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Metagame SV OU Metagame Discussion v4
- Thread starter TPP
- Start date
While I mourn the drop of Hydreigon from UU to RU, I wanna discuss the usage stats of this month.
3 (19.8%): A possible rival to Gambit and Tusk? It is clear why it is so high up. Priority, amazing bulk with a solid defensive typing, and fits on almost every playstyle. It has also popped up frequently on rain to abuse Thunder and 100 BP Water coverage. Imo Raging Bolt is well designed. It offers a lot of value in the builder while not being overwhelming itself. This is Zapdos but cool.
5 (16.5%): Valiant returned to being top 5 in usage and beat the “power crept by Boulder” allegations. The combination of its typing, Encore, and sheer unpredictability has made it the better fast cleaner. These qualities have also made it better into Superman teams and bulkier styles in general. I think Valiant should be explored more. Specs and HDB are amazing sets that can fit on bulkier styles.
19 (9.7%): Lando managed to reach top 20 in usage. Is the former king of OU climbing its way back, or was it spared from touching UU by the playerbase. Despite its competition with Gliscor and Tusk, Lando has found a place on more offensively oriented teams as a sr setter, pivot, and check to a handful of threats. Its 145 Atk lets it fire off strong EQs and it could customize itself to be speedy, physically bulky, or even the Gen 8 classic, SpD Lando.
29 (8.2%): Despite the dragons introduced by DLC2 discouraging Wogre usage last month, Wogre seems to be making a slow, steady comeback in response to rain becoming one of the most broken spammed playstyles in the tier. With Low Kick or Play Rough to smack away those dragons, and Water Absorb for Barra, it has a solid matchup into those teams on top of being a potent wallbreaker. We could expect this number to grow, especially if Kyurem ends up banned.
33 (7.8%): Weavile’s usage stats surprised me. I expected there to be a notable spike considering its matchup into the Dragons, Gliscor, and offense. I stated that Weavile was a Top 5 mon in the meta, and I still stand by that (though Raging Bolt might be a contender for that spot). Once more players realize how damn good it is, we could expect a big rise.
39/41 (5.8%/5.6%): With Rain surging in usage, Sun has seen a drop as the former is the better weather style. Losing Sleep Powder H-Lilli and Yawn on Tork was also a notable hit. As for Walking Wake, I believe it is good on Superman teams with spikes. A strong special attacker with Knock, the rare Scald, and a dual water resistance that pairs well with Weavile.
43 (5.3%): Heatran is the 3rd least used mon in OU. Players are discouraged in using it due to Rain and Spikes. However if you look at some of the top threats, you may find that Heatran has a good matchup into Gholdengo, Dragapult, Raging Bolt, Rillaboom, Kingambit, Weavile, Slowking-G, and Meowscarada while providing utility via SR and Flame Body. Rilla-style BO teams have also popped up and Heatran is ofc a great pick. Whether players will catch on is to be determined.
44 (4.7%): Skeledirge is the 2nd least used mon in OU and honestly, it might be on its way out. Hard to fit, the list of mons it checks is questionable, competition with Ghold as a defensive Ghost, Rain being as popular as it is, and a Tera hog. The new toy syndrome from Stellar Serp and Enam has burnt out.
Also would like to point out that Corv having higher usage than Skarm is….interesting.
Also would like to point out that Corv having higher usage than Skarm is….interesting.
Yeah, being one of the better checks to Kyurem is amazing, while also being good againt many top threats. In fact, I'm making a Heatran analysis that is 3300 words long, and I ain't even done yet.43 (5.3%): Heatran is the 3rd least used mon in OU. Players are discouraged in using it due to Rain and Spikes. However if you look at some of the top threats, you may find that Heatran has a good matchup into Gholdengo, Dragapult, Raging Bolt, Rillaboom, Kingambit, Weavile, Slowking-G, and Meowscarada while providing utility via SR and Flame Body. Rilla-style BO teams have also popped up and Heatran is ofc a great pick. Whether players will catch on is to be determined.
I think that Scarf Dragapult does have an actual place in the meta game. Since it’s so darn fast, it can basically outspeed any sweeper with a speed boost(Exept Swift Swim Barraskewda in rain) as well as every viable scarf Pokémon. This allows it to successfully keep a sweeper under control. And unlike Sash pull, it can do this multiple times, which makes it great against HO teams, since there are a few good ones populating the meta game.
I've tried scarf pult, and it lacks power to do much. Yes, it can outspeed everything in the meta, but that doesn't mean much when you do little damage. Pult really needs a boost in power, whether that is from specs/band or status + hex, to do good damage.
Significant Rises for the month of January:
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(#2, 28.02% -> #1, 33.12%)
The scuffle for the number 1 spot continues, as Kingambit takes back the lead from Great Tusk. I think there's a few reasons for this, mainly the heavy rise of Iron Treads diminishing the usage of Tusk on a lot of teams, but also due to the recent surge in usage of Air Balloon. Balloon's proven to be a very good tool for Kingambit as a defensive option, allowing it to check Kyurem, Roaring Moon and Dragonite, while also being able to sit on the likes of Clodsire and non-ruination Ting-Lu.
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(#6, 16.09% -> #3, 19.82%)
Now this was a surprise to me, Raging Bolt taking the number 3 spot is huge, however there are definitely good explanations to that fact.
Raging Bolt crumbles up offense structures, as well as having a favorable matchup into both Rain and Sun, which have both risen to prominence during the DLC2 meta. While CM has been the main set of note, Specs has also seen quite a bit of usage, with Draco Meteor + Thunderclap + Volt Switch being virtually unresisted apart from Iron Treads and Excadrill. Specs even has the capability of 2hkoing SpDef Clodsire!
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(#11, 12.31% -> #5, 16.05%)
With new toy syndrome starting to fade off, we see the original booster speed mon get an increase in usage, however even to me this was quite suprising, seeing the same usage placement as it did at the end of DLC1. I think it's mostly due to the the period of time where Hypnosis Iron Valiant become quite popular on ladder, seeing usage even at the tippity top of the ladder. It was one of the main principal offenders to why sleep ended up getting banned, it's not surprising at all to see it receive this level of usage. I'm interested in seeing the moveset stats once they come out just to see how often Iron Valiant carried Hypnosis during this period.
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(#21, 9.79% -> #8, 15.57%)
We see a huge usage rise after the first month of DLC in our good old speedy dragon Dragapult. With the huge surge of dragons in the DLC, it's not too surprising to see Dragapult be left behind for a little bit, however it's come back in full force after a month of semi-inertia. No longer is Specs Dragapult's most used or even best set, Dragapult is now running boots to great success, now acting as a fast status spreading pivot on superman teams, usually in conjunction with Knock Off users that appreciate the spread of Twave.
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(#33, 6.67% -> #18, 9.87%)
We see a big usage rise from Corviknight, a pokemon that was initially thought to be useless in a Gholdengo meta, and thought to not even be a good pick once Skarmory came out, see a huge surge in usage, growing past the aforementioned Skarmory. In a meta where we're seeing even less Gholdengo's than before, Defog's utility is growing higher, while the ability to pivot is still incredibly beneficial, Slowking-G + Corviknight has been a great core throught DLC2, we've even seen U-Turn-less variants that instead opt to run ID+BP to great sucess, being able to sit on many spike stack structures and sap PP, since most of them don't currently carry Gholdengo.
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(#32, 6.84% -> #19, 9.71%)
Lando's back?!? Lando's seeing a bit of a resurgence, now commonly running Rocky Helmet, to not only screw physical attackers with Intimidate, but also some added chip to boot. It deals especially well into Gouging Fire, being a formidable check outside of sun, being a physical attacker it also commonly carries Grass Knot or Psychic, both options that deal with the main physical check Great Tusk extremely well, making it able to set rocks for itself while being able to threaten most spinners for heavy damage.
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Rain is good actually?!?
(#39, 5.37% -> #26, 8.35%)
(#18, 10% -> #13, 11.57%)
(#54, 3.45% -> #37, 6.24%)
Rain as a playstyle has seen a huge rise in usage, mainly due to Archaludon's sheer dominance. It's usually able to trade for at least 2, allowing the rest of the team to clean even easier. In the past few weeks we've seen even more creative options than just these 3, with usage from the likes of Tornadus-T, Raging Bolt, Kingambit and the previously uncommon Iron Treads. Much of the tournament scene seems to be turning over to an Archaludon suspect once the Kyurem one ends, which we'll remain to see.
(#49, 4.05% -> #25, 8.62%)
We see a huge rise from Iron Treads, taking out from the depths of UU, much to their chagrin. Treads has seen itself as a staple pick on a lot of Hyper Offensive weather structures, specifically rain and sun, as a Hazard setter, Spinner, Pivot and usually a special attacker? Many people have been experimenting with Booster Energy Speed, Eject Button or even just simple sash leads with Endeavor, revealing Treads to be fairly customizable, and potentially even a better fit as a hazard removal option on these hyper offensive structures than Great Tusk is!
Anyway that's it for January! A lot of big movement happening last month, excited in seeing how the meta shapes and develops during February!
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(#2, 28.02% -> #1, 33.12%)The scuffle for the number 1 spot continues, as Kingambit takes back the lead from Great Tusk. I think there's a few reasons for this, mainly the heavy rise of Iron Treads diminishing the usage of Tusk on a lot of teams, but also due to the recent surge in usage of Air Balloon. Balloon's proven to be a very good tool for Kingambit as a defensive option, allowing it to check Kyurem, Roaring Moon and Dragonite, while also being able to sit on the likes of Clodsire and non-ruination Ting-Lu.
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(#6, 16.09% -> #3, 19.82%)Now this was a surprise to me, Raging Bolt taking the number 3 spot is huge, however there are definitely good explanations to that fact.
Raging Bolt crumbles up offense structures, as well as having a favorable matchup into both Rain and Sun, which have both risen to prominence during the DLC2 meta. While CM has been the main set of note, Specs has also seen quite a bit of usage, with Draco Meteor + Thunderclap + Volt Switch being virtually unresisted apart from Iron Treads and Excadrill. Specs even has the capability of 2hkoing SpDef Clodsire!
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(#11, 12.31% -> #5, 16.05%)With new toy syndrome starting to fade off, we see the original booster speed mon get an increase in usage, however even to me this was quite suprising, seeing the same usage placement as it did at the end of DLC1. I think it's mostly due to the the period of time where Hypnosis Iron Valiant become quite popular on ladder, seeing usage even at the tippity top of the ladder. It was one of the main principal offenders to why sleep ended up getting banned, it's not surprising at all to see it receive this level of usage. I'm interested in seeing the moveset stats once they come out just to see how often Iron Valiant carried Hypnosis during this period.
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(#21, 9.79% -> #8, 15.57%)We see a huge usage rise after the first month of DLC in our good old speedy dragon Dragapult. With the huge surge of dragons in the DLC, it's not too surprising to see Dragapult be left behind for a little bit, however it's come back in full force after a month of semi-inertia. No longer is Specs Dragapult's most used or even best set, Dragapult is now running boots to great success, now acting as a fast status spreading pivot on superman teams, usually in conjunction with Knock Off users that appreciate the spread of Twave.
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(#33, 6.67% -> #18, 9.87%)We see a big usage rise from Corviknight, a pokemon that was initially thought to be useless in a Gholdengo meta, and thought to not even be a good pick once Skarmory came out, see a huge surge in usage, growing past the aforementioned Skarmory. In a meta where we're seeing even less Gholdengo's than before, Defog's utility is growing higher, while the ability to pivot is still incredibly beneficial, Slowking-G + Corviknight has been a great core throught DLC2, we've even seen U-Turn-less variants that instead opt to run ID+BP to great sucess, being able to sit on many spike stack structures and sap PP, since most of them don't currently carry Gholdengo.
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(#32, 6.84% -> #19, 9.71%)Lando's back?!? Lando's seeing a bit of a resurgence, now commonly running Rocky Helmet, to not only screw physical attackers with Intimidate, but also some added chip to boot. It deals especially well into Gouging Fire, being a formidable check outside of sun, being a physical attacker it also commonly carries Grass Knot or Psychic, both options that deal with the main physical check Great Tusk extremely well, making it able to set rocks for itself while being able to threaten most spinners for heavy damage.
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Rain is good actually?!? (#39, 5.37% -> #26, 8.35%) (#18, 10% -> #13, 11.57%) (#54, 3.45% -> #37, 6.24%)Rain as a playstyle has seen a huge rise in usage, mainly due to Archaludon's sheer dominance. It's usually able to trade for at least 2, allowing the rest of the team to clean even easier. In the past few weeks we've seen even more creative options than just these 3, with usage from the likes of Tornadus-T, Raging Bolt, Kingambit and the previously uncommon Iron Treads. Much of the tournament scene seems to be turning over to an Archaludon suspect once the Kyurem one ends, which we'll remain to see.
(#49, 4.05% -> #25, 8.62%)We see a huge rise from Iron Treads, taking out from the depths of UU, much to their chagrin. Treads has seen itself as a staple pick on a lot of Hyper Offensive weather structures, specifically rain and sun, as a Hazard setter, Spinner, Pivot and usually a special attacker? Many people have been experimenting with Booster Energy Speed, Eject Button or even just simple sash leads with Endeavor, revealing Treads to be fairly customizable, and potentially even a better fit as a hazard removal option on these hyper offensive structures than Great Tusk is!
Anyway that's it for January! A lot of big movement happening last month, excited in seeing how the meta shapes and develops during February!
Wanted to give my quick perspective on some of the OU usage stats
| 1 | Kingambit | 33.127% |
| 2 | Great Tusk | 31.347% |
Kingambit is great, but I don't think it's "top of the metagame" great. IMO Tusk is far more worthy of that usage due to its versatility, ease of splashability on many different archetypes, and stupendous movepool. Kingambit is a three-trick ponyta that, while doing those tricks very well, has strong counterplay and it has very little unpredictability beyond its choice of Tera-type.
| 7 | Roaring Moon | 15.705% |
| 11 | Kyurem | 12.495% |
I still wholeheartedly believe that Roaring Moon is a far more pressing threat than Kyurem, but at the same time, Kyurem's flexibility and variety have to be commended. I personally still like Specs Kyurem compared to DD Kyurem or HDB, but that's the beauty of Kyurem's wide movepool and great stats. Roaring Moon is another straightforward, but one that has a far easier time setting up and breaking apart archetypes compared to any other Pokemon in the meta.
| 13 | Archaludon | 11.578% |
My favorite OU Pokemon continuing to do great numbers in OU - Archaludon is still underexplored, and I highly encourage people to try more than just the rain AV or SpDef Utility sets. PhysDef with Dragon Tail, Light Screen, Body Press, Protect, and Leftovers is still my favorite variant.
| 22 | Iron Boulder | 8.827% |
| 23 | Zamazenta | 8.802% |
Iron Boulder fell a little too hard, but I figured it would drop a fair amount. It's fast and strong (after a boost), but it's the definition of a one-trick ponyta. Iron Boulder is one of those Pokemon that you, bare minimum, don't want to switch out until the midgame at the earliest lest you waste your booster energy. I think that its usability on various weather teams is still underexplored, however. Zamazenta being this low on the other hand saddens me - it's a fantastic glue that melds potent team archetypes together while having phenomenal speed control and defensive prowess.
| 14 | Glimmora | 11.444% |
| 31 | Samurott-Hisui | 8.056% |
| 32 | Deoxys-Speed | 7.924% |
Glimmora continues to be OU's best hazard setter/spinner dual dynamic. Whether you're running its Focus Sash lead set or a defensive spin set with Spiky Shield, Mortal Spin, and two attacks with Leftovers, Glimmora continues to have a place in the metagame. I figured Deoxys-Speed would eventually drop off in usage, but I never expected it to drop down to below the top 25. Deo-S UU potential? Samurott-Hisui I actually expected to drop into UU due to the strong competition it faces here.
| 55 | Pecharunt | 2.701% |
My disappointment is palpable - I firmly believe that Pecharunt has a strong place in the OU metagame and fits quite well as long as you're utilizing its speed (if you're running bulk without speed, you're not running Pecharunt to its full potential imo). HP with Speed or SpA with Speed, either way, run more Pecharunt if you want a pivot with fantastic OU multi-archetype synergy.
| 54 | Keldeo | 2.872% |
| 77 | Tornadus-Therian | 1.262% |
| 90 | Ogerpon-Cornerstone | 0.732% |
Expect these three to continue to climb in usage, with Keldeo likely making the OU cut in the next tier shift. Specs Keldeo is a monster right now, and can fit on multiple teams thanks to its sheer power and solid speed stat.
| 1 | Kingambit | 33.127% |
| 2 | Great Tusk | 31.347% |
Kingambit is great, but I don't think it's "top of the metagame" great. IMO Tusk is far more worthy of that usage due to its versatility, ease of splashability on many different archetypes, and stupendous movepool. Kingambit is a three-trick ponyta that, while doing those tricks very well, has strong counterplay and it has very little unpredictability beyond its choice of Tera-type.
| 7 | Roaring Moon | 15.705% |
| 11 | Kyurem | 12.495% |
I still wholeheartedly believe that Roaring Moon is a far more pressing threat than Kyurem, but at the same time, Kyurem's flexibility and variety have to be commended. I personally still like Specs Kyurem compared to DD Kyurem or HDB, but that's the beauty of Kyurem's wide movepool and great stats. Roaring Moon is another straightforward, but one that has a far easier time setting up and breaking apart archetypes compared to any other Pokemon in the meta.
| 13 | Archaludon | 11.578% |
My favorite OU Pokemon continuing to do great numbers in OU - Archaludon is still underexplored, and I highly encourage people to try more than just the rain AV or SpDef Utility sets. PhysDef with Dragon Tail, Light Screen, Body Press, Protect, and Leftovers is still my favorite variant.
| 22 | Iron Boulder | 8.827% |
| 23 | Zamazenta | 8.802% |
Iron Boulder fell a little too hard, but I figured it would drop a fair amount. It's fast and strong (after a boost), but it's the definition of a one-trick ponyta. Iron Boulder is one of those Pokemon that you, bare minimum, don't want to switch out until the midgame at the earliest lest you waste your booster energy. I think that its usability on various weather teams is still underexplored, however. Zamazenta being this low on the other hand saddens me - it's a fantastic glue that melds potent team archetypes together while having phenomenal speed control and defensive prowess.
| 14 | Glimmora | 11.444% |
| 31 | Samurott-Hisui | 8.056% |
| 32 | Deoxys-Speed | 7.924% |
Glimmora continues to be OU's best hazard setter/spinner dual dynamic. Whether you're running its Focus Sash lead set or a defensive spin set with Spiky Shield, Mortal Spin, and two attacks with Leftovers, Glimmora continues to have a place in the metagame. I figured Deoxys-Speed would eventually drop off in usage, but I never expected it to drop down to below the top 25. Deo-S UU potential? Samurott-Hisui I actually expected to drop into UU due to the strong competition it faces here.
| 55 | Pecharunt | 2.701% |
My disappointment is palpable - I firmly believe that Pecharunt has a strong place in the OU metagame and fits quite well as long as you're utilizing its speed (if you're running bulk without speed, you're not running Pecharunt to its full potential imo). HP with Speed or SpA with Speed, either way, run more Pecharunt if you want a pivot with fantastic OU multi-archetype synergy.
| 54 | Keldeo | 2.872% |
| 77 | Tornadus-Therian | 1.262% |
| 90 | Ogerpon-Cornerstone | 0.732% |
Expect these three to continue to climb in usage, with Keldeo likely making the OU cut in the next tier shift. Specs Keldeo is a monster right now, and can fit on multiple teams thanks to its sheer power and solid speed stat.
I actually find better success with life orb keldeo, as switching up your moves is massive and allows it to destroy stall as long as you can take on dondozo, which mewoscarada can help with, and clodsire, which can be overwhelmed with calm mind secret sword.
i dont know the stats but surely given the fighting resist and keldeos lack of recovery, water absorb clodsire would beat it 1v1?
Scarf dragapult is funny, it picks off scarf meowscarada turn one with u-turn and then you lose the game anyways because you have scarf dragapult on your team lol
If you can get enough calm minds up, and with tera steel, you can get enough to 2 hit ko it.
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Clodsire: 268-316 (57.8 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
I've easily got two calm minds off as you can come in on something like a blissey, get a calm mind off, they switch in clodsire, then tera steel on toxic to calm mind again, then click secret sword again.
With Gholdengo dropping from top three usage with 18.28% usage to...
checks notes
top four usage at 17.71%, I guess people are more willing to use defog for hazard control.
Corv rise is total fluff gholdengo is literally top 4 usage the mon is incapable of defog and the metagame is still strangled by hazards.
People have really been brainwashed into thinking the mon that chokes building above all other mons dropping quite literally a percent of usage means it's "seen less in the metagame" utter nonsense.
People have really been brainwashed into thinking the mon that chokes building above all other mons dropping quite literally a percent of usage means it's "seen less in the metagame" utter nonsense.
I mean, it is seen less, that's literally true because it is now number 4 in usage. Corv probably is higher than it should be, but if ghold stocks go down, then corv stocks go up because defog becomes actually usable. We will see if this trend continues, but it will be nice to have better hazard control, even if it is only a tiny bit better.
My only notable opinion on the viability rankings is Lando-T is an OU zombie that never freaking dies! It is ingrained in the player base on a molecular level to always go back to this thing. Even when it makes no sense.
I might go back to using stuff like Teal Mask Ogerpon and Milotic just to screw over anyone who wants to try it. Are there more important things to worry about in this meta? Yes. Is the T broken in gen 9? Absolutely not. Do we have better pivots and/or ground types in the tier? Absolutely. This is even one of the best things about this gen. For some reason, there are those who still insist on it. I for one am just relieved they didn't give it Rock Polish. That would have been a nightmare. Now it is simply an underwhelming cockroach that refuses to die.
I might go back to using stuff like Teal Mask Ogerpon and Milotic just to screw over anyone who wants to try it. Are there more important things to worry about in this meta? Yes. Is the T broken in gen 9? Absolutely not. Do we have better pivots and/or ground types in the tier? Absolutely. This is even one of the best things about this gen. For some reason, there are those who still insist on it. I for one am just relieved they didn't give it Rock Polish. That would have been a nightmare. Now it is simply an underwhelming cockroach that refuses to die.
I'm all for lando-T staying OU, I need some copium to not deal with the fact that he is the only OU mon that has been OU it's entire life (gliscor was UU at some points in Gen 7).
Building in SV OU is tough, and it could often require 2 or more reworks to get it right, but if you haven’t checked it out, I posted a teambuilding guide on the forums.
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...ussion-v4-kyurem-suspect.3732644/post-9954486
There are several threats you need to account for like Kingambit, Gholdengo, Volcarona, Kyurem, R-Bolt, Valiant, G-Fire, Moon, Gliscor, Arch, Barra, etc.
I didn’t mention this in the guide, but I would recommend having a backup plan in case of Tera. For example,
- if Ghold clicks Tera Flying vs your Ting-Lu, you could rkill it now with your Kyurem, Weavile, or R-Bolt.
-if Volc kills Tran with Tera Ground, you have a Rilla to kill it.
-if Gambit clicks Tera Ghost (rare but is a thing) on Skarm, you have a Gambit to click Sucker with.
Also take defensive Tera into consideration since it could sabe you from bad situations.
Skarm > Corv imo
But Corv is not a bad mon. Its a solid defensive pivot with the capacity to run either physical or special bulk investment depending on what is needed. Though Dengo is something to consider, it isn’t the end of the world. A lot of spike stacking balances don’t even run Dengo because those builds are naturally adept to chipping down Tusk and keeping hazards up. Corv tho has a fantastic mu into those builds and does well into SD Gliscor. Even vs Ghold, Corv still provides value with U-Turn and Dengo switch-ins can be exploited by Weavile, Samu, Volc, Gambit, etc.
That said, I would still recommend bringing secondary hazard control like Cinder or Tusk.
The reason Ghold has dropped, tho not by much, is because the tier is littered with offensive Dark types, and Volcarona is a fantastic check to it that 1v1s with QD.
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Corv Haters will try to paint a narrative that this mon is "bad" and "outclassed" but its still a strong ID mon with great pivoting capabilities, which is great support for Pokemon like our friend Kyurem that can struggle getting in safely. Pressure makes it better at the raw ID role than Skarm and is useful in plenty of MUs, as is the higher SpDef. Skarm is still better overall cause of Spikes, but Corv has its advantages that can't be replicated.
Defog I think is whatever in this metagame, even outside of ghold. Removing your own hazards is terrible. Most of the time I am glad my opponent clicked Defog since I myself don't run too much hazard control outside of Hat, which is fake control. Still, I am seeing less HStacks run ghold, so this is still a useful tool & an advantage over Skarm on some builds.
Gambit having higher usage this month makes sense. This mon got significantly stronger in the DLC metagame compared to pre-DLC. Encore Valiant and Ogerpon have both dropped in usage, leaving a lategame gambit w/ less counterplay than before. It helps that mons like Tusk and Zamazenta are also seeing a bit less usage in the meta. Balloon Gambit is also one of the better Kyurem checks rn, which is also good in some other MUs like vs roaring Moon.
Iron Boulder fell off a cliff (heh). Barely saw it this month compared to last month, which makes sense. Mon is quite flawed after all, and the raw power isn't their,, esp in a meta where the top steels are tough to break through. Not a bad mon, but it can feel more specific when compared to Valiant and the like.
Lando-T having increased usage is cool. At the end of the day, nothing does what this mon does, and its utility as a special attacker is quite nice in an Arch metagame, since it bypasses its stamina boost.
Glad to see Iron Treads in OU where it always belonged.
Defog I think is whatever in this metagame, even outside of ghold. Removing your own hazards is terrible. Most of the time I am glad my opponent clicked Defog since I myself don't run too much hazard control outside of Hat, which is fake control. Still, I am seeing less HStacks run ghold, so this is still a useful tool & an advantage over Skarm on some builds.
Gambit having higher usage this month makes sense. This mon got significantly stronger in the DLC metagame compared to pre-DLC. Encore Valiant and Ogerpon have both dropped in usage, leaving a lategame gambit w/ less counterplay than before. It helps that mons like Tusk and Zamazenta are also seeing a bit less usage in the meta. Balloon Gambit is also one of the better Kyurem checks rn, which is also good in some other MUs like vs roaring Moon.
Iron Boulder fell off a cliff (heh). Barely saw it this month compared to last month, which makes sense. Mon is quite flawed after all, and the raw power isn't their,, esp in a meta where the top steels are tough to break through. Not a bad mon, but it can feel more specific when compared to Valiant and the like.
Lando-T having increased usage is cool. At the end of the day, nothing does what this mon does, and its utility as a special attacker is quite nice in an Arch metagame, since it bypasses its stamina boost.
Glad to see Iron Treads in OU where it always belonged.
Thanks I will check it out! I guess my issue is those “several” threats feel impossible to address all at once. If I fill one thing another style or pokemon rips through it immediately.
for example, I’m trying you Kyurem boots/Hec Pult sample. Archaludon in rain just rips through the team.
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extremely questionable scenario since if you tera steel, clodsire now 2hkos you with earthquake. and if you come in on blisseys twave or seismic toss its also tilts the matchup. i always run some defense on clod for this and psyshock, and id just spam earthquake into it
I must admit that you do bring up a good point. We should ban Arch so that Lando-T can fall back down in usage again.
I'm depressed I was really hoping toxapex would have exactly 4.52% usage and stay OU
2 things
1. Waterpon switches are usually super forced so skewda can just click CC and it'll die with rocks up
2. Heatran is still good it's just weathering a storm rn
Oh, okay then, thanks.
Two other users already explained what the salamence theorem is, so there is no need for me to add anything.
False swipe gaming has made multyple theorems.
Rampardos theorem was about why high offensive stats don't make good attackers/wallbreakers, the bastiodon theorem was the same about defensive stats, the quagsire theorem was that a pokemon can have mediocre stats and still be good, and more.