard with Earthquake as well as being a great pivot with U-turn. It's a ground immunity as well as Electric Immunity so it gives me great options to counteract my opponents.

Kommo-o @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Bulletproof
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Boomburst
- Flamethrower
Personally I think this is the most questionable mon on my team. My initial purpose for bringing it to the team was because I wanted a decent

check and that was really it. I went with a Sp Atk Coverage set to give it a good way to damage a variety of mons. It catches a lot of people by surprise but I still don't think it's anything amazing on the team.

Tell me what you guys think!

 

[Roller K]

Welcome back to competitive Pokemon! Now is the perfect time to come back, as the metagame is fresh and possibly the most competitive iteration of SV OU thus far. I understand the urge to use fun Pokemon, especially after returning to the game after a long break. I made some changes to the team to let Magmortar shine even better. Use the Pokepaste link right below to access the team!

Original version:
My version:

Changes

1. > : Both these Pokemon have the amazing Steel-Flying type. While initially working on the team, I made a physically defensive set with Iron Defense, Body Press, U-turn, and Roost. However, the benefit from Pressure and U-turn aren't as valuable to this team as the benefit from Spikes. Pressure mainly helps with , which you already struggle to break even with a +6 Body Press from . U-turn is better for a faster team containing more pivot moves (e.g. U-turn to pivot into slower walls). This team is very slow outside of Booster Energy , so I felt it did not need the pivot move. can only sweep late-game if your opponent's team has been somewhat worn down, and Spikes helps out with this tremendously. feels like the stronger pick for your team. Rocky Helmet is better than Leftovers for this team since you will be able to weaken and a little bit more for an end game sweep.

2. > : Now that is on the team, with its set, it lacks Defog. Your team needs a strong form of hazard removal, and there is no one better than ! You retain an Electric immunity, Stealth Rock, and strong STAB ground coverage in Headlong Rush. I included Temper Flare on this set so you can punish for switching in on your Rapid Spin. Tera Fire is to strengthen the power of Temper Flare and resist Make it Rain from .

3. > : Because successfully checks , no longer serves much of a purpose for the team. You currently struggle a lot against /// in the Sun. checks all these very well when paired with an Assault Vest. You stay healthy with Draining Kiss, deal great damage with Moonblast + Hydro Pump, and have a way to safely pivot with Flip Turn. I made Tera Water to better handle and boost the power of Hydro Pump so you can more easily beat it.

4. Heavy-Duty Boots > Assault Vest, Tera Water > Poison, Move Changes on : Since has an Assault Vest, you do not need to hold the item. Heavy-Duty Boots lets it be a more sturdy check throughout the game, as hazards will not wear it down initially. Also, the only reason to use over (who I initially had on my version of the team) is because you have access to Spore. You can safely put something to sleep, bring in /, and threaten to KO something or sweep. I replaced Stomping Tantrum since that's only useful against most of the time. I changed Giga Drain to Grass Knot to handle , who walls and can take on pretty well. Tera Water is better to handle weather teams a little more easily.

5. Tera Flying > Rock on : Deciding what coverage to put on is always difficult. Swords Dance and Mighty Cleave are a given in my opinion, but the last two can be Earthquake, Zen Headbutt, and/or Close Combat. Close Combat is mainly for who usually revenge kills you with Sucker Punch. Essentially, you use Tera Fighting to resist the hit and OHKO back. However, you need all the other moves on this team. I opted for Tera Flying so that you are neutral to Sucker Punch while also becoming immune to Ground-moves, which may allow you to set up on .

6. Flame Body > Vital Spirit on : This is a pretty minor change, but Flame Body comes into play far more often than Vital Spirit. The only notable Pokemon that use Sleep moves are // and maybe /. and have 60% accurate Hypnosis, and the other three cannot put to sleep and usually lose to it. Flame Body can annoy any physical attacker making contact with ; the one that comes to mind is a late-game losing the game because it went for Sucker Punch and burned itself.

7. EV Spreads
a. : 4 leftover EVs are put into Defense to help against priority moves and also put it at an odd HP so entry hazards hurt less.
b. : This is a pretty standard spread. Mixed defenses allow you to take physical and special hits fairly well.
c. : 4 leftover EVs are put into Defense to help against priority moves.
d. : Max Defense is preferred on Iron Defense + Body Press sets to deal more damage and perform better as a physical wall.
e. : Max Speed is necessary to outspeed // and tie against opposing . Max Attack applies more offensive pressure against opposing teams.
f. : Max HP lets it live more hits. Max Special Attack lets it hit very hard and heal more with Draining Kiss.

(8. > ): This destroys the point of the team, which is why I'm leaving it last. However, if you want this team to be a little more competitively strong, outclasses in almost every way as a specially offensive Fire-type breaker. It has a much higher special attack, much higher speed, better defensive typing to absorb Toxic Spikes which could allow you to use over , Fiery Dance > Flamethrower, and a lot more coverage. The only advantage has is Scorching Sands to hit /, but you could easily make Tera Ground + Tera Blast to circumvent this issue. I will not include it in the paste above, but consider it if you want a stronger team.

I hope these suggestions help your team out! Let me know how it performs, and enjoy laddering with Magmortar!

 

[Arrogant]

Welcome back to competitive Pokemon! Now is the perfect time to come back, as the metagame is fresh and possibly the most competitive iteration of SV OU thus far. I understand the urge to use fun Pokemon, especially after returning to the game after a long break. I made some changes to the team to let Magmortar shine even better. Use the Pokepaste link right below to access the team!

Original version:
My version:

Changes

1. > : Both these Pokemon have the amazing Steel-Flying type. While initially working on the team, I made a physically defensive set with Iron Defense, Body Press, U-turn, and Roost. However, the benefit from Pressure and U-turn aren't as valuable to this team as the benefit from Spikes. Pressure mainly helps with , which you already struggle to break even with a +6 Body Press from . U-turn is better for a faster team containing more pivot moves (e.g. U-turn to pivot into slower walls). This team is very slow outside of Booster Energy , so I felt it did not need the pivot move. can only sweep late-game if your opponent's team has been somewhat worn down, and Spikes helps out with this tremendously. feels like the stronger pick for your team. Rocky Helmet is better than Leftovers for this team since you will be able to weaken and a little bit more for an end game sweep.

2. > : Now that is on the team, with its set, it lacks Defog. Your team needs a strong form of hazard removal, and there is no one better than ! You retain an Electric immunity, Stealth Rock, and strong STAB ground coverage in Headlong Rush. I included Temper Flare on this set so you can punish for switching in on your Rapid Spin. Tera Fire is to strengthen the power of Temper Flare and resist Make it Rain from .

3. > : Because successfully checks , no longer serves much of a purpose for the team. You currently struggle a lot against /// in the Sun. checks all these very well when paired with an Assault Vest. You stay healthy with Draining Kiss, deal great damage with Moonblast + Hydro Pump, and have a way to safely pivot with Flip Turn. I made Tera Water to better handle and boost the power of Hydro Pump so you can more easily beat it.

4. Heavy-Duty Boots > Assault Vest, Tera Water > Poison, Move Changes on : Since has an Assault Vest, you do not need to hold the item. Heavy-Duty Boots lets it be a more sturdy check throughout the game, as hazards will not wear it down initially. Also, the only reason to use over (who I initially had on my version of the team) is because you have access to Spore. You can safely put something to sleep, bring in /, and threaten to KO something or sweep. I replaced Stomping Tantrum since that's only useful against most of the time. I changed Giga Drain to Grass Knot to handle , who walls and can take on pretty well. Tera Water is better to handle weather teams a little more easily.

5. Tera Flying > Rock on : Deciding what coverage to put on is always difficult. Swords Dance and Mighty Cleave are a given in my opinion, but the last two can be Earthquake, Zen Headbutt, and/or Close Combat. Close Combat is mainly for who usually revenge kills you with Sucker Punch. Essentially, you use Tera Fighting to resist the hit and OHKO back. However, you need all the other moves on this team. I opted for Tera Flying so that you are neutral to Sucker Punch while also becoming immune to Ground-moves, which may allow you to set up on .

6. Flame Body > Vital Spirit on : This is a pretty minor change, but Flame Body comes into play far more often than Vital Spirit. The only notable Pokemon that use Sleep moves are // and maybe /. and have 60% accurate Hypnosis, and the other three cannot put to sleep and usually lose to it. Flame Body can annoy any physical attacker making contact with ; the one that comes to mind is a late-game losing the game because it went for Sucker Punch and burned itself.

7. EV Spreads
a. : 4 leftover EVs are put into Defense to help against priority moves and also put it at an odd HP so entry hazards hurt less.
b. : This is a pretty standard spread. Mixed defenses allow you to take physical and special hits fairly well.
c. : 4 leftover EVs are put into Defense to help against priority moves.
d. : Max Defense is preferred on Iron Defense + Body Press sets to deal more damage and perform better as a physical wall.
e. : Max Speed is necessary to outspeed // and tie against opposing . Max Attack applies more offensive pressure against opposing teams.
f. : Max HP lets it live more hits. Max Special Attack lets it hit very hard and heal more with Draining Kiss.

(8. > ): This destroys the point of the team, which is why I'm leaving it last. However, if you want this team to be a little more competitively strong, outclasses in almost every way as a specially offensive Fire-type breaker. It has a much higher special attack, much higher speed, better defensive typing to absorb Toxic Spikes which could allow you to use over , Fiery Dance > Flamethrower, and a lot more coverage. The only advantage has is Scorching Sands to hit /, but you could easily make Tera Ground + Tera Blast to circumvent this issue. I will not include it in the paste above, but consider it if you want a stronger team.

I hope these suggestions help your team out! Let me know how it performs, and enjoy laddering with Magmortar!

Okay, so I've played a handful of games with the suggested team and I will say, this team does feel improved. You were right about U-Turn. My team is on the slower side so flip turn did a better job. Skarm was also pretty amazing at slowly chipping down teams. If there's any flaw I found, is that it struggles a bit with Ceruledge but that goes for my team as well. Other than that, great team man. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[sableorderly]

This is a sick team, especially with the changes Roller K suggested. The only change I can think of that wasn't mentioned was maybe an edit to Magmortar's Tera and coverage moves. Heatran and Toxapex aren't too common right now from what I've played of DLC 2 OU. I would consider Tera Grass + Tera Blast (I was going to say Energy Ball but Magmortar apparently doesn't learn it??) for Great Tusk and Water types and Focus Blast for pesky Heatran. The accuracy is suspect but again Heatran isn't exactly all over the place and in general its a lot more threatening of a move to be locked into than 70 BP Scorching Sands. Tera Grass also flips your weaknesses to Water and Ground compared to Psychic which is practically useless defensively

Here are some calcs to show how these changes also don't affect your matchup much vs specifically Heatran and Toxapex anyway

252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Grass Magmortar Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Toxapex: 135-159 (44.4 - 52.3%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Magmortar Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Heatran: 362-426 (112 - 131.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Magmortar Scorching Sands vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Heatran: 424-500 (131.2 - 154.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

(Both moves OHKO Offensive Heatran)

252 SpA Choice Specs Magmortar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Heatran: 272-322 (70.4 - 83.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Magmortar Scorching Sands vs. 252 HP / 212+ SpD Heatran: 316-376 (81.8 - 97.4%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

(While neither is guaranteed to OHKO Sp.Def Heatran)

Also if it has a Balloon and/or Tera Grass itself, you're screwed with Scorching Sands. Something to consider assuming you (hopefully) didn't flip him for Iron Moth :P