I managed to read through the majority of the posts, so I thought I would be nice to share my own opinions (and to point out what has already been stated n_n)
The best switch-ins on Aegislash are Mandibuzz and Chesnaught, according to many players. The reason why I strongly disagree with this statement is that a SubToxic set would easily cripple those "counters". And uhm, do you really think Mandibuzz/Chesnaught would fit on every team? Or better, do you think every team should ALWAYS dedicate a slot to these two pokemons? At last, remember that Aegislash can run some gimmicks, such as Head Smash or Flash Cannon...it seems to me that these options are perfectly viable, as many top tier sweepers benefit from the elimination of Mandibuzz and Gyarados.
Same goes for Hippowdon and Amoonguss, which can be easily worn down by a SDef drop (luck based situation!). Oh, right, shall I remind you that Amoonguss (which has been awarded the title of "best overall counter") can do NOTHING to Aegislash, except for sleeping it?
But then, a problem comes up. What could offensive teams possibly do against such a beast? Many players' answer is Bisharp or Diggersby. Regrettably, both of them are OHKO'd by Sacred Sword; the only support required is Stealth Rocks...shameful, isn't it? Nceedles to say, when the these pokemons are ko, the average offensive team MUST sac a pkmn, or have one severely damaged.
Of course, Aegislash does not always face an advantageous situation. Sometimes it has to face some good revenge killers, such as Landorus or MCharizard-X. In this situation, a 50/50 occurs. The casuistry has already been explained in detail, except for one event. What if the Aegislash team runs a solid switch-in to the aforementioned pkmns? Now, I do realize that it is hard to switch in Charizard and Landorus, but they are certainly easier to rkill. So, while the opposing team has few chances to kill Aegislash, the Aegislash on the other team can come in and threaten with a kill.
At last, I would like to point out why the King Shield mechanics are so broken. Apart from the 50/50 that occurs when using that move, I find it insane that most "shaky checks" lose all their opportunity to kill Aegislash because of an attack drop. Oh, and remember that a -2 Atk pokemon is an easy set-up field for a great part of the entire metagame.
Further thoughts regarding the balance of the metagame will come soon n_n
The best switch-ins on Aegislash are Mandibuzz and Chesnaught, according to many players. The reason why I strongly disagree with this statement is that a SubToxic set would easily cripple those "counters". And uhm, do you really think Mandibuzz/Chesnaught would fit on every team? Or better, do you think every team should ALWAYS dedicate a slot to these two pokemons? At last, remember that Aegislash can run some gimmicks, such as Head Smash or Flash Cannon...it seems to me that these options are perfectly viable, as many top tier sweepers benefit from the elimination of Mandibuzz and Gyarados.
Same goes for Hippowdon and Amoonguss, which can be easily worn down by a SDef drop (luck based situation!). Oh, right, shall I remind you that Amoonguss (which has been awarded the title of "best overall counter") can do NOTHING to Aegislash, except for sleeping it?
But then, a problem comes up. What could offensive teams possibly do against such a beast? Many players' answer is Bisharp or Diggersby. Regrettably, both of them are OHKO'd by Sacred Sword; the only support required is Stealth Rocks...shameful, isn't it? Nceedles to say, when the these pokemons are ko, the average offensive team MUST sac a pkmn, or have one severely damaged.
Of course, Aegislash does not always face an advantageous situation. Sometimes it has to face some good revenge killers, such as Landorus or MCharizard-X. In this situation, a 50/50 occurs. The casuistry has already been explained in detail, except for one event. What if the Aegislash team runs a solid switch-in to the aforementioned pkmns? Now, I do realize that it is hard to switch in Charizard and Landorus, but they are certainly easier to rkill. So, while the opposing team has few chances to kill Aegislash, the Aegislash on the other team can come in and threaten with a kill.
At last, I would like to point out why the King Shield mechanics are so broken. Apart from the 50/50 that occurs when using that move, I find it insane that most "shaky checks" lose all their opportunity to kill Aegislash because of an attack drop. Oh, and remember that a -2 Atk pokemon is an easy set-up field for a great part of the entire metagame.
Further thoughts regarding the balance of the metagame will come soon n_n