Other Viable Megas

[Moose V]

Here are the megas that I don't see generally being more useful than their regular forms:
Alakazam — Lack of magic guard is a big loss and it still can't take any physical hit meaning priority ruins it. Plus it doens't hit as hard as LO Ala.
Scizor — The stat that got the biggest boost with M-Scizor was defense while its speed got a measly + 10 and its attack only got +20. Not really worthwhile.
Heracross — Awful speed means it not only does less damage than banded cross but also gets outsped by a lot more pokes.
Blaziken — LO Blaziken is just straight up stronger than mega-Blaziken and speed/SpA isn't really an issue.
Abomasnow — Outside of TR, this thing doesn't have much use
Venusaur — yes, its defenses are slightly better and thick fat helps but now it doesn't get black sludge recovery which is pretty crucial for something to take repeated hits unless it can reach monstrous defenses with an eviolite. This one's a little trickier to judge since Venu w/o chlorophyl is so dissimilar to the sweeper of gen 5.

Everything else seems to have at least one decent reason to be used over its regular form.

 

[Haruno]

Here are the megas that I don't see generally being more useful than their regular forms:
Alakazam — Lack of magic guard is a big loss and it still can't take any physical hit meaning priority ruins it. Plus it doens't hit as hard as LO Ala.
Scizor — The stat that got the biggest boost with M-Scizor was defense while its speed got a measly + 10 and its attack only got +20. Not really worthwhile.
Heracross — Awful speed means it not only does less damage than banded cross but also gets outsped by a lot more pokes.
Blaziken — LO Blaziken is just straight up stronger than mega-Blaziken and speed/SpA isn't really an issue.
Abomasnow — Outside of TR, this thing doesn't have much use
Venusaur — yes, its defenses are slightly better and thick fat helps but now it doesn't get black sludge recovery which is pretty crucial for something to take repeated hits unless it can reach monstrous defenses with an eviolite. This one's a little trickier to judge since Venu w/o chlorophyl is so dissimilar to the sweeper of gen 5.

Everything else seems to have at least one decent reason to be used over its regular form.

add mewtwo Y on the list. And mega amphy, and mega banette and mega manectric and mega garchomp and mega houndoom. Pretty sure i missed a few as well

 

[Moose V]

add mewtwo Y on the list. And mega amphy, and mega banette and mega manectric and mega garchomp and mega houndoom. Pretty sure i missed a few as well

Mewtwo Y at least has some really nice speed and still hits about as hard as LO mewtwo w/o the recoil so I'd say it still is usable over its regular form.

Amphy's ability to spam draco meteor means that it's more usable than regular amphy (especially if we're talking about NU).

Priority will-o makes M-bannette pretty damn viable. Just look what that did to sableye.

I was going to add Manetric to the list but 135 speed + intimidate is solid and means that M-Manetric has some use.

Mega Garchomp is quite bulky and, with sand force, hits fairly hard with EQ without being locked into it or losing health w/ LO. There's some merit in using it over regular chomp.

Mega Houndoom in sun is insane. Definitely worth using.

 

[Lord Jesseus]

Amphy's ability to spam draco meteor means that it's more usable than regular amphy (especially if we're talking about NU).

Ampharos does not learn Draco Meteor.

 

[Lee]

When it comes to purely offense-oriented, frail pokemon such as Blaziken, it's kill or be killed. That's just how this game is. The 10% recoil damage is well worth being able to cleanly OHKO the opponent before your own pokemon can be OHKO'd.
That, and the fact you're not restricted to a LO per team like you are with mega evolutions.

in 1v1 you're probably right but in an actual game your Blaziken will be suffering SR/Spikes damage, SS buffeting, chip damage from whatever you switch into, Flare Blitz/HJK recoil...Life Orb can start to seriously tip you towards suicide or into that range where resisted priority attacks are a KO. Life Orb has a helluva drawback but people talk as though it doesn't; I'd certainly give the edge to Mega-Blaziken here.

 

[Gold Geno]

Mega Mawile just seems like something that would benefit so much from dual screen support. It has workable defenses (well, 50 HP certainly isn't amazing, but 125/95 defenses are certainly a step in the right direction.) and a good defensive typing, Get screens up and suddenly it becomes much harder to kill. The 8 turns Light Clay gives Reflect/LS (so, 6 and 7 turns after switching out.) Is just enough for Mawile to punch a hole through SOMETHING and come out of it relatively unscathed. You could even run Substitute or Swords Dance on it if you're feeling cheeky and want to take advantage of the switches that might will be forced by the combination of Intimidate and the sheer scare factor of something so powerful behind increased defenses.

EDIT: I was wrong about Mawile's Defense stat.

 

[Mr. Degradation]

Mega Lucario is rather interesting- the speed hop from 90 to 112 is quite enormous given how finicky Speed has always been- I think Speed hopping is probably the most powerful thing that ME provides (150 base Aerodactyl is going to be rather tough to deal with.) Perhaps we'll start seeing ME sweepers that carry Protect on the way in for their speed jump?

I think if Doubles picks up as a more standard format, Mega Medicham and Mega Abomasnow are going to see some serious consideration.

 

[Kyuzeth]

Rock Blast is actually a signifigant upgrade over its oposition, so that's something. But why, why, WHY did they lower the Speed for more SpA?

Mega Heracross still has 40 Special Attack, like normal Hera. :/

 

[XZ2H3000]

Here are the megas that I don't see generally being more useful than their regular forms:
Alakazam — Lack of magic guard is a big loss and it still can't take any physical hit meaning priority ruins it. Plus it doens't hit as hard as LO Ala.
Scizor — The stat that got the biggest boost with M-Scizor was defense while its speed got a measly + 10 and its attack only got +20. Not really worthwhile.
Heracross — Awful speed means it not only does less damage than banded cross but also gets outsped by a lot more pokes.
Blaziken — LO Blaziken is just straight up stronger than mega-Blaziken and speed/SpA isn't really an issue.
Abomasnow — Outside of TR, this thing doesn't have much use
Venusaur — yes, its defenses are slightly better and thick fat helps but now it doesn't get black sludge recovery which is pretty crucial for something to take repeated hits unless it can reach monstrous defenses with an eviolite. This one's a little trickier to judge since Venu w/o chlorophyl is so dissimilar to the sweeper of gen 5.

Well, mega scizor has the utility of being better for the bulky sword dance set, has its upgraded defenses allow to take more hits, and it still has roost, and bullet punch to deal with his speed issues, you know?

Also, mega blaziken is better, hands down, as due to having 100 speed, it can afford to run an adamant nature much safely, as normal blaziken would have to run jolly in order to outspeed powerful scarfers early on, and also, adamant mega blaziken is stronger than jolly regular blaziken by around 20 points, while the slightly upgraded 80 defenses allow it to take unboosted priority hits a bit better, which is always nice, and while being stronger and faster than an LO jolly blaziken, it can live longer due to laking the life orb recoil, and hitting a bit harder, which gives it the advantage.

Also, mega abomasnow incresed offenses, and defenses, might make it a bit better, think of it, firing strong blizzards, having priority in ice shard, wood hammer, yadda yadda, it isn't that bad really.

Well, venusaur has leech seed, and synthesis, while i don't see it being OU, it can be a good tank in the lower tiers, laking 2 of its weaknesses, while having boosted defenses, and upgraded 122 special attack, it can be very workable.

I agree with you on alakazam and hera, though

 

[Zé Capáu]

Ampharos looks more bulkier.

 

[Srn]

There is talk about mega blaziken being better and all stuff like that, but keep in mind, There's only ONE mega slot. sure, mega blaziken is better for many reasons than the normal one, but there isn't a significant drawback of normal blaziken that is worth wasting your mega. Pokemon like mega lucario, mega mawile, and mega gengar will be used for a mega slot because they do things MUCH better than their normal counterparts.
we should also give more thought to mega-bannette. Sure, it doesn't have a priority recover, but 165 base attack sort of makes up for that. Prankster can take a pokemon very far, and banette is a pokemon i would look out for.

 

[Moose V]

Ampharos does not learn Draco Meteor.

Ah. Still at least gets dragon pulse tho, which is great in lower tiers.

 

[Moose V]

Well, mega scizor has the utility of being better for the bulky sword dance set, has its upgraded defenses allow to take more hits, and it still has roost, and bullet punch to deal with his speed issues, you know?

Also, mega blaziken is better, hands down, as due to having 100 speed, it can afford to run an adamant nature much safely, as normal blaziken would have to run jolly in order to outspeed powerful scarfers early on, and also, adamant mega blaziken is stronger than jolly regular blaziken by around 20 points, while the slightly upgraded 80 defenses allow it to take unboosted priority hits a bit better, which is always nice, and while being stronger and faster than an LO jolly blaziken, it can live longer due to laking the life orb recoil, and hitting a bit harder, which gives it the advantage.

Also, mega abomasnow incresed offenses, and defenses, might make it a bit better, think of it, firing strong blizzards, having priority in ice shard, wood hammer, yadda yadda, it isn't that bad really.

Well, venusaur has leech seed, and synthesis, while i don't see it being OU, it can be a good tank in the lower tiers, laking 2 of its weaknesses, while having boosted defenses, and upgraded 122 special attack, it can be very workable.

I agree with you on alakazam and hera, though

I agree with you on Blaziken, and somewhat on Venu, but the other two are kinda meh imo.

Mega scizor hits with significantly less power than regular LO or banded scizor and at the same time it can't run lefties which is generally what makes bulky sweepers work. It has a very very small niche as a bulky sweeper that doesn't get lefties recovery which could be helpful but there's really no reason to use it when it also takes up a mega slot that could be used for a generally more useful mega.

Abomasnow's two most popular and viable sets this last gen were subseed and LO attacker of some sort. Mega-Ab can't do subseed at all anymore since it lacks lefties and a life orb Ab hits harder than Mega-Ab and is faster so that is kind of ruled out too. Yes, expert belt Ab was a thing but that set was terrible and couldn't bluff a choice item for shit. Again, definitely just throwing away a mega slot if you use this thing.

 

[floating jelicent]

Am I the only one who thinks scizor's mega isn't that good I mean he needs a choice band to be a powerful as possible or leftovers for the healing. Don't get me wrong though the mega may help him in sd sets due to higher bulk and speed plus out runs uninvested heatrans

 

[Srn]

Mega scizor doesn't have the lefties recovery but it has special bulk, and that's what matters. It hits hard enough to make up for leftovers as well. Again, you can say l.o. and banded hit harder and what not, but life orb sucks up 10% every turn, which sucks considering scizor's great defensive typing and decent physical bulk. Choice band locks you into one move, which makes you set up fodder for stuff like conkeldurr if you're locked into BP, and that's basically hand-packaging and delivering all your momentum to the opponent as a gift. Mega scizor can avoid all of that and has a little bit of everything scizor has to offer with less drawbacks:power, utility, setting up, bulk. Banded scizor is better as a pivot with u-turn however, no disputing that.

 

[Ckarasu]

Here are the megas that I don't see generally being more useful than their regular forms:
Alakazam — Lack of magic guard is a big loss and it still can't take any physical hit meaning priority ruins it. Plus it doens't hit as hard as LO Ala.
Scizor — The stat that got the biggest boost with M-Scizor was defense while its speed got a measly + 10 and its attack only got +20. Not really worthwhile.
Heracross — Awful speed means it not only does less damage than banded cross but also gets outsped by a lot more pokes.
Blaziken — LO Blaziken is just straight up stronger than mega-Blaziken and speed/SpA isn't really an issue.
Abomasnow — Outside of TR, this thing doesn't have much use
Venusaur — yes, its defenses are slightly better and thick fat helps but now it doesn't get black sludge recovery which is pretty crucial for something to take repeated hits unless it can reach monstrous defenses with an eviolite. This one's a little trickier to judge since Venu w/o chlorophyl is so dissimilar to the sweeper of gen 5.

Everything else seems to have at least one decent reason to be used over its regular form.

Mega Venusaur gets Giga Drain(75 BP is respectable), Leech Seed, and Synthesis in a nerfed weather environment. It can easily take many hits and still keep going. It's so very usable in OU with those options. Let's not forget the critical hit nerf, as well as the nerf to many popular special attacks. 80/123/120 bulk is just fantastic, and it lost its weaknesses to Fire and Ice. 100/122 attack stats means that it can do things that other, more bulky walls can't: Attack. Its resistance to Fairy, which will be around to deal with Dragons, means that it works well with your dragons. 80 speed, while not fast, is decent for a wall or tank. He only really lacks leftovers, but everything else he has more than makes up for that. Immunity to Toxic, and the ability to absorb Toxic Spikes, also makes him viable. Add in a decent, if not good, movepool(especially with the breeding changes) and you have an all-around strong pokemon.

When it comes to purely offense-oriented, frail pokemon such as Blaziken, it's kill or be killed. That's just how this game is. The 10% recoil damage is well worth being able to cleanly OHKO the opponent before your own pokemon can be OHKO'd.
That, and the fact you're not restricted to a LO per team like you are with mega evolutions.

I did say there were exceptions. Didn't list Blaziken as there seems to be a split between those who think it's better, and those who don't.

 

[Giometry]

To put new light on the unliked megas
Megacross: well its attack boost puts it at slightly lower than one moxie boost in attack and it is now much bulkier aswell as having base 125 stab in pin missile thats it really
Megados: umm its much bulkier now meaning it can do some damage there but honestly its kind of dissapointing was hoping for a part dragon for dd outrage shenanigans

 

[-Nitro-]

Mega Scizor could run roost on some sets

That, and the fact you're not restricted to a LO per team like you are with mega evolutions.

Well, unless item clause is in use. It was fairly common back in DPPt, but I don't know if it still is.

 

[XZ2H3000]

I agree with you on Blaziken, and somewhat on Venu, but the other two are kinda meh imo.

Mega scizor hits with significantly less power than regular LO or banded scizor and at the same time it can't run lefties which is generally what makes bulky sweepers work. It has a very very small niche as a bulky sweeper that doesn't get lefties recovery which could be helpful but there's really no reason to use it when it also takes up a mega slot that could be used for a generally more useful mega.

Abomasnow's two most popular and viable sets this last gen were subseed and LO attacker of some sort. Mega-Ab can't do subseed at all anymore since it lacks lefties and a life orb Ab hits harder than Mega-Ab and is faster so that is kind of ruled out too. Yes, expert belt Ab was a thing but that set was terrible and couldn't bluff a choice item for shit. Again, definitely just throwing away a mega slot if you use this thing.

Well about abomasnow i kinda have to agree on some points, and actually, mega abomasnow hits harder than LO abomasnow, by a an actual decent margin, and while its slower, it still has a powerful ice shard, being the second strongest ice shard, behind LO mamoswine, and having better defenses allow it to take hits more freely, and most pokemon used in a hail team don't really have a mega evo, making abomasnow an optimal evo for hail.

Also about scizor, the upgraded defenses allow it to take hits more freely, and due to it scaring many pokes with a abnded set, it can freely set up, take a hit, heal with roost, and deal good chunks of damages, as for why waste a mega slot for that? It fits very nicely on bulky offensive teams.

 

[Ckarasu]

Well about abomasnow i kinda have to agree on some points, and actually, mega abomasnow hits harder than LO abomasnow, by a an actual decent margin, and while its slower, it still has a powerful ice shard, being the second strongest ice shard, behind LO mamoswine, and having better defenses allow it to take hits more freely, and most pokemon used in a hail team don't really have a mega evo, making abomasnow an optimal evo for hail.

Also about scizor, the upgraded defenses allow it to take hits more freely, and due to it scaring many pokes with a abnded set, it can freely set up, take a hit, heal with roost, and deal good chunks of damages, as for why waste a mega slot for that? It fits very nicely on bulky offensive teams.

Talonflame is a thing, and can easily destroy Abomasnow. Same with just about any decent Fire type. His large list of weaknesses, and lack of any good forms of recovery, causes him a lot of problems. If he had gotten adaptability and maybe a grass priority move, then he'd have had a niche. But since he didn't get either(the latter of which does not exist), he's a hard sell.

 

[-Nitro-]

As far as Scizor goes...

Mega Scizor
Technician // Adamant
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

With the new Defog, and mega scizors added bulk, he can make a pretty good semi-offensive utility set as a pseudo spinner if your team doesn't need or have hazards up.

 

[MagikaripIsOP]

So out of all of these mega evos (there's way too much to keep track of) which ones are better than or more or less equal to their regular form?

 

[Spenstar]

So out of all of these mega evos (there's way too much to keep track of) which ones are better than or more or less equal to their regular form?

Miles Above the Original
Mega Pinsir
Mega Kangaskhan
Mega Charizard Y
Mega Blastoise
Mega Lucario
Mega Mawile
Mega Mewtwo X

Outclasses the Original
Mega Blaziken
MegaCham
Mega Mewtwo Y
Mega Charizard X
Mega Venusaur (post-weather nerf anyway)
Mega Gengar
Mega Aggron

Don't bother, the original is better/this one isn't worth it
Mega Heracross
Mega Gardevoir
Mega Alakazam
Mega Houndoom
Mega Banette
Mega Manetric
Mega Tyranitar
Mega Garchomp

 

[nikovan]

I think the whole point of Megas is actually not hitting as hard as LO variants of the non Mega Pokemon, but rather hitting slightly less hard while gaining more bulk and not losing HP every turn, which can come in handy.

A lot of power for 1/10 of your hp every turn, or slightly less power, more bulk and no recoil?

It boils down to that. And you get only one Mega Evo per match in any case.

 

[Ckarasu]

Miles Above the Original
Mega Pinsir
Mega Kangaskhan
Mega Charizard Y
Mega Blastoise
Mega Lucario
Mega Mawile
Mega Mewtwo X

Outclasses the Original
Mega Blaziken
MegaCham
Mega Mewtwo Y
Mega Charizard X
Mega Venusaur (post-weather nerf anyway)
Mega Gengar
Mega Aggron

Don't bother, the original is better/this one isn't worth it
Mega Heracross
Mega Gardevoir
Mega Alakazam
Mega Houndoom
Mega Banette
Mega Manetric
Mega Tyranitar
Mega Garchomp

A few points of contention:

Mega Houndoom is bulkier, and more importantly, faster than his normal form. LO Houndoom hit a bit harder, but was way too slow for the metagame. His mega fixes that, and Solar Power means he does more than LO Houndoom at his peak.

Mega Garchomp has harder hitting Earthquakes and Stone Edges. But it's iffy, overall.

Mega Gardevoir is faster and has access to Fairy Type Hyper Voice, which hits behind subs.

Mega Banette has Prankster shenanigans. Especially with Pain Split and Will-O-Wisp.

And, despite you not mentioning it, Mega Absol is usable. Normal Absol is not(not in UU or above, anyway).