Re: Thief in BW OU,
I only got 3 games in the generation during SPL unfortunately, but I was able to branch out and use some novel sets in each week at least. I plan to share each creative set, each team, and all of my thoughts in a lengthy post later (stay tuned!!!), but for now I want to touch on a trend I found in two of my teams.
Thief proved helpful in improving the margins in some matchups. BW is metagame where we have to be very particular because of how naturally proactive it is. With no mechanisms like Boots and Defog, a lot of progress that is made stay throughout games and this progress builds upon itself as well. I plan out early games from my lead to my sequencing depending on how the opponent reacts to great lengths, but sometimes match-ups can be complicated or even uphill with a metagame bloated with different threads. Being able to remove a certain element of counterplay from an opponent's team is a common practice in BW with many lures being used and stacking pressure, but this can sometimes be achieved through displacing their item, too. Knock Off is becoming more common with age in BW as many of us know with Ferrothorn, Gliscor, and even occasionally Landorus-T or Clefable. Thief is another way to enact this strategy though. It is less practical at times, but there are two sets with it that I used in a 3 week sample. I also think Rotom-W is viable with Eject Button and Hydro/Volt/Wisp/Thief on an offense as a pivot, but I was not able to perfect that build quite yet.
Politoed @
Eject Button
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 136 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
-
Thief
- Encore
This set actually worked out perfectly
here!
Eject Button is super underrated as you can chew a Rotom-W Volt Switch, Latios Draco Meteor, or weaker attacks comfortably and then get in Choice Specs Keldeo, Thundurus-T, or your choice of Rain threat without any risk or momentum loss. From there, you have no item and Thief can give you a big edge. Thief into Celebi or Ferrothorn coming in can go a long way to remove their Leftovers, but it can also work in tandem with Toxic to stack damage on opposing Politoed, Jellicent, Gastrodon, Rotom-Wash, etc. Another cool application is stealing a Choice Scarf from a Latios or Keldeo to minimize their revenge killing threat into your team as they try to take out weakened Politoed. Overall, I think this set is super underrated on more dedicated offensive Rain teams. EVs can vary a lot depending on your specific team, too.
Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
-
Thief
The first set is almost entirely novel while the latter is a different way to play lead Skarmory. Most experienced BW players can read this at team preview, so they are unlikely to lead Ferrothorn, slower Skarmory, Gliscor, SR Tyranitar, etc. and would rather try to force a 2HKO into you to minimize the hazard set-up. I find this makes Taunt very expendable, but I also find non-RH/Lefties Skarm without recovery being awkward into Rapid Spin + Protect Excadrill's classic set on Sand. Thief can take Leftovers later in the mirror after you force some chip with Brave Bird, which means you may be able to leave if in range of Alakazam or Scarf Garhomp Outrage depending on your specific build. It also alleviates the stress on Balloon Jellicent, which is a very common partner to Skarmory that wants to remain in tact, but oftentimes has to take damage or status earlier in SandDrill match-ups.
Aside from this application, sometimes I save Skarmory and get a surprise Custap Thief vs certain threats depending on how they are against Spikes and how I am against their threats. Obviously Taunt has merit still and especially against people who are less BW competent as they may not read Skarmory as being lead or Taunt, but at an SPL level, I love risks like these that can add a surprise layer to early gam planning.
Thief is still nowhere near as good as it is in GSC or even quite as trendy as Thief Skarmory in ADV, but it is an underrated move in BW and I am glad I integrated it onto a few of the teams I used. I will expand on these teams and my battles in the near future.
- Dice, zf
- Soulgazer
- Garay Oak
- Dark Eeveon, Elodin, Chaitanya
- Monai, BlazingDark, Devin
- Sensei Axew
- Ayaka, Soulwind
- Jisoo
- GaryTheGengar
