np: XY UU Stage 2 - Light Em Up

[RufflesPro]

It's really amusing to see people complain about a wall breaker...breaking walls. Slap CB on Mienshao, Victini, Darn, or Heracross, and you have yourself something even Suicine can't stand up against. Band set is so easily taken care of if you have anything remotely fast (think, raikou, infernape, mienshao), and the scarf set hits about as hard as reckless scarf mienshao, with less speed. Weak to rocks, prone to recoil, and having a very predictable movepool doesn't help it. I am more scared of seeing an enemy Victini, for fear it could be scarfed, banded, mixed, LO, or ebelt.

CB Darm cannot handle Suicune or Slowbro. CB Guts Hera can handle stall quite well but gets revenge killed even easier because most of the offensive tier is stuck in 85-115 speed tier and Heracross is at the bottom unlike staraptor which is in the middle. CB Victini can definitely handle stall (except Grass + Water bulky cores like Chesnaught + Slowbro/Suicune or simply bulky Rocks) but the problem is common offensive mons can [sometimes] even switch on it like Scarf Hydreigon and Mega Amph [if mega evolved] and finally, Shao, hits like crazy w/ CB and can fuck a lot of non-scarf HO but it's stopped too easily, Sableye, Crobat, Slowbro, etc.)

Staraptor, however, is only stopped by 3 mons, Doublade, Rhyperior and physically defensive Rachi and maybe 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Aggron but few people run that.


This is why I think NP/Mix LO Nape + CB Raptor = fucks stall and most of non-scarf meta.

NP Nape can OHKO Rhyperior w/ Grass Knot and Fire Blast decimates Doublade, Rachi and Mega Aggron. If you don't want to die from recoil against bulky ground/water then Grass Knot can do average 60% (LO 252 SpA) so you take less recoil.

Furthermore, looking at megas, Mega Ampharos stands out as a teammate for Raptor, 1. because it can take on most of HO (All sets of Tini, All sets of Darm, all sets of Entei, all sets of Crobat, Sash Zam, All sets of Infernape) and sometimes scarf shao 2. because it also helps whether down bulky waters 3. it adds to the Volt Turn core and 4. because it provides Heal Bell support so = fuck sableye

I'm talking about my good old RestTalk/Volt Switch/Heal Bell Physically defensive Mega Amph

it can also counter Scarf Shao 3/10 of the times if rocks aren't up

252 Atk Reckless Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 172-204 (44.7 - 53.1%) -- 28.1% chance to 2HKO

tl;dr: Special/Mix Nape w/ grass Knot and LO + CB Raptor + Phys. Defensive Mega Ampharos = fuck meta / really good balanced team.

That's just my reflection of playing so much UU the past 2 days (nothing to do in summer lol)

 

[Kushalos]

I love how people are whining because stall is viable. For one, it already was viable, the fact that one special wall is added to the meta does not shift it towards stall (especially considering how all other mons that have dropped are offensive beasts). Secondly, one replay does not tell you anything about the meta (mind how one particular spl match lasted for over 400 turns, and yet ou is not extremely stall-oriented). Basically, stop whining and play the meta before you start judging.

I think Florges is even better as a wall than Blissey and I haven't noticed Blissey's impact on the meta yet whatsoever cause no one really uses it ._.

 

[KM]

how we've managed to make it this far talking about how "broken" raptor is without mentioning more than once the fact that it fucking kills itself ???

like

literally

252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 603-711 (84.4 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

congratulations your wallbreaker just OHKOd a blissey (*almost). Oh wait, it did 201-237 damage (~65-75%) damage back. in other words if raptor comes in on rocks and -almost- OHKOs blissey it literally just dies.

example #2

252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 277-327 (51.8 - 61.2%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

in the process of 2hkoing rocky helm alomomola (if it even stays in), you will take roughly 100 + 45 + 100 + 45 = staraptor's entire fucking health.

so yes. it's a wallbreaker. congratulations. but you can't pointedly ignore the fact that 99% of the time (e.g. not in replays where the opp plays horribly and has no flying resists) it can only break through one wall maximum before it ends up offing itself or losing so much momentum for the team that it just collapses.

when you can make a team with literally no counter for staraptor other than rocks + blissey and just throw blissey at it and kill it off, that sort of says something about how "broken" it is. please stop circlejerking over high damage coming from a >wallbreaker breaking >walls and consider the entire poke.

 

[Calloflochie]

how we've managed to make it this far talking about how "broken" raptor is without mentioning more than once the fact that it fucking kills itself ???

like

literally

252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 603-711 (84.4 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

congratulations your wallbreaker just OHKOd a blissey (*almost). Oh wait, it did 201-237 damage (~65-75%) damage back. in other words if raptor comes in on rocks and -almost- OHKOs blissey it literally just dies.

example #2

252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 277-327 (51.8 - 61.2%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

in the process of 2hkoing rocky helm alomomola (if it even stays in), you will take roughly 100 + 45 + 100 + 45 = staraptor's entire fucking health.

so yes. it's a wallbreaker. congratulations. but you can't pointedly ignore the fact that 99% of the time (e.g. not in replays where the opp plays horribly and has no flying resists) it can only break through one wall maximum before it ends up offing itself or losing so much momentum for the team that it just collapses.

when you can make a team with literally no counter for staraptor other than rocks + blissey and just throw blissey at it and kill it off, that sort of says something about how "broken" it is. please stop circlejerking over high damage coming from a >wallbreaker breaking >walls and consider the entire poke.

I guess you could say that Staraptor is pretty reckless, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

No? Ok, back to the dungeon.

 

[UU ALL DAY]

CB Darm cannot handle Suicune or Slowbro. CB Guts Hera can handle stall quite well but gets revenge killed even easier because most of the offensive tier is stuck in 85-115 speed tier and Heracross is at the bottom unlike staraptor which is in the middle. CB Victini can definitely handle stall (except Grass + Water bulky cores like Chesnaught + Slowbro/Suicune or simply bulky Rocks) but the problem is common offensive mons can [sometimes] even switch on it like Scarf Hydreigon and Mega Amph [if mega evolved] and finally, Shao, hits like crazy w/ CB and can fuck a lot of non-scarf HO but it's stopped too easily, Sableye, Crobat, Slowbro, etc.)

Staraptor, however, is only stopped by 3 mons, Doublade, Rhyperior and physically defensive Rachi and maybe 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Aggron but few people run that.


This is why I think NP/Mix LO Nape + CB Raptor = fucks stall and most of non-scarf meta.

NP Nape can OHKO Rhyperior w/ Grass Knot and Fire Blast decimates Doublade, Rachi and Mega Aggron. If you don't want to die from recoil against bulky ground/water then Grass Knot can do average 60% (LO 252 SpA) so you take less recoil.

Furthermore, looking at megas, Mega Ampharos stands out as a teammate for Raptor, 1. because it can take on most of HO (All sets of Tini, All sets of Darm, all sets of Entei, all sets of Crobat, Sash Zam, All sets of Infernape) and sometimes scarf shao 2. because it also helps whether down bulky waters 3. it adds to the Volt Turn core and 4. because it provides Heal Bell support so = fuck sableye

I'm talking about my good old RestTalk/Volt Switch/Heal Bell Physically defensive Mega Amph

it can also counter Scarf Shao 3/10 of the times if rocks aren't up

252 Atk Reckless Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 172-204 (44.7 - 53.1%) -- 28.1% chance to 2HKO

tl;dr: Special/Mix Nape w/ grass Knot and LO + CB Raptor + Phys. Defensive Mega Ampharos = fuck meta / really good balanced team.

That's just my reflection of playing so much UU the past 2 days (nothing to do in summer lol)

CB staraptor is stopped by few mons, but like I said, so is CBTini, Heracross, etc etc

 

[Schpoonman]

Most of the popular Choice Band sets in the tier (Victini, Cross, Mienshao, to name three) have very few true counters but a lot of checks, and we've never come close to suspecting any of them. It makes me wonder why Staraptor was ever in question.

 

[Ununhexium]

I guess you could say that Staraptor is pretty reckless, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

No? Ok, back to the dungeon.

This may just be the best post ever.

Jokes aside, why was raptor even banned in the first place. Its an awesome wallbreaker but the amount of offensive checks makes it fairly balanced.

 

[Nysyr]

I like how every judgement seems to be made from the view point of stall/pink core balance. It's really irritating for someone who plays more offensively based teams to see stuff that will literally 6-0 you on one missed turn or a choice locked move that the thing happens to resist get 12/12 votes for not broken. From all of the UU Council I've watched play, King UU literally is the only one I've seen play more offensive teams.

I'd enjoy being able to run something other than Mega Aero on every damn team just to not get destroyed by the drop downs (I'm looking at you e-speed Lucario, and Staraptor).

 

[Patrick1088]

So, after running some calcs banded victini does more damage than banded victini

252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 225-265 (57.1 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Choice Band Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 238-282 (60.4 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Both are jolly and banded and at the same speed tier. Both are SR weak and can pivot. But victini can go mixed or special to beat its normal checks like rhyperior that dont care much about v create bolt strike or u turn. A plus for victini is actually its immune to burn. You really cant argue with calcs. Banded victini does more than banded raptor and is more unpredictable thanks to very viable movepool thay can go special just as easily.

0 SpA Victini Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Swampert: 252-300 (62.3 - 74.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Scarf victini naive nature.

252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 256-303 (63.3 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Banded raptor jolly nature...

Victini dropped zen headbutt for grass knot, but didnt lose anything. It gained a way around a poke that couldve easily tanked the v create or bolt strike.

Victini is a top threat and wallbreaker that isnt broken. Staraptor has 3 sets it could run (band, scarf or defensive). Mega aggron, mega aero, doublade, phys def rachi counter or reliably check from a defensive POV. But, it can be revenge killed by scarf ape, shao andother scarfed pokes if its banded.

I think it is UU.

 

[kokoloko]

I like how every judgement seems to be made from the view point of stall/pink core balance. It's really irritating for someone who plays more offensively based teams to see stuff that will literally 6-0 you on one missed turn or a choice locked move that the thing happens to resist get 12/12 votes for not broken. From all of the UU Council I've watched play, King UU literally is the only one I've seen play more offensive teams.

I'd enjoy being able to run something other than Mega Aero on every damn team just to not get destroyed by the drop downs (I'm looking at you e-speed Lucario, and Staraptor).

its funny you should say that because the uu tier leader would literally never play stall (because its a garbage playstyle :]) and has never used pink core on a serious team.

now let me educate you. offense is inherently prone to getting swept on a missed turn or getting choice-locked onto a resisted move. that is the very nature of offense. however if you're getting 6-0'd by lucario (who is more of a threat to stall than offense, mind you), its not because its too good, its because you're playing badly. against offense, lucario should have very little room to set up. if you give it room to set up, that's on you, bud. not to mention offense has a ton of viable checks for it: jirachi, shaymin, celebi (all three would need 176+ speed to guarantee outspeeding) all tank a +2 extremespeed easily, especially jirachi, and all of them fit onto offense quite easily. but honestly, getting swept by luke when using offense means one of to things: you either got outplayed (which is okay, it happens), or you choked and gave it room to set up when you didn't have to (which is on you).

not even gonna talk about staraptor because 1. we haven't voted on it and 2. it can't even switch in against offense unless its on a revenge, which means a negative trade for the raptor player because of recoil zzzz

 

[RowDog]

People should probably realise that Staraptor although checked offensively has already done its job by destroying a Pokemon to the point whether it has either a) fainted OR b) put in a position to be easily revenge killed. It's counters are pretty damn limited and we need to remember its function as a wallbreaker. A wallbreaker's job is to poke massive holes in a team so that a sweeper can then come in after the wallbreaker has done its job in wrecking an opponents defensive core and is then revenge killed where a sweeper can easily come in after in clean up and the opponents team will crumble now that the core is in ruins. So we need to be thinking of Staraptor in more of a supporting role than an overly offensive role. It is sort of like the Mega-Gengar thing. Yeah it is pretty damn easy to revenge kill but by then it may well have already done its job for the team to finish up. Now Staraptor isn't trapping anything, though it will almost always leave a very big dent in something.

The main difference between Staraptor and other Pokemon is that it can pretty much hit the vast majority of the tier in one move, Brave Bird. This is what differentiates it from the other tiers wallbreakers which require much heavier prediction. For CB Victini it has V-Create to wallbreak, which is blocked by rather popular Pokemon including bulky waters such as Slowbro or Suicune. For these it must turn to Bolt Strike, which is not the optimum move for it to get locked into (and can be slightly unreliable due to miss chance) to break other Pokemon, and mispredict a switch and then you can find yourself set back. Likewise the other common wallbreaker of the tier, Heracross, has its main STABs resisted by Pokemon such as Crobat, Florges, Fletchinder and Aromatisse, in which more prediction is required. The main problem why Staraptor is more of a stand out is that very few common Pokemon in the tier can wall it, and those its best counters (arguably Doublade and Rhyperior) lack reliable recovery as well as other flaws in the tier (Fires and bulky waters everywhere for the respective Pokemon). Asides from those and a couple of others, Staraptor has little qualms in clicking Brave Bird and dealing truckloads of damage to pretty much anything, and even a fair deal to some resists. Between its STABs most current teams will mostly have no real good switchins, as after all that Staraptor has access to great and powerful coverage with smaller drawbacks in Close Combat, which brilliantly compliments it other 2 moves.

Therefore I believe that at the moment Staraptor is slightly more threatening than the other current wallbreakers in the tier. Whether he is broken, that is a different story. At this rate I see that Staraptor has enough flaws (that have been previously stated so I won't bother repeating) to have it find a place in UU. But I would still see Staraptor as the best Physical wallbreaker in the tier at the moment.

 

[UU ALL DAY]

I like how every judgement seems to be made from the view point of stall/pink core balance. It's really irritating for someone who plays more offensively based teams to see stuff that will literally 6-0 you on one missed turn or a choice locked move that the thing happens to resist get 12/12 votes for not broken. From all of the UU Council I've watched play, King UU literally is the only one I've seen play more offensive teams.

I'd enjoy being able to run something other than Mega Aero on every damn team just to not get destroyed by the drop downs (I'm looking at you e-speed Lucario, and Staraptor).

If you''re struggling playing to play offensive in UU with threats like Infernape, Lucario, and Victini in the tier, lol you're not playing it right.

 

[pokemonisfun]

staraptor isnt fair because its too fast for something so strong and has a spammable move like no other (victini can't spam v-create because flash fire houndoom and kingdra, shao can't spam hjk for obvious reasons, hydreigon can't spam meteor for obvious reasons).

BB has no immunities and very few quad resists while most resists are either 2hko or 3hko anyways given a reckless band.

also band staraptor has no counters reliable counters, while there are many Pokemon without counters like Lucario (which is broken too in my opinion) there are very few single 4 move sets without counters. Meggron may be the closest thing to a counter along with physically defensive Metagross (which is not too viable) but both are 2hko with CC after a Uturn which is bad and Meggron has the problem of finding an opening to even mega evolve. Both also face the problem of if they want to kill raptor they cant set up SR.

i do not like the fact typical physical walls like suicune slowbro hippowdon gligar RK9 chesnaught are getting 2hko or ohkod (and not by small margins, by like taking over 60% from band reckless BB) cannot take on a physical attacker. i really do not like for such a strong Pokemon how it outspeeds all the walls in UU including the fastest ones like Mew and RK9.

the big thing for me is BB is way too spammable for a strong move. The tier (as in things in UU) has no other similarly strong spammable moves at the moment in my opinion that i can find.

 

[Jellied Eels]

I think the real issue with Staraptor is that Flying is arguably the best offensive typing right now (with a combination of few resists and very high power moves, giving it an edge over something like Ghost imo). There is such a painfully low number of mons that can switch into its coverage that also have access to (semi-)reliable recovery.

Calcs w/ Band Raptor

252 Atk Choice Band Staraptor Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 80+ Def Jirachi: 156-184 (38.6 - 45.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 277-327 (51.8 - 61.2%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 124 Def Mega Aerodactyl: 165-195 (45.4 - 53.7%) -- 44.1% chance to 2HKO

Now I realize that those calcs don't really mean a whole lot cause that's not exactly how things play out in a match but still the reason Staraptor is better than the other physically-based wallbreakers in the tier is that its checks/counters are very easy to wear down over the course of a match. I find that things like Rhyperior, Doublade, or Metagross are much easier to get around over the course of a battle than the likes of Slowbro or Aromatisse, making Staraptor much more likely to become extremely threatening late-game compared to the already threatening a f Darmanitan or Mienshao on a team built to play to its strength.

That last point is I believe really crucial. I know I'm not the only one who fooled around with a BURD TEAM what with Raptor in the tier and all, but if you're not being actively retarted and using SIX BURDS like I did, a simple bird duo can be much more threatening than the usual double-Fire or -Fighting wallbreaking cores. Pairing Raptor with something like LO Braviary (loses to Doublade), mixed Honchkrow (loses to Rhyperior, unless you use HP Water ;p), or WoW Fletchinder can overwhelm the opponent's Flying resist which is huge considering how few of them have reliable recovery.

Also, I wish people would be a little more diverse in their approach of Staraptor considering the choiced sets really aren't the best imo. I've been using SubRoost Raptor with LO (which is usually a bad idea fyi unless you can give it some good Voltturn support) and it works just as well as last gen - iirc it was argued at the time that the set that pushed Raptor over the edge was really the SubRoost one.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying Staraptor is in any way obviously broken - wallbreaking potential alone doesn't make or break a mon, especially one such as Raptor which takes a great deal of recoil over the course of the match and struggles against any well-built offensive team. But simply stuffing it with the crowd of Victinis, Heracross, and Darmanitans seems a bit premature due to its combination of spammable STAB moves and lack of reliable counters.

So on that note - KACAW KACAW

 

[Bouff]

i think that while raptor pretty much is bound to kill at least something if you're using scarf ( band pretty much rapes stall teams not carrying the mons koko mentioned earlier but it runs the risk of being revenged much more easier facing offensive teams due to it being worn down insanely fast due to recoil, not to mention that it has a weakness to sr, can be revenged by other scarfers and runs the risk of losing the speed tie with other base 100s like rachi and victini), its pretty one dimensional as a wallbreaker, like darmanitan, the only difference is that there are MUCH less mons in the tier that resist flying coverage rather than flying and that those that do and can provide as offensive checks don't even take it that well and probably also die to a double edge anyway. all in all i think it should stay but im not on council so im irrelevant :^)

 

[Ununhexium]

Okay so I think this is the general consensus but I am finding Staraptor relatively manageable once you discover its set. I have mostly used the Choice Band and it is an excellent wallbreaker, but it dies really quickly. I haven't used Scarf much, but it has been a decent revenge killer but it again dies pretty fast. But yeah depending on which one you choose it is a trade-off. More Speed for not enough power, or a lot of power for Speed that sometimes comes up just short.

If we still had megaman Staraptor would be so incredibly UU

I think these calcs are relevant

Band calcs

252 Atk Choice Band Staraptor Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Filter Mega Aggron: 108-127 (31.3 - 36.9%) -- 75.8% chance to 3HKO

4 Atk Mega Aggron Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Staraptor: 156-184 (50 - 58.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (funny enough 4 evs is the difference between a 2HKO and 98.8% to 2HKO)

Scarf calcs

252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 145-172 (35.8 - 42.5%) -- 94.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 144-169 (34.2 - 40.2%) -- 38.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Staraptor Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Filter Mega Aggron: 72-85 (20.9 - 24.7%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

 

[Jaguar360]

Come on people. Seriously start using Doublade. It is glorious! It is a full stop to Staraptor and the majority of physical attackers in the tier bar Darmanitan, Victini and Infernape and is just so good in the metagame right now. It gets easy Swords Dances and has priority with Shadow Sneak backed by a solid 110 attack and STAB. Its horrid special attack is patched up with Eviolite allowing it to take neutral Special attacks if it needs to, even super-effective ones sometimes. (252 SpA Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Doublade: 210-248 (65.2 - 77%) -- guaranteed 2HKO; this is Sash-Zam by the way. Life Orb Alakazam dies to Shadow Sneak most of the time) Yeah, Knock Off cuts its Defenses, but it still has great bulk on the physical side at least.

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impish/Relaxed Nature (you get a bigger stat boost overall over Adamant/Brave and you will raise your Attack anyway with Swords Dance)
IVs: 0 Spd (if running Gyro Ball)
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head/Gyro Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword

Let's look at just what Doublade can take, shall we?
4 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 102-122 (31.6 - 37.8%) -- 91.9% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Mega Absol Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 152-180 (47.2 - 55.9%) -- 74.6% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 117-138 (36.3 - 42.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Heracross Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 134-158 (41.6 - 49%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Honchkrow Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 156-187 (48.4 - 58%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 96-114 (29.8 - 35.4%) -- 23.3% chance to 3HKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 190-226 (59 - 70.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Donphan Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 146-174 (45.3 - 54%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 98-116 (30.4 - 36%) -- 42.2% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Eviolite Doublade: 230-272 (71.4 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Try not take this hit unless you're desperate)
(I forgot Rocks in these calcs, but Doublade only takes 6.25% damage from them and I don't feel like doing the calcs over again)

What can Doublade do back?
+2 252 Atk Doublade Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Honchkrow: 391-462 (114.6 - 135.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Doublade Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Staraptor: 312-367 (100 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Doublade Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darmanitan: 282-332 (80.3 - 94.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Doublade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 634-746 (88.7 - 104.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock (it walls it anyway even if it's running Flamethrower lol)
+2 252 Atk Doublade Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Heracross: 295-348 (97.6 - 115.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Doublade Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mew: 234-276 (57.9 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Doublade Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Donphan: 199-235 (51.8 - 61.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Doublade Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Starmie: 270-318 (103.4 - 121.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(Yes, all these calcs assume Doublade gets +2 because Doublade gets a Swords Dance every game unless you make a foolish move.)
It's not the strongest Pokemon in the world, but it is still very strong, extremely bulky on the physical side, and is a full stop to our suspect.

EDIT: Did I forget to mention the synergy with Hydreigon like I do every time I talk about Doublade? :P

 

[RowDog]

If we still had megaman Staraptor would be so incredibly UU

A yes, if only we had Mega-Man. Oh wait:
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Manectric: 134-158 (47.6 - 56.2%) -- 84% chance to 2HKO
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Manectric: 268-316 (95.3 - 112.4%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO (guaranteed after SR)
Do not underestimate the burd.

I might try double bird later with Staraptor and Fletch. I really want to figure out what Staraptor works with best at the moment, as it has more of a support role rather than what stops Raptor. Any good partners that people have found?

 

[Jaguar360]

Physically defensive Mega Ampharos is a good substitute for Mega Manectric by the way. It can't quite take a Double Edge:
252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 232-274 (60.4 - 71.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
But it takes it well and is 3HKOed by Staraptor's other attacks (252 Atk Choice Band Staraptor Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 130-153 (33.8 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO)
It should be used more in general; RestTalk and T-Wave + 3 attacks are great sets in UU.

 

[Ununhexium]

Physically defensive Mega Ampharos is a good substitute for Mega Manectric by the way. It can't quite take a Double Edge:
252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 232-274 (60.4 - 71.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
But it takes it well and is 3HKOed by Staraptor's other attacks (252 Atk Choice Band Staraptor Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Ampharos: 130-153 (33.8 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO)
It should be used more in general; RestTalk and T-Wave + 3 attacks are great sets in UU.

But remember, Mega Manectric would have outspeeded the Band set and OHKOed

-1 252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Manectric: 178-211 (63.3 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


Anyways, if I had a vote, I would put Staraptor UU. It is either just slow or just not powerful enough or murders itself in the process. It is an excellent Pokemon, but it does have notable flaws that keep it from being broken. If it had 105 Speed, then it might be a different story.

 

[Bouff]

RowDog I personally like spikes support with raptor since it makes wallbreaking a lot easier, Froslass provides a lot of support to HO as it always has, but Roserade can work too if you like Spikes + Sleep Powder. I also like Sharpedo, since it pretty much destroys anything after a good amount of prior damage, which can work in tandem with spikes. It also pretty much manhandles the two counters kokoloko mentioned (i personally like using mixed or special sharpedo since it does more to phys def rachi in case Spikes gets cleared but physical works too).

 

[pokemonisfun]

Before you conclude not broken consider trying facade on the choice and non "defensive" sets it's really good to massacre sableye and then facade everything.

 

[TM13IceBeam]

Before you conclude not broken consider trying facade on the choice and non "defensive" sets it's really good to massacre sableye and then facade everything.

how exactly is a burnt staraptor massacring sableye again, considering sableye is immune to facade...? i guess jolly cb can 2hko but staraptor will die to recoil and burn damage before ever killing sableye due to prankster recover :X

 

[Meru]

Better to run it with something like Healing Wish Shaymin/Celebi, especially if its Scarf Staraptor. Facade isn't that good on Staraptor when it already has like 5 good offensive options

In return, Shaymin and Celebi switch in on like Rhyperior and Hippowdon, since Scarf has trouble beating them. Also helps that they can be cleanly U-turned in.

 

[UU ALL DAY]

A yes, if only we had Mega-Man. Oh wait:
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Manectric: 134-158 (47.6 - 56.2%) -- 84% chance to 2HKO
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Manectric: 268-316 (95.3 - 112.4%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO (guaranteed after SR)
Do not underestimate the burd.

I might try double bird later with Staraptor and Fletch. I really want to figure out what Staraptor works with best at the moment, as it has more of a support role rather than what stops Raptor. Any good partners that people have found?

Well, yeah. It's a choice BANDED Staraptor. Offensive TR Cofag still takes a fuckload from CBCross.