[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 4-5 points
**Overview**: For just the price of a few spare coins, Muk brings a surprisingly large amount of utility to a draft. Typically drafted for its grounded Poison-type status, Muk also provides respectable Attack, excellent special bulk, and Knock Off support. With access to Poison Touch and moves like Haze, Toxic Spikes, and Pain Split, Muk is an excellent disruptor. However, it's held back a large amount by its inconsistent recovery, poor offensive typing, low physical bulk, and horrible Speed, leading to it being forced out by a large amount of checks and possibly fainting before it can accomplish everything it wants to. Muk can be a highly valuable low-tier Pokemon, but its drawbacks are definitely large enough to merit it being a low-priority pick.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Utility**: With its respectable utility, ability to spread poison with Toxic, Poison Touch, and even Toxic Spikes, and access to Knock Off, Muk is always able to provide something to a team. It can even claim a few KOs with Shadow Sneak.
**Assault Vest Tank**: With a wealth of coverage moves, Muk is able to bolster its excellent special bulk with an Assault Vest, allowing it to survive hits it otherwise wouldn't expect to and provide a strong physical presence at the same time.
**Setup Sweeper**: Muk can become an unexpected sweeper in endgame scenarios thanks to Curse. With Drain Punch and passive healing from items, it can set up on an unsuspecting foe and become next to impossible to KO in the right situation.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Gunk Shot, Poison Jab
**Setup Moves**: Curse
**Utility Moves**: Toxic Spikes, Toxic, Pain Split, Haze, Taunt, Memento, Brick Break, Rest, Sleep Talk
**Coverage**: Knock Off, Drain Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt, Rock Slide, Shadow Sneak, Giga Drain
Niche Moves
========
**Acid Spray / Rock Tomb / Lunge**: Acid Spray, Rock Tomb, and Lunge have limited use in inhibiting a foe that might try to set up in front of Muk.
**Focus Punch**: Muk can take advantage of the switches out it forces to unleash a very strong Focus Punch. This can pair quite nicely with Substitute to guarantee that the Focus Punch lands.
**Body Slam**: Body Slam is Muk's only way to spread paralysis, and it can fit quite nicely as a fourth move on Assault Vest sets.
Common Items
========
**Black Sludge / Leftovers**: Black Sludge and Leftovers are both excellent items, as Muk wants to be on the field as much as possible early-game. Drain Punch pairs nicely with them, providing additional longevity.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest bolsters Muk's excellent Special Defense, allowing it to function as a special tank. Its wide variety of coverage moves lends it to this playstyle, allowing it to check multiple special threats.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry performs a similar role to Black Sludge and Leftovers but is instead utilized in faster-paced matchups, where Muk spends significantly fewer turns on the battlefield.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots allows Muk to switch in with ease against teams with a lot of entry hazard control. This allows Muk to perform as a Toxic Spikes absorber while avoiding getting chipped down by other hazards.
**Rocky Helmet**: With Sticky Hold combined with Rocky Helmet, Muk can function as a Knock Off punisher, able to switch into Knock Off numerous times without losing its item. It's important to note that Muk will take the full damage from Knock Off every time it is hit by it, so this should only be utilized against weaker Knock Off users. Rocky Helmet also allows Muk to punish careless use of U-turn.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Band**: Sometimes you just want your Muk to hit hard. Choice Band can make it incredibly difficult for foes to switch into, leaving them playing a guessing game of which coverage option Muk might use. It also boosts the power of Knock Off to very high levels, allowing Muk to threaten OHKOs it otherwise couldn't.
**Air Balloon**: Air Balloon allows Muk to switch in against foes with Ground-type coverage without any fear of being OHKOed. This also can be used to deny sweeps from Pokemon that rely on strong Ground-type moves to hit it, like Enamorus with Earth Power.
**Resistance Berries**: Resistance Berries can allow Muk to act as a one-time check to a threatening Ground- or Psychic-type attack.
Tera
========
Muk can perform admirably in the role of a secondary Tera Captain on drafts that have a top-tier Tera Captain already. It appreciates defensive Tera types like Tera Grass and Steel that flip its Ground and Psychic weaknesses on their head. Tera Water also provides Muk with a valuable offensive Tera Blast, allowing it to hit Fire-types that it otherwise might struggle to damage. Tera Dark can give Muk an immunity to Psychic while also boosting the power of its Knock Off. Tera Fighting is used to strengthen Muk's Drain Punch, providing it with more sustainability. Tera Fairy can be utilized on setup sets for the valuable resistances and limited weaknesses it provides, letting Muk sustain itself much more easily. Tera Fire can be used on offensive sets to provide Muk with an immunity to burn. It's important to note that while there are many advantages to making Muk a Tera Captain, it should only be made one when accompanied by a high-tier Tera Captain, as there are many better options available as secondary Captains for only slightly more points.
Draft Strategy
========
Muk is drafted in the later rounds to round out a team's potential weaknesses. It provides cheap and cheerful utility and good special bulk, and its ability to absorb Toxic Spikes and resistance to Fairy enable it to be an excellent supporting piece. Useful teammates for Muk are:
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Muk has fairly poor Defense and is too slow to reliably boost it before taking significant chip damage, making strong physically defensive teammates a necessity. Great Tusk, Ting-Lu, and Corviknight are all good examples of Pokemon that assist Muk with their defensive capabilities.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: With the prevalence of Earthquake, Muk can struggle to impose itself on a battle thanks to its middling Defense and weakness to Ground; as such, Ground-immune teammates like Latias, Gliscor, and Skarmory can help alleviate its weakness while also gaining opportunities to switch in.
**Sweepers**: As Muk is a supporting piece, it is important to have teammates that can take advantage of the disruption it causes. Muk is a great Knock Off user, and physical sweepers like Sneasler, Palafin, and both Urshifu formes appreciate its ability to remove opposing Rocky Helmet and spread status with Poison Touch. Special sweepers like Latias, Iron Valiant, and Enamorus also enjoy opposing Assault Vests being removed.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Ground-types like Ursaluna-B, Landorus-T, and Great Tusk are very comfortable switching into Muk, which is in turn forced to make a prediction with a weak Ice Punch to hit them for any meaningful damage. As such, Muk is typically forced out by their presence.
**Steel-types**: While Muk does commonly run Drain Punch, Steel-types like Iron Treads, Excadrill, and Corviknight are completely immune to Poison, heavily disrupting Muk's potential impact on a battle.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Muk's low Defense and lack of recovery leave it prey to teams with numerous physical attackers like Roaring Moon, Garchomp, and Ogerpon-W, which can overwhelm it or force it out.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
**Draft Order**: Round 7 onwards
**Price Range**: 4-5 points
**Overview**: For just the price of a few spare coins, Muk brings a surprisingly large amount of utility to a draft. Typically drafted for its grounded Poison-type status, Muk also provides respectable Attack, excellent special bulk, and Knock Off support. With access to Poison Touch and moves like Haze, Toxic Spikes, and Pain Split, Muk is an excellent disruptor. However, it's held back a large amount by its inconsistent recovery, poor offensive typing, low physical bulk, and horrible Speed, leading to it being forced out by a large amount of checks and possibly fainting before it can accomplish everything it wants to. Muk can be a highly valuable low-tier Pokemon, but its drawbacks are definitely large enough to merit it being a low-priority pick.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Utility**: With its respectable utility, ability to spread poison with Toxic, Poison Touch, and even Toxic Spikes, and access to Knock Off, Muk is always able to provide something to a team. It can even claim a few KOs with Shadow Sneak.
**Assault Vest Tank**: With a wealth of coverage moves, Muk is able to bolster its excellent special bulk with an Assault Vest, allowing it to survive hits it otherwise wouldn't expect to and provide a strong physical presence at the same time.
**Setup Sweeper**: Muk can become an unexpected sweeper in endgame scenarios thanks to Curse. With Drain Punch and passive healing from items, it can set up on an unsuspecting foe and become next to impossible to KO in the right situation.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Gunk Shot, Poison Jab
**Setup Moves**: Curse
**Utility Moves**: Toxic Spikes, Toxic, Pain Split, Haze, Taunt, Memento, Brick Break, Rest, Sleep Talk
**Coverage**: Knock Off, Drain Punch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Zen Headbutt, Rock Slide, Shadow Sneak, Giga Drain
Niche Moves
========
**Acid Spray / Rock Tomb / Lunge**: Acid Spray, Rock Tomb, and Lunge have limited use in inhibiting a foe that might try to set up in front of Muk.
**Focus Punch**: Muk can take advantage of the switches out it forces to unleash a very strong Focus Punch. This can pair quite nicely with Substitute to guarantee that the Focus Punch lands.
**Body Slam**: Body Slam is Muk's only way to spread paralysis, and it can fit quite nicely as a fourth move on Assault Vest sets.
Common Items
========
**Black Sludge / Leftovers**: Black Sludge and Leftovers are both excellent items, as Muk wants to be on the field as much as possible early-game. Drain Punch pairs nicely with them, providing additional longevity.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest bolsters Muk's excellent Special Defense, allowing it to function as a special tank. Its wide variety of coverage moves lends it to this playstyle, allowing it to check multiple special threats.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry performs a similar role to Black Sludge and Leftovers but is instead utilized in faster-paced matchups, where Muk spends significantly fewer turns on the battlefield.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots allows Muk to switch in with ease against teams with a lot of entry hazard control. This allows Muk to perform as a Toxic Spikes absorber while avoiding getting chipped down by other hazards.
**Rocky Helmet**: With Sticky Hold combined with Rocky Helmet, Muk can function as a Knock Off punisher, able to switch into Knock Off numerous times without losing its item. It's important to note that Muk will take the full damage from Knock Off every time it is hit by it, so this should only be utilized against weaker Knock Off users. Rocky Helmet also allows Muk to punish careless use of U-turn.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Band**: Sometimes you just want your Muk to hit hard. Choice Band can make it incredibly difficult for foes to switch into, leaving them playing a guessing game of which coverage option Muk might use. It also boosts the power of Knock Off to very high levels, allowing Muk to threaten OHKOs it otherwise couldn't.
**Air Balloon**: Air Balloon allows Muk to switch in against foes with Ground-type coverage without any fear of being OHKOed. This also can be used to deny sweeps from Pokemon that rely on strong Ground-type moves to hit it, like Enamorus with Earth Power.
**Resistance Berries**: Resistance Berries can allow Muk to act as a one-time check to a threatening Ground- or Psychic-type attack.
Tera
========
Muk can perform admirably in the role of a secondary Tera Captain on drafts that have a top-tier Tera Captain already. It appreciates defensive Tera types like Tera Grass and Steel that flip its Ground and Psychic weaknesses on their head. Tera Water also provides Muk with a valuable offensive Tera Blast, allowing it to hit Fire-types that it otherwise might struggle to damage. Tera Dark can give Muk an immunity to Psychic while also boosting the power of its Knock Off. Tera Fighting is used to strengthen Muk's Drain Punch, providing it with more sustainability. Tera Fairy can be utilized on setup sets for the valuable resistances and limited weaknesses it provides, letting Muk sustain itself much more easily. Tera Fire can be used on offensive sets to provide Muk with an immunity to burn. It's important to note that while there are many advantages to making Muk a Tera Captain, it should only be made one when accompanied by a high-tier Tera Captain, as there are many better options available as secondary Captains for only slightly more points.
Draft Strategy
========
Muk is drafted in the later rounds to round out a team's potential weaknesses. It provides cheap and cheerful utility and good special bulk, and its ability to absorb Toxic Spikes and resistance to Fairy enable it to be an excellent supporting piece. Useful teammates for Muk are:
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Muk has fairly poor Defense and is too slow to reliably boost it before taking significant chip damage, making strong physically defensive teammates a necessity. Great Tusk, Ting-Lu, and Corviknight are all good examples of Pokemon that assist Muk with their defensive capabilities.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: With the prevalence of Earthquake, Muk can struggle to impose itself on a battle thanks to its middling Defense and weakness to Ground; as such, Ground-immune teammates like Latias, Gliscor, and Skarmory can help alleviate its weakness while also gaining opportunities to switch in.
**Sweepers**: As Muk is a supporting piece, it is important to have teammates that can take advantage of the disruption it causes. Muk is a great Knock Off user, and physical sweepers like Sneasler, Palafin, and both Urshifu formes appreciate its ability to remove opposing Rocky Helmet and spread status with Poison Touch. Special sweepers like Latias, Iron Valiant, and Enamorus also enjoy opposing Assault Vests being removed.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Ground-types like Ursaluna-B, Landorus-T, and Great Tusk are very comfortable switching into Muk, which is in turn forced to make a prediction with a weak Ice Punch to hit them for any meaningful damage. As such, Muk is typically forced out by their presence.
**Steel-types**: While Muk does commonly run Drain Punch, Steel-types like Iron Treads, Excadrill, and Corviknight are completely immune to Poison, heavily disrupting Muk's potential impact on a battle.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Muk's low Defense and lack of recovery leave it prey to teams with numerous physical attackers like Roaring Moon, Garchomp, and Ogerpon-W, which can overwhelm it or force it out.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
