art by SmArGD
Why make a Mega Altaria team:
I hate teambuilding against Mega Charizard Y.
It has a great typing for the metagame and a lot of positive qualities.
It seemed like a fun idea.
RUBLord (Altaria-Mega) @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 SpD / 20 Spe
Impish Nature
- Return
- Roost
- Toxic
- Earthquake
RUBLord is, of course, the most interesting element of this team. Quickly I settled on Return/Earthquake/Roost as necessities, Roost to keep longevity for the Balance team (and to make it a real Mega Charizard Y answer). I found a spread while running through calcs and found that this spread (at least to my knowledge) checks the metagame the hardest.
252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega in Sun: 128-151 (36.2 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Scorching Sands vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega: 80-95 (22.6 - 26.9%) -- 39.7% chance to 4HKO252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Air Slash vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega: 127-151 (35.9 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega in Sun: 141-166 (39.9 - 47%) -- guaranteed 3HKO+2 252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 131-154 (37.1 - 43.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO+2 252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Power Whip vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 156-185 (44.1 - 52.4%) -- 19.9% chance to 2HKO+2 252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Superpower vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 104-123 (29.4 - 34.8%) -- 13.7% chance to 3HKO252 Atk Great Tusk Headlong Rush vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 139-165 (39.3 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252 Atk Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 124-148 (35.1 - 41.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252+ Atk Choice Band Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega on a critical hit: 108-129 (30.5 - 36.5%) -- approx. 60.1% chance to 3HKO+2 252 Atk Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega on a critical hit: 132-156 (37.3 - 44.1%) -- approx. 3HKO+1 252 Atk Dragonite Ice Spinner vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 190-224 (53.8 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO+1 252 Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 119-140 (33.7 - 39.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Return vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 123-145 (34.8 - 41%) -- guaranteed 3HKO+1 252+ SpA Protosynthesis Raging Bolt Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega: 147-173 (41.6 - 49%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252 Atk Sharpness Samurott-Hisui Razor Shell vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 57-67 (16.1 - 18.9%) -- possible 6HKO+2 252 SpA Volcarona Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega: 135-160 (38.2 - 45.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO+2 252 SpA Volcarona Hidden Power Ice vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega: 242-286 (68.5 - 81%) -- guaranteed 2HKO+2 252 SpA Volcarona Hidden Power Ground vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega: 121-143 (34.2 - 40.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO+1 252 Atk Dragapult Never-Ending Nightmare (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 286-337 (81 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 68 SpD Altaria-Mega: 147-174 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252 Atk Zamazenta Ice Fang vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 96-114 (27.1 - 32.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO+4 124 Def Zamazenta Body Press vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 114-135 (32.2 - 38.2%) -- 97.7% chance to 3HKO+1 252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 135-159 (38.2 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO+1 252 Atk Gyarados-Mega Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 132-156 (37.3 - 44.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Zen Headbutt vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega: 154-183 (43.6 - 51.8%) -- 10.2% chance to 2HKOThe last move was something I thought about for a while, with candidates being Dragon Dance, Flamethrower and then eventually Toxic. Dragon Dance doesn't make the cut because with this spread, that isn't going to actually be doing much damage. Flamethrower would be cut into power wise due to Impish, doing 53.5% minimum to Ferrothorn isn't bad at all, but it didn't do much work.
Toxic, however, is great for one of my Balance teams' role because what my Balance teams are about is converting offensive momentum into defensive momentum, status spam, Haze guys, Knock Off, etc.
A lot of offensive teams don't have many Toxic immunities, usually just 1-2, and usually one (or both) is punished by Earthquake on the switch. Catching people trying to make middlegrounds to their Birds (Zapdos/Heatran/Tornadus/etc.) especially expecting a potential DD has made catching people with Toxic much easier, which fits in with the Offense-Disassembly core of Altaria/Clefable/Gliscor.
Partner In Crime (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 48 Def / 212 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Defog
- Roost
Gliscor was a Pokemon that I realized immediately needed to be on the team. Mega Altaria is often in the 30-40% range for a lot of the strong attackers, and no HDB means that the capability for Hazard Control was major. Great Tusk is an option, but that's more of a stopgap check to most Pokemon, and notably I wanted a status absorber- I don't need my Tusk to get burned via Rapid Spinning into Moltres, and die twenty turns earlier.
The spread I chose was honestly just the standard one. Good middleground check to stuff, this guy doesn't die to many things in two-hits with the 12% heal, usually if it gets killed on the switch it's a Z-Move user.
Originally the set had U-Turn, but over time I realized this team had a major weakness: Mega Venusaur. That Pokemon is demonic into this team, Leech Seed has no immunity, Sludge Bomb is good against two Pokemon, the "Best Answers" are Heatran (stopgap check, Magma Storm is weakened, some Mega Venusaur run Earth Power) and Dragapult (the most hazard weak on the team, no question).
After talking with Srn, I got the idea to run Swords Dance. Mega Venusaur can't kill Gliscor really, so Swords Dance lets it break the stalemate, even with Leech Seed. Forcing it out lets you systematically defeat the rest of the team or get in a better position for Venu next time, hopefully. It's not the best answer possible, but it's the least disruptive to the overall core. I also calced Dual Wingbeat just in case, that is reliant on not missing and Mega Venusaur can still get in a positive position. Swords Dance has more it can do because it can be a genuine endgame win off of it, though with no way to hit anything flying you should never count on that.
Overall, very boring Pokemon and pretty standard role on this team. It'd be great if it could be a Rocker or Knocker, but it simply has four moveslots, and three are auto-locked. Could maybe experiment with replacing Earthquake with another utility, since unboosted Earthquake isn't exactly a threat from Gliscor, but then you're back at square one for the guy.
Rawk Hawk (Urshifu-Rapid-Strike) @ Electrium Z
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
Originally, I actually made a weird Rain Bulky Offense with this Pokemon, but I found it pretty quickly that team sucked. But what I noticed was that this Pokemon is fucking insane, and you should give it a shot if you haven't.
Before Spookcooke suggested in the thread for me to switch it to Electrium Z, I was running Waterium Z because I fucking hate Zapdos, but really that was not worth it at all. Electrium Z is far superior, letting you cook Alomomola/Toxapex/Slowbro with chip, and Surging Strikes itself at +2 feels like a Z-Move to most targets.
This is your main Balance breaker, having coverage to hit Alomomola, Toxapex, Slowbro, Gliscor, Great Tusk, Landorus-T, Slowking-Galar, Tyranitar, Moltres, Zapdos, Heatran, Ferrothorn, Corviknight, Clodsire... List goes on, point is click Swords Dance aggressively on the switch and be rewarded.
There is an alternative version of this team with Kartana over the role, doing a very similar job (Z SD 'mon)
https://pokepast.es/07a75dd1d26118e3
Kartana @ Normalium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Giga Impact
- Swords Dance
The simple classic Z Giga Impact set, basically does the same role as Urshifu. It's your main stallbreaker. You can fiddle with the coverage, but I maintain that Normalium Z is required: If Kartana (or Urshifu) get burned/paralyzed by The Birds, especially in the early/middlegame, you might be cooked.
The other tweak on this team is that Gliscor is U-Turn still, though you can change that if you feel the matchup still isn't good enough.
Kartana @ Normalium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Giga Impact
- Swords Dance
The simple classic Z Giga Impact set, basically does the same role as Urshifu. It's your main stallbreaker. You can fiddle with the coverage, but I maintain that Normalium Z is required: If Kartana (or Urshifu) get burned/paralyzed by The Birds, especially in the early/middlegame, you might be cooked.
The other tweak on this team is that Gliscor is U-Turn still, though you can change that if you feel the matchup still isn't good enough.
Guy (Dragapult) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Hex
- Shadow Ball
- U-turn
Guy here is doing what Guy does best, being the best Balance Speed Control of all-time, only real comparison being ADV Aerodactyl.
This Pokemon can and will get 3+ kills against BO or HO, and that'd be true if it only had three moves (Draco/Ball/Turn). Hex is the fourth move here, your fourth move on Specs Pult is almost always an extra bonus, and here I decided that the bonus of punishing teams that get hit by Mega Altaria's toxic even harder is better. You can also go Fire Blast if you want to punish steels harder, Surf/Hydro Pump if you want to hit Heatran I guess lol.
Honestly though, just click U-Turn three times and then Hex/Shadow Ball late game.
Stay Away From Her (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect
- Taunt
Stay Away From Her, Get A Job.
I'm not a big fan of stopgaps on Balance, and in my opinion for them to be worth it they need to genuinely be game-changing just about every time they switch in- Heatran is one of the only Pokemon that really does that.
Obviously, it's the trapper set, so this alongside Urshifu/Kartana is your main way of breaking stall, opposing Balance, and some Bulky Offenses. But Heatran here is also a necessity to make Tapu Lele/Gholdengo think twice before spamming their STABs, which generally are problems for this team, as I'll go over later. Heatran pairs perfectly with Mega Altaria, taking all the Poison/Steel/Fairies and then punishing the opp massively for doing it. And in return, Mega Altaria can Toxic Heatran's checks if they don't play carefully, while resisting Water, Fighting and being neutral to Ground. As a bonus, Mega Altaria is also immune to Knock Off, (which, having three Knock Off immunities is an intended part of the team, mind you).
A lot of the game can be summarized as switching between Mega Altaria and Heatran, generating good opportunities to get key reads or doubles into Urshifu/Dragapult to make even larger progress.
Smile and Wave (Clefable) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Moonblast
- Knock Off
- Soft-Boiled
Clefable here is the final part of the Mega Altaria/Clefable/Gliscor core designed to fuck over almost all Offense.
Simply put: Click Toxic with Mega Altaria, Roost away, switch to Clefable when they get to +2/+2. It works. This is the main answer to non-Specs Kyurem, Iron Valiant, SD Scale Shot Garchomp.
While that may not sound like a lot, Clefable can also take massive pressure off the rest of the core at any time, which is a massive boon to keeping the team consistent. Originally, the set was Calm Mind because I am a big enjoyer of CM Clefable as a wincon on Balance, however doing that while being Unaware + a hostile meta to that makes it a lot worse than simply giving big utility, which this team notably did not originally have.
Clefable can get Rocks up on many neutral targets, Knock Off is free a good amount of the time and as long as you watch out for Z moves it should perform fairly consistently.
Having to run HDB may suck on the surface, but it also sucks all the time actually. That's fine though, Mega Altaria, Gliscor and Urshifu are all pactically Knock immune, which means that there is rarely going to be a breaker clicks Knock with no consistent switch on the team. This is notable for keeping Ferrothorn, Tyranitar, Kingambit and Great Tusk honest. Knock Off simply isn't a middleground against this team.
Strengths:
Hyper Offense
The core of Gliscor keeping hazards off, Clefable Unaware and Mega Altaria toxic should be able to dismantle most Offense cores. Mega Altaria may be weak to hazards, but you should be able to keep them off with even slightly aggressive play, and just say 'No' to their progress.
Urshifu is a good anti-lead to most HO leads (Samurott-Hisui, Landorus-T, Glimmora) notably. If it's 100% clear they're going to lead Samurott-Hisui, leading Mega Altaria and trying to punish it is also pretty good.
Most Bulky Offenses
Teams where the main wall-breakers are Urshifu, main speed control is Zamazenta, birds are the switch-ins of choice to a lot of moves. Most Bulky Offenses don't have the longevity or offensive potential to break down the team. Hitting key Toxic targets can let you coast through most of the game.
Sun
This was what the team was built to do at its core. Mega Altaria, without major circumstances like Spikes + Stealth Rocks up at the same time, or getting lucked out (fuck you, Air Slash flinches) is going to be able to stall out and eventually Toxic and stall out Charizard. Great Tusk needs to be Protosynthesis Attack to 2HKO, otherwise it falls victim to Mega Altaria. Lastly, Raging Bolt is Mega Fucked by Mega Altaria, Volt Switch is the best it has. As a bonus, Mega Altaria also takes 43.3% max from Victini in Sun, is immune to Trick.
Rain
Shakier matchup than Sun, but Mega Swampert's Ice Punch does 43.6%,Earthquake 43.3%, max. Barraskewda does what is, to me, one of the most amusing calcs of all-time:
252+ Atk Choice Band Barraskewda Liquidation vs. 248 HP / 192+ Def Altaria-Mega in Rain: 117-138 (33.1 - 39%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKOThe only thing that is threatening about Rain is Archaludon, specifically Flash Cannon Assault Vest. Mega Altaria is a fairly free switch for it and Clefable can't wall out Flash Cannon. You have to play aggressively to get it out of the way, but once it is it's usually curtains. Ferrothorn can be annoying, but this Urshifu set will solve all of your problems once you Toxic Swampert and stave off Archaludon.
Weaknesses:
The Two Troublesome Dipshits: Gholdengo and Tapu Lele.
/ 
Mostly because of Fightinum Z. With Gholdengo you never really know its exact coverage, some don't run Make It Rain, some are Ghostium Z, some are 3A Ghost/Steel/Fighting. The team's gameplan against this Pokemon is generally to simply Suvive and try to not die to the Z move, and get a Urshifu or Dragapult out to threaten it.
Generally I try to get Heatran in and Protect on the Z move, and once it's confirmed they want to click Focus Blast I make a read and swap to Dragapult. If Gholdengo gets a kill, you need, need to go to Urshifu. Most Gholdengo teams will have good checks to Dragapult, but forcing the Urshifu to swap and getting a Swords Dance can be a game-winning play, and the only way you make it out once this team starts dropping members.
Tapu Lele is a lot more straight-forward, if it's Choice Specs you just hope Heatran never drops and once the move is confirmed you act accordingly. If it's Calm Mind, that's the problem set and you're still gonna have to make a read.
Mega Venusaur
Double Fairy, Water/Fighting, Ground isn't the best squad to beat it down.
(Weird? I don't actually have a real frame of reference for what a "normal" Stall in this tier is)
Stalls
/ 
/ 
There's a lot of weird stalls this team can struggle with, much less now though that Clefable is Knock/Rocks. Important to keep Gliscor as healthy as possible so it can consistently Defog, and Heatran needs to get some predictions on things like Clodsire if it's something like Shedinja/Mega Sableye/Clodsire.
As a tip, if you know you can keep rocks off consistently, keeping Altaria in its normal form can be helpful in the matchup. Natural Cure is nice.
Mega Medicham
What can I say, it's a Balance team without PhysDef Gholdengo or a Bird to gamble, so if Mega Medicham gets the turns right, you're probably cooked.
Your best bet is to limit it offensively and try to win before they do.
That's The Team
It's one I've been having a lot of fun with, maybe too much fun, and it's one of the first times I've felt that I actually connected with a "niche" Pokemon. It helps that, while I wasn't looking to play with a Pokemon I care about design wise, as a kid I loved Mega Altaria, and I missed the times where people did use it in tiers I care a lot about. I hope you enjoy playing with the team, and if you don't, uh, my bad!
https://pokepast.es/7eefb0e0b0599e61
It's one I've been having a lot of fun with, maybe too much fun, and it's one of the first times I've felt that I actually connected with a "niche" Pokemon. It helps that, while I wasn't looking to play with a Pokemon I care about design wise, as a kid I loved Mega Altaria, and I missed the times where people did use it in tiers I care a lot about. I hope you enjoy playing with the team, and if you don't, uh, my bad!
https://pokepast.es/7eefb0e0b0599e61
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Swords Dance Gliscor without Facade or Knock Off really isn't helping this team, especially into Air Balloon Gholdengo which you've said you struggle with. I've changed it to just simple defensive with U-turn and Defog instead, since this allows you to pivot to your breakers more easily versus Mega Venusaur, Landorus-T and opposing Gliscor. 
A major part of why I don't like this team is the lack of reliable Dragapult answers. Sure, Clefable easily beats Dragon Dance, but is heavily annoyed by Utility Pivot and Choice Specs, especially since the latter can 2HKO with Shadow Ball after minimal chip damage. Additionally, the next switch-in to Dragapult, Heatran, has limited longevity - this is why I propse Wish/Protect Clefable, to scout out choice-locked Pokemon like Dragapult, Weavile, Landorus-T and Iron Valiant to protect itself and allies from meaningless chip damage, while healing any chip damage away. 
You need Flamethrower on it. It may seem questionable, but Iron Head Kingambit is a little bit annoying into this team and Dragapult giving it only more setup chances isn't helping at all. You've said its a free slot anyways, but this is what it should be.
Granted, running Wish/Protect Clefable means you have to use Stealth Rock on Heatran now, which isn't all bad. Heatran still annoys bulky offense and balance builds with Magma Storm alone, especially if they don't have switch-ins that threaten Heatran back, and anything that does is easily shut down by Mega Altaria anyways.
I feel like this team is very hazard-focused with Heatran, Knock Off Clefable and Gliscor running around. Additionally, Gholdengo is quite annoying for this team, and the lack of priority can suck sometimes versus faster foes like Cinderace or Mega Medicham. This is where Hisuian Samurott comes in, since it provides additional hazard support, has priority, handles Gholdengo, Kingambit and a lot of Stall pretty nicely, all while being a powerful breaker appreciating Gliscor and Dragapult bringing in free switches against Landorus-T, Kingambit and Heatran. Although it hasn't been directly addressed, Mega Venusaur is hurt by the additional hazards that Hisuian Samurott lays down, limiting its defensive capabilities, while Hisuian Samurott also helps break through Pokemon like Galarian Slowking and Mega Tyranitar, both of which could be nuisances for the team.