Ladder STABmons [OMotM November]

Lcass4919

The Xatu Warrior
but what exactly does it switch in on? stall has answers for it in mr mime (lol if that counts but im sure stall might find some use with boomburst in the meta so much) and chansey, and most of offense outpaces and kos and/or does major damage to it because its bulk is p shit. you could opt for scarf instead of specs, but rip insane wallbreaker and breaking steels. and maybe it would be good if it could actually come in on stuff and force it out, but as i said with 1 immunity/no resists and 85/70/75 bulk it doesnt switch in on like anything and take 2 hits. 90 base speed really isnt much, lol.

those are obviously its bad qualities. pz is not bad, by any means. it can trick a chansey switchin potentially, for example. its a very good mon. but i really dont think its broken or suspect worthy. Altarianite needs to go imho but don't have time to argue it rn.
or pz nasty plots and secures the 6-0 vs stall lmao.
 
I know this is a week late, but whatever. So now that Volcanion is officially revealed, does that mean Steam Eruption is legal or do we have to wait until Volcanion is useable in OU?
 

baconbagon

free stabmons
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I know this is a week late, but whatever. So now that Volcanion is officially revealed, does that mean Steam Eruption is legal or do we have to wait until Volcanion is useable in OU?
we'll have to wait, as stabmons is ou based, and follows its limitations in regard to unreleased pokemon and moves.
 
Question, why is it that MegaMetagross is banned but Scizor is OK?
Mega Metagross is banned and not Mega Scizor because it is simply a direct upgrade. Mega Metagross has Tough Claws Heavy Slam, a naturally higher Speed stat, and a wider array of coverage moves. While Mega Scizor isn't bad by any means (in fact, it's really good!) Mega Metagross was simply just a Mega Scizor pushed over the edge into banning.
 
Metagross:
-Way higher speed
-Insane coverage
-100% accuracy
-No recovery

Scizor:
-Quite slow with no boost
-Very limited coverage (it only gets Superpower and Knock Off, both of which have significant flaws and leave it unable to touch things like M-Zards)
-Gear Grind and Pin Missile both miss a lot
-Roost/Defog/Sticky Web give it more support options, but this doesn't matter on a sweeping set
-Major STABs hit through subs/break sashes, but also leave you weaker to Iron Barbs/Rough Skin/Rocky Helmet
-U-Turn is always nice, but also doesn't matter if you're trying to sweep
 

EV

Banned deucer.
unfixable and some of the gang are going to get the VR up to speed soon and I'm going to start a threat list in Post 2 of this thread (mostly for OMGS players.) PM either of us if you want to help!
 
I think in terms of suspects we definetely need to take a look at the following:

Mega Aerodactyl- Was banned in STABmons before the Attack/status split, and is still quite broken here. It's most viable check (Mega Metagross) was just banned. Head Smash/Dragon Ascent are ridiculously powerful Tough Claws boosted STAB moves. For example Dragon Ascent can easily 2hko Mega Scizor. Its a fast wallbreaking terror that just needs to go. Suspect and Quick ban this monster.

King's Rock/Razor Fang- the flinch items just introduce stupid luck into STABmons. Not broken by any means at all, but getting flinched to death by Cloyster doesn't exactly make for skilled based games.

Diggersby- Diggers was also banned in STABmons. And yeah we banned Shell Smash meaning its not as potent of a set up sweeper, but honestly it's doesn't need it. Mono-Attacking Diggersby is incredibly potent with Fakespeed. In OU Diggers is an incredible wallbreaker with only one guaranteed switch in, Mega Slowbro. It is held back by it's poor Speed and Bulk, making it easy to revenge kill. In STABmons it is the revenge killer. Who revenge kills the revenge killer? Its more or less a mini ekiller Arceus. It has a potent STAB espeed, Swords Dance to boost, and all the coverage and move options it could ever want to beat would be checks and counters. I know there are quite a few Diggers supporters out there, but it a least deserves a suspect test.

Mega Slowbro- speaking of the only guaranteed Diggers switch in, Mega Slowbro is a potent wincon for any defensively minded team. It has Cosmic Power, Iron Defense, Calm Mind, and Amnesia. Combined with Stored Power, Mega Slowbro is just pushed over the edge. It can easily sweep Stall or Offense, and is incredibly difficult to team build for. It needs a quick ban.

Keldeo- I honestly don't think Water Spout alone pushes it over the edge, it still has reliable checks and counters (Mega Venu, Ammonguss, Mega Lati@s, Tangrowth, etc.) It just that all of these get wiped out if Keldeo has rain support. If it was just Water Spout i wouldn't be in favor of banning. But Rain and Water Spout Keldeo? Yeah it needs to go.


We should also revisit the Boomburst Trio (Mega Altaria, Pory-Z, Sylveon) and Boomburst itself. Mega Altaria is debatably broken, it has all of 2 guaranteed switch ins, and the coverage options to make alot of other checks sad. There seems to be a supporters who say it isn't broken due to its lack of set up/4ms, but it still deserves another look. Pory-z is still really stupid powerful and Nasty Plot sets 6-0 Stall teams which cuts diversity down by quite a bit. People have told me Sylveon isn't a big deal, but if 6-0ing Stall is an important point, then what exactly is Stall supposed to do about a Sub Cm set?And then there is Boomburst itself, a 140 BP Sound move with no drawbacks and high PP. Yeah its normal and normal is mediocre, but Pixilate makes it Fairy typed, which is not a mediocre typing at all. Oh and its stronger then V-Create while -ate boosted. I'm still surprised it wasn't quick banned.

Edit: Almost forgot Kyurem-B. Kyu-B was also banned in STABmons piror to rule changes, and its easy to see why. The only reason it isn't Ubers is because it lacks set up and Ice STAB. Both issues are fixed in STABmons.
 
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MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
I think in terms of suspects we definetely need to take a look at the following:

Mega Aerodactyl- Was banned in STABmons before the Attack/status split, and is still quite broken here. It's most viable check (Mega Metagross) was just banned. Head Smash/Dragon Ascent are ridiculously powerful Tough Claws boosted STAB moves. For example Dragon Ascent can easily 2hko Mega Scizor. Its a fast wallbreaking terror that just needs to go. Suspect and Quick ban this monster.

King's Rock/Razor Fang- the flinch items just introduce stupid luck into STABmons. Not broken by any means at all, but getting flinched to death by Cloyster doesn't exactly make for skilled based games.

Diggersby- Diggers was also banned in STABmons. And yeah we banned Shell Smash meaning its not as potent of a set up sweeper, but honestly it's doesn't need it. Mono-Attacking Diggersby is incredibly potent with Fakespeed. In OU Diggers is an incredible wallbreaker with only one guaranteed switch in, Mega Slowbro. It is held back by it's poor Speed and Bulk, making it easy to revenge kill. In STABmons it is the revenge killer. Who revenge kills the revenge killer? Its more or less a mini ekiller Arceus. It has a potent STAB espeed, Swords Dance to boost, and all the coverage and move options it could ever want to beat would be checks and counters. I know there are quite a few Diggers supporters out there, but it a least deserves a suspect test.

Mega Slowbro- speaking of the only guaranteed Diggers switch in, Mega Slowbro is a potent wincon for any defensively minded team. It has Cosmic Power, Iron Defense, Calm Mind, and Amnesia. Combined with Stored Power, Mega Slowbro is just pushed over the edge. It can easily sweep Stall or Offense, and is incredibly difficult to team build for. It needs a quick ban.

Keldeo- I honestly don't think Water Spout alone pushes it over the edge, it still has reliable checks and counters (Mega Venu, Ammonguss, Mega Lati@s, Tangrowth, etc.) It just that all of these get wiped out if Keldeo has rain support. If it was just Water Spout i wouldn't be in favor of banning. But Rain and Water Spout Keldeo? Yeah it needs to go.

We should also revisit the Boomburst Trio (Mega Altaria, Pory-Z, Sylveon) and Boomburst itself. Mega Altaria is debatably broken, it has all of 2 guaranteed switch ins, and the coverage options to make alot of other checks sad. There seems to be a supporters who say it isn't broken due to its lack of set up/4ms, but it still deserves another look. Pory-z is still really stupid powerful and Nasty Plot sets 6-0 Stall teams which cuts diversity down by quite a bit. People have told me Sylveon isn't a big deal, but if 6-0ing Stall is an important point, then what exactly is Stall supposed to do about a Sub Cm set?And then there is Boomburst itself, a 140 BP Sound move with no drawbacks and high PP. Yeah its normal and normal is mediocre, but Pixilate makes it Fairy typed, which is not a mediocre typing at all. Oh and its stronger then V-Create while -ate boosted. I'm still surprised it wasn't quick banned.

Edit: Almost forgot Kyurem-B. Kyu-B was also banned in STABmons piror to rule changes, and its easy to see why. The only reason it isn't Ubers is because it lacks set up and Ice STAB. Both issues are fixed in STABmons.
This post sounds unreasonably ban-happy. Cosmic power doesn't make slowbro any better than it is in OU. Cosmic power + stored power is new, but this doesn't do much to patch up slowbro's typical in-practice flaws. It frees up a moveslot so that you no longer have to choose between curing status and boosting defense, but the defense boosts are fairly superfluous anyway. If anything, cosmic power/stored power makes it easier to deal with slowbro as 1) it loses all of its utility throughout the game, which really sucks for such a vital pivot. It can't check anything that it wants to check because it doesn't have a legitimate move to retaliate with and 2) it is also easier to bring in a typical check (ie. Strong special attacks) because, again, if loses all unboosted utility. Any switch to slowbro is a free switchin, making it very easy to actually revenge kill. These are all issues that it faces in OU, except they are exemplified. It isn't good in practice regardless of how it looks on-paper.

Kings rock/razor fang is another overblown suggestion. The incredibly niche uses (ie. Cloyster) arent much different than typical jirachi flinchhax. It's part of the game and super duper niche.

Rain support isn't a real reason to call for a keldeo ban. Lots of mons benefit immensely from weather support, but weather support isn't the easiest thing to consistently provide. You should be prepared for it.

irgt 6-0ing stall: there's not much you can do to even out defense vs offense disparity in a metagame that grants offensive mons all of the tools that they crave (that they didn't even need in the first place!). Accept the fact that the meta will be inherently biased against full stall. Defensive teams just need to do some hardcore adapting in order to fit in (which is true about every playstyle here hello fakespeed)
 
This post sounds unreasonably ban-happy. Cosmic power doesn't make slowbro any better than it is in OU. Cosmic power + stored power is new, but this doesn't do much to patch up slowbro's typical in-practice flaws. It frees up a moveslot so that you no longer have to choose between curing status and boosting defense, but the defense boosts are fairly superfluous anyway. If anything, cosmic power/stored power makes it easier to deal with slowbro as 1) it loses all of its utility throughout the game, which really sucks for such a vital pivot. It can't check anything that it wants to check because it doesn't have a legitimate move to retaliate with and 2) it is also easier to bring in a typical check (ie. Strong special attacks) because, again, if loses all unboosted utility. Any switch to slowbro is a free switchin, making it very easy to actually revenge kill. These are all issues that it faces in OU, except they are exemplified. It isn't good in practice regardless of how it looks on-paper.

Kings rock/razor fang is another overblown suggestion. The incredibly niche uses (ie. Cloyster) arent much different than typical jirachi flinchhax. It's part of the game and super duper niche.

Rain support isn't a real reason to call for a keldeo ban. Lots of mons benefit immensely from weather support, but weather support isn't the easiest thing to consistently provide. You should be prepared for it.

irgt 6-0ing stall: there's not much you can do to even out defense vs offense disparity in a metagame that grants offensive mons all of the tools that they crave (that they didn't even need in the first place!). Accept the fact that the meta will be inherently biased against full stall. Defensive teams just need to do some hardcore adapting in order to fit in (which is true about every playstyle here hello fakespeed)
All of these things were suspected and banned in STABmons prior to the Attack/Status split. I don't think it's unreasonable to revisit old suspect tests at all.
 
Mega Aerodactyl- Was banned in STABmons before the Attack/status split, and is still quite broken here. It's most viable check (Mega Metagross) was just banned. Head Smash/Dragon Ascent are ridiculously powerful Tough Claws boosted STAB moves. For example Dragon Ascent can easily 2hko Mega Scizor. Its a fast wallbreaking terror that just needs to go. Suspect and Quick ban this monster.
What makes it banworthy? You just stated facts (Tough Claws boosts, was previously banned). 2HKOing Mega Scizor isn't really a strong feat; Choice Scarf Landorus-T can do that as well. Mega Aerodactyl has so much pressure on it to do what it needs to, and by this I mean simply be a Mega. With so many other excellent Megas, do you really want to choose yours to be a suicide bomber? I feel like Head Smash is just really bad on Mega Aerodactyl, and Diamond Storm is much better. But that's besides the point. Anyways, Mega Aerodactyl is powerful, and fast, and bulky; and it has great attacking moves to utilize it with. However, I'm not sure it's broken. There are several viable checks / counters to it that you don't really have to specialize a slot to. Klefki, for example, completely hard-walls Mega Aerodactyl and cripples it, along with 2HKOing it in return. Mega Aerodactyl is so prone to being revenge killed as well, it's almost sad. Terrakion, Keldeo, Landorus-T; they all put constraints on Mega Aerodactyl since it can't rase its Speed. Dragon Ascent, while amazing, also has its downside which can often leave it forced out on things it really shouldn't be forced out on. I think Mega Aerodactyl is easily an S Rank threat, but not banworthy. Do you believe it has a restricting impact on the metagame? I certainly don't.

King's Rock/Razor Fang- the flinch items just introduce stupid luck into STABmons. Not broken by any means at all, but getting flinched to death by Cloyster doesn't exactly make for skilled based games.
Lol this shit is dumb, ban it imo.

Diggersby- Diggers was also banned in STABmons. And yeah we banned Shell Smash meaning its not as potent of a set up sweeper, but honestly it's doesn't need it. Mono-Attacking Diggersby is incredibly potent with Fakespeed. In OU Diggers is an incredible wallbreaker with only one guaranteed switch in, Mega Slowbro. It is held back by it's poor Speed and Bulk, making it easy to revenge kill. In STABmons it is the revenge killer. Who revenge kills the revenge killer? Its more or less a mini ekiller Arceus. It has a potent STAB espeed, Swords Dance to boost, and all the coverage and move options it could ever want to beat would be checks and counters. I know there are quite a few Diggers supporters out there, but it a least deserves a suspect test.
I personally would not mind a suspect test. I don't feel strongly either way, but I'm leaning towards keeping the bunny. Both sides have quite good arguments to them, so I'm not going to argue for either. :p

Mega Slowbro- speaking of the only guaranteed Diggers switch in, Mega Slowbro is a potent wincon for any defensively minded team. It has Cosmic Power, Iron Defense, Calm Mind, and Amnesia. Combined with Stored Power, Mega Slowbro is just pushed over the edge. It can easily sweep Stall or Offense, and is incredibly difficult to team build for. It needs a quick ban.
No it does not. Those moves are great, but when does it find room to set up at all? With offensive Pokemon everywhere, namely Thundurus, Kyurem-B, Mega Altaria, and so on, Mega Slowbro is hard pressed to actually set up in the first place. Stall has Whirlwind on at least one thing, I would assume (don't play stall ever.), and it's hard-pressed for moves as is. It wants Rest to cure Toxic, but it also can't afford the two turns. It's just a good Pokemon, but not broken. I've never thought it was broken, and I still don't.

Keldeo- I honestly don't think Water Spout alone pushes it over the edge, it still has reliable checks and counters (Mega Venu, Ammonguss, Mega Lati@s, Tangrowth, etc.) It just that all of these get wiped out if Keldeo has rain support. If it was just Water Spout i wouldn't be in favor of banning. But Rain and Water Spout Keldeo? Yeah it needs to go.
Uhm, Rain is not a very viable or explored playstyle. Any Water-type with Rain is obviously going to be powerful; I don't get it. Keldeo has so many viable checks, its SubCM set (the one that made it previously broken) has fallen out of favor, and it's really, really easy to stop. Water Spout is cute, but it's worn down beyond belief and it's really not that it's all cracked up to be. I don't think Keldeo is broken by any means.

We should also revisit the Boomburst Trio (Mega Altaria, Pory-Z, Sylveon) and Boomburst itself. Mega Altaria is debatably broken, it has all of 2 guaranteed switch ins, and the coverage options to make alot of other checks sad. There seems to be a supporters who say it isn't broken due to its lack of set up/4ms, but it still deserves another look. Pory-z is still really stupid powerful and Nasty Plot sets 6-0 Stall teams which cuts diversity down by quite a bit. People have told me Sylveon isn't a big deal, but if 6-0ing Stall is an important point, then what exactly is Stall supposed to do about a Sub Cm set?And then there is Boomburst itself, a 140 BP Sound move with no drawbacks and high PP. Yeah its normal and normal is mediocre, but Pixilate makes it Fairy typed, which is not a mediocre typing at all. Oh and its stronger then V-Create while -ate boosted. I'm still surprised it wasn't quick banned.
Indifferent to the first two, but I'd prefer keeping them both. Sylveon is really just... not that amazing as I'd assume. It's so slow, and it does it hard, but it's so easy to force out and its Extreme Speed is pitiful. It has nothing for faster Pokemon, and I'm really not convinced whatsoever that it's broken.

Edit: Almost forgot Kyurem-B. Kyu-B was also banned in STABmons piror to rule changes, and its easy to see why. The only reason it isn't Ubers is because it lacks set up and Ice STAB. Both issues are fixed in STABmons.
With so much Fairy-type... Yeah, no. Kyurem-B is cool, but it's not broken imo.

I really feel like MikeDawg is right – this seems really banhappy. You're looking into individual traits but not looking at the impact they have on the metagame, but instead playing up their positives and ignoring the downsides to each. We don't need to be banning a ton of things right now or else we're just reverting to the STABmons from months ago, which was not the point of reverting.
 

Lcass4919

The Xatu Warrior
This post sounds unreasonably ban-happy. Cosmic power doesn't make slowbro any better than it is in OU. Cosmic power + stored power is new, but this doesn't do much to patch up slowbro's typical in-practice flaws. It frees up a moveslot so that you no longer have to choose between curing status and boosting defense, but the defense boosts are fairly superfluous anyway. If anything, cosmic power/stored power makes it easier to deal with slowbro as 1) it loses all of its utility throughout the game, which really sucks for such a vital pivot. It can't check anything that it wants to check because it doesn't have a legitimate move to retaliate with and 2) it is also easier to bring in a typical check (ie. Strong special attacks) because, again, if loses all unboosted utility. Any switch to slowbro is a free switchin, making it very easy to actually revenge kill. These are all issues that it faces in OU, except they are exemplified. It isn't good in practice regardless of how it looks on-paper.

Kings rock/razor fang is another overblown suggestion. The incredibly niche uses (ie. Cloyster) arent much different than typical jirachi flinchhax. It's part of the game and super duper niche.

Rain support isn't a real reason to call for a keldeo ban. Lots of mons benefit immensely from weather support, but weather support isn't the easiest thing to consistently provide. You should be prepared for it.

irgt 6-0ing stall: there's not much you can do to even out defense vs offense disparity in a metagame that grants offensive mons all of the tools that they crave (that they didn't even need in the first place!). Accept the fact that the meta will be inherently biased against full stall. Defensive teams just need to do some hardcore adapting in order to fit in (which is true about every playstyle here hello fakespeed)
or we can attempt to balance the meta by suspecting potential threats to the metagame? i dont see how any of your points are valid arguments tbh. we dont have to accept that offense is too good atm, and i cant think of any example that has followed this pattern except for OU. sure, this is a OU based meta, but we don't HAVE to give up just because offense is strong. sure, offense will always be "strong" but to say that our previous suspects were "unreasonable" is really false, considering the meta was actually pretty balanced before it went through the stat/attack split to attempt to balance the ONE issue it faced. and each one of the bans Kingslayer has mentioned contributed.(albeit i disagree with some of his choices)

slowbro with cosmic power means once it gets the oppurtune chance to set up to +1 and most of its checks are gone, its capable of being unstoppable. and with stored power/scald allows it to be able to outstall threats it wouldn't normally fear in the OU meta. at +1 thundy needs a life orb to be able to 2hko spc def mega slowbro. thats a super effective hit off 125 spc attack. if you don't hit slowbro super effectively, your going to get stalled out. which means "Checkmating" your opponent with bro, is as simple as "remove that one poke with stab super effective moves then spam scald/stored power until you win". and dont tell me "dark types exist" for stored power, because the only 2 relevant dark types in stabmons are ttar and sable, which both can be removed fairly easy. sure, i too don't really see it as a problem, but scald and stored power are both very strong moves to wincon vs offense, and i feel like your just assuming stuff, rather then actually playing the meta and experiencing it.

kings rock and razor fang was banned before. cloyster now gets access to priority. which means that its capable of "potentially flinching" more then what it could normally do. again, sounds like assumptions over actual experience. tbh, ive tried it in the meta, and ive yet to get flinches with it, but with fakespeed around, i dont think its too much of an issue. but its haxy like chatter, its unfair in a special sense. at least stuff outspeeds rachi.

i agree with the rain point, it wasn't due to rain that keld was banned though.

as for your last point. again, the meta was "almost perfectly" balanced before all of this, favored stall a bit more then offense tbh. so your points are CLEARLY all just assumptions...have you played stabmons at all?

sure, his post sounds a bit banhappy, but at the same time its not like your mentality is going to get us anywhere but a broken meta. even if its dying.
 
What makes it banworthy? You just stated facts (Tough Claws boosts, was previously banned). 2HKOing Mega Scizor isn't really a strong feat; Choice Scarf Landorus-T can do that as well. Mega Aerodactyl has so much pressure on it to do what it needs to, and by this I mean simply be a Mega. With so many other excellent Megas, do you really want to choose yours to be a suicide bomber? I feel like Head Smash is just really bad on Mega Aerodactyl, and Diamond Storm is much better. But that's besides the point. Anyways, Mega Aerodactyl is powerful, and fast, and bulky; and it has great attacking moves to utilize it with. However, I'm not sure it's broken. There are several viable checks / counters to it that you don't really have to specialize a slot to. Klefki, for example, completely hard-walls Mega Aerodactyl and cripples it, along with 2HKOing it in return. Mega Aerodactyl is so prone to being revenge killed as well, it's almost sad. Terrakion, Keldeo, Landorus-T; they all put constraints on Mega Aerodactyl since it can't rase its Speed. Dragon Ascent, while amazing, also has its downside which can often leave it forced out on things it really shouldn't be forced out on. I think Mega Aerodactyl is easily an S Rank threat, but not banworthy. Do you believe it has a restricting impact on the metagame? I certainly don't.



Lol this shit is dumb, ban it imo.



I personally would not mind a suspect test. I don't feel strongly either way, but I'm leaning towards keeping the bunny. Both sides have quite good arguments to them, so I'm not going to argue for either. :p



No it does not. Those moves are great, but when does it find room to set up at all? With offensive Pokemon everywhere, namely Thundurus, Kyurem-B, Mega Altaria, and so on, Mega Slowbro is hard pressed to actually set up in the first place. Stall has Whirlwind on at least one thing, I would assume (don't play stall ever.), and it's hard-pressed for moves as is. It wants Rest to cure Toxic, but it also can't afford the two turns. It's just a good Pokemon, but not broken. I've never thought it was broken, and I still don't.



Uhm, Rain is not a very viable or explored playstyle. Any Water-type with Rain is obviously going to be powerful; I don't get it. Keldeo has so many viable checks, its SubCM set (the one that made it previously broken) has fallen out of favor, and it's really, really easy to stop. Water Spout is cute, but it's worn down beyond belief and it's really not that it's all cracked up to be. I don't think Keldeo is broken by any means.



Indifferent to the first two, but I'd prefer keeping them both. Sylveon is really just... not that amazing as I'd assume. It's so slow, and it does it hard, but it's so easy to force out and its Extreme Speed is pitiful. It has nothing for faster Pokemon, and I'm really not convinced whatsoever that it's broken.



With so much Fairy-type... Yeah, no. Kyurem-B is cool, but it's not broken imo.

I really feel like MikeDawg is right – this seems really banhappy. You're looking into individual traits but not looking at the impact they have on the metagame, but instead playing up their positives and ignoring the downsides to each. We don't need to be banning a ton of things right now or else we're just reverting to the STABmons from months ago, which was not the point of reverting.
Klefki does not hard wall Mega Aerodactyl at all, Aero has access to Eathquake, easily allowing it to run through Steel-types without a secondary type that protects it from Ground. Hence why 2hkoing Mega Scizor is pretty notable, it's a Steel type that lacks a Ground weakness.

Second off you are dead wrong about Rain, Leafstorm123 (he doesn't have a smogon) used an incredible Rain Offense team piror to the Attack/Status split.

I'm also not looking to convince you every single mon I listed is broken, I'm listing reasons we should take a hard look at each threat. That might seem a little ban-happy but there are tons of super strong threats in STABmons. I'm not above admiring I'm wrong but I don't think it's unreasonable to discuss these threats.
 

MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
or we can attempt to balance the meta by suspecting potential threats to the metagame? i dont see how any of your points are valid arguments tbh. we dont have to accept that offense is too good atm, and i cant think of any example that has followed this pattern except for OU. sure, this is a OU based meta, but we don't HAVE to give up just because offense is strong. sure, offense will always be "strong" but to say that our previous suspects were "unreasonable" is really false, considering the meta was actually pretty balanced before it went through the stat/attack split to attempt to balance the ONE issue it faced. and each one of the bans Kingslayer has mentioned contributed.(albeit i disagree with some of his choices)

slowbro with cosmic power means once it gets the oppurtune chance to set up to +1 and most of its checks are gone, its capable of being unstoppable. and with stored power/scald allows it to be able to outstall threats it wouldn't normally fear in the OU meta. at +1 thundy needs a life orb to be able to 2hko spc def mega slowbro. thats a super effective hit off 125 spc attack. if you don't hit slowbro super effectively, your going to get stalled out. which means "Checkmating" your opponent with bro, is as simple as "remove that one poke with stab super effective moves then spam scald/stored power until you win". and dont tell me "dark types exist" for stored power, because the only 2 relevant dark types in stabmons are ttar and sable, which both can be removed fairly easy. sure, i too don't really see it as a problem, but scald and stored power are both very strong moves to wincon vs offense, and i feel like your just assuming stuff, rather then actually playing the meta and experiencing it.

kings rock and razor fang was banned before. cloyster now gets access to priority. which means that its capable of "potentially flinching" more then what it could normally do. again, sounds like assumptions over actual experience. tbh, ive tried it in the meta, and ive yet to get flinches with it, but with fakespeed around, i dont think its too much of an issue. but its haxy like chatter, its unfair in a special sense. at least stuff outspeeds rachi.

i agree with the rain point, it wasn't due to rain that keld was banned though.

as for your last point. again, the meta was "almost perfectly" balanced before all of this, favored stall a bit more then offense tbh. so your points are CLEARLY all just assumptions...have you played stabmons at all?

sure, his post sounds a bit banhappy, but at the same time its not like your mentality is going to get us anywhere but a broken meta. even if its dying.
Some of them I didn't agree with the initial bans to begin with. in such a small, user-run metagame, false-alarm bans are far from unlikely.

I don't see your concern with nerfing offense. It isn't "giving up" on a lost cause.... it is just an inherently different metagame. Looking to take every meta and squish it into a pre-conceived "ideal" mold doesn't work given how subjective "ideal" is.

Slowbro is not broken in the slightest. Cosmic power is worse than calm mind, period. What is the difference between stopping a +1 spdef slowbro in OU and a +1 spdef slowbro in stabmons? Stabmons has /more/ options to do so. You are obviously theorymonning on slowbro, because you are repeating all of the early oras "broken!!" arguments that ended up being completely false. Cosmic power/stored power makes it terribly easy to manage. Any phaser, any taunt Mon, any dark type, any strong special attacker, any status Mon (if not rest) has a free switchin to stop slowbro in its tracks. Not to mention that slowbro has zero use until that sweep. Sure, it can sweep late game when its checks are eliminated, bug that is every Mon in the entire game, so....

I am all for banning little haxy things (see: policy review), but the flinch chance here is lower than jirachi/togekiss. Kings rock isn't a particularly invalid item. Again, a ban is indicative of a small, banhappy playerbase (which is fine, because it is free from the PR element of OU, but it is still something to keep in mind). Shoutout to your "it isn't actually that haxy or good" point, tho.

There's no point in fixing what isn't broken. There are definitely suspect-worthy things that will pop up with time; slowbro, kings rock, boomburst, keldeo are not one of them. Banning a chunk of things whenever the chance arises stagnates meta development. Let the metagame adapt (yay good team building!), and the dominant trends will die down (and be replaced by a new set of trends, etc.)

I really can't fathom how in every paragraph, you say "you are obviously using theorymon instead of experience...." Then at the end of each you follow up with " my experience is that it isn't actually broken, but whatever". If you have the /experience/ that leads you to "not see the problem", then why are you trying so hard to argue against me? Lol

Edit: Aerodactyl comment: unstabbed, unboosted eq isnt exactly stellar coverage. Klefki is definitely a good switchin given how unspammable eq is on aero. It then has no issues responding with a twave, magnet rise, foul play, etc. It is also fun against boomburst mons !
 
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Klefki does not hard wall Mega Aerodactyl at all, Aero has access to Eathquake, easily allowing it to run through Steel-types without a secondary type that protects it from Ground. Hence why 2hkoing Mega Scizor is pretty notable, it's a Steel type that lacks a Ground weakness.

Second off you are dead wrong about Rain, Leafstorm123 (he doesn't have a smogon) used an incredible Rain Offense team piror to the Attack/Status split.

I'm also not looking to convince you every single mon I listed is broken, I'm listing reasons we should take a hard look at each threat. That might seem a little ban-happy but there are tons of super strong threats in STABmons. I'm not above admiring I'm wrong but I don't think it's unreasonable to discuss these threats.
All Klefki run Magnet Rise; Earthquake is moot.

I know Leafstorm did; hell, I playtested the team with him lol. That was a completely different metagame though, and Keldeo wasn't there.
 

MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
Are you using Magnet Rise as you switch in or something ....?
Is aerodactyl using earthquake as you switch in or something? :P

It isn't a move that aero wants to spam, really. It is nice to surprise klefki, of course, but phys def klef can comfortably tank the hit and force aero out while taking advantage of lefties recovery. Predicting the klef switchin isn't as safe as you would like it to be given aero's relative difficulty in finding a time to come in.
 
I don't really know where this "Klefki hardwalls Aero" is coming from. It can't switch into Head Smash unless it's at full and there's less than 1 layer of spikes up. It can't switch into EQ at all. If it switches into either, it has a 50/50 whether it magnet rises or moonlights. Sure, I might switch out my Aero to Heatran or something just to get a better position, but in a pinch I still have the option of breaking it if I play correctly.

252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Klefki: 137-162 (43 - 50.9%) -- 52.3% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Klefki: 190-224 (59.7 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery

You all need to get into your heads that there's 1 pokemon that walls M-Aero. It isn't Ferrothorn, it isn't M-Slowbro, it isn't Rhyperior, it isn't Klefki, it isn't M-Steelix. It's M-Aggron. That's it. Literally that's it.

Here's the set, for reference. It outspeeds 252+ base 130 with the rest in physical bulk while maintaining odd HP. There might be somemore micro optimization to do with the speed vs HP, and you can choose between Roost and Aqua Tail depending on whether you're scared of Rhyperior/Rhydon/M-Steelix.

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Dragon Ascent
- Earthquake
- Roost / Aqua Tail
 

MikeDawg

Banned deucer.
I don't really know where this "Klefki hardwalls Aero" is coming from. It can't switch into Head Smash unless it's at full and there's less than 1 layer of spikes up. It can't switch into EQ at all. If it switches into either, it has a 50/50 whether it magnet rises or moonlights. Sure, I might switch out my Aero to Heatran or something just to get a better position, but in a pinch I still have the option of breaking it if I play correctly.

252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Aerodactyl Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Klefki: 137-162 (43 - 50.9%) -- 52.3% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Klefki: 190-224 (59.7 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery

You all need to get into your heads that there's 1 pokemon that walls M-Aero. It isn't Ferrothorn, it isn't M-Slowbro, it isn't Rhyperior, it isn't Klefki, it isn't M-Steelix. It's M-Aggron. That's it. Literally that's it.

Here's the set, for reference. It outspeeds 252+ base 130 with the rest in physical bulk while maintaining odd HP. There might be somemore micro optimization to do with the speed vs HP, and you can choose between Roost and Aqua Tail depending on whether you're scared of Rhyperior/Rhydon/M-Steelix.

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Dragon Ascent
- Earthquake
- Roost / Aqua Tail

Aerodactyl just took 50% recoil and 25% from rocks. It is forced out, because it is otherwise crippled by twave. Of course head smash can break through most mons, that has always been the case for head smash mons, but that recoil is the drawback (and the reason why hsmash is historically ignored on non-rock head or suicide mons). It is very difficult to deal with, of course, but its behind-the-scenes traits (difficulty switching in, recoil, rock weak, revengeable, relatively easy to force out) make this a bit easier than you would imagine.

I don't feel strongly against an aero suspect, but it is easy to get caught up in theorymon and exaggerate the traits.
 
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Are you using Magnet Rise as you switch in or something ....?
Obviously not. You use it as you come in, and since Klefki can take any hit that Mega Aerodactyl could throw at it, then it's a fine counter. Using that as a counterargument basically invalidates the move Magnet Rise as a whole. That's like saying Substitute is bad at stopping status since you can't Substitute as you come in.

Head Smash is powerful, but I just... I hate it. You take so much recoil, it can miss, and sure, it hits like a truck, but why would you waste a Mega slot on something that dies so insanely soon? Roost mitigates it somewhat, but then you give the opponent a free turn regardless and it's just... it's hard dude. I'll always prefer Diamond Storm, but I guess it's a preference thing.
 

EV

Banned deucer.
The reason Head Smash is preferred is because it invalidates nearly every counter (Landorus-T, Skarmory, etc).

No one said Mega Aerodactyl had to last the whole match. It's just there to rip holes into the opponent's team.
 
Aerodactyl just took 50% recoil and 25% from rocks. It is forced out, because it is otherwise crippled by twave. Of course head smash can break through most mons, that has always been the case for head smash mons, but that recoil is the drawback (and the reason why hsmash is historically ignored on non-rock head or suicide mons). It is very difficult to deal with, of course, but its behind-the-scenes traits (difficulty switching in, recoil, rock weak, revengeable, relatively easy to force out) make this a bit easier than you would imagine.

I don't feel strongly against an aero suspect, but it is easy to get caught up in theorymon and exaggerate the traits.
Yes it is easy to get caught up in the theorymon, but we aren't theorymonning. Those of us who have played STABmons for a long have quite a bit of experience with Mega Aerodactyl. Yes it wasn't the exact same meta, (Diggersby, Mega Altaria, Sylveon, and Pory-Z were all banned and move bans didn't exist) but nothing has changed about Mega Aerodactyl. And in my experience, running Mega Aerodactyl as a suicide bomber is pretty fucking fantastic because it invalidates so many would be counters and tears apart bulky teams. Yes, Klefki can run Magnet Rise and force Mega Aero out, but it isn't a reliable switch in more then once thanks to a lack of recovery. Earthquake 2hkos, so your opponent just has to make one good predict to cripple Klefki and a second to kill it. Yes, Head Smash has nasty recoil, and the SR weakness can help wear Mega Aero easily. However it doesn't need to stick around the whole match, just punch a few holes into the opponent's defensive structure and let a cleaner finish the job. Yeah Diamond Storm is better if you perfer to keep Mega Aerodactyl around, but Head Smash sets are always going to exist and you can't prepare for them reliably unless you run Mega Aggron on every team or run HO and forget about switch ins entirely. I feel very strongly about banning Mega Aerodactyl. Not because i'm "ban happy," i admit i was probably wrong to suggest Keldeo and Mega Slowbro was banned and i don't feel that strongly about suspecting them. But i do feel strongly about Mega Aerodactyl. It stands out far above the rest of wallbreakers, and limits bulky/balance teams unreasonably. Therefore, in my opinion, it should be banned.
 
i personally don't think aerodactyl needs a ban (mega I mean) because sure it can break stall but not enough to help you win the match because imagine switching a chansey in on a head smash, with rocks up. The chansey probably wouldn't even die, as well as the HUGE recoil from head smash plus rocks will take maero down to about 85 percent of its health, maybe even less. That's one mon broken down, but would that be enough to affect the game or break the team? If it is a well built team then no, probably not. mega aero also takes up a mega slot meaning your mega could be gone in 2-3 turns as well as having a rocks weakness. is it really worth sacrificing a mega slot for 3 turns of profit. once again no. so don't ban mega aero. Btw Eevee General when you said rip holes in the opponents team are you sure you didn't mean, rip a hole then die, in a team?
 

baconbagon

free stabmons
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i personally don't think aerodactyl needs a ban (mega I mean) because sure it can break stall but not enough to help you win the match because imagine switching a chansey in on a head smash, with rocks up. The chansey probably wouldn't even die, as well as the HUGE recoil from head smash plus rocks will take maero down to about 85 percent of its health, maybe even less. That's one mon broken down, but would that be enough to affect the game or break the team? If it is a well built team then no, probably not. mega aero also takes up a mega slot meaning your mega could be gone in 2-3 turns as well as having a rocks weakness. is it really worth sacrificing a mega slot for 3 turns of profit. once again no. so don't ban mega aero. Btw Eevee General when you said rip holes in the opponents team are you sure you didn't mean, rip a hole then die, in a team?
Sigh. Being a Mega Evolution shouldn't restrict a Pokemon to not being a suicidal wallbreaker. Of course Head Smash Mega Aerodactyl is going to die quickly, but even a well built team is going to start struggling with your other team members once it starts getting broken down - that's the idea of offensive synergy. Yes, Chansey lives an Adamant Head Smash after rocks damage. But is Chansey going to live any more strong hits at 10%? It's virtually useless for the rest of the battle, and that paves the way for another special cleaner to come in.

imagine switching a chansey in on a head smash, with rocks up
Or, you could Dragon Ascent twice!

That's one mon broken down, but would that be enough to affect the game or break the team? If it is a well built team then no, probably not.
It's a well known fact that stall teams start to break down once you remove one of the Pokemon. Even if Mega Aerodactyl only gets off one Head Smash before dying, the sheer power means that it's probably KOed something, and thus torn a valuable hole in a team.

Yeah, I think Aerodactylite seems pretty broken right now; Magnet Rise isn't even on the top 5 moves for Klefki (even though the usage stats are extremely unreliable), and I'd much rather run Moonlight and Moonblast. Resistance to FakeSpeed is also absolutely amazing.
 

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