Overview
This is a team I built after some attempts at making a consistent team which had answers to everything in the meta. My favourite playstyles have always been balance and bulky offense and after some laddering in the pre-ban meta with one of the sample teams (G-Darm - Clef - Corvi - Dragapult - Seismitoad - Ditto) I decided to turn it into my own. The goal I had was my name to show up on the ladder so that's where I peaked.
Process
This team was built around the core of Jellicent + Sylveon. After trying to find partners for them I found that I often lacked team slots to fulfill all roles (on one of the earlier versions, I thought I had made the perfect team until I realized I didn't have a SR setter lol). That was when I decided to change Jelli for Seismitoad, which gives me the role compression I needed to keep building.
The obvious thing that Jelli checks and Seismitoad doesn't is G-Darmanitan. That's why the next mon I included is Rotom-H. The team right then was looking like every other team in the ladder, so I tried to think about something that helped me wear down opposing balance that most teams didn't have.
When I looked at the list of things that got knock off this gen in OU well... They were Ferro and Mandibuzz. Both gave me some issues with overlapping roles, even more if I planned using Corviknight later; so I stopped building for the moment. A few days later, someone in the discussion thread said that they had been testing Obstagoon in OU and that it was great so I decided to try it. That also let me add a defogger in Corviknight.
Finally, I realized I didn't have Darm so I added Darm to the last slot.
The team
Obstagoon @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Obstruct
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Close Combat
I thought this was a meme until I tried it. All you have to do is to bring it safely and then it starts breaking. The set is the same I saw on the analysis: knock off and facade hit like a truck, and close combat for coverage vs steels and dark types if it can get you the KO. Obstruct is a great last move which lets me scout the choice-locked mons. The def drop is only useful in one situation but it comes up a lot of times: Mandibuzz switches in on the knock off, you obstruct on the u-turn and then you get a free facade on something (or a knock off on a ghost, which is the typical answer). The one thing I changed was the nature to Jolly since I felt the need to outspeed and KO Rotom with a little chip, (it also outspeeds Exca and ties with banded Darm in a pinch).
Nobody wants to take a hit from this thing, but it's best match-ups are:
The big flaw of this mon is that it gets worn down so quickly, I wish I had a cleric for it...
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Wish
- Protect
I absolutely love Sylveon in this meta, where there are so many special attackers and no poison mons at all. Its role is to be a blanket check to any special attacker unless it has super effective coverage or can boost faster than Sylveon drops its stats. It can also eat a physical hit in a pinch to kill dragons behind a sub and acts as a wish passer for Obstagoon and Rotom mainly, although everyone in this team appreciates wishes. The set is copy pasted from the analysis and I find that it has an excellent synergy with the team: if Rotom has to check things like clefable, it wont be healthy enough to stop a Darm sweep; Sylveon can aleviate that preassure and keep it healthy with wishes.
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
I find Seismitoad to be the best glue mon in the tier. You have a rocker, an electric inmunity, a water inmunity, a toxic spreader and a physical "blanket check" in one slot. Rocks are mandatory as well as scald, and I value more having toxic (nothing gets it this gen) and protect to scout than earthquake. You can switch on the Rotom forms and on waters all day and proceed to spam any move you feel like, it also checks things that are moderately strong like Excadrill, and takes a hit from G-Darm. It has problems, of course, being the biggest set up fodder on the team (I have lost so many matches trying to toxic only to be stopped by a random substitute) but I think this slot is pretty much mandatory.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
This mon is nothing spectacular, but it fills a niche that is very valuable. It's a pivot that can take almost any hit in the game at least once thanks to it's decent stats and amazing typing, and provides the valuable hazard control this teams needs. The set is the standard one, I choose to run u-turn in order to bring my breakers safely and I often think of changing brave bird for taunt, but it's still useful for Conkeldurr and Hawlucha (Sylveon checks them but it can be overwhelmed). Corviknight is really passive and I often find myself doing nothing in front of things it checks like Excadrill; but it's still really useful and it always takes that very important hit it needs to through the match.
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
Rotom-H is quite standard in this OU meta, but I find it to be the other superstar of this team. It can come in on so many attacks and get a free volt switch through the match until it's is time to nasty-plot up and break or sweep through 2 or 3 mons. The spread is the standard, with the correct amount of bulk and offense, and hits a very nice speed tier; I prefer to run thunderbolt over will'o'wisp in order to eventually break through things like Clefable or Pex and because I don't really need the status. Rotom checks every steel (except sash mold breaker Excadrill, which is very common), every fairy not named Hatterene and most important, Galarian-Darmanitan. Thanks to HBD and wish it's easy to keep it healthy through the game only to find that more than half the enemy team is super weak to it (still can never touch Toad or Gastro).
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- U-turn
This mon is broken. It shares common checks with Obstagoon and once they are gone it's hard to stop a sweep. The original sample team had band on it but I find scarf to be better (its speed tier is godlike, just check if that Dragapult is scarf and you are the fastest thing around). The set is completely standard, I put 4 evs on defense to better live sucker punches, shadow sneaks and resisted icicle crash from opposing Darm locked into it; but I don't know if it even helps. It's easy to wear down and can't take a hit, but if you get the perfect opportunity you can pass a wish to it and give it another life.
Threats
Hazards: this team can take a lot of offensive pressure, but every turn is so valuable that it's very hard to fit hazard removal into the equation. You can't prevent hazards from lead Excadrill or Mew, and I always trade rocks for toxic on the opposing Seismitoad. It's hard to bring Corvi in and not be forced to u-turn inmediately and if they have Bisharp you can forget about it. The bright side is that no one apart from Darm is weak to them but in general I find this the biggest problem.
Banded G-Darm: Rotom is no longer a switch-in to this and my only faster mon is my own Darm, I also lack priority. I usually have to sac something and try to revenge but I think this is the struggle of every team right now.
Set up: this team has trouble with substitute mons not checked by Sylveon (which aren't many luckily), and any mon boosting twice usually means gg. I also struggle a lot with Hatterene which Sylveon checks on paper but doesn't in reality and it comes to really ugly 50/50s.
Conclussion
Overall I am very satisfied with this team and although it has it flaws, I don't think it has any bad matchups and it always comes down to better player wins. I even think it can be a sample team since it uses really standard stuff with a cool addition called Obstagoon. I hope you liked the team, feel free to correct me or to add anything I may have missed and thank you for reading it. Also, this is my first post on the forum and I'm not a native speaker so please forgive any minor flaw :p
This is a team I built after some attempts at making a consistent team which had answers to everything in the meta. My favourite playstyles have always been balance and bulky offense and after some laddering in the pre-ban meta with one of the sample teams (G-Darm - Clef - Corvi - Dragapult - Seismitoad - Ditto) I decided to turn it into my own. The goal I had was my name to show up on the ladder so that's where I peaked.
Process
This team was built around the core of Jellicent + Sylveon. After trying to find partners for them I found that I often lacked team slots to fulfill all roles (on one of the earlier versions, I thought I had made the perfect team until I realized I didn't have a SR setter lol). That was when I decided to change Jelli for Seismitoad, which gives me the role compression I needed to keep building.
The obvious thing that Jelli checks and Seismitoad doesn't is G-Darmanitan. That's why the next mon I included is Rotom-H. The team right then was looking like every other team in the ladder, so I tried to think about something that helped me wear down opposing balance that most teams didn't have.
When I looked at the list of things that got knock off this gen in OU well... They were Ferro and Mandibuzz. Both gave me some issues with overlapping roles, even more if I planned using Corviknight later; so I stopped building for the moment. A few days later, someone in the discussion thread said that they had been testing Obstagoon in OU and that it was great so I decided to try it. That also let me add a defogger in Corviknight.
Finally, I realized I didn't have Darm so I added Darm to the last slot.
The team
Obstagoon @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Obstruct
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Close Combat
I thought this was a meme until I tried it. All you have to do is to bring it safely and then it starts breaking. The set is the same I saw on the analysis: knock off and facade hit like a truck, and close combat for coverage vs steels and dark types if it can get you the KO. Obstruct is a great last move which lets me scout the choice-locked mons. The def drop is only useful in one situation but it comes up a lot of times: Mandibuzz switches in on the knock off, you obstruct on the u-turn and then you get a free facade on something (or a knock off on a ghost, which is the typical answer). The one thing I changed was the nature to Jolly since I felt the need to outspeed and KO Rotom with a little chip, (it also outspeeds Exca and ties with banded Darm in a pinch).
Nobody wants to take a hit from this thing, but it's best match-ups are:
Bisharp - outspeeds and KOes, resists sucker punch
Excadrill - if sash broken it outspeeds and KOes
Jellicent - KOes if not colbur, Jelli can't do much in return
Rotom - 252 Atk Guts Obstagoon Facade (140 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Rotom-Heat: 250-295 (82.5 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. This is especially important since we have scarf Darm
Seismitoad - 252 Atk Guts Obstagoon Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Seismitoad: 231-273 (55.7 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery. Seismitoad can't do much in return.
Toxapex - 252 Atk Guts Obstagoon Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 142-168 (46.7 - 55.2%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery. This isn't that straightforward but once you knock its item they can recover until you get the roll. Also, Pex can't do much in return.
Tyranitar - outspeeds and KOes
Corsola - it can't touch Goon but you can't kill it either (once it loses its eviolite it's a 2HKO from Darm tho)
Dragapult - you can scout and pivot around the choiced versions with Sylveon, and the sub-disable version can't touch you
Excadrill - if sash broken it outspeeds and KOes
Jellicent - KOes if not colbur, Jelli can't do much in return
Rotom - 252 Atk Guts Obstagoon Facade (140 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Rotom-Heat: 250-295 (82.5 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. This is especially important since we have scarf Darm
Seismitoad - 252 Atk Guts Obstagoon Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Seismitoad: 231-273 (55.7 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery. Seismitoad can't do much in return.
Toxapex - 252 Atk Guts Obstagoon Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 142-168 (46.7 - 55.2%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery. This isn't that straightforward but once you knock its item they can recover until you get the roll. Also, Pex can't do much in return.
Tyranitar - outspeeds and KOes
Corsola - it can't touch Goon but you can't kill it either (once it loses its eviolite it's a 2HKO from Darm tho)
Dragapult - you can scout and pivot around the choiced versions with Sylveon, and the sub-disable version can't touch you
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Wish
- Protect
I absolutely love Sylveon in this meta, where there are so many special attackers and no poison mons at all. Its role is to be a blanket check to any special attacker unless it has super effective coverage or can boost faster than Sylveon drops its stats. It can also eat a physical hit in a pinch to kill dragons behind a sub and acts as a wish passer for Obstagoon and Rotom mainly, although everyone in this team appreciates wishes. The set is copy pasted from the analysis and I find that it has an excellent synergy with the team: if Rotom has to check things like clefable, it wont be healthy enough to stop a Darm sweep; Sylveon can aleviate that preassure and keep it healthy with wishes.
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
I find Seismitoad to be the best glue mon in the tier. You have a rocker, an electric inmunity, a water inmunity, a toxic spreader and a physical "blanket check" in one slot. Rocks are mandatory as well as scald, and I value more having toxic (nothing gets it this gen) and protect to scout than earthquake. You can switch on the Rotom forms and on waters all day and proceed to spam any move you feel like, it also checks things that are moderately strong like Excadrill, and takes a hit from G-Darm. It has problems, of course, being the biggest set up fodder on the team (I have lost so many matches trying to toxic only to be stopped by a random substitute) but I think this slot is pretty much mandatory.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
This mon is nothing spectacular, but it fills a niche that is very valuable. It's a pivot that can take almost any hit in the game at least once thanks to it's decent stats and amazing typing, and provides the valuable hazard control this teams needs. The set is the standard one, I choose to run u-turn in order to bring my breakers safely and I often think of changing brave bird for taunt, but it's still useful for Conkeldurr and Hawlucha (Sylveon checks them but it can be overwhelmed). Corviknight is really passive and I often find myself doing nothing in front of things it checks like Excadrill; but it's still really useful and it always takes that very important hit it needs to through the match.
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
Rotom-H is quite standard in this OU meta, but I find it to be the other superstar of this team. It can come in on so many attacks and get a free volt switch through the match until it's is time to nasty-plot up and break or sweep through 2 or 3 mons. The spread is the standard, with the correct amount of bulk and offense, and hits a very nice speed tier; I prefer to run thunderbolt over will'o'wisp in order to eventually break through things like Clefable or Pex and because I don't really need the status. Rotom checks every steel (except sash mold breaker Excadrill, which is very common), every fairy not named Hatterene and most important, Galarian-Darmanitan. Thanks to HBD and wish it's easy to keep it healthy through the game only to find that more than half the enemy team is super weak to it (still can never touch Toad or Gastro).
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- U-turn
This mon is broken. It shares common checks with Obstagoon and once they are gone it's hard to stop a sweep. The original sample team had band on it but I find scarf to be better (its speed tier is godlike, just check if that Dragapult is scarf and you are the fastest thing around). The set is completely standard, I put 4 evs on defense to better live sucker punches, shadow sneaks and resisted icicle crash from opposing Darm locked into it; but I don't know if it even helps. It's easy to wear down and can't take a hit, but if you get the perfect opportunity you can pass a wish to it and give it another life.
Threats
Hazards: this team can take a lot of offensive pressure, but every turn is so valuable that it's very hard to fit hazard removal into the equation. You can't prevent hazards from lead Excadrill or Mew, and I always trade rocks for toxic on the opposing Seismitoad. It's hard to bring Corvi in and not be forced to u-turn inmediately and if they have Bisharp you can forget about it. The bright side is that no one apart from Darm is weak to them but in general I find this the biggest problem.
Banded G-Darm: Rotom is no longer a switch-in to this and my only faster mon is my own Darm, I also lack priority. I usually have to sac something and try to revenge but I think this is the struggle of every team right now.
Set up: this team has trouble with substitute mons not checked by Sylveon (which aren't many luckily), and any mon boosting twice usually means gg. I also struggle a lot with Hatterene which Sylveon checks on paper but doesn't in reality and it comes to really ugly 50/50s.
Conclussion
Overall I am very satisfied with this team and although it has it flaws, I don't think it has any bad matchups and it always comes down to better player wins. I even think it can be a sample team since it uses really standard stuff with a cool addition called Obstagoon. I hope you liked the team, feel free to correct me or to add anything I may have missed and thank you for reading it. Also, this is my first post on the forum and I'm not a native speaker so please forgive any minor flaw :p
Obstagoon @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Obstruct
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Close Combat
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Wish
- Protect
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Obstruct
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Close Combat
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Mystical Fire
- Wish
- Protect
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Sylveon for 
Clefable. I know Clefable's standard set is LO, but a defensive set, similar to the one you are using Sylveon for, is still quite effective. While the trade-off is less natural bulk and the inability to hit through sub, but the advantage is that Clefable is immune to passive damage. You mentioned a big threat you've found with your team to be hazards, and Clefable can switch in day and night and not have to worry about them. In my experience using Sylveon, this is a very refreshing advantage. Sylveon tends to come in a lot, and that extra damage from hazards adds up. An immunity to poison/burn is quite good, too.
