Mamoswine is one of the most threatening presences in the OU metagame due to its base 130 Attack. Mamoswine's two STABs, Ground-type and Ice-type, are only resisted by Levitate Bronzong in OU when used in conjunction. Earthquake seriously dents anything that does not resist it. Many physical walls will be 2HKOed by a Choice Band Earthquake after some residual damage. Ice Shard is extremely helpful as it picks off many faster Pokemon, most notably the multiple Dragon-types in OU. Stone Edge is Mamoswine's most powerful option against Gyarados. Ice Fang is useful for 2HKOing Hippowdon with a Choice Band, however Superpower is helpful for the immediate OHKO on Blissey and Snorlax, while also being your most powerful attack against Bronzong. The Jolly nature of this set is important because it allows Mamoswine to outspeed Adamant Lucario, who would otherwise make short work of Mamoswine with Close Combat. Adamant however, gives a lot of additional power which is useful against stall teams in particular. If you choose an Adamant nature, you may drop the Speed down to 245, enough to outpace Jolly Tyranitar. The best counter to this Mamoswine is Levitate Bronzong, who shrugs off most attacks barring a Choice Banded Superpower. Skarmory is another Pokemon who can easily counter this set and unlike Bronzong, Skarmory can Roost off Mamoswine's hits. Another counter to Mamoswine is Scizor, who may survive a Choice Band Earthquake and strike back with a super effective Bullet Punch. Although Magnezone is a near perfect counter to all three of these Pokemon, Magnezone and Mamoswine share two common weaknesses in Fire-type and Fighting-type attacks. Therefore, it is usually better to seek alternative counters to said Pokemon. Starmie resists the Fire-type, Fighting-type, Water-type, and Steel-type attacks, all of which Mamoswine fears. With its decent defenses, Starmie can counter both Skarmory and Bronzong adequately and use Rapid Spin to get rid of Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock. Thunderbolt hurts Skarmory badly while Surf can wear down Bronzong, although you must be wary of Explosion. With Recover you can repeatedly counter these Pokemon, while not having much trouble switching into Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch. You must not mispredict however, as if Scizor uses U-turn instead of Bullet Punch Starmie will be KOed as it switches in. Rotom-A is a very feasible counter to all three of these aforementioned Steel-types. Bronzong and Skarmory can do almost nothing back to you, while Will-O-Wisp can burn Scizor, severely crippling it. Rotom-H can also fry these Pokemon pretty well with Overheat, while Rotom-C also makes quick work of Swampert with Leaf Storm. Rotom-A and Mamoswine both attract Fire-types such as Infernape and Choice Scarf Heatran. Starmie and Latias are probably the best counters to Infernape, while Heatran isn't a big problem for them either. When the inevitable Tyranitar switch in occurs, both Starmie and Latias can set up a Reflect allowing Mamoswine to counter Tyranitar much more easily. In fact, Mamoswine loses less than half of its health from a Choice Band Crunch. Gyarados switches in on Choice Band Earthquakes quite easily, and isn't always OHKOed by a Life Orb Stone Edge thanks to Intimidate and Leftovers. In addition to this, Gyarados may outspeed Mamoswine depending on its nature. For these reasons it is important to have a good Gyarados check on your team. Rotom-A once again makes an appearence, easily countering Gyarados and threatening to zap it with Thunderbolt. A defensive Starmie also makes a good Gyarados counter, as even a +1 Life Orb Earthquake will fail to OHKO.
Mamoswine is a great lead for two reasons. The first reason is that Mamoswine can set up a quick Stealth Rock, a move that any good lead generally wants to have. The second and more important reason is that Mamoswine can easily deal with many of the top leads found in OU thanks to Earthquake, Ice Shard, and Endeavor. Mamoswine's STAB Earthquake is one of the strongest moves available, OHKOing even Shuca Berry Heatran leads. Earthquake can also OHKO Tyranitar and Metagross who don't stock up in HP and don't use a Shuca Berry. Jirachi also falls quickly to Earthquake but however, you are flipping a coin with Jirachi as Iron Head will flinch you 60% of the time, rendering your attack useless. Other notable leads that Mamoswine can deal with are Aerodactyl, who will Taunt or Stealth Rock as you quickly Ice Shard for a 2HKO, and Roserade, who will have to rely on a 75% sleep move if they wish to stop you since Grass Knot will not OHKO you. Azelf leads can be tricky to face. You have to predict when Azelf will attack so you can use Endeavor and then proceed to Ice Shard before they finish you off. Against Bronzong you can simply Stealth Rock as they Gyro Ball, then finish them off with Endeavor and Ice Shard. This can be risky as well though, as Bronzong may not wait to finish you off. Endeavor is a great attack if you are low on health and are faster than your opponent. However, Protect is a great move as well and enables you to defeat Fake Out Infernape and Ambipom leads. It also allows you to scout choiced leads such as Breloom, Gyarados, or even Gengar. Stone Edge can also be used mostly for Gyarados who may switch into you and try to Dragon Dance up. Another option of consideration is Bite for Azelf leads. Bite followed by an Ice Shard will usually KO Azelf, however they can still set up Stealth Rock. If Focus Sash does not give you the power that you desire, Life Orb is a fine alternative, allowing Mamoswine to OHKO Metagross. A Jolly nature is also viable to outspeed Naive and Timid Heatran. However you no longer are guaranteed to OHKO them through Shuca Berry, unless you have Life Orb. Mamoswine should usually switch out of Jirachi, so have something to take a Choice Scarf Iron Head on your team. Magnezone obviously works well with its 4x resistance and ability Magnet Pull. Skarmory can easily take Iron Heads and Roost off the damage. In addition to this, Skarmory spreads around Spikes so your foe has trouble switching in. If you've chosen Endeavor in the last slot, then you will have trouble with Infernape leads and some with Azelf as well. Starmie counters Infernape well and can use Rapid Spin to get rid of Stealth Rock, but you're risking a speed tie against Azelf. Tyranitar and Heatran are very good Azelf counters, but they still take a lot of damage from Explosion. Rotom-A is immune to Explosion and can strike Azelf hard with Shadow Ball. If Rotom-A has a Choice Scarf, it can KO Azelf before it can strike with Psychic twice which saves you some health. If you've chosen Stone Edge or Protect over Endeavor, Swampert and Bronzong leads will be difficult to face. Rotom-A comes to the rescue again, countering both of these Pokemon well especially with Rest and Sleep Talk. Rotom-C can also OHKO Swampert with Leaf Storm.
Mixed Mamoswine is often forgotten because of Mamoswine's incredibly high Attack. However, Mamoswine does have 70 base Special Attack and access to STAB Blizzard, which allow it to defeat many physical walls which would stop the standard physical sets cold. Earthquake and Ice Shard provide the basic physical coverage. Your opponent won't know that you are anything different than the standard physical attacker. With the listed EVs and Life Orb, Blizzard will always 2HKO the standard Skarmory, as well as Weezing, and has a 90% chance to 2HKO max HP / min SpD Rotom-A after Stealth Rock damage. Tangrowth, Donphan, Zapdos, and Gliscor are all OHKOed. If they've switched into an Earthquake and have taken Stealth Rock damage, both Hippowdon and Celebi will also be KOed by Blizzard. The attack in the last slot can vary, but generally Stone Edge is the best option as it's your only real way to hurt Gyarados. The Special Attack EVs gives Blizzard all the power it needs to severely hurt many physical walls. With 200 EVs in Speed, you outpace all Tyranitar not holding a Choice Scarf, as well as the standard 36 Speed EV Celebi and Zapdos. Life Orb is the preferred item as it gives you a much needed boost to all of your moves. NeverMeltIce can also be used to 2HKO Skarmory and Weezing, while also feigning a Choice Band. If you don't have Abomasnow on your team, but want a more accurate Blizzard, Wide Lens is a usable item. This gives Blizzard 77% accuracy, and Stone Edge 88%. In order to use this set to its full effect, hail needs to be active so Blizzard has 100% accuracy. Abomasnow takes care of that. Since Mamoswine is an offensive Pokemon, an offensive Abomasnow will complement it. By attaching a Choice Scarf to Abomasnow, it can revenge kill the extremely troublesome Lucario and Infernape. The next thing to worry about is Scizor. Rotom-F and Zapdos both counter Scizor very well, while Rotom-F can also abuse 100% accurate Blizzard thanks to Abomasnow's hail. Heatran again poses a large threat. It can grab a Flash Fire boost from Rotom-F's Will-O-Wisp or from Zapdos' Heat Wave and proceed to wreak havoc upon your team. A bulky Water-type with a recovery move will thereby serve you well. Vaporeon can not only recover its own Hit Points, but the rest of your team's as well thanks to Wish. It also acts as a secondary Gyarados counter, should Rotom-F or Zapdos get weakened. Tentacruel is another Heatran and Infernape counter who can also utilize Rapid Spin and set up Toxic Spikes. This makes sweeping with Mamoswine much easier by posioning Hippowdon, Celebi, Swampert, and others that Mamoswine may not be able to OHKO. MixMamo will in many cases be luring and killing physical walls such as Skarmory, Hippowdon, and Celebi, so having a Pokemon to sweep once these Pokemon are KOed would be wise. Gyarados is often troubled by these Pokemon, but with them gone it can sweep much more easily. Gyarados also resists Fire-type, Fighting-type, and Water-type attacks, all of which Mamoswine is weak to. Agility Metagross can also take advantage of the foe's lack of physical walls. It can drop Explosion for a third attacking move such as ThunderPunch or Ice Punch to KO more Pokemon.
Mamoswine has an interesting niche when it comes to using Endeavor. First off, Mamoswine is immune to both sandstorm and hail damage, something that no other Pokemon can boast barring Clefable, Golduck, and Rayquaza. There's also the STAB priority move Ice Shard backed up by a high 130 base Attack stat. While Substitute works well on Mamoswine, Stealth Rock (or any damage in particular) will ruin your chance of lowering your HP stat to 1. Therefore you can use Endure and attempt to use Endeavor and Ice Shard safely for the most part. Substitute is usually the better move regardless because of a few reasons. Mamoswine's main problem is being revenge killed by users of priority moves, such as Extremespeed Lucario and Bullet Punch Scizor. With Substitute, you easily prevent your opponent from revenge killing you and cause Mamoswine to be a major headache. The idea is to use Substitute as a Pokemon such as Scizor switches in, then continue to use Substitute as it hits you with Bullet Punch. Once you can't Substitute any more you can use Endeavor to severely lower Scizor's health, enough to finish it off with an Ice Shard. With his 130 base Attack stat behind him, Endeavor isn't horrible to use even if you can't get your HP stat to 1, since Ice Shard and Liechi Berry should do the job. Salac Berry is also an option on this set, pushing Mamoswine to 388 Speed, just enough to outpace Jolly Weavile. Jolly is a consideration with Salac Berry as it outpaces Timid Heatran with a Choice Scarf. You lose quite a bit of power this way but can end up sweeping a frail and unprepared team. This set works well alongside Abomasnow. Assuming you use Snow Cloak you have a little safety by evading attacks that have rather average accuracy and you'll have a greater opportunity to use Endeavor multiple times thanks to Abomasnow's Snow Warning, activating hail. This can come in handy when your foe must rely on Heatran's Fire Blast for instance to revenge kill you. Thanks to Endeavor, Mamoswine will often be tearing wholes into the foe's team, giving a secondary physical attacker a much easier time. This Mamoswine works well at luring and killing Scizor so this means a frailer Pokemon such as Gallade would have an easier time sweeping, not having to fear being revenge killed by Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch. Salamence and Dragonite are both devastating sweepers, who benefit very much from a dead physical wall such as Bronzong or Swampert, while not fearing being revenge killed by Scizor. Salamence can also OHKO Skarmory with Fire Blast, who still counters this set with near impunity. Once it sees Mamoswine set up a Substitute, it can simply Whirlwind Mamoswine away. Tyranitar is another Pokemon who hates Scizor and Bronzong, however Tyranitar still has trouble against Skarmory so having Magnezone or Rapid Spin Starmie on your team will help out greatly. Other OptionsThere's a few filler attacks for the Choice Band set. Body Slam can be used for paralysis. Bite is your most powerful option against Cresselia and can score some useful flinches. Light Screen and Reflect deserve honorable mentions as supportive options. Keep in mind that Mamoswine isn't as bulky as other supporting Pokemon, and thus will not always be able to set up a screen in the face of the opponent. Like many Pokemon, Mamoswine is capable of running a Choice Scarf set. Although it doesn't pack the raw power of its Choice Band and Life Orb counterparts, the added Speed the set brings may take your opponent by surprise. Keep in mind that Ice Shard isn't a necessity when using Choice Scarf. This allows you to run both Ice Fang and Blizzard if you so choose, or utilize one of Mamoswine's other options such as Peck, Bite or Body Slam. Note that you'll be doing a lot less damage with the latter options, however. NeverMeltIce is an option on the mixed set, if only to fool your opponent into thinking you're running the standard Choice Band set. With it Blizzard will always 2HKO Skarmory and Weezing with no Special Attack EVs, but only at the end of the second turn when Hail hits. 44 Special Attack EVs will ensure a 2HKO on the second strike, stopping your opponent from potentially Roosting or Pain Splitting away the damage. 96 EVs will ensure a 2HKO without Hail damage, but the accuracy of Blizzard will likely let you down in that situation. Hidden Power Fire will OHKO Forretress, Scizor and potentially 3HKO Bronzong, but is generally a poor choice due to inferior coverage and the fact that even when it hits super effective, it's still weaker than neutral STAB Blizzard. Mamoswine can use Curse alongside Ice Shard, but Curse does nothing to help Mamoswine's pitiful Special Defense. Being weak to many common attacking types doesn't help either. Using Curse and a White Herb is an interesting idea, but Mamoswine still can't survive Close Combats or OHKO the likes of Machamp, Scizor, and Gyarados. Endeavor is another interesting move since Mamoswine learns Ice Shard and is immune to both sandstorm and hail damage, but Mamoswine should have no trouble bringing Pokemon low without it. Many Pokemon it would want to Endeavor, such as Skarmory, Swampert, and Hippowdon will end up phazing Mamoswine away with Roar or Whirlwind. Mamoswine can set up Stealth Rock, but that is better left to bulkier Pokemon who can't take advantage of a 130 base Attack stat. Team OptionsNot many Pokemon can wall Mamoswine effectively. The main Pokemon to watch out for are Steel-types immune to Earthquake, this being Levitate Bronzong and Skarmory. Although it in no way can wall Mamoswine, Scizor can OHKO Mamoswine before it can retaliate back, while it will usually survive at least one attack. Magnezone can take care of all three of these Pokemon. The Substitute Steel Trapper set with Hidden Power Grass is most effective, as it doesn't have to worry about Bronzong's Earthquake while often luring in Swampert to be taken care of with Hidden Power Grass. Using Magnezone in conjunction with Mamoswine gives you a large weakness to Fire- and Fighting-type Pokemon, such as Heatran, Infernape, and Lucario. Starmie is a prime counter to Infernape while not doing too badly against Heatran or Lucario. If Mamoswine is running a Jolly nature, this means you only have to fear the weaker Jolly Lucario, who don't commonly run Crunch. Latias is also a good Infernape and Heatran check. Those with Hidden Power Fire can also lure and KO opposing Scizor. Vaporeon is a great Infernape and Heatran counter, while Wish support can help keep Mamoswine alive longer to deal more damage. Blissey can take on most Heatran, as well as Starmie and other special attackers with no trouble at all but isn't much help against Infernape or Scizor, unless you manage to hit the latter with Flamethrower on the switch in. Gyarados is another Pokemon that resists Fire- and Fighting-type attacks. It is easily able to set up on Scizor, as well as Skarmory and Bronzong if Gyarados has Taunt to avoid Whirlwind and Hypnosis. This is best used in conjuction with MixMamo or Choice Band Mamoswine with Ice Fang, as Celebi may switch in to take an Earthquake only to be KOed with Ice Fang or Blizzard. This makes Gyarados' job much easier, assuming it lacks Bounce. Mamoswine can also help Tyranitar set up by eliminating its number one counter, Hippowdon, with either Ice Fang or Blizzard. Ice Fang would be best, as it has better accuracy than Blizzard. Mamoswine will also severely weaken Swampert and Machamp, usually enough to be taken down by Dragon Dance Tyranitar's Earthquake or Crunch. Babiri Berry Tyranitar also helps Mamoswine out by luring in and OHKOing Scizor with Fire Punch. Mamoswine can also work alongside Dragon Dance Salamence. Mamoswine softens up Swampert and Hippowdon pretty well, while Superpower will put a nice dent in Bronzong. Salamence generally has no fear of Skarmory thanks to Fire Blast, allowing it to even counter Skarmory thanks to Intimidate. Mamoswine with Blizzard should be used alongside Abomasnow as a miss could be costly. Hail damage can also be helpful for sweeping as it negates Leftovers. With a couple Ice-type Pokemon on your team, you are sure to be weak to Scizor and walled by Bronzong. RestTalk Rotom-F is a great choice to counter both of these Pokemon. It can take repeated U-turns and recover off the damage with Rest, while not minding Hypnosis from Bronzong. Skarmory is another great Pokemon to use with Mamoswine, as it too can counter Scizor and Bronzong fairly easily while Spikes support is incredibly useful. With Spikes as well as Stealth Rock in play, the Choice Band set guarantees OHKOes on Scizor, Starmie, and Machamp with Earthquake. It also makes killing walls such as Hippowdon and Celebi with Blizzard that much easier. On a hail team, Froslass can be relegated to the duty of laying down Spikes. It also poses as a Rapid Spin blocker. If Mamoswine is not setting up Stealth Rock itself, another Pokemon on the team certainly should be. This can be a difficult choice as many Stealth Rock users share a common weakness with Mamoswine. Swampert, although they share a Grass-type weakness, takes Scizor's Bullet Punches like a champ and can use Roar effectively to add up the residual damage. Surprisingly, defensive Empoleon also works well, especially alongside a sturdy Ghost-type such as Rotom-A. Empoleon can counter most bulky Water-types that trouble Mamoswine, set up Stealth Rock and Roar them away. However, Empoleon doesn't do so well against Infernape, so be sure to have a reliable way to counter it. OpinionThe third most powerful Earthquake in the game, backed up by a STAB Ice Shard, makes Mamoswine an impressive physical attacker. It's also the only Ice-type to avoid taking damage from sandstorm with neutrality to Stealth Rock and Stone Edge, which counts for something. It's not all good news though. Mamoswine has several common weaknesses and only a single immunity and resistance. This can make it difficult to switch Mamoswine in safely. However, once you get it in, its brutal attack power means your opponent will have to predict perfectly to avoid taking a lot of damage, especially from the Choice Band set. CountersLevitate Bronzong is a textbook counter to Mamoswine. It shrugs off all its attacks and can take down Mamoswine with super effective Gyro Balls. However, Choice Band Superpower is capable of taking away a large portion of Bronzong's health. Despite this fact, Bronzong remains the best Mamoswine counter in the game. A defensive Scizor can switch in on an Ice-type attack, or perhaps non-Choice Band Earthquake, and OHKO with Bullet Punch. Skarmory does a good job of walling Mamoswine and can wear it down with either STAB move, but has to watch out for the mixed set. Skarmory also functions well against the Curse set as he can easily phaze Mamoswine with Whirlwind, although Skarmory must be careful to avoid being hit by Earthquake as it Roosts. Weezing takes little damage from Mamoswine's attacks and can either cripple Mamoswine with a burn or attack with Flamethrower / Fire Blast, but also has to watch out for the mixed set. Stone Edge hurts Gyarados, but Gyarados's immunity to Earthquake and neutrality to Ice makes it a good switch-in. Intimidate helps to soak up Mamoswine's hits, too. Endeavor can be annoying for slower switch-ins and more defensive Pokemon. Gengar and Mismagius work well in countering it with their immunity to Endeavor and Earthquake and can survive an Ice Shard. Priority moves also handle the Endeavor set quite nicely. Mesprit, Uxie, and Cresselia are immune to Earthquake, take little damage from Ice Shard, and can pack Grass Knot or Energy Ball. By setting up a Reflect they can make switching into Mamoswine a lot easier. |
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