Missy's current analysis
Okay, so I was rating a team in the RMT forums recently, and it turned out that stallbreaker Mismagius fit the team really well. So I was going to go find the set on Smogon and suggest it, before quickly finding out that...it doesn't exist.
There's a rather out of date Bulky Ghost set on-site, and this should probably replace that given that it accomplishes mostly the same things except better. Anyway...
[SET]
name: Bulky Ghost
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Will-o-Wisp
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Pain Split
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 80 SpA / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Mismagius is most commonly seen as a potent sweeper, this set attempts to make use of her high Speed, precise support movepool, and excellent collection of immunities to turn her into a bulky pivot. This Mismagius functions very well as a spinblocker; she is the only spinblocker in UU who has both access to Taunt and the Speed to use it against common spinners, preventing them from using Foresight. Mismagius can also cause significant grief to stall teams, due to Will-O-Wisp inflicting constant damage to nearly everything while covering Mismagius's lackluster Defense, and Taunt blocking any attempt to heal or pseudo-haze. And finally, she makes a great initial switch-in to Fighting-types, although mispredicted switches into physical attacks such as Stone Edge will still hurt very much.</p>
<p>This Mismagius plays very differently from more offensive variants. She can actually beat several common switch-ins that expect a more offensive set, such as Registeel and defensive Spiritomb, one-on-one. On the other hand, she needs to tread carefully against several threats that an offensive variant could steamroll, such as Arcanine and Blaziken. Ideally, Mismagius should be brought in on a move she is immune to, or on a weak special attack. She can then Taunt to prevent the opponent from using any status or set-up moves, after which she is free to burn the opponent and use Pain Split to heal herself after taking a few hits. If your opponent lacks powerful physical attackers that are faster than Mismagius or Pokemon that are immune to burn, you can repeat this cycle until the entire opposing team is thoroughly weakened. Note, however, that Pain Split will very often prove unreliable; an intelligent opponent might sacrifice a low HP Pokemon just to ensure that Mismagius cannot heal. In cases like that, you should simply switch out to preserve Mismagius's health.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A few changes can be made to this set while still preserving its purpose, but note that the set presented above is the most optimal for general use. Changes are not recommended unless you are certain that your team needs Mismagius to cover the specific niches mentioned below.</p>
<p>The EV spread and moves can be tweaked so that this set functions more offensively. Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Fighting can be used over Pain Split with an alternate EV spread of 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe. This spread is best used on offensive teams which focus on stacking multiple layers of Spikes, as Mismagius will still serve as an excellent spinblocker against less offensively-inclined spinners while not being set-up fodder for dangerous threats like Swellow and Houndoom (both of whom she can dent on the switch with her coverage option). Note, however, that this spread is substantially frailer than the recommended spread, and the lack of Pain Split means that this version's survivability is very low compared to the primary version, particularly against stall.</p>
<p>The set could also be taken in the other direction with a bulkier spread of 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe. This variant loses some power and a substantial amount of speed for increased special bulk, allowing Mismagius to switch into more powerful special threats. Life Orb Venusaur's Leaf Storm, for instance, drops to a 3HKO (factoring in the Special Attack reduction and Leftovers), allowing Mismagius to avoid Sleep Powder via Taunt and heal with Pain Split. The Speed EVs allow Mismagius to outrun all Venusaur and anything else in the base 80 Speed group or lower; however, due to the lower Speed this set utilizes, Mismagius loses out on the ability to counter faster Fighting-types such as Toxicroak and Hitmonlee, who now can strike first before she can burn them. Therefore, this variant should only be used with the understanding that Fighting-types are no longer dealt with as efficiently.</p>
Okay, so I was rating a team in the RMT forums recently, and it turned out that stallbreaker Mismagius fit the team really well. So I was going to go find the set on Smogon and suggest it, before quickly finding out that...it doesn't exist.
There's a rather out of date Bulky Ghost set on-site, and this should probably replace that given that it accomplishes mostly the same things except better. Anyway...
[SET]
name: Bulky Ghost
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Will-o-Wisp
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Pain Split
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 80 SpA / 176 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Mismagius is most commonly seen as a potent sweeper, this set attempts to make use of her high Speed, precise support movepool, and excellent collection of immunities to turn her into a bulky pivot. This Mismagius functions very well as a spinblocker; she is the only spinblocker in UU who has both access to Taunt and the Speed to use it against common spinners, preventing them from using Foresight. Mismagius can also cause significant grief to stall teams, due to Will-O-Wisp inflicting constant damage to nearly everything while covering Mismagius's lackluster Defense, and Taunt blocking any attempt to heal or pseudo-haze. And finally, she makes a great initial switch-in to Fighting-types, although mispredicted switches into physical attacks such as Stone Edge will still hurt very much.</p>
<p>This Mismagius plays very differently from more offensive variants. She can actually beat several common switch-ins that expect a more offensive set, such as Registeel and defensive Spiritomb, one-on-one. On the other hand, she needs to tread carefully against several threats that an offensive variant could steamroll, such as Arcanine and Blaziken. Ideally, Mismagius should be brought in on a move she is immune to, or on a weak special attack. She can then Taunt to prevent the opponent from using any status or set-up moves, after which she is free to burn the opponent and use Pain Split to heal herself after taking a few hits. If your opponent lacks powerful physical attackers that are faster than Mismagius or Pokemon that are immune to burn, you can repeat this cycle until the entire opposing team is thoroughly weakened. Note, however, that Pain Split will very often prove unreliable; an intelligent opponent might sacrifice a low HP Pokemon just to ensure that Mismagius cannot heal. In cases like that, you should simply switch out to preserve Mismagius's health.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A few changes can be made to this set while still preserving its purpose, but note that the set presented above is the most optimal for general use. Changes are not recommended unless you are certain that your team needs Mismagius to cover the specific niches mentioned below.</p>
<p>The EV spread and moves can be tweaked so that this set functions more offensively. Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Fighting can be used over Pain Split with an alternate EV spread of 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe. This spread is best used on offensive teams which focus on stacking multiple layers of Spikes, as Mismagius will still serve as an excellent spinblocker against less offensively-inclined spinners while not being set-up fodder for dangerous threats like Swellow and Houndoom (both of whom she can dent on the switch with her coverage option). Note, however, that this spread is substantially frailer than the recommended spread, and the lack of Pain Split means that this version's survivability is very low compared to the primary version, particularly against stall.</p>
<p>The set could also be taken in the other direction with a bulkier spread of 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe. This variant loses some power and a substantial amount of speed for increased special bulk, allowing Mismagius to switch into more powerful special threats. Life Orb Venusaur's Leaf Storm, for instance, drops to a 3HKO (factoring in the Special Attack reduction and Leftovers), allowing Mismagius to avoid Sleep Powder via Taunt and heal with Pain Split. The Speed EVs allow Mismagius to outrun all Venusaur and anything else in the base 80 Speed group or lower; however, due to the lower Speed this set utilizes, Mismagius loses out on the ability to counter faster Fighting-types such as Toxicroak and Hitmonlee, who now can strike first before she can burn them. Therefore, this variant should only be used with the understanding that Fighting-types are no longer dealt with as efficiently.</p>
