Soldiers Of The Wasteland

Yes, epic Dragonforce song as title, anyways.....

Hello everyone, Find__Tab here, you may know me for lurking smogon and talking about random shit nobody even cares about. (Despite me not using that account for a while now :P)

This was originally a random team for me, but it somehow became really strong, which I got to 1500 rating on Shoddy Battle (bit lower atm due to testing teams) which I find to be quite good.
Anyway, I've been playing with this for a bit now. I had an awesome run of 25 straight wins at the start, then I got trounced by this awful hax team and I've only been winning every so often since then. After that I gave up on the team and left it a bit, now I have gone back to it and it is working great, seemed I just needed a break from it to make it less boring. :3 read nows or die O:<


Team Building Process:

Ah Lanturn, just like Marmite, you love him or hate him.....or you want to stab him with a pointy stick. Anyway, I have always loved Lanturn, it being one of my favourites, and after seeing him on RMT's where people wanted to be unique and use UU's in a OU team while making them work well, I decided that I wanted to use him too, him being such a beast. anyways I had that slot decided

Now that I had Lanturn, I decided I needed another pokemon to use paralysis, and wanted to have a F/G/W core. For all of you that do not know, F/G/W = Fire/Water/Grass since those three types together give awesome synergy, and since a lot of grass types are clerics and healers, I wanted this to be another paralyser, I decided on Celebi for his power. I honestly do not like the standard TWave set so went for good old Tinkerbell, has the power to OHKO Rotom, Tyranitar, and more with her 100 Base SpAtk 140 Base Power STAB Leaf Storm, so I had that now I needed a fire type for the final core......

If you haven't heard of CeleTran, go lurk moar! Tran can destroy stall, take the fire and ice moves incoming from Celebi, and has great synergy overrall. Celebi also baits and takes out the Tyranitar, Heatran, Swampert etc that Heatran doesn't like. I was a bit confused about the set. I was going to run Subtran on my team but decided he was better with the LO set, (although I do still use substitute :P) and I felt like it had to be able to take stall. In the end I went for a LO set which destroys a lot of pokemon.

Hmm, Suicune. On the one hand, Crocune is nice, and his obvious beating Blissey nature, great for vs stall. On the other hand I'm not the best at defensive pokemon, and I was considering Offensive too, I was a lot better at using Offensive in team testing, and I decided I liked the team support too, as he takes more advantage of Paralysis then Crocune.

After this I needed something else to take advantage of paralysis, I tried many things here, Rhyperior, Aggron, even motherfucking Armaldo, but nothing was as good as Machamp. I chose Resttalk since right now my team was a bit Blissey weak and I hate stall, as I mentioned. This is basically the core, and I can't live without Champ.

For the lead it was hard, I wanted something with Taunt, to stop stall leads like Forretress + Skarmory, and something with Stealth Rock. That left:
Nidoqueen. Skarmory. Steelix. Aerodactyl. Tyranitar. Infernape. Aggron. Bastiodon. Azelf. Gliscor. and Heatran.

I already had Heatran so lolno, Steelix Tyranitar Aggron and Bastiodon were too slow, and I hate having a lead weak to Machamp, after some noob copied my set and put it on smogon, (they could have at least used the right EV spread D:) so that left Azelf, Aerodactyl, Skarmory, Infernape, Nidoqueen, and Gliscor, I decided I wanted something to stay in the match, not just taunt them, set up SR then die. that meant no suicide leads, leaving Nidoqueen, Gliscor and Skarmory. Nidoqueen made me super ground weak, leaving me to be swept by something like Dugtrio (lol) or Swords Dance Gliscor (uncommon I know, but really underrated and a HUGE threat to the current metagame). so Skarmory or Gliscor..... I chose Gliscor overall since Spikes suck without having a ghost type, and I wanted it to have a good STAB and maintain a bit of speed in case they were running some sort of badass super speed skarmory ._.

At this point everything seemed solid, just one problem..... LEAD MACHAMP. I tried a lot of things but nothing really worked well until I decided to use Metagross. It also beats Azelf and Aero so yeah... The metal spider was in

THEN I GOT BORED AND MADE THEM PRETTY COLOURS :D

After a bit of playtesting this team seemed to work quite well, so on with the team!


SoldierOfEarth (Gliscor) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 Spd
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

This is my lead, I tried many pokemon in this spot but none as good as Gliscor, Earthquake is his STAB move and is a great move in this metagame, destroying many leads, Stealth Rock is obvious, if you don't know what it is, you are prob a noob trying to steal this team, go ahead, idc. anyways Roost is for great recovery healing my ice weakness for a turn and taunt is for breaking stall :3


POSSIBLE CHANGES: U-Turn > Earthquake
---

SoldierOfWater (Suicune) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Suicune is just beastly, great coverage with those three moves, can OHKO a Scizor with Surf at +1, and other threats too. Surf is obvious, Ice Beam and HP Electric are boltbeam, hitting everything bar Magnezone Shedinja and Lanturn for neutral damage, Magnezone taking a shitload from Surf, Shedinja being LOLSRLOL and Celebi pwns Lanturns so yeah.

POSSIBLE CHANGES: Might change to Starmie
---

SoldierOfLand (Celebi) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 232 HP/32 Spd/244 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Leaf Storm
- Thunder Wave
- Earth Power
- Recover

As I said in the team building section, I hate standard Celebi with a passion, I like offensive versions more, I would use Shaymin but no recovery or TWave, so meh, Celebi is my main Specs Jolteon counter when he is gonna use TBolt (usually easy to predict imo) so yeah. Leaf Storm for a huge powerful STAB, TWave for moar paralysis to spread around :D EPower so I'm not swept by Electivire and such, and Recover for insta recovery. For all of you who do not know, Leaf Storm OHKOs Defensive Rotom-H, Tyranitar, etc, making it a hugely powerful attack.

POSSIBLE CHANGES: None atm
---

SoldierOfThunder (Lanturn) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 40 HP/216 Def/252 SDef
Calm nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Confuse Ray
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam


Ah Lanturn, great pokemon, highly underrated. Thunder Wave is for paralysis as I have stated everywhere else in the rmt .-., Confuse Ray to induce "Parafusion" when combined with paralysis, meaning the opponent only has 25% chance to move, the same as being struck by Paralysis alone, TBolt and Ice Beam for BoltBeam (read Suicune for what BoltBeam is), and uh yeah. It isn't 2HKOd by Scarftran Earth Power, and takes like 30% from SpAtk Infernape Grass Knot, proving it's powerful spdef. It is a perfect counter to Rotom, Starmie, Gengar, Jolteon, and more.

POSSIBLE CHANGES: None atm
---

SoldierOfWar (Machamp) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Dynamicpunch
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Payback

This thing is pure pwnage. my main Blissey counter and Snorlax switch-in, he deals serious damage when the team is paralysed. I needed RestTalk since without him, Bliss is a great threat to my team. Machamp is probably my most needed member, and is the main reason I have been considering Magma Storm on Heatran (baiting Blissey) and uh yeah. I mentioned Parafusion in Lanturn's section, and Dynamic.... PAWNCH (Captain Falcon Reference was on purpose) gives me just that.
Payback is mainly for hitting ghosts on the switchin, rest and sleep talk for survivability.

POSSIBLE CHANGES: None atm
---

SoldierOfMetal (Metagross) @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
---

This is basically what I use vs leads that trouble Gliscor. This kills Azelf, Aerodactyl, and Machamp pretty easily, and is great mid-game for baiting and killing. Easy to pretend to be choice, considering how at the moment, BandGross is pretty rare, so the damage output isn't easy to spot. Anyways Meteor Mash is for STAB, Bullet Pawnch for priority revenge killing (and also moar STAB), Earthquake for coverage, hitting a lot of steel types that resist Meteor Mash for the KO, (besides weirds ones like that metal bird thingy and the bell with eyes). Zen Headbutt is the last move, most underrated move on Metagross EVER. It 2HKOs Rotom, OHKOs Machamp after Gliscor used Earthquake just once, and is a beast in general.

POSSIBLE CHANGES: idk at the moment, Newbie to the team, so no new ideas yet.

Anyways That's the team, rate it, hate it, eat it, idc. Even steal it if you want.


CHANGES: I have changed Impish to Jolly on Gliscor, Life Orb to Leftovers on Suicune, and have changed my Life Orb Heatran into a Metagross

Instead of posting a threat list (long and boring) imma just post the things that actually threaten the team.

BLISSEY: Probably the biggest threat to my team, when Machamp is down I have serious problems with Blissey, Gliscor (and now Metagross) being the only one(s) able to take it on.

BRELOOM: EVERY team is weak to this and this team is no exception. if Celebi is down, the SporePuncher set causes serious damage.

INFERNAPE: The only really damaging set is Physical Mixape. With spikes support Close Combat 2HKOs Lanturn, and takes on the rest of the team pretty easily.
RAIKOU: Three words. Underrated. But. Deadly.

If it is SubCM then it can stall out Lanturn and begin to sweep me, although Celebi can handle it. if it is LO CM then it beats Celebi and only Lanturn can beat it. It is basically 50% chance of something dying, and destroys me if the counter is down. Metagross may be able to beat it though, have not seen one luckily so yeah.

Hax: no reasons needed. You all know about how gay this is.

You can try Jolly nature>Impish on Gliscor for outspedd other Gliscor Lead

Heatran subber with lifeorb need a wisher

Try out Leftovers over Life Orb on Suicune. The extra power is helpful at times, but it's generally more useful to leave your opponent unsure of whether you are Crocune or Offensive Cune. The recovery also helps it survive longer and take more attacks.

Heatran's set has a lot of power, but the use of both Substitute and Life Orb means it won't have much durability. If you still want to hit hard and perform well against stall, you could try out Life Orb Heatran with Taunt, allowing it to shut down Blissey and several other stall team members:

Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Spd/252 SAtk/4 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Hidden Power [Grass]

It's the same as the set you're using at the moment, but having Taunt over Substitute means you'll stay around longer and be more of a threat.

Good luck with your team!

Woudln't not running a scarfed revenge killer be a bad thing?

Asuya, I have tried Jolly but I really need the survivability. I need it to beat stall leads, not other gliscors.

Faladran, thanks for the rate, I might try out that set later today.

Okami, firstly actually rate the team instead of just posting that I need a scarfer. Scarfers are usually for Agility/RockPolish/DragonDance. Lanturn takes on Empoleon, Gliscor beats Metagross, Suicune beats Dragonite, Celebi beats Gyarados. (unless BounceWaterfall set, in which case Lanturn since no eq)

Hey there, solid team you've got, especially with an underrated threat such as parafusion Lanturn.

Problems
Attacking Machamp Lead, Azelf Leads

How its a threat
Machamp can destroy Gliscor with Ice Punch, has a chance to 2HKO Suicune with DynamicPunch, does a number to Celebi with Payback, your own Machamp, Heatran and Lanturn are hit very hard by DynamicPunch as well (your Machamp is slower than LeadChamp because it has 4evs in speed instead of 8 like them, and they have lumberry to cure confusion induced by your Machamp's Dpunch. Azelf leads are also pretty threatening. They taunt Gliscor frpm setting-up rocks, and explode to kill something on your team for sure. Heatran takes 75% maximum, and since its a substitute/life orb user, it'll be worn down pretty quickly.

Solutions
Make Heatran a Life Orb lead, with Stealth Rock, OverHeat, EarthPower, HiddenPower Grass and a Timid nature, with the same EV spread you have now. This Heatran will have a 75% chance to OHKO opposing lead Machamp with OverHeat, and can still manage to dent Azelf with Overheat, and set-up stealth rock if it decides to not taunt. Your Gliscor lead could not even TOUCH azelf with any move, which was something that really stood out. As for Gliscor, give him a Jolly nature to tie with other Gliscor and Toxic over Stealth Rock, since you have a solid SR user in LO Heatran. With Toxic+Roost, it will be easier to crack stall easier, since with taunt they'll be stopped from doing their normal functions, while most of the stall members are susceptible to Toxic, i.e. Rest-talk rotom can't use rest anymore because of taunt, and you quickly outstall it with the Toxic+Roost combo.

Thats all I got, GL with the team

Actually, Gliscor can live a combonation of Ice Punch and Bullet Punch, so it doesn't seem to be a problem. and Azelf going BOOMTIME isn't too bad, it means they have lost a pokemon as well, and not all Azelf use taunt anyway. I will try the suggestions however, thanks.

DarkShadow said:

Actually, Gliscor can live a combonation of Ice Punch and Bullet Punch, so it doesn't seem to be a problem. and Azelf going BOOMTIME isn't too bad, it means they have lost a pokemon as well, and not all Azelf use taunt anyway. I will try the suggestions however, thanks.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, Machamp leads do, 76.8% - 90.4% with IcePunch, and 10.2% - 12.1% with Bullet Punch, and so it does have a chance to kill you outright, so you won't be surviving all of the time (if Ice Punch does at least 88% that is). Azelf's primary job is to just go BOOMTIME after setting-up, and having them lose Azelf in explosion isn't that big of a deal, since its done its job. Whereas, each of your Pokemon has roles, and them falling to explosion means they won't be able to accomplish their duty in that game.

BUMP. I have tried the suggestions and have made updates. I now have a way to always beat Machamp, Azelf, and Aerodactyl.

WILL UPDATE LATER

Bump. ._.

Unless Thunder Wave support meant THAT much to you, I suggest replacing Lanturn with this set: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71557

name: OU SubCharge
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Charge Beam
move 3: Hydro Pump / Surf
move 4: Ice Beam
item: Leftovers
ability: Volt Absorb
nature: Modest
evs: 52 HP / 252 SpA / 148 SpD / 56 Spe

This set is way more anti-stalling. Not that it will crush through Blissey anytime, but with Hydro Pump, Raikou can no longer stall you out. Thunder wave will help to restore HP even if a sub is up.

To be honest, I would rather Parafusion Lanturn. It isn't 2HKOd by many SpAtk super effective hits, and if I wanted SubCharge, I would probably use Rotom or something. I will try it out however.

Hey,

Nice team, but I'd suggest moving Metagross to the lead spot. It beats many common leads, including Machamp, with a combination of Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch. It sports an amazing base Attack score, and lures out Rotom early to give Lanturn a practically free switch-in on any of its moves barring Will-O-Wisp and the rare Leaf Storm. A moveset of MM/Bullet Punch/Earthquake/Stealth Rock should work well, with a Lum Berry and your current EVs. The Lum Berry blocks Sleep, allowing you to beat Roserade and Smeargle, and prevents confusion from Machamp's Dynamicpunch, while Meteor Mash nails it for a clean 2HKO.

On Gliscor, I'd recommend trying out the standard Stall-breaker set with Earthquake/Taunt/Toxic/Roost. EVs are 252 HP, 252 Spe, 4 Def with a Jolly nature. This set rips stall apart single-handedly by slowly wearing down the opponent with accumulating damage from Toxic, preventing recovery with Taunt, and healing when necessary. It gives you a solid counter to SD Lucario, Tyranitar and Metagross.

Now, to take on all the threats you mentioned, I'd suggest replacing Suicune with a standard Scarf Heatran. It gives you some much needed speed, while being an excellent tool against standard offense. Between Gliscor, Machamp and Celebi, I don't see you having problems with stall, especially since Heatran is able to explode on Blissey switch-ins. Hearten provides you with a solid revenge killer for Infernape, DD Dragonite (Adamant), Raikou, and still packs a lot of power with STAB Fire Blast, which potentially gets free boosts from Will-O-Wisps aimed at Metagross and Machamp. A moveset of Fire Blast/Earth Power/Explosion/Dragon Pulse should work well, with max Sp Atk/Speed and a Timid nature.

Gl with your team!

Firstly with Metagross lead, I might try this, seems like a good idea. If I do use that idea, I will probably make it all-out attacking lead, and use SR Gliscor mid-game. I honestly have never been good with Stallbreaker Gliscor, I guess I'm just a more offensive person.

With Suicune to Heatran, Once again seems like a good idea, but a bit meh due to Scarf not having many benefits with Paralysis, might try out specs though, there is nothing I really need to revenge kill tbh.